AND………. we’re back!

Here I am . . .

After taking a bit of a summer hiatus I have decided that it is time to resurrect the old blog and start writing again. Pulling out the pen (or keyboard…) again is proving to be quite the arduous task. I figure I better start getting the words flowing again. It’s like they say if you don’t use it…. you lose it!

So I bet y’all are wondering what I have been up to and what has been the main reason for me going AWOL this summer. Truth be told I really don’t have that good of an excuse. I wish that I could tell you I was off on some sort of spontaneous adventure  in the outback of Australia or trekking through the jungles of Costa Rica, or helping with the re-building effort in Haiti,  but that simply has not been the case. Instead I have spent my days locked up in a cubicle in front of a computer screen, working for the Man.

What’s New…

It actually hasn’t been as bad as I am making it sound. Actually, I have spent my summer as a co-op student at Natural Resources Canada, which has proven to be a great experience. I am working as a reference librarian in the NRCan Library. This co-op term has actually given me a taste of what it is like to be a librarian in real-life.  I am very happy with my decision to participate in the co-op program. It’s definitely provided me with an invaluable educational experience and practical knowledge which will help me find gainful (permanent) employment, a task which is part of my very near future.

To kick-off what will be another fantastic blogging season, I decided that I should share some experiences from my co-op term thus far and how I have both used and developed the skills acquired from my MLIS, and spotted gaps in my education.

Alison Wetheral: Reference Librarian

This summer I have been an active member of the Information Services team @ the NRCan Library. At first I was a little worried about taking on such a role. I was posted in the NRCan Library-Earth Sciences. Coming from a background in arts, this was a little frightening. I didn’t even take Rocks with Jocks as my science credit in my undergrad! Entering into a position in which I would be assisting top-notch scientists in fulfilling their information needs in a subject as to where I knew little to nothing about was terrifying. That being said, I think that the possibility of learning a new field is one of the major perks of being a librarian. You never stop learning! (and you get paid for it!)

My reference course definitely prepared me to jump into a field and provide reference services.  The course taught me about the issues of authority and credibility which pushed me to find which were the go-to sources in the Earth Sciences. You never really realize the importance of the reference interview until you are required to answer a question related to a field in which you really have no prior knowledge.

Alison Wetheral: Competitive Intelligence Agent

Besides reference, another service that we provide to the department is a publication called RADAR. Basically, it provides members of the department with a one-stop-shop to the latest news items, articles from science and policy magazines, and publications that are related to the work of the department. Upon arrival at NRCan I was assigned the task to compile RADAR. Every week I read magazines and newspapers to find the latest news in energy, earth sciences, metals and minerals, climate change etc. and compile them on a page in the wiki.  The page is intended to be a competitive intelligence tool, enabling members of the department to stay current and to ensure that their work is relevant. It is also intended to inform members of the department how their work is being received by the public at large.

This has been great in learning exactly what the department does, and helps me stay current, which as librarians, we have a duty to be. I also implemented skills I learned while completing my technology requirements. For any new MLISers take as many tech classes as you can! They are so helpful! Libraryland depends on technology to function. Without Web Design I would be a useless member of the Information Services team. My Social Media class which taught me about the emerging Web 2.0 technologies was also very helpful. RSS and widget technology are big contributors to how I compile RADAR.

So there you have it! A little update with whats going on and with that ………We’re back! (Jimmy Fallon on SNL anyone…. anyone…)

Stay tuned for what will be an epic (or not so epic) blogging season!!!

Well, here we are, at the end of semester! I can’t believe that just three months ago I was writing my first blog! And now I am in love! I will definitely be continuing to blog. I used to love writing. I think that with my 6 straight years at university, having to write numerous essays on topics that I was not particularly interested in, I lost that passion. However, with my discovery of blogging, I think I may just pick it back up again! I will definitely be taking away blogging from this course that is for sure!

I also set up my LinkedIn account and am excited about the professional possibilities that might arise. As soon as I signed up my current supervisor at Weldon Library added me as a connection, as well as some of my Habitat for Humanity colleagues.  I have also been using my Twitter more frequently. I learned that wiki’s are a great space for collaboration, especially when geographic location of the collaborators can be an issue. We formed our whole final project using the wiki space we created for it and it was very helpful! I was also introduced to mash-up technologies which I had never had any prior experience with. I also signed up for the social bookmarking site Delicious which is great because I know longer have to worry about loosing my bookmarks if my computer crashes (thank you CLOUD)…

I think that there a few things that I will probably let be after this course. I signed up for Library 2.0, a social networking site for librarians. I haven’t spent too much time on the network and I’m not sure if I will once I have more free time. I don’t think I have really gained anything from being apart of the site. I suppose it is good for communication within the profession but I find subscribing to blogs using RSS feeds are just as effective.

