PALNI Information Exchange - Library Profession

All-Staff Meeting: Susan Akers Presentation

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:15:05 -0400

News Article:

Copies of the PowerPoint slides from Susan Akers' May 30, 2008 All-Staff meeting presentation are attached. Both PowerPoint 'ppt' and Acrobat 'pdf' versions are included.

PALNI Librarians - A Facebook group

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:03:07 -0500

News Article:

If you are a member of the popular social networking site Facebook, then you are most likely familiar with "Groups". Groups allow members to collaborate and discuss common interests and issues. Librarians are doing all kinds of cool things on Facebook and there are tons of groups about most aspects of our profession.

There is now a group for PALNI supported institutions titled "PALNI Librarians". It can be a place to find other librarians who work at member institutions, and even a place for Faculty, staff, or students to contribute to discussions about libraries within PALNI. It is an open group, so invite whomever you think might be interested. Most of all, just have some fun there.

Facebook requires an account to view and participate. If you are logged in you can join the group here.

Did You Know? A Video About Globalization and The Information Age

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:51:09 -0400

This is an official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. This June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design.

I think that there is a great deal of valuable information that should be considered by academic institutions and librarians here. There are several great videos in this genre that I would like to share & discuss, but I think there might be a better way to conduct those discussions such as through a forum.

If you would consider participating in Library 2.0 discussion group, please let me know because I am very interested in delving into these topics with you. I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Chadwick

INCOLSA Open-Source Partnership

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:10:16 -0400

News Article:

INCOLSA announced today that it has entered into an agreement with LibLime, an Athens, Ohio-based company, to offer new open-source automation solutions to INCOLSA member libraries. LibLime provides system support, migration, and customization services for open-source library systems, including both the Koha and Evergreen integrated library systems. Through its partnership with LibLime, INCOLSA will in turn be able to offer these services to its members. Koha has been in production in hundreds of libraries worldwide since early 2000, and Evergreen has received a good deal of attention lately as the foundation for the Georgia PINES resource-sharing network of 250+ public libraries.

INCOLSA and LibLime also jointly announced plans to migrate the Indiana Shared Library Catalog (ISLC) to a new, open-source Koha ZOOM integrated library system. The ISLC, which includes an art museum, the Indiana Supreme Court Library, and a number of small public and school libraries, will use the Koha ZOOM web OPAC, cataloging, circulation, acquisitions, and serials modules. ISLC's system will be hosted at INCOLSA, with system implementation and support provided by LibLime.

Hello World

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:15:19 -0400

I have blogging in some form or another since 2003, but a couple of years ago I started blogging at InfoSciPhi about library related issues. There is so much required of us in our offline lives that finding time to blog about work might not be the first thing on the agenda. I know I often go through periods when I write very little because of time constraints. Luckily I have a job that allows me to write about what I do - BONUS!

Like anything else, we have to actually MAKE time for the aspects of our lives, both personal and professional, that we give value to. So, since I do enjoy sharing information and opinions about our field, I plan to begin writing here to share some of that with you and hopefully begin a dialog on issues of importance to us in our everyday roles.

I have so many ideas and plan to do my best to contribute to PALNI in the most positive ways I can. While I am still easing into my new role, I am using some of this time to make notes on the things I would like to focus on. I also took careful notes during the sessions I attended at the PALNI "All Staff meeting" knowing that I might have a chance to address the suggestions and ideas that you brought up in those discussions. I am looking forward to applying my experiences as a Systems Librarian to my new role here and using that to our advantage. I've been on the front line and I know the struggles you face.

"Libraries as Places to Linger and Mingle"

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 09:06:47 -0500

News Article:

From the Opinion Page of the Christian Science Monitor:

"The current vision of the digital library rests on a deeply flawed assumption: that the function of libraries is to connect solitary readers with isolated texts. If that were so, then we could easily replace our libraries with book scanners, search engines, and laptops. And if the shape of human knowledge really rests in the Dewey Decimal System, then, well, we are surely in trouble."

January 13, 2006

The Academic Library of The Future?

Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:05:25 -0400

News Article:

See this Christian Science Monitor article on the CBS News web site about radical changes at the University of Texas undergraduate library. Quoting from the article,

"The UT library is undergoing a radical change, becoming more of a social gathering place more akin to a coffeehouse than a dusty, whisper-filled hall of records. And to make that happen, the undergraduate collection of books had to go."

Is this where academic libraries are headed?