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March 25, 2009
Library of Congress Post-ASB Update
SI Alumna Abigail Potter, staff member at the Library of Congress, forwarded me the article that the Digital Preservation group published about our SI students', Sally Vermaaten and Dawn Barton, ASB experience.
See the article at http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/news/2009/20090320news_article_ASB09.html
Posted by kkowatch at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2009
Pledge to Be Socially Responsible!
The UM Ginsberg Center is hosting a petetion that students can sign to pledge to be socially responsible.
The Ginsberg Center is home to several community service and learning programs. Undergraduate and graduate students participate in Center programs in Michigan communities and nationwide. They serve meals in soup kitchens, tutor children in schools, rehabilitate abandoned houses, and revitalize urban neighborhoods. They also explore the connections between the service they perform and opportunities to create change through social and political action. As they serve, they learn from the experience and gain skills they will use throughout their lifetime.
Graduates, Sign the Social Responsibility Pledge!
I pledge to actively work toward a more socially and environmentally responsible world. I will continue to honor these words long after graduation in my career, relationships, and all other pursuits, and encourage others to embrace this message as well.
Click here to sign!
Posted by kkowatch at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
Day Two - New York - Patrt II
After a brief remiss, I'm picking up where I left off in New York on Tuesday. After leaving the ARC, I headed just a few blocks away to two ASB sites that are part of one organization: Citizens Union / Citizens Union Foundation and Gotham Gazette.
See the Addendum to this blog to learn more about these two organizations. I had a pretty brief meet with my two contacts here, but I did get to hear a little bit about the projects that the three SI students were working on.
At the Gotham Gazette, under the fabulous Amanda Hickman, Jeremy Canfield and Nan Chen utilized their web, information architecture, and wiki skills to assist with a project called "Councilpedia." This is an encyclopedia of money in politics in New York City that will invite readers to help Gotham Gazette staffers identify connections between political donors in NYC. These SI students assessed what is available and developed a workable structure for the project that made good use of MediaWiki's capacity for templated content segments.
Carrie Ashendale worked with Sara Stuart at Citizens Union on assessing and strengthening Citizens Union's web site and presence on online networks. She advised the organization on its web communication strategy. This included looking critically at http://www.citizensunion.org its electronic newsletter The Reformer and its participation in online networks also looking at similar and related organizations to understand the range of strategies being used elsewhere; writing a plan for improving functionality establishing greater online interactivity and advancing Citizens Union's communication and internet engagement. Carrie was also slated to look at ways to generate more links and drive traffic to our online communications.
I have to add a note in here that the aforementioned Amanda Hickman hosted students in ASB in 2005 when she worked at the LINC Project. It was inevitable that Amanda and I reconnect this year, as I was hunting her down as part of list of past contacts that had been part of ASB and she was trying to connect with SI to again be part of this program. As a result of this connection, not only did we get Citizens Union and Gotham Gazette on board for ASB, but Amanda also put me in touch with the other new non-profit organizations that participated in ASB this year (including ABC No Rio, Green Map System, Lower East Side Ecology Center, and Tribal Link Foundation). I love how networking can work out to benefit the service-oriented community! So, thank you Amanda!
I then grabbed a cab and headed back over to east lower Manhattan to ABC No Rio. ABC No Rio is a community center for the arts on Manhattan's Lower East Side. ABC No Rio was founded by artists committed to political and social engagement and we retain these values to the present. ABC No Rio is a place where people share resources and ideas to impact society, culture, and community in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual support. Since founding they've been welcoming and supportive venue for thousands of emerging artists, performers, poets and musicians.
Program activity at ABC No Rio breaks down into two categories: public events programming, and facilities and resources. In addition to exhibitions, public events programming at ABC No Rio includes our weekly hardcore/punk matinee; COMA, our series of experimental and improvisational music; literary readings; performance; and film & video screenings. We also provide space to other cultural and community organizations for meetings, workshops, benefits and forums. ABC No Rio resources and facilities used by artists and the community at large include our zine library, darkroom, computer center and screenprinting shop.
This was my most unusual visit of the day... the environment is very visually stimulating: every two years, artists redesign the entire inside of the building and thus the walls are an array of really amazing and unique art specimens. Definitely not your normal work place with cubicles!
Steven Englander, as director at ABC No Rio, is the only staff member. Everyone else involved to keep the organization running is a volunteer. He was very pleased to have Adrienne Klum spend her week working on their ABC No Rio Archive On-Line project.
