tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.comments2013-12-23T13:19:17.479-08:0021st Century LibrariesSuzannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07068079582592180728noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-34862369967616749692013-12-23T13:19:17.479-08:002013-12-23T13:19:17.479-08:00Is there any way to utilize the group? have the ch...Is there any way to utilize the group? have the chat box pop up for the patron, and have the query show up for several staff in different libraries? Then whomever grabs it first? <br />The real trick is "24-7-365" service.Stefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709920936306159826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-7322334292936495882013-12-23T08:38:17.060-08:002013-12-23T08:38:17.060-08:00Wonderful idea! I have used the chat boxes severa...Wonderful idea! I have used the chat boxes several times when moving through unfamiliar websites. They are very handy and would save my rural patrons lots of drive time.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09119128294350169208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-9111402395835865572013-12-22T12:20:36.345-08:002013-12-22T12:20:36.345-08:00Thank you for yet another insightful article. I th...Thank you for yet another insightful article. I think there are some opportunities to provide more immediate online services via social media such as Facebook or Twitter.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14935238287359049998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-25072688836082125112013-12-22T07:55:06.528-08:002013-12-22T07:55:06.528-08:00It's true, libraries have traditionally used t...It's true, libraries have traditionally used the "come find us if you need help" model. Online retailers needed another method, and the chat feature seems popular. I think this might help libraries too - as people get more familiar with that type of interaction they won't be surprised if it appears on a library website. One problem is availability: having a dedicated staff person tied to a desk waiting for questions won't work. But if we could include this as part of a complete mobile arrangement (receive chat questions on a device, for example) we might see more patron interest in the service. People who use this type of interaction will be expecting a quick reply (but we don't want to detract from the in-person conversations either - staff texting at a service desk wouldn't appear to be the best customer service model!) I like how Lincoln City Libraries website (Nebraska - http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/) has a tab along the side and options for receiving a response. It might be time to try some new options.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08876795463864718399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-51258328683817177092012-12-20T13:40:18.059-08:002012-12-20T13:40:18.059-08:00Ooh, yes, I'd love to see some resources. I&#...Ooh, yes, I'd love to see some resources. I'm a rookie librarian in a rural community (Libby), so it's hard to stay up on the technology. Jessiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12742427129822674599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-58789416208857135542012-12-20T08:34:59.592-08:002012-12-20T08:34:59.592-08:00Thanks for sharing the tip about Google's deve...Thanks for sharing the tip about Google's development for indoor maps.<br /><br />In a future post would you consider sharing a list of your favorite library tech resources? What blogs and rss feeds do you follow?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08077592931713563280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-67866455063989765762012-12-20T07:45:08.010-08:002012-12-20T07:45:08.010-08:00I love these ideas! I'd also like to see auto...I love these ideas! I'd also like to see automated reminders before my books are due.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-26722312572886972822012-12-19T18:30:35.240-08:002012-12-19T18:30:35.240-08:00I vote yes for apps that would ping public librari...I vote yes for apps that would ping public libraries and remind of events about to occur. I would jump up and down for NFC check out!!!!<br />And I am READY to do indoor map apps. More use-ability would be helpful, not everyone has a smart phone...lee8phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05038208165875347773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-65046659721069443202012-12-19T16:47:41.068-08:002012-12-19T16:47:41.068-08:00This is Becky from Sidney. For what it's wort...This is Becky from Sidney. For what it's worth, I just tried to take a picture of my library card with my Droid 3 and scan it with our (very old school Follet) barcode scanner. Didn't work. BUT, when I scanned the card with our copier/scanner (much clearer, higher contrast picture) and scanned the PDF as displayed on my phone, it worked like a charm.<br /><br />It's not like our cards are secretly encoded with your PIN or DNA, I'd totally accept a virtual card on your smartphone. I'd love to see the PDF linked in to an app tied to a service like GoodReads that you could then easily rate and record your check-outs, create a bookshelf, and get updates from the libraries group.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17467334806554356149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-48045344864392418492012-05-09T12:20:16.569-07:002012-05-09T12:20:16.569-07:00Hello Suzanne,
