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Online Collaboration

Marketing, Online Collaboration, Webinar, collections
Webinar: Shine a light on your digital collections
September 2nd, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

With such great turnout for last week’s Digitization & Preservation Symposium, I wanted to be sure folks know about the free upcoming OCLC webinar on September 22, Shine a light on your digital collections.

Michael Scott, Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage Coordinator, will discuss how she uses everything from social media to WorldCat.org to increase the visibility of their online collections.

Also hear from Suzanne Butte, OCLC Digital Services Consultant, about how other libraries, museums and archives use a wide variety of ways to increase awareness and promote their digital collections.

Register Now for September 22 Webinar»
View Archive for Digitization & Preservation Symposium »
Conferences, Online Collaboration
Learn Better Together
August 26th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Learn Better Together – Discover the potential of cohort-based learning

You’ve heard the saying, “two heads are better than one.” As we all take the journey as life-long continuous learners, this statement rings ever true. Earlier this month, Betha and I had the opportunity to explore this idea of learning together for the joint conference for Pacific Northwest Library Association & Washington Library Association. During our session (sponsored by WLA/WALT), Learn Better Together – Discover the potential of cohort-based learning, we introduced some of the characteristics of cohort-based learning:

Learners move together through a program/event.

Learners form a group identity and engage the power of relationships.

Learners are active, not passive.

Learners take control of their learning.

We then shared 4 examples of successful cohort-based learning. Roddenbery Memorial Library led a Library Internet Skills Cohort working to increase knowledge and use of the Internet and social media tools. The Arizona State Library facilitated a leadership skills cohort – Arizona Library Institute, Virtual Extension (ALIVE!), a leadership program to help front line staff excel in their job at the public library A group of librarians led the Kansas Web Conference Groupies Cohort – leveraging the 2010 Handheld Librarian Online Conference from their offices and with others in their state. WebJunction led web-conferencing and self-paced course creation cohorts helping WebJunction admins maximize the tools they had available.

Diving into a new idea or technology with others on your immediate team, in other branches or within your state is a great way to harness existing motivation and light the fire of excitement for others who aren’t quite sure what the fuss is all about. Whether stepping in to basic internet skills, developing leadership skills, exploring handheld technology or instructional design strategies for self-paced courses, cohort-based learning can build a momentum for learning that just doesn’t happen alone.

While no learning effort is, well, effortless there are some basic steps to take to build your own learning cohort. Start small. Ask a friend to explore a new topic with you and set a time once a week to discuss or explore. Then, build that idea out with the colleagues on your floor. Before you know it, not only are you building your skills you are also sharing ideas and building relationships with others that can take your work further than ever expected.
Online Collaboration
Building your library community
August 24th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

WebJunction sponsored my “Inside, Outside, & Online” program at the joint PNLA/WLA conference in Victoria BC last week. I thought you might like to see my slides from that presentation.

The program is based on my book (same title), available from ALA Editions here. (Sorry, I couldn’t help but insert a tiny bit of self promotion!)

The program runs through the five elements of community building that we uncovered in our research for this work (needs assessment, service design & delivery, marketing, evaluation, and sustainability), and provides pictures and examples from many of the library staff that I talked with throughout the process. Embedded throughout are a number of questions for the audience – as I invited them to consider how their personal and organizational experiences related to the stories that I relayed. I invite you to do the same … I’d love to hear from you!
Conferences, Online Collaboration
WLA Observations and Competency Goodness
August 18th, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment

While headed over the border from Washington, headed to Victoria Canada last week (which is on an island btw) to attend the joint WLA/PNLA 2010 conference, most everyone I talked to was struck with the loveliness of it all. Sure, the logistics were a bit of a challenge to some extent. Also, everyone was keenly aware of and felt grateful and fortunate for being able to attend during these tough economic times. It all actually helped us appreciate being able to go more, and made us all extra eager to share what we saw and learned.

(What a view on the commute from Seattle to Victoria on the Clipper. Wow!)

Before I mention the competency learning goodness Betha and I got to be a part of, check out the wide variety of *ahem* unusual ribbons at the registration desk. Hanging a “My Ribbon Is Better Than Than Yours”, “Know It All”, “Politically Correct”, “I READ YOUR EMAIL”, “OCD”, “Been There, Done That” or “Worker Bee” on your name badge added some fun to the proceedings right off the bat. Too funny! Unexpected little things always add up to a rich conference experience, plus they are mostly just plain funny, so it seemed like the thing to share.

