Librarian by Day » policy

What I’m Reading in November

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:59:07 +0000

I spend a lot of time reading, some of it related to libraries or work or transiteracy or the digital divide so I’ve been thinking about a way to share it. Then I realized hey! This is a blog by a librarian shouldn’t I be required to post what I’m reading here? This weekend I asked on Twitter and Facebook if there was any interest in what I’m reading. The answer was yes. So here it is!

Once a month I’m going to write a What I’m Reading post. It will include books, reports, publications, manifestos any other number of official things, it wont include blog posts or articles found online, I already share those via Twitter and this blog.

Books:

I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted - I discovered this via Twitter from Jenny Levine. Two of my favorite quotes so far:

It wasn’t about print versus digital; it was about immediacy, details, links, interactive graphics, videos, and, most important, hyperpersonalization.

Paper is still gadget number one for reading content; it’s disposable, relatively inexpensive, and relatively simple to create in small or large quantities, and it doesn’t need batteries or a power outlet.

Ask For It: How Women Can Use Negotiation to Get What They Really Want – Two things I’m thinking about right now:

Keep in mind that what you really want may not be about more—more responsibility, more money, more status. Changing your life for the better isn’t always about being on the fast track or moving higher up the corporate ladder, sometimes it’s about slowing down or moving sideways. So forget about the typical pathways to success in your profession. Take a fresh look at every aspect of your life and figure out what suits you. Consider hiring a personal coach to help you zero in on what would make you happier or help you strike the right balance among your many interests, goals, and commitments.

I wish I could hirer a personal life coach, but mostly I’m thinking that being successful at something doesn’t mean I have to keep doing it. I can say ok, did that, and move on to something new.

WHAT WILL YOU REGRET? Researchers have found that people experience two different kinds of regret: regret about things they’ve done and regret about the things they didn’t do. Overwhelmingly, people regret the things they didn’t do far more. When asked to identify the biggest regret in their life, people are two to three times more likely to describe something they didn’t do instead of something they did.

Don’t think I need to elaborate on this one.

Reports:

There’s an App for That! Libraries and Mobile Technology: An Introduction to Public Policy Considerations (pdf) from the Office for Information Technology Policy

As the information revolution continues to unfold, libraries will experiment with mobile devices and services to support the information needs of their users wherever they may be. The adoption of mobile technology alters the traditional relationships between libraries and their users and introduces novel challenges to reader privacy. At the same time, the proliferation of mobile devices and services raises issues of access to information in the digital age, including content ownership and licensing, digital rights management, and accessibility. This policy brief explores some of these issues, and is intended to stimulate further community discussion and policy analysis.

Universal Broadband: Targeting Investments to Deliver Broadband Services to All Americans (pdf) A project of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Eighty percent of the households with incomes of less than $20,000 subscribe to premium television services whose monthly fees are comparable to, and often exceed, the cost of broadband. This might surprise some who view broadband as more essential than premium television, but it should come as no surprise for a variety of reasons.

First, while television brings value to the individual, broadband’s value depends to a significant degree on how many people in one’s social circle are also using it and how they are using it. Second, there is a large gap between the tools necessary to find and locate trustworthy, substantive content; how to safely interact online; and how to protect personal information. Moreover, using the Internet requires its users to be literate. Fourteen percent of the adult population in the United States, or 30 million people, read at below basic literacy levels, while another 63 million read at just the basic level. Literacy levels do not interfere with television usage, but without sufficient content geared towards those with lower reading levels, the utility of the Internet for those Americans drops dramatically. In short, there is no digital literacy without basic literacy.

Lighter Fare

How Did You Get This Number

Recently added to my To-Read List

What Technology Wants found via Stephen’s Lighthouse
No Excuses found via the Eloquent Woman

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There is something to be said for brand loyalty

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:43:43 +0000

I don’t normally blog about customer service issues (although I have been known to tweet complaints) but I feel like I should blog this, in part because I am not so angry I can’t see straight, which is usually a hint for me that blogging is not a wise decision and because its about brand loyalty which in light of returning my iPhone I am thinking about.

I’ll provide some background, but if you’d like to get to the point it’s don’t buy a camera from Casio and think hard about Customer Service.

