Photos, Phlickr and Photobucket – Week 4

It took some tweaking to get Patti and Royce’s slideshow to work, but the information is great for Week 4 of 23 Things Kansas. I spent this morning visiting about 20 or so school librarian sites and 20 or so public librarian sites.  I learned about TLNing for teacher librarians and answered a few questions and left a few comments.

As far as online photos go, I have a few here and a few there: Facebook, Flickr, MySpace and Photobucket.   I suppose I should consolidate, but I can’t be bothered.  Now that I have a digital camera/iPhone, I take more pictures than I used to, including snap shots of food and fun animal antics, but most of those end up on Facebook as a status update

<—- I used a Flickr widget built into the wordpress.com ‘widget depot’ to add that Flickr badge.

Kaite’s Readers’ Advisory Workshop

Sitting in the Bonner Spring’s Library meeting room listening to Kaite Stover’s RA workshop with a dozen NEKLS librarians.

Determining a book’s appeal – what makes a book great?
(Taken from Reader’s Advisory Service in Public Library by Joyce G. Saricks and Nancy Brown, compiled by Kaite Mediatore Stover)

• Pacing – the speed of the book.  The shorter the sentences, paragraphs and chapters, the faster the pace.  Look for dialogue v. description.
• Characterization – Describes the type of characters.  Look for the length of time a character is developed – on the flyleaf, within the first chapter, during the course of the book, or over several books.  Does the book focus on one or multiple characters?
• Story Line – Does the story emphasize people or situations/events?  Is the focus interior/psychological or exterior/action? What is the author’s intent? Serious or light? comedy or drama?
• Frame – Is the background detailed or minimal?  Example, with Mary Higgins Clark, the frame is not so important.  Horror and Romance are all about frame, as is science fiction/fantasy – also called ‘world building.’  How does the book make a reader feel?  What is the book’s mood?  Is a special background integral to the story?  Book solely about frame: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  Savannah is the important part of the book, more so than the characters or plot.
• Other – “A picture is worth a thousand words” – carefully look at the cover.  Jacket blurb, artwork and typeface, assess the title and look at the physical dimensions of the book.  Big books are heavy!  Some authors have a brand – you can tell their book by their covers and/or spines (example, Jodi Picoult).
• Blockbusters are hard to match, because they do well in all of these profiles.  For example, Da Vinci Code and Prince of Tides – hard to find read-alikes.  Talk to the reader to find out what part of this book they liked – the characters? the pacing? the story? the frame?

Using the Praise blurbs on the back to help with Reader’s Advisory – Many times the blurbs from other authors are potential read-alikes – This is how I discovered Julia Quinn!

Oh and I got a piece of chocolate for having a book on my iPhone (Eloisa James’ A Duke of Her Own)

How to read a book in 15 minutes! (these are all handouts, this one by Jane Hirsch and Lisa Sampley):

Mine: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

1. Cover – Dark, mix of nature with the web and lightning with a city scape
2. Jacket blurb – ‘mythology for a modern age’ ‘Fat Charlie’s dad wasn’t just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god.’ ‘Returning to territory explored in American Gods…startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny.’ – Author blurb on back by Christopher Moore ‘fun read that leaves one with a proper respect for the eternal forces of irony and silliness.’
3. Typeface – Medium sized, crisp, easy to read with plenty of white space
4. Heft – 334 pages, not too fat, not too thin.
5. Read some of the first chapter – The chapters all have subtitles – “chapter 1 which is mostly about names and family relationships’.  Funny, good start.
6. Evaluate the following:
   1. Genre/type – fantasy
   2. Pace – fast, very short quick sentences
   3. Clarity - Very good transitions
7. What is the format? – Seems to be straight first person narrative
8. Relate to other books – continuation of the world from American Gods
9. What kind of reader? I think there might be teens drawn to this after learning about Gaiman from YA like Coraline and his graphic novels.

