Thursday, February 22, 2007

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.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

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.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

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!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

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.

Monday, February 5, 2007

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.