Adrieene spent her time working on planning the implementation of the web platform Omeka to "publish" on-line digital files of documents relating to ABC No Rio's founding and early years. ABC No Rio had over 400 scanned documents relating to the Real Estate Show and ABC No Rio' early years that they wanted to make accessible to the public via the web using the web platform Omeka. Omeka will also be used to presented materials and images complementing exhibitions in the gallery space as well as other activity at ABC No Rio. Adrienne helped to test and explore Omeka and helped determine and document the approach that should be used to move forward.
It was awesome to visit Steve, Adreienne, and the ABC No Rio cat, Cookie Puss! The entire day two of my visits was amazing just because it was a unique look (for me at least) into how small non-profits function successfully in NYC on really limited resources. Steve shared with me that without Adrienne's work, the project tht she worked on would have taken months to complete. Because she was able to devote 40 hours to this project, she truly assisted the organization in getting a start on a much-needed project.
ADDENDUM
Citizens Union of the City of New York is an independent, nonpartisan, civic organization of members who promote good government and advance political reform in the city and state of New York. For more than a century, Citizens Union has served as a watchdog for the public interest and an advocate for the common good. Citizens Union, which was recently described by the New York Times as the influential government watchdog group, works to ensure fair elections, clean campaigns, and open, effective government that is accountable to the citizens of New York.
Founded in 1948, Citizens Union Foundation of the City of New York is the nonprofit research, education and advocacy organization affiliated with Citizens Union, though it is governed by a separate board of directors and operates with independent finances.
Believing that an informed citizenry is the cornerstone of good government, Citizens Union Foundation also publishes GothamGazette.com, a daily news website covering local issues like no other news publication in the City. GothamGazette.com features news, commentary, in-depth analysis and links to resources on New York City. It has become a vital resource for elected officials, policy makers, advocates, community leaders, students, media professionals, and concerned citizens covering local issues like no other news publication in the City. Since 1989, Citizens Union Foundation has also monitored the New York City Council and has published Searchlight on the City Council, a comprehensive guide to the city's legislative body and its action that is available on GothamGazette.com.
Posted by kkowatch at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2009
ASB Host Organization Participant Survey
If you were a 2009 organization participant in SI-ASB, please complete the feedback survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228VLA5SU9M by Friday, March 20, 2009.
Posted by kkowatch at 06:18 PM | Comments (0)
ASB Student Participant Survey
If you were a 2009 student participant in SI-ASB, please complete the feedback survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228VL23SPC5 by Monday, March 16, 2009.
Posted by kkowatch at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2009
Chicago Park District Student Project
From the Project Coordinator at the Chicago Park's District...
Jo and Sui were so wonderful. I can’t believe what they were able to accomplish in one week.
If you’d like to see their work, the revised website is live:
http://www.jensjensen.org/drupal/
Posted by kkowatch at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2009
Adler Planetarium SI Student Report
SI Student Mark Goetz sent along the link to his blog where he wrote about his ASB experience at Adler Planetarium. Enjoy!
Here's the link: http://markandrewgoetz.com/blog/?p=8
Posted by kkowatch at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
Cabrini Connection Post-ASB
Our three University of Michigan Alternative Spring Break interns did excellent and important work during their week with Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, which you can see in the groups section of http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com
Garima Garg and Malhar Gupta converted one of the T/MC concept maps titled "the village" to an animated presentation that more visually shows how we're trying to connect leaders from different sectors to adopt a strategy that support the growth of career-focused volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and other cities. We've already posted this in the top menu bar at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net and in our blog and Facebook pages.
Taeho focused his attention on creating an "introductory video and visualization" of our new interactive Program Locator site. He recognized that this needed some better ways to help people learn to use the site. His work can be seen in the Ning site, and will be integrated into the new portal once we launch it in the next few weeks.
All three of these students posted reflections and "next steps" on the Ning site so that future students from the University of Michigan or other schools can pick up on these projects and continue to develop them. Thus, they have modeled what we're all about by creating something that encourages others to add their own time and talent.
The work these students, and other interns are doing, demonstrates that college students from other locations than where we are based in Chicago can have learning experiences that have a meaningful impact on real world social benefit activities. I hope that alumni from the University who live in the Chicago region, or in other cities, will take a look at th is work and volunteer their own time, talent and dollars to help volunteer based tutor/mentor programs grow in many places and serve as pipelines to college and careers for kids who do not have such a ladder to success in their lives.
Thank you for making it possible for these students to become part of our community.
Daniel F. Bassill
President
Cabrini Connections
Tutor/Mentor Connection
800 W. Huron
Chicago, Il. 60642
Posted by kkowatch at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)
Student Blog Entry: Ian McKilligan - New York Public Library
First, I’d like to say that it was an honor to be able to work at SIBL for a week. Though everyone was kind and helpful, I’d like to give special thanks to Erminio D'Onofrio and Betty Lacy for their generosity and attention in both educating me and helping me feel like part of the team.
