Yes, I’m still focused on Michael Hyatt’s book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Great book! Go read it.

This wasn’t really a huge point in Michael’s book, but he did mention privacy (and I saw a Twitter discussion about privacy in recent weeks, so it’s something I had been thinking about).

Here’s what Michael said, on page 166:

“For all practical purposes, privacy is dead … You might as well intelligently feed the Google search engines with what you want people to know about you. You need to be smart about it, but you are in control.”

I don’t think privacy is really dead – and I don’t think Michael Hyatt really thinks that either, based on what he said at the end of that quote – “you are in control.”

I think that’s an important point to make – you are in control of what you share. Yes, if you do a Google search on me, you can find my address (even an aerial shot of my house), a bunch of pictures of me, some pictures of my family, a photo or two of me when I was younger, where I’ve worked since college, a list of (some) books I’ve read, etc.

Then, if you start reading my posts, especially my social media posts, you might find out a few more personal details about me.

But guess what? That’s all info that I’m ok sharing. I have chosen to share most of that stuff. Yes, this is a weird time – so things like my annual salary or an aerial photo of my house are publicly available, and there’s not a lot I can do about that (and I really don’t care about those things).

But the stuff I think of as private – really personal details about my family, for example – I don’t share online. Religious beliefs? I have ‘em. I share a little bit on social media, mostly via photos (I lead worship at my church – whoops! I just shared something!), so you might see a photo of my guitar at church. To me, those are more “let’s grab some coffee and chat” types of things.

But my point – there is still info about me that I control. How? Simple – those things don’t get put online.

Is privacy dead? Nope. Is it easier to accidentally share globally? Yes. Do we need to figure out our social media privacy settings? Yes. Do we need to figure out our “publicly shared comfort level?” Probably so.

Lots to think about, huh?

Funny Venn diagram from Rob Jewitt

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(March 10, 2014). As part of a reorganisation of Local Government in Ireland, Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council are merging into a single entity in mid-2014 to form Limerick City and County Council. As part of this process many IT services need to be merged. The first of these services to merge, the library system, went live on December 12th 2013Interleaf Technology worked as part of a team with representatives from both library services to bring the systems together.Limerick City and County Library

(March 10, 2014). Innovative and Bibliotheca, a leader in RFID and bar-code based technology solutions, announced today that they have entered into a strategic alliance that will enhance integration of the companies' products to create value-added offerings to library customers worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement Innovative will have rights to directly resell Bibiotheca's RFID systems to Innovative customers around the world, including the Americas, Europe and Australia.

 

In honor of PLA14, our e-book is FREE this week at amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Library-Michael-E-Casey-ebook/dp/B00IQYZ1BA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?

And it’s always FREE here:  http://tametheweb.com/2014/03/03/news-download-the-transparent-library-e-book-here/

I am excited to be speaking at the Public Library Conference in Indianapolis.  See you there!

Thursday, March 13, 2014
04:15 PM – 05:15 PM
135-136

Hyperlinked Learning Experiences at Public Libraries: MOOCs & Beyond

This presentation will explore emerging models of connected, open learning—offered for free— with great potential for staff and the public. Can we support students of all kinds in Massive Open Online Courses? What’s the potential for professional development and lifelong learning when courses can gather the best of the best in a field and offer experiences and exploration anywhere? This session will explore new ideas and thinking about learning at the library.

Note: any #hyperlibMOOC participants attending, please say hello. I have name tag ribbons and Stickygrams for you.

Today’s books are about family, relationships, secrets, and coming-of-age. Both move back and forth in time, and include characters suffering from mental illness.

Sarah Cornwell‘s debut novel, What I Had Before I Had You follows a mother’s memories back into her own turbulent adolescence. The thread that connects past and present is bipolar disorder, which runs in Olivia’s family. Olivia’s mother, Olivia’s 9-year-old son, even Olivia herself, all experience it. The novel includes compelling elements of mystery, of finding oneself, of navigating complicated relationships — all popular with readers of realistic fiction.

Rachel Joyce follows her own popular debut, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry with Perfect, which she considers “a story about truth as well as perfection.” The story alternates between 11-year-old Byron, in 1972, and 50-something Jim, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder in the present. It hinges on a car accident that unravels Byron’s perfect family. Two mysteries — what happened during the car accident, and just how the past and present stories connect — propel the novel forward. Eleanor Brown’s Washington Post review points up its themes of social class, gender roles, mental illness, and “our search for perfection and control in an imperfect and uncontrollable world.”

