Web 2.0

Putting Evidence-based Practice to Work, Frank Cervone and Amanda Hollister

Frank:

• most librarians haven’t been trained in HCI
• defined evidence-based practice
• data provides primary evidence for decision-making
• it’s not “common sense” - different stuff generally happens than what you “think” will happen
• Ex - doing a usability test, then comparing it with other similar tests to see the larger picture
• similar to user-centered design
• SPICE - setting, population, intervention, comparison, and evaluation
• Northwestern did their first usability test in 2001
• 2002 - did a catalog usability test - they found that the greatest number of searches that failed were title searches - title search was the default search setting, students were typing keywords into the default search box and not finding anything… so they found some great info from this test
• overall, site usability has improved - and they can prove it with statistical measures
• debates about how to proceed are easier - because they have data to fall back to
• easier to develop a strategy for incremental improvements over time - no longer locked into a tight academic schedule - they can prove the change will be an improvement, so have the go-ahead to roll the change out
• remaining issues - jargon and “i can find everything in google” problems

Amanda:

• spoke on making dynamic, page-based breadcrumbs on a website
• did a study of common paths customers took to get to certain pages
• they made something that constantly tells what paths customers are taking - very cool! They can narrow down to a single day if they want to
• future directions - implement predictive track analysis - find out where people are getting lost dynamically, then have something po up that says “were you really looking for this?”

il2007

Tagged as: il2007

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I thought some of you might be interested in my library’s “techie toybox” that I have been purchasing over the summer. What is a techie toybox? In our case, it’s a bunch of gadgets, cameras, and the like that library staff can check out and, well, do stuff with. Here’s the list of gadgets (photos of most can be seen here), and some suggestions I gave (on one of our staff blogs) for starters on how to use them:

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The Techie Toybox was started by a generous gift from the Friends. With it, we were able to purchase some “techie toys” with a few goals in mind:

• keeping our staff current on new technology
• allowing us to “try out” gadgets our customers are using
• Allowing us to start creating multimedia content for the digital branch

Here’s what we have (with some starter ideas for trying the techie toys out - don’t limit yourselves to my ideas, though!):

Cameras:

• Canon Powershot Pro S3 IS – digital camera
• Canon Powershot A710 IS – digital camera

What can you do with these? Photograph library programs and events, what’s happening at the library, departmental photos, etc - and dump the photos into the library’s flickr account. For starters…

Video Camcorders:

• Sanyo Xacti HD2 – ultra small video camera, saves to an SD card
• Sony HDR-SR7 Handycam High Definition Camcorder – consumer-level camera, saves to internal hard drive
• Panasonic PV-GS320 Camcorder – consumer-level camera, saves to Mini DV tapes
• Canon GL2 Digital Camcorder – Prosumer-level camcorder, saves to Mini DV tapes
• Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 – desktop webcam

What can you do with these? Same as above, but with video instead of audio. Dump videos into the library’s YouTube account. Do something original… Start a weekly “what’s going on at the library” video magazine…

Portable PCs:

• HP Pavilion tx1000 – tablet PC
• OQO Model 02 – Ultra portable “fits in your pocket” PC

What can you do with these? See if you can work your desk shift using one of these rather than a service desk PC! Try roaming the stacks (both hook up to our wifi system). You will probably need some type of video editing program too… talk to Digital Services first (unless you already have some editing software, then go for it!).

Microphones and Audio recording:

• Edirol R-09 24-bit Wave/MP3 Recorder – portable audio recorder, records to an SD card
• Blue Snowball – upper-end USB microphone
• Samson C01U – mid-level USB microphone
• Logitech Desktop Mic – entry-level USB microphone

What can you do with these? Record podcasts! Become a “library reporter for a day!” Podcast your committee minutes (ok, that one’s pretty boring… but might be useful, too). You will need audio editing software if you plan to play much with the audio files. Talk to Digital Services to get Audacity, an excellent, free, open source editing program.

