Still alive and kicking....

So it's been about 4 months since I last posted and I honestly didn't mean for it to be that long, which of course means that I have a backlog of posts to do.

So what have I been up to these past 4 months?  Well...I've been doing a bit to stay busy:

• Attended and presented at Computers in Libraries
• Attended and presented at American Library Association (ALA)
• Promoted to Assistant Professor at MPOW (no we don't have tenure as librarians, but we do go through a promotion process of sorts and have academic ranks)
• A change in job title, yes again...we dropped the "Learning Commons" from my title and I'm now just "Emerging Technologies & Services/Interlibrary Loan Librarian"
• Been working on a mobile page for MPOW and am almost ready to launch it
• Launched a text messaging service for MPOW
• Using Google Forms for a whole bunch of stuff 
• Put together a Georgia Interlibrary Loan Unconference.

And...I'm sure there were other things that will come to me later, but those are the major ones I think.  I'll be putting together posts about most of them, so hope you stick around and enjoy.

Computers in Libraries--I'll be there will you?

I am once again making the journey to Computers In Libraries 2010, which is just next week.

And as an added bonus this year I'll be doing a CyberTour down in the Exhibit hall on Wed. 4/14 at 12:30-12:45, Top 10 Free Alternatives.  I'll be presenting on free webbased technologies.

I'll also be blogging again this year (as much as possible at least) so that you can follow from afar if you so desire.

If you'd like to meet up send me a message or leave one in the comments below.

Facebook and the (dis)illusion of privacy

There was a time back when Facebook first began that people hyped what it offered over MySpace.  It was a cleaner looking profile, less spam accounts,  and more importantly there was greater control over who could view what...in other words privacy.  Over the last year or so Facebook seems to have forgotten about privacy.  They seem to have forgotten that privacy still matters to a lot of people and that they don't want the entire world to know everything about them.

Last year there was the brouhaha over the major changes that Facebook made to its privacy policy. And while some of the concerns didn't come to pass (such as the terms of service agreement  stating that Facebook would forever own your content [ Facebook's response]) other changes did.

While the focus seemed to be giving users more control over what they shared these controls were more hidden and made it easier to miss something and inadvertently share something with the wrong audience.  Such as this college professor.  Take a look at this post from the Electronic Frontier Foundation where they discuss the good, bad, and ugly of the new privacy terms.  Take a close look at what they say about the privacy settings...and how its more difficult to limit who has access.  While you do have more control over some settings it's an illusion in others.  Look at this quote from them:

Our conclusion? These new "privacy" changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data.

Facebook wants us to share more information, more than we may want to be comfortable with.  Especially in relation to what some "pre-approved" 3rd party websites and applications can do.  For example, if one of your friends accesses or uses their application then that company has access to your information.  Who are these applications/websites?  Don't know, Facebook hasn't released that information to the public yet.

Now some people are probably wondering what's the big deal?  Take a look at your friend list. Our differences define our friendships just as much as what we share in common.  Do you really share everything with all of your Facebook friends? I kinda of doubt it. Then why would you want some company or application to know stuff about you!? You should have the choice to let them get that information.

The biggest problem with these changes is that Facebook is making them the default setting. You have to opt-out of it or hunt through settings to change. This is not how privacy works. The default should be for people to opt-in to sharing more information with companies. People don't join Facebook to connect with products and placement ads, they join to connect with people! If Facebook gives out our information to any company that gives them money, then Facebook is no better than a telemarketer in my opinion, acting as a broker for our personal data. Facebook's motto seems to have become "We're evil, we don't care, deal with it."

Yes, the web is making the world more social and its easier to find things out about people, but YOU get to choose what you want to share. You are allowed to make the decision to post stupid comments on Twitter or upload embarrassing pictures to Flickr. You control what goes out there.

Am I going to delete my Facebook profile right now? No...not just yet.  But I am placing Facebook on warning.  They need to understand that they don't get to dictate privacy...the users do.

For more information on other lapses in privacy/security:
Anitvirus/Malware
E-mail addresses made public for 30 minutes
Anger towards changes

Settings to check:
here and here

Libraries facing closings and budget cuts...again

I'm going to try to be as non-political as I can with this post...

As many of you have seen or heard, libraries are once again faced with cut backs and closures.  Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library is forced to cut $2 million dollars which will close 12 branches and lay off 148 people, with the possibility of having their budget cut in half next year(article link.)  And they aren't the only ones.  NJ Public Libraries are also having trouble.  And others are suffering as well.

Now I'm not going to argue that libraries are the be all end all, nor am I going to get into the argument over what libraries should and shouldn't be but they are important for many people. They are a way of accessing computers, the internet, finding jobs, keeping in touch, learning, a place out of the cold and rain, and more for so many.

Yes, budgets need to be tightened.  Could libraries do without some of the funding they get.  Likely they could cut in some places.  But should they and education be one of the first areas politicians go too to "trim the fat?"  No, it shouldn't be. 

The first places that should be cut politicians need to look at themselves.  Start cutting your salaries, your extra expenses, start staying at the cheap hotels and fly coach.  I'm not saying that this would save the state or city from going into debt, but it would be nice if they led the way in cuts and set an example.

When libraries have to cut their budgets it is devastating for them to be able to catch up again, even after money comes back.  At MPOW our book budget was cut 10 or more years ago.  We're still playing catch up even now with new money.  It's not a criticism or a blame game, its just a fact.  When libraries have money cut it means branches and staff close, books and other materials can't be ordered and shared, equipment fails, and programing is cut.  Even when money comes back it takes a while to makeup for lost time.

You don't have to agree with me on where budget cuts come from or how to go about saving libraries.  But please do help save them.  Libraries are important to a community, whether they be public, school, academic, or other.  They deserve to live.