The Ubiquitous Librarian (Brian Mathews)

Try Some Good Luck Candy for Finals

Donuts? Sugar Cookies? Snickers? Coffee? Yawn...

I just put out some Good Luck Candy and Fortune Cookies and they seem to be popular, although I guess it doesn't matter what you set out, people will take anything that is free. It’s the thought that counts, so... why not put a little thought into it? Maybe try and build a tradition of grabbing some good luck candy before heading off to take your exams. Don't get me wrong, Reese's Cups are great, but how often do you get to eat a little good luck? Maybe, just maybe it will give someone a little perk heading to a test.

Oh wait, some people still ban food in their libraries, how quaint.

Robots in the library: it's a Georgia Tech thing

Everyone has space for students to prepare and practice for their end of the semester presentations, but do you have room for their robots?

Today I ran into a pair of computer science students finalizing a dance routine for their robots. Do you remember back in the day when the teacher made you keep an egg to demonstrate parenting skills? Well here at Georgia Tech everyone gets a personal robot. The basic premise is that coding is boring, but programming robots is cool. So everyone learns basic skills which develop along with the curriculum. These things include sound, web cams, light sensors, and tons of programmable/hackable stuff.

This is Robot Performance week, so it should be interesting. Here is some raw footage from last semester. And here is the book used for the class. (free & online)

I might try and work with the College of Computing toward sponsoring a robot race in the library. I figure since they have to buy these robots why not give them some extracurricular activities with an opportunity to win a big prize... or to make it part of a class assignment.

Rethinking Video Games in the Academic Library

Stacey Greenwell over at The Uncommon Commons recently wrote about their welcome event . She works at the U of Kentucky, so it shouldn't be a surprise that basketball hoops were involved.

She ends her post stating:

“I've gone so far as to submit a proposal to purchase a few consoles for the library.”

It's nice to see such enthusiasm, but I've recently started to turn against gaming in academic libraries. I think its fine for special events or if you want to disguise it as a “study break” session, but trying to brand your library as someplace cool because of Madden Tournaments or that you have a Wii or Playstation available for checkout is weak. You play to a niche, maybe a big niche, but ultimately I think it deteriorates the mission of the academic library.

I've spent some time this semester visiting GT dorms and frat houses and they all have commons spaces with screens and projectors available to them. The gimmick of using video games to lure students into the library is off base, at least for my population. Sure we could easily turn ourselves into an arcade, but we already have one of those on campus and it's only about 100 yards away from the library, so why should we duplicate that effort?

I think a stronger position for the academic library is to aspire to offer the premiere productivity and study space on campus. We should provide something that isn't offered elsewhere and that fills a stated need.

In the long run, a better generation of buzz is through programming and partnerships, gather than Xboxs. I was pleasantly surprised today when I clicked a random date on our events calendar and saw the wide variety of offerings:

Keep in mind, we're undersized, and personally I think under funded, yet Tech is an entrepreneurial and scrappy library. (That's a compliment!) I like that we push a varied agenda of experiences, and I feel that academic libraries should attempt to inspire students, not just entertain them.

And sure, someday we'll probably have video games available for checkout. We do have a leading game critic on our faculty, but conversations with my users reveal that they'd prefer nicer quiet study spaces and more computers and printers, rather than video game zones. It's a matter of priorities. For $1,000 we could buy a console and a load of games, but I think that would be “off code” with out intention. I also think that there are better opportunities for relaxation and leisure than this .

So Stacey, good luck with your effort. I'll be curious to follow your progress, but be mindful of the cause and effect of gaming in the library. I'd much rather have my students complain about a noisy Calculus 2 review group rather than a bunch of kids pretending to be guitar heroes. When gaming becomes a daily occurrence, it quickly loses it's charm.

Is it ok to kiss in the Library? A Reflective Poster

Ok, so we have a Constitution Day display going up. Below is one of the panels that did not get selected, but I think it’s cool. I think the text is going forward, but not the photo. I really like the central image though—I would have actually taken the time read a few sentences of the poster just to see what the photo was all about.

I also think its ok for patrons to show a little affection in the library—whatever it takes to get alumni donations! It sure beats those boring READ posters.

Courtesy of Charlie Bennett, Katie Gentilello, Kirk Henderson, and Mary Axford.

Here is another poster that we featured Fall 2006 created by students and faculty from LCC -- just to show that we’re not afraid to take creative risks:


If you've done any cool or unusual posters, send me a link or email... but please, nothing involving celebrities or condescension. Cringe!

