Overheard at Chapters

I was in Chapters yesterday, browsing the shelves, when a 20ish couple went by talking. As soon as I heard the word "library", I started eavesdropping. Didn't catch all, but I think he was comparing Chapters to libraries favourably as a place to go for info, and she said "...and it's so much easier to find here, too."

Blogging my Passion

I have a passion (so to speak) for local history, and for ages I've been been concerned that the great content on our Lunauweb database is difficult for our customers to access because (for various reasons which I won't go into - long story) it is not Internet-accessible. Now that I am discovering the power of blogging (better late than never), I think local history blogs could be a good way to expose the content of Lunauweb to our community, and improve public access to heritage information (a strat plan objective). As a starting point, and to tie into upcoming Heritage Week, I have created a Markham Village blog using the postcard images from Lunauweb -
http://markhamvillage-postcardviews.blogspot.com/
much easier and quicker than developing digital exhibit webpages. In the posts, I have provided some info/background about the images, but I have also invited the community to post comments. Easy 2.0.

I am also providing links to this blog and to other local history content on our website (The Markham Story, etc.) on Wikipedia.

A Whole New Library

Hi All,

After reading Daniel Pink's book, I had some thoughts about how his main points could be applied to libraries.

I would be interested in our responses. Thanks.

A Whole New Library
Daniel Pink, In A Whole New Mind, has set forth his views of where our brains are headed (pun intended). Due to outsourcing of new technologies, our near limit of reaching technological advancements and those advancements themselves, our brains are in a state of transformation. For the first few million years of human existence, we humans lived by stories, participated in sports, games, music, finding meaning in life via spirituality and empathy with our communities. For the past 200 years we have engaged our left, technical/analytic brains to satisfy our quest for human happiness. Now the right side of our brains are taking center stage.

We are now moving from the Information Age into the Conceptual Age. In the Conceptual Age, some of Pink’s concepts could be applied to libraries as well…

1. Design becomes more important than function
Design could mean actual bricks & mortar OR of virtual design (Web sites)

2. Story becomes more important than argument
-Facts become less important than context 7 & emotion
-Blogs, Wikis, other digital storytelling as well as traditional storytelling

3. Symphony (synthesis) becomes more important than focus
- Libraries help understand connections between diverse and separate disciplines, linking apparently unconnected elements to create something new, ("multi___ )

4. Empathy becomes more important than logic
- Libraries can help create resources for healing, wellness and empathy
- Quiet spaces & places

5. Play becomes more important than seriousness
- On the job, use more games, play for employees
- For resources, investigate more games

6. Meaning becomes more important than accumulation
- Libraries can help make spirituality & achievement of happiness via resources, spaces (mental & physical)
- Help customers learn what they are good at (= Happiness)
- Labyrinths can be analytic puzzles for "moving meditation"
- Could a library be labyrinth?

More challenges:
1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Can (libraries) offer something that satisfies the non-material, transcendent desires of the age of abundance?

What could upset this scheme?
---A dramatic shift in economy, climate change or major catastrophes

How do these factors become important for libraries and information services?

Flickr Toys

In the spirit of discovery and play, here is a Warhol version of the ispressotogo coffee cup image. I am now planning to Warhol-ize my world. Way too much fun at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/warholizer.php

Becoming a Wiki Warrior

Great article from the world of law librarianship on how wikis can be used for managing collaborative projects.

http://www.llrx.com/columns/tao10.htm

"Wikis are best used by a group of people working toward a consensus, whether it be creating an ultimate list of things or ideas, or coming to jointly agreed-upon wording in a document....Wikis are best used for convergent ideas, whereas blogs work better for divergent ideas..."

Some potential workload-reducing wiki uses: editing presentations, booking training sessions, developing reading lists, collaborating on creative content (e.g. for a book), organizing conferences, and generally reducing the need for face-to-face meetings.

Would you recommend us to a friend?

The Ultimate Question - can one simple question determine the future of MPL? Or the future of IS? What would our customers say?

Interesting Article from Nextspace the OCLC Newsletter http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/005/1.htm

"...the world has changed, says Steve Hiller, Director of Assessment and Planning, University of Washington Libraries. Libraries are in a very competitive environment in the digital age.
“We are no longer the only information game in town, if we ever were,” he says. “Our communities have access to a vast array of information that we couldn’t even dream of ten years ago. The structured and controlled access to the world of information that libraries established during much of the 20th century has literally been blown away.”

Cincinnati Library Staff Blog

Interesting example of a 2.0 initiative that supports a reader's advisory project.
http://www2.cincinnatilibrary.org/blog/about

ispresso and programming

Thinking about how program planning and delivery fits into the ispresso recommendations....Here's one approach:

The leader of the Big 3 Customer Segment Projects (Kids, Teen, Adult) can focus on programs for their customer segment as part of overall planning for their project. They can coordinate their program planning work with Diane, MPL's Programming & Marketing Coordinator, to ensure overall consistency and effective marketing of programs across the MPL system. Specific program initiatives, e.g. a book club project, can be led as a subproject of the Adult Project by any staff member who has a "passion" for this kind of work and wants to lead the subproject.

This approach would encourage ownership of programs by appropriate staff, and possibly inspire more creative and innovative programming ideas.

Your thoughts?

ispresso projects and subprojects

This drawing shows how the ispresso projects can intersect and be coordinated by the various project teams.

The Semantics of Passion

Thinking about queasiness re using the word "passion", what about using instead the term "project". So we could have the Kids Project, the Early Years Project, the Teen Project, the Newcomers Project, etc.

The big customer-segment-based Projects - Kids, Teens, Adult - could be led by the Coordinator/Advocate position as outlined in our Draft Recommendation.

The other Projects or sub-Projects could have a Project Leader and Project Team, organized around a passion-based commitment to lead initiatives in their chosen Project area, e.g. a Newcomer Project, a Customer Service Project.

Thinking of our services in terms of projects implies:

• Our services are ever-evolving - each project leads to the next phase, based on whatever the trends , strategic goals and customer needs may become over time.
• Project leadership and responsibility can also evolve and rotate among staff.

Your thoughts?

Meebo - my ID

Hi All:

I also tried meebo today! Very good indeed.
I added you Wendy!

My msn name is meeg10@hotmail.com
I think if you just add meeg10 then I'll be added to your account.

I recommend you all try it!

bye for now
Meg