Weekly Reader

Social Media Etiquette 101: Attribution
"Today, we are in desperate need of an etiquette manual for the internet. Some believe that social media is much like the wild west of old—anything and everything goes. It creates an energy and excitement that gives birth to creativity and collaboration. Unfortunately, that also means that civil behavior and professional standards are often overlooked. In our race to be first or gain more influence, we often overlook those who helped us find that important information to begin with." -- Chris Syme, Social Media Today, 5/30/13

But What if I Can't Find it on the Internet?
"But because of cost-cutting policies and the mantra of ''digitisation at all cost'', we are in danger of decreasing rather than increasing our access to information over time. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in libraries. It is driven by an over-reliance on new technology, in turn propelled by the forces of managerialism and economic rationalism." -- Pauline Westwood, The Canberra Times, 5/27/13

10 Ways to Use IFTTT To Automate Your Social Media Branding
"IFFT is a new service that stands for If This, Then That. It’s an incredibly easy to use website that lets you set up or copy recipes for automating just about anything. I’ve written about this handy tool before, however in a nutshell it works with 60 different applications including most of the major social media channels, and necessitates filling out simple online forms." -- Ellyssa Kroski, Open Education Database, 5/24/13

5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 Years
"We’re seeing more and more recruiters use the web as a place to search for talent and conduct employment background searches. This trend is set to increase year over year and I’ve been predicting that an “online presence search” will become as common as a drug test since 2007."-- Dan Schwabel, Forbes Entrepreneurs, 2/21/11

ALAO 2013: Call for Proposals

ALAO 39th Annual Conference 

October 25, 2013 

University Center Kent State University at Stark 

North Canton, Ohio 

The ALAO 2013 Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals for presentations for the 39th Annual Conference. Applicants are encouraged to develop creative proposals that show thoughtful exploration of this year’s conference theme:

“The Changing Faces of Academic Libraries:
Transforming, Reorganizing, Re‐imagining.”

Share your experiences, solutions, expertise, and innovative practices with colleagues from all types of academic libraries. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: 

Transforming: 

• Collaboration – departments, community, groups 
• Collections – print vs. electronic 
• Outside the box – new initiatives 
• Services – areas of student experience 

Reorganizing: 

• Library spaces – physical and virtual, active learning
• Staffing – new roles, new positions, new responsibilities
• Budget (electronic vs. print) 
• Collections – maintenance 
• Services 

Re‐imagining: 

• Library instruction – 1st year, second year groups, international, special groups (veterans), online 
• Library reference – online, in person, new methods, assessment, tools used 
• Library services 
• Collaboration 
• Budget – expertise needed?, IT 
• Collections – digital initiatives, data 
• Assessment 
• Library as information portal 

Proposal Guidelines: 

Multiple proposals are welcome, however no more than two (2) will be included in the final program.  Proposals are blind‐reviewed for content, relevance to the conference theme, and overall appeal. A concise, clearly written description and abstract will help the reviewers evaluate your offering more clearly. Presentations may take the form of contributed papers, demonstrations, workshops, research, or panel discussions.

• Exclude the name of your institution, department and any personal names in the abstract to expedite the blind review process. 
• You will be contacted regarding your AV/technology requirements when your proposal is accepted. 
• All presenters will be responsible for their own registration and travel costs. 

Please print a copy of the completed form for your records before submitting. You will receive an email confirmation upon successful proposal submission. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact: Diane Schrecker, Ashland University Library using the ALAO 2013 Conference Planning Committee email: alao.cpc at gmail.com 

Deadline for proposals is June 7, 2013.

