November 7, 2009
News for paranoiacs
From Thursday's Globe & Mail:
"“In Utah, the National Security Agency is building a $2-billion [U.S.] storage facility that will house and analyze all forms of electronic communication … a potential yottabyte of everyone's (formerly) personal data,” Gizmodo.com reports. “So how big is a yottabyte? CrunchGear puts it well: ‘There are a thousand gigabytes in a terabyte, a thousand terabytes in a petabyte, a thousand petabytes in an exabyte, a thousand exabytes in a zettabyte, and a thousand zettabytes in a yottabyte.' … To be fair, the yottabyte figure is just one estimate generated by a Pentagon think tank. The facility could hold a mere hundreds of petabytes. But either way, the prospect is as unsustainable as it is frightening. This one facility will burn through as much electricity as the entirety of Salt Lake City. All this data comes from the book The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency by Matthew M. Aid.”"
Hmmmm. With our head office in Utah maybe we can get this into the OPAC!
Just kiddin'
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)
November 6, 2009
Peer-Based Return on Investment Calculator
Here's a great idea:
Lbrary Research Service has provided this:
Peer-Based Return on Investment Calculator
(for public libraries)
Try it out!
And don't forget the November 17th open and free SirsiDynix Institute on ROI with Ulla de Stricker:
We can count 'em...but do they count? Challenges in assessing ROI from information services
Register Today.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)
Blended Online Education
Campus Technology website has an interesting summary of their webinar and some research:
Most College Students To Take Classes Online by 2014
1. "Nearly 12 million post-secondary students in the United States take some or all of their classes online right now."
2. "This number will skyrocket to more than 22 million in the next five years, according to data released recently by research firm Ambient Insight."
3. "Some 1.25 million students in higher education programs take all of their classes online, while another 10.65 take some of their classes online. The two groups are still outnumbered by students who take all of their courses in physical classrooms, which Ambient Insight reckoned at 15.14 million as of 2009."
4. "This situation will change drastically by 2014, at which time, Adkins forecast, only 5.14 million students will take all of their courses in a physical classroom, while 3.55 million will take all of their classes online, and 18.65 million will take some of their classes online."
Despite the recession, online learning is still growing. This research implies that the context for libraries in academic and college settings will transform very rapidly in the next five years, which isn't a very big window.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
November 5, 2009
Life Stages Reflections
On Monday night I had a unique and exciting dinner. It was with two of my grade school librarians, Ms Baird and Ms Carter. I had been anticipating dinner with them for weeks. I was very excited. I hadn't seen them in about 37 years.
You see, libraries saved my life. I was the nerdy, small (tiny actually - always the smallest boy in the class) kid who read. I didn't play sports at all. My social skills were a little off (and probably still are). That meant that playground bullying and beatings were the norm. That's part of the reason why I ended up in the school library. I was able to volunteer from grade 5 on with Mrs. Channen and that meant every day before and after school and at lunch. I never had a tan! I also learned to love and feel comfortable in libraries from an early age. I knew that the library was the place to go since I had been using the local public library at our old house regularly and felt safe there too. When my family moved I discovered that the library was the only anchor I trusted as a consistently safe place to read and learn. My bike ride to the far off public library branch was a godsend.
In high school I joined the Library Club and finally grew a lot in grade 9/10 (almost a foot in height over 10 months). I was lucky because my high school library was building a new library wing on stilts over the front door which was to open in grade 10 and it would be staffed by 4 school librarians and two secretaries supporting a school with three tracks (tech, general, academic) and almost 3,500 students. You can imagine that this was a very busy library where automation didn't exist beyond the Selectric. I'll never forget the day we moved all the books using a single chain of students who passed the books from one wing to another and up the stairs and still maintained the order perfectly. A huge library was moved lickety-split. My community also built a huge regional branch of the public library across the street and I spent many evenings there too.
