Technology on a Shoestring: Big Tools for Small Budgets

Demand is huge for low cost solutions to patrons’ technological challenges. Evidence? Over 300 attendees in the virtual classroom for Technology on a Shoestring: Big Tools for Small Budgets, a 60-minute information packed webcast sponsored by Polaris Library Systems and Library Journal.

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Explore the DOAJ

Here’s another post relating to tight times and the happy fact that the open source/open access movement continues to simultaneously flourish. High school librarians will want to share the Dir…
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The Library and Information Science Education 2.0 blog is now live!

Funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, and lead by Associate Professor Helen Partridge of the Queensland University of Technology, this project is investigating the specific skills and knowledge required of us, as LIS professionals, as we move into the web 2.0 age.  The project is also exploring the way in which Australia’s LIS education is best able to equip future LIS professionals with these changing skills and knowledge.

This project needs you! All LIS professionals from across Australia are invited to become involved in the project.

Whether you are involved in public, special, academic, or one-person libraries, or in a completely different type of organisation, whether you are current or future professionals or educators, or simply someone with a legitimate interest in the area – we would like to welcome you to visit our blog.

There you will be able to find out more about the project, access interesting resources, and most of all join in the discussion of this important issue!

This is your chance, as members of the Australian LIS community, to contribute your own ideas and opinions on an issue that is sure to affect every one of us, as we continue to incorporate collaborative online technologies into our libraries and workplaces. We have even set up a special page to inspire you and get the discussion started.

So please take the time to use the blog to share your own views with others as to the skills and knowledge we will require as we evolve into so-called ‘web 2.0 professionals’.

Remember also to check back regularly as the blog will be continually added to.

You will find the blog at http://liseducation.wordpress.com/ – we hope to see you there soon!

Want to know more? Please contact Helen Partridge at h.partridge@qut.edu.au

Libary of Congress shares nation’s treasures on Youtube

The Library of Congress (LC) has begun distributing portions of its vast audio and video collections—including 100-year-old films from the Thomas Edison studio—on YouTube and Apple’s iTunes.

The nation’s oldest federal cultural institution is greatly expanding the digital distribution of its collections after the U.S. General Services Administration announced a deal last week with several video sharing and social networking sites after six months of talks. more » » »

Michael Stephens appointed 2009 CAVAL visiting scholar

US LEARNING 2.0 RESEARCHER DR MICHAEL STEPHENS APPOINTED 2009 CAVAL
VISITING SCHOLAR

Melbourne, 30 March 2009 – Internationally recognised US Web 2.0
commentator, writer and library academic, Dr Michael Stephens, has been
appointed the 2009 CAVAL Visiting Scholar.

In a world first for CAVAL and its project partners CityLibraries
Townsville and Dominican University Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, Dr Stephens’ research project will seek to measure
the value and effect of Learning 2.0 programs in Australian libraries.

“The intent of this study is to understand the impact on library staff
and institutional culture and makeup after a Learning 2.0 program”, Dr
Stephens says.

“The critical questions for libraries looking forward are to what extent
has Learning 2.0 impacted institutional culture and staff confidence,
and to what degree has it improved the ability of library staff to use
emerging technologies?”

Dr Stephens notes that “More than 500 libraries in 15 countries have
implemented Learning 2.0 programs in 2 years but we know very little
about their effectiveness.”

“Nearly 10% of these Learning 2.0 programs are Australian, ranging from
large State and University libraries through to public and special
libraries and a small school library in New South Wales.”

First developed by the Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County
under a Creative Commons license in 2006, Learning 2.0 is an online
learning program that encourages library staff to explore and learn
about emerging Web 2.0 technologies.  Web 2.0, also called the
Read/Write Web or Social Computing, enables users of all ages and walks
of life to create, change and publish their own Web content.  Blogs and
social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are common
examples.

Working with a co-researcher from CityLibraries Townsville, Dr Stephens’
research aims to develop a world first model for what he terms “an
exemplary Learning 2.0 program for Australian libraries.”

For Dr Stephens’ acclaimed Tame the Web blog, visit
http://tametheweb.com/

For more information about the original Learning 2.0 program, visit
http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/

ABOUT THE PROJECT PARTNERS:

CAVAL is an Australian not-for-profit company established in 1978 to
support leading libraries in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.  CAVAL is
owned jointly by 11 Australian universities and provides a range of
specialised services to the library sector including storage and digital
preservation, training and consulting.

Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information
Science was founded in 1930 and has grown to become one of the United
States’ largest Masters of Library and Information Science
degree-granting programs.  More than 600 students attend classes in
River Forest and the Greater Chicago area.

CityLibraries Townsville was formed by the merger of the Townsville City
Council and Thuringowa City Council in March 2008.  Three library
branches, mobile services plus a virtual branch serve the whole of
Townsville – from the inner city to Magnetic Island, from the suburbs to
the rural communities.  Each branch offers specialist services and
facilities that provide for a diverse community.

CONTACT:

Richard Sayers
Director, Capability Development
CAVAL
+61 7 3491 7021
richard.sayers@caval.edu.au
www.caval.edu.au/

Google library a windfall for authors

 

 

Australian authors and publishers are set to receive a windfall from Google’s project to put millions of books online.

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Scratch software taken up by libraries

“Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/ is a free software tool that allows anyone to create animation, interactive stories, computer game projects and more. It was designed and developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Lab at MIT, and has a strong international community of followers. The Scratch website has hundreds of thousands of projects uploaded, any of which can be downloaded, remixed and uploaded. The site has discussion forums and lots of support for novice users.

Libraries have started to use Scratch as the basis for technology programming for youth. In the Minneapolis area, Hennepin County Library has been using it for almost three years with much success; Hennepin County Library is implementing an IMLS Nation of Leaders Demonstration grant that brings the project to a set of five national partners. Now, libraries around the globe have an opportunity to become involved in the Scratch-in-Libraries movement! Scratch isn’t just for youth – Hennepin County Library has had success with Scratch with adults as well as with children as young as eight years old.”

Info from ALA News about Games and Gaming Blog http://gaming.ala.org/news/2009/02/23/celebrate-scratch-day-may-16-2009/

Online proposals for Museum Computer Network Conference 2009

MCN 37th Annual Conference, November 11-14, 2009, Portland, Oregon
Online proposal submissions will be accepted March 6-27, 2009
http://www.mcn.edu/conferences/index.asp?subkey=2266

The Museum Computer Network (MCN) will host its 2009 Conference with the theme
“Museum Information, Museum Efficiency: Doing More with Less!” in lovely Portland,
Oregon. The annual MCN meeting is one of the most important conferences serving
international cultural heritage professionals, collections and new technologies.

The MCN 2009 program committee seeks innovative sessions (panels, papers, case
studies, and workshops) that illustrate how institutions are effectively functioning
and planning to function during the tough times ahead. We are looking for active,
engaged individuals and groups of individuals thinking about and using best practices
in the following areas:
 
  –  Serving institutional mission with cost-effective strategies in tough economic
     times
  –  Making, managing, and delivering digital media in new and effective ways
  –  Building the future now: innovations coming soon to a museum near you!

Conference Topics
Prospective authors are invited to make submissions in areas including, but not
limited to:

  –  Technology and Information Management Serving the Institutional Bottom Line
  –  Digital Readiness, Digital Accomplishments, Digital Accountability (Image
     Capture, Digital Asset Management, Best Practices, Preservation, Access)
  –  Implementing Systems in Adverse Conditions
  –  Digital Convergence: Archives, Libraries, and Museums
  –  Doing More with Less
  –  Leadership, Sustainability, Accountability
  –  Social Media
  –  Superior Content, Superior Delivery

Innovative formats and interaction with audience are highly desirable and will
be important factors, as will practicability, in the 2009 selection process.

Online proposal submissions will be accepted March 6-27, 2009
http://www.mcn.edu/conferences/index.asp?subkey=2266

Public libraries provide vital infrastructure for Australia’s digital future

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The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) announces the release of the latest Internet access in public libraries survey 2008 which demonstrates the vital role of Australian public libraries in addressing the need for equitable community access to online information and services.  … more

The Library Web Site of the Future

By Steven J. Bell

Academic librarians want their Web sites to attract faculty and students the way flowers invite insects for a visit. The urge to plunge into the cornucopia of electronic riches that lies waiting in the library’s highly organized portal should be irresistible. Exclusive research databases, costly electronic journals and digital books and treasures lay in wait for those who need and are willing to seek them out.

For faculty, at least two powerful motivators should drive their personal interest in expecting a great library Web site. One is their own need to easily find scholarly content that supports their research. The other is a desire to have students discover the resources that strengthen their research and result in high quality assignments.

It should be a scholar’s dream, but there’s trouble in paradise.   >>> more