Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Don't forget to investigate ebrary during this trial
Rhodes University free trial access period from 4 October 2011 until 4 November 2011.
Ebooks in libraries: an overview of the current situation
Linda Ashcroft, (2011) Library Management, Vol. 32 Iss: 6/7, pp.398 - 407
Making the Most of Professional Conferences
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
The somewhat tired, but still quite true, “It’s not who you know, but who knows you” maxim is something to keep in mind as the professional conference season starts to heat up. Do you have plans to attend a meeting this year? Will you be strategic about how you spend your energy when you are there? How will you use the time to strengthen your professional reputation and position yourself for new opportunities? Here are a few tips to consider.
Review the attendee list in advance. Target three or more people whose work fascinates you or who might help you extend your network. Introduce yourself or ask a mutual colleague to help you make connections. Don’t be coy when you make the successful encounter. Even the most accomplished people will be pleased to hear, “I’ve been following your research for years,” or “I always enjoy your presentations and am so pleased to finally have the opportunity to meet you.”
Don’t sit with people you recognize. It’s time for lunch and you can sit with people you know, or you can join a table of complete strangers. Always choose the latter. Doing so you will give you the opportunity meet someone interesting and potentially helpful.
Help others forge connections. Think about the people your existing connections might benefit from knowing and make introductions. “Aaron mentioned his interest in using Twitter to do in-class polls and I told him you were one of the first people to adopt this approach.” The ‘expert’ in this case will appreciate the recognition and the ‘learner’ will remember that you facilitated a valuable connection.
Thank your presenters. Speakers always appreciate being recognized for their effort. While “that was great” and “I got a lot out of your session” are terrific, specific feedback is even more valuable. “The way you framed the civility continuum really changed my perspective,” or “I wasn’t aware of that court case, so thanks for the citation” are especially meaningful.
Send follow-up e-mails. A brief e-mail a few days after the conference often has more impact than a quick “thanks” after the session. Reflect upon how you will incorporate what you learned from the session and share that in your message.
Forge a connection with others who attended your session. Your fellow session attendees will sometimes raise an issue about which you have special information or insights. Sharing suggestions after the session is certainly an option and a good way to forge a new relationship. Take it a step further by forwarding relevant resources once you return home. “You and I spoke after the session on National Labor Relations Board trends and I thought you might find the following URLs helpful.”
Get to know the corporate sponsors. If your conference has corporate sponsors, don’t avoid the exhibit hall. Talk to them. Ask them about trends facing their industry. Request advice. Offer to provide them with your perspective. Corporate sponsors often have vast networks that can be enormously beneficial when you need to make a contact or even look for a new position.
Be honest about your interests and intentions. Interested in moving to the West Coast? Hoping to launch new consulting practice? Ready to pursue an expanded role? Spread the word. Don’t be annoying about it, but don’t keep it to yourself either. People tend to like helping other people, so share information even when it seems risky and you’ll often be rewarded with advice, guidance, and key leads.
Challenge your inner introvert to attend the social functions. Large conferences and meetings with unfamiliar people can be a particular challenge for introverts. While it may be tempting to hide out in your hotel room after the formal sessions are over, summon the psychic energy to attend social functions, at least for the first hour or so. Introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Find a table with one empty chair and ask if it is taken. Look for people who seem uncomfortable and put them out of their misery by starting a conversation.
Switch to club soda before you think you need to switch to club soda. Time at the bar can be a great way to get to know people, but when the conference is over, you want people to talk about your great mind, not how many gin and tonics you pounded. Career prospects are too often hampered by stories about conference attendees who turned mean, obnoxious, or incoherent after knocking back too many cocktails. Don’t be stupid.
The somewhat tired, but still quite true, “It’s not who you know, but who knows you” maxim is something to keep in mind as the professional conference season starts to heat up. Do you have plans to attend a meeting this year? Will you be strategic about how you spend your energy when you are there? How will you use the time to strengthen your professional reputation and position yourself for new opportunities? Here are a few tips to consider.
