ALA 2012 #alaleftbehind

It seems like every librarian in America is in California right now attending ALA 2012. I am more than jealous and feeling left out! I would love to be a part of all the buzz. I'm especially bummed to miss out on hearing author John Irving speak. He is one of my all time favorites. OK, here is a little confession... "I hate to fly." That does make it a little easier to take, since Ohio to California would have been airplane torture. I've got some other opportunities this year to collaborate with the library cool kids. I am incredibly excited to be a part of the OLC Fall Conference: Widen the Lens. In the meantime, I am following the tweets, which are adding momentum to my already pumped up energy about the future of libraries. Thank you to all my fellow Twitter addicts. Keep up the great tweets!

Tech Week at the Library

Tech weekpresentation 2011

View more presentations from Jennifer Hrusch

User Experience in Libraries...today, 10 years and beyond.

Yesterday I attended a Webinar about the Future of the Library User Experience presented by the Urban Libraries Council. The presenter was Nate Bolt. He had some good insights.

Though his presentation focused mostly on the future of an online experience, the reaction panelists talked a bit about contributions from the public services side, so there was a blend. Interestingly, there was a poll question asked about who is responsible for user experience in an organization. It was difficult to answer with just once choice, because really the user experience is dependent on all facets of the organization working together with a common vision.

Everything I'm reading pretty much matches up with what was presented. The future of experience will be that services are easier to use, easier to share, easier to customize and easier to integrate into other things people are already using. It can take libraries awhile to catch up, but we are getting there.

A few points really stood out:

Logic does not equal intuition.

This idea is not traditionally part of the thinking of librarians. The entire structure of a library depends on logic. Librarians are thinking, "How do we teach our customers to use the system?," and customers are thinking, "Why isn't someone making this system easier to use?" Nate says that by necessity libraries will need to move away from system and logic and move toward intuitive experience.

You will know you are doing something innovative when...

It has been done before in a more rudimentary way.

It upsets people. Anyone heard anything lately about some cheese being moved?

It can be hard to get buy-in.

Finally, Nate reminded all of us (library or not) that the best way to create a user experience is to observe your users and then act based on their behavior instead of what they are saying or what you are thinking they want.

That may be a new way of thinking, but I believe it is certainly a good one.

Talking about Twitter. Yes...again!

This blog has been silent. I cite three reasons: the holidays, launching a new IM service at my library, and I have been saying what I needed to say on Twitter. Recently, though, something happened that needs a longer explanation. I am always amazed by the incredible impact of making connections. Here is my Twitter story...

I had just left an awesome manager's meeting where we celebrated all the success of 2008 and got excited about all the possibility in 2009. I went back to my office and sent out a tweet about the meeting. I instantly received a direct message on Twitter from Faye Thompson that said, "Are you @ CML downtown? There is a tweet-up going on in the 3rd floor Board Room right now - coworking session/collaboration." That was an invite I would not pass up.

I headed up to the Board Room to meet the nicest people who were part of a group called cbusjelly. What is a Jelly you ask? (Don't worry. I didn't know either.) A Jelly is a co-working group.

I introduced myself. They asked me about the library projects I had tweeted about. I got to brag on the library, but they didn't need any convincing. This group was well versed in the resources of the library, and they were using them. They all had their laptops and were using the wireless connection. They were reserving books online. They were job searching. They were using the library space to network and collaborate. I was impressed and grateful to connect with other people living and working in my city. The bonus was they were library customers too.

I knew I had a captive audience. One of my projects for 2009 is to deliver Web 2.0 training. What that means hasn't really been completely defined. I threw it out there. "If you didn't already know how to use these tools, what would you want from the library to help you to learn?" They had great insight about what, how and why. As a project manager, I never want to think I know it all about what a project should be. If I'm not asking my customer, I am missing a valuable piece. Sure, there are formal ways to collect that data, but I have to tell you...this conversation just energized me, because it was a real connection.