CeLIBration 2007 – recap (Diddy ain’t got nothin’ on us)

On Saturday we kicked off our welcome event from 7 – 11pm. If you read my blog, I'm guessing you've seen my past posts on this subject. We hit over 700 students, far exceeding my expectations. This event is targeted toward freshmen (our incoming class is typically around 2,000) however, open to all students.

PROMOTION

If you're planning some type of event I highly recommend aligning yourself with the undergraduate/orientation/student success/freshmen Office. We were able to generate large attendance by not competing with other “official” campus events. Furthermore, we gained free publicity by becoming an “official” event.

We also handed out event flyers at incoming-student orientation “marketplace” sessions throughout the summer, and pushed the event (and other library info) at a Residential Assistant/Housing Retreat. I posted a Facebook flyer ($5 per day) for several days leading up to the event, however I don't think those are very effective. I also invited members of the Class of 2011 group . During orientation sessions, most students registered for classes in the library—so we made sure that CeLIBration information was visible to them.

Here is a sample of some of our advertising, courtesy of Dottie Hunt:

We had these around the Library and students received smaller B/W copies too.

All-purpose flyer.

Each event had it's own poster.

FOOD & DRINKS

Every group on campus is giving away free food this week. It's a draw, but you need more than that. We gave away 100 large pizzas (I would tell you company, but they wouldn't give us a deal, so no free publicity) and 50 batches of movie theater style popcorn. We also had an assortment of refreshing Coca-Cola beverages.

ACTIVITIES

Doors opened at 7pm and we didn't schedule any activities until 8. We wanted to give everyone the chance to grab some food and wander around. Our objective was to fit 30-60 people in different areas throughout the library. This gets them in and around the building.

• Board games were very popular, as was DDR. Retro video games (from the 1980's) were not so much, but that's because Macs suck we had some computer problems with our non-Windows operating system.
  

  

  

• Speed-dating was a success. Several librarians from other schools have laughed at me for this—and that's fine, go on hating. We had 3 full sessions, again. We moved it into our gallery, added tablecloths, small mirrors, and flowers, together with a small floating candle—it was very classy; many people called it Parisian. We also raffled away several pairs of movie tickets to female participants to help get things started. Nice work J.S. Shout out to Mr. Hines on the mic.
  

  

  

• Improv Comedy is not my really thing, but the students loved. They had a big audience (50+) for two performances. If you have performance groups on campus you should invite them in from time to time.
  

  

• Ninja Tag was wild. I watched one round and was worried someone would get hurt. It was fast and violent—so hence, very cool. The pictures don't do justice to how dark it was. There was also loud music blasting. This year we doubled the playing space (got rid of some antiqued books!) and I hear we added an extra round. This event was in great demand. The setup was very labor intensive otherwise I'd advocate we do this monthly on a Friday night. Essentially it is a game of team tag played on a darkened floor with black lights. Ninja t-shirts were given to winning teams. Nice work B.T. (Stay East)
  

  

  

  

  

• Poker was packed. I had space for 40 players, but there was greater demand. I had to turn a lot of disappointed people away and felt bad. Never underestimate the appeal of gambling. I bought 800 chips (20 for each player) and several decks of cards. We gave away a rad trophy along with a $100 prize. Because of campus regulations, I could not give a gift card, but had to award a “real” prize, therefore I asked the champion to select something from Best Buy / Amazon to be sent to him. Custom prizes are better anyway. Thanks for the help C.B. and the Security Team.

We had refreshing Coca-Cola products plentifully available throughout the night, however for the championship round I wanted to kick it up and so I provided the gentlemen with Red Bull Energy Drinks to help vitalize the mind and body. (I'm still seeking sponsorship for my Halo 3 event on September 25th.)

• The Ice Water Challenge wasn't something we planned, but once the sodas were gone students challenged each other to see who could stand in freezing pools of ice water the longest. Gotta love Georgia Tech!
  

  

 

We also had a DJ from our campus radio station spinning CDs outside of the library, t-shirt giveaways , and the Outdoor Recreation club messing around in our water fountain. Overall it was a cool event. I was stuck in the poker pits most of the time, but it seems like the people enjoyed themselves.

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS 

• We use to hold our welcome event on the first Saturday after the semester started, however turnout kept declining— so last year we switched to the Saturday before school started and had over 500 in attendance. We have compete with some casual sorority/fraternity rush events, but several hundred students is a huge success in our eyes. Besides, Greek stuff probably doesn't really get going until 11pm anyway.

