I’ve been on holidays, so I fiddled about with making Suffusion the theme for this blog.

I used the Featured Content option. In the Reading option in Settings, I set the home page to be a page that uses the Magazine template.

Of course, I am wondering whether the home page is a bit overdone. If you have an opinion about any of the questions below, please let me know.

• Do you think the rotating content is a bit too much?
• The refresh rate too fast?
• The blog a little too slow to load now?
• Does it look less friendly and like a place to have a chat?
• Do you notice the RSS feed options and do they take up too much screen real estate?
• Would you prefer the output of a search in the search box to be a list of blog post titles, or the little excerpt boxes as appear on the front page at the moment?

Help! I need a librarian’s librarian. Anyone have any ideas about how to solve this one?

I *can’t* be the only one who has spread her content over many,many sites.

I start at Curtin Uni next week and I want to:

• keep my academic references / papers / thoughts and jottings in order and accessible and sharable.
• be able to tag, store and retrieve them at the flick of a button and without interrupting my everyday workflow. (Don’t we all ? 🙂 )
• have a place that I can flick references/readings that I want students to look at.. possibly with annotation (Tumblr? Delicious?)
• have an online portfolio/repository of my own writings/audio of presentations that I can link to when people ask about them

I am toying with starting a “Kathryn as an academic” blog … mainly so I can use all sorts of tools but have a single place to pull in the feeds from the tools, and then point people that I want to share with to just the one spot… (Or maybe I should start a separate friendfeed account for that ?)

Currently I use:

• A Zotero account for my “personal and scholarly” citations (for papers I am writing etc). Synced via Firefox on my own PCs and at Zotero on the web
• A Delicious account for my “non-scholarly and want to share” bookmarks (like WordPress hacks). Not backed up.
• Evernote for my personal jottings, screenshots and crap. Synced on my own PCs, iThings and the web.
• Dropbox as a backup for whatever I am writing, a place to pop pdfs I want to read on my iThings and for sharing co-created works while they are being made. Synced between my PCs and the web.
• Instapaper to save readings that are pushed out in Twitter that I want to find later and read on my iThings. Not backed up.
• My Slideshare account for the public face of my presentations, plus audio on my own webserver if it is a screencast. Presentations backed up on my PCs. Synchronised slidecasts not backed up.
• The c: drive on my PC for pdfs of professional reading that I have saved to Zotero.
• Goodreader now that I have my ipad for reading long pdfs. Downloaded by emailing them to myself) Only on my iPad and gmail
• LibrariansMatter.com for my blogging and KathrynGreenhill.com as a kind of professional portfolio. Backed up regularly.
• Twitter as Libsmatter where I push out things that I would otherwise blog here. Not backed up.
• I also have a YouTube account and a Flickr account that has a mixture of personal and professional. Originals on PCs

I seem to have a lot of places where I am storing full text, so I intend to investigate Omeka as a way of creating my own repository, or maybe Kete or Drupal…although I do not want a huge rigmarole to store and upload files. I know there is a great Zotero/Omeka plugin.

I’m trying to set up a really sensible structure from Day 1 …but with so many tools I think I must be being really inefficient. It doesn’t bother me so much to use so many, I just feel really “unlibrarianly” and not very analytic to be doing so. Maybe that is just the nature of the beast- all do what they do very, very well..

I am curious about whether anyone else has solved this kind of problem in a more elegant way…

Yep, I just signed the contract and handed all my paperwork into Human Resources.

I’m starting the position as Associate Lecturer in Information Studies at Curtin University of Technology on 15 July, teaching the unit about Information Management Technologies and also the Public Librarianship unit.

I take a week off with the kids on school holidays next week, spend two more days at the Grove, then start at Curtin the next day…The students arrive about two weeks after I start.

If you are in my network and are a student or a library school teacher or a librarian with an idea about what should be taught, I will probably be calling on you for mentorship as I find my feet in the next six months or so..

I would love to know your best bit of advice you can give to someone teaching library school students, online and blended online/internal teaching, changing to a new sector or balancing work and family … any and all ideas gratefully accepted….

I am leaving the Grove before we move into our fantastic new building in August … more about that in my next post.

But if you have:

• Seen the slideshow of how the sun soaked building is shaping up
• Heard me talk about our vision on the radio; or
• Read the library’s digital strategy

…and would like to be part of shaping it all and add your own touch, then you should apply.

