OhioLINK, OCLC Report Reveals Surprises about Circulation
"OhioLINK and OCLC Research have released a report of, and the data set used in, a joint study of OhioLINK circulation, to better understand the usage patterns of books in academic libraries and support further research in this area. The study, which incorporated usage data from 2007-2008, was limited to books and manuscripts because these materials typically circulate, and circulation is a significant element in evaluating collections." - OhioLINK What's New, 9/29/11
OCLC & OhioLINK Release Extensive Data Sets on Book Usage Patterns in Academic Libraries
"OhioLINK and OCLC Research released on September 21 what is likely the largest and most comprehensive study of academic library circulation ever undertaken. Among the more interesting findings, the "80/20" rule, which says that 80 percent of a library's circulation is driven by approximately 20 percent of the collection, may not be accurate." -- Michael Kelly, Library Journal, 9/29/11
No Projector? No Problem. Use QR Codes + SlideShare to Share Your Slides
"Here's a useful and easy social-media option speakers can use to put their slides into the hands of the audience right away--even if there's no projector or the projector's not working. From the SlideShare blog, we learn how: First, upload your slides to SlideShare, the popular website for making slides easily available. Then create a QR or "quick response" code like the graphical bar code at right with a link to the SlideShare version of your presentation. The code embeds an easy-to-scan version of the web address where your slides reside."-- Denise Graveline, The Eloquent Woman, 9/27/11
The Question of Control in the Classroom
"The August 24 post, What Does Your Syllabus Say About You and Your Course?, in which I asked a series of questions designed to encourage revisiting the syllabus in terms of its role in setting course norms and establishing the tone of the course generated some interesting responses. I am always pleased when a post stimulates reaction, including disagreement. This is how we learn and grow as professionals. It also makes blogs worth reading, in my opinion. I do have to say, however, that I found some of the assumptions embedded in the responses troubling. I have been thinking about the issues they raised and thought it might be useful for us to continue the conversation." -- Maryellen Weimer, The Teaching Professor Blog, 9/28/11
Dynamic Views: Seven New Ways to Share Your Blog with the World
"As we said a few weeks ago when we launched a completely rebuilt, streamlined authoring and editing experience, we’re in the process of bringing you a much improved and modernized Blogger. The next phase of these updates starts today with seven new ways to display your blog, called Dynamic Views. Built with the latest in web technology (AJAX, HTML5 and CSS3), Dynamic Views is a unique browsing experience that will inspire your readers to explore your blog in new ways. The interactive layouts make it easier for readers to enjoy and discover your posts, loading 40 percent faster than traditional templates and bringing older entries to the surface so they seem fresh again." -- Antin Harasymiv, Blogger Buzz, 9/27/11
Why I Killed My Facebook Account
"Many Facebook users are in an uproar over new changes, while bigger ones are about to be unveiled. I’ve had a Facebook account since 2005. Today, I killed it. Didn’t just deactivate it, but deleted it. The whole kit-and-kaboodle. Why?" -- Joe Hardenbrook, Mr. Library Dude, 9/25/11
Blended Learning - Cutting Edge Or a Double-Edged Sword
"Instructional Designer and Teacher Kimberly Greene provides deep insights into Brandman University’s implementation of a blended learning environment in their School of Education. In the presentation, Greene discusses the goals of the effort, many of the technologies and approaches used, and identifies what worked well and what they’ve been working to improve." -- K. Walsh, Emerging EdTech, 9/25/11
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
2011 ALAO Program & Schedule
Conference Schedule at a Glance
Session Abstracts
Friday, September 23, 2011
Weekly Reader
Transmedia Storytelling (A Fun Way to Blog)
"Ever have one of those days where you’d spend more time thinking about something to write about than actually writing the post itself? That’d be this morning for me! Instead of your traditional blog post, I thought I’d put together a ‘How-To’ video of sorts. I’ve always been fascinated with transmedia storytelling (technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies) and thought I’d use my “slow morning” to provide a very simple example of it. If this is new to you, I think you’ll really appreciate this creative approach to content creation and the various ways you can get really creative with it." -- Chris Vaughn, Social Media Today, 9/21/11
Know Thine Audience
"They are students, they are faculty members. They are hobbyists and autodidacts.
