LibraryTechtonics

So Jessamyn, Lichen, and I presented to a group of New Hampshire librarians about Web 2.0 technologies, and I think it was a wicked good time.

As promised during my presentation yesterday, the simple Technology Planning Timeline document that supplements is now available for download (.doc file). (photo c/o Jessamyn West)

Some bits worth sharing:

• Jessamyn reminds us: Don’t forget that you can search Flickr (scroll to the bottom for options) for images with Creative Commons licenses for, say, kids working on class projects at the library, craft projects, whatever makes you happy. You don’t even need an account or anything. Just make sure you abide by the license, to accrue happy internet karma.
• Lichen says, “A library badge, wouldn’t that be rad?!” Seriously, like a badge of titles or recent borrowings, straight from the catalog. Or, imagine a list of your 5 favorite books in the catalog, and then the ability to instantly blog those titles to a blog, a la Flickr “Blog This.” You know it.
• Did you know you can integrate LibraryThing fun into your existing catalog (for a fee after 60 days) using Library Thing for Libraries. Only issue is that your mileage may vary (YMMV) if you’re in a consortium. I do that that Innovative is planning significant updates, and if there are others, I’d be interested in hearing about them.
• I got to show off Miro, a free, open source video aggregator I’ve been playing with for about a month now. I’ll do a separate post on that, with a list of the techie shows I watch that help me stay current. I also got to show off my new Blackberry 8830, who I’ve affectionately named Piper, but that’s a whole other post, too.

When we were setting up the workshop many months ago, I mentioned the speed geeking idea to Andrea Thorpe, and she loved the concept. She tweaked it a bit to just be a timed session where people could just wander around to the different speakers and ask questions, instead of the time-then-move model, and it worked out really well. It was a really nice alternative to the endless end of session nightmare when you have the one person who monopolizes the Q&A with their very specific comment/question/kvetch about their very specialized situation, keeping other people from asking questions.

This was probably the best presenting gig I’ve done so far. It was relatively small, which was cool because there was the ability to have contact with all attendees, it was interactive, and had a nice, open feel to it. Everyone was so open to learning, and it was super keen. And, well, any event where I can give a presentation on technology planning and actually keep people engaged while making them laugh is a win in my book.

A final testament to the coolness Andrea Thorpe and NHLA: *right after* our presentations were over, she blogged the locations of our presentations right away on the NHLA blog.

Rock. Star.

I don’t know how many of my readers have blogs, and how many of those blogs are driven by WordPress that is installed on a server, as opposed to blogs hosted by WordPress.com.  But, if you have WordPress, you know that shiny new version 2.3 is being released in a few days, which means upgrading your install.  According to the WP folks, the new version has spiffy new features that are worth upgrading to right away.  They also recommended a bit of good karma by making a list of your friends who aren’t as technically inclined and helping them upgrade, or perhaps even throwing an upgrade party.

I like that idea. So, it got me thinking.

How many of you out there, regardless of geographic location, have WordPress, and want/need help upgrading?  Perhaps you’re all good with upgrading, but you don’t want to face it alone? I’m thinking that maybe I can set up a group chat, and/or a Skype hotline, to help people upgrade their installs.

How many of you are in Massachusetts in the Boston Metro area, and would want to meet up in person?  We could find a place with free wifi and snacks, meet up, and still have Meebo/Skype/whathaveyou open to help.

Interested in the concept in some form or fashion?  Leave me a comment and let me know.  I’m thinking either Thursday September 27 or Friday September 28 in the evening.

Having the library as a resource: priceless.

My friend Laura from over at Pistachio Consulting sent me a Tweet about this, which is quite awesome. Thanks, Laura!

Dee Lee, a financial planner and host on WBZ’s Money Matters program, talking about how much money families can save if they use the library as part of a series on how people can save money in their everyday lives.

More Savings: At the Library WBZ’s Money Matters with Dee Lee - Thursday September 20, 2007: More Savings: At the Library

You can also read the transcript on their site.

I received this through the MLA listserv today:

What is the Walden Media Book Club?
Starting in October 2007, one night each month from 5:00-7:00 p.m., Walden Media will host a group of 10-15 fourth through eighth-grade teachers, school librarians and children’s librarians, to discuss a book that is newly-released or in “galley” form (not published yet). Each meeting will focus on a new work of young adult literature published by Walden Media, including:

• Mike Lupica’s The Comeback Kid Kids: Two-Minute Drill
• Ingrid Law’s Savvy
• Lauren St. John’s The White Giraffe and Dolphin Song
• Michael Reisman’s Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper

The books are FREE, as are dinner and parking, and you can even earn PDPs (Professional Development Points).

Join the book club with real FREE benefits! To find out all the details, including the schedule of nights, and what’s new with Walden Media, visit http://www.walden.com/walden/walden/book-club.php.

Free food, free books (some of them sneak peeks!), free parking (which, in downtown Boston, is a *huge* score), PDPs, and networking with librarians in/near Boston. I’m not even a YA librarian, and I’m tempted to go.

If you happen to attend the upcoming inaugural book club meeting on October 18, leave me a comment with your thoughts, I’d love to hear how it goes.

I’ve been sitting on this since last week because I had to wait on the Trustee vote, which happened last night. But, I just got the permission to post from my director, and I can’t stand it a second longer.

Ruth Urell, the director of my library, is on a mission to do as much infrastructure improvement as she possibly can at Reading Public Library, where I work. A few months ago, she revealed to me that part of the plan was to hopefully revamp our little Computer Lab into a more hospitable, presentation-ready space by proposing a plan to the Reading Public Library Foundation.

Because of Ruth’s much appreciated hard work in presenting the plan, the Foundation approved it unanimously. They are excited to help the library to improve that particular space, given how much our technology and technology services have improved in the past two years, and, apparently, in part because of the work and efforts of a certain technology librarian in reference ;). It was definitely really nice to hear that my efforts are so appreciated in such beneficial ways for the library. The Reading Public Library Trustees subsequently approved the plan last night, and we have been given $12,000 to improve the space! w00t!

Ruth gets all the credit for the main plan for the space, and many thanks for involving me in the process and taking all of my concerns and plenitudinous input into consideration. User habits were of high concern and my teaching habits were a top priority in planning the space, so I am quite pleased with the whole thing. Some of the changes in the plan include:

• A SMART Board
• Some sort of projection system, ideally ceiling-suspended (we have a tin ceiling behind the drop ceiling, so we’ll see what can be done)
• 6 new flat panel monitors
• New chairs
• New desks
• A presentation stand for me and a laptop
• A door

I believe that new windows and painting will come from the library’s funds, as well as windows and window treatments (blinds, likely, but perhaps a non-glare glaze/treatment as well).

While the ideas to expand the lab, or even add more computers to the existing space, were tossed around, there really isn’t enough space to expand into, and adding more desks would mean configuring the room such that people couldn’t just face forward to see the board. So, we’ll stay with the 6 station lab for now.

That’s OK, though, because my dream is to land a grant that allows us to purchase 25 laptops, which can either be lent out to patrons inside the library, or used to convert the much larger Meeting Room into a very large classroom. One of these days, in my oh-so-copious spare time, I’ll find the right grant and file the application.

For now, I’m super stoked! I’ll keep you posted on how things progress.