The Library 2.0 Gang is running a competition for the best library mashup idea.  It doesn’t have to be a working prototype, just an idea of how libraries could use mashups to provide awesome service to their users.  “The only restriction being that it must include library data or functionality somewhere within it.”

To be published Sept 09

The competition was inspired by a talk that Nicole Engard had with the Library 2.0 Gang on the forthcoming book “Library Mashups” which she edited and Libraries Interact’s own tech whiz Corey contributed to.

Why not listen to the podcast of the interview for inspiration if you don’t already have a brilliant idea to enter.  The competition closes 31st August.

UPDATE: For those interested in Library Mashup ideas, check out these 30 ideas sourced from attendees at the Mashed Library event held in the UK a couple of weeks ago.

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Library recently gave students the chance to win $1,000 in the UTS LIB:Flicks 2009 competition.

Students submitted short videos (less than 2min) to promote UTS Library services and resources to new undergraduate students

The winners were announced the other day at a premier event held in the Library and the prizes were: 1st $(1000), 2nd ($600) and 3rd ($200).

Their videos can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/utslibrary or below.

Which video did you like the best?

This morning I’m pleased to report that an updated version of our popular THALI Tags page has been released. This new version is using the Diverse Group Tag Cloud plugin that we’ve been developing.

The THALI Tags page is a tag cloud that is generated by using content analysis of posts on our individual blogs, as well as Libraries Interact. The results of the content analysis, undertaken using a Yahoo! Pipe, are fed through a stop word list and the number of posts associated with the remaining tags determine the size of the tags.

Other aspects of the page new in this version include:

• The page is directly integrated with our WordPress blog
• The tag cloud is updated approximately twice a day
• If you click on a tag a list of posts associated with that tag are displayed
• A widget is displayed in the sidebar listing the top 5 tags
• You can now use the plugin on your own WordPress powered blogs if you like

We value your feedback and would welcome any thoughts you may have on the new THALI Tags page, either as a comment or via our Contact Us form.

The photo “King Cloud” was uploaded to Flickr by Karen Ka Ying Wong and used under a Creative Commons license.

Internationally recognised US Web 2.0 commentator, blogger and library academic, Dr Michael Stephens, has been appointed the 2009 CAVAL Visiting Scholar. On behalf of CAVAL and its project partners: CityLibraries Townsville and Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dr Stephens’ research project will seek to measure the value and effect of Learning 2.0 programs in Australian libraries.

“The intent of this study is to understand the impact on library staff and institutional culture and makeup after a Learning 2.0 program”, Dr Stephens says. “The critical questions for libraries looking forward are to what extent has Learning 2.0 impacted institutional culture and staff confidence, and to what degree has it improved the ability of library staff to use emerging technologies?”

Dr Stephens notes that “More than 500 libraries in 15 countries have implemented Learning 2.0 programs in 2 years but we know very little about their effectiveness.”

Working with a co-researcher from CityLibraries Townsville, Dr Stephens’
research aims to develop a world first model for what he terms “an exemplary Learning 2.0 program for Australian libraries.”

[update: Michael has posted a detailed summary of the proposal]

Registrations for the second slq Library 2.0 UnConference are now open.

THEME:    Web 2.0. Now what?

 DATE:       Thursday 20 November 2008

TIME:         8:30 – 4:30 (coffee available from 8:30am, post-conference drinks from 4:30pm).

VENUE:     State Library of Queensland

COST:       $40 (includes an admission entry to the Game On exhibition being held at slq, and all day tea and coffee, lunch and post-conference drinks) Please advise us of any special dietary requirements on your Registration Form.

WHO:        Anyone who is interested and has some prior knowledge of Library 2.0 and is also prepared to share ideas, experiences and thoughts.

TICKETS: Book via QTIX . Please note that registration involves two steps:

1.      Register your booking with QTIX.

2.      Complete the registration form included in the slq UnConference 2008: Web 2.0. Now what? Wiki and forward it to slq.

WHAT TO BRING: Yourself, your interests, an open mind and your enthusiasm. Laptops welcome – free wireless internet access is available.

THE WIKI:   slq UnConference 2008: Web 2.0. Now what?

 Social Networking Showcase Presentations @ the slq UnConference 2008

We would like to hear from you if you or your library:

• Have been involved in a leading-edge library 2.0 project which has made an impact?
• Has been able to use some of the new tools to involve a wider community?
• Has developed new ethics and behaviours to cope with change?

It doesn’t matter if you are from a large or small library, as long as you are prepared to share your experience using a maximum of 20 slides, 20 seconds each for a maximum of 6 minutes.

