Friday, November 03, 2006

ECIUG '06: Extra Info from Chit Chat

I asked Beth Whitney (from London P.L.'s Cataloging Dept) re Year End tips for Larry:

  • make sure you take all the stats you want before you close the books
  • LPL carries encumbrances over to the next year
  • 0's out expenditures
  • advise us to email III and say this is what we're going to do on X day, is it ok?...can we have a contact person to communicate with directly on that day?
  • follow every single word in the instructions
I emailed the listserv with other questions I was given to ask...the day was too jam-packed to get them all in in person!...will post answers here as I receive them...

ECIUG '06: googleanalytics

Dave from LPL (impromptu presentation)
  • googleanalytics is a free utility that can tell you all sorts of things about how people use your opac
  • copy code to botlogo in wwwoptions to apply to all pages
  • (Claudia from E&S added it to our website last week and I'll add to opac)
  • includes map of where users are coming from, overlay re what parts of page people are using, info on browsers, screen resolution, sofware (java, flash etc.), connection speed
  • nifty...but makes me think 'what is google getting out of this'...check Stephen Ab's blog to see if he has commented

ECIUG '06: Re-Indexing Our Database

Raj Jain (Head of Cataloguing) / Karen Marshall (Director of Tech Services)
University of Western Ontario

  • Why?...public service request for e-books index and Journal title index
  • decided to re-index to achieve this, and solve a bunch of other problems (eg. with RACER)
  • indexes can only be build with data from marc records
  • check / re-check / check again what you think the system *should* be doing and what it is actually doing
  • indexing takes a long time...and there are performance issues while it's going on

ECIUG '06: Use of Preferred Searches

Eeva Stierwalt from London Public Library
  • use Preferred Searches and email alerts for home service patrons
  • "exclude books I've read" used in conjunction
  • nifty
  • I need to look in to our email alerts...on OPAC imp. cmte list of things to do
  • LPL uses false email addresses which include patron name and route number, so they get info they need from bounced email file
  • suggest to SR/JAg/LAK for our home service patrons

ECIUG '06: Graphical Self-Check

Eeva Stierwalt, London Public Library
  • currently implementing Graphical Self Check at all branches
  • previously had CODOCO big self-check machines
  • empowring patrons...mirroring retail experience (Walmart, Home Depot etc.)
  • free-up staff to provide quality service
  • LPL has NO security gates at branches, so easy for them...no desensitizing equipment required
  • speed / convenient / fun
  • pilot project outline:
    • 7 member team
    • identified locations
    • best practices research
      • looks at other iii libs using this...average number of self checkouts = 54%...most not using security systems (theft rate = same)
    • reviewed lending policies
      • so peeps could cout as much as possible
    • equiment and furniture needs assessed
    • pilot set up
    • customization with iii
    • roll out
    • followed up with stats
  • peeps love it
  • touch screens
  • only need electircal outlet and internet plug-in, computer, hand-held scanner
  • signage/advertising
  • staff simply scan a barcode to log in and out
  • market to staff...train them to train the peeps
  • periodic survey for feedback
  • teach peeps to know difference between library barcode and publisher's barcode, and to *read* the screen re error messages...must bring "lock box" items to the desk
  • have a staff monitor for the first while

ECIUG '06: Enterprise Backup Development

Fangmin Wang, Ryerson University
  • talked about how at Ryerson they use a third-party backup program
  • uses Backup API (Application Programming Interface...how one piece of software communicates with another)
  • went with alternate method becuase III's standard backup method is not very convenient...labour intensive, routine task...and Ryerson's IT dept. has a huge IBM "tape robot"
  • on the iug list there's a linux verion of the backup script (contributed by Mike Lynch)
  • they use the Millenium tape back up as a secondary back up