Review the attendee list in advance. Target three or more people whose work fascinates you or who might help you extend your network. Introduce yourself or ask a mutual colleague to help you make connections. Don’t be coy when you make the successful encounter. Even the most accomplished people will be pleased to hear, “I’ve been following your research for years,” or “I always enjoy your presentations and am so pleased to finally have the opportunity to meet you.”
Don’t sit with people you recognize. It’s time for lunch and you can sit with people you know, or you can join a table of complete strangers. Always choose the latter. Doing so you will give you the opportunity meet someone interesting and potentially helpful.
Help others forge connections. Think about the people your existing connections might benefit from knowing and make introductions. “Aaron mentioned his interest in using Twitter to do in-class polls and I told him you were one of the first people to adopt this approach.” The ‘expert’ in this case will appreciate the recognition and the ‘learner’ will remember that you facilitated a valuable connection.
Thank your presenters. Speakers always appreciate being recognized for their effort. While “that was great” and “I got a lot out of your session” are terrific, specific feedback is even more valuable. “The way you framed the civility continuum really changed my perspective,” or “I wasn’t aware of that court case, so thanks for the citation” are especially meaningful.
Send follow-up e-mails. A brief e-mail a few days after the conference often has more impact than a quick “thanks” after the session. Reflect upon how you will incorporate what you learned from the session and share that in your message.
Forge a connection with others who attended your session. Your fellow session attendees will sometimes raise an issue about which you have special information or insights. Sharing suggestions after the session is certainly an option and a good way to forge a new relationship. Take it a step further by forwarding relevant resources once you return home. “You and I spoke after the session on National Labor Relations Board trends and I thought you might find the following URLs helpful.”
Get to know the corporate sponsors. If your conference has corporate sponsors, don’t avoid the exhibit hall. Talk to them. Ask them about trends facing their industry. Request advice. Offer to provide them with your perspective. Corporate sponsors often have vast networks that can be enormously beneficial when you need to make a contact or even look for a new position.
Be honest about your interests and intentions. Interested in moving to the West Coast? Hoping to launch new consulting practice? Ready to pursue an expanded role? Spread the word. Don’t be annoying about it, but don’t keep it to yourself either. People tend to like helping other people, so share information even when it seems risky and you’ll often be rewarded with advice, guidance, and key leads.
Challenge your inner introvert to attend the social functions. Large conferences and meetings with unfamiliar people can be a particular challenge for introverts. While it may be tempting to hide out in your hotel room after the formal sessions are over, summon the psychic energy to attend social functions, at least for the first hour or so. Introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Find a table with one empty chair and ask if it is taken. Look for people who seem uncomfortable and put them out of their misery by starting a conversation.
Switch to club soda before you think you need to switch to club soda. Time at the bar can be a great way to get to know people, but when the conference is over, you want people to talk about your great mind, not how many gin and tonics you pounded. Career prospects are too often hampered by stories about conference attendees who turned mean, obnoxious, or incoherent after knocking back too many cocktails. Don’t be stupid.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Useful book for running library workshops
Saw this book on the new books trolley:
Creating the one shot library workshop - looks really helpful
Judy
Creating the one shot library workshop - looks really helpful
Judy
Marketing the academic library world
This one is on marketing academic libraries in a web 2 world – pretty much everything you need to think about!
Another great subject guide
Library Research Guides
Useful resources recommended by library faculty.I really like this one - clean, clear
Monday, October 3, 2011
Scholarly Communication 2.0: Exploring Researchers' Opinions on Web 2.0 for Scientific Knowledge Creation, Evaluation and Dissemination
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a survey aimed at gauging the potential acceptance of a collaborative and Web 2.0 inspired scholarly communication sector. While this sector has seen the birth of a multitude of innovative initiatives, there is still little empirical evidence of the acceptance of such initiatives by researchers. We received 349 completed questionnaires from researchers of many different disciplines. The results of the survey show that there is a strong positive attitude towards Web 2.0 and open publishing approaches. However, the major challenge still resides in combining free dissemination of results with robust and reliable quality control mechanisms.
