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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | |||
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| Auger | What if we dumped the MLS | 3 | Jul 21 2008, 2:35 PM EDT by annie07 | |||
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Thread started: Mar 30 2008, 4:55 PM EDT
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What if we dumped the MLS as a requirement for doing library work, including management jobs like branch manager and assistant director? Does the MLS necessarily add value to what an applicant brings?
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MLS
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| señorbibliotecario | What if librarians actively tried to smash the Nancy Pearl stereotype? | 2 | Jul 10 2008, 10:00 PM EDT by Conspirator | |||
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Thread started: Jun 27 2008, 4:57 PM EDT
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I think Nancy Pearl is an outstanding librarian, but the stereotype she promotes is damaging to librarians and to libraries. It may be cute to folks in the profession and it may be funny to folks outside of the profession, but it is what the public thinks of when they think of libraries and librarians. How about instead of being little old ladies with "shooshing action" we were cool, friendly people who help kids instead of shoosh them?
As younger librarians take the helm, it must be our duty to smash the old stereotype and create a new one. Bob Dylan put it best (although he was referring to parents), "Your old road is rapidly agin', please get out of the new one if you can lend your hand, for the times, they are a-changin'."
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| Auger | What if we do nothing about AV? | 2 | Jun 4 2008, 6:34 PM EDT by homegirl2180 | |||
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Thread started: Feb 13 2008, 11:09 AM EST
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The music and movie industries are changing and we aren't. While we buy media shelving and Alpha security cases, the bottom is falling out of the old music and movie markets. We, and other brick-and-mortar retailers, are being bypassed in favor of models that deliver product directly to users, a song or a movie at a time. iTunes has sold billions of cuts; Tower Records went bankrupt. Have we NOTICED? How do we become part of the new model? Netflix is streaming movies directly to customers and will soon be offering a set-top box to get it to their wide-screen TVs.
A substantial part of our circulation is media, how about yours? What'll it look like if five years if we do nothing? And what about this Kindle thingee? Amazon is blazing a trail right around us.
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music movie kindle media
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| Auger | What if libraries stopped wasting resources on proprietary software? | 4 | May 26 2008, 1:08 AM EDT by Conspirator | |||
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Thread started: Feb 13 2008, 12:23 PM EST
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Libraries cannot function or offer services to their customers without computers and software. My library (Howard County Library) is committed to using Open Source software. We do this primarily because Open Source software puts us, rather than the vendor, in control of the user experience. We use it on the public desktop because it is customer-friendly, feature-laden, fast, stable, secure, and cost-effective. We use it on our staff desktops for the same reasons. As a result, we are able to fully outfit a customer workstation for under $300 (yes, we buy used PCs on eBay) and we run them until the motherboards die. Our six branches, therefore, have some 350+ workstations for the public that each feature, among other options, Internet browsing, video/music streaming and a full office suite. Despite getting heavy use we see two to three help desk tickets per month.
We've stopped spending vast amounts on equipment with a three-year obsolescence cycle for ever-bloated software. As a consequence, we have more to spend on additional workstations and materials! Emboldened with our successes on the desktops, we are forging ahead in moving to Koha as our ILS.
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open source koha software
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| btribe | What if we stopped making excuses and accepted responsibility? | 2 | Apr 28 2008, 1:59 PM EDT by LincALD | |||
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Thread started: Apr 23 2008, 12:20 PM EDT
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Not that libraries do this but staff. What if staff stopped saying "I'm busy, I can't ___" but instead admitted the responsibility lies with them. I think we are ALL pretty busy. Telling me you are busy implies that I am not. I'm just as busy but if something falls off my radar I admit it and try to make amends. What if we all admitted we are busy but that we sometimes make poor choices. It's all about choice and the consequences of that choice.
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Keyword tags:
busy
choice
excuses
responsibility
staff
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| saldrich | What if we cut each other some slack? | 2 | Apr 28 2008, 2:12 AM EDT by saldrich | |||
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Thread started: Apr 3 2008, 4:57 PM EDT
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In my perfect universe, we would all assume positive intent when people did things. I'm not totally Polly Anna. I know there are people our there who can be haters, but what if we came from a point of view of supporting each other - and cutting each other some slack.
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assume positive intent
slack
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| btribe | What if libraries didn't judge a book by it's cover? | 0 | Apr 22 2008, 10:25 AM EDT by btribe | |||
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Thread started: Apr 22 2008, 10:25 AM EDT
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....it's all content just with different packaging. Why do we place a higher value on a book request than we do a DVD? Are they not both request for material with have and therefore keeping in line with good customer service we should be just as eager to fulfill the request for a DVD as we would for a copy of Shakespeare? Books, DVDs, games, compact discs, downloadable media - it is all content. Why does the the package cover dictate the value?
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Keyword tags:
book
content
customer service
DVD
game
packaging
Shakespeare
value
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| MeggieC | What if we stop being internet cafes? | 1 | Apr 22 2008, 10:20 AM EDT by btribe | |||
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Thread started: Apr 7 2008, 2:37 PM EDT
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What if we stop using our precious resources to buy more computers so people can come in and surf porn for hours on end? What if we have internet for research purposes (or *gasp* staff use) only? (OK, maybe 1 or 2 stand-up stations per branch... I wouldn't want to be tarred and feathered!)
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| Libraryrebel | What if we stopped depending on government funding? | 2 | Apr 20 2008, 10:48 AM EDT by TexasTaylor | |||
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Thread started: Apr 5 2008, 12:28 PM EDT
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When the local economy takes a downturn, libraries close branches and lay off staff. This is when libraries services become most critical. This is when libraries need to offer more programs and do more outreach. Why not find an independent source of income so that libraries thrive regardless of the economy.
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government funding
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| 99bottles | What if we lived by the Godfather's rules? | 1 | Apr 9 2008, 2:57 PM EDT by saldrich | |||
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Thread started: Apr 8 2008, 10:22 AM EDT
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Understanding that it's not personal, "it's just business", and being willing to go to the mattresses to get things done.
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| mantecagirl | What if we stopped wasting time? | 5 | Apr 3 2008, 10:19 AM EDT by AnaisRapunzel | |||
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Thread started: Feb 13 2008, 9:15 AM EST
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We have so many unproductive meetings. What if we never had a meeting without agreeing up front to stop the minute it became clear nothing was going to be accomplished?
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| Auger | What if we embraced the Internet? | 0 | Feb 13 2008, 11:17 AM EST by Auger | |||
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Thread started: Feb 13 2008, 11:17 AM EST
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If:
a) our mission is to put content into people's hands and b) the Internet is just another format to mediate then why don't we have more Internet access in our library branches? We spend money on solutions to ration access (like PC booking solutions) instead of finding ways to provide more access points (like using Open Source software). We pretend our users are online to check our catalogs. Ha! We limit access to some Internet-only resources like Facebook. Years from now we may realize that the Internet was what the "book", "magazine", "newspaper", "movie" ,etc. were morphing into. Let's hope we're still in the loop and not just focused on peddling the old formats.
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Keyword tags:
internet format
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