Finally arrived, and before the (extended) deadline. What a truely awesome experience, I feel energised, excited and even knowledgable - at least somewhat. I have leant a heap and have some goals to achieve. The first is to list all the new sites I have joined, along with their passworsd and logins, not all believe it or not consistant. I want to get on with my home LibraryThing, create a wiki for the severally owned bach, the joint family Christmas, get a better grip on RSS feeds and sorted with Technorati, do a proper travel site with Rollyo, sort my photos, join del-ic-ious (something I am in the middle of doing but which has run into a registration issue) And that is in my personal life
For work I now see a wide web 2.0 vista, and with all the skill that now exists I think NSL is going to have a powerful presence in the virtual world, it is a matter of making the opportunities available for all our talent.
10/11/2008
Social networking
Social networking is definitely a big part of many people's lives. I was interested when I followed the links to libraries that had FaceBook pages how little some of them seemed to be used, one library had less tha 100 friends, 2 others had more than a 1000, but the posts seemed to be sporadic and not that frequent at any time. A question to be answered "is this a fad, or is it becoming an established part of life"
There is definitely an opportunity for NSL to expand into this area, but as the articles all seem to say - if you don't do it well don't bother. One needs to understand why NSL would have a FaceBook or My Space presence. Presumably to reach that under 25 or so audience who live in this space. To be successful I believe we would need someone completely at home in the social network space to deliver the service, somebody that is likely to be under 25. Is an alternative to work with schools to deliver at least part of the service, link in with North Shore's NEAL network. Another thought is - have we missed the boat, I seem to hear that the use of FaceBook is slowing, are people abandoning this form of communication, or moving on to something else. It is an area that needs research and planning.
Lots of questions. NSL should have a new interactive website by early next year, this would be the opportunity to set up a FaceBook page. It is an area I am uncertain about, but I think with so many library staff completing web 2.0 training there will be lots of answers to the many questions.
There is definitely an opportunity for NSL to expand into this area, but as the articles all seem to say - if you don't do it well don't bother. One needs to understand why NSL would have a FaceBook or My Space presence. Presumably to reach that under 25 or so audience who live in this space. To be successful I believe we would need someone completely at home in the social network space to deliver the service, somebody that is likely to be under 25. Is an alternative to work with schools to deliver at least part of the service, link in with North Shore's NEAL network. Another thought is - have we missed the boat, I seem to hear that the use of FaceBook is slowing, are people abandoning this form of communication, or moving on to something else. It is an area that needs research and planning.
Lots of questions. NSL should have a new interactive website by early next year, this would be the opportunity to set up a FaceBook page. It is an area I am uncertain about, but I think with so many library staff completing web 2.0 training there will be lots of answers to the many questions.
10/09/2008
I have had a Facebook account for about a year, and I have a number of friends. My early thoughts were why am I sending them little meassages this way when I could email them. As I have Facebooked a bit more I am beginning to see how the network can be looked at in a different way, a community one can keep in touch with easily and simply, this does not seem to be a place for long philosophical thoughts. But I could keep my photos here, and if I went to the site every day I can see that it might become addictive. I am a member of the NSL group, which seems to not be very active, and I get the LIANZA conference stuff, which is useful. I vaguely keep in touch with a kindergarten friend who lives in Hawaii, and I guess without facebook he would just be a guilty thought, whereas a poke is at least contact.
Bebo is obviuosly for the teeny bopper crowd, I was interested in ACL's site, most of the postings were months old, does it get much, any use? MySpace is beyond me at this stage, but maybe, as a result of this exercise, I will go and create myself a virtual life as a vet or a garbageman - 2 early choices of career.
I have a way to go before I get a real grip on facebook, but I have started the journey!
Bebo is obviuosly for the teeny bopper crowd, I was interested in ACL's site, most of the postings were months old, does it get much, any use? MySpace is beyond me at this stage, but maybe, as a result of this exercise, I will go and create myself a virtual life as a vet or a garbageman - 2 early choices of career.
I have a way to go before I get a real grip on facebook, but I have started the journey!
10/08/2008
eBooks
I covered some of this in an earlier posting, but am still discovering more. Hunting around Googles book project made me realise how very North American centric this movement is at the moment. This is reinforced by the reply I received from Amazon about Kindle availability in NZ
Hello from Amazon.com.
Thank you for your expressed interest in purchasing a Kindle in New Zealand.
At this time, we are unable to offer the Amazon Kindle and associated digital content from the Kindle Store to our international customers due to import/export laws and other restrictions. Whispernet, which allows you to take advantage of Kindle's wireless features, is currently available only in the United States.
