INTERNET LIBRARIAN 2015, DAY 3

Wednesday, October 27:  I focused on the Opening Keynote Panel, and sessions on IFLA, Tech Trends, Social Media Strategies and Leadership Lessons.

Opening Keynote Panel:  Trends In Tech Biz—Jean-Claude Monney—Global KM Lead Microsoft (What can we learn from the Technology & Business?)

http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/0845_Monney.pdf

Knowledge is the world’s most precious renewable resource.  However, the time of knowledge heroes is gone.  We’ve entered an age of collaboration and sharing—we should encourage knowledge sharing & knowledge reuse.  Microsoft Services Knowledge Transfer Study:  Collaborate --> Capture -->Codify  --> Cultivate --> Champion -->Consume (this pattern repeats).

New Technologies:

• A Digital Knowledge Assistant (Cortana) will be replaced by an Intelligent Digital Knowledge Assistant—Project GigJam (Cortana + Office + email + Outlook + live share +)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VotrVztAWs

• HoloLens (a way to combine knowledge creation, collaboration, and exploration)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKpKlh1-en0

• Skype Translate (a way to address the world’s collective knowledge and allow for live interaction in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin)—web translators uses machine learning   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G87pHe6mP0I

Library Trends From IFLA—Donna Scheeder President of Library Strategies International & International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)

Trends Report  “Riding the Wave Or Caught In the Tide”

http://trends.ifla.org/files/trends/assets/insights-from-the-ifla-trend-report_v3.pdf

Consider this report a call to action.  We need to prepare people, institutions, and both national and international policies.  

Trends that libraries need to be aware of:

• The new technologies will create an even larger digital divide.  
• Increased free online learning sessions (including higher education classes) will flourish.
• The boundaries of data protection and privacy will be redefined.  See also Library Freedom Project.

Technology Trends:  Not Your Grandmother’s Web—Stephen Abram

The presenter’s predictions for technology of the not-too-distant future, perhaps 15 years.

• The internet browser is declining rapidly, and becoming more machine based.  At the moment, we use mobile devices, but as WE are mobile, it will make more sense to have technology embedded for more movement (batteries that recharge via your bloodstream, technology carried in watches/belts/underwear.)
• Beacons—A technology that allows mobile apps to recognize when an iPhone is near a small wireless sensor called a beacon which transmits data.  Combining this technology with an interactive mesh web (a 3D map), we will be able to “beaconize” areas in libraries and other buildings.  An ideal technology for travelers or someone new to an area.
• hitchBOTs may be more prevalent.
• Smart cameras will improve facial recognition.
• Empathy machines will modify their behaviors to match interactions.

Social Media Strategies for Advocacy—PC Sweeney  

Any library initiative anywhere matters to every library everywhere.

 EveryLibrary’s Action Platform

Politicians will respond to (1) people and (2) money.  Libraries can use social media to raise awareness to situation.  Email & Facebook are most significant resources.

EveryLibrary uses OrangeBoy, a Customer Intelligence company.  OrangeBoy includes an event management system, a crowdfunding system, a volunteer management system, surveys & polling systems, email management and a GIS platform.

OrangeBoy does not make any private records public, but it aggregates self-created social media entries—email, Facebook reports, tweets—and fills in full profile details which are automatically updated.  Individuals have the option to accept emails promoting library events or fundraising activities.

It is secure.  There is no connection to the ILS, no connection to the library card, no connection to the amount of time spent on public internet stations or the sites that were searched.

Leadership Lessons & Strategies—Rebecca Raven, Frank Cervone, Rudy Leon and Ben Bizzle  Panel shared their personal leadership lessons & offered techniques to help staff grow into leadership positions.   Do you want to create a sphere of influence or a sphere of control?  When do you stop listening and start implementing?  Think of leadership more as a responsibility not authority.  Leaders work with people—managers work with processes.  Know what you don’t know and trust the surrounding people to know their jobs.  Power that comes with leadership can become dangerous.  Get out of the fiefdom sort of mentality—it’s not about you and it’s not “your” library.  Always adapt to the new direction, even if you’re not buying into it.  You can’t fight the altitude sometimes.  

