National Library Week, April 15-21

National Library Week began yesterday!

Here’s what you can do to celebrate:
- Create notes of appreciation for your favorite library workers & enter raffles for book baskets from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 17 & 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 18 in the Lewis Alcove (it’s the area right before you enter the dining hall or the library). Tickets are $1.
- Submit a Star for the National Library Workers Day Stars Web site. Entries will be up through June 30.
- Tell everyone via e-mail, blogs, etc. why you love your library!

Student loan forgiveness for librarians

Check out the ALA issues & advocacy page for more info.

Been awhile

Saw an article on Adage.com - Web 2.0? Not So Fast -- Say Hello to Web 1.9 (If That) by Simon Dumenco - & thought of my fellow 753ers. You may have to register.

Another faculty candidate presentation

The presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, March 26 in Crown 310A. GSLIS students are encouraged to attend.

CALL offers 10 membership grants to GSLIS students

Chicago Area Law Librarians, the Chicago chapter of AALL, hosted several GSLIS students from Dominican and UIUC Thursday for its monthly business meeting and lunch. Cornell Winston, law librarian at the Los Angeles U.S. attorney's office, spoke about the importance of being active in the association and in the profession of law librarianship. And CALL is offering GSLIS students a chance to do just that by inviting GSLIS students to apply for grants that will pay for a membership to AALL and CALL for 2007-2008. There are 10 membership grants available and the deadline is May 1. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

A representative from CALL is scheduled to attend LISSA's 2nd annual Association Night at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 28 in Crown 340.

Last-minute reminders

Today at Dominican:

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - The International English Honors Society is holding a book sale in the Social Hall.

11 a.m. - Diane Velasquez, GSLIS faculty candidate, will present "Technology and its Impact on Organizational Change" in Crown 340. Don't miss it!

All day - Get a free caffeine fix. Dunkin Donuts is offering free iced coffees all day. There's a DD across the street from the Harlem Green Line station.

Blog No. 6 - Final project

Here's my site for my LIS 753 final project. I created it for news interns at no particular paper in Chicago. I've had a blast learning to be Web authors with you. All the best!

Blog No. 5 - Keeping up with it all

Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed with following all the ever-changing and constantly emerging technology tools. Thankfully the Shifted Librarian posted just an entry to ease my mind. We can be selective in which blogs, journals and papers we read, and still be current and informed in not only our profession but in the disciplines that will make us better able to help our patrons.
What are some of your must-reads in any format?

Wouldn't you rejoice if you could post something in one spot and have it reach all of your various accounts (blogs, MySpace, Netflix, Flickr, etc.)? It looks like that may be possible from what we saw in class Saturday through the RSS group's presentation of NetVibes. I can't wait to try that out.

Back in January we looked at tagging and explored some library catalogs that have incorporated such tools. An article I read from E-content discusses what tools librarians will be using this year. Mary Ellen Bates, the author, talks about the following:
*wikis and blogs -They may reveal companies' hidden experts who don't realize that what they know is valuable or who don't want to seem boastful;
*podcasting - companies may develop podcasting labs so employees may share what they learned at a conference, seminar or meeting. Sometimes people are more comfortable talking about what they learned than writing about it. Plus, an emotional response may be conveyed better in a podcast than in a memo; and
*mashups - organizations will start using and developing mashups, "integrating internal information with open source content to create new discovery tools."

My favorite part of her column is her closing paragraph: "As Stephen Abram of SirsiDynix said at the 2006 Special Libraries Association annual conference, 'Don't tell [clients] how to do things; give them the tools and let them do it their own way.' I might add to that, 'give them the tools and get out of the way. Sit back and watch what they create.' ..."

That's exciting and here's an example: at Michigan State University, the library has a ref blog to serve as an archive for reference tips, tools and sources. How cool is that!

