Welcome to iLibrarian

In her latest “Technology in Practice” column titled Providing the Tools, Meredith Farkas writes about “bringing digital creation technologies to libraries”. I love the idea of libraries providing patrons with access to expensive video editing software like Final Cut Pro. Not only would this enable people to be creative and produce videos, but this is a valuable skill to have for people who are in the job market!! Here’s the first paragraph of the article, be sure and click in for more.

“In the 1990s, libraries were pioneers in providing access to the internet in their communities. Even today, libraries are the only place some community members can get online. Over the past few years, libraries have begun positioning themselves as the go-to place for digital creation technologies, providing hardware and software that most people wouldn’t have at home. By providing these creative tools to their patrons, libraries fill a valuable niche in the community, a niche consistent with their historical commitment to bridging gaps in technology access.”

Matt Petronzio writes for Mashable about 10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media. “Six well-known authors and writers, who are experts in this type of personal branding, share their methods and suggestions on how to use social media to push yourself forward in the writing industry.” Here are the first 5 recommendations discussed:

• 1. Sign Up for the Big Networks
• 2. Interact and Engage — Enthusiastically
• 3. Minimize Self-Promotion
• 4. Consider Privacy and Comfort Levels
• 5. Find a Happy Medium

While I was at LegalTech on Monday, I had a chance to attend a session titled “Talking Tech to Lawyers” which could have easily been titled “Talking Tech to Faculty” or “Talking Tech to Library Decision Makers”. The panel was made up of three CIO’s at law firms who gave some pretty solid advice on ways to build relationships for support of IT initiatives. Bob Dolinsky of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Terry Pressley of Leonard Street and Deinard, and C. Kirk Scruggs from Bracewell & Giuliani LLP offered the following advice.

“You can’t build support sitting in your office”.

1. Have a service attitude.
2. Talk in terms of their businesses rather than the technology, in other words how will the technology help them solve their problems.
3. Express what’s involved in a technology rollout so that they are aware of how much needs to be coordinated in an initiative.
4. Don’t use technology terms.
5. Don’t argue with the attorneys.
6. Realize that the younger, more tech savvy attorneys will want to know more about the technology and it’s okay to talk with them about it.
7. Make yourself visible through periodic user group meetings, committee meetings, etc.
8. Be your own marketing department spinning positive accomplishments and letting people know what’s going on.
9. Start early in your communications if you have a rollout approaching, don’t catch people by surprise.
10. Always be prepared to answer these two questions…Why should they? and What’s in it for them?
11. Be knowledgeable about what other firms are doing with tech.
12. Be sure to align your initiatives with the firm’s core values.
13. Never say no to decision makers, always give them options.
14. Realize that early training is very important prior to a major implementation.
15. Have a decision maker, such as a managing partner send out the email announcement about a new tech rollout so that it won’t be ignored.
16. Manage expectations of decision makers, let them know what you’re doing, what the key steps are, the main issues or concerns, and when everything will happen.
17. Make your email communications visually appealing, succinct, and understandable with tech language in layman’s terms.
18. Work one on one with attorneys to build relationships.
19. Find out what decision makers’ pain points are and try to fix them.
20. Keep educated about what’s going on in your tech community by attending conferences, reading white papers, etc.

The folks at Best Colleges Online have created a list of 9 Ways Mobile is Moving into Academia. Mobile devices have made computing ubiquitous and colleges and universities are taking advantage of all that mobile has to offer in the areas of marketing, learning, mobile library access and more. Here are the first 5 ways discussed:

1. Expanding university apps and mobile web
2. Nomadic learning
3. Augmented reality learning scenarios
4. Mobile apps for education
5. Twitter feedback in class

via Stephen’s Lighthouse

Casey Zeman at the Social Media Examiner writes about YouTube’s recent facelift in 5 Ways to Brand Your New YouTube Profile. If you’re wondering about the best ways to optimize the new YouTube layout for your library or organization, you’ll want to check out this article. Here are the points discussed and illustrated with annotated screenshots:

• #1: Add Your Custom URLs in the Newly Placed Description Area
• #2: Add Overlays to ALL of Your Videos
• #3: Prevent Other Ads from Showing on Your Video
• #4: Check “Always Take Subscribed Users to the Feed Tab”
• #5: Prioritize Your Favorite Channels on your Home Page Using the Pinned Subscribers Feature

I attended the LegalTech conference yesterday here in NYC and went to this inspirational panel sponsored by ILTA. David Neeson, CIO at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger, LLP kicked off the session with some eye opening stats such as:

-There were 25 million iPads sold by June 2011
- the iPad holds 83% of the tablet market

His 80 attorney firm just finished an iPad rollout to all their associates. He shared that while he thinks that the iPad is an outstanding device for the consumption of information, it’s not so outstanding for the production of it. These are some areas where he thinks the iPads really shine:

Reading and Reviewing – great for reading deposition transcripts, reading ebooks, using GoodReader for reading documents.
Notetaking - iPads are excellent for typing notes, using Evernote, Draftpad, Notability, and OneNote. They’re also great when you need a handwritten signature for a pdf.
Research - the iPad is great for conducting searches on Fastcase, researching on Lexis and West apps.
Presentations - while not as strong in this area, iPads can be used to create presentations using Keynote and TrialPad.

