From the Oxford English Dictionary, via Ron Murray at the Library of Congress, through the Disruptive Library Technology Jester, comes the news that the term “Mash-Up”, with roughly the same meaning as today, is over 150 years old!

The modern re-birth of the term appears to begin around 1994.

Library Technology Guides has a couple of interesting data sets that, in a limited way, shows some of the dynamic patterns in the Integrated Library System (ILS) market:

Integrated Library System turnover in 2009 (listed by the ILS migrated to)

Reverse Integrated Library system turnover in 2009 (listed by the ILS migrated from)

It is interesting to note that a great deal of activity involves libraries moving to open source systems, mainly Koha (143) or Evergreen (92).  The top proprietary system is SirsiDynix’s Symphony (84), but over 70 of those installations are from other SirsiDynix products.  After that, the numbers drop to the 40-something range.

Note that these only reflect libraries that have their relevant information listed in Lib-Web-Cats.   If your library isn’t listed, you should submit your information; if listed, you should double-check your information and update if necessary.

found via GuidePosts

This is a couple of months old, but it is worth highlighting:

Unlocking the Passion Paradox

Kenneth Eikenberry illustrates the benefits of being passionate about your work, and how one can encourage and develop those passions.

From the post:

When you are passionate about an activity, event or situation, your satisfaction, success and productivity all skyrocket. If you want those benefits more of the time, it isn’t enough to wait for that passionate feeling; you must look for the opportunities, because until you look, you won’t find your passion.

He extols the benefits of having a good attitude, especially looking for the positive aspects of one’s work, as well as seeking out opportunities to apply your strengths through volunteer work or hobbies.  I can certainly vouch for these methods; they can certainly make a difference in your life, as well as providing benefits to others.

found via Library Garden

ALA Learning’s Top Ten Customer Service Skills for Library Staff is not only a great review of those habits that can make us more effective when we interact with the public, but are also good reminders of what we can do to improve communication and collaboration with co-workers, vendors, family, friends, strangers, etc.

found via MLxperience

Baker & Taylor has the next big thing in ebooks. Really!

As with all of  the “next big things” we see in digital technology, we get to “wait and see”.

However, reading the post makes me marvel at the possibilities that this could provide to libraries that use Baker & Taylor and their Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) subsidiary.  Imagine being able to offer e-books bundled with any print copies purchased, with cataloging services included.

found via LISNews

How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age (pdf) is a report from Project Information Literacy, maintained by the Information School at the University of Washington that contains a few surprises for libraries:

• Course readings were the first place most students turn to for course-related research (97%).
• Over 80% of students used library-provided research databases.
• Usage of library offering (research databases, OPAC, print materials, and study areas) were all above 50%.

Now the not so good:

• All interactive library research (talk to a librarian, attend a training session, use chat, e-mail or other online “Ask A Librarian” service) fell below 25%.
• Students are missing out on potential resources (including library research assistance), simply because those resources are not within their range of research activity.

Where are students going for assistance?  They tend to go to their instructors for guidance and assistance, but otherwise they simply use the resources they already know about, or discover in the course of their research.

What might this mean for libraries?  We should push for better interaction with instructors, so that they will be more likely to understand the full range of resources available for students to use, and will be more likely to refer students to an interactive library resource (which was only done 26% of the time — and the only result on the survey below 60%).

We also should examine our online presence.  How does it present research resources?  Will someone looking for a particular type of information be able to locate all the resources that the library has to offer?  Print and online library guides for these activities can also be very beneficial.

This report should be read, and reviewed, with each of our libraries in mind.  By understanding that the people we interact with are only one-fourth of the population using our resources, we can begin to re-focus our efforts to ensure that what we have to offer will be used effectively.

found via Bill Drew, who found it via the Free Range Librarian

The Lepper Library in Lisbon, Ohio has initiated a new program to deal with severe budget cuts:  they are asking their users to help out by sponsoring magazine subscriptions.

This is a creative and interesting way to help maintain and even expand a collection.  I could even see an effort to encourage people to purchase books by their favorite authors for the library’s collection (perhaps they could be given the first hold slot for checking out the item).

This isn’t as good of an option for academic libraries, but I suspect that there are some possibilities in this approach.

found via Save Ohio Libraries

The Perfect Storm is a brief essay in the current issue of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) newsletter.  G. Sayeed Choudhury, the author of the essay, states that

“Universities have authentication and authorization systems to identify who you are and what you can use; they also have office software or course management systems to support collaboration.    How many passwords do you use within your university system? How easy is it to collaborate with people outside your university? Yet within and without our universities, many faculty, students, and staff collaborate daily using Google’s suite of tools.  This trend will almost certainly grow once Google Wave is launched later this year.  With its impressive integration of services and novel method for identity management, Google Wave may become a tsunami that washes away the office software suite—and perhaps even the course management system.”

