double negative

     Everything is usually backwards in a reflection but I’ll try not to let that happen here. I came in to the first class a little nervous because I was sure the whole class would be far ahead of me in knowing blogging and social networking sites. By the second day my nervousness vanished because the course subjects were so interesting and because of Michael’s enthusiasm and  relentless positive support.

     This course is in my favorite top three out of eleven GSLIS courses. Exploring Twitter and discussing all the possibilities of Ning and blogs and widgets and mash ups and many other tools I had never heard of before this class made me see the library and librarianship has many exciting possibilities that never existed until a decade ago. Some people are still are blind to the fact that today’s technology can be used to let every individual contribute content to the library.

    The class was fun because everybody else in the class was also caught up in the concepts and tools of Library 2.0 and Michael’s enthusiasm. He hooked us  before the first break. By then, it was obvious the whole class was eager to think about and discuss how blogs, Twitter, Ning Facebook, and all the other 2 way channels can enlarge everyone’s idea of what the library is and can be. The group project worried me but everything fell into place. Our group worked great together and the presentation turned about to be something we could be proud of. The course structure was logical; making it easy to study Library 2.0 one facet at a time.  

    I guess this is like any other reflection. I came in nervous and unaware and then everything got turned around backwards and I came out confident I could use and learn more about all the software tools that fire up the imagination about the library’s future. I learned enough to get a little courage to continue to experiment. I came in knowing only one other person and I left wanting to know everyone better and with the means to do so.

     Thanks Michael for a great class done with class. – Bill

    Emily, Jessica and I emailed back and forth to share and critique ideas. Emily had the brainstorm to survey librarians about different aspects of personalizing the library and we all worked on the introduction to the survey, the survey questions, and placing the survey.   Michael helped us fine tune the questions as well as advertise and place the survey on the Web.

    The number, speed, length and depth of the responses were amazing, as we had over 90 responses to our ten questions. We were very pleased by this because it gave us a lot of data to work with about librarians’ feelings, perspectives, and ideas on library personalization. The number of responses gave our conclusions about librarians’ attitudes more credibility and usefulness. We all agreed Emily and Jessica would analyze and present the survey responses to Michael and the class. I had stumbled onto a few things on the Web and I focused on those for my share of the presentation.

     At first I was worried about finding specific tools to show the class about personalizing the library. But luckily I discovered the LibGuide website and I was very intrigued with the power of their widgets and hosting tools to let the library reach out into the world. The widgets are great working advertisement for the library; the only advertisements I know that give the viewer something really useful for free.  The Dominican librarian Caroline Sietmann was very helpful in explaining some points about LibGuide and in helping me post the html code for a widget to my website.

     The LibGuide widgets led me to publishers’ widgets and these are also free. Anyone can place these widgets on their blogs, twitters, and websites like the LibGuide widgets. Through these little windows you can watch and listen to  authors read one of their books or read novels online. Books and authors come to you they’re at your website waiting for you. This is just the beginning of tremendous mountains and tsunamis of content coming at us that we can surf.

    The publishers’ widgets led to another business idea, TV 2.0. Libraries can partner up with companies like ZillionTV, which is creating a huge pipeline for all types of content such as TV shows, Hollywood, and independent films and online university classes that will flow to people through their TVs if they choose to click away from pro wrestling. Daniel Pink in,  A Whole New Mind discussed the power of story to attract people and that inspired me to search for Storytelling 2.0.  

     Storytelling 2.0 is using all kinds of web 2.0 platforms to change our idea of what a story is and how it can be told. The library can use people’s natural storytelling ability and love of stories to add content to their sites as well as enrich the existing content of their collections using stories to connect the elements of the collection.

     Collection Development 2.0 and new ways to change the look of the online catalog to attract users is also catching on in libraries.

    Human history stalled for thousands of years in Life 1.0 but now it’s Life 2.0 and Government 2.0 which are both about the increasing freedom of people to affect the society around them. The mass of mankind is no longer mute and anonymous and powerless. The old 1960’s phrase ‘Power to the People’ has a new meaning and Library 2.0 is a part of this and it’s not going away.  People expect more and power to control the ocean of information, images, music, and knowledge around them. The library must respond to that expectation or become a marginalized institution.

    Thanks Michael for a class that was exciting, challenging, and opened my eyes and imagination to the possibilities of social networking software for the library and librarian, the businessman, and the writer.  It was very satisfying working with Jess and Emily to produce a good presentation. – Bill

     I didn’t find anything interesting on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr about the Newberry Library but the Blog Search Engine returned some interesting entries on the library. Some blogs focused on the Newberry as a place of suspense and romance because it is a major setting in the popular novel, ‘The Time Travelers’ Wife.’ When these bloggers visited the library, they saw it through the novelist’s imagination. The library was a little larger than life because it was part of a story they liked.

     Other blogs extolled the professionalism, passion, and knowledge of the library staff that made a library visit memorable. Not every library is a research library or has the unique collections of the Newberry but according to the blogs, the Newberry staff maximizes the value of their collections making them very accessible to users. Other bloggers had interned at the library or used its collection for research and years later still had happy satisfied memories of the experience that furthered their careers.  

