Art Sunday - Postcards for 2007

Exercising my right brain and created these two days ago:




Details here, and here.

Technorati Tag: art sunday

Any more Neil Gaiman fans?

I mentioned at this post on the ways my colleagues at High Browse Online tried to encourage more visitors/ readers to leave comments at the book blog. Well, once in a while we'd have posts like this one (thanks to 'L' for the submission) where the online discussion established its own momentum.

Some might say that 11 comments (at the last count) might not be much. We don't have a target for "number of comments per post". It's really about the quality of the discussion.

'L's' post led to more related posts. I decided to just trace the path out of curiosity:

• Here's the post from 'L', on Neil Gaiman's "Stardust";
• Which reminded me I've also read one of Neil Gaiman's book and I decided to submit this;
• Then my colleague, Jillian, followed-up with this post.

Is this the "Long Tail" effect in action?

There's no 100% reliable way to track how many people have read the Neil Gaiman posts (I think there's a MT plug-in but apparently it's not 100% accurate), and certainly no way to determine if any Neil Gaiman books borrowed from the library resulted from people reading those posts. I wish there was a cheap and efficient way to track this.

An idea came to mind as I'm blogging this post:

• Create a e-mail list for High Browse Online (use a free one like Googlegroups or Yahoogroups);
  
• Purpose of the email list is to keep subscribers informed of selected posts (i.e. book recommendations), and also discussions in the book blog;
• An email could be sent on a weekly basis (I'm thinking Fridays, so that timing-wise, members might be more inclined to visit the library on a Saturday or Sunday);
• Volunteers could run and manage this e-mail list, rather than library staff;
• Rather than dictate how the list is managed, library staff (e.g. members of the book blog editorial team) could serve in an advisory capacity. I think chances of the list being abused is minimal;
• The library could allocate a few tens of dollars to help the volunteers publicise the list and/ or organise the occasional meet-up.
  

Just how feasible is this idea, I wonder? Any takers? :)


Technorati Tags: book blog, high browse online, library book blog

Learning from an Ancient Library (part 2)

[From: Part 1] I'm not sure how "ancient" is the rain forest in MacRitchie. Regardless of its age, I was struck at how exploring the nature trail was like exploring a library (digital or physical).



The "information" in the rain forest is contained within lots of "mediums". It's in the trees, the water, the soil, the animals, even the air. For instance, I learned (from an information sign) that the white-greenish patches on trees were a sort of fungi. Its presence generally meant a healthy rain forest. Its loss could be a signal of pollution.

But the rain forest isn't intuitive. You have to know what and where to look. It helps, and in some case it is required, that there are hints and instructions on what and where to look (just like how signages in libraries help with user navigation).

Here are two signs which I thought could be applied to the library's context:

1) I thought this was a very nice way of saying, "Please keep your voice down".



2) - This quote from Lowell Ponte says, "Whether providing the page you're reading, or the air you're breathing, trees enrich our lives in countless ways."



Perhaps in the physical library, it might be good to post such quotations (from books and authors) on the shelves, tables and maybe the benches.

I also learned the value of having a forest ranger or a forest guide. Well, in my case, there wasn't one, to my loss. And I only needed one when I chanced upon something interesting. I would've felt uncomfortable to have a forest ranger follow me throughout.

As I explored the trail, my interest in what the rain forest had to offer increased. I was keen to learn more. I'm not sure exactly why that interest increased. I suspect the environment and surroundings contributed towards that mood to learn.

Obviously it would not be practical for the ranger/ forest guide to be stationed at every corner. If it weren't for the signs, I'd have missed lots of stuff. I wondered how much library users would have "missed" for each visit they make to the library. Like the nature trail, it's impractical to station staff at every corner.

But what if every sign had a sophisticated "Learn More/ ASK! a librarian" button to press, where more information could be sent to my email, or downloaded to my mobile phone. Could we have that feature in our libraries, on our shelves and tables?

