Posts filed under ‘Uncategorized’
PayPal Mobile for Libraries?
Here is a great example of thinking about technology and how it can be applied to libraries!
Kate Sherrill, Librarian at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana – Evansville, posted this on a listserv I am on (copied here with permission):
“I just signed up for PayPal Mobile, so then I was thinking, what is this good for? Here’s an idea: Your library has a PayPal account, a patron needs to check out materials, but has something he needs to pay. He doesn’t have enough cash on him, you don’t take credit/debit cards, and he doesn’t have his check book. He whips out his phone, PayPals you the money via text message, you instantly receive a confirmation email, the fine is paid, he gets his stuff and goes away happy. How awesome would that be?
Kate
KateSherrill@gmail.com
Great thought process!
– New Technology
– What’s it good for? How does it help make our patrons’ lives easier?
– Aha-moment!
– Everyone’s happy!
Of course, with this particular idea, there may be a few issues:
1) most libraries generally discouarge cell-phone use, so the patron may have to step outside
and
2) I believe PayPal has fees associated so the patron and/or library may sacrifice some payment for fees
BUT maybe the service and convenience is worth it!
This way of thinking is just what we need to be doing in the library world and reminds me of what Leslie Burger was saying this past April at the NJLA conference. She said that she is always thinking about the library. When she reads the paper or sees something in the news she asks herself, how could this apply to the library? Or, how will this impact library services and library users?
I really try to think this way and I think that Kate’s comment was a great example of this!
So, are any libraries currently using PayPal in any way – to collect payments, accept donations or other!?
Shameless Self-Promotion
Tonight I will be the featured speaker along with my colleague Bob Keith for PPL’s monthly Tuesday Technology Talk. We will be demonstrating and talking about several Web 2.0 applications in a program we call Fantastic Freebies for Everyone.
I recently started the Tuesday Technology Talks @ PPL blog to further promote this program, which has been a mainstay of our technology training program since October 2000.
Here is the real “shameless self-promotion”, U.S. 1 newspaper published a lengthy article, From the Internet: Great Free Stuff, that features interview with both Bob and myself. It looks like we should get a good turn out tonight!
"Hi ! No, I can’t help you"
Have you noticed that sometimes when you approach people at a service desk, you get the impression they don’t really want to be there or to help you? The words they say may be fine, but the “no” is in their body language. At the reference desk, we may not even notice that we do it — we fold our arms, roll our eyes, or lean to one side as if we’re waiting for a bus when someone asks a question, perhaps one we’ve heard hundreds of times. I believe that although it may be subconscious, and may even affect our users subconsciously, it still has an effect.
I’ve personally been witness to fast food counter clerks, department store return agents, and reference librarians who — when a patron approaches the desk — unconsciously says “no” as their first response to the person’s question. Sometimes they’ll also shake their heads side to side or squint. All of these actions, even if it’s subsequently the best reference transaction in the world, give off the wrong first impression. It even happens in virtual reference; this must be just a bad habit some of us have fallen into.
Now that I’ve noticed this, I’ve been trying to adapt. . .sometimes forcing myself to smile, nod, and even say “yes” or “sure” even as soon as the first few words of a question are uttered. I know I’m overcompensating here, but maybe it will level off with practice! When someone says “maybe you can help me. . .” I want to insure that I say something positive in response, quickly, and with appropriate body language that communicates the same. We can become masters of subliminal advertising!
Casting Call for "Transformers"
Are you a “transformer”? Hint: we aren’t talking about the type of transformer depicted to the right. More importantly, has your library been transformed? If so, Leslie Burger wants to hear from YOU!! Here is the text of an email that she asked us to post on her behalf:
I would like to enlist your help for a very exciting and interactive project that will help transform libraries!
Libraries Transform Communities is the theme I have chosen for my presidential initiative. We know that when libraries are transformed either by new service programs, renovations, or new buildings that the communities they serve are in turn transformed. Part of the initiative is to create a Transformation Tool Kit, which will have tips and ideas for how to transform your library, and stories from libraries that have been transformed.
This is where I need your help, send in your transformation stories and photographs. Explain briefly how your library been changed? How have your library users and community been transformed? The stories and photographs that you submit will be featured on my website.
