PLN - Alaska Libraries and Librarians

Living and working in Alaska offers unique opportunities and uncommon challenges.  Alaskan librarians in general are a tight knit group of talented caring professionals. The sources under this heading help me to keep up with regional issues and find out what is happening up the street at the state library.

Just this week the AkLA (Alaska Library Association) started a google doc for librarians and library staffers to share their various social media nicknames and sites.

I subscribe to the statewide and local chapter listservs "AKLA List" and "juneaulis​t".

I read the Alaskan Librarian Blog written by Daniel Cornwall. This blog covers some library topics and other topics of local interest. When Daniel published a series of posts about our state's specific databases, he agreed to my request to write a guest column for his blog.

Alaska Library and Librarian Twitter feeds that I follow:



Carissa Cotta ‏@carissacotta
A.K. Marshall @jitterymoose
valarie kingsland‏ @valarie907
Daniel Cornwall‏  @DanielCornwall
Morgester‏ @Morgester
jonas lamb‏  @shack_poet
Coral Sheldon-Hess  @web_librarian
Christie Ericson‏  @aknorsk
Freya Anderson‏ @libkitty
AkLA‏ @AKLibraryAssoc
Egan Library‏ @EganLibrary
Alaska State Library‏ @AKStateLibrary

PLN - Reader's Advisory

Working the public service desk 20 hours a week, reader's advisory is important part of my job. To keep current with my reading recommendations I've developed  a fairly robust set of resources, including:

 

In the stacks - weekly newspaper article written by JPL staffer Kathy Ward
The ABC Book Reviews: A Beth and Cari Production- monthly podcast
Goodreads- see my current reading list on the sidebar
Literari Leigh - weekly book review blog post by the Readers Advisory Librarian at Kenton County Public Library (where I worked from 2008-2010).

AudioFile Magazine @AudioFileMag
Books OnTheKnob @BooksOnTheKnob
NoveListRA @NoveListRA


In addition, I look for opportunities to expand my personal reader's advisory knowledge base when selecting classes and working on class assignments. For example in my LIBR 202 class I wrote a paper comparing two major RA databases Novelist and Reader's Advisory Online. In my LIBR 281 class I wrote the Learning 2.0 Module for Goodreads.

PLN - SJSU Library School Connections

For now until I get my MLIS my library school connections are a key part of PLN, this includes following the twitter feeds from my fellow MLIS students, subscribing to or following my current instructors' social media postings. I also joined a Facebook group for SJSU SLIS students that focuses on the eportfolio process and challenges.  I get a lot of good and timely information from the SJSU SLIS student yahoo group. It one of my major go to resources for advice on course selection, internships, future employment and coping time management issues.  Through the yahoo group I'm able to reflect on, compare and  share my opinions and experience with fellow students.

 

sjsumlis · SJSU MLIS Yahoo group

SJSU MLIS eportfolio support group

On twitter I follow SJSU SLIS student organizations, students and instructors.

PLN - Library service and content vendors

I've made a point to include vendors in my twitter feed because it is a fast and effective way to learn about new products, product changes, training opportunities, service outages and glitches. Often vendors will include links to training videos and materials. Its also handy to have direct access to a vendor representative via twitter for more personalized questions or issues. If a vendor is doing something right, a shout out via twitter is a good way to the spread the word.

Credo Reference @credoreference

NoveListRA @NoveListRA
ProQuest ‏@ProQuest
Tutor.com @tutordotcom
MPA @mpamagmedia
EBSCO_Learning @EBSCO_Learning

PLN - eReader news, freebies and first looks

Books OnTheKnob (free books for eReaders) is updated daily with lists of free books available for eReaders and news about eReader hardware and accessories. I've been reading the blog almost daily since 2008 and I included it in my PLN because the blog's author is good at explaining to new users how to navigate through the various menu headings on their devices and how to navigate the websites that offer free or low cost eReader and tablet content. The site itself is very well organized, easy to search and has the quick links the Kindle and Nook deal of the day. There are also thoughtful blog posts about the pro and cons of various eReaders and help topics with screen shots.

 @BooksOnTheKnob

The Digital Reader, updated often, with news articles about ebooks, ebook readers, and digital publishing. There also pages for Resources, Tips & Tricks and Gadget Reviews.

 

More ereader resouces, an American Libraries the article titled "Essential Bookmarks".  It's a quality annotated list of 11 sites and sources.
 

PLN - Infopeople: thought provoking podcasts

I included the infopeople podcast and blog in my PLN because they often discuss the future of libraries and out of the box approaches to library services and issues. For example, I'm a slow reader and I was especially intrigued by their discussion of customizable loan periods and circulation statistics.

@infotweets

PLN - Staying current with Web 2.0 and other tools librarians use

Information Wants To Be Free by SJSU SLIS faculty member Meredith Farkas. I included this blog in my PLN because the writer offers some practical insight into both current trends in library land and the real world application of the those trends. Farkas' American Libraries article on screencasting inspired me to create theTalking Books Screencast.


American Libraries Columnist “Technology in Practice”

@librarianmer




The Scout Report is a weekly newsletter published by Computer Sciences Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Each issue has about 20 hyperlinked annotations arranged by topic (Research and Education, General Interest, Network Tools and In the News) for quality Internet resources.  

David Lee King offers thoughtful opinions and practical advice in his blog posts. Topics often focus on the social web, emerging trends and libraries.  My experience has been that many of the most active and interesting librarian bloggers come from an academic library background. I feel that King is one of a few quality bloggers to write from the public librarians' perspective.

 

Public libraries are often used by people with disabilities. Unfortunately many public library staffer are not trained in how to use assistive technology and software. This part of my PLN is to help supplement that gap in my on the job training. No Limits 2 Learning is written by an assistive technology specialist and trainer. Topics include how education theory, gadget reviews and opinion pieces about accessibility issues related to technology and the Internet.

The Thinking Stick author, Jeff Utecht wrote the book Web 2.0: How-To for Educators. Along with some great practical advice about using Web 2.0 tools for education, for me this blog is source of inspiration and encouragement.
 

Walking Paper author Aaron Schmidt blogs about libraries with a focus on the user experiences. His post often include photos that clearly demonstrate what works and needs improvement.  For example this post about confusing library sign posted on the book drop "Signs On Signs. Never Good"
 

American Library Magazine and American Libraries Direct weekly email. I basically skim these source for article and links that catch my eye.