CORNWELL, Sarah. What I Had Before I Had You. 288p. Harper. Jan. 2014. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9780062237842; ebk. ISBN 9780062237866.  

In this engrossing debut novel, Olivia, recently separated, returns to the Jersey Shore town of her youth with her teenaged daughter and nine-year-old son. When her son, recently diagnosed with early-onset bipolar disorder, disappears, she spends the night looking for him. As she visits the haunts of her past, she recalls her teenage years in this place. Her mother often disappeared for days or weeks at a time, and she maintained a room in the house for Olivia’s twin sisters, who died at birth. The summer Olivia was 15, she saw two girls on the beach that she was certain were her sisters. Her attempt to find out who they were took her eventually to New York, and to finding out things about her family that turned her life around. The greater part of this novel is the story of Olivia as a teenager, and it is an absorbing coming-of-age story, as Olivia learns truths about parents and children, friends and lovers, honesty and lies, guilt, and forgiveness. Teens will be intrigued by her attempts to find out who she is, both at home on the shore, and in the wider world of New York. Her relationships with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, her sisters, her own friends and boyfriends, and–in the present-day–her husband and children, are complex, and while Olivia’s life is often turbulent, it is always interesting.–Sarah Flowers, formerly of Santa Clara County Library, CA

JOYCE, Rachel. Perfect. 400p. Random. Jan. 2014. Tr $25. ISBN 9780812993301; ebk. ISBN 9780679645122.  

Eleven-year-old Byron’s life is forever impacted when his mother is involved in a minor car accident.  Accidents don’t happen in his world—his mother is perfect, their home is immaculate, and his father’s gift to his mother (a Jaguar) is untouched. Byron’s friend James now wishes he had never shared the news article about scientists adding two seconds to the year, because Byron blames the accident on the extra time.  The two boys concoct a plan to investigate the accident while Byron’s mother is unraveling. In a parallel tale, readers meet Jim, an adult with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Is he the grown-up version of James? The mystery isn’t solved until the end of the novel.  While not a fast-moving read, Joyce’s second novel will attract teens who enjoy lush and slowly revealed family traumas. Much of this literary novel revolves around mental illness and how patients were treated in society and at home in the early 1970s and in contemporary society. The alternating chapters are easy to distinguish—Byron’s story is in past tense and Jim’s tale is in present tense. Teens will be most interested in Byron’s coming-of-age story and how he deals with his mother, who is increasingly becoming more distant.–Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

Via Pam the Librarian:

http://pamlibrarian.wordpress.com/2014/03/08/kicked-out-of-the-library/

Last week I went to the Exeter Public Library with a colleague to work on a project for our high school. We needed Internet access, a table to spread our documents out on, an outlet to plug-in our devices, a spot away from the distractions of our school, and a buzzing atmosphere where we would feel inspired to create new ideas for our project. What better place than the local library?

We arrived to a very still and silent library. Two women behind the main desk looked at us as we walked in and went back to work. Patrons were sitting in chairs reading newspapers. There were some available study carrels in the corners. No group tables near outlets.

We tried the second floor. We were faced with several empty chairs and study carrels and signs that say “no talking.” There was an empty “meeting room” with no table and no chairs. Another meeting room was locked.

Because it was 10 a.m. we went into the Teen room (which is located directly behind the Reference desk.) The room is empty because it is a Friday and all of the teens in town are in school. We sat at a booth with an outlet and spread out our documents. As soon as we started working we were interrupted by a staff member who said that we are not allowed to work in there because we would intimidate the teens. I jokingly suggested that the fact that we are high school teachers/librarians could gain us access to this empty room. The librarian did not think it was funny and asked us to leave. I asked her for a suggestion of a location where we could work together at a table near an outlet. She said there are outlets all over the walls but could think of no table near an outlet. She recommended we try the second floor and I said that we will need to talk about our project. She reminded us we are not allowed to talk on the second floor.

We packed up and spent the day at Me & Ollie’s cafe where we sat on couches around a coffee table near an outlet surrounded by the buzz of the cafe. A young woman was reading a book next to us. An older man was typing hurriedly on his laptop on the other side. People were having meetings, drinking coffee, and getting business done. We were welcomed by the staff. They made us tea. And we got our work done.

