We love to boondoggle

Another of my "shy" colleagues has joined the blogosphere at Boondoggle. We love to boondoggle (or would boondoggle 2.0 be boongoogle?)

Welcome Supermuddle!

Finally, one of my colleagues has started her Learning 2.0 blog - Supermuddle 2.0. I'm looking forward to her insights :-)

For a gang that have such a lot to say, my workplace colleagues are terribly blog-shy at the moment!! You know who you are :-)

A Library 2.0 experience - Insite Mapping

I was involved in a planning discussion today (with not my everyday work colleagues) facilitated by a consultant using a method called Insite Mapping. It was intended as a knowledge sharing session to inform future planning of the library by incorporating the working experiences of the library staff ... based upon a storytelling strategy. It was not meant to create a list of problems that would be solved, but through a couple of these sessions the facilitator expected to identify a list of themes/issues which should be considered in the next stage of planning by the management/representative group. What are the real issues being faced every day in the library - traditionally library related, or not? Using this method, it was hoped that things that would not normally make a formal agenda, finally would.

The discussion which developed smacked of all the "library 2.0" issues/concepts I've been reading about ... who are the clients the library is not serving as well as it could? what are the real issues our clients are facing using the library? how are the different campuses facing different issues with their different client groups? what are the things stopping staff from delivering the service they really want to? Although the issues weren't all technology related, it was amazing how often technology came into it.

Time will tell whether the session will have any impact on the planning - some had doubts -but I do take hope from the session's synergism with my two current areas of interest - EBLIP and more recently, good old Library 2.0. Decision making based upon rich evidence, including 'insights derived from working experience' (Booth p.38), and a 2.0 fresh look at things.

New skills implemented!

Learning 2.0 has had an impact! I've just added a current awareness feed (as pondered here in earlier posts) to our EBLIP website at http://www.eblip.net.au

The list of items aren't the most conclusive/representative ones that I could have probably found, but the point is it is all set up, so that when our team does find something interesting/relevant it is just a matter of saving it to the del.icio.us account!

Talking with Talis podcasts

I listened to couple of podcasts over the weekend by the Library 2.0 gang in the Talking with Talis series. I'm a nut for talking books in the car, so being able to listen to these discussions while driving to work, cooking dinner, typing my latest blog entry, or what else is going on, is great.

The first one - Introducing the Library 2.0 Gang - was a teleconference recorded 31 January 2006. What better way to learn more about the Library 2.0 discussion - than hearing it be discussed?! Panelists included Michael Casey, Michael Stephens, T. Scott Plutchak, & Thomas Brevik. When asked to define Library 2.o Michael Casey said something like "The Talking with Talis Library 2.0 Gang round table is what Library 2.0 is - a great big giant conversation made possible by new technology."

The second I listened to - Library 2.0 Mashup Gang (recorded mid-July) - gave me a better understanding of what mashups are ... but I'm still a little fuzzy - is it 2 or more systems coming together to produce something new ... or can it be as simple as a blogpost that imports a picture hosted at Flickr, and a podcast hosted at Odeo?

This is now planned to be a fortnightly discussion. I lookward to these, as well as catching up on the other ones from earlier this year.

Supermodel 2.0 hits the big time with SitePal and Odeo

SitePal was a bit of a laugh to play around with. Supermodel 2.0 asks the big question ... "Is Evidence-based library and information practice (EBLIP) and Library 2.0 - two right together, or too tame to triumph?"

I also had a play with Odeo to make my very first ever podcast - woo-hoo! I feel like a definite dork ... but this really is a tool that I think could be used in my workplace for a variety of purposes. The podcast is nothing special - just an abstract of a paper under development. Feedback welcome :-) Powered by ODEO

>>>
Is Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) and Library 2.0 - two right together, or too tame to triumph?

EBLIP and Library 2.0 could be described at opposite ends of the innovation scale ... but is that just too much of a 1.0 way of looking at things. Is a partnership between EBLIP and Library 2.0 too treacherous to try, or is it the ticket to tremendous success?

Critics may argue that evidence-based practice stifles innovation by relying on research that is removed from the real world, and leaves no room for creative initiatives to flourish.

Traditionalists may question whether social software really does have a legitimate place in a scholarly environment?

And if the Web 2/Library 2 idea claims that "the rules are there are no rules" how can the average workplace, unable to deny the realities of budgets, “core services”, and performance targets, embrace the creative opportunities new technologies have introduced?

