1 The aim of module IV is to consider and critique aspects of creativity engendered by social media…

Welcome to Module IV which provides ample opportunity to examine the ways librarians and

archivists generate ideas and interactions with their user communities through social media. I hope you

have come back to the class after the break fully charged and energized. In module IV, the aim is to

consider, question, and critique the many aspects of creativity engendered by social media (or as

Papacharissi and other have called it new media), and to encourage the creative impulse in others.

There are no required readings for this module but there are two main activities described below (and

elaborated on in the discussion forums). Please ask me if you have any questions. Dean

Learning objectives (February 23rd — March 9th 2015)

To begin to frame research questions to address your interests in social media

To discuss the creative potential of social media (and the physical hubs and spaces built in libraries and archives circa 2015 to explore media – there are many)

To consider how social networks might be used to create opportunities for us in the information professions, and to stimulate creativity for librarians and archivists

To be aware of creative examples of how social media is used in information organizations

Elsevier’s I am a social librarian infographic

Source: http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/supporting-users-organizations/2013-08/i-am-social-librarian-infographic-free-download

In your exploration of social media, you may have encountered several infographics such as this one which aims to describe key types of the concept, I am a social librarian. (I wasn’t able to locate anything similar for the archivists). Right at the top of the infographic is the category or “type” that most information professionals will probably relate to most. Which category or type do you fall into?

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Activities in Module IV:

23 Feb 2015 (Module IV)

“Ask a research question” Write an outline (or start one) for your final project Activity 1

2 Mar 2015 “Create context” Create a social media marketing plan for yourself / social media policy for your library

Activity 2

Some general observations about LIBR559M, thus far…

In this 2015 iteration of LIBR559M, we have had some important discussions of social media and its power to create (and also its power to destroy i.e., someone’s reputation, career or relationships). However, the focus in Module IV is placed on the positive aspects of social media and to explore its creative potential – while allowing us to have a full discussion of the dangers and concerns introduced by social media and social networks (or, even more broadly, The Internet). In this class, and in our discussions, we have remarked on just how pervasive social media has become in our society, and looked at a few examples of its emergence in LIS research. Social networks, and the tools enabled by them, allow us to collaborate, create ideas, share and critique information. By and large, this idea of curating collections and providing opportunities for my users to meet over and near them is why I became a librarian. My view of social media is that it allows me and my user communities to share information regardless of our being distributed across geographic areas. Another phenomenon we’ve seen in class is the idea of strong and weak ties, based on the work of American sociologist Mark Granovetter. You’ll remember Pearson introduces the idea of social ties, and how those ties can be made stronger and develop, or diminish and weaken in social networks. With Ellison and Weber’s video from module 3, we heard that social media serve as outlets for social grooming in the digital age. Or, that the social tools provide a mechanism to extend the kinds of social behaviours around validation and empathy that should be part of our real, face-to-face interactions. What seems clearer to me now more than ever is that librarians and archivists of all stripes can be a part of teaching others (i.e., each other and their user communities) about these social networks. I haven’t always been certain that we have a teaching role in social media but now I am convinced. With respect to social media’s power, in LIBR 559M have discussed how social media are used for all kinds of dangerous and nefarious ends, and how they pose real risks to personal privacy and safety across the lifespan. In those instances, information professionals can play roles in supporting their user communities to take advantage of the opportunities of social media while laying bare the truths about how dangerous they can be if use without forethought. Social media is the topic of scrutiny and study around the world. In module 4, we take some steps in formulating some of our own research questions around these issues.

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Questions to consider as you work through Module IV:

Information professionals curate a range of content for their user communities

o What roles can we assume with respect to creating new content and knowledge?

o Is creating content important for the future of the information professions?

o Why or why not?

What are some of the tools information professionals are using to create content?

o Ideas, knowledge objects? What have you seen that you think is worthy of mention?

What social media tools can be used to enable the sharing and discovery of collections?

Feel free to share your ideas in the discussion forums.

The information professions and creating new knowledge

The information professions act as catalysts in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Since librarians and archivists search for, collect and curate knowledge for their user groups, they also seek ways to manage it. While traditional methods of collecting materials by acquiring and cataloguing books and peer-reviewed journals will continue to be part of what we do, social media will increasingly be a part of the equation to drive users to our collections and new content…

The social and cultural aspects of knowledge production form a backdrop for social media and are critical to their survival. Facebook and Twitter, to take two obvious examples, encourage the kind of social networking that few traditional library tools can match (nor should they perhaps). Instant messaging enables one-to-one communication (and 1-1 intimacy needed to share) and microblogging tools shift the requirements of one-to-many communication to something bigger, distributed and global.

This is a new media sphere that requires new information literacies that some are calling the new social media literacy.

