I’ve uploaded a video of the presentation I gave at the OCLC Symposium on Reference and Social Networking. Part of the demonstration is a mock up of a new participatory reference application called Scapes:
Scapes from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.
12 Replies to “Scapes Video”
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So, David…is there anything out there to actually play with at this point, or is it still at the “mock-up” phase? Also, one of the very valuable things about current VR services is the option to be part of 24/7 consortia. Is this part of your vision for Scapes as well? Very provocative.
–Bill Pardue
Just a mock up at this point. The consortia part I think is vital and would show up in the “people” tab populated by the consortia. However, that’s what I would think, and I’m putting it out there to prompt how others might see doing it.
great stuff, dave, and a lot to think about. i’m sorry not to have caught you in person.
Hope you’ll be at the “Future of Reference” conference in Denver!
Your comment about the typical reference desk set-up putting the patron into an unnatural act of exposing their ignorance is dead-on in my opinion. Then mix that with the fact that some libraries have folks at the front lines who lack people skills and do not see themselves as being in the “conversation business” that you describe. This can produce a less than positive service experience. I choose the word ‘service’ specifically because I believe we are in a service profession.
Conversations have many purposes– putting people at ease and also getting to what they need. I liked your idea about conversing with them at the long work table rather than from behind a desk. Collaborating at a table is far more fluid than having the reference desk inbetween. I’ve seen that same idea used in models for conflict resolution. We call what we do at the reference desk “the reference interview”. I think most patrons would scratch their head and say “They’re interviewing me? I’m not applying for a job. I’m not responding to a survey.” Anyway, there’s a lot to think about in your presentation and I plan to watch it again. Thanks for posting it.
What software did you use to create your mockup?
A variety of helper apps for the images, but Keynote (Aple’s PowerPoint like product) for the actual demo. I then used iMovie to add the recorder audio track and make the movies to upload to Google Video and put a downloadable copy on the participatory site.