David Lee King

social media | emerging trends | libraries

See You at ALA10!

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ALA2007I’ll be at ALA10 in Washington DC, starting on Wednesday. And I hope to meet some of you, too! If you happen to see me, feel free to come up and say hi – that’s always welcome.

I’ll be wearing many hats at ALA10 – speaker, attendee, judge, committee member, vendor-hunter-downer, and “social-function-finder.” And possibly tourist, lost tourist, and “one of those librarians in town” types, as well!

Want to hear me (and some other amazing people) speak? Here’s where I’ll be:

  • Designing Digital Experiences for Library Websites (Sunday, June 27, 10:30-12). This is a panel, with Bobbi Newman, Toby Greenwalt, and John Blyberg.
  • BIGWIG Showcase (Monday, June 28, 10:30 – 12). Think of this as a guided unconference where you can watch or read about the topics beforehand, then talk with the presenter during the actual event in a small group setting. It’s pretty fun! I’m talking about iPads in libraries.
  • Battledecks! (Monday, June 28, 5:30-7pm). This will definitely be a blast! There are 5-6 contestants who will attempt to give amazingly fun pecha kucha-like presentations … but they won’t see the slides until we say “your turn!” I’m one of the judges for this event. I hear there might be kilts.

Should be a blast – see you soon!

iPads in Libraries

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See the Youtube version in HD

Going to ALA 2010 in Washington, D. C.? If so, please consider participating in the BIGWIG Showcase! What is the BIGWIG Showcase? It’s a fun, highly interactive way to learn about a lot of topics at once! Here’s a list of the topics for this year’s Showcase:

  • Libraries MUST Have A New Electronic Content Access and Distribution Infrastructure  (Michael Porter)
  • User Research on a Shoestring (Erin White and Susan Teague-Rector)
  • Information Overload & Personal Information Management (Bohyun Kim)
  • iPad and Tablet computers (David Lee King)
  • Teaching with Twitter (Ellen Filgo)
  • Qrcodes & Mobile Knowledge Networks (Bonnie Rosalen and Kelly Sattler)

And yes – I’m doing one … my presentation is on the Apple iPad and the new breed of tablet PCs that are coming out in the next couple of years. I show off the iPad and provide some examples of how to use one in a library setting.

What do YOU need to do? Two simple things:

  1. Watch the video, and leave a comment if you want to
  2. Attend the Showcase! I’ll talk briefly about the iPad, possibly even show one off … then we’ll chat – answer questions, debate the merits of the iPad, etc… and then you’ll be able to rotate off and talk to the other amazing presenters (listed above).

Simple stuff, huh? Make SURE to attend the BIGWIG Showcase – Monday, June 28, 2010 from 10:30am to Noon at the Renaissance Washington Grand BR South/Central. See you there!

Why “Getting it” Matters

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OK… I’m a card-carrying member of the American Library Association, and it’s voting time again. Every year, we vote for a president (and a lot of other stuff). This year, there are two candidates for ALA President – Kent Oliver and Roberta Stevens. Both fine, highly qualified people, I’m sure (though I’ve never met either one).

As a web-centric, social media loving geekboy, here’s what I noticed when I visited their websites:

Roberta Stevens:

  • Cool. She has a website.
  • Dated design … looks like a fine site from the year 1999
  • big fat Donate button (actually the first thing I noticed)
  • where’s the RSS feed … hey, wait a minute … why isn’t this a blog-based site with commenting?
  • a mish-mash of text links that point to videos, photos, podcasts, webpages, and pdf files
  • a link to a Facebook Fan page
  • Ah – there’s her blog – one of the many text links points to it.
  • Oops – I clicked through to her blog. She has embedded a YouTube video there …  but it broke her blog template.

Kent Oliver:

  • Cool. He has a website too. A nicely designed site, looks a bit like Obama’s recent campaign site
  • it’s a blog – the RSS feed is right there, where it should be (subscribed)
  • two quick links to platform and qualifications
  • a Donate Now button that blends in with the rest of the site
  • an embedded video (used blip.tv – coolness)
  • Flickr images, embedded on the main page so I can see them…
  • a search box!
  • no one’s commented on his blog posts yet (currently displaying big 0’s beside each post)
  • Oops – just clicked on Platform. Instead of getting his actual platform, I got two more links… same with the Qualifications link.

Honestly, once I get past all that stuff and take a peek at their actual platforms, it’s all the usual stuff (diversity, more money, support privacy, etc) – nothing that stands out as remarkably interesting to me, a lover of all things web (which is a reflection of ME, not them 🙂 ).

But – looking at the two lists above … who do you think “gets it?” Who either understands new online media, or at least knows who to ask for help? Will that sway my vote (and the votes of many others)? Probably so.

Yes, understanding “the new stuff” is definitely important, and can make or break a campaign.

Time to Vote for LITA Reps

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Guess what? It’s time to do a bunch of voting for ALA members! I’m a member of LITA – actually, it’s because of LITA and primarily the BIGWIG Interest Group that I’m active in ALA at all – BIGWIG is doing some amazingly innovative things. Well, for a large, unruly association, that is. But it’s a start!

That said, here’s my personal endorsement for the LITA election:

  • Karen Starr – I love this quote: “The innovators and leaders of tomorrow are the LITA members of today. It is refreshing to work with a dynamic group on the national level who care, who want to define that future and who come together to work on what the big picture should look like.” She’s describing me!
  • Aaron Dobbs – no brainer for me. We went to library school together, and both worked on an early grant-funded project, the Scholar’s Workstation. Aaron’s not slowed down since then.
  • Maurice York – He’s also realizing libraries are at a turning point, and that LITA can help: “I believe that LITA is positioned to represent the potential of a responsive and flexible professional organization to play an important role in shaping the profession at this critical turning point.”

So – make sure to vote! once that packet arrives (hmm … mine hasn’t shown up yet …).

*obviously this represents my own personal viewpoint, and not the viewpoint of ALA, LITA, BIGWIG, etc, etc.*

Photo by Theresa Thompson