Welcome to iLibrarian

How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School

May 15th, 2012

Steven Anderson offers a quick tutorial for to How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School. Each of these seven steps walks you through the process of creating effective guidelines for your organization including great resource lists and questions for reflection along the way. Here are the first five steps in the process:

  • 1. Examine Your School Culture
  • 2. Organize a Team
  • 3. Research Phase
  • 4. Draft Your Document and Incorporate Feedback
  • 5. Make Sure the School Attorney and School Board See the Draft

Demystifying Semantic Search

May 15th, 2012

Ed Oswald at Extreme Tech writes an elucidating article Demystifying Semantic Search. If you’ve been wondering about this new trend in search technology but aren’t certain exactly what it is, you’ll want to check out this article which discusses Google, Bing, and Wolfram Alpha.

“Web searchers these days are a sophisticated bunch. We expect more from our search results, and sometimes a list of links just doesn’t cut it. Plus, who wants to muddle around those results trying to find precisely what you’re looking for? Shouldn’t a search engine know what you want? That’s why search engines, including heavy hitters such as Google and Bing, are beginning to look for ways to get you the information you want more quickly.

The latest attempt to make search results more relevant is by peering into the meaning of your search query itself. This is called semantic search.”

5 Steps to Hosting Successful Twitter Chats: Your Ultimate Guide

May 11th, 2012

Ann Smarty at the Social Media Examiner has outlined 5 Steps to Hosting Successful Twitter Chats: Your Ultimate Guide. If you’ve ever thought about hosting a Twitter chat for your library or event, you won’t want to miss this post. Here are the first 3 steps discussed:

  • #1: Understand How it Works
  • #2: Form Your Plan
  • #3: Announce and Promote Your Twitter Chat

The 7 Best Open Government Sites

May 11th, 2012

Joe Brockmeier at ReadWriteCloud puts together an excellent list of The 7 Best Open Government Sites. These are each third-party websites which provide different collections of information about the U.S. government. I can’t wait to check these out, here are the first five reviewed:

  • POPVOX: Bridging the Public and Congress
  • OpenCongress
  • Poligraft
  • Follow the Money
  • OpenSecrets.org

30 Library Tech Stories You May Have Missed

May 10th, 2012

There have been quite a few library technology stories since my last roundup in late February. Here are 30 stories/articles/blog posts that you won’t want to miss!! And please list any other recent library tech stories in the comments.

    Social Media

  1. 3 Ways College Libraries Are Exploring Pinterest
  2. 5 Educational YouTube Channels for Librarians
  3. 10 Resources for Using Pinterest in Your Library
  4. NYPL’s Movie Trailer-Style Library Video
  5. 20 Great Ways Libraries Are Using Pinterest
  6. Mobile

  7. 10 Kindle Cases That Look Like Books
  8. Libraries Loaning iPads
  9. Reinvent the Book Club: How To Host Your Own Audiobook Gathering
  10. e-Books

  11. Evaluating e-Books in Law Libraries
  12. Ebooks 101: DRM (Digital Rights Management)
  13. Should Libraries Get Out of the eBook Business?
  14. QR Codes

  15. QR Codes Extend Library Programming
  16. What are some uses for QR codes in public and academic libraries?
  17. QR Code Quest Scavenger Hunt- Part Deux!
  18. Library Marketing

  19. 21 Resources for Library Marketing with Social Media
  20. Stop Branding Your Library!!
  21. How to Use Webinars to Create Great Relationships with Library Patrons
  22. Create Your Own Library Social Media Monitoring Dashboard
  23. Preservation

  24. Archiving Cell Phone Text Messages
  25. Pinterest and the New Meaning of Curation
  26. ERM

  27. Implementing an ERM System in Your Library
  28. Managing Electronic Resources
  29. Misc

  30. Ten Things I Didn’t Learn in Library School
  31. 20 Everyday Ways To Escape The Library Echo Chamber
  32. Alternative Uses for the Pesky eBook Budget
  33. Poll Results: What Technologies will impact libraries in 2-5 years?
  34. Card Sorting from A–Z iLibrarian Series
  35. 7 Stellar Library Conference Presentations
  36. 7 Things You Should Know About™ the Evolution of the Textbook
  37. Vintage Photos of Librarians

4 Tips For Gamifying Your Marketing Plan

May 9th, 2012

Darren Steele, Strategic Director of Mindspace, and co-author of the gamification book, “I’ll Eat this Cricket for a Cricket Badge.” blogs at Mashable and offers 4 Tips For Gamifying Your Marketing Plan. This useful post discusses each of these recommendations:

  • 1. Decide on the Right Opacity
  • 2. Break Up Information Into Smaller Pieces
  • 3. Do Something With Likes and Followers
  • 4. Match Incentives With Engagement

26 Tips for Success With Location-Based Marketing

May 9th, 2012

Debbie Hemley at the Social Media Examiner offers 26 Tips for Success With Location-Based Marketing. These excellent recommendations for leveraging social, local, and mobile into your marketing strategy form an A-Z guide for location-based marketing. Here are the first five tips discussed:

  • #1: Analytics
  • #2: Blog
  • #3: Coupons and Location-Based Mobile Apps
  • #4: Directories
  • #5: Engagement

Technology Solutions Planning in Libraries: Overview

May 8th, 2012

This is another topic that I give a 3-hour workshop on, and since I’ve had positive feedback on the other two series of posts on Card Sorting and Personal Digital Archiving, I figured this might be worth sharing as well. To start off, here’s the workshop description:

