Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Phil Mershon at the Social Media Examiner gathers 7 Creative Social Media Marketing Mini Case Studies. These are all organizations that have stood out by implementing innovative social media marketing practices. This post is a great source for marketing inspiration.

The ed tech company Knewton has created an excellent infographic illustrating The Gamification of Education. This graphic displays the potential and progression of using game design elements in educational contexts.

via Stephen’s Lighthouse

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

Running a Closed Card Sort

Implementing a closed card sort will involve all of the same steps as the open card sort, with the addition of a set of labels which you provide for participants.  If you previously held an open card sort, these will be the labels which you discovered via your analysis.

Instructions will be slightly different, as you will be telling participants to assign each card to a labeled group, and may look something like this:

Be sure and include a label called “Misc” or something similar so that participants can place items they aren’t sure about into that group.

Next: How to Analyze Results of a Closed Card Sort

Michael Jaindl, chief client officer at Buddy Media writes for Mashable about 8 Tips To Maximize Your Brand’s YouTube Presence. Develop a game plan for your organization and turn your YouTube channel into a video hotspot. Here are the first four tips discussed:

1. Create a Schedule
2. Keep it Short
3. Promote
4. Have a Channel Aesthetic

I thought it was only appropriate to post Richard Byrne’s article on 11 Web-based Polling and Survey Tools following yesterday’s technology poll (which is already up to 324 votes!!). Check out his suggestions for applications which will let you set up your own surveys and polls. His list includes Polldaddy, which is the one that I use. Here are the first 3:

1. MicroPoll
2. Flisti
3. Quiz Snack

This is a great question which was recently posted to Quora, I'd be interested to hear how others in the field are using QR Codes in their libraries. Please take a look and add your ideas!!

What are some uses for QR codes in public and academic libraries? 4 answers on Quora

What are some uses for QR codes in public and academic libraries?

The folks at Monetate have created an excellent infographic about Pinterest with some enlightening statistics such as the fact that Pinterest has been driving more traffic to retailers’ websites than Google!

It’s Social Media Week here in NYC and I’ve been lucky enough to attend several sessions that are a part of this cutting-edge conference. On Monday the New York Public Library hosted a session titled Making Collections Possible Through Collaboration during which they discussed 3 exciting digital projects undertaken by NYPL Labs, each involving collaboration with users.

GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

The NYPL’s Stereogranimator lets users create and share animated GIFs and 3D anaglyphs using more than 40,000 stereographs. Users can browse through the NYPL’s collection of dual photos and then combine them to make a 3D image. This project was inspired by Joshua Heineman’s project that he started four years ago. The San Francisco-based artist was using the NYPL’s collection of stereographs to create animated gif images for his Cursive Buildings site. His project went viral and the Library took notice and began collaborating with him to create the Stereogranimator.

The NYPL’s menu collection includes over 40,000 menus dating from the 1840s to the present. In order to be able to search the menus by dish, price, etc., they are transcribing the menus, dish by dish with the help of their users. The What’s on the Menu project has had over 782,059 dishes transcribed from 12,426 menus. Users can share menus via Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social media website. All of the data is openly available in zipped format for export, and the NYPL plans an API for release shortly. They are considering incorporating their historic playbill collection, and plan on mashing this application up with their Map Warper.

The NYPL’s Map Warper is an application for digitally aligning (“rectifying”) historical maps from their collections with today’s maps to create a brand new version. This allows for comparative, spatial history. Users can view the maps which have been rectified or warped already, or they can help the NYPL align other maps. The NYPL map collection consists of over 433,000 maps and 24,000 books and atlases. They have been digitizing this collection over the past 12 years and have digitized 15,000 maps, 10,000 of which are NYC maps. They will be making the software package openly available for other libraries to use. To date, they have 1600 collaborators who are helping rectify maps on NYPL’s site.

The past month has been great for library technology news, articles, and blog posts. Here’s a roundup of 17 of them that you won’t want to miss. and please list any other recent library tech stories in the comments!!