Send all materials to Romina Gutierrez at rgutierrez [at] princetonlibrary dot org as soon as possible.
I hope you share your transformation stories with me and with the library community!
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Leslie Burger
ALA President-Elect
Screenagers Focus on Info Seeking
I’ve been wanting to follow-up on my previous post about “screenagers.” I am a Co-Principal Investigator (with Lynn Sillipigni of OCLC) of an IMLS grant “Seeking Synchronicity” designed to study virtual reference services (VRS) from user, non-user, and librarian viewpoints. Now in Phase I of the grant, we’re in the midst of a series of focus groups, so far having completed 6 focus groups: 4 with non-users of VRS (3 with teens from 12-18 years old, 1 with college students); and 2 with VRS librarians. Soon to come are 2 groups of VRS users.
The series of 3 focus groups with teens just concluded on May 15th at Elizabeth Public Library, NJ where the Library Garden’s own Kimberly Paone directs both YA and adult reference services. The other teen groups were held in a rural public library (Denton, Maryland) and a suburban high school (Springfield Township, PA). I want to share some preliminary impressions from these focus groups (stay tuned for a formal paper).
We asked the teens about their information seeking behaviors (“Where do you go for help when you are stuck in an assignment?”) For 2 of the 3 groups, not surprisingly, their #1 choice is Google. Few bothered to check any info found on Google, it was assumed to be correct unless their “intuition” urged them to fact check. They also frequently ask classmates for homework help (but usually only the “smart ones,” they said, of course).
The other group, from the high school, was more likely to go to their Springfield Township Virtual Library website to use databases or to ask their stellar librarian, Joyce Valenza for help. They regarded Google as convenient, but not as credible as articles found in databases. At Elizabeth PL, the students preferred face-to-face interactions with Kimberly Paone to any other form of communication with a librarian (e.g., phone, email, or chat). Some preferred to find information on their own through flailing around on Google or other search engines or in the library’s online catalog. Most carry cell phones but most were unaware that the library had a phone reference service (!) One admitted to being unaware that the library had a web page.
Across all three focus groups, most teens were regular library users and all but a few were Instant Messenger users. When asked why they did not try live chat with librarians, most said that they were unaware that these services existed. All groups were also extremely wary of chat situations as being potentially unsafe. These unknown and unfamiliar chat librarians were seen as potential “psycho killers” (yes, that’s a quote!).
Many teens expressed the concern that the librarians in chat would not be interested in them or in their questions and might not have the right information for their school assignments. They clearly treasured the one-on-one personal relationships they had developed with their librarians and most were unwilling to give chat a try. When told that live chat reference was 24/7 in Maryland and NJ (PA is starting a statewide chat service in the near future) some eyebrows shot up as they liked this idea since some prefer to do homework late at night.
Interesting stuff? These focus groups are collecting preliminary information to help design online surveys and telephone interviews that will be conducted with large national samples, so more generalizable results are to come!
Are We Cool?
Recently the local newspaper came to interview me. As usual, I was surprised for the reporter to be calling ME and not the other way around. I always look forward to talking about the library and the services that we provide. But at the outset, I’m trying to overcome the stereotype that most people have about what it means to be a librarian. Joanne Papaianni starts by saying:
Most kids, or most people for that matter, don’t equate librarians with being cool, but that’s only because they haven’t visited the Bradley Beach Public Library.
Now, as flattering as that may sound, it bothers me a bit. Because don’t we all think we’re “cool” in our way? None of us are running around saying that but we think it. But why doesn’t the general populace see us that way? Maybe this is where our profession is most lacking, in the ability to promote and market our services as “cool” or even necessary.
Ask any of the people who come into your library on a daily basis if they think the library or its staff is cool and you might be surprised. Just today Robert Lackie was visiting and talked to some of the kids sitting out in front of the library. I was VERY surprised when he came in and told me that they said I was cool.
I think that maybe all of us face this same challenge. And we all need to be doing more to overcome that stereotype of the librarian as the mean and cranky old woman (or man) who is trying to impose outdated and restrictive rules. One of the best ways is to try and garner good publicity (I happen to be lucky lately in that) which talks about libraries and librarians using new and maybe even controversial media or websites to reach out to underserved populations.