Video/MP3 Players:

• iPod Touch – new Apple MP3 and video player, and mobile web browser
• Microsoft Zune – mp3 and video player
• Video iPod – mp3 and video player
• Creative Zen Vision – mp3 and video player
• Sansa 1 gb MP3 player – mp3 player

What can you do with these? Some of them will allow you to listen to our OverDrive ebooks. Others won’t, but our patrons are using them - so get familiar with them! Find out what you can and can’t do - what free ebooks are out there that WILL work… free music sites, etc. Play with the video - see what the video you made with the video equipment (above) looks like in a tiny format… Again, it’s possible that Digital services will need to hook you up with the appropriate software to fully test these out - don’t be afraid to ask!

Miscellaneous:

• Sony Reader – e-book reader
• Belkin WiFi phone – wifi phone, can be set up to work with Skype

What can you do with these? The Sony reader already has some books (excerpts, I think) loaded onto it - try it out! Let others know how good/bad it is to read. With the WiFi phone, I plan to hook it up to a year long Skype phone plan for the library - then we can call people with it… using any wifi you can access.

So - that’s what we have. I plan on setting up a “show and tell” on these things, probably late November/early December. Stay tuned for more on that!

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So - what techie toys do other libraries have? Please share!

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YouTube version | MP3

I recorded a new song and video for y’all! This song is all about social networking and how people are using the emerging social web to connect with each other, to communicate… and in my case, to sing songs to my blog readers.

When writing the song, I was thinking about facebook, twitter, MySpace, and all the social connections that are happening 24/7 - I find it extremely fascinating.

Social Digital Global Shift
by David Lee King

I haven’t seen her since high school
never thought I’d see her again
but yesterday I got a facebook request
she asked to be my friend

so I took a little time to catch up
browsed through her photobucket and blog
I watched some funny videos of her kids
and then I wrote this song

’cause it’s a social digital revolution
social digital relationship
social digital communication
it’s a social digital global shift

I have friends around the world
they’re growing globally
some of them live in Saskatchewan
while others live in D.C.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: facebook, music, music video, myspace, song, twitter, Web 2.0

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Cool beans! Rachel Singer Gordon’s newest book, Information Tomorrow: Reflections on Technology and the Future of Public and Academic Libraries, just came out. I know, because I received a copy in the mail today.

And why did I receive a copy? Because I wrote one of the chapters! My chapter is chapter 10, An Experience to Remember: Building Positive Experiences on Library Web Sites. It’s about… you guessed it… experience design and library websites. If you read the chapter and still want more, never fear - I’m 2/3’s of the way through a whole book on the topic. So hold on to those longings

But please don’t stop at my little chapter! There are a bundle of amazing authors in this book, including:

• Stephen Abram
• Lori Bell
• Steven J. Bell
• John Blyberg
• Robert Bocher
• Daniel Chudnov
• Jill Emery
• Meredith G. Farkas
• Megan K. Fox
• Beth Gallaway
• Joseph Janes
• David Lee King
• Jenny Levine
• Tom Peters
• Dorothea Salo
• John D. Shank
• Michael Stephens
• Rhonda B. Trueman
• Jessamyn West
• Alane Wilson

Wow - just wow. I’m thrilled to see my name in this smorgasboard of emerging library delight.

Tagged as: book, experience, experience design, Experience Economy, information tomorrow, Library 2.0, Web 2.0

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On Monday, I spoke about Web 2.0 and emerging trends at the Lee County Library System’s staff day in Fort Myers, Florida. The day before, I worked extremely hard, as you can tell from the accompanying photo

Anyway… here’s the pdf of my presentation. And an FYI for those of you who are thinking “where have I heard of that library before?” You might have recently read about Lee County and their License to Play / learning 2.0 program in a couple of places.

Keep an eye on them!