My interest in SIBL was because of the content (small business, specifically) and because I wanted to learn more about libraries. My background is in web software design, technical consulting, enterprise project management, and business consulting. I own two businesses with about 20 employees each. Currently, I’m pursuing a Masters degree at University of Michigan’s School of Information (SI) in a program call Human Computer Interaction, which is one way to say, “we help users interact with interfaces better”. The SI program is based on the art and science of managing libraries, and this experience will help me better communicate with my fellow students, as well understand some components of my studies better, such as information architecture, one aspect of website design.
The time at SIBL was very rewarding. I was able to participate in several operations of the library, including training, reference desk, and database assistance. Several kind individuals took time out of their day to explain how their portion of the library functioned. Though several of the terms were new to me, it was a small step to see the resemblance to core business operations, including supply chain management, project management, customer service operations, strategy, operations management, marketing, and business development/outreach.
A highlight was seeing a book about 500 years old, and walking through the collections. I thought I had a lot of books and shelves. Another was learning more about the databases and the NYPL Express services, both of which I know will help my business in the future.
We’re living in trying times due to the economy, and the library is facing that as well. In spite of that, SIBL is doing its part proactively and with clear purpose: to help its visitors in their time of need accomplish their goals, whether it’s finding a job, starting a business, or improving a business. To a small business owner, it’s a beautiful sight to see, especially given the uncertainty all are facing. To a Midwesterner, it seems that those in NYC always rise to the occasion when their neighbors need help.
Thank you once again to all those who made my visit an educational and fun one. SIBL was gracious in every way, and, given its services and helpful, caring team, NYC is lucky to have it.
Ian McKilligan
Master's Student
School of Information
University of Michigan
Posted by kkowatch at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2009
SI Students at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research / Naval Medical Research Center
SI Alumnus Terrie Wheeler, Chief of the Gorgas Memorial Library at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research / Naval Medical Research Center shared the following note about her week with two SI students...
This week we had two University of Michigan School of Information students with us on the School of Information's Alternate Spring Break Program. These individuals, Ms. Annie Fang and Ms. Urmila Kashyap, are specialists in human-computer interaction (known as HCI), and are skilled in developing web interfaces that will facilitate customer usage. They met with individual customers and administered a web usability test for both the Gorgas Memorial Library's current website, and its proposed beta version. After fairly extensive testing and user feedback, they have created a report and recommended a very clean and useful web interface for the Gorgas Memorial Library.
I am very pleased with their efforts, and think they have developed an excellent prototype for us.
Posted by kkowatch at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
ASB at ALA in Chicago
Update from the American Library Association main office in Chicago...
During the week of February 23-27, four students from the University of Michigan School of Information joined the ALA staff to work on special projects, two in the Chicago office, two in Washington.
Greg Grossmeier and Michael Perry, graduate students interested in information policy, have been working on short research projects and learning about the work of the ALA Washington Office and its allies inside the beltway. They worked with Alan Inouye and Tim Vollmer in the Office for Information Technology Policy; see http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=2126 for more information.
Ayoung Yoon worked with Lois Ann Gregory Wood, Council Secretariat, and Karen Muller and Jessica Horvath, both ALA Library, to complete the digitization of the Current Reference Files, which back up the ALA Policy Manual. The Current Reference File has been scanned and converted into PDF format with 600 dpi resolution, formatted for OCR (optical character recognition), tagged, and bookmarked, so that users can easily find information. The files will be added to the ALA website in the next few weeks.
John Lewandowski conducted a content and usability analysis of the pages that comprise the OIF website. He presented his recommendations on how the site should be restructured and some improvements for general page layout to a staff team who will work to implement the recommendations. See http://twitter.com/shifted/statuses/1258824256 for a comment!
The School of Information’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) places motivated students in professional work environments in the public sector where they can gain practical job experience, develop leadership skills as information professionals, learn new skills, and participate in organization events. Karen Muller, ALA Librarian, an alumna of the Michigan program coordinated the ASB program.
Posted by kkowatch at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
SI Students at the ALA-Policy Office
Two SI students (Michael Perry and Greg Grossmeier) were at the American Library Association's Policy Office in Washington, D.C.
You can view a blog post by the ALA-Policy office at http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=2126 with information about their visit and the work that they did.
Posted by kkowatch at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
Update from Cabrini Connections
Dan Bassill from Cabrini Connections sent me a link to the project that SI student Tahoe Ko . Here's his message:
Hi Kelly,
The students are here and they have jumped right into their work. You can see how Taeho is interacting with us on http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmcuseofgismaps
Posted by kkowatch at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)