Monthly Archives: December 2008

Call for articles for a new journal

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New Social Inquiry is a brand new academic journal, but they aren’t just any academic journal. Right on the front page they claim that they will be a different kind of academic journal. They will be publishing social research essays and relative works that are accessible to a wide audience, engaging and relevant for non-specialists, yet sophisticated and complex enough to push scholarship forward.

Their first publication will focus on public dialogue. Here’s an excerpt from the guidelines for submission:

Is there such a thing as public dialogue, now or in the past? If so, who participates, who leads, and what forms does it take? If not, how can it realistically be realized? What are the main challenges to
establishing/maintaining public dialogue? What are good examples of public dialogue working in the world today?
What is/are the relationship(s) between public dialogue(s) and social inquiry(ies)?

Shotgun essays should be no longer than 1000 words–we said “short”, and we mean it.

The deadline is January 19, 2009. Shouldn’t libraries be prominently featured?

For more information, check out: http://www.newsocialinquiry.org/

Participatory Librarianship and Change Agents

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The Blended Librarian (a community of librarians, faculty, instructional designers and technologists working to integrate the library into the teaching and learning process) is offering a free online discussion with Dr. David Lankes on December 11 from 3-4 EST. The event is free, but you must pre-register and become a member (also free) of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community so be sure to allow time to be approved. I applied to be a member last night and received my registration information this morning.

Dr. Lankes is a Fellow at ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and is the creator of the Participatory Librarianship Starter Kit and he blogs here. Here is the information about the upcoming talk. I have watched some of David’s videos and recommend you consider attending. Even if you can’t attend, join the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and you’ll be able to access the archive. Also, the technology they use is pretty cool to explore!

Participatory Librarianship and Change Agents
Thursday, December 11, 2008
3-4pm EST

Event Description
Knowledge is created through conversation. Libraries are in the knowledge business. Therefore libraries are in the conversation business. This seemingly simple set of statements has profound implications for how libraries are run, and how they measure success. For example, it casts library services as centered on learning, and not access. This presentation will cover the basics of participatory librarianship, and talk about the need for librarians to become change agents within their own libraries and the communities they serve. This is a great opportunity to hear Dr. Lankes discuss participatory librarianship, which has commonalities with blended librarianship, without having to travel to a national or state conference.

Guest Speaker Bio
R. David Lankes is an Associate Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, Director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, and Fellow at ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. http://www.DavidLankes.org

Registration
Although this event is free, advance registration is required to reserve a virtual seat.

If you are already a member of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community, register here: http://home.learningtimes.net/library?go=1199293

If you need to join the Blended Librarians Online Community in order to register (no fee to join):

  1. Go to the Blended Librarian website at http://blendedlibrarian.org
  2. Click on the “Join” button on the home page of Blendedlibrarian.org and follow the instructions.
  3. After you receive confirmation of your Learning Times account you can return to this email message and use the link above for registered members of Learning Times. Click on the link, and then register on the next page (you may need to scroll down to see the register button).
  4. We recommend that those participating in the webcast obtain a microphone or headset in order to make use of the VoIP technology that allows conversation between the speakers and participants. A microphone or headset is not required to participate.
  5. Please plan on allowing yourself sufficient time to log in to the webcast on December 11, 2008. If it is the first time attending a Learning Times event it may take a few extra minutes to log on to their Elluminate webcasting software. Once you have registered for the event you may wish to try the “test room” to make sure your computer is set up and ready to go the day of the webcast.

Libraries as an Economic Stimulus

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[cross posted from Austin-Pacific.com]

Watching the CBS evening news last night, I was pleased to hear President-elect Obama refer to library closures as an example of how this economic downturn is hurting communities in his remarks to the National Governors Association.

“Jobs are being cut,” he said. “Programs for the needy are at risk. Libraries are being closed. Historic sites are being closed.”

The American Library Association didn’t miss a beat and immediatly applauded him for “recognizing the effect library closings have on communities” in the Washington Office’s blog, District Dispatch. The blog cites library contributions to the economic health of communities. For example:

  • 73 percent of libraries nationwide report that they are the only provider of free Internet access in their communities
  • that number is even higher in rural communities where 83 percent of libraries are the only free provider
  • Libraries offer job search workshop, skill development, small business development classes, and technology training.

(Read More)