How did we meet again? Well, recently I was at a party given by a friend (and great librarian) to celebrate his first ten years in Canada. It was a lot of fun and I met someone there with whom I had a conversation. He was 80 years old and had gotten his library degree in the same year of graduation as me, 1980. What a coincidence, I said, we're both coming up on our 30th anniversaries. I asked him what did you do before that? He had been a professional choreographer. I asked him if I might have seen any of his productions. He mentioned a few and then mentioned that he had done some high school choreography work too. I finally recognized him as Cliff, the choreographer who had done all of our amazing high school extravaganzas (Finian's Rainbow, King & I, Music Man...). What a small world! I knew that he had been good friends with my favourite school librarians so I asked after them, since I had been unsuccessful at ever finding them. He was still good friends with them and I gave him my card. I heard from Ms Baird, now Campbell, by e-mail the next day. We reconnected and decided to meet for dinner. (My brain was going OMG, OMG OMG. I am a little excitable - little ADHD Stephen still comes out to play occasionally.)
So, on Monday Ms (Baird) Campbell drove down to my neighbourhood and I learned that it was where she grew up. Ms Carter came in from out of town and came with Ms Campbell. My wife was there too (we met in the same high school and she performed in the school band for the musicals. If you watch closely in Saturday Night Live re-runs you can see our school bandleader's name on the wall at SNL.)
I recognized them right away. They looked the same! They quickly became Nora and Judy.
The time flew. We shared stories. I learned about their lives. We gossiped about other personalities in the school. Nora headed another Toronto high school library for 28 years and her two boys are very well educated. She still works part time in a school library. Judy has retired to her home town. I can't believe that they were both only in their early twenties when they made such a difference in my life as an awkward teen. They were always there to talk and advise - on homework, life, whatever.
So, if there are any school or public librarians out there working with kids and teens. Just remember that people remember you and what you do - even when they're 55 and old like me. This was a really big reconnection for me and I've been absorbing it all week. Somehow it was easier to find Little Stephen in myself this time and recognize that he made it through. Sometimes Big Stephen needs to remember that the bullying made him stronger and that he chose librarianship because he saw the difference librarians and libraries make in people's lives - especially his own. There will always be bullies in life and I learned to avoid them at a young age and, when they show up, not to let them deflect you from your path. Some people build up and develop and some people tear people down. I've been involved in almost every sector of librarianship in some way and the best librarians are those who build, lift people up, and encourage the heart. There is a huge gulf between critical thinking and criticism. I love what we do and how librarians can practice everywhere and what a huge difference we make to society when we choose to.
My school librarians did that for me and started me on the path.
Thank you:
Nora (Baird) Campbell
Judy Carter
Marilyn Moore
Margaret Tucker
Mrs. Channen
and hundreds of public and academic librarians too.
It takes a village to raise Stephen.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:01 PM | Comments (4)
iPhone Etiquette
Haven't we all seen all of these rules broken?
From CIO.com
Smartphone Etiquette: Five Unspoken Rules for the Holidays
Rule 1: If you must text, head to the bathroom
Rule 2: Thou must not use the iPhone during religious events
Rule 3: Three's a crowd on a date
Rule 4: Holiday parties are a time for socializing, not social networking
Rule 5: Turn off your iPhone before it becomes a turn-off
The article has some tongue in cheeky comments.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
Searcher Personas
Recommended Article:
Building Searcher Personas For Greater Customer Engagement and Acquisition by Vanessa Fox
It's from O'Reilly Radar and has a business flavour, but anyone can make the leap to the public sector.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
Social Isolation and New Technology
Lee Rainie sent me the latest Pew Internet and American Life press release which outlines research that blows holes in the proposition that people in social networks are socially isolated and geeky:
Social Isolation and New Technology
Nov 4, 2009
(Washington) People who use modern information and communication technologies have larger and more diverse social networks, according to new national survey findings that for the first time explore how people use the internet and mobile phones to interact with key family and friends.
These new finding challenge fears that use of new technologies has contributed to a long-term increase in social isolation in the United States.
The new findings from the Pew Internet & American Life Project show that, on average, the size of people’s discussion networks – those with whom people discuss important matters– is 12% larger amongst mobile phone users, 9% larger for those who share photos online, and 9% bigger for those who use instant messaging. The diversity of people’s core networks – their closest and most significant confidants – tends to be 25% larger for mobile phone users, 15% larger for basic internet users, and even larger for frequent internet users, those who use instant messaging, and those who share digital photos online.
The survey was conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, led by Keith N. Hampton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication and the Pew Internet Project.
The survey also probed larger issues related to the extent of social isolation in America: At one level, the results challenge previous work. The Pew Internet survey found that Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported and social isolation has hardly changed since 1985. Only 6% of the adult population has no one with whom they can discuss important matters or who they consider to be “especially significant” in their life.
