Alternate Universes..

I will be travelling to Manchester tomorrow for the ALT-C event. This is a good opportunity for myself and a few other colleagues to tune into the ever expanding field of learning technologies. I will be presenting a paper on our Learning 2.0 propgramme with Alex Spiers, one of our learning technologists on thursday, while Leo will be supporting our poster on Wednesday.

This all comes against a rapidly rising fever pitch as we approach the opening of our newly desgned LRC. Val Stevenson's blog at http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2009/ has some great pics (Thanks Frank!) of how things are developing. The whole building is looking quite different to say the lease and we think the students will like it. Brighter, more space and better equipped.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I just met with a colleague to discuss handing on my subject support work for the Information Strategy (AKA "Library School") group in Liverpool Business School. This hasn't quite sunk in yet - I will definitely miss the direct student support and engagement. This has been very fruitful and it is real job satisfaction when you see the library students go on and start their careers.

I will still be in touch with many of the lecturers and researchers over other elements of the role, particularly through staff development and training issues.

However I will maintain my Google Reader and delicious accounts for the field. Google Reader at http://www.google.com/reader/shared/07752900006125718034 while my delicious bookmarks are also available at http://delicious.com/willre

Of course my own change of role is only part of the BIG changes going on this summer as we complete the merger to create the new Library & Student Services directorate. Val Stevenson -left - our Head of Research and Learner Support has recently started a blog to keep us all up to date with what is happening from that element.

http://vals-rlsblog.blogspot.com/

I am back

A variety of things, including trips to Glasgow, organising training stuff and general coping with the usual workaday stuff has stopped me updating this attempt at a blog.

I was inspired to come back by the sterling efforts of other LJMU people in setting up blogs, particularly Natalie, Val and George.

M-LIBRARIES

I have been back for around 48 hours now. Still jet lagged a bit but also still thinking about the conference. If I had to name the key things I learned it would the fascination with QR codes , the HUGE role mobile phones are playing in the thrid world, and the growing attempts to present library based apps for the iphone.

In terms of my owm paper it went well, and both Vicki Owen and I got some nice feedback. I also manged to deliver a paper for some colleagues from Limerick University who couldn't make it to the event.

In terms of reporting on the huge range of speakers I can only recommend Vicki's excellent blog She really did an excellent job.

New Newcastle...!

Anna and I visited the new £42m Newcastle Central Library last week. We had been to a wedding on the saturday near Ponteland and I couldn't resist a visit to where it all began for me as a librarian 22 years ago. However, given the after effetcs of the wedding it was touch and go whether I would get there!

I was very impressed to say the least -bright, open forward looking, but recognising the core values. The local studies and family history area is very well laid out and supported. There was also the unique idea of 24 hour a hole-in-the-wall library!

There is currently a bit of fuss over their flexible approach to letting users register, but is this perhaps a way to go in times of falling numbers?

MMit Part Two

The event went very well, although one of the speakers had to pull out at the last minute. I must admit though to a certain degree of web 2.0 ennui. It is difficut to establish how to pitch presentations, getting the balance between what knowledge you imagine your audience has, and what to repeat. Certainly thinking about our presentation for m-libraries I am very conscious
that we might be saying something that others speakers at the event have already covered!

One interesting output among many is I am now into Tweetdeck-looks fun and useful. Excellent way to observe tweets in a conference along with adjacent applications.

Speaking of new apps I am also getting into http://www.wallwisher.com/ .This is a great google supported idea. A mix between a postit wall and a wiki




Tomorrow I am representing our service managemnt team at an all day event on "Managing others through change" a bespoke programme to help our staff adjust to new structure

Mmit...Web 2.0-where will it end?

Currently at this event in LJMU facilitated by Leo Appleton and Anthony Beal. In keeping with previous MMit events it a very full timetable, fortunately assisted by lashings of caffeine at 9.30.

The morning's presentations were very varied from Russel Prue , the ICT evangelist with a whirling array of apps and hardware, through a thoughtful look at the philosophy behind successful learning spaces from Les Watson, to the judicous overview of libraries and Facebook from Jane Secker - see Jane's excellent bookmarks at http://delicious.com/lse_lassie .

Follow the event twitter feed here.