Best Twitter Experience Ever

What did I do in my library life today?

I had the best Twitter experience EVER by trying to be a librarian to the White House Chat (#whchat) on the debt ceiling. There were a lot of rants and opinions slamming @whitehouse but there will also some genuine questions that I tried to answer. Some examples:

• What is the history of the debt ceiling?
• What is the difference between default and bankruptcy?
• What might (notice the word MIGHT) happen if we default?

I tried to answer a few questions and ended my tweets with "From a friendly #librarian".  

It was pretty awesome to get thank you's from other tweeters.  People I do not know and never will.  But maybe they will ask a librarian another question.  Just maybe.

Exercising the power in my fingers

The internet is Jim Gillian's religion.

pdf2011 on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Jim's story is powerful and profound. But even more powerful is the activism that he reminds us of. The creator and change agent in each of us as we blog, as we read, as we write emails. Seemingly mundane and trivial. But together, powerful.

Is that something we are reminding our students of? Is that something we are remembering ourselves? Information Literacy spends so much time talking about the evaluative. Are we thinking about the active, about the creative component? Are we thinking about how the information we find and ultimately put to use can impact the world?

This video reminds me of a bigger framework, a bigger picture in which to think about the work we do with students. But it also makes me remember the power that lives in my fingertips. Have I exercised it today? Have you?

Opportunity Lost or Just a Library Saved?

Phew.

The Philadelphia Library system is staying open. Here is the announcement from the Free Library.

Here is also an interesting post by Jessamyn about it. I think she makes an interesting point about believing in our elected officials. But....that's fine line. What is a girl to do? One minute we need to rally, engage, communicate, and be a part of the change. And then there are times when we should sit back and assume all will be well. I get the gist of what she is saying but it still doesn't sit well with me.

Why?

Because every problem is an opportunity. And we missed one.

What really bothers me about the lack of action and organizing is that we missed an opportunity. Librarians could have used this as a moment to engage and organize around addressing legislatures, speaking out for our communities, and demand more. More support for libraries. More funding. More commitment so that something like this isn't even a question. Then we wouldn't have to have PR stunts like Philly pulled.

But we didn't. We just let it go because really, who is really going to close a library?

What about you? Did you follow this story? Did you engage others? Why? Why not? Is this an opportunity lost or just another library saved?

URGENT ACTION: SAVE PHILLY LIBRARIES!

I am from Philly. And I love it there. I don't follow sports much but I always cheer when the Birds, the Phils, the Flyers, or the Sixers are playing simply because I am proud of my city.

But that's over.

That is if Philadelphia libraries close on Oct 2nd. Here is the WAY TOO BRIEF article from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Free Library's blog:

At stake are over 700 jobs, loss of access to information and resources including 800 public computers for Philadelphians and no place to go after school for over 80,00 students.

With almost 7 million visits annually and 22 million hits to its website, the Free Library is the most heavily used of all institutions in the city. As the largest provider of internet access in a City where 41% of homes lack web connection, the Library provides the essential link to information, jobs and resources found only on line.

So here's what I think: get the social media machine to work. TWEET it! Use hashtags: #savephilly #libraries
Send your tweets to @PhiladelphiaGov and @Philly311. If you have other suggestions, SHARE THEM!
Donate your status to Saving Philadelphia Libraries.

The Free Library of Philadelphia also has an ACTION PAGE.

ACT. CALL. WRITE. TWEET. If you are in Philly, let us know what else we can do!

Libraries will get us through time of no money better than money will get us through times of no libraries!

Social Media, Iran, and You

It's an amazing time to be paying attention to social media. Over the last three days, Twitter has been one of the only places where accounts of the protests are coming in. The #iran and #iranelection have been blowing the mainstream media out of the water! People, USERS, are sharing content and building community at an unprecedented rate. All the terms we read about (social media, user generated content, read write web) are typified by this moment.

I can hardly peel my eyes away.

