Publications and Writing Projects
Current Writing Projects
"Drupal and Libraries" (working title) for CyberSkeptic September 2008
Daily blogging at iLibrarian
Intermittent research articles published at InfoTangle blog
Past Publications
On the Move with the Mobile Web: Libraries and Mobile Technologies
"Imagine walking by a movie poster for the upcoming
Harry Potter film and scanning it with a click of your
camera phone in order to download associated ringtones, get showtimes, or even buy tickets. How about snapping a photo while browsing through a magazine to get a free sample of a new perfume? This may sound like science fiction right now, but in Japan, this type of mobile search technology is widespread, and in the United States similar services are already being developed, services that promise just this type of virtual engagement with the world around us. Think about the convenience of scanning the logo on someone’s Yankees cap to instantly receive the latest score from the game. This is what’s coming."
All a Twitter - Want to Try Microblogging?
"While sitting before a presentation at a recent library conference, I was able to broadcast my whereabouts, my mood, and my desire to connect with friends for dinner to over 150 conference attendees simultaneously, using my mobile phone. I managed this feat of hyper-connectivity through a service called Twitter, which enables social butterflies like myself to instantly publish brief messages to a network of contacts."
Widgets to
the Rescue
"On a recent visit to the San Jose Zoo, I made a beeline for a family of meerkats. You know, the ever-vigilant and undeniably adorable relatives of the mongoose, title species of the popular Animal Planet television show? I never miss an episode of Meerkat Manor. So, no surprise, I returned from the zoo with a camera-full of snapshots, which I quickly uploaded to Flickr. Within minutes, anyone who visited my Facebook and MySpace profiles could view my pics of the 12-inch cuties, all thanks to a little application called a widget."
The Social Tools of Web 2.0
"The world of the Web has changed as a new breed of software applications makes it easy to accomplish incredibly sophisticated tasks with little technical know-how. The Internet has seen an explosion of social tools that are empowering ordinary people to connect and participate in a global conversation. People who had previously accessed the Web solely for shopping or research purposes now sign on for the experience of creating and sharing information in the public sphere. They are crafting both content and connections with other users in a new Web that links people to people, as well as to information."
Chapter 8: Folksonomies and User-Based
Tagging
"The wisdom of crowds, the hive mind, and the collective intelligence are doing what heretofore only expert catalogers, information architects and website authors have done. They are categorizing and organizing the Internet and determining the user experience, and it’s working. No longer do the experts have the monopoly on this domain; in this new age users have been empowered to determine their own cataloging needs. Metadata is now in the realm of the Everyman."
Learning in a Virtual World
"I had the privilege recently of overhearing a lively conversation between my two pre-school nieces that took place during the construction of the My Little Pony Butterfly Island. The older one was daydreaming about what she wanted to be when she grows up, and it seemed that she had settled upon becoming a teacher. The younger considered this choice, but wasn't tempted, instead deciding that she wanted to be a butterfly. I sighed and thought, "So do I!""
How to Automate a Small Library
"There are many challenges to overcome when taking on an automation project for a small library. One is simply lack of experience with automation projects. Staff size in such a library is often small and may consist of only a solo librarian. Many times this will be the first and only automation project undertaken by the library staff."
