“Way Beyond Compare: A Discussion of Virtual Reference Technologies and Tools”
The RUSA MARS Virtual Reference Discussion Group hosts a discussion forum at both Midwinter and Annual ALA Meetings. There were approximately 50 librarians in attendance this year – attendance ranges from 50 to 75 attendees. I was one of the table facilitators for this Forum.
Discussion Questions-
1. Should virtual reference via the software vendors be more customizable in the vein of MySpace or Facebook profiles?
2. How are widgets changing the VR landscape?
3. How might librarians work with IT professionals to insure digital reference remain secure?
4. Are digital librarians doing enough to address library users who text message? How can VR cat and IM capture communications via texting?
5. For IM and VoIP services, how are statistics, transcripts and user feedback managed?
6. What role should Voice over IP play in the digital reference market?
Academic librarians have claimed virtual reference as their own and are working with the new technologies to remain relevant with their students and their instructors.
Public librarians have Virtual Reference email & IM or chat, but few have Facebook or MySpace accounts. Some public librarians are working with their Teen groups to set up accounts.
We use OCLC’s QuestionPoint for LCPL’s email reference and the free meebo widget software for IM chat. QP email reference transaction archives and statistics are only available to System Administrator with password. Meebo chat transactions are erased immediately. Our librarians are schedule to monitor chat and we keep statistics with hash / marks.
-Blogs are still popular but more with adults. Voice over IP (VoIP) is interesting, but takes more bandwidth.
Any comments? Do you think LCPL should try Facebook or MySpace?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
ALA Annual Conference 2008
Sunny Anaheim, California welcomed 22,047 librarians, guests & exhibitors to the 2008 ALA Annual Conference. Anaheim and Mickey Mouse welcomed us and celebrated with fireworks every night.
It was a busy conference and my days were packed with meetings and programs. The first program that I attended was "Stretching Existing Staff: New Service Delivery Models."
Given Indiana and Lake County Public Library's budget crunch, I thought this one might offer some tips. Merchandizing of collections, roving staff (clerks as well as librarians), self-checkout and holds pickup and programming were the buzz words.
San Jose Public Library based all their changes on the following four principles:
It was a busy conference and my days were packed with meetings and programs. The first program that I attended was "Stretching Existing Staff: New Service Delivery Models."
Given Indiana and Lake County Public Library's budget crunch, I thought this one might offer some tips. Merchandizing of collections, roving staff (clerks as well as librarians), self-checkout and holds pickup and programming were the buzz words.
San Jose Public Library based all their changes on the following four principles:
- Customer First - simplified policies, easy access to collections, expert level help always available
- Teach Customers - self-checkout, place & pick up own holds, and ongoing computer classes
- Reinvent Environments - greeter station, no telephones on the public floor, popular collections where customers can help themselves and staff roving zones (clerks 60% of time spent roving and librarians 40% during peak times (on call at all times for expert assistance)
- Enable Staff - updated key competencies and empowered all staff to meet customer needs
Atlanta - Fulton (GA) Library System highlighted their "One - Point Information Service" which they implemented when they built a new branch. Recognizing that computers have changed the way people use the library and their expectations, they merged their Children's & Reference desks so that patrons would have quick and easy access to information and personalized assistance.
Staff were cross-trained and now work as a team giving more time for programs, outreach & collection maintenance.
Queens Library, Jamaica, N.Y. stressed the need to know your community, your staff, and your buildings. What's big in Texas, what plays in San Jose, may not fit Queens or your library.
"Customizing Customer Service" tips: roll out new programs slowly - let staff as well as patrons become comfortable.
They have self-checkout machines that take cash, credit cards, and checks as well as payments and they are multilingual. Their machines also provide a recipt for check-in of materials.
Richland County (SC) Public Library - "The Link" a bookmobile converted into a new branch with new service models:
- Video Reference System (Video Conference Technology) that allows users to actually see and speak with a librarian at the Main Library
- Wireless Internet Access linking users to world wide web as well as online resources through myRCL.com website
- Self-checkout and Hold pickup shelves where patrons help themselves
During August I will highlight other programs and welcome your comments.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends & Technologies
Library Technology Reports, September/October 2007 vol. 43/no. 5 issue revisits Web 2.0 & Libraries. It is edited by Michael Stephens, Ph.D at the Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science in River Forest, Illinois.
