Digital Literacy Now

Bobbi Newman’s June 12 article “Don’t Write Off ALA’s Workon Digital Literacy and the FCC Before Reading This” provides an excellent overview of the recent “Digital Literacy Corps” controversy. I now better understand what the American Library Association and OITP’s Digital Literacy Task Force are trying to accomplish.

The take-aways I have been mulling over:

• Government is slow. Even if hardworking, well-meaning library advocates are trying to obtain funding for us, there is no guarantee we will ever get federal funding for the digital literacy work we do.
• Why don’t people (government, educators, the public) already know that libraries are at the forefront of digital literacy training?

I applaud ALA and their efforts to obtain recognition and funding for libraries in this arena, and I encourage them to press forward. But there are thousands of librarians in the trenches like me who need to devise our own tactics in the meantime. I would love to see more state level work like what’s going on in New Mexico.

"connecting you to a world of opportunities"
http://fastforwardnm.org

The Fast Forward New Mexico initiative is fascinating to me. Their state library is using federal money in a three year project “to bring free Internet training, information, and awareness to the state’s residents.” (And they have some corporate sponsors too.) Additionally, they are making an effort to show small businesses and entrepreneurs how this information is relevant to the success of their business. I looked over the NM courseware, and they aren’t teaching anything earth shattering. What makes this unique in my opinion is the marketing. Even if we simply promote what we are already doing in a unified marketing campaign with the “digital literacy” brand, maybe we can make some headway with funders and decision makers.

But I want more money too, not just recognition. I can see the incredible impact of what we teach, and it makes me crazy we don’t have more resources. We need more trainers, equipment, promotional tools, etc. The diversity of training requests keep streaming in, and we have to triage.

So we can’t sit around and wait for FCC money to roll in. We (I am talking to myself too) need to be more proactive about finding alternative funding sources. If that means corporate funding, so be it. But we need to pursue everything – consortiums of training corps, corporate sponsorship, local government funding, foundation grants, and combinations.

Technology is running, and we’re walking. The gap is getting bigger.

Value-Added WiFi and the Public Library

Because I have Internet access at home and work, I don’t often use community WiFi hot spots. But a few months ago, I was in Starbucks and logged onto their network with my laptop. I was pleasantly surprised by the attractive and content rich site they offer their customers. It’s not just WiFi; it’s value-added WiFi with free music, news, and entertainment, you would normally have to pay a premium to access.

Public libraries should model this service. Before you scream, “But our Virtual Branch is already modeling this service,” let me clarify. Public libraries as a group need to model this service on a national level.

Many years ago, I heard a marketing professional talk about branding. I wish I could remember her name or the context, but the point she made still rings true. Libraries are in the very enviable position of having a distinct and ancient brand: BOOKS.

Despite all the frantic gnashing of teeth about the death of books, my library is experiencing higher circulation of books (both print and digital) than ever before. People have not stopped reading just because Facebook exists. And people have not stopped needing libraries just because Amazon Prime exists.

All this talk about abandoning books and moving all public library resources into services is silly, in my humble opinion. I don’t deny that services comprise an extremely important product line for contemporary public libraries. But we should never abandon our primary brand: BOOKS.

Even though the costs of providing ebooks to our users has been astronomical and only gotten worse in the past year, the Douglas County Libraries model is one clear path to solving this problem. Plus, Bibliotheca has announced plans to be the public library’s white knight and provide a “national solution.” So, help is on the way. We can all calm down. Libraries will still have books.

But we still have problems. At the American Library Association annual conference, the Pew Internet Project announced that 62% of the general population is unaware whether they’re local library loans ebooks. According to The Digital Shift, 75% of libraries do. Clearly, we have some work to do.

I propose public libraries devise a valued-added WiFi service implemented nation-wide. If the public could visit ANY public library in the country and access reliable WiFi service with the same features and content, then public libraries would have a public relations and advocacy tool of unprecedented power.

So, what would be the added value? What would the free content look like?

According to ALA, there are 16,698 public library locations in the United States. That’s more than there are McDonald’s (14,098) and Starbucks (12, 811). So, with that kind of market penetration, why aren’t we hounded by publishers to promote their authors and product lines? My guess is we don’t speak their language, and we don’t make it known we are open to those possibilities.

DCL’s Jamie LaRue has a must read article on The Digital Shift right now called “All Hat, No Cattle: A Call for Libraries to Transform Before It’s Too Late.” He points to the studies which prove that libraries do not steal sales away from publishers. Conversely, we generate sales by providing unparalleled discovery. The smart publishers would beat down our doors if we only provided a platform for such a promotional partnership to happen.

Why couldn’t there be a free download of the week from participating publishers, authors, and distributors? Visit Your Local Public Library for a free download of . . .

• Stephen King’s latest short story
• debut Young Adult novelist’s Jane Doe’s first book in her trendy trilogy

• Disney’s Pixar’s Cars short film – "Mater Goes Bananas"

• Amy Winehouse’s newly discovered version of “New York, New York”

• Aaron McGruder’s Boondocks graphic short story

There are lots of other possibilities for content, and producers would come out of the woodwork if we only had the mechanism. They already do this in airports. The rest of the WiFi landing page could be customized by the local library to include links to proprietary databases and content purchased by the host library.

So how do we pay for it? I suggest it come out of IMLS funding. It would need to be a national service, so it would need to be funded and maintained at a national level – at least in the beginning.

Is Google Your Reader's Advisor?

Earlier this month, Google announced the arrival of the “Knowledge Graph.” Many call it the “semantic web” because the search will understand relationships between things. The basic idea is that the Google search engine will search more like a human because it will understand context. There are already scores of great articles in print and online (good one on YALSA) detailing how the KG will change search.