ECIUG '06: Beyond the OPAC - Providing Additional Avenues to the Catalogue

Mike Cunningham
Web Services Librarian
Cambridge Public Library
  • web sites vs. opacs...how to drive traffic to your opac and within opac
  • RSS feeds, php with mysqul database
  • create lists for new items, export to text file, delete field names, save as ANSI, opne in phpmyadmin...etc...
  • opac enrichment and reviews...link new movies to imdb...embed relevant booklists from an extrenal ColdFusion aplication
  • can reference external javascript files in botlogo wwwoptions...all automated links, slicker than Syndetics
  • reviews incorporated into opac...also kids' and teens' sites
  • in-house build reviews system...cheaper / simpler than iii's
  • can also use javascript to remove stuff from the opac, for eg. "kill call # linking" which confuses patrons...removes the hyperlink tag...nice!
  • alternate opac search via z39.50 (eg. Ann Arbour, Plymouth State...OPAC massaged in to a wordpress format...slick)
  • Hot Items list at AADL...criteria = # of holds...John Blyber's blog comment re analyzing holds...didn't work for Cambridge...used "view outstanding holds", then:
    • sent to email
    • save email as text
    • Perl script
    • retrieve bib # and # of holds
    • online form
    • Cold Fusion
    • access d-base
  • Book cover browser...nice...
    • inspiration from itunes' cd cover browse
    • used Yahoo Carosel and Reflections JS
    • hot book cover browser...purple eye icon on "new books, cds, and more" page...check it out here
  • thankfully, Cambridge is all about SHARING...has policy to share code for all this nifty stuff
  • see his complete presentation here
  • check out Mike's blog

ECIUG '06: III Company Update

Maruta Skujina (our Customer Support person) and Mary Chevreau (Maruta's boss, oversees all of N. America)

  • What's new with R2006:
    • ecommerce integration with graphic self-check, also RFID compatable
    • teleforms will now "speak" the patron's name
    • SUSHI: Standardized usage stats harvesting initiative...use with ERM
    • "Tickers"...in Acquisitions and Serials...little reminder notes linked to records to remind another staff person to do something to that record
    • WebPAC Pro..."Going Pro"
      • free upgrade from R2006
      • place a commitment service request to helpdesk to request
      • some new stuff that's coming down the pipe will be based on webpacpro
      • one big feature = "Right Results"...relevance ranking...rates title and author hits higher than notes, for eg.
      • III offers a "WebPAC refresher service"
      • WebPAC Pro options (extra cost?):
        • spell check..."did you mean?"...drop-down dictionary
        • community reviews (staff can vet before publishing)
        • RSS feed builder
    • RSS...
      • incoming feeds (free in R2006)
      • outoging feeds
        • via Create Lists
        • webPAC Pro
      • outgoing 1:1 feed for patrons record events
        • my record feeds ... notification of change eg. you have fines (not specific amount)
    • CASE
      • robust list of electronic packages and titles
      • A-Z list
      • marc record service
      • case.iii.com
      • useful for TBPL?...not sure...
      • subscription service, updated monthly
    • Program Registration Module (similar to events)...cost????!!!
      • calendar
      • patron self-reg
      • integrated with patron dbase and My Millennium
      • programs are in OPAC, so show up in searches...nifty
      • staff interface: Registration Desk...easy to email registered peeps, can do create lists with reg info
      • TODO: compare with e*vents re cost and functionality...would we be able to use for internal room booking?...staff only?...repress from public view type of thing?
    • Millennium Load Scheduler
      • automate Create Lists
      • nifty
      • cost?
      • can NOT change parameters in saved search strategies though...so, could not use for new/hot...simply runs exactly the same search again...does not even refresh the review file
Coming in 2007: ENCORE (insert fireworks here....)
  • III's answer to the callenge of how to make the library a starting point for patrons' searches...support richer content in the results...allow community participation
  • ratings, reviews, tags BY patrons, in the opac
  • will transform the library's web interface
  • will be introduced in R07 (but costs extra...sale on now...)
  • "best bets" suggestions to push out recomendations
  • federated search results (will it work with AGent?)
  • runs on apache server...uses AJAX and other new technologies
  • Westerville and 12 other libs are deveopment partners
  • ENCORE is a "presentation layer"...slick single-search-box and book shelf of new titles' book jackets
  • tagging...can be cloud or list
  • faceted searchging
    • for eg check out Zappos shoes
    • can search for all books rated "excellent", search reviews...search non-marc info
  • Federated search integration with Research Pro
  • SmartLinking for librarian-suggested resources with Pathfinder Pro
  • rich in info...easy to use...2.0
  • Maruta showed a falshy marketing DVD (can we borrow or download it to show staff?
  • it is possible to have ENCORE without having all the other bits
  • ENCORE comes WITH a server...set up and ready to go...special introductory pricing now...