Chapter 2 - Tools from "Web 2.0 & Libraries"
Blogs - blog tracker, Technorati, published the following blog statistics on the state of blogging in April 2007:
Set up an account today and add LCPL blogs as well as your favorite news shows. Need help - ask. cs
Chapter 2 - Tools from "Web 2.0 & Libraries"
Blogs - blog tracker, Technorati, published the following blog statistics on the state of blogging in April 2007:
- 70 million weblogs
- about 120,000 new weblogs each day, or 1.4 new blogs every second
- 1.5 million posts per day, or 17 posts per second
Libraries & librarians are included in these statistics. Williamsburg Regional Library recently launched "Blogging for a Good Book" and are finding that they are reaching people who wouldn't normally receive RA in their physical building.
How do you organize and keep up with blogs that interest you? There are several free services available to help you monitor your blogs & RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) feeds. I have set up a free account with Bloglines: www.bloglines.com.
Bloglines makes it easy to keep up with your favorite blogs and news feeds. With Bloglines, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite blogs, and Bloglines will monitor updates to those sites. You can read the latest entries easily within Bloglines - one easy access point.Set up an account today and add LCPL blogs as well as your favorite news shows. Need help - ask. cs
Saturday, February 2, 2008
ALA Midwinter 2008
ALA MIDWINTER MEETING
Philadelphia, PA
January 10 – 16, 2008
OCLC Midwinter 2008 Symposium: New Leadership for New Challenges
Speakers:
Leslie Crutchfield, co-author, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact nonprofits
Dr. Rush Miller, co-author, Beyond Survival: Managing Academic Libraries in Transition
“Great leaders are valued for their ability to guide groups to new heights or through troubled waters. But can a great leader be effective if an organization is not ready for change? This OCLC Symposium will explore how both individual and institutional leadership has an impact on the success of libraries.” George Needham, Vice – President of Member Services, OCLC
Crutchfield’s six practices that determine an organization’s greatness & Miller’s comments on relating them to the library world:
1. Serve & advocate – “Giving wonderful, effective information services is a necessary thing and crucial to our mission. But good service alone is not sufficient to guarantee support or create an environment conducive to overall success.” Not only should libraries be providing great programs and services, they should work with local governments to provide policy changes that will benefit the community – encourage town council members to join a “reading program” or support a literacy program.
2. Make markets work – “I would emphasize that libraries, like other nonprofits, must operate in a more “business-like” manner to be successful in the future.” Don’t be afraid to change things – look at the output of departments and branches, brainstorm ways to improve. Look at your administrative hierarchy – has it been changed in the last twenty years?
3. Inspire evangelists – “Great nonprofits see users, volunteers, donors and advisers not only for what they can contribute in terms of time, money and guidance but also for what they can do for their cause.” We need to recruit donors and volunteers who are passionate about the library to help the library achieve its goals.
4. Nurture nonprofit networks – “although most groups pay lip service to collaboration, many of them really see other organizations and departments as competition for scarce resources.” Not so with libraries! We share resources – see ILL. We have long collaborated with other libraries: academic, school, etc. We need to take it further and seek partnerships with organizations in our communities, such as businesses, health organizations, historical societies, etc.
5. Master the art of adaptation – “High-impact organizations are exceptionally adaptive, modifying their tactics as needed to increase their success. They respond to changing circumstances with one innovation after another.” Few organizations are adapting to change as much as libraries– technology has changed and continues to change every aspect of the library profession. Librarians are adaptors – there is always something new around the corner.
6. Share leadership – “Leaders of high-impact nonprofits cultivate a strong second-in-command, build enduring executive teams with long tenure, and develop highly engaged boards in order to have more impact.” Miller says, “Few library directors are egotists; most of us have been advocates and practitioners of shared governance for most of our careers.” Know your library mission – make sure your staff knows the mission. Be willing to let go of things that are no longer relevant – it’s not easy, but it frees resources so libraries can concentrate on the things that are relevant today.
Best Practices in Cooperative Reference: Reference and Social Networking
Panelists:
Stephen Francoeur, information services librarian and assistant professor at Baruch College
Communication Options:
-Social Networking Sites are people oriented and primarily designed to facilitate interactions
-Social Media Sites are object oriented
Current library uses of these sites:
-promote library resources & services
-relationship building
-search library resources
-reference services
-Mostly academic libraries in Facebook – it’s a ready made outreach since its members are
mainly students
Beth Evans, associate professor and the electronic services specialist at Brooklyn College Library
If patrons don’t come to the Reference Desk or our website, where do we go?
-Facebook & My Space – use these tools for outreach and to disseminate information
about events, services & resources
-New environment for reference questions & answers: post screencasts on video sharing
sites; post screenshots on image sharing sites, e.g. Flickr – Librarians can reuse content in
different formats
Do we belong?