Technology Trends

1. 10 Presentations, Videos, and Papers from Online Information 2011 – iLibrarian
2. 5 Best Practices for Educators on Facebook – Mashable
3. 20 Best TED Talks for Students of Social Media – Best Colleges Online
4. Discovery Layers in Law Libraries – AALL Spectrum

Open Access & Copyright

5. Copyright Fair Use and How it Works for Online Images – Social Media Examiner
6. 50 Open Access Resources for Librarians – Part 1 – iLibrarian
7. 50 Open Access Resources for Librarians – Part 2 – iLibrarian

Digitization & Archives

8. British Library puts 19th C newspapers online – Associated Press
9. Personal Digital Archiving: An Overview – iLibrarian
10. Personal Digital Archiving: Part One – Strategy – iLibrarian
11. Personal Digital Archiving: Part Two – Storage Options – iLibrarian
12. Personal Digital Archiving: Part Three – File Formats – iLibrarian

Mobile

13. Mobile Technology in Libraries – iLibrarian

Misc.

14. Libraries Make Room For High-Tech ‘Hackerspaces’ – NPR
15. Return of the Coffeehouse: How to turn your library into an ideas factory – It’s Not About the Books
16. The 10 Key Skills for the Future of Work – GigaOm
17. Q & A: a Onetime Librarian Talks About the ‘Unconference’ Movement – Wired Campus

I wanted to share the news that I have started a new job today as the Manager of Information Systems at the New York Law Institute. I am very excited to have joined a great team in the oldest circulating law library in New York City. This new position will give me the opportunity to work with and stay on the cutting-edge of technology in libraries. If anyone has any tips, blog recommendations, articles, or other resources they would recommend particularly for someone entering the law libraries field I’d love it if you’d comment!!

In September I wrote a post about 13 Resources & Tips for Library Job Seekers which was very popular with iLibrarian readers, so as a follow-up I thought I’d post some more tips and strategies that I’ve found helpful in the past. If you’re looking to land a library job in today’s competitive market, here are some recommendations to get you started:

Manage Your Online Reputation

Potential employers will be searching online to see what information is available about you. What kind of posts, comments, images, etc. will they find? You’ll want to do some exploratory vanity searching to see what’s out there, and if necessary do some damage control in the form of requesting that mis-information or just plain unflattering information be removed from others’ sites and profiles. Start with doing a search for yourself on these sites:

• Google
• Google Images
• Google Blogs
• Google Alerts
• Twitter Search
• Social Mention

Create a Web Site

Whether or not you’re tech savvy, you need to have an online website or landing page which lets potential employers know a little more about you. This page can be as simple as a one page site which links to all of your social media profiles, or can be a fully developed online portfolio. For tips on how to get started, check out my post on 5 Ways to Set Up A Free Personal Landing Page in 5 Minutes.

Clean Up Your Online Profiles

When you’re looking for a new job, you want to be sure that you put your best face forward, and that includes cleaning up your profiles on all of your social networking sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. For suggestions on how to do this effectively you may want to check out my post on 17 Tips to Improve Your Online Presence. One of the necessary ingredients on all of your social networking profiles is your bio statement (or most likely paragraph) describing who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and where you’re looking to go. This bio statement is what will most likely serve as the basis for your elevator pitch when you are doing face-to-face networking. For tips on this, take a look at, A Librarian’s Guide to the Elevator Pitch.

Join the Conversation

Make yourself more visible by joining in on library conversations on Q&A websites such as Quora or LinkedIn’s Groups and Answers sections. You may also want to join relevant library listservs and offer your opinions and feedback. In addition, library jobs are often posted to listservs first. If you want some tips to quickly get going with Quora you can check out A Quick Guide to Getting Started with Quora. Additionally, you may want to consider starting a blog or really diving into the conversation on Twitter.

Get Published

Make yourself more marketable by garnering some publishing credits. There are many library publications out there seeking well-written articles on everything from gaming in libraries to information literacy program strategies. Look for Calls for Papers on listservs and postings on this site: A Library Writer’s Blog. LIScareer and WebJunction are great places to pitch article ideas, and you may also want to try these individual publications:

• American Libraries
• Library Journal
• School Library Journal
• Computers in Libraries
• Choice Journal
• Library Technology Reports
• Journals for LIS Research – Thousands of links to LIS journals, all of which need talented writers!