Proposals should be submitted via the online submission form:
ALAO 2013 Presentation Proposal

For additional information, visit the conference web site @ http://goo.gl/ryXMa

Weekly Reader

Leadership Lessons for Higher Education Administration
"Thinking about academic library administration as your next career step? When you do, you become a higher education administrator too. Here are some things you may want to know about moving into higher education administration, and some leadership lessons you’ll learn when you do." -- Steven Bell, Leading from the Library / Library Journal, 5/22/13

What Explanation and Design Have in Common
"We hear a lot about design these days. Apple products are probably the most popular examples. The idea is that Apple became one of the most valuable companies in the world, in part, because they focus on the design of their products.But what does that mean, really? What do organizations who focus on design do differently?" -- Lee LeFever, Common Craft Blog, 5/23/13

MOOC Professors Claim No Responsibility for How Courses Are Used
"Robert Ghrist, a professor of mathematics and electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, knows that wielding vast networks on behalf of nonuniversity benefactors can be tricky business. Mr. Ghrist specializes in applied topology, an abstract math field. In practice, topological math can help someone harness huge collections of sensory inputs—like those collected by cellphones, for example—to model large environments and solve problems" -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 5/21/13

Open Access: A Quick Factual Post
"Given the growing amount of nonsense being repeated in various ways about OA, here are four simple facts" -- Walt Crawford, Walt at Random, 5/21/13

2013 Social Media Marketing Report
"Are you wondering how your peers are using social media? Wondering if you should focus on Pinterest or podcasting, or put more effort into Facebook? In our fifth annual social media study, more than 3000 marketers reveal where they focus their social media activities, how much time they invest, what the rewards are and where they’ll plan their future efforts." -- Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner, 5/21/13

Are People Stealing Your Content? How (and When) to Fight Back
"If you're drinking the inbound marketing Kool-Aid and regularly publishing content online, there's a good chance you may have experienced content theft at one point or another. Many of us are all too familiar with the feelings that follow the discovery of content thievery: your stomach drops, quickly followed by thoughts of "Why me?" Then the anger sets in." -- Ginny Soskey, The Hub, 5/21/13

Pinterest Widgets

One of my new favorite Pinterest tools is the Button and Widget Builder. Available (located) with the Pinterest for Business resources, I have found it useful for promoting specific IRC Pinterest boards on the IRC News Blog (see IRC Pinterest Book Trailers, National Poetry Month, and New Ellison Dies); with one click, users access the full board from the blog.

I began pinning infographics, blog posts, and other items of interest about Pinterest on my ACRL 2013 Resources board for my workshop and have continued the practice on my Pinterest News & Info board. Here are examples of the embedded boards.




Update: Well, that was certainly embarrassing (don't forget to load the java). The boards should both be visible now.

Weekly Reader

Tips for Personal Branding in the Digital Era 
"It doesn’t matter if you have the perfect job and have no plans of leaving — consistent networking and personal branding efforts ensure you’ll stay on the top of your network’s members’ minds and be viewed as an authority in your field. Womenonbusiness.com suggests focusing on building a brand instead of a career. That starts with your interaction with others — even in the space of digital. Crafting a beneficial digital brand involves everything from visual development, to content strategy, to digital public relations. Think of yourself as a brand, and start reaping the rewards of your networking efforts." -- Mike Frey, Social Media Today, 5/17/13

Tips from Mentor Scouts Mentor of the Year
"Mentoring can be a difficult relationship to navigate for both mentors and mentees, but there are several steps that participants can take to ensure that they get the most out of the relationship. Finalists for Mentor Scout’s Mentor of the Year award recently talked with Nobscot CEO Beth Carvin about some things to keep in mind when working on establishing a good mentoring relationship."-- Julia Russell, Smart Blog on Leadership, 5/16/13

Five Great Tools for Creating Your Own Educational Infographics
"These fun, mostly free tools can help educators easily create their own Infographics, and bring a very modern twist to instruction. 'A picture is worth thousand words.' That is what infographics do. They convey a wealth of information in a largely graphical format. They can help communicate visually even the most complex concepts in a simple and lucid way. They can be a great educational resource. Have you ever considered creating one for a course you teach?" -- Kathryn Smith, Emerging EdTech, 5/15/13

