New blog directions

This blog is over six months old and I want to take it in some new directions. Specifically, I’m thinking of starting some new features on different topics. There are a few ideas I have in mind. One is to do some profiles of people in the profession that are doing interesting things that deserve to be heard more widely. Another idea is to chronicle my learning strategies now that I’m out of university. For example, I’ve been reading books on economics since mid 2008 with great interest and I’d like to share a little bit of what I’ve learned here. My plans for the blog continue to evolve over time but I think I am still driven by two connected ideas; sharing what I learn and digging deeper into the world of information and the people that make it up.

Room To Read

In reading the ebook, What Matters Now (a series of thought provoking 200 word essays on life and business edited by Seth Godin), I came across the organization Room to Read. It is an organization to builds libraries, schools and otherwise supports literacy and education in developing countries. Everything I have seen so far about the organization leads me to think that it is a good organization. I also note with interest that the organization specifically provides scholarships to girls who wish to study and learn. The scholarships for girls priority of the organization is in keeping with a broader trend in development; that investing in girls and women is more effective at ending poverty than putting the same resources into men (i.e. Grameen Bank, famous for microloans, lends mainly to women who have a very high repayment rate). Since I’m curious, I also bought a copy of John Wood’s (the founder of Room to Read) memoir, Leaving Microsoft To Change The World to learn more about the origins of Room To Read and Wood’s efforts in this regard.

Access to education and libraries has been one of the most important reasons for my success and happiness in life. When buying books was not an option as a teenager, the library was always there. When I wanted a place to study, there was the library. The thought of growing up without such an institution at hand is distressing and so I’ve made a donation to Room To Read this year. There is so much need and poverty in the world that I am sometimes overwhelmed with where to start but here is one small way where I can make a difference. I can’t help but be curious if all the libraries Room To Read has established also have librarians staffing them. Based on what I know of rebuilding libraries in Afghanistan, I would suspect that professional librarians are also in very short supply.

Reinventing the Book: Seth Godin & Cory Doctorow

I want to write about two authors who are both giving away their work in different ways. My impression is that their examples are still the exception but that may change with time. The whole concept of combining free and paid content is a tricky concept but these two seem to have an idea about it. These two authors write well and really understand the culture of the Internet.

Cory Doctorow has serialized his new novel, MAKERS, online for free in installments. The print (i.e. paid) version of the book came out in November 2009 before the free installments of the novel finished. I suppose the idea is that if you had been reading the free chapters and got hooked then you could buy the book and find out how it ends. I’ve read the novel and very much enjoyed it. As far as I’ve read, Doctorow thinks that giving away his books for free online has likely been a benefit to him, not to mention others. Doctorow also frequently writes columns and other articles about copyright, DRM and related issues in intellectual property.

As a longtime fan of science fiction, the novel itself was a great read and I would certainly recommend it. It is also the kind of science fiction that I would feel comfortable recommending to others that may not normally enjoy the genre. It is set on Earth with technologies like 3D printers (which already exist, actually) and really interesting if slightly scary biotechnology. It is also something of an argument for what might be called “maker” or hacker culture. You should simply be able to take technology you have in your hands and rework it to do other things. If you’re not sure if the book is for you, you can read it online for free directly from Doctorow’s website. And yes, it is available in FIFTEEN different formats including PDF and plain text. Any computer or device connected to the Internet should be able to read at least one version of the novel.

Seth Godin, the business author/blogger, meanwhile has adopted a very different approach for his new book Linchpin. The offers is now closed but if you donated $30 US to the Acumen fund, you could get a review copy of his latest book, Linchpin in January. I generally find his books and blog to be interesting and I am curious to see how this plays out. The idea in this case is to abandon the concept of there being certain reviewers or editors that have to be courted but rather opening it up to everybody. The philanthropic aspect of the project is also quite appealing. Donating to an organization and getting a book to review is not a combination I’ve seen before and so far, I like the idea! If I like the book, then I’ll do a review here in February.

Unlike other business authors, I appreciate the fact that Seth Godin makes an effort to see how his ideas could apply to other contexts such as charities and non-profits. He is also extremely good at giving presentations. He has given two talks at the TED conference (both under 20 minutes long) that are well worth a look; the tribes we lead and standing out. I found both interesting but the book Tribes and the related ideas likely have a wider audience. The standing out video is more about marketing and communicating ideas but that applies in many contexts as well. Godin does not provide step by step instructions or anything like that, but he does have plenty of ideas to get you thinking.

University of Ottawa adopts open access

The University of Ottawa has announced support for open access. What I most interesting is the strategy and resources the university has put into this resource. For example, authors at the university can request funds from an author’s fund; in some open access science journals, authors have to pay several thousand dollars to submit an article to cover editorial costs. The level of support presented in this strategy is promising and I hope that other institutions consider following this model.

The tagline for open access is: Visibility and impact for your research. Well put! I imagine that would be important in persuading faculty and graduate students to embrace the policy. You can also see the perspective of Michael Geist on the policy; he is a law professor at the University of Ottawa.

Knowledge Ontario Wants Your Views & Opinions

For the past two months, I’ve volunteered as an intern at Knowledge Ontario’s AskON service. AskON is a virtual reference service that helps students and members of the public with questions and learning more about research. It has been a pleasure to get to know some other librarians from all over the province and assist students. I’ve mainly worked in the university sector of the service and have found it helpful. On at least three occasions, I have had assisted students enough that typed all manner of jubilant thanks. The service is free to residents of Ontario (and others as far as I know; unlike say the BBC, I don’t think Knowlege Ontario imposes hard geographical restrictions) and I welcome you to experiment with it.

If you like what you see, then consider filling in a digital postcard with your comments. You can also see what others have posted about the service.

The Notebook Conundrum

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how people work with notebooks vs computers. The behaviours are quite different in my experience thus far and it represents an interesting challenge for knowledge/records/information management. Often when I attend lectures or such events (sidebar: the lecture is a still a worthy medium for those who know how to use it. For some good examples on a variety of topics, check out TVO’s series Big Ideas; you can download lectures for free there), I often take notes in a Moleskine notebook such as the one depicted above. Occasionally, those handwritten notes will get references for something I write on the computer. I may not reference the material again but the act of taking notes helps me work through the material and learn it. Based on conversations with other people, I get the sense that many people continue to operate with paper and digital systems.

Given the above information habits, how can one apply knowledge/information/records management to paper notes, journals and other materials? I’ve been consulting with a few colleagues and scanning seems to be a popular option. I can certainly appreciate that as one good way to go. However, I also think that hard questions need to be asked about the value of the notes. If the notes are for background needed to create or contribute to something else, then their value can be tied to that output. For example, let’s say that your organization provides funding to send you to professional conferences but on the condition you submit a report describing how the conference benefited you. Your handwritten notes from conference sessions could prove very valuable in producing the report but they may not be needed after that. In other contexts, regulatory or legal requirements may necessitate keeping everything to document how decisions are made. Thinking about this topic has underscored the importance of being comprehensive in looking at how people manage, use, record and access information.

The importance of observing information habits is the secondary purpose of this post. It is crucial to stay informed (and thoughtful!) about information habits. How do people in your organization track their schedule? Are they using paper datebooks, Outlook or something else? What about meetings? Do people take notes? I would also highlight the importance of looking at how people choose to learn. I suspect you will find a combination of paper and digital preferences. I often prefer to read in paper while on public transit, trains or planes but prefer digital when I have sustained and comfortable access to my computer and the Internet.

Canadians use the Internet a lot, eh

I’m fascinated by social science research, market research and how people work, think and everything else.  However, you can only browse the Statistics Canada website so many times before you want to find something else.  For those keeping score at home, Canadians use the Internet intensively. In 2007, Toronto had the most Facebook users of any city in the world; 10% of the city’s population used the website. A new study reported in the SLAW blog has found that not only do Canadians use Internet search engines far more intensively than Americans and, “YouTube, Google’s video streaming site, is more popular in Canada than in any other country.” Very interesting. This is a bit of a wonder actually considering that Canadian Internet access is nothing to brag about according to an OECD study on the issue. As reported by the CBC, Canada is lagging behind many other countries including South Korea and Denmark on many measures such as price, Internet access speeds and so forth.

Most of the best, cutting edge recent on Canadian Internet usage appears to come from companies such as comScore and Google. They are a good source of some basic information on usage but it does tend to be tilted toward the needs of advertisers. What I want to see is a Canadian equivalent or branch of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project which regularly publishes original and very interesting research.