At another level, the findings confirm that Americans’ discussion networks have shrunk by about a third since 1985 and have become less diverse because they contain fewer non-family members. However, contrary to the widespread speculation that the new technology is tied to shrinking social networks and declining network diversity, the Pew Internet study finds that ownership of a mobile phone and participation in a variety of internet activities are associated with larger and more diverse core discussion networks.
“There is a tendency by critics to blame technology first when social change occurs,” argued Prof. Keith Hampton, the lead author of the Pew Internet report, Social Isolation and New Technology. “This is the first research that actually explores the connection between technology use and social isolation and we find the opposite. It turns out that those who use the internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages. People use the technology to stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities.”
Here are some of the other key findings in the Pew Internet report:
•Some have worried that internet use limits people’s participation in their local communities, but the Pew Internet report finds that most internet activities have little or a positive relationship to local activity. For instance, internet users are as likely as anyone else to visit with their neighbors in person. Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization. However, we find some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement.
•Challenging the assumption that internet use encourages social contact across vast distances, this study shows that many internet technologies are used as much for local contact as they are for distant communication.
•Internet use does not pull people away from public places. Rather, use is associated with frequent visits to places such as parks, cafes, and restaurants, the kinds of locales where research shows that people are likely to encounter a wider array of people and diverse points of view. Indeed, internet access has become a common component of people’s experiences within many public spaces. For instance, of those Americans who have been in a library within the past month, 38% logged on to the internet while they were there, 18% have done so in a café or coffee shop.
•People’s mobile phone use outpaces their use of landline phones as a primary method of staying in touch with their closest family and friends, but face-to-face contact still trumps all other methods. On average in a typical year, people have in-person contact with their core network ties on about 210 days; they have mobile-phone contact on 195 days of the year; landline phone contact on 125 days; text-messaging contact on the mobile phone 125 days; email contact 72 days; instant messaging contact 55 days; contact via social networking websites 39 days; and contact via letters or cards on 8 days.
•Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.
•While participation in traditional social settings, like neighborhoods, voluntary organizations, and public spaces, remain the strongest predictors for the overall diversity of people’s social networks, internet use, and specifically use of social networking services like Facebook, are also associated with knowing more people from a wider variety of backgrounds.
“All the evidence points in one direction,” said Prof. Hampton. “People’s social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies. It is a mistake to believe that internet use and mobile phones plunge people into a spiral of isolation.”
Read the full report here [84 page PDF].
This matches some research on the hypothesis that gamers aren't social either. People keep finding new ways to pigeonhole and be prejudiced. It's great when people try to see if its true.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:30 AM | Comments (1)
November 4, 2009
Social Media Training
Duct Tape University is beta testing a new social media training course for enterprises to use social media in their strategies.
The course outline is interesting and I'd love to find the time to take it.
You can read more here too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
Unconferences
Are you looking to host or try an unconference?
I had a great time at the half day unconference at Internet Librarian and host at Monterey Public Library.
Anyway, this slideshare from Allen County Library is excellent and shares the detail of how to organize one:
Library Camp: How to run an unconference at your library
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:23 AM | Comments (1)
November 3, 2009
Sacred Cows
Some interesting posts:
Cindi Trainor's:
The Sacred Cows of Library Technologists
Rick Anderson's:
Five Sacred Cows of Librarianship: Why They No Longer Matter, and Why Two of Them Never Did
I now there are more but this is a good start. Sacred cows have their place and ensure the sustaining of life in India (or did). When does what worked get retired?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)
November 2, 2009
Why Do People Read?
Tom Peters has a great thought piece in Library Journal on their website:
The Future of ReadingAs the book changes form, the library must champion its own power base - readers. [Library Journal, 11/1/2009]
I agree with his primary point that libraries must focus on the reading experience and less so on the traditional book format.
I also think we need a better discussion on why people read. It seems basic but do we really understand why people read? Here's my modest unranked list of twelve reasons off the top of my small noggin (add to it in the comments):
1. To learn
2. To engage in hearing other's opinions (to agree or disagree or just to understand and be empathetic)
3. To develop more knowledge about myself and develop as a whole person
4. To be entertained and laugh, to engage and interact
5. To address boredom and the inexorable progress of time
6. To research and keep up-to-date
7. To participate well in civil society (everything from news to voting)
8. To be informed (and maybe smarter)
9. To understand others (individually and culturally)
10. To escape our day-to-day lives
11. To stimulate the imagination and be inspired
12. To write and communicate better through reading others
13. To teach
14. To have something to talk about
15. To connect with like-minded people
I'm sure there are more reasons to read.