I am not so sure that Google Wave will be the tipping point, but it is certainly another step in this direction.  How many of us have stepped outside of the boundaries of the traditional tools we use for our work and schooling?  It is humbling to recognize how much time and effort can be saved through the proper application of a new software program, or an online service, or even tapping into social networking to gain insight (it is interesting that e-mail lists are considered standard, while Facebook, Twitter and blogging still have the “Library 2.0″ label stuck on them… they are all different forms of social networking, with their accompanying strengths and weaknesses).

Choudhury adds:

Too often we fail to examine trends beyond our own institutional context; we are reluctant to embrace risk taking when developing services or infrastructure.  The choices that universities and libraries make regarding infrastructure in the next few years will have profound implications for the future.

I would take it a step further, and suggest that we not only don’t look beyond our own context, we fail to grasp the possibilities that exist with new technology and new applications of existing technology.  When the environment surrounding our libraries changes, the environment within our libraries changes as well – whether we incorporate these changes or remain passive.

In other words:  We ignore tools such as Google Wave, Open Source, Open Access, Wikis, Blogs, Social Networking, social library catalog tools, and everything else at our own peril.  These tools have changed our libraries, are currently changing our libraries, and will continue to change our libraries as far into the future as we can see.  If we want to remain relevant (in other words:  if we want to survive), we need to pay attention.  Libraries as they have existed in the past will continue to play a role, but that role will be viewed more as an archive than a dynamic library.

We have lost a lot of ground, but we have the ability and the resources to do this, and it starts with each and every one of us.  How can we do our job better?  Smarter?  Faster?  What tools can we use?  How can others help?  The libraries that pay attention to those questions, and strive to answer them effectively, will be the ones to thrive.

I challenge you to, within the next week, find one new tool, idea, or resource that makes you better at your job.  Repeat, ad infinitum – from here it appears that it is Turtles all the way down.

Last Saturday, Governor Ted Strickland suggested that Ohio Librarians ought to take a pay cut rather than be critical of his budget proposal:

As for libraries, which, in Strickland’s original budget framework were slated for a 30 percent cut in state assistance, the governor said that librarians across the state might consider a pay cut.

“Other leaders have taken a pay cut,” he said. “I’ve taken a pay cut.”

If this were a debate over a 5% or 10% overall cut in library funding, then yes, the option of cutting salaries could make a difference for libraries providing services.  We aren’t facing that level, however.  If all public library librarians were to forgo their entire salaries, it still wouldn’t prevent the closure of many libraries and the gutting of services at most of the rest.

This suggestion is the equivalent of suggesting that by clipping coupons and buying store brand items, an unemployed family could avoid foreclosure.  It just doesn’t make sense.

The Ohio budget mess has become entangled in a mass of politics.  Politicians all seem to have a position; nobody seems to have a solution.  A valid and fair solution is going to hurt, but it needs to be found (and quickly).

from Save Ohio Libraries

Note (added 9 July 2009): As this post was quoted by American Libraries yesterday, I thought it best to reiterate that, as is stated in the About section, this blog is not affiliated with my current place of employment.  I am responsible for the opinions expressed in the posts, as well as the topics discussed.  I do not feel that I was either misquoted or misattributed, but that it could be misinterpreted.

You know it, even if you don’t admit it… your library has books that should have been weeded years ago, but have hung around until they become anachronistically funny.  To give you an anonymous outlet for this outlandish situation, there is Awful Library Books, a blog highlighting (only in a metaphorical way) those library books that serve to let us know that ours is not the only library that needs a good cleaning.

found via LISNews, who found it via Time

The American Libraries article is just one of many to explain the issues facing Ohio, but I found the following information worth posting:

Strickland’s office was also flooded with phone calls; gubernatorial spokesperson Amanda Wurst said in the June 23 Toledo Blade that “there were 1,356 calls through our switchboard, 80% of which were regarding library funding.” On a normal day, the office receives 150 calls, she added.

On another front, Save Ohio Libraries has created a Flyer for tomorrow’s Statehouse rally in Columbus (Pdf):

Save Ohio Libraries Rally Flyer

A few items of note to update yesterday’s post:

The Library is Now Closed (a.k.a. Shuttered Library) is a blog created by an Ohio librarian named Mike (didn’t see a last name) which is compiling links to a vast amount of information and resources for libraries and supporters in Ohio. (thanks Jessamyn!)