Here are a few articles and blog posts I've been putting into de.licio.us about it:
*The Inquisitor's piece is excellent in giving some context to how social media is over throwing some traditional media outlets.
*Excellent coverage from the New York Times on social media's role. To my mind, they are setting themselves apart with an article like this.
* The Huffington Post is doing great work on their blog. The Post at 2:42 am on 6/17/09 draws an excellent comparison to the Chinese's efforts to quell protest around Tiananmen. My only complaint here is that it is past tense. My excellent friend and mentor, Rob Williams, just returned from three weeks in China during which he and his team of mobile journalists were unable to Tweet, blog, or upload content as the Chinese "celebrated" the anniversary of Tiananmen. Their blog, China Mojo, is well worth reading for a variety of reasons. Check it out.
*Mashable has done an excellent job explaining what's happening on the social media scene and inciting action:

Social media comes fast, and because of that, the information can be overwhelming. Use filters and tools to help you understand what’s happening in real-time. If you’re looking for background on the situation, get yourself up-to-speed using Wikipedia (Iranian presidential elections 2009 and 2009 Iranian election protests are being constantly updated).
Finally, if you want to help bring awareness to the situation, then share! Share the videos you find via Twitter, blog about the situation, email your friends: everybody can play a part in this new media ecosystem.

So share, post, Tweet. This is an exciting moment for social media and a tipping point for the people of Iran.

What I'd like to see. And you?

As you may know, I am an ACRL Legislative Advocate. I was recently asked to share some of the actions I have taken in the past year and what suggestions I would make. Below is the letter I sent:

As the ACRL Legislative Advocate for VT, I have been in contact with my senators and congressman (we only have one!) a number of times on behalf of ACRL. I have also posted on my blog and Twitter asking people to reach out to their representatives as well. I have also spoken on the phone with aids and staffers at Senator Saunders and Senator Leahy’s office on more than one occasion particularly in regards to Copyright, LSTA, and general support for libraries.

I would love to continue as a Legislative Advocate but I do have a few recommendations for really making this program more effective and targeted to ways that fit ACRL’s mission. Perhaps first and foremost, contextualizing issues in terms of ACRL. While your team has been tremendously supportive and informative, there have been a number of times when I wonder how the steps we are being asked to take impact college and research libraries? Is there a way to make the connection between the goals, needs, and expectations of higher ed libraries and those at the legislative level more explicit?

I would also love to see more active participation of this program in social media outlets. In the age of Obama, social media is a powerful force for engaging our communities (particularly information professionals) around issues and mobilizing. Can we invent a hashtag for ACRL Legislative Advocates on Twitter that allows us to share information more readily? What social media are our representatives paying attention to and how can we leverage our adeptness for technology to make a greater impact? Believe me, I live in a state where I still get a person and a person who is local and interested in what a Vermonter has to say. But I am not sure that is the case in states with larger and broader constituencies.

Finally, is there a way to deepen the community of ACRL Legislative Advocates? I don’t know a single other advocate and while I recognize that there have been a number of opportunities to meet face to face, in a time of slashed budgets, are there ways to connect, brainstorm, and coordinate successfully virtually?

I would be more than happy to discuss these idea with you.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and for the excellent work you are doing. I am proud to be a part of this endeavor.

What suggestions might you make for ways ACRL Advocates could engage more fully with our representatives? What ACRL issues do you think need hearing at a higher level? As an advocate, it is my responsibility to put your concerns and issues out on the table. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Back in Action, Taking Action

I am back from vacation and putting on my ACRL Legislative Advocate hat. This is a call to action by any of you librarians, educators, or concerned citizens out there to get in touch with your Senators to ask for their support of the Library Services and Technology Act. (Find their contact info here).

Please contact your Senators and ask them to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter being circulated by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI)
and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in support of funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program.

The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) is the only federal funding program exclusively for libraries. LSTA offers a variety of competitive grants available to librarians: The 21st Century Librarians Program; The National Leadership Grants; and the Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants. Around the country, knowledgeable librarians use the flexible LSTA funding to help patrons access essential information on a wide range of topics. They offer training on résumé development; help on web searches of job banks; workshops on career information; links to essential educational and community services; assistive devices for people with disabilities; family and youth literacy classes and services; homework help and mentoring programs; access to government information; a forum for enhanced civic engagement; summer reading programs and much more. These are essential for libraries survival in these challenging economic times when our communities need library services all the more. LSTA funds help libraries provide persons of limited financial resources or who live in remote areas, access to books and reference materials, computers and the internet, and community-based social services that are often available nowhere else.

The deadline for supporting this legislation is MAY 14th!

