Use the Media, Don't Be the Media

I haven't blogged here for awhile, time to do something about that!

Thanks to the lovely Tae, who suggested I blog on the topic of "cybrarians" and then in further discussion said:

I find the library no longer "feels" like a library - every librarian seems to be chained to their computer.

It's a valid point. In our current times of media change, are we forgetting what libraries are truly about? Are we so focused on embracing the fabulous new that we're forgetting the valuable old?

Now you know I'm an IT librarian, and that I'm also a passionate user of new media. Web2.0 and digital media are my career. However this doesn't mean that I feel that it's the ONLY way to obtain information. I recently wrote another blog post elsewhere on why I became a librarian, and that is solely due to a love of books and libraries (and lovely librarians). A love I've never lost.

Information comes to us in a myriad of forms these days. From the age old print media of books, magazines and newspapers, to 20th Century methods like radio and television, through to the new millennia media of the internet. As librarians, I believe it's our job to provide access to this information, raise literacy levels and encourage a love of reading regardless of the media.

Every library user is different. Each library user responds differently to various media. If they respond positively to online information and digital reading, then so be it. The same for print or audio/visual. One is not better than the others. However, that doesn't mean we can't give some encouragement to library users to expand their knowledge and skills to media they are not yet using. One of the great joys of being a librarian is that moment where you open up a whole new world of reading, literacy and information to someone with a good recommendation or a new set of skills.

I do understand the lure of the new, the sexy, the innovative, the gadget, the clever. Oh how I understand, I am an iPhone owner after all. But my hope is that we also know how to keep the tried and true, the reliable, the quality we've developed over time. I don't want to see us throw away great practices and traditional formats simply because something "snazzier" has come along to dazzle us with it's shiny newness.

However, that doesn't mean that we should just turn our backs on anything new, write it off as a fad, or "young people's time wasters" or full of nonsense. Every form of media is simply a tool, and if you know how to use it, indeed learn how to use it if it is new to you, it will allow you use the information contained within.

Basically what I'm getting at is that any time we lock ourselves into a label as librarians, be it traditional, or "cybrarian", we are at the risk of becoming one trick ponies. We're more valuable than that, and once we have our eyes open to the new while practicing the best of the old, we become invaluable.

Why Isn't Social Media Taken Seriously?

As someone who uses social media both professionally and personally, I am often challenged by colleagues and friends who do not on the validity of social media. Regularly I hear "Oh I'm not of the digital generation." or "You must have so much time on your hands, if you've got time to waste on that stuff." People send me links to articles like this one from the BBC News with the suggestion that the technologies and services that I am a champion for are rubbish, or "babble". (Statistics are an interesting thing - if 40% is babble, that implies the other 60% is NOT babble.) Whether it's to either goad me or because they're genuinely curious as to whether it's true, I wonder sometimes whether most people know the magnitude of social media in our world, and how quickly that is growing.

Take a look at this video from Socialnomics:





After watching this, how do you feel about social media? Are you starting to take it seriously yet?


It's hard because the mainstream media are fighting very hard to minimalise social media. Social media is free, and it's users drive it. That is very, very scary to mainstream media like newspapers, magazines and television. People who used to buy a newspaper every day, now receive their news through Twitter, or news blogs and feeds like BoingBoing, Crikey or the Huffington Post. Instead of being told what news is interesting, users are collating their own sources of information, fed directly to them through their computer or mobile phone.


Communications are changing rapidly. When you watch television tonight, take a look at the ads. How many of them mention a website or email address? Think about 5 years ago. How many of them mentioned a website or email address then? Pick up the newspaper and see how many adverts have a website, email address or Twitter account. If you have Facebook, search a few brands or companies and see how many of them have an active presence.

What about when you want a recommendation for a product or service? Where are you most likely to source this information? Are you going to look in the Yellow Pages, a newspaper or magazine, do you Google it or do you ask the people around you? Your colleagues, family and friends.