-they don’t expect us to be there
-this is reference in an open environment, are we ready?
-service is not under our own control, are we comfortable?
-Facebook offers enhanced interpersonal relationships which are closer to a face to face
reference interview
R. David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, and associate professor in School of Information Studies
Participatory Reference
-current model is library centered > new model puts librarians in an awkward spot – are we
content experts?
-there is pressure to participate > user is in control > it’s collaborative conversation
-Tools are easy but libraries are obligated to innovate and facilitate communities > go beyond
the basics
2. Conclusions:
-don’t socialize reference
-innovate core principles into a new model of collaborative communication
-accept the obligation of leadership in a changing environment
Hot Topics Discussion Forum: “Tag You’re It! A Revolution in Patron-Library Interaction”
Speakers:
Jennifer Sweda, Cataloging Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries
PennTags Project: http://tags.library.upenn.edu/
-Software allows users to tag cataloged items
-Tags are hyperlinked in the OPAC and have side by side architectures
-Users can choose any terms that have personal relevance
-This software allows users to locate, organize and share favorite resources
Lauren Stokes, Viritual Library Manager at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Patron Ratings & Reviews: http://www.lvccld.org/
Similar to Amazon.com, but staff edit reviews before they are posted. Software developed by Innovative Interface Inc. I chatted with a librarian this morning and she says that finding titles with patron reviews are hit or miss – to view a record with a patron review, type in "Little Miss Sunshine" from the catalog search or click on Books, Movies, and More and click on “Pearl’s Picks” for a list of reviewed titles. Patron reviews are indicated in the bottom right corner of the record under the "Rating stars."
Kate Sheehan, Coordinator of Library Automation at Danbury Public Library
LibraryThing Project: http://www.librarything.com/thingology/2007/05/danbury-ct-kicks-off-librarything-for.php
"Thing~ology is LibraryThing's ideas blog, on the philosophy and methods of tags, libraries and suchnot." Users at Danbury Public Library can add tags to records in the library's catalog.
Follow the links and enjoy the innovative things out there in libraryland. If you have any questions or comments, please post. cs
Philadelphia, PA
January 10 – 16, 2008
OCLC Midwinter 2008 Symposium: New Leadership for New Challenges
Speakers:
Leslie Crutchfield, co-author, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact nonprofits
Dr. Rush Miller, co-author, Beyond Survival: Managing Academic Libraries in Transition
“Great leaders are valued for their ability to guide groups to new heights or through troubled waters. But can a great leader be effective if an organization is not ready for change? This OCLC Symposium will explore how both individual and institutional leadership has an impact on the success of libraries.” George Needham, Vice – President of Member Services, OCLC
Crutchfield’s six practices that determine an organization’s greatness & Miller’s comments on relating them to the library world:
1. Serve & advocate – “Giving wonderful, effective information services is a necessary thing and crucial to our mission. But good service alone is not sufficient to guarantee support or create an environment conducive to overall success.” Not only should libraries be providing great programs and services, they should work with local governments to provide policy changes that will benefit the community – encourage town council members to join a “reading program” or support a literacy program.
2. Make markets work – “I would emphasize that libraries, like other nonprofits, must operate in a more “business-like” manner to be successful in the future.” Don’t be afraid to change things – look at the output of departments and branches, brainstorm ways to improve. Look at your administrative hierarchy – has it been changed in the last twenty years?
3. Inspire evangelists – “Great nonprofits see users, volunteers, donors and advisers not only for what they can contribute in terms of time, money and guidance but also for what they can do for their cause.” We need to recruit donors and volunteers who are passionate about the library to help the library achieve its goals.
4. Nurture nonprofit networks – “although most groups pay lip service to collaboration, many of them really see other organizations and departments as competition for scarce resources.” Not so with libraries! We share resources – see ILL. We have long collaborated with other libraries: academic, school, etc. We need to take it further and seek partnerships with organizations in our communities, such as businesses, health organizations, historical societies, etc.
5. Master the art of adaptation – “High-impact organizations are exceptionally adaptive, modifying their tactics as needed to increase their success. They respond to changing circumstances with one innovation after another.” Few organizations are adapting to change as much as libraries– technology has changed and continues to change every aspect of the library profession. Librarians are adaptors – there is always something new around the corner.