Back in Blackout
"Considering that only 10 to 15 percent of students fully cooperated with the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology’s ban on social media sites last year, the extent to which it succeeded in provoking genuine thought about how (and how much) such sites should be used is debatable. All the more reason to try again -- the operative word being 'try.' 'We did it in the first place last year to raise awareness, particularly in the classroom, about the uses of social media and how it impacts the business of learning,' said Eric Darr, the university’s provost and creator of its now-famous social media blackout. And even though the vast majority of students bypassed the university’s network and logged in to sites such as Facebook via their smartphones or at home (Harrisburg is non-residential), about a quarter reported better concentration, more interest and more productivity in the classroom during the blackout." -- Allie Grasgreen, Inside Higer Ed News, 9/21/11
"Ever have one of those days where you’d spend more time thinking about something to write about than actually writing the post itself? That’d be this morning for me! Instead of your traditional blog post, I thought I’d put together a ‘How-To’ video of sorts. I’ve always been fascinated with transmedia storytelling (technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies) and thought I’d use my “slow morning” to provide a very simple example of it. If this is new to you, I think you’ll really appreciate this creative approach to content creation and the various ways you can get really creative with it." -- Chris Vaughn, Social Media Today, 9/21/11
Know Thine Audience
"They are students, they are faculty members. They are hobbyists and autodidacts.
They still prefer to read texts in print, but they are intrigued by the possibilities of digital, especially when it comes to scanning huge swaths of text for key words and phrases. They travel in herds and pledge allegiance to tribes; their social instincts are stronger than their market instincts. Their actions speak louder than their survey responses." -- Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed News, 9/21/11
"But what has it done for me? Firstly, due to the excellent feedback I have received it has proved my original point that infographics are a wonderful way of communicating. The majority of us are visual creatures, turned on more by the eye, than the depth of detail. To that end, my CV has attracted some lovely comments and in less than a month, 954 downloads. Would my standard CV have received the same level of interest? No chance. So I am embarking on a new journey, to turn our ‘detaily’ product collateral into slick, one page infographics that convey the essence of our key message in a few seconds, rather than a few minutes. As soon as they are complete I will share them with you, together with our current collateral and you can give me your feedback and tell me what you would prefer to receive as a consumer." -- Gareth Case, Social Media Today, 9/20/11
Back in Blackout
"Considering that only 10 to 15 percent of students fully cooperated with the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology’s ban on social media sites last year, the extent to which it succeeded in provoking genuine thought about how (and how much) such sites should be used is debatable. All the more reason to try again -- the operative word being 'try.' 'We did it in the first place last year to raise awareness, particularly in the classroom, about the uses of social media and how it impacts the business of learning,' said Eric Darr, the university’s provost and creator of its now-famous social media blackout. And even though the vast majority of students bypassed the university’s network and logged in to sites such as Facebook via their smartphones or at home (Harrisburg is non-residential), about a quarter reported better concentration, more interest and more productivity in the classroom during the blackout." -- Allie Grasgreen, Inside Higer Ed News, 9/21/11
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2011 ALAO Conference: Early Bird Registration
ALAO Conference 2011Early Bird Registration Ends September 26th
Register Now!
2011ALAO Conference on November 4th includes:
- Opening keynote from Steven J. Bell, Associate University Librarian at Temple University and ACRL Vice-President/President-Elect.
- Presentations, posters, and spotlight sessions, all centered on change in today’s academic libraries
- Vendor spotlights
- Lunch with colleagues
- Time for networking
ALAO is excited to offer a professionally valuable and engaging pre-conference on November 3rd. The pre-conference features an opening keynote delivered by Lauren Pressley entitled, “Change and Opportunities for Today’s Academic Libraries.” The day continues with a distinguished panel of Ohio academic library leaders discussing ACRL’s “The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report.”
Registration is available for the conference only, pre-conference only, or both. Special discount rates available for students, retirees and early registrants.