It's the Small Things That Make a Leader Great
"How unfortunate that our popular ideas of what a good leader should be are so often grandiose. Through current media, television and movies, we expect perfection; a leader is strong, fearless and flawless. If we believe that myth, they should be superheroes, royalty and saviors all rolled into one." -- Mary Jo Asmus, Smart Blog on Leadership, 5/15/13

Simple Steps to Successful Presentations
"Picture this: You’re at a conference, waiting to hear a speaker whose talk you’ve been looking forward to for months. As you sit down, you realize that he appears rattled and is gripping onto the lectern for dear life. He begins to talk, ever so slowly." -- Shannon Alter, Smart Blog on Leadership, 5/10/13

The Ultimate Google+ Cheat Sheet
"Social Media Marketers need to squeeze the most value out of every social media update. Google Plus has some of the most robust posting & sharing capabilities of any social network. From rich snippets to photo editing to individual circles, there are so many features that can make your post stand out from the pack. Here are some highlights from a cheat sheet that I built (Download and print here) to get the most out of Google Plus posts." -- Tatiana Aders, Social Media Today, 5/16/13

The simple things: images in forms

I was excited to see the following tweet from Richard Byrne earlier this week:

Video - How to Insert Images Into Google Forms ow.ly/kZTys
— Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) May 14, 2013

I immediately re-tweeted ...

RT yes! can hardly wait to try it myself “@rmbyrne: New post: Video - How to Insert Images Into Google Forms goo.gl/fb/pNm7U”
— Diane L. Schrecker (@dschrecker) May 13, 2013

[Note: I gathered embed codes a day after the original tweet; as a result it looks like I re-tweeted a tweet before it was originally posted.]

Why? When Google moved Forms away from Google Docs into Google Drive a number of useful features, such as simple html for text display, heading tags, and ordered and unordered lists were eliminated. Luckily existing forms did not lose set formatting and functionality remained intact, but project /form presentation options were limited including a diminished  number of themes.

That said, I have to mention the updated form menu is easier to use.

I use Google Forms - and spreadsheets - with Flubaroo in an instructional technology course; students create self-grading quizzes. The assignment remained, but it will be necessary to recreate supporting video tutorials moving forward.  Access to drive is different and steps for connecting the form to a spreadsheet need to be addressed.

A member of the ALAO 2013 conference planning committee,  I was excited to have the opportunity implement Google Forms for conference proposal submissions. Proposals are submitted online and compiled in the accompanying spreadsheet, a quick form script allows for immediate email response for each submission, and each submission form 'type' was branded a different color. What was lacking was opportunity to brand the form with the conference logo for immediate visual impact and recognition.

At least, it was lacking until yesterday ... ALAO 2013 Presentation Proposals

Adding images is quick and easy; the only problem is they are added using the same process as headers and section breaks; text and questions are placed above or below, not with the image.  Inserting images into existing questions or the form description is not optioned.  Therefore, in order to add the ALAO Conference logo it was necessary to insert the image, create a new section header directly below to incorporate a form title and description, and then delete narrative in the default title and description fields. The empty space created does not display in the live form. Overall, I'm thrilled with the image option and hope Google continues to add more functions in the near future.

ALAO 2013: Conference App

The ALAO 2013 conference planning committee invites you to stay connected with ALAO 2013 using our new app! Developed for the ALAO conference using Yapp, a free mobile app, users are able to access the conference website, submit a proposal, view information about ALAO presenter grant opportunities, and follow ALAOorg and the conference hashtag #ALAO2013.

Interested? 

Here's how it works:

1. Download YappBox to your mobile device (phone or tablet), it's free from the iTunes Store and Google Play.
2. Install the ALAO Conference app by visiting this page, http://my.yapp.us/3CCFY9 via your device.
3. OR - use the "Add a Yapp" function in YappBox and enter the code: 3CCFY9
4. OR - follow this link to send the link to your mobile device.
5. OR - Scan the QR Code

Pinterest: notifications & analytics

Pinterest has been rolling out layout 'tweaks' over the last few weeks; Improvements to the New Look highlighted updates and the return of some favorite features. (An aside: I really need to get my Google Reader feeds moved and organized.) I did not opt-in immediately, so the arrival of the new 'Notifications' drop down menu on the IRC blog this morning was a surprise.  Instead of notifications - pin activity - being displayed with pins from people I follow, it is now a drop down menu feature with the account navigation menu (see below).