Interestingly I can't think of any reasons not to read but I am there are some (knowing glint in eye and smile).
Either way, it goes beyond just the mere reading experience into the life lived large. And text reading isn't the only way to have experiences and libraries support more than text experiences in our communities.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 1:28 PM | Comments (2)
Seven Deadly Sins in Innovation
Read the full BusinessWeek article:
The seven deadly sins of the innovator
1. Lust: Innovating in a space you have no business being in.
2. Gluttony: Trying to create too many initiatives with too few resources. Innovation takes emotional and financial capital and focus.
3. Greed: Taking short-term profits at the expense of long-term growth.
4. Sloth: Taking short cuts—not doing the hard work, not following the proven process.
5. Wrath: Being so focused on your competition that you miss the same opportunities your rivals are missing. You can't read the label when you are sitting inside the jar.
6. Envy: In the context of innovation, envy means launching a "me too" product instead of finding a space you can own.
7. Pride: You won't give up on your favorite idea—even when the numbers prove you're wrong.
Hmmmm.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:52 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2009
Open Libraries Podcast
I was interviewed last week by Richard Wallis for the track plenary I am doing in London for Online International.
Here's a link to the podcast which hopes to promote the speech and the conference.
Stephen Abram – Open in Libraries Technology & Education
"Stephen Abram is Vice President, Innovation for library system vendor SirsiDynix. He is track keynote speaker for the The Open Movement in Libraries, Technology & Education track, on the third day of the conference.
In this first podcast in our Online Information 2009 series, Stephen first explores the meaning of the, often over used, openness concept. Are we talking about openness of systems, software APIs, open source, approach, minds, libraries, or a combination of several. of these.
With such a broad topic, it was inevitable that we addressed many many aspects of the influences of technology and attitudes on the way libraries are evolving. Touching on the library system industry, and how it has and is changing, postulating on the future of libraries, and external influences from our rapidly changing world, this is a great introduction to his presentation and the track it kicks off."
Follow the link to the MP3 file.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)
It's About a Respectful Discussion
The discussion about open source and integrated library systems has become more relevant and animated in the past year. Much has happened to fuel the discussion, especially recently with changes with the open source (and quasi-open source) vendors. Open source technology in general has become part of the technology discussion of in many industries including libraries.
SirsiDynix customers and prospects, as well as our library colleagues and peers, have asked us for our reaction to open source technology development as it grows and changes in the market. In response, I wrote a position paper that provides our perspective of open source technology as it exists today as an option for library automation. I am a librarian who has worked for libraries and several vendors, and I feel that the paper brings some very real challenges to light for any library considering open source solutions for their library automation.
The paper has been posted and exchanged in the past day, rumoured to be a secretive lobbying effort that SirsiDynix has been hiding. This is simply not true. There has been nothing secretive about the position paper, we have been offering and sharing it with many customers as we meet with them, and I am offering it to anyone interested at the link below.
SirsiDynix views open source technology as healthy competition in the marketplace. We believe that competition is good for libraries and for our industry, and OSS is no exception. My colleague Talin Bingham, CTO for SirsiDynix, reinforced this position in a recent NISO forum, stating that OSS, with all competition, means better products for libraries. We have worked with open source vendors in standards definition in the past and will continue to do so. We even use open source technology in our own products (Apache/Tomcat) and development environment (CUnit, JUnit, Linux, Suse, Redhat, EMMA).
As the leader in library automation solutions, we have a responsibility in ensuring technological advancement for all libraries. One role we play is to provide a viewpoint on the challenges and concerns of ILS open source development as companies in any competitive position will do, my position paper offers our perspective to anyone interested or considering adopting the solution.
I am not against open source software. SirsiDynix is not opposed to open source software. I admire a lot of open source projects, especially those that seek to improve the user experience. I have said that if libraries have money to invest right now in these difficult economic times, they should improve the end-user library experience rather than reinvent their own backrooms. Why spend time and money reinventing what already works? Many of those open source solutions improving the user experience have been integrated with SirsiDynix systems using our API, sometimes in consulting efforts with SirsiDynix.