Waiting for Wonderstruck
After seeing the movie trailer for Hugo while waiting for Harry Potter 7 and remembering how I enjoyed The Adventures of Hugo Cabret, I've been not-so-patiently waiting for our copy of Wonderstruck to arrive in the library. I discussed the books pending arrival during the Mock Caldecott panel last week. I've tried not to read the inevitable discussions and comparisons between Selznick's 2008 Caldecott Award winner Hugo and his newest novel, Wonderstruck. It's been difficult.
Leaving work yesterday, I noticed our copy has arrived (I'll be putting my name on the list). This morning, despite my best intentions, I read an interesting post by Robin Smith on the Horn Book's Calling Caldecott blog. Judging by the number of copies "in process" and "on hold" in OhioLINK, I'm not the only person looking forward to reading Wonderstruck.
Monday, September 19, 2011
ALAO Newsletter, September 2011
The ALAO Newsletter, Vol. 29 No. 3 (Sept 2011), is now available. Featured in this edition are:
- President's Report
- 2011 Conference and Pre-Conference
- Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award Nominations Sought
- ALAO Interest Groups & Committees
- People and Library News
"We are over 600 members, representing more than 100 libraries, organizations, and businesses. We provide support, encouragement, and continuing education opportunities for academic library staff from all over Ohio through our workshops, annual conference and other programs." -- Welcome to ALAO.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Weekly Reader
Is it Time to Rethink E-Books?
"The father of the e-book passed away last week. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, died Tuesday, September 6, at the age of 64. Considered by most to be the man that jumpstarted the move toward digital books, Hart created the first fully digitized public document by hand-typing the Declaration of Independence into a University of Illinois computer. That was back in 1971, and Project Gutenberg has arguably paved the way for what we now know as e-readers and, most importantly, e-books." --
Thursday Threads: Authors Guild Sues Hathi Trust, Libraries Learn from Blockbuster, Publisher’s View of Self-Publishing
"Legal action against the digitization and limited distribution of orphan works unexpectedly hit the news again this week. This week’s DLTJ Thursday Threads starts with an overview of the lawsuit filed by authors organizations and authors against Hathi Trust over plans to make digital versions of orphan works available to university users. And while we’re wondering of libraries’ role in providing access to digitized works, we should also take note of an article in American Libraries Magazine on what we could learn from Blockbuster’s fall. And lastly, I point to a story of one author’s experience when her own self publishing with Amazon ran afoul of a publisher’s desires." -- Peter Murray, Distruptive Library Technology Blog, 9/15/11
Edit Your Videos with YouTube
"Until now, when you uploaded to YouTube, your video was hosted and shared, but couldn’t really be changed. If you wanted to trim off the end, swap out the soundtrack, or add an effect, you had to edit your video using a separate program and upload again.Starting today, you can edit your uploaded videos right on YouTube and maintain the same video IDs. This means you keep your view count and comments, and all existing links to your video will continue to work. No re-uploading necessary! " -- John Gregg, Broadcasting Ourselves, 9/14/11
Blogger Gets the Last Laugh
"Alex Christensen is getting the last laugh after a blog he created poking fun at his alma mater was shut down, and has now been restored. It started simply enough. After Washington University in St. Louis unveiled its website redesign in December, Christensen, a senior at the time, decided to poke a little fun at his university. He started the blog “Wash U Photo Captions” in December, posting what he calls the “ridiculous” promotional photographs from the university’s new website and adding his own snarky captions." -- Elizabeth Murphy, Inside Higher Ed News, 9/14/11
Cyberbullying 101: Fact vs Fiction (podcast)
"A great deal has been said and written about cyberbullying, but not all of it is true. As Cyberbullying Research Center co-director Justin Patchin said in an interview recently, it's "a concern that we need to take very seriously," but "it's certainly not an epidemic." Cyberbullying, said Patchin, is "bullying behaviors carried out using or facilitated by technology," which includes "a lot of the same kind of things we see at school and in neighborhoods, such as harassment or disrespecting or rumors or gossip that are now being carried out online." [podcast link] -- Larry Magid, CNet News, 9/12/11
"The father of the e-book passed away last week. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, died Tuesday, September 6, at the age of 64. Considered by most to be the man that jumpstarted the move toward digital books, Hart created the first fully digitized public document by hand-typing the Declaration of Independence into a University of Illinois computer. That was back in 1971, and Project Gutenberg has arguably paved the way for what we now know as e-readers and, most importantly, e-books." --