I believe we're at the cusp of a time of change. Not just in technology, but in our culture. Technology is bringing things to us more immediately, on demand at any time and any place. But the real change is in the social nature that technology is taking. We're asking our peers, family, colleagues to recommend products and services to us more than ever. Some of that is because money is tight these days, and we're also time-poor, and it's quicker and more efficient to ask people we know. Some of it is because we're looking to our communities again after 20 years of moving away from that. In the 80's and 90's we stopped joining communities like church, sporting groups, school interestes etc and moved into smaller social communities. There is a real push these days to broaden those horizons and expand our communities again.

Change can be frightening and intimidating, but I feel that this is an exciting time of opening up our world to a new level of positivity and connection with other people.

How to Help your IT Department Help You

Ever wanted to tear your hair out because you can't get help from IT? Well, take that feeling, times it by ten, and you probably are getting close to how your IT department are feeling on a good day. So I'm going to give you some good clear advice.

1. IT departments, regardless of the level, are always understaffed. Sometimes they can be management heavy, but they are ALWAYS low on the good old worker bees. Often those worker bees aren't paid anywhere near as much as they are worth. But they stay there because they are passionate about it.
2. Remember, you are not the only one having problems with technology. Even if your issue is a specific one, there are at least a dozen other "specific ones" out there. Plus things that are issues across the whole organisation/company. Don't pester your IT staff, and give them a reasonable amount of time to solve your problem. They're good, but they're not magic.
3. If you think you know the answer better than your IT staff, why the hell are you ringing them?
4. Prioritise. Is it on fire? Is it going to shut down your operations completely so that you can't work at all? If the answer is no to any of these, don't panic. Calling IT in a state of panic is only going to cause more stress for everyone. Before you pick up that phone, take a deep breath, remember that the world isn't going to end and you're not going to die, and then think about what you're asking. The statement "It's bloody broken and won't work." is of no use to anyone.
5. Get information. IT is a vast world of information. Help your IT tech by getting as much information for them before you call. Does it have a barcode or serial number? What is the error message? How long has it been a problem? This information helps your IT tech find the proverbial needle in the haystack.
6. Have you checked that it is plugged in? All the cables? Are lights working on it to prove that it is getting electricity? I can't tell you the times I've hauled arse out to a site to look at something, or paid for a very expensive tech to do so, only to find that a plug/cable has come loose. It's embarrassing, but you're the one that should be embarrassed that you didn't check, not the technician!
7. Is there someone there on site that has a bit more knack with technology than you do? Ask them to help. They often have an advantage over a tech that they can see and touch the machine that is the problem, sometimes that advantage can solve an issue quicker than a tech can trying to diagnose blind over the phone. And then, ask them to show you what they did to fix it, so you remember next time.
8. LEARN. Don't just fob a problem off to your IT technician and forget about it. If possible (and it's not always possible), ask them so you know next time how to solve an issue.
9. Remember that most IT techs are multi-taskers. As well as working on your issue, they probably have half a dozen balls in the air that they are juggling. Give them space to focus on what they need to.
10. You want your problem solved? So does your IT tech. Because it's one less that they have to worry about once it's solved. Don't get into the mindset that they aren't doing their best to get it solved because it's not their problem, if it's your problem it's theirs.
11. In most cases, as well as fixing problems with existing technology, a lot of IT techs also have to research, develop, test, implement and maintain new technologies long before you ever get to see them. Sometimes, you will have no idea just how much work your IT staff are doing on top of fixing the issues that you raise with them.
12. Don't be rude to your IT tech. Not only does it not achieve anything, but your IT tech probably knows at least a dozen ways to really mess with your technology if you piss them off.
13. And finally, I am yet to met an IT tech who isn't made very happy by either chocolate or coffee (or both). It's amazing how much service you can get out of a Caramello Koala.

Learning Really is Lifelong

Excellent to see a couple of suggestions for my blog challenge, I'll have a go at those in the very near future.

Today I wanted to share this article with you all.  Meet Ivy Bean, a 104 year old lady from Yorkshire in the UK, who is using both Facebook and Twitter.  I've actually been following Ivy on Twitter for a few weeks now, and she's delightful.  She tweets about her day fairly regularly, and often imparts with a pearl of wisdom that to her, is just how she lives her life.