Highlights
► We explore the opinions of researchers on Web 2.0 for scientific knowledge. ► 345 questionnaires were completed by researchers from many different disciplines. ► Results show dissatisfaction with current copyright and dissemination policies. ► There is room to adopt methods to combine free dissemination and quality control. ► Authors recommend policy intervention to change the mainstream publishing practices.
This paper presents the results of a survey aimed at gauging the potential acceptance of a collaborative and Web 2.0 inspired scholarly communication sector. While this sector has seen the birth of a multitude of innovative initiatives, there is still little empirical evidence of the acceptance of such initiatives by researchers. We received 349 completed questionnaires from researchers of many different disciplines. The results of the survey show that there is a strong positive attitude towards Web 2.0 and open publishing approaches. However, the major challenge still resides in combining free dissemination of results with robust and reliable quality control mechanisms.
Highlights
► We explore the opinions of researchers on Web 2.0 for scientific knowledge. ► 345 questionnaires were completed by researchers from many different disciplines. ► Results show dissatisfaction with current copyright and dissemination policies. ► There is room to adopt methods to combine free dissemination and quality control. ► Authors recommend policy intervention to change the mainstream publishing practices.
A View of Reference in the Academic Library
Interesting article - cf. Linda's experience at Duke where they are instituting this system for helping undergrads.
"The Drexel University Libraries recently implemented a Personal Librarian program.... 26 librarians and paraprofessional staff contacted incoming freshmen at Drexel, approximately 2,800 students. An initial letter introducing their Personal Librarian was mailed to the students' homes the month before they started school in fall 2010 quarter, and began to demonstrate the role the Libraries could play in their educational experience. The letter encouraged the students to contact the library with assignment questions or research help, and invited them to stop into the library during their first week of classes to pick up a “gift,” a Drexel University Libraries flashlight keychain.... Personal Librarians sent one or two e-mails per quarter with reminders about various services and initiatives in the Libraries....The future of reference is a multi-modal approach, offering a variety of services at the point of need for changing audiences and user preferences. Academic libraries and librarians will continue to use a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach toward services".........
"The Drexel University Libraries recently implemented a Personal Librarian program.... 26 librarians and paraprofessional staff contacted incoming freshmen at Drexel, approximately 2,800 students. An initial letter introducing their Personal Librarian was mailed to the students' homes the month before they started school in fall 2010 quarter, and began to demonstrate the role the Libraries could play in their educational experience. The letter encouraged the students to contact the library with assignment questions or research help, and invited them to stop into the library during their first week of classes to pick up a “gift,” a Drexel University Libraries flashlight keychain.... Personal Librarians sent one or two e-mails per quarter with reminders about various services and initiatives in the Libraries....The future of reference is a multi-modal approach, offering a variety of services at the point of need for changing audiences and user preferences. Academic libraries and librarians will continue to use a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach toward services".........
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Report: Book Usage Patterns in Academic Libraries
From the report:
OhioLINK and OCLC Research have released a report of, and the data set used in, a joint study of OhioLINK circulation, to better understand the usage patterns of books in academic libraries and support further research in this area. The study, which incorporated usage data from 2007-2008, was limited to books and manuscripts because these materials typically circulate, and circulation is a significant element in evaluating collections.
http://web.resourceshelf.com/go/resourceblog/65140
Amazon's new Kindle Fire Tablet
Higher-Ed Gadget-Watchers React to Amazon's New 'Kindle Fire' Tablet
Today Amazon unveiled a new tablet computer, the company’s long-awaited competitor to Apple’s iPad. Though it won’t go on sale until November, some gadget-happy college professors and administrators are already speculating about the impact it will have on campuses.
The big surprise in today’s announcement was the tablet’s price: $199. That’s far less than the lowest-cost iPad, which sells for $499.Marketing academic libraries in a web 2 world
We describe features when we should be describing results,
We describe products when we should be describing services,
We talk about searching when we should be talking about finding.
http://www.slideshare.net/thewikiman/marketing-libraries-in-a-web-2-world
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