Gil’s View: Highlights from Day One at the 2008 Computers in Libraries Conference

It was an interesting and full first day for me at the 23rd Computers in Libraries Conference in Crystal City.  I’ve been going to these off and on since the early 1990’s, and this conference had biggest attendance yet: 2667 library people from 49 states (sorry, Wyoming) and 18 countries.  It was packed and for some attendees, this was a bit uncomfortable, creating standing-room-only situations for some sessions.

For the first time, I lugged my MacBook notebook computer along.  I was pleased to find many free wireless access points and plentiful AC outlets, though the wireless seemed to peter out in the late afternoon (perhaps from the numerous routers getting hammered by many of us librarians and geeks).

I ran into a few of my SIL colleagues here and have networked a bit with librarians of all stripes: public, school and academic.  Thanks to the internet access, I spent more time this first day answering SI and public reference queries than attending the exhibits and talking with vendors.

There was a curious new and probably wise development at this conference: They relabeled a large men’s bathroom as a ladies bathroom.  Rats.  The lack of a bathroom line at conferences has always been a small perk of being male librarian ;-)

Libraries Solve Problems!

The first, keynote speaker was Lee Rainie, the director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project.  We were given the scoop of hearing some details from their latest study. 

Rainie took the opportunity to note blogger IRC comments from earlier speeches, which were mostly positive, but one noted that he’s [just another] foundation suit.”   I found his speech energetic and optimistic, but it’s hard to fault a guy who shows a slide of a “Librarians Rock!” teeshirt.

Many statistics from the study were cited, like the amazing growth of internet use: In 2000, 46% of adults use the internet, in 2008, 75% do,  The bottom line of the study is that is is clear that younger adults are mostly likely to be library users. 60% of online teens use the internet at libraries - way up from 36% in 2000.  Rainie’s hypothesis is that young people forced or compelled to use library for problem-solving during school years are most aware how libraries have changed than anyone.  They know library can help in the future and that ”this is a good resource for me.”  We must continue to nurture this group, giving them Web 2.0 tools and training.  Librarians should aspire to be a node in their social networks.

Occupational hazard note:  One announcement after the keynote stated one conference speaker needed to cancel his/her session because a hacker apparently broke into their network. 

Super Searcher Shares 30 Search Tips

Mary Ellen Bates is a regular speaker at these conference, and as usual, had another extremely useful and practical session that a colleague agrees is worth the whole price of admission to the CIL.

My faves include Google’s awesome news archive search.  The timeline feature is fascinating in itself: http://news.google.com/archivesearch

Ask.com’s map site included topography in calculating directions, which can be used for walking to destinations: http://maps.ask.com/maps

For those ready-reference questions, like “when does Memorial Day occur in 2009,” utiliize the search engines’ quick answer features, at Ask.com’s “Smart Answers,” Google’s “OneBox,” and Yahoo’s “Shorcuts.”

SnapSearch is a cool site that let’s you preview and interact with search results on one page instead of having to jump back and forth from search results: http://www.snap.com/

Check out the other links to the resources she covered at http://batesinfo.com/cil2008.html , under the heading of “Regular Session.”


Fast and Easy Site Tune-ups

A web services librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, Jeff Wisniewski, had some technical tips for mainly server administrators, but I think were useful for us lesser “righted,” public services staff to be aware of.  For example, keeping copyright and “last updated” dates current on web sites is critical because users may ignore valid information because it looks old. 

He also suggested that adding photos to contacts on web pages increases trust, though he acknowledges that librarians can be camera-adverse  I note that science departments at the SI use photos of their staff, which is very useful.  I think we should consider this, soon.

We should also avoid the use of the words “click here” on a web page, because it is “scan hostile.”

Web design tip I did not know about: The term “blindness zone” is from a Yahoo study that shows that certain corners and areas of a web page are generally ignored by users.  [Here’s a scary note on how immediate blogging can be, and why some bloggers are having heart attacks (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06sweat.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=blogger&st=nyt&oref=slogin ).  I did a google search on the term “blindness zone” and already found a blogger mentioning this talk.  Thank goodness I’m not a professional or full-time blogger! ]

Library Web Presence: Engaging the Audience

Two groups of Pennsylvania librarians gave decent talks on new web tools.  One talk was on developing a simpler library gateway page for undergraduates using Widgetbox.com.  I especially like a widget box that has a live “ask a librarian” IM window (too bad this is “illegal” at the SI).  The other talk was on how many-layered, dynamic subject guides are being created with LibGuides subject guide software.

Learning Commons

Tom Ipri, a new head of Media and Computer Services at the UNLV, gave a talk detailing characteristics and concepts in space design at his library.  Movable furniture and variety of spaces (like quiet zones, food areas, etc.) are most important to students and foster a healthy atmosphere of stimulating collaboration and study. I took fairly detailed notes on this as we are planning new space for the NMNH library.

User-Generated Content

Roy Tennant, from OCLC Programs and Research, did an “Oprah Thing” to a packed house on the topic of user-generated content.  Users are contributing more data (photos, movies, documents, etc.) and descriptive content (tags, descriptions).  Tennant argues that more content is better and that it can help provide more personal service, fostering interaction and community.  He cites institutional repositories at the University of California and the Kete Horowhenua project http://horowhenua.kete.net.nz/ in New Zealand.  The latter is an example of a “knowledge basket of images, audio, video and documents which are collected and catalogued by the community” which has grown to even include unvetted content like real estate sales. 

Descriptive content contribution examples given were “Great Lake Images,” where the community has identified previously unknown descriptions of photos posted online.  Items are reviewable in WorldCat these days, much like amazon.com.  The LC Flickr experiment has been very successful, 3000 posted images getting 5.4 million views in one month with 10,000 unique tags out of 55,000 with 3500 comments posted by 1400 users.

This “exploiting knowledge of the masses, with its many eyes, increases likelihood of getting things right.” Library staff are often distant from localized knowledge of items in their collections, and can sometimes be less accurate in descriptions.  The web also provides a feedback loop. 

Tennant acknowledges that relying on user content can be messy, but this is okay.  The junk will “fall to the bottom.”  There are ways to increase effectiveness. 

- Gil Taylor, 4/7/08