The Pew Internet and American Life project just released a report about how people access information to solve problems. While I’ve only had the chance to skim it so far, it’s definitely a report that will be of interest to those of us in libraries and related information professions. They asked 2,796 respondents if they’d …
I am so pleased that The Code4Lib Journal’s first issue is out. The projects described are really interesting and what I like most is that they include an explanation of how they did it (with code!). Far too often, you read articles about a library-related project that really don’t give you any idea how it …
For several years, I have used Feed2JS. It’s a great tool that makes it easy to display an RSS feed on any web page and to style the content to match the page. Many libraries are using Feed2JS on their own websites; some host it on their own server (that’s what I do), while others …
There are some libraries that most of us think must be the best places to work ever because of the innovation that goes on there. And in some cases, we may be right. But not always. I think we often assume that places that have good people are good places to work, and that doesn’t …
Starting in January, I’ll be teaching an online class on social software at San Jose State University. I am beyond excited about it! I’m really interested in having guest speakers in the class; people at libraries that are doing a lot with social software and can discuss the applications at their library as well as …
A week from today, I’ll be taking part in a new project Tom Peters (of OPAL fame) has put together called Casual Conversations. From what he’s told me, it sounds like it will be a Charlie Rose-style interview (in a web conference format) where we chat about our work, stuff that we’re seeing in the …
Jason Griffey the other day suggested alternatives to the traditional funding streams ALA has, and it got me thinking about how ALA could make money in the online medium. I sometimes forget that I have this amazing resource at home (my husband) and that the things I learn from him can sometimes be translated into …
I’ve written some posts critical of ALA in the past and have had a number of people encourage me to get involved so that I can try to make a constructive difference (instead of just complaining). So, when I was asked to be on two committees whose missions I felt strongly allied with, I said …
Today [Note: This part was written Monday] will be my first day back at work after the marathon that was Internet Librarian and the LAUC-B conference. I ended up giving 5 talks in one week, which is a record for me (and probably for most people other than Roy Tennant, Stephen Abram and other similarly …
Oh boy, this is going to be quite a week! On Saturday, I’m leaving for Monterey, California and Internet Librarian. IL is one of my favorite conferences, mainly because I get to spend a few days with some really smart and amazing people I respect. Plus, we have A LOT of fun! I’m also giving …
I’ve been wanting to comment on this thought-provoking post by Carleen at Woodsy + Wired (a pretty new blog) for a few weeks now and just haven’t had the time. But almost every day, her post has been on my mind. In Effects of distance learning on public libraries, Carleen writes about her library’s struggles …
In three days, I’ll be on a plane, flying to Copenhagen, Denmark. I lived there for almost a year in college and I haven’t been back in nine years. I’m speaking at a conference on Sociale teknologier i fremtidens bibliotek 2.0 (Social Software and the Future of Library 2.0) on September 27. I absolutely can’t …
I’m starting to feel like I’m witnessing the blogospheric version of the Tower of Babel story. There are a lot of people talking about Library 2.0 and I think there is also a lot of misunderstanding about what anyone is really saying. Bad girl that I am, I actually really enjoyed the Annoyed Librarian’s take …
I have to admit that the Annoyed Librarian is one of my guilty pleasures. I love to laugh and she makes me laugh like crazy, even though she’s probably insulted me on her blog in the past and I was too thick to notice. Reading something that is so diametrically opposed to most of what …
When I find a post or article interesting and think I might want to comment on it, it goes into the “to blog” folder. That folder is getting pretty darn full, and I think it’s time I accept that I’m not going to blog all of these things and maybe should just point to some …
Whenever I go on Twitter, it seems like Michelle is at a meeting or on her way to another meeting. It’s amazing the girl gets anything done with all those meetings! So I can completely understand her intense dislike for in-person meetings. I think everyone has been to meetings where they feel like they just …
Oh Meredith, why can’t you just write a nice, short, concise post? I really don’t know what happens! I start writing and my fingers just seem to take over. This is what happens when my husband goes away and leaves me alone with my thoughts. Sorry folks! Something I frequently think about when I go …
When I was asked to be one of the Top Tech Trend experts, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to attend the actual panel session this year, because I was slotted to be on another panel at the same time. I knew I’d at least post something to the LITA Blog, but I …
I’m kicking myself for having turned down the opportunity to take part in this, but I was (and am) way too swamped to take on anything else. My delightfully subversive friends Michelle Boule, Jason Griffey and Karen Coombs have come up with a brilliant reinvention of the conference session, which makes it possible to benefit …
I’m back from my whirlwind vacation. I returned Monday night, but I’ve been so exhausted since then that I haven’t had the energy to post (and yesterday was my birthday, so I had to devote lots of time to eating pie). It was a physically and mentally exhausting trip. Lots of hiking, lots of driving …