Talking about expected library technology competencies

I had a nice opportunity recently to talk about my findings on expected technology competencies in libraries and how we can (corporately and individually) grow our skills.

I gave a Technology Spotlight presentation at the Academic Library Association of Ohio's Annual Conference in Wilmington, OH on October 30. You can see my presentation and handout here.

I then spoke at the Michigan Library Association's Annual Conference in Lansing, MI on November 4. The presentation and handouts are here. That was a great trip for me, in part because it gave me an opportunity to visit my old stomping grounds as an undergraduate at Michigan State University.

Both presentations were entitled "Are You Ready to Roll?: Expected Technology Competencies and the Library Worker." That is the key question for all of us with technology, I suppose: are we ready to roll? Are we ready to take on the challenges that come with working in libraries today? We all come into our jobs with skills and abilities and knowledge in various related and not-exactly-related areas. Can we find ways to keep track of new developments and to add to our skills as we go? I think we can, and that combining a personal assessment like the survey I did last year (and many other options out there) with some goals to grow our knowledge can get us on the right track. I hope these presentations may be of some help to you as you look at your technology skills and desires for professional growth.

I should also include in here a presentation I did back in August on similar ground for the Ohio Library Support Staff Institute.

Keep learning, keep succeeding!

Viva faceted catalogs and discovery layers!

After Losing Users in Catalogs, Libraries Find Better Search Software - Technology - The Chronicle of Higher Education

This story from the Chronicle of Higher Ed is a good introduction to a) alternate search interfaces for library materials, and b) ways to bring together and search the complex collections of digital and physical resources that libraries provide. Chapter 6 in my book offers more details. There are a variety of commercial and open-source products available, including the one we have at Miami University.

A competency of change?

explodedlibrary bunker: Librarian 2.0: the most adaptable to change? by Helen Partridge, Queensland University of Technology - this blog post makes an interesting suggestion about needed competencies for library staff today: the ability for constant change. Based on the results of my survey and a lot of commentary, resistance to change does block a lot of technology development in libraries (often resistance for its own sake rather than constructive, careful consideration of new technologies - aimed at avoiding big jumps being made for no good purpose). What do you think?

Digitize your library on the cheap

I came across this site (DIY High-Speed Book Scanner from Trash and Cheap Cameras) in an article on Slate and it really struck me. I'm not a great do-it-yourself-er, but what if libraries created these, and scanned stuff, and made it available for free and . . .

Wake up! Well, of course it's not legal (for materials still under copyright), but this is an interesting application of re-using old technologies (environmentally sound!) to convert materials from print to digital. I'm not saying that the e-book trumps the printed book, either, but there are some very intriguing convergences here.

Please do not try this at work. But at home . . . 8-)

Top Tech Trends from LITA at ALA

The twice a year run-down of technology trends has just had its most recent report from ALA. Here's a summary of the trends by David Lee King LITA’s Top Tech Trends | David Lee King (there's also a link on David's page to a webcast recording of the session. It's always interesting to listen to the tech experts give their takes on what we should be watching or adopting next.

Check out the cover!

Just to update you on the progress of the 3rd edition of the book, printing is moving forward and the book should be done sometime this month. The new cover is displayed on the blog now. I think it looks great! It's very mobile technology-focused, which really speaks to me as an intriguing development for society at large and libraries in particular. I hope that focus also shows in the book (not that I don't cover a wide array of other technologies, too . . . ).

It's been fun to see the covers evolve over the editions (I've liked each of them in turn, but it's nice to see it change with each new book). It's also linked on the Neal-Schuman site and orders can be sent in at any time. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Technology - and other - Competencies from WebJunction

WebJunction - Competencies - Here's the site to find a set of competencies for library staff skills. There is a lengthy report to download and to use in your own library in setting expectations for competencies. They have also posted the results of their technology skills survey, which I am quite curious to compare to my survey results to see what overlaps and divergences exist. This is a very interesting project and could prove very useful for libraries to determine what individuals in different positions need to know and for individuals to plot out areas to grow in. I'll be interested to hear how individuals and libraries make use of it.

Three New Search Services: Wolfram|Alpha, Microsoft Bing, Google Squared | Disruptive Library Technology Jester

Three New Search Services: Wolfram|Alpha, Microsoft Bing, Google Squared | Disruptive Library Technology Jester

Here's a great comparison of three new search tools created by Peter Murray (the Disruptive Library Technology Jester). He describes each of the tools and then suggests some sample searches to use to compare them. He also has a screencast on the page of sample searches he has used on the tools to highlight their capabilities.

Speaking of technology competencies . . .

WebJunction has a survey up and running to "define technology competencies for the field and to connect them to learning opportunities." You can take the survey at WebJunction Technology Competencies Evaluation - it's up and running through May 20, 2009. You can also see the list of competencies that WebJunction has created and tied into the courses they offer.

I think it will be interesting to see how respondents rate themselves on the various technology tasks included in the survey.