Source: https://twitter.com/creativelibprac

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Social media literacy:

“EMSOC’s 2014 White Paper” on research and social media

“…one less explored aspect of social media is the positive impact on creative processes such as artistic production and consumption …as well as cultural participation. Our research shows social media

environments create opportunities with the aid of crowdfunding, self-publishing, open-source tools, open-access materials, etc. This affects the socio-cultural position and acting possibilities of artists, intermediaries and critics. Social media provides unique opportunities [for people] to acquire new

insights and skills that allow them to participate culturally...

EMSOC White Paper on Social media literacy, December 2014 http://emsoc.be/5720-emsoc-white-paper-social-media-literacy-time-for-an-update/

“…the media panic regarding social media. Too much media attention is devoted to the negative aspects of social media. News accounts should provide a more nuanced view of digital technologies and social media in particular. This could be achieved by a closer cooperation between the media industry and the academic world, as the latter could provide evidence-based and up-to-date research, essential to frame (social) media-related news more objectively.

Research into social media literacy is needed. Efforts should be made to gather more evidence on the less explored, and more positive aspects of social media. This includes how children use social media and how it contributes to creativity, informal learning and cultural participation.

More interdisciplinary social media research is needed. Social media can have an impact on different levels of people’s lives. Therefore it is necessary that we approach these phenomena from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Research should target all ages and the most vulnerable groups in society. While research has been published on the impact of social media on people`s lives, not much has focused on young children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. An important challenge ahead is exploring more innovative research methodologies which may be necessary to approach these groups….”

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Creating Value & Meaning in Networked Culture

Some of you may remember from the syllabus the mention of three recent scholarly monographs, one of which is Henry Jenkins’ new title on spreadable media. I thought his book was worth mentioning again because as I dip into it, and read sections on the viral nature of creating valuable information in social networks, I am reminded that libraries and archives exist within a very competitive environment of both the creative economies of the world and what might be best described as the attention economy (trying to get our users attention in a competitive information landscape).

Here’s a section from Spreadable media about creating value in a networked culture:

From: Jenkins H, Ford S, Green J. Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2013.

“…media scholar Henry Jenkins maps fundamental changes taking place in contemporary media

where corporations no longer control distribution of ‘the message’. He contrasts "stickiness" aggregating content and attention in central places with "spreadability" dispersing content

through formal and informal networks, some formal and approved many unauthorized. Stickiness is the measure of success in the broadcast era (and now central to the online world),

but "spreadability" describes how content travels. Following up on Convergence culture: where old and new media collide, Jenkins et al challenges the ideas used to describe contemporary media from metaphors "memes" and "viral" to the idea of "web 2.0" and "key influencers."

To read more about this notion of creating value using the concepts from this book, see:

http://spreadablemedia.org/

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Typologies of creativity

What is a typology? ~ "typology is literally 'the study of types' and classifying things by type;

therefore, a typology is a system of classification used to group items as categories or types of information... the word is also used, in biblical studies, to denote a theory or dogma of types"

In the prehistoric days of early social media (say, 2002-2005), a slew of typologies began to emerge to ontologize, categorize and explain various levels of participation in using social

media tools. Here is one from about 2008. I’m not all that fond of it (and you’ll notice some weird emphases such as “Use RSS feeds” for the collector category; and under Joiners

“maintain profile on a social networking site). But I show it to you as a way of seeing the progress that has been made on the research side even in coming up with a specific typology

for library and information science see Vanwynsberghe H, et al below.

For a scholarly view, see this paper that looks at social media in terms of a set of skills and literacies: Vanwynsberghe H, et al. The librarian 2.0: identifying a typology of librarians’ social media literacy. J Librarianship Info Sci. 28 January 2014: 0961000613520027.

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In the above paper, social media literacy is defined as “the set of technical, cognitive and emotional competencies that are required when using social media to search for information, for communication, content creation and for problem-avoiding and problem-solving, both in a professional and social context.” (Vanwynsberghe et al, 2014). I am often reminded, when reading these definitions, of just how important content creation and creative problem solving is in the descriptions of skills, knowledge and abilities in the area of social media. What pleases me is that the research is now saying it explicitly.

The Journal of Creative Library Practice

https://twitter.com/creativelibprac

Information professionals have always been expected to be creative in their problem-solving, and in the

ways we deliver services to our many users. In 2012, I was delighted to see the emergence of a new

journal called The Journal of Creative Library Practice which provides an outlet for librarians and

information professionals to describe and encourage greater creativity in library and information center

communications, policies, collections, instruction, and other areas of librarianship. The editorial board

consists of many names who were early social media adopters. In fact, the editorial board publishes the

entire Journal as a blog! They are a brave group of librarians and archivists as is evidenced by their

outspokenness on certain topics in the world media such as the Je suis Charlie episode.

