Library Ergonomics

A couple of useful sites on ergonomics specific to libraries:
ErgoLib Safer Library Computing and Ergonomic Interventions in a Library: An Evaluation Study

Why Don't You Write Me?

This looks like a useful collection of tips on getting published in the library and information science field: How to Get Published in LIS journals: A Practical Guide.

The Business of America's Libraries is . . .

I've been thinking a lot about library marketing, particularly our own library. We already market quite a bit, and maybe in ways that you would not traditionally think of as marketing (lots of one on one connections and events hosted in the library, same as many other places).

Anyway, I have a piece from an email by Michael Chumer (New Jersey Institute of Technology - no date, no context) where he quotes Peter Drucker's approach to adapting organizations -- three questions that organizations (libraries , in this case) need to ask themselves:

1. What is your business?
2. Who are your customers?
3. What do your customers value?

These are questions that I keep trying to answer, but they are far from easy to pin down. The first one is tricky enough. This article from Library Link of the Day suggests something about libraries' business that is worth considering:

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031027/LIBRARY27
Libraries need to mind their own business [The Globe and Mail]

Ode to a Systems Librarian

"The Self-Education of Systems Librarians" (PDF) by Mark Jordan in Library Hi-Tech News (21:3 2003).
It really rings true to me in terms of my own work in a "systems" role. Good advice for skills to pick up.

Streaming Lectures . . . We've Got Streaming Lectures

This site at Cornell has some interesting recorded lectures and interviews on it from various guest speakers for the University Computer Policy and Law program: http://www.cit.cornell.edu/oit/UCPL.html. Of particular library interest is Deanna Marcum's address on the future of libraries vis a vis their possible combination with information technology services.

Full Text Books-o-rama

Thanks to Gary Price (GWU) for this one. I'll have to give it a try:
"Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" program went live this morning. Full-Text access to over 120,000 titles (33 million pages) from over 190 publishers. I've put together a brief overview and links on ResourceShelf. http://digbig.com/3dxa"

Don't Touch That DVD!

Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists - a document prepared by the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Whither libraries?

“Why do we need a teacher librarian or a school library when we have the Internet?” - snappy comebacks to this burning question.

People try to put us down . . .

"The Click and Clash of Generations" - This Library Journal article examines generational differences in libraries.

Any way you add it up, it sounds like research to me

I love this idea! The Assignment Calculator at the University of Minnesota - http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator/ - gives students a basic plan for doing research and preparing assignments - lots of library tie-in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3193366.stm. This BBCnews story details some of the ways that technology can be inadvertently or intentionally destroyed (particularly data loss and laptop/PC destruction). We have all likely either feared or wished that these situations would occur in our lives.

I am curious about this OCLC Pathfinder service. I remember putting together electronic pathfinders using MARC records back in 1994, but have been out of that business for a long time. Worth a look: http://oclc.org/support/documentation/connexion/browser/default.htm

This article seems worthy of a read: Dempsey, Lorcan. 2003. "The recombinant library: portals and people." Forthcoming in Journal of Library Administration. Available at: http://www.oclc.org/research/staff/dempsey/recombinant_library/

(My first post without the word "here's" at the front. 8-) )

Some of my best friends have online MLS degrees . . .

Here's an interesting study on employer perceptions of online MLS degrees. The general reaction is pretty positive, but I think it's valuable to know that some employers are not so hot on this option yet.
http://www.camden.lib.nj.us/survey/results.htm

Here's an interesting site put together by ALA's RUSA division that covers primary source research on the Web: http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/

Here's a link to AskJeeves IQ, a page on their site that tracks what people are searching on these days. Interesting to get a sense of what people are _really_ using the Internet for (at least one search tool, that is). http://static.wc.ask.com/docs/about/jeevesiq.html

Here's an interesting post from Library Link of the Day:
The Mysterious Fate of the Great Library of Alexandria [Bede's Library]

WebJunction
Cool Clock!
Museum of Unworkable Devices
Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the Information Fog
LIRT Library Instruction Tutorials
Directory of Online Resources for Information Literacy
What libraries can learn from bookstores
Thirty-Two Trends Affecting Distance Education
Library and Information Services Marketing
Library Conference Planner
Camtasia Tips and Tricks

USA Patriot Act materials
LibQUAL+
Peter Jacso's Extras site
Price Shock! the rising costs of library journals
The Daily .Wav
Directory of Open Access Journals
Research Essays about the Net
Library Statistics and Measures

One of my purposes in putting this blog together is to give me a place to stick thoughts, ideas, llinks, etc., that I come across in a single spot. So, here is a backlog of nifty links that I do not want to lose track of. If anyone comes across these, I hope you enjoy them:

Ranganathan's Five Laws of Librarianship
Possible project - simple password protection for a page.
Typographical Errors in Library Databases
Games for Learning
Library Support for Distance Learning
The Researching Librarian
Innovative Internet Applications in Libraries
Library Technology Guides
Library Terms That Users Understand and UCSD Terminology Test

I will be adding more of these (and items I write up) as time goes on.