My day didn’t really get started until mid-afternoon, but boy was the latter half of the day fabulous! You know when you’re around people who just “get it”? People you don’t have to sell on blogging and new technologies and change? Well, I had the pleasure of being in a room entirely filled with people …
Whew! We’re finally back in Chicago after being out of town for almost the entire month of June. Can’t say I missed the traffic (Vermont is really nice that way). I’m totally worn out, but happy, and am so excited about the ALA Conference. There are so many amazing people I am dying to meet, …
When the wiki was first created, I put up a page for people who are blogging the conference so that people would know where they could find conference reports. Well, Luke, from the lbr blog took it one huge step further. Here’s an excerpt from the email he sent me: If a number of people …
Aaron at Walking Paper recently wrote a great post entitled Letting Go. In it, he encouraged librarians to let go of rules that really serve librarians rather than patrons (and often are barriers to patrons getting what they need from the library). Other than those rules preserving basic etiquette and safety, the rules should exist …
I must apologize for the lack of posts this week. I’ve come down with a horrible cold (bordering on the flu) and I just haven’t felt up to doing much of anything. I can’t believe I was healthy all winter while cooped up inside and now that the weather is warm and beautiful, I’m stuck …
I just had another really great interview today. I could get used to this (though I could also get used to having a job and being done with these shenanigans)! 😉 The search committee said a lot of things that impressed me, but what really stuck with me was the fact that when I asked …
Not that we don’t have enough going on at the ALA Conference, but there are going to be two other very cool events happening in Chicago at the same time. The first is Wired’s Nextfest, which is being billed as the World’s Fair for technology. For those of us who love gadgets and still dream …
What I love best about wikis is that their content is not limited to the imagination of just a few people (like most websites are). Anyone can add new sections and content to the wiki that they think people would find useful. From the Curmudgeony Librarian’s rethinking of the Calendar of Events to Andrea’s rockin’ …
Where I got my MLIS, distance learners had to pay more per credit hour than students who took classes on campus. I understood that the extra fees paid for the technology infrastructure we used. On the other hand, we distance learners missed out on many of the things that tuition goes towards. I couldn’t go …
I know this episode aired in 2004, but I was just watching it again today and it made me laugh just as hard as I did last time. And this time I remembered to write down the dialogue: Lisa: I have to research a paper. Where did all the books go? Librarian: Books? Books are …
Let me preface this post with the statement that I didn’t become a librarian in order to get rich. The average librarian’s salary is more than the average salary for social workers, so it was never one of my complaints. I would rather do something I love than make a lot of money, and I …
So, I’ve heard from several sources that there are no rooms left for the ALA Conference at the hotels suggested on the ALA’s website. Yikes! I live in Chicago, but I have never stayed in a hotel here, and therefore I really don’t have any insights other than to check Hotels.com/Orbitz/whatever and pick something in …
I’ve read a lot of posts and articles lamenting the fact that many students and patrons prefer using Google to the library’s print and electronic resources, but few look at why people prefer Google beyond the fact that “it’s easy to use”. Today, Lorcan Dempsey posted an excellent analysis of the characteristics of the user’s …
I just want to wish a hearty congratulations to Dorothea Salo who just received her MLS today. So glad you made it through! Ever since I started reading her blog, Dorothea has inspired and challenged me with her insightful comments and consistent questioning of the conventional wisdom (about everything). If you don’t read her blog, …
I recently had an interesting discussion with a librarian regarding the usability of OPACs. I, as usual, was arguing that there are lessons to be learned from Google, RedLightGreen, and Amazon in how information retrieval systems should be designed. He replied, “at some point don’t you think the responsibility should rest on the students? How …
I’ve never really been “up” on Canada. For one, I’ve never been there (not that I wouldn’t like to, but the opportunity has not presented itself yet). Two, I, like many Americans, sadly know very little about Canadian geography, politics, history, culture etc. But I’ve become very enchanted with Canada over the past few months …
My new friend, and fellow Wesleyan alum, Stephen Francoeur, wrote: Wouldn’t it be cool if your patrons could use an IM client to chat with your web contact center software (such as the versions of eGain offered by Tutor.com and 24/7 Reference or Docutek’s VRLplus)? We know huge percentage of our users are already using …
I still have not been able to install the Jybe extension in Firefox without my computer melting down, but I have been successful in getting it to work in IE (not that I really want to be using IE). Yesterday, I did a test run of Jybe with Stephen Francoeur, The Teaching Librarian. We co-browsed …
It has been interesting to observe how people have approached the wiki I created. I’ve been thrilled to see that people are contributing to it and have added some great tips! However, I’ve gotten several emails and comments suggesting topics, instructions, and other things that could go into the wiki. That’s nice that people are …
Last year, I went to my first ALA Conference, which was also my first library conference ever. Before going, I really had no idea what to expect. So I had to make my own mistakes – going to the wrong room when the location of a session had changed that very day, not bringing a …