I guess I'm just romanticising the rain forest. But then, don't we tend to do the same for libraries? :)


Technorati Tags: nature, singapore, rain forest

Technology as Enablers - Vlogs by People with Hearing-impairment

Discovered some Vlogs by people with Hearing-impairment. Have published a post at sgLEAD.wordpress.com

At that post, I also wrote:

"I wonder if this statement is true — “People with Hearing-impairment tend to take to mediums like Blogs/ Vlogs more readily than those with a different kind if disability”. I haven’t been actively seeking out blogs by people with disabilities, nor have I come across research that addresses that question..."

What do you think?

Your comments/ responses are most welcome (either here or at the sgLEAD post).


Technorati Tags: disability, blogging, people with disabilities

Podcast: White Nights (Musical Mash-up)

It all started as a discussion over email. I asked Vanessa if she was interested in collaborating on a musical project. "Sure," she said.


powered by ODEO
[Archive.org details; Odeo.com details]

It started with from this, combined with this, to end up with this. Details of how this was done, at MyRightBrain.

Enjoy!

RamblingLibrarian's Podcasts:


Technorati Tags: garageband, mac, apple, collaborative music

Kankakee Public Library's blogs

Slightly more than two years ago, I had a chance to visit Kankakee Public Library when I made a personal trip to Chicago. I have fond memories of the library tour. I remember the discussions with Cindy (Director of the Kankakee Public Library), Steve (the Assistant Director) and Camille (Youth Services Supervisor).

Hence, about two weeks earlier, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from a Ms. Allison Beasley, Head of Adult Services at Kankakee PL:

At the Kankakee Public Library, we’ve started some exciting new things that we’d like to share with all of you. Also, check out our new webpage logo :)

New RSS feeds/Blogs
She Said/He Said (Admin Blog) Director Cindy Fuerst and Assistant Director Steve Bertrand duke it out - discussing and debating the issues facing today’s public libraries.

Library Musings (Staff Blog) The opinions expressed on this blog are not necessarily the those of the Kankakee Public Library, its board, or the City of Kankakee. Now you want to read it, don’t you? :)

Kankakee Public Library News - KPL events, book discussions, closings and well…news.

Podcasts, Vodcasts & Streaming Media
You can download our new podcasts & vodcasts onto your iPod or MP3 player, or listen to them on our website as streaming media. We are launching our first ever vodcast (video cast). These are produced and edited entirely by KPL staff, even the music!

Photos
Flickr - Pictures of authors and speaker events, programs, and a fair share of embarrassing staff photos (don’t forget – Flickr is an RSS feed, too!)

I am particularly impressed by the seemingly holistic manner in which Kankakee PL has offered their blogs.

The one by their directors (the Admin blog) discuss serious issues, which is balanced by the more informal tone of the Staff blog; their podcasts (I liked their Teen Poetry Slam event, and the talk by comic-book artist Don Kramer); their flickr page -- all complimenting the more "traditional" and still relevant 'corporate' website of their library.

Reading Cindy's post, I get a better sense why they are doing all this.

I most enjoyed the Staff Blog -- Allison's confession, the photography bug that hit their reference team, yet another confession -- this time about Sweet Valley, or as (seemingly) plain as the Head of Circulation's background.

The pictures on some their events gave me a better idea what activities they've organised -- like this and this on "Grossology" (supplemented by this post that elaborated on why they organised something like that. Very cool idea, and something I'd bring back to my colleagues for consideration. Thanks!)

In this earlier blog post, I mentioned how Kankakee PL gave me the impression that they were motivated and enthusiastic about what they do. Judging from their blogs, the podcasts and flickr pictures of their events, it's even clearer just how much they've remained motivated and committed to their community.

I managed to dig up this photo taken on 5th Nov 2004, with Camille, Cindy and Steve (and the Kankakee PL Lion, which the Kankakee PL folks were really proud of).