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Twitter recently added a Twitter Tracking feature that lets you track keywords and phrases that twitterers use while twittering. Just for kicks, I tracked the word library for 24 hours - every time someone entered the word library into twitter, I received the update… Here’s what I got back from Twitter:

First, my own test updates:

• testing something out - library
• Cool - I’m playing with twitter tracking. I’m tracking library - and it took like 10 secs from enering the word to getting the notification

Before you read the twitters, think about this - have you ever wondered what your customers think of you? Ever wondered what people think about [fill-in-the-blank]? This Twitter Tracking tool allows you to get a small, rather random glance at people’s thoughts on a topic.

{fyi - this isn’t all of them - not even half. And I removed most of the references to things like iTunes Library, JavaScript Library, and I think one World of Warcraft Library reference. Oh, and two library thing references and a library elf reference, too}

So - here’s what people twitter about libraries - I found this fascinating:

• met stefanie at the library by chance meeting. she picked out a book for me.
• @ the library with jay, testing netwerx
• The girl across from me at the library kind of has man-hands.
• heading home.. maybe a quick stop at the library?
• Sooo we’re back. It was okay. Bought some yummy bagels since I had a craving for ‘em…got new library card and took out my book for 4MP!
• back to the library for the 4th time in 2 days 3rd time today if i dont get at least a c on this test ill die
• I really hate the campus library. No, I hate researching a topic I care nothing for.
• late night meeting with a client at the local library
• Yahoo! Hack Event today at the University of the Philippines College of Engineering Library and Computer Science Building Lecture Hall.
• finally started studying. law library.
• back at the library to file away to videos before hopping on a jet plane south
• Guy who hasn’t checked out a library book in 30 years. I totally introduced him to the art of calling us to put things on hold. He’s happy.
• library is surprisingly crowded
• More cellphone rudeness I wasn’t aware of: apparently it’s ok to take phonecalls in a public library now. Happened 3x in the last hour.
• All alone in a smelly corner of ASUs nerd library.
• Getting ready to read my new book from the library and going to sleep after. Have a good night!
• sunbathing outside state library. Wanna join us?
• Workers divided in vote on deal to end civic strike: Vancouver’s library workers have rejected a proposed…
• It’s just gonna take too much time for it to download before I can watch it. Gonna have to go to the library again.
• Yay Harry Potter 7 CDs are in at the library!!! I’m still on book 5, oh well, still exciting!!!
• Another awesome thing about the restaurant: it’s across a public library. I just got my first SF library card!
• this evening has flown by — busy, busy!  but that’s the way I like it when I work late!  I wish I worked for a library with wi-fi!
• getting irritated at this guy walking all about in the library, IT’S SO DISTRACTING!
• I found our Scienrtific library a great place to catch up on sleep. Much to the amusement of the security guard!
• Am back at Gotham Library for the morning, doing my old job. It’s very amusing, have caused a lot of double-takes.
• Amending my article about NZ music for the Radio Journal. Need a few more references - but they’re sitting in a library in Auckland. Damn.
• stalking people in the library for Research Method class… What a stupid assignment?
• What is the nicest library I can see in Rome/Vatican?
• just emerged from the “library.” draft one done. editing now.
• Time to get Gretel ready for story time at our local library. Must. Remember. Camera.
• I love finding an older picture on Flickr & seeing that it’s been viewed once. Like finding that library book that’s never been checked out.
• back from library forum, there are some really great ideas floating around the library
• I love my kids mondegreens. Kaya this morning - “dad, we have to take this library book back today or it will be over dude”
• I might have to start dropping elbows on these kids in the library that won’t shut the hell up.
• working from library today - walk through downtown and the sound of commerce ringing clear
• Back in the stinking library.
• Listening to a preschool story group reciting “Diddle Diddle Dumpling My Son John” with a teddy bear at the library.
• Library has ALL of the Thin Man movies! Thin Man Marathon! (with cocktails!)
• “The library isn’t good for books” Wow. Gwan UCC!
• off to the library to get some intense work done before dreamweaver/CSS class this evening (mix in some Game database work on the side pls)
• Research at the UM Map library on consumer water usage in Israel and Palestine
• sitting in the library missing my lesbians.
• sorry thelonedrifter, the library sucks
• @addisontodd that’s ’cause you’re illiterate… not the library’s problem
• Headding to the library
• Technically, you’re not supposed to use the reference computers for MySpace, but maybe if you to add the library’s page to your f-list …
• Library is packed with noisy beings, other languages and exposed underwear.
• in a library that’s not mine, leeching wifi and writing

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From my comments on this post… try this on for a cool way to use Twitter. Here’s what the library is doing, to the best of my knowledge (Julie, correct me if I get it wrong, please!):

• posting real-time reference questions to twitter.com/askusnow
• using the Twitter feed to update “the ‘currently being asked’ section of our internal AskUsNow! staff website.”