Don’t know where to start? The easiest things that I have found are to offer IM reference (and promote it) and to have a profile on a social networking site (like myspace). And we’ve all heard it before but we really need to get out from behind the desk. Be friendly (not necessarily friends) with your users/patrons. It really does make a huge difference in the perceptions that your community has of you and the services that your institution provides. Maybe over time then everyone will think of their library as “cool.”
Facebook and Updating the Stereotypical Librarian Image
I hope everyone enjoyed our hosting of the Carnival of Infosciences and the post a few days ago–special thanks to Janie Hermann for running the show on this for Library Garden. Submitting to the Carnival was fun, although I probably should have limited myself to just one or two of the best posts, but there was so much good “stuff” out there to talk about.
One topic I just loved reading about deals with networking with our students online. I promised in an earlier post that I would come back to this, and today is specifically about Facebook (the summer session is starting at Rider University and some of the students are already communicating with me, even only in quick questions or just in “pokes.”) One of my colleagues at Rider, our fairly new business librarian Diane Campbell, was talking to me about connecting better with our freshmen and graduate business students. We were brainstorming on bringing the library to them, promoting our resources and services. So, I mentioned Facebook, which seems to be pretty hot at Rider. OK, if you don’t know what I am talking about, you must read Brian Mathews’ “Do You Facebook?” article from the just-picked-it-up-from-my-mailbox May 2006 issue of C&RL News (page 306-7). I really appreciated Brian’s take on using Facebook at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Here are some highlights from the beginning of the article for those interested in proactively promoting the library and/or your subject specialty area:
During my time on the reference desk, I discovered many gaps in students’ familiarity with the library. Could the popularity of Facebook be used as a marketing tool? I started by searching within the Georgia Institute of Technology directory on Facebook for the keyword “library” and discovered Sleeping in the Library, a community group whose members share their favorite locations to take a nap. Next I searched globally and found that a handful of other libraries had created profiles.
We all need to see if we have sleeping communities where we work!
Reading further into this “Reaching out” section, Brian mentions that he wanted to be “proactive” but to appear as himself, “rather than a faceless organization.” I totally agree with him on this point. I understand the desire to create a Facebook library community to “push” out information to our students, and I will probably do that, but for now, interacting with our students in this natural environment as a professor-librarian seems to work well.
Anyway, Brian briefly talks about his “plan,” the “payoff” of immediate responses after setting up his account and delivering some messages and photos, and the future of his use of Facebook to reach out to their students at Georgia Institute of Technology.
By using online social networks, librarians can increase campus visibility and update the stereotypical image, but, most importantly, we can let students know what the library is really all about.
Nice job on that, Brian!
Save the Date — if you are in NJ (that is)
Michael Stephens and Jenny Levine are coming to New Jersey!
They will be presenting Conversation, Community, Connections, and Collaboration: Practical, New Technologies for User-centered Services (aka the 4C s roadshow) on July 18th at Princeton Public Library. The workshop will run from 9:30 am to 2 pm and include lunch.
Final cost and registration details to be forthcoming very soon… just wanted to start spreading the word so that calendars can be marked! If you are a NJ blogger, please cross-post and promote… tell your colleagues that this will be an event not to be missed.
I am off to Canada for a 10 day holiday and will update when I return.
Carnival of the Infosciences — On with the Show!
It has been a busy week at the Carnival grounds. Make sure you have plenty of pocorn and candy floss (aka cotton candy) and a large cup of soda before the show begins as you will need it. Prepare to be amazed and dazzled by the participants in edition #38 of the Carnival of the Infosciences. Without futher ado… on with the show.
We started with a very early submission from David Bigwood of Catalogablog who stated “this is one of the best ideas I’ve seen in quite some time: Noting donations and donors in the OPAC”. We here at the Library Garden agree that this is a fantastic idea.
Next in to the ring was was Ellysa from Infotangle who not only complimented us on the concept of the Library Garden (in her words: “I think it’s a wonderful idea to form a blog which embraces a multitude of perspectives written by librarians of different backgrounds”) but also pointed us to her post on Community 2.0 in which she defines several types of communities and gives some great examples of community in practice. Well done Ellysa and thanks for the compliment.
