Ref Tech Rob

Library makerspaces can be excellent resources for side hustlers. Makerspaces vary from library to library but can help with prototyping products, signage, design and editing software, textile work, med ia production, and experimentation. Sometimes, this support can be provided free for software-related projects, or at cost for projects requiring material supplies. Our makerspace here at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County provides 3D printing and scanning, sewing machines, a product photography table, a video green screen and lighting, cameras, a sound recording booth, Adobe software, large format printing, button makers, media conversion, a book printing machine, and a laser cutter/engraver. We also provide online instruction through Lynda.com. This support is great for inventors, photographers, videographers, fashion designers, bloggers, musicians, voice-over work, graphic designers, writers, media converters, artists, and anyone in need of display/sig...

**I'm currently working on a library workshop to show side hustlers what kind of support they can receive from their local library. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts here.** The topic I’m writing on at work is the intersection of the library and the user community--most specifically, the side hustle community. I’m trying to put together a series of guides, workshops, videos, etc. that will help people who are creating side businesses to get them off the ground. What is a side hustle? "A side hustle is a business you run in your free time that allows you the flexibility to pursue what you're most interested in. It’s a chance to delve into food, travel, fashion, or whatever you’re passionate about whilst keeping your day job." ( http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-a-side-hustle-2015-11 .) Side hustlers are p eople looking to add some income from something they are passionate about, and, with our focus on lifelong learning, libraries are uniq...

Photo: Amanda Mills As our economy continues to change, it's becoming more and more important for libraries to offer resources to help people who are looking for new opportunities. As companies continue to shed jobs, replacing them with automation, it is becoming increasingly necessary for workers to rely on their own efforts. Providing co-working spaces is one way libraries can support people who are taking on roles as contractors, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. So what is co-working? According to David Lee King and Michael Porter in “Create a Library ‘Tech Shop’,” ( American Libraries Magazine , March/April 2012, p. 57) co-working “...brings together independent workers, freelancers, small business owners, and others who need workspace. These folks regularly gather to brainstorm ideas, team up on projects, and work in a more social setting.” It can also be described as “...a recent movement of independent ‘workspaces’ that are created for remote workers, location neutra...

Fox19 's take on the library budget and rallies: http://www.fox19.com/global/Category.asp?C=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15048&topVideoCatNoB=109491&topVideoCatNoC=104760&topVideoCatNoD=141804&topVideoCatNoE=142722&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3896795

Here is a nicely done video on the importance of libraries. The embed feature was not working, so here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG6CtH3V8Us

Image via Wikipedia Friday morning, libraries across Ohio prepared for another busy day as a new generation of library users discovered the benefit of free libraries in the middle of a down economy. By Friday evening, those same libraries were scrambling to alert these new patrons that the pot of gold they had just discovered was in danger of being ripped away. Public libraries in Ohio have been dealing with budget cuts since 2001, so news of more cuts was hardly a surprise. Many libraries had drawn up plans to deal with this year's reductions, as well as anticipated cuts for next year. Apparently, however, institutions that were told to expect cuts of up to 20% were shocked to find out that they were being asked to shoulder an excessive 50% cut in state funding. Libraries were blindsided by a process that, in today's communication utopia, should no longer be the norm. How many of us are aware of the workings of the state budget? As numbers get shuffled, twisted, added, erased ...

In a Columbus Metropolitan Speech given on Monday, May 4, 2009, governor Ted Strickland referred to the need to reform education for the "21st century economy." However, in laying out his plans, Mr. Strickland reverted to an old fashioned way of thinking of the school as "place." As advances in communication have allowed for instant access to some information, education has expanded beyond the classroom. For Ohio's citizens (of all ages) to have a national and competitive advantage, they need access to a breadth of information sources anytime and anyplace. While the internet is an invaluable tool for society, the closest thing we have to a true information infrastructure is our library system. Schools have a certain role in every society, but while we place all of our hopes in one institution, the cultures which outpace our educational system emphasize the value of learning which extends beyond the school walls and into the library . Here are some of governor S...

An open letter to Ted Strickland and Ohio's lawmakers, It has come to my attention that you plan to cut public library funding in Ohio by over 50%. That would be a mistake. To do so would cripple the state's economic recovery. Free public libraries represent society's last chance at educating and empowering our most desperate citizens. They provide free opportunities for families, workers, entrepreneurs, students, and small businesses to move forward and contribute to the community. Families across Ohio are relying on public libraries to get them through these hard times. As budgets tighten, they are able to seek enlightenment and entertainment for free at their public libraries. Boomers who have had steady employment for years find themselves out of work, and are told when they apply for new jobs to apply online. Many of these people have felt no need to own computers or to have internet access. When they tell potential employers of their predicament, they are inevitably ...

