In which the alchemist ducks in, then ducks back out. Tuesday, Jul 29 2008

Time flies when you’re having fun and working hard.  I thought I’d pen a quick update before taking a few vacation days.  Since the last missive, here’s what’s been in the hopper:

• Ryan H. and I have been busily collaborating on the CLP version of 23 Things.  Many libraries have already done this, but most of them have been small to medium libraries, not large, multi-branch systems…at least, as far as I can tell.  CLP is unique in many ways, and sometimes we have to move a little more slowly to accommodate the many various factions that have to cooperate to make the system run well.  Given that Library 2.0 is a concept, and not a contest, I am at peace with this.
• Volunteered to be part of the library team that helps provide support materials and content for this fall’s Sleep-In for the Homeless. The library is just one of several community groups that are working together to plan and support this event. I think it would be really excellent, too, if we assembled a team of library staff who attended, either to maintain some sort of resource table/program/activity, or just to show our support for an important issue.
• Investigating Mango Languages for the database committee, at Sheila J.’s request.  Haven’t had time to personally play with it yet, but think vacation could be an excellent time to experiment with a new language…and playtest the product by pitting its French against mine!
• Making friends on Twitter!  I simply cannot believe how easy it is for librarians to find each other, or how addictive it can be to read about what other librarians are doing all day at their jobs.  I wonder if our patrons would be just as interested?  Given that the “About Us” page at Eleventh Stack is one of the most frequently visited parts of the blog, I’m leaning toward yes: people want to know more about the librarians who serve them! They want that human touch, even–perhaps, especially–in cyberspace.
• Speaking of Eleventh Stack, have also been collaborating with Don W. and Amy E. in an attempt to both shore us up and kick our spiffiness up to the next level.  That’s right:  Eleventh Stack plans to level up.  The question is, how?  Also need to craft a stronger marketing plan/push.  Will be looking to both my peers and the Communication and Creative Services Department for suggestions in that area.  Left to my own devices, I’d make t-shirts.  But we’ll see.

There’s more.  There always is.  But there are patrons to serve, so here we’ll close.  I’ll be back in the office next Tuesday, rested and energized, and ready to kick off the second half of the year in alchemical style.

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In which the alchemist ponders innovation and fermentation Wednesday, Jul 9 2008

The pauses between blog entries get longer and longer - this feels quite natural, because, really, the whole point of Library 2.0 is not self-aggrandization:  it’s teamwork, in the name of customer service.  As the projects I dream up take on a life of their own, and move into the bigger picture, it seems more and more appropriate to me that my personal-professional ramblings take a back seat to actually implementing and maintaining the projects!

After all, the original purpose of this blog was to chart my learning curve in my shiny new job.  Nearly a year later, the job is still shiny, but no longer new.  Which leads me to think about innovation and fermentation.

Helene Blowers recently blogged about Paul Williams’s criteria for an innovative corporate culture. I can see the wisdom and logic in this approach, but must confess I’m rather partial to the “canary in a coal mine” method: you get a few right-brained folks who are comfortable with risk to model innovative behavior, and show the rest of the team that it’s safe to stretch out of your comfort zone. Much like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence, these people will attract the curious, who can then be gently convinced to play along with you, too. Innovation relies very heavily on trust, and a culture of trust is not something that’s built in a day.

 CLP is lucky to have so many great people on staff, many of whom have known each other for a long time. The bonds are there.  The trust is there.  The model for innovation, however, is just beginning here, and sometimes custom and tradition are the enemy of progess. Note that I said “sometimes” - there are many wonderful services and traditions here that are worth preserving, despite the need to boldly move forward.  You really have to reach out to people where THEY are, and convince them that it’s okay to move forward.

Just one librarian’s opinion - you catch more flies with honey than with RSS feeds, is all I’m saying!

In the realm of fermentation, well…here are some of the projects fermenting in my brain, and on my desk:

• My PaLA presentation.  Thank goodness this blog documents everything I worked on this past year!
• A two-hour presentation on contemporary fiction, part of a program series some CLP folks are participating in this fall for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
• An application for ALA’s Emerging Leaders Program.  You don’t try, you never know!
• Podcasting and Twitter brainstorming, complete with cunning doodles.
• Database stuff.  Stats, as ever, but also revamping that brochure request, and poking into possible purchases, at RK’s request.
• Writing a review for Library Journal.