Save the dates

Here are some things going on at Dominican in the next few weeks:

GSLIS
March 21
*Faculty candidate presentation, 11 a.m. in Crown 340

March 26
*Registration for summer sessions begins

LISSA
March 22
*Pre-registration chats, 4 p.m. in the Cyber Cafe or 9:30 p.m. at Bar Louie on Lake Street in Oak Park. May grads: Come share your experiences!

March 28
*Association night, 4:15 p.m. in Crown 340. Find out how joining an association can assist you with career development.
*LISSA board nomination deadline. Get involved, network, plan events! Send nominations to lissa@dom.edu.

Dominican
March 20
*DU Day at the Lake, all day at the Lake Theater in Oak Park. Can't beat a $2 movie.

Blog Post 4 - Update on blog use in corporate setting

So my mentor from the editorial library got back to me some time ago & she said the library still has a blog on one of the company's intranet sites, but they rarely get comments other than "that's neat, thanks". She said they don't post to solicit comments and she's under the impression that it's not read often. The person who was gung-ho about starting the blog has left and no one has picked up the reins. Also, they are down some staff members and providing reference for breaking news always trumps blogging.

She said the intent of the blog is to inform the newsroom on any "news" in the library:
- new resources we have available (new books, new databases we subscribe to, etc.)
- staff updates
- tips on searching
- how to read the information the researchers give the reporters or editors
- what the library has access to.

She directed me to someone associated with The Washington Post and the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting who is is known among news librarians as one of the experts with wikis, blogs, web 2.0, and basically all new technologies. I may contact him to get his take on using these tools in such a setting. If he responds (& agrees to it), I'll post what he has to say.

Networking chances at DU & downtown March 28

GSLIS student have two opportunities to network Wednesday, March 28:

* The Library & Information Science Student Association is presenting Association Night at 4:15 p.m. in Crown 340. Students can meet representatives from a variety of library-related associations (CALL, ILA, ISLMA, SLA), which can help provide professional development opportunities.

* SLA Illinois is presenting "Special Libraries: Leading the Way: Trends and Best Practices in the Information Professional Role" at 5 p.m. at the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson, Chicago.

The session focuses on how information professionals can define and communicate a vision of their role and the value of the information center to stakeholders within their organizations. Patricia Currie, Training and Applications Consultant at Thomson Scientific, will present.

COST:
Members: $35
Non-Members: $40
Students/Seeking Employment/Retired: $20

Please be aware of the SLA Illinois Chapter No-Show and No-Cash policies for meetings.
Please RSVP via Survey Monkey by 9 p.m. March 26. Student registrations are being underwritten by Scott Marriott and Marriott Consulting so students can attend for free.

Faculty candidates on campus at Dominican

Dominican GSLIS is interviewing faculty candidates. During their time on campus they will be giving presentations so be on the lookout for announcements around the third floor of Crown Library and in your dom e-mail. Today's (Thursday, March 1) presentation is from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Crown Library 330. The GSLIS encourages students to participate, which is very cool. Don't miss out on the chance to help the program grow.

Don't miss the annual Follett lecture

2007 Follett Lecture
“The Library is Dead: Long Live the Library”
Presented by Edward J. Valauskas, Follett Chair
6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007
Eloise Martin Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building (reception to follow in the Slate Lobby)
Dominican University, 7900 W. Division St., River Forest, IL

Modern libraries are less about place and space and more about customized services and personalized attention. Edward Valauskas, Dominican University’s Follett chair in the School of Library and Information Science will discuss the library’s return to individualized and specialized offerings with librarians working in both virtual and real spaces.

Weigh in on proposal to ban social-networking sites

The ILA issued a press release today to inform members that Senator Matt Murphy (R-27,Palatine) will host an online chat from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22 about Senate Bill (SB) 1682, which would ban social-networking sites in public libraries and public schools. Murphy's live online discussion will be held at his blog. The freshman senator will answer questions people have on his bill.