More representative, however, are articles such as this one (worth a read for its creative aspects):

Witek D. Academic librarians as knowledge creators. Journal of Creative Library Practice. December 5th, 2014. @donnarosemary Public Services Librarian, University of Scranton

“…This essay examines the history and present state of the questions of faculty status and tenure for librarians, and relates these questions to that of performing scholarly research and creating and disseminating new knowledge as an academic librarian. It then offers as a case study my experience identifying and pursuing a research agenda in collaboration with a faculty colleague in another department at my institution, with the goal of both sharing what has worked for one academic librarian (n=1) while also critiquing the system within which that success has occurred. The essay concludes with a list of creative strategies academic librarians can put into practice to become successful knowledge creators in the field of library and information science.”

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From Typology to Taxonomy

Some of you may know Kathy Schrock, one of our field’s earliest adopters of social media. In her career she has been a school librarian, instructional technology specialist, an academic, museum and public librarian. She is currently an online professor at two universities and an independent educational technologist. Take some time during this module to examine her work: http://www.kathyschrock.net/about.html

For Kathy Schrock, creating is at the top step of Bloom’s Technology-Learning Taxonomy, and the point at which learners are expected to design/construct, direct/produce or publish something …according to Schrock ”as one encounters new ideas the ability to move up the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy is important for acquiring new knowledge. The creating process involves aspects of all levels…”

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy is a reframing of the behaviours, activities and learning opportunities as new information and social technologies are incorporated into daily living. The taxonomy accounts for

the new processes and actions associated with social media.

Schrock’s « repurposing » of Bloom’s Taxonomy: http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

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The Creative Commons & the social web

All information professionals should understand the linkage between knowledge creation and making information accessible. The historic precedent that comes to mind is Gutenberg and how the printing press made information more widely available, and how that in turn led to the explosion of information during the Enlightenment.

Putting information into the creative commons is a powerful way to encourage knowledge creation. According to Wikipedia: “….Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States, devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators…”

See this early conceptual view on the Creative Commons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3rksT1q4eg

Other ideas associated with the creative or open commons

Some educators believe the Internet is a kind of utopian space for the future and for open learning regardless of social, cultural or economic class

Steve Hargadon says “...we’re in the midst of the greatest increase of creative capability in the history of the world. Educators will (and must) be part of this for their own sakes and for the sake of helping their students participate…” Hargadon, 2010

We’ve also heard Clay Shirky say similar things about unleashing the collaborative potential of others through social technologies

Economists believe the web is a deep source of innovation; and vital to economies globally Openness is a critical part of this innovation:

o The importance of openness is seen in all open movements such as open access, open source, open data, open search, open education

The web allows information professionals to transcend the analog nature of print We can create digital libraries, new information commons, museum artefacts Open-source social media is a rich source of creativity. New software tools are built by OSS

advocates with little or no expectation of profit or remuneration What motivates someone to create new knowledge with strangers? Many say it is very

rewarding to work towards a collective result with others; and, knowing a new product may help someone in a developing country is highly motivating.

In medicine, creating and making things have been shown to open pathways in the brain. New cognitive pathways are linked to learning. In fact, by reflecting on things we create with others will help us to consider how to solve new problems.

Unlike top-down hierarchies, social media encourages grassroot solutions. By making connections with people – whether they are friends, library users or colleagues – we declare our collective humanity and establishing our stake in a changing world.

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In summary (feel free to challenge these statements):

Information professionals are curators of information but we can build on our curation

roles As archivists and librarians, we want users to discuss and use information and we want

to engage with them in person and via social networks

Social participation adds richness & depth to information work

Information organizations should encourage users to try applications they enjoy, and where possible curate, extend & share content

Information professionals should aim to inspire, recognize & reward creative endeavours

After creating something with our user communities, the content and the relationships that

gave rise to it need to be nurtured.

Finally, social media “remix cultures” are inherently creative

The goal is to create a future that is open, and free In this utopian view, instead of copyright we have copyleft and openness Consider the restrictiveness of permission cultures which refer to older models of

copyright and obtaining permission from others before using or editing their work Remix culture believes in the creative commons and that requests to change or re-use

someone’s intellectual property is a retrograde step for culture…and that our future creativity (and health of the economy) relies on openness

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Appendices (browse-able ideas on the theme of create):

MOOCs – explore the variety of platforms & projects

Are universities moving away from traditional classes to something more global and connected through massive open online courses or MOOCs? Here are some examples of both for-profit and non-profit outfits offering MOOCS globally:

edX https://www.edx.org/

This nonprofit project is run by MIT, Harvard and Berkeley. Leaders say they intend to slowly add other university partners over time. edX plans to give away the software platform it is building to offer free courses, so that anyone can use it to run MOOCs.