ECIUG '06: Overview

Wow. Just got back from spending a jam-packed day at Kitchener Public Library with about 65 peeps from other III libs in Ontario. London, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Western, Brock, Ryerson, U of Ottawa were all there. It was great to meet Eeva Stierwalt from LPL and lots of others who I have been emailling a great deal over the past year. I presented on E-Commerce, which went well even though I was a nervous newbie. SO many ideas and inspirations and things to do!

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

CIL'06: Can your LIS do this?

David Hook, MDA (manufacturer of the robotic arm of the space shuttle)
  • developed a specialized LIS based on inmagic
  • very specialized lib
  • what's new with a canned search
  • keeps a log of queries, reference questions, and how answer found...for FAQs...future plan to post faq's with search results
  • needed to communicate with his users
  • searchable phone list developed for his intranet
  • created an internal blog
  • things to make his life as a special lib easier

CIL'06: The Web 2.0 Challenge for Librarians

Paul Miller, Techonology Evangelist, Talis Information Ltd.
**one of the BEST speakers**
  • has a PHd in Archeology!
  • reality = google
  • oclc env. scan...library use is down, but peeps are still coming...to use the internet etc.
  • only 27% of people visited a lib website recently
  • open the lib beyond the walls
  • PUSH the lib everywhere
  • engage potential user groups
  • dismantle your ILS...use the bits that make sense, and build something better...should be like lego*
  • shared innovation
  • "Talking with Talis"...webcasts...lib 2.0 gang...future of the opac
  • how users are doing it themselves:
    • WPopac...blogging tool over opac
    • aadl.org
      • Anne Arbour catalogue with comments
    • new ways to reach out...make your data work harder
  • shared platforms...nuture a community
  • shared set of core peices, shared foundations
  • has to cross divide between vendors
  • we need to insist that vendors work together
  • talis is doing this
  • get involved...be a part of it
  • challenge all assumptions!
  • why are we doing EVERY THING this way?
  • share innovation

CIL'06: Search Engines Vs. Libraries: The Role of Librarians on the Internet

Gary Price (a librarian)
  • director of online resources at ask.com
  • yes, there is a role for libs, but we have to speak up, LOUDLY!
  • we can save peeps time, effort and aggravation, but we need to SHOW them...get in their faces...there are bigger and more haystacks out there
  • info literacy is VIP
  • a lot of services we consider "basic" are unknown to many users
  • marketing and branding...tell people...word of mouth..."viral" marketing!
  • SHOW people that libraries and librarians are important
  • become the info "go to" people
  • ask.com
    • crawler-based engine
    • pre-built Q&A model is gone
    • zoom...query refinement
    • image database
    • maps...with driving and walking directions
    • customize stuff on right hand side, or minimize

CIL'06: Supporting the Digital World with Gadgets

Hope Tillman, Director of Libs, Babson College
  • Questions to consider:
    • what gadgets are your customers using now?
    • also how staff can use
  • trends:
    • convergence...multi-purpose...phone/camera/email
    • personalization / customization
    • miniturization
  • zdnet's top 10 gadget must-haves
    • changes every few weeks
  • pocket scanners
  • reading pens
    • translations, definitions
    • scanning
    • docupen
    • digital pen
      • write on a tablet, and pen records up to 40 pages
  • security
    • everywhere
    • fingerprint scanning
      • on keyboards (for authentication!)
      • on usb drives (bio stick fingerprint reader)
      • Naperville Public Lib (ILL) fingerprint id for internet access...WOW!
  • RFID
    • privacy concern vs. inventory control
  • special purpose chips
    • usb drivers
    • debit card keys
    • book locker
  • wireless devices:
    • mice / keyboards
    • cordless presenter
  • Game machines
    • sony psp
  • GPS devices
    • scavenger hunts
    • geocaching game
    • fun way to pull in new users (more folks in tbay might have gps than pdas...the hunting/fishing crowd?)
  • library applications:
    • podcasting/geocaching/blogs
    • operations (inventory control)
    • communication/collaboration
    • learning/entertainment
  • next?
    • e-ink, e-paper
    • "soft" hardware...eg. fabric keyboard
    • wearable computing (eg. ipod controls on sleeve)
    • movie glasses
    • head-worn display
  • Games and Libs:
    • embedded librarians
    • going where the GenM's are
    • play a character in a game who comes to help...guided learning...the M's expect to find faq's / cheats, so give it to them
  • "Ambient Findability: What we find changes who we become"
  • it's all about being user-centric