Thursday Threads: Authors Guild Sues Hathi Trust, Libraries Learn from Blockbuster, Publisher’s View of Self-Publishing
"Legal action against the digitization and limited distribution of orphan works unexpectedly hit the news again this week. This week’s DLTJ Thursday Threads starts with an overview of the lawsuit filed by authors organizations and authors against Hathi Trust over plans to make digital versions of orphan works available to university users. And while we’re wondering of libraries’ role in providing access to digitized works, we should also take note of an article in American Libraries Magazine on what we could learn from Blockbuster’s fall. And lastly, I point to a story of one author’s experience when her own self publishing with Amazon ran afoul of a publisher’s desires." -- Peter Murray, Distruptive Library Technology Blog, 9/15/11
Edit Your Videos with YouTube
"Until now, when you uploaded to YouTube, your video was hosted and shared, but couldn’t really be changed. If you wanted to trim off the end, swap out the soundtrack, or add an effect, you had to edit your video using a separate program and upload again.Starting today, you can edit your uploaded videos right on YouTube and maintain the same video IDs. This means you keep your view count and comments, and all existing links to your video will continue to work. No re-uploading necessary! " -- John Gregg, Broadcasting Ourselves, 9/14/11
Blogger Gets the Last Laugh
"Alex Christensen is getting the last laugh after a blog he created poking fun at his alma mater was shut down, and has now been restored. It started simply enough. After Washington University in St. Louis unveiled its website redesign in December, Christensen, a senior at the time, decided to poke a little fun at his university. He started the blog “Wash U Photo Captions” in December, posting what he calls the “ridiculous” promotional photographs from the university’s new website and adding his own snarky captions." -- Elizabeth Murphy, Inside Higher Ed News, 9/14/11
Cyberbullying 101: Fact vs Fiction (podcast)
"A great deal has been said and written about cyberbullying, but not all of it is true. As Cyberbullying Research Center co-director Justin Patchin said in an interview recently, it's "a concern that we need to take very seriously," but "it's certainly not an epidemic." Cyberbullying, said Patchin, is "bullying behaviors carried out using or facilitated by technology," which includes "a lot of the same kind of things we see at school and in neighborhoods, such as harassment or disrespecting or rumors or gossip that are now being carried out online." [podcast link] -- Larry Magid, CNet News, 9/12/11
QR Codes in action (with Mock Caldecott session)
Since 2002, I have had the pleasure of working with a College of Education professor and her children's literature class facilitating a Mock Caldecott session at the beginning of each fall and spring term. Prior to the panel discussion, students have spent several class periods studying picture books, elements of genre and illustrator's artistic style; evaluating the titles presented during our meeting provides
opportunity to put these tools (so to speak) to use.
I select titles that are new to the library, meet basic Caldecott terms and criteria (picture book, year published, and illustrator citizen or resident of United States), and generate a collection with a variety of artistic styles and representation of new and well-known illustrators. This year's resource packet featured a list of titles explored, Caldecott terms and criteria and About the Caldecott Medal, and Caldecott Confidential, a great article from the School Library Journal web site, and the Caldecott section from my Children's Literature Award Book Resource LibGuide. The panel designated Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith, as their winner (you can read more about the Mock Caldecott session here).
Time to tour the IRC before to the panel and peruse collections after completion is scheduled into the visit. The biggest draw after class is routinely our new book area, this year it was split with the QR code literature rack. Several students were intrigued by the different colored codes, armed with cell phones, bar code reader apps, and instruction, they happily checked out several of the resources - including the QR code on their LibGuide
I select titles that are new to the library, meet basic Caldecott terms and criteria (picture book, year published, and illustrator citizen or resident of United States), and generate a collection with a variety of artistic styles and representation of new and well-known illustrators. This year's resource packet featured a list of titles explored, Caldecott terms and criteria and About the Caldecott Medal, and Caldecott Confidential, a great article from the School Library Journal web site, and the Caldecott section from my Children's Literature Award Book Resource LibGuide. The panel designated Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith, as their winner (you can read more about the Mock Caldecott session here).