Coursera https://www.coursera.org/

The for-profit company was founded by two computer-science professors from Stanford. Its model is to sign contracts with colleges that agree to use its platform to offer free courses and to get a percentage of revenues. Many large universities have signed up to Coursera.

Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org/

A non-profit organization founded by MIT and Harvard graduate Salman Khan. Khan Academy began in 2006 as an online library of short instructional videos that Khan made. The library—which has financial backing from the Gates Foundation and Google—hosts more than 10,000 videos on YouTube. Khan does not provide content from universities, but offers automated practice exercises, and a curriculum of computer science courses. Much of the content is geared toward secondary-education students.

Udacity http://www.udacity.com/

Another for-profit company founded by a Stanford computer-science professor. The company works with individual professors rather than institutions. Unlike other MOOC providers, Udacity says it will focus on computer science and related fields.

University of the People http://www.uopeople.org/

The University of the People (UoPeople) is the world’s tuition-free, non-profit, online academic institution dedicated to opening access to higher education globally.

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Appendices (more to explore):

Should my library or archive contribute to Wikipedia?

Wikimedia’s goal is to preserve heritage and history (similar to galleries, libraries, archives, museums (GLAMs)

It runs on a well-tested platform with established best practices and a large audience Innovative partnerships with Wikimedia translates into publicity for your library, archive It’s a nonprofit open creative movement

http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Get_started

Galleries • Libraries • Archives • Museums Email: glam wikimedia.org Model Projects • Contact Us For Wikimedians: Mailing lists • Discussion •

Case Studies • Calendar • Newsletter • Resources • Volunteers • Other pages

Backstage pass at the British Museum

Wikipedia loves libraries, patrons at the Multnomah County Library, Oregon, USA

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Appendices (interesting job advertisement I saw in 2014):

Children's Librarian (Term) - Your Creative Lab

Vancouver Public Library

Develop programming for the Your Creative Lab project using iPad tablets, laptops, visual arts projects, and Minecraft to target multiple literacies in innovative ways

Collaborate with the Vancouver School Board to create an immersive experience for children exploring creativity and technology after school

Produce new programming models that can be replicated in the future by Vancouver Public Library

Strengthen connections in the community

Create evaluations that get to the heart of the story using e-surveys and video interviews

Blogpost from The Huffington Post: 18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently.

Here is a Steve Jobs quote from that article:

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

http://collaboratory.mohawkcollege.ca/

Examples of creativity in our field, here are a few:

Laura Damon-Moore and Erinn Batykefer who started the Library as Incubator Project (LaIP), ‘highlights the ways libraries and artists can work together, and strengthen partnership’

Sharon ‘Smitty’ Miller who uses her show business background to create a Library Live and on Tour program (LiLi) which takes the idea of the bookmobile to a whole new level.

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Cory Eckert who ‘developed Guerrilla Storytime, an initiative held informally at library conferences that involves taking over a space and putting on an impromptu story time’

Jan Holmquist, who among other things, created a self-paced professional development program ’23 Mobile Things’ (here is the English version) building on Helene Blowers’ work

Come up with new ways to engage various library users (students, children, seniors, etc) . Start (or participate in) a library Makerspace

o What is a Makerspace? Creativity in the library o A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources o Manufacturing Makerspaces

Plano Public Library - Teen Digital Creation Space Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP22PCIrP5s

Video: Schools support creative kids (7pm TV News NSW) Educators argue for creativity to be taken just as seriously as literacy and numeracy in the national curriculum.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-02/students-solve-problems-with-creativity/5997590

From the article and video which accompanies it:

“the aim is to encourage creativity and positive use of the internet that will help them develop their digital skills [and] empower them to grow and shape their world in a safe, creative way, to build communities, and to be active in a participatory society” (European Commission, 2012, p.7).

"I think creativity has an intellectual rigour to it and is part of being a critical thinker. As kids go through school they need to take a risk and the reason kids aren't as creative as they get older is

that they start to socially feel like, 'if I say something different it might be wrong'," she said.

"I feel like we're equipping our students for life."

See the research: http://www.centerforchildhoodcreativity.org/research/academic-publications/

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Opensource.com asks a question about hegemonic control of information:

Is the traditional business world at war with creativity?

by opensource.com used under Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 2.0

Exploring the knowledge commons

Understanding Knowledge as a Commons From Digital Libraries to Knowledge Commons Open Knowledge Commons - “Shared Purpose. Global Access. Common Knowledge.” Imagining A Traditional Knowledge Commons: A * community approach to sharing traditional

knowledge for non-commercial research Video on the term "Knowledge Commons" by "Commons in Action". First Thematic Conference on the Knowledge Commons held on "Governing Pooled Knowledge

Resources: Building Institutions for Sustainable Scientific, Cultural and Genetic Commons"