Deep Thinking

Tech brief from ALA OITP.
R. David Lanes, Joane Silverstein, Scott Nicholson from the Information Institute of Syracuse/ Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies presented powerpoint on Patricipatory Networks: The Library as Conversation. Here is information from the slides. The complete text of the technology brief is available at http://iis.syr.edu/projects/PNOpen.

Found knowledge is created through conversation.
…Books, videos, web pages, etc. are simply artifacts of knowledge creations.
Libraries are in the knowledge business, therefore the conversation business.
Libraries online and off need to facilitate conversation.

(Notes: in K-12 environment they talk about Metacognition, scaffolding, how knowledge is created through conversation)

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0
* Social networks
* Wisdom of crowds
* Loosely coupled API’s
* Mashups
* Permanent betas
* software gets better the more people use it
* Folksonomies

Let’s start a question so our users don’t feel stupid. Build better libraries through conversation.
Attach to larger frame so we have a participatory library including:
Community Repository
Community Involvement
Traditional Reference
Virtual Reference
Institutional reposittory
Digital collections

(Users should be able to add their own information, blogs, etc. by uploading it. Users should not only find out if we have something, but also if there is a discussion group about it)

Enhanced Catalog
Federated Search
Recommender searh
External Feeds and sites
Databases
Bibilographic Catalogs
Recommendations
Use data

Build better mechanisms for our libraries so we can be participatory libraries.

Recommendations - General
Libraries must be active participants in participatory networking.
This must be done at the core of the library, not on the periphery.
Anything less simply adds stress and stretches scarce resources even further.

Recommendations - Specific
1. Expand understanding of participatory networks and participatory librarianship.
2. Create a “Participatory Library Test Bed”
a. Provide shared services to libraries
b. provide librarians needed skills
c. Standing Research Agenda in Participatory Librarianship
http://iis.syr.edu/Projects/PNOpen

Scott Nicholsen will be around for further questions. This speaker David Lankes needs to run for a plane.

I actually asked a question because school libraries are filtered out and blocked from these resources, even those that are professionally based. David admitted this is true, but then told a story of how Joyce Valenza’s students are doing advanced projects. This isn’t enough of a recognition of this problem. Joyce does not have the typical setup across this country and we need to all be concerned about others.

Privacy issues arose through audience questions.

I’m sitting at the ALA Midwinter Meetings listening to the ALA Washington Office briefings. You can go to their website and download all their handouts. I urge you to start considering putting these in your state association newsletters whenever they are appropriate. The Washington Office has a new link to make it easier to access everything.

110th COngress updates. (Please excuse errors in names. I’ll try to correct later today. These are quick notes with mistakes. )
House set a record for passing legislation in 44 hours, not 100. Nancy Pelosi’s impact. Predictions are for very busy first of the year due to the relationship building between majority and minority leaders. Key committees Education Miller from CAlifornia and Buck McKeon will work together. David Obey from Wisconsin for appropriations. Ohio representative who was a huge fan of libraries will no longer be the ranking member of his committee.

Senate split of 51-49 is vital. Tim Johnson doing much better but will still be out for a couple more months. Realization on both sides that they need to work together and not horribly jab each other. 21 republicans will have to hold their seats next time so 2008 could be significant. How they work together will be key? There is no 100 hours of Senate. That would be two of one senator’s long speeches alone.
Robust reform looking Wednesday like it would fall apart, but they brokered a deal Thursday morning and it passed 96-2. Shows that they are reaching out and working in a bipartisan way. Good sign since some legislation is 3 years past deadlines for re-authorizations (Headstart, Higher Ed acts, college areas, work programs)

Health Committee has 3 presidential aspirants on the same committee - Clinton, Obama, Dodd. All the activity from presidential race so early is good because there will be hearings and much work wrapped up by October.

Bad news: appropriations werent finished last year. (Personally I think the Republicans suffered in the elections from this and now are making all of us suffer). For a handful of programs that would have had an increase, this is bad because numbers went back to 2006 numbers. LSTA is impacted because they would have had a rare increase in 2007 if the REpublican led Congress had actually done their job and passed their financial budget (personal rant on accountability and getting the job done!) $435 billion budget packet will be put to bed. Some money earmarked $6billion may shift back to some other programs. Health, housing benefits will take this up. School aid, Title 1. Not much left.

Budgets are a reality Democrats face now. Pell Grant, NCLB significant increases just won’t happen because their is no money. Pay as you go means there is no money and zero sum budgets are in place. (Personally the deficit was out of control due to tax cuts for the rich so education and other areas suffered. Go Blue Dogs and get it back to the surplus before.)

NCLB re-authorization is up this year. If not done this year, due to presidential elections it probably won’t be acted upon. Teacher quality efforts have taken up all funds and demanded state initiatives. NCLB changes will try to put in the requirement for all schools to have HIGHLY QUALIFIED LIBRARIANS. Lots of people simply don’t like NCLB. Quite a time table on NCLB.
Headstart - libraries want to help and be listed in this for our resources.

What does this mean for ALA? Opportunitites to reach out to new faces and develop new allies. Take advantage of new members and look at realities of old friends moving on. Zero sum gain for budget means no offense and higher defense. Competition for resources. Dollars for LSTA and school libraries are being well-spent. That message needs to go out. Potential in next 8-9 months for much legislative action. We must all work together to get bills passed and to include libraries.

Question from audience:
6-7 years ago had surplus. Now huge deficit. What’s impact of war? Expect huge spending on war. Money doesn’t grow on trees. It all comes from somewhere. All funding impacted (social security, etc.) Not a pretty picture. Looking ahead 15-20 year scenario the federal budget is BLEAK and a challenge. Not going to get easier. War isn’t helping make anything easier.

Molly Fogarty from COL says now that she is totally depressed about the budget for the next 15-20 years, we will hear from other experts. (Molly is great and I love her fun personality.)

Update from my fellow Rabble Rowser in Minnesota. We have a potentially library savvy new friend Tim Walz. Our eyes are on him.