Screencasting? Finally something I can get behind!libraries, our digital future, reference

by Meredith Farkas on 2/28/2005 with 3 comments

I think Podcasting is cool, but not for me. I’m a visual learner, so listening to my favorite bloggers takes more mental energy to absorb than reading their blog entries. In graduate school, I hated listening to real audio lectures from my professors unless they were accompanied by lecture notes, powerpoint, or something visual. That’s …

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Sometimes we all need a little reminder…libraries

by Meredith Farkas on 2/23/2005 with Comments Off on Sometimes we all need a little reminder…

Sometimes we all need a little reminder why we got into the library field in the first place. When you hear about the lack of a librarian shortage, the low wages, the closing libraries, the bureaucracy that keeps change from happening, etc., it can all seem pretty discouraging. From the listservs I subscribe to, I’ve …

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Questioning library terminologylibraries

by Meredith Farkas on 2/18/2005 with Comments Off on Questioning library terminology

I just found this very interesting website via TangognaT. John Kupersmith, a reference librarian at UC Berkeley has collected usability survey data from various libraries as well as the library terminology used on library websites to create Library Terms That Users Understand. In it, he suggests best practices for library website usability testing and the …

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Giving the patron what s/he wantslibraries, reference, search

by Meredith Farkas on 1/31/2005 with Comments Off on Giving the patron what s/he wants

Steph at TechnoBiblio wrote about an interesting observation at a recent panel discussion she attended: The final panelist came forth with a statement that seemed to take the audience by surprise, but it really shouldn’t have… “Users don’t care.” They don’t care that the subject specific databases will bring back more relevant hits. They don’t …

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The place of the ALA in Salinaslibraries

by Meredith Farkas on 1/28/2005 with 1 comment

Michael McGrorty is an ALA Councilor and a man of conscience. He is one of the few people who has made more than a mention about the Salinas libraries and he pushed the ALA to approve a resolution about the libraries’ closing. He’s also a damn good writer. Please read some of his writings about …

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A day in the life…job search, libraries

by Meredith Farkas on 1/28/2005 with Comments Off on A day in the life…

Curious about what a library web manager does in an average day? Dave King offers us a glimpse into his work at the Kansas City Public Library: Checked email, bloglines, news sites (I really need to aggregate some news feeds). I did this constantly throughout the day. Met with supervisor about different projects – once …

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Philadelphia’s library problemsALA, libraries

by Meredith Farkas on 1/27/2005 with Comments Off on Philadelphia’s library problems

People have been up in arms about the news that the Philadelphia Free Library system is running 20 of its 49 libraries without professional librarians. I think it’s awful too, but on several levels. Yes, it’s awful that the library system thinks these libraries can be run without a single MLS staffing them. I agree …

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Libraries in the frozen northjob search, libraries

by Meredith Farkas on 1/27/2005 with Comments Off on Libraries in the frozen north

I’m back from Chicago with two more interviews under my belt. It’s lovely to see that Illinois really seems to value their libraries — or at the very least, the communities value their libraries. Coming from Florida, a state where the Governor wanted to dismantle the state library and sell it off to a university, …

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Testing information literacylibraries, our digital future

by Meredith Farkas on 1/17/2005 with Comments Off on Testing information literacy

According to the New York Times, ETS has developed a test to measure a college student’s level of information literacy in order to determine how well schools are preparing students for a world where IT literacy is increasingly necessary. The test is designed to show how well a student is able to use critical thinking …

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Encouraging discussions at ALAlibraries

by Meredith Farkas on 1/15/2005 with Comments Off on Encouraging discussions at ALA

While I’m kind of bummed about not making it to ALA Midwinter, I’ve gotten to hear all about it from the PLA Blog, Library Techtonics, and It’s All Good. A lot of what I’ve been reading has been very encouraging in terms of librarians and libraries embracing change and new ideas. Alice from OCLC wrote …

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User-centered technology implementationlibraries, our digital future

by Meredith Farkas on 1/13/2005 with Comments Off on User-centered technology implementation

David King wrote two responses to Michael Stephen’s 2005 library tech predictions. The first one highlights the importance of user-centered technology planning and implementation. This is something that cannot be stressed enough. There are libraries that are completely adverse to change and to technology, and there are libraries that are so tech-forward that they pass …

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Michael Stephens’ crystal balllibraries, our digital future

by Meredith Farkas on 1/13/2005 with Comments Off on Michael Stephens’ crystal ball

I find myself often linking to Michael’s posts on Tame the Web. So much so that I would urge all of my readers to subscribe to his blog (most of whom already have, I’d bet). Instead of looking back at 2004, like so many others have, Michael listed Twelve Techie Things for Librarians 2005, which …

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