The challenges for IT that Neeson identified have to do with device management and what happens when the user takes the iPad home and syncs it with their desktop’s iTunes. Also, app deployment, the update process, and deploying them en masse have all been challenges for his team. However, he mentioned that there are third-party utilities available for mobile device management which can help with deployment and configuration, policy enforcement, app management, remote control, tracking lost devices, and selective wipes of devices.

Brett Burney of Burney Consultants spoke about his recommended list of iPad apps, many of which I can’t wait to try out. These are the apps he suggests:

• GoodReader: This is an excellent app for reading documents. It can carry thousands and they can be organized and synced with Dropbox.
• PDF HD: Place bookmarks in pdf documents to quickly jump to that section.
• PDF PROvider: Read and create PDF documents with this app.
• PDF Expert: Fill out PDF forms and create signatures.
• IA Writer: A simply word processing app that syncs with Dropbox.
• SoundNote: Record audio notes that sync up with your typed and handdrawn notes.
• Noteshelf: Scan in handwritten notes and work with them through a zoomable interface. They can be exported to Evernote or as PDFs.
• Notes Plus: This notes app provides a dual pane interface where you can have your notes up in one and a webpage or PDF alongside it in the other pane. This app will convert written notes to text.
• Favorite News apps: USAToday, Guardian
• Zite: Similar to Flipboard but it makes recommendtions based on user behavior.
• Documents to Go: Create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentation with this mobile office suite.
• Atomic Web Browser: this browser can identify itself as other browsers such as IE, Firefox, and Safari.
• Legal apps: Westlaw Next, Lexis Advance HD, Fastcase HD.
• Find My Phone/iPad: Locate your missing, (or stolen), iPad with this tracking app.
• Klammer: open up files you would normally need Outlook to open such as .eml and .msg
• PST Mail: Transfer Outlook pst files to your device, and have access to your messages.

Mallory Woodrow at the Social Media Examiner offers 9 Tips for Integrating Social Media on Your Website. This helpful article includes annotated screenshots describing how different companies and organizations are making social media a part of their websites and their brand strategies. Here are her first five suggestions:

• #1: Include Visible Social Media Buttons
• #2: Integrate Social Where it Makes Sense
• #3: Include Up-to-Date Buttons
• #4: Include Share Buttons
• #5: Use Analytics

Time is almost up for those of us who haven’t switched over to the Facebook Timeline yet. Facebook announced earlier this week that all users will be getting the Timeline over the next couple of weeks. To help everyone get up to speed, Matt Petronzio at Mashable has put together a list of 28 Essential Facebook Timeline Resources.

Stan Schroeder at Mashable reports that 29% of U.S. Adults Own a Tablet or Ereader. This brief post sums up findings from the latest Pew Internet & American Life study: Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period.

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:

• Personal Digital Archiving: An Overview
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part One – Strategy
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part Two – Storage Options
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part Three – File Formats
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part Four – Policy
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part Five – Implementation
• Personal Digital Archiving: Part Six – Cataloging

Maintaining Your Archive

One of the most important points in the digital information process is the maintenance stage, the time when files have gone “cold” and creators become curators of their digital belongings.

Migration Awareness

One of the easiest ways to ensure that your PDA is preserved for the long term is to keep up-to-date on new technology trends and advances, as well as staying informed about possible pending obsolescence of either storage media, (e.g. floppy disks) or file formats. It is important to regularly check on your physical storage media to make sure it’s working properly, and keep abreast of developments with your cloud provider if storing your assets online, (perhaps by subscribing to their blog). To guarantee future access to your digital collection you will need to be aware that you should:

• Periodically change/upgrade physical storage media
• Regularly check on cloud storage providers – subscribe to their blogs!!
• Periodically migrate file formats to updated versions

Rediscovery

A well-maintained archive will let you rediscover items you forgot you ever had and wouldn’t think to search for, an experience like rummaging through an old cardboard box filled with items and memories from your past.

Sources:

• Marshall, Catherine C.. “Rethinking Personal Digital Archiving, Part 2: Implications for Services, Applications, and Institutions.” D-Lib Magazine March/April 2008. 13 Aug. 2010. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/march08/marshall/03marshall-pt2.html
• Williams, Peter, Jeremy Leighton John, and Ian Rowlands. “The personal curation of digital objects: A lifecycle approach.” Aslib Proceedings 61.4 (2009): 340-63. Library Lit & Inf Full Text. Web. 13 Aug. 2010.

The folks at Educause have put together a new “7 Things” guide, this time describing 7 Things You Should Know About Challenge-Based Learning.

“Challenge-based learning (CBL) is similar to problem-based learning, but with CBL, students formulate the challenges they will address. Through a process of discussion and research, students identify a selection of questions that might be workable for their project, work on solutions, and publish those solutions online. In this way, CBL provides the satisfaction that comes from figuring out both the issue to be tackled and the solution to it…”

As usual, the quick reference resource answers the following questions:

1. What is it?
2. How does it work?
3. Who’s doing it?
4. Why is it significant?
5. What are the downsides?
6. Where is it going?
7. What are the implications for teaching and learning?