However, I do not think that open source ILS solutions are ready for most libraries, and I think the solutions should stand up to the same scrutiny as anything else you adopt in your library, including the procurement process from which these solutions are selected. We have spoken with a number of libraries who purchased or adopted open source, that now face a loss of features and functions and have discovered the real cost and complexity of open source software, partially due to the early stage of development.
We are not the first to state this position, and I do not believe we will be the last. There have been a number of events and articles recently that rebalance the discussion and provide information and realistic perspective to the debate. Polaris, another ILS vendor, hosted a webcast on this topic and Talis, a UK ILS vendor, hosted a Library 2.0 Gang podcast discussion about growth and development of open source solutions.
I plan to continue participating in the conversation. I am giving a plenary keynote on Open Systems at the Online International conference in London in December, and an advance podcast for Online with Richard Wallis from Talis was released today (http://blogs.talis.com/panlibus/archives/2009/10/steven-abram-open-in-libraries-technology-education.php ). I have also just agreed to participate in June at the ALA Conference open source debate for LITA involving myself, Marshall Breeding, Karen Schneider, and Roy Tennant. I look forward to a thoughtful, professional sharing of all of our perspectives.
I am a librarian, and 42 percent of our staff has library degrees and training. In this industry, we work hard to promote the exchange of information, and so a well-informed debate on this topic is healthy. It is fundamental to my belief system that everyone is obligated to look at all sides and engage in the discussion with information, evidence, and facts, not driven merely by emotion, philosophies and personal agendas.
Some have expressed surprise about the position paper. Some call it FUD - fear, uncertainty and doubt. I call it critical thinking and constructive debate - something that everyone in libraries should embrace and engage in.
Lastly, a personal request. I encourage and look forward to the discussion that will no doubt add to the online conversation we have seen in the last day. However, I sincerely ask that my colleagues keep a professional tone when speaking to their positions. I have been dismayed in the past few weeks when seeing ad hominem attacks being propagated online, especially when it is hurled at me and my family. I think you all agree, it cheapens the discussion at hand and hides the critical points that others are trying to express.
My position paper is available for download, and I encourage you to read it. Agree with me or not, I look forward to the discussion.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 1:10 PM | Comments (33)
October 29, 2009
United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
United Nations Approves MicroUSB Universal Phone Charger Standard
About time! Let's hope North America changes or adopts before 2012.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:47 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2009
Library 101
OK, I have to admit that I love Michael Porter and David Lee King. They truly let their passion for libraries show in all of their work and they bring fun to the party all the time and they share willingly and openly.
So I am giving a plug for the video they produced, wrote, promoted, sang in, and more.
I was there for the premiere day (or at least the much requested second viewing since I was moderating the Pecha Kucha session) at Internet Librarian.
As they say on their new rich site:
"Have you seen it? Have you heard the song and seen the music video? Have you read any of the 23 essays from some of the greatest minds in Libraryland (and David King and Michael Porter [and me too])? Have you looked at the carefully selected list of 101 hyperlinked resources that share critically important things to think about and know in order to ensure a vibrant future for libraries, even as technology changes the information access and community landscapes?
Well you should go check it out!"
These two dudes are awesome.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
US Smartphone Ownership Share
Some clear trends...
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2009
This says it all
This graphic says it all.
A Graphic History of Newspaper Circulation Over the Last Two Decades
"Daily newspaper circulation has fallen to a pre-World War II low of an estimated 39.1 million"
"Circulation at major metro daily newspapers fell at more than twice the rate of last year’s record declines."
It just goes to show that no industry is safe from precipitous decline. The fundamentals are there - people still like news but newspapers are really struggling.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
New Laws for Catalogues
Jim Weinheimer posted these as a contribution to the current discussion
The Five Laws of *Library Catalogs* for the 21st Century
Five Laws of *Library Catalog Records* for the 21st Century
I think they're a pretty interesting part of the discussion on improving library catalogues.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2009
How Moms Use Their iPhones
Finally, some market research libraries can really use!
How do you get in touch with that mom for story hours or pajama and teddy bear nights? How about the mom who just dropped off Elroy with his homework while shuffling Judy to dance lessons and Astro to the vet?
How Moms Use Their iPhones (ReadWriteWeb)
Interesting visuals too.
Let's get an app for that!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:05 AM | Comments (0)