January 25, 2011 · 7:37 pm

Egypt

An interesting information policy has arisen in Egypt.  All communication via twitter has been stopped (while twitter API still works).

I’m reading a TechCrunch article in which they state Twitter has been blocked in Egypt. It adds “Increasingly, social media is playing an important role in organizing and broadcasting protests against governments around the world. Unlike television or newspapers, Twitter and Facebook are not so easy to control other than blocking them entirely because of their distributed nature. By the time a regime realizes its only option is to block a service like Twitter, the protests are usually already well under way. And reports keep coming out via these channels anyway, making them the most immediate way to watch the protests (and sometimes subsequent uprisings) unfold. The reports may not always be accurate right away (confusing rubber bullets for “live ammunition,” for instance, but they tend to self-correct quickly.”

It has turned out that while the government can block Twitter and it’s mobile site, the API sites that seamlessly work with Twitter are all still fine (and too numerous to realistically block). As I think about the last classes discussion on information policy, it is clearly governmental censorship and distributive flow in Egypt.

You can watch video of the protests on Facebook and Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtTUsqra-MU.

What an interesting world we now live in.  Where Social Media organizes the masses and spreads the word of atrocities being carried out.  The days of isolating people are quickly coming to a close and the rise of information to the people is coming to the fore.

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January 25, 2011 · 3:24 pm

ILEAD U Press Release

For immediate release

Jan. 25, 2011

 

ANTHONY MOLARO OF MESSENGER PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NORTH AURORA, IL TO TAKE PART IN INNOVATIVE LIBRARY TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE

 

NORTH AURORA, IL—Anthony Molaro has been selected to serve as a mentor in an innovative institute for Illinois library staff that is promising to be one of the most exciting Illinois library initiatives of 2011.

Anthony Molaro, who is employed as Head of Technical Services & Technology will participate in ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover), the 21st Century Technology Tools Institute for Illinois Library Staff.   The institute will help library staff understand and respond to patron needs through the application of participatory technology tools.  ILEAD U is made possible by a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant awarded to the Illinois State Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“The Illinois State Library is proud of its strong commitment to continuing education, and providing librarians with the tools and resources necessary to address the ever changing needs of their patrons,” said Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White. “Nowhere is the need for continuing education more important than in the area of technology. Librarians need to constantly enhance their skills to keep up to date with the latest technology, and ILEAD U represents an exciting, innovative new program to build technology and leadership skills among Illinois librarians.”

Anthony “is so excited for this opportunity to work with librarians from around the state and nation to expand our technology offerings to improve service to our community.”

Anthony Molaro and other participants will implement web technologies that foster community participation and develop leadership, innovation and positive change.  ILEAD U will encourage both the experimentation with and building of participatory Web services and programs.

Examples of participatory technology tools will include:

Blogging tools
Digital audio/podcasting
Digital photography
Digital video
Gaming
Instant messaging
Photo sharing site (e.g., Flikr)
RSS		 Social networking (e.g., Facebook)
Tagging (folksonomies)
Videoconferencing
Virtual reference
Virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life)
Web conferencing
Wikis

 

The ILEAD U schedule includes three in-person sessions to be held February 28-March 3, June 13-16 and October 24-27 at the University of Illinois Springfield.

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January 16, 2011 · 2:19 am

Library Schools and Libraries: Learning Labs

In a recent LJ article by Dr. Michael Stephens states:

End the disconnect between some LIS schools and the libraries in their institutions. Instead, LIS schools should partner with their institutions’ libraries to form learning laboratories. Professors, librarians, and students must work together to create new models of service and outreach. These models are evaluated and tweaked, and effective practice is reported to the greater community.

This got me to thinking.  I agree completely with Michael’s assessment.  Library schools need to work closely with their respective library institution.  Librarian training (as a profession) should strive to be more like medical education.  Med schools and the hospital in which they are a part of rely on each other.  The benefit is well trained doctors and better patient service.  The university hospital benefits from free (or reduced) labor.  Moreover, they have cutting edge research at their fingertips.  The schools strive to teach the most current and best medicine which works its way into the hospital.  Moreover, the medical students benefit from the hands-on, real-world experience.

Perhaps this is most easily accomplished by bring the two units under one department.  Thus the dean of the library school would also be the dean of the library.  By bringing the two units together, the rivalry that exists between the units would diminish.  Moreover, this would allow for better collaboration between librarians and library faculty.  By blending the lines, the theory-practice divide might also be quelled.

While this thought process has been around for some time, and is even found at some LIS schools, a renewal to the idea is in order.  The only con that is clearly evident surrounds a turf-war between the two units.  Each unit wants to protect their jobs and responsibilities, but at what cost?  If this type of education works in medicine, nursing, and other professional disciplines, perhaps it would be well-suited in LIS education.

The benefits of cutting edge research, reduced (or free) labor, improved educational outcomes for LIS students and a more personalized service for the other students is overwhelming.

 

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