Right now I’m in Xalapa, Mexico for the Peer Learning Meeting of the Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Project. People attending the meeting have either received, or will be receiving grants from the Gates Foundation and I’m along to talk about Web 2.0 and library usability.
We’re going to do a few site visits, including some Web enabled all-terrain buses that travel around Mexico providing access. Does that sound as cool to anyone else as it does to me?
Here I am in full turista mode at Zempoala, where Cortés headed after arriving in Mexico.
Amanda Etches-Johnson and I presented a poster about library website usability at the 2009 Information Architecture Summit last week. What fun!
The poster was interactive. It asked readers to list things they’d like to see on library websites and nudged people toward thinking about fun, whimsical things. It wasn’t a surprise that a bunch of IAs had things to say about websites, but I was a bit surprised about how many library enthusiasts we came across.
We’re going to synthesize the suggestions that people gave us, but off the bat I can tell you that the *vast* majority of people we talked with equated library websites with OPACs. I’d like to explore this more formally.
Side note
Librarians seem to be *much better* about agreeing upon and sticking with official conference tags. I saw #ia09, #ia2009, #iasummit09, #iasummit2009, #ias09, #ias2009 on twitter. This from a bunch of people dedicated to labeling information! Fixing this is a small way in which librarians can contribute to the specialized areas of IA and User eXperience.
I’m looking forward to Computers in Libraries later on in the month. One of the things I’m doing is giving a presentation called “The Best of the Web.” It is about “websites and tools that you can use to connect with your community, make your website better, and make your job easier and more fun.”
I have a list of sites and some strategies that I want to share but hey, I’m only one person. You know about things that I haven’t seen yet and it would be great to include some collective intelligence in the presentation.
Be assured that if you email me with your favorite new tools and websites you’ll get full credit as I’m doing my show and tell and maybe even a little thank you gift if I use something you send in.
THANKS
Twitter seems to be the defacto backchannel at library conferences and events but at WebWise the other day Nina Simon suggested that everyone also use a site called Today’sMeet. I haven’t been inclined to report on conferences via Twitter nor have I used it very much to communicate with others during presentations. This is probably because I don’t find that type of reporting too compelling. One exception is when people highlight smart things people have said, but I like that when it isn’t in a conference reporting context too.
This being said, I did check out and use the WebWise Today’sMeet and liked it. It was more like an instant, disposable chat room than Twitter and that’s why I liked it.
- It wasn’t global. I’m pretty sure only people at the conference knew about the room and it felt very local and community-y.
- It didn’t place an emphasis on the poster. There were no pictures or avatars. Mostly it is just what people typed and a small attribution.
- It didn’t require an account or login so more people could get in on the action. It was link an IRC backchannel for all.
While tweeting about conferences via hashtags is great for people not at events, keeping up with parts of events you’re at but can’t attend, highlighting interesting ideas and people’s perceptions, Today’sMeet was nice in these other ways.
Yesterday I was part of a preconference session at WebWise 09, put on by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It was really fun! The session’s moderator, Nina Simon, gave my co-presenters and I the challenge of coming up with a social media plan for an ongoing library event. I gave the audience some strategies for using weblogs, twitter and collecting (and helping people make) user generated content.
My presentation was titled “Formatting for the New Web” [6.5 MB PDF]. It is quite pink in parts and features me dressed up as Abe Lincoln on one slide.
In addition to the UIE roadshow yesterday I have a bunch of fun speaking and learning opportunities coming up. I’m looking forward to it all!
2/25 : WebWise 2009
→ Social Media Iron Chef
2/17 : Drupal4Lib Camp
→ attending!
3/17 : Illinois State Library On The Front Lines: Agents of Change
→ Keynote, Creating the Usable Library
3/20 : IA Summit 2009
→ The Usable Library Website (poster session with Amanda Etches-Johnson)
3/22-27 : Gates Foundation Global Libraries Peer Learning Meeting
→ various sessions
3/28-4/2 : Computers in Libraries 2009
→ various sessions
More details and PDFs as it all unfolds.