Closing Keynote:  the Future of Libraries—Kim Bui-Burton & Susan Hildreth

The public good is dead—focus on the public value instead.  We remain the traditional place to be welcomed.  Focus on the uniqueness of what a library can do.  We have no agenda like teachers or social workers.  We meet the lifelong learner where they are, without prejudice or judgment.  See also BiblioTech:  Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google by John Palfrey to get more ideas the role libraries can and should play in the 21st century.

Internet Librarian Action Item ideas:

• Collaborate to a Twitter Poetry Spine challenge—based on football / baseball rivalry
• Use Tineye to see who is using SPPL photos and logos
• Does SPPL want to have a wiki specialist on staff?
• Does SPPL want to collaborate with the Loft, the Friends, and/or the U of MN to support local creative programs to publish our own eBook?
• What are staff doing to learn IT-ese?  
• Only 60% of the people know we offer eBooks & audiobooks.  
• 94% of responders would support services and programs offered for active military personnel and veterans.
• Offer programs and events on protecting privacy and identity theft
• Marketing opportunity:  blogger moms in the community
• Purchase/create device charging kits for every branch
• Marketing opportunity:  March madness with required reading lists
• Create virtual HELP buttons on public internet & catalog terminals
• Offer concierge services at the Library desk—calling for cabs, stamps, envelopes
• See the Library Freedom Project for how to conduct classes on privacy.

• Marketing opportunity:  get email addresses from the public whenever possible, and spend money to place ads on Facebook.  

--Jodi @Hayden Heights

INTERNET LIBRARIAN 2015 - DAY 2

Tuesday, October 27

Opening Keynote:  Libraries & the New Education Ecosystem—Lee Rainie

http://libraries.pewinternet.org http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/09/2015-09-15_libraries_FINAL.pdf

Presenter highlighted results from a September, 2015 PEW report on how the public views libraries. This is a follow-up report and it includes figures from the initial November, 2012 survey.  People believe we have rebranded ourselves as tech hubs.  Most people who visit will be under the age of 65, and moms are more likely than dads to visit.  

People seek help finding health information, learning about new technologies, and learning about local events & resources.  

There was a big change in people’s attitudes to keep print books, or offer spaces.

Potential focal points:  The recent survey asked people to self-identify as a lifelong learner.  

Only 60% of the people know we offer eBooks & audiobooks.  

94% of responders would support services and programs offered for active military personnel and veterans.

Offer programs and events on protecting privacy and identity theft

Tuesday, October 27:  I focused on the Opening Keynote Panel and sessions on Dealing With Digital topics and the Info Service Biz.

eBook Maker:  Libraries as Publishers—Bay Area Library ePublishers BALE

See O/Share/Information Services Council folder/Internet Librarian 2015/Hickok files             balepub@gmail.com for questions, feedback, process

The Sunnyvale Public Library created an anthology of (mostly local) short stories and poetry, and published it as an eBook.  The grant funded title was uploaded into the OverDrive platform, and it had 269 checkouts in two months.  A new unfunded title will be created in 2016 (a cookbook), and BALE will create a website that features documents, FAQs, information on writing workshops, and  podcasts of the writing workshops.  The website will serve as a promotional tool linking users from the library website.

Successful Webinars 101—Mary Ellen Bates (CyberTour mini session)

http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/CT-T2_Bates.pdf

The presenter prefers Go To Webinar http://www.gotomeeting.com/webinar, and offered a “Secrets of Successful Webinars” article and her personal checklist. http://www.infotoday.com/OnlineSearcher/Articles/Features/Secrets-of-Successful-Webinars-106050.shtml Online Searcher, September/October 2015, vol 39, no 5, p 10.

Recipe For IT-Librarians’ Collaboration—Deb Hunt & Scott Hargrove

http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/A202_Hunt.pdf

I only caught the last ten minutes of the presentation as the Successful Webinars mini session ran over time.  Presenter Hargrove said individuals can ignore security, but only at their own peril.  Libraries should offer cyber awareness classes and events to inform the public.  He also felt that IT staff should be included on planning committees from the beginning, not brought in as an afterthought.  

