It was exciting to follow the various themes that were evident throughout the three-day conference in Crystal City.They included Open Source as an alternative to proprietary ILS, increased interest in consortia, a desire to integrate the multiple systems we use for circulation, collection development, acquisitions, online catalog, and interlibrary loan to address the gaps in functionality, and the question of how libraries stay relevant in the age of mobile, instant communication and social networking. (Did you know that people are getting so impatient with the "lengthy" Tweets of Twitter that they have now created "Flutter" with a 26 character limit?)
Here are synopses on the keynote session that opened the conference, and on one of the sessions I attended.
COMPUTERS IN LIBRARIES CONFERENCE: OPENING KEYNOTE
FRIENDING LIBRARIES: THE NODES IN PEOPLE’S SOCIAL NETWORKS
Lee Rainie
Director, Pew internet & American Life Project
March 30, 2009
How do libraries stay relevant in the age of mobile, instant communication and social networking?
The volume and variety of information flowing into our lives has increased dramatically; we experience media anytime and anyplace with our IPods, and are constantly scanning the environment for new information
According to Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project, and keynote speaker at the opening of the Computers in Libraries Conference on March 30,2009, we have become a different “species” (Homo Connectus!) with a difference set of expectations about how we access information.
In 2000, 46% of adults used the internet, compared to 75% in 2008. In 2000, only 5% had broadband at home, 50% owned a cell phone, 0% connected to the internet wirelessly, and fewer than 10% used “cloud”. In 2008, 57% had broadband at home, 82% owned a cell phone, 62% connected to the internet wirelessly, and more than 53% used cloud. We are demanding fast, mobile connectivity and we want as much dynamic social networking as possible. (Or so it seems-but wait!)
A recent Pew Internet Project survey (The Mobile Difference) surveyed 3300 Americans. Rainie provided data from the survey to demonstrate that 61% of Americans are still tied to stationary media while 39% are motivated by mobility!
The study identified five groups, defined tech lifestyle attributes to them, provided demographics for each group, and made suggestions on how libraries can “be a node in their network”-in other words, how libraries can be relevant to groups motivated by mobility, or to those of the stationary media majority.
Take a look at Lee Rainie’s presentation to see whether you belong to one of these groups that are motivated by mobility: http://www.infotoday.com/cil2009/program.asp
Digital Collaborator (8% of the population)
Ambivalent Networker (7% of the population)
Media Mover (7% of the population)
Roving Node (9% of the population)
Mobile Newbies (8% of the population)
Perhaps you’re part of the stationary majority defined as:
1. Desktop Veterans (13% of the population)
2. Drifting Surfers (14% of the population)
3. Information Encumbered (10% of the population)
4. Tech Indifferent (10% of the population)
5. Off the Net (14% of the population)
Lee Rainie suggests that in order to be relevant, libraries must become a node in people’s social networks- a “friend” – that will help them:
*access the internet
*collaborate and share
*navigate the information overload
*as a sanctuary (a place where they can go offline)
*with technological access and support
*understand the new etiquette of social networking
Libraries have always helped people with problem-solving information and provided resources for personal enrichment and entertainment. Now they can also be a conduit – a node in the social networks connecting people, media and institutions.
Here is a synopsis of a session on website redesign:
WEBSITE REDESIGN PITFALLS
Tips for a Successful Site Redesign
Jeff Wisniewski
University of Pittsburgh Web Services Librarian
Computers in Libraries Conference
March 30, 2009
There are good reasons for redesigning a website ( the navigation is dysfunctional, the site doesn’t scale, it’s hard to update, if it’s coded to different standards, and if it has poor useability.) When the site is not performing according to the goals and objectives of the site, it’s time to redesign.
But, redesigns are a major disruption for a library system and users dislike them. For this reason, according to Jeff Wisniewski,Web Services Librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, when considering a redesign, it’s wise to ask whether the site needs an entirely new look, or simply needs to improve.
Wisniewski suggests:
1. Take the time to do a usability study. Identify the most important web content of your library and focus on that. Use Google Analytics to check where users are and are not going. Find and document your current page rank (where is your site in Google search results?)
2.Invest time getting consensus from the library director, IT, and others. (Show them cool sites or data suggesting that the site is not functional.) Avoid committees, and use data-based evidence to foster the redesign.
3. Define your constituencies and include them in the planning process.(Think about using non-traditional platforms like blogs and wikis.)
4. Don’t look only at other library websites for ideas (people are spending the vast majority of their time on sites other than libraries)!
5. Define the primary function of your website and design around these tasks. (Is connecting to materials the most important function?) See Queens Library website.
6. Spend time and money on content and engagement tools. Have remarkable content! Include course-based guides, next generation opac and federated search, ejournal finds, photo taggers, assignment calculators.
7. Rewrite content; don’t cut and paste!
8.. Design for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Use simple URLS.
9.. Submit the site map to Google after your redesign and ask Google to remove the old content from its index.
10. Develop a strategy to maintain the site.
Some suggested sites to review when considering a redesign include:
http://www.surl.org/
http://www.useit.com/
http://www.u.e.com/
Cook Library Website Redesign Blog
Suzanne Carbone
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