One person here got lucky and had a Reader’s Guide in the back of the book!  Double Bind, I think.  I haven’t heard a title I want to read aside from the one I picked up – I like Gaiman and just recently listened to The Graveyard Book.

It’s just as important to know why a reader did NOT like a book, as why they DID like a book.  Pinpoint the negatives and find a book with the opposite appeal elements.

Resources for RA

Heather will be buying all of the print Resources that Kaite is sharing with us….including:

• Great Books for Every Book Lover by Thomas Craughwell (over 2,002 reading suggestions and booklists – out of print, but you can buy it on Amazon).
• The Read On series…by Libraries Unlimited, including Read On…Fantasy Fiction by Neil Hollands.  Reading lists by genre – crime, historical, women’s fiction and horror ($45 per book).
• 500 Essential Graphic Novels by Gene Kannenberg. – NEED TO GET KCPL doesn’t own it! Shocking.
• 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die – paperback, heavy but useful. Full of classics and popular titles.  Good synopsis info and bios and cover art for book clubs.
• Read ‘em Their Writes: A Handbook for Mystery and Crime Fiction Book Discussion by Gary Warren Niebuhr – good ‘handbook’ for book groups that only want to read mysteries.  Best: Mystic River.
• What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other book Lovers by Mickey Pearlman.
• The Reading List: Contemporary Fiction: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 110 Authors by David Rubel.
• Book Lust by Nancy Pearl.
• A Year of Reading by Elisabeth Ellington and Jame Freimiller.
• Reading Group Choices: Selections for Lively Book Discussions

NoveList – Your Guide to Fiction powered by EBSCOhost – that is oh, so easy to get to via the NExpress online Catalog:

NoveList will be remodeled this spring, prior to ALA in June.

Readers’ Advisory Interview - it’s a conversation, you will be suggesting rather than recommending and encourage returns to gauge RA success!

Remember: Book appeals, book groupings – keep a list of what you read (Good Reads), Consult Amazon or NoveList or ask the Fiction-l email list.  Look for established reviewers on Amazon or the the reviews with a grain of salt.

Self-prep

• Check the new book shelf regularly
• Check Fiction displays if available -what’s moving and what’s still there
• Check current Best Seller lists – NY Times Fiction and Non-fiction
• Check Amazon’s front page

Reader Arrives

• Readers’ Advisory is NOT like Reference – you don’t need to know why they want to read a book!
• Author’s you don’t know or like (keep your opinions to yourself – no judgments)
• Genres you don’t know or like (go find someone who is familiar with a genre you are not)
• Drawing a blank (walk to the fiction section and be inspired by the books themselves!)

You’re ready, where’s the reader?

• Most are afraid to ask for help – RA is NOT a waste of our valuable time…do some wandering and ask, “Are you finding what you are looking for?”
• Travel the fiction stacks when you have time or keep an eye on it
• Don’t be afraid to offer suggestions.
• Don’t ask “What do you like to read?”

Questions that will help:

• Tell me about a book you enjoyed…
• Do you have an author you never miss?
• Have you read anything you disliked lately?
• Do you like a book with a fast plot or strong characters?
• What kind of book are you in the mood for?

The Interview

• Be approachable – smile!
• Get reader preferences and paraphrase
• Remember the goal is frequency and quality – how often the same patrons keep coming back for the same service.

Afterword:

Read :: Talk :: Share

Twenty Five Technologies Podcast – Week 3

Howdy, I got half-way through my homework for this week and got side-tracked.  I started listening to a podcast from the SirsiDynixInstitute by Steve Abrams on Twenty Five Technologies to Watch and How.  I tried to watch the original Webcast, but as a Macbook user, that was a FAIL.  I don’t have have Window’s Media Whatever, so I listened instead.  Some really good ideas and stuff that we’ve either already implemented or discussed here at NEKLS.