 

• We benefited from a central coordinator—keeping everyone on track and handling the larger details. Lori Critz did a great job again this year. We also had event coordinators who handed the dirty details of each activity. This works so much better than planning-by-committee. We each had a set budget and the freedom to develop our events as seen fit, meeting occasionally to bounce ideas. We also had a large pool of volunteers. I'd guess between 15-20 library staff members helped out at the event, including our Director, an Associate Director, and at least 2 department heads. I think it's important for Admin to participate—however, we also pulled widely from several departments, which was a great benefit. I also think that these types of events are better for staff bonding/morale building than any type of contrived gathering. (Thanks to everyone for helping out, although no one in my library reads this blog.)

 

• I've been learning so much about textured experiences lately. Lighting is everything. I heard many students remark favorably about the space. We could differentiate the activities/areas based on color. Varying table shapes and sizes are incredible. Portability. Personalization. I was always an early believer in modularization, but now my faith is confirmed. Atmospherics are powerful, whether you are designing space for studying or for poker—set the right mood. Now if I could only get someone to listen to me about the importance of a signature scent.

 

• I am 100% against library staff being required to wear any type of official attire. Jeans and a black t-shirt is appropriate. (Come on Jon!) However, my opinion is often wrong. A few people (5-6) asked me who was hosting the Poker Tournament, as in they thought it was a frat or the housing office, etc. While we were able to get people into the library, I am not sure it was clear that it was us who organized the event. That's something for us to discuss next year. We definitely want to take credit for something successful—if it's a flop we'll blame someone else, like the Admissions Office.

 

• It doesn't always have to be about the library. That's the key really. We're not blasting them with Boolean or databases or policies. We want to get freshmen in the door, showoff our space, and hopefully make them feel comfortable. Let them see that we are approachable and not stogy. We want to set the bar high and raise their expectations of what the library is or can be. We also want to tap into their minds early on—before they even step foot in the classroom—they all know where the library is now. We really need to do this type of thing (library branded entertainment activities) more often, I'd say at least twice a semester. If we can offer a mixture of fun and academic events geared freshmen throughout the first semester—I think it would pay off in the long run. Just a theory.

• Set up as much as possible the day/night before.

All photos taken by Katie Gentilello.

Introducing TUL – library news & gossip

FAIRFIELD VIDEO PIC LEAKED!
We've got the scoop! The Library World is eagerly anticipating the release of Fairfield U's hot new instructional video. Inside sources tell us “it's like choose your own adventure” but in an “academic setting.” Hmmm, sounds like they are embracing the “library in the lifestyle” advertising approach – finally, someone is listening! Our “Laguna Beach but in a Library” proposal failed miserably, so we wish them well.

The yet-to-be-titled video is expected to hit the web later this year, but we've obtained this leaked photo from behind the scenes. You heard about it here first!

DUKE TRASH TALKS UM
The heated rivalry from the hardwood has spilled over. The Duke Libraries blog heckles the U of Michigan stating:

“at least we don't have an East Section of Level 1 A North.”

Damn Dude! Is Big Blue just gonna go out like that? All they gotta say is 0-12, baby! 20 game losing streak! Better watch out before both libraries start boosting about the size of their institutional repositories.

NCSU'S “COMPETITIVE” ADVANTAGE
NCSU takes competition seriously. How do you think they went from the ARL's basement to the Top 30 in just ten years?

R1, R2, L1, CIRCLE, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP << cheat codes>>

Just take a look at their Vision Statement --- The Libraries: NC State's competitive advantage. That's right folks, NCSU is building a gaming empire. Forget about books and journals, that's so 1.0. The NCSU Libraries “learning commons” provides the resources and tools that students really need to succeed!

It takes more than study space (you stole our curved walls!) and computers to generate a 1.5 million gate count per year. The secret is the Wii! Embrace it!

 

STANFORD'S REAL ESTATE FLOP
The Stanford U Libraries recently purchased a large plot of land--- and haven't done a thing! With the Fall semester approaching, students will surely be confused by the large vacant lot. Our reporters found that all outsiders are barred from the propriety-- but we captured this excusive photo:

What gives Stanford? Are us State Schools not good enough to step foot on your hallowed lands? That's that liberal, left coast, Starbucks-drinking, Google-searching, Terminator-voting, elitist attitude for ya. For shame!

