The Distant Librarian

7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons

This month Educause looks at 7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons.

The learning commons, sometimes called an “information commons,” has evolved from a combination library and computer lab into a full-service learning, research, and project space. As a place where students can meet, talk, study, and use “borrowed” equipment, the learning commons brings together the functions of libraries, labs, lounges, and seminar areas in a single community gathering place. The cost of a learning commons can be an obstacle, but for institutions that invest in a sophisticated learning commons, the new and expanded partnerships across disciplines facilitate and promote greater levels of collaboration. The commons invites students to devise their own approaches to their work and to transfer what they learn in one course to the work they do for another.

And as a special bonus, since the beginning of 2011 they're offering an ePub version alongside the PDF. That makes it a lot nicer to look at on an e-reader.

PDF

Epub
 

Join.me desktop screen sharing app now available for iOS

Aw man, I *so* wanted this to be a way to view a live iPhone, iPod or iPad screen remotely, but alas, it's the other way around. Install this free app and you can watch a computer screen shared with you by another user. Very cool, and works very well in my limited testing - almost no lag. Someone let me know if you know of a way to go the other way round w/o jailbreaking...

Join.me desktop screen sharing app now available for iOS - from MobiPuting

Some great screencasting thoughts and examples

I've had a few posts floating around waiting for me to blog about them.

1. Embedding tutorials into physical objects - Jason Fleming talks about an incident with a photocopier that prompted him to create tutorials for print, and use a QR code to guide end users of physical objects to relevant online tutorials on how to effectively use the item. This might come in handy in our new library building, which will contain lots of new technology.
2. Screencasting in libraries: build a relationship and not a movie - Michael Steelworthy shares some examples of the screencasts he's re-doing to highlight their new website.`The "relationship" in question is achieved in part by including a picture-in-picture of the librarian conducting the screencast, thus putting a face to the voice, and allowing the student to recognize the librarian should their paths ever cross in the real world.
3. Most Common Mistakes in Screencasting - this one's from Mashable, and is fairly lengthy, but is well worth the read. It covers many important aspects of screencasting, including equipment, planning, post-production, and of course mistakes to avoid.
4. Finally, Techsmith is currently in the middle of their "12 days of screencasting" series, in which they present a guest post each day from a distinguished and accomplished screencaster. No, I'm not among them ;-)

Livening virtual reference with screencasting and screen sharing

Just finished reading this article:

Heidi M. Steiner, (2010) "Livening virtual reference with screencasting and screen sharing", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 27 Iss: 4/5, pp. 9-11. DOI 10.1108/07419051011083172

Heidi takes a look at Jing, Screencast-o-matic, Screencastle, and Screenjelly for screencasting, and Dimdim, Yuuguu and ShowMyPC as screen sharing tools. Missing from her list is a new tool I haven't taken the time to explore yet either, join.me (oh hey, I just noticed that site's run by logmein.com, which I love!). She doesn't make an overall recommendation, just briefly lists the pros and cons of each tool. If they're new to you, it's a nice annotated list.

Scott Leslie was also recently testing, and reports his findings in Quick Shoot-Out – 4 Free Web-based Screencasting Tools. He covers three of Heidi's tools, and also ScreenToaster. Scott picks Screencast-o-matic as his winner, but proclaims web-based screencasting "now mostly “Mom-proof” technology."

If you're looking for quick and easy screencasting, you'll do well with any of the above.

Yuuguu: A Desktop Sharing App

At his Digital Reference blog, Stephen Francoeur has a comprehensive post and screencast taking a look at Yuuguu , a cross-platform desktop sharing application that may prove to be a nice tool to have in your toolkit.  Looks pretty slick!

Embedding chat widgets within EBSCO databases

A couple of years ago the U of Calgary was among the first to embed an IM chat widget within its OPAC.  What I've really wanted to do since then was also embed it within the bibliographic databases, where students spend even more time.  I tried a couple of times with ezproxy's search and replace feature, but never got very far.

A couple of weeks ago we had a visit by our EBSCO rep, and on one of the slides he pointed out that they now allow just this feature!  You can see some examples of embedded widgets at http://support.epnet.com/eds/widgets.html

I found the instructions on where to stick this code a little lacking, so here's a little more info.  Within the EBSCO Admin interface you want to be on the "Viewing Results" tab,

and then scroll down towards the bottom and choose to Modify the Additional Resources section.

