Resource Descriptions Abby the Librarian A Free Web & Mobile App for Reading Comfortably — Readability What Does the Next-Generation School Library Look Like? At a time when public libraries are starting to offer everything from community gardening plots to opportunities to check out humans for conversations, some school libraries are similarly re-evaluating their roles and expanding their offerings. Case in point: Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. When librarian Joan Ackroyd arrived there four years ago, she found an environment very different from the “engaging, creative, fun” elementary and middle school libraries to which she was accustomed. “Its library was none of those things,” she recalls. “It was a traditional, quiet research space.” Ackroyd decided this wasn’t optimal. As her first step, she and her co-librarian at the time (music teacher Dave Glover), converted a storeroom into a technology lab. Teachers balked because the library was no longer quiet, but students liked it, and many at-risk students became frequent visitors. “Students work more productively in that kind of environment,” Ackroyd says.
Is there a library-sized hole in the internet? 23 February 2015 inShare123 David Weinberger is senior researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and has been instrumental in the development of ideas about the impact of the web. Shortly before his recent keynote presentation at OCLC’s EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Florence, he spoke with Sarah Bartlett about the library-sized hole in the Internet and how a ‘library graph’ might help librarians to fill it. You rose to prominence as an internet thought leader, with pioneering texts such as The Cluetrain Manifesto and Everything is Miscellaneous. What led you into the world of libraries? In Everything is Miscellaneous I explored the way the Internet is redefining our ideas about how we organise things and ideas, and the move from physical to digital and networked library resources is a prime example of that. Besides format changes, what is the most significant impact of the web on libraries today? Could libraries have done anything differently? Yes. OCLCSarah Bartlett
7 surprises about libraries in our surveys The Pew Research Center’s studies about libraries and where they fit in the lives of their communities and patrons have uncovered some surprising facts about what Americans think of libraries and the way they use them. As librarians around the world are gathered in Las Vegas for the American Library Association’s annual conference, here are findings that stand out from our research, our typology of public library engagement and the quiz we just released that people can take to see where they compare with our national survey findings: What kind of library user are you? Each time we ask about library use, we find that those ages 65 and older are less likely to have visited a library in the past 12 months than those under that age. Equally as interesting is the fact that younger Americans (those ages 16-29) are just as likely to be library users as those who are older. 2Although 10% of Americans have never used a library, they think libraries are good for their communities.
Research Information - The essential link between publishers, librarians and researchers Library 2.0 - the future of libraries in the digital age Top 5 problems with library websites – a review of recent usability studies What are the most common UX problems with academic library websites and library tools? I looked at 16 studies conducted over the past two years, and here is what I learned: What does that mean? Library jargon This was by far the most cited problem: 10 out of 16 studies reported library jargon. Catalog or discovery tool: “catalog,” “COPAC,” “LINK+,” “Engine Orange”Fulfillment: “Find It @ UIC”, “360Link”, “Get it,” “location”Journal and database terminology: “Databases,” “Periodical,” “Serial”Research links: “Research guides,” “Reference Sources,” “E-shelf,” “Collections”Locations: “Course reserves,” “Reference” What am I searching? In 7 of the studies, users did not understand what was included in search tools. Where am I? 6 studies found usability problems when users were transferred to external sites. What is it? 5 studies found that students had difficulty understanding the relationship between “articles” and “journals” [11]. How do I get it? And one bonus problem: Where is it? Notes
Five-Minute Film Festival: Reimagining the Library April 2015 marks the 30th anniversary of School Library Month. As our libraries evolve in the age of digital information, they need our help more than ever to stay well-funded and supported so they can grow in their critical role as advocates of technology and information literacy. Should they become learning commons, gathering places for trading information, technology hotspots, makerspaces, or all of the above? The possibilities are wide open, as you'll see in this playlist of videos about the future of libraries. Video Playlist: Reimagining the Library Watch the player below to see the whole playlist, or view it on YouTube. School Libraries Matter: The Changing Role of the School Librarian (04:42) A nice snapshot of how the library landscape is changing, from book vault to vibrant school learning hub and tech lab, and why librarians are at the heart of that. More Resources on the Future of Libraries
Writing in Libraries: Processes and Pathways to Inquiry and Learning Earlier this year, I wrote about the possibilities for libraries that embrace writing as the literacy of the masses and how libraries might function as more powerful sponsors of literacy if they were to be more inclusive of writing literacies. During the last year, my colleague Jennifer Lund and I have been collaborating with our faculty at Norcross High to explore the use of written conversation strategies with students as a starting point for inquiry and participatory learning. Inspired by a December 2013 Harvey Daniels workshop sponsored by our school district on written conversation strategies, Jennifer and I have explored the use of these strategies across different content areas with a variety of texts, teen learners, and adult learners. One strategy in particular, the "write around text on text," has yielded powerful results with our students. The texts may be teacher selected, student selected, or some combination of the above. Feedback we have received from students includes:
Transforming the Library Profession Technological advancements are driving an increasingly interconnected global landscape, which contributes to rapid political, economic, social, and environmental change. Faster communication systems and enhanced access to information bind countries, economies, and businesses in far more complex ways than we have ever conceived. This interdependence on a global scale makes risks such as rising socioeconomic inequality particularly pernicious because of the inherent instability of weak economies and social fragility. The good news for libraries is that investment in drivers of inclusive growth—public services such as schools, libraries, and telecommunications infrastructure—represents a critically important risk mitigation strategy. In order to be effective in this evolving global landscape, library organizations must be nimble, creative, and customer-focused, and—above all—must embrace learning. Engage customers Today’s library professionals are the “genius bar” for everyday users.
10 things classroom teachers need to know about modern school librarians | Trust me, I'm a librarian 1) We hate quiet. Oh, sure, the typical view of a librarian is an older woman, in a cardigan and cat-eye glasses, with a tight bun, shushing everyone who dares to make a sound. That may have been the case a long time ago, and may still be the case with some dinosaur librarians (they still exist, sorry!), but generally, librarians don’t like quiet. This isn’t to say we don’t appreciate students working alone or a student reading alone, but the library is a common place where everyone can work together and communicate. 2) We love collaboration. We love to see students collaborating, but we also love to collaborate with you, our classroom teachers! 3) We are technology people at heart. The printed page may die at some point (most of us hope it won’t). If you have a new Web 2.0 tool that you want to try, ask us. 4) We don’t read all day. We wish we did. 5) We don’t know everything. Sadly true. 6) We’re all passionate about something. 7) We network like crazy. 9) We protect patron privacy.
Trust me, I'm a librarian | Trust me, I'm a librarian