IMLS Funds Community Profile System

16826031270_745f4698b7_o We’re aiming to take “The Community is the Collection” from slogan to reality with a new National Leadership Grant from IMLS.

Co-PIs: Yun Huang, R. David Lankes, Jian Qin

Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) is partnering with Coulter Library at Onondaga Community College (OCC) and Fayetteville Free Library (FFL – an Onondaga county public library) to respond to the National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG) Program, addressing IMLS’s Learning Spaces in Libraries priority. This project can best be summarized as: the community is the collection. We propose to design a Community Profile System to expand library collections to include human expertise, particularly in the STEM fields. This system will enable librarians to collect communities’ learning needs, identify relevant community experts, and link the resources to serve the learning needs in a cost-efficient manner. This 3-year project will accomplish four activities: 1) assess community members’ learning needs and identify community experts’ interests and their availability in participating different libraries’ services through survey and interview studies; 2) build data models that capture the various needs and dynamic people resources as collection; 3) develop a workflow by identifying librarians’ roles in data collection, organization, and validation; 4) prototype and implement the system with user interactions and privacy protection features, as well as evaluate the system prototype via a system pilot study and diverse test cases.

Link to IMLS Announcement

August 31, 2015December 18, 2021

California Library Association Joins Collaboratory

The California Library Association has joined the Expect More Collaboratory.

August 14, 2015

RAILS Joins Collaboratory as a Lead Library

RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) has joined the Expect More Collaboratory as a Lead Library Partner.

June 18, 2015

The Fayetteville Free Library Joins the Expect More Collaboratory

The Fayetteville Free Library has joined the Expect More Collaboratory.

April 7, 2015April 13, 2015

Atlas Companion Site is Moving

UPDATE: The URL has been redirected (though it can take up to a day for the change to take effect).

The contents of the Atlas of New Librarianship’s companion site are moving from a stand alone server to my site to join all the other New Librarianship activities.

You can access all that content now here: https://davidlankes.org/?page_id=7071

Next week I will begin redirecting the URL http://www.NewLibrarianship.org to the New Librarianship pages of my blog. So you can use that URL to get information on the Atlas, Expect More, and all related activities.

I’d like to thank the IT folks at ALA for hosting the site to this point. I’d also like to thank Liz Crowder, my great Faculty Assistant for doing the moving.

Please let me know if you see any issues with the new site.

September 30, 2014October 3, 2014

Announcing My New Book: The Boring Patient

The following is information about my new book, but I wanted to start out with a thank you to the readers of this blog. Thank you for all your support through my cancer journey. Thank you for your input and ideas on the book and the encouragement to write it up. If you read my cancer posts you have a sense of the tone and humor in the book. However, the book is much more than just a compilation of blog posts. It tells my story, and speaks directly to caregivers and medical professionals. It also has my standard rants, jokes, and sermons. I hope you enjoy the book.

To my librarian friends, I need your help. Please help me get out the word on the book. Let’s show the world that librarians and libraries are indeed friends to authors.

Now available:

This book is not about cancer. It is about how David Lankes, professor and father, responded to being diagnosed, living with, and being treated for cancer. That is an important distinction because cancer is not funny. Cancer sucks. Cancer does not teach, cancer does not preach, cancer does not comfort, or inspire, or inform. Cancer kills. How one responds to cancer? That is a completely different matter.

In this cross between memoir, case study, and a lecture, Lankes takes the reader on a humor ladened trip through a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis, chemotherapy, and ultimately a bone marrow transplant (technically an autologous stem cell transplant).

This book is for others living through a journey with cancer. and those in the business of delivering health care like doctors, med students, nurses, and medical administrators.

You can buy it now via CreateSpace (my preference) and Amazon. You can also get the eBook via Amazon (and Amazon Unlimited).

Check out the book’s homepage for a sample chapter and additional information.