While I did the normal thing of sending an email and filling in an online form asking for Senator Sanders and Senator Leahy's support for this legislation, I also called their offices. And let me tell you that the response I received was encouraging, friendly, and supportive. The people I spoke to appreciated my taking the time to call rather than just email. They appreciated my having some information at hand (like the deadline). So do what you can, put if you can pick up a phone as well as send a message, THANK YOU!

LILAC09: Leslie Burger: “From Information Literacy to Digital Citizenship: Libraries and the New Democracy”

Leslie Burger, former ALA President and Director of Princeton
“From Information Literacy to Digital Citizenship: Libraries and the New Democracy”

Thinking from the perspective of a public librarian. Everyone here is academic.
“Libraries for all seasons and all reasons”: no matter what type of institution you are in feeds into the work we do in all of our institutions. In public libraries, doing much of the pre-literacy work: teaching them how to read, how to listen. The partnership between the school librarian and the public librarian; learning information literacy skills. Find themselves back in public libraries “trying to negotiate their way through the complex world we live in”.

How do we need to prepare our users to be digital citizens?
What is a digital citizen and why do I need to be one?
Do I need a separate passport to cross the web border?
Information in the currency of democracy—Jefferson

Learning on the job how to integrate digital resources into her work. How the world has changed: everyday, public libraries are teaching people how to be information literate but in a very different way—one person at a time. The teach-able moment. Isn’t this something we should be aiming towards everyday?

Information is power = example of the experimentation of prisoners being outlawed based on the information her class extracted in the 60s.

As she reads the 1989 ALA Statement: isn’t it interesting that it is always about how we can compete rather than what we want for ourselves? Hmm.

Top Trends:
• The web as ubiquitous throughout the world, not just in the developed world. It’s not always through computers. People get information in new ways.
• The web has changed the way we do business. Information is widely distributed and openly available.
• Information as a commodity. Not new to librarians: people that know how to find good information have a competitive advantage.
• People are communicating in a variety of ways. Tools that have the potential to change how we use information .
• Information consolidation. Too much available to ever use. Google is not altruistic. It is capitalistic. Sell back to us our own free information, example of Google Books. It might be free now, but it won’t be eventually.
• Library as a trusted resource
• Librarians on steroids—we are better than we were before. Skilled information navigators.
• More content than ever before. Playing on a more
• Librarians as the on ramp to the digital highway for those that don’t have access or can’t afford access. In the economic downturn, more people are turning to libraries. While the Gates foundation supplied significant funds to get many libraries new computers, those computers are now 6-7 years old. The problem when help comes from NGOs—what do you do when the grant is over?
• Information fuels our democracy.
o Taking issue with Melissa Highton’s point that the
o Book recommendation “Digital citenzship—Mossburger” people that are internet savvy participate to a lesser degree?

Concerns about the demise of the newspaper. What is happening to investigative journalism, can we really trust the bloggers???

Libraries were not an essential part of teaching to the test during NCLB. This puts into question about how ubiquitious information literacy is in our K-12 educations. A GAP!

Two issues:
Helping people navigate from the “old way” to the “new way”
How can we augment what is missing in our school libraries, both in terms of IL instruction as well as support their research needs (eg. school libraries closing at 3 pm: do they turn off the need for information for those school students? Of course not. So they turn to public libraries.) Asking faculty or teachers to come to the library to do the assignment at the public library, since that is where students are.

Give me the answer: sometimes they just want the answer and we have to wait for a teachable moment. Dual screens.
Consider each interaction an opportunity to change someone’s life!

Public libraries need to be looking at the K-12 IL standards.

Highlighting a number of public library sites: Spokane, San Fran, Central Illinois.
New Jersey state library: Helping Residents Through Tough Economic Times. COOL.

ALA’s E-Government resources.
Online Information literacy: the role of YouTube for the most basic to more advanced tools. IDEA for Andy for the next video: let’s get MORE advanced, not easier.


Information Literacy for the People:
Monitoring trends: what is going on? What is shifting? What do our services need to look like?
Market!!! We need to get out of the idea that they know to come to us. We need to TELL THEM to come to us.
Make information seeking fun: engage them in the moment.
Tie your information literacy moments to solving real life problems. Let’s be where we are needed and providing instruction in things that people are interested in or challenged by. We learn from eachother.
Reach out to those that need you the most; go for the unexpected. Be where people are and might not expect you to be.
LEAD THE WAY & Never give up.

We are in a values driven profession with the opportunity to change people’s lives.