Thanks for your thoughtful post. We...Hello Suzanne,<br />Thanks for your thoughtful post. We do indeed use a tool to feed between FB<>Twitter, and your comments brought about a consideration that when we host events and use a hashtag, we will will try to remove that connection so as not to overwhelm on FB, or alternately, just post the hashtag and hope that the rest of the community does the posting!<br /><br />The #libs4jobs hashtag was used during the <a href="http://www.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/wj/Project_Compass_National_Convening.html" rel="nofollow"> Project Compass National Convening</a> and there were indeed many posts from WJ and from attendees. We did use a tool (tweetdoc.org) to capture all the tweets and there's an attachment on the convening page linked above with all those gathered. We'll try to use this tool for future events and to maybe just post mention of the event and hashtag on FB so people know there's more on Twitter if they're interested.<br /><br />I do think there are many people not on Twitter, and as the numbers indicate, others not on Facebook. As one who manages social media channels, I appreciate the ability to link the 2, and wonder how others deal with the potential of perceived spam?<br /><br />We do appreciate the likes and comments that come through on Facebook and hope we can avoid turning the community off. We aim to be stewards of the information shared and sincerest apologies if it seems otherwise! <br /><br />I look forward to seeing other comments and suggestions here.<br /><br />Thanks so much again for your thoughtful post,<br />Jennifer Peterson<br />WebJunction Community ManagerUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11322724717188824653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-68004862976339029242012-01-11T15:05:51.073-08:002012-01-11T15:05:51.073-08:00Lankes, huh? Maybe he'd come speak at MLA nex...Lankes, huh? Maybe he'd come speak at MLA next year. I have "future keynote speaker" on my brain today!Anne Kishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10215243307616458483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-40160871006178540132012-01-09T09:36:04.878-08:002012-01-09T09:36:04.878-08:00I've been thinking about the Montana Memory Pr...I've been thinking about the Montana Memory Project and how that might fit in with Lankes' concept of the new librarian. I think the challenge will be moving it from a digital archiving project to one that's actively promoting conversations within the community. It's all part of moving from an emphasis on artifacts and their storage to the information that's contained within them. How do we get that information out to the local and larger communities.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07068079582592180728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-7255723205152113422012-01-05T16:02:30.342-08:002012-01-05T16:02:30.342-08:00Time to reply to some of the initial comments. You...Time to reply to some of the initial comments. You're certainly giving me a lot to think about. <br /><br />Lee, I'd thought that the UI was the problem as well. As I get deeper into Lankes' book, I see him asserting that our catalogs are inventories of artifacts. Useful for the librarian but far less so for the library user. I'm going to have to think about that a bit more. I expect there will be another blog post on that topic at some point in the future.<br />The siloing of resources also concerns me. I've been wondering about librarians as information providers in the age of Siri. When someone can just pick up a smart phone and ask a question and get a reasonable answer (something that doesn't really happen with Siri or Google voice commands, yet...), what will be the role of the reference librarian? And wouldn't it be nice if our resources were at least pointed to by the new search intermediaries?<br /><br />Pam, I think you've hit upon the new reference model. Reference desks make less sense as we're less tied to physical reference books. Why not use mobile devices to provide assistance? Parmly already takes the bookmobile out to assisted living centers. And Missoula's WOW is presenting a new model of mobile computing center. I think the direction is right. I just wonder how we're going to involve all these people in the overall conversations.<br /><br />Cherie, the buzz word of lifelong learning seems particularly appropriate. Our staff members need to be open to continually learning about new ways to provide services. And we need to both teach and learn from community members.<br /><br />Jennie, one of the most useful benefits I see from our working on providing an MSL mobile website was the focus on what mobile users might really want from MSL. I found that an invaluable exercise as it put us in role of users looking at our services. User input and testing is often not a high priority for library websites, unfortunately.