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Online Collaboration

Online Collaboration
Your thoughts on the future of libraries
March 8th, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment

In these tough economic times, strategic thinking is a wise investment in the future. Whether you work in, partner with, study, volunteer, visit or are just plain interested in museums and libraries and passionate about how they can continue to thrive in their service to the public—you have an opinion to be shared!

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invites you to help invent the future of museums and libraries through your participation in UpNext: The Future of Museums and Libraries Wiki. IMLS’s first-ever wiki is a platform where individuals inside and outside of museums, libraries, and related fields can discuss, dissect, expand, and inform the issues outlined in the Future of Museums and Libraries: A Discussion Guide. IMLS will use the knowledge shared in the wiki to help shape the agency’s strategic plan, research directions, publications, convenings, and grant making. The wiki officially launched March 3 and is an opportunity to share resources, examples of what works, and vexing questions. It’s sure to be a thought-provoking five weeks for all participants and provide food for thought for your career, your institution and the choices you face.

Nine discussion themes and one theme on next steps will each be featured on the wiki for a two-week period, introduced by expert discussion leaders. The themes and discussion leaders include:

Happening NOW! – March 3-16

1. Changing Definitions & Roles of Museums and Libraries

Martín Gómez, City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library

2. Shifts in Power & Authority

Beth Takekawa, Executive Director, Wing Luke Asian Museum

Cassie Chin, Deputy Executive Director, Wing Luke Asian Museum

March 17-30

3. Museums & Libraries as the “Third Place”

Susan Hildreth, City Librarian, Seattle Public Library

4. Technology & Policy Development

John Wilkin, Associate University Librarian for Library Information Technology (LIT), University of Michigan, Executive Director of HathiTrust

March 31-April 13

5. 21st Century Learning & Information Use

Tom Scheinfeldt, Managing Director for Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, OMEKA Project Director

6. New Models & Structures for Collaboration

Mark Wright, Director of Partnerships, National Children’s Museum

April 14-27

7. Planning for a Sustainable Future

Emlyn Koster, President & CEO, Liberty Science Center

8. Metrics for Evaluating Service & Impact

John Fraser, Director, Institute for Learning Innovation-New York

April 28-May 12

9. The 21st Century Museum & Library Workforce

Joanne Marshall, Alumni Distinguished Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

10. UpNext: Where Do We Go From Here?

Larry Johnson, CEO, The New Media Consortium

May 19

Last official “Wiki Wednesday” IMLS will post wiki final summary.

Each theme will have a unique wiki page describing the theme and posing questions for discussion. Wiki users will be able to respond and comment on the questions, as well as pose new questions and thoughts particular to that theme. Wiki users will also be able to build a collaborative bibliography on the wiki and share existing projects at their own institutions or others, which are relevant to the discussion themes. A unique page will also exist for educators and students to share how the wiki, the Discussion Guide, and other resources on the future of museums and libraries are or can be used in professional education. If you have any questions or comments regarding the wiki or the Discussion Guide, please feel free to contact Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov or Erica Pastore, epastore@imls.gov.

I especially encourage small and rural library staff to get involved in this program. How are your libraries changing? Are there special considerations for our plans for the future? WebJunction staff will be watching and participating because it’s an exciting new turn in asynchronous online programming for the library field. We’re interested to see if this is a format that we might consider bringing into the online programs that we create at WebJunction.
Online Collaboration, Online Learning, WJ Online Conference
Participants: Key to success of online conference
February 19th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Thank you to all who attended last week’s Technology Essentials 2010, WebJunction’s first ever online conference. All session archives of the 10 presentations are now posted and include the contributions of ideas, links and resources posted to chat throughout the conference by the over 700 participants! If you haven’t attended one of WebJunction’s online events, you’ve yet to experience the active real-time brainstorming and community building that goes on in the chat feature. Participants are invited to post questions, comments, suggestions and links to help generate learning for all in attendance and for all who review the archives. These contributions demonstrate the sustained influence that online events can have on our library learning. For those who were unable to attend or for those who could only attend one or two sessions, these resources will remain accessible indefinitely!