The position will be advertised in the West Australian this weekend and an information package has just been sent out on WAIN, the Western Australian library list. Applications close on 19 July 2010.

Here is a bit more information:

e-Services Librarian – Full Time

An exciting opportunity is being offered to an enthusiastic and creative professional interested in sharing in the challenges of providing a “state of the art” library service to the Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove and Mosman Park communities.

The successful applicant will be responsible for driving and managing all the technology initiatives and the library’s online presence within this new and innovative library environment.

We will be looking for a person who has the technical and communications skills to implement our Digital Strategy.

The salary range is $61,173 – $65,731 depending on experience and a superannuation package up to 16% is available.

Applications close Monday 19 July 2010.

Contact: Tricia Hille on 9385 3233 or thille at  thegrovelibrary.com

Yeah, I know the theory… but when I find myself using phrases like “We must include post titles in the URL so we get better Google juice” when trying to explain Search Engine Optimisation, then I know that I really need to go back and find myself a diagram like this. Click on it for a much bigger version.

Infographic by PPC Blog

I wonder why I sounded so croaky on the radio this morning? I really don’t know.

It may have been delayed panic from nearly missing the interview when Google Maps and my iPad conspired to send me to the wrong address for the ABC studio – about 10 minutes away. (When I checked my route the night before, I saw that there was no building there and thought that the Maylands river bank was an odd place for a studio to be anyhow… )

The discussion on the future of libraries went very well. Sophie MacDonald has a great post paraphrasing some of the discussion, where I sound more coherent than I was 🙂 Thank you.

I have a couple of very, very nice emails. In answer to one of them about ebooks, here are some posts that I have written about my experience and opinion of ebooks that you – or others – may find useful.

• 22 things I am going to do now that the library Kindle has arrived.
• Why we chose a Kindle…and about free content.
• Ebooks and ebook readers in Australia
• IPad as an ebook reader in Australia

This is the last post for the 30 posts in 30 days challenge .

As mentioned earlier, I am working on a project using WordPress 3 to replace our custom-made library website that has few features, little flexibility and is expensive to change.

With the look of the blog, there are a few challenges:

1. I am not a designer, not do I want to be. I like colours to match and graphics to be harmonious, but I’m not your woman to achieve that.
2. I know that I want “search catalogue”, “search my details”, “contact us” and “opening hours” on each page, plus a top navigation menu. This is forced because I have to embed third party searches in frames and the pages they will be on will be too wide to keep sidebars.
3. I want the sidebars to be changeable by library staff. Part of the strategy to get our users using our subscription databases is to highlight a different one in the sidebar every so often.
4. The branding and design of the website is already contracted to a firm that is great with visual design, but has no experience with WordPress Themes
5. Because we want control, we do not want to pay for a theme that charges again with each upgrade.
6. I want to launch the new WordPress site a month or so before the new library opens, but want the look of the WordPress to be very similar to that of the legacy site during the transition time. The new site for the new building will go live about a week before the doors open, so I wanted to be able to customise the site to suit the old and new design with very little farting around.

We looked at Polly Farrington’s list of library sites using WordPress and liked the simple and clean lines of the Southfield Public Library . From looking at the page source, I could see that the theme was Thesis. It sounded familiar. I remembered Stephen Collins from Acid Labs tweeting as he set up his site using Thesis.

I particularly liked how different the two sites looked, demonstrating three features I was after – flexibility, lots of scope for customisation and looking pretty. If  you look at the user site showcase on the Thesis home site, you can see that they are very different from each other . Unfortunately there is also a (modest) license fee to use the theme .

BUT…

I really didn’t want to go down the path of a licensed product and wondered if there was anything similar out there. A bit of hunting about led me to Suffusion from Aquoid Themes by Sayotan Sinha .

The first attraction was the widget bar under the header so that I could put my consistent links (catalogue, borrower details, opening hours, contact) underneath the header and change them at will. Then I looked at the small Suffusion theme showcase and liked what I saw.

When I installed it I found that many, many features that were usually controlled by the theme’s CSS files, thus out of reach for mere mortals like me,  were tweakable from a “Settings for Suffusion” panel in the dashboard.