Time to tour the IRC before to the panel and peruse collections after completion is scheduled into the visit. The biggest draw after class is routinely our new book area, this year it was split with the QR code literature rack. Several students were intrigued by the different colored codes, armed with cell phones, bar code reader apps, and instruction, they happily checked out several of the resources - including the QR code on their LibGuide
State of the Blogosphere Survey
It's that time again, Technorati is conducting their annual State of the Blogsphere survey.
I do read the State of the Blogosphere reports, but haven't used Technorati for some time; one other Library Cloud post is labeled Technorati, it presents the 2010 State of the Blogsphere reported by Tech Crunch. If you are a blogger and interested in participating in the 2011 survey, here's the information (in part) from the Library Cloud inbox this morning."Technorati's State of the Blogosphere series chronicles the rise and evolution of the Blogosphere as we know it. Since 2004 we've seen explosive growth and maturing of this new arm of the fourth estate" (Technorati, 9/16/11).
"We'd love for you to share some information about blogging as your passion or your profession, that we can then share back with you, the bloggers, and everyone who is interested in you. It should take just 15 minutes of your time. The more responses we get the better the data we can deliver to you, so please share this link with other bloggers. http://www.psasurveys.com/detect.aspx?I.Project=a18214"
Friday, September 09, 2011
Weekly Reader
QR Codes Explained by Common Craft
"You may have seen these little codes around. They're in newspapers, on storefronts and products. They're called Quick Response (QR) Codes and they're meant to used with your smartphone. They could be a very big deal in the future. This video is one of our most requested titles and explains how QR codes make the real world clickable." -- Lee Lefever, Common Craft, 9/6/11
To Fix Higher Education, Start by Eliminating Tenure
"No one knows for sure if the higher education is the next "on-the-bubble" industry that is about to burst, but there certainly is considerable concern about the sustainability of traditional higher education. It's not that anyone suspects the top tier institutions are in jeopardy. But with over 3,500 institutions, and many of them struggling to attract sufficient students while balancing their budgets, there is a good chance some will not be here in the next decade. In response to the many problems faced by colleges and universities, a whole host of experts have written books offering solutions for what ails higher education." -- Steven Bell, Library Journal , 9/6/11
(Moral) Hazards of Scanning for Plagiarists: Evidence from Shoplifting
"Students are being scanned as well to make sure that the words in their papers were not swiped from other sources. Scanning papers began a decade ago when anti-plagiarism software was created to compare the phrases of student papers with other sources. The leading anti-plagiarism software is Turnitin, which compares student papers with academic journals, Internet web pages and its library of previously submitted papers. On its home page, Turnitin quotes an instructor as saying, “I used to spend hours on Google searching for unusual wording when I suspected that the paper was not written by the student. Now, I can search quickly with Turnitin!” -- David Harrington, David Harrington Economist, 9/4/11
Trading In ‘.edu’ for ‘.com’
"The news that, after what seems like forever, new Internet domain names will be allowed has sparked conversations among college CIO’s and communication specialists about the limits of the “.edu” domain. The news has also provoked serious talk about what might be gained by trading in those three letters strongly linked to higher education for Web addresses like “yourgreatuniveristyhere.com” or even something that ends in “.weberstate” or “.brownuniversity.”" -- Josh Fischman, The Wired Campus, 9/2/11
"You may have seen these little codes around. They're in newspapers, on storefronts and products. They're called Quick Response (QR) Codes and they're meant to used with your smartphone. They could be a very big deal in the future. This video is one of our most requested titles and explains how QR codes make the real world clickable." -- Lee Lefever, Common Craft, 9/6/11
To Fix Higher Education, Start by Eliminating Tenure
"No one knows for sure if the higher education is the next "on-the-bubble" industry that is about to burst, but there certainly is considerable concern about the sustainability of traditional higher education. It's not that anyone suspects the top tier institutions are in jeopardy. But with over 3,500 institutions, and many of them struggling to attract sufficient students while balancing their budgets, there is a good chance some will not be here in the next decade. In response to the many problems faced by colleges and universities, a whole host of experts have written books offering solutions for what ails higher education." -- Steven Bell, Library Journal , 9/6/11
(Moral) Hazards of Scanning for Plagiarists: Evidence from Shoplifting
"Students are being scanned as well to make sure that the words in their papers were not swiped from other sources. Scanning papers began a decade ago when anti-plagiarism software was created to compare the phrases of student papers with other sources. The leading anti-plagiarism software is Turnitin, which compares student papers with academic journals, Internet web pages and its library of previously submitted papers. On its home page, Turnitin quotes an instructor as saying, “I used to spend hours on Google searching for unusual wording when I suspected that the paper was not written by the student. Now, I can search quickly with Turnitin!” -- David Harrington, David Harrington Economist, 9/4/11
