Amazing Challenge - New Zealand

My favourite part of this challenge was exploring other web 2.0 things in England, mostly because I was already familiar with the things we explored in the other countries. I also got a new insight into the uses of YouTube in HongKong - I didn't realise there was so much instructional material there.
Although I found some new cool things, I didn't see much that immediately had an application for our library. Perhaps, now the Hunt and Gather has been canned we could put videos of how to search the library catalogue onto YouTube? We don't want the OPACs to be able to link to YouTube though. I wonder if there is a way around it.
I learnt some new stuff and had some fun but didn't get very much inspiration for new ways to use web 2.0 in the library so my goals were mostly met.
I enjoyed the way the challenge was set up and thought that the tutorials you found were great. Well done Ellie!

Social Networking - Italy

I had a look at the Library Beebo but couldn't work out how to add a comment. I wondered if you needed an account before you could do this. I have a Facebook account but not a Beebo one.
I found an article "Stalking the Wild Appeal Factor: Readers' Advisory and Social Networking Sites" in Academic Research Library. It was talking about using sites like LibraryThing, Shelfari and GoodRead to help in Readers' Advisory work. I love LibraryThing but hadn't really thought of it as a social networking site. I guess it is if you get into the discussion boards and 'follow' people with interesting libraries but I don't use it like that. I do check my Facebook page every day. Quite a few of my in-laws are on Facebook and it is a good way to keep up-to-date with their comings and goings. David's sister and her husband have recently moved to the UK and I enjoy reading their updates as they find jobs and places to live. I don't bother with the quizzes (particularly after reading Philip's email) but do play some of the games.

Podcasting - HongKong

Every week I download interesting podcasts from National Radio and listen them while I am gardening or doing housework but I haven't explored YouTube much. With a wedding cake to make in a couple of weeks I thought I would see if there was a podcast on making chocolate roses - there was.

Social Bookmarking - Finland

I have been using Delicious for quite a while (http://delicious.com/RefPenny) so not too much new to learn there. I decided instead to look at Technorati.
I didn't think much of their 'channels' - 'entertainment' didn't include books and 'lifestyle' didn't include cooking, craft or gardening. The blog directory did have a headings for 'food and wine' and 'home and garden' but still nothing on books. I tried searching for blogs on storytelling but didn't have much luck until I searched for blogs with 'storytelling' as a tag rather than blog posts with storytelling as a tag. This type of search wasn't immediately apparent. You need to 'search the blogasphere' first before it gives you search options.
I also 'claimed my blog' - time will tell as to whether the traffic increases.

Web 2.0 applications (England)

I have written some prayers that will be included in a book due to be published next year but would love to have a whole book so I had a good look at Lulu. It looks easy enough to use but it is a bit hard to evaluate without actually publishing a book and I don't have one lying around. This site may be an option if I ever get round to writing a whole book and can't find a publisher. I would certainly recommend it to any of my friends who are thinking of writing a book (not a vast pool of people but there is one!).There were some other interesting sites on the list but probably none that I would use on a regular basis. I found all sorts of interesting things at .Docstoc. I could have done with it a couple of years ago when my son often asked me to set him maths problems! I liked the sound of Mango to learn or brush up a foreign language prior to travelling but discovered you had to pay. Apparently libraries can subscribe so their members can use it. That would be cool but probably unlikely. Boo is another potentially useful site when planning travel. It has hotel and bar details along with photos, weather and general city reviews. The main drawback to this site is that there isn't a section for attractions. I may use this next time we are planning a trip.I loved One Sentence - lots of true (supposedly) stories told in a single sentence - a great time waster.

RSS Feeds

I have been using iGoogle for over a year so was interested to compare it with Google Reader. I think I prefer iGoogle. I like being able to have different types of feed on different pages and the pictures add interest. I think Google Reader may be better for news then iGoogle as you can see all the new headlines whereas iGoogle you set how many items you you want to see from each which is great for blogs but probably not so good for news (unless you set the limit fairly high).
I use iGoogle all the time for keeping up with my favourite blogs but I like the fact that if I don't look at at it for a few days (or weeks) there are only the latest posts there and I don't feel guilty about the ones I missed.
Libraries can use RSS by putting feeds on their website - new books, events etc. Apart from personal professional development I can't think of another way to ue RSS in libraries.

Photo Sharing

I do have a Flickr account but I haven't used it much and couldn't remember my password. I decided to see what images there are of libraries. I already knew of the group that aim to take a picture of their library every day so thought there would be plenty of images to choose from. I came across Erik who has a series of images of 'Beautiful libraries'. I really like this shot because of the odd angles http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/2254208405/in/set-72157603863752660/

The Amazing Challenge - Brazil

My library is running 'The Amazing Challenge' to help staff get up to speed with various Web 2.0 technologies. The first task was to find out more about lifelong learning. In particular we looked at the 7 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners . The first habit was to to set goals for your learning. Accordingly, my goals for The Amazing Challenge are:

• Learn more about Web 2.0
• Explore the potential of web 2.0 technologies for improving or adding to existing library services
• Have fun
  
  

Usability testing for libraries - possible research topic?