Once in there, you want to Add an Item, and then switch to the Custom HTML radio button.  Then simply enter your embed code in the HTML box.  I found that the optimal dimensions seem to be 175 pixels wide by 280 high, if you've entered 300 in that middle box (click for full size):

 

And the end result, depending on how many columns you have set for your EBSCO display, will put the chat widget in the lower right corner of your results pages:

I'll probably play with the skin of our Library H3lp widget in order to get that "UofC Library" to appear all on one line, but otherwise it's good to go.  Eventually I'll start to explore our other databases again to see if ProQuest or others will allow this.

Digsby now works with LibraryH3lp, but Pidgin no longer does

We've just started testing LibraryH3lp at the U of Calgary as a probable replacement for Meebo in offering IM / Chat reference service.  I switched from Digsby to Pidgin in order to be able to monitor queues from a desktop client instead of having to log in to the LibraryH3lp website, but yesterday the LibraryH3lp blog reported that Pidgin 2.6.x no longer will work for monitoring chat queues, but that Digsby now does.  They do offer a download link to Pidgin 2.5.9, but I think I'll be going back to Digsby when I get done with my desk shift here...  BTW, you know you can get LibraryH3lp system updates via Twitter, right?

IM widgets on academic library subject guides

From Danielle Dennie at Concordia University:

I will be repeating a study I did last year. The aim of the study is to learn about and compare usage of IM widgets on online subject/research guides from different North American academic libraries. I would like to see the types of users that use IM widgets on a librarians subject guide and the type of questions that are asked. The survey is short (it should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete).

Here is the link to the survey:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Lk5nkzDRP_2bUOh2NEdgU2YQ_3d_3d

If you (or someone you know) have an IM widget on your subject guide, I would appreciate it if you could take the time to fill out the short survey.

Trillian Astra update

Wow, it's been almost two years since I was excited about Trillian's IM/social network-concatenator, Astra.  While I've been registered for their beta since July 2007, it wasn't until yesterday, when Lifehacker pointed out that beta applications were being filled quickly that I gave them my address again, and got myself a copy of the client for Windows, which is the only version available right now.  This isn't a review.  I used it all day today, and while I found the interface foreign, I could probaly get used to it.  It worked and didn't crash.  I did see some interesting features along the lines of statistics and histories of chat sessions (on which days did I chat with X; that sort of thing).  I don't have time to really delve in to the product, and will be going back to Digsby as my Windows desktop client tomorrow.  I do, however, have five invites to the beta product if you want to try it yourself.

Recommended Reading from portal: Libraries and the Academy

Well I guess I can't actually recommend them since I haven't read them yet, but the latest issue of portal: Libraries and the Academy just came out and here are the articles I plan to read (almost the whole issue!):

Google Scholar Search Performance: Comparative Recall and Precision
William H. Walters
pp. 5-24

HTML Version | PDF Version (424k)

Subject Headings:

• Google.
• Libraries and the Internet -- United States.
• User interfaces (Computer systems) -- United States -- Use studies.

Abstract:

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of Google Scholar and 11 other bibliographic databases (Academic Search Elite, AgeLine, ArticleFirst, EconLit, GEOBASE, MEDLINE, PAIS International, POPLINE, Social Sciences Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and SocINDEX), focusing on search performance within the multidisciplinary field of later-life migration. The results of simple keyword searches are evaluated with reference to a set of 155 relevant articles identified in advance. In terms of both recall and precision, Google Scholar performs better than most of the subscription databases. This finding, based on a rigorous evaluation procedure, is contrary to the impressions of many early reviewers. The paper concludes with a discussion of a new approach to document relevance in educational settings—an approach that accounts for the instructors' goals as well as the students' assessments of relevance.

Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion
Ruth Sara Connell
pp. 25-36

HTML Version | PDF Version (362k)

Subject Headings:

• College students -- Indiana -- Valparaiso -- Attitudes.
• Electronic reference services (Libraries) -- Indiana -- Valparaiso.
• Facebook.
• MySpace.com.

Abstract:

This study surveyed 366 Valparaiso University freshmen to discover their feelings about librarians using Facebook and MySpace as outreach tools. The vast majority of respondents had online social network profiles. Most indicated that they would be accepting of library contact through those Web sites, but a sizable minority reacted negatively to the concept. Because of the potential to infringe on students' sense of personal privacy, it is recommended that librarians proceed with caution when implementing online social network profiles.

The Future of Information Literacy in Academic Libraries: A Delphi Study
Laura Saunders
pp. 99-114

HTML Version | PDF Version (561k)

Subject Headings:

• Electronic information resource literacy -- Study and teaching.
• Academic librarians -- United States.
• Academic libraries -- United States -- Use studies.

