Library Voice

Marshal Breeding

Characteristics
Multi-tasking
like to collaborate
Innate ability for Technology

New librarians are a part of the millennial generation

Shaping collections for millennial users
content needs to be digital/immediate
discovery—more like the web
access—anytime, anywhere

Marshal says that satisfying the needs of millennials  does not conflict with the needs of users from previous generations.  ***However, from our standpoint, facilities renovations that cater to millennials can often be a balance between collaborative spaces and collections spaces. 

Collections
millennials comfortable with a variety of formats
prefer graphics over text
e-journals
e-books
podcasts of lectures

How do our websites and OPACS meet the needs of today’s users. 

Marshall shows a video of trying to find Time Magazine via a library’s web site

The way that interfaces work is dictated by  the web.  Our users have expectations based upon prior experiences, and library websites/OPACs need to learn from the open web.

CIL 2007

Transcoders such as Squeezit, can transcode a page into a optimized version for a mobile device.

Application versus Browser
Yahoo One Search used to be an app only, that was downloaded to a handheld
Now Yahoo Search is a browser

Gary Price is showing some searches on his Treo.
He’s using PDA Reach from June Fabric to show whatever is on his Palm on a projector.

They are comparing Yahoo vs. Google mobile search.  Google displays larger images, and they are at the top of the results.  The Yahoo mobile search looks like a better product.

Gary is showing the Ask Mobile search.  Ask took away the search box on the main page, so that users can then select which kind of search they want to do.

Other mobile search options
Mobile Answers.com
MS Live
AOL mobile
4info

Gary stresses that some of these search options require a download, and the apps are very phone dependent.  As an example, the Yahoo One Search app does not work with my Treo.

Not everyone has a wireless web plan for their phones, but 95% of today’s phones have text messaging.  There are growing options in this area.
Yahoo has texting, and has alerts
AskMeNow is another one

Gary is showing SoonR, which will allow you to do remote desktop to your office machine
ORB will allow you to stream music from your computer to your mobile device

The slides for the presentation are available here.

CIL 2007

I did not blog the last session.  I looked into my briefcase to find my power cord for my laptop, and it was missing.  In a fitful sweat, I ran upstairs to see if the cord and was in my room.  Fortunately it was, as I had apparently taken it out when trying to lighten my load.  Considering that I will be demoing a number of open source and free apps tomorrow, not having this laptop would have been a very bad problem. 

The last session was was entitled Organization 2.0, and was about how Web 2.0 has changed the way we work and the way our organizations are designed.  Jason Griffey blogged about it here.

CIL 2007

Web 2.0 and What it means to libraries
Lee Rainie, Director of Pew Internet & American Life Project

Lee notes that he “adores librarians.”

Web 2.0 is the web as a platform.

6 Hallmarks of the the Web 2.0 that matter to libraries

1. The internet has become the computer
• The number of people who access the Internet at libraries has doubled in the last four years
• broadband has turned the web into a destination for fun and entertainment
• a lot more people are using the internet every single day
• the experience of the internet has become more social
2.  Lots of people are creating content online
•  social networking sites are the big ones here, Facebook, MySpace
• people are posting more content online. 
• 33 % of college students have blogs
• 12 % of online adults have a blog
• 19% of online young adults have created an avatar and interacted with others online.
3. Even more internet users are accessing the content created by others
• 44% of young adults seek information on Wikipedia
• heaviest users of wikipedia have high levels of education, or are college students in the process of getting an education
4. Many are sharing what they know and what they feel online
• RatemyProfessors.com  as an example
• Amazon book reviews
• 1/3 or online adults have tagged content online
• 25% of younger Internet users have commented on videos, and they also comment of blogs and photos
5. Tens of thousands are contributing knowledge to an online commons
• 10k-30k active developers in the global open source movement
• 40% participate in peer to peer exchanges
6. Americans are customizing their content

5 issues libraries must address

1. navigation–transitioning from linear to nonlinear format
2. context—learning to see connections
3. focus–practicing reflection & deep thinking
4. skepticism–learning to evaluate information
5. ethical behavior–understanding the rules of cyberspace

CIL 2007