ALA Session on June 23, 2007:

Hey, what’s this “Library Think”?!Hey, what’s this “Library Think”?!

Betsy Martens:

No, but librarians do!

Betsy Martens:

No, but librarians do!

The March of the Librarians

Mr. Abram was our keynote speaker at OLA this year….

Mr. Abram was our keynote speaker at OLA this year….

LIBRARY THINK =

LIBRARIANS LEARNING BY DOING

LIBRARY THINK =

Collection-buildingClassification-buildingCompetency-buildingCommunication-building

Collaboration-buildingCommunity-buildingCreativity-building

New collection-building tools

Web authoring software (Dreamweaver, and other user-friendly tools)

Digital library software (Greenstone, DSpace)

New classification-building tools

WorldCat Wiki

LibraryThing

Connotea, Cite-U-Like

New competency-building tools Open source ILS software (Evergreen, Koha)

Open source learning software (Moodle, Sakai)

Open source programming software (Ruby)

New communication-building tools

Blogs (Blogger, Wordpress, Xanga) RSS feeds and readers (ATOM, Bloglines, Technorati)

Instant messaging (Meebo)

Streaming media (podcasts, YouTube)

New collaboration-building tools

Wikis (Wikipedia, LISWiki, Library Success, etc.)

New community-building tools

Social network sites (Ning, MySpace) Discussion groups (Web4Lib, too many other

lists to list!) Virtual spaces (Second Life)

Start with the sandbox approach: have-fun-with, no-fear-of-trying

new things (even technology!)

New creativity-building tools?

Collection-building examplesfrom LIS 5433:

Betsy Martens: The point of this project was the Little Libby literacy comic strip: the imaginary library here was a bonus!

Betsy Martens: The point of this project was the Little Libby literacy comic strip: the imaginary library here was a bonus!

Betsy Martens: Great story-telling! (And this project is available for free through iTunes!)

Betsy Martens: Great story-telling! (And this project is available for free through iTunes!)

Classification-building examplesfrom LIS 5433:

Betsy Martens: Metadata guru Jane Greenberg leaves very positive comment on student’s blog: wow!

Betsy Martens: Metadata guru Jane Greenberg leaves very positive comment on student’s blog: wow!

Competency-building examplesfrom LIS 5433:

Communication-building examples from LIS 5433:

Betsy Martens:The class had no assigned papers, but did LOTS of assigned reading for “blog fodder.”

Betsy Martens:The class had no assigned papers, but did LOTS of assigned reading for “blog fodder.”

Betsy Martens: This blog was one of the most fascinating in the class, despite the author’s initial fears of trying it….

Betsy Martens: This blog was one of the most fascinating in the class, despite the author’s initial fears of trying it….

Betsy Martens:

This student is still blogging AFTER class is over (and will probably use it during her portfolio defense)-- hooray!

Betsy Martens:

This student is still blogging AFTER class is over (and will probably use it during her portfolio defense)-- hooray!

Betsy Martens:As the instructor, I didn’t necessarily *get* this MySpace project design, but I knew that it would work for the target audience, if not for me. (And it obviously did!)

Betsy Martens:As the instructor, I didn’t necessarily *get* this MySpace project design, but I knew that it would work for the target audience, if not for me. (And it obviously did!)

Betsy Martens: And this translation is from the blog of an MLIS student in Japan, commenting on one of our class project wikis!

Betsy Martens: And this translation is from the blog of an MLIS student in Japan, commenting on one of our class project wikis!

Collaboration-building examplesfrom LIS 5433:

Betsy Martens: The class started by contributing to wikis buillt by other people

Betsy Martens: The class started by contributing to wikis buillt by other people

Betsy Martens:

We had two Wikipedia entries. This one survives with minimal change 6+ months later!

Betsy Martens:

We had two Wikipedia entries. This one survives with minimal change 6+ months later!

Betsy Martens: And some people then built their own wikis for others to use!

Betsy Martens: And some people then built their own wikis for others to use!

Community-building examplesfrom LIS 5433:

Betsy Martens: This one was voted the most popular project in the class!

Betsy Martens: This one was voted the most popular project in the class!

Betsy Martens: Running a virtual book group is just as hard as running one in the real world!

Betsy Martens: Running a virtual book group is just as hard as running one in the real world!

Betsy Martens:

My hope was that the final project would not be thought of as just another class assignment,but as a real information resource for the future. This project clearly shows that mindset.

Betsy Martens:

My hope was that the final project would not be thought of as just another class assignment,but as a real information resource for the future. This project clearly shows that mindset.

Thanks to all the students in KM/LIS 5433 for their

help in making this presentation possible!

(And for their suggestions about how to make

next year’s class even better.

We all “learn by doing” --- including me!)

“Doc Martens”