ACRL: Cyber Zed Shed Proposals

Cyber Zed Shed wants your 20-min. presentation proposal for
ACRL National in Philly.

Deadline Nov 1. http://j.mp/acrlczs

Are you a tech savvy librarian using new technologies in innovative ways? Adapting existing technologies to reach user needs? Here is an opportunity to share your innovations with your colleagues, library administrators, and others at ACRL 2011. The ACRL 2011 Cyber Zed Shed Committee is looking for proposals that document technology-related innovations in every area of the library.

Whether you are teaching in a classroom; answering questions from patrons; acquiring, cataloging, processing or preserving materials; or providing other services, we're interested. We invite you to submit your most innovative proposals to help us make Philadelphia the site of a truly groundbreaking conference.

Cyber Zed Shed presentations are 20 minutes, with 15 minutes to present a demonstration, and five additional minutes for audience Q&A. Presentations should document technology-related innovations in academic and research libraries. A computer, data projector, screen, microphone, and stage will be provided in the Cyber Zed Shed theater. You will be responsible for bringing all other equipment required for your demonstration, except as agreed to in advance.

The deadline for submission is November 1, 2010.

Questions about Cyber Zed Shed submissions should be directed to:

Kenley Neufeld, Santa Barbara City College, kenleyneufeld@gmail.com
Emily Rimland, Pennsylvania State University, erimland@psu.edu

ALA2010: Capitalizing on Technology (LIRT)

The Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) sponsored session Capitalizing on Technology: A Teaching Technology Fair, featured librarians discussing technologies they currently incorporate into instruction. With technologies ranging from open source software to free online resources, this panel had a little something for everyone. After the initial presentations were complete, individual presenters were available at tables stationed throughout the room; participants had an opportunity to discuss specific technologies with panel members (great idea!).

I'm always looking for a way to enhance my LibGuides and the IRC web site and blog, so these technologies engaged my interest. I've used Prezi and Wallwisher, have heard of but not used Animoto, and XtraNormal is a new resource option for me.

• Animoto
• XtraNormal
• Prezi
• Wallwisher

After following up on a couple of individual presentations this evening via the LIRT conference site, I sent out a few email questions to panel members hoping for additional information. A short library video created a year or so ago highlighting library resources is in need of updating, it may be a good place to start with Animoto.

ALA2010: YALSA Sessions

Opportunity to attend YALSA sponsored sessions is one of the highlights of any ALA annual, or midwinter for that matter, conference. I don't know if I was in meetings or just conference program challenged, but I managed to miss my favorite sessions, Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback. Luckily, the YALSA Blog has a nifty Cover It Live widget embedded and it's possible to review all of the titles discussed. When asked for their top two favorites, these six titles were among those highlighted. We have five of the six and I'll be sending the list to one of the children's literature professors tomorrow.

• Will Grayson, Will Grayson
  by John Green & David Levithan
• Once
  by, Morris Gleitzman
• Woods Runner
  by, Gary Paulsen
• Last Night I Sang to the Monster
  by, Benjamin Alire Saenz
• By the Time You Read This I'll Be Dead
  by, Julie Anne Peters
• Split
  by, Swati Avasthi

I attended another YALSA sponsored session Sunday afternoon; this one geared toward best practices in programming and instruction, on Sunday afternoon and was impressed by the Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival. Committee Chair, Stephanie Squicciarini, Teen Services Librarian, Fairport Public Library, is nothing short of amazing. Seeing is believing, watch the video:

ALA 2010: Emerging Technolgies (LITA)

With a nod to the old saw "time flies," I am a bit chagrined that I did not post information, thoughts, theories, and possible personal blathering, regarding sessions I attended at ALA Annual last month. The time lag is no reflection on the quality of presentations, but homage to how quickly library day in the life things take precedence; even during lunchtime blogging. LibGuides, blogs, chat, and the library and IRC web sites translate to spending an increasing amount of time with technology in the library. Using a new or emerging technology simply for the sake of using a new or emerging technology does not interest me; successfully incorporating it into the fabric of the library does, hence the LITA session focusing upon emerging technologies and the new role of emerging technology librarians caught my interest.

To say the room was full would be a drastic understatement. I arrived early and was lucky to find a seat (belated apologies to the kind people I had to maneuver around). Though somewhat concerned by the sheer number of librarians involved in the panel presentation, I congratulate session moderator Bohyun Kim, who ruthlessly followed the timetable set providing opportunity for each panelist to be heard and still have time for questions and brief audience participation.

What is Your Library Doing about Emerging Technologies?

My interest was immediately caught during the discussion of context and emerging technology. What is an emerging technology to a librarian may not be to the user, or even another librarian. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Chat, texting, and other social networking resources are no longer emergent, they are generally accepted and often expected. It could be argued some of these things are now thought of as passé by our users (only old people use email) and consideration should be given regarding our need to be in these communities. As one of the panelists noted, do our users want us to be on Facebook and Twitter? How are the technologies emerging beyond their traditional functions and how appropriate are they to the library or even instruction.