When we last met, blogs was probably not at the top of our minds. I bet if I met them again, (with Vicki and particularly Steve, I suspect) we'd be talking a lot more about blogs and social media and their implications for library services.

To the Kankakee PL folks -- subscribed, subscribed, subscribed, subscribed! :)


Technorati Tags: library blog, library promotion, library podcast

Free (almost island-wide) WIFI in Singapore till Dec 2009

In case you are not aware, it's official -- not just two but three years of free WIFI in selected spots in Singapore:

Following the announcement on 10 October 2006 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, that Singapore will get to enjoy two years of free wireless broadband connections from January next year, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) today announced that the three Wireless@SG operators have extended this free offering to three years. Users can also begin to enjoy wireless connectivity from 1 Dec 2006, one month ahead of schedule at selected hotspots for a start.

(Source: www.ida.gov.sg; See - www.ida.gov.sg/idaweb/marketing/infopage.jsp?infopagecategory=&infopageid=I3967&versionid=3
Last accessed 4th Dec 2006
www.ida.gov.sg/Programmes/20061027174147.aspx?getPagetype=36
Last accessed 20 Jan 2007)

The news has been reported/ blogged at Engadget, InfoWorld and CNET, just to name a few.

Since 1 Dec 2006, users can sign up with any of the three Wireless@SG network operators. The offer is open to all residents and visitors in Singapore. Sign up with any operator and you will gain access to all Wireless@SG hotspots (regardless of operator). I suppose the only consideration you have might be which operator you'd prefer to receive the occasional advertisement.

Signing up is a breeze, as I've found. I signed up with Singtel (somehow I was influenced by Siva -- the power of blogging!). OK, there was maybe a slight hitch -- when I first tried to visit the Singtel sign-up page, I didn't get a code dump like Siva did but I encountered a 404 error message. However, refreshing the browser cleared the problem and I was able to register and get an account within minutes.

When you register, you have a choice of either the free access or a premium service (with higher bandwidth). Make sure you choose the right one.

I'm quite excited about this free WIFI service, not because I see myself using a lot of the island-wide WIFI. If it's for work purposes, the office wired connection is a better choice. If I'm not working, I don't relish lugging around my laptop (maybe if I get a PDA with WIFI or upgrade my mobile phone).

What I am excited about is that the concept of Ubiquitous Learning (which I blogged about back in July 2005, and here) is one step closer to reality.

I still don't have a clear idea how exactly that "Ubiquitous" concept will play out. All I have is some vague idea that it requires instantaneous access to communication and data storage/ file sharing platforms (including blogs, web-based emails).

If you're wondering why I'm interested in the topic of "ubiquitous learning", it's related to a project that I'm tasked to oversee. In the off-chance you come across something on that topic, I'd be grateful for your lead.


Technorati Tags: role of libraries, ubiquitous learning

Australian Libraries now have a building in Second Life (or, "Do Singapore libraries need to follow suit?")

Via librariesinteract.info:

I just popped into Cybrary City in Second Life for a visit before bed, and have come out with a building for all Australian Libraries to share. Ooops. .
Cybrary City is an island sponsered by Talis and administered by the Alliance Library System. It provides free buildings for libraries for a year, in return for a couple of hours staffing per week.

This might be late news to some of you, as it was published on 14th Nov 2006 (I just read my blog feeds this morning at home, since I'm on leave from work).

Certainly great news for Australian librarians and libraries (btw, anyone know what's their library's SLurl?)

OK, a logical question would be, "Would Singapore libraries follow suit?"

I doubt so, to be honest. In my personal opinion, very few librarians in Singapore seem to be interested in exploring social media platforms like blogs and virtual worlds. This is just a factual observation rather than a complaint.

The oft quoted reason would be the lack of time. I don't discount time as a factor. I certainly tell people that blogging and all other online pursuits take up time (for me, I make time by not watching television and I read relatively fewer books compared to before I blogged).