In today's New York Times article, "I.B.M. Has Tech Answer for Woes of Economy," I.B.M.'s CEO calls for technological investment in overhauling the country's infrastructure. Samuel Palmisano calls for public and private investment in addressing problems with traffic, energy grid efficiency, food distribution and a host of other challenges faced by society today. I agree with this approach and I think that libraries have a part to play in this, as well. Technology is a powerful tool for problem solving, but not as powerful as technology partnered with efficient information sources--like libraries. This dovetails rather well with what I was trying to say last year about libraries as information producers . We have the information, we just need to do a better job of pushing it. Libraries are strategically positioned throughout the country to serve as information hubs for large scale information intensive projects. Some may argue that the Internet as it stands righ...

I came across letter to the editor in the Cincinnati Enquirer ( The Enquirer - With so much info on phone, why huge library? ) a little over a week ago, and I felt I needed to comment on it, but not without thinking about it a bit more. At first, I was a bit miffed at Aaron Gillum. I thought, "Hey, you have no idea what you're talking about. Data isn't the beginning and the end of information. There's also interpretation, and people want money for that. Who's going to provide that for the people who have no internet skills or access? You? 'Hey, everyone who can't afford a Blackberry with a data service plan go see Aaron--he'll let you use his!'" But then I looked a bit more closely at his argument, and at the library in question, and I did begin to wonder, "Do libraries have an edifice complex?" Now, before you judge me, I do believe that Mr. Gillum is missing part of the point--unless you are ready to digest all of the data required ...

Well, nobody showed up for the demonstration, but that's okay--another patron asked for an impromptu demonstration of advanced Google search techniques. It went well. I showed him a number of shortcuts that he didn't know were available, so, one program, one attendee. Perfect balance! Afterwards, I prepared a notebook to keep the handouts so our staff could refer to them, too. Then I created a stealth blog , in order to keep a number of the documents readily available to anyone who may want to see them again. Finally, I created a display of the books and handouts that went with the program in a prominent location, with a sign that reminded the patrons about what they were missing. Next time, I hope to include photos.

I was thinking this morning about ways that the library can reach out to the community and really become part of the information infrastructure—partnerships, packaging of local information, education, leveraging our organizational expertise—when, lo and behold, Michael Stephens provided a link in his blog this morning to the text of a speech given by Jon Udell at the Global Research Library summit in October. In his speech, Jon talks about libraries remixing information and essentially becoming contributors and producers of information on the web. Jon also addresses the possibility of librarians lending their expertise to people who are trying to package and organize their own information on the web, and he gives a wonderful example of working with his local police force to organize and mine their local crime statistics—okay, he had to twist their arm a bit to get them to go along with it, but it looks like they were onboard at the end. Anyway, much of what Jon had to say points to th...

I read with interest Regina Powers' opinion piece--"A Plea for Respect"--in the August edition of American Libraries. Her plea is a common complaint among librarians today--"the public doesn't know what we do." Usually, it is suggested that we either stay the course or we add more features for the public at our institutions--game nights, in house movies, "coffee and Danishes".... The problem with both lines of thinking is that we need the public's attention to make either work, and we just don't have it. What we need to do is connect the information and resources that we have with the public at its point of need. We need to get out of our buildings physically and electronically and begin to push our resources the way other institutions do. We need to create partnerships with news media, local governments, public institutions, ISPs and others in order to connect the public with the information it needs at its point of need. For example, ou...

I have been thinking about the use that many libraries are making of new technologies with some degree of envy. Libraries are taking advantage of Web 2.0 technology, adding MySpace pages, publishing podcasts, creating RSS feeds and library blogs. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have even instituted a Technology Scholars Program to allow staff to pursue technology projects to advance library goals and interests (thanks to Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack, for the heads-up on this news)--a program I am extremely jealous of. With the exception of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County's vast array of tech projects, it seems that many libraries put their technology emphasis on catalog updates and web pages which are visible to the public, but neglect to make changes which might increase staff productivity. This is especially important for larger, urban library systems, in my opinion, because there is a danger of bureaucratic deadness and inertia for these institutions. When staff membe...