Beyond the library, one of the assignments in Introduction to the Principles of Instructional Technology is the creation of a wiki and subsequent review and discussion of an emergent technology. Each term I debate what technologies should be removed and/or added to the list for consideration. While I no longer consider using Wordle, or Jing in the classroom to be new or emergent technology trend, students this spring and summer felt differently. It all circles back to users and context.

The embedded slide share presentation provides session highlights. For more information, including other panel questions and discussion topics, here are a few links to consider:

• ALA Connect: What is Your Library Doing About Emerging Technologies
• Slideshare: What is Your Library Doing About Emerging Technologies
• LITA Blog: What is Your Library Doing About Emerging Technologies
• Library Hat (session moderator blog): Looking Back at What is Your Library Doing About Emerging Technologies
• Hashtag Archive: ALA 2010 Emerging Technologies Panel Session

More QR Codes ...

More discussion regarding QR codes and libraries! This link to Guided by Barcodes, an American Libraries Magazine article by Meridith Farkas, provides a nice overview of QR codes and a few more workable ideas on how they may be incorporated into library instruction, accompanying handouts, and web pages.

Even more fun, the power of Facebook ... I was led to the ALA article from OhioLINK's Facebook page re-posted by a "Facebook Friends" (thanks, Susan).

Weebly wobbles

The final project for Introduction to the Principles of Instructional Technology is creating an electronic portfolio showcasing projects developed throughout the term and posting it on the web. There are several free resources available to students with Weebly, Google Sites, and Webs.com, the current favorites. Last week, a student was having problems embedding their video. The quickest way to understand the issue was to create an account with Weebly, build a simple page (very simple), embed a video, and send the link to the student. As the term drew to a close, I promptly forgot about the page.

This afternoon the "we haven't seen you for a while" message (pictured left) arrived in my inbox and made me laugh. Their summary of my activities are on target as the site served its purpose quickly and easily; talk about big brother! Even though I did not edit or update the single page, it is no longer 7 days, 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 2 seconds since I last logged in to Weebly.

Wonder if I'm the only one who is reminded of Weebles?

Literature rack & QR codes

I have been considering different ways to utilize QR codes in the IRC since returning from the Computers in Libraries conference this spring. I think they have potential to be an interesting creative outlet (instruction session scavenger hunt and student interaction, saving LibGuides to phones and simple signage tools) and they are a quirky fun technology. I wanted a way to make them feasible, functional, and visually appealing.

I created new signs for the Newbery and Caldecott sections of the juvenile collection; they lead-off the stacks. Signs are complemented by small literature holders with print copies of LibGuide pages, a more traditional handout format. New signs were created with screen shots of the LibGuide and a side bar with a QR Code displayed and text: "Snap! Send the QR Code to your Web Enabled Phone for the URL." My student workers thought it was fun after I explained, but there was not much interest in the signs (library wallpaper).

After contemplating the empty literature rack, I tossed all of the handouts at the end of the spring term,  trying to decide if it needed to be removed and what could be displayed in its place, I remembered the QR codes. Instead of updated handouts I generated QR codes for seven of my most popular education LibGuides and the IRC blog. After laminating, they fit cleanly into the rack with a small bit of tape securing them. The ninth opening has a definition of QR Codes and a small recycling statement.  I have not wasted paper on multiple copies, students can save URLs to their phones and print if they want a particular LibGuide and the rack has helped green the IRC. It remains to be seen if the rack/display garners interest or increased LibGuide use, but I am pleased with the result.

Call for Papers: JILDDER

From "inbox" this morning, here is a call for papers from the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserves. Generally speaking, I tend to post more conference and workshop information, but several years ago my first article was published in this journal and since then an article published by fellow blogger Betsy Blankenship, I think it's a great opportunity to share.

Call for Papers: JILDDER

The Routledge/Taylor & Francis peer-reviewed Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve (JILDDER) has merged with Resource Sharing & Information Networks and is now accepting articles for Winter and Spring publication. Of particular interest to JILDDER are articles regarding resource sharing, unmediated borrowing, electronic reserve, cooperative collection development, shared virtual library services, digitization projects and other multi-library collaborative efforts including the following topics:

• cooperative purchasing and shared collections
• consortial delivery systems
• shared storage facilities
• administration and leadership of interlibrary loan departments, networks, cooperatives, and consortia
• training, consulting and continuing education provided by consortium
• use of interlibrary loan statistics for book and periodical acquisitions, weeding and collection management
• selection and use of cutting-edge technologies and services used for interlibrary loan and electronic reserve, such as Ariel, Illiad, BlackBoard, Relais and other proprietary and open-source software
• copyright and permission issues concerning interlibrary loan and electronic reserve
• aspects of quality assurance, efficiency studies, best practices, library 2.0, the impact of Open WorldCat and Google Scholar, buy instead of borrow and practical practices addressing special problems of international interlibrary loan, international currency, payment problems, IFLA, and shipping
• interlibrary loan of specialized library materials such as music, media, CDs, DVDs, items from electronic subscriptions and legal materials
• special problems of medical, music, law, government and other unique types of libraries
• new opportunities in interlibrary loan and the enhancement of interlibrary loan as a specialization

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before August 9, 2010 for Winter publication and October 11, 2010 for Spring 2011 publication. For further details, instructions for authors and submission procedures please visit: http://www.informaworld.com/wild.

Please send all submissions and questions to the Editor Rebecca Donlan at rdonlan@fgcu.edu or Associate Editor .Barbara J. Stites at bstites@fgcu.edu

Learn more about the Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery, and Electronic Reserves http://informaworld.com/WILD

Millennials & Social Networks

A new Pew Internet Report discusses how millenials, or digital natives, will use social networks, technology, and issues such as privacy in the future.

Millennials will make online sharing in networks a lifelong habit

In a survey about the future impact of the Internet, a solid majority of technology experts and stakeholders said the Millennial generation will lead society into a new world of personal disclosure and information-sharing using new media. These experts said the communications patterns “digital natives” have already embraced through their use of social networking technology and other social technology tools will carry forward even as Millennials age, form families, and move up the economic ladder.

I found the respondents thoughts accompanying this report interesting; for instance the following quote from Stowe Boyd, "“Publicy will replace privacy. Privacy will appear quaint, like wearing gloves and veils in church.”

ALA 2010: Cyber Zed Shed, ACRL

Traveling into the way back, a final reflection of the 2009 ACRL Conference (Seattle) featured mention of my new favorite conference presentation option, the Cyber Zed Shed. Located near the poster sessions, it was convenient and visible. At the end of one of the shed days, a volunteer, or perhaps committee member, was collecting business cards from people who were interested in participating in the CZS for Philadelphia 2011. I gleefully handed over my card, a miracle in itself since I routinely forget them. Fast forward to ALA Annual 2010 and my Monday morning meeting ...

I attended my first Cyber Zed Shed committee meeting at ACRL "headquarters," The Renaissance Mayflower hotel. I arrived early, wandered through the lobby area for a short time, and located my committee. Several members with iPads connected to the Internet, my trusty netbook and I, sans Internet, took meeting minutes. Using ALA Connect as our cyber home, we will be able to meet virtually.

• ACRL National Conference
• ACRL Conference Tracks
• Cyber Zed Shed Presentations

Submission for CZS presentations will be open soon; I will post information here as it becomes available. We will be using Facebook and Twitter, was well as more traditional means of email and blogs, to market and solicit submissions. It's not too soon to consider presenting!

"Are you a tech savvy librarian using new technologies in innovative ways? Adapting existing technologies to reach user needs? Here is an opportunity to share your innovations with your colleagues, library administrators, and others at ACRL 2011. The ACRL 2011 Cyber Zed Shed Committee is looking for proposals that document technology-related innovations in every area of the library. Whether you are teaching in a classroom; answering questions from patrons; acquiring, cataloging, processing or preserving materials; or providing other services, we're interested. We invite you to submit your most innovative proposals to help us make Philadelphia the site of a truly groundbreaking conference. Cyber Zed Shed presentations are 20 minutes, with 15 minutes to present a demonstration, and five additional minutes for audience Q&A. Presentations should document technology-related innovations in academic and research libraries. A computer, data projector, screen, microphone, and stage will be provided in the Cyber Zed Shed theater. You will be responsible for bringing all other equipment required for your demonstration, except as agreed to in advance. The deadline for submission is November 1, 2010." -- ACRL National 2011

I excited about participating with this committee and am definitely looking forward to Philadelphia 2011.

ALA 2010: The Stacks

There is always something about entering "The Stacks" at ALA that reminds me of a carnival atmosphere. Maybe it's the sound of wheels spinning for prizes, or even the vendors pitching their sessions like barkers, regardless it is an atmosphere of fun and prizes. I convince myself not to pick up any more pens (I really do not need them) and limit the number of ARCs to what I can comfortably transport in my ALA bag.

This plan worked until I arrived in one of the children's book aisles, was offered a copy of Nikki Grimes new book, A Girl Named Mister, autographed by the author. No line. No waiting. Very gracious author signing books. A few booths away I met Janet Mullany, the author of Jane and the Damned, due out this October. One more autographed book. To the delight of my niece I found several titles of interest for eight year old girls before the bag was full.

