South Central Station

SCRLC's Next Five-Year Plan & ARL's Scenario Planning

2010-10-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

As you may know, SCRLC is in the throes of designing its next five-year plan of service. We have been collecting your needs, ideas, suggestions, and information about your hopes and fears during our field visits. We have also discussed this with the various SCRLC advisory committees and have engaged in strategic planning activities with the Board of Trustees. The PoS Design Team will be meeting on Friday, and one of our activities involves familiarizing ourselves with relevant environmental scans/reports.

Just this week, the Association of Research Libraries released information about its scenario planning project, Envisioning Research Library Futures: A Scenario Thinking Project.” They have availed the scenario set, a user’s guide, and have scheduled a webcast for 4 November @1PM.

Through their process, ARL developed four scenarios for 2030 in response to the question, “How do we transform our organization(s) to create differential value for future users (individuals, institutions, and beyond), given the external dynamics redefining the research environment over the next 20 years?” Although the focus is on research libraries, the process and scenarios are of interest to those of us involved in a long range planning process. For more information, see: http://bit.ly/cjgMhy.

The Chronicle of Higher Education contains an article about ARL’s project at http://bit.ly/9DHx1C. Cornell’s Anne Kenney is quoted and there have been several interesting comments/perceptions.

Virtual Reference Opportunities!

2010-02-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

AskUs 24 7 Virtual Reference: In 2009, SCRLC became a consortial member of the AskUs 24/7 virtual reference collaborative. Our Council continues to participate, which lowers costs for SCRLC libraries wanting to be part of the service. If you were not able to join last year, you can still participate. Joining through SCRLC saves you the set-up charge and the “population served” fee—you pay only the yearly administrative cost, which is based on your materials budget (print and electronic). We can also provide free, on-demand AskUs 24/7 learning opportunities for SCRLC participants. For complete information about AskUs 24/7, please visit http://www.askus247.org/info.

Materials Budget Range Administration Fee
$0 - $49,999 $ 230.00
$50,000 - $99,999 $ 290.00
$100,000 - $249,999 $ 410.00
$250,000 - $499,999 $ 650.00
$500,000 - $999,999 $ 1,100.00
$1,000,000-$1,499,999 $1,700.00
$1,500,000 - $1,999,999 $ 2,300.00
$2,000,000 - $2,499,999 $ 2,900.00
$2,500,000 - $2,999,999 $ 3,500.00
$3,000,000 - $3,499,999 $ 4,100.00
$3,500,000 - $3,999,999 $ 4,700.00
$4,000,000 - $4,499,999 $ 5,300.00
$4,500,000 - $4,999,999 $ 5,900.00
$5,000,000 + $ 6,200.00

SCRLC AskUs 24/7 participants: Cornell University, Corning Museum of Glass, Finger Lakes Library System, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Oneonta, Tompkins-Cortland Community College, and Wells College.

My Info Quest: Txt 4 Answers: SCRLC continues to partner in the My Info Quest collaborative SMS text reference pilot project. The pilot phase runs through the end of 2010. Participating libraries contribute staff time (on the desk—usually an hour or two per week). There is no other cost at this time; fees are expected to be very minimal after the pilot phase ends in December (i.e., less than $200). Librarians do not need to know how to “text” to participate. The questions are texted by users via mobile device and sent through the Altarama interface to a Gmail account. The librarian on the desk sees only the Gmail account. The learning curve is practically nonexistent and we can provide free training. Nearly 70 libraries from around the country and Canada are participating, and it is a great opportunity to explore a collaborative library approach to our increasingly mobile device-populated world! The hours of service constantly expand and are currently Mondays through Thursdays from 9AM-11PM, Saturdays 9AM-9PM, Sundays 10AM-7PM eastern time.
Note: Libraries participating in AskUs 24/7 will soon have another text reference option. Mosio and OCLC recently announced development of an application programming interface (API) to integrate Mosio’s Text a Librarian with QuestionPoint, OCLC’s virtual reference software. QuestionPoint users will get a discounted price on the Text a Librarian product (using this product will be entirely optional for each library).

If you are interested in joining either AskUs 24/7 or My Info Quest, please contact Mary-Carol Lindbloom @ mclindbloom@scrlc.org 607-273-9106

Faster than the Speed of Bytes: Technology, Cognition, and the Academic Librarian

2010-02-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

Academic Librarians 2010
Faster than the Speed of Bytes:

Technology, Cognition, and the Academic Librarian
June 7 & 8, 2010, Holiday Inn Downtown, Ithaca

Are we organically shaped by technology? If so, how can academic librarians respond? How do cognitive changes influence the way’s we lead our libraries and teach our users? This conference will explore changes in cognitive development, based on new models of interacting with information and how these new models will impact collections and services. Participants will examine what this means for academic librarians and the way they interact with users. This event is brought to you by the NY 3Rs Association and the Academic and Special Libraries Section of the New York Library Association.