I find that intense periods of hard work, followed by equally intense periods of ignoring said work in favor of other tasks (weeding, refdesk, displays, blogging, etc.) makes for a better product in the end.  At least, that’s how it seems to work for me - how do you handle multiple intense projects?  What works best for you?

And, to bring us full circle, I have to ask myself what innovative thing I could do to transform this blog for Year Two of Shiny Job?  I’m afraid I’ll have to let that ferment a little while longer, though I am definitely open to thoughts and suggestions…

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Twitterpated Friday, Jun 27 2008

I’ve been Tweeting at the refdesk for a few days now, and am pleasantly surprised how easy it is to incorporate even into a busy reference shift.  To fall back on a stock phrase, “This changes everything!”

Things seemed to be going well. Then I read David Lee King’s Twitter Best Practices So Far, only to learn I’d made a bunch of n00b (that’s “newbie,” for those of you who don’t speak l33t) mistakes. For about five seconds, I felt as if I’d sat down at a formal dinner and used all the wrong forks! Then I was just grateful that we’re all experimenting together, finding out stuff, and sharing it.

The folks at CommonCraft, who are known for their delightful and instructive how-to videos, have one on using Twitter. Check it out:

I’ll be firing up the console again at 3. Maybe by then, I’ll have figured out how to upload a cool background image, like the one the folks at the Hubbell Library in New Orleans.

The bigger-picture question is, as always, how would tweeting benefit CLP? Thoughts?

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Yet Another Week of Progress (YAWP!) Friday, Jun 20 2008

In which we look up from our pile of projects and give a status report.  This past week I:

• Started collaborating with Ryan H. on a voluntary Library 2.0 staff training program.  Working with Ryan is great:  he’s very left-brain, I’m very right-brain, and together, we make things happen.  As many libraries have done, we’re modeling our plans after the eponymous Learning 2.0 program designed by Helene Blowers, when she was with PLCMC.  We are, however, tailoring it for the needs of CLP staff and, ultimately, patrons.
• Attended Jonathan Zittrain’s lecture at the HYP Club with Ryan and Irene Y.  Am now quite keen to read the book!  Privacy, generativity, information ethics…all the stuff that librarians care about and deal with on the daily.  He’s a great speaker, too; the most interesting thing, though, was the disconnect between the substance of Zittrain’s remarks and the questions asked by the audience.  In addition to the digital divide, there’s a cognitive divide.  And since the brilliant nerds aren’t about to slow down for the rest of us (also nerdy, but perhaps not quite as brilliant), we’re going to have to become more and more proficient at staff training, to keep up, and bibliographic instruction, to translate to the huddled masses.
• Database stats.  JSTOR’s stat module claims that NOBODY used JSTOR in the month of May 2008.  I find this very hard to believe.
• Signed up for Twitter, heaven help us all.  Am vaguely toying with the idea of adding tweets to Eleventh Stack, but want to see what the group thinks.  I’m going to try tweeting from the refdesk this afternoon to see how it goes.  You can follow me here.
• Finished and submitted my bio and program info for the PaLA conference.  My Facebook friends were very helpful in this regard:  I set my status to say “Nag me until I finish,” and oh, did they ever.  The tools are neutral - it’s all in how you use them!

And now, to the refdesk!  More excellent adventures, news and updates next week.

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PC Rollout Day. Also, playtesting the shiny. Wednesday, Jun 11 2008

Our new PCs arrived at the crack of 7 a.m., and the rollout has gone mostly without hitches, save for some printing issues.  Patrons have coped admirably, too, with the temporary inconvenience; a surprising number of folks were here this morning for non-technological reasons, which is always reassuring, too!

But technology marches inexorably forward, and, not wanting to be left behind, your heroine marches forward, too.  The Reference Department has the temporary use of a Samsung ultraportable, and I spent a good chunk of the day playing with it. My gut impressions:

• Before we do anything else, we need to fix Millennium, as it won’t load.  RK and KL are working on this.
• The wireless connection works all the way from the bottom of the basement to the top of eleventh stack, making this a nice, lightweight option for helping people on the fly, or doing things like weeding without having to ferry cartsful of books around.
• The tiny keyboard is a bit vexing, especially for someone without texting chops.  There is, however, a visual keyboard, and a stylus to go with it.
• The stylus is also quite useful for other navigation functions, so if you’re handy with a pen, you can now transfer your skills to the screen.
• I’d like some sort of carrying case/gunslinger bandolier.  It’s very light, but I’d like to be able to strap it on and walk around handsfree until it was needed.