Showcase presentations aim to provide delegates of the UnConference the chance to view successful library application of web 2.0 tools.

The result: 6-minute talks with jam-packed, significant visuals, and everyone asking for more. Based on pecha-kucha (Japanese for “chatter”), applies a simple set of rules to presentations: maximum of 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each. Say what you need to say in less than six minutes of exquisitely matched words and images and then take a seat.

Send your proposals to mary.kajewski <at> slq.qld.gov.au

Anyone who has spent any time near the information desk in an academic library has heard about the EndNote software. Those of us who have been looking for alternatives generally choose the Zotero Firefox plugin for a whole range of different reasons.

Whilst reading my RSS feeds this morning I came across a post entitled “Thomson Reuters Takes Virginia to Court over Zotero” on the OStatic blog.

The post briefly outlines court action that has been brought against the makers of Zotero by Thomson Reuters due to some new functionality in the latest Zotero beta.

From the post:

George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media distributes Zotero, an open source Firefox extension that helps users collect and manage citations found on the web. It performs a similar function as Thomson Reuter’s EndNote software. The lawsuit is based on the premise that Zotero’s newest beta is able to convert the proprietary EndNote format to the open CSL (Citation Style Language) format.

The post concludes that the case would appear to be weak, see the full post, and I would have to agree that it feels frivolous as well.

I can’t help but wonder what, if any, damage this will do to the Zotero image. Particularly in the typically risk averse senior management levels of academic libraries. My instinct tells me though that Thomson Reuters is about to find out what it is like to take on a community of passionate users.

What are you thoughts about the case?

The Australian Library Journal is editing a special issue on web 2.0 and the library and information science profession. The issue is being put together by a couple of folk responsible for the recent Beyond the Hype Symposium in Qld.

Guest Editors: Helen Partridge and Clare Thorpe

Contact: Helen Partridge Email: h.partridge at qut dot edu dot au

IMPORTANT DATES:

Full papers due: May 5 2008
Authors receive reviews: May 26 2008
Final papers due: June 30 2008
Anticipated publication: August 2008

The Australian Library Journal has been published since 1951. Published quarterly, it contains a wide coverage of Australian library issues, including research. It is the acknowledged flagship publication of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). The journal is available through subscription.

ISSUE FOCUS

This special issue is seeking papers on any aspect of web 2.0 and the library and information profession. Web 2.0 technology such as wikis, blogs and social networking sites are revolutionizing libraries and the library and information profession. This special issue will provide a forum to identify, share and develop the issues relevant to the role and future of within the ever-changing library industry. Submissions are invited to discuss current web 2.0 technology projects and issues. Papers that critically and objectively explore the role of web 2.0 technology within the library and information profession are especially welcome. Contributors to the special issue may like to consider the following questions to guide the development of their submissions (please note this is not an exhaustive list):

• How is web 2.0 being used in the many different library and information science contexts?
• What are the challenges (i.e. ethical, legal, financial) in using web 2.0 within service design and delivery?
• What skills and knowledge are needed by librarians and information professionals if they are to successfully meet the challenge of using web 2.0 for service design, development and delivery?
• When is web 2.0 appropriate for use within the design and delivery of services? When is it not?
• What are the priority areas for the application of web 2.0 within the library and information science industry?
• What are the issues and challenge for workforce planning and education within the profession?

Guidelines to authors can be found at
http://www.alia.org.au/publishing/alj/notes.html

Commoncraft have released Online photosharing in Plain English . Enjoy.

Whether or not you are comfortable with the term Library 2.0, it does have some useful ideas to offer your library.

Here’s ten Library 2.0 resolutions to add to your list for 2008.

1. Find out more about your users.

It all starts with them. So many new tools, offering so much new promise – how do we know what to research, let alone implement? The answer is different for each library and depends on the preference of the users.

What’s the mission of your parent organisation? How many of your users have broadband? What’s the age and education level of your users? How are they different to people served by other libraries? What do they think of your existing services? What else would they like to see?

2. Find out about you non-users.

Not just any non-users, but people in your designated client group who do not use your services. Try conducting a non-user survey. Why don’t they use you? Can new web tools help those challenged by disability, time or distance? Are they technological “have-nots”? Can you do more to help this group?

3. Look at some role models

Check out Library Success: A Best Practices wiki. Check out the Ann Arbor District Library. Look at worldcat.org.

