Library Stuff

I guess I should start this post with the following:

My views on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or my sponsor. Any issues about this or any other post should be addressed to me and only me.

One of my favorite non-librarian blogs is SugarBank, a site about the business of sex and porn industry. Some of the content on this site is not for the faint of heart (fair warning). I like it because the blogger (Sam Sugar) is brutally honest, an incredible writer, and most of the time, fascinating.

Today, Sugar tackles the vitriolic subject of protecting kids from online porn. Librarians who deal with this on a daily basis (and I must admit I do not envy you), should take a look. Also, with Hallie starting to use her new computer, I, as a parent, read this closely. In one of the best pieces about the post, Sugar states:

“The world is a reasonably safe place for most adults and a treacherous place for an unaccompanied child. The online world is the same and parenting doesn’t stop at the power switch.”

“It’s an awkward idea. If the one-eyed babysitter isn’t an option, keeping kids occupied is more complicated than letting them surf, but parenting works. The company of a guardian is as effective at keeping kids away from the inappropriate parts of the net as it is at keeping them out of bars and clubs offline.”

Whether you agree with him or not, the problem of kids and pornography will be prevalent for a long time to come. Education is key, and openness to new ideas is important to understanding the consequences

Need a laugh this morning (I know I did)? Brian Smith has put together a sketch about the library blogging community.

In my weekly posting to Libraries Build Communities, I ask about Friends of the Library. If you have any thoughts on the topic, or any good case studies, comment over there. Thanks.

Sarah Houghton is writing a book (well, she’s “doing research for a book”, so a contract or publisher may not be finalized), and is looking for some assistance. She blogs:

“I am beginning research for a book about technology training for library staff, specifically about creating, implementing, and maintaining a set of technology core competencies for library staff in all positions.”

“I am looking for libraries (public, academic, school, law, special, local/state/national associations) who would be willing to share their lists of competencies and possibly the process by which these were created. I have found several on the open web, but I suspect that many of these competencies live on intranets or other passworded sites.”

“If you can point me to any competencies that you know of, either on the open web (in case I missed some) or on your intranet (perhaps simply giving me a text-only version of the competencies) I would much appreciate it. Either leave a comment here, or contact me via e-mail or IM (contact info at top of page).”

Let’s see. There’s a slew of library bloggers writing books these days. Meredith Farkes is composing one on social software; Michael Stephens is putting together a piece for ALA Techsource on a similar topic (or it seems to be, as Michael has written about it on his blog a bit) on what could amount as a book length project; Marydee O’jala and I are putting the finishing touches on our book on event blogging; Chrystie Hill and I are just beginning our work on libraries building communities; now Sarah enters the fray.

How lovely. Let’s not forget past books as well. Walt Crawford has written a ton; Michael Stephens has had a book published on technlology training; I could go on, but you get the picture. I know of many bloggers who have been approached by publishing companies to write books. So, the trend continues. If you have a succesful blog, the odds of being asked to write a book seems to be pretty high.

Have we made it? I think so.

Wow! Take a look at Nuvvo

“Nuvvo is your way to teach on the web. Everyone knows a little bit about something, and this free, Ajax-enhanced eLearning web service is designed to bring out the teacher in all of us. Sign up and build a course in minutes; advertise your course on our eLearning Market to get the word out. Get teaching with Nuvvo, Web 2.0′s answer to eLearning”

I’ve added their development blog to the ever growing list. (link via del.icio.us)

News from Edgeio:

“We have started to send invitation codes to people who have requested notification of the service launch on edgeio.com. If you’ve entered your email address, an invitation code will probably be coming soon.”

I received one and started playing with it.  I immediately saw an application for libraries.

Edgeio allows bloggers to sell items on their blogs, without having to go to a third-party like Ebay.  Enter library catalogs.  Instead of weeding books from the catalog that you were going to sell at a book sale, post the book information to a blog (make sure to use Structured Blogging) and tag it as “listing”.  This way, Edgeio will index the content.

There must be a way to automatically post the book information to a blog entry when a book is weeded from the online catalog (I’m not a programmer, but I play one on T.V.). The book is then physically placed on the “for sale” cart.  So, books are sold online and at the physical library, the content is not only syndicated for Edgeio, but for other engines like PubSub, and the library can make a bit more money for weeded books.

What am I missing?

One of my jobs at PubSub is community outreach. This means I monitor the blogging arena, make contacts, and evangelize the PubSub service. Recently, I came across a few blog posts from students in a media class at Purdue University taught by professor Mary Godwin. Her students have started blogs and one fo their assignments is to create subscriptions on PubSub. So, I wrote to her:

“Hi Mary:

I’ve noticed that a few of your students are blogging about PubSub (it seems to be an assignment) and I am thrilled that you have included us in your classroom activities. If I can be of any assistance with helping your students use our service, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

The other day, I get this reply (I have permission from Mary to post this):

“Thanks, Steven. Just your having taken notice of the class activities has made a difference for the students. I mentioned your email in class, and for many a kind of light came on that they really /could /become a part of the bigger conversation taking place “out there.” In this case, your mention of support got a lot of mileage. I’ll be in touch with any questions.”

We’ve had a few e-mail exchanges since then, and she has recently sent her class schedule, which includes all of the big Web 2.0 tools out there (Flickr, Technorati, Del.icio.us, and many more).

This is also a lesson in “getting out there” and not being afraid to connect with others. We throw around the word community a lot these days. To me, this is what community building is truly about.

Thanks Mary.

Wow! Check out this piece from the Rocky Mountain News:

“Next month, the Denver Public Library system will become the first in the nation to allow people to download movies and concert videos from home with a click of their computer mouse. And it’ll be free to anyone with a Denver library card and a speedy Internet connection.”

“In mid-March, members will be able to start downloading documentaries and IMAX movies, travel and concert films, do-it-yourself remodeling flicks and exercise videos.”

I’m thrilled to see that the editorial staff at the Asbury Park Press is blogging. Why would a guy from Long Island care about a newspaper in New Jersey? Well, one of the editorial writers, Larry Benjamin is my uncle.

What really excites me is that they did it right. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel by not using a tradtional blogging platform. They’re also allowing comments from their readers to voice their opinions.

Way to go APP and good luck Uncle Larry and the rest of the editorial crew.

If you’re into live music (especially from the late 60′s to the late 70′s (lots of Fillmore stuff), first read this and then go here. It’s going to be a good day.

Now playing: Turn on Your Love Light.