Over the past week or so, I have been working on my research paper, which is about how libraries are changing their physical space to accommodate Library 2.0.  As with all papers I write, this got me thinking about my library, and how I can incorporate what I’ve learned into real-life situations.

It is absolutely amazing, but everything I’ve learned in LIS 768 can be introduced to my small-town library.  Nothing seems too far-fetched or unattainable, even when it comes to the different technology tools.  If something is too expensive, there are always other options that cost little or no money.  Since the beginning of this class, I’ve been inspired to take my library to the next step and really introduce it to the 2.0 world.  In the last few weeks, we’ve created a staff blog, a Facebook page (still in the creation process, but keep checking and become a fan of the Shorewood-Troy Public Library!), created “Read” posters of all staff and board members, and I’ve even volunteered to teach computer classes on beginning blogging and social networking for adults.

The blogging was by far the best part of the class, as I had never done it before.  I love the fact that I create my own content and it is immediately available for the world to see.  I am already dreaming of all the different blogs I can make, such as a personal blog, a travel blog, an engagement/wedding blog, blogs amongst my friends…. the possibilities are endless!

Thank you for such an inspiring class, Michael!  And thank you to my fellow classmates for all of their amazing ideas and stories.  This is one class that I will always remember and utilize its tools whenever I get the opportunity.

Here is the code to import a search bar for your blog.  You will need to use the “HTML/Java Script” gadget in Blogger– not sure what the widget is in WordPress, but I’m sure there’s a way to do it.  Then, simply enter the following HTML code:

<p align=”left”>
<form id=”searchthis” action=”http://yourblogurlhere.blogspot.com/search <http://yourblogurlhere.blogspot.com/search> ” style=”display:inline;” method=”get”>
<input id=”b-query” maxlength=”255″ name=”q” size=”17″ type=”text”/>
<input id=”b-searchbtn” value=”Search” type=”submit”/>
</form></p>

Next, make sure to insert the URL for your blog where I have “http://yourblogurlhere.blogspot.com/search <http://yourblogurlhere.blogspot.com/search> .”

I would have to agree with my groupmate Sarah.  When group projects are announced, my first instinct is to run screaming in the opposite direction.  It isn’t because I hate working with others– quite the contrary.  My two main reasons for disliking group projects:  1)Due to Dominican’s diverse student population, my groupmates usually end up being from the four corners of the globe- specifically, the west side, south side, north side, and downtown Chicago and 2) As a grad student juggling a full-course load, job, and attempting a social life, I rarely have time to meet outside of class, especially if the meeting place is one of the corners of Chicagoland I am nowhere near.

So obviously for me, this group project was a breath of fresh air.  As another groupmate said, we completed this project without one single phone call.  Or additional face-to-face meetings.  E-mail and GoogleDocs was a huge part of our communication, but we also used Twitter and the occasional blog entry to keep on track and announce our project’s presence.  I really liked using social networking tools for our project– it’s amazing to think of the possibilities for businesses when incorporating social networking tools for communication.

We created a book review site for our group project.  Our group all had the same initial vision, so it was easy to get excited about the project.  We decided that we would each contribute as many reviews as possible and also be responsible for specific widgets and their utilization.  We decided that we really wanted to incorporate a search bar for our blog, so I reached out and e-mailed an area librarian who had a similar widget on her library’s blog.  I also compiled a list of similar blogs to share on our sidebar for teens looking for more reviewable materials and wrote a lot of reviews.

Our site took a lot of planning and work, but I’m extremely proud of the finished project.  I love how it can be incorporated into any library.  Thanks for a great experience!

Library 2.0 is all about user-participation and services.  While we have been discussing that technology has a major role in this movement, I’d like to concentrate on things that are not all technology driven, but are changing our libraries, needless to say.

In 2007, there was a lot of press revolving around a library that stepped away from the norm and embraced possibilities.  I’m talking about the Maricopa County library system in Arizona, that no longer shelves their books according to Dewey.  The amazing thing about this library’s movement away from Dewey isn’t that all the librarians agreed to do this; no, what I find amazing is that the librarians listened to their users– it was their community that wanted to make the change.  Marshall Shore, the adult services coordinator at the library took the time to ask users what they desired in their public library and found out they wanted a library they could browse and explore with books available in broad subject areas (“The Man Who Said to to Dewey” 2008).

Books are now classified with BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) codes, which are also used in most bookstores.  BISAC codes are designed to make it easier for patrons to browse for books, due to its simple language and subcategories (Schneider 2007).  Patrons of Maricopa have welcomed this change that they had a voice in creating.  Within a month of implementing the new system, circulation statistics had increased over 800 percent (LaVallee 2007).

Since the “Maricota movement”, other libraries have begun to consider and even make the change to a dewey-free classification system.  Locally, Frankfort Public Library in Cook County is in the process of making the change.  According to their blog, Frankfort values the following mission:

There has been such a boom in technology in recent years, many have been hard pressed to keep up.  However, libraries have met this challenge with open arms, offering wonderful services such as downloadable audio books, gaming, and online reference help.  However, technology has a repercussion that may become evident to the library– it is keeping patrons away.

For most of the history of libraries, libraries have been viewed as a physical space that users go to to find the materials and information they are looking for.  In recent years, however, with the wide-spread availability of the Internet and other new ways of gathering information, it is no longer necessary for patrons to leave the comfort of their homes.

So what is going to happen to the physical library?  Nothing drastic will happen overnight, but there does need to be a conscious effort to redesign the physical space to make it more useful to the new generations of information seekers.  Seth Godin stated that “businesses die because they forget to embrace their tribe” (Godin 92).  This is exactly the same for libraries.  What are libraries doing to fit their tribe’s needs?  Are they listening to what they want?  Are they making services easier to learn or access?

Libraries ought to be run more like businesses (King 2007).  That’s not saying they should be made for-profit, but it should be remembered that we are in the business of offering services that patrons want.  Whether that is a coffee shop, book vending machines, a Dewy-less classification system, or an interactive reference desk, we need to find out what drives our patrons.  And that in turn will drive the library to new heights.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Monitoring Chicago Public Library comments on Twitter….

I was surprised about how much CPL is mentioned on Twitter.  In the month that I monitored the library, they were mentioned at least once a day– most often several times a day, in fact.  Twitter is a major social tool for millions of people, so what a person posts on Twitter will be read and possibly spread to others.

I noticed several different kinds of tweets when following comments on the CPL.  First of, some of it struck me as free advertising for the library.  I’m talking about people who mentioned some kind of service the library offers– this is a great benefit to the library.
Some examples of word-of-mouth advertising:”
-”Looking for audio books to download courtesy of the CPL to my MP3 player…”
-”I just got a CPL card.  There’s a branch around the corner from me. Perfect!”
-”If Blockbuster goes under, I’ll feel a bit guilty since I get my movies from the CPL.”
-”Liking the new CPL ads on the bus…”
-”…I get full-text PDF access to Consumer Reports articles!  For free!”
-”The CPL is advertising on Facebook.”
-…”I dig the CPL’s “not what you think” campaign!”

However, also noticeable in tweets is bad advertising.  These are the negative comments people post– and believe me, they are just as read.  Remember the old saying, “if something good happens to you, you tell three people.  But if something bad happens to you, you tell ten people”?   Well, Twitter is no exception.  Except in this situation, you are probably telling a lot more people than ten…

Some examples of negative Tweets:
-”I owe the CPL $54.75 in late fees for the book “marie antoinette” that i took out 3 years ago.  hilarious.”
-”Man the CPL is picky about picture taking.  I’ve taken pictures all over the city, but this place about kicked me out.”
-”The DMV is faster than the CPL website.”
-The CPL sucks.  Old books, a pitiful music collection, VHS.”

My topic is how libraries are changing their physical space to accommodate their “tribes.”  I have several ideas of what I want to write about, including:
-Going Dewey-less
-The changing reference desk
-Installation of coffee shops and other food stuffs
-Becoming cell-phone friendly (via special rooms)
-Libraries offering book vending machines
-”Cool” names of public space

Sources I am consulting:

Casey, Michael E. and Laura C. Savastinuk.  Library 2.0: a Guide to Participatory Library Service.  Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc., 2007.

Buckland, Michael K.  Redesigning Library Services: a Manifesto.  Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE. 1997.  Accessed January  30, 2009.  http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Library/Redesigning/

“Freeing Dewey.” Weblog entry.  Frankfort Public Library.  2008.  Accessed March 1, 2009. http://deweyfree.com/

Toivonen, Leena and Maarit Laskujarvi. Changing Physical Library Space: Planning and Design of New Academic Library. 11th Earopean Conference of Medical and Health Libraries.  Helsinki, Finland. June 23, 2008.

King, David Lee. “The Physical Library in the 21st Century?” Weblog Entry.  David Lee King.  Posted December 29, 2007.  Accessed March 4, 2009. http://www.davidleeking.com/2007/12/29/the-physical-library-in-the-21st-century/

Schneider, Karen G.  “Raising Arizona.”  Weblog Entry.  ALA TechSource. Posted July 23, 2007. Accessed February 21, 2009. http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2007/07/raising-arizona.html

Kenney, Brian. “Desert Storm.” School Library Journal 53.8 (August 2007): 9.  Academic Search Premier.  Dominican University.  Accessed March 3, 2009.

“Libraries With Coffee Shops.  Wiki Entry.  American Library Association.  Accessed February 21, 2009. http://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php/Libraries_with_Coffee_Shops

Blyberg, J. “11 Reasons Why Library 2.0 Exists and Matters.” Weblog Entry. blyberg.net.  Posted January 9, 2006. Accessed January 20, 2009. http://www.blyberg.net/?s=11+reasons+why+library+2.0+exists+and+matters

Hamilton, Fiona. “Public Libraries Open Way for Drinks, Snacks, and Mobiles. Times Online. September 19, 2008.  Accessed January 20, 2009.  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article4783690.ece

Loertscher, David.  “Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution.”  School Library Journal Online. November 1, 2008.  Accessed January 20, 2009.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6610496.html

Social networking entered my life in December of 2004, about seven months after I graduated from college. I still remember the day, because I was sitting in a restaurant eating breakfast with a long-lost friend (by long-lost, I mean I hadn’t seen her since college) when she asked if I was on Facebook. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. However, as she explained it to me, I grew excited at the idea of reconnecting with friends and seeing what was new with everyone. I envisioned Facebook to be like a sort of online yearbook.

I loved Facebook, because I am a generally nosy person and it is great to see what everyone is up to. Plus, even though some don’t like how easy it is to accumulate friends (i.e. people you never once talked to in high school want to be your friend), I liked being able to see my number grow. When I first joined Facebook, only specific colleges were available to search, but as the sight grew, I was able to find study-abroad friends overseas, colleagues, and even relatives.

I figured if Facebook was so easy, I would join MySpace too. However, I thought MySpace was too overwhelming. There were just so many applications, it made a novice like me very uncomfortable. Facebook has begun to do this as well, although since I am familiar with the site, I can easily maneuver around without adding applications I do not understand.

I still like Facebook, but the magic is starting to wear off a little bit now. I’ve become more involved on specific interest networking sites, like LinkedIn and GoodReads. I love being able to share my resume or books I’ve read with actual close friends or colleagues!