CHANGE I believe in

There are more things to say on a day like this than I can possibly articulate in a blog post. The attitude of students on campus, the feeling that seeps through screens and into our homes as we watched Obama take office, the excitement I feel in my belly---I believe it is HOPE.

But let's keep it together, my husband would say. Breath, my best friend would remind me.

Breathing.

Let's start out with THIS--the new White House website. We've got a blog, we've got a Director of New Media, and most excitedly, we've got an Office of Public Liaison. It is this last one that is particularly exciting to me.

For those of you that haven't been following Change.gov or the Citizen's Briefing Book, everyday people, you and me, have been welcomed to give suggestions, ideas, and ask questions to the President-Elect. One of the ideas floated was to keep the people's voice at the table. And it is happening.

Which brings me to the idea of collaboration and access. Yesterday, a professor who always jokes with me about my penchant for suggesting wikis admitted that he didn't even know what a wiki was. Another professor we were walking with gave him a brief explanation, essentially getting at the opportunity wikis provides for more than just a webmaster to make changes to a website. It enabled people to share in the responsibility of providing information. Wikis offer us all to share our knowledge rather than expecting one person to know it all.

Switch screens to Michael Sauer's post on making a wiki.whitehouse.gov.:
wiki.whitehouse.gov

In the article “America Online” in the latest issue of Wired (#17.02 which isn’t online yet) I cam across the following paragraph:

The incoming administration is still working to assess the implications of the Presidential Records Act, the post-Nixon legislation requiring the preservation of all White House written communications. But that means that once any page goes up on the White House site, it can’t be altered, only archived and replaced, greatly slowing down the process of modifying and enhancing pages.

So, ok, I understand this and think it’s a good thing. But I instantly thought that this would be the perfect use for a wiki. Just have Wiki software be the underlying system that ran www.whitehouse.gov and you’d instantly have a traceable record, and archived copy, of every version of the page that’s ever been from day-one forward.

I’d like to think that at least one of the smart people on the transition team had already thought of this but I’ll be submitting it to the folks at www.change.gov just in case they haven’t.

Where am I going with all of this?

It brings me back, again, to the thought I had first thing this morning as I rode the bus to work. Today, a very special day, was about more than just Barack, or being an American, but about participating. Way back when, Barack Obama was the Underdog in the presidential campaign. And it was us, the people, that shared information about him, engaged our friends and neighbors in his campaign, and even brought him to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on this cold, January day. Barack Obama's presidency marks a change in our ideas about action, participation, collaboration, and change itself.

And that is change I believe in.

Happy Inauguration Day to you all.

One Day More!

The Part We Have to Play

Perhaps you are wondering where the Sheck has been as of late? And I don't mean the Sheck Spot, because I have been posting tidbits, but where is THE SHECK? The thoughtful posts, that get me to flesh out a question or an experience?

I've been wondering that myself. And two things come to mind:
1. Teaching. I've just finished the IL sessions for the 2nd Year Core courses, Champlain's nascent Gen Ed curriculum, and I am meeting with the other librarians tomorrow to rehearse for the 1st year courses, which start next week. I've been putting a lot into the design of these sessions and to collaborating with the ever energetic and amazing Andy Burkhardt to make these suckers work. And not just work but interest the students. Invigorate them. Engage them. Did it work...I think so. I hope so. I think so.
2. The Election. No one should be that surprised to know I am an Obama supporter. But I also am passionately interested in the way in which the digital, media entrenched world shapes the election. Even more interesting is how the digital world shapes our understanding and participation in elections, in democracy. And without question, it has. Sarah Silverman, Don't Vote, Yes We Can, We Are the Ones...full of famous folks, yes. But also aimed at informing and empowering voters, young voters, to participate and think about the world we live in and the opportunities that are before us.

So when I read this post by Ryan Deschamps, the wheels really started turning. Perhaps it was the wikipedia analogy that got me thinking:

To me, voting is the Wikipedia of our government. If alot of people participate, putting in quality thought and decision, then a wiki will provide excellent content. If people let the system be taken over by folks who just happen to show up, our system crumbles and can even be used for serious wrong-doing.

Ryan, that's an idea worth running with. I mean, Forrest Gump style running.

