Promoting and Supporting Web 2.0 Services on Campus

Agenda Part I• 8-8:10 Welcome/the basics• 8:10-8:15 My Introduction• 8:15- 8:45 Audience Introduction• 8:45-9:30 Learning 2.0 and

organizational change

@ McMaster• 9:30-10:00 Break

Agenda Part II• 10:00-10:15 Learning 2.0 @ McMaster:

Transforming ourselves• 10:15-11:00 Learning 2.0 at McMaster:

The program• 11:00-11:15 Learning 2.0 at McMaster:

How we’re using it• 11:15-11:20 Next Steps• 11:20-11:30 Questions

My Introduction

• New to McMaster

• 20+ years experience

• Public/academic libraries

• Grant initiatives involving archives, museums and others

• Systems background

• Last position: Wayne State University, Detroit

Member: Gamer Generation

• Tauren (Horde Faction)• Hunter Class• Currently Level 70 and

enjoying the Burning Crusade

• Born: 20-Sep-2006

July 2006• University Librarian at

McMaster University– Top 200 Universities

worldwide– Canada’s most research

intensive– Recognized as “Canada’s

most innovative”– Problem-based learning

Why did I choose to come to Canada?

McMaster Context

McMaster University Library

• State of decline– 1991: Ranked 86th among

ARL– 2006: Ranked 109th

Challenges

• Lowest funded medical-doctoral library in Canada

• Lowest # of librarians in ARL• Lowest #FTE in ARL• Unionized environment• Length of service• App. 40% staff in “back office”• 10-15% of staff on LTD• Needed a message of “CHANGE”

But first, let’s talk about you…

Audience Introduction• Your name• Your institution• What you do• What you hope to get out of this session

Learning 2.0 and Organizational Change @ McMaster

August 2006: Our Transformation

• Focus on 4 pillars of “transformation”– Ourselves– Our resources– Our services– Our facilities

The kick in the teeth

• 8 weeks after I started: Provost stepped down

• University: “discovered” $20m structural deficit

• Freeze vacancies• Across the board cuts

18 Months since my arrival• Three Provosts• Two VP Research• Two Deans of Humanities• Interim Dean of Engineering• Interim Dean of Graduate Studies• Dean of Social Sciences: no 2nd term• Medicine, Business, Science (stable, for now)

A new message, bold vision, get attention

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

Our flattened world• 10 flatteners

– #2: Netscape– #4: Open sourcing– #9: In-forming– #10: The Steroids

2006

2006

Facebook

2006

2006

Student-Focused message

Today’s learner• Intuitively visual

communicators• Easily move between

virtual and physical• Learn through discovery• Respond quickly• Able to shift easily

– Diana Oblinger

Engaged with

• Games/Virtual worlds (WoW, Second Life)

• Social spaces (Facebook, myspace)

• Web 2.0 spaces (Blogs, Wikis)• Content (YouTube, Flickr,

del.icio.us)• Handhelds, cell phones, iPods

Librarians

Question….

If you were going to undertake a major transformation of your institution, what kind of message would work on your campus?

Did it work?

Campus News

Local News (The Spec)

Note: they read my blog!

National News (CBC, G&M)

National Television (Canada AM)

One week: PR hat trick

University Affairs The SpecG&M

Late breaking news: ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries

So, what did we do?• More than just “the message”….but, Let’s

take our break first!

Learning 2.0 @ McMaster

Transformation Team

Guest speakers

• Faculty: Dr. Brian Detlor (Business), Dr. Claude Eilers (Classics) and Dr. Geoffrey Rockewell (Multimedia)

• Mike Ridley (Guelph)• Perry Willett (UofM)• Alane Wilson (OCLC)• Michael Stephens (tametheweb)• Joan Lippincott (CNI), • John Shank (blendedlibrarian.org)

Choices

• Retire• Restructure• Reassign• Retrain• Recognize

5R

Choice: Retire• Eliminated cataloging

department (14 staff)– CAW agreement– 10 voluntary

separation packages– 6 months pay– Take up from 8– $300,000 salary

savings

• 9 new positions created– 7 new librarians

Achievements: New positions

• Archivist/Librarian• Digital Strategies Librarian• Digital Technologies Librarian• E-Resources Librarian• Marketing, Outreach, Communications

Librarian• Teaching and Learning Librarian• Immersive Learning (Gaming) Librarian

Reassignments: User Experience Librarian

• Questions:– What aren’t you doing that you know you

should be doing?– What are you doing that you know you

shouldn’t do any longer?– How can you facilitate change?– How do you inspire confidence in change?

Learning 2.0 @ McMaster

Retraining: Emerging Technologies IG

• Amanda Etches-Johnson, Reference Librarian (chair)

• Harry Ennis, Coordinator, Library Services for Students with Disabilities

• Alex Homanchuk, Mills Intern • Debbie Lawlor, Microcomputer Specialist • Kelly Penfold, Library Assistant • Wade Wyckoff, Cataloging Policy Librarian

Learning 2.0 @ Mac• Modeled after

– Learning 2.0 programme at Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County

Launched with a bang!

http://tametheweb.com

Invited staff to participate• Open to everyone – self selected

– 135 total staff– App 80 signed up– App 70 completed all 12 weeks

• Clerical staff, managers, librarians

How did we get so many sign ups? Incentives!