I have continued to connect with more people in Columbus linking from those I have already met and discovering this larger community called Columbus Tech Life. I look forward to attending an event and meeting some of these people in person too. In the meantime, I'm getting to know them on Twitter, making virtual connections and building my network. Now you understand why my recent Facebook status said, "I am basking in the joy of Twitter."

Why Twitter?

I'm finding out not everyone is Twitter convinced.

I recently heard someone say, "If you have something to say to someone, just pick up a phone." I say, that better be one heck of a conference call. My followers/following only range around the 100 mark, so my reach is still relatively small. Still, every time I send out a tweet, I am potentially sharing information, seeking information or starting a conversation with over 100 people.

Then, I hear, "I don't have time for that." I say, how can you not make time to stay informed and be involved in the conversation? I have the knowledge and insight of over 100 people being delivered directly to me.

There are tools that make Twitter easy to use. If you feel like you don't have the time to follow hundreds of people, find 10 that really interest you and start small. I bet it won't take long before you realize that every time you add someone new to your follow list, you have just expanded your circle of influence and the circle that influences you.

Still not convinced? I was prompted to write this after reading this article. It applies to lawyers using Twitter, but has relevance for others too. Need more? Even this writer, who isn't in love with it, understands the value in using Twitter.

Why do/don't you Twitter?

10 Random Things about the Type A Librarian

1. I have an organization sickness. I just love to organize things. Even my junk drawer has dividers in it. However, like the episode of Friends when Monica's secret closet is discovered, I do have one place where chaos prevails. It is my basement. If you go down there, we may never find you again.
2. I went to the same school from K-12 (Canal Winchester.) I moved back to my hometown 7 years ago and now my daughter goes to school there. My sister is a teacher there too.
3. My husband and I both love high school football. Rain, snow, crisp Fall air....No matter the weather, you will find us in the stands under the lights on Friday night. My husband's cousin is a coach for the Mentor, Ohio, Cardinals, so we follow their season too.
4. I met my husband as a freshman in college. I was dating his roommate, and he was dating mine. We spent so much time talking about what he could do for Becky and what I could do for Chad, that we just dropped them and started dating each other. We have now been together for 20 years.
5. In high school, college and early married years, I worked at Bob Evans. I have worked at 6 different locations, including the original Bob Evans in Rio Grande, Ohio. And yes, I did serve coffee to Mr. Bob Evans himself and his wife Jewel.
6. As a teen, my crush was Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. I recorded every single episode on VHS, and if you look hard enough in that basement, I think I might still have them.
7. I don't speed. I almost always run my car right at the speed limit or about 5 miles over. Those mini-van moms in the school zone pretty much hate me. It says 20!
8. My favorite food is chicken. I could eat it every day. It doesn't matter how it is prepared, grilled, fried, bbq'd, roasted, I love it! My family says to me all the time, "Are we having chicken again?"
9. I can't wait for every November when they start playing the Christmas music. I could listen to it all year long. About the time you are saying, "If I hear Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree one more time, I'm going to strangle someone," I am saying "Play it again!"
10. I have always wanted to live in a log cabin in the woods, and one day, I will.

Thing #23-10 things about 23 things

Learn and Play has been so much fun. I am extremely grateful for the following things about the 23 things:

1. The support of the organization to create, promote and celebrate this adventure.
2. The efforts of the Organizational Development and Digitial Services staff. You really made a difference!
3. The extra time to complete everything. I know I wouldn't have made it without it.
4. The enthusiasm of so many staff embracing and using these technologies. Before Learn and Play, there were a small group of staff who were talking about 2.0 technology, but so many unconvinced of the value or without the motivation to figure it out. Learn and Play has changed the library culture for the better.
5. Every single person who said, "I can't," but then figured out "Yes, I can."
6. The opportunity to allow myself time to try out things I might never have tried.
7. The knowledge gained that will help me with my projects, my staff's goals and customer needs.
8. That I am making my final check mark. You know how we Type A's love our lists. Even more, we love completing a list.
9. Flash drives. (Send it on over!)
10. Cool prizes. (Pick me, Pick me!)