That being said, I still wish more Singapore librarians (from various types of libraries and disciplines) getting into blogs and exploring virtual worlds. How many more, I can't say, but more than the current handful (judging from those who blog).

It's not so much about librarians blogging or having a SecondLife. It's about a concerted attempt to understand the medium -- a medium that some of our customers are exploring.

I believe librarians need to stay ahead of the game, so to speak.

So some of us should try to make that time, whether our own time or seeking permission at work to do so (yeah, why not? Won't hurt to ask and provide good reasons. Don't want to ask 'cos you think your boss won't understand? Well, start making your own time, heh heh.)

Over at WebSG.org, Lucian wrote that:

I’m one of the many who have dabbled in Second Life, got bored real quick because I compared it to other MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot or City of Heroes. Some of these were so good I’ve had to cold-turkey myself away from them. But Cory’s first point, which he reiterated many, many times, was that Second Life isn’t a game.

I'm not surprised Lucian got bored. He once commented to me (when we met in SecondLife) that SL was like an Extended MSN. I thought that was an apt analogy. SL isn't a game but another platform for communication and information exchange, albeit enhanced or "extended".

Where SL is concerned, I don't feel compelled to login every other day -- just like I don't feel compelled to pick up the phone to call someone, or fire up MSN to chat with friends (wrt MSN, I tend to run it as a background application, but I don't necessarily monitor it to see who has come online).

And it's not right or wrong (to feel bored). Everyone has their own agenda and needs. At least Lucian has made an informed choice (at that given point in time) on what that medium is about. We each have to make our own sense of that medium.

Hence, my point once again -- it's not about Singapore librarians lobbying to start a library in SecondLife; it's about a concerted effort (by a minority at least) to understand what that particular medium is about and what it might mean for our customers and hence our profession.

Technorati Tag: second life

Video: “Breaking the Sound Barrier”

Thanks to Alvan for alerting the group to this video titled "Breaking the Sound Barrier":

This is a short documentary on the hearing impaired and the deaf. It explores the various ways available to them for overcoming the challenges to integration and communications. Due to the limited length, many issues, including Cochlear Implants, are not covered. This was produced primarily for the "Project Deaf-Initely Boleh!" and will be screened at the event to be held at the National Library in December 2006.

More details at sgLEAD.


Technorati Tags: deaf, hearing impaired, deaf awareness

More thoughts on Blogging Guidelines for Employees (or, "what might make a good Corporate Blogging Guideline?")

Reading this post from WebSG, where it cited the Prime Minister of Singapore suggestion for government agencies to try out "new mediums", I decided to revisit this topic (see earlier related posts here, here, and here ).

"The paradox, as any supermarket tabloid scribe will attest, is that the best way to drive up traffic is to break all the rules: Don't respect people, don't respect privacy, leak secrets. Fortunately for Intel, bloggers there appear to be far more interested in their jobs and their company than in creating a stir." (Blogspotting, 17 Aug 2005)

Needless to say, government agencies will not be controversial if they can help it. The need for guidelines is clear, if you believe Elderman [dated July 2005 - PDF]:

"Without a set of guiding principles in place, bloggers may interpret what is proper according to their own set of values and HR departments may apply different standards to different bloggers and thereby open the company to potential discrimination issues.

Each company should develop policies or guidelines that are specific to its mission, its employee base and its company goals, but some commonsense rules should apply..."

I tend to agree with that premise. You don't need a lawsuit or negative publicity in order to do things right. Basically, the guidelines are to manage employees but not in an insidious way. I prefer to think that it's about managing employees by managing their expectations where blogging is concerned.

I asked myself, "If a government agency were to draft a Blogging Guideline for Employees", what would it say? Rather than start from scratch, I decided to review what is already out there, for a pointer or two.