My first digital camera was a Sony, but my second was a Canon Powershot and two subsequent cameras have been Powershots. I love taking photos and I know I am working my way towards an SLR. Last October I traded in my Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (great point & shot by the way) for the Canon SX10 IS, love it! But found I missed having a small point & shoot in my purse handy in case I wanted to take a photo of something. Having sold the SD870 (I so regret this) I looked at my options, I didn’t want to spend a lot as I already have a nice camera, but I did want image stabilization and a wide angle lens. Canon had an option but of course it was more expensive than the one Casio offered. So I put aside my brand loyalty and bought the Casio. I’m not completely thrilled with the functionality of it and wouldn’t want it for my “good” camera but it worked. Until 2 weeks ago when I dropped it and the screen broke.

I’d had it for less than a month and it was under warranty so I sent it into Casio to be repaired. Today I got the estimate for repair, now keep in mind I indicated the screen was broken when I filled out the forms & they did not indicate it what it would cost and I paid about $10 to ship it.

Flat Amount: $69.00

Labor: $0.00

Parts: $0.00

Shipping & Handling: $10.00

Sales Tax: $4.74

Service Total: $83.74

Remarks: review screen broken

I only paid $124.95 for the camera! Seriously? Worse there is no view finder so it is useless without the screen, but there is no freaking way I’m paying them $83.74 In truth I’m more frustrated with myself than Casio, I know that sometimes cheaper is cheaper for a reason and you end up paying for it in the long run.

update 6:30 pm EST – just realize I have to pay them $10 to send it back to me or allow them to keep it. Now actually mad.

Now I wish I’d bought the Canon. Why? Because several years ago, when I had my very first Canon, I broke the screen. I foolishly left it laying on the stairs and someone (I can’t remember if it was me or a roommate) stepped on it and broke it after it was almost a year old. I sent it to Canon, they repaired it and mailed it back to me a no cost. I’d almost forgotten this was part of my foundation for loyalty to Canon (I get flack for it sometimes you know) until this little incident. In truth it probably cost them very little to fix it for free and it earned them a life long customer, I’ve since purchased 2 more Canons, each increasingly higher end, therefore more expensive models. I’ll be replaced the Casio with a Canon thank you very much, and I’ll also be advising other people not to buy a Casio. I am the techie friend that so many friends and family come to for advice when they are thinking about a new gadget. Sometimes it is the little or not so little things that matter.

Ok so how does this relate to libraries? Customer service matters, and not just in the front line smile and be nice kind of way, but in the don’t offer excuses and just fix my problem sort of way. I’m sure Casio has very good reasons for these fees, and I’m certain its their policy. I can’t argue with that.

But sometimes by sticking with our very good reasons and policies we’re digging a hole. You may gain a small amount in fees or fines, but what did you loose in the form of customer relations, good feelings and PR? How much do you spend on marketing and PR? What if by providing exceptional customer service your patrons could be doing positive PR for you instead of negative?

I know times are tight and we’re all looking to save a buck, but what you gain today in $10 or $20 (or $83.74) of fees you could pay back many times over in the money you could have saved on marketing and PR.

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Facebook TOS follow up

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:18:01 +0000

In case you missed it Facebook reverted to its previous terms of service.

But that shouldn’t stop you or me from thinking about what happened and what it means. Some recommended reading

Facebook Battle Ends in Major Victory for Users, But the War Continues
a good look at what happened
10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know just what it says, using Facebook? Go learn these
What Libraries Can Learn from Facebook Peter Bromberg looks at the privacy issue from a libraries and librarian point-of-view. He makes some great points and I agree with him
Matters of Policy Steve Lawson compares the Facebook incident to OCLC policy changes.

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The Facebook Brouhaha – yeah you’re mad, but did you leave?

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:00:59 +0000

What I saw happen yesterday – a LOT of people blogging, twittering and linking to articles about Facebook’s change to their Terms of Service. ( If you don’t know about it see links at the bottom. I’m not writing about that, 50 bagillion other people already have.)

What I didn’t see happening – a mass exodus of friends from Facebook. I hear some people are removing content, but they aren’t leaving (I’m sure someone will leave a comment pointing out people who have left)

I even asked on Twitter this morning – did you delete your account? As of writing this no one has answered yes.

What this tells me – that people are mad at Facebook, maybe even really really mad, but they aren’t mad enough to leave. Which means, that whatever they are getting from Facebook, they are willing to accept the new TOS to get it.

Now what that means is a whole different blog post.

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