Aside from all that, the real highlight for me at WLA/PNLA was being able to present to a live audience about Library Competencies with our very own Betha Gutsche (shown in that session presenting below).

Our Friday session was a great back and forth with lots of practical info for attendees. The description is below, but in addition to what that tells you about the session, each attendee got a copy of the Competency Index and had a chance for some constructive back and forth.
“Competencies: Buzzword or Stepping Stone?
You’ve heard the buzz about competencies, but do you have a clear idea of how to use them for your library? You may be wary of starting down this path without knowing how to define competencies, much less how to implement them. It’s time for straight talk about competencies. How can they help you achieve your staff development goals? Learn more about strategies and resources from libraries that have been there. We can help make your journey far smoother!”

While that session is over now, you can find much of the info we discussed, including past events with Betha and Michael and some of the folks who have actually *used* competencies to help their libraries and staff grow and thrive here: http://www.webjunction.org/competencies.

Additionally, on the topic on competencies we’ll also be having a couple more live events here at WebJunction about competencies before the year is up and you’ll be able to attend those as well, so stay tuned!

(Here’s Betha sharing some of here knowledge of Library Competencies-and cracking some pretty good jokes along the way).

While this is just a tiny taste of the great time had at WLA/PNLA by WJ folks, we hope it was fun to see and also hope that you know we are eager to help you and all our fellow library professionals learn whatever helpful info we can. And hopefully we’ll see you next time we are out and about!
Online Collaboration
The topics you are most interested in are…
July 22nd, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?
This spring we surveyed a random sample of WebJunction members to ask what one topic they would like to see WebJunction focus on in the coming year, based on current needs. This doesn’t mean that we will only concentrate on one topic; but because our member community represents a wide range of libraries, staff roles, and interests, we need to understand where to prioritize our efforts.

In response to this question, 23% said, “More technology, please.” Because “technology” is a very broad topic, we dug further to identify specific subjects that are of highest interest to you. According to your feedback and your activity on WebJunction, the top subjects are:
- social networking & web tools, including policies around their use
- wireless networking
- website design and development
- gadgets, peripherals, emerging technology
- managing public access computers
- basic skills training for patrons
- technology planning
Another 61% of survey responses were on topics around library management or services. Those subjects that received a notable number of mentions are:
- Marketing the library
- Budgeting in tough times
- How to get more money for the library
- Cataloging
- Programming, especially for teens and children
- Customer Service
Finally, another 10% of survey respondents simply stated that they wanted to ensure that staff continue to have opportunities to build their skills and see the value of doing so. (Our mission is to do the same, so let’s work together to sustain it!)

We have already begun to build the content and programming around the above hot topics. This month we are spotlighting the subject of social networking and web tools; we’ll be talking about staff training in September, and services to teens/YA in November. And save the date for our free online conference on Customer Service in December. We have a lot more up our sleeves, so stay tuned to Crossroads, Twitter, Facebook, and our new homepage for news about what’s happening on WebJunction.
Online Collaboration
Six-State Virtual Government Information Conference
July 7th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

A Six-State Virtual Government Information Conference will be held in August. This is not a WebJunction event, but the organizers are using WebJunction.org to provide information about the conference. Here is what the announcement reads (as published in the Government Information in the 21st Century section):

Join your colleagues from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming (the Six States) in our first online conference. This conference will take place August 11-13 and 16-17, 2010. It will be a free conference open to all, but we ask that all attendees register.

We’ll kick off the conference with a keynote presentation by Gabriela Schneider, communications director for the Sunlight Foundation, a national organization that promotes transparency and accountability in government focused on digitization of government data and easy info accessibility for all. We’re also planning exciting sessions on using Census data, tracking use of e-resources, maps and GIS, and more. A preliminary schedule is posted on the conference website.

Schedule conflicts? Don’t worry. You can attend any or all of the sessions or view the archived presentations at a later date.

To participate you need an internet connection, OPAL conference software pre-loaded on your computer, speakers and a microphone (optional). Additional information can be found at the conference website.