Trading In ‘.edu’ for ‘.com’
"The news that, after what seems like forever, new Internet domain names will be allowed has sparked conversations among college CIO’s and communication specialists about the limits of the “.edu” domain. The news has also provoked serious talk about what might be gained by trading in those three letters strongly linked to higher education for Web addresses like “yourgreatuniveristyhere.com” or even something that ends in “.weberstate” or “.brownuniversity.”" -- Josh Fischman, The Wired Campus, 9/2/11
Friday, September 02, 2011
Weekly Reader
Searching the Library and Beyond: A Graduate Student Perspective
"I just finished my MLS, and one of the issues raised frequently both in and out of the classroom was how to get college students and researchers to use the library website. Academic librarians I’ve talked with have spent hefty amounts of time (and money) designing sites that meet the self-described needs of patrons, but still find most of the searches that guide students to library resources to be coming from Google. I decided to take a look at my own search habits to get a sense of how, from the graduate student perspective, these tools might be employed, and hopefully generate some discussion about searching on the library website and beyond." -- Julia Skinner, ACRLog, 9/1/11
Online Education is Everywhere ... What's the Next Big Thing?
"Like many other colleges, Southern New Hampshire University is experiencing an online-education boom. But look under the hood of its digital learning operation, and what you’ll find in many ways resembles traditional education: students forking over substantial tuition payments to study in small, professor-led classes that last from eight to 11 weeks. So what innovation will put that model out of business? Answering that question will be the responsibility of a new two-person “innovation team” at Southern New Hampshire. It’s an unusual job description: Disrupt the disruptive innovation." -- Marc Parry, Wired Campus, 8/31/11
Stop Blogging - Start Thinking
"Here is what advice they don’t give you at those seminars or e-books on the magical power of business blogging and social media: They don’t tell you that blogging = content creation, i.e. writing (mostly), and for some photography, videography, illustration, etc. That blogging per se is a meaningless word, thrown out there to make it less intimidating for the non-writers amongst us to throw our thoughts into the great wide world of the Internet. That the only differences between writing a blog or writing an article for a newspaper are that with a blog, you will be less likely to suffer public humiliation should it be lousy, and a small but important fact that there is no editor to guide you, help you fix it, or simply say that your content is not worthy of publication." -- Neal Shaffer, Social Media Today, 9/1/11
Where Good Ideas Come From
"As a summer project we read Steven Johnson’s book 'Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. It’s a book that while not at all focused on libraries, gave both us a lot of really good ideas about how librarians working with teens can be innovative and work towards innovative practices in their libraries. Below you can read about some of our favorite ideas and how we see connections between them and teen library services." -- Jennifer Larson and Linda Braun, YALSA Blog, 8/30/11
New College Board Research: 86% of Young Americans Believe College is Essential
"New York, NY — One year after graduating from high school, most members of the Class of 2010 believe that earning a college degree is “definitely” worth it, according to a survey released today by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization. The comprehensive survey on college readiness and affordability, One Year Out, explores how young Americans assess their high school experience and its role in preparing them for life after graduation — be it work or postsecondary education." -- Peter Kaufmann (media contact), The College Board, 8/30/11
Nothing Right About this Copyright Ruling
"The world of copyright litigation is getting downright surreal. Recently a court struck down an appeal of a NY case involving reselling books from overseas in the U.S. Essentially, the court ruled that the first sale doctrine applies only to works manufactured in the United States." -- Maura Smale, ACRLog, 8/30/11
Anything I Wanted to Know About Library Marketing I Learned from a Shampoo Bottle
"The always brilliant Ned Potter wrote up a wonderful little primer on library marketing entitled “Three simple marketing rules all libraries should live by…” In his post, he emphasizes marketing the service, dropping the ‘how this works’ explanation, and promote the intersection of what the patron values with what the library values. Or, in other words, to use Pepsi as an example: Pepsi tells you that it refreshes, not that it is made with high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients; there is no Pepsi ad that walks you through how it is made; and Pepsi and its customers are both enjoy sugary caffeinated drinks and work to promote that relationship." -- Andy Woodworth, Agnostic, Maybe, 8/25/11
"I just finished my MLS, and one of the issues raised frequently both in and out of the classroom was how to get college students and researchers to use the library website. Academic librarians I’ve talked with have spent hefty amounts of time (and money) designing sites that meet the self-described needs of patrons, but still find most of the searches that guide students to library resources to be coming from Google. I decided to take a look at my own search habits to get a sense of how, from the graduate student perspective, these tools might be employed, and hopefully generate some discussion about searching on the library website and beyond." -- Julia Skinner, ACRLog, 9/1/11
Online Education is Everywhere ... What's the Next Big Thing?
