April 20, 2024

No Such Thing As Too Many Cat Pictures: Q&A With Amanda Brennan | The Digital Shift 2013

Amanda Brennan

Social media is becoming a more and more important way for libraries to interact with their patrons, and one ingredient of that is passing along interesting pieces of information about the library’s many programs and activities. Another very important part, though, is posting the occasional cat picture or funny video, or other piece of viral content, commonly known as memes. At The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries virtual event, held by Library Journal and School Library Journal on October 16, Know Your Meme’s resident librarian, Amanda Brennan, offered her thoughts on how libraries can use memes to engage their patrons and boost their followings on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. We revisited that presentation, and picked Brennan’s brain on some other points, in a Q&A that offers some pointers for beginners looking to make their library’s Facebook page a must read.

Tech Doesn’t Change Research Habits, but MOOCs May Yet Change Teaching | The Digital Shift 2013

Barbara Fister Presentation The Digital Shift 2013

LJ Columnists Barbara Fister and Michael Stephens discussed improving student understanding of how information is created and stored, as well as ways to keep students engaged with MOOCs during their presentations for The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries last week.

Libraries Play A Central Role in Connected Learning | The Digital Shift 2013

The Internet offers today’s youth unprecedented opportunities to connect with peers and seek knowledge in almost any area of interest—and libraries are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this learning, according to Mimi Ito, professor and cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator for the new education model Connected Learning.

Libraries Play A Central Role in Connected Learning | The Digital Shift 2013

The Internet offers today’s youth unprecedented opportunities to connect with peers and seek knowledge in almost any area of interest—and libraries are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this learning, according to Mimi Ito, professor and cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator for the new education model Connected Learning.

Computer Science Pioneer Jaron Lanier Discusses Big Data, Privacy at NYPL

Jaron Lanier at NYPL October 10, 2013

The original developers of network technology wanted to democratize access to information, but while networks have succeeded in improving access, the ways in which governments and corporations are now gathering and using personal data has been an unfortunate consequence, argued author and computer science pioneer Jaron Lanier during a LIVE from the New York Public Library (NYPL) event on October 10.

California Kids Get Social Media ‘Eraser’—But It Might not Work

California minors now have the legal right to erase their social media posts, a positive step toward giving them greater control over their online identities—or is it? Online content, after all, is not so easily erasable, according to Gary Price, editor of Library Journal’s INFOdocket.

The Role of Self-Censoring

I know that many of you are going to laugh at this, but seriously, I delete more than I post. That is, I can’t begin to count how many times I have written a Twitter or Facebook or LISTSERV post that I have never posted. There are several reasons for this, and in this post […]

South Carolina State Library Launches Social Media Library and Archive

South Carolina State Library

The South Carolina State Library (SCSL) has launched the South Carolina State Agency Social Media Library, a new project that will archive all tweets, Facebook posts, and YouTube content generated by the official accounts of South Carolina’s state agencies, while simplifying public access to this social media activity via a single online portal at scsocialmedialibrary.org. The portal and the archive were developed in collaboration with ArchiveSocial, a for-profit social media archiving company based in Durham, NC.

Life Hacking with IFTTT | screencast tutorial

IFTTT—“If This Then That”—helps you automate tasks in order to better maintain professional learning networks, resources, and schedules. Learn how to find and create recipes on the Web (ifttt.com) or via the new IFTTT iPhone app in this video guide.

Power Tumbl’ng: Why Tumblr Is a Great Way to Reach Teen Patrons

Tumblr can be a successful way to connect to new and diverse audiences, provided you understand who you’ll be attracting to your site and how to use Tumblr to your advantage. Should libraries and librarians use Tumblr? Teen librarian Robin Brenner says yes, and explains why.