Group items tagged

Ok...so we do a lot of these things in most meetings, but I really appreciate #4, #7, an #8.

An interesting article about some of the diverse offerings the Overland Park county library has begun to offer, including classes and seminars on Wii bowling and hog butchering, which has helped raise attendance 29% from 2004-2010. One comment does ring true, from Michael Gorman, former president of the ALA: "I hope the library doesn't turn into something that is a type of cooking-class meeting place with computers attached and no books."

A positive article about how library use has increased for the public library of Burlington, Iowa. Much of the increase has been attributed to a new building with a single floor for books, several meeting spaces, and in general more programs and events as a result of the heavier patron count.

Here is another article that touches on topics that can help one better facilitate meetings. It is a little pie-in-the-sky, but one thing I've learned in my albeit very short professional life: genuine enthusiasm can take you and your ideas a long way.

I think this is more of what I was hoping to learn about in the "facilitating meetings" webinar. This is a nice surface-level description of what is required to facilitate engagement. 

PeerJ on the surface sounds like an interesting concept where members pay to have their materials published and therefore have a lower overall cost to use and still allows academics to publish. However, this sounds similar to another article I read a few months ago of an explosion of "scholarly" journals that were little more than vanity presses. In particular I'm concerned about how a "qualified academic editor" will find peer reviewers, with little details on how the process will work or the qualifications of everyone involved.

This article is the first of a series of two. The author describes how they typical arguments on both sides of the ebook debate, from publishers and libraries, do not actually work, since they have their basis in older models of sales and library use of physical items. Since ebooks are leased, not actually sold, the author suggests a pay-by-circulation model, since it is easier to track and will be less risky for libraries. This model would have to be done carefully, or it may backfire. It certainly is more fair, but I wonder how much of the electronic publishing industry remains afloat from selling packages-- that is, large sets of ebooks that have appeal because, among their numbers, they do have high-demand titles. A pay-by-circulation model could mean that libraries can license individual titles from publishers, completely bypassing unknown ebooks that need libraries for exposure.

Interesting read about courtesy. I know we deal with this on a day-to-day basis with our members and vendors. Are we doing it to each other too?

A positive four part blog entry about how libraries are evolving to meet new needs, strengthen communities during bad economic times, and are centers for sharing. Overall I think this article is the most realistic one I've read in some time. It still acknowledges that libraries are doing more with less, and that perceptions of libraries are slow to change.

Interesting.  I wonder what an open-source textbook will be like, or what can be done with it.  Also, the article seems to assume that the information in the textbooks is under the same license.

An interesting if short article about the process and challenges a library in digitizing a largely unique collection most on their own.