Org charts in a digital age

Okay, I said I was taking a hiatus for a little while, but David King's recent post about his new job as the Digital Branch and Services Manager of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library got me thinking...
In his post, David writes about one of the reasons he took the new job in Topeka:

"I also liked how they are treating the IT department and the web team in our emerging techie world. Some library IT departments are treated as a separate, supporting function of the library - and not really included as a department that serves the public. And no one really knows what to do with a web team - some have separate departments, some divide content and structure-type jobs (the web programmers go with IT, the content developers go somewhere else), and some are stuck in really strange areas (I'’ve seen one library that lumped web services with the cataloging department!).

But Topeka has done something I think is ingenious - they changed their focus, so rather than placing the Digital Branch team within the IT department, they included the IT team as part of the Digital Branch. Maybe semantics, maybe not that new... but that little switch in thinking makes a ton of sense to me."

Me too, David.

I believe more libraries should be open to adapting (evolving) their organizational structures to facilitate the best possible service to the public -- particularly with regard to the relatively new realm of digital services. Risky? Yes. But it's a smart risk taker that recognizes that if you really, really do want your library to have a fab online/digital presence, then you're going to have to break up, integrate and restructure some departments to get the right mix of talent on the task and streamline the information flow. Why hold on to senselessly segmented or isolated departments, or structures that were developed for the way libraries functioned twenty years ago (or even 10)? While your library clings to "the way things have always been," the world moves on.

And sometimes change isn't as painful as the ongoing frustration of systemic dysfunction.

Best wishes in the new job, David.
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Temporary hiatus

I've been stuck lately.

I reached the point in the Learning 2.0 exercise where we need to set up a Bloglines account, and that's where I got mentally derailed. But I was "re-inspired," for lack of a better word, by a recent post about RSS feeds by Lori at Learning Express.

Here's what happened. Even though I am enjoying the learning exercises, and I am a huge advocate of information management with RSS feeds, I was a bit reluctant to set up yet another online account. I have spent quite a bit of time and effort populating and organizing my pages and RSS feeds in my current NetVibes account, and I'm also starting to get to the point where I can't keep up with all my user names and passwords. I've reached my "password saturation point." So, the prospect of managing yet another online account was a little deflating. But after reading about some of the additional features Bloglines offers -- particularly e-mail subscriptions -- I'm sold.

I think I still need a mental break, though, so I'm heading out of town over Labor Day weekend, and I'll set up my Bloglines account when I get back. And I'll start writing down my passwords on an index card. (Shout-out to good ol' 1.0 technology: paper.)

Technology skills: voluntary or mandatory?

This morning, I came across an interesting commentary about technology skills for library employees by David Lee King. The commentary was in response to a recent ALA article about the Library of Congress, where "200 employees had taken advantage of a voluntary retirement incentive for librarians who had become 'very comfortable' with traditional librarianship and chose not to gain new technological skills." David writes...

"I’ve been reading up on change management and thinking about how that affects technology change in libraries, and this example fits in well with what I’ve learned so far. Some people simply don’t want to change - they are comfortable with their jobs and their job duties, they might even think the way they do things is The Best Way to do them - so why in the world would they want to change?

I like the pro-active way the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County is dealing with technology change and training with their Learning 2.0 / 23 Things training program. But also - at some point - library managers might need to treat technology skills like any other skill - it’s part of your job, you need to do it or find another job. That seems harsh, but really… would you hire someone to do telephone reference if they had no phone skills, and refused to learn phone skills? Would you hire a cataloger if they couldn’t catalog and didn’t want to learn anything about AACR2? Probably not.

It should be the same with technology skills, which right now are changing pretty rapidly."

David mentions the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County’s (PLCMC) program of introducing Web 2.0 technology to their staff through a voluntary program called Learning 2.0.

I want to mention that PLCMC also insists on basic technology skills for their staff which they call “Core Competencies.” And, it’s imporant to note, those skills are required. You won’t see PLCMC’s core competency checklists out there on the web. This training program is housed snuggly on PLCMC’s Intranet, visible only to PLCMC staff. That being said, PLCMC’s Core Competencies training program is certainly relevant to other library systems.

The basic Core Competency training level (Level I) covers over a hundred everyone-must-know-this skills like, “Knows branch or department logins and passwords,” and “Can reply, forward, and delete an e-mail message,” plus troubleshooting skills like, “Can plug in and unplug a network cable and tell whether the terminator is firmly seated or broken.”

And the training levels progress. Level II covers technology skills specific to PLCMC’s cataloging software, plus application-specific skills like “Can create and edit tables in Word.” Short online tutorials for these skills are available if needed.

As of August 22, 2006, all PLCMC staff have completed Core Competencies levels I and II. There are five levels, each with required deadlines for completion, and training staff are available to help ensure that all employees are able — if they’re willing — to complete these checklists.

PLCMC staff are encouraged to explore new Web 2.0 technologies with the voluntary Learning 2.0 program. But all technology training isn’t voluntary. You must have the basics.
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Monday haiku

Mondays are for chumps.

Will these deadlines never cease?

(Where is the aspirin?)

Some time in the garden with Scout

Scout in the garden, originally uploaded by Salad Days Forever.

For me, Summer is all about spending as much time outside as possible. This afternoon, after enjoying a day outdoors in my garden with my cat Scout following a few steps behind, I thought it might be a good opportunity to take a few pictures for the Learning 2.0 discovery exercises about Flickr. The photo above is Scout resting in the shade near my green onions. (Don't be fooled by her innocent face. She's sitting on the Romaine lettuce.)

I practice an organic method of space-intensive gardening called "square foot gardening" (literally, the garden is divided into square feet for planting). It's a method developed by Mel Bartholomew in the 1970's, and he's written several books, many of which are good helpers to me. I'm able to have a pretty productive garden in just a 4' x 8' plot, and there's practically no weeding necessary.

