Topical Storm: Library! So far, we’ve seen examples of business-centric, writing-centric, and music-centric topical centers. What other similar opportunities might there be in our communities? How do we ascertain which groups could most benefit from a topical center that encourages collaboration and innovation, and how do we inspire them?
The Atlas chapter on community discusses the open source software debate and its implications for security. Proponents of open source believe the best way to test a system’s security is to make the source code freely available and let hackers seek out weak points. Anti-open-sourcers think this increases vulnerability. Where do you stand in the open-source debate and why? How does a library taking one stance or the other impact the community it serves?
Where are we headed? How are communities, libraries, and information professionals changing the world? (This question may change to reflect the week’s discussions)
Here is the main post to discuss the Atlas’ Facilitating Knowledge Creation Thread. Follow the links under each question to join the discussions.
This thread of the book discussed facilitating knowledge creation within communities. It broke down facilitation into four different means. These are:
1) Access
2) Knowledge
3) Environment
4) Motivation
The goal of these four means is to provoke conversation within a community and empower the members and the librarians. Attached is an overview of the chapter.
As our group moved through the thread, the following questions came to mind:
1) As a LIS student, most of us are part of the Facebook group “Syracuse Library Students.” Most of us are also part of “2011 Syracuse University Admitted LIS Students.”
2) In high school, one of our group members was doing research on the government. She tried to Google “Dick Cheney.” However, due to the filtering of the school, she was denied access. Ultimately, she typed in “Richard Cheney” and got the information she needed.
3) Tell us what type of librarian or information professional you would like to be! We will then present you with examples of complications you will face based on the four facets of facilitating knowledge creation. Feel free to post problems you feel your area may have, or solutions to the problems of others.
1) As a LIS student, most of us are part of the Facebook group “Syracuse Library Students.” Most of us are also part of “2011 Syracuse University Admitted LIS Students.”
2) In high school, one of our group members was doing research on the government. She tried to Google “Dick Cheney.” However, due to the filtering of the school, she was denied access. Ultimately, she typed in “Richard Cheney” and got the information she needed.
3) Tell us what type of librarian or information professional you would like to be! We will then present you with examples of complications you will face based on the four facets of facilitating knowledge creation. Feel free to post problems you feel your area may have, or solutions to the problems of others.
Here is the main post to discuss the Atlas’ Knowledge Thread. Follow the links under the video to join the discussions.
Respond to Sharon and Morgan to discuss conversation theory!
- Knowledge is created through conversation, and language is an
influential part of that.
— L0 is basic and allows the “negotiation” of the conversation.
It is mostly directional.
— L1 is more specialized and “furthers” the conversation.
— In most libraries, there is a requirement for a translator
(librarian) because users are not part of the
language/system/conversation. What do you think about this situation?
- A major flaw with most knowledge systems is that there is just input
and output. As a result, there is no room for feedback and
improvement. What are some methods of inviting feedback/improvement?
Some questions to discuss:
- Do you think that a system should be made for all users without
training, or should users be required to learn the system’s
specialized language in order to use it?
- If our goal as librarians is to facilitate knowledge creation, we -
YOU are a conversant. Who are you conversing with?
Respond to Daina and Meridith to discuss knowledge creation!
I’m Daina and I’m Meredith! In this thread we want you to create your
own knowledge tool to help your understand what it means to understand
knowledge creation! Use this video as your starting point! So what we
want you to do is build off each others sentences for the next 2 days
to create a story and on Wednesday and Thursday we will discuss what
we’ve created!
Here’s an example “a cat walks into a store” next person “the cat
bought some beer”!
Have fun!
Respond to Jocelyn and Lisa to discuss the app challenge!
Come up with an idea for an app that you think would be useful for
your school or public library. It could be an app for a phone or
something that could be added to a personalized library homepage.
Go wild!
Respond to Ben to Discuss scapes!
What do you think of scopes? Would they work? Why or why not?
How do scopes differ from the traditional reference process? Do they?
In the example given in the Atlas, John’s question was ultimately
answered in almost exactly the same way it would be in a traditional
reference interview.
“John then asks the librarian, “Hi…do you know if this song is a
remake?’ to which the librarian replies, “Actually, it is a remake of
a song from Fiddler on the Roof.’”
Is the extra (or is it extraneous?) information useful? Why or why not?
How credible would a scape be? Who should be able to edit one, and to
what degree (should “landscaping” be included in a scape on “Scapes”?
If you immediately thought no, try coming up with an argument for yes,
and vice versa.)?
Think of other examples of member generated and edited content (Wikis
might be a jumping off point). How are they similar to scopes? How are
they different? What problems exist in these examples and how could
they be addressed in a scape?
What features other than those described in the text would you like to
see in a scape?
Resources on scopes:
The Atlas of New Librarianship: p53 – 60, p353 – 365 (Note: if you’re
feeling frisky, there’s lots of great supplementary information on
scopes on p353 – 365. There’s a lot of technical elaboration, but also
3 additional examples of how scopes might be used on p353 – 357, with
diagrams)
Additional resources mentioned in the Atlas (some redundant
information, but some new formats and elaboration, as well):
Dave’s talk on scopes at the OCLC Symposium on Reference and Social
Networking (text, audio, and video)
http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=459
Another book by Dave which mentions scopes:
http://discover.syr.edu/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb2610582%7CSnew+concepts+in+digital+reference%7COrightresult%7CX5;jsessionid=EF21EDF752365F9E3B890BA397683FDA?lang=eng&suite=def
This post is part of the Atlas book group discussing the Knowledge Thread.
Respond to Ben to Discuss scapes!
What do you think of scopes? Would they work? Why or why not?
How do scopes differ from the traditional reference process? Do they?
In the example given in the Atlas, John’s question was ultimately
answered in almost exactly the same way it would be in a traditional
reference interview.
“John then asks the librarian, “Hi…do you know if this song is a
remake?’ to which the librarian replies, “Actually, it is a remake of
a song from Fiddler on the Roof.’”
Is the extra (or is it extraneous?) information useful? Why or why not?
How credible would a scape be? Who should be able to edit one, and to
what degree (should “landscaping” be included in a scape on “Scapes”?
If you immediately thought no, try coming up with an argument for yes,
and vice versa.)?
Think of other examples of member generated and edited content (Wikis
might be a jumping off point). How are they similar to scopes? How are
they different? What problems exist in these examples and how could
they be addressed in a scape?
What features other than those described in the text would you like to
see in a scape?
Resources on scopes:
The Atlas of New Librarianship: p53 – 60, p353 – 365 (Note: if you’re
feeling frisky, there’s lots of great supplementary information on
scopes on p353 – 365. There’s a lot of technical elaboration, but also
3 additional examples of how scopes might be used on p353 – 357, with
diagrams)
Additional resources mentioned in the Atlas (some redundant
information, but some new formats and elaboration, as well):
Dave’s talk on scopes at the OCLC Symposium on Reference and Social
Networking (text, audio, and video)
http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=459
Another book by Dave which mentions scopes:
http://discover.syr.edu/iii/encore/record/C%7CRb2610582%7CSnew+concepts+in+digital+reference%7COrightresult%7CX5;jsessionid=EF21EDF752365F9E3B890BA397683FDA?lang=eng&suite=def