    The Newberry draws many people to its vast array of classes and seminars on Beat Literature, graphic novels, poetry, American history (Lincoln saved his ideas, written on scraps paper, in his top hat. Think about that the next time you see a photograph of him wearing a top hat), and cartography. Twice a year book fairs draw thousands through its doors leaving with bags of full of many happy hours of reading. The Newberry also offers tremendous genealogical resources luring hundreds of amateur detectives looking to expand the knowledge of their family trees.

   The blogs say in dozens of different jig saw puzzle pieces that the Newberry plays an important part of their intellectual pursuit to understand their personal past and the nation’s history and culture.  – Bill

     Most of us like a good story… maybe all of us do. Why?

Libraries hold a lot of good stories and books, many of them unread, which is what Library 2.0 is partly about, getting those books and other resources read, by making the library an integral part of people’s lives, a place they contribute to and contributes to them. What does the art of storytelling have to do with Library 2.0?  If you can answer one if these two questions you will answer the other one. These subjects are discussed in Daniel Pink’s book, ‘A Whole New Mind’. I will do my best to explain in my words the implications of one of his ideas.

    His contention is, story telling and enjoying a story is hardwired into our brains.  We continually plug our lives into an ongoing story we are composing about ourselves. Through a story characters have meaning and purpose, things happen for a reason, for better or worse, and at the end all things make sense and have significance. In a good story (The Midnight Cowboy) a loser (Ratso) can make us feel for him. Interestingly, we remember things better when they are part of a story.  In a story, we feel for the characters, we are caught up in their conflicts, losses and triumphs. We are engaged in their lives sometimes even more so than our own lives.

    We live in an exciting time for storytelling because storytelling is evolving. Articles are written about Storytelling 2.0.  Stories are told by linking blogs, Flickr, wikis, tweets, and videos For a great article on Storytelling 2.0.

     Libraries can use this human desire to hear and become engaged in stories by marketing or representing the library as part of a story. The library could be comic relief in someone’s life or a place that helped them launch a business, get a job, or escape loneliness. Insight, epiphany, romance, serendipity, and adventure can be happening in the library and that’s the heart of a story. – Bill

Here is a brief review of the articles I may be using for my paper examining   the implications and uses of Daniel Pink’s insights, themes, and conclusions in A Whole New Mind for library 2.0.

 Review of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.Preview By: McDaniel, Thomas R.; Pink, Daniel H.. Clearing House, Jan/Feb2008, Vol. 81 Issue 3, p141-142, 2p; (AN 29346387)

What specific skills should students have when they leave high school to enter higher education or the work force?Preview By: Carey, Kevin; Rothstein, Richard; Pink, Daniel; Wise, Bob; Ravitch, Diane; Easley, Mike; Botstein, Leon; Meier, Deborah; Cross, Christopher; Longo, Gene. American School Board Journal, Sep2007, Vol. 194 Issue 9, p21-21, 1p; (AN 26215145)

How well are schools preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace challenges?Preview By: Kay, Ken; Pink, Daniel; Rothstein, Richard; Ravitch, Diane; Cohen, Mike; Wise, Bob; Brock, William; Botstein, Leon; Toch, Tom; Wilson, John; Spence, Dave. American School Board Journal, Sep2007, Vol. 194 Issue 9, p27-27, 1p;

The Coming Right-Brain Economy.Preview By: Pink, Daniel H.. Connection: The Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education, Summer2005, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p16-17, 2p; (AN 17599970)

Changing world is leaving the SAT behind By: Daniel H. Pink. USA Today, 03/14/2005; (AN J0E186516939505)

A Story Goes With It.Preview By: Pink, Daniel H.. Forbes, 2/28/2005, Vol. 175 Issue 4, p30-30, 1p, 1 bw; (AN 16092640)

Information Literacy Meets Library 2.0.Preview By: Brink-Drescher, Judy. Library Journal, 12/1/2008, Vol. 133 Issue 20, p171-171, 1/6p; (AN 35728561)

Web 2.0 strategy in libraries and information services.Preview By: Byrne, Alex. Australian Library Journal, Nov2008, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p365-376, 12p; (AN 35706782 )

Virtual Services on the edge: innovative use of Web tools in public libraries. Preview By: McLean, Michelle. Australian Library Journal, Nov2008, Vol. 57 Issue 4, p431-451, 21p; (AN 35706786)

A Prescription for Transforming Libraries.Preview By: Harris, Christopher. School Library Journal, Oct2008, Vol. 54 Issue 10, p22-22, 1p, 2 color; (AN 34672873)

2.0 FOR READERS.Preview By: Wyatt, Neal. Library Journal, 11/1/2007, Vol. 132 Issue 18, p30-33, 4p, 2 color; (AN 27363502)

National Web Library 2.0: Are national libraries ready for the new version?Preview By: Svensson, Lars G.. Information Services & Use, 2007, Vol. 27 Issue 3, p91-95, 5p; (AN 32597548)

Bill