From Librarian to Info-Intrapreneur—Mary Ellen Bates & Lynn Strand

See O/Share/Information Services Council folder/Internet Librarian 2015

Both presenters have their own information businesses and offered insights on their careers.

It is our job to recognize and demonstrate our value, not our clients’ job to figure it out.  How do you prepare for a strategic decision?  What’s keeping you from achieving your goals?  How do you stay on top of issues in our profession?  Bates encourages us to understand the organization’s current strategic goals.  We should analyze the annual report to see understand the highlights, emphasized changes from the previous year, and determine where the money is going.  See also The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debra Fine as a networking resource.

How do you describe library services to the general public?  Don’t say “library school” but “in my master’s program…,” or “while attending graduate school…”  Strand states we should keep library jargon out of our conversations, go outside of our comfort zone and to take risks.  Her name is her brand, and people now think of her to answer ANY question—even if it is not her direct field.  She fulfills their information need, and uses the situation as a teachable moment.

New Paradigms of Learning:  Experiments In Digital Making—Erik Boekesteijn & Katie Pekacar  https://katiepekacar.wordpress.com/

This in-person & Skype presentation highlighted digital making in UK and European libraries.  Boekesteijn presenting information on DokLAB—innovation in storytelling (connecting people with collections and stories)l, a makerspace on wheels, and a CoderDojo space that offers free coding lessons for children ages 7-17.  At the moment, there are 500 kids on a waiting list.  

Pekacar presented a sneak preview of Code Green—The How-to Guide for Coding, Robotics, Digital Music Making, Community Building and more for public libraries gosclo.com.  It will launch November 5, will feature a grid appearance on the computer screen, and is considered more of a directory, not a step-by-step “how to” guide.   BBC funding will ensure every child in the UK gets a laptop.  

Both predict that Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality (especially in education) will be huge in the not too distant future, as will health tracking for the general public.

Raising the Innovation Bar for Services & Librarians—Terry Beck & Christa Werle, Sno-Isle Libraries  http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/A205_Beck.pdf

Presenters implemented an Idea Management System enabling their MLIS Librarian staff to get out from behind the desk and out into the community.  All library system decisions must meet at least one of their four information service key points:  Values, Purpose, Strategic Focus and Core Services.  http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/A205_Werle(1).pdf  This one page document is posted in every room of every library in the system.

In order to think outside of the box, you need a solid box to stand on.  When changing strategic goals/missions/visions, articulate the reasons behind the decision to change—numbers, facts.  

Evening Session:  European Libraries: Directions & Insights—Erik Boekesteijn

A summary of his earlier presentation, plus more DokLAB videos featuring roles of smaller, public libraries through-out Europe.  The European Parliament monitors and funds all of the large research libraries, so Boekesteijn travels all over filming personal stories of how their local “libraries” impact the community.  Presenter is also host of This Week In Libraries which has produced 121 video episodes on various topics, and promotes the "Libraries Change Lives" movement.

--Jodi @ Hayden Heights

INTERNET LIBRARIAN 2015, DAY 1

Internet Librarian 2015, held in Monterey, California, October 26-28, 2015

Morph!  Exploring New Roles & Directions for the Info Service Biz

700 pre-registered attendees (and another 100 anticipated onsite registrants) from 42 states and Washington, DC plus 17 countries.  There were 148 speakers and moderators, and 20 exhibitors.  All presentations can be found at

http://internet-librarian.infotoday.com/2015/Presentations.aspx

Each person spends an average of 11 hours a day interacting with technology.  

Monday, October 26:  I focused on the Opening Keynote Panel, and sessions on Discovery, Navigation & Search and UX & Web Presence.

