Presentations

I was finally able to get my presentation posted… Here’s what I talked about at ALSC06, in Pittsburgh - Blogs, Wikis, & Other Emerging Trends - Web 2.0.

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On Friday, I gave an “Introduction to Web 2.0″ presentation to about 100 children’s librarians at the ALSC conference in Pittsburgh, PA. It was a blast! Attendees really seemed to appreciate the presentation (judging by the many questions and thank-you’s I received throughout the rest of the day).

I even met (and ate lunch with) Mary Ghikas, Senior Associate Executive Director at ALA (and blogger, too) …  and I found out she reads my blog! Hi, Mary - it was nice to meet you!

People attending my presentation asked some great questions, including this one: “how do I have time for this new stuff” (i.e., blogs, wikis, IM, and other social networking things)? I answered the question, then realized an expanded answer would make a good blog post. So…

Question: How can I possibly have time for all this stuff?

Answer: I’ll answer in two ways - one for library administrators, and one that’s more for front-line staff (but you admins should read it, too).

For the Admins:
Library administrators and managers need to lead this change in their organizations. One way they can do this is to provide time, equipment, and training in order to successfully implement these new tools into the library’s digital space.

What does that mean, practically? Here are some examples:

Time:

• Time to play and experiment
• time to read about new tools and technologies
• time to read blogs, wikis, to IM with colleagues, etc.
• time to do the actual work - time to post to blogs, record and edit podcasts and videoblogs, time to take photographs and manipulate them in graphics editing programs, etc.

Equipment:

• Software and tools - blog and wiki applications, audio editing software, etc.
• the ability to download software from the web (some library IT staff don’t allow non-IT staff to download things)
• digital cameras, microphones, digital camcorders, etc.
• Do you want your customers to have mobile access to your services? Then yo need to provide cell phones with wifi/web aaccess to at least some of your staff, so they can successfully build and test mobile services

Training:

• Sending staff to formal training in basic video production, audio editing, or how to write for the web
• Practical training for front-line staff. Instead of teaching a class on RSS, for example, teach a class on what YOUR library’s RSS feed is, what information it has, and how to drop that feed into popular services like BLoglines and My Yahoo. This way, when patrons ask about the library’s RSS services, your staff will be ready.
• Same thing with iPods - if you want to start an iPod program, train staff to download ebooks to iPods and to use iTunes, so they’ll be ready to help patrons.
• And buy books. Lots and lots of “how to” books.

For Front-Line Staff:
When I hear librarians say “how do you find the time to do these things,” they tend to be saying one of about three things:

1. “I don’t want to learn new stuff” or “it’s going to take a LOT of time to learn new stuff - how will I get the REST of my job done?” To that, I always go back to the library’s patrons, what they’re doing, and what they’re expecting.

For example, in my session at ALSC, I asked attendees (mostly children’s librarians) if their patrons (i.e., kids) were IM’ing. They started laughing, because so many of their young patrons were obviously using IM. Then I asked them “so, how many of YOU are using IM?” The laughter died down pretty fast (because the majority had never used IM). Then I was able to drive home the point that we need to continue learning new media (thankfully mentioned in the presentation before mine). You have to make it part of your job - talk to your managers and figure out the specifics of how to do this!

2. “We don’t have enough staff to do these new things.” When I hear this excuse (because that’s really what it is), I think back to the NEKLS Technology Day I attended. I was on a discussion panel with a librarian at a small library. She is the ONLY staff member at her library, and yet she has time for a library blog and console gaming nights.

If a one-librarian library can do these things, then you can, too. Sometimes it’s not really a staffing change that’s needed; instead, a mental change, or a change in focus, is what’s needed.

3. “We don’t have admin support to do these things.” Sometimes, administrators and library boards, for one reason or another, haven’t yet embraced newer trends. Usually, it’s because they don’t fully understand those newer trends.

So… it’s YOUR job as a staff member to educate them! But when you attempt that, think results-oriented education, meaning what will the result be if we do this?

Also educate in terms of real needs, even if it means staffing changes. For example, if your library suddenly had 200 teens mobbing the reference with in-depth questions every day, what would you do? Most likely,you’d realize a trend was afoot, and respond my moving staff around to meet the new need.