September 17, 2014

New Website

So while you’re waiting for iOS8 to install – or whatever normal people do – take a look at my new home on the web. It’s prettier. No real new content, just a new look and feel. All the old links should still work. Let me know what you think.

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014

Expect More…Audio

StereoFish [TL;DR version: Working with Circulating Ideas and the NerdAbsurb podcasts I’m making an Expect More Audio book.]

There are some great reasons for doing books with publishers. You get great editorial and design assistance. There is no way I could have done the Atlas of New Librarianship without MIT Press and ACRL. However, there also a lot of benefits to self-publishing. One of them is complete control of your intellectual property. So I can decide to make Expect More free to download: prioritizing reach over income (it also helps to have a day job). I can also use something like Expect More to try new things which brings me to today’s post.

I want to try and make an audio book. I want to learn about the whole recording/editing/publishing thing. I thought some of you might want to come along for the ride. So, I am recoding Expect More as an audio book. Based on suggestions from you folks, starting next week I’ll be releasing the book as a set of podcasts a chapter every two weeks.

Rather than starting a new podcast, I am lucky enough to partner with some fantastic sites. Circulating Ideas and the NerdAbsurd podcasts will be publishing the chapters throughout the fall. I also plan to compile all the recordings and sell it as an audio book through Audible.

Here’s the anticipated schedule:

Sept 9: Introduction and Chapter 1. The Arab Spring: Expect the Exceptional
Sept 23: Chapter 2. The Argument for Better Libraries: Expect Impact
Oct 7: Chapter 3. The Mission of Libraries: Expect More Than Books
Oct 21: Chapter 4. Facilitating Knowledge Creation: Expect to Create
Nov 4: Chapter 5. Improve Society: Expect Grander
Nov 18: Chapter 6. Communities: Expect a Platform
Dec 2: Chapter 7. Librarians: Expect Brilliance
Dec 16: Chapter 8. Action Plan: Expect More

Along the way I plan on posting some information on what I’m learning in the process.

Here is some more information on the Circulating Ideas and NerdAbsurd podcasts:

Circulating Ideas is the librarian interview podcast hosted by Steve Thomas. Since 2011, it has facilitated conversations about the innovative people and ideas moving libraries through the 21st century and beyond. Find the show online at www.circulatingideas.com and on Twitter @circideas.

NerdAbsurd started in September 2012 with some friends who met at the Dallas Makerspace. The podcast began with four members and was based on science, technology, and cultural topics from the standpoint of semi-hip 20-somethings. Now, two years later, half of us are in our 30?s, and we still stand by our motto: Not in enough for the in crowd, not out enough for the out crowd. We are NerdAbsurd.

Have other ideas or advice on an audio book, please share.

May 28, 2014

Nerd Absurd’s 100th Podcast

I’m a big fan of the Nerd Absurd podcast and had a blast talking to Virginia, Nick, Leland, and Andrew. We talked libraries, maker spaces, MOOCs, tenure and academia. Perhaps that’s why I have such a good time….they let me ramble.

Take a listen and check out their other great episodes at: http://nerdabsurd.com

April 28, 2014

I Want Your Blood…Donated

As many of you know, I have been battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the past year. I’ve been through chemo and most recently a stem cell transplant. Throughout this entire ordeal, I have received numerous blood transfusions that have enabled me to keep fighting. Through the kindness of others, I have been able to live.

So, to pay it forward, my wife, friends, and I are coordinating a blood drive with the American Red Cross on Wednesday, June 4th. It will take place at Holy Cross Church in Dewitt, NY from 1:00-7:00pm. We are asking everyone to please consider coming out and donating blood that day. It’s such a wonderful thing you can do for those who really could use your help. It takes about an hour of your time although the actual donation takes about 10 minutes.

You can contact my wife directly ([email protected]) to set up an appointment or call the American Red Cross. Please join us in giving back to our community!

I’d also ask my area librarian friends to post a flyer (download it here) on any community boards you may have. And feel free to pass this along to others who may be able to help. Together we can make a difference! Thank you.