Featuring: Dr. Michael Stephens, Assistant Professor, Dominican University, Hyperlinked Users: How Academic Librarians Can Respond. What trends are shaping the 21st Century student experience? What does emerging research tell us about expectations for learning environments, creative collaboration and "always on" access to information? This presentation will provide a roadmap for serving our hyperlinked users online, in our physical spaces and wherever they happen to be. Mobile solutions, creation spaces and embedded librarians are all part of the equation.

Dr. Deborah Gagnon, Associate Professor of Psychology, Wells College, This Is Your Brain on Technology: The Technology Exposure Effect (TEE). The media offer a bewildering array of doomsday as well as more benign prognoses of the effect that excessive exposure to extant technologies -Twitter, FaceBook, GPS, Second Life, etc. - present to our cognitive and neural functioning. Is that GPS on your dashboard possibly shrinking your hippocampus? Or is it really the Holy Grail that the more spatially challenged among us have been searching for our whole lives? This talk will attempt to sort questions like these out and, more to the point, will reveal how technology may be changing our perception, attention, memory, reasoning, decision making, and problem solving processes.

The Horizon Report: Look Over the Horizon: Connecting Technology Trends with the Library of Tomorrow. The NMC Horizon Report is an important tool for educators and information specialists who must strategize for the adoption of new technologies in their organizations. Our panelists will present examples and offer a variety of perspectives on the 2010 Horizon Report as it will impact "The Library of the Near Future". Panelists include Mark A. Smith, Information Systems Librarian at NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred; Joan Getman is Sr. Strategist for Learning Technologies at Cornell University; Alison Miller, Manager, ipl2 Reference Services for Drexel University; Harry Pence, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus from SUNY Oneonta where he currently serves as TLTC Faculty Fellow for Emerging Technologies.

Geotagging, Geolocation, and Augmented Reality: Opportunities for Libraries to Create in Situ Learning Experiences. Tito Sierra, Associate Head for Digital Library Development, North Carolina State University and Markus Wust, Digital Collections and Preservation Librarian, North Carolina State University.

E-readers in Action. Melinda Dermody, Librarian/Department Head Access Services; Scott Warren, Bibliographer for the Sciences and Technology; and Suzanne Preate, Digital Initiatives Librarian from Syracuse University speak about their e-reader pilot program.

Text Reference in Action. Virginia Cole, Reference & Digital Services Librarian, Cornell University Library and Joe Murphy (libraryfuture on Twitter), Science Librarian, Coordinator of Instruction & Technology, Yale Science Libraries. Hear from QuestionPoint/Text-a-Librarian & My Info Quest participants to learn about collaborative text reference opportunities.

Associated activities will include local tours, wine-tasting, and hiking.

Registration Registration is open. http://tinyurl.com/yhyka6q

Twitter: Follow us at AcLibCon2010.
The Holiday Inn has reserved a block of rooms for the evenings of June 6th and 7th at the rate of $139+ tax per room. When booking, mention the Academic Librarians conference. (607) 272-1000. Book early as we expect the rooms to go fast!

$95 NYLA or NY 3R members: Early Bird Registration--Register by March 15
$120 NYLA or NY 3R members: Regular Registration
$145 Non-Member Registration
$50 MLS/MLIS Student Registration

Traveling to Ithaca: Ithaca is a great place (some would say gorges!) to visit in the late spring. The airport is conveniently located with daily flights to LaGuardia, Newark, and Philadelphia--and at perfect times of the day for conference goers. The waiting time at the airport is always short and shuttles to area hotels. There is also daily bus service.

Thanks to our generous sponsors: WALDO, EBSCO, CCP Solutions, University at Buffalo Department of Library and Information Studies, ProQuest, and Mango Languages!

Contact Aprille Nace (naceac@cmog.org) or Mary-Carol Lindbloom (mclindbloom@scrlc.org) for more information.

Please feel free to forward this announcement to other discussion/distribution lists.

SCRLC's Annual Meeting

2009-11-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday’s annual meeting was on the topic of the Metaverse. The speakers were fantastic-- thought-provoking and engaging--the day provided much good information and discussion of the issues.

