KEYNOTE: The Shanachie Story
09.00 – 10.00

Erik Boekesteijn, Science and Innovationdepartment, Delft Public Library ShanachieTour
Jaap Van de Geer, Delft Public Library (The Netherlands)
Geert van den Boogaard, Innovation and funding, Delft Public Library (The Netherlands) BOOG Design and Advice

Two years ago, at Internet Librarian International 2006, two videographers from the Delft Public Library roamed the conference, filming the proceedings and interviewing attendees. Since that time, they’ve added a third member to the team, named themselves the Shanachies, and toured several countries, visiting libraries, interviewing librarians and filming the process. Join the Shanachies and become part of their exciting story as they document best practices in libraries and among internet librarians. Hear the ideas; watch the movie.
 

Intermediation of internet resources cannot be automated but can be enhanced by the right tools. Inspired by online collaboration services  such as del.icio.us and ClipMarks, Linkpakken (the Link Package) is software that optimises current workflows and provides statistics based on face-to-face interaction between libraries and users. It is free to Danish public libraries. In Egypt, a land of ancient wonders, the new can be as inventive as the old. The new American University library in Cairo will incorporate new spaces (a learning commons) and a new service model (a desk-free reference area). The librarians have implemented several 2.0 technologies, but given the conservative environment, it’s challenging. 

Implementing web 2.0 technologies in legal organisations faces challenges both at the organisational and the law library level. In other settings, the challenges stem from the fact that libraries are no longer the primary providers of information. Leveraging 2.0 technologies helps meet these challenges.
 

Web 2.0 has opened up new possibilities for public libraries, who many see the web as a platform for sharing, creating and re-using content and interacting with other users. In Spain, the virtual desktops concept, to assemble and test free tools that could be valuable in libraries, is based on Netvibes. In Norway, Reaktor is a web community where the public can upload and present original artwork. 

To make public legal education accessible and available to citizens, Alberta’s LRC turned to RSS feeds, wikis, analytics content management systems, online surveys and blogs with great success, bringing social justice information to the people. At Zayed University’s
Abu Dhabi campus, students use web 2.0 resources such as websites, blogs, wikis and forums, for research, but need help citing them. 

Penny Robertson, Scottish Library and Information Council (UK) Interest in using Ning as a social network building tool has been growing considerably. In Sweden, at least five different library-oriented social networks build on the Ning platform with different scopes and target groups. Building a Ning network is easy, but keeping members interested is not as easy. Metatagging is another important 2.0 technology with inherent challenges for professional librarians. The process of collaborative categorisation is different from professional cataloguing standards. In Scotland, SLIC is experimenting with social networking to enhance communication and collaboration.
 

Making digital natives aware of the importance of information literacy and changing the habits they acquired in their teens is a key challenge for 21st-century librarians. However, we shouldn’t assume that every millennial is technologically savvy. Librarians need to use new approaches to promote their services. We should seize the opportunity to use web 2.0 tools to encourage active learning techniques. One example is Lingnan University’s use of YouTube as a marketing technique.

Market research developed jointly in Romania and Norway led to the creation of online tutorials for initiating and improving student performance in accessing informational resources. This collaboration shows how similar the students are in their acceptance of web space and technology. Also presented in this session is the InfoLitGlobal directory, a new international information literacy resources directory, created by the Information Literacy Secation of IFLA.

To get an overview of the technologies of web 2.0 and library 2.0, libraries around the world have adopted the “23 things to do on the internet” training project. Each country has implemented its own 23 Things project a bit differently. Some are countrywide endeavours that have gone well beyond a simple self-training programme. Others are designed for a particular institution. In this session, and continuing into the next session, experiences that librarians have had with 23 Things will be explored and its impact on change addressed.

Libraries, particularly university libraries, must adapt structure and services to reflect technology adoption rates of their users. For a university with four campuses spread across the region, a virtual campus, relying on MOODLE, helps students with elearning. The Randers Public Library is also experimenting with MOODLE to facilitate both internal and external learning processes.

Expectations about library website interfaces are changing. Librarians at the Institute of Technology Tralee used interviews, think aloud protocols and an iteratively developed prototype to design a concept library interface. Concepts behind designing experiences on the web, particularly in public libraries, emphasise current best practices in the key areas of structure, community and customers.

Lawbore is the portal of City University Law School. Originally a library project, it is now a community site for law students with topic guides, a discussion forum, a City Hub, news and ejournal and database access. Learn about the technologies used and challenges faced in implementing this portal. And what about non-English websites? The evaluation of Arabic elibrary requires an integrated systematic model, which will be of interest even to those outside the Arabic-speaking world. To round out this session, Andrew Lewis provides tactics, strategies and practical tips to those with little time or money introducing new services.

At the University of Abertay, traditional information professional skills are being applied in new areas. The core skills of classification and cataloguing can be used to put information architecture principles into practice. In Helsinki, the recognition that producing content for websites should not be separate from other tasks has resulted in an increase in usage of the Finnish Writers database and its Ask A Librarian service.

In Vlissingen, after a knowledge management audit, a wiki replaced the library’s intranet. The process took several months. The six phases of development will be explained. The NHS Scotland elibrary used FAST ESP as it’s new search engine and implemented it within eight new knowledge portals. The move from federated search to content aggregation brought new benefits and features to users.