This is unfortunate. I get that maybe adults shouldn’t be in the teen area without a teen, but maybe an exception could be made? And maybe some space for working together should be in the works soon. I did check out the library’s web site and Facebook. Looks like they had mini golf last year in the library! Maybe someone from the library should comment. Maybe it was just an off day?

I would suggest a “kindness audit” of signage though.

    ISBN: 9780062340849
    Author: Harrison, Kim, 1966-

(March 7, 2014). Central Access Corp. announced a partnership with Follett to provide Mississippi schools and educators access to Follett's Aspen Instructional Management System. Aspen IMS offers powerful curriculum and classroom tools that help teachers and students to focus on engagement and achievement that meet state education standards.

(March 6, 2014). Libraries in communities across the country will partner with Redbox, America's destination for entertainment, and OCLC to produce free, fun, public entertainment events. Developed and funded by Redbox, “Outside the Box” will bring people together for these events in 20 new communities this year.During a 2013 pilot program, 12 Outside the Box events reached over 3,000 people around the country. Pilot efforts were led by public libraries and their communities, and supported by OCLC and consultants at the Project for Public Spaces (PPS). Building on the pilot's success, Outside the Box will extend to 20 new communities in 2014, reinforcing the goal of creating great places where community members can gather and connect. Public libraries will remain central to Outside the Box, leading community planning sessions and event design.

LITA is offering a webinar All Aboard – The Party’s Starting! Setting a Course for Social Media Success, presented by Mary Anne Hansen, Doralyn Rossmann, Angela Tate, and Scott Young of Montana State University Library, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 pm CDT on April 2, 2014.

Social media is more than a way to inform users; social media is a powerful way to build community online. Presenters will go beyond the basics by demonstrating how to create a social media guide for developing communities on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.  We will explore data tracking and assessment tools such as ThinkUp, HootSuite, Google Analytics, focus group data, and survey methods. We will also discuss strategies for integrating social media efforts into your organization’s strategic plan and educating peer organizations about best practices.

Participants will take home a template for creating a comprehensive plan for social media usage and assessment, with an emphasis on creating a meaningful voice and a compelling personality.

For registration and additional information, visit the course page.

Neither of the books reviewed below looks much like a traditional short story collection. Eileen Gunn’s Questionable Practices includes stories as short as one page long, a poem, and a “steam-punk quartet” of stories. Novak’s collection, meanwhile, mocks the whole concept of a “short story collection”, calling itself, in the subtitle,  “Stories and Other Stories”. And like Gunn, Novak has a knack for knowing when to end a story – many of his stories are merely a page or two long, but when he needs more space, he’s happy to stretch out as well.

Both of these books are also “humorous”, though what that means in each case is vastly different. Gunn’s idea of a funny joke starts with elves killing your parents, while Novak’s starts at a support group for transgender people. Fortunately for me, I find both of these authors hilarious, as well as terrific prose stylists. Bet on Novak–with his Sedaris-like observations, and Office-pedigree–to make more of a splash with teen readers. But definitely give Gunn’s book to teens with the right sensibility.

Then again, short stories and humor – I’ve discussed them both before, and all the usual caveats apply.

GUNN, Eileen. Questionable Practices. 208p. Small Beer. Mar. 2014. Tr $16. ISBN 9781618730756. LC 2013047730.

This quirky story collection begins with a love triangle between a man, a woman, and a Sasquatch—the man sees the Sasquatch as a beautiful woman; the woman sees the Sasquatch as a beautiful man; they all sleep together; and all three plus the woman’s mother end up on Maury arguing over paternity. And it only gets stranger (though never funnier) from there. Later stories feature Kirk and Spock slash-fic, semi-parodical steampunk, several sets of evil elves, and an incredibly moving account of a veteran’s failed attempts to reintegrate into society. Aside from the veteran’s story (the last in the collection), the overwhelming mood is darkly comic science fiction—like a strange blend of Terry Gilliam and Margo Lanagan. Teen fans of either or both of those geniuses would do well to turn to Gunn for a similarly unique ride. Her prose is vividly off-kilter, her plots memorable and usually hilarious, and her characters recognizable even when they are tropes. And even though nothing is quite what it seems in these stories, the author’s firm grip on dream logic makes everything feel meaningful, even when it doesn’t quite make sense.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA

NOVAK, B. J. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories. 288p. Knopf. Feb. 2014. Tr $24.95. ISBN 9780385351836.