Moira Fraser Says: June 19, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I like this idea. Another idea that I have advocated to public libraries before is the use of usability testing which is also commonly used for websites. At the core – you create 10 common tasks that people come to the Library for – things like find a book about …; read today’s newspaper from another main centre etc. and then you measure whether they can complete the task satisfactorily. You also observe them undertaking the task and ask some open-ended questions at the end to understand more about their experiences. It’s very useful at uncovering the things that we don’t notice because we are familiar and comfortable in libraries, but which cause library users real difficulties.
from http://diligentroom.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/what-would-rodney%e2%80%99s-mum-think/

Disaster plan

I raised the subject of the Library disaster plan at the staff meeting this morning. Apparently one was drawn up at the time the library was being reorganised (in 2006) but nobody knew quite where it was (apart from the copy that one staff member kept off-site) and it was due for updating. As a result of me raising the issue, a copy was printed off to be kept in the Reference Desk Procedures manual and I was asked to be part of the team to update it.

Small task - disaster plans

The only plans I was able to find were the Library Pandemic Plan (reviewed 29/4/09), Bomb Threat Plan and Emergency Evacuation Plan. I knew about the last 2 because they had been covered during various training sessions but I didn't know about the Pandemic Plan. Obviously, if I didn't know about them, other staff probably don't either. They weren't particularly easy to find - I tracked them down in the document management programme. I'm sure the council has other disaster plans which would also apply to the library but I wasn't sure where to look. The Pandemic Plan specifies that it is in addition to the council pandemic plan. The plan seems both comprehensive and feasible.

Small task - outsourcing

1. We have just initiated a 3-month trial to outsource up to 90% of our cataloguing. This would see a supplier of materials to the library undertake some cataloguing duties with no incremental cost to the library. This is expected to reduce costs by 2 FTE. However we have taken IT support back in house due to problems with using the firm providing council IT support.
2. With the necessity for the library to cover more of its budget, one way to help achieve this is to cut costs so outsourcing other operations is a possibility if this can be done at a cost-advantage. I would be very hesitant to outsource book selection as I have read of other libraries having problems with this. It would be difficult to replace the detailed patron knowledge that has been built up over the years by the acquisition staff. Outsourcing of the website maintenance is more palatable but that is unlikely to happen in the near future since we have only just brought it in-house. When considering outsourcing total costs must be compared as there may be a cost of ceasing doing the task in-house e.g. redundancy, and there will be a cost to supervising the contract.

Finance

Bad news from the council meeting last week - the councillors are requiring the library to raise 10% of its total budget in 2010 with this target increasing by 2% each year till it reaches 20%. The library managers already have a plan for implementing this for next year but we don't know what this is yet. Some councillors think we should charge for all fiction books (except children's) rather than just the Top Titles. One thing is for sure - we won't be offering free Internet any time soon - this brings in too much revenue. Whilst reading Librarians and the claiming of new roles: How can we try to make a difference? (Fourie, 2004, p. 67-68 ) some ideas occurred to me. We don't want to increase the charges to the general public, so what about developing some new services for business that we can charge for? Some possibilities mentioned in the article are: offering training in information retrieval, offering an advice service on issues to do with copyright and intellectual property, archiving company websites and offering a current awareness service.

Small Task – Economic Value of Libraries

1. It is hard to measure the economic value of a library because so many of the benefits a library confers on a community are intangible ones and so are impossible to measure. How do you measure the benefit to children and their families from attending Toddler Time, or the benefit of a teenager being able to access the Internet free-of-charge to do their homework or the benefit of a blind person being able to access books on CD or someone being able to learn about vegetable gardening? You may be able to make approximate calculations on the amount of money individual customers save by getting books from the library rather than buying them but that is not the sum total of the benefit derived from libraries.
2. Some people believe that once everyone has access to the Internet they will be able to find online all the information they need so libraries will no longer have any value.
3. I had never considered that libraries might have a value for non-users. It seems that nonusers value the library for its possible future benefits for themselves and its benefits for others whilst library users value the library for the tangible benefits it is providing to them.
4. There are a number of purposes to performance evaluation:
a. Identification of superior and inferior achievers
b. Rewarding good performance
c. Improving employees performance
d. Improving organisational performance
e. Salary allocation
f. Decision making re promotion, disciplinary actions etc.
5. Performance evaluation can cause stress among staff members and may result in a decreased effectiveness and decreased morale. If team members are ranked this can have an adverse effect on the team as a whole. Staff members are unlikely to be honest about any problems they may be having if they think they will be penalised for this,
6. I have had 2 end-of-year performance appraisals and each year there have been several informal meetings to identify any issues and look at how I am going towards meeting my goals. I have found it to be a positive experience. My manager has been very complimentary about my work and I haven’t had any issues with the work or other staff members. Every staff member is treated as an individual – there is no ranking. I think I would feel differently if we were being ranked.

