I ♥ this project!

Check out the I ♥ librarians photostream on flickr because there are some great shots.

thanks, mary!

[1, 2]

There’s some interesting data hiding inside of our Integrated Library Systems! Here are four days worth of search terms, about 17,000, that were entered into DCPL’s OPAC earlier in the month.

I’m convinced that there’s more useful data inside of ILSs than generally gets used, and that there are more appealing way to use it than bar graphs. I’m not even close to being an expert about data visualization, but my little video above tells more of a story than a number in a spreadsheet. I used Wordle, ScreenFlow and some zooming tricks to make it so it wasn’t difficult but having the ILS spit out data an and automating the process would be great.

And of course, having to sit here and be passive while watching this is a drag. It would be great to be able to interact with this data and do stuff like compare it to items checked out or where the searches came from. We’ll see what comes of this experimentation.

Here’s the first video I made today which presents pretty much the same data in a slightly different way. I don’t like it quite as much, but I should include it to prove to you that I know about more colors than my beloved grey.

The most interesting stuff going on with circulation data exposure I’ve seen recently is from Dave Pattern who just helped the University of Huddersfield release 13 (!) years of circulation data under a CC0 (again !) protocol. That would make one heck of a word cloud. He spoke about it during the last Talk with Talis that I have yet to listen to but will soon.

Just so I’m not accused of constantly bashing library product vendors, I’ll tell you straightaway that despite the fact that “2.0″ appears 17 times on the informational page, the actual interface looks much, *much* nicer. I haven’t used the product yet but from the demo it looks like the default interface is just one search box.

There’s a nifty slider for limiting the date range of search results. The citation tool looks really easy to use with a one click copy to clipboard feature. Adding articles to a folder to save them takes one click. Deleting them is as simple as X-ing them out. These things make me happy.

It’s a bit strange to be praising a company for doing the things that should have been standard all along, but I’ll highlight the effort regardless. I haven’t actually used it yet, but EBSCOhost® 2.0 seems to have addressed some usability issues. This is good. Now they’re free to facilitate interaction and make it social. When I get to actually use the interface I’ll report any additional thoughts.

I’m glad Kathleen commented on the post. This is a *good* example of a library vendor being responsive to the conversations that are taking place.

…

Ok, one more little gripe, not really related to their redesign. Just me being a logo nerd. Why is the “host” in EBSCOhost® in italics when it is text, but not when it is in their logo?

Anyway, I really like this WCCLS Photo Content. What a great way to let WCCLS customers shine. They’d get an entry from me, but:

“Officers, employees and representatives of WCCLS, the fourteen WCCLS member libraries and their immediate families, employees of any sponsor and their immediate families are ineligible to participate“

and that makes sense. I like that that this type of interaction and relationship development is coming from the library system level. Not only does it make their website more interesting, it is good leadership from which member libraries can learn.

Here’s an old picture of the lobby of the MLK Library in Washington, DC. I would be a happy person being in that room for 8 hours per day circulating items or providing information. I’m really into Bauhaus architecture and still can’t get over walking around the building. It was designed by Mies van der Rohe and contains a surprising amount of original furniture and fixtures. You might notice the Barcelona pieces in the foreground. Someone may very well be sitting in one of those chairs right now. The fact that the stuff has never been replaced is amazing, and the fact that some of it has lasted this long is also amazing.

DCPL has received a severe amount of neglect, and not just the MLK library. The good news is that it is going though a for real transformation and with these changes, a rebranding process. I’ll be working in DC a bit this year to help plan and evangelize the web aspects of this transformation. We’re first going to do damage control on the current site and fix some of the user hostile things there. I’ve also done a tiny bit of window dressing since its so easy [check out the neighborhood libraries displayed as sets and the info listed on a specific library' page] , but the larger project is akin to building an entire house. We’ll likely go beyond doing a redesign of the current site and make a leap to an entirely new, great one. Even more than the whiz-bang cool stuff that might end up on the site, perhaps the most interesting part of this process for me will be acting as the bridge between the librarians and IT/web team. Among other things this will include the challenge of developing a workflow that will enable and encourage librarians to contribute content to the website, providing real people with which the public can interact. Hot stuff.

Here’s a current picture from close to the same spot. I couldn’t get the exact same perspective because there’s a bookstore/giftshop where the original sitting area was (and I don’t have that wide of a lens either). I’m sure the librarians wouldn’t have appreciated me climbing on one of the walls to get the shot.

…not sure why it should be a *library* venture if the purpose is to provide coffee, free wifi, and non-circulating magazines.