Thanks for joining me in the 23 things adventure. I'm looking forward to the next part of the journey.

Thing #22-MOLDI...the digital download

Digital downloads. I think I would be much more interested in these if I had a fancy portable electronic device. I have a very basic cell phone. I have a very basic PDA (contacts and calendar.) It's not that I'm not interested in having a fancy device, but I just can't afford to spend my money on toys for me right now. Someday I will catch up with the rest of the techno world. Right now, I just know about what I could be doing. Sad, I know.

I am glad that I had a chance to explore MOLDI. I think it is good to be familiar with the service, since we offer it to our customers. I was surprised to find the volume and variety of titles available.

Getting the account was really easy. It only required my library card number. Finding titles was really easy. I selected a collection of Piano Christmas classics. I added it to my cart and checked it out. So far, so good. I downloaded the file. Then, I hit the roadblock. My computer said that it couldn't read the file. It required an additional software download. The computer that I am using at home is barely hanging on and runs so slow. I didn't want to clog it up with any more downloads. If I can ever get my husband off his laptop, I will jump on and try it there, but I doubt he will let me download Piano Christmas classics. Back to browsing to find something "hip" enough for a laptop download.

Thing #21-Podcasts

I remember hearing much chatter about podcasts way back when, but not as much lately. For me, I don't get any satisfaction from watching a progress bar go across a computer screen and listening to someone talk. I'd much rather read it or see a video. I'm a visual person, so audio podcasts don't hold my attention long. I've taken some online training that used podcasts to deliver content. It was weird. You could hear the teacher talking, but you couldn't see them.

I had a discussion long ago about adding storytime podcasts to the library website, but technology probably has a better solution by now.

I didn't know before now that you could add podcasts in a RSS feed. I explored the podcast directory list. I guess everyone and their brother is making podcasts these days, so they must be popular somewhere.

It will be interesting to get the new podcast delivered into my bloglines account next week. I signed up for a comedy podcast. If it's funny, then maybe I'll be more convinced. We will see.....

Thing #20-YouTube

YouTube is dangerous. Seriously, you could spend the whole day. Every video leads to other videos, which leads to other videos... You think, "Hey, let's see what people are watching on Monday," and before you know it, it's Tuesday. One of the thing that always surprises me is when I can't find something on YouTube. It has so much, you start to think that there isn't anything you can't get. I recently wanted to show someone a clip of the Sweeney Sisters from Saturday Night Live singing Christmas songs. Not there. Some copyright issue, I guess.

Still, you can always find something of interest. I like this Angry Librarian video. It's funny, because it's true. Talk about your barriers to service. Don't think so? I challenge everyone who sees this video to think about all the times you have said, "I can't do that." I think you will find it happens more often than we are willing to admit.

Pass me a Bucket and a Shovel for Thing #16

Thing #16 is playing around in the wiki sandbox.

As I have mentioned before, wikis rule! So, the Learn and Play Wiki is totally cool, because it is all about talking about your favorite things and finding out about the favorite things of those people you work with everyday. Who knew? I keep finding out things that I have in common with tons of people, and before now, I had no idea.

I posted on the Beaches page.
Myrtle Beach is my favorite. My family goes most every year to a beautiful resort called Ocean Creek.

Favorite movies? The top of my list is anything starring John Cusack. He is one handsome devil. Check out his filmography. Over 50 films spanning over 20 years. Any other Cusack fans out there? Which film is your favorite?

I hope to spend some more time exploring the learn and play wiki. Dig in. There are treasures waiting to be discovered. Pass me that shovel, would ya?

Thing #19-We've Got the Power

This post is about the CML Power Tools page.