I could choose from seven different sidebars to place widgets. I could upload my header image and specify its size and whether it was inside or outside the wrapper. I could change the background colour for the blog or replace it with an image. I could place a logo on the header. There were templates for just one sidebar, no sidebar (usable when I had to embed a search frame), magazine style and many others. I could decide which pages appeared on the top navigation menu, how they displayed and whether the navigation bar was above or below the header. Link colours. Customisable. Visited link colour, Customisable. Favicon. Customisable. Inserting Analytics. Customisable.

There are many more features. Like the ability to add custom content types and custom taxonomies through the theme panel, so no need to edit the functions.php file by hand. As with many projects of love and collaboration, some obvious customisations are missing – like the ability to change the colour of the tabs in the menus , while some small things are customised to the nth degree – like the way the date is displayed. If you do know your CSS , there is a window where you can add your own CSS, which will then transfer when the theme is upgraded.

I think the company doing the graphic arts and branding for the new library were a little surprised by the limitations of the theme, but very much understood our desire to control the site for ourselves. They knew that with CSS they could control everything and make it look wonderful but , understandably, did not have time to learn exactly how to make the same changes through Suffusion. I really like the design they have come up with – not as beautiful as they could have done on their own; much, much better looking that I could have done and – most importantly – flexible enough for us to change, control and customise the site to suit our needs.

Post number 29 of the 30 posts in 30 days challenge .

I’m going to be on ABC Radio National’s Book Show this Wednesday 30 June talking about the future of public  libraries along with other guest, Ian McShane from Swinburne University.  I record at 8am, with the show being broadcast at 10:30am and repeated at 8pm that night.

Of course there is a future…let me show you it….

So…if you had just one thing that you think a group of educated people, passionate about books and reading, should know about our libraries and the future, what would it be ?

I skipped Saturday’s 30 posts in 30 days post because I was flat out…. and then in one of those “just have one more square of chocolate” moments on Sunday …. I skipped a post for that day too. It felt really, really good not to feel like I *had* to say something when I had nothing to say… aaaah. This challenge has been a great way to get back into a blogging rhythm, and I have loved reading everyone’s posts, but gee I’m going to enjoy being a bit quieter.

Post 28 of the 30 posts in 30 days challenge.

Yesterday, John Blyberg, Darien Library Assistant Director for Innovation and User Experience, explained the function, future and innovations in public libraries to a group of ” thought leaders [sharing] ideas on common challenges and best practices on issues ranging from Public Health and Transparency in Government to Human Rights and Community Development” at the U.S. – Russia Civil Society to Civil Society (C2C) Summit in Washington, D.C.

Thanks for standing up for libraries, John, and creating such a beautiful slideset that focuses on what libraries can offer.

Few libraries are as richly resourced as Darien Library. The slideset highlights what is possible and the attitude and energy we can strive for as we focus on our community needs.

A couple of months ago, a group of librarians where I work came up with a Digital Strategy to guide our use of resources and help us make decisions in the future. We are a single-branch public library, employing around 4.5FTE librarians,  that aims to provide a service to match the cutting-edge design of our new library building.

We sourced quite a bit of the wording from other libraries’ digital strategies, but adapted it for our library. Our internal document has a huge list of action items and a timeline and allocation of responsibilities. Anything that went on the action list needed to be related to achieving one of the digital strategy’s aims.

What would you add? What would you take out?

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ONE PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WHY A TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL STRATEGY?

Libraries assist people to develop the capability and skills to thrive in the digital environment and to participate in the digital economy.

Digital technology offers opportunities to change the way that users interact with our library. We will ensure that we use this technology to responsibly and sustainably meet user needs – and aim to exceed their expectations.

The Library Technology and Digital Strategy provides guidelines about where to target library resources like funding, staff skills, time and energy in the areas of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), digital resources and the library’s online presence.

VISION

This strategy supports the Library Vision Statement that : We strive to be a vibrant, active service that contributes to an educated, informed, recreated and connected society.

The Technology and Digital Strategy Vision Statement is that:

Our library users will be empowered, connected and delighted as we provide facilities, content and expertise to help them access the content and online conversations they need, regardless of format or location.

AIMS

AIM 1: Taking advantage of improvements to technology

We will aim to ensure that we understand technological changes and the social changes brought about by these. We will nimbly and appropriately incorporate these to enhance the library experience for our users.

