EBLIP latest

Just briefly (after all I am on holiday): I've been perusing the latest issue of Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP). First I enjoyed Marcus A. Banks' final theory in Friendly Skepticism about Evidence Based Library and Information Practice that differences in decision-leading preference, or tendency to wait for evidence versus willingness to play or experiment, stem from hard-wired personalities (ie Myers-Briggs S .v. N: data-driven .v. intuitive) and that both have value.

However I was triggered to blog by a quote in the letter to editor by Judith Siess Commentary on a Library Non-Use Study upon which Siess applauded the concluding statements (of the study: Non-Use of Library Services by students in a UK Academic Library, by Lisa Toner in EBLIP 3:2, 2008) for recognising the value of further evaluation, which followed after Siess' surprising evaluation of 14% as a 'quite acceptable' response rate. I'll have to read the study she was commenting on to check the nature of the data it studied, but I'm guessing that a major gap was missing in the study: Patron NEED. From the commentary it appears that the study examined only why people don't use the library, not whether their perceptions & decisions impacted positively or negatively on their outcomes. I wonder: if students do not use the library and succeed quite happily in their studies, do they really NEED the library?

That wondering was triggered because the commentary earlier mentioned that the study showed that non-users not only didn't use the traditional (?physical) library, but didn't use its electronic resources but most did use the Internet; later mentioned that some 4% of respondents expressed a lack of need for libraries; finally highlighted that the studying library concluded with deciding to increase marketing, publicity and promotion; all without telling me if the study examined whether patrons who don't use the library actually DO need it (or not). Surely data related to that part of the equation is relevant? That is: what are the outcomes for students who don't use the library? Is it significantly different from those who do? If it isn't, then I'm guessing we have some really interesting questions to investigate and answer.

My (partial) pledge to not suck at the internet

I've had this pinned since ADHD Librarian made the pledge he linked as being in full at Modern & Awkward.

I, moonflowerdragon, pledge that:

I will never comment on a blog saying "Why do we care?" because if I don't care, I can go away from the blog. Instead I will sit back and have a good five-minute think about my life.

I will not sign up to Twitter or a blog just to write "I am getting my hair done" or other inanities [me: didn't sign up to do it doesn't mean you won't find me doing it if I'm having desperate month]. Every message I write will [endeavour to] be entertaining and/or informative; e.g. "Getting a beehive hairdo so I won't fit under the parking garage clearance pole" or "I am on fire, please assist me." (Note: The latter is appropriate only if my hair is, in reality, on fire.)

...

I will only add up to one application per month on Facebook. This application will not be a zombie maker, werewolf maker, "top friends" maker, or anything that serves no purpose and is not, again, entertaining and/or informative.

[I will not trick people into seeing any images that they might find disturbing, because that's not funny and it never will be funny]

I will not add a signature to my forum posts that is more than half the length of my average post. I will definitely not put ASCII art in my signature, because I recognize that 1993 is over and the Internet has pictures.

...

I will never leave a comment expressing adulation or criticism in three or fewer words, unless I am doing so in an altogether unique way. "FAIL" is not a unique way. Neither is "LOLzers."

On Wikipedia and Academia

I've had this post pinned for a while (well I've included the date in the kwout so you can see how long) because I've been watching commentary on how Wikipedia is used. I may very well want to update this post if I can find the intriguing pages I was reading that examined the apparent founder-supported cabal protecting an apparently strongly biased and potentially misleading set of articles.

Library Technicians: Education, Training, Practice, Career, Jobs, etc.: Wikipedia and Academia Hit News Headlines Again via kwout

From Sandra's ideas playing to brains crooking

Ah yes, now I pinned this post to commemorate Sandra having introduced me to Crooked Brains, which does indeed consume time if you're not careful. (Sandra's Playing with Ideas hasn't been updated since July 14 but there's usually something interesting at her Lyrics Game. And Sandra also lets us know when she updates her unschooling pages.

PLAYING WITH IDEAS: The Churches of Book Worship, and other fantastic realities via kwout

If She Ran the Universe...^OO^

The Happy Villain has a fascinating style and eye-popping experiences in her library. Don't go there if you can't tolerate blue language, or if you prefer people to take a compassionate view. I like that Happy Villain will discuss her own behaviours and expectations as critically as she does others'. As well as amusing me, I also occasionally learn (or at least remember) something. This ebay/bike story pointed out that conflict might not need to be directly confronted (my unfortunate tendency).

If I Ran the Universe...: ...We'd All Have Old Bicycles via kwout

Libraries bridge the digital divide: includes games

Another pair of items I've had pinned for a very long time. I do like ShelfCheck and I love the point made in this miniseries. It also reminds me that the State Library of Victoria includes the videogame and computer game product of Victoria in its duty of protecting Victoria's heritage.

Backup

Argh I'll keep this post from Unshelved pinned as a reminder to ensure I keep up with my backup methods. Any photos that are important to me to keep saved I upload to Flickr. Any documents I think I need to keep I email to myself or upload to googledocs. Which reminds me, I've been working on a big assignment for a while... hang on a sec...right, where was I?

Not yet in the need for anything like FolderShare, Time Machine or SuperDuper.

Hm, but my budget tracking spreadsheet is too big for googlespreadsheet so, where's my memory stick? Good.

As to the boys' saved games, they've been advised to consider whether there are any they would feel devastated to lose and a friend will show them how to back those up.

Thanks for the reminder Bill (& Bloglines for pinning & Bill again for the regular comic so every time I read the comic I can catch the pinned post about backing up).