Also, I don’t think I will continue using my account I created on Neopet as part of the virtual worlds assignment. While, I might consider using virtual worlds once I get out into the profession to interact with the community of online gamers, I know that I won’t continue to use it in my personal life.

Overall, I think that the biggest lesson that I took away from this course was the fact that social media has the potential to do great things for libraries. BUT libraries must proceed with caution and make sure that their social media programs are both relevant and used by the community at large. The creation of a social media program must be thoughtful and well-researched. It cannot be done with haste. Policies need to be set up, and evaluations need to be regularly conducted. I lot of libraries currently engage in social media because they think its simple, free and not time consuming, when in reality it isn’t that simple, and is incredibly time consuming. Because it is incredibly time consuming, it often results in the creation of a new position which can be costly. Despite this, it is worthwhile for libraries to undertake such efforts because of social media’s widespread use and the enormous benefits that can result from it.

I would just like to thank-you all for sharing your opinions on social media! I wish all of you good luck in your future endeavors!!!!!!

-Signing off, (for this class)

Alison

The Dark and Gloomy Cloud

So I am just reviewing what we have learned this semester and I realized that I did not write a post about the infamous ‘Cloud’. The Cloud represents storing data on external servers.  For those of you who are not in 9763, (if there are in fact any of you out there), the cloud is best explained through examples. Facebook is the perfect representation of the cloud, as it stores the data that you input into your account on its servers. The Cloud is becoming ever more prominent in today’s society. More and more people are relying on the Cloud as an external storage space. I just bought a computer. Asus, the make of computer that I purchased, provides a back-up service using cloud computing. You can completely back-up your entire system by uploading it to Asus’ external servers, what will probably come in handy in my many moments of computer crises.

So what are the broader implications of using the Cloud? The obvious one that comes to mind is privacy. It is not obvious to the average user as to how data in the cloud is stored. What are the privacy policies of the particular server that you are storing your data on? Can other people access that data without you knowing? As I discussed in a previous posting, I believe that libraries can play a crucial role when it comes to educating the public about how to secure the information that the post in the Cloud. Libraries can host programs that educate people how to set their Facebook profile settings to the optimal level, and provide them with information as to what happens to their information when they post it to Facebook.

The second problem that the Cloud presents is related to the issue of privacy. The issue of ownership is another area of concern when it come s to the Cloud. This debate has surrounded the use of Facebook since its inception. For example, once you upload your pictures do Facebook, do you own them or does Facebook? Does Facebook have the right to use your picture at will since it is stored on their servers? Can Google use the documents stored on its Google Doc servers for research? These types of scenarios seem quite unethical, but the truth is they are quite plausible, which is a scary thought.

It will be interesting to see in the next ten years what sort of research emerges on the Cloud. Right now, the cloud seems like such an abstract concept. As generations become native to the cloud over time, will people just stop talking about it. I think that as we move away from the digital divide and into a society that is made up mostly of digital natives, the cloud will just be commonplace and will appear to be beneficial. The same goes for all social media applications. It will be interesting to see what future implications the world of social media and cloud computing have on the world.

Second Life. Video Games and Libraries… Oh MY???

I remember that my first ever experience with the virtual world Second Life occurred while I was watching The Office. Dwight was showing Jim his Second Life avatar. Dwight made his Second Life self exactly the same as his real-life self except he had the ability to fly. Dwights explanation of his Second Life experience is much more comical then mine… click here to check out the clip.

It was not until I came to library school and sat through a class dedicated to virtual worlds and its applications to reference services that I realized the potential benefits of virtual and online gaming worlds to libraries. Virtual Worlds have a large appeal to teen audiences. While doing some outside reading on the topic of virtual worlds and gaming in library,  I came across this best practices Wiki. It provides some interesting articles about how teens behave in virtual worlds and how libraries can best interact with teens on that level. It also provides a list of virtual worlds that you can sign up for… I think for this assignment I am going to sign up for Neopets: The (self-proclaimed) greatest virtual pet site on the internet”. We shall see if it lives up to its tagline!