"Like many other colleges, Southern New Hampshire University is experiencing an online-education boom. But look under the hood of its digital learning operation, and what you’ll find in many ways resembles traditional education: students forking over substantial tuition payments to study in small, professor-led classes that last from eight to 11 weeks. So what innovation will put that model out of business? Answering that question will be the responsibility of a new two-person “innovation team” at Southern New Hampshire. It’s an unusual job description: Disrupt the disruptive innovation." -- Marc Parry, Wired Campus, 8/31/11
Stop Blogging - Start Thinking
"Here is what advice they don’t give you at those seminars or e-books on the magical power of business blogging and social media: They don’t tell you that blogging = content creation, i.e. writing (mostly), and for some photography, videography, illustration, etc. That blogging per se is a meaningless word, thrown out there to make it less intimidating for the non-writers amongst us to throw our thoughts into the great wide world of the Internet. That the only differences between writing a blog or writing an article for a newspaper are that with a blog, you will be less likely to suffer public humiliation should it be lousy, and a small but important fact that there is no editor to guide you, help you fix it, or simply say that your content is not worthy of publication." -- Neal Shaffer, Social Media Today, 9/1/11
Where Good Ideas Come From
"As a summer project we read Steven Johnson’s book 'Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. It’s a book that while not at all focused on libraries, gave both us a lot of really good ideas about how librarians working with teens can be innovative and work towards innovative practices in their libraries. Below you can read about some of our favorite ideas and how we see connections between them and teen library services." -- Jennifer Larson and Linda Braun, YALSA Blog, 8/30/11
New College Board Research: 86% of Young Americans Believe College is Essential
"New York, NY — One year after graduating from high school, most members of the Class of 2010 believe that earning a college degree is “definitely” worth it, according to a survey released today by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization. The comprehensive survey on college readiness and affordability, One Year Out, explores how young Americans assess their high school experience and its role in preparing them for life after graduation — be it work or postsecondary education." -- Peter Kaufmann (media contact), The College Board, 8/30/11
Nothing Right About this Copyright Ruling
"The world of copyright litigation is getting downright surreal. Recently a court struck down an appeal of a NY case involving reselling books from overseas in the U.S. Essentially, the court ruled that the first sale doctrine applies only to works manufactured in the United States." -- Maura Smale, ACRLog, 8/30/11
Anything I Wanted to Know About Library Marketing I Learned from a Shampoo Bottle
"The always brilliant Ned Potter wrote up a wonderful little primer on library marketing entitled “Three simple marketing rules all libraries should live by…” In his post, he emphasizes marketing the service, dropping the ‘how this works’ explanation, and promote the intersection of what the patron values with what the library values. Or, in other words, to use Pepsi as an example: Pepsi tells you that it refreshes, not that it is made with high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients; there is no Pepsi ad that walks you through how it is made; and Pepsi and its customers are both enjoy sugary caffeinated drinks and work to promote that relationship." -- Andy Woodworth, Agnostic, Maybe, 8/25/11
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