Here's a sample (they are by no means exhaustive):

====================
IBM Blogging Guidelines

• I like how their introduction succinctly explains the broad purpose of the guidelines, i.e. "Responsible engagement in innovation and dialogue"; and how blogging fits into the organisation philosophy and culture -- see "To Learn" and "To Contribute".
• There's a 12-point executive summary (not too long, so people won't fall asleep while reading the guidelines), followed by lengthier explanations for each of the points (so that there is no ambiguity in interpretation of the points).
• A good practice -- their guidelines are open to non-IBM employees, which means there is transparency in practice and clarity to IBM's stakeholders (not to mention that non-IBMers potentially can help IBM monitor and feedback on errant blogging employees).
• Good mix of guidelines, in terms of what employees can and cannot do.
• Employees' inputs were involved in drafting the guidelines.
• Overall I sense that the guidelines are really guidelines rather than policy statements (i.e. rules).

Yahoo! Employee Blog Guidelines (PDF) [via Jeremy Zawodny]

• Concise introduction that spells out purpose of the guidelines and intended users.
• Total of seven points (which isn't too long to read), written in plain language.
• A header precedes the points (which is a good way of presenting the information; an alternative to the IBM's style of Executive Summary with the details).
• The guidelines clearly defines what can and cannot be done.
• There's essentially two parts to the Yahoo! guidelines -- "Legal Parameters" (which clearly addresses the organisation's concerns) and "Best Practice Guidelines" (which is more for the employee's benefit). That's what a Blogging Guideline is about, isn't it?
• Employees' inputs were involved in drafting the guidelines.
• There seems to be a mix of policy statements (under "Legal Parameters") and guidelines. Might as well call the document "Rules and Guidelines".
• Incidentally, the Yahoo! guidelines , as well as presentation and layout, are similar to this one from Adobe Acrobat User Community (or was it the other way around?)

Cetaphil Blogging Guidelines

• Not too sure if the guidelines are for employees or for customers (I only had patience to scan the page twice and couldn't find any "About" information on how blogging is related to the company).
• I would have preferred more context on what is the company's business and how blogging fits in. However, the saving grace is that the text reside on a page that is part of the corporate website, with links to more information about the company (but still, I'm again asking myself how blogging, and hence the guidelines, fit with the company's business).
• The header says "Guidelines" but from the second paragraph onwards, I felt much of the statements sounded like rules and policies.
• The statements are clear and direct, so that's good. But presentation of the information can be improved (e.g. separate the "rules" and "guidelines"; use numbering or bullet points).
• I counted about 14 points (they might be better off keeping to 10 and below, or number the items).
• The last statement "Above all else, have fun, be creative and let inspiration take you to new zones!" runs the risk of being viewed cynically. I mean, the tone of the preceding statements sound very serious and contradicts the call for "fun" at the end. I think the points listed there are sound, just that the tone can be less intimidating.

Thomas Nelson Blogging Guidelines

• Right... who or what is "Thomas Nelson"? The page ought to have a corporate logo and a link back to the main corporate website.
• The intent of the document is quite clear; it says "At Thomas Nelson, we want to encourage you to blog about our company, our products, and your work." That's a positive statement and sets the tone for the guidelines.
• The purpose of the document is also clear, i.e. the three main goals for the guidelines.
• I like how (at the 3rd and 4th para) they openly mention that they will aggregate the RSS feeds of employees' blogs, and the existence and role of a "Blog Oversight Committee" (good idea to have a committee like that).
• Right after that, it says "If you would like to have us link to your blog, you must submit it to the BOC... ... In order to participate in this program, you must abide by the following guidelines (Please keep in mind that review by the BOC and participation in this program does not absolve you of responsibility for everything you post.)" -- all that tells me their employees can choose to blog but not adopt the guidelines, i.e. it really is a guideline. At the same time, "non-participation" does not mean the blogging employee is not subject to the purview of the company policies (which is fair, if you ask me).
• There are 10 points in total (that's the magic number).
• I like the fact that they addressed the issue of advertisements in employees' blogs (see Point 5 - "Advertise if you wish... ... he only thing we ask is that, to the extent you have control, you run ads or recommend products that are congruent with our core values as a Company.")
• As far as I can tell, the statements are expressed as guidelines and not policies.
• Clearly, the page layout can be improved to increase readability, but what's more important is to have clear and fair guidelines (which they've achieved).