In the middle of the day we held a quick business meeting. Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, who represents the 125th district (Tompkins/Cortand counties) and was appointed Chair of the Assembly’s Library and Education Technology Committee, attended the afternoon portion of the day. The Assemblywoman's office had recently given SCRLC's Tools of History digitization effort a boost with a $15,000 member item. She provided us with some tips and strategies for advocating with our legislators.

During the business meeting, I gave a report, highlighting some of the sections of our Annual Report, including the Tools of History.

I also mentioned some of the emerging technologies that are shaping libraries and library users. More on "Users Gone Mobile" in a future post. From my Bag of Mantras, I reiterated that technology is a tool to help us achieve our goals--it is never a goal in of itself. We need to be mindful of our organizational goals as we examine the advantages, possibilities, and cost-benefits of venturing into the realm of the Metaverse.

Tom Peters, our final speaker of the day, summarized and wove the day together for the annual meeting participants. Check out his slides at www.tapinformation.com/SCRLCtalkPeters.htm - works best in IE.

And... take a look at the presenters and some of the people who attended the Annual Meeting!

By the way, the Second Life Economy 3rd Quarter in Detail report was released yesterday--very strong showing! Check it out on the Second Life Blog .

Highlights include:

• 150M USD in User-to-User Transactions, 54% growth over the same quarter last year (note: this is an all-time high!)

• A new all time high and continuing rapid growth for the Xstreet online marketplace.

• 3.1 Billion Voice minutes, up 27% from the same quarter last year.

Check out the blog for more information, charts, etc.

-Mary-Carol Lindbloom

SCRLC's Annual Meeting - 30 October 2009

2009-10-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

SCRLC's 43rd Annual Meeting (30 October, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca) is rapidly approaching!

Here is the blurb:

The Metaverse is a term coined by Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash (1992) to describe 3D worlds or multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs). Increasingly, businesses, organizations, colleges, schools, libraries, and entrepreneurs are establishing presences in MUVEs. Why are they involved? What are they learning? What are the issues? What is the future and role of the Metaverse in learning and edcuation--and libraries?

Where does the Metaverse fit as we move deeper into the 21st century and examine our traditional roles and services as well as our part in innovation and transformation within our libraries and institutions? Join our speakers for a lively, thought-provoking discussion as they take up those issues and share their insight and experiences.

Our Speakers:

Dr. Robert Bloomfield, Professor of Accounting, Johnson School of Management, Cornell Univeristy. Founder and host of the weekly Metanomics program (www.metanomics.net).

Dr. Paul S. D'Ambrosio, Vice President and Chief Curator of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown.

Christina Galanis, Executive Director of Southern Tier HealthLink, Binghamton.

Tom Peters, founder and CEO of TAP Information Services and maintans the library presence for Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL).

Gail Wood, Director of Libraries at Memorial Library, SYNY Cortland.

Here is the direct link to register: www.scrlc.org/events/show/40. You can also read more information about the speakers.

What aspects would you likle the keynote speakers and panelists to address?

--Mary-Carol Lindbloom

Welcome to SCRLC's New Blog!

2009-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Welcome to our new blog, which you may have reached from our newly launched website! If you have surfed in, welcome, as well! This blog replaces LakeNet Effect, which has been retired.

The new name, South Central Station, is indicative of the role it is expected to play in the social networking life of our organization. Just like with a train station or an airline terminal, the links will transport you to other destinations. Train stations and terminals often provide an information board, exhibitions, places to browse or a chance to talk to your fellow travelers, and this station also offers those things, as well.

So....find a cup of tea or grab a latte and read on!

LakeNet Effect taught me a few things about blogging. Blogging is very time-consuming and challenging to build into a daily, weekly, or even monthly workflow. This time, it has been set up to enable all of us at SCRLC to contribute!

I also was cognizant that just because we can blog doesn't mean that we should blog! I wondered why we wanted a blog when we have a website, a mailing list, a FaceBook page, and even a Twitter presence. We are a staff of six and are already stretched. Wouldn't those other components suffice to faciliate communication? Here is why I think a blog is important, and an analogy (warning: pretty bad one!). We love flourishing communities that offer many options for services, cultural orgs, and transportation choices. A blog affords the community of library workers another option for getting information, interacting, or sailing off to other destinations. A blog bestows upon SCRLC one more opportunity to get the word out about events and services. Multiple presences lead to spontaneous conversations, and you, for example, are here reading this, and can post a comment about it!

What are your thoughts on how/where blogging fits into the grand scheme of "web presence," social networking, and websites?

Cheers,

Mary-Carol Lindbloom
Executive Director
SCRLC