I liked the notifications panel in its previous location, it helped provide immediate visual feedback for the area.  However, since I get email updates for IRC Pinterest activities changing the location of notifications information is not problematic. That said the menu area is getting a bit crowded at the top of the page, especially since I verified the IRC blog to view analytics.

About those analytics ...

It has been three weeks since I verified the IRC Blog to use the analytics function.  I have seen interesting site metrics for reach (people seeing pins), impressions (my pins in main feed), clicks (from Pinterest), and visitors.  Analytics for most recent show pins from prior to ACRL; most repinned and most clicked only display "we don't have any data for this date" regardless of the date range selected. Email notifications tell me pins are being liked and repinned, so it is odd this has yet to translate to analytics presented.

It may be that I need to exercise patience since these same metrics are not yet visible on my personal Pinterest site either. Time will tell; keep calm and Pinterest on.

ALAO 2013: Proposal Help Page

"Make this the year you present at ALAO! Whether you are a first time presenter, or an ALAO presentation veteran, crafting and submitting a proposal to present is sometimes a daunting challenge." - ALAO 2013: Proposal's: Need Help?

The ALAO 2013 conference planning committee encourages first time and seasoned presenters to submit a proposal for the 39th Annual ALAO Conference. Visit the conference web site for proposal writing resources such as links to abstracts from previous conferences, submission tips from ALA and ACRL, and ALAO proposal FAQs.

Submit your session proposal online:  http://goo.gl/CgrBm

ALAO 2013: Call for Proposals

ALAO 39th Annual Conference 

October 25, 2013 

University Center Kent State University at Stark 

North Canton, Ohio 

The ALAO Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals for presentations for the 2013 Annual Conference. Applicants are encouraged to develop creative proposals that show thoughtful exploration of this year’s conference theme: “The Changing Faces of Academic Libraries: Transforming, Reorganizing, Re‐imagining.”

Share your experiences, solutions, expertise, and innovative practices with colleagues from all types of academic libraries. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: 

Transforming: 

• Collaboration – departments, community, groups 
• Collections – print vs. electronic 
• Outside the box – new initiatives 
• Services – areas of student experience 

Reorganizing: 

• Library spaces – physical and virtual, active learning
• Staffing – new roles, new positions, new responsibilities
• Budget (electronic vs. print) 
• Collections – maintenance 
• Services 

Re‐imagining: 

• Library instruction – first year, second year groups, international, special groups (veterans), online 
• Library reference – online, in person, new methods, assessment, tools used 
• Library services 
• Collaboration 
• Budget – expertise needed?, IT 
• Collections – digital initiatives, data 
• Assessment 
• Library as information portal 

Proposal Guidelines: 

You are welcome to submit multiple proposals, however, please know that no more than 2 will be included in the final program.  All proposals will be blind‐reviewed for content, relevance to the conference theme, and overall appeal. A concise, clearly written description and abstract will help the reviewers evaluate your offering more clearly.

Presentations may take the form of contributed papers, demonstrations, workshops, research, or panel discussions.

• Exclude the name of your institution, department and any personal names in the abstract to expedite the blind review process. You do not need to exclude this information in the brief description. 
• You will be contacted regarding your AV/technology requirements when your proposal is accepted. 
• All presenters will be responsible for their own registration and travel costs. 

Please print a copy of the completed form for your records before submitting. You will receive an email confirmation upon successful proposal submission. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact: Diane Schrecker, Ashland University Library using the ALAO 2013 Conference Planning Committee email: alao.cpc at gmail.com 

Deadline for proposals is June 7, 2013.

Proposals should be submitted via the online submission form:  ALAO 2013 Presentation Proposal

Visit the conference web site @ http://goo.gl/ryXMa