We value our international customers and hope to make content available in your location in the future. Please continue to check our website for additional information on supported locations. I'm sorry that I do not have more information at this time as to when it will be made available outside of the United States.
However one lives in hope. I also noticed that the wikipedia struggled with its ebook entry, pleading for some verification. It also talked about the ebook devices being able to be read in the dark because they are backlit - this to my knowledge is wrong.
I searched for Conan Doyle as my public domain literature, there are always lots of his works available where ever you look, and interesting enough to be able to read on a screen one would think. However, I have tried on both a PC screen and my PDA, and it is just too much effort to be worth it. An ebook on the other hand............
I am still interested in eNewspapers, choice of news paper, immediacy, lack of papre to get rid of, and the Kindle will provide this via wireless, but what a small screen. It would make reading newspapers a whole new experience. A picture of the yet to be named Plastic Logic reader, released last month and designed for newspaper reading has an A4 size screen, certainly a step in the right direction.
ebooks are not really about change, just print presened in a different format. Roll on the Kindle and the enewspaper.
Hello from Amazon.com.
Thank you for your expressed interest in purchasing a Kindle in New Zealand.
At this time, we are unable to offer the Amazon Kindle and associated digital content from the Kindle Store to our international customers due to import/export laws and other restrictions. Whispernet, which allows you to take advantage of Kindle's wireless features, is currently available only in the United States.
We value our international customers and hope to make content available in your location in the future. Please continue to check our website for additional information on supported locations. I'm sorry that I do not have more information at this time as to when it will be made available outside of the United States.
However one lives in hope. I also noticed that the wikipedia struggled with its ebook entry, pleading for some verification. It also talked about the ebook devices being able to be read in the dark because they are backlit - this to my knowledge is wrong.
I searched for Conan Doyle as my public domain literature, there are always lots of his works available where ever you look, and interesting enough to be able to read on a screen one would think. However, I have tried on both a PC screen and my PDA, and it is just too much effort to be worth it. An ebook on the other hand............
I am still interested in eNewspapers, choice of news paper, immediacy, lack of papre to get rid of, and the Kindle will provide this via wireless, but what a small screen. It would make reading newspapers a whole new experience. A picture of the yet to be named Plastic Logic reader, released last month and designed for newspaper reading has an A4 size screen, certainly a step in the right direction.
ebooks are not really about change, just print presened in a different format. Roll on the Kindle and the enewspaper.
10/07/2008
Podcasts
I struggled with this a bit, I am finding that I need to consolidate all the things I have learned, so I spent some time revisiting RSS feeds and Bloglines. I explored the sites offered and found Podcastpickle the most interesting and easy to use. I then somehow got into a a spiral joining MediaFly, which I have done and to my surprise have added a BBC programme, From our Correspondent, and in future this is probably the way to go. But to get something I went to the BBC site and added their podcast documentary series to my Bloglines. Certainly current as I have heard some of them on 810 AM quite recently. I also searched in several sites for the podcast of my brother in law speaking to the British House of Lords about Arabic Television a year or so ago. No luck, maybe my searching is not up to scratch, or else the search engines do not mine very deeply. I am now inspired to set up my very small ipod i bought several months ago which is still sitting in its case.
10/05/2008
YouTube
Well what a surprise, hundreds of similar sites, and I thought there was only 1. Well perhaps i just hadn't explored enough. i have spent an hour roaming, looking at endless variations on falling donimos, (can you believe how bad some of the photography is?} checking out music of the 50s and 60s, including endless vesrions of Johnny B Goode. I am going to try and embed a video clip, but before I do that - my editing issues with my blog and Zoho come into play here, let me tell you about my big YouTube moment. i was reading the biography of Leni Riefenstahl, photograher extraordinaire and one of Hitler's propaganda film makers. the book mentioned her film Triumph of the Will,possibly - according to the book - the greatest propaganda film ever made. trip to the video store I thought, no wait lets try YOUTUBE!!. Voila there it was in all its glory well over an hour. It really brought home to me the diversity and power of this type of social sharing tool.
OK here we go, adverts from the 60s, bad taste I know, but love the tune.
OK here we go, adverts from the 60s, bad taste I know, but love the tune.
Web 2.0 Awards
A bit like Rollyo with quality control. I skimmed a whole lot of sites. Read about Twitter, do I really want to know what somebody is doing every minute of the day, fine when you are young and have a new love in your life, but even that fades after a while. many of the names in the lists are old favourites, and some of the compilations are rather eclectic. However i will explore the travel one more and see if I can add stuff to my own Rollyo list. The article we were refered to talks about 17 companies writing Office applications and questions if this is really what we want. I must say I find it confusing enough to have 2 email addresses without having to decide whether to use word or someting else ( alraedy there is the dilemma of knowing about Zoho) Useful site to know about, did it add much to my knowledge, not yet, maybe later............
