J. Cowles Thoughtfeed

OnePager template for library websites

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:31:16 -0500

This is *awesome* for small libraries, and a vast improvement over what many currently have. Check it out!

Browser Extensions for All

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:33:06 -0500

This library/boilerplate solution for cross-browser extension development shows a lot of promise. As it develops, it will likely lower barriers to entry for would-be extension developers and allow Greasemonkey enthusiasts to build more secure, functional scripts. If you’ve ever “wished there was an extension for that,” take a look at BabelExt.

A New Map

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:36:30 -0600

A New Map:

Every Public Library & Branch in Wisconsin, mapped by street address. Includes phone numbers and links to the WorldCat Registry.

WI Libraries Total Operating Expenditures Maps

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:46:22 -0600

This is another experiment with Google’s Fusion Tables.

DPI lists 393 libraries in their 2010 public library statistics.

Of those, almost two thirds (63% / 249 libraries) had total operating expenditures below $300,000.

About 31% (121 libraries) had total operating expenditures below $100,000.

Quite a deal, if you ask me!

Cheaper Than Netflix (mostly)

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:43:00 -0600

A map of the FEW places in Wisconsin where having a public library is more expensive than a Netflix subscription ($95.88/yr). Libraries in small communities can be costly on a per capita basis, but are generally well worth it (which is to say I’m just sharing an interesting map, not trashing these libraries). And hey, they seem to be well used!

Based on DPI 2010 “Resident Support Per Capita” Public Library Statistics.

Check out Madeline Island! I should plan a visit!

This map is an experiment with Google Fusion Tables. Check them out.

Tiny Public Library in Kansas Uses Digital Projects to Stay Relevant - The Digital Shift

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:10:11 -0600

Tiny Public Library in Kansas Uses Digital Projects to Stay Relevant - The Digital Shift:

appsandstacks:

Joan Weaver and Rosetta Graff aren’t exactly reinventing the small town public library, just … well, reinterpreting it.

Weaver and Graff are library director and librarian respectively of the Kinsley Public Library in Kinsley, which, with a population of roughly 1,450, is the largest town in Edwards County, in wheat-growing central Kansas.

Before the Internet, the public library was the source of books and information. Now, it’s one of many sources. So, like a company rewriting its business model in changing times, the library, especially the small library, also must adapt to remain relevant, Weaver says.

“We have to do more than check out books. One way a small local library can stay relevant is to become a repository of local information.”

In recent years, the Kinsley Library has become just such a repository. With the help of dedicated volunteers and some grant money, the library has amassed a trove of local history, vital statistics, genealogical information, burial records, church records, a digital map of the changing downtown, and hundreds of historical photos, including photos of the five family-owned carnivals that once headquartered in Kinsley.

In addition, the librarians recently completed two oral history projects on how World War II affected Edwards County and its residents, and how the county changed during the post-war decades.

Read more…

Libraries and Museums Become Hands-On Learning Labs

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:40:20 -0600

Libraries and Museums Become Hands-On Learning Labs:

thelifeguardlibrarian:

world-shaker:

A new competition sponsored by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has just announced 12 winning libraries and museums that will receive $1.2 million in grant money help push the boundaries of what these institutions look like, specifically helping to create facilities that are better “learning labs” for teens.

The idea was inspired by YOUmedia, a teen learning space at the Chicago Public Library’s downtown center. YOUmedia provides teens with access to thousands of books. But it also contains over 100 laptop and desktop computers — machines that are equipped with various media creation software — as well as an in-house recording studio with keyboards, turntables and a mixing board. YOUmedia also provides classes and connections to mentors so that teens can learn how to use the equipment.

Recognizing the importance of museums and libraries as sites for hands-on learning, the MacArthur Foundation and IMLS-sponsored competition plans to take the YOUmedia model and spread it nationally. The hope is for the new learning labs to serve as places where teens can explore science, technology, art, and literature — not just to not just to read about it — through building and making.

What do you think of this?

CHICAGO.

You walk into YOUmedia and you can feel good stuff happening. Kids are engaged. Technology is being used appropriately (and productively). Books (good books) are available. Kids find new talents and new ways to connect with their peers, beyond superficial interests. The staff is relevant and informed (YOUmedia is not staffed exclusively by librarians—there are digital media/music/design specialists on hand as well). Oh, it’s worth every penny.

For Librarians, Buy Librarians

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:01:58 -0600

For Librarians, Buy Librarians:

Naomi @ I Need A Library Job has compiled this list of INALJ list members, friends, and family who sell handmade items on Etsy… just in time for your holiday shopping. Good idea.

Chinese Government Building Hackerspaces?

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:21:29 -0600

Chinese Government Building Hackerspaces?:

As a follow up to my post on Libraries as Incubators, and Retiring Guy’s post on hacker/maker spaces, I found this story today about the Chinese government’s proposal to build 100 community hackerspaces.

Why everyone hates the IT department

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:35:47 -0600

Why everyone hates the IT department:

Most of us can identify with some side of this issue. The article is about corporate IT. Is it different for libraries? Newly minted MLIS’s should have some modicum of IT knowledge. Does this allow for more collaborative, less authoritarian IT departments? A fuller integration of IT functions? Does it create institutional antagonism to have IT services handled by separate organizations / consortia (library “systems” in Wisconsin)?

