Here’s the Book Trailer I made using Animoto today in my LIS724 class. I decided to do it on “And Then Things Fall Apart” by Arlaina Tibensky because she is coming to Anderson’s Bookstore in Naperville August 4th. I created the images using PowerPoint after watching this awesome tutorial.
Have you used Animoto in your Library? How so? Do you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share? I’m always looking for new “hacks!”
Just sharing an interesting infographic by MastersInEducation.org!
Do you agree with this? Do you think we are worth more? What was your favorite statistic? I really liked the image of reference questions being stretched from New York to Alaska. That’s a lot of questions!
I often wonder how people truly perceive the role of a Librarian in society. Do they view us as valuable? Do we make ourselves appear valuable?
Sometimes I think we do a great job of proving our worth. Take the Radical Reference Librarians for example, a group of volunteer librarians who provide “professional research support, education and access to information” in situations like presidential elections, conferences and book fairs. They work in a collaborative virtual setting and arm themselves with the skills to provide free, unbiased information in settings where the facts matter.
Other times, I think we can make a really bad name for ourselves, and propel some of those negative stereotypes. For example, this sign just really bothers me: 
I mean COME ON! It’s 2011. Sure cell phones can be annoying sometimes when the ringer is turned up to max volume in the middle of a program or storytime, but cell phones can also be really valuable tools in the library. Especially if they are used for learning and interaction. It’s fine to have rules and guidelines, but “forbidding” things just makes us seem mean and unapproachable and in turn, not as valuable.
How different would your service model look if you answered each reference question in such a way that would prove your value? How much more would you give to the patron in terms of help and assistance if your value was in question and your job was on the line every time you helped someone? It’s definitely something to strive for when we work with our public so that librarians aren’t just “there,” but are an important part of an informed society that is desperately and infinitely needed.
Lululemon merchandise bag
I was really inspired by Matt Cutt’s Ted Talk “Try something new for 30 days” where we learn that 30 days is a great starting point to either add new habits (biking to work, exercising, etc) or remove habits (biting nails, smoking, etc). It is also a great way to test something out that you’ve always wanted to do, but have been too afraid to try. With that in mind, I’ve decided that I really want to try this “30 Day Challenge,” but I’m not exactly sure what I want to do. Thus, I’ve created a wall on WallWisher.com and I’m hoping that all of you can help me come up with ideas by sharing your own. While you are at it, feel free to borrow the ideas on the wall and try them out for yourself! I’ve started the wall myself by posting some ideas that were in the video, as well as things I have already done, but I’m looking for that one idea that just stands out and screams “try me for 30 days, do it, do it, do it!!!”
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Wall Wisher, it’s really easy!
If you do add something, feel free to let me know by writing a comment in this blog.
Can’t wait to see what ideas pop up!
A blog post from Librarian Unafraid really got me thinking this morning about my “elevator speech.” You know, the one you give to people when they ask you
why you are studying to get your MLIS, or why you are/want to be a librarian. Here’s the original article, and below is the elevator speech I brainstormed this morning. I deffinately think it is a work in progress, but it was fun to try and put into words why I choose this career path. What about you? What would your elevator speech be? Do you have any suggestions for mine? Feel free to share yours in the comment section below!
Answer: I’ve always been drawn to the public library. In fact any time I move, the first thing I do is get a library card! It’s the best way to instantly feel like you are a part of your community. Plus, who doesn’t love taking advantage of free resources and materials? When I decided to go back to school for my master’s, I realized that I could make a career out of my passion for the public library by studying the profession. My classes are so much more than the Dewey Decimal System and reading books. I’m learning about integrating technology into a community, how to plan and promote programs, how to develop working relationships with key community members and advocate for grant money. Every day is something different and exciting, and I love the fact that I have now become an advocate for the preservation of the Library. My degree is giving me skills that are applicable in a wide variety of circumstances and I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision.
Here is an example of the promotional flyer I am working on for my LIS724 class. For this assignment, we were to apply the principles of the book “The Non-Designer’s Design Book” by Robin Williams, to a simple promotional 8×11″ poster using Microsoft Word. Here is what I came up with:
For my LIS 724 class (Media Services and Production), we have been asked to discuss 3 blogs that we enjoy following, or find helpful in our professional development. Below are my contenders.
