in forming thoughts » general

things i didn’t learn in library skül

amy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:52:14 +0000

i’m currently taking a course to familiarize myself with copyright since so much of my day involves depositing work in the IR, digitizing & printing rare texts, and publishing scholarly journals.

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testing from iphone

amy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:46:40 +0000

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larry lessig and copyright

amy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:13:52 +0000

given that my new gig at mcgill revolves around scholarly communication, copyright is something i deal with on a daily basis.
for the record, i believe:

copyright is important and artists should have their works protected so they can make a living
[speaking as a scholarly communication chica] university presses help authors make the best of their work, through peer-review, copy-editing, and layout (check out MQUP’s books – attractive scholarly texts? NOT kookytalk!)
copyright law in canada (and the u.s. since i hear about that regularly as well) is in need of a kick-inna-pants because it is no longer protecting culture but inhibiting it
a lot of scholarly presses are burrowing their heads in the sand in lieu of evaluating their business models

larry lessig (he of creative commons) gave a talk at educause this year, and not only is it one of his best talks, but it looks at the issue of copyright in an academic milieu – something which (i agree) needs re-evaluation.

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UofT LIS students make my day

amy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:16:22 +0000

i love dares. doing scary things (hello battledecks…) is fun.
University of Toronto library students seem to like dares as well – and have taken it to the next level by publicly documenting their dare in order to raise money to fight AIDS in Africa.
the dare? take photos of strangers holding a honkin’ huge “i <3 librarians” sign. the flickr stream is filled with great pix.
guerilla marketing for a good cause.

(thanks Aaron for posting about this!)

update: these photos would be extra awesome if they were licensed under Creative Commons (hint! hint!)

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off to Monterey!

amy — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:51:30 +0000

heading to Monterey today to attend Internet Librarian. not only do i get to catch up with my friends, but i get to hear about all the awesome ways libraryland is taking advantage of the web to better meet the needs of library uses.
tomorrow is the first ever LibraryCamp at IL and i’m really looking forward to facilitating that with Jenica Rogers.
i’m also giving a talk on cloud computing with Kendra K Levine and Laura Harris.
finally, i am participating in BattleDecks on tuesday night with folks who are wicked fun.
this is gonna rock.

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website redesign and users (OMG! not the user!)

amy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:32:55 +0000

cc licensed flickr photo shared by ntr23

so at least two of us in the collective have recently gone live with new library websites (probably more, ’tis the time of year). as i was dealing with the fallout from this (and yes, i know, there will always be fallout – some of da peeples will never be happy, not never) i started wondering about the whole process of redesigning library websites.

what are we trying to accomplish with these redesigns? the answer is usually “to make things easier to find for our users”. but this is where it gets all kinds of sticky. libraries have _so_many_ different user groups. in my own library we have:

undergraduates
graduate students
researchers
professors
librarians (both chez nous and at other institutions)
continuing education students
students who speak neither English nor French
citizens of the city & province
and, oh ya, ANYONE WHO FINDS US THROUGH THE GOOGLEMACHINE!

what does this mean for library site design?
how many groups do we need to consult prior to making a big change?
do we then weight the opinions of certain groups more than others?
when doing the redesign, should we do it in-house, or outsource it to a company that can make it sleeker than your average web services librarian has time for?
should we be designing for the 800×600 IE6 group of folks out there, or should we use the redesign of the library site to teach them that the minimum standards have changed, and they should join us, the friendly library, in this new (upgraded) online world?
where’s the line between accessibility and ease of use? is there one? is it possible to have a site that meets accessibility standards, is mobile-ready, and isn’t nine kinds of fug?

so, who wants to take a stab at answering some of these questions?

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LFPL, LSW, and free libpunk stuff!

amy — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:20:13 +0000

this past tuesday Louisville Free Public Library was hit by a flash flood. the estimates on the damage are still being tallied, but let’s just say it’s going to take more than a few bake sales to recoup their losses.
the wonderful steve lawson came up with the idea to have the LSW raise 5000$ by Sept 1 to send to the LFPL. for details on how to donate, visit steve’s post. [and for the record - steve is hella trustworthy.]
following in the lovely abigail’s steps, i’ve decided to have a giveaway too. all those that make a donation to the LSW fund, and then shoot me an email to let me know they have done so, will be put in raffle for one item of their choosing from the libpunk store.
i should also note that this is the library where greg schwartz works. if you listened to uncontrolled vocabulary (which you should have – go listen to the archives now!) then consider a donation to LFPL as your way of thanking greg for his awesomeness.

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hello SLA2009!

amy — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:53:47 +0000

i’m in town for the SLA Centennial Conference. i love the SLA conferences – it’s always wild to meet librarians who work in “non-traditional” gigs. this year i’m on the boards of two divisions – IT and Academic – so i’ll be getting my first glimpse at the inner machinations of things.

more soon!

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my sked at SLA

amy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:34:58 +0000

i’m off to the SLA Centennial Conference in a few days and want to be sure to meet up with folks, so thought i’d post my sked
Saturday, June 13

13:00 – help setup SLA Marketplace
17:30 – IT Division Board of Directors meeting
19:30 – dinner with the IT Board
21:00 – Biz & Finance Open House

Sunday, June 14

9:00-13:00 – working in the press centre (if you’re a blogger, get yourself a blogger ribbon and come visit!)
13:00 – Academic Division Board of Directors meeting
17:30 – LSW meetup at RFD (810 Seventh St NW)
21:00 – IT Division Mystery Night

Monday, June 15

9:00-13:00 – press centre
13:30 – SLA Unconference Session #2 (TWEET-UP!)
15:00-17:00 – press centre
17:30 – Canadialand reception
21:00 – IT Division Sci Fi Nigh

Tuesday, June 16

9:30 – SLA Unconference Session (Academic Roundtable)
11:30 – IT Division Business Meeting
13:30 – Academic Division Business Meeting
15:00 – press centre
21:00 – IT, L&M, PAM Embassy Ball

Wednesday, June 17

8:30 – moderating Mashups: Future of Changing Content (Nicole Engard)
10:00-13:00 – press centre
14:30-17:00 – SLA 2010 Kickoff
evening: exploring DC

Thursday, June 18

exploring DC (mebbe some museums n’other cultural funthings) until my mid-afternoon flight home

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lady laptops

amy — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:00:25 +0000

i’m not sure how i feel about dell’s foray into lady laptops – Della.

i mean, i really like pretty things, and i am always attached to an internet-enabled device, so i am not averse to lappys that come in something other than ibm-black or apple-silver. (and yes, the Vivienne Tam HP Mini would make me giddy.)

i think what really got to me were the photos on the site.

exhibit a

who doesn’t bring their lappy to the beach? with their BFFs?
and make sure their lappy matches their sarong.
also, vacation FAIL.

exhibit b

oh puhleese, there’s no way you’re getting a wifi connection out there.

so women with laptops are all havin’ fun with their sistahs or communing with nature.
got it, i think.
wait, huh?

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