The reason I bring up Ivy Bean, the 104 social networker, is because along my campaigns to get as many of my colleagues learning new technologies and ways to find/share information, I hear a lot of "Oh it's all for young people." or "I'm not of the digital generation."

Do you think Ivy holds this attitude?  She's twice the age of most of us and so long as someone takes the time to set her up, she is jumping on in with both feet.  And as she does so, she is meeting lovely people all over the world who are enriching her life and are being enriched by her.

I do understand that for those of us between the age of about 30 and 55, computer technology was REALLY fractious and unstable back in the days when it was first hitting the mainstream market.  Personal computers died at a single keystroke (oh how the blue screen of death struck fear in my heart) and we've all cursed and cried over losing massive documents, days worth of work when a computer has failed at a crucial moment.

But those days have passed.  Technology is unbelievably  more robust than it ever was.  It is more user friendly than it has ever been.  There is more information, support, tips and tricks, and help right at our fingertips with a simple Google search.  We have more say in how the technologies we use than ever before.  You only have to look at the user generated changes to Facebook after they changed their format without consulting their users, and the feedback was bad.

There isn't really an excuse of "I'm too old" any more.  We learn our whole lives.  If we don't keep learning, we don't keep living.  And if Ivy can do it at 104, nobody else has an excuse!

Wanna hear my favourite tweet of Ivy's?

"Playing dominoes with my friend Mabel today.  She's a bit blind so I can cheat."

I hope I'm as cool as Ivy when I'm 104!

Challenge Me!

Hello readers! If there are any of you out there still for this blog. I hope so because I am intending to keep it alive.

But I feel the need for a challenge or three. I feel a little stale with my blogging at the moment and would like some energy injected by you, my readers.

I would like you to challenge me to blog about a subject. Now as this particular blog is now devoted to libraries, reading, literacy, technology and things along those lines, the only limit really is that the subject will need to tie into those subjects somehow. It doesn't have to be directly related, but needs to be tied in somewhere.

I will attempt every single subject suggestion that is appropriate!

Leave me a comment with your suggestion.

Two Hundred and Fifty Four!!

I just looked at my blog subscriptions in Bloglines, and I've subscribed to 254 blogs, and that number climbs every day.

Of course, well over 75% of those are library staff blogs. If you're registered in 23 Things with your blog, I'll have subscribed to you, or will soon. Just so you know you've got one reader out there, someone holding your hand so to speak! When I can, I will leave comments on your posts too.

People kind of look horrified at me when I say I read everyone's blogs, like that's all I must do all day. But using Bloglines (or any other RSS tool), I find I can usually spend less than an hour per day catching up on everyone's blogs. That's because of course, not everyone posts every day, so there's only a certain percentage of new material to look at, and also, when people post pictures or videos, they're really quick to peruse. I've got it all down to a bit of a fine art now - I've had to or I'd go bonkers. But tools like Bloglines, or Google Reader using the RSS feed technology has enabled that. It all kind of intertwines eventually.

I've absolutely loved reading my colleagues blogs. So many people tell me their blog is boring, or that they don't know what to say, but I've discovered so much about people. I've discovered that we're full of artists and musicians, folks who've travelled, people with adorable pets, fascinating hobbies, great memories, interesting tastes and often just new perspectives on things. It's been a really steep learning curve on just how diverse and full of knowledge and skill and talent we all are.

Plus it all helps me do what I do... which is help you, my colleagues. That's what I'm passionate about in this whole 23 Things - not the technology itself (though some of it is lots of fun and really cool), but in helping you guys all learn what is happening in our library services and the big wide world, and helping you all find ways that you can streamline your work so that the day is just that little bit smoother. I figure if you save 10 minutes per day, that's time to have a cuppa that you might not have had before, isn't it?

And after the cruddy day I had yesterday, today I had two people who said the NICEST things to me. It really makes a difference when someone just says "Thanks", it makes the times you feel a bit run off your feet or tired or whatever really worth it. So to those people who have made a point of thanking me or complimenting me... I thank YOU. It's the positive, upbeat folks who really give me the warm fuzzies while I'm working on this project.