But here's the part that I am stuck on. Ryan's analogy puts a hefty burden on everyday people: to educate themselves enough to make a quality decision. I am in no way suggesting that Joe the Plumber couldn't do that. My question is about WHERE they do that? HOW do they do that? Are we assuming that every one knows the difference between "good" information and "bad" information? Truth and lies? Facts and fiction?

If so, I'll be out of job.

If not...then we have a lot of work to do. And we is not just librarians. We is those of us that do know the difference. Those of us that have the skills and experience to discern between the shades of gray, at least as best as we are able. So videos that bring good looking people out to those of us in our pjs perusing YouTube is great. But we need more than just a Get Out the Vote campaign. We need everyone to have the tools and skills to make quality decisions. We need to find creative ways to educate more people about the issues in ways that they can understand and engage in, much like Andy and I have been trying to do with our students. We need to push our media, our politicians, our schools, but most importantly ourselves. Learning More Is Doing Something!

Which is why I am voting for Obama. Because in the end, the real message, the first message, and the one that still puts butterflies in my stomach is Yes WE Can. Not just him...Us. We. The People. We have a part to play, and it's time that we played it. Game on.

Activating Our Base

The ever inspiring and amazing David Silver is one of the founders of the September Project. With the academic year quickly approaching, he wrote to remind me that any programming/display/screening/just about anything is worth sharing with their project to demonstrate the role of libraries in the promotion of freedom and democracy. Here is some more info:

Welcome to the 5th annual September Project! The September Project is a
grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom and democracy in all
libraries in all countries during the month of September. September
Project events are free and organized locally.

In 2004, we began the September Project to break the silence following
September 11, and to invite all people into libraries to consider topics
of patriotism, democracy, and citizenship. Initially, events focused on
September 11 and largely took place on September 11. As the project
evolved, events spread throughout the month of September and focused on
issues of freedom and democracy.

To date, public, academic, school, and government libraries around the
world have organized September Project book displays, community book
readings, childrens’ art projects, film screenings, theatrical
performances, civic deliberations, voter registrations, murals, panel
discussions, and so much more. What will this year bring?

How can you participate? Organize an event at your library, and tell us
about it! We’ll post all events on this site as they develop around the
world.

The September Project: Connecting the world one library at a time

So first and foremost, this is a call out to anyone who has something on the agenda for fall. Share it with the September Project.

Secondly, I started to think back on the displays I've done that could have qualified for September Project events. I am pretty hardcore about putting up displays to remind students that they are, or should be, active members of society. My mantra is always that "Learning More Is Doing Something" but I try to remind students that actions are key to change. And along that line, I love the idea of having a voter registration drive in the Library. It is activating our base, saying learn more then act. Be educated and involved. I've already got ideas in the hopper. If you do too, share them! And if you blog about them, be sure to use the tag: TSP08

Finally, once again I am reminded an amazed by the way the 2.0 world builds community around activism. Henry Jenkins, in his book Convergence Culture, talks about the “power of the send key”. While I still have a lot of concerns and questions about whether technology is being used as it could be or should be to further democracy, it is projects like this that are built on creativity, community, genuine concern and care for who we are and what we believe it that motivates me to teach, to learn, to act.

I will be posting more about the September Project, particularly about what Champlain will be doing. I hope you will too! And pass it on to other libraries and librarians!

My Signature Statement

"What defines you as a librarian? What’s your signature statement?" asks Steve Bell over on the ACRLog. "What’s at the center of it all?"

It's a great question and a great challenge. Steve elaborates that the signature statement is in some way supposed to say "this is who I am." I imagine that this is particularly tough for librarians because we are so many things. We are innovators, technologists, ontologists, generalists, adapters, thinkers, qualifiers, extrapolators, learners, and educators. As a profession, we are constantly changing and growing. It is wonderful as well as challenging, difficult, and overwhelming. Personally, that's what draws me to it.

So what is my signature statement? "Learning More IS doing something."

Part of my statement is based on my core desire to be a part of change, to act. Many of my students feel powerless in the face of complex challenges, especially in today's world. My signature statement is my signature reply: if we don't learn more about the problem, the causes, the obstacles, or the attempts to rectify or solve those problems, then how can we determine how a difference can be made? Learning more IS doing something.

Libraries are at the very core of the educational process: we are houses of learning. And for us to progress, to change, and to improve, we need to learn where we've been and where we might go. Learning more is a must in any situation on the road of life (love that metaphor, VW) and libraries are our proverbial gas stations. We've got what you need.