CIL2008: Technology Training for Library Staff

Sarah Houghton-Jan, San Jose Public Library
Maurice Coleman and Annette Gaskins, Harford County (MD) Public Library

Houghton-Jan presented five steps to success in staff technology training:

• Planning and brainstorming - what do staff need to know to do with technology to do their jobs well - use list of competencies to create a training program - work with staff to do the brainstorming
  
• Creation - work with task force to create list of competencies but don't call them "competencies" - keep it core and task-based
  
• Assessment - of what staff know - better to use self-assessments than tests since people have negative reactions to tests - add "maybe" as an option (that you interpret as "no"C even though you don't call it that)
  
• Training - based on revealed needs - offer training in variety of formats - offer a small prize as an incentive - use real world examples
  
• Reassessment - on regular basis - rewards for success, consequences for failure
  

Coleman and Gaskins talked about technology training they did in their county library system. They held a Technology Fair / Petting Zoo. The challenge was to train all public service staff and most support staff in the entire system without interrupting public service. They used the tools they were going to include in the fair (e.g., wiki and blog) to promote the Fair. They did a one-hour lecture followed by a two-hour lab. Six persons at each of six stations for twenty minute sessions. They partnered with Best Buy to provide flat-screen displays, set up help, etc. Since doing this, they have seen evidence of staff using the new technology tools in their work and customer service.

CIL2008: Tech Tools for Effectively Managing Information

Roger Skalbeck, Georgetown Law Library
Barbara Fullerton, 10-K Wizard

Speakers demonstrated 20 technology tools that are useful for managing information. Approach is to start from an information management problem and then describe tools useful in addressing them. The tools discussed in the presentation are listed with links at http://cil2008.pbwiki.com/Roger .

The "problem" areas addressed (and tools) are ... RSS without a reader (SendMeRSS), color palettes (Kuler), inexpensive online demonstrations (Glance), branded persistent access (Conduit tool bar), manipulate PDF documents without Acrobat (PDFHammer), how site works without images or javascript (Web Developer Toolbar), RSS from site that doesn't have it (Ponyfish), persons use various bookmarking services (AddThis), what is this DLL (Processlibrary), easy way to install application on ISP via script (Fantastico), search fixed set of web site (Rollyo), how site works in various browsers (BrowserShots), screenshot (SnagIt), site color (Firebug), update page (Watch That Page), post to multiple blogs directly from page (Scribefire), need slideshow now (GifUP), organize and cite research (Zotero), screen recorder for demonstrations (Camtasia), YouTube Off-line (TechCrunch and Adobe Media Player).

CIL2008: Keynote: Libraries as Happiness Engines

Elizabeth Lane Lawley, Rochester Institute of Technology

Libraries should be the emotional center of their communities, should be in the happiness business. One author has identified four components of happiness: satisfying work to do, feeling competent at what we're doing, interacting with people we like, being a part of something bigger.

In games, the "grind" is the repetitive tasks that you have to do over and over again in order to proceed to the next level, yet gamers are happily willing to do the "grind" because there is a reward.

Key components of the mechanics in virtually every game: collecting, points, feedback, exchanges, customization. Can we build these same mechanics into work and learning tasks? -- "Putting the fun into functional".

Seriosity's Attent: Corporate "game" where each staff member has a certain number of "serios" to spend each day. Each email/recipient costs one "serio". Effect is to diminish the number of unnecessary emails and to increase the value of emails that you receive.

Social Genius: Points for correctly identifying colleagues from their pictures and for updating your online picture and profile.

Passive Multiplayer Online Games (PMOG): Can create mission that takes persons through a number of web sites like a pathfinder. Persons get points for following the mission and you get points for persons who complete your mission.

Games can also serve as "gateway drugs" -- e.g., persons who play Guitar Hero learn to play the guitar. "Online rebound": going from real to virtual back to real again. The key for libraries is not just to get better and better at the virtual--it is rather to tie the real and virtual together.

CIL2008: InfoTubey Awards

Winning videos from the second annual InfoTubey Awards can be found here: http://www.infotubey.com/ .