Visiting the Troops

I know, I know, I haven't blogged properly for some time now. This last week has kind of run away on me a fair bit, I've not sat at my desk for very long. And with a full day of formal training tomorrow, and two library visits on Friday, I'd better get in and blog now before the rest of the week runs away from me.

I'm really enjoying these library visits I'm doing. For many years, getting out to the branches and talking to the troops was something that I just couldn't do. So I kind of felt out of touch, and that I never actually got to talk to people about the realities of library-land. So often I would only hear of issues when they became big, unbearable ones, that I missed out on knowing what those smaller, constant, highly annoying issues were. It's good to meet people I've spoken to on the phone but not met before, and to see some long lost buddies who I used to work with when I was out there in library land.

I also really hope that my visits infect all of the troops with my passion for libraries and what we do in the community. I hope to spread my fascination with new innovations, and also bring some more fun to what we do. Cos I figure if you can't be laughing about the absurdities of life, then it's a pretty sad existance.

Plus it is also really good to get some feedback. To know what bits we get right, and what bits we need to work on. Not to mention that you're all so welcoming, it's lovely to go out there and get a change from sitting at my desk talking to you by email or over the phone.

So thanks folks!

Ok, just so you don't think I'm getting too touchy-feely or serious with you all, here's a video of a dramatic cat...



Which of course pays homage to the dramatic chipmunk:

Serendipity....

It's been awhile since I blogged. I'm getting comments from the peanut gallery that it's been too long, so I figured I'd better devote some time to it today, because the rest of the week is looking a bit scary as far as schedule is concerned.

Hmmm... dunno what I'm going to talk about though. Creativity is hard to muster when one is extremely busy. Thinking....

Oh I know, let's talk about technology and it's role in libraries. Cos that's what this whole 23 Things/Web2.0 malarkey is really all about, isn't it? Expanding our knowledge of technology so we know what is happening in the world around us, and finding the bits that will be of use to us to help us do our jobs more efficiently and effectively.

I went through a patch where I felt like I was out of touch with libraries and that I wasn't contributing to the beautiful, wonderous thing that I've always felt libraries are. When I was a little girl, the library was this wonderful, safe haven where I could always go and be happy. I loved that I could always find something interesting on the shelves, and to me, the people who were in my library were just amazing. I idolised our teacher librarian. In fact, a few years ago I was in line at an author event (it was Michael Palin, if you're curious) and there was a lady in front of me who I was sure I knew. I was talking to friends and she turned and said "Your name is Kathleen isn't it?" and instantly I knew who she was. She was Miss Stubbs, my teacher librarian from my early years in primary school.

I was so thrilled to run into her, and even more thrilled that she remembered me. I told her that SHE was the very reason I worked in libraries today, and that all these years later, I've never forgotten how she would hold the box of new books for me to read first each month, because I'd already read everything else in our little library. I'd never forgotten her telling me about books that she thought I would like, or her reading to me when I turned up at the library at weird hours a bit lost and forlorn. It was really awesome to run into her again and be able to thank her for her influence and inspiration in my early years.

And it was around the time that I ran into her that I began to question if I was in the right place, working in Systems, with a very technology based job, rather than those books and reading and literacy things I loved so much and that formed me in my youth.

But once I got thinking about it, I realised that I don't believe that technology and reading/literacy are mutually exclusive. In fact, I really believe that technology enables us as librarians to do what we do in a much greater capacity than ever before. We can communicate to more people than ever before, in more formats than ever before, and particularly with the whole Web2.0 thing (and you probably all know how I feel about that term, Web2.0) we're able to share and collaborate more than we ever have done.

For me, the beauty of Web2.0 is that I can now know more about people. I don't mean that in a scary, stalker kind of way, but in that I can share things with people and they can share things with me. Knowledge is an awesome thing and I am personally always striving for more of it.

For a long time, technology was this big oogie-boogie thing that only a small percentage of the population could afford, access and understand, and it was quite isolating to be involved in anything technological. It used to be nerdy blokes who talked in this strange language and seemed to look down their nose at the rest of us who didn't have access or understanding of those technologies.

