A new picture

Okay- so my good friend said to me the other day, " Nancy, don't you think you should update that picture on your blog?"

I said, "Why? It's only a year old!"

and she said, "Look in the mirror."

She was right. I had changed in a year- the hair is longer and lighter. So I'm updating. I've heard many discussions about the idea of not including pictures of staff on websites but I come from the school of thought that believes when we aren't meeting people face-to-face pictures can help to create a connection. So consider us connected now -lol

An outstanding map of the future you don't want to miss

I have to go to work but this morning I have found so many exciting things to share and this one is absolutely incredible that I am going to share it with you even before I fully explore it! You know that the State Library is partnering with PALINET and the state libraries of Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virgina, Maryland on a Futures conference this May. It was such a hit that we doubled the registration and still maxed out. Well take a look at this website.
They layout for the website alone will make you run to your webmaster but the content . well the content will probably make you late for work if you start reading it in the morning! :-)

"Two Organizations, One Goal.
KnowledgeWorks Foundation has teamed up with the Institute For The Future to present the 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education.

It could be video games. Bioengineering. Or health care. All of these forces and more are explored on the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Institute for the Future 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education.

Look around the map. Explore it. While we'd never suggest that this map contains all of the answers and perfectly predicts the future, it does offer a clear point of view based on countless hours of research, analysis and expert opinion. Think of the map as a provocative tool, as the beginning of a movement, or, at the very least, part of a good conversation. Join in. And help us shape the future."

library marketing

A challange to save the world...

Listening to E.O Wilson accept his TED prize made me think libraries might be able to help him make his dream come true.

"As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TED Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of his constituents, the insects and small creatures, to learn more about our biosphere. We know so little about nature, he says, that we're still discovering tiny organisms indispensable to life; and yet we're steadily, methodically, vigorously destroying nature. Wilson identifies five grave threats to biodiversity (a term he coined), and makes his TED wish: that we will work together on the Encyclopedia of Life, a web-based compendium of data from scientists and amateurs on every aspect of the biosphere. "



Encyclopedia of Life... interested?


library marketing

Trading Cards for our Super Librarians

We are partnering with INFOLINK to launch the Super Librarian comic book next month as part of free comic book day and as I was reading the Approaching a Moving Target blog's post about trading cards, it occurred to me that this campaign might be the perfect time for our NJ librarians to utilize the trading card format Flickr offers. Better yet, it may be a great project for a program and have kids to make their own card.

Other Flickr tools : Create comics



library marketing

Neat new gadget

Do you like the videos on my blog? It's easy to do with the AJAX Video Search Control.

The Video Search Control is a simple to use application of the Google AJAX Search API that is designed to let you easily add a video search form and a block of videos to your pages, sites, and blogs. The control on the right demonstrates some of the things that this control can do. The control is highly customizable, allowing you to the initial set of video search terms, the size and location of the player, number of results, color schemes, etc. Your page can drive the control through the supplied search form, through pre-selected search terms, and even through hyperlinks on your page (e.g., Kelly Clarkson, Apple Mac Ads, Monkeyboy.)
library marketing

Mind blowing ideas

Okay, take a half hour to listen to Jesse James Garrett,President, Adaptive Path talk about experience strategy...

"Garrett explains that "experience strategy" is designing from the outside in. Whereas branding philosophy relies on imposing your message on the consumer, experience strategy is the opposite: it's about starting from the consumer's perspective and working backward from it. This approach is also counter-intuitive to the classic coder perspective, from which so many technology products get their start.

Transformative products make us wonder how we ever lived without them. Garrett uses well-known product examples to demonstrate what sets them apart from the rest of their industries. It's not just the features or the price or the marketing, rather it is how users relate and interact with and feel about the product. Designing and developing using experience strategy gives your product the foundation to potentially be the next Kodak or TiVo, to make lasting changes in how consumers think about technology."

Why take the time? Because the future of libraries isn't just about technology or the many features that can be offered but about the relationship people have with our products. In the old days we understood that relationship our customers had with our products- how they loved the feel and smell of the books, but as our products evolve we may have lost that understanding. Maybe because many in our field are still in love with books and don't have the connection to new technologies. So many in our field don't understand the emotional connection people have with their iPods so are confused when they find out people would rather pay for audio books than to have to give up their beloved iPods to get free audio downloads. That can have a huge impact when you consider the market share for iPods is estimated anywhere from 75% to 85%! We need to understand this as we chose our products if we are going to choose products our customers "want" rather than choose those items they "need". Why are people not using our "databases" when they contain the information students and researchers really need? Why do they prefer Google or wikipedia? It's all the same reasoning why people will spend 5 bucks on a cup of coffee...understand that and the future of libraries will be something to smile about.




library marketing