<br />The notion of what does "local" mean in a connected world is something to continue to contemplate as well. I expect that projects like MMP might prove to be a tight wire act for some libraries as far as their local funders are concerned. Yes, there's local pride involved with having their local resources digitized, preserved and made available to the world. And they will probably also be proud if there's a noticeable increase in interest in their community as a result of these Internet accessible resources. But too much interest could draw backfire, especially if they feel as if their local needs are no longer being met.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07068079582592180728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-62991723202277667062012-01-04T07:37:48.429-08:002012-01-04T07:37:48.429-08:00An excellent and well-articulated connection to Mr...An excellent and well-articulated connection to Mr. Schmidt's comments, Suzanne. The State Library is taking baby-steps in these directions as we develop our mobile site (http://m.msl.mt.gov) and as we require vendors to provide mobile and social options in the products we procure like an ILS and DBs. But, as you say, these apps require a great deal of refining before they will truly be user friendly.<br /><br />Local is another interesting issue. In a recent study of Internet use in Maine "local" took on a context very different from the geographic context. In other words, users were making "local-like" connections with people all over the world around topics of interest. This has very interesting implications for libraries, both in terms of how we position ourselves within their geographicly local communities but also how we position ourselves on the web. How, for instance, might MT libraries that participate in the Montana Memory Project position themselves both for our local communities and on the web for the worldwide community of Montana historians and genealogists?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-36934969367970827522012-01-03T12:25:29.933-08:002012-01-03T12:25:29.933-08:00As always, you've hit a number of nails on the...As always, you've hit a number of nails on the head and started the kind of conversation that really needs to happen as we embark on a new year. One thing that smaller libraries like ours (1-5 staff members rather than departments) need to look at heavily is more staff training. We cannot shove everything the direction of the "IT savvy" person as we did in the days when very few patron needs were computer and device related. As we look at our patron and community and outreach needs, we have to focus not only on what they need but on having everyone on staff comfortable with meeting those needs as the library acquires the means and know-how. It isn't enough to mention new things at a staff meeting -- there needs to be actual in-house training or time allotted for staff members to get training through the State Library or wherever it is available.Rosebud County Libraryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05957712068617981715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-31558143163044537412012-01-03T10:54:30.119-08:002012-01-03T10:54:30.119-08:00My dream library of the future: no Reference Desk,...My dream library of the future: no Reference Desk, just librarians armed with tablets (or whatever the future device might be) wandering the stacks, helping patrons find the resources they need, and offering chat-based reference services to those who aren't in the building. Or, setting up library kiosks around town (if Verizon and others can, why not libraries?). Yes, if I want a specific book I might still need to go to the physical library, but that's such a small part of what people are looking for these day (and not always necessary, with e-readers). Travelling to assisted living facilities instead of making them come to us - how's that for mobile, local and social? <br />Thanks for starting an interesting discussion!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08876795463864718399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2368728628072587773.post-91468219187566769912012-01-03T09:50:56.982-08:002012-01-03T09:50:56.982-08:00Happy New Year, Suzanne,
Great post and thoughtful...Happy New Year, Suzanne,<br />Great post and thoughtful. I agree our access points and user interface(UI) is rapidly changing. Besides the mobile aspect which I have been yammering about for the past year or so, we need to consider that hardware is changing faster than software! This in an interesting development because in the past we were always waiting for the next iteration of a software app. Now we abandon software apps as fast as we can, reaching for the latest 4G whatever that is going to connect and project our information needs faster. <br />Can we integrate the mobile UI to allow for access to ILS and DBs via libraries? We have become a gatekeeper - creating obstacles to information that we know is vetted and free. But the user, as you pointed out, has to "learn" how to use the UI. Something to think about as we consider EZProzy and the RFP for a new ILS for the MSC.<br />On thing for sure- siloing information is a sure way to becoming obsolete.<br />Cheers,<br />Leelee8phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05038208165875347773noreply@blogger.com