CIL'06: Keynote: The Internet: Enhancing Work and Play

Lee Rainie...Pew Internet and American Life Project
  • theloudlibrarian.net
  • millennials...
    • "Millennials Rising" book
    • they are:
      • special
      • sheltered
      • confident
      • team-oriented
      • achieving
      • pressured
      • conventional
      • "trophy kids"
      • tech-embracing
      • "digital natives in the land of digital immigrants"
      • immersed in a world of media and gadgets
      • multi-taksers
      • pay "continuous partial attention"
      • unaware, uncaring of the results of use of their technology (eg. copywrite)...
        • so MEDIA LITERACY big role for libs
      • their technology world will change radically in the next decade
      • approach to research / work will be shaped by new techno-world...
        • tag taxonomies -- shared
        • flickr
        • individuals as nodes of production
  • we need to be their "infomation support"...easy to use, there when needed
  • we need to react to and shape their environment...
  • be brilliant!

CIL'06: Working and Planning with your IT Department

With Barrett Jones, Joint IMF World Bank Library
  • it's never easy!
  • good tips for talking / working with anyone
  • 1 meeting = 3 calls
  • 1 call = 5 emails
  • (LJ is GOOD at this!)
  • use the power of cc in emails
  • get invited to IT meetings
  • always follow up...shows you're on the ball...record of what went down...mutual understanding
  • education
    • learn about technology
    • visit your server (touch it!!)
    • learn the basics
    • read:
      • NY Times technology section
      • Wired magazine
  • bring your IT guy to CIL!
  • Vendors
    • use them
    • for advice on tech issues
    • they work for US!
    • (eg. Mike McL has been awesome!)
  • strategy:
    • typical to have lots of hoopla re strat plan, then it gets shelved...IT strategy...do we have one? (tbpl / city?)...if so, read it, adopt it, reference it
    • dream big, plan small...dream about what you want to DO with technology, then make it happen with technology

CIL'06: Digital Preservation and the Open Web

  • archive of electorial campaigns websites example
  • capturing labour history in action
    • history in the making
    • need to archive
    • labour contracts database
    • Institute of Industrial Relations library
    • lots of schools use this resource for teaching
  • issues / decisions re where to draw the line when archiving web sites
  • rights and permission vary according to host
  • WERA
    • web archives access
    • open source tool for viewing crawl reuls
  • need to capture new publications as they appear
  • collaborative collection deveopment
  • Info Management Trends
    • latest technology
    • networked systems
    • across organizations
    • heterogrenous collections
  • expectations
    • quick, acurate, 24/7
    • results:
      • shift into info management roles
      • expanded responsibilities
      • multiple initiatives
  • Who's tending the store?
  • Cornell Digital Preservation Management Workshop
    • fabbo resource
    • commitment management
    • digital preservation management
      • organization
      • technology
      • resources


all this made me consider:
  • should we establish a digital preservation protocol for TBPL?
  • does the City have one?
    • collaborative opportunity?
  • do we have an archival plan for paper stuff? (eg. newsletters?)
  • records management...I think we do for offfical stuff, but what about PR / public stuff
  • for eg. is our old webpage gone forever?...do we care?!...value to see how far we've come, document history