But I'm interested in how it will change Reader's Advisory. For now, the KG is limited and only brings up information and related links about specific types of (what I'll call) "objects" (Google calls them people, places, and things). Books are one type of thing that "Google knows about."

Because KG's coverage is still fairly limited, it cannot come close to competing with the scope and coverage of tools like NoveList or even commercial recommenders like Amazon or BN.com. Yet the convenience of the service will mean searchers might never leave Google to complete their information transactions. Readers may go no further than Google for a book recommendation. What will this mean for libraries and bookstores? Will librarians adapt this tool quickly into workflows and public service offerings? Or will we let it become further proof to funders that we are no longer the "R" word?

Let's explore what KG provides right now. I conducted a very unscientific experiment about a week ago (May 26), searching around 15 books and authors in less than an hour. Titles were random bestsellers or award winners that are hot now or have been in recent memory. Below are titles that produced KG hits:

Twilight
The Help
Fast Food Nation
Life of Pi
The Kite Runner
Three Cups of Tea
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Hunger Games
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Titles that didn't produce KG hits:

Fifty Shades of Grey
Seabiscuit [but the movie and the horse were hits]
Lost Memory of Skin
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention [but the man was a hit]

Included in the KG entry: book cover image, brief information about the book, five recommended titles ("People also search for"). The image links you to the Google Books entry which can have incredible detail, depending on the title. And Google Books provides links to copies for purchase and copies in libraries. Because the library data is linked to the WorldCat.org database, you are already out of the game if . . .

1. your library is not included in WorldCat;
2. you do not keep your holdings up-to-date in WorldCat;
3. you do not have an effective discovery tool so patrons can find your digital copies as well as your print and audiobook copies.

If you click on one of the recommended titles, that book becomes the "object" of the Knowledge Graph. But not just books are objects. I wondered what would happen if I searched for an author instead of a title. For both Maya Angelou and David Sedaris, I got a photo and brief biographical information. Maya's photo linked to her official website. David's linked to nndb.com, which I didn't find all that illuminating. I was surprised it didn't link to Wikipedia -- much in the KG does. Both KG entries had links to their books and a second row with author read-alikes ("People also search for"). For David, it was Vowel, Burroughs, etc. For Maya, it was Hughes, Frost, etc.

The third person I searched is a New York Times bestselling romance author, Linda Winstead Jones. I was pleasantly surprised to see a brief bio of her pop up. There were no pictures, links to her books, or links to author read-alikes. Apparently, Google doesn't "know about" her yet. But, there was an ad for one of her books under her entry. That was phenomenal ad placement by some smart person in marketing somewhere.

But Google is not stopping at Readers Advisory. Searchers get info for singers and their albums with recommendations. Look at Lady Gaga's entry as a good example. For movies, you get less info, but you get recommendations for films and TV shows. Look at "Slumdog Millionaire."

So, how will this affect Reader's Advisory? I think KG could be an incredible marketing tool for libraries to direct traffic to our libraries and digital branches. Google Ads would be a surefire way to do that if we can or will find the money. Google also provides some free ads for nonprofits. I suspect that program will now become infinitely more popular. But libraries can help themselves quickly just by updating their WorldCat data.

For now, I think KG is a great tool to add to the RA librarian's toolbelt, especially for those incorporating iPads and tablets into roving reference and public service workflows. Often it is too time-consuming to hop into NoveList or Amazon for a quick RA session. It only takes a few names to kickstart a sluggish RA brain, and a five second search of Google will instantly produce five suggestions. That's enough to get me and the customer running through the stacks. Also, the speed of a Google search would enable RA Chat Services. Are there brave souls already doing that?

A Truly NextGen Integrated Library System?

Last year I viewed an interesting webinar about the new Learning Labs that IMLS is promoting through its planning grants (Current round is due June 15, 2012. So get crackin’.).

The model lab in Chicago is called YOUmedia. Although the entire concept is intriguing, the most interesting piece of the project to me was the social network they created. The closed network, Online Space, is a “social learning network . . . where youth can post their work, critique others' work, and receive feedback from peers, mentors, and professionals.”

My mind instantly began to spin. Discussions of the next generation ILS (or Integrated Library Platform, whichever you prefer) and the NextGen OPAC in the literature talk about incorporating more social media. And new products like LibraryAware will help us make more effective use of social media. But why isn’t the NextGen ILS a social network itself?

Instead of a library card, you will have a login and password. You will have a profile (“BiblioFile”?) instead of a patron record, which you will maintain yourself. No need for circulation staff to hound patrons for address, phone number, or e-mail updates.

Profiles will be as public or private as you choose. If you want someone to see what you have checked out and on hold, that’s your choice. Your timeline will list the books and media you have consumed. (Privacy is dead, remember?) Your posts will be reviews, recommendations, or original work (text, media, or a combination). You will be able to form groups, create Q&As, post polls, start discussion threads.

You will be able to do everything from your account – check out downloadables; access subscription databases; reserve a room or computer; sign-up for a computer class; suggest library purchases or event ideas; view event calendars; create personal itineraries or event reminders; blog; receive reading recommendations and library newsletters; take online classes; and yes, do the obvious – use discovery tools, check out, renew, pay fines.

Imagine a mashup of Koha, GoodReads, NoveList, Evanced, LibraryAware, Ed2Go, Overdrive, Zinio, Pinterest, and Quora. The public library is the perfect venue for the local social network. I’m going to be bold here and brand it LoSo (pronounced LOEsoe). Ha! I can see the criticism already. LoSo is a no-go.

The closest project I can find to this idea is Read/Write Library Chicago. (Why is everything cool happening in Chicago?) Their idea is local and social, but not the same thing. LITA is sponsoring a webinar about the project on June 7 if you want to learn more.