This sounds like a great (and free!) opportunity!
Online Collaboration
Library Staff Report Their Use of Online Tools
July 6th, 2010 | Permalink | 12 Comments
In a survey to a random sample of WebJunction members this spring, respondents answered a question on how frequently they used online tools, either in or outside of their professional life. We found the results interesting. Nearly half of the respondents (49%) use email “listservs” daily. One-third of the respondents (35%) use professional or social networking sites daily. A quarter or less of the respondents use the following daily: online news or magazines (21%), blogs (14%), RSS feeds (14%), bookmarking sites (10%), wikis (9%), employment sites (6%) and online courses (3%).The chart below shows the full results.

When we separated the responses by library type, we saw some notable differences. Academic library respondents are more likely to use the following online tools daily than public library respondents:
- Email listservs (73% of Academic vs. 44% of Public)
- Professional or social networking sites (44% vs. 32%)
- Blogs (29% vs. 10%)
- RSS feeds (32% vs. 10%)
- Wikis (17% vs. 7%)
Significant differences were found among locations as well. Urban library respondents (72%) are more likely to use email listservs daily than suburban (57%) and rural (45%) library respondents. Also, urban library respondents (18%) are more likely to use RSS feeds daily than rural library respondents (9%). Suburban library respondents (40%) are more likely to use professional or social networking sites daily than urban (31%) and rural (31%) library respondents. It was also reported that more than one quarter (28%) of respondents use web-based content (on blogs, wikis, social networking sites and more) toward professional development.

Finally, when we compare these results with those to a similar question posed to our members a year ago, we see evidence of some shifts in online tool use. In 2009, 61% of respondents reported using listservs daily, which is 12% higher than this year. Meanwhile, the percent of respondents who report never using social networking sites dropped from 39% to 30%. And online reading seems to have decreased as well, with 11% drops in those who report reading blogs or online news sites daily. The trend away from email toward social networking sites like Facebook and twitter is not exclusive to library staff: this shift has been reported in the media as happening across the globe. So libraries can expect that patrons will be more likely to want to interact with their library via social networking tools and to expect that their library will support their use of these tools on the publicly accessible computers.
Online Collaboration
A new summer look for WebJunction’s homepage
July 2nd, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

If you stop by www.webjunction.org today, you’ll notice a brand new design for our homepage. This makeover was done in response to members’ feedback to us that they can feel overwhelmed by the amount of text and information on the website. Because WebJunction is a constantly expanding universe of content on a broad range of library-related topics, we have a ton of text to try to manage and present–there’s no simple way around that. But, with the help of a good web designer who knows his way around CSS, we can style and position the text in a way that is easier on the eye. You can also check out his work on the refreshed About Us page.

For members who use their state library’s customized version of WebJunction, you will see changes to your homepage roll out throughout the month of July.

We’d love to hear what you think about the new look. Drop a comment here or in the WebJunction Feedback discussion forum.
Online Collaboration, Online Learning, WJ Online Conference, Webinar, groups
Webinar: Expanding Your World Through Web Conferencing
June 22nd, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

WebJunction’s Calendar is filling up with webinars! Join us in the coming months to explore everything from the Federal Workforce System to digitization & preservation, and from trustees to orienting new staff virtually.

Next Thursday’s webinar, Expanding Your World Through Web Conferencing, will showcase success stories of library staff who are using web conferencing tools to host virtual conferences, produce e-learning activities, collaborate with remote staff, and host virtual meetings. As budgets tighten and as technologies improve, more and more staff are gathering together both online and blended with face2face settings to learn from each other and to get work done. Come hear about the benefits of meeting virtually and learn how a variety of web conferencing tools are being integrated with other technologies and in other settings to overcome both cost and distance. Join panelists Karen Burns, Cindi Hickey and Jennifer Peterson on Thursday, July 1 at 1:00 pm Eastern, for a session filled with experience and expertise in online engagement!

And speaking of online conferencing, mark your calendars for WebJunction’s second online conference coming December 1 & 2 focused on Serving the 21st Century Patron. See you online!