Save Ohio Libraries is a blog detailing actions that people and libraries can take to, as the title suggests, save Ohio libraries.

A couple of additional links to Pdf articles that I missed yesterday, both from the “Balanced Budget Framework” page.  Note that neither of these have been properly named; save them to your hard drive and add “.pdf” to the end of the file name so that your computer will know how to open them (or you can open your Pdf reader and open the files from the program’s “File” menu):

• Balance Sheet by Line Item (detailed budget information, including the Governor, Senate, and House versions of  budget allocations)
• Highlighted State Strategies (a list of a dozen states, with their approaches towards balancing their respective budgets)

It’s happening, folks.  State and local budgets are under extreme pressure, and tough decisions are being made by Governors, state officials, countys counties, towns and taxing districts.  Libraries that rely on public funding are now almost certainly facing severe cuts.

In Ohio, state funding for libraries is facing a proposed $227 million cut over the next two years… a nearly 50% cut.  Ohio’s libraries happen to be, for interesting historical reasons (Pdf), very reliant on state-level funding for their operations.

When one reads Governor Strickland’s budget statement, as well as the overview of affects on various agencies (Pdf), it becomes obvious that the cuts are being shared by many agencies that will have trouble absorbing them (Pdf), and that most will have to significantly scale back services in order to survive at all.

Think about your library’s budget… what percentage of it could disappear before you would face staff cuts, reduced hours, and elimination of programs?  I suspect that these effects would appear well before the 50% mark.  When one considers that funding to supporting organizations (such as OhioLink) is also being cut, the impact may be greater still.

At what point would the basic operation of your library be at stake?  This number is different for every library, as it depends on your physical presence (building size, layout, holdings, etc.) as well as staff training.  Cross-trained staff who have a good overall sense of the many facets of a dynamic library are able to provide far more services for their salaries than those who are compartmentalized.

What can be done?  At this point, the options are limited.  Library administrators will soon be forced to simply react to events, and have lost the window of opportunity to make anticipatory changes in their organization.  When I wrote about this last January, I was guessing that the effects would be most pronounced in the 2010-11 budget cycle (instead of this one).  California, and now Ohio, suggest that things are happening faster than many anticipated.

What can we do at our libraries?  Make it clear to those you serve, as well as those who fund you, what is at stake.  Whatever changes you make, let them know what you are doing, and why.  If you eliminate services, or reduce hours, or cut staff, that information needs to be disseminated, if only to lay a foundation for restoring them in the future.  When you find a way to save or restore a service, or more effectively utilize staff time and ability (see below), this needs to be conveyed, as well.

Of greater importance, undertake an assessment of your organization’s abilities.  Find out what the library staff can do, and what your resources truly are.  By effectively applying their skills, you likely can make better use of your staff than you currently are.  Find out what can be cut from the budget that can be done for less simply by utilizing less expensive resources and well-applied staff time.

Laying off a staff position will save a given block of money.  Eliminating the outsourcing of a service that costs even more, but can be done by that person in 15-20 hours per week, creates a win-win situation for your library.  There are many victories to be had in the line items of your budget.  The question remains:  is there time to find and implement them?

The fundamental approach to this has to be dynamic… anticipate changes, and be prepared to adapt.  The most adaptable area of your library is the people who do the work.  If everyone works together, sacrifices together, strives to find ways to save money by better utilizing their skills and time… if all of this can happen at your library, you have a much better chance to ride this out.

found on LISNews

Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest is a New York Times article about blogging, specifically about the study showing an estimated 95% of blogs have not been updated in over 4 months.

Does this signal an end to blogging?  The death of a communication tool?  Not at all.  As the article points out, much of the information conveyed through blogging can also be conveyed through other tools, such as Facebook and Twitter.

As with all tools, users will seek out the tool that best fits their task (or at least the best that fits their skill set, and will still accomplish the task).  Blogging was an early “web 2.0″ tool, and was adopted and adapted to serve many purposes.  Through a combination of better tools for specific tasks, loss of interest/time/support for the creators, and the limits of readers to follow more than a given number of blogs on a particular topic, it is no surprise that many blogs are going into hibernation.

There is also a discussion regarding the expectations of the blogger.  If one strives for fame, fortune and glory, go for it… but a majority of bloggers will not achieve that level.  I suspect that more than a few people set goals beyond what the market could provide their particular skill set and audience.

When I set out to start blogging, I simply wanted to utilize a forum that would allow me to collect thoughts and ideas that I felt were important, and to use it to organize my own interests and actions, as well as to convey what I posted to those who might be interested.  Over time the focus has expanded to include more of my thoughts and ideas (I still cringe a bit when using the word “I”), but still focuses on what is happening in the library technology world.