Two participant generated documents from the conference deserve special recognition:

The Participant Marketing Ideas compiled from the presentation by Cindi Hickey and Janie Rutherford, M&M: Maximum Marketing/Minimum Investment is filled with suggestions and examples on everything from calendar tools to ways of marketing your databases and from partnerships in marketing to leveraging social media tools in marketing efforts. Kudos to Cindi and Janie for putting participant engagement at the core of their presentation!

And longtime WebJunction member, SLO trainer, and Utah State Library’s Library Consultant/State Data Coordinator, Juan Tomás Lee has graciously shared his document collecting Participant Notes, a thorough and thoughtful compilation from all 10 sessions!

We have heard from many of you that you attended the conference along with a group of colleagues and are excited to hear that you are sharing your learning with others via staff meetings and wikis. Please let us know how that experience worked for you or how you are applying new skills, tips or tricks on the job.

And thank you again for your participation. We are thrilled to see that the online conference model sustains WebJunction’s commitment to collaboration and learning and it doesn’t happen without you!

View complete conference archives »
Online Collaboration
Florida libraries provide tips and training on e-government resources
February 16th, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment
Recently, Jennifer and I had the pleasure of speaking with several Florida librarians about their state’s initiative to provide resources, tips, and techniques for finding and using federal and state government resources. Here are a few highlights:

Karen Brown, library program specialist at the State Library and Archives of Florida, manages a program to harness the activities and documentation of libraries around the state, including coordinating a working group that meets once per month. The state library has given a number of training workshops to staff around the state on e-government. We look forward to learning more about the resources that this group produces.

Nancy Fredericks, e-government services manager at Pasco County Library System (PCLS), used LSTA grant funds to create extensive e-government resource section on the PCLS website:
- E-government Tools Page : includes e-government videos, tutorials, statistics, and more). Click on each section and more information displays below.
- E-Government blogs: General E-gov information ; Healthcare blog ; Job Seekers blog . In the works are blogs on topics such as business, legal, and grants information.
- PCLS E-gov web page
Florida also maintains an e-government email discussion list. This list is open to anyone.

Nancy also serves on an ALA e-gov committee, which exposes her to the needs and ideas of librarians around the nation. She tells us there will be some helpful resources–including a toolkit–coming out of this group’s work later this year.

We also heard from Sol Hirsch, director of Alachua County Library District, and Otto Pleil, a staff member at the library, who described the innovative partnership between their library and the local community. As part of the program “Partnership for Strong Families,” thirty social agencies rotate into the open space in the building that also houses the library, and the library sets up related material in a highly visible location. This means that patrons don’t even need to leave the building to find the additional information they may need for their social service needs, such as job search, literacy, parenting, healthcare, and so on.

Otto described his witnessing of the challenge that staff face in shifting from book- to computer-centered service and the growing need to provide social service information and assistance. He has presented with Nancy on tips and techniques for how libraries can be prepared for this type of service. We have posted one of these presentations (as PowerPoint slides) on WebJunction in the Introduction to E-Government section, along with Nancy’s cheatsheet of both state and federal e-gov resources.

What e-government initiatives are happening in your state? Post a comment here or on WebJunction to let us know.
Online Collaboration
How to Connect
February 3rd, 2010 | Permalink | 1 Comment

The ALA Washington Office is hosting a webinar on broadband stimulus programs on February 5. Space is limited, so please reserve your seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/531394042

John Windhausen, consultant to ALA’s Washington Office and president of Telepoly, and Christopher Mclean, Principal of e-Copernicus and former Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), will provide more in depth information about Round II of BTOP and BIP — the federal broadband stimulus programs at the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. Included will be a brief discussion of key suggestions for making your application successful made at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Denver workshop.

Title: BTOP & BIP: How to Connect
Date: Friday, February 5, 2010
Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 AM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista<

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Online Collaboration
WebJunction members get 20% tuition discount at Drexel Online
February 2nd, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Here’s a timely message from our friends at Drexel University Online. Note the March 1 deadline!

Suni Minorics’ has shared her story about how she was able to pursue her interest in library and information science at Drexel’s iSchool. Now you can do the same. Visit www.drexel.com/wj to apply online at no cost. Complete your application by March 1 to begin class this spring. Be sure to enter “WEBJUNCTION” as your partner code on your application to receive a 20% tuition reduction!

