The Ubiquitous Librarian (Brian Mathews)

Computer Availability @ the GT Library: a status map

Last week I mentioned the computer availability function on the NCSU Commons website. We launched our version of that yesterday. It looks like this:


Essentially a map displaying which computers are open (or in use.) We have this on a screen that is visible to students waiting in line.

Thanks to Cari Lovins for making this happen.

Via Cari:
Much of the credit for this project goes to Leroy Campbell, who is now working as a Tech Temp for ATS at Technology Square. Additional thanks to Chris Helms and Heather King for help in moving to the Library Web server and configuring for the Commons Web site. And finally, thanks to Kyle Koza and Dustin Shiflett for their assistance in setting up the display in the LWC.

Here is the live version:
http://librarycommons.gatech.edu/cms/

Shadow Men & SeaDragon – a mixed bag post

Shadow Men

We have a big HVAC renovation going on in our library. One of our signage pieces includes a shadow man holding construction info located on each floor. They were constructed out of corkboard which is extremely difficult to cut. Trust me! We're planning to add yellow construction hats after Thanksgiving to spice it up.

Ok, so the point is that these shadow men are attached to shelves near the elevators and are extremely effective because they always kind of surprise me when the doors open. Your mind tricks you into believing that someone is really standing there. I've actually seen people stop and read the information, so it works. (Thanks to Dottie Hunt for the vision on this project.)

SeaDragon

A few weeks ago I caught a presentation by Microsoft fellow Gary Flake . He has a book out titled The Computational Beauty of Nature , you should add it to your collection. He gave a talk about web searching from the perspectives of the end-user, the corporation, and the scientist. More info . However, what I really enjoyed was the first 15 minutes when he showcased some software called SeaDragon . That link provides basic info, however you can see the potential of the software by installing Photosynth . Video Demo here .

One of the examples they've created is an artist's workshop. You can look around, zoom in and out, and get a 360 panoramic view. However what's really cool is that you can click on a painting and it opens in full view with the option to zoom in and out. This could work in a library too where you have a shelf of books and the ability to click on one and then view the text in column format. It's perfect for the iPhone world of pinch and pull browsing.

Here is video that puts it all into perspective.

Chicken Wings and Egg Rolls: The Library Menu Concept

I constantly get menus from local restaurants that want to deliver food to my apartment. I used to just toss them out, but now I collect them. I’ve become fascinated with appetizers and like to see the full range of possibility. Sure Pizza is the core, but tell me about the wings, the cheese bread, and those cinnamon sticks.

That’s how I see libraries. Collections are the core, and we need to make sure they’re fantastic, but what about all the accessories and side dishes? We have a ridiculous (but awesome) mix of stuff: cables, headsets, mics, multi-card media readers, laptops, cameras, video cameras, scanning adapters, gorillaPods, MP3 players, graphing calculators, digital voice recorders, wireless presenters w/ laser pointers, zip drives, USB drives, web cams, external DVD burners, and so on. Plus free black and white printing, color printing, large poster-sized printing. AND… most patrons (and staff for that matter) have no idea about all this cool stuff that we have to offer.

Last Summer I started to dabble with a menu concept. I wanted to feature students around campus, not necessarily in the Library, but individuals who would be recognizable to others. Originally I intended to do three versions: an athlete, an artist, and a scholar. The premise is that instead of tossing it aside, maybe some students would keep it. Make something cool that they’d want to hang on to and embed atypical library information that is functional. “Oh cool, they have digital camcorders!”

This is a very rough mock up. I designed it as a proof of concept, but our graphics designer would have polished it up, so work with me here. What I really liked was including the shuttle service info, along with a few restaurants that deliver on campus. If we’re going to allow food and drinks, let’s give them options.

Anyway, I got caught up in the Fall Semester and was never able to bring this into existence, however I was happy to see that our Circ Staff did. They twisted it to promote the accessories that they provide but the menu concept lives on:
 

It’s cool that people here are starting to buy into the library as product mindset. On a personal note, I’ve also recognized a change in myself. I used to want to control my ideas from conception, through development, and into implementation. But now I am much more satisfied to give ideas away to others. Maybe its maturity or just being too far stretched, but it’s nice to be someplace where I don’t always have to be the one to push the crazy ideas. Our Circ Staff has really gained a sense of ownership, and it’s cool to see them experiment.

So yeah, do your patrons know everything on your menu? What else have you got besides Pizza? Do they know about your Chicken Wings and Egg Rolls?

library signage example: group computers

Since it is trendy these days to post library signage, I thought I'd share one of ours. I had nothing to do with this one, but it's good to see the punk/alt /indie spirit surfacing from other departments. We could have just said, these computers are for Group Work Only! , but instead approached it with a little personality.

Courtesy of Joey Fones. The font looks a little squished here, but the originals look very clear.