CIL2008: Catalog Effectiveness: Google Analytics & OPAC 2.0

Rebekah Kilzer, The Ohio State University Libraries
Cathy Weng and Jia Mi, The College of New Jersey

Kilzer discussed her library's use of Google Analytics to understand how its OPAC is used. Google Analytics provides information on search terms, browser information, time on site, geographical information, and site overlay. It's used by applying a bit of Javascript to every page. She's aware of other libraries that are mashing up Google Analytics with Google Maps. There are certain security concerns ... it does not gather personally identifiable information and is subject to Google Privacy Policy.

Mi and Weng presented about efforts to revitalize OPAC's with respect to interface / searching and to bibliographic display. They did a study of 123 ARL library OPAC's. In the presentation, they reported on what they found and the issues they observed.

CIL2008: Harnessing New Data Visualization Tools

Darlene Fichter, University of Saskatchewan

Web 2.0 has brought about the "amateur" professionals (e.g., citizen journalists). In the data world, this has led to the rise of the amateur statistician. We've come to a new stage: Do It Yourself Data -- less than 5 minutes to set up a data collections, less than 5 minutes more to build on tables to create data visualizations.

How "free" is data? It's free but in a raw state that is not yet usable by most people.

Social data leads to ... less "going by what my gut says", workable data, reproducible results, expertise dissemination, leveling the playing field.

Some web sites of interest: DataPlace, EveryBlock, Timepedia and Chronoscope, Track-n-Graph, Graphwise, Freebase

Social data sites: Swivel, Many Eyes (from IBM AlphaWorks), Gapminder

CIL2008: Facebook Apps & Libraries' Friendly Future

Laurie Bridges, Oregon State University
Cliff Landis, Valdosta State University

Why should librarians care about Facebook? Popularity of web site (most popular web site for persons 18 to 24), serving generation Y, social aspects of information sharing, organization of information, outreach opportunities, advertising opportunities, virtual networking with librarians. The real upswing in popularity of Facebook came in May 2007 when Facebook opened their API to the world. Facebook is the "stickiest" web site in the world--average user spends 20 minutes on the site.

Applications for Libraries: Notre Dame Library Search (2 active daily users), WorldCat (47 active daily users), JSTOR (20 active daily users). Why are library applications not used very much? They're still not social.

Some ways that libraries are using Facebook: pages (Hennepin County Public Library [183 fans], Aurora University [120 fans -- used give-away entry to get fans]), events, advertising.

Ways in which social objects are ranked: most viewed (low level of interaction), top rated, most discussed, most responded (high level of interaction).

Library catalog are social networks for ideas. The line between social space and intellectual space isn't blurring ... It was never there in the first place. It is never a mistake to give users more options.

CIL2008: Libraries A-Twitter & Using del.icio.us

Aysegul Kapucu, Athena Hoeppner, Doug Dunlop, University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries
Michael Sauers, Nebraska Library Commission
Christa Burns, NEBASE

UCF Libraries presenters talked about using del.icio.us to provide access to library resources. They created a del.icio.us account and uploaded database links. Then, they tagged these resources for students and classes. They used del.icio.us in reference service (bookmarking resources on the fly), for research consultations (tag resources with Student XX and then email tag URL to student), and for library instruction (used by both faculty and students). They also created two topical accounts (art and engineering) to create collaborative resource guides. Through a follow-up survey, they determined that the project was successful but that students were not aware of del.icio.us prior to their outreach efforts.

Sauers and Burns talked about the use of Twitter. They described the process of getting started with Twitter. Twhirl is a desktop client for interacting with Twitter. There is also a Vista desktop widget and a bookmarklet (TwitThis). Twitterfeed allows you to direct your RSS feed (e.g., from a blog) to Twitter. Some uses of Twitter: library events, reference questions asked, news organization headlines, traffic alerts, weather reports, political campaigning, conversation among persons working on a project. It's possible to search Twitter content. Seven tips to a good Twitter experience: Follow unto others, @comment others, link to your stuff, don't take non-responses personally, be patient, avoid addiction, use your name.

CIL2008: Innovation Starts with "I"

Helene Blowers, Columbus Metropolitan Library
Tony Tallent, The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County

Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things. Innovation is fresh practice (not best practice).