Register Now for July 1 Webinar»
All Upcoming Events »
Online Collaboration
Sorry: WebJunction’s Test Emails Mistakenly Got Loose
June 11th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Apologies to those who received multiple group update emails from WebJunction this week. Some development work on automated email notifications that we are doing mistakenly got into the wild. Unfortunately, this happened at the end of the workday on Thursday and thus went unchecked until Support began hearing about it this morning. Our development team went to work right away on the issue and got it under control as quickly as possible. We regret any clogged mailboxes and the inconvenience this may have caused.
Online Collaboration, Online Learning, Open Source, Staff Training
A Trifecta for Learning and Collaboration
June 7th, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment

You have to look at bit behind the scene to appreciate the triple winning lineup of this Thursday’s webinar Building An Online Learning Community In Your State. It is a production of the dynamic Group N of ALA Emerging Leaders in collaboration with the ALA Learning Round Table and WebJunction.

Sponsored by LearnRT, the Emerging Leader Group N is summiting the learning curve of planning and producing a series of webinars of interest to the training community. Since January, they have surveyed the field for topics of interest, identified a few key topics, selected presenters, received production and technical training on webEx, and are ready to roll it out to you—the library learning audience. Show your support for the efforts of Angela, Jennifer, Natalie and Sonnet by attending this Thursday.

Or just come to find out how the combined creative forces of Maurice Coleman and Nini Beegan created a collaborative, online space where Maryland library staff can participate and contribute ideas, information, and content.

It’s not too late to register at:
http://evanced.info/webjunction/evanced/eventsignup.asp?ID=1651
Online Collaboration
Library & City/County Directors – Unite!
June 4th, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting some colleagues at the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). They have a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation US Libraries Program to manage Public Library Innovation Grants. I also learned that they recently launched a new “knowledge network” on their website, very similar to what WebJunction offers to library staff. As part of the Library Innovation program, they’ve set up a Libraries interest page where city/county managers and other leaders to gather around issues relevant to libraries.

Check out their knowledge network and their youtube video series on library innovation

Cool! I look forward to working with this group to find new ways to connect library and city leaders for thoughtful conversations about the value of public libraries in their communities. Thanks ICMA for the work you’re doing in this area.
Online Collaboration, Tech, groups
New WJ Group: Windows 7 Public Access Computer Project
May 11th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

A new group was created today on WebJunction related to Workstation Protection for Public Access Computers. Thanks to David Sullivan for launching a group, the Windows 7 Public Access Computer Project in an effort to address the need for an alternative to Windows SteadyState.

In his introduction post, David shares:

I’ve have been working on a process to secure windows 7 (enterprise or ultimate editions) public access computers using Microsoft virtual hard drives, group policy. I made significant head way with the process but the decision was made to utilize a commercial product for locking down our organizations PAC’s. So, I’m left with a body of work that has great potential but is incomplete. I would like to propose a group project to complete work on the process collaboratively. Then open up the resulting process for the community as a way around the “Windows 7 Steady State” quandary.

I’m thrilled to see WebJunction used like this, as a collaboration tool, and encourage all who have an interest in exploring the topic to help create a solution to the “quandary”, whether it’s to ask more questions or to provide your own insights. Thank you, David, for starting the group and I look forward to supporting your efforts!

Go to group »
Go to related topic »
Online Collaboration, Online Learning, Spanish Outreach, groups
The Story of a WebJunction Course
May 7th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?
WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach Course has returned to the course catalog after an extensive makeover. This self-paced course contains a wealth of information, techniques and tools you can use to jump start your library’s outreach efforts to your local Spanish-speaking community. In celebration of the relaunch, we are offering the course for half price through the end of May. Once registered, you will have access to the course for a full year. And if you are a member of one of our State Library Partner communities, remember to enroll via your community’s catalog as the course may be free or reduced. (And be sure to thank them!)

As part of the team that refreshed and relaunched the course (kudos especially to Dale and Sharon), I spent some time reflecting on the story behind the course. All of the courses in WebJunction’s catalog have a story behind them, but this one especially illustrates the effort and collaboration that goes into the creation of a course.