The more I think about it the more I’m convinced that the concept of a cafe branch is a great idea. Libraries are doing the reverse and putting coffee shops in libraries, why not go all the way and put a library in a coffee shop? The idea doesn’t seem that radical to me. Here are some characteristics of my hypothetical cafe library branch:

→ provides access to information
→ has some computers available
→ provides help finding things (if asked)
→ provides access to content (magazines, newspapers, some books strewn about)
→ is a community gathering place
→ holds some special events
→ has reservable group study space

Pretty traditional stuff, right? People might bristle at this idea not because of the traditional services it would provide, but what it would lack. In particular, a collection of books.

Now before anyone gets bent out of shape, let me be clear. I’m not saying that all libraries should be like this, just that this model is an option. Libraries can certainly be much more than what I’m describing here, and they should be. However, libraries don’t always have to strive to be their full incarnation 100% of the time. Just like a small neighborhood branch probably doesn’t have an extensive collection of periodical back issues, so my hypothetical cafe library could shed some library baggage to free it to explore new territory. The geographical language is appropriate. Without large collections to house, the relatively small cafe library can fit into spaces that other branches couldn’t. (Wouldn’t it be great to have space for picking up and returning holds though?) This might allow it to be located in vital and busy areas with tons of foot traffic.

I know you didn’t get a Masters degree to serve coffee. No big deal, it wouldn’t be part of your job. The “shift supervisor” could be a “for real librarian,” managing staff and doing other librarian work like monitoring the library’s IM reference service.

I’m not convinced this idea would work in every context or community, but sitting here in Little Beirut where many people are fueled by their neighborhood coffee shops, I can think of a number of cities where this would work.

This library cafe branch would not just be a means to the end of getting people to use other library resources. It would be legitimate on its own, but wouldn’t it do a good job marketing the larger library too? Among the locally made art on display there would be adverts for relevant library events. Each time someone logs into the wifi network they’d be greeted with list of library resources and be authenticated into library databases. Oh, and how about this? People don’t need a library card to access the wifi, but customers get a 50% discount on coffee and food when they sign up for one. And a 10% discount on each transaction when they present the card.

In a certain sense, a cafe branch would be for a niche market. This is a good thing because we know that niche markets can become obsessively enthusiastic about their interests. Because they’re often concerned with trying to be many things to different people, libraries often miss out on capturing this passion. Last time I checked, we want people passionate and excited about libraries. Having a narrower focus might be one way to cultivate more use and zeal for the library.

The full report is available here: “Perceptions of Idaho’s Digital Natives on Public Libraries”[pdf]. I haven’t read it yet, but considering how blown away I was by the video, I’m looking forward to it.

It might be easy to look at this comment from one of the digital natives and think “Young kids LOL they don’t get it” but that wouldn’t be fair and it isn’t my intention. Knowledge about libraries isn’t something that people can just intuit. The existence of libraries is not an a priori truth, right? When people mistake Barnes & Noble for a library it says more about LibraryLand’s marketing efforts and people’s expectations than it does of their intelligence.

Expect some more great quotes as I delve a bit deeper into the video!

You said you’d love to see a yelp sign on a library, so here you go! This is the Newport Beach Public Library in Newport Beach, California. I was really stoked to get the letter and window cling from yelp, and so was my Director. All of our yelp reviews are 4 and 5 stars except one. Our 3-star reviewer complained about the poor wireless connection, but I sent him a message letting him know that we just upgraded our equipment, so I hope he’ll give us another try (can’t help him with the eye candy, though).

It’s great to get good (unsolicited) buzz from our customers, and it’s just one more way we can track how well we’re doing.

Agreed, and excellent work following up with the guy about your wifi. Way to be aware!

Flickr user Don and Kathy Gould also left me a comment on Flickr stating that the Palos Verdes Library District has one. Incidentally, when I checked out the PVLD website, the first thing I noticed was a nice, big MeeboMe widget. Then I noticed a link to their powered by Flickr 40 Families Project.

An inspiring evening. Thanks!

It made me stop and look. I was interested in the recommendations and the concept of the display, and others stopped to read as well.

Some libraries have done great things letting their customers shine online. See Hennipin County Library’s BookSpace, and the Thomas Ford Memorial Library’s Thommy Ford Abroad. With this Powell’s example we see a physical world example.

What a great move on Powell’s part. It is promoting the organization by promoting the customers. Powell’s gets out of the way and lets customers provide authentic interactions.

This marketing campaign consists of simply providing a means for their customers to have a voice. It is great answer to the oft cited question “How can I help my users kick ass?”

