Nissan ad

Nissan ad
Originally uploaded by mstephens7.

Perspective from people living outside our (tech-imbedded) world....

Seeing another tv ad in the Nissan campaign recently that ended with the text "Shift_2.0" my hubby said, "Well MY Nissan shifts 3.5" (He got a new Nissan in July, and it was very very important to him that it had the 3.5 engine) So all because of a car commercial, he ended up learning more about L2 than he cared to know. :)

Although, the car does shift smoooooth. Definitely an improvement over shifting_1.0 BUT it lacks the interactivity of most 2.0 projects, so it is an odd choice of terms, it never asks for feedback or comments!

It's amazing how the "2.0" phrase is showing up everywhere now.

Whether our users understand Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 features, even though some people hate the terms, it seems like it's catching on everywhere. Have you noticed on the evening network news that many of them mention their network website's blogs? Weird. Do people actually post comments about the news?!?

Maybe its time to stop hiding (or renaming) these features on our websites.

P.S. He still doesn't find the Mac vs Windows commercials funny, but he was never an Apple customer....maybe mac users find them too funny? My fav is still the one where the Windows guy is sick with some sort of virus.

LJ moves Rachel Singer Gordon to online only, no RSS feed available

originally seen on PubLib (posted by Heather McCormack, Managing Editor, LJ Book Review)

This week, LJ moved its longtime Computer Media column by Rachel Singer Gordon to its website. Check out the first installment at the following address: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6381661.html

They expect us to visit the website once a month? :-P*

Also online only http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6377111.html

Both of these important articles need RSS feeds, and LJ is nice enough to have comments open.
Follow this link http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6381661.html, and add your 2 cents!

I'm excited they'll be available online, as I'm way at the bottom of the routing list for our copy of LJ, but the technology will be old by the time I remember to check the site!

Flickr - Photos on Fire!

You likely have already heard about Lansing Public Library's Celebrity Read Posters, featuring Lansing community leaders.

If you're wondering about the cloud background, it tied in with our year long theme "Lansing Public Library Soars at 70" which tied into the anniversary of the Lansing Municipal Airport, and the Lansing Tri Motors Project.

I recently logged into our Flickr account to see the activity stats on our photos.

The Read Posters have been viewed a surprising number of times.

Here's a list of some of the top hits:
Police Chief McDevitt 462
Fire Chief Gregorovic 179
Lansing Mayor Dan Podgorski 94

Library Trustee Laura Hyzy 248
Library Trustee Bob Lauer 195
Library Board President Tom Nowak 187
Library Trustee Howard Schug 186
Library Trustee Mary Kern 151
Library Trustee Carrie Appold 93 (Carrie's poster was added to Flickr later than the others, she was out of town during the first photo shoot.)

Do people in your community recognize your board members?

Added bonus: The local newspaper, The Times, saw the photos on Flickr, and ended up doing an article, and reprinted mini copies of the posters in the paper! A few people not included in the original batch of posters contacted us because they wanted to be included! A local school librarian requested copies of the posters of the Superintendent, Library Director, and Police & Fire Chiefs to hang in the school library.

We've also uploaded pics from events, then simply emailed the newspaper, letting them know we posted some new photos from a recent event. Then they choose which ones they want to use. They used some of our photos from Flickr in articles about the summer reading program.

The youth & teen department has been handing out small pieces of paper with the link to our flickr account whenever they have an event when they take photos. The recent Rex Checks Out library card promotion event featured a dinosaur cutout where people put their faces in and posed for pictures. Parents who didn't bring their own cameras can just download their own copy of the photo, or email the link to friends and family!


We just got a comment to a pic I posted of a display of red books in our Adult Services Dept. (Our display has been up a few weeks, before Bono & Oprah made red such a hot color!) A library in Florida was inspired to put together a display of orange books, and posted their photo, and a link back to our red display! The librarian in Florida probably wouldn't visit a Chicago suburb to see our book displays, but through Flickr, we're able to share ideas! You can find other library book display photos in this Flickr group.

CODI Conference

Due to a conflicting Illinois Library Association Conference, we didn't send anybody to CODI this year. I'm sure other Illinois Librarians would appreciate any notes the CODI attendees would like to share! (Either on the HorizonL list or in the blogosphere.)

I know there are some notes posted over on the Gordian Knot... but there were hundreds of attendees, but only 2 people blogging on that site? What gives? Luke makes it super-easy to get set up with a login for the site. Try it!

Times Newspaper

About two weeks ago, I answered the phone at my desk, and Sue Bero from The Times said something to the effect of ...There have been a lot of great things happening on the library's website, are you the one responsible?

I said yes, then she explained she was putting together the someone you should know column, and asked if I had time to answer a few questions. The result...here.

They ask standard questions of each person they feature. I was so tempted to say my fav book is "Don't click on the blue E" by Scott Granneman but thought that sounded far too geeky.

Perhaps someday I'll get a picture where I'm not all squinty-eyed or blinking.

Russ is *mildly* annoyed he was mentioned in the article. :)
Firehouse "rule" is you owe everybody on shift ice cream if you get your name or photo in the paper (or if you're on tv) if somebody from the FD sees it.

MBC Media Cafe

Would you like a latte with your Dragnet? [press release here]

Museum of Broadcast Communications announced plans today to build a street-level cafe where users can access materials from the digital archive while sipping coffee or enjoying a snack.
Touch screens will make the collection very accessible to the casual user or the serious researcher. Is this museum 2.0?
Ideas for a step further....Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to access their content through iTunes? Did Grandma make a reference to Clutch Cargo and the kids just don't get it? (available on DVD in their store) That would rock if you could download an episode to bridge the generational gap. Old radio programs on MP3? What a way to introduce older users to new technology! Or introduce new users to older content! The museum could even make this a perk of becoming a museum member.

I can't wait until they reopen, I frequently stopped in when they were located at the Cultural Center.

Wikimapia...Is your library on it?

The Daily Southtown newspaper featured wikimapia on the front page today.

I tagged our library, including a link to our website. http://wikimapia.org/#y=41564809&x=-87548075&z=17&l=0&m=h&v=2
Sites have to be verified after they are added, and they need at least 2 votes to be approved. Click through, then choose the rectangle indicating the library, and vote so it gets approved. (thanks)

I was surprised to see someone had already tagged the Orland Park library!