Author: rdlankes

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The Obligation of Leadership

“The Obligation of Leadership” 2008 LITA Forum, Cincinnati, OH.

Abstract: No matter how many users one talks to in designing a system, there will be a gulf between what a user wants and what a system can do. The belief that users even know what they want, or that somehow a library can correctly interpret the needs of users is at best presumptuous. To truly build systems that met the needs of users, we must let them build these systems directly. By transforming our library systems into participatory systems, not only do we better meet the needs of our patrons, we also build systems that reflect the core principles of librarianship — getting away from simply adopting new technologiesdeveloped in other fields. This presentation will explore the concept of participatory systems, and talk about what from the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 world is durable, and how to avoid the latest fads.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2008/LITA.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2008/LITA.mp3
Video: http://ptbed.org/downloads/LITA-Record.mp4

Screencast:

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More Panoramas

I have set up another Blip.tv channel that I use to put one off videos and streaming screencasts I use for class. There isn’t really any rhyme or reason to them as a whole. I just did a piece on using Photoshop and cell phone cameras to make panoramas some or you might find interesting. At the very least you can see what my office looks like.

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iPhone Panoramas

I saw a great link to a new iPhone application called PanoLab on Gizmodo. The app takes the lightweight camera on the iPhone and lets you turn out some very interesting looking panorama images (here’s mine):

IMG_0647.JPG

Here is a link to a lot more on Flickr and a link to PanoLab. If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend it (and it’s free).

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Cyberinfrastructure Facilitators

“Cyberinfrastructure Facilitators: New Approaches to Information Professionals for E-Research” Oxford e-Research’08 Conference, Oxford, UK.

Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of a CI-Facilitator defined as a vital member of the research enterprise who works closely with researchers to identify extant tools, data sets, and other resources that can be integrated into the process of pursuing a research objective. In order to prepare CI-Facilitators to evolve with e-Research endeavors they must be grounded in deep conceptual frameworks that do not go out of date as quickly as any given cyberinfrastructure technology. One such framework, that of participatory librarianship, is presented here and explored in terms of tackling the issue of massive scale data in research. Participatory librarianship is grounded in conversation theory and seeks to organize information as a knowledge process rather than as discreet objects in some taxonomy.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2008/Oxford.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2008/Oxford.mp3
Video: http://ptbed.org/downloads/Oxford-Record.mp4

Screencast: