LibraryTechtonics

Preach it, friend.

I keep seeing the emails to buy Teen Tech Week promo materials, and it got me thinking. This is the description of Teen Tech Week per the site:

Teen Tech Week is a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association and is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries’ nonprint resources for education and recreation, and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology.

What about just… Tech Week? I know teens use technology differently, and focusing on teens to make them more “competent and ethical users” is great. However, I’d feel a little less like librarians were stereotyping technology use as relegated to teens if there were just, say, a Tech Week for, say, everyone.

You know, librarians could show off the tech and online resources in their libraries available to everyone, there could be computer/gadget petting zoos, local tech speakers, classes, explanations of what the hoopla is about with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and whatever else has been in the news. I think it would really beneficial for the entire profession, so that it doesn’t look like the young adult librarians and systems librarians are the only ones who know anything about technology.

I think I’ll run this by my supervisor, and add the project to my burgeoning list. ;D

Are you a librarian already doing something like this? What have you done? How’s it working for you?

Are you a non-librarian reading my blog? Would you go to something like this, and what would you like to see?

Innovation starts with fresh voices, fresh thinking, paradigm shifts, and other fun things like that. If you want to start innovating, you need to get out of your element, and look at things from new perspectives.

I have Nate Hill to thank for the link to Steven Bell’s post on how 2008 might actually be the Year of Innovation for libraries, and not, as Nate says, “not just the year of ‘innovation’ being the buzzword for business as usual.” I love that Steven points to articles in this post that aren’t in library journals or on library/librarian blogs, it’s out there in the nether-ether, that place from whence actually new things come. I spend at least half of my time playing out there, so it’s refreshing to see that stuff in here, inside the all-to-closed environtment of the library sphere.

Nate Hill (I have Linda Braun to thank for pointing me to Nate, he’s wicked smart, you should read him) puts forth a sort of charge to YALSA librarians in his post reflecting on ALA, but I believe there are other bits and pieces in his post that can serve as an Innovation Year charge to librarians everywhere, such as:

• “The patrons define public library services, not the librarians.” Remember that when you’re developing services, technology or otherwise. I add, “Get over yourselves, it’s not about you,” for emphasis
• “[O]rganizational structure must be consistent with policy for an institution to remain lean, agile, and adaptable to new ideas and change. ” Those of you who attended the RI continuing education event know that Linda, Casey, and I all emphasized being nimble and agile in many ways, and this is one of them.
• “[O]ffer the materials these patrons are interested in, in the format they prefer, and we will make our libraries convenient for them to access.” Stay in touch with your patrons, the way a small business would stay in touch with loyal customers, and bring new customers into the fold. It’s getting out there and really interacting with your patrons, and it isn’t waiting behind the desk for them to come to you.
• “[O]ffer programs, exhibitions, lectures, and concerts relevant to their interests.”

He summarizes brilliantly with:

Put as simply as possible: a 15 year old, a 27 year old and a 52 year old have strikingly different interests and needs, libraries need to recognize that and respond.

How is this innovative? How is this different from the Library 2.0 of 2007? Essentially, there needs to be less “playing at” it, talking about it, and faking it, and *way* more actually doing it. It also means that if you know how to do it, you get out there and help those who don’t know how, and diversifying your methods.

This year should be about getting outside the way we’ve always done it, for n00bs and seasoned techies alike, no one is exempt. Don’t just blog or go to conferences, make lunch dates, present (for free, even!) to local library organization committees or even just nearby colleagues, make the effort at face-to-face interaction and/or online audio/visual interaction that applications like Skype, TalkShoe, and Mogulus have to offer. Reach those people who don’t read “The Blogs,” and get to know them so that you can help them get to know the patrons.

If nothing else, bring in new players from other industries. I learned, and continue to learn, so much from my Boston Media Makers, Social Media Club Boston, Social Media Breakfast, and Twitter peeps. Imagine what can you learn from your local non-librarian groups! Heck, if you don’t have one, start one, because, well, it’s innovative.

Last, but not least, pay attention to those who play, especially if they’re new at it, and they’re not just there for the job. Isabelle Fetherston recently started a new blog called Play 2.0, on the cusp of the new year. Her professional focus is on providing services to older adults, but she’s also in it for the play factor, and from my experiences communicating with her, she’s really coming at it from the perspective of the user *first*, then from the library perspective, which is a super thing to observe. Keep an eye on her, I think it’ll be a fun learning experience to watch and share in via the blog.

Innovators are like sharks, they’re always hungry and they just keep going. There is no getting comfortable and talking the same thing over and over. No more second-hand knockoffs or bad implementations. Get out there and build something new and relevent: Innovate in 2008!