BBC Guidelines [via Jem Stone]

• Interesting that BBC calls it "Editorial Guidelines". I think that's smart, because it acknowledges that blogs are publishing mediums, and the same guidelines apply to websites.
• There are guidelines for employees AND managers. That's a balanced approach. I think even though the guidelines are articulated for managers, it's really meant for the employees, i.e. what would be the consequences or implications from their manager's point of view.
• There's a related section on "Conflicts of Interest Guidelines". BBC has even gone one step further from a guideline on blogging, to address situations that the guidelines may not adequately cover.
• They seem to have broken the "no more than 10 statements" rule. But clearly they recognise that the site has quite a bit of information, which is why they have this "How to Use" section.

More links to Corporate Guidelines and Suggestions from Diva Marketing Blog (compiled in Mar 2005).
=================

In summary, what appears to make a good set of blogging guidelines are as follows:

1. Show how the guidelines relate to the organisation's mission and values (this includes how the guidelines are presented on a webpage, if it's accessible to the public).
2. It addresses the needs and concerns of the organisation, as well as those of the employees. In short, the guidelines should protect the employee and employer.
   
3. It clearly articulates behaviours that are allowed AND those that are not.
4. Express guidelines in an affirmative manner where possible (here's one example).
5. If it's a policy or rule, then state it as such. Don't disguise it as a "guideline" (see point 3).
6. Have no more than 10 guidelines/ policy statements (that seems to be the magic number; any more seems rather oppressive and counter-productive).
7. Employee involvement in drafting the guidelines seem critical in increasing acceptance of the guidelines (I'm not advocating employee involvement for the sake of it, but I favour it -- after all, what's the use of producing guidelines if you don't want employees to take it up? You might as well just stick to rules that say what cannot be done).
8. Not only should the guidelines be articulated for employees, but it should preferably cover what is expected supervisors/ managers (their position can be said to be unique, in that they are employees and custodians/ enforcers for the organisation -- something like that).
9. Make the blogging guidelines available to public (I mean, if you allow employees to blog, why not make your guidelines transparent to a wider audience too?)
10. The Blogosphere may be neutral but bloggers, as a rule, are not. Prepare the employees in receiving and handling feedback and especially criticisms, e.g. when and how to escalate to official channels, and when to just leave nasty comments alone. [This is related to point 2, where I suggested that the guidelines should also protect the employee. I also realise that guidelines cannot adequately prepare anyone, so the smart employer will also develop suitable training/ awareness programmes along with the guidelines].
    

Hmm... have I just developed a "Guidelines for drafting Blogging Guidelines"? Heh.

Oh, I have a nagging question though -- discussion forums precede blogs, so why is it that we have blogging guidelines and not "guidelines for discussion forums"?

Perhaps the longer term solution is not to develop guidelines for blogging only, but for "social media". Granted that the term "social media" could be too broad and negate the effectiveness of any guidelines. However a workaround might be to briefly explain the characteristics of a "social medium" WITH actual examples (e.g. Discussion Forums, blogs -- or even citing actual services like Blogger.com, Wordpress.com).

Ah, but one thing at a time. I think we should draft a Blogging Guideline and then keep a longer view in mind, and see if the approved guidelines ought to be extended.

UPDATE (7 Jan '07): Apparently, NTUC Income has its own set of Blogging Guidelines, as share by one of its employees, Dharmendra Yadav. I like how they have considered items 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10.

Technorati Tag: blogging, blogging guidelines