Opening Keynote Panel:  Exploring Roles & Directions:  Creating, Failing, Learning

The three panelists explained their “disruptive entrepreneurships”, and shared their education products.  21 Toys (toys that teach empathy), littleBits (STEAM projects featuring electronic building blocks), and Hopscotch (creating games with coding). Panelists promote failure reports, embrace a fail forward work space, and encourage ambush learning by starting students out in kindergarten.  Best analogy:  most people just want toast.  Toasters are okay, but how else do we get toast?  We need to discuss what works, what doesn’t, what flopped, and decide what excites you, who is it helping and who is it serving?

Super Searcher Tips & Tools—Mary Ellen Bates

http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/A101_Bates.pdf

If you’re not failing, you’re not trying.  You’re stuck in a rut and crashing is good.  Highlights:  search engine Millionshort asks “what haven’t you found?  Eliminates results usually found on Google, Yahoo, and Bing, with the option of using limiters to further reduce results.  Reverse image search engine Tineye works like Google Images or Bing Image match, but results come up faster without scrolling down multiple pages.  Use Google Trends. The filters (based on your results) will glean more insight from “regular” web site searches and results. Aggregator Socialmention will offer real-time social media search and analysis.

LibGuides: Learning From Users’ Experiences—Denise FitzGerald Quintel

See O/Share/Information Services Council folder/Internet Librarian 2015

No one knows what LibGuides are—change the name (resource guide, research helper).  Get over the “set it & forget it” mindset—we need to regularly monitor and update.  Make them more discoverable, with consistent terminology.  Get rid of the general subject guides—that’s why people go to Google.  Work best when they identify unique and relevant resources—not just links.  Split results on tabbed vs one page—not remember to use tabs vs busyness of page.  

Search Results Are the New Black—Deirdre Costello—EBSCO presentation

dcostello@ebsco.com  will share the public library findings via email.

Presenter explained results from a recent EBSCO survey, outlining the differences between doctors, students and public library visitors who took part in the survey.  In general, public library visitors want to find a specific book, to research a big-ticket purchase, or to find resources that support their work.  They are relaxed, focused, and feel a sense of community & ownership at their branch.    This ownership extends to the library website as well.  And unlike doctors and students, most public library visitors do not suffer from “eye byte culture”.  They can tolerate bigger “chunks” of website information.

Negative results:  MARC records / snippets are a struggle to interpret, and they don’t provide clues for credibility like Google results.  Visitors still equate libraries with books.  Library computers and databases are a hindrance.  Visitors can’t remember their passwords and don’t want to validate logins—it gives them less incentive to persevere to find what they want.

Students in general like pdfs—recognize the icon/term as a shortcut to the full text article, know it can be downloaded and shared.  They are confused by abstracts—if it’s online, they think they should be able to access it.  

Working Out the Future of Library Resource Discovery—Marshall Breeding

www.niso.org/publications/white_papers/discovery/  www.librarytechnology.org

Synopsis of the white paper he created for NISO.  Public libraries should externalize functionality for mobile devices.  Evaluate interfaces, coverage, resources.  Look at the report / studies for additional information on the Open Discovery Initiative.

Presenter explained a project to use “Entity” records to identify a person, place, event, name of work, organization and concept instead of creating MARC records.  By using VIAF (a Virtual International Authority File), catalogers work with canonical identifiers (assertions) to shred all records to include ALL manifestations of a work in the Entity record.  SPPL is already creating “linked data ready” records.  For additional information, see Library Linked Data in the Cloud.  OCLC is hoping to collaborate with Wikipedia next.  Individual entries will have a “snapshot” of a specific time, and a new photo will be taken for each update.  When researched, each entry will be discoverable (a bibframe effect:  an AND result, not ‘instead’).  They will also employ Schema.org vocabulary for consistency.

Resources Discovery: In the Age of Wikipedia—Jake Orlowitz  jorlowitz@wikimedia.org      https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library

http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/223/A106_Orlowitz.pdf

Wikipedia has 8000 views per second and 500 million monthly visitors.  Libraries are the perfect place to build Wikipedia specialists through the Wikipedia Library Interns program.  They could link archives, initiate best practices, offer additional resources and help readers research.  

--Jodi @Hayden Heights