Beautiful Nebraska, Peaceful prairie land...

...laced with many rivers, and the hills of sand...
okay, enough from the Nebraska State Song.

I'm here in Lincoln, Nebraska, tending to my mom post-surgery. I will be working my way through the class discussions over the weekend, so please be patient if you've posted a question for me.

Parking on Campus

Those of you who come to campus may have noticed some of this...

From the Director of Public Safety~~~

During the first few weeks of the spring semester the parking ramp has experienced more on-campus parking demand than we were able to supply. On Monday's and Wednesday's we are encountering peak demands between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. During this period of time we have been intermittently closing the parking ramp for 10 - 15 minutes. Opportunities to help alleviate parking congestion:

1) The Bookstore worked with MetroTransit to offer students a semester transportation pass for $84.00. The Bookstore has sold 2,520 semester bus passes as of 1/21/09.

2) We will be receiving free bike racks this spring that will accommodate 50 bikes through a grant the City of Minneapolis received.

3) Central Scheduling is working on event scheduling and considering parking demand issues.

4) Employees on payroll deduction have the opportunity to obtain a guaranteed parking space at the Laurel Village Parking Ramp located across the street from our parking ramp. Please contact me (ext.6902) if you are interested in pursuing this option.

5) We will be focusing on parking permit enforcement and removing those who have no association with the college.

~~~
So, if you can carpool, take an alternate form of transportation, or arrive before or after the busy times, you can minimize the problems you may encounter with campus parking, and potentially save some money and a bit of the environment.

Thinking about the weekend

It's early to already have the weekend on my mind, but my weekend will start a bit early this week. On Thursday (or Wednesday, if the weather looks bad for Thursday), I will be heading to Nebraska to spend the weekend with my mom who is going to have oral surgery on Friday. I'm an only child, and she lives alone and can't be by herself after the surgery, so I will be staying with her. My plan is to return to Minnesota on Tuesday, Feb. 3, assuming all is well with her recovery.

I will have computer access over the weekend, so will be checking in and working. There are webinars scheduled for Thursday night (INFS 2200) and Tuesday night (INFS 1000), my travel days, but at this point, my plan is to be in one place or another by the time the webinar would begin, so there should not be a conflict. If my plans change, I will let you know as soon as possible.

Student Center Survey

For those of you on campus:

MCTC is looking into a major expansion of the Helland Center. This is still
very much in the planning stages, and student input is being sought as to
what might be desired. Some great ideas are being flown including a Health
Care center, a medition/yoga room, a fitness center, and even a new
auditorium/performance space.

I would very much like to encourage you to complete this three question
survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WIbCspOg2B5AI9VtX8xUHA_3d_3d.

Thanks for taking the time to do this!

Our View From the Park - President Phil Davis

Tomorrow on the library's BlogTalkRadio show, Our View From the Park, I'll be talking with MCTC President Phil Davis about who knows what. Probably the budget situation for the college and the state, not sure what else.

The show streams live from 11-11:30 a.m. on our BTR web site at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/MCTC-Library

You can call in with your questions during that time, or you can log in with an account and post questions to the live chat that will be open during the session. The call-in number is:

(646) 200-4753

After the show, you can go to the above link and listen to the archived show. You can also download the show or subscribe using iTunes. Hope you'll join us!

FacebookGate

This article posted on eSchool News raises some interesting issues about fake college groups on Facebook (and no doubt on MySpace as well, although the article doesn't talk about them). From an information literacy perspective, this raises issues around validity and honesty, and detecting it when something is a spoof or deliberately false. It can be very hard to tell without doing some serious background checking. We tend to take things on faith, and that can get us in some trouble. Not such a big deal when you join a group on Facebook that ends up being a ruse (although they mine a great deal of information from you when you do so), but could be a big deal if you're looking for other information. This isn't too far removed from the many phishing emails you might get, which can end up in identity theft or worse.

Carter, Dennis. "Phony Facebook Pages Teach Students a Lesson." eSchoolNews. 13 Jan. 2009. eSchoolNews. 21 Jan. 2009. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?print&i=56696