6. Share leadership – “Leaders of high-impact nonprofits cultivate a strong second-in-command, build enduring executive teams with long tenure, and develop highly engaged boards in order to have more impact.” Miller says, “Few library directors are egotists; most of us have been advocates and practitioners of shared governance for most of our careers.” Know your library mission – make sure your staff knows the mission. Be willing to let go of things that are no longer relevant – it’s not easy, but it frees resources so libraries can concentrate on the things that are relevant today.
Best Practices in Cooperative Reference: Reference and Social Networking
Panelists:
Stephen Francoeur, information services librarian and assistant professor at Baruch College
Communication Options:
-Social Networking Sites are people oriented and primarily designed to facilitate interactions
-Social Media Sites are object oriented
Current library uses of these sites:
-promote library resources & services
-relationship building
-search library resources
-reference services
-Mostly academic libraries in Facebook – it’s a ready made outreach since its members are
mainly students
Beth Evans, associate professor and the electronic services specialist at Brooklyn College Library
If patrons don’t come to the Reference Desk or our website, where do we go?
-Facebook & My Space – use these tools for outreach and to disseminate information
about events, services & resources
-New environment for reference questions & answers: post screencasts on video sharing
sites; post screenshots on image sharing sites, e.g. Flickr – Librarians can reuse content in
different formats
Do we belong?
-they don’t expect us to be there
-this is reference in an open environment, are we ready?
-service is not under our own control, are we comfortable?
-Facebook offers enhanced interpersonal relationships which are closer to a face to face
reference interview
R. David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, and associate professor in School of Information Studies
Participatory Reference
-current model is library centered > new model puts librarians in an awkward spot – are we
content experts?
-there is pressure to participate > user is in control > it’s collaborative conversation
-Tools are easy but libraries are obligated to innovate and facilitate communities > go beyond
the basics
2. Conclusions:
-don’t socialize reference
-innovate core principles into a new model of collaborative communication
-accept the obligation of leadership in a changing environment
Hot Topics Discussion Forum: “Tag You’re It! A Revolution in Patron-Library Interaction”
Speakers:
Jennifer Sweda, Cataloging Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries
PennTags Project: http://tags.library.upenn.edu/
-Software allows users to tag cataloged items
-Tags are hyperlinked in the OPAC and have side by side architectures
-Users can choose any terms that have personal relevance
-This software allows users to locate, organize and share favorite resources
Lauren Stokes, Viritual Library Manager at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
Patron Ratings & Reviews: http://www.lvccld.org/
Similar to Amazon.com, but staff edit reviews before they are posted. Software developed by Innovative Interface Inc. I chatted with a librarian this morning and she says that finding titles with patron reviews are hit or miss – to view a record with a patron review, type in "Little Miss Sunshine" from the catalog search or click on Books, Movies, and More and click on “Pearl’s Picks” for a list of reviewed titles. Patron reviews are indicated in the bottom right corner of the record under the "Rating stars."
Kate Sheehan, Coordinator of Library Automation at Danbury Public Library
LibraryThing Project: http://www.librarything.com/thingology/2007/05/danbury-ct-kicks-off-librarything-for.php
"Thing~ology is LibraryThing's ideas blog, on the philosophy and methods of tags, libraries and suchnot." Users at Danbury Public Library can add tags to records in the library's catalog.
Follow the links and enjoy the innovative things out there in libraryland. If you have any questions or comments, please post. cs
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies
Library Technology Reports, September/October 2007 vol. 43/no. 5 issue revisits Web 2.0 & Libraries. It is edited by Michael Stephens, Ph.D at the Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science in River Forest, Illinois.
Issues, trends and technologies are explored in the nine chapters of this journal. I'll be highlighting topics from each of the chapters over the next few weeks - if you haven't experimented with blogs, wikis or flickr, it's not too late.
Keep this quotation in mind as we look at Web 2.0 & Libraries: "Society has determined what the library of the past has been, and it is society that will determine what the library of the future shall be." Jesse Hauk Shera, The Foundations of Education for Librarianship (John Wiley & Sons, 1972), p. 135. Prophetic?
Chapter 1 - The Ongoing Web Revolution
"The Web has changed. It's rebooted and become more engaging, interactive, and participatory. We're still in the midst of that change...." Are libraries and librarians participating? Do you have ideas for making our new library catalog more interactive? Are you reading the blogs fellow staff are posting and making comments? Are you keeping up with the new trends in technology that our patrons are asking about?
