Library Stuff

I’m not sure how I missed this last week, but Paul over at The Distant Librarian has come up with a brilliant idea to market library databases via Google Scholar. While this might correlate with the “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach that I have seen lately in our field, it’s one of the best initiatives that I have seen to come out of the Google Scholar discussions of the past few weeks. It’s not just for distant students either. It can be used by students working in the library. Oh, and Paul’s idea works!

In the latest round of articles from LISCareer.com, Robin Ewing tackles presentations with Presenting with Confidence: 10 Tips for Librarians. A well written piece that I highly recommend. 2 pointers that stick out include:

“4. Find – Find your own style. Your style will develop as you give more presentations. Whatever style you adopt, you want to be enthusiastic. This doesn’t mean you have to be a performer; just be excited about your topic and find a way to communicate your enthusiasm to the audience.”

“8. Connect – Connect with your audience. The audience wants you to succeed, so making a connection is easy. Involve them by asking rhetorical questions. Another way to connect is to make eye contact with people in different parts of the room. Avoid constantly scanning the audience as this will make you appear shifty.”

I have given and seen plenty of presentations over the past 3 years and one of the common issues I see is one of enthusiasm. When I am presenting on any topic I am purposely excited about it and it shows in my delivery. For example, every now and then during the presentation, I’ll say something like, “Isn’t that incredible?” or “This is going to knock your socks off”. If you’re not excited about your topic, it is hard for your audience to be excited about it. Boring presenters make for boring presentations.

Connecting with your audience goes along with enthusiasm. In addition, I always like to do something different than any other presenters at big conferences. For example, I usually hand out candy. At Internet Librarian last month, I held a contest with the audience before both of my presentations. The first one to answer library trivia questions received a piece of candy. I also did an impromptu bit with Karen Schneider on the screen, which was fun, different, and got the audience loose.

Yet another reason to love Peter Scott. He’s started an RSS Compendium Blog filled with new/useful RSS feeds. Incredible. A few resources from the past week include:

+ ESL Teachers Boards RSS Feeds

+ Startster – “free web-based feed aggregator combined with a custom start page builder. it features a preloaded list of the web’s most popular rss feeds for you to choose from and allows you to add your own custom feeds as well. choose your refresh rate and several other options. No advertising, and no obtrusive questions to answer. sign up and be ready to go in seconds”

+ Digital Freedom Network RSS Feeds

Plus many many many many more. If you want to be kept up to date with new RSS resources, grab the feed, sit back, and enjoy. Peter has also started yet another RSS portal site at AllRSS.com. A note from Peter about the site:

“Welcome to the RSS Compendium, designed to link you to information about RSS readers, resources, tools, etc…

Eventually, all the information and links will be housed in a fully-searchable database.”

This is another showcase of how librarians are and should be on the cutting edge of RSS/Weblog technology. Great work Peter.

I will not be publishing to Library Stuff until next Monday. I need a rest and the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is slow anyway. BTW, look for some exciting happenings in early 2005…

The Preliminary program for Computers in Libraries 2005 is now available. I will presenting in the following sessions:

Preconference:
Advanced Weblogs: Applications, Technology, Cases – With Jenny Levine
“This workshop focuses on the more advanced features of Weblogs and RSS. Topics include how to get the most out of Weblogs and RSS (marketing, creating a user community), resources for a more customized approach to RSS, and ways in which both can be implemented into the library environment. It uses case studies to illustrate applications and best practices and highlights the affordable, applicable technology for making these applications work. It provides opportunities for peer discussions as well as working with the advanced features of tools discussed.”

Tips for Keeping Up: Expert Panel – with Gary Price and Genie Tyburski – “Keeping up with all the changes in our industry is one of the biggest challenges for info pros. This expert panel shares tips and techniques for improving your chances of staying in step with our fast-changing online information world.”

“Social networking, social software, and collaboration are hot topics today. Information professionals have been collaborating for a long time, with consortia packages and interlibrary loan initiatives. There are, however, more ways in which librarians can collaborate with each other on projects and group work utilizing online tools and the latest gadgets.”

Social Software 101
10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
K. Matthew Dames, Principal & CEO, Seso Group, LLC
Social software is about more than a blog, a wiki, or a Palm handheld. Instead, it is a vehicle for communication that can put librarians at the center of our organizations’ collaborative efforts. Some suggest that the increased availability of social software means that the librarian’s role is diminished or unnecessary, but librarians can use the social software movement to their advantage at a time when their value is being questioned. This
session looks at the issues, including how librarians can and are leveraging social software for collaborative purposes.

Wikis @ Your Library?
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Will Richardson, Supervisor, Instructional Technology &
Communications, Hunterdon Central Regional High School
A wiki is an open community for building a knowledge base around a particular topic. But do wikis belong in libraries? This session illustrates experiences with wikis and discusses how these Web communities can be successful in group work in a library or any educational environment.

Collaboration & IM: Breaking Down Boundaries
1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Aaron Schmidt, Reference Librarian, Thomas Ford Memorial Library
Michael Stephens, Technology Training & Web Development, St. Joseph County Public Library
“A recent survey indicated that nearly 70 percent of the U.S. university Internet population used IM. This session covers research, applications, case studies, usage, workflow impact, and ethics of IM. Schmidt and Stephens look at the many uses of IM, from in-house staff communication to the delivery of content and discussions with customers, as well as utilizing IM to confer and plan with colleagues no matter where they are.”

Building Communities in the “Palm” of Your Hand
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Megan Fox, Web & Electronic Resources Librarian, Special Projects
Analyst for Administration and Planning, Simmons College
“PDAs are popular because they can be used to access e-mail, the Internet and send instant messages to friends. But PDAs can also be used as tools to exchange documents and ideas among groups. Fox discusses how PDAs can assist librarians in taking part in collaborative efforts within any type of environment, be it a university setting or a public or corporate environment.”

LISNews — Collaborative Blogging
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Blake Carver, Creator of LISNews.com, & Librarian, New York Power
Authority
“Carver, an experienced blogger, discusses the issues — pros and cons — with moderating a collaborative Weblog for the library community. He talks about the software that powers LISNews, interesting stories from the past 5 years, and tips on how to run a collaborative Weblog within your network.”

I hope that you plan to attend. Internet Librarian was such a success that Computers in Libraries will hopefully ride its coattails and be even better.