Library 2.0 and evidence based library and information practice might just be a partnership too good to pass up, since successful implementation of innovative initiatives relies upon good planning, effective decision making, and a market for the marvellous idea.

Library 2.0 is not about anarchy. EBLIP will not stifle innovation.

Basecamp

I've made a start on setting up a project in Basecamp.

The last few projects I've been involved with have used Excel to list tasks with columns to sort by date due, and person responsible. While this has worked reasonably well, I would have liked to have produced gantt charts (without manually colouring in cells representing weeks etc) that change as the dates are changed.

I have Microsoft Project, though because we only have one licence it is not really practical to use in team where more than one of us needs to get involved. With our current project having people located all over the place, we thought it would be a good idea to try an online project planning tool.

Basecamp hasn't solved the Gantt chart problem. The only "date" items are the milestones, which are in a separate section to the "to do" list, which can be grouped, though not categorised or be assigned a due date. But maybe being more judicious in assigning due dates will make the ones which have been set, more of a focus, and so more likely to be achieved??? Not convinced about this one yet.

Basecamp does offer other features useful for us though. Apart from the whole team being able to access the system no matter which library/city/country they are in, it also provides on online area where team members can contribute to communal "writeboards", join chat sessions, and subscibe to an RSS feed for team members to kept informed on progress without actually having to log in.

Overall - I'm not convinced. There are other online tools to support collaboration, and so far this one doesn't excite me in terms of scheduling (what i'm looking for most in a project tool). We'll see how it goes. I'll set up Open Workbench for another project we've just started - not online, but probably better at scheduling.

City2Surf 2006

Originally uploaded by eblspicegirls.

One of Flickr's third party sites - fd's Flickr Toys (hockneyizer) - allows you chop up your photo to make something like this after making a few quick choices. This one is a LOVELY one of my friend and I at the City2Surf fun run in Sydney a week or so ago.

Flickr

I have been using flickr for a few months, but this week's discovery exercise has encouraged me to learn a bit more about the features it offers. I just set up my Flickr account so I can blog photos to Supermodel 2.0 directly from Flickr (& is how I included the photo of the slide I found from the PLCMC summit, in the previous post).

I also added a set of photos from our recent EBLIP seminar to the "Libraries and Librarians" group on Flickr. Figuring out how to actually join a group was a bit tricky ... for some reason I kept missing the join button ... but got there in the end, so look forward to exploring groups a little more.

Next on the list to discover ... "mashups". I've seen this term used a few time around the place but have no idea what it means (give me 5mins and I'll be with you!)

Librarian 2.0 makes good decisions

Librarian 2.0 makes good decisions
Originally uploaded by FVinSC.

Hey - a reference to evidence-based practice!!! ... I knew I was onto something there!

Beyond the Job

Beyond the Job - Call For Presenters: Five Weeks to a Social Library
... another free online course to "devoted to teaching librarians about social software and how to use it in their libraries." (Call for presenters now open)

following up...

I've made *some* progress clarifying my thoughts blurted down in my recent post "thoughts to follow up on...". Actually, it was more like identifying quotes to support what I was thinking more so than coming up with anything more myself. Still, I feel better. Here is a msg I sent to our project group in response to this week's discussion question beginning "What is this Library 2.0..."

>>
I've made a start on the Walt Crawford article suggested by Melanie and Ingrid. Very interesting reading so far - I particularly liked the list of "sixtytwo views and seven definitions" (p.4) ... hmmm - obviously, it's impossible to define, really.

Highlights were
* L2 is not about technology [followed by]
* L2 is all about technology
* L2 doesn't (or shouldn't) allow for a concise definition

and best of all, though less influential :-) ...
* "Library 2.0" is "L2" when you're in the In Crowd [or I guess, just lazy and looking at saving keystrokes!]

With such a broad spectrum of perspectives/defintions contributing to the Library 2.0 "discussion", Michael Stephens' view that L2 discussions "must take plane in YOUR library" (p.9) seems all the more meaningful. The disparity leaves room for us to define what it means for us, our library and our clients.

Of the definitions (p.5), the ones I like most - or want to believe is what it's all about - are :

"Library 2.0 means making your library's space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs", Michael Casey.
- It best represents what I was coming to realise in the Learning 2.0 "Supermodel 2.0" blog entry ... but hadn't yet ironed out what I knew/thought. Hopefully, I'll feel more comfortable after making it through the remaining 3/4 of the article.

and also

"L2 is...a service philosophy built upon three things; a willingness to change and try new things; a willingess to cosntatnly re-evaluate our service offerings and finally, a willingess to look outside our own world for solutions, be they technology-driven or not (this is where Web 2.0 fits in).", Michael Casey.
- This definition describes L2 in a light indicating a synergy with EBLIP.