Give a Talk

One way to keep adding to your resume and making yourself more attractive to potential employers is to give a talk, workshop, or class. Find out about local library consortia that might be seeking instructors or volunteers to run a special interest group meeting, etc. Also check A Library Writer’s Blog for calls for participation for library conferences and events. You could also volunteer to give a Webinar on a topic that you’re knowledgeable about.

Network, Network, Network

The more people you meet and network with online the better your odds are of finding a new job. Having people keep their eyes and ears open for you and pass you along job announcements is going to be the fastest and easiest way to acquire your new position. Explore local networking opportunities through Meetup.com, and find out about nearby library events that you can attend and possibly meet potential employers. You will also want to expand your circles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.

Amy-Mae Elliott at Mashable writes a helpful guide to How To: Fill In Your Facebook Timeline. If you’re wondering about this brand new Facebook feature which was announced last month, this is the place to get started. Here are the points covered in the article:

• 1. The Timeline Menu Bar
• 2. Work and Education
• 3. Family and Relationships
• 4. Living
• 5. Health and Wellness
• 6. Milestones and Experiences
• 7. “Other Life Event”
• 8. Adding an Event
• 9. Privacy Options
• 10. The Event in Your Timeline
• 11. Minimizing Events in Your Timeline
• 12. Hiding or Deleting Events
• 13. Your Recent Activity
• 14. Adding Events Directly in the Timeline

Yesterday Apple released it’s biggest upgrade to date with iOS 5 which is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch, and the iPad/iPad 2. And it will be preloaded on the 4S. The reason that this upgrade is so important is that it ushers in the “PC free” era as Apple calls it, meaning that it frees its devices from the computer. Users will now be able to use iTunes on their devices and will not have to plug them into a computer in order to sync, download media, and organize their content.

Here are some helpful resources to get you started with iOS5:

iOS 5 – 200+ New Features for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch – Apple

iOS 5: Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade – Mashable

Why iOS 5 is a Big Deal – CNET

Everything You Need to Know About iOS 5 in Seven Minutes – Lifehacker

Apple’s iOS 5 Update Now Available For iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch – TechCrunch

iOS 5: The Top 10 New Features – Gizmodo

iOS 5 Review – Engadget

How to Set Up and Configure All the New Features in iOS 5 – Lifehacker

15 iOS 5 Tips and Tricks – CNET

Foursquare “Radar” Taps iOS 5 to Alert iPhone Users of Local Activities – Mashable

How Twitter Integrates With iOS 5 – Mashable

I’ve recently joined the Quora Q&A network where I’ll be posting and answering questions, some of which may be linked back here on iLibrarian. So if you’re also a member on Quora, please follow me there!!!

It’s a tough market for library and information professionals looking for work. However there are new job openings being posted daily. Here are some great job boards to track and some tips that will hopefully help you with your job search.

Library Job Boards:

1. ALA JobLIST
2. LIS Jobs
3. Chronicle of Higher Education’s Job Listings
4. Library Journal’s Job Zone
5. LibInfoSciJobs on Twitter
6. Libgig_jobs on Twitter
7. GetArchivisJobs on Twitter
8. LITA Jobs
9. SLA Jobs

Tips for Library Job Seekers:

10. Look for local library consortium and local association chapters as they may have job boards such as:
    METRO’s Job Bank and ACRLNY, (New York area).

 

11. Make sure you’re on LinkedIn and have filled out your profile/resume completely. Start seeking recommendations!

 

12. Create a Start Page with quick links to libraries, universities, and organizations you’d like to work for, as well as feeds from job boards, like this one created with Protopage:
    

 

13. Create a full CV of all your work experience and accomplishments and make it readily available by sharing it on Slideshare, like this:
    Ellyssa Kroski Resume

    View more documents from Ellyssa Kroski

Good luck with your job hunt!!!