But along came Web2.0, and suddenly grandma's are putting their photographs on Flickr, mum's are blogging about their hobbies, sports fans are making videos to whack on YouTube, 50 year school reunions are being organised on Facebook and so forth, and we're all reading and viewing all this stuff. To "Google it" is now part of our every day language. And people like me, who are definitely not ever going to know the nitty gritty of technology (good gravy, I can't think of anything more boring than codes and stuff!) are able to do these things simply and almost always for free. We don't even need the "For Dummies" books any more because we can just Google information that we want. Who'd have thought?

And in relation to literacy and reading, I've found the internet constantly draws me back to books. Be it through the applications on Facebook for discussing books, videos on YouTube of author talks and even previews of movies that are based on books, social databases like LibraryThing, Shelfari and Good Reads, even podcasts of radio programmes about books and authors.

In the same sense that it draws me back to books, I do believe it draws people who might not be big readers to books and to reading in general. People who never pick up a book may be reading this blog right now. And reading is reading, no matter what the format. Perhaps reading a blog about books will be the catalyst to someone who might not otherwise pick up a book, to do so. Or maybe seeing something about the local library on Facebook or Flickr may be the thing that gets the person walking through the door next time?

I guess the real skill lies in working through the huge oceans of stuff out there and picking out what are actually useful tools out of all the fads and buzz sites. And one of the ways to do that I feel is to actually talk about this stuff. To try it out, to learn about it and to share ideas and experiences. So that's where that whole collaborative thing that goes with Web2.0 comes in, isn't it?

I'd love to hear what other people think about technology and it's place in libraries, reading and literature. Leave me a comment, or better still, blog about it and show me your blog! Let's collaborate hey?

I'll leave you with a little video interview with a guy whom I find fascinating, Michael Stephens. His blog Tame the Web is one that I subscribe to and read regularly, and it always gets my mind ticking over about what we do, and why we do it, in libraries.

Why I Love Mythbusters

Watch this video:



Need I say more?

Feeding Frenzy

RSS feeds. I've been using them for ages at home, but I actually had no idea what RSS actually stood for until quite recently. Real Simple Syndication. Makes sense to me, it is real simple!

I'm using Bloglines for here at work because we have an older version of Internet Explorer on our staff PC's that doesn't have the RSS button enabled on it, but at home I use Internet Explorer to do it. I just click that button and it saves them in my favourites, and when there is a new post to read, it bolds them in the list in the favourites.

But Bloglines seems to work quite effectively for a work environment. I've been tinkering around creating folders so that I can have all of the blogs written by my dear colleagues together, other library interest blogs in a folder, a folder for museums and art galleries and photography sites, a folder for fun stuff and so on. It's a little cluttered looking but I seem to be able to navigate around it ok.

I'm looking forward to when we get the blog links in the 23 Things page up and running, so that everyone can see all of the blogs submitted there. We have had a few little technical glitches along the way, which has meant that they're not all visible yet, but as they are put up, they will go on the BCCLS blog so that everyone can see them until we get the glitches ironed out.

But back to the subject of RSS feeds, I can see a lot of applications for them for both internal use and externally to customers. Already customers can RSS feed things from eLibCat like the What's New lists, What's On, info about One Book Many Brisbanes, things like that. But we could also have blogs for libraries RSS feeding news about events and promotions out to our customers.

Internally, we could have our wiki up and running and if you are working on a certain task, like magazines or AV Incomplete, you could RSS to those pages, and receive notice of any updates on those topics, rather than all 400 of our staff getting an email about it when we don't need to know.

I don't really read straight up library blogs myself, as mostly they're about stuff going on at the actual libraries. But there are some interesting industry ones I like to read. Here's a bit of a list:

Michael Stephens' Tame the Web (lots of Web2.0 information and inspiration)
The Annoyed Librarian - a bit whingey and sour grapey... but raises some valid points.
Librarian Idol
Jenelle.net

There are lots of others, but I can't remember them off the top of my head, I'll share them later.