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Tame The Web » Blog Archive » Thanks Library of Virginia & Public Library Directors.

]]> http://micheleogle.net/2009/11/tame-the-web-%c2%bb-blog-archive-%c2%bb-thanks-library-of-virginia-public-library-directors/feed/ 0 http://micheleogle.net/2009/11/tame-the-web-%c2%bb-blog-archive-%c2%bb-pns-on-an-ipodiphone-using-prowl/ http://micheleogle.net/2009/11/tame-the-web-%c2%bb-blog-archive-%c2%bb-pns-on-an-ipodiphone-using-prowl/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:17:20 +0000 Michele http://micheleogle.net/?p=148

Tame The Web » Blog Archive » PNS on an ipod/iphone using Prowl.

I guess this is why I call myself a Web 2.0 Enthusiast and not an Evangelist. I love tech. I think it has lots of great possibilities for improving library services. I also think there’s a lot of tech applications that our patrons are using anyway, so it’s probably a good idea for librarians to be aware of them so that we speak the same language. (And who knows…these fun applications may morph into something more usable in library services.) But if your library doesn’t maintain an SMS reference service or if you don’t have a twitter account, are you failing your patrons? No, of course not.

via SarahGlassmeyer(dot)com » Blog Archive » Message != Medium != Messenger.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we really can’t look at things as being so black and white. We can’t say open source=good, proprietary=bad. It’s not that simple. Stephen Abram is not a bad person because he wrote a crappy “position paper. OCLC isn’t necessarily evil. Open source vendors aren’t necessarily good. We shouldn’t assume that a vendor is out to take us to the cleaners and steal all our data, but neither should we assume that a vendor has our best interests at heart (no matter how cool they or their representatives are). Things are really, really gray, and require a much more critical eye than we sometimes have by default.

via Shades of gray | Information Wants To Be Free.

Libraries are a bit top heavy with somewhat aimless experimentation. Learning/experimenting/playing is great. And necessary. Etc. Speaking broadly we’ve done a good job developing those skills. However, learning/experimenting/playing shouldn’t be the end goal. Meeting the needs of our users is the end goal. Collectively we now have nice tools at our disposal. A missing piece though is how we figure out how and when to apply the tools.

via about that innovation post | walking paper.

Technology does not determine practice. How people embrace technology has less to do with the technology itself than with the social setting in which they are embedded. Those who are immersed in a techno-savvy, technophilic community are far more likely to embrace technology than those whose social world is shaped by other patterns of consumption and communication. People’s practices are also shaped by those around them. There are cluster effects to socio-technical engagement. In other words, people do what their friends do.

via apophenia: some thoughts on technophilia.