My notes:

• Need to read up more on the Android and Google standards
• Tagging is the future – if we could only get people to use this awesome Koha OPAC feature now!
• Software as Service and server farms can lead to 40% cost reductions, which is why we moved KLOW to one a few weeks ago!
• Events and microblogging go together and PB and J – We’ve found CoveritLive works great for this purpose.
• Public Social Networking – How do we represent the library to the public?  Abram argues that libraries have an advantage – “people perceive us as personal experts.”
• Private Social Networking – He mentioned Ning as a space for sharing ideas.
• Social Networking Integration – How do we get the library OPAC into the Facebook and MySpace space?  It should all be connected and integrated and the library  needs to be represented!
• eBooks and readers – you can’t loan a Kindle.  FAIL.  What about the iPad? I hear it uses ePub and I think that is one of the formats supported by the State’s Audiobooks, Music and More (Overdrive) program.
• Personal home pages – as with public social networks, libraries need to be accessible from folk’s private home pages – look at mine, see that NExpress link?  See that Audiobooks, Music and More link?  I use this site as my gateway to the world and the library is part of it.  RSS feeds work great here…
• Cloud software (Google docs and zoho) – Been here, do this.
• RSS Groups and Readers – Our Koha catalog has RSS feeds and we can use a reader to pull together and then push out (share) search results from the OPAC – why don’t we?  We can then stream the feed onto a Web site – “Best sellers,” “Gardening books,” “Award winners” – the possibilities are endless.
• iTunes, Limewire, spiral frog (defunct now) – How do these online services impact library video and music collections?  Again with the AM&M – you can download music and movies, so we’re kind of dipping our toe into the waters here.   Abram believes that device incompatibility is a near-term problem and that eventually this will be overcome.
• Podcasts – TED keeps coming up in conversation – podcasts are another untapped resource libraries should know about and share, share, share.  He talked about a library  who used refrigerator boxes and egg crate to create podcast studios for kids/teens.  How cool??
• More to come, when I finish listening to the program.

Online communities – week 2

This week for 23 Things Kansas, we learned about Facebook and other online communities. As an addict, I admit to having MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Photobucket, Plurk, WebJunction and various WordPress accounts. I might have a YouTube account, too.

I’m an extrovert, have I mentioned that?

I set up this blog last year as a professional space to rant and rave, but am using it lately as a central clearinghouse for all of those online communities – through the widgets and blogroll. I need a Google reader widget, and I’ll bet set. I did just add an RSS feed from the MySpace blog I refuse to give up, even if it is out of vogue.

I was excited to hear today at our KLOW Web Work Day that many of the attendees signed up for WordPress.com sites! Any time they spend updating their personal sites will translate into an easier go of it on their library Web sites.

Preparing for my Jing module

Erin has had such overwhelming success with her 23 Things Kansas Blogging module that I thought I’d best start thinking about mine now!  Thus, the poll and this rambling post about how, why and when I use Jing!

When I first tried Jing! (after Liz found it at Lifehacker…whence all good things come), I remember I had more trouble getting my headset to work than I did with using the new software!  So, I will definitely do a ‘pre-lesson’ on setting up your audio in/out.  I think there’s a module about online meetings prior to mine, so maybe my pre-lesson will just be a review for the almost 600 participants.  It probably didn’t help that I was a new MacBook user at the time and couldn’t find the audio settings…oh the things I’ve learned since June 2008.

This week Jing’s History files were another absolutely life-saving feature that allowed me to quickly restore most of the training videos to the NExpress project site.  I wish I would have used Jing exclusively to make all of my screen shots, instead of the built-in screen capture feature of my computer.  It’s an extra couple of steps, but I would have all of my images now, instead of needing to recreate them.