MetroNet report August 2007
North Shore Libraries
MetroNet Report ®– August 2007.
eLGAR
There has been a great deal of progress made in the last six months. Earlier in the year a hosting/system support manager, Petri Coetzee, was appointed. Petri is employed by Auckland City Council ITC and is responsible ensuring, in broad terms, that the technical side of Millennium runs smoothly. A service level agreement has been signed between the councils who make up the eLGAR consortium and ACC ITC and this has allowed the process of appointing the new system support team to begin, the positions are expected to be advertised this week.
In May eLGAR appointed its Establishment Manager, Hamish McDonald, who has a business background, mainly in the wine industry. Hamish will be supported by an office of three, with provision to bring in project management help as required. Already Hamish is having a significant impact on the running of the eLGAR operations and allowing the Board to concentrate on more strategic work.
The discussions with Franklin and Papakura libraries concluded with neither library deciding to purchase the Millennium software at this stage, however, we are still looking at ways of including them in wider eLGAR projects and functions.
The eLGAR work plan for the next twelve months is still large but not as frenetic as it was this time last year. Operationally we are looking to install some form of ecommerce so that patrons can pay fees and charges directly on-line either in the library or remotely. On a strategic level we are currently undertaking a training review, writing a customer strategy and finishing off work on both reporting strategies and cataloguing principles. We are working with our staff on creating a collaboration framework, and on moving our focus from Millennium only to a wider collaborative vision. Beginning work on a shared technical services concept is scheduled to begin in the middle of next year.
3M Award.
Last year eLGAR won the 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries. In consultation with our staff we decided the best way to spend the prize was to bring a relevant and motivational speaker to New Zealand. The choice of speaker is Rivkah Sass, Director of the Omaha Public Library and Librarian of the year 2006 in the US. Rivkah will be speaking at the Australian Public Library Conference this weekend, and has expressed real interest in coming to NZ later in the year. Rivkah’s areas of professional passion centre around having the right library for a community and the role that libraries play in a democratic society. If we are able to bring Rivkah to NZ there would seem to be a real opportunity for her to travel around the country speaking to libraries and at the same time seeing how NZ operates its systems. If anyone is interested in exploring this further please contact me before you go home so I can begin a negotiation with Rivkah.
North Shore Buildings
The appeal by a small band of residents against rebuilding the Birkenhead Library on the Nell Fisher Reserve spent a week in the Environment Court in May, with a judgement expected in August. While it was an interesting experience, one might observe that there appears to be a mismatch between the rights or wishes of the vast majority of the local community and the powers that the RMA gives to a small number of appellants each with a different objective. I hope that in six months time I will be able to give a more positive report.
The proposed expansion of the Devonport Library, also on a reserve has been exposed to widespread public consultation and progress will be slow and measured.
Planning for our next major building, Albany Central which is scheduled to be completed 2011/2012, has already begun.
The most interesting exercise currently scheduled is the recarpeting of Takapuna Library while still keeping it open, at least one floor at any one time, later this month. The current wool carpet is almost 20 years old and has withstood the footsteps of six million visitors. The $250,000 replacement programme will see the laying of more versatile carpet tiles – but obviously not made of wool as they can be recycled.
Urban Fibre Network
Formally the MUSH network, is almost ready to be hooked up to the libraries. Initially this will simply give NSL super quick computers, but is expected in a while to play a significant role in the improvement of our digital services. Currently I am working on a business case to establish a digital team that will allow the maximum use of the network. The owners of the cable, Vector, are planning to install WIFI capability in each library and are working on a proposal that will allow Council to provide not only free Internet but also free WIFI access in all its libraries.
Strategic Plan.
The draft North Shore Libraries strategic plan has been completed by John Truesdale and Sue Sutherland. It is an excellent document and is already being used to reinforce the proposed library service. Because of local body elections the plan will not be presented to the new library committee until early in 2008. By that time the high level strategic document will be supported by a more detailed network plan, which in time will be supported by the library business plan.
North Shore Libraries Foundation Events.1
The beginning of the year has been relatively quite, but soon in the space of a month the Foundation will be hosting events with Paulllina Simons, Kathy Reichs, Michael Palin and Ian Rankin.