It should be the same in your library’s digital space.

library2.0, web2.0

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September 15: Blogs, Wikis & Other Emerging Trends, Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) National Institute.

October 4: Blogs, Wikis & Other Emerging Trends, Missouri Library Association (preconference workshop).

October 22: Hiring, Keeping and Working with Techie Staff, Internet Librarian 2006 (preconference workshop).

October 23: Web-Based Experience Planning: Creating User-Centered Experience, Internet Librarian 2006.

October 23: Cultivating Tech-Savvy Library Staff: Competencies & Tips (With Sarah Houghton), Internet Librarian 2006.

October 24: Podcasting & Videocasting (with a bunch of different people), Internet Librarian 2006.

November 2: Blogs, Wikis & Other Emerging Trends, Seattle Public Library’s Staff Day.

November 9: VideoCasting: An Introduction for Libraries, ACRL Virtual Institute (webcast).

November 21: Avoiding Communication Breakdown: Techies and Non-techies, Education Institute (webcast).

November 28: VideoCasting: An Introduction for Libraries, Education Institute (webcast).

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August 10: Discussion Panel after Michael Stephens’ keynote presentation (with Diane Trinkle and Christie Brandau), NEKLS Tech Day.

October 4: Blogs, Wikis & Other Emerging Trends, Missouri Library Association (preconference workshop).

October 22: Hiring, Keeping and Working with Techie Staff, Internet Librarian 2006 (preconference workshop).

October 23: Web-Based Experience Planning: Creating User-Centered Experience, Internet Librarian 2006.

October 23: Cultivating Tech-Savvy Library Staff: Competencies & Tips (With Sarah Houghton), Internet Librarian 2006.

October 24: Podcasting & Videocasting (with a bunch of different people), Internet Librarian 2006.

November 2: Blogs, Wikis & Other Emerging Trends, Seattle Public Library’s Staff Day.

November 9: VideoCasting: An Introduction for Libraries, ACRL Virtual Institute (webcast).

November 21: Avoiding Communication Breakdown: Techies and Non-techies, Education Institute (webcast).

November 28: VideoCasting: An Introduction for Libraries, Education Institute (webcast).

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Yesterday, I taught another one of my Introduction to Web 2.0 classes - this time at the Missouri Public Library Director’s meeting. There were about 50-60 library directors there, which was pretty cool!

Afterwards, they asked some great questions. One of their questions really puzzled me at first - someone asked me to explain the difference between a portal and an RSS feed. Really. I said something about how a portal is really just a large website with lots of links on the main page, and how an RSS feed isn’t anything like that at all - but still wasn’t really satisfied by my answer.

So as I was driving back to Kansas City, I was mulling it over… and here’s what I came up with.
Anyone remember Netscape’s front page from, say, about 1999? It was a portal site - lots of links, and the page pulled up information from different sources - reuters, stock information, sports stuff, etc - and stuck it all on that single page. I think you could even customize it a little bit. Pretty cool for the time.

Even though it was customizable, it couldn’t REALLY do all I wanted it to do. It couldn’t, for example, pull up the list of new fantasy novels at the local public library. It couldn’t deliver just the news I was interested in. So there were some definite limitations.

As I was thinking about that library director’s question, and was remembering all that stuff about portals … it dawned on me just how excellent of a question that really was. Because, with RSS:

I am the portal

And that’s a huge shift. In 1999, I had to rely on a company to gather the information they thought I might want. But today, with RSS, I don’t have to rely on said company. I can, instead, rely on MYSELF to gather whatever it is I want.
I can get the information I want, when I want it.

So now I have my answer (not that it’ll ever come up again :-).

Anyone else have creative, useful answers to questions about emerging digital technology? I’d love to see them.

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I’m teaching another one of my 4-hour Introduction to Web 2.0 classes tomorrow, and I’m changing it up a bit.

Defining the conept of Web 2.0 to primarily non-techie librarians is HARD! So this time, I’m going into a bit more detail. This time, I have the class broken down this way:

1. Brief intro to web 2.0 through a couple of definitions and a little discussion
2. A new “Glue of Web 2.0″ section, where I list commonalities of many web 2.0 products, like:

• RSS feeds
• ability to tag
• ability to comment
• user supplied content
• web as platform
• mashups

… and I will give examples for each of those sections.