So, my brainstorming for the module:

• Audio Set up – audio in/out needs to be set and mic volume and sound quality tested.  If the mic is too close, you hiss your way through the video
• Scripting – it’s sometimes helpful to have an outline with your key points…or just be prepared to record the same process 15 times before you get one that you’re happy with (in the 5 minute time constraints, if using the free version of Jing)
• Mouse movements – move your mouse off to the side if you are entering text into a form field, so the I bar or mouse arrow doesn’t block what you are typing.
• Copy/Paste – Use the Edit > Copy/Paste menus or explain if you are using short-cuts or alt-menus on your mouse
• Order of Operations – think about what windows you’ll need to have open, what process you’re trying to demonstrate and what files (if any) you’ll need to access, so they’re all on the desktop or already open when recording
• Chunking – how can a process be sub-divided into little, easier to understand, parts?  The time constraints (5 min.) dictate this, along with the knowledge that most people lose interest after 3 minutes!  For example, with Koha reports training, one part is setting up the report, a second part is updating and running the report and a 3rd part would be downloading and filtering the report in Excel.
• Pausing – use the pause button when files are downloading/uploading so you’re not wasting recording time on something inconsequential
• Operating System – I usually record in the Lab on a PC, since that’s what the majority of my audience uses.  If I’m demonstrating a Web site, I can get away with using my Mac and FireFox.
• Introductions – Liz is a big fan of introducing yourself at the beginning and end of each video.
• Privacy – Make sure your private windows, chat, email, etc. are closed while you’re recording – could be embarrassing to have a friend pop up in the middle of your video   I’m a curious sort, so I’m always looking at what appears in the background in screencapture videos.
• Screencapturing images – I love the built-in arrows, highlighting and framing features of Jing.  Uploading some pictures into picnik may be necessary to completely black out private information (patron data in Koha screenshots, for example).  Small price to pay.
• Uses:
  • Reference answers – Jason at KSU Hale Library uses Jing to help students with navigating databases
  • Training videos – we use these with KLOW and NExpress training, and we have a video about using the Henry Industries labels for the statewide courier, too!
  • Documenting anything! – Koha bug screen shots, illustrations with (1), (2), (3) reference points in training documents, or general entertainment (look what so and so posted on my facebook, tee hee).
  • Guided tours – We have a NExpress (Koha) OPAC Overview video that libraries can put on their Web sites. Ok, let’s try this again…YouTube doesn’t like .swf files, so here’s a plain Link To The Video

WordPress for Beginners

We had our first post-crash Web Work Day today and I think it went well.  The Dashboard is user friendly and  the new Image widget/plug-in makes side-bar buttons a snap.  Other points worth sharing:

• Look for the Blue Buttons – they do stuff, like save and publish and update
• The Media Library rocks, as does the new Edit Image functions built into WordPress
• Understanding the functions of Categories, Link Categories, Pages and Posts makes arranging associated sidebar widgets easier.
• In KLOW, searching for and installing a new theme is a snap – video forthcoming on the project site.
• Understanding that when you first select a theme, certain widgets appear by default, even though the Sidebar 1 or Sidebar 2 tabs on the Widgets page look empty.  Once you add a widget to any of the sidebars, all of the defaults will disappear.
• WordPress treats Links with high regard – they’re special and good and can be categorized and those categorized links can be put into a sidebar (all alone or with all other link categories).
• Messing with CSS is fun, if you know how to do it…but frustrating if you don’t.  I’m of the camp – find a theme you like as-is or one that has cool Theme Options.
• Last – the WordPress CODEX is great, so use it.

PTFS to Acquire LibLime

and bring the LibLime Enterprise Koha developments back into the fold of community Koha!  Read more here at LibLime’s Web site.  There’s a #koha IRC meeting going on and we are all very hopeful that issues like who owns koha.org and the wiki will be resolved.  Having met the PTFS folks at KohaCon, I’m happy to work with them in the future.  Our fearless leader, Jim, will be meeting with them at ALA mid-winter and I look forward to hearing his impressions…and finding out more about the transition from one support company to another.  Maybe we’ll get some bug fixes, patches, and upgrades now!

WordPress.com v. .org

For #23thingsks, a lot of our KLOW libraries are using wordpress.com blogs and may notice that some things don’t act the same as their library blog (wordpress.org).

The most significant is that we can’t copy/paste code into a text widget, but instead need to use specific widgets.  On my sight have I widgets for Twitter, Flickr and Meebo.

