Reference and information services working group meeting 18 August 2010
Minutes Reference meeting Coffs Harbour 1. Attendees: Ellen Forsyth (NSL), Cathy Johnston (Clarence Regional), Carolyn Elmes (Coffs Harbour), Sharen Parker (Coffs Harbour), Gary Ellem (Richmond-Upper Clarence), Cheryl Walters (Richmond-Upper Clarence), Kate Warner (Richmond-Upper Clarence), Sharon Uthman (Bellingen), Elaine Cullen (Urunga), Sally Webster (Great Lakes), Pamela Langridge (Central Northern / Tamworth), Megan Pitt (Tamworth), Katrina Shillam (Grafton), Olga Hewitt (Grafton), Jolana Voeks (Grafton), Jenny Gleeson (Yamba),
2. Apologies: Jane Broadbere (Mosman), Michelle Head (Albury), Maria Mutimer (Inverell), Annetta Kucharska (Auburn), Will Coombe (Lane Cove), Andrea Seifert (Canada Bay), Sue Hughes (Nambucca Heads), Fiona Perry (Macksville), Mark Northover (Macksville),
Slam the Boards – Ellen & Cathy gave a brief historial background to Slam the Boards; referred to Slideshare presentation on RISG wiki/blog; generally held 10th every month but flexible; a way for reference librarians to take their business to where the clients are – on answer boards Brief outline of Yahoo Answers showing categories and typical question; referred to Answer Boards Librarians wiki
Feedback from seminar: Reference@ the Metcalfe 4th May 2010 All presentation s are now available on the RISG wiki
Ideas for 2011 reference seminar
- Best reference tool
- Questions for other reference staff – how would you answer …….?
- Database of commonly asked questions and where to answer them – blog, wiki
- CWA link from Tamworth
- Pathfinders – eg, Gold Rush
- Schools letting Public Libraries know what curriculum for them is each year – noted that school feedback is hard to get ; Information days for kids in library (HSC; Primary); show bags ; Developing a suite of approaches; discovering what resources are available in school library and how public library can better support that
- National Library suite of databases
- Need for federated searching around broad issues – cluster searching across a series of databases (eg, Ebsco)
Brainstorming session – ideas from attendees as to what web 2.0 tools, etc they’d like to cover in afternoon training session (on top of those listed in agenda)
Nings Mashups Mobile applications Reference Excellence (Ref-Ex) – how are people using it and where to next? Coffs – will be doing soon; pairing up staff into study / training groups
Sharon / Bellingen – have been doing Cert IV training & assessment & have been able to link Ref-Ex to Cert IV (mapping to match criteria)
Accessible training
New modules – Children
Scheduling the time to do the modules
Able to support TAFE course using Ref-Ex as a refresher
Great Lakes – training tabled for later due to implementation of RFID (Great Lakes / Taree)
“great that it’s there”
Family History module – free web-based sites for “when you have nothing……” in your library
Suggestion from Megan / CNRL to name the modules in order to enhance browsability
Use Ref-Ex feedback & RISG wiki to comment
Showing how people use the web to provide reference as well as web-based training
other business
nil
next meeting, date & location 10th November, Manly
Afternoon Training session:
· Delicious – Pam noted that she started out using this tool but has not found it terribly user-friendly
· Google Alerts – Ellen showed how to run a search across everything at a regular time/day/etc (eg, once a week, once a day, as it happens); Sharon noted that she uses this to find out what has been said about “Bellingen Library”, “Bellingen Shire Council”, “Clarence Regional Library”; results can then be scanned rather than read in detail
Ellen used this for “serious games” as a way of finding out about this subject
Can also use an rss aggregator
Helpful for monitoring comments about Council – roads, business, etc
GFC
Passive searching
· Learning 2.0 – completion certificates available to Learning 2.0 but not for 2.1
· Nings – refer to Learning 2.0 week activities “Mosman Readers” “social” exchange / interchange
· Mash-ups – changing the context of information (again refer to Learning 2.0); bringing information from different places into one place (eg, flickr + calendar) Api – application program interface Flickr commons : Paul Hagon Star Viewer (good example) Simple and complex “It’s buggered mate” (eg, roads that need fixing, Victoria)
· Mobile Applications – google alert: “mobile library apps”, “museum mobile apps” iPhone catalogues – Seattle, Washington Museum of London – “Street Museum” Can this be copied? Is it scaleable? Free? Audio – Sydney : Sydney Sidetracks (Futures seminar) – ABC archives (sound) plus PowerHouse & NSL images; location aware; heritage photos plus soundscapes (eg, sounds of end of WWII in Martin Place) Aaron Tay / Singapore Uni SmashingMag
LMS?