Anyways, I also think that the library can tap into the video game market. I know that in my public library classes there has been a lot of debate surrounding the issue of video games and whether or not it is the public library’s jurisdiction to provide services surrounding video games. One question that comes up a lot is whether or not libraries should carry video games within their collection. I personally think that there is a vibrant community of video gamers within society. Individuals who belong to this community are probably made up of library non-users. If the library participates in something that they are EXTREMELY interested in, then perhaps it could change the non-users into users.

In my undergrad years I lived with a bunch of guys who spent days upon days playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of being exposed to such a game, CODMW 2 is a shooter game available on all video game systems. Gamers have the ability to play locally or play others through an online network. Lets just say that everyday it sounded like a war was going on in my living room. My roommates were guys who had never ever set foot in a library in their life. Perhaps if the library were to run programming that centred around popular video games like COD it could reach these types of individuals that are present within a community. I also think that libraries can use games that involve collaboration and teammwork as a tool to develop relationships within the community itself.

What are your thoughts on the world of video gaming? Do libraries have a place in the gamer world?

Hello to all from my i-phone!!!

So this week we had a discussion regarding mobile technology. I decided to test out wordpress’ iPhone app. So here I am writing to you about mobile devices from my iPhone. All I can say is thank goodness for autofix. (also, I apologize if the formatting of this post looks a little wonky.

I think that mobile applications for libraries have the potential to be very fruitful. That being said, I don’t think that they are appropriate for every library setting. My preliminary thoughts are that a public library may not benefit from the implementation of a mobile app. An academic library however, whose clientele are for the majority apart of the younger generation may benefit from creating a mobile I know that western libraries has created a mobile version of their web page which has proven to be quite useful. Sometimes on my bus ride to campus I will search for resources I will need for an upcoming paper. I can then copy and paste the call numbers into my phone and have them ready to go by the time I get to the library. It’s great!!!! Libraries should definitely make sure their sites and materials are accessible via smartphone, especially considering their increasing popularity.

Of course, mobile devices are great for storing and listening to podcasts. I personally subscribe to podcasts by George strombolopolous and Stuart McLean. Everytime I update my IPhone podcasts from these two great canadians are added which helps spice up my bus rides. Libraries can definitely use this to their advantage. The problem with these sort of technologies is understanding if their is a need that makes the production of podcasts efficient and effective.

Ok I have shared my own two cents on how mobile technology has made my life easier and more enjoyable? Anyone else have similar experiences? Or maybe you hate mobile technology? Please share!!!!!!! :0)

Stereomood.com

I was just surfing the net looking for some unique tagging sites and I came across stereomood.com. Let’s just say I am infatuated. Stereomood is an internet radio that allows users to generate playlists based on emotions. Basically, users tag songs with a particular emotion. That song is than added to that emotion’s playlist. Users can then click on a particular emotion and listen to the playlist. It’s pretttttttttttttttttty sweet. Say its raining outside and you are just in one of those rainy day moods. Just load up the IT’S RAINING playlist and listen away. Or, perhaps its the last two weeks of library school and you are insanely busy. Why not throw on the BUSY AS A BEE playlist to serenade you through your busyness! Check out the screen shot below for other emotions!

Just thought I would share this with you all! Did anyone else come across any other cool tagging applications??

 

MMMM…. delicious!

I found Professor Neal’s discussion on tagging, bookmarking and folksonomies to be quite intriguing. I think that the idea of a user-generated vocabulary can assist librarians in the arduous task of cataloguing and provide a lot of potential benefits. First of all, folksonomies provide insight into how the average joe thinks. We can learn how they identify information which can help us in the creation of meta-data that can be used to create a user-friendly information retrieval processes.

The BiblioCommons online catalogue social media application is a        great example of how libraries can use social media , particularly tagging and bookmarking applications, to start a conversation with users. With the BiblioCommons software, users are able to tag items within the collection and are able to create their own folksonomy. Libraries across North America are just starting to integrate the Bibliocommons catalogue software into their existing OPAC’s. It will be interesting to see how user’s react to the software and use it to enhance their library experience.

The task that Professor Neal asked us to complete this week was to join a social media application that focuses on social bookmarking or tagging. For this week’s task I decided to join Yahoo’s delicious. Delicious is a social bookmarking site that allows you to tag, manage and share web sites all in one place. I had heard of delicious prior to this week’s lesson, but never realized its real benefits until I started using it.

I am actually in the process of switching over computer systems. My old PC is suffering from a chronic illness. Unfortunately there is no hope of recovery so I had to trek down to the campus computer store to buy a replacement. In the process I lost everything that I had bookmarked in Firefox. I recently started bookmarking pages that I came across during my time on Stumble Upon.  If I had of used delicious prior to the illness of my former computer, I would not have to suffer through the headache that is going to occur from trying to think of all the websites I had previously bookmarked. With delicious you can access your bookmarks from any machine, at any time which I think is very helpful.

