Cultural Research

University of the People: World Computer Exchange, Library Services Advisory Committee

I'm going to be doing some catch up posts with fairly recent news that should indicate the emerging focus of this blog. Of particular interest, given the disruptive nature of free as a pricing choice, is the news that the tuition-free University of the People and the World Computer Exchange are partnering to:

"expand UoPeople's reach in developing nations and strengthening their shared missions of democratized access to education. WCE is now beginning outreach to our Partners and contacts in the following six countries: Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Liberia, Palestine and Zimbabwe."

That's a great development for UofP given that the idea is to reach students with limited resources which would extend to issues of internet access, a particular concern for online learning.

In other UofP news, I contacted them a while back about offering my skills as a web librarian and have gotten some info but that opportunity is still under development. However, they did recently announce the creation of a Library Services Advisory Committee which probably took a bit of work. I look forward to sharing future developments.

CCV Embeds Librarians in Blackboard Classrooms

CCV's Embedded Librarian Program

The Hartness Library of the Community College of Vermont (CCV) provides a demo video describing their "Embedded Librarian Program" in which librarians create a visible online presence within classes using Blackboard. It's a simple enough idea but having had quite a bit of experience as a student in Blackboard settings, I think it could be quite powerful.

Library Labs: Developing Tools & Gadgets for Library Communities

RSS4Lib shares a Directory of Experimental Library Tools including links to a number of different academic library labs.

OSU Library Labs wants to feature information tools created by their community:

"Have you created your own tool, gadget, plug-in, browser extension to help manage you personal access to and management of information? Are you willing to share with the community? If so, let us know!"

"The goal of the Ohio State University Library Labs is to showcase experimental and emerging technologies that facilitate access to information, resources, and services."

Other projects include mobile initiatives from NCSU and MIT, a library toolbar from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and a promising looking integrated search experiment at the University of Virginia.

Plus, in a reminder that innovation doesn't have to always be enormous or expensive, the University of Texas has a nice example of the use of a variety of web services, some of them freely available on the web, to create Library Widgets.