Subscribe to the RSS feed for just two of the following library blogs and resolve to read every post for a month:

• Jessamyn West’s librarian.net
• Michael Stephen’s Tame the Web
• Steve Cohen’s Library Stuff
• Stephen Abram’s Stephen’s Lighthouse
• Jude O’Connell’s Hey Jude
• Laura Cohen’s Library 2.0 : an academic’s perspective
• American Library Association’s Techsource blog
• Karen Schneider’s Free Range Librarian
• Sarah Houghton-Jan’s Librarian in Black
• Ellysa Kroski’s iLibrarian
• the personal blogs of the Thali , the group of librarians who administer this blog.
• ..or listen to the weekly podcast of library related issues, Uncontrolled Vocabulary .

4. Run classes in new tech tools….for other library staff or your users.

Best way to learn is to teach. If you’ve done a Learning 2.0 / 23 Things program, try sharing what you learned with your colleagues or users. How about a weekly get together where staff members from all levels take it in turn to show a different tool?

5. Create your own blog.

…about professional issues that interest you. It may be government policy, new cataloguing standards, library furniture, storytelling tricks. You get to clarify your thoughts, do a bit of research, share your passion and knowledge and take part in a conversation. Two sites to start at are blogger and wordpress.com .

6. Think about the semantic web.

At least read a few definitions. Like this one in Wikipedia., Semantic Web. Or Tim Berners -Lee’s 2001 article in Scientific American, the Semantic Web . Or Chapter 6 (The Sociosemantic Web) of Peter Morville’s book, Ambient Findability: What we Find Changes Who We Become. Or subscribe to the blog about the Semantic Web and librarianship, Semantic Library .

As I understand it, it involves automatically adding extra rich metadata to things online so that a computer can use the extra information to do the kinds of sifting that once could only be done by people. Sort of like an automatic librarian adding subject tags, locations and people information to an online record. For example, if I wanted to buy a car, I could tell my PC the features, price range and location I wanted and it would scour the ‘net and bring back a shortlist.

7. Put hardware on your radar

Do you know about the different devices and gizmoes your users use to access information? Is your building set up for wireless access? What is your library web site like on a PDA? a mobile phone? a screen reader for the visually impaired? Can you show a client how to download a podcast to their MP3 player.

Have you thought about the impact on eBooks or print books of tablet PCs ? How about the One Laptop Per Child’s XO PC program? Portable book readers like Amazon’s kindle, Sony’s Portable Reader or the iLiad ?

8. Look at your physical space

Is it set up for your users or your staff? Do the signs make sense to non-librarians? Is your library a central, well-respected, social hub of your community or organisation? Does it provide welcoming furnishings and space for people to collaborate?

What would you see if you took Ryan Deschamp’s advice and took a walk through your building pretending you weren’t a librarian?

9. Review Reference

Is your prime floor space taken up by a once-great reference collection that is out-of-date, duplicates resources available online and gets fewer visitors than other areas that are not so easily accessible?

Does the layout and staffing of your reference desk give users the impression that they need to to have a Very Important and Serious question before they approach and “waste the librarians’ time?”.

Can users get help via Instant Messaging using their own preferred chat client?

Do reference staff understand that their job is not to “find the answer”, but , as Stephen Abram says , to “improve the quality of the question”.

Do reference staff understand how to find information contained in podcasts, on video sharing sites and in online social networks ?

10. Explore, discover, play.

Shake off the “training wheels culture” and find your own best path to learn what you need to serve your users better.

There are now a number of sites which have developed their own ’23 things’ type staff development activities. In many cases these programs are openly accessible and encourage anyone to join in.

23 things

This one really got the ball rolling, with a 9-week program for staff at PLCMC. It listed 23 Things (or small exercises) that you can do on the web to explore and expand your knowledge of the Internet and Web 2.0.

There is a long list of sites that are doing similar programs and many of these will be helpful for the motivated self-learner or for those tailoring a similar program for their library. On the list are a heap of Australian sites, including those participating in the state-wide program in Victoria.

This is a sample of sites from different sectors that have modified the 23 things program (not all Australian)..

• St. Michaels Primary School (School)
• Murdoch University Library (Academic)
• Mornington Peninsular Library (Public) – this one is part of a Victoria-wide program.
• Sutherland Shire (Public)
• Library of the Marine Corps (Special)

Other useful resources are:

Learn More Series « from the LibraryStream Blog

“Learn More is a series of self-paced discovery entries for library staff interested in venturing out on the social web. Each post is meant as a short introduction to a different social website, tool, or concept. It might not be ground-breaking information to veteran readers of the blogosphere, but I hope each brief summary will act as a gentle nudge for newcomers to social networking.”

Currently, the series includes:

• Avatars
• Flickr
• Youtube

CommonCraft Show

This is a series of short explanatory videos covering social media.