Ellysa was quickly followed by Bill Drew (Baby Boomer Librarian) linking us to his post Verizon giving information to NSA – My response. Bill remarks: “This started up my interest in the NSA and records of phone numbers I call.”
After a brief intermission, we had Rick Roche asking for us to please consider his look back at the 1979 ALA Annual Conference meeting on government documants for the carnival. He comments in the post on how some concerns are the same though the technology has changed. A very interesting trip back in time and well worth the look!
Next in to the fray came Filipino Librarian who clearly feels that it is not enough to complain about the existence of librarian stereotypes and believes that “alternative images must be presented” and thus he submits his post, “I am a Librarian” for our reading and viewing pleasure. He also had an addendum to his entry in which he states “I just found out that there was a bit of a discussion last month about self-promotion. I guess this post falls under that category… but in a different direction 🙂 ”
Anali from Grumpator gave us a thought-provoking summary of two talks she heard this week given by Joan Frye Williams.
And then we finish off the show the same way we started — with an entry from David Bigwood who says: “I have never sent in a second submission for a week, but here I go. A couple of library students have created a tool, ClaimID, that has been getting good press in the Web 2.0 community but none in the L20 arena, that I’ve seen. ”
We also got a P.S. from David Bigwood that contains a cool idea. David says: “Bootcamp sounds fun. What we need is a L20 and Web 2.0 conference. Get the folks from Digg, 37 signals, Amber McArthur, Leo Laporte together with Dan, Jenny, Steven et al. Now that would be one I’d not miss. ” We here at LG wouldn’t want to miss it either. Who wants to be on the organizing committee and get this conference off the ground?
Now for our picks of the week from the bloggers on Library Garden (we have a lot of editors, so we have a lot of picks):
We liked “It’s all ‘me'” from Library Marketing where Jill Stover talked about an WSJ article author who “predicts that consumer power will shift increasingly toward individuals who will declare what it is they want and marketers will be tasked with listening to and addressing those needs.” We think Jill is right on the money when she suggests that “we [in the libraries] design and deliver our services [while being] proactive in listening for and addressing needs, and that we’ll have to work very closely with patrons to provide customized services at their times and places of need.” Very thought-provoking, both her blog response and the article itself.
Ricklibrarian caught our attention when he wrote about using Google Notebookfor Nonfiction readers’ advisory. He created a sample notebook with links and text which he links to. Being able to bring all that information together easily and then having it available from any computer anywhere is just brilliant.
Best Sellers, Best Borrowed, Most Collected posted at Stephen’s Lighthouse was also selected as a pick as it offers up another puzzle for the ages: Why do libraries insist on promoting bestsellers when it inevitably leads to frustration for users who then find themselves number 579 on the hold list forthe book?
Another fave was Ten Months In by Laura S. at Library Crunch talking about the Library 2.0 discussion, and where you can listen to her article. Here is the quote that really got our attention: “We now have a clear, yet fluid definition [of Library 2.0]: user collaboration, constant and purposeful change, and reaching the long tail. Librarians from around the world are discussing this concept. It is a topic at conferences, courses are being taught on it, there are a growing number of librarians blogging it, and books are being written on it, including one by Michael and me.” We at the LG are looking forward to their upcoming book on this topic!
We also liked Michael Stephens pointing out that Hennepin County Library is now allowing customer comments in the catalog and Meredith Farkas sharing some deeply personal and inspirational thoughts on her evolution as a librarian, and as a person. Also worth a look is LizB’s “good news, bad news”post on attending a Career Fair posted over at Pop Goes the Library.
And this week would not be complete without a nod towards the debate surrounding ALA’s Library 2.0 Bootcamp. Lots of good posts on this topic, but as the Carnival ringmasters we are going to point you to Library Garden’s own Peter Bromberg who weighs in with his take on the conversation and also offers us a chance to contribute and discuss the topic at the eltuo wiki .
Well, that’s a wrap for this week carnival. It has been fun hosting and we hope to hoist the carnival tent in our garden again at some future date. The carnival is moving grounds and setting up over at What I Learned Today, so remember to submit early and submit often!
Library Garden 