I downloaded the Library Toolbar sometime over the Summer. I appreciate being able to search the CML library catalog directly from my toolbar and the instant access to My Account.

At work, it often saves me from needing to launch a Discovery Place session to make a quick check of something. At home, I am able to access the catalog without going directly to the webpage. Pretty cool.

If I was to offer any negative here, it would be that I don't think enough people have discovered this yet. We included it as an online activity for adults for the Summer Reading Club this year. I hope we find more ways to promote and to help our customers discover this great tool.

Thing #18-Getting LinkedIn

I had recently received several invitations to join LinkedIn from colleagues. Since it was listed as one of the nominees for the Web 2.0 Awards, I decided it was time to check it out.

I created an account. Yes, another account.

The good: I was able to connect on this social networking tool with some co-workers who are not on Facebook or Twitter with me.

The bad: This is just one more thing to login to, and it doesn't have a gadget for my igoogle page.

The ugly: There is too much other "stuff" to do with LinkedIn. I guess that is the point of creating something for social networking...giving a lot of options for ways to connect. The thing about all these tools is that you have to put the time and work into setting them up to reap the benefits in the long run. It depends how much energy you are willing to expend.

My advice: Pick a few social networking tools that work best for you and stick with those.

Thing #17-Google Docs...Where have you been all my life?

So now you tell me. Where was Google Docs when I was carrying around the flash drive with all my grad school assignments protecting it like it was made out of pure gold?


I can't tell you the number of documents I have e-mailed to myself, so I could access them later at home.


One application that would work well with my team of rovers is to save the weekly schedule to Google docs and then share it. Since they visit different locations almost every day, they could access their schedule from any computer.


Since I just finally finished grad school, discovering Google Docs makes me think of products for babies. I had my daughter 12 years ago, and they had some decent baby stuff back then, but have you seen the stuff for babies these days? There are all kinds of tools and tricks for making life easier. It figures. I always miss the good stuff.

Thing #15-Wiki, Wiki, Wiki

That is how my husband says Wiki, while he pretends that he is scratching a record. He cracks himself up.

Like Delicious, I was first introduced to Wikis in my 2.0 workshop in grad school. Once I discovered the benefits, there was no turning back.

We recently used the Libsuccess Wiki to find libraries offering IM services, so we could check out what others were doing as we started our IM project. It was easy to find, because this Wiki takes everything libraries and puts it all in once place, and it is completely searchable.

We also created a project wiki for our IM project. We posted all the assignments there and had the participants complete the assignments and post their results to the Wiki. We had a place for questions and answers. That way the whole group could participate in the discussion without creating a neverending e-mail chain. It has worked great. Everything is in one place, and it is completely searchable.

The library Information Line staff has also created an internal Wiki for collecting everything CML. Since we take all the calls for the Main library and all 20 branches, we collect a lot of "need to know." The Wiki allows us to organize all that information without filling up notebooks, bulletin boards and drawers with paper. It has a cool name too. "The Wiki Mart." And, it is completely searchable! Have I mentioned that? No more trying to remember where you put that flyer with all the info you need right now.

What am I trying to say here? Wikis rule!

Ode to 2.0 AKA Thing 14

What does Library 2.0 mean to me?

2.0 is about taking it to the next level. I think being Library 2.0 is about taking your library services to the next level, but that is not what I wish to discuss in this post.

There are all kinds of articles about 2.0 out there. Everybody is talking about it, and they are saying some good things. This particular perspective has had the most impact for me.

http://zenhabits.net/2008/10/productivity-20-how-the-new-rules-of-work-are-changing-the-game/

What good is all that 2.0 has to offer if it doesn't change the way you work? This perspective pretty much turns everything you knew about "how we work" completely on its head.

The real impact of 2.0 is when we incorporate it into new ways to think, do and plan.

• Move that e-mail conversation onto a blog.
• Move those 15 folders worth of project documents into a wiki.
• Move all those e-mails you are saving into a searchable archive (or better yet delete most of them.)
• Move that project deadline up and start without knowing every answer.