• Time! – Staff were allowed to participate on work time – Supervisors asked to accommodate

scheduling changes

• Incentives for completing programme– MP3 player for everyone– Final draw to win a laptop computer

Word got out!• Other departments on campus:

– Marketing staff– Advancement staff

• Allowed to attend training but library did not sponsor their incentives

Web site

http://macetg.wordpress.com/about-learning-20-mac/

What does it include?• Learning 2.0 @ Mac

– About the programme– Learning 2.0 @ Mac weekly activities– Learning Groups– Participant Blogs

Can you borrow it?• “Steal these ideas”

The Learning 2.0 @ Mac programme is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

How does it work?• 12 week program• use freely available online tools

– Blogger– Wordpress– Bloglines– Del.icio.us– Flickr– Firefox and plugins

Learning Groups• 10 Learning groups

– 9-10 participants each– Team Leader (a member of ETG).

• Support and encouragement– Weekly email messages– Monitored member blogs– Answered questions– Provided support and assistance– Monitored progress

Groups

How does it work?• each week focused on a specific type of tool

– Week 1: Intro– Week 2: Blogging– Week 3: RSS– Week 4: Wikis– Week 5: Social Bookmarking and Tagging– Weeks 6 and 7: Discovery!

How does it work?– Week 8: Online applications and tools

(Google docs, library thing, etc)– Week 9: Online social networks– Week 10: Gaming and Virtual Worlds– Week 11: Browser tools– Week 12: Discovery!

Followed up with a “wrap up” week

Question: What’s missing from this list? Did we cover everything you would have?

Activities on the website

• Designed to guide participants – experiment with the tools – think about potential uses

• Blogs– Demonstrate knowledge– Reinforce learning

Example Week 2: Blogs

Example week 2• Overview of “blogs” and “blogging”• Examples of librarians who blog• Blogging libraries wiki (sample of what’s to

come – wikis)• Blogging software

Example Week 2: Activities

• Just two assignments– Set up a blog and post– Send blog address to

coordinator

Example: Week 2

• Additional readings including: – “The Ethical Blogger”– “Why and how to use blogs to promote your

library’s services”

Example Week 8: Online apps and tools

Example: Week 8• Activity: For this week, we have just one activity

for you: take a look at one (or more!) of these online applications and write a blog post about your impressions of the application(s) you explored. – Google Docs and spreadsheets

– Zoho

– ThinkFree

– Basecamp

– etc

Example: Week 8 (apps)• Intro: One of the most interesting “2.0″

developments is the proliferation of web-based applications. These applications allow you to do many of the things you used to need software to do — things like creating or editing a Word document, spreadsheet or presentation, creating or editing an image file, chatting online via instant messaging, and even keeping track of your book collection! The best part? None of these applications require a download! Most simply require you to register with the site and login in order to use the tools.

Example: Week 8 (staff response)

Celebration

Were we successful?

Campus Publicity

Local News

Last month: PR hat trick

University Affairs

The Spec

G&M

Others on campus

• Interest from – Advancement– Career Services– Faculty of Business– Faculty of Social Sciences– Marketing– Social Sciences – Student Services

How are we using 2.0?

Facebook: increased visibility

Internal Communication

How are we using facebook?

Facebook: Marketing

FYE Student wiki

Wikis: Canadian Glacier Inventory

del.icio.us: Library subject guides

IM: Meebo (up 300% this year)

Google earth and maps

Peace and War in the 20th Century

New ways of working

Staff buy-in• More staff interest in 2.0 and the

transformation• Rhonda Moore

– Original Cataloguer– Now: Virtual reference manager

• IM (Meebo)• Email reference

Question: How are you using 2.0 in your organization? Examples….

Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned• Team approach to training was beneficial• Planning was critical (August 2006-Feb 2007• Guest speaker: Michael Stephens• Two weeks between Michael and actual start

Lessons Learned• Borrow from others!• Team approach to learning• Drop in sessions• Two week breaks• Content balance• INCENTIVES!

Next Steps

• Business faculty and PhD students• Social Sciences faculty• Career Services• Student Services• Implementing “digital sandbox” for

campus-wide services (blogs, wikis, etc)

Other partnerships• First year psychology• Second year history• iSci (Honours Research Science)

Thinking beyond Web 2.0

Wiki/Blog/Tagging/Second Life Island

Campus reactions• Good• Bad• Ugly

Obsolescence lies in store for those who cannot, in some manner, adapt to our new reality.

» James Duderstadt, President Emeritus, University of Michigan

Libraries have a choice

Thank you!• Jeff Trzeciak• Email: ulatmac@mcmaster.ca• Blog: ulatmac.wordpress.com