Keeping Up With Library Technology

by Ellie Dworak

 

 

This is a new column, so I'll begin with a bit of introduction. I've been building and managing Library websites since 1996. I'm currently a Web Services Librarian at Boise State University, where I've been working to develop and improve our web delivered tools since October of 2008. For eight years before that, I worked as an Electronic Systems and Services Librarian at San Diego State University.

 

When the editor of The Idaho Librarian proposed that I write a regular column about library technology, I thought it was a great idea. Not only will it hopefully help you, our readers, but researching and writing the columns will help me to keep up, too! Even those of us whose job descriptions allow us to dedicate time to maintaining our technology knowledge can sometimes feel beset by the pace of change. For the many librarians in a position of trying to manage technology projects as a sideline, it's downright overwhelming.

 

Because it's difficult to maintain a good working knowledge of those things that fall at the intersection of technology and librarianship, my first column will be a survey of my favorite tools for keeping up. This is not a comprehensive list -- such an inventory would be overwhelming! This is a selection of the tools that I find most helpful (and enjoyable) for keeping abreast of trends. I've focused on those items in my daily reading list that are useful in many types of libraries, aren't product specific, and don't require specialized technical knowledge.

 

I. RSS Feeds

 

Many of you probably use RSS feeds (an acronym for Rich Site Summaries or Real Simple Syndication, depending who you ask) in various forms. If you don't, I highly recommend giving them a try. Once you get started, keeping up becomes so much easier. RSS feeds allow me to do much of my professional reading in one place. I use a web-based tool called Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com), but there are many other options. I've configured my Bloglines account to receive updates from traditional news sources as an alternative to email alerts for searches in databases, and as a way to monitor many email lists without actually getting all that email.

 

However, I use RSS feeds mostly to keep up on blogs. Because blogs are so current, I find them to be one of the best ways to keep up with library technology. The format also engenders interaction via comments and responses to entries on other blogs. This makes them not only timely, but dynamic, interactive, and thought-provoking. I used to keep bookmarks of all my favorites and visit them on a regular basis, which was problematic because I would have no idea when a blog was updated. Now I simply log onto Bloglines and it lets me know if any of my blogs contain new entries.

 

For those of you new to RSS feeds, I recommend the following resources. If you already have an RSS reader, you can skip ahead to part II of this article.

 

Introduction to RSS feeds, http://lii.org/pub/htdocs/understandingrss.htm
This simple introduction from the Librarians' Index to the Internet is written specifically for using RSS feeds to keep up with LII searches. (which is a great idea). It is also an excellent general tutorial for using RSS feeds.

 

RSS | SPLAT 101, http://splat.lili.org/splat101/rss?page=1
I highly recommend this helpful instructional module, written by my colleague Memo Cordova. It includes images, examples, an embedded video, links to news readers, step-by-step instructions, and a healthy dose of humor.

 

There are many ways to receive RSS feeds. Here are a few.

 

Bloglines
http://www.bloglines.com
This is the news reader that I use to read RSS feeds. It's web-based, so I can get to my feeds from anywhere.

 

Google Reader
https://www.google.com/reader/
Another popular web-based reader, Google Reader is handy if you already use Gmail and other Google Applications. If I didn't already have a Bloglines account before Google Reader came online, I would likely use it.

 

Wikipedia on RSS feeds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator
There are many other options for viewing RSS feeds, both via the web and from your browser. This Wikipedia article outlines the options.

And now, in alphabetical order, my favorite resources for keeping up on library technology.

 

II. Resources

 

Blog without a Library
http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/
Amanda Etches-Johnson is a User Experience Librarian which, she says, means that I get to spend most of my time exploring, developing, testing, and implementing technologies to make our users' online experience better. Luckily for those of us who don't have as much time to dedicate to such explorations, she blogs about web development and user experience, as well as about concrete tools such as content management systems.

The entries in Blog without a Library concentrate on academic topics, but I find them to be practical for all library settings. For example, a recent entry about user interface design (http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/320) offered functional tips for improving your web pages, such as:

 

The best links have 7-12 words in them (wow!). With 7-12 words, users get more information and therefore have more confidence.

 

There is a lot of literature on user experience, so I appreciate Amanda's culling through it and pulling out information that I can use to improve my library's website quickly. For any librarians involved in maintaining and improving a library website, I recommend this blog as a daily read.

 

Coyle's Information
http://kcoyle.blogspot.com/
Karen Coyle is well known for her tenure at the California Digital Library and her talks and writings on privacy in the internet age, issues surrounding digitization, and metadata. Her blog is useful for considering the implications of technology to librarianship. She writes thoughtfully about, for instance, what it means that Google is now positioning itself as a library (http://kcoyle.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-on-googleaap.html) or how changing a cataloging standard will impact users (http://kcoyle.blogspot.com/2008/09/thinking-about-linking.html). What I really like about this blog is that it's solidly grounded in good old fashioned librarianship, by which I mean that access is the point, and technology is the means. I recommend this resource for all librarians involved with the library catalog's public display, creating metadata, maintaining the library website, and/or digitization.