For additional information or assistance with your application, please contact Valerie Malinowski, Webjunction-Drexel Online partnership liaison, at (215) 895-0915 or vm97@drexel.edu.
Online Collaboration, groups
Build reading energy with StoryTubes
December 21st, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

With kids out of school and at the library these next few weeks, there’s no better time to be gearing up for StoryTubes. Entries for the third annual contest will be accepted for the public library sponsored “two-minute or shorter” my favorite book online contest on January 20. The contest is open to all, with prize awards available to young people, K-12.

WebJunction’s StoryTubes group has been following the project over the years but we were so pleased to see StoryTubes win the well-deserved PLA Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award in 2009. Alan Harkness, chair of the PLA award jury said that the StoryTubes project was chosen for the prize because it “captured the essence of using technology in an innovative way to tie back into a core business function of public libraries: sharing the joy of reading.”

“The StoryTubes project gave local kids a means to use technology they were interested in to talk about stories. The way that this project brought the community together to vote on the videos the children made was quite original and easily replicated in libraries everywhere.”

Project participants have more than doubled across the nation each year as more young people and educators are discovering the creative magic of matching kids’ love of reading with their interest in technology.

Visit the StoryTubes site to hear how the project has impacted reading efforts in schools and libraries around the country and then download materials to promote in your own community. And be sure to join the WebJunction group if you’re a StoryTubes librarian!
Online Collaboration
Time to apply for The Big Read
November 17th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Announcement from IMLS:

Time to Apply for The Big Read

Application Deadline: February 2, 2010

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, announces the 2010 deadline for The Big Read, a program to revitalize the role of literature in American culture. Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 with the grant size determined by community population, number of activities planned, and artistic excellence and merit. Selected communities will participate in The Big Read from September 2010 – June 2011.

Communities across the country have strengthened their Big Read projects by enlisting the support of art, science, history, and children’s museums, as well as aquaria, arboreta, botanical gardens, nature centers, and zoos. Since 2006, more than 800 awards have been made to communities across the country. Learn more about Big Read events and access free online versions of Reader’s, Teacher’s, and Audio Guides at www.NEABigRead.org. Applicants must choose one of 31 available Big Read selections, including this year’s new title In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.

Big Read grants require the participation of a library as a lead applicant or a partner. Grant funds, which must be matched with nonfederal funds, may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental.

Organizations selected to participate in The Big Read will receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, educational and promotional materials to support community involvement, an organizer’s guide for developing and managing Big Read activities, inclusion of the organization and its activities on The Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a national program.

The application can be downloaded at http://neabigread.org/guidelines.php. The proposal deadline is February 2, 2010. Questions should be directed to Arts Midwest at 612-238-8010 or TheBigRead@artsmidwest.org.
MaintainIT, Online Collaboration, Tech, Webinar
Top networking questions update
November 12th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment
We’re still looking to collect your most burning computer networking questions. Based on the poll results so far, security risks and prevention, policies is in the lead as top area of focus for those managing their library’s computer network, but the other areas are not far behind. I’d like to invite folks to start sharing more specific networking questions here on the blog in comments, in a discussion on WebJunction or as a tweet with this hashtag #wjcompnet.

Our panel of expert presenters will be using your questions to guide the December 2nd Library Computer Networking Q&A.

