Last week Sarah Houghton-Jan posted about a staffless library in Washington and asked the question “What makes a library a library?” Buffy Hamilton took the question to the masses and recorded them for this great video. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend
Posts Tagged ‘ library ’
Teaching Tech to the Public – Follow up from Internet Librarian
This Those of you who were in my Web 2.0 for patrons presentation might remember a woman in the audience mentioning the classes she teaches at her library. I promised to get with her and share the follow up. I emailed her and found out that Liz Hubert is a Adult Services Librarian at the Barrington Area Library in Illinois This is the information Liz shared with me. We do not currently have a wiki or a blog for our patrons, the program is entirely face to face and people can take (or choose not to take!) what they wish. Very shortly, we’re going to be putting videos of all of our classes on our webpage. Those will be linked with handouts so that people can watch the class and follow a written description at the same time. I choose classes to teach based on the popularity of the service or website, how often I have questions about it at the desk, and how useful I think it will be to our patrons. I take a very basic approach to all of these classes. Unless I’ve noted otherwise, in each session (usually an hour) I help students set up accounts and show them
What’s a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Or How I Came to Work in Libraries
My library roots, or how I got into libraries for The Library Routes Project. I’ve worked in libraries for years I volunteered in the library during Junior High, mostly to get out of study hall but also for the books. When I turned 16 my first “real” job was as a clerk at the local public library. A tiny library, we had less than 10 staff members, 4 full time. As a part time clerk I worked the reference desk on the first floor alone every other weekend. Throughout High School I thought I wanted a degree in psychology, I even took classes at a local college. When I got to college full time I decided it wasn’t for me, but wasn’t sure what I did want to do. I had a history class I really enjoyed with a great professor, so I decided on history. At first I thought I would teach High School, but luckily my program required a 1 credit practicum at the beginning and I quickly realized I did NOT want to teach teenagers. Enter two more great History professors, the first being my adviser, John (he’s my Facebook friend & I hope he reads this) who encouraged
How Did You Get Into Libraries? Share Your Story With The Library Routes Project
Have you seen The Library Routes Project? The idea is to share (blog or on the wiki) your library career path. Both the library roots – how you got into the profession in the first place, and what made you decide to do so – and your library routes – the career path which has taken you to wherever you are today. You can share either one or the other or both of them. I know a meme like this has made the rounds before, but the addition of the wiki makes it a great resource. (And nice compliment to The Library Day in the Life Project if I do say so myself) :-) I’ll be blogging my roots next Monday (12/7/2009), please join me! If you don’t have a blog you can create a page at the wiki & share your story there. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Share on FriendFeed Buzz it up Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Tell a friend
Commentary On the Digital Divide from the Chief Executives of Netflix & CommonSenseMedia
If you’re thinking about transliteracy you almost have to be thinking about the digital divide. What does it mean? Is it real? How will we close the gap? This New York Times piece Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? From the Google’s Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age provides a look at and arguments about the digital divide from two different perspectives. From Jim Steyer, chief executive of CommonSense Media and co-sponsor of the event “every kid needs to be digitally literate by the 8th grade” and called for a major public education campaign to make that happen. He argued that technology and learning are synonymous and that schools, parents, and kids must get up to speed in the next five years. On the other hand: Reed Hastings, the founder and chief executive of Netflix, contradicted him directly, saying it would take well more than five years to bridge the divide. Mr. Hastings, an avid education philanthropist and proponent of school reforms, argued that at the advent of any new technology — television, cars, even rockets — people get riled up and wring their hands over a growing gap between the haves and have-nots. He said that gaps narrow naturally
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