David Lee King

social media | emerging trends | libraries

Question for CSS Dudes…

By

Help anyone? My footer works in Firefox, but has disappeared in IE (IE7, at least). I’m open to suggestions!

http://www.davidleeking.com/wp-content/themes/vertigo-enhanced-20/style.css – link to stylesheet…

Thanks!

It’s About the Community

By

Do you read Robert Scoble’s blog? It can be very interesting! Here’s a post I suggest you read. It’s a good intro to Scoble and his blog, and he also makes a great point in this post, too.

Scoble says: “… eBay is NOT about the technology. It’s about the community…” (OK – so most of the rest of his post is a rant, really – but it’s a good rant!).

Think about that statement… then think about your library’s blogs. It’s Flickr account. The YouTube channel you’ve just started. Your teen MySpace page. Who have you put in charge of those library services? Is it public service staff who work with community? Or is it IT staff who work with technology? Who SHOULD be in charge of it?

I’m not saying IT is bad or public services staff are the only people who “get” community. But I am saying these things:

  1. Websites and web tools have changed from brochureware into digital communities. That is, if you allow them to change into that.
  2. People are “doing life” online – not just finding citations
  3. People are actively participating and creating online – not just surfing.
  4. Many libraries take what can be vibrant patron communities and ignore them, relegate them to a back office with one person acting as a mere “digital janitor,” and treat these potential communities as secondary and ephemeral at best.

When your library started adding community-based services to it’s website (blogs, commenting, myspace, etc…), you landed at Plymouth Rock (or started a new Sim City – take your pick). How are you growing your community?

How’s the iPhone Working Out?

By

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click To Play

Quicktime version | YouTube version

I’ve owned an iPhone for about two months now, and thought I’d make a video sharing my likes and dislikes.Dislikes:

  • Stocks icon – works great, but I could care less about the stock market, so it’s not terribly useful to me
  • Calendar – again works great… but I have a work calendar and an everything else calendar… so I have both synced up to Google Calendar. That works fine. Usually. [translation=I haven’t quite figured it all out yet].

Likes: Pretty much everything else. Ease-of-use is awesome. Included apps are great. I originally thought I’d get a Treo, but waited for the iPhone to come out to see what it was like… and haven’t been disappointed!

Update: I had a little trouble viewing the video, so I’ve been playing around with it. It should work now! And there’s a .mov and a YouTube version now, too.

Looking for a Server Geek!

By

Hey – want to live in Topeka and work at my library? We are looking for a Digital Services Supervisor – here’s the description:

We’re looking for someone in love with systems, servers, tech projects, and change. Someone capable of bringing cutting-edge ideas to the table and who thrives in a culture of teamwork. Someone who finds satisfaction in enabling the majority to do great things through technology.

Position Summary: Reporting to the Digital Branch & Services Manager [ed – that’s me!], the Digital Services Supervisor supervises a Systems Administrator, a Database Administrator, and three Help Desk Technicians. This position also is responsible for installing, supporting, and maintaining the library’s servers, assisting with the development, implementation and management of systems, managing networks and communications, and overseeing the provision of regular and on-call technical support and training to users.

And follow this link to the detailed job description. Sound like fun? Then send in your application!

Web 2.0 Presentation at the Allegheny County Library Association

By

PittsburghI just gave a presentation at the Allegheny County Library Association on Web 2.0 and emerging trends. it was fun! This group of librarians is very lively – during the presentation, there were lots of great questions were asked and there was some fun discussion, too. That type of interaction certainly makes it much easier for me!

Thanks, ACLA, for a great time!

Here’s a copy of my presentation (warning – it’s a rather large PDF file, so it might take awhile to download).