Abstract:

Information literacy is a central tenet of academic librarianship. However, technological advancements coupled with drastic changes in users' information needs and expectations are having a great impact on this service, leading practitioners to wonder how programs may evolve. Based on a Delphi study, this article surveyed 13 information literacy experts about proposed futures that explore the possible evolution of information literacy over the next decade. Although generally optimistic in their assessment of the continued importance of information literacy and the role librarians will play in its future, these experts acknowledged a number of obstacles academic librarians will face in fully realizing these possibilities.

How Do You Know That?: An Investigation of Student Research Practices in the Digital Age
Randall McClure
Kellian Clink
pp. 115-132

HTML Version | PDF Version (399k)

Subject Headings:

• Information behavior -- United States.
• Computer network resources -- United States -- Use studies.
• Academic writing -- Study and teaching -- United States.

Abstract:

This study investigates the types of sources that English composition students use in their research essays. Unlike previous studies, this project pairs an examination of source citations with deeper analysis of source use, and both are discussed in relation to responses gathered in focus groups with participating students and teachers. The researchers examine how students negotiate locating and using source material, particularly online sources, in terms of timeliness, authority, and bias. The researchers report on how teachers struggle to introduce these concepts and how students fail to perceive authority and bias in their sources.

Virtual Reference, Real Money: Modeling Costs in Virtual Reference Services
Lori Eakin
Jeffrey Pomerantz
pp. 133-164

HTML Version | PDF Version (744k)

Subject Headings:

• Electronic reference services (Libraries) -- Economic aspects -- United States.
• Academic libraries -- Reference services -- Economic aspects -- United States.

Abstract:

Libraries nationwide are in yet another phase of belt tightening. Without an understanding of the economic factors that influence library operations, however, controlling costs and performing cost-benefit analyses on services is difficult. This paper describes a project to develop a cost model for collaborative virtual reference services. This cost model is a systematic description of all expenses incurred by a library in providing virtual reference service as part of a collaborative.

Presentations from Reference Renaissance conference

The head of our Information Commons attended a conference entitled, A Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends, and points out that many of the presentations are available online.

From the conference homepage:

Rumors of the “death of reference” have been greatly exaggerated! Reference service now encompasses not just traditional forms such as telephone, email, and in-person point-of-service, but also Instant Messaging, Text Messaging (SMS), blogs, wikis, library pages on MySpace and Facebook, and virtual reference desks in Second Life.

A Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends conference will explore all aspects of reference service in a broad range of contexts, including libraries and information centers, in academic, public, school, corporate, and other special library environments. This two-day conference will incorporate the multitude of established, emerging, and merging types of reference service including both traditional and virtual reference. It presents an opportunity for all reference practitioners and scholars to explore the rapid growth and changing nature of reference, as an escalating array of information technologies blend with traditional reference service to create vibrant hybrids.

There were a LOT of sessions, so do take a look - probably something of interest in here for you.

Real Life in the Virtual Library

There's a freely-available article in the most recent issue of the Charleston Advisor that describes what it's like to put together a small virtual library to support distance students:
Real Life in the Virtual Library, The Charleston Advisor, Volume 10, Number 1, July 2008 , pp. 47-48(2).  As you can see, it's only a couple pages, but if you're curious about this kind of setup, it's a good read.

TeamViewer for Desktop Sharing

Haven't had a chance to try this, but TeamViewer, free for non-commercial use, offers desktop sharing for both Windows and Mac. They claim 10 million users - wonder if they were known as something else before?

Hab.la suddenly a viable option for libraries

Dan Sich at the University of Western Ontario posts an update that shows how Hab.la is responding to user suggestions and now has a solution for the previously-reported cap of 5 simultaneous users. They've even got a page on Hab.la for Libraries! If you haven't yet implemented chat widgets on your site, this is definitely one to consider. I haven't played yet, but it may even be worth switching to from MeeboMe. Anyone else considering that?

Survey on the use of IM Widgets

Danielle Dennie at Concordia University asks for your assistance in a survey she's running on your use of Instant Messaging Widgets:

Dear all,

I will be conducting a study to learn about and compare usage of IM widgets on online subject/research guides from different North American academic libraries. I would like to see the types of users that use IM widgets on a librarians subject guide and the type of questions that are asked. The survey is short (it should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete). Here is the link to the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Lk5nkzDRP_2bUOh2NEdgU2YQ_3d_3d

If you (or someone you know) have an IM widget on your subject guide, I would appreciate it if you could take the time to fill out the short survey.

Thanking you in advance,
Danielle Dennie


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Danielle Dennie
Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry and Physics Librarian
Concordia University
Vanier Library Building
7141 Sherbrooke St. W.
Montréal (QC) H4B 1R6
Office: VL-127-3
Tel: 514.848.2424 ext. 5237
Email: danielle.dennie at concordia.ca

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