Gasp! I know, I know. Librarians don't think this way. We like our structure and plans (especially Type A Librarians.)

It hasn't been easy for me to embrace everything offered from this perspective, but I can tell you that I realize I need to if I want to succeed in the changing work environment.

My favorite point is #4. Don't multi-task. Multi project-single task. Double gasp!

And yes, this is coming from a power multi-tasker. I have really tried to apply this principle to my daily habits, and I can tell you, I am getting more done. Sure, sometimes I have to flip between several things, but the times that I focus on just one thing are very rewarding.

If this keeps up, I might just have to change the name of this blog. Nah......

Thing #13-Delicious

I first signed up for a delicious account in March, because it was a requirement for a workshop that I attended. Confession: I added 1 bookmark and never used it again. Sad, but true.

I haven't ever saved a favorite either. To tell you the truth, I was just keeping all my bookmarks in my head. I always found it easier to just type in the sites I knew and liked.

3 things finally convinced me:

1. I figured out that you can tag more than just websites you visit often. You can also tag articles, blogs, whatever you find out there.

2. A better understanding of the nature of tags. Always liked them. Haven't always used them. I did a lot of preaching about how they add to discovery, but I wasn't practicing what I was preaching. It takes a Type A Librarian a little while to be convinced that everything doesn't need a folder anymore.

3. Watching the Common Craft video about how sharing bookmarks is social. Now that I am blogging, twittering, facebooking, etc., I am all about being social. It is pretty cool to take a look at who is reading what you are reading and then find out what else they are reading and so on....

I made an attempt to add the tag button to my browser. It didn't work like I thought, so I will try to find someone who has figured it out. But, I was able to add a delicious gadget to my igoogle page and now I have instant access to my latest bookmarks.

I will mark this one down as at least a partial success.

Thing #10-Image Generators

Not too much new here.


I ended using Big Huge Labs again. Well, honestly it is the easiest to use, and it has some good options. I tried The Generator Blog. There were some fun options there too, but I hit a couple of dead links and error messages, so I just went back to what worked. I also tried to link to the ALA READ Poster Generator and hit a "Page Not Found" error. Here is what I created!

Thing #6-More Flickr Fun

New plan for blogging the 23 things. Keep it brief...

So, at least for most of these, it is going to be a few likes, a few dislikes, a few observations...

More Flickr Fun

What I tried-

Badge and trading card maker-I can tell I need to spend more time exploring Big Huge Labs. Very cool, but the only photo I had of myself was too blurry, so scratch that one. I generated a badge with a very distorted looking Type A Librarian. Next, I tried one with a picture of my daughter. She is looking good....

Bubblr-Good concept. Use pictures to create a comic strip. Couldn't think of anything clever. Today is not a creative day for me.

Captioner-Add bubbles to the people in your photos.

There is no doubt that I could spend hours exploring these applications. I will save this activity for a time when I have some better photos on hand or when I am feeling a little more creative.

I'm just happy to finally know what a mash-up is. =)

The thing about LibraryThing

The thing about LibraryThing is that it is awesome. If you visit my library, you will discover that I bought a lifetime membership. This allows me to add unlimited books until the end of time. You must realize that there are many things about LibraryThing that appeal to a Type A Librarian. It allows me to create a list of books and to organize them in different ways. What could make me happier?

There is one feature I would like to see added. I would love to be able to sort books into "Read, Reading, and Want to Read." Right now you can mark the records with those indications, but it doesn't change the display of the book or allow you to sort by those options.

More good things are to come from LibraryThing. Check out this article from Library Journal announcing LibraryThing for Libraries. It's an enhancement for OPACs that lets users add reviews and read reviews from other users right from the item record on the catalog. Even better, they can then share their reviews on Facebook using an application or add their reviews to their blogs using a widget. Very cool!