Whether you’re considering purchasing an ILS or a shared calendar program, choosing a technology solution which suits the needs of your library presents many challenges. This session will explain the process of creating and executing a project plan which will lead to an informed selection. Avoid the familiar traps of choosing a technology because it is; the highest-rated, most expensive, cheapest, comes recommended by a colleague, or they have snazzy marketing copy. Learn how to find the perfect fit for the unique needs of your library. Discover how to gain market intelligence, gather business, functional, and technical requirements, evaluate competing vendors, get buy-in from staff and colleagues, create an RFP and make your final selection. Common pitfalls of choosing free software solutions will also be discussed. Learn how to avoid the instant-gratification snare with these programs that could cost you in the long run.

Five Pitfalls of Choosing a Technology Solution

Making a technology decision on behalf of your library is a complex decision which should take into account your unique infrastructure, current technology needs, and available resources including staff time and experience as well as finances. What’s right for one library or organization may not necessarily be a good fit for you. Here are some common reasons people choose a new technology, but taken individually, they should not be the basis of an educated technology decision:

  • The boss heard about it at a conference
  • A friend told them it was awesome :) !!!!
  • It’s the most expensive, it’s the cheapest, or it’s free
  • The IT department has been working with that technology for the past 10 years and are reluctant to try anything new
  • The company has great marketing copy

Costs of Making the Wrong Choice

Choosing the wrong technology solution can set back an organization significantly in long-term resource costs in time and energy to:

  • Retrain staff on another product
  • Recreate data
  • Overcome bad feelings developed about the technology

When to Use this Process

  • When your library has a need or “requirement” for a technology solution
  • – If you can’t write the requirements, you don’t have a need yet!

When Not to Use this Process

  • Just dipping your toe in the water
  • You want to try a technology because everyone else is using it.

Next: Develop the Project Plan

QR Code Quest Scavenger Hunt- Part Deux!

May 7th, 2012

Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones at The Daring Librarian has updated and improved her QR Code Quest Scavenger Hunt lesson from last year and has given us all the fantastic details – including worksheets and lesson plans – in QR Code Quest Scavenger Hunt- Part Deux! What’s new in this iteration? QR codes that talk!!

19 Ways to Build Relationships With Blog Comments

May 7th, 2012

Marcus Sheridan at the Social Media Examiner recommends 19 Ways to Build Relationships With Blog Comments. This excellent article discusses strategies for building a sense of community as well as personal relationships with your readers by responding to their comments on your blog. Here are the first five suggestions:

  • #1: Write in a Personal Voice
  • #2: Invite Reader Response by Asking Questions
  • #3: Don’t be a Know-it-All
  • #4: Admit You May be Wrong
  • #5: Utilize an Author Bio and Photo

How to Cite a Tweet

May 5th, 2012

Julie Greller at A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet asks Do Your Students Know How to Cite a Tweet? Since none of the available MLA citation guides seem to include tweets, she put together this quick guide to how it should be done.

Card Sorting from A–Z iLibrarian Series

May 4th, 2012

The iLibrarian Card Sorting from A–Z series of posts was based on a 3-hour hands-on workshop I give on the topic. Here’s a wrap up of all 9 articles.

 

Vintage Photos of Librarians

May 3rd, 2012

Jill Harness at Mental Floss gathers a set of 15 Vintage Photos of Librarians. There are both single and group images of librarians as well as photos of Notable Librarians such as the Librarians of Congress.

Archiving Cell Phone Text Messages

May 3rd, 2012

Mike Ashenfelder writes for the Library Of Congress’ The Signal: Digital Preservation blog about Archiving Cell Phone Text Messages. If you’ve wondered how you can backup and preserve your SMS messages from your cell phone, you’ll want to check out this helpful article.

“Saving text messages is more difficult for basic phones. You have to open the phone, remove its SIM card and display the card’s contents through a SIM card reader. A reader is an inexpensive device into which you pop the SIM card, plug the reader into the USB port on your computer, display the SIM card contents and copy the text messages over. The “Text” format of the text messages is one of the least complex of all the computer file formats, so you can display the contents of a text message file with a basic text editor. You can even display it with a browser; text files get along well with several different programs.”

Card Sorting from A–Z: Part IX – Tools and Resources

May 2nd, 2012

This is part of a series of posts which is based on a 3-hour hands-on workshop I offer on this topic. Be sure and check out the preceding posts:

Card Sorting from A–Z: Overview
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part I – Why and When
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part II – How to Prepare for a Card Sort
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part III – How to Implement an Open Card Sort
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part IV – How to Analyze Results of an Open Card Sort
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part V – How to Make Recommendations Based on Findings
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part VI – How to Implement a Closed Card Sort
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part VII – How to Analyze Results of a Closed Card Sort
Card Sorting from A–Z: Part VIII – Making Recommendations After a Closed Card Sort

 

Online Card Sorting Tools

 

  • Websort: I have used Websort many times to conduct online card sorts. They have an easy to use interface which lets you create card sorting studies within minutes, and they have a variety of ways to view the data afterward.
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  • OptimalSort: I haven’t used OptimalSort extensively, but it offers a variety of tools and reporting options for conducting online card sorts as well.

 

Additional Resources

 

Books

 

Articles

 

Blog Posts