"The Seeds of Innovation" by Elaine Dundon, identifies three types of innovation: efficiency, evolutionary, revolutionary.

There are four components of innovation: creativity, strategy, implementation, profitability. This presentation focuses on creativity and and strategy.

Creativity is focused on seeing connections. Some key thoughts related to "I am an innovator" as a staff member: "I have ideas. I have done my homework. I'll do the initial legwork. I am capable of more than my job description. I am a leader, too. I take risks with you." As a manager: "I offer you a framework. I put resources behind my expectations. I create growth opportunities. I SUPPORT your work. I celebrate your success. I take risks with you."

Strategy. The goal is to become a change agent. The first task is to make it believable. Tie what you want to do to your organization's mission, vision, and value (not just "I've got a cool idea"). Tell a story about how a person's life is going to be changed. Create alliances. Test drive / prototype your ideas. Don't ask for permission--ask for support (or forgiveness). Sell your vision personally (not on paper).

Libraries should stop apologizing so much. If you're not failing often, you're not being innovative enough.

Seven habits of highly innovative people: persistence, remove self-limiting inhibitions, take risks, make mistakes (one library has a cliff-jumper award), write things down, find patterns and create connections, stay curious.

Thomas Watson (I think): "The secret for success? It's really quite simple. Double your failure rate."

CIL2008: Keynote: Libraries: Innovative & Inspiring

Erik Boekesteijn, Delft Public Library
Jaap van de Geer, Delft Public Library

The presenters talked about and showed clips from their video tour of US libraries in October 2007. They traveled across the US in an RV to find and document innovative and best practices in libraries. "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." [didn't catch source of the quote]

They showed video clips from the New York Public Library, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Library, and a library school class. The library school class sat in a circle and played a version of "spin the bottle" where the selected student had to say something about the future of libraries.

They concluded with a video from the Library Concept Center at their home library (Delft). The presenter in the video identified three key components in the future of libraries: mobile devices, gaming, and the library's "most important collection": people.

Shanachietour 2007

CIL2008: What Do Users Really Do in Their Native Habitat?

Pascal Lupien, University of Guelph
Randy Oldham, University of Guelph
John Law, ProQuest

Lupien and Oldham reported on a study they had done on students at the University of Guelph. They did an online survey followed by a series of focus groups. They wanted to test out whether the general characteristics of "millennials" as reported in the literature applied to their constituents. Some key findings ...

• 69% of student respondents owned a cell phone. Of those that did, 79% use their phones for text messaging but only 17% had ever browsed the Internet from their cell phone and only 6% had played a video on their cell phone.
• 64% used online social networks frequently but only 15% of them had used them often for academic project work. Students prefer to use online social networks for social purposes and email to communicate with group project members.
  
• 68% of students said they seldom or never played online games. Only 2% used Second Life or other virtual worlds frequently.
• When asked an open-ended question about the first place they go to find information and sources for research assignments, the most frequent answer was the library or library web site. Students seem to realize that the library has the best information for research projects, but it is also the most complicated and frustrating option.

Law reported on an ethnographic study that had been conducted observing students in their native environment. They used Facebook to recruit students with actual class assignments requiring research. They arranged to monitor the students during a 90-minute research session in the library, computer labs, coffee shops, and apartments. They collected 60 of these sessions using UserVue to capture the sessions remotely.

They asked students how they chose the resources they used. Answers were library outreach, course instructor recommendation, and brand awareness. (They observed a student doing biology research who spent his entire 90-minute session in JSTOR. When asked why, he said that his English 101 instructor had said JSTOR was a good resource to do research.)

How students used library resources:

• vast majority of participants _attempted_ to use library resources for their research
• once in a licensed product, most students have no serious difficulties in conducting their research
• often work with multiple resources and search tools at same time
• abstracts are used

The inhibitors to success were

• lack of awareness of appropriate resources
  
• difficulty of navigating library website to locate e-resources
• search catalog front and center, for articles
• authentication barriers

How students really use Google

• primary research tool - sufficing, when quality isn't a concern; insufficiently aware of library e-resources; bad experiences with library e-resources
• supplement research
• handy look-ups - locate known resources; get specific answers

Students were pretty smart about using different resource tools for different purposes.