Small task - future roles

1. My job title is Information Librarian and I am reasonably happy with it. Information Specialist might be better but, although there is an argument to be made against naming a profession after the building they work in, the public know what librarians are and they would probably continue to call us librarians regardless of what our name tag said.
2. Are the days of traditional libraries numbered? It depends what you mean by 'traditional'. It seems to me that libraries have never been static but have changed with the times. After all, we no longer chain our books to the desks! Libraries will continue to change and develop but, in Harris, Hannah and Harris' (1998) terms I am a 'reformer'. I believe that, for the foreseeable future, there will be a place for books and digital information and as long as libraries continue to have books they will need to be public places where people can come and browse the collection. Many people have predicted the demise of the book but more books are being published now than ever.
3. My library has:

• an integrated library management system
• a website where people can access the catalogue and other useful information including digitised photos from our collection and a number of electronic databases. They can also submit questions to library staff
• OPACs for patrons to access the catalogue
• email communication with patrons, suppliers and other libraries
• blogs and wikis for staff communication and to provide information to patrons
• online interloan system
• RFID tagging of its books
• a Beebo site

Currently we don't have any ebooks and we don't use IM or Twitter. The majority (about 90%) of our requests for information result in a book being found for a patron.

Small task - professional development

For my on-going professional development I have done the following:
taken Polytech papers
attended courses/seminars
attended staff report-back meetings
read listservs
read blogs
read books
read on-line articles
watched on-line presentations
tried out new ICTs
attended a LIANZA weekend school
talked to colleagues
read the LIANZA journal

Tui Smith's article

I have been interested in the various posting to the NZ Libs listserv about Tui Smith's article. I read the original article and was quite surprised at her findings and wondered about her sample. I come from a science background where everything has to be peer-reviewed and there is a lot of concern about achieving unbiased results but hadn't really considered whether the articles in the LIANZA journal were peer-reviewed or not. As a general rule, I think letters debating issues raised in articles should be published and that, where possible, articles should be peer-reviewed. However, this article was written by a student and should be judged on that basis. When it comes to assignments, one is restricted by the parameters set by the tutors. If a research study is required this is usually fairly limited in scope. Students usually don't have the knowledge, resources and time to set up large, comprehensive studies. As a student myself, I can imagine how I would feel if one of my assignments, that I wrote using the best of my knowledge and ability, was published and then was the subject of letters of criticism.
Obviously this article was published because it won a prize so I am concerned about the awarding of a prize to an article that seems to rely on a flawed methodology for the study. Maybe it was the best article that met the criteria of the prize but the terms of the prize state "The winning paper may be published in an appropriate LIANZA publication" (emphasis added). Perhaps this article shouldn't have been published.

Small task - relationships with IT staff

The IT staff in our library have a good and close working relationship with all the other staff. I think this is important as both groups see something from slightly different angles. Whilst the IT staff know the ICTs we are working with, the frontline staff know how it will be used and what the customers want. This collaboration can be achieved by having open lines of communication, IT staff attending library staff meetings, IT staff giving updates on projects and offering staff training on new ICTs, focus groups and opportunities for feedback.
At our library there are currently a number of ICT projects underway and I think these are being managed very collaboratively. IT staff have kept everyone updated, provided machines so staff can trial the changes, encouraged feedback and provided training on the new features.

Small Task - IT Skills

I have:
Knowledge of and experience with, current computer technologies
Experience with a wide range of electronic information sources
Experience with multimedia hardware/software applications and automated library systems
Experience with online search services, CD-Rom and interactive technologies
Knowledge of how information is organised within a database
Use of telecommunications software
Ability to provide training to staff on access sing, evaluating and utilising resources via the Internet
Familiarity with web 2.0 applications
An International Computer Drivers License
What else might I need?
At the moment my skills are sufficient for the job I am doing but no doubt there will be new ICTs developed in the coming years which I will need to get up to speed with. There is a requirement for all staff members to have an International Computer Drivers License. I already had one when I started so my boss was at a bit of a loss what to offer/suggest in the way of ongoing IT training. I have done 23Things but am not sure what else is available or useful.

Small task - Knowledge Management

1. The aim of knowledge management is to use all knowledge, both tacit and explicit, to benefit an organisation.
2. Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been recognised and recorded in some way, tacit knowledge is knowledge held by people that often cannot be easily codified.
3. TCL does well in some of the areas listed but not others. I think there is good communication within the organisation. Each team had a weekly meeting, there are monthly whole staff meetings and also monthly meetings for the larger teams. There are regular report-back sessions from people who have attended training or outside events or simply to update people on new developments. Feedback is sought on new initiatives. Information Technology is used well to share information. As well as email, there is an intranet and a blog. Feedback is always sought from attendees at any special events that are run, requests for book purchases are generally acted on and general feedback is also welcomed. I don't know of any process to capture the knowledge of people leaving the organisation or to distill learning from past experiences although documents are certainly archived. I don't know what is on the strategic list so can't comment whether funding reflects these priorities. Funding is controlled by the council so doesn't always reflect the priorities of the library mangers.
4. According to Broadbent's definition (1998) I am a knowledge worker. I have skill and expertise and my work is not routine. It focuses on the acquisition of knowledge.
5. Knowledge Management involves techniques to acquire, record, disseminate and use organisational knowledge of all types to ensure the success of the organisation.