Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote that I really wanted to be an online adjunct instructor at a library school so I could teach social software to LIS students? And how I’d broached the idea with the Dean at FSU? Well… funny thing about that. The next morning I got an e-mail from …
Between my headache issues and a crazy speaking/writing/teaching schedule, it is unlikely that I will be able to publish a comprehensive list of results for the 2007 Survey of the Bibilioblogosphere for a while. However, to whet your appetite, I thought I’d post some interested facts that I learned from the survey. 1. 839 people …
Speaking of libraries doing 2.0 things just to look cool, there is an organization that I’ve criticized about that in the past. I’ve been concerned that many of the hip, 2.0-ish things ALA has done have been mere window-dressing to make the organization look cool to new members. I didn’t see a lot of changes …
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 …
I absolutely loved Jill Stover’s post about the library as a lab for creative exploration (by the way, if you don’t read her blog, subscribe! It’s a gem!): This “community creativity lab” is where where I see libraries’ future and competitive advantage. I can’t think of any other free, publicly-accessible place (except perhaps for museums, …
When I put the survey out, I hoped to get more responses than last time. Two years ago, I got somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 responses. I’ve been amazed to watch the number of responses grow and grow each day for the past two weeks. Right now, 750 people have filled out the survey; …
How can a library school teach their students to be user-focused if they model the exact opposite behaviors? Check out the assertive (and admirable) way that Jennifer tried to confront the issues she and other students had with the distance learning program at the Information and Library Science Department at Southern Connecticut State University. I …
In August of 2005, I conducted a survey of people in the library and information science profession who blog to get some sense of the demographic characteristics of bibliobloggers. The results of the first Survey of the Biblioblogosphere can be found here. After two years, it doesn’t take a survey to see that the library …
I’ve found a lot of great career and work-related posts over the past month or so that I’ve wanted to share with others. Being a librarian requires much more than we’re ever taught in library school. We’re rarely taught how to promote ourselves, how to deal with supervisors (or how to be supervisors), how to …
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 …
Over the next week, I need to write my column for September’s American Libraries magazine. I’ve already decided that I want to write something about libraries and Flickr, but I’m not sure which library (or perhaps 2 libraries) to focus on. I have a few ideas, but I thought I’d put it out to my …
I answered an e-mail from a reader of my blog today who asked a question that I think is one of the most difficult to answer: I work for a rather large consortium in _______ and wondered if you have any advice on navigating around issues of privacy and professionalism when writing your blog? What …
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 read Michael Gorman’s two-part blog post (yes, I said blog post; if that isn’t the height of irony…) to respect the wisdom of the expert over the wisdom of the crowd, I thought of two people: Ayn Rand and Eric Cartman. The piece had all of Ayn Rand’s black-and-white, either-or thinking as well …
A couple of weeks ago, I finally received copies of my re-printed book. The laminate is on nice and tight as it should be and the cover colors are a bit lighter. It looks good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like my book is shipping (at least I have not heard of anyone receiving a copy) …
I have to remember to give Sarah Houghton-Jan a big pat on the back next time I see her for her post on social networking software. In it she risks ostracism de-friending 😉 to articulate some of her gripes about the dilution of social networks. One gripe in particular is one I’ve been thinking about …
I’m sure those of you who have ordered Social Software in Libraries are wondering when your books will be coming. Believe me, I’m more anxious than anyone to see the new and pristine version (see this post for background on the first printing snafu). I have been assured by John Bryans, Editor-in-Chief of Information Today …
Ok, enough of my very rusty and pathetic French. Tomorrow I’ll be heading up to beautiful Montreal for the Quebec Library Association Conference. I’ll be giving a talk on the afternoon of May 4th entitled Building Collaboration with Wikis (the description — in English and French naturellement — is available in the program). If you’re …
In Please, Not Another Wiki Casey Bisson complains about the proliferation of wikis: Perhaps I cringe at any suggestion to create a new wiki because I wonder why that content can’t be published on an existing wiki. Perhaps I cringe because I wonder if the proprietary motivation to create a new wiki is itself in …