Debbie Hemley at the Social Media Examiner offers 26 Tips for Writing Great Blog Posts. These A-Z recommendations will help you create optimal blog posts every time you sit down to write. Here are her first 7 suggestions:

• #1: Anatomically Correct
• #2: Blogging Platform
• #3: Categories
• #4: Description
• #5: Editorial Calendar
• #6: Fine-Tune and Revise
• #7: Guidelines for Writing for Search Engines

ALA Midwinter has kicked of the 2012 library conference season and soon we’ll be looking forward to Computers in Libraries, PLA, and ALA Annual among others. Here are 8 phone apps which will come in handy at these all of these events:

Foursquare

Check in not only at the event itself, but into indiviual sessions, receptions, luncheons, local restaurants, museums, and other venues. See who else is there, leave tips for other conference attendees, and network via this mobile social app. (Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phones, & more).

unsocial

This app lets you connect with business professionals in your proximity. It uses geo-location and smart tagging to help you find and be found. (Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, & Windows Phones).

BeamMe pro

beamME finds interesting people nearby based on your profile. You can then easily chat, share your actual location or contact information and meet – all from within the app. You can even connect it to Facebook and Twitter to see which contacts are at the event. (Available for iPhone only).

Facebook

Access social information about the conference you’re attending such as scheduled events, who’s attending the conference, what people are saying about the sessions and the locale, view photos that friends are posting, and chat with other conference attendees. (Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phones, & more).

Bump

Share all sorts of contact and social network information by bumping two phones together with the app. Just choose what you want to share/send and then hold the phones together. you can then message them through the app as well. (Available for iPhone and Android).

Ustream Live Broadcaster

Stream live video from the event to your Ustream account from your phone. You can notify your Twitter and Facebook social networks as you start your broadcast so that they can join you. You can make your broadcast social by integrating a live Twitter or Facebook feed. (Available for iPhone and Android).

Shhmooze

Shhmooze lets you check into conferences or meetup events and find out who’s interesting based on your profile and theirs. Connect with other attendees by virtually waving to break the ice.

(Available for iPhone and Android).

Free Wifi Finder

This handy app uses your iPhone’s GPS and network triangulation capabilities to instantly locate free Wi-Fi Internet hotspots wherever you are in the world online or offline. (Available for iPhone and Android).

Please list the apps you find most helpful at library conferences in the comments!!

Carrie Russell writes for American Libraries about Threats to Digital Lending. This is a great article about e-books, licensing, and ownership.

“When the Kansas Digital Library Consortium’s contract with digital-content distributor OverDrive was up for renewal last year, two issues made Kansas State Librarian Joanne Budler decide it was time to move on and transfer the ebook titles to another vendor who could offer a better deal. First, OverDrive planned to raise license fees by almost 700% by 2014. But even more disturbing was a change to the contract that would have changed the consortium’s ownership of the ebooks to a subscription.”

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:

Personal Digital Archiving: An Overview
Personal Digital Archiving: Part One – Strategy
Personal Digital Archiving: Part Two – Storage Options
Personal Digital Archiving: Part Three – File Formats
Personal Digital Archiving: Part Four – Policy
Personal Digital Archiving: Part Five – Implementation

Creating a Catalog

Many people have begun to create personal digital archives to store and preserve their digital assets, while others have implemented routine backup processes, but few have created catalogs of where everything is. Do you know where all of your personal digital assets are stored? Are some files still on CDs? Are some in the cloud while others reside on external hard drives? As time passes, it becomes more difficult to remember where everything went, if there were passwords or encryption placed on files, etc.

The good news is, you can easily create own personal archival catalog which will include:

• A complete list of digital assets in your Personal Digital Archive
• Location-information for assets
• Passwords and Encryption keys for protected files
• Usernames & passwords for cloud accounts
• Optional additional metadata about assets

You can create and store your catalog in the cloud for easy and ubiquitous access, or if you’re concerned about security for passwords, etc. you could choose to store your catalog locally. Here are a couple recommended programs:

GoogleDocs Spreadsheets

You can create a simple spreadsheet using a free Web-based application such as GoogleDocs, or a desktop program such as MS Excel or Open Office Calc. Either way, this catalog will help you keep track of where everything is located, possible passwords, encryption keys, and dates of when they were archived. Some possible fields to include in your spreadsheet would be:

• Digital Asset
• Filename
• Path
• Location 1
• Location 2
• Location 3
• Wildcard Location
• Password
• Notes
• Date Archived

Zoho Creator Databases

The Web-based database creation application, Zoho Creator allows users to easily build and store up to 2 databases free of charge. And it also lets you share what you build by making your databases public. If you would like to grab a copy of this Personal Archival Database for yourself, simply click into this link to access the database, and access ‘Options’ on the upper right and choose ‘Copy Application’, it will create a copy in your own account and you can feel free to customize it with any additional fields you’d like.

Here’s a view of the data:

Hopefully this gets you started creating your own Personal Digital Assets Catalog!!