CIL'06: Scanning for Planning

Alane Wilson, Editor, 2003 OCLC Environmental Scan
(another Canuck...MLIS from UBC and undergrad from Waterloo)
  • "an accidental futurist"
  • "skating where the puck will be" (Wayne Gretzky)
  • there are professional futurist associations
  • libs need to look OUTSIDE the profession more
  • environmental scanning...in reality, like dumpster diving
  • no "how to" book...pick landscapes that suit what you're doing
  • trend spotting: observing, reading, musing, synthesizing, understanding
  • eg. what are peeps doing with handheld devices in other countries
  • trendspotters need to be curious
  • trends = the momentum in society
  • need to do trendspotting FAST...not by committee...need autonomy
  • what will you do with the info when it's done...must lead to ACTION
  • a library DEPARTMENT could do a scan, and act on it...wow!...what a concept!
  • trendwatching.com...a good monthly email magazine
  • Wired, Fast Company, Time etc...useful
  • read widely outside of lib and info science
  • talk to peeps...users and non-users
  • collect *stuff* and categorize it...common themes / trends / fit stuff together
  • "amazoogle effect"...comprehensive, accessible, immediate gratification, market-of-one...personalization...trends
  • GAMING...
    • highlighted in scan
    • blossomed after its publication
  • convenience trumps quaility
  • gapingvoid.com...good quotes
  • favorville...people helping people
  • foldera...peekochat...rallypoint...connecting people to others
  • librarything.com...amateur cataloguing!
  • Shaping Things...(book by Bruce Sterling)
    • spimes, blogjets...like FedEx package checking...*stuff* that gathers info as it goes...like people!...new trend

CIL'06: Digi Tech Forum: DEAD TECH

  • light-hearted, fun panel with:
    • Amanda Etches-Johnson (from McMaster...Canuck #1)
    • Aaron Schmidt (Thomas Ford Memorial Library)
    • Darlene Fichter (Univ of Sask...Canuck #2)
    • Marshall Breeding (Vanderbilt Univ.)
    • Stephen Abram (Sirsi-Dynix...Canuck #3)
  • this session was all about Library 2.0
  • gaming nights
  • rock the shelves
  • provide places to create podcasts, videos
  • innovate / implement / dream on!
  • plan for your USERS!
  • 2.0 is all about the SOCIAL...connecting with your users where they are
    • eg. newsletters become blogs
    • eg. subject guides become wikis
    • interactive and fun opacs
    • mashups: combining 2 or more applications
    • microsoft oragmi
  • The only safe ship in a storm is leadership. -- Fae Wattleton
  • Librarian 2.0 survival tips:
    • digital read/write participants
    • learning WITH others (sociality of everything)
    • facilitators...art of convening converstaions online
    • Intercultural Antennae...outside of your default culture
    • tolerence for ambiguity...
      • feel ok with NOT being in control
      • we need to improvise
    • learn tools...plaly more...observe
    • self-awareness
  • Lib2.0 = (books n' stuff + people + radical trust) X participation
  • opacs look too much like electronic card catalogues
  • need to make the library website a place users WANT to explore more
  • we need to do it better
  • explose lib content and service through other orgs (eg. City website**)...via rss feed / blog...web services
  • next gen OPACS / portals...development cycles too slow on vendor side...+ libs move to new software too slowly
  • focus on stratigic, not cool!
  • we need to provide the TARGET (like a fly painted on a urinal!)...make it easy for people to find stuff
  • be IN your end user's social network

CIL'06: Creative Visitbility: Toolbars and Gamenights!

Scott Rice, Univ. of N. Carolina at Greensborough
  • customized firefox toolbar, so that links to full text holdings in the library are provided for google scholar and amazon hits
  • check out thh firefox toolbar tutorial...look at other peep's toolbar code
David "Giz" Womak, Wake Forest University (a small liberal arts univ. in N. Carolina)
  • tons of energy, and fun to listen to!
  • all (6,717) students get Think Pads!...wow!
  • the univ library hosts an "open game night" and a tournament, to get students into the library
  • library provides big screens, projectors, connectors, extension cords etc, (and pizza etc., and trophies!) and the students brought their own games and systems
  • tons of positive publicity for the library
  • posted a survey on zoomerang
  • 100% of students did not mind using their own gaming equipment