Examples of LCPL blogs:
http://hobartlibrary.blogspot.com/
http://businesslines.blogspot.com/
http://regionroots.blogspot.com/
http://lcplweb.blogspot.com/
Take a look at what other libraries are doing:
Hennepin County Library's BookSpace - www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace
Foto Fun
http://plcmc.org/fotofun/default.asp
If you need more information, I have a list of Web 2.0 Resources. cs
Issues, trends and technologies are explored in the nine chapters of this journal. I'll be highlighting topics from each of the chapters over the next few weeks - if you haven't experimented with blogs, wikis or flickr, it's not too late.
Keep this quotation in mind as we look at Web 2.0 & Libraries: "Society has determined what the library of the past has been, and it is society that will determine what the library of the future shall be." Jesse Hauk Shera, The Foundations of Education for Librarianship (John Wiley & Sons, 1972), p. 135. Prophetic?
Chapter 1 - The Ongoing Web Revolution
"The Web has changed. It's rebooted and become more engaging, interactive, and participatory. We're still in the midst of that change...." Are libraries and librarians participating? Do you have ideas for making our new library catalog more interactive? Are you reading the blogs fellow staff are posting and making comments? Are you keeping up with the new trends in technology that our patrons are asking about?
Examples of LCPL blogs:
http://hobartlibrary.blogspot.com/
http://businesslines.blogspot.com/
http://regionroots.blogspot.com/
http://lcplweb.blogspot.com/
Take a look at what other libraries are doing:
Hennepin County Library's BookSpace - www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace
Foto Fun
http://plcmc.org/fotofun/default.asp
If you need more information, I have a list of Web 2.0 Resources. cs
Friday, November 23, 2007
Back to the Future: Phone Reference
NOW IS THE TIME TO PROMOTE PHONE REFERENCE SERVICES!!! to quote Gerry McKiernan of Iowa State University: "Another Radical (but Conventional) Idea for OnCall, OnDemand, On Site Reference Service. Publicize the Library Hip Reference Phone Number...via Library newsletter/Blog/Liaisons/Table Tents...Why Chat When You Can Really Chat (:-)"
Marie L. Radford, professor at Rutgers University in Information and Library Studies, posted comments on this idea at the Library Garden Blogspot (http://librarygarden.blogspot.com) recently saying that with a phone in everyone's hands it is a no brainer that libraries should be marketing this underused service.
What are your thoughts on this? What type of publicity could we generate? Do we want to be on our patrons' speed dial or listed in their Fave 5's?
Marie L. Radford, professor at Rutgers University in Information and Library Studies, posted comments on this idea at the Library Garden Blogspot (http://librarygarden.blogspot.com) recently saying that with a phone in everyone's hands it is a no brainer that libraries should be marketing this underused service.
What are your thoughts on this? What type of publicity could we generate? Do we want to be on our patrons' speed dial or listed in their Fave 5's?
Thursday, August 30, 2007
ALA Washington, D.C. - Program 4
The final program that I want to tell you about is one that my Public Libraries Committee sponsored on electronic database training. It developed out of a discussion forum titled, "Print or Plastic: Which format do you prefer?" From the discussion I found out that our library was unique in providing formal training on electronic databases - most librarians complained that they were just given a login and told to learn it on their own.
Since 150 librarians from academic, public and state libraries attended the program, it was a topic that many wanted to learn more about. Below is a summary of the program and training samples that the speakers shared with the attendees.
ELECTRONIC DATABASES: TRAINING THAT WORKS
“As libraries offer more and more online databases to their patrons, how do we insure that librarians are trained to use and instruct patrons in their use? Speakers described their training programs and Swap & Shop table offered samples of attendees’ libraries’ training."
Facilitator: Carolyn Strickland, Lake County Public Library, chair of MARS Public Libraries Committee
Speakers:
Michelle Roubal, Adult Services Coordinator, Aurora Public Library, Aurora, Illinois
Marty Onieal, Adult Services Coordinator, Broward County Library, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Margaret Mohundro, Director of INSPIRE, INCOLSA, Indiana
Training that Works:
-Drop-In Training: informal
-Tapping into Online Training: use remote technology
-Vendor-Produced Online Training: make use of this vender service
-Book a Librarian (librarian appointments): staff and patrons alike
-Multiple branches? Develop traveling classes
-Assessment of staff knowledge of a database: pretests?
-Develop a training outline for all classes: post on in-house server
-Various methods: Tuesday Track, Train the Trainer, Vendor Training, Regional & State Training Opportunities, Borrow training from other libraries.
-INSPIRE Training: Website, access, interfaces, federated searches & vendor-provided training, as well as on site training sessions around the state.
Do you have any training tips that you would like to share? Please feel free to make comments or ask questions.
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