Geoff Chamberlain
30th July 2007
1 Last of the MetroNet reports before the group wound up to be replaced by APLM
MetroNet report August 2007
I have had several attempts at editing this, but things keep changing. Anyhow, I have got most of the photo over, played around with the text and looked at a lot of the flash stuff. the real benefit would seem to be in the sharing of a document. So once i reach number 23 I'll go back and have a shot at setting up a work group and try working that way. I must say this one has made me think through some technocal issues, but I get the concept.
North Shore Libraries
MetroNet Report ®– August 2007.
eLGAR
There has been a great deal of progress made in the last six months. Earlier in the year a hosting/system support manager, Petri Coetzee, was appointed. Petri is employed by Auckland City Council ITC and is responsible ensuring, in broad terms, that the technical side of Millennium runs smoothly. A service level agreement has been signed between the councils who make up the eLGAR consortium and ACC ITC and this has allowed the process of appointing the new system support team to begin, the positions are expected to be advertised this week.
In May eLGAR appointed its Establishment Manager, Hamish McDonald, who has a business background, mainly in the wine industry. Hamish will be supported by an office of three, with provision to bring in project management help as required. Already Hamish is having a significant impact on the running of the eLGAR operations and allowing the Board to concentrate on more strategic work.
The discussions with Franklin and Papakura libraries concluded with neither library deciding to purchase the Millennium software at this stage, however, we are still looking at ways of including them in wider eLGAR projects and functions.
The eLGAR work plan for the next twelve months is still large but not as frenetic as it was this time last year. Operationally we are looking to install some form of ecommerce so that patrons can pay fees and charges directly on-line either in the library or remotely. On a strategic level we are currently undertaking a training review, writing a customer strategy and finishing off work on both reporting strategies and cataloguing principles. We are working with our staff on creating a collaboration framework, and on moving our focus from Millennium only to a wider collaborative vision. Beginning work on a shared technical services concept is scheduled to begin in the middle of next year.
3M Award.
Last year eLGAR won the 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries. In consultation with our staff we decided the best way to spend the prize was to bring a relevant and motivational speaker to New Zealand. The choice of speaker is Rivkah Sass, Director of the Omaha Public Library and Librarian of the year 2006 in the US. Rivkah will be speaking at the Australian Public Library Conference this weekend, and has expressed real interest in coming to NZ later in the year. Rivkah’s areas of professional passion centre around having the right library for a community and the role that libraries play in a democratic society. If we are able to bring Rivkah to NZ there would seem to be a real opportunity for her to travel around the country speaking to libraries and at the same time seeing how NZ operates its systems. If anyone is interested in exploring this further please contact me before you go home so I can begin a negotiation with Rivkah.
North Shore Buildings
The appeal by a small band of residents against rebuilding the Birkenhead Library on the Nell Fisher Reserve spent a week in the Environment Court in May, with a judgement expected in August. While it was an interesting experience, one might observe that there appears to be a mismatch between the rights or wishes of the vast majority of the local community and the powers that the RMA gives to a small number of appellants each with a different objective. I hope that in six months time I will be able to give a more positive report.
The proposed expansion of the Devonport Library, also on a reserve has been exposed to widespread public consultation and progress will be slow and measured.
Planning for our next major building, Albany Central which is scheduled to be completed 2011/2012, has already begun.
The most interesting exercise currently scheduled is the recarpeting of Takapuna Library while still keeping it open, at least one floor at any one time, later this month. The current wool carpet is almost 20 years old and has withstood the footsteps of six million visitors. The $250,000 replacement programme will see the laying of more versatile carpet tiles – but obviously not made of wool as they can be recycled.
Urban Fibre Network
Formally the MUSH network, is almost ready to be hooked up to the libraries. Initially this will simply give NSL super quick computers, but is expected in a while to play a significant role in the improvement of our digital services. Currently I am working on a business case to establish a digital team that will allow the maximum use of the network. The owners of the cable, Vector, are planning to install WIFI capability in each library and are working on a proposal that will allow Council to provide not only free Internet but also free WIFI access in all its libraries.
Strategic Plan.
The draft North Shore Libraries strategic plan has been completed by John Truesdale and Sue Sutherland. It is an excellent document and is already being used to reinforce the proposed library service. Because of local body elections the plan will not be presented to the new library committee until early in 2008. By that time the high level strategic document will be supported by a more detailed network plan, which in time will be supported by the library business plan.
North Shore Libraries Foundation Events.1
The beginning of the year has been relatively quite, but soon in the space of a month the Foundation will be hosting events with Paulllina Simons, Kathy Reichs, Michael Palin and Ian Rankin.
Geoff Chamberlain
30th July 2007
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