About a week and change ago, I gave a presentation (many thanks to Jessamyn for referring me) at the day-long continuing education workshop “21st Century Libraries: Making Technology Work for Library Users,” which also featured Linda Braun and Casey Bisson.

I retooled my presentation from NH, adding the fabulousness of William Shatner as Your Beta Hero (many thanks to Neil Gorman of Comicology for that), as well as a neato interactive Human Bingo game that helped illustrate social networking through actual play. However, the true thrust of the presentation remained that knowing the culture of sites is knowing the tool: having an account isn’t enough, and playing with the other kids (not just the librarians!) in the different Web 2.0 playgrounds is totally key. I also, once again, pimped the idea of 23 Library 2.0 Things, because my instructor brain loves bite-sized, self-paced stuff, and I think librarians do, too.

I think overall the presentation went really well, and I think it’s my best presentation to date. At some point, I’ll record the audio and make a slidecast out of it, since it really makes more sense with the audio. In the meantime, I’ve had at least one request to do the recording live streamed, so if there’s anyone out there who wants to sponsor that, I’d be game (alternately, I may set up a WebEx trial just to do it, we’ll see).

It’s a bit spooky how well all 4 presentations dovetailed together (Linda spoke twice, the keynote and an afternoon presentation, Casey and I spoke once each), it was almost like we all sat in the same room and figured out how to make them relevant to and flow cohesively into each other. If I had to tag the day, I’d use: social, community, beta, culture, literacy, fun, new, different.

In the course of the other presentations, Linda showed off a whole lot of awesome sites, Casey talked about serving users online and how community is beneficial to the library, I was recorded singing [link added 4:11p] Jingle Bell Rock care of Linda’s computer and The Sims On Stage (see pic left care of Casey Bisson; great for karaoke night or afternoon at the library for teens and up!), and people asked a whole lot of questions. Judging by some of the things I heard at this session, librarians are still looking for some level of control in a community controlled environment, which will make for rough waters in the online Library 2.0 future, but librarians very much want to learn. I’m hoping our presentations offered a place to start in reconciling these bits.

Many thanks to Karen Mellor and her team for setting up such an excellent day!

I’m really glad to see library associations and groups seeking the observations and guidance of people outside of the library sphere. Libraries have a lot to learn from other industries, especially from new media, the crew that really gets the culture, and can look at our profession with a fresh outlook.

My friend Bryan Person, a force of new media in the Boston area, sent me a link to What I’ll tell the Librarians, a blog post by Shel Israel over at his blog Global Neighbourhoods, about the talk he’s developing to deliver to the California Library Association. This co-author of Naked Conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers (co-written with Robert Scoble) is soliciting feedback on his talking notes from librarians and social media people. Take a look at the post, it’s a good read, and I envy the California librarians who will see his presentation! Here’s my favorite bit:

8. To Engage the Online Generation

• Use social media to join conversations
• Become expert resources on how to use the tools
• Use social media to eliminate physical boundaries
• Librarians as Internet knowledge guides
• Infinite bookshelf is hear.
• Virtual books? The content is what’s relevant
• Use real places to explore digital spaces
• Bridge the digital divide
• Go multimedia

Surprised, right ;D? The only thing I’d add is “don’t be afraid to go beta.” It’s the engage and conversations parts that are important here. Don’t just start an account and hang out with the other librarians. Get in there with the other communities, and do the outreach.

Jeanne Kramer-Smyth, a friend of mine from college and now a student in the archives program at University of Maryland (check out her blog, Spellbound Blog, it’s awesome!), sent me a link to an announcement from the IMLS (for my non-library readers out there, the Institute of Museum and Library Services) about a presentation by Robert L. Dilenschneider, the nationally-known communications strategist and author at the IMLS inaugural Leadership Lecture. The author of Power and influence: the rules have changed, was noted as saying:

“the paradigm is rapidly shifting in your world and you must prepare for a great leap forward using technology as a teaching tool.”

Warning that libraries and museums dealing with the new technology and multi-media applications “must accept, adapt, and accelerate their use, or simply atrophy,” Dilenschneider stressed that those technologies can also be an invaluable tool in attracting new patrons and volunteers as well as additional financial support.

I’m not sure who at these organizations requested these speakers, but I commend them for their smarts. Also, it’s nice to see that people who specialize in using technology for success are thinking about what libraries can do to be successful, too. I’d recommend everyone give these two books at least a once over, to get a sense of where they’re coming from. And, the next time you need a speaker on technology success and progress, consider looking to your local new media community for a nearby, non-librarian speaker to help bring a fresh perspective to libraries, librarians, and technology.