Is that a cool use of twitter, or what? Going just a little further out from that, why not post those questions on the public website? They’d be anonymous, so that shouldn’t be an issue. But I’m thinking posting real-time questions in your library’s digital space is a great way to show real live conversations taking place. Those tweets might just start more conversation, etc etc.

Cool service - thanks Julie for mentioning it!

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Nicole Engard (great blog, by the way - y’all should be reading it!) just left a comment on my post It’s About the Community. I was starting to reply to her comment when it dawned on me that my reply might work better as another post, so…

Nicole says: “David, I totally agree! But what about those public service librarians who are “too busy” to maintain these tools? I know that that is the case in many libraries - the staff who should be in charge of the project claims to be too busy (or are too busy) and then the maintenance is passed back to the IT staff - who probably are too busy - and then the whole thing falls apart … sometimes it’s not that the IT staff wants to control the technology - but that they were the last resort.”

Yep - that’s true! How can you deal with that sorta backwards philosophy?

Here are some suggestions (please add yours!):

• The biggest challenge, in my mind, is getting staff over the fact that the new service resides on a computer. Think about it - Telephone reference is a great example. Does the library’s switchboard operator answer telephone reference questions? No - even though those questions come via phone. But there seems to be a disconnect with web-based interactions. Blogs, Social Networking tools, flickr accounts… those come from the computer, right? Wrong. You are interacting with real people, just like with telephone reference.
• “I’m too busy” - this isn’t the fault of front-line staff. I think this excuse (that’s what it is, after all) falls squarely into management’s lap. Is a blog important to your library? Is the interaction and growth that can be had via a social network part of your library’s strategic plan? If not… you should talk about it. If so… you should be setting priorities and goals for front-line staff. Maybe the staff member needs to NOT be doing something, so they can focus more on the blog.
• If participating in and supporting your library’s community via emerging online tools is important, why not add it to job descriptions? Why not include things like “post to the blog,” “respond to comments,” or “create a weekly videocast?” We do that with other important job duties - don’t just tack on an “oh yeah, do something with the web, too” line. Focus on strategic goals, and realign job duties to meet those goals.

Any thoughts?

Tagged as: digital community, IT, techies, trends

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Do you read Robert Scoble’s blog? It can be very interesting! Here’s a post I suggest you read. It’s a good intro to Scoble and his blog, and he also makes a great point in this post, too.

Scoble says: “… eBay is NOT about the technology. It’s about the community…” (OK - so most of the rest of his post is a rant, really - but it’s a good rant!).

Think about that statement… then think about your library’s blogs. It’s Flickr account. The YouTube channel you’ve just started. Your teen MySpace page. Who have you put in charge of those library services? Is it public service staff who work with community? Or is it IT staff who work with technology? Who SHOULD be in charge of it?

I’m not saying IT is bad or public services staff are the only people who “get” community. But I am saying these things:

1. Websites and web tools have changed from brochureware into digital communities. That is, if you allow them to change into that.
2. People are “doing life” online - not just finding citations
3. People are actively participating and creating online - not just surfing.
4. Many libraries take what can be vibrant patron communities and ignore them, relegate them to a back office with one person acting as a mere “digital janitor,” and treat these potential communities as secondary and ephemeral at best.

When your library started adding community-based services to it’s website (blogs, commenting, myspace, etc…), you landed at Plymouth Rock (or started a new Sim City - take your pick). How are you growing your community?

Tagged as: community experience scoble

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