AIM 2: Excellent online presence

The library online presence will enhance our users’ ability to easily connect to the content and online conversations they need. Our online presence will highlight our specialised collecting areas.

AIM 3: Creating a new digital experience for all users

We will support lifelong learning and help our users to develop the capability and skills to thrive in the digital environment.

AIM 4: Making staff skills accessible

Our excellent staff skills in connecting people with information shall be easily accessible, both inside and outside our building.

AIM 5: Providing access to local digital content

We will continue to digitize local content to create a focused library collection. We will connect users to digital content produced locally and about local affairs.

AIM 6: Investing in ICT infrastructure

We will invest in infrastructure that not only supports current services, but allows the library to adapt to future shifts in technology and use

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FULL VERSION

1. WHY A TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL STRATEGY?

Libraries assist people to develop the capability and skills to thrive in the digital environment and to participate in the digital economy.

Digital technology offers opportunities to change the way that users interact with our library. We will ensure that we use this technology to responsibly and sustainably meet user needs – and aim to exceed their expectations.

The Technology and Digital Strategy provides guidelines about where to target library resources of time, money, staffing and energy in the areas of:

·       Library Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

·       Computing infrastructure in our building

·       The library’s online presence

·       Library community requirements for computing and online resources from the library

·       Equity of access to computing and online resources for all members of our community

·       Maximizing usage of online resources provided by the library

·       Connecting people to local information online

·       Connecting local people to online information that they need

2. SUPPORTING THE LIBRARY VISION

The Technology and Digital Strategy supports the Library Vision Statement that:

We strive to be a vibrant, active service that contributes to an educated, informed, recreated and connected society.

Specific areas of the detailed Library Vision Statement supported are:

The new library and community centre will be a people place, which will be:

·        … Facilitate life-long-learning through the provision of spaces and resources to create a learning environment; …

·        Resourced with up to date technologies to promote a virtual environment to library customers, provide access to computing facilities and computer training programmes….

·        An attractive and accessible environment for people of all ages;…

·        A safe environment for staff with functional work stations to promote efficient work flows….

·        A community hub connecting people to their communities…

3. TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL STRATEGY VISION

Our library users will be empowered, connected and delighted as we provide facilities, content and expertise to help them access the content and online conversations they need, regardless of format or location.

4. AIMS OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL STRATEGY

AIM 1: Taking advantage of improvements to technology

We will aim to ensure that we understand technological changes and the social changes brought about by these. We will nimbly and appropriately incorporate these to enhance the library experience for our users.

Some aspects we will monitor are:

o        Access devices

o        Content locations

o        Content creation

o        Ways of connecting communities

o        Ideas about transliteracy

We will ensure that our enterprise application systems increase our staff efficiency, are sufficiently functional and are as easy to use as possible.

AIM 2: Creating an excellent online presence

The library online presence will enhance our users’ ability to easily connect to the content and online conversations they need. Our online presence will highlight our specialised collecting areas

AIM 3: Creating a new digital experience for all users

We will support lifelong learning and help our users to develop the capability and skills to thrive in the digital environment.

AIM 4: Making staff skills accessible

Our excellent staff skills in connecting people with information shall be easy accessible, both inside and outside our building.

Staff expertise will be easily found online and effectively meet our users’ needs.

We will ensure that our staff understand the digital environment of our users and the most useful sites for their needs by:

o        providing  appropriate training

o        providing appropriate equipment

o        encouraging wide and responsible use of online resources by staff.

Library staff expertise includes helping users to:

o      Learn the best places to find information

o      Ask better questions to find exactly what they need

o      Find more of the content they enjoy

o      Acquire skills in functional information literacy

o      Connect with each other and their communities

o      Let us know what services we should provide

AIM 5: Providing access to local digital content

We will continue to digitize local content to create a focused library collection. We will connect users to digital content produced locally and about local affairs.

We will seek to expose data we produce to the widest amount of access and appropriate reuse online, while respecting and upholding the moral and intellectual property rights of content producers whose works we digitise.

We will acknowledge that the local digital content in the library is a living collection that belongs to the community and will only thrive with hands-on input from the community. Therefore, we will ensure adequate resources to encourage, support and administer volunteers to do this.

We will work with our local community to help them gain skills to digitize their own local content

AIM 6: Investing in ICT infrastructure

We will invest in infrastructure that not only supports current services, but allows the library to adapt to future shifts in technology and use