Novak’s subtitle slyly and appropriately questions his book’s status as a “story collection.” Less than stories, these are sketches, extended jokes, and essays. The modus operandi here is to take a commonplace idea or phrase and push it to its comedic extreme. “If I had a nickel for every time I spilled a cup of coffee” becomes a mathematical examination of how much money you could actually make at five cents per spilled cup (not much). “Life is a roller coaster” yields a literal roller coaster being test-marketed to mixed reviews. John Grisham’s novels are all titled “The [something]”–what if he published a book actually called “The Something”? And so on. This could get tiresome quickly but Novak, who honed his comedic chops as a writer and performer on The Office, deftly avoids any feeling of repetition, first by casting his net for jokes far and wide, and, more importantly, with an incredible sense of pace. Just when the brief vignettes seem about to overwhelm the collection, he will inject a longer story with real characters and sometimes even a bit of pathos. This book is perfect for fans of Novak’s work on The Office, readers of humorists like David Sedaris, or for teens just looking for a comedy collection to browse. The “discussion questions” are not to be missed.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA

(March 6, 2014). Duquesne University's Gumberg Library and Center for Legal Information (CLI) have selected the Sierra Library Services Platform. Gumberg Library is moving from a SirsiDynix Symphony™ system while CLI is upgrading from Innovative's Millennium ILS. This will result in a single Sierra system being shared by the two libraries which had previously operated separate systems.

(March 6, 2014). Follett Corporation announced an investment in ShowEvidence, Inc., a Santa Clara, California-based education software company that provides innovative solutions for assessing student and teacher performance. The investment is the first from the Follett Knowledge Fund, a $50 million venture fund focused on disruptive technologies in the education/technology space.

(March 6, 2014). 3M Library Systems announces the launch of the newest innovation to its 3M Cloud Library Digital Lending System—eAudiobooks. Debuting with 40,000 titles powered by Findaway World, a premier provider of digital audiobook technology and delivery, the 3M Cloud Library will have an extensive collection of high quality eAudio titles. 3M will detail the new offerings at the Public Library Association (PLA) 2014 Conference, March 11-15 in Indianapolis, Ind.

(March 6, 2014). EBL - Ebook Library, a ProQuest business, has reinvented its LibCentral administrative and acquisitions module, enabling libraries to tailor their ebook experience to fit their own and their users' unique needs. The new LibCentral helps libraries streamline workflows, making discovery, selection, acquisition, and management of ebooks simple. With sophisticated tools, it provides the library granular access and permission settings along with insight into overall collection and Demand-driven Acquisition usage. Created through collaboration with customers, LibCentral is a substantial step in the integration of ProQuest's ebook businesses EBL and ebrary, and will become the base of the combined ebook platform.

(March 6, 2014). Cooperating Libraries in Consortium of St. Paul, Minnesota, is the first academic library consortium to subscribe to ProQuest's cloud-based library services platform, Intota. The CLIC libraries will be taking full advantage of the transformative nature of the Intota library services platform, implementing in phases beginning with the Summon discovery service this spring. During 2014 they also plan to implement Intota for assessment and for e-resource management, with other components to follow.

(March 6, 2014). Ingram Content Group Inc., today announced it has expanded its physical textbook selection and services with the addition of new supply models, a comprehensive assortment of used textbooks and textbook buyback programs.

    ISBN: 9780062325280
    Author: Cash, Wiley

I’m still focused on Michael Hyatt’s book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Great book! Go read it.

On page 101, Michael writes this:

“Unless you are a megacelebrity, readers don’t care about you. Not really. They care about themselves. They want to know what’s in it for them. Your personal stories can be a doorway to that, but in the end, the best posts are about your readers’ needs, fears, problems, or concerns. Always ask, “What’s the takeaway for my reader?”

Cool thought. Now apply it to your library’s website, and not just to blog posts. Think about your library’s About Us page, or a page about a specific library service.

Then, ask these questions:

• What’s the takeaway for my reader?
• Is there a clear next step for the reader?
• Is the question “what do I do next” answered?
• Is that next step at the top of the page, rather than at the end of a humongous chunk of text?

If your website is like mine, after answering those questions … you have a LOT of rewriting to do. Get busy!

image from Michael Hyatt’s website

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