Top 3 Library Blogs I Enjoy Following
Stephen Abram does a great job of pointing his subscribers to relevant content on the web that focuses on trends in libraries and information technology. I especially enjoy the infographics that he shares, such as this one about why people follow brands. Stephen 
also posts many of the slides to presentations or seminars that he gives around the country. Check out this one on cooperative library strategies. Stephen updates his blog frequently and multiple times per day, so there is always a multitude of interesting information to sort through. I have retweeted and recently Google+ed many of his links so far because I find them interesting, quick to read and relevant to our profession.
This blog is written by Bobbi L. Newman who talks about digital literacy, the digital divide and using digital technology in the Library. 
Bobbi also focuses a lot of her personal research on Transliteracy and the role librarians play in understanding, nurturing and providing for a transliterate society. One of my favorite features of this blog is when Bobbi recaps her personal favorite “Top 10 Links” that she shared on Twitter for the week. This is a good way for me to understand major topics and trends that affected “libraryworld” for the week to make sure that I am staying up to date on current issues of the profession.
David Lee King focus on emerging trends in the library setting. He isn’t afraid to try new technology and then blog about it so we can see what worked and didn’t work, like when he described his attempt at giving a PowerPoint presentation with his iPad. He also does a great
job of reviewing conferences he attends and/or pulling out key pieces of information from lectures, presentations or articles/books he is reading. One other thing I find particularly appealing about David Lee King is his professional informality. The blog posts are easy to read/skim quickly while being incredibly informative. He also seems like a very approachable person to contact with questions or comments as he provides numerous ways to connect with him via the internet like e-mail and even skype!
What are your favorite librarian/technology blogs to follow?
Because we have evolved into a culture that shares everything from our current thoughts and feelings, to our specific location, reading and writing have become collaborative, communal activities, increasing people’s engagement with information and conveying it across several different mediums both on and offline. Social reading is a natural extension of the type of reading we have been doing since the early days of campfire stories, however, these previously “casual conversations” about books are now being moved to the online space where it has the infinite possibility to blossom into something richer (Esposito, 2010).
This essay seeks to define, describe, demonstrate, discuss and determine the future of social reading. The essay will begin by offering explanations and examples of social reading, it will move on to discuss the various forms of social reading (traditional book clubs, online book clubs, social media platforms for books, and eBook reading) before concluding with personal observations made during my journey exploring social reading in its various forms. The last section of the essay will discuss of the role libraries should play as facilitators of this phenomenon before offering predications, suggestions and final thoughts on the current and future trends of social reading. What will hopefully manifest in this easy is the observation that social reading is not a new concept, but one that has been redesigned by the advantages and availability of Web 2.0 tools and concepts.
Below is a link to a rough outline of what I would like my final research paper to look like. It is mostly comprised of quotes and/or observations I have drawn from articles, blog posts, social media sites and my own interaction in a variety of book clubs. Big thanks to Emma Caywood and JLauren for sending me some great articles that led me to take interesting directions in my paper. Also thanks to everyone who responded to my Tweets about Social Media Book Platforms. Enjoy.
http://www.scribd.com/full/53204923?access_key=key-1yg6680aptt0fmh0mm8j
A few days ago, I logged on to Twitter and tried to search the hashtag #borndig to see all of the passages I had tweeted via my Kindle. Well, I discovered that none of my passages had been tweeted becuase my account was not linked up correctly. I appologize for anyone who has been trying to read along with me only to discover that I’ve been quite silent on the Twittosphere! I have finally connected my accounts correctly and plan to start tweeting my way through Born Digital using the hashtag #borndig.
Please feel free to follow me @allisonmennella and the #borndig and if you are reading the book on your own device, feel free to use the hashtag as well. Also, if you want to shoot me some comments about the book, questions the book has raised for your, or any other “discussion points” feel free to do so via Twitter, this blog or any other Social medium that works best for you.
Basically in my final paper, I want to draw some conclusions about the ideas of Social Reading:
1. Is Social Reading easy/doable. Is this something people want to engage in
2. Is Social Reading better online or offline
3. What have I gained from Reading Socially that I don’t gain “reading alone.”
You participation–even if it is just one or two tweets–is a vital element to my paper, so I thank each and every person who participates in advance.
I appologize for the technical difficulties getting started, but hope that I can gather some interesting data for my paper in the next week or two.