In the mean time, take a look at the great resources on Networking and Security in the latest MaintainIT Cookbook:
Think of this as your opportunity to “call in” and get your toughest questions answered from Libraryland’s equivalent of the “Car Talk” guys!
Online Collaboration, Online Learning, Staff Training, Sustainability
Don’t cut out Learning in hard times: 16 minutes with George and Joan
November 9th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Thanks to Lori Reed for pointing out this excellent podcast from Joan Frye Williams and George Needham from their Thinking Out Loud series. I just listened to it for the second time and took some notes:
- What is the social contract…our obligation to keep our skills current.
- Training budgets are seen as an easy mark in cuts to save money (they keep staff, but cut training)
- What does it cost to keep skills current?
- Investment necessary if we’re going to keep up-to-date.
- How can you stay vital and active in your community? If the resources you work with are getting trimmed back, you may need more in your bag of tricks.
- Who’s responsibility is “learning”? The individual’s? The organization’s?
- Your organization may help you keep your skills up to date, but you need to take the responsibility to act upon the knowledge you’ve acquired and apply them to the goals of the organization.
- How can we move toward a state where learning is something we all agreed to do? …to see learning as an opportunity to help each other be more successful, instead of staying in our own little silos.
- Ask yourself: What can I learn or contribute to help others learn to do their job?
- And be willing to go to others with your suggestions AND for them to not take it as a criticism of their work or inability to do the work. Acronym to remember: Q-TIP (quit taking it personally)
- Learn how to transpose what you’re learning in other spaces to your work in the library (eg. customer service you receive when shopping)
- One of the ways to tell if you’re doing a library job right is if you’re learning something.
- Learning has intrinsic awards.
- Learning is not penance.
- Management: your support for learning helps your staff feel engaged.
Bravo, George and Joan!
Online Collaboration, Tech, Webinar
ILS webinar moderated by Marshall Breeding
November 5th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

With all the recent news and discussion about Integrated Library Systems (including Marshall Breeding’s call for participation in this year’s Perceptions 2009 International Library Automation Survey), I thought it apropos to mention the upcoming webinar WebJunction is hosting in collaboration with ALA TechSource.

On December 10th at 1:00 Eastern join us for a discussion of Integrated Library Systems (ILS) and the trend toward customizability through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with library systems expert Marshall Breeding and representatives from leading vendors in the field. We’ll discuss new features and capabilities available in the most modern library software, and what it really means for these tools to be “customizable.” This event will coincide with the publication of Marshall Breeding’s December 2009 issue of Library Technology Reports.

Register now for the webinar »
Library 2.0, Library Services, Online Collaboration, Webinar
The place for Text Message Reference?
October 19th, 2009 | Permalink | 4 Comments
The recent WebJunction Digital Reference Summit (full archive and related resources) included a presentation by Alison Miller about the rise of text message reference services. At the beginning of the session we polled participants and discovered that just 17% of the nearly 200 in attendance were providing text reference services, but that’s sure to change.

Alison provided a wealth of data to illustrate the current trends in mobile reference services and referenced the nearly 100 libraries offering SMS (text) reference service listed on the Library Success Wiki. There were a handful of questions raised during the webinar about whether or not the 160-character limit allows for an adequate reference exhange or if it only serves to provide quick answers to quick queries.

There are multiple responses to these questions in the recent Library Journal article by Ellyssa Kroski which asks, Text Message Reference: Is It Effective? In the article, Ellyssa references interviews with a half a dozen or so academic reference librarians and presents their answer as a resounding YES! She summarized:
- The 160-character limit does not seem to be an impediment; librarians simply send multiple messages or ask patrons to call or come into the library for further help with more complex questions.
- Libraries are receiving a wide variety of questions via text messaging such as troubleshooting, directional, circulation, and reference queries, with some libraries receiving between 50-90 questions per month via patrons’ mobile devices.
- And it doesn’t seem to matter that the reference interview may take multiple text exchanges, according to these librarians—the content and quality of the answers is more important than the medium of delivery.
Whether or not your library is providing text message reference, I think the verdict is clear. The libraries who remain technologically nimble in our changing times are where their users are.
Member Spotlight, News, Online Collaboration
WebJunction Member in the News
October 13th, 2009 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Longtime member Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran is known throughout the WebJunction community for her commitment to creating libraries that best serve patron information needs. I was pleased to see this KAAL news story showcasing her newest project, the University of Minnesota Rochester Library and Information Commons. Be sure to watch the video (right panel of the news story) to catch a glimpse of Mary Beth and to hear her articulate how libraries are changing in this virtual age. Way to go, Mary Beth!

Are you or your WebJunction friends making the news? Please, do tell!
Online Collaboration
Register for the October Drexel Online Partner Webinar
October 5th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Here’s a timely message from Valerie Malinowski, our partnership liaison from Drexel Online:

Register for the Drexel Online Partner Webinar October 15th and discover your partnership benefits and new program offerings.

