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Cracking the Code: Librarians Acquiring Essential Coding Skills
For newcomers, computer source code can look quite alien. Librarians might be reminded of the first time they saw a MARC record—a mishmash of recognizable words and bits of information embedded in funky punctuation. But it doesn’t have to be that way–learning code can help librarians customize and improve the usability of web-based resources and vendor interfaces and improve communication with a library’s IT staff and software vendors.
Is your Library a Sundial? | The User Experience
In order for a product or service to provide an excellent user experience it has to be useful, usable, and desirable. Libraries are no exception to this rule. In fact, these three characteristics provide a great way for us to analyze the user experience we’re providing.
How I Teach Technology | Peer to Peer Review
Roy Tennant’s recent series on assimilating new technology (start here to read it) spurs me to talk about helping library school students do that. My workhorse course, the one I first developed and taught in 2007, that I’ve been teaching ever since, is an introduction to computer-based technologies in libraries called “Digital Tools, Trends, and Debates.”
Best Reference of 2012 (Including Best Free Reference)
There are dozens of the year’s best reference titles, but for sheer labors of love, winners this year are Louisiana Place Names, the entries of which were collected over a lifetime by Clare D’Artois Leeper, who died shortly before this was published by LSU Press, and Flies: The Natural History and Diversity of Diptera from University of Guelph entomologist Stephen A. Marshall, who displays the world’s fly families in 2,200 stunning color photographs from Firefly Books. Find those and many more, including Best Free Reference sources of 2012.
Perspectives on Academic Patrons: A Closer Look at Takeaways from Library Journal’s Academic Patron Profiles
Thursday, April 4, 2013, 3:00-4:00 PM ETIn 2012, Library Journal surveyed more than 3,000 students and faculty members to determine their perceptions and usage behaviors about their academic libraries. In late 2012, LJ released Patron Profiles, Academic Library Edition, a comprehensive 52 page report that analyzes the data and covers a wide range of topics. This special Library Journal webcast will take a deep dive into the data with respected academic voices and LJ editorial expertise. Listen to our panel discuss some of the report’s major findings and get a close look into trends driving library use. Attendees will leave with insights and actionable takeaways to help guide effective long term planning and prepare you with the tools needed to engage students and faculty to create stronger libraries. Register now!
How I Teach Technology | Peer to Peer Review
Roy Tennant’s recent series on assimilating new technology (start here to read it) spurs me to talk about helping library school students do that. My workhorse course, the one I first developed and taught in 2007, that I’ve been teaching ever since, is an introduction to computer-based technologies in libraries called “Digital Tools, Trends, and Debates.”
DC Library Advocates Butt Heads over Redevelopment
A plan to replace an aging library in Washington, DC’s West End as part of a massive private development has opened a rift between some unlikely foes: the D.C. Library Renaissance Project (DCLRP), a library advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader, which has gone to court seeking to halt the project, and several neighborhood groups, led by West End Library Friends, who want ground broken as soon as possible.
Is your Library a Sundial? | The User Experience
In order for a product or service to provide an excellent user experience it has to be useful, usable, and desirable. Libraries are no exception to this rule. In fact, these three characteristics provide a great way for us to analyze the user experience we’re providing.
Latest Articles
DC Library Advocates Butt Heads over Redevelopment
By Bob Warburton on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
A plan to replace an aging library in Washington, DC’s West End as part of a massive private development has opened a rift between some unlikely foes: the D.C. Library Renaissance Project (DCLRP), a library advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader, which has gone to court seeking to halt the project, and several neighborhood groups, led by West End Library Friends, who want ground broken as soon as possible.
Is your Library a Sundial? | The User Experience
By Aaron Schmidt on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
In order for a product or service to provide an excellent user experience it has to be useful, usable, and desirable. Libraries are no exception to this rule. In fact, these three characteristics provide a great way for us to analyze the user experience we’re providing.
The LibraryAware Community Survey: Marketing our Libraries
By Nancy Dowd on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
When I started my blog in 2006, I named it The ‘M’ Word, because marketing was considered to be taboo for many in the library field. While the latest survey by Library Journal would indicate the needle has moved a bit, there is little doubt that many libraries still have a long road ahead of them. In that survey, fewer than 20 percent of all libraries have a marketing plan in place, and only 11 percent report that it is up-to-date. If that number doesn’t shock you, let’s talk about what it means not to have a marketing plan.
How I Teach Technology | Peer to Peer Review
By Dorothea Salo on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Roy Tennant’s recent series on assimilating new technology (start here to read it) spurs me to talk about helping library school students do that. My workhorse course, the one I first developed and taught in 2007, that I’ve been teaching ever since, is an introduction to computer-based technologies in libraries called “Digital Tools, Trends, and Debates.”
Scholars and Musicians | Peer to Peer Review
By Wayne Bivens-Tatum on March 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
The White House recently released a memo entitled Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research. Acc