I think that Delicious can be a fantastic tool for libraries to use. Libraries can bookmark pages that they think would be of interest to its users. Users can then access the library’s delicious page and find links to those pages. Delicious provides librarians with a tool to produce a pseudo-catalogue of websites that are relevant to its users. So everyone, expand your taste buds and join Delicious!

Turkey Talk: The LinkedIn Debate

 

This week’s lesson on social networking brought me back to a heated debate that occurred at the dinner table at the Wetheral family Christmas this past December. At the heart of the discussion was the usefulness of the social networking site LinkedIn. One of my family members is a VP of ITS at a major mutual fund firm in downtown Toronto. Another member of my family is the president of the North American and European divisions of a company that manufactures auto feed screw driving systems. These two individuals had very opposing opinions on the usefulness of LinkedIn to their respective businesses.

The VP of ITS loves using LinkedIn. She loves the networking capabilities of the application. She has hired people based on their LinkedIn profile. Furthermore she has uncovered long-lost acquaintances which she has re-connected with. She says that through these acquaintances she has acquired a wealth of knowledge, as she is able to bounce ideas and discuss current trends within the profession. I think that her experience has been influenced by her profession as a head figure in the ITS department of her company.  She uses and relies on technology every day to conduct business. In order to be considered relevant and up with the times in the field she must have an active presence on the newest social networking sites. She has completely embraced social networking tools and has definitely reaped its benefits.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the president of the manufacturing company. He completely detests LinkedIn. He believes it completely removes the personal connections that are required to move his business forward.  He does not see the purpose, or the usefulness of this tool.  I found this quite surprising considering the majority of his business is conducted on an international scale. You would think that using an online forum to conduct business would be quite beneficial. Part of his rejection came from his concerns regarding the privacy of his personal information displayed in his profile. Even after explaining to him how to set his privacy settings to an exclusive level, he used the privacy argument against the use of LinkedIn. Furthermore, I think part of his negative view of LinkedIn has to do with the fact that he does not rely as much on technology in the workplace as the VP of ITS does.

The two members of my family are of the same generation. For this reason, I think that whether or not someone believes in the usefulness of a social networking site is based entirely on what the perceived benefits of the site are to one’s business. A study conducted by OCLC in 2007 emphasizes this point. The findings of the study suggest that the distinction between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ no longer exists. My family members would have been considered members of the ‘digital immigrant’. It would have been expected that they would have had similar views on the usefulness of LinkedIn but that is clearly not the case.

The Christmas dinner debate represents the dichotomy that currently exists within library land regarding the usefulness of social networking sites to libraries. Technologically savvy librarians and those of us gearing up to enter librarianship see the benefits that these tools offer. They encourage the sharing of ideas and information which definitely contribute to the betterment of the profession. They provide the opportunity for people to connect with like-minded individuals. They provide a forum for people to connect with each other; connections that probably would not have been sought out through another method.

Some current librarians share similar views as the president of the manufacturing company. They see that in-person relationships and connections are more valuable than those formed online. The privacy concerns presented with social networking sites are of great concern.  The question for the library as an institution then becomes which approach do we adopt: a progressive or a more traditional approach?

I personally believe that libraries should be actively engaging in social networking sites, especially if it wants to remain relevant amongst the younger generation.  Any library wishing to engage its users on the social media platform should most definitely have a Facebook page. As pointed out in Professor Neal’s blog post this week, over 90% of women and 80% of men online have a Facebook profile. Because of its widespread use it has been suggested that it be a priority for a library to create a Facebook page (Solomon, 2011).

LinkedIn can definitely be used to interact with patrons on the individual level. The library as an institution cannot make a LinkedIn profile, but members within that particular institution can. LinkedIn provides a great way to communicate with the business community that your library serves. It allows libraries to identify leaders within the community. Additionally, LinkedIn is a great tool for fellow librarians to interact and share ideas with one another. For this reason, I decided to form a LinkedIn profile for this week’s assignment. Stay tuned for my next blog about my experiences with LinkedIn!

For a discussion of the usefulness of Facebook in libraries check out:

Solomon, Laura (2011). Doing social media so it matters: A librarian’s guide. Chicago: American Libraries Association.

 

The P.E.E. Method of Social Media Implementation

While reading about policy and social media for this week’s topic I kept thinking to myself a successful social media program in any organization is really all about the P.E.E: Policy, Education and Evaluation. These are three integral steps that are necessary to ensuring the success of any organization’s social media endeavours.

The starting point to any social media program should be the formation of a policy which dictates appropriate employee AND user behaviour. While many may moan and groan at the thought of having to sit down and write a readable document, the task has actually become quite simple. I was researching current social media programs in libraries and came across this gem of a tool which makes developing social media policies quick and easy:

http://socialmedia.policytool.net/welcome/wizard

There are 12 questions that you must answer regarding your organization and its current social media program. Upon answering the questions, the wizard then generates a policy for you. A basic social media policy can be formed in a matter of minutes!!

Policies are a necessary evil especially in the world of social media. People are bringing their personal and professional lives together in using social media. For these reasons it is necessary that employees and employers alike understand what s considered appropriate online behaviour.  A policy formally vocalizes this. However, steps need to be taken to educate people on the specifics of the policy.

The second step in the implementation of a social media program should be the education of users. An organization must educate people regarding the policies put in place in order to ensure they are properly interpreted. This will also present the opportunity to generate user buy-in which as Meredith Farkas argues is an important component of any social media project.

The third step in the P.E.E. method is to evaluate. Organizations must evaluate the success of social media programs both qualitatively and quantitatively. Evaluation involves identifying user behaviour, as well as discovering if or how the organizations social media channels are adding value to the organization. By doing so, problems and successes can be identified. Changes to policy can then occur. The P.E.E. method should be an ongoing, cyclical process: one that will ensure the success of the social media program.

A-C-C-E-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y and Mash-ups! YAY or NAY?

The main underlying theme that permeated the readings of this week on Mash-ups was ACCESSIBILITY. Mash-ups are a great tool to promote the accessibility of information to library patrons. The most popular mash-up application that libraries are currently using is the map mash-up. With a map mash-up libraries are able to indicate their branch locations on a map that is generated by an external provided such as Google Maps. This allows the patrons to view which branch location will be the closest and easiest for them to access and removes the step where the patrons have to go to Google Maps themselves and look up each individual location. Information on branch locations is then made more accessible. The world of library mash-ups does not with the map mash-up. There really are endless possibilities.

Before doing this week’s reading and completing the mash-up exercise, I had no idea what a mash-up was, let alone of the process that was required to create them. I was excited to find out that they are very simple to create! The part of the process that made this simple was the tools available for the easy generation of application program interfaces (API)s. API’s are how the two software applications being mashed together communicate with each other. As I mentioned before map mash-ups are but one form of this Web 2.0 technology that libraries can use. I found a really great directory that provides links to retrieving API keys from other websites that may be integrated into the libraries services from TechEssence! You can browse through the list and discover the possibilities of creating mash-ups to enhance the libraries services. It is through the simplicity of retrieving API’s that makes mash-ups so accessible to the public and easy for not-so-tech-savvy users to create.

Darlene Fischer in her book Library Mash-ups for the Virtual Campus: Using Web 2.0 Tools to Create a New Current Awareness Service pinpoints a few possible issues that can be associated with mash-ups. As mash-ups continue to increase the accessibility of information by compiling open data into one location, precautions must be taken to preserve the privacy of individuals. (I know that when I first showed my Mom the Google Street view of our small town of Sunderland she was utterly appalled because she could recognize the people who were on the main street!) As librarians we have a duty to ensure our patrons’ privacy is upheld. Mash-ups do pose a potential threat to privacy. This must always be at the back of our minds when we create new and innovative mash-ups.

I was extremely taken back by the example Fischer mentioned in her book. She describes how Tom Owad was able to access personal information such as addresses and home phone numbers of those who placed Orwell’s 1984 on their Amazon.com wishlists. If you visit Owad’s explanation of his data-mining process, you can check it out for yourself! Basically what Owad did was he took the address information provided by Amazon, used Ontok Geocoder service to translate the city information into coordinates and easily imputed the information into Google Maps to create a map mashup of the locations of everyone who wanted to read Orwell’s 1984 . Fischer said that Owad finished his little experiment by sending a copy of 1984 to someone on that list! Can I say creepy?!?! ?

Mash-ups have the ability to collocate information from numerous sources into one place on the web making information that much more accessible. This can be a great tool to inform patrons about the library, both its collections and services. Nonetheless, patron privacy and confidentiality must be fully considered when creating new types of mash-ups to offer new innovative services to library users. There is a fine-line that cannot be crossed and it is our obligation to make sure that we stick to the right side of the line!