I don't know many people who practice square foot gardening, so it was a surprise (and delight) to type in the phrase into Flickr and see so many pictures of beautiful square foot gardens. You can see my garden on Flickr, or you can search for the tag "square foot gardening" and see others.

I've discovered a whole new resource for my hobby, and I'm thrilled!

Enjoy making 3-point turns? Then have I got the game for you.

Just for fun, try out this simple online game to test your parking skills. I'm not sure of the purpose behind the game, (perhaps it's making a point that small, yellow Peugeots are terribly difficult to maneuver), but until you get it right, it's really difficult to give it up.

See if you can beat my score of 26.2 seconds; it shouldn't be too hard. Leave a comment and let me know how you did. (Be sure to leave a note on the windshield of all those blue cars you hit.)

Super salad salute!

In keeping with the theme of Salad Days, I'm announcing my first salute to super salads. This salute goes out to Avocado and Corn Salsa, which has served me well at many summer get-togethers and is rated "four forks" on Epicurious.com.

"A salsa this simple lives or dies by the quality of the ingredients — ripe avocado, luscious tomato, and a sweet, crunchy ear of corn. Most of my corn salsa recipes call for grilled corn. This one features the succulent crunch of raw corn to reinforce the sweetness of the fresh avocado."

Well said, Epicurious. So, before the farmer's markets close, and the summer sweet corn is gone, I recommend you try this divine salad/dip/eat-from-the-bowl-with-your-fingers treat.

Avocado and Corn Salsa -- I salute you!

And if you enjoy cooking and haven't visited Epicurious.com, you don't know what you're missing. It's a simply amazing database of reader-rated recipes, featuring all the tools busy cooks need to search, sort, store and easily print recipes.

Keeping up with blogs using RSS feeds

For anyone participating in the Learning 2.0 project (or thinking about participating...or just following along), you might be thinking, "How can I best keep up with this project...or keep tabs on lots of other blogs?"

Well, if you haven't done so already, you might want to discover the world of RSS feeds. Check out Newfangled Web Factory's comprehensive article entitled Managing Information Overload with RSS.

"One way to manage information overload is through the use of RSS. RSS stands for (at least most people say it stands for) Real Simple Syndication. Content providers like bloggers, traditional news outlets, and Newfangled can utilize the simple RSS format to allow people to subscribe using their RSS readers. I'm sure you've seen plenty of sites that have those RSS or XML graphics next to articles. Those icons indicate that you can subscribe to that site's RSS feed."

There's much more to this article, including a good overview of available readers in a section called "Finding a Reader that's right for you."

"There are many kinds of RSS readers out there. Depending on your platform and whether or not you use the same computer all the time, you will probably choose between web based RSS services or application driven tools that you install on your computer."

Personally, I prefer using the web based service Netvibes to manage my news feeds. It's free, doesn't require any software downloads, and it works well with my Google Mail account. And becasue it's web-based, I can access my account from both my home and work computers. Very handy! (Go to main page.)

Creating expandable posts

Since this blog was created as a learning exercise, I've been interested in looking at the creations of some of my peers, and making note of features in their blogs that I'd like mine to have. One such feature, which I noticed on Talk Nerd's blog (nice job!), is the ability to include expandable posts. I thought this would be a nice feature, since I have a tendency to prattle on. Read on...
Well, for anyone using Blogger Help for this feature, I don't need to tell you that it has some drawbacks. I think Atilla at Pillage Idiot says it best. Here's a snippet.

Ever think about doing expandable posts, the way people with other blogging hosts can do? You know, those thingies with "Read more" at the bottom, where you click and open up a longer post? Well, don't bother with Blogger's official "hack" here. Any hack that tells you it has a bug (which it calls a "feature") and says that "[m]odifying this feature is left as an exercise for the reader" should be avoided. It reminds me of when I studied math in college. The proofs would often leave out something important, and the texts would say that proving what was left out was an exercise for the reader. Thanks a bunch!

I've researched the expandable post problem and have discovered an elegant solution at a blog called No Fancy Name.

Perhaps when Blogger Beta is available to everyone, they'll include an easy way to expand posts, but in the meantime I checked out Julie's hack at No Fancy Name. And you can see how it works. go to main page

Playfully accepting responsibility

This week's Discovery Exercise asks participants to use one of their test posts to create an entry about which habit among the 7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits is easiest and hardest, & why.
The easiest learning habit for me is habit #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning.

I've always been a firm believer that I'm on my own when it comes to keeping up and staying relevant. It probably has a lot to do with my particular role in the library -- sort of a specialty "department of one." This kind of role gives you a lot of practice and, eventually, confidence.

The hardest learning habit for me is #7 1/2: Play.

There are some topics about which I have no problem playfully exploring. Gardening. Learning about new products that I'm interested in purchasing. Learning about a country I'm planning to visit.

But when it comes to honing a skill that could have some work benefit. Well, no matter what, it never feels completely like "play." And because my line of work is very deadline-oriented, I feel as though every action throughout my work day has to be focused on the super-fast-completion- of-a-project. It's very easy to convince oneself that it's easier/faster/more efficient just to "do it the old way," than to take the time to explore new options, play around with them, and eventually learn how to do something better.

But that's what makes Learning 2.0 so nice. (Go to main page.)

Very green, indeed...

Perhaps an appropriate way to start off this blog would be to give a brief explanation of the title, Salad Days. Two reasons, really. The first is that "salad" is a nickname given to me by a friend, so it just felt right. The second reason: I'm creating this blog as part of a technology training exercise, so at this early point in the learning experience, I'm still a bit "green."

Hopefully that will change with practice.