I know everyone has already written about Internet Librarian, but I took two days off for my birthday, which I ended up spending getting mauled by lambs. Yes, you heard me. Vicious dress-eating lambs. Ok, maybe they weren’t vicious, but they did try to eat my dress! I also had the good fortune to bottle feed some baby goats and get licked by a very friendly calf. All in all, a pretty rockin’ birthday.
I am ridiculously excited about Internet Librarian (and not only because it gives me and Adam the chance to go back to the place in the Napa Valley where we got married and drink lots of wine). The sessions look terrific and I know I’ll be making some difficult decisions about what to see and what to skip. If you’re going to IL or thinking about going, check out the Official Internet Librarian page and the Internet Librarian Wiki. I tried to make this wiki a little prettier than the one for Computers in Libraries, but PBWiki doesn’t have a whole ton of formatting options.
I’m actually going to be giving three talks at Internet Librarian including one preconference workshop on Sunday. Here are the details on my talks:
Wikis: Basics, Tools, & Strategies
Sunday, October 22
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Meredith Farkas, Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University
Wikis allow for unprecedented collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and have the potential to fill many needs in the library and information profession. This half-day workshop by an expert wiki creator discusses the basics of wikis — what they are, how they can be used, and how to successfully implement one at your library. It covers wiki concepts and uses many real-world applications to illustrate the power and ease-of-use of wikis. Learn about the many ways wikis can be used in libraries and the information industry. Gather lots of ideas and links to free resources for creating your own wiki as well as tips for making them successful in your environment.
Session D205 — The RSS & JavaScript Cookbook
Tuesday, October 24
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Meredith Farkas, Norwich University
Paul R. Pival, Distance Education Librarian, University of Calgary
Once you have developed services for your patrons using social software tools, your job is only half-finished. Just as important is getting your patrons to actually learn about and use the tools. The key ingredients for getting patrons to look at your blog, instructional screencasts, links to journal tables of contents, and social bookmarked subject guides are RSS and JavaScript, easy-to-use tools that are available in most social software applications. This session explores the uses of RSS and JavaScript in syndicating information from a variety of sources and presenting it on a single page. Using applications that are freely available online, users can create feeds, remix multiple feeds into a single integrated feed, and syndicate and publish any or all of the feeds onto a single page that acts as a onestop-shop for patrons. This page could be on your Web site, on a departmental or faculty Web site, or even within a course management system such as WebCT or Blackboard. By the end of the session, attendees will be able to create their own unique recipe using RSS and JavaScript.
Sessions D301 & D302 — Wikis for Libraries
Wednesday, October 25
10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Meredith Farkas, Norwich University
Nicole Engard, Web Manager, Jenkins Law Library
Mary Carmen Chimato, Head, Access Services, &
Darren Chase, Informatics Librarian, Health Sciences Center Library, Stony Brook University
Marianne Kruppa, St. Joseph County Public Library
Chad Boeninger, Ohio University Libraries
This jampacked information session begins with a look at wiki applications and an overview of software used to build them. It then illustrates the use of wikis in several library applications, including a law library, internal use in an academic library, subject guides in a public library, and communicating with clients.
Wow! That’s a lot of talking! A little scary, but I’m definitely excited about the topics. I’m especially excited about working with Paul Pival, who has been something of a mentor to me for over a year although we’ve never met in person. If you don’t read The Distant Librarian you are missing out on a lot of useful and scholarly information for any librarian who provides services to patrons online.
I can’t wait to see some familiar faces and meet some of my favorite bloggers in Monterey in October!
