IMLS Funds Next Phase of ILEAD U: ILEAD USA!

Posted on June 18, 2012 by rdlankes

I am thrilled to once again head up the instructor corps for ILEAD U – now ILEAD USA expanding to multiple states.

The ILEAD USA project, sponsored by the Illinois State Library, seeks to help librarians develop new technology skills by meeting a specific community need, all the while being supported by peer learners in a network of collaborating teams. Building on a successful statewide project in Illinois, the 18-month continuing education immersion initiative is designed to expand librarians’ leadership abilities while also helping them build their participatory technology skills to effectively engage their constituents. Twenty-eight five-member teams in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Utah will attend three three-day, in-person sessions over the course of nine months. The sessions will be held simultaneously in each of the five states with plenary sessions broadcast live on streaming video. Between in-person sessions, virtual meetings and activities will allow participants to hone their newly acquired skills; experiment with participatory technology tools; and continue communication with the ILEAD USA network of participants

The Atlas of New Librarianship is the text for the program and new librarianship ideas are turned into reality by the amazing teams.

Kudos to Anne Craig and the amazing team at the Illinois State Library.

Posted in New/Participatory Librarianship, News, Research | 2 Comments

Announcing Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World

Posted on June 18, 2012 by rdlankes

Cover Image: Expect More Click for Larger ImageAnnouncing Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World

Now available at http://www.riland.org.

Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world, do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren’t about books, what are they about?

In Expect More, David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that, to thrive, communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond books and literature. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of privacy, intellectual property, and economic development.

This book is written for the people who support and oversee libraries. This includes college provosts, students, parents, board members, volunteers, and, well, just about everyone who has ever gone to school or pays taxes. You need to know what libraries are capable of, and you need to raise the bar on your expectations. Expect More is a rallying call to communities to increase their expectations for great libraries.

Buy the book in print at CreateSpace (the preferred retailer) and Amazon. It is also available as an eBook from Smashwords for all major platforms.

For more information on the book, to order a copy, or to join the conversation about improving libraries, go to the book’s website http://www.riland.org.

For a high resolution copy of the cover click here.

Posted in Expect More, New/Participatory Librarianship, Publications News | Comments Off

Book Tease

Posted on June 15, 2012 by rdlankes

A few weeks ago I posted about my new book Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World. Well, It is coming out Monday. All next week I’ll be posting more about the book including the first chapter and a sort of “behind the scenes” post about self-publishing. In the meantime I wanted to share a few pictures of the eBook version and the proof.

Here’s the proof of the book. What still amazes me is that I finished the book on Saturday and had the proof in my hand by Tuesday:

Those of you who have read the Atlas will be glad to hear that it is 124 pages and paperback. It was written to be a single sitting read by busy folks like librarians, board members, and provosts.

Here is the eBook version running on an iPad, Kindle Touch, Kindle Fire, and a Nook Tablet:

The book will be sold without DRM.

In any case, look for much more on Monday!

Posted in Expect More, New/Participatory Librarianship, Publications News | 8 Comments

The Bad, The Good, and The Great

Posted on June 13, 2012 by rdlankes

“The Bad, The Good, and The Great” Keynote Academic Librarians 2012, Syracuse, NY.

Abstract: Bad libraries build collections; good libraries build services (after all a collection is only one type of service); great libraries build communities. In a time of great change and challenges to the very model of higher education, libraries must move beyond a focus on collections to a focus on communities. As new models of instruction (flipped classrooms, inquiry based instruction, etc.) and research emerge (interdisciplinary, large scale, collaborative, data driven), libraries find themselves well positioned – but only if they see their strongest assets as the librarians, not the materials librarians have organized. This talk will look to a new librarianship that moves past artifacts to knowledge and sets a new path.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2012/Syracuse.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2012/Syracuse.mp3

Screencast:

Posted in 2012, New/Participatory Librarianship, Presentation | 5 Comments

New Librarianship’s New Promise

Posted on June 5, 2012 by rdlankes

“New Librarianship’s New Promise” Keynote New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.

Abstract: We must make a promise with our communities. We promise to help them participate in the full scope and scale of today’s society. To not simply help the unemployed find a job, but to find meaning and respect. To not simply help the student get to college, but to do so without the shackles of crippling debt. To not simply inform the citizen, but empower them to govern themselves. The promise we must make with our communities is that we are not consumers, we are not customers. We are not an audience to democracy. We are the democracy. We are the market. We consume, we produce and we matter. This community, this city, this state, the country, matters and we will shape its destiny. And we librarians are essential forces of this promise. We are not obsolete, we are not quaint, we are the promise of the better tomorrow.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2012/NJLA.pdf

Posted in 2012, New/Participatory Librarianship, Presentation | 1 Comment

Ebook Experiments

Posted on May 24, 2012 by rdlankes

I am getting ready for the release of my new book Expect More. The final edits are underway, and as I wait I’ve been playing around with different ebook platforms. I’ve taken the OITP white paper that started it all (participatory librarianship) Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation and made ebook versions using Smashwords and the iTunes book store via iBooks Author. It’s free and feel free to download the white paper (a bit dated at this point).

Smashwords was a piece of cake just uploading a Word file. We’ll see if it gets the book listed in other book stores (like Barnes & Noble). Click here to see the Smashwords entry (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/164561).

Apple’s iTunes is typical Apple. Very easy to put together the files, then a bit bureaucratic to get it submitted and approved. Still, fast turn around and you can find it by searching the bookstore through iTunes.

By the way, I went most of the way with Amazon but they required I charge for the book.

Posted in Expect More, Publications News | 2 Comments

Expect More: The Book

Posted on May 7, 2012 by rdlankes

Covercomp-1
Announcing (and seeking help on) my next book, Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World. At the beginning of the year I said my focus for the year would be on expecting more. That’s what this book is all about. Taking what we know works for great libraries (a commitment to learning, a focus beyond functions, co-owning the library with the community) and explaining that to non-librarians.
While I wrote this book to be read by people outside of the profession, the reason I wrote it was to help fantastic librarians make their case to those who oversee the library. I feel we need to do a better job advocating the power of libraries to our communities, and bringing those communities into the conversation of our future.

First an overview, then the details, then the request.

An Overview

Here’s the blurb for the book:

Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world, do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren’t about books, what are they about?

In Expect More, David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that, to thrive, communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar, and beyond books and literature. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of privacy, intellectual property, and economic development.

Expect More is a rallying call to communities to raise the bar, and their expectations, for great libraries.

Unlike my Atlas of New Librarianship this one is written to be short (about 130 pages) and small (6×9 paperback) emphasizing examples and geared towards the general reader. It is based on conversations I have with public library boards, provosts, school administrators, and the general public.

The Details

The manuscript is done and is just about to go into final edits. I’m hoping to have the book out early summer in time for ALA.

I will be publishing this one as both a paperback and an ebook (and by popular request, with an index). I’m also looking for a low price point.

The Request

I’ve decided to self-publish the book. I have had a great relationship with great publishers in the past, but I thought it was time to put my money where my mouth was in terms of self-creation and exploring the realities of libraries becoming publishers. Right now my plans are to use CreateSpace for the print version, and an ePub solution for the ebook version. I’m interested if folks have gone this route and have any advice.

Posted in Presentations News | 18 Comments