Helibtech update

As mentioned previously, I've joined Helibtech. As mentioned previously I said I would include the twitter hashtag here. Also the editor can be found here to.

Chrismash.....Andrew Preater style

Although I didn't make the chrismash event last saturday (mainly because I rarely keep up to date with my RSS feeds or twitter). Anyhow, I had hoped to go as a person I work with Andrew Preater discussing Towards ethnographies of the next-gen catalogue user. Anyway here is a link to the talk. Sorry I missed it.

Helibtech meeting at Sconul

Yesterday, I went to an Helibtech meeting at SCONUL. Helibtech:-

aim of HELibTech is to provide a starting point for anyone interested in library technology in Higher Education. Its particular focus is UK but many of the issues will be relevant elsewhere.

The meeting was arranged by Ken Chad to try and get more content editors on the Helibtech wiki. Therefore, at the meeting with some other members from Plymouth University, Canterbury University and University of West London amongst other places (I won't say who they are, as i'll explain why later).

Anyhow, in the meeting we discussed what needed to be done. How to increase interest? What we would do? Organisational stuff. We also discussed creating content biographies to put on wiki (hence no names mentioned above. I'll do that on this blog at a later date).

The good thing about it was the networking (even learning one month too late about Chrismash. Anyhow, we'll soon have more on this. Hopefully, we'll have a hashtag for the site.

Any queries etc or any thing you might thing is of interest either mention here, or better still over on the wiki.

Congratulations to Gloucester and Somerset public libraries

As many of you may know, Somerset and Gloucester have ruled library cuts unlawful. This means that both councils will need to look at the closures somewhat differently. It was interesting how Cilip, The Guardian and BBC reported this.
Anyhow, congratulations one and all. Especial mention to for one campaignor who said this after the case:-

Gloucestershire residents should never have had to go through this stressful, upsetting and expensive process and serious questions now also need to be answered by the secretary of state Ed Vaizey. It is Mr Vaizey’s duty to intervene when authorities are not meeting their obligations to provide a library service available to all who wish to use it. Why were Gloucestershire County Council allowed to continue down this destructive path? In opposition Mr Vaizey was a vocal critic of library closures yet our many pleas for help have been ignored whilst library users were left to fight this alone – it is clear that he left his convictions at the door on entering office.

Go get 'em........

CPD 23 Thing 16: Advocacy, speaking up for the profession and getting published

Thing 16: Advocacy, speaking up for the profession and getting published looked at what can be done to stop library closures and to underline libraries importance in an information economy. Laura discussed such area as the #savethelibraries hashtag, the Voices for the Library and CILIP amongst others. Laura also pointed out:-

Unfortunately it's very hard for public library staff to campaign for their own sector without risking their jobs, so it's very important for people outside of public libraries (and within, where possible) to shout about the role of public libraries and talk about why they're more relevant than ever.

She then looked at what might be needed to become an advocate such as a campaigning toolkit amongst other things.

She also looked at things to Do to become an advocate. Her recommendations where :-

There's plenty you can do to incorporate advocacy into your day-to-day life; the hardest part is working out how. For this Thing:

Consider why it's important to advocate for the section of library and information sector that you work for or want to work in.
Have a think about what advocacy you've been involved in. Give examples so we can pool resources and inspire others to do the same. Or, give an example of some advocacy that you think has been particularly effective – library-related or otherwise.
If you haven't been involved in advocacy, reflect on what your skills are (or which you want to develop), what you're most passionate about and think about what you might be able to do.
If you're passionate about public libraries and want to help – let Voices for the Library know! We're keen to get more people involved with things like asking organisations and well-known figures for supporting statements, securing sponsorship, liaising with other campaigning bodies and representing us at events.
If you've got any potential content for That's Not Online! let Jacqueline know.
Think about where advocacy fits in with professionalism – maybe comment on Johanna's blog post about Activism, Advocacy and Professional Identity or if you can get hold of any, look at some job descriptions and identify where you think the advocacy might fit within the requirements of the roles.


Ihave done some advocacy. Very lazy advocacy. This was setting up voices for the library wikipedia page.

Dorset Council wins motion close 9 public libraries

A Motion to save Dorset libraries defeated.

Libraries earmarked for closure
Burton Bradstock
Chickerell
Colehill
Corfe Castle
Portland Underhill
Puddletown
Stalbridge Wool.

Who was the greater economist? - A conversation with Robert H. Frank at Nesta

I am off tonight to Nesta to see Who was the greater economist? - A conversation with Robert H. Frank
. The event will look at:-

Economist and New York Times columnist Robert H. Frank will discuss his new book The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition and the Common Good, at NESTA on Wednesday 9th November.

The Darwin Economy contends that Charles Darwin’s understanding of competition describes economic reality far more accurately than Adam Smith. For Smith, market failures were almost always rooted in attempts to suppress competition. In contrast, Darwin’s framework suggests that market failures are rooted in the logic of competition itself.

Hopefully, will write it up sometime this week.

Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography book review

As I mentioned previously I was sad to hear of Steve Jobs passing. I've read loads on him (1, 2, 3 and 4), so knew a fair deal about him. I had worked on a documentary and knew about some of the Apple stories especially Steve Jobs. Therefore, I was quite interested to read Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography.
In reading the story Isaacson gets to talk to Jobs at a pretty sad moment in his life. When he's coping with cancer.
The book does look at Jobs the man and his binary outlook (things are either great or crap). His reality distortion field stories are also covered extensively. One point of interest is the author feels Jobs could often fall pray to the reality distortion field in believing he did not have cancer as he willed it so.
For those who have read about Jobs previously, he really is not an endearing person. In fact he's pretty nasty. But, his ability to resurrect apple, his views on tablet computing and his success at Pixar making him interesting material to read about.
The main part I liked are near the end. When I went to the states I meet Jobs friend Dan Kottke, Apple employee number 12. Kottke had gone to India (one of Jobs biggest influence on him was his interest in Asian culture and religion) with jobs and worked with Jobs but when it came to giving shares to staff Kottke got none. Kottke wasn't bitter (totally), but he was disappointed in his friend not recognising he was there at the beginning of the company. When we meet him, him and Jobs hadn't spoke for years. In the book, when Jobs was dying (2009 or 2010) Kottke spoke to him when buying an Ipad. Jobs stopped and spoke to him. I've heard also Kottke did meet him on other occasions. That alone makes Jobs a more approachable character.
In conclusion. If your an Apple fan, design fan or IT fan get this book. Obviously, Jobs is slightly sugar-coated in the book, but not greatly. So, if you want an insanely great book, get this.