Idea – Aboriginal Sacred Sites (links to Mash-ups as well)
Idea – cemetery model – photos of person who’s in grave; link to their story (text or sound archive / oral history); Trove based but location aware History of the landscape History of the people Scaleable & local
Mobile Libraries Conference – May 2011 – ie, hand-held devices Also in May - Local Studies: Public Libraries, Museums & Archives Conference (Alan Bundy); and Reference @ The Metcalfe seminar
Useful for professional development Yes, sometimes there’s weird stuff Good idea to not put personal stuff out there if using as a professional tool
NLNZ – uses ‘capture captions’ that get your attention and make you look further (follow the link)
Lists – eg, Ellen’s Libraries list explores how libraries use twitter – a good example for how twitter could perhaps be used in your library
Seminars and conferences – think about those who aren’t there and how they can follow your comments to appreciate what is happening
#1b1t (1 book, 1 tweet) – Neil Gaiman / American Gods (@neilhimself)
Ian Ranking (@beathigh) – good example of referring to family without naming names or revealing too much personal information, especially about children
Maximum of 140 characters per tweet
Can just use lists without tweeting to follow / engage with what is going on
Some organizations have corporate accounts, other times staff may use personal accounts
Verified World Leaders (who tweet)
NASA
Twitiq – how to look up what’s being said on twitter about you
Ability to sift / sort / block followers (eg, trolls)
Can get Facebook and Twitter to talk to each other
How do you find people on Twitter who don’t use their real name? Eg, Jim Butcher – search twitter for “Jim Butcher”, his correct name is in his description so you find him at “Long Shot Author”
Learn from how authors use Twitter
Bob Mayer (action / thriller writer) – how to be a better writer
Raymond E. Feist
“Librarians do GaGa” – You Tube (University of Washington students)
Mobile aspect – can tweet from mobile phone, to mobile phone, get alerts (eg, Pam’s phone beeps every time Cathy tweets)
Nancy Pearl
Stephen Fry – really into technology – iPhone app: ‘the Fry paper’
Can always move someone you follow into a list if/when they get too prolific
ABC journalists
News lists – The Onion (cynical US journal)
Tweeting from Conferences (do it or @catyj will get narky!!!) – need several people tweeting to make it more interesting
· THATcamp Canberra – The Humanities And Technology Camp
Digital technologies & Humanities
Ellen applied to go and was accepted, now has to submit a proposal for at least one session; going as a learner – “do web 2.0 with public libraries”
Mesh-ups Mash-ups
Specialists – data visualizations
No powerpoints
Ideas – see what problem-solving can occur
Perhaps mobile app – cemetery model?
RA work – strong geographic elements Map interface linking Trove & Googlemaps? Exploring authors / books through geography
Digital Humanities
Paul Hagon Tim Sherratt Mitchell Whitelaw Ingrid Mason
Tweets – 60 participants who are active
· RSS feeds – eg, Google Reader Some always read, others skim David Lee King Michael Stephens
Combine with Google Alerts
· Delicious If you know someone is on Delicious you can look at it from the outside – eg, Ellen is ‘Forsight’, look at her tags (which are meaningful to Ellen)
Tag items with meaning (eg, twapperkeeper : rugame; risg2010
Clouds
Public Library Services – any links also sent out on e-lists Multicultural 2.0 (MyLanguage) – links from presentation; linked under conference tag #mylang2010
Revising digital practice guidelines – dpu (digital practice update)
Individual blog posts – ideas to get back to (eg, Loani Pryor / “Wild Tea Cosies” – has 2 blogs: ‘crazy cozies’ & ‘grand purl bah’)
Documents – state / federal policy
Organizing tool
· Explore the various tools – make use of Learning 2.0 and Learning 2.1 – how could they be used / applied in your library?
How could you make the best use of any one (or more) of these tools?
What’s in this for us? Where / what is the benefit?
Learning 2.0 Learning 2.1 Learning 2.0 Learning 2.1 Learning 2………….. (you get the hint)
· Round table: what is one thing from today that you’ll try in the next week?
Rss feeds (eg, on web opac) Mobile apps / technologies) OPAC interfaces, online databases, etc iPhone apps) School connections – encouraging kids to make better use of their local libraries, especially for their personal interest projects google alerts (of local area,) slam the boards Learning 2.0 (work way through, go back and finish, etc) Learning 2.1 Museum of London’s “Street Museum” Delicious – use for studies Nings
Closed 3pm
Thanks to Coffs Harbour Library for hosting & catering this meeting
Note: first reference meeting for 2011 is at Maitland and includes a tour of the Dept of Agriculture and Tocal libraries
Reminder to all to use/contribute to the RISG website, Forum, wiki, blog, ref-ex wiki, ra wiki, etc