Other new features that are now in KLOW 2.9 sites: Quick edit posts and pages to edit the timestamp, Crop and edit photos, and easily embed video by pasting the link into the editor – WordPress will fill in the necessary HTML code to embed the video player.

23 Things Kansas – Starts today

The vivacious Erin Downey Howerton has kicked off 23 Things Kansas project with unit on blogging.  So far, I’m liking the format for the modules or units – very simple and straight forward.  She’s used a lot of multi-media elements and I’m always a fan of that.  Heather plugged KLOW/WordPress for us – Go Tech Team!

(Note: If your public library already has a KLOW site (My Kansas Library on the Web) you are using WordPress. Selecting WordPress would be a good option if you’d like to become more familiar with the interface.)

My Kansas Library on the Web

A draft of the post-mortem post on KLOW for the NEKLS newsletter…

Over the last ten days, many significant changes have taken place to the My Kansas Library on the Web project.  Liz Rea, the NEKLS Network Administrator, upgraded all 159 Web sites to WordPress version 2.9, restored sites to a default theme, and moved the project hosting location from a physical server at KanREN to Amazon EC2 in the Cloud.  While all of these changes were scheduled to happen slowly over the next few months, a major attack on Tuesday, December 29, forced us to accelerate the time line.

When the attack first took place, Liz immediately pulled the server and disabled the project Web sites.  On Tuesday, she investigated, purchased and configured the new server instance for the project at Amazon EC2.  She also created a temporary re-direct page for libraries with the *.mykansaslibrary.org domain name that included frequently used links and links to the online catalogs of NEKLS, Southeast Kansas Library System and Southwest Kansas Library System.  On Wednesday, she retrieved all of the pages and posts from a backup file and began the labor-intensive process of restoring and upgrading every KLOW site, in alphabetical order.  While image and document files were also stored in the back-up, we debated and decided to not restore them.  The malicious script, or scripts, that brought down KLOW are most likely hidden in the back-up, disguised as a harmless picture file or document.  The security risks were too great.

For libraries using custom domain names (www.mylibrary.org instead of town.mykansaslibrary.org), we helped start the process of updating the domain name servers to find the new address for KLOW.

By Monday, January 4, most of the sites had been restored, although the performance and speed of the new environment was painfully slow.  Over the evening of January 5, Liz moved KLOW to a larger instance on Amazon EC2. (We went from a 1 computer core/1.7 GB RAM instance to a 5 computer core/7 GB RAM instance).  Yesterday and today, Liz has been testing, improving and documenting known issues with the upgrade.  Libraries now have the ability to upgrade their sites, which we encourage.  With every upgrade comes increased security, problem fixes and new features.

All of these are shared at the project Web site: http://www.mykansaslibrary.org, including assistance in using the upgraded 2.9 WordPress software.

Steps that a library will need to take to finish restoring their site include:

• From the Users tab, find your profile and update your password – all sites were re-set to the default username and password.  Contact us or your System trainer for this information.  Please do NOT delete the ‘admin’ account.
• Verify that all email addresses associated with the site are current and correct.  A new KLOW email list is being created using these addresses.
• Using the Appearance tab, activate a new theme.  The default theme is 2-columns and many libraries previously had 3-column themes.
• Using the Appearance tab, review your sidebar widgets and reactivate widgets by dragging them to the appropriate sidebar.
• Upgrade to 2.9.1 by selecting the ‘Please upgrade now’ link and the ‘Upgrade automatically’ button.
• Some libraries will also need to adjust the Miscellaneous Settings of their site prior to uploading Media, step-by-step instructions are included in this post from the project site.

We are very grateful for the patience, understanding, feedback and support we have received from the library community during this extremely stressful process.  We understand and share in the frustration caused by this outage and accelerated upgrade process.  Along with you, we have several sites to repair and restore.

The changes made over the last 10 days have made KLOW a more secure and stable project.  The upgrade to WordPress version 2.9 brings many enhanced features and the opportunity to update the look, feel and content of your Library’s Web site.