Blogging has been harder to maintain than I originally thought, but it has also been far more rewarding.  I am still searching for the balance between all of the activities that demand attention, but I suspect that Libology will remain in the “active” category for some time.

found via ResourceShelf

The UCLA Library has acquired the library including many papers of Aldous Huxley, who died in 1963 (the same day as John F. Kennedy).

As Island is one of my favorite reads, this gives me one reason to actually want to visit Southern California.

found via LISNews

Jessamyn posted this link, in an effort to help identify the library.  I wasn’t the first to come up with the correct answer, but it was a treat to scan several pages of Google Images containing library frescos before finding this result.

The debate has been going on for years, and has recently flared up again on PUBLIB : Does a person need the MLIS degree to do the work of a librarian?

LISNews has decided to take a poll (and encourage discussion)….

Comment : I have been thinking about this issue, and related questions, for many years.  Because of budgetary pressure, support staff have been taking on duties that in the past were considered the role of librarians.  Depending on the library (size, budget, structure, role) there are different answers as to what should and should not be done by various people.

I maintain that training is the key.  The better everyone knows everyone else’s job, the more efficient the library will be.  This means that there should be very few “walls” between job duties.  Personnel issues (hiring, firing, etc.) and certain confidential issues (financial accounts, security) should be kept within a walled garden (but never with only one person!).  Otherwise, everyone should know at lease something about all other duties performed in the library.

This leads to another point : training and knowledge need to be respected at all levels.  Understand and respect that which the MLIS librarian knows and applies to his or her job.  There are years of training behind that degree, and those of us who learn on the job (and on our own) would do well to keep that in mind.  Conversely, librarians should keep in mind that support staff bring a great deal to the table, and it is impossible to know just what we have to offer until you open yourselves to our input.

I worked as a technician in a pharmacy for eight years, and was mistaken for a pharmacist more times than I can recall. Each time was a sobering reminder to never allow my actions or speech to exceed my knowledge, because it carried far more weight than my simple certification could bear.

In libraries, we all need to heed that advice.  Understand what you know; more importantly, understand what you don’t know.  Being a librarian doesn’t mean that you know more about someone’s job simply because that job is support staff.  It doesn’t even mean that you know more about esoteric “library stuff” than someone without the degree.

The same goes, as you can guess, in the reverse.  The key is respect.  Respect each other.  Respect the job.  Respect the degree.  Respect the person’s training and knowledge.  Respect everyone, and expect the same in return.

Make that your mantra : Respect and Expect.

Some big news from OCLC:  They are creating a review board to solicit feedback about their licensing policy (and judging from the press release, the entire concept of sharing library data).  They are drawing from the OCLC Board of Trustees and the OCLC Members Council in creating this committee, and are delaying the implementation of their record licensing until the third quarter of 2009.

I like that they are drawing from a wide range of sources, including blogs, listservs, librarians and members, as well as the ARL/ASERL Task Group (whose report is scheduled for release later this week).  One addition I would like to see would be some means of submitting one’s own commentary (or links to existing commentary) directly to the group.

This is a positive step on the part of OCLC.  I suspect that there are a few people at the organization who were surprised at the negative response to the license by many in the library community.  It has taken a bit of time, but this appears to be an honest effort to obtain input.

I still think that they are like a tiger defending its territory; but for the first time since this broke loose, I don’t feel that they are acting defensively.  This is a good thing for everyone.  The library community knows that they offer excellent resources and tools, and OCLC understands that they exist because the library community respects what they offer.

I cannot predict that the end result of this will be a fair data sharing policy, but this is how that journey should start.

found via LISNews

HotStuff 2.0 is described by its creator, Dave Pattern, as “an automatically updated blog… [in which] a daily blog post is generated using a single word that has seen a marked increase in usage over the last few days.”  The best part is that this blog is built upon “nearly a thousand library related blogs” (including this one), and is a great way to explore library blogging.

Added features, all automatically generated, include word wheels, Hot or Not (I am currently #18… we shall see where that goes), and detail pages for each of the blogs, including a list of similar blogs.

Seriously, check this out.  If you don’t find at least one new and interesting blog, I’ll refund your annual subscription to Libology

found via Walt at Random

The 2008 Presidential Election Search Engine is a Google Custom Search Engine created by the University of Kansas Library.

It is a great resource in that one can find the needles of information in the haystack of campaign rhetoric.

found via “Organizing the 2008 Presidential Election”, from College and Resource Libraries, October 2008, p. 540.