Happy #reading
My thoughts on the incredible LIS768 Course:
Participatory Service & Emerging Technologies
Blogging
Having never blogged before, I truly took this class assignment as an opportunity to create a blog that I could eventually use for professional purposes. I had always wanted to submit my thoughts, ideas, summaries, videos, etc to the larger Librarian community but never had an incentive or reason to do so. The classroom blogging assignments have given me the “push” that I needed, and I am confident that I will continue to update the blog after class after monitoring the number of “reads” I have received on Goggle Analytics and Bit.ly statistics. It appears that people are reading this humble attempt at a blog and I am excited to keep it going in the hopes that what I produce on here is valuable and relevant to others in this field.
The most useful part of examining twitter in this class has been the 20+ followers I have gained and in turn followed. I had been slowly adding MLS professional to my Twitter lists, but it had been hard to find relevant Tweeters that I actually enjoyed following. If anything else, I have come to respect and enjoy the Tweets sent out by my classmates and cannot wait to continue to follow them post class. Through Twitter and the #LIS768 hashtag, I have received links to articles that will help me with my research, commentary on my blog postings, friendly tips and “hellos” and the opportunity to host a TweetChat (something I have always wanted to do, but didn’t have a reason or audience large enough to engage). Twitter has been a great way to feel like I have been to class every week (even though this is a monthly, weekend class), and I feel as though I have developed some great professional and social relationship through using this medium.
Assignments
Overall, I felt that the assignments were relevant, concise, and valuable for a variety of professional purposes. For example, I was just recently assigned to the Social Media Team at my Library as a representative for my Department. I truly believe that my work in studying things like Social Media Policies, using a variety of Web 2.0 tools—especially blogging, and my ability to work in an online environment (pretty much how we conducted the research for and put together our group project) in this class swayed my supervisor’s decision in choosing me for this role. I had been waiting for an opportunity to take on new challenges in my career and I am convinced that bringing Social Media to my Library is a great first step into the direction I ultimately see myself continuing in. I know that this class has given me many valuable additions to my “portfolio” and for that, I am grateful.
Group Project
I have to admit that I am not typically a fan of group projects, especially at the Graduate Level, because I always find it difficult to schedule time to meet and work on the project. However, because this class provided us with many online tools to conduct our meetings, share resources and put together the final product, this group project was a breeze to complete and actually quite fun. My group utilized the “Groups” feature on the Classroom website, our G-mail accounts, GoogleDocs and Twitter to share information and work collaboratively in an online environment. This proved to be a valuable exercise, as my Library just announced that the work for the Social Media Team will be conducted virtually with the exception of monthly meetings. Having the leg-up on achieving long-term and detailed projects online will help me handle the pressures of these new job responsibilities and also might posit me as a leader, or point person to go to if others on the team are having a difficult time getting accustomed to working in online spaces.
Class Meetings
The class meetings were a great opportunity to see some amazing PowerPoints filled with images of ideal libraries that really grasp the concept of Library 2.0. It was also the perfect place to explore this new technology and talk with others about their thoughts/feelings on Library 2.0. I appreciate how the instructor chose to keep class sessions brief and informative, giving us plenty of time to meet as a group and receive feedback from group members as well as the instructor. I never once felt bored, restless or tired. The class moved the entire weekend and provided me with many interesting things to work on and ponder until our next meeting. As a side note, while I was incredibly sad that our last class had to be cancelled as this was truly my favorite class I have ever had at Dominican, I feel that the outcome of the cancelation has proven to be a valuable learning experience as it proves how far we have come in our comfort level of working with new technologies that we can actually conduct our class online and not feel like we have “missed out” on anything. Also, in the “real world,” things happen all the time that are out of our control and we must be prepared to rectify the situation as best as possible without losing time, money or effort.
Favorites
My favorite thing about this course has been the opportunity to blog on the WordPress platform. In the past, I had found WordPress to be a bit confusing to use and avoided it for other blogging sites like Blogger and Xanga. However, I am impressed by the interface of WordPress and will continue to use it post class. My favorite assignment was the Brand Monitoring assignment because it gave me the opportunity to study a library that is very inspiration to me—San Jose Public Library—from a Library 2.0 perspective
Tips for the future
Topics or Web 2.0 things to look at in future classes (just suggestions!)
Conclusion
Thanks for a great class! Dominican University will miss you greatly. Best of luck in your future adventures in a truly evolving field!
think like a librarian 