Author: rdlankes

Posted on

Quality Standards Workbook Translated into Chinese

Img 7053
The National Library of China has done a superb job of translating and re-publishing Statistics, Measures and Quality Standards for Assessing Digital Reference Library Services: Guidelines and Procedures. McClure, C., Lankes, R. David, Gross, M., and Choltco-Devlin, B.

Posted on

Scapes

“Scapes” OCLC Symposium on Reference and Social Networking, Philadelphia, PA.

Abstract: Who said reference has to be one person, one librarian, one question? Can reference be a social activity? How can we truly put the user at the center of reference? How can we re-imagine reference as a learning activity where the reference librarian facilitates learning? David Lankes will focus on reference as a truly participatory process and how such a process can take advantage in the latest in web technologies.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2008/Scapes.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/OCLC-Scapes.mp3
Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4867328898935259711

Posted on

Details for ALA/ALISE Meeting January 9th

Participatory Librarianship
and Web 2.0 in the Curriculum
ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and ALISE

When: January 9, 2008, 9:00-11:00
Where: Room 108, Free Library of Philadelphia
Map Directions: http://tinyurl.com/3xa6pn

Thank you for agreeing to attend this meeting. Your input shall be invaluable not only to ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy, but to your peers as well. We all wrestle with the fast pace of technological change in our research and curricula. Certainly the past two decades have challenged our schools to not only prepare librarians for a new practice environment, but to constantly place these technologies in the larger contexts of our field and society. New technologies, both the fads and the fundamental, have filled our traditional cores and electives to their breaking points. How can we decide what is durable in these new technologies? What is the proper balance between concepts and technology features? What is the overall concept of librarianship that allows us to define cutting edge, obsolete, and irrelevant? It is hoped that this meeting and the larger series of conversations taking place in LIS programs around the country, can bring some consensus to these questions.

The technology brief Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation is a starting point for our discussion. It foreshadows a broad view of librarianship (limited to a technology lens for the brief) where librarians are not caretakers of collections, but facilitators of community conversations (in schools, cities, businesses, etc). How do we prepare the next generation of librarians to be true facilitators?

Many of us have already begun to wrestle with these issues. The point of this meeting is to share the important thinking and work you have done in your schools and libraries. I want to thank you again for agreeing to share. This meeting is not about a crisis, nor about any one technology. Rather it is part of an ongoing participatory process intent on defining the fundamental nature of libraries in a world of the ubiquitous network.

Agenda

  • Welcome and Introductions
  • Background on the Office for Information Technology Policy
  • Overview of Participatory Librarianship and the Educational Implications
  • Open Discussion of Participatory Librarianship and Web 2.0 in the Curriculum
  • Wrap Up and Next Steps

Additional Materials

Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation – OITP Technology Brief
Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation – OITP Technology Brief Executive Overview

Additional Background materials, including video introductions, can be found on the Participatory Librarianship web site http://ptbed.org

Posted on

Where is the Cutting Edge?

At the recent participatory meeting in New York City, one of the participants said:

“Ten years ago people went to schools to get the cutting edge. Today the cutting edge is everywhere, in libraries, business, all over the web.”

I found this a very interesting comment, especially considering that I have also heard from many students tht they want more Library 2.0 and current technology taught. So my questions to you:

1. Do you think this is true…have LIS programs lost the cutting edge? Did they ever have it?

and

2. If indeed the locus of control for innovation has shifted from LIS programs out to practice and industry, how should schools respond?