Last Friday I had the honor of giving the first talk in the newly resurrected Margaret Chisholm Lecture series. Over 100 LIS students, alumni, and faculty spent a portion of their evening talking about the read/write web with me. LIS on a Friday night? My kinda folks for sure. I even got to meet my Flickr friend Jen Waller face to face. Nice!
They made some great posters for the event:
And had a big screen:
Here’s a pdf of my slides for the event: Libraries and the Read/Write Web. [11 MB]
Someone asked about what I read to keep up with all of the cool things happening on the web and in libraries. I managed to recommend using a feed reader and name a few blogs. I didn’t give a very exhaustive list mostly because my incoming self selected information stream is such a blur. I probably couldn’t name a quarter of the weblogs I subscribe to, I just pick out the interesting bits when they pop up.
To make up for my weak answer I promised to list some blogs that could make a little starter kit for keeping track of what’s happening with libraries and the read/write web. You’ll notice it is mostly non-library blogs. I’m not slighting library blogs, just highlighting the point that we need to get outside of the library and related writing.
Tech stuff
Gizmodo
NYT Technology
Design
Signal vs. Noise
information aesthetics
swissmiss
General
kottke.org
Lifehacker
TechCrunch
Misc
Pasta&Vinegar
Pink Tentacle
Wired Top Stories
Libraries
Librarian.net
LibraryCrunch
LibraryBytes
The Shifted Librarian
Swiss Army Librarian
Two more points. First, don’t click around to all of these sites every day. Use a feed reader to bring the information to you. To learn about that, see RSS in Plain English. Also, don’t limit yourself to these blogs and their feeds. Find some blogs relevant to you and your hobbies. This will get you in the habit of checking your reader frequently.
Thanks to everyone that made it a great event.
What: Gaming (& Gadgets!) Night
Where: CIL 2008, Jefferson Room
When: Sunday, April 6th, 5:30-8:00 pm
How much: FREE
Who: You and other people interested in gaming
Jenny Levine and I have given a few gaming workshops at past Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian conferences. After the sessions we’ve opened up the room to anyone interested in playing some games and/or learning about gaming. It’s proven to be a popular and really fun time, so this year Information Today has turned the post-workshop gameplay into a featured event. With refreshments even!
We’ve assembled an impressive array of games!
Systems: Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, and Xbox 360. We’ll also have two Nintendo DS handhelds.
Games: Wii Sports, DDR, Hotel Dusk, Guitar Hero III, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Wario Smooth Moves, whatever you bring, and Rock Band.
Since we’ll have three systems going at once, we’re opening up the option of an honest to goodness tournament with prizes. You probably want to know which game, huh? Well, it’s up to you. Sign up in the comments here or at a page we’ve created on the CIL08 wiki titled CIL08 Gaming Night to play Rock Band, Guitar Hero, or DDR. We’ll play whichever game gets the most signups!
In addition, Chris Harris is bringing some modern board games. Bring your own games, bring your latest shiny, new gadgets, and we’ll see you Sunday night!
It is the middle of March which means that a bunch of library geeks will descend on Crystal City, Virgina next month for Computers in Libraries 2008. The conference is trying some new things this year and I’m excited to be a part of some of them.
Helene Blowers suggested that a Pecha Kucha presentation be held. Six of us will have 20 slides and 20 seconds each slide to make a point. I’m moderating the track that this is in which means I get to cut people off mid-sentence during this session. Fun! [Tuesday, Track C, 4pm]
Jenny Levine and I have been doing gaming workshops at the past couple IL and CIL conferences with some informal open gaming afterwards. It has morphed into a Sunday night event: the Gaming & Gadgets Petting Zoo. I need to start practicing being a Guitar Hero.
I’m facilitating a postconference workshop with some top notch library thinkers.
Helene Blowers, John Blyberg, Sarah Houghton-Jan and David Lee King will be giving short presentations followed by conversation and brainstorming. It should result in some great potential projects!
Tuesday morning’s keynote will be given by Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer from the Delft Public Library. Their presentation at Internet Librarian last year might be my favorite conference moment of 2007. This should be just as good! They’ll share stories from their 2007 tour of U.S. libraries.
Tuesday night is the Second Annual InfoTubey Awards for outstanding library marketing on YouTube.
Hurrah for learning!