Online Classes Survey

Many of you participated in the informal survey I posted here regarding your experience with online courses. Here are the results.

Yeah, I've taken quite a few	5 (15%)
I've taken one or two	11 (34%)
No, this is my first one	16 (50%)

Total Votes: 32

More Things on a stick

Folks working in libraries now can register for the incentives. Anyone else just might want to check out the 23 Things and More Things.

More Things On a Stick Program To Launch in January

ST.PAUL, Minnesota (January 15, 2009) --Minnesota’s seven multicounty, multitype library systems (multitypes) will launch the More Things On a Stick: A Library Learning 2.0 Program on January 20, 2009.. This program is the new version of the very popular 23 Things On a Stick Program sponsored the Minnesota Multitypes last year. Staff in academic, school, public and special libraries, as well as members of library Governing and Advisory Boards are invited to participate in this fun, self-paced program that encourages participants to experiment with various Web 2.0 tools. Mashups, more organizational and productivity tools, and deeper uses of RSS and Delicious are just a few of the new offerings in 2009.

All details about how to participate and suggestions for getting ready are now available online at http://morethingsonastick.pbwiki.com. Registration will begin on January 20^th at this same address (as part of Thing 1). Those who complete all 23 Things plus the evaluation within 17 weeks will win a completion prize.

More Things On a Stick are online activities that encourage participants to experiment and learn about new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today. The activities are hands-on with experiential exercises, short readings and discovery work. Each Thing can take as little as one hour or as much time as you’d like to give it. The Minnesota Certification Program has approved this program for 25 contact hours to meet public service and technology competencies. Continuing Education Units will be available to all participants as well. Early endorsements of this program include but are not limited to, MLA, MEMO, MINITEX and State Library Services. Others are expected to add their support and will be mentioned on the More Things on a Stick wiki site.

Participants who wish to receive the completion incentive prize must register their blogs (Thing 1) by February 20 and complete all Things plus the evaluation (and blog about each one) by May 20, 2009. Receipt of the completion prize enters participants in a statewide drawing for additional prizes.

According to Ann Walker Smalley, Metronet Director, “Participants clamored for ‘Thing 24’ when they had finished the original 23 Things On Stick! More Things On a Stick builds on the learning from that successful program and offers people the chance to try new Things that will make their personal and professional lives more productive, more connected, and even more fun. Join this online learning community and start 2009 with a resolution to try all of the Things. You do not have to have done the original 23 Things On a Stick to do More Things.” Participants are encouraged to work with others in their libraries or regions and to share their insights and discoveries either through the participant blogs or in person.

This program is the Minnesota twist on the 23 Things: Library Learning 2.0 program, developed by Helene Blowers at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County. Library organizations across the country have used the 23 Things concept to encourage staff to learn and use these Web 2.0 tools. The directors and staff of the seven Minnesota Multicounty Multitype Library Systems are the core of the 23 Things On a Stick team, with additional coaches available across the state. This group has worked together to develop More Things On a Stick and to customize it for Minnesota library staff. This group will track participants’ progress as shown in the individual blogs and provide helpful hints and encouraging words.

The multitype library systems respond to the needs of Minnesota librarians by providing library support services, including continuing education. The multitype systems believe that knowledgeable library staffs are better able to meet the needs of their library users. The multitypes connect library staff in all types of libraries to professional and staff development opportunities and look forward to broad participation in this exciting learning program.

Contact: Ann Walker Smalley, Metronet Director, ann@metronet.lib.mn.us

More Things On a Stick blog is online at http://morethingsonastick.pbwiki.com

Change has come to America

And, with the inauguration, so to a new WhiteHouse.gov.

From an information literacy/library preservation perspective, the National Archives will be capturing the previous administration's web documents for "digital posterity."

An Historical Day

In case you missed it...