Arriving back at AU, I compared notes with our technical services and government documents librarian who also spent quality time in The Stacks. She had opportunity to talk with the EBSCOHost vendors and learned about a new customizable search box builder now available on their support site. One of their integration tools, the Search Box Builder allows users to "Choose your search parameters and customize your search box size and style to fit your site." I have already created one for our LibGuide widget library that will search Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, and ERIC (for the education page). Alas, attempts to paste the code here for an example were spectacularly unsuccessful (at least visually); but it works fabulously.

Life in a Day

Students in my section of EDCI 232/505: Introduction to the Principles of Instructional Technology finished their desktop movie assignment last week; it's the seventh of ten technology assignments required during the intensive Summer Y session at Ashland. Once videos are finished, they upload to YouTube for grading. As I mentioned to them after grading, finished products this term are some of the best I've seen; they creatively combined different media options such as web cam video, PowerPoint slides, personal digital images, and music (successfully using YouTube's Audio Swap) using Movie Maker and iMovie. Always a popular assignment, discussions on several blog posts this week touched upon different ways movies could be used in the classroom. This morning, YouTube introduced a "cinematic experience," Life in a Day, which could be adapted for classroom use (or libraries for that matter!).

Regardless, it is an interesting experiment ...

ALA 2010: EBSS Higher Education Committee

A current member of ACRL's EBSS section, my first official ALA Annual meeting was the Higher Education Committee on Saturday morning. I managed to arrive on time at the wrong hotel, luckily met and chatted with two other EBSS committee members - both curriculum materials center librarians - that made the same mistake, and then hopped a Gale shuttle bus to the correct hotel arriving with much chagrin a half hour late.



The Higher Education Committee has been working on a wiki project for the last two years. It has expanded significantly since its first inception; the wiki format was ideal for growth.

"At the 2008 ALA Midwinter Meetings in Philadelphia, PA, the Higher Education committee elected to utilize a Wiki for it's newest project, a Wiki and/or web page resource committed to supporting librarians new to working with Higher Education faculty and practitioners/administrators. This resource will be largely, but not limited to, Internet resources. Entries will include a brief supportive annotation describing significance, sponsorship, and other information as deemed necessary." -- EBSS Higher Education Wiki

One week prior to the meeting, we made our project live! It will soon be available via the ACRL web site, but I'm pleased to provide the address here for a preview. Topics included in the wiki are:

• Accreditation
• Curriculum Materials Centers
• Distance Education
• News Sources for Higher Education
• Promotion and Tenure
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Services to Administrators
• Statistics and Data Resources

I was particularly pleased to have the Curriculum Materials Centers page, it came in handy when preparing the collection and budget for the new AU Columbus Center IRC. At this point, I am not sure if there are plans to open the wiki for comments and/or additional submissions (feel free to submit recommendations as blog comments). Time will tell. Sad to see the wiki "completed," are they ever really finished, other projects are in the works for this committee.

OLSSI 2010: Libraries Rock

OLSSI 2010: Libraries ROCK !!!
The Ohio Library Support Staff Institute
July 25 – 27, 2010 @ Baldwin-Wallace College
In Berea, Ohio just outside of Cleveland

This will be our ninth annual conference, and still the same price of only $225.00 – for three days and two nights of outstanding classes, programs and lectures, along with evening entertainment & activities!


See our FAQ at http://olssiregistration.weebly.com/2010-faq.html for info on lodging, parking, meals, etc.

The full class & instructor list, and the registration form can be found here:
http://olssiregistration.weebly.com/index.html

We have some of the best instructors from all over Ohio, and with a rock-n-roll music theme, this will be the best library event EVER ! And this year, our Grand Prize giveaway is an Amazon Kindle with a $100 Amazon gift card! So come and be a part of the fun and learning that is OLSSI 2010 !

Registration closes July 6th.

Please feel free to contact us with any and all questions:

Michael Bradshaw
E-mail: Michael.Bradshaw@sc.ohio.gov
Phone: 614-387-9650
Fax: 614-387-9659

ALA 2010: Book Cart Drill Teams!

The Sixth Annual Book Cart Drill Team World Championships, sponsored by Demco, were held on Sunday afternoon during ALA Annual Conference. Seven teams competing for the gold, silver, and bronze Demco carts performed to a packed house (the largest crowd I've seen in the last five years). We were once again entertained by master's of ceremony, Jon Scieszka and Mo Willems; they made no secret that every team was their personal favorite.

And the winners are ... Night of the Living Librarians from my alma mater, The University of Pittsburgh School of Library and Information Sciences!

Demco's You Tube channel features all of the performances, as well as the award ceremony. I was lucky enough to sit with a new librarian from Columbia, South Carolina and a library school student from Kent State University, both viewing the program for the first time. I'm pretty sure they will attend again if given the opportunity to go to ALA Annual in New Orleans next summer.