CIL2008: Widgets, Tools, & Doodads for Library Webmasters

Darlene Fichter
Frank Cervone

Fichter and Cervone briefly described several interesting and useful tools in a variety of categories:

Firefox Tools

• SafeCache - privacy protection - segments cache by domain
• SafeHistory - similar privacy protection for browser history
• FoxMarks - auto sync bookmarks
• FEBE - backs up Firefox extensions

Web Tools for Collaboration

• Meebo chat widget
• LinkBunch - put multiple links into one small link
• DocSyncer - automatically finds and syncs all your doc files to Google Docs
• Twhirl - desktop client for Twitter
• PollDaddy - easy way to put a poll on your web site

Web Development Tools

• VisCheck - computer simulation of human visual process
• Feng-GUI - automated alternative to eye-tracking - uses algorithm to determine where eyes would track on web page - generates a heat map
• BrowserShots - creates screenshots of web pages in different browsers - rendered by actual browsers in distributed network
• Flickr Photo Badge - HTML or Flash
• PhotoShop Express
• AddThis - web site distribution - also gives bookmark stats
• Google Gadgets
• AltaVista BabelFish site translator
• Google Translate

Utilities

• Process Tamer - monitor CPU usage and auto decrease process priority
• FileHamster - real-time backup and archiving of files
• Syncback Freeware - backup, versioning, sync
• LinkExtractor
• MailBigFile - email large files
• reCaptcha - spam control
• Anonymouse - check to see if private content is accessible to outside IP addresses
• Prism - split web application out of browser and make it look like a desktop application

Just for Fun

• LOLinator
  

CIL2008: Mobile Trends: Hi Tech and High Touch

Megan Fox

Presentation will be available online at http://web.simmons.edu/~fox/mobile/ .

We want to overcome the dichotomy between ... did you get your information from the library or from Google? ... from a librarian or from your handheld?

Phone sales this year are expected to outpace the sale of televisions. Characteristics of newer mobile devices make them even more amenable to conveying information; e.g., larger screens, full (thumb) keyboards, new ways to interact with the device (e.g., iPhone screen navigation capabilities). Google is working on Android, an "open" software operating system that can run on multiple carrier platforms.

Some devices are using gestures for input. There is one device that, when you have a new email, you shake the device and it brings up the message, shake it again and the email minimizes back to your previous display.

The domain .mobi was created by a consortium of vendors for content specifically optimized for mobile devices. For web pages that aren't optimized for mobile devices, there are a number of transcoders appearing that re-style regular web pages for use on mobile devices. Mobile-specific web browsers are also appearing that provide features to optimize web access on small-screen devices. MobiFusion is working with information providers to create mobile versions of content (e.g., World Almanac).

Fremont Public Library (http://fremont.websiteforever.mobi/) and Ball State University Library (http://www.bsu.edu/library/mobile/) are examples of libraries that provide mobile-optimized sites.

Multimedia on mobile devices is becoming increasingly important, including television on mobile devices.

Presentation ended with a look at what's next:
- flexible e-ink "paper" becoming available in color
- cell phone will have built-in projector
- contact lenses project incoming text message or phone number
- Special pen devices (e.g., D:Scribe, pen to write on pad and gets transferred to PC [e.g., draw a calculator and use it to do math])
- Microsoft Surface - tabletop turned into interactive display

CIL2008: Mobile Search

Megan Fox
Gary Price

Fox and Price presented a fast-paced overview of the current state of mobile search services and technologies. Mobile search services are typically provided either through a tool downloaded onto the mobile device by the carrier or by using the device's web browser as a portal to off-device search interfaces. Some of the device-based tools are carrier-specific and others are carrier-agnostic. Most mobile device searching tends to be "ready reference" type questions; i.e., looking for a specific answer rather than for a plethora of results. Search providers try to accommodate this by aggregating results from multiple resources to try to provide a useful answer; e.g., a search for "New York City" may return weather, a city guide, news items, etc., in that order.