I shall continue reading......

del.icio.us tag cloud & link rolls

I've just experimented with the del.icio.us tag cloud facility, by adding it to the sidebar of Supermodel 2.0. I'm sure this has a really cool applied use, but I can see the link rolls being of more use for our site, at the moment.

I'd like to play around with trying to incorporate a list of links (& include the notes/tags for each) as a dynamic reading list/current awareness facility within the pages of our sites. I see from the link roll help screen you can even add a button for an RSS feed for readers to subscribe to if it is something useful for them. I reckon we could tag references with a specific tag to represent each "reading list", as we discover them and then just display the list of that particular tag in each list? To test, I'll try adding to the bottom of Supermodel 2.0 a list of the things I've tagged "read later" ... things I want to have a look at, but didn't have time when I came across them, and add a few links over the next couple of days and see if it works.

thoughts to follow up on...

[APOLOGIES for this mess, but better out than in. I hope.]

things getting in the way of making Milla's birthday cake... clarify/organise this mess on monday...

* do I have this right? Web 2.0 is about making a better, more accessible/interactive web (technology based, by nature) ... but L2 is just about making better, more accessible/interactive libraries (which include technology, but that's not all) ?
* L2 is about introducing change ... questioning why, removing the boundaries, doing what they want/providing what they need - sidestepping "broccoli libnship" - give 'em what we reckon they need.
* is this what Fiona Emberton & uni's "making it happen" project is all about (why not have food in the library? what is the point of all those unread signs) ?
* hmm- "Integrating change" .... potential to co-market L2/EBLIP - both to do with introducing change/new way of working (although possibly one trying to be 'outrageous' (or at least unrestrained?) ... the other could be seen as constrained by rules/tools/structures. Need to be L2 when introducing EBLIP... look behind the framework, don't be constrained by it - use it as a support instead.
EBLIP - just because you've always done it a certain way, doesn't mean that's the way it has to be (be innovative, just be aware). Make decisions based upon best available evidence ... just because the evidence for something doesn't necessarily exist yet, doesn't mean you can't ... just proceed knowing that's where you're coming from (and then report your experience to start building the evidence). Justify by acknowledging the setting is an untested, innovative concept?

- technology or not discussion
- Ingrid has ordered this ... but check out the sample in meantime
- lib2 not just about service delivery ... a role for mngt/evaluation too
- library crunch swicki

* Discovery of the day - basecamp project mngt & related services - whiteboard etc. Writeboard might be a good spot to dump garbage like this.

Thing #2 : 7 1/2 habits

Upon first reviewing the list, I was thinking - yep, easy/agree; yep, easy/agree etc. So I thought some more about what it was that I do find hard - and realised it was not following through/completing learning endeavours, and/or printing things off to read, and never getting around to reading them (I doubt I'm the only one guilty of this!). Manage to fill the toolbox, but then fail to open the lid (at least as often as I should). All the sorts of things that probably fit under 2/ accept repsponsibility.

I think the best way to tackle this problem [for me] is to align a learning endeavour with something specific to achieve/apply it to. By doing "Learning 2.0" with the toolkit project to focus on as somewhere to directly apply new skills - I feel confident that instead of just floating along for the first couple of weeks, and then getting sidetracked and eventually drifting off ... the project will help to keep the learning activity a priority, and therefore sustain it. This strategy will also help to ensure time/effort invested has a direct & recognisable positive outcome ... important when juggling competing demands for time and energy.

The 7/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
HABIT 1. Begin with the end in mind. What is your goal?
HABIT 2. Accept responsibility for your own learning.
HABIT 3. View problems as a challenge to learn from.
HABIT 4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner. Don't say it or think it unless you want it to be true.
HABIT 5. Create your own learning toolbox. Books, technology, classes, mentors, friends, web pages.
HABIT 6. Use technology to your advantage.
HABIT 7. Teach and mentor others. Good way to reinforce own learning.
HABIT 7 1/2. PLAY, be curious, and read!

great end to the day - a mentor found!

My day got off to a dodgy start this morning, with the rubbish being collected early (and therefore before I put the bin out!) ... it didn't get much better when my car conked out at lunch time, and had to be towed away for a holiday in the car hospital ...