In short, I’m mostly impressed and would like to see this as a permanent staff tool.

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In which the alchemist posts another infrequent update Tuesday, Jun 3 2008

I’m starting to wonder if Twitter wouldn’t be a better tool for updating this blog - that way, I could give you little “day in the life” samples from an actual workweek, as opposed to infrequent summaries.  Especially as I’m thinking about starting two more blogs, one professional, one personal.

At any rate, here’s what I’ve been up to:

Eleventh Stack now has a link and a custom flash on the CLP homepage (mouse over to “Discover More” to see!). The results of this placement were noticeable almost immediately: we’ve been getting an extra 20-30 hits per day, and at least 10 new newsreader subscriptions, and I’m hoping that number will continue to grow as more people discover the blog. It also means that yours truly has become much more fussy about edits, updates, and content. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to rotate team leadership once the project reaches the 6-month mark, just to make sure other folks on the team get experience with the coordinator role.

At any rate, I’ve also been writing “how we did it” handouts for the branch managers’ meeting tomorrow. Because I’m a big fan of “open source” projects, I’m including the agendas from the three planning meetings we had, so the branch managers can see exactly what our group process was, and how it fits into the CLP strategic plan, org. structure, etc. There’s also a list of questions branch managers should ask themselves before they start a blog project. These include “How comfortable am I with projects that require uncertainty and experimentation?” and “Am I willing and able to give staff at least 30 minutes per day to blog?”

As usual, I’m also:

• answering reference questions
• purchasing for the collection
• collecting database stats
• troubleshooting database issues on the fly, with the help of IT
• sifting through the Library 2.0 blogosphere to keep up with issues and trends

And, on top of that, I’ve just been accepted to present at the PaLA conference this November, so I’m going back through both my blog archives and my project files in order to create the best possible presentation.  I’m really proud to get a chance to show off some of the things our library has done to not only become a 21st-century library, but also to define what that means for us, as opposed to just doing things because they’re shiny and cool.

On a somewhat sad note, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the recent passing of a great librarian, Dr. Amy Knapp, whom I want to be just like, if I ever grow up. In library school, Amy taught fledgling librarians how to search effectively. Outside the classroom, she was a gracious model of library service, warmth, wit, humor, and compassion. In short, she was a blessing to everybody who knew her, and her passing creates an obligation, I think, on the part of the rest of us, to continue the excellent work she began.

And with that, I leave you to return to the reference desk. It’s very quiet tonight, but there are plenty of people in the room, so I’d like to be mindful of them, just in case.

 

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Quick Meebo Update Saturday, May 24 2008

That took a little more care, feeding, and fussing than I thought it would!  Here’s what’s up so far:

• When we logged in for the first live monitoring session, a few people had already left us messages!
• One of those messages had contact info, so we could answer the question.
• As people started using the service, it became clear we needed to make some edits to the “help” section - einetwork graciously provided these.
• Some of the questions were goof questions - my favorite was, “If a monkey and a bear got into a fight, who would win?” - but you’ll have that.
• There were, roughly, three legit reference questions per hour.  Will have to check in with the ready-reference team next week and see if that starts to change the longer we pilot the service.
• On the tech front, there seems to be an odd quirk in the widget - it will sometimes indicate the librarian is offline, even when s/he is still logged in.  Not sure if that’s Meebo or the catalog page, though, so will have to investigate.

I’m open to the possibility that this service is not something our patrons will use, but I’m thrilled that we’re trying it!  If you want to put us to the test, ask us questions about the pilot, or even just say a collegial “hello,” please feel free to visit our catalog.

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In-between Days Tuesday, May 20 2008

Here’s what I’ve been up to, instead of library blogging:

• Advocating for better web placement for Eleventh Stack.
• Plowing through ABPR.
• Joining Library Journal’s shiny new Facebook groups.
• Totting up April database stats
• Informally training folks on the Meebo widget that goes live…tomorrow!

