How do you keep aware of trends in reference and information services?

The May theme for the twitter reading group is escape.


This is a great way to view professional reading (watching or listening) as it can be through what you are reading you can work out ideas to escape bad work practices, or ways to escape to even more impressive work practices than you work place is currently undertaking.  You could go from good, to great.  A recent OCLC survey showed that, on average only 13% of library staff used blogs as way of keeping up to date with library information.


You can see the brief presentation I made about this today at #risg2012 here.  The links below are not an exhaustive list of all the possibilities, but I did not want to overwhelm with choice.


The following are links to the tools, sites I talked about:
Google alerts - you define your alert by setting up your key words, topics
Pulse - app alerts reading
Flip - ios only format, app alerts reading
Google currents - magazine/news source style content
Google reader - web based
Reeder, uses your Google reader feeds, app


NSW RISG tools
NSW RISG on twitter
NSW RISG twitter lists
RISG new technology blog
RISG wiki join this, and ask to be a writer to contribute content.
and on Flickr

Scottsdale Library, Arizona

Have a look at the services Scottsdale Library is offering to its community.  Are there ideas you could use for your library (particularly in the reference and information services?)

Dangerous ideas for 2011

What are the dangerous ideas for reference and information services? Please add comments about the ideas you think may be dangerous for this area of services and collection?

Is the idea dangerous because it is un/likely and depressing? Is the idea dangerous because it may be really challenging to do?

Please share your dangerous ideas, and discuss other people's dangerous ideas.

What is the Role of a Library?

I've been busy lately and, to my disappointment, I've haven't been keeping up with the blogs I like to follow. So when I finally had a chance to catch up with a bit of reading last night I was delighted to come across the latest post from John Blyberg - The Darien Statements on the Library and Librarians.

The statements are the result of a conversation between John Blyberg, Kathryn Greenhill and Cindi Trainor about the fundamental purpose of libraries and librarians. In this time of increasing pressures on libraries - technological change, shrinking budgets, new competitors - many libraries are examining what they do and where they should be heading into the future. The Darien Statements are therefore a very timely, thought provoking piece of work, around which a great discussion may develop. (judging by the comments on John's blog it's already got a head of steam)

This manifesto of sorts is full of great stuff but three sentences in particular resonated with me:

...The Library has a moral obligation to adhere to its purpose despite social, economic, environmental, or political influences. The purpose of the Library will never change...

...Individual libraries serve the mission of their parent institution or governing body, but the purpose of the Library overrides that mission when the two come into conflict.

Why we do things will not change, but how we do them will...

To me, this says that libraries are about more than the individual tasks that we perform. They're not about a bibliographic record or the service at a reference desk. We have a bigger purpose. However, what we need to do to achieve those objective will change regularly (and alway has) if libraries are to remain part of the landscape. No area of library operation has a right to keep doing things 'the way they've always been done'.

Innovation

Have a look at this blog post about 50 ways to foster a sustainable culture of innovation.

It is great because it is focusing on what is possible, or what has to be done to make an idea possible.

They are all interesting ideas. My favourites are:
3. Have more fun. If you're not having fun (or at least enjoying the process) something is off.

6. As far as the future is concerned, don't speculate on what might happen, but imagine what you can make happen.

9. Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way.

11. Encourage everyone to communicate. Provide user-friendly systems to make this happen.

15. Notice innovation efforts. Nurture them wherever they crop up. Reward them.

24. Communicate, communicate, communicate, communicate, communicate and then communicate again. Deliver each important message at least six times.

32. Avoid analysis paralysis. Chaotic action is preferable to orderly inaction.

42. Give your people specific, compelling, and measurable innovation goals.

46. Reward collective, not only individual successes, but also maintain clear individual accountabilities and keep innovation heroes visible.

50. Drive authority downwards. Make decisions quickly at the lowest level possible.

Think about how some of these ideas could help change your service delivery for reference and information services.

You may want to write you ideas in the comments.