[Note: Ok. So maybe I've been reading too much TMZ lately? This post is just a joke. I figured these are all big schools/libraries and that they can handle a little end of summer mock-gossip. Well, except for Fairfield. ((Who's Fairfield ?)) The real Ubiquitous Librarian will return next week with posts on proactive library instruction, a Library Poker Tournament Recap, and probably something about facebook too. I'm off to visit INLAND EMPIRE , catch ya later.] [PS: Don't hate.]

Raising our Game – ideas for the next phase of Gaming @ the Georgia Tech Library

If you are a librarian with a blog then you have to mention gaming from time to time. This is my obligatory post. Here are a few upcoming projects -- a peek at what's on my drawing board.

POKER

Many librarians have expressed interest in our CeLIBration event. We're gearing up for this annual “welcome” event the weekend before the start of the Fall Semester. (Aug 18) This time around I am hosting a poker tournament (and we've still got ninja tag , speed dating , retro video games, board games, ddr , improv, and pizza.)

Poker, Round 1 begins at 8pm. 10 tables, each with up to 5 players. Participants are given 25 chips at the start. After 1 hour of play, the top chip-winners at each table will advance to the championship round starting at 10pm. Those 10 battle it out for a trophy and a fabulous prize.

I'll post a follow-up review of the event later this month, along with our advertising strategy.

HALO 3

Harry who? Halo is the gaming equivalent to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Star Wars for you old timers. People will camp out at Best Buy in order to purchase this game. Halo 2 sold over 7 million copies -- we're talking $125 million on opening day. Epic!

This is a great opportunity for all types of libraries (academic and public) to be a part of pop-culture, or at least geeky gamer culture. I am going to try and talk our admin and commons coordinator into letting me host a Halo 3 party on Tuesday , September 25 (the release day.)

We have an 80 inch screen with surround sound that would be awesome. We can dim the lights or illuminate that particular area, pull up couches and comfortable chairs and really offer a unique gaming experience. Something like this in our East Commons:

 

If it goes forward, I might put in some calls to Red Bull or Monster (coca cola), GameTap (Turner), and Microsoft (xbox) to see if I can get a few giveaways. Maybe start at 7pm and roll until whenever (we're 24 hours so…)

It's something you should think about too; I highly recommend you take advantage of the opportunity... you could probably easily find an enthusiastic gamer (use your online social networking connections for more than chatting with other librarians) and invite them to bring their friends, xbox 360, and halo 3. You give them space and a big screen and maybe invest $100 in food or try to get it donated.

GAMING THE WALL (like gleaming the cube, dude!)

This idea developed today on the reference desk with Dottie Hunt – the last hour on the last day of the summer semester. We were talking about the “halo 3 experience” and she suggested that we project a game outside on the wall of the library. This conversation evolved to “gaming the wall” on a Saturday after a football game. We have thousands of people walk by the library in route to their cars—so why not offer a distraction? It would be cool to have an ncaa football video game projected on a huge wall, hooked up to speakers. Or maybe a battle royal type game? This could be a big payoff in terms of street cred.

We could do it Sept 29 (vs. Clemson) and develop that week into some type of gamer's heaven (remember Halo 3, Sept 25), but I like November 1 (Virginia Tech) better because it's a Thursday night game and it's Va Tech vs. Ga Tech -- outdoor gaming fits nicely into the “techie” stereotype. Plus it will be televised on ESPN. I would love to take on Herbstreit and he can even play with his gator bait team . Perhaps this is something we could tie in with Homecoming too… I'm sure we could get funding from someone somewhere? Obviously there is still a lot to be worked out, but I just like the idea of gaming on the wall.

For more info on gaming @ GT, check out Lori Critz's presentation . We don't mess around in our library:

GSU was almost so fly...

I was clicking around at some of the local library websites today and came across this image:

I was impressed. I thought GSU got game. I thought they were bringing in a fresh design and raising the bar for Atlanta libraries, or all libraries for that matter. I thought that they had gone Hollywood on us -- bringing in something from the Dolce Group.

But I was wrong. The caption from their photo reads:

“The orange walls are not a design decision gone awry. These protective walls are in place as the new and expanded "links" make their connections to the existing buildings.”

Tragic! That space would have really popped. Paint the stairs black. Jack the area up with computers. Take out that stationary wooden furniture and install comfortable modular solutions. Drop that food/drink policy. Set the mood. They would have had a cool little spot in the library where people could unwind.

You’ve got space for books. You’re got classrooms and service desks. You’ve got quiet areas. Why not provide a chill zone? So many students use libraries to kill time between classes, why not make it hot?