Eek.  I’m a little nervous about this, but it’s good nervous.  After all, this is the test of all the Library 2.0 theorizing that’s floating about:  if this is something our patrons want, we can build on it.  If it’s not something they want, we’ve still learned something.  I feel like I’ve definitely refined my project planning skills, and learned a bit more about the way my organization works.

That’s something I think many new librarians could use a little more experience with.  Alas, the only way to learn it is to dive in and take risks (and, sometimes, lumps).  At any rate, wish us luck.  If I get a chance tomorrow, between the breathless hand-wringing and obsessive monitoring, I’ll let you know how the first day of Meebo went! 

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Professional reading Tuesday, May 13 2008

Even though my newsreader is loaded for bear with all the hip and happening 2.0 blogs, I’m still awfully fond of professional journals in print.  There’s something about curling up in a quiet space with a lovely beverage and actually making time to pay close attention to what one’s professional colleagues have to say, as opposed to skimming through their ideas between patron conversations.

This past week brought the PaLA Bulletin, the official publication of the Pennsylvania Library Association, to my door.  Among its many gems is an article called “Beyond Browsing,” by Tina Hertel.  The essay is a recap of Hertel’s 2007 PaLA presentation, and it’s a great summary for those of us who couldn’t make it out there to see her speak.  Essentially, it covers a variety of Web 2.0 tools and discusses how they might be useful for libraries and library patrons.  Below. some random thoughts about the sections within the article:

Browsing:  Hertel makes the excellent point that the browser we choose to use is not necessarily the one our patrons like, and we should get familiar with alternatives like Firefox and Opera. I have not been great about this myself, primarily because up until now we’ve only used IE here at CLP. Now that Firefox is coming, though, I should probably devote an hour or two to playing around with it…

Social Bookmarking: This section contains intriguing gems that serve as adjuncts to del.icio.us. While del.icio.us is great for basic library organizing, Furl offers the added advantage of saving to a cache; that way, you’ve got a true archive that persists despite URL changes, so it requires less weeding and upkeep.

Another service, StumbleUpon uses the collective wisdom to help you find websites you might not have considered - the electronic equivalent of your friend walking up to you and saying, “Have you seen this?” While this seems more informal, I can imagine a librarian who has the time and energy to establish a presence there being a really good advocate for scores of credible sources many people might not be aware of. My gut instinct, though, is that this is more of a fun, sharing site than anything else - and there’s always time for a little fun, right?

Citation Management: One interesting find here, Connotea. is noteworthy because it allows you to work with PubMed citations. Limited application in our current situtaion, but it’s good to be aware of citation services, given that we get lots of students from across the lawn…

Collaboration and Team Work: Take a peek at Doodle, a poll creator and meeting scheduler. Will this solve the “Where should we have dinner?” problem, or just make it more fun to figure out? Hm.

The article ends with a miscellaneous category that contains links to things a lot of folks have already seen, but are worth reminding people about, such as LibraryThing and Flickr. If you’re interested and/or curious, you can visit Hertel’s wiki to join in the conversation and learn more.

Making time for professional reading can seem overwhelming, but if we all covered different journals, and made the time to share links and summaries from works that aren’t online (yet), we’d really be helping each other out. What journals are you reading lately? Any gems therein?

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Meebo: coming soon! Friday, May 9 2008

The steering committee had many good questions for us, and in the end, they decided to allow us to embed a Meebo widget in the countywide OPAC.  Huzzah!  This means I’ve spent most of today writing or revising drafts of things:  staff documentation, training docs, an FAQ, etc.   Next week we’ll get organized, hold staff trainings, meet one more time with einetwork to make sure our ducks are in a row…and then, we’re up.

It will be interesting to see if this particular Web 2.0 tool is one that our patrons will use and appreciate.  We are also testing the Qwidget for AskHere PA, which you’ll find on the Ask A Librarian page. I think the advantage of the Meebo widget, for CLP and other ACLA patrons, will be that local users who chat via Meebo are guaranteed to get a local librarian. While the benefits of nationwide service are many, patrons who use the Meebo widget will get faster and better help on a local service issue than they would with the statewide or 24/7 national service.

At least, that’s my theory. We shall see. Wish us luck!

Next week, tidbits gleaned from professional reading…and why you should make time to do your professional reading!

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