CIL'06: Cool Tools Update for Webmasters

  • with Darlene Fichter (U. of Sask.) and Frank Cervone (N.W. Univ.)
  • PHP editor, PHP expert debugger
  • Firefox extensions...lots of fab ones...eg. coloured tabs with X to close on each
  • eyeonsite...monitor another server
  • link popularity checker
  • widgets
    • nifty!
    • like icons, but 2.0!
  • exactmapper lite (free)...automatic site map updater
  • web-based organizers:
  • password keepers:
    • KeePass -- open source
    • Agatra -- web-based
    • Roboform -- $29.95
  • superglu.com
    • several feeds on one page...glue all your blogs together
  • Wink
    • online tutorial application...flash animation for library instruction
  • powerbullet presenter...free
  • file exchange utilities...neat-o
  • Thumbshots
    • liven up web links with thumbnails of front pages of linked sites
  • Tag clouds
  • Map web visitors...neat-o!
  • tinyurl.com




CIL'06: Failing to Innovate: Not an Option with Jill Hurst-Wahl, Hurst Associaties

  • libraries HAVE to compete with the internet and bookstores...we NEED to innovate
  • generations:
    • 1925-1942: Silent
    • 1943-1960: Boomers
    • 1961-1981: GenX
    • 1982-now : Millennials (GenM) (also for MEDIA)
  • all gens have used technology from the previous gen to develop new
  • GenM will outlive us
  • GenM:
    • always connected / hyper connected
    • multi-taskers, info abundance
    • we need to help them through the copyright maze in a way that works for them
    • want to do things on their schedules
    • we have to offer them something that's valuable to them now
  • Five Types of Innovation:
    • product/service (eg. podcasts)
    • process/delivery method (eg. virtual reference)
    • marketing/promotion (product / price)
    • organizational / social (myspace, sattelite libraries, innovating with users: asking what they want to do / use)
    • business model (eg. being everywhere all the time)
  • innovation must be continuous
  • How do we innovate? (the process...neat...I think we could use this irl)
    • idea generation ("ideation" / brainstorming)
    • concept feasibility (what could we do?)
    • capability development (what can we do?)
    • ram up (develop the idea)
    • launch (make it happen)
    • start again!
  • test throughout, ask users
  • it takes time to innovate
  • everone wants to be creative...make space (in real life and online) for people to be creative...content and tools (to write, make videos etc.)
  • be on the "bleeding edge" (where have I heard that before?!)
  • libraries as town squares ONLINE...safe meeting places
  • strategically, we need to think 20 years ahead
  • www.hurstassociates.com (powerpoint will be on Jill's site)
  • connect with GenM online...
    • ask what they like to do
    • tools they need
    • spaces they like (in real life, and virtual)
    • they like gaming (mimic / incorporate games)
    • gaming to bring them in (YEAH TBPL!)



CIL'06: Opening Keynote: Search Engine Report, Chris Sherman, Associate Ed., SearchEngineWatch

  • check out www.searchenginewatch.com
  • check out www.ask.com
  • AskJeeves has evolved into ask...working with Gary Price (a LIBRARIAN...WOW!)...good ready reference tools, natrual language searching, toolbars, fabbo maps and directions (walking and driving)
  • google has become more of a media advertising company than a search engine...Google Mars, Google Moon, Google video
  • MSN also advertising, search, virtual earth, search result clustering (src), onfolio ("bookmarks on steroids"!), streetview -- race cars etc.
  • Yahoo "people mediated" search...tagging, personalization, mindset (slidebar to narrow topic)
  • Google and Books "vcr" myopia factor...publishers freaking out aka movie industry and vcr's
  • google print library = full text of public domain
  • will be adding "Find in a Library" link to OCLC worldcat
  • also concept of "giving" the books to the google brain to learn from
  • The Dark Side of Personalization:
    • convenience vs. confidnetiality
    • over time change your search results based on past searches
    • "trust, but verify"!

CIL'06: overview

  • 2,386 attendees from almost every state, and a whole bunch of countries
  • conference presentations are available online...click on the link on the side over there...
  • I also have a print copy of collected presenations if you would like to borrow
  • this blog is to provide a more in-depth report, further to the quick and dirty one-pager I handed out at Chief's Council on March 27th!
  • It was a really amazing conference, and I am thankfull to TBPL for supporting my participation