Citizen Journalism & Traditional Journalism - What happens when journalism is everywhere?

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:02:00 -0600

Citizen Journalism & Traditional Journalism - What happens when journalism is everywhere?:

“So what does the world look like when journalism is everywhere? We are beginning to find out. And while it may be a frightening prospect if you are a traditional media company, there is a lot to be optimistic about if you are just interested in the news. A world where everyone is a journalist may be a bit more chaotic and a bit more complicated than the one we are used to, but it will also be a bit more free, and that is clearly a good thing.”

Wary Of SOPA, Reddit Users Aim To Build A New, Censorship-Free Internet

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:57:40 -0600

Wary Of SOPA, Reddit Users Aim To Build A New, Censorship-Free Internet

Retiring Guy: Status Report on Wisconsin's Public Libraries (Part 1 of a series)

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:36:00 -0600

Retiring Guy: Status Report on Wisconsin's Public Libraries (Part 1 of a series):

Paul Nelson is a prolific blogger, adjunct professor, former director and co-author of a new book on managing small public libraries (that he apparently has too much class to openly pimp on his blog). Should be a series worth watching… fire up your RSS readers if you somehow aren’t already following the blog.

The Occupy Wall Street Library Regrows in Manhattan

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:03:13 -0600

The Occupy Wall Street Library Regrows in Manhattan:

“The damage to the library’s archives of zines, writings, art, and original works is devastating and irreparable.”

IMO, this is a much larger problem than the destruction of a replaceable book collection, even if that was reprehensible.

Libraries as incubators: Some thoughts and links

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:51:08 -0600

When I was at the Wisconsin Library Association’s annual conference a couple weeks ago, I made a choice not to attend a session called “Library as Incubator Project,” and I have come to regret that choice because I have been thinking about libraries as incubators (of various sorts) ever since. Their session was described:

The Library as Incubator Project seeks to learn how artists (writers, visual artists and performing artists) use libraries in their research, creation and promotion of their artistic work. The presenters are in the process of creating a web resource that highlights artists and projects that have been “incubated,” in part, by library collections, spaces and/or staff. It will also serve as a resource for librarians who want to better serve artists patrons through programming, collections, and partnerships. Laura, Christina and Erinn will discuss their goals for the future of the project.

For me, this connected with something I’ve been thinking about for a while. If libraries need to redefine their role, incubation could be a cornerstone of that - but not just for writers and artists. Libraries can leverage both traditional information resources and services as well as tools provided by the social web, to empower people to become creators of all kinds - and to have a space to do it together with other people.

As I was writing an essay response to an exam question I got to thinking about the ongoing sort of brainstorming occurring at the intersection of libraries and journalism. It occurred to me that libraries could play a big role in incubating (i.e. training and organizing) citizen journalists. Of course there are problems to be resolved with the public library’s close relationship to local government, but I think that could be worked out. I helped co-found the citizen media site Main Street Oshkosh, unfortunately not long before I moved away from Oshkosh. But from that experience, I can see how the library could have helped us build a stronger, more inclusive presence for local news.

Then, a couple days ago, Paul Nelson (Retiring Guy) posted about hacker/maker spaces and libraries. Another example of an opportunity for libraries to incubate - this time artists of a more technological sort.

And then of course there is the older idea of libraries as business incubators which is not, by the way, necessarily separate from any of the above.

A closing thought… a lot of this relates to bringing web 2.0 mentalities offline and into the physical sphere. One reason social media is so powerful in university campus communities is that they have this great shared commons of physical spaces and resources that can be used. They can organize online and act offline (if they want). The shared public spaces available to regular communities seem to be fewer and farther between these days, but for many communities the public library has been a fixture of shared space for many decades. We need to recognize that our digital world makes local libraries more of an asset, not less.

Comments welcome.

In case you missed it: WPR on the importance of libraries

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:18:00 -0600

In case you missed it: WPR on the importance of libraries:

Kathleen Dunn from Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM

After ten, Kathleen Dunn’s guest stresses why libraries are vitally important to their communities.

Guest: Roberta Stevens, Immediate Past-President, American Library Association.

Designing conference posters

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:02:38 -0600

Designing conference posters:

If you have ever considered submitting a poster for a “poster session” at a conference/event, you need this guide.

Thanks to Jim Schultz at UWM-SOIS for the link.

On The People's Library as a sign of the maturity of a movement

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:40:48 -0600

On The People's Library as a sign of the maturity of a movement:

…compared with the anti-corporate globalisation and then anti-war movements of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the libraries reflect the “maturity of a movement” that had “been shell-shocked by the whole Bush era” …

Also of interest: ALA has issued a statement expressing “alarm” at the destruction of the OWS library.

On what this blog is

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:22:57 -0600

For several months, in the back of my mind of have been thinking about what to do with this blog. I used to blog frequently under a pseudonym as an undergrad but for some odd reason, I clam up when my name’s attached. Maybe it’s the two years I spent reading articles about what not to do in your job search, including comical examples of words coming back to bite people.

On the other hand, I’m itching to get back in practice. So, rather than spend a lot of time developing a theme or posting schedule, I’m just going to share what I am thinking and reading, books I am adding to my wishlist, podcasts and radio shows of interest, and anything else that seems appropriate. When I can, I’ll try to add some commentary rather than just posting things.