... but it has ended very nicely! I've just had word from someone we discovered through http://librariesinteract.info, and approached to act as a Library 2.0 mentor on our EBLIP toolkit project, that she has agreed.

The Learning 2.0 program will be a great help in building our skills ... but having found a virtual mentor to join our project group will be a fantastic support as we attempt to apply our new skills to a live (even if very new and still developing) online service.

23 things & the EBLIP toolkit

"What resources/tools should be included to in an EBLIP toolkit at Libraries Using Evidence – eblip.net.au to ensure it is a resource that library practitioners across the world will find useful to support application of EBLIP? How can Library 2.0 techniques further enhance the toolkit’s usefulness?".

This is the question upon which a project I am involved with is based, and will be the focus of my thinking as I work through the "23 things". I expect that one deliverable of the project will be a report/issues paper outlining our experience in exploring/implementing "Library 2.0" throughout the toolkit's development (and therefore informing decisions re use of Library 2.0 tools beyond the project's pages for other online pages/services). I spent a few hours travelling by train to today, so had a bit of time to ponder things! I started to consider what sort of evaluation measure should be considered? My initial thoughts are:

Carry out a Library 2.0 skills/tools audit (invidual perspective (all team members), and what is used in our intranet/internet sites)
* as at start of Learning 2.0/project (they coincide)
* end of Learning 2.0
* end of project
* 6 months post Learning 2.0/project
*** note to self - this needs to happen this week before team mates get stuck into the course!

Using a scale of something like
* no experience/use
* dabbled with
* trialling/investigating/looking good
* "I'm hooked"/it's firmly in place

To investigate
* were skills developed?
* were new technologies implemented?
* was implementation sustained & were further developments actioned?
* which ones were successful? which ones weren't? Why? *need qual. data source - comments section in audit? Discussion topic in project evaluation love-in (focus group style)? Project team to document experiences/reflections as exploration is undertaken (diaries/project team meeting minutes)?

I wonder if this would be something any of the "real Learning 2.0" participants would be interested in, re their own work unit/s? See how results of the audits differ between a hospital/academic library, and an innovative public library? Are different tools "loved" by different workplaces or do we all agree that the same good ones are good, and same tricky ones are tricky? Is this sort of evaluation [or similar] already happening by PLCMC?

This is meant to be a fun experience, but so much the better if it is 'reportable' fun!

the dumb question...

My interaction with the Web 2.0/Library 2.0 discussion has so far only been via "print" (traditional and online) formats. I've not been in an environment to hear the term spoken aloud .... beyond my workplace where we hesitantly call it "that, ummm, library ... 2 ... errr... thingo". I note that the podcast in "thing #1" refers to "Learning point oh" and "web two oh".

So if I was to engage in a person-person conversation about "Library 2.0" ... should I confidently refer to it as "library two", "library two point oh", or "library two oh"?? Is there a consensus? Thanks !

Pretentious? Moi?

I thought I'd best explain the "Supermodel 2.0" label, before I get a reputation for being an "up myself wacko"!

A colleague and I are currently writing a paper for presentation at NLS2006, which picks up on the supermodel theme introduced by Andrew Booth in his March 2006 column of "Using Research in Practice". We thought being associated with anything to do with supermodels was hilarious, and have adopted the theme to get us through the year (and inject a ridiculous element into our paper ... it certainly isn't the dreaded stereotypical image of librarians, so why not give it a run down the catwalk!).

Anyway - all our talk of Web 2.0/Library 2.0/Librarian 2.0 last week, led us to nicknaming our project "Supermodel 2.0" ... and so was the first thing to come to mind when prompted for a name for this blog. Don't worry - we'll be over this joke soon, and onto something even more corny!

Hello PLCMC & all Learning 2.0 participants

Hello to everyone involved with "Learning 2.0". I'm an outsider (from Down Under) joining in with you, after reading about this exciting project through TameTheWeb.

My work group have identified a desire to incorporate Library 2.0 techniques into our current project of developing an EBLIP toolkit for "Libraries Using Evidence" (http://www.eblip.net.au), but are still at the investigation stage ... exactly what is web2.0/library2.0; how can we become librarian2.0?

I look forward to joining you all over the next 8 weeks, and hope "Libraries Using Evidence" will emerge at the end of this time as an example of how librarians can exploit Library 2.0 technologies in everyday practice.