The ILA urges its members to participate; be respectful but firm; focus on education as the answer; and develop your own talking points, i.e., use your language, your local examples.

For more info, the ILA published "DOPA and the Participation Gap," in the October 2006 ILA Reporter, pp. 16-21.

You too can use YouTube for fame & fortune

So in two days I've read two instances of traditional media hiring YouTube personalities for their shows/videos. CNet's reporting that Barenaked Ladies called up several YouTubers to be in the video for its latest single "Sound of Your Voice," and according to my print issue of TV Guide, Madtv hired Lisa Donovan, known on YouTube as LisaNova, after a friend sent the casting director one of her videos. Her first episode aired Saturday.

This reminded me of the geographic slant on the resume we saw in class where all the candidate's jobs were represented by pinpoints on an interactive map. Those of us needing to create user instruction sessions for job applications could put them on YouTube (I imagine they'd be more interesting than some of the other content on the site). It could make you stand out among the other candidates. If it's well executed & funny, it may get you more offers, perhaps from Hollywood. Break a leg!

Blog Post No. 3 - Library Trading Card

Library Trading Card
Originally uploaded by bridget_bulger.

Success (w/ Kristen's help)! Here is my library trading card. Get used to this photo. It's one that I actually like so it'll probably be everywhere.

Lookin' good in your virtual world

Second Life is holding its first Fashion Week. Check it out.

Blog No. 2: Not ready to play with MySpace - yet*

So I’ve yet to create a MySpace page or any other social networking page or account much to the shock of some of my friends. My first excuse – I’m too old for that – was shot down as peer after peer began referencing their pages and who’ve they’ve been able to reconnect with through them. And connecting appears to be the crux of the lure of the social networking sites. So if libraries can use these sites to connect with users and foster connections among users, that’s wonderful, but I’m not ready to create a page yet.

In my Information Policy class we are going to discuss privacy this week and privacy is another one of my excuses for not creating a page. I know you can determine who can see your pages, but there is this level of intimacy that’s reached on these pages that makes me uncomfortable, and, yes, that’s totally my problem. Three years ago in his blog – Life With Alacrity - Christopher Allen wrote about four kinds of privacy. Contextual privacy resonated with me regarding these sites. I agree with him, I don’t want to know my married boss is trolling these sites for potential affairs.

Laziness is another excuse. I don’t have time to constantly tinker with the page and I’m kind of a perfectionist so I know it would consume a lot of time. Wait, was that too intimate?

* I reserve the right to overcome these excuses and create a page, but you may not be notified of such progress because I don’t know you all that well.

Blog Post 1: Blogs & wikis in special libraries

Over the summer, I interned at the editorial library at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, Fla. During my three-month stint, the editorial library had a blog that three of the researchers posted to pretty regularly. They posted information about new resources, vetted tools they found on the Web that may help the reporters and reminders about tools the library already had access to for articles of a seasonal nature that come up every year. It’s hard to keep track of all the useful sources you don’t use on a regular basis. I think the blog was helpful in that sense. I don’t recall seeing very many comments to postings, but I’ve sent an e-mail to my mentor there and will update this posting with her response.

In the meantime, this article, “The Enterprise Blogosphere” (you may need to log in to EZ Proxy with your Dominican I.D. number to access it) from InfoWorld.com examines the use of blogs and wikis in a corporate setting. It proposes that blogs and wikis have opposite intentions. Among providing best practice tips for using blogs and wikis, the article suggests that blogs provide a platform for an individual voice whereas wikis encourage collaborative dialogue by allowing people to edit and delete posts. Depending on the intended role of the tool and how it’s set up, either can benefit the library’s users. Just as we evaluate components of our collections, we should also evaluate the technology tools to make sure they will enhance our service to our communities.

Have any experience using a wiki or a blog in a corporate or special library setting? Let us newbies know about it.

Posting debut

Wow, I've created a blog for my LIS 753 class at Dominican University.