 

Federated Search Press Releases Blog
http://federatedsearchpress.com/
This isn't nearly as fun as the first two on my list, but as the person responsible for setting up and maintaining our federated search system, I think it's great to be able to get all of these press releases in one spot. And, how cool is it to know that the State of Ohio has set up a library of databases for all citizens of the State? (http://federatedsearchpress.com/
2008/10/22/ohio-web-library-goes-live/). I recommend this for librarians who are involved with implementing or maintaining a federated search system, or who may be in the future.

 

Librarian in Black
http://librarianinblack.typepad.com
If you read nothing else from this list, read Librarian in Black. This great blog is written by Sarah Houghton-Jan, a Digital Technologies Manager for the San Jose Public Library. She endeavors to serve as a one stop shop for all Techie Library Staff. Topics range from social networking (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) to podcasts to website design to basic computer training. I find them to be relevant, useful, and not too complex, with links to more information if I need it. I recommend Sarah's blog for all librarians, since computers are a part of all of our lives.

 

Librarian.net
http://www.librarian.net/
Librarian.net began in 1999 and, as such, is one of the original library blogs. It is written by Jessamyn West, former ALA councilor, author, speaker, and library consultant. Jessamyn is an advocate for simplicity and for keeping library users firmly in mind. As an example, she says in answer to Why should libraries be socially networking?

 

Maybe it's because I had to explain yet again that I think it's worth powering through bad design and usability in order to have presence in a place where your users are or might be. Maybe it's because social software seems like a free and easy way to give your library a human face on the larger Internet. (http://www.librarian.net/stax/2266/why-should-libraries-be-socially-networking/)

 

Because Librarian.net is not a technology-specific blog, it's useful for all librarians, and is a great way to keep up on larger issues that affect us.

 

Library Web Chic
http://www.librarywebchic.net/wordpress/
Karen Coombs, Head of Web Services at the University of Houston Libraries, writes Library Web Chick. She found that many resources for web design did not address the needs of librarians, so her goal is to be a resource for web design and technology specifically as it applies to libraries. The posts in this blog are thoughtful and interesting, but a bit more technical than some of the other tools mentioned in this column, and will probably be of most interest to librarians who manage a website.

 

MaintainIT
http://www.maintainitproject.org/
This is one of the two resources on this list that is not a blog (though MaintainIT does have a blog). MaintainIT is a grant funded project that's part of TechSoup, the goal of which is to gather information from public libraries and publish them on the website as cookbooks and articles. They also host web-based seminars (aka webinars), publish a newsletter, offer a blog, and post spotlights about libraries and technology on the website. Though this is meant for public libraries, I'm an academic librarian and find it quite useful. I especially enjoy the webinars, since they give librarians an opportunity to interact and share knowledge. After each webinar, the moderator sends out a transcript and list of resources that were mentioned in the session. MaintainIT is an especially wonderful resource for librarians who are making a decision about implementing a new technology product or service.

 

Techdirt
http://www.techdirt.com/
This is not a library blog, and it's not for everybody. But, for keeping up with general technology trends, it's quite useful. I chose this blog over some other non-library technology blogs, because it emphasizes intellectual property, case law, and government policy, all of which are significant to libraries. Techdirt is fairly high volume, with several posts each day, and I tend to just skim for pertinent posts. I recommend it for librarians who are making decisions about technology or who just think it's fun to keep up.

 

Web4Lib
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.education.web4lib (RSS feed)
When I began my career in 1996, email lists (also called Listservs, though this term is a registered trademark of the L-Soft company) were the major venue for building online community and maintaining current awareness. Web4Lib was one of the first, and still one of the best library technology email lists, and is a great way to keep up with new developments, garner help from some very obliging experts, and build kinship with like-minded librarians and library technologists. Web4Lib is also available as an RSS feed for those who prefer this format, though the downside is that you lose the ability to post comments and questions.

 

III. Conclusion

 

I hope that you've found this list of resources to be useful. If you have other favorites I'd like to hear about them at elliedworak@boisestate.edu for a future column.

 

Also, The Idaho Librarian will be including a section on library technology in each issue. If you have an article proposal or an idea for something you'd like to read, please let me know.

 

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Ellie Dworak has been the Web Services Librarian at Boise State University since October 2008. She has worked at several academic libraries and got her start working at the Humanities Text Initiative turning MacBeth into machine readable text. She earned her Master's degree at the University of Michigan and has a Bachelor's in English from the University of Oregon. She is happy to be back in the Northwest and looks forward to exploring.