Course Creation
The course was initially developed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach Program, a nationwide program that partnered with state libraries to provide on-the-ground outreach workshops in 40 states and has cultivated WebJunction’s online community of library staff committed to serving the needs of Spanish speakers. Yolanda Cuesta, author and expert on outreach to multicultural communities, developed a stellar curriculum for the workshops and, along with Laura Staley, SLO’s project manager, adapted the curriculum for the online version. The technical side of course development is not to be overlooked but let’s just say that somewhere in there the magic happened and in March of 2006 the initial course was launched. And since I’m reminiscing, I’d like to be sure to recognize too, the 158 trainers and coordinators who’s fine work enhanced the content throughout all 3 rounds of the program (440 workshops!) as well as the online course. The recent refresh and revamp was completed to update links and handouts and in order to migrate the course to an elearning standard format so the system tracks your progress as you work through the course (doesn’t have to be in one sitting!) and so you can receive a certificate.

Course Outline
The course description provides a complete set of learning goals, but here’s a quick outline of what’s covered in the course:
- Overview of the current landscape of Hispanic/Latino populations, their access to technology and existing library services.
- Understanding cultural differences and the dimensions of diversity.
- Developing an outreach action plan including needs assessment, building community partnerships, planning, programming and marketing.
- Implementing computer classes for Spanish speakers.
- Evaluating the impacts of outreach efforts.
Taking the course with others
But today the most exciting part about the story is that we’ve created a new course group for folks enrolled or interested in the course. The WebJunction groups feature is being used by members to gather, often as co-learners, and as a member of this group, you can augment your self-paced learning by connecting with others taking the course, asking questions of one another, and sharing your experiences with outreach at your library. I’ve posted a handful of resources to the group, including one of the course’s most valued tools, Serving Spanish Speaking Communities Success Checklist, which helps you to assess how well your library understands and serves your Spanish-speaking patrons. There are a few other resources posted related to learning with a cohort, but I hope to see others join in and share their own templates, tools and examples related to their learning. All are welcome to join and take part in the group, including those who have already taken the course or those who would simply like to share ideas about enhancing services with other library staff. I know that there are at least 15 people out there who have enrolled since the course relaunched, so I’ll be looking to you to join the group and model cohort learning. The story of this course continues with you and with what you do to improve or enhance services to Spanish speakers in your community. Thank you to all WebJunction learners for all you do for libraries!

There’s a second WebJunction course discounted this month on Updating and Upgrading Library Computer Software and I’m sure there’s a story behind that one too, but as Joe Janes always says, “that’s another story.”

Go to course »
Go to group »
Online Collaboration
Great gathering at gadget gabfest
April 26th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?
*Whew*, that was a doozy of a webinar last week. Jason Griffey hosted an hour-long discussion with more than 600 attendees about the new and emerging gadgets that are piquing patrons’ and librarians’ interest. Although gadgets span the range of mp3 players, flip video devices, portable PCs, smart phones, and ebook readers, the bulk of the chat was about the newly released iPad as well as the new wave of ebook readers such as the Kindle.

Although Jason and the participants did a great job of answering the questions that came up, which ranged from nuts and bolts queries like “What is android” to complex issues such as “How can a library use proprietary content?,” there is obviously a need for much further exploration of this topic.

Reading through the chat log from the session, I pulled together the following list of subtopics that the library community is looking for information about:

Orientation to Gadgets
1. types of gadgets–single and multipurpose–what do patrons use each for
2. brands/models for each type of gadget
3. Intro to audio/visual file types and related software
Content model
- licensing v. buying
- commercial proprietary, incompatible content
- ability to move from device to device
- ability to share
- ability to transform
Interface
- touch v keyboard/mouse
- peripherals
- page turning display
- accessibility issues
- easy for reluctant readers
- durability
Application support
- Flash
- Windows
- Open Office
- WMA
- OverDrive
- PDF
- Google Chrome/ Google Docs
Purchasing
- Price comparisons
- Getting a hand-on demo
- Free or Discounted hardware
- Grants
- Free or discounted software (e.g. free Kindle apps, feedbooks.com)
Lending
- How do you allow borrowing of books on ipad?
- Time limits
- Damage, theft, loss
- Getting around setup for individual in order to loan out
We’ll be looking for resources to gather onto the WebJunction E-Books and Digital Audio Books section and Mobile Devices section. If *you* are one of those resources, please contact me at streamss@oclc.org!