“Oh but they can go hangout somewhere else—the library is for studying and research, serious work and contemplation” you might say. “Well, it’s those things and more. But if you give up a little space to create an emotional connection with patrons—give them a safe zone, a neutral zone, it will pay off in the long run” I would respond.

I just hope they don’t paint a big QUIET across the wall like they did on their 5th floor:

That’s some real talk, but I’m just messing with them. They actually have a good business and social science collection—I borrow books from them regularly.  I just wanted to be inspired by space. I wanted to see something new. I can't blame them for playing it safe instead.

Flashing the Library – an animation competition at Georgia Tech

Many academic libraries have “term paper” contests (1 & 2) – or Book Collection Contests— or the recent trend of “make us a video to show how great the library is”-- but we’re kicking it up. I humbly submit:

FLASH in the Pan 2007: Animation Challenge

This is just one of a buffet of “cool media projects” we have coming out this year and I’m pretty excited about this one. Essentially, it started as a video competition for students and an opportunity to pitch library products (software & equipment & materials) and services (help) that we offer. The original idea was a “library” themed video contest, which evolved to “life on campus,” and now finally (thankfully!) it is totally open. No theme! No limits! Just make it good!

We’re asking students to create a short video using Adobe Flash, which we will then turn around and present at an awards show and give away cool prizes. This project was conceived by Jon Bodnar and Alison Valk -- I volunteered to come in and add a little social marketing sizzle. We were very fortunate to get Wacom to donate a tablet, and to use our connections to pull in representatives from Homestar Runner and Sanrio / Hello Kitty to serve as guest judges. I’m hoping to get Adobe to buy-in too, since we’re featuring their software, and we’re working out agreements with our neighbors Cartoon Network and Coca-Cola (both located literately across the street from campus.) Major players, cool technology, design and creativity—what’s not to like?

You can read Jon and Alison’s descriptions too, but here are a few quick notes of my own:

• The contest allows us to create an emotional connection with patrons. This is especially helpful for incoming freshmen or students with minimal library experience. How can we stay on their radar for academic, creative, social, and technological needs? How can we present a suprise?
• The contest demonstrations (or reinforces) that we’re more than books and study space.
• The contest shows that we have software (which they need for class) and other equipment, such as video cameras, microphones, and laptops.
• It allows us to show that we have books (tech books, design books, animation books, etc) and tutorials, as well as staff who can help them.
• Hopefully it will create a community of users interested in animation-- get them in touch and inspire future works of collobration.
• We can promote our multimedia workshops/classes, which includes Flash and tons of other programs. (I also want to try a little manufactured ubiquity by inviting a group over to the café after a Flash class to talk about the contest, technology, design, all that, and in the process really capture a snapshot of student life. Maybe they’ll mention class or an assignment in which case I can play a “librarian” role, but it doesn't always have to be about that — more later.) 
• Our grand prize is a tablet (donated by Wacom)--- we have several of these available now for checkout, giving us some cross promotional opportunities.
• The contest gives is a chance to talk with faculty about something other than scholarly communication, information literary, budget cuts, and Michael Vick. We can target those who use Flash in the classroom, or other multimedia / design programs, and ask them to help us promote the contest. This could also help us appear less stogy to these faculty as well-- giving us some relevance.
• It allows us to have a competition, but also an awards show (in the library) –giving us more mileage. People might not have the time, interest, or skills to make a video (flash is fairly easy though) but they can drop by to watch the show. I doubt you’d have a big turnout for a “presentation of the award winning research paper”—but this allows us to create a campus event... and potentially even a media event.
• Later we can place the videos online for anyone to watch and comment on-- they won't just die afterwards.
• Ultimately this contest let’s us show that we don’t always take ourselves too seriously. The Library isn’t just all hard work -- it has some personality. It can be fun and creative and a little crazy too. I feel our primary mission is to inspire students... but maybe my priorities are off?
• Oh yeah, and the marketing campaign is pretty cool too. I'll post on that later in the year with examples.

UPDATE:
We've got a loose deal with Adobe to "sponsor" the event and we're pretty close to getting a guest judge from Marvel.

Homestar takes over Library

The guys from Homestar Runner dropped by today to talk about Flash, media production, design techniques, and so forth. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 students checked it out, not too bad for the end of the semester. I hope that we continue with this type of programming, rather than bringing in "traditional" speakers.

 

Update: Here is the video of the talk.