3. Then I’ll jump into specifics, and cover blogs, feed readers, flickr, bookmark managers, etc.

web2.0
library2.0

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As of now, I have given two online webcasts, where I spoke into a phone or a microphone plugged into a PC, and clicked through a web version of a Powerpoint presentation. I’ve also listened to quite a few webcasts, either live or after-the-fact via podcasting.

Here are some pointers to think about when preparing for a live webcast:

I. Before the Webcast

Test EVERYTHING beforehand, preferably a day or two in advance, so you have time to make changes if needed. Here are some ideas of things you should check out:

• webcast software - there are many different types in use, and all have different features. Make sure to test the system being used beforehand, so you know how everything works.
• Your Powerpoint - if you plan to use a Powerpoint presentation, make sure to test it out within the webcast application. And remember - since there can be a lag between the time you click to the next screen and when the screen actually changes, you might want to cut back on the fancy animations and transitions - simple and functional is best.

Check, check, one two … test the microphone. You’ll either be speaking into a telephone or a microphone:

Telephone tips:

• If your phone has an earbud/mic input, use it - that way, your hands are freed up, you don’t fade in and out or make extra distracting noise when you move the phone around, and you’re less likely to accidentally hang up in the middle of your most important point by pressing a button with your cheek.
• Do you have access to a conference phone? If so, then use it for the same reasons as above.
• No cell phones! The sound quality isn’t as clear as a “normal” phone.

Microphone tips:

• Test the microphone beforehand to make sure it works. A good way to do that is to download Audacity (a free, open source sound editor), and record your voice through the microphone you plan to use, then listen back.
• If possible, get your hands on a better microphone. I’m not asking you to spend $5000 on a studio-quality microphone, but … if you plan to do more than a couple of webcasts or plan to create podcasts, you might benefit from a better mic - try one of the newer USB-equipped large diaphram condenser microphones on the market right now (check them out at musiciansfriend.com). Or, get one step geekier, and purchase a basic podcasting system, coplete with mic and soundboard.
• Make sure you’re not too close to the mic (icky distortion sound isn’t good) or too far away from the mic (echo and that “I’ve fallen into a well” sound aren’t good, either)..
• Don’t move your head around! You don’t want your voice to fade in and out, do you?

II. During the Webcast: just a few pointers…

• if you blog, send out your Powerpoint or handout BEFORE the presentation - like 10 minutes before. This gives attendees the option to print it out and take notes, if desired. It’s a nice touch.
• Stay focused - it’s harder to stay focused and not ramble when you feel like you’re speaking to yourself. Force yourself to stay on topic.
• Make sure you’re in a place with no distractions or interruptions - no pets, kids, or co-workers pounding on your door!
• Speaking pickiness: watch those “ummms” and “aaahhhhhs” - they are magnified when people are listening to your voice alone. Practice this - when you feel the urge to say “um” - instead, just be quiet. It sounds so much better.
• Interaction - most webcast applications incorporate some type of text chat. Make sure to use that to your advantage! Do you want to take a show of hands? Then do so - ask attendees to type 1 for no, 2 for yes, etc. It’s a good way to take a quick, informal poll.

III. After the webcast

• Question time - remember that there are voice questions and typed chat questions - address both.
• Provide your email, blog URL, etc for follow-up or more information.

Now - go out there and digitally WOW us!

Webcast

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http://www.davidleeking.com/pdf/experienceplanning.pdf

Oops! I posted the wrong PDF. The correct PDF for Friday’s presentation is here: http://www.davidleeking.com/pdf/Techies.pdf

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I’m getting ready for my OPAL presentation in about an hour (making sure the laptop is working, is plugged in, the mic is on, etc).

And I thought I should mention - my presentation is being “simulcast!” Yes, you can hear my voice at OPAL… and you can also listen in by logging in to Second Life! How completely cool is that?

Sorta funny, too - I’m doing a webcast - so that’s a “digital presentation.” But then, in Second Life, it’s a digital presentation in a digital world… wow.

So - if you want to listen in via Second Life, go to Juanita (217,241). And go visit the Second Life Library 2.0 blog for details on logging into VOIP to listen to the presentation.

Second Life

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