They used a term I wasn't previously familiar with ... "Snippets" are stripped-down versions of "widgets" (which themselves are stripped-down versions of "pages"). "Snippets" can be included on your cell phone "home" page to provide certain tpyes of information without you having to ask for it.

Some of the key players in this arena are the usual search service providers (such as Yahoo and Google) that now have a mobile interface. Others are "pure" mobile search providers; e.g., 4INFO and Medio.

A key difficulty of searching via a mobile device is the difficulty of input. Some techniques being used to address this are ...
- picture-based searching: (a) you take a picture of a street sign with your phone camera and submit it to a search to find nearby restaurants or (b) you take a picture of a product UPC code and the search returns price information for various vendors
- voice-based searching: you speak your search
- predictive text completion: based on terms you or others have searched for before
- directory/browse interfaces in addition to raw search
- location-based searching: the search knows where you are
- social searching; e.g., StumbleUpon

They also described a service (whose name I can't remember at the moment) that will "listen in" on cell phone conversations you give it permission to do so, will try to determine your information needs (e.g., "where shall we have lunch?" "how about Italian?"), and will then text you a response (e.g., nearby Italian restaurants).

Presentation will be available online at http://web.simmons.edu/~fox/mobile/ .

CIL2008: Hi Tech + Hi Touch

Jenny Levine (The Shifted Librarian)

We know how to do this (combine "hi tech" with "hi touch") in our physical buildings. Showed an example of a Dutch library that included, for example, contextual help on video monitors depending on where you are in the building.

"This is our job -- connecting people." -- regardless of the tool or content that we are using. In exploring the high / low axes of technology and "touch" (human contact / presence), Levine realized that she didn't care very much about the technology axis. High or low tech, the key is high touch. She quoted Shirky -- "Tools don't get socially interesting until they are technologically boring."

Showed example of library catalog that provided link for people to text the citation / call number from a retrieved record to their cell phone.

Quoting Boule, "My Flickr contacts know more about me than my neighbors do."

Our goal is not to connect people to a particular resource but rather to connect them to each other. Our goal is should be serendipity.

How do we create opportunities for serendipity in our libraries? Examples given were LibraryThing for Libraries and "Biblio Commons", a prototype social library catalog. Also, a mockup for "FindBook", a social network for libraries.

Levine's presentation will be available online at http://theshiftedlibrarian.pbwiki.com/ .

CIL2008: KeyNote: Libraries Solve Problems

Lee Rainie, Pew Internet & American Life Project

Rainie reported on a study about how people search for information when they need to solve a problem (e.g., illness, job-related, educational, legal, etc.). The study was specifically focused on government information resources. The study investigated two primary issues related to libraries -- (1) how often did people visit libraries (independent of their problem-solving needs) and (2) what resources did people use when they needed to solve a problem.

(1) With respect to overall library use, the study found that 53% of adults visited a library within the past year. What was most surprising was that younger adults (age 18-30) comprised the highest demographic. Higher income, higher educated, internet users with broadband at home were also more likely to visit libraries than those in the opposite categories.

(2) The most frequently used information resources for problem solving were the Internet, professionals, and friends/family. Libraries came in lower on the list. The demographics most likely to use the library for information solving were young adults, persons over 70, blacks, latinos, and lower income persons. 69% of those who visited a library to help solve their problem said they received help from library staff and 68% said they used computers. (So, libraries need both people and computers!) In general, those who used libraries to find information to help solve their problem were very pleased. 64% said they were "very successful."

Rainie hypothesized that the reason young adults are the highest demographic in using libraries is that they are the most recent users of libraries and know how libraries have changed.

Rainie also drew some implications of the research for libraries ...
- Focus on information efforts about what you do, how you do it, and how you have changed. People who know you best are the most likely to come back.
- Patrons are happy and some are zealous advocates. Provide them with (Web 2.0) tools to evangelize and shape the conversation about you.
- "Un-patrons" are primed to seek you out. They aren't hard-code disinterested persons. They just don't know what you can offer. Provide awareness of what you do, comfort in your environment, and mentoring skills.
- Aspire to be a node in people's social networks.
- Offer expertise in new literacies (e.g., media literacy).