As a member of Webjunction, you are encouraged to advance your education and take advantage of the exciting benefits available to you through the Drexel University Online-Webjunction partnership. Ranked once again among the top 100 colleges in the nation by U.S.News & World Report, Drexel offers over 90 top ranking programs in a convenient online format that works for busy professionals.

Drexel Online invites you to join us at one of two online informational webinars on October 15th. These sessions will focus specifically on your partnership program tuition benefits as a Webjunction member, the application process, navigating through the online environment, and exciting new programs from Drexel Online.

Session 1
Thursday, October 15, 2009
12 pm to 1 pm EST
Click Here to Register

Session 2
Thursday, October 15, 2009
3 pm to 4 pm EST
Click Here to Register

As your partnership liaison, I want to remind you that winter application deadlines begin this November. Attending the upcoming online webinar is an excellent way to obtain all of the information you need and have your questions answered all at once. For more information, please visit www.drexel.com/wj or contact me directly if you would like personal assistance. I look forward to helping you get started as a student this winter at Drexel Online!

Best regards,

Valerie Malinowski
Webjunction-Drexel Online Partnership Liaison
215-895-0915
vm97@drexel.edu
ARSL, Conferences, News, Online Collaboration, Rural and Small Libraries, chrystie
ARSL’s New Website
September 11th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment

In September of 2007, the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) was a new organization. Having just separated from Clarion University because of the impending retirement of Professor Bernard Vavrek, and the university’s subsequent decision to discontinue the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship, ARSL’s 12-member board was meeting that fall for the first time. According to Patty Hector, 2008-2009 ARSL board president, “We were fairly overwhelmed by the massive amount of activity that needed to be addressed and decisions that needed to be made in a very short period of time.”

About this same time, WebJunction approached ARSL with the offer to use follow-on funding from the Gates Foundation’s Rural Sustainability Project. The idea was to support ARSL’s website on WebJunction.org, and make WebJunction tools available to the ARSL board at no charge. The board accepted the offer of support as they helped the association get off the ground. Since then, ARSL has been using the webjunction.org/arsl page as their primary home page, along with ARSL BCR pages that allow memberships and conference registrations to happen as a link to that page.

I’ve worked closely with the team who managed our Rural Library Sustainability project since its inception, and served on ARSL’s board as an ex-officio member since February. In my time with ARSL’s board I’ve had a unique opportunity to observe an exciting time in the history of their organization’s development. Every member of the ARSL board has made great strides in developing an organization that’s truly poised and responsive to the rural and small library members they serve. It has been a great pleasure to get to know the ARSL board members and to be a small part of this work.

Two years later, ARSL is no longer a new organization. They have many things well-established now and are looking to step out into new directions. One of their areas of focus over the coming year is to look for ways to define their unique identity, and to be more responsive to their members. One way they plan to do this is to launch an all new, independent website. The vision for this site is that it be a dynamic space that captures ARSL’s personality and mission in a way that is appealing and relevant their members. Elements of this website, including the new ARSL logo, were unveiled at their annual conference this weekend.

Please visit their new website at http://www.arsl.info.

We are very excited about this development for ARSL and look forward to seeing the new site evolve. We also look forward to finding new ways to partner with ARSL in the coming year, as we each strive towards a common mission of working together to meet the needs in small and rural libraries. Co-sponsoring webinar programs is one idea, but there are so many other possibilities.

WebJunction will continue our focus on public access computing support for rural and small libraries. We’ll publish our Rural Update with news and announcements of special interest to those working in small and rural libraries. We’ll also keep you posted when we have rural-focused programs, webinars, or new content posted to the site. WebJunction will remain a great resource for people to find and connect with one another to support whatever you’re working on in your library. If you have ideas for topics, programs, or other things you might need, as always, please let us know.
Online Collaboration
Survey extended!
August 27th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

The Public Access Technology Survey has been extended, so please take a few minutes of your day to complete it. This results will help MaintainIT, WebJunction, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation understand the technical support needed to sustain public computing and Internet access in public libraries. Click the following link to begin: http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/267775/2e33/.

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Online Collaboration

Online Collaboration, Online Learning, WJ Online Conference

Online Collaboration, groups

MaintainIT, Online Collaboration, Tech, Webinar

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ARSL, Conferences, News, Online Collaboration, Rural and Small Libraries, chrystie