[Emphasis mine]

Librarian II – Web Services Librarian

Take your career to a new level with Washington County’s Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS). We have a rewarding opportunity within a collegial environment to create original web content pages, user tools and pathfinders for our website, wccls.org. This new position will work collaboratively with public service librarians to customize and enhance the website, monitor and broaden the WCCLS web presence and web reach, manage internal content and training, and implement social interaction tools and other locally significant content for users. Successful candidates will possess related experience within library sciences, MLS preferred.

Washington County offers opportunities for professional growth and a comprehensive benefits package. Pay range is $3,975 – $4,833/month. For more information on this position and to apply on-line, please visit our Human Resources page at www.co.washington.or.us.

Washington County Human Resources
155 N. First Ave., Ste. 270
Hillsboro, OR 97124

http://www.pnla.org/jobs/j93.htm

The last story they share is of a college student that was using Gmail to communicate with classmates about a group project. She logged into Gmail and noticed an ad related to her project. The Gmail engineer says, “This person was able to use Gmail ads to find something she couldn’t find anywhere else.”

Adverts disguised as useful information are nothing new. There are creepy “special advertising sections” in print magazines. Amazon has been doing it on the web for years with their “personalized recommendations.” What is new and different about this claim from Gmail is that it actively promoting an advert as useful information. Google wants to brand its ads as research tools.

Here’s the video.

For four afternoons in November, the Dallas Baptist University Vance Memorial Library hosted their Are You As Smart As A Freshman? event. Patterned after the popular game show Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?, this event had 2nd-4th year students competing for prizes by answering questions that university freshman should be familiar with. They were able to use a panel of Freshmen as part of their “lifelines” as well as one of the library’s reference librarians …The intent of the event was to raise awareness of the library and its resources and to offer a fun outlet for students within the library’s facilities.

Gaming in libraries does not just mean video/computer games! Nice work!

Two of my friends have discovered their public libraries recently and one of them told me about it via gChat the other day. Like my post about someone I know discovering reference service, this is clearly anecdotal but still interesting.

It takes a second to scroll through this transcript but it is fast to read. [emphasis mine]

#####
steve: i got a library card today
and checked out books

me: what inspired you???
(your library has a flickr account, you know)

steve: improving my coaching

me: you should start placing hold on DVDs online

steve: and i discovered a wonderworld of woodworking books

me: oh yes! nice

steve: some which i have wanted to buy but no need now

me: PERFECT

steve: tons of dvd’s
amazing

me: libraries suck at marketing.
you never knew it existed, right?

steve: so strange that i/people haven’t taken advantage of what is free at the library
i totally didn’t know
so bizarre
it really is a wonderworld now, and not the ancient old books only place
it is sad
you have a tough job
getting the word out
yet it is such an easy sell, if only people knew

me: haha, i know! if only everyone in a community was forced to walk into the library just once!

steve: that is all it would take
LOL
dvd rentals are free now for 7 days
so crazy
reserving online
so much easier than going to a video store even
and FREE

me: practically like netflix, except you need to ride your bike to get the DVDs

steve: yeah
i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along
AND I know you which should have motivated me more to get in there

me: so is there hope for everyone else??

steve: Yes, but like you said, libraries suck at marketing
everyone remembers the card catalog world
tough question how to get people in
yet so STUPID not to take advantage!
i love the library
:)

#####

Nice work Westmont Public Library for giving my friend a good experience and creating a passionate user! My other friend says of the librarians he’s encountered, “Some of the women are really nice, and some of them are crabby.” Sounds about right?

I still can’t get over what Steve said about a public library. Not the interwebs, not amazon.com, not school, not a club. The public library.

i feel like i just discovered the greatest place in the world to satisfy my interests and it has been there all along

I thought this was great, so I emailed her some questions about the program. She just checked her flickr mail and sent a reply.

Yes, just a random idea – I was hired at Reed through a digital initiatives grant to build digital collections to support teaching. Currently I’m uber focused on this project, don’t do much instruction (though I do work reference), and thought of a knitting group as a way to get to know students, and get more in touch with the general flow of the library and campus. That’s my side of it at least!

For students, I wanted to hone the image of the library as a warm place, librarians as non-scary compadres, encourage study breaks, and just in general…provide an opportunity to knit together!

…the group has indeed been very successful. My colleague and I (the Reed Science librarian) started it together earlier this semester, and have developed a core following of half a dozen students or so. As to spreading awareness about the library, it may be too soon to say. …but I think it has certainly spread fun in the library!

Like many good programs in the library, the knitting group is good for both staff and patrons. Joanna uses the knitting circle to learn about the students and the library as well as humanize the librarians and promote fun in the library.