I’m spending the day today at the NELA-ITS workshop on Library-Wide IT Proficiencies. I’m sitting across from the eminent Andrea Mercado and next to Brian Herzog, which is lovely… since I trust and respect both of them. And feel like my next professional challenge is going to be dissolving institutional idea of a [...]

For months, nay years, I’ve been running around talking about how a library website should have all the earmarks of a branch library: materials, librarians, reference service, and programming. I finally got a chance to put my money where my mouth is.
This is Children’s Book Week and to celebrate I invited our staff to [...]

After many months of spottily focused work, I was thrilled tonight to launch the upgraded, updated, preferred, deferred Tamworth Library website.

When Casey and I began to expand the concept he proved with wpopac into what has become Scriblio we quickly realized we would need a development partner. In order to create a tool to [...]

Sarah Houghton-Jan

Why? Save money, improve customer service, should institutional commitment to lifelong learning, increase staff retention rate, motivate staff to keep learning.
Staff training takes time and money
Competencies based training cycle

Step 1: Planning and Brainstorming - What does your staff need to know how to do with technology to do their jobs well. For: Creates [...]

Roy Tennant
Kill off the term OPAC
Discovery system = public facing tool, public interface, doesn’t replace the ILS. Veneer on top of back office operations.
Worldcat Local is a different and particular type.
Sytems Highlighted: Koha, Evergreen, VUFind, LibraryFind, Worldcat Local.
Harvest records out of ILS for Discovery system, which queries ILS for circ info.
Want to replace your [...]

Them and ME

Companies are letting things out that are not from the PR department. Even police and schools
Barriers to Web 2.0 implementation. Mine is that libraries don’t invest in a position devoted to innovative technology, if they do invest, they don’t also provide that person with the support they need to follow through on [...]

I follow Marshall’s writing so I’m interested in what’s on his radar. Also, want to get a tip of two about what to ask Polaris.
Him and Me

OCLC study showing that users do not turn to libraries for info needs. Only 2% of students start with library and only 1% in libraries. Uh [...]

In this session I’m hoping to get ideas for how to interest the uninterested on my staff. Or even how to empower the interested but reluctant or shy or, at the very least, convince those who think what I do is needless play, that it is actually an important and relevant initiative.
Him and me.
First: [...]

I couldn’t get on the wireless so I’m not liveblogging, really which really bums me out.
Them and Me
Firefox tools

SafeCache protects your privacy segments the cache so one cookie can’t read another.
SafeHistory similar, but hides your history. Good for public computers.
Fox marks allows you to share book marks and go to my.foxmarks.com to see them.
FEBE [...]

For this, I’m just looking for more ideas about how to punk our city’s cms. I heard Darlene and Jeff when I went to Monterey a few years ago.
Him and Me

Improve the site incrementally. Iterative change - small stuff instead of big stuff. This model is so much easier on us web [...]