Librarian by Day

My personally selected top ten from the links I shared on Twitter 2.6.2011 through 2.12.2011.  In no particular order

1. cool! Tool To Create Fake Facebook Walls For Historical or Fictitious Characters via @web20classroom@gwynethjones – just what it says a My Fake Wall gives you everything you need to create a face Facebook wall making it easy to add posts, pictures, events, comments and more.

2. read this! BBC: Are libraries finished? Arguments for & against http://bbc.in/fkZFcr #tlchat #library via @joycevalenza The article is broken down into Only at a Library and Only Online Arguments

Only at a library

1. Specialist research As tempting as it is to view the web as a tool for gathering all information, there are gaps only library documents, books and maps can fill.

“Those libraries that have managed to retain older collections need to go on retaining them… we need that evidence of ingenuity, originality and inspiration that we can lose if we only look at things produced in the last few years.”

2. Environment to learn Sometimes there’s no substitute for human contact. Mr Dalby says just being in a place surrounded by books and information with help at hand to access them is invaluable.

3. Expert staff Anyone who’s spent five minutes trawling the thousands of medical and health websites will know the perils of misinformation.

Librarians have specialist knowledge and are trained to find reliable information and evaluate it – a skill as relevant in the digital age as it has always been.

4. Free internet access With 30% of the population still without a home internet connection, libraries are for many their first and last online experience.

Libraries allow dialogue to flourish and enrich local democracy, supporters say

Ms Smith says libraries reduce the “digital divide” by offering free access to those who can’t afford a pc or monthly subscriptions.

5. Engage in local democracy Community forums in libraries are the perfect place to meet and engage in local politics because they’re neutral, non-judgemental spaces, Ms Smith says.

“The problem with the internet is people flock together and have similar views, there’s no real dialogue between people who have different views,” she says.

Only Online

1. Searchability The speed of research and interactivity of the internet make it an altogether richer experience than traditional libraries.

2. Digital books Forget catching a bus to the library to carry home a limited number, yet heavy stack nonetheless, of books.

For those who can afford a portable reader like a Kindle or iPad, the convenience of accessing books on a beach, up a mountain, or anywhere else for that matter, can be irresistible.

3. Comfort in numbers “You create something together like bees in a hive, like bees building a honeycomb”.

4. Brings niches together If you had a niche interest in something, it wasn’t always easy to find someone with the same niche interest, now it really is, says Mr Belam.

5. Self-publishing

3. every library manager should read this & implement! – 10 Easy Ways to Show Your Employees You Love Them – I don’t agree with all of these, but you get the idea.

1. Don’t Block Social Networks
2. Allow Browser Freedom
3. Work in the Cloud
4. Don’t Ban Personal Cell Phones
5. Friend/Follow Your Employees
6. Even Better, Set Up a Company Social Network
7. Set Up Company Music Playlists
8. Offer Rewards For Location-Based Service Achievements
9. Feature All Your Staff on Your Company Website
10. Set Up an Online Comments System

4. broadband has greater potential to transform education than any other technological innovation in our lifetime –

a report on teachers’ media usage, sponsored in part by PBS, offers new evidence to support the National Broadband Plan’s finding that broadband has greater potential to transform education than any other technological innovation in our lifetime. The report talks about the incredible increases in teachers’ use of digital content in their teaching—not just layering technology on top of lessons, but digitally transforming their classrooms. The survey found, for example:

• Three in four teachers (76%) stream or download TV and video content, up from 55% in 2007. These teachers are also accessing content in completely new ways, with 24% reporting that they access content stored on a local server, up from 11% in 2007.
• Teachers view TV and video content as more effective for student learning when integrated with other instructional resources or content. More than two-thirds (67%) believe that digital resources help them differentiate learning for individual students, and a similar number (68%) believe TV and video content stimulates discussion.

5.  Diagnosing the Digital Revolution via @itsjustkate – this look at Sherry Turkle’s new book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, discusses why its so hard to tell if technology is really changing us, and if it is, if it is for the better or worse. Definitely worth a read even if you don’t intend to read the book.

6. Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know via @msauers – an up-to-date guide to Facebook’s privacy settings from Mashable. Quick go check yours before Facebook changes them. Again.

7. Digital Media and Learning conference “Designing Learning Futures” Mar. 3-5 in Long Beach, CA. Reg deadline: Feb. 14. I wont be attending this conference but I’ll bet watching Twitter (hashtag #DML2011) and blogs for information and discussion of what is happening there. If you’re going to be there let me know your blog and/or twitter handle

The Digital Media and Learning Conference is an annual event supported by the MacArthur Foundation and organized by the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub at University of California, Irvine. The conference is meant to be an inclusive, international and annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and participatory dialog and linking theory, empirical study, policy, and practice.

8. F.C.C. to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas via @jdscott50 #broadband#digitaldivide – this was tweeted on 2.6.2011 about an announcement expected to be made on Monday, you can listen/read more about the actual announcement and the plan in this NPR story: FCC Pushes For Universal Broadband Access

9. The Next Big Thing: Making library e-content accessible to people with disabilities

…ensuring access to people with visual and print disabilities in the digital age.  There are three major steps that libraries can take toward this goal.

• The first is enhancing awareness of what materials are provided by law and where those materials can be accessed.
• Second, we need to validate our websites for accessibility compliance so customers with special needs can access our resources.
• Finally, we must proactively engage vendors about adopting open publishing formats. Don’t despair, these steps are clear and achievable.

10. Why Integrity Is Never Easy

Browse through the mission, vision, or value statements that corporations post on their websites, and you’ll notice that almost every company includes a statement about integrity. And if you Google the following examples, you’ll find that many companies use these stock phrases:

“We combine integrity with excellence…”
“We act with integrity in all we do.”
“We hold honesty and integrity as our guiding principles.”
“We are proud of the integrity, sincerity and transparency our employees demonstrate every day.”

Morally upright statements, right? But have you ever wondered why they are needed in the first place? After all, integrity should be the basic building block for doing business: Nobody wants to get involved with a company that lies, cheats, and tricks its customers; nor do people want to work for a company (or a manager) that is dishonest and disingenuous with employees. In other words, integrity should be a given, without the need to trumpet its existence. As one senior executive said to me, “Integrity is a threshold characteristic for our people — if they don’t have it, they aren’t here.”