Smithsonian Libraries

R. David Lankes to speak in Future of Libraries, Museums and Archives series

R. David Lankes

Not Done Yet: Charting a New Course for Librarianship

November 3, 2008

10:00-Noon, Ripley Center, Lecture Hall, Room 3027

~~the lecture will also be webcast live ~~

http://www.sil.si.edu/lectures_40th_Lankes.html

R. David Lankes is currently Director of the Information Institute of Syracuse and an associate professor in Syracuse University's School of Information Studies.  He has spoken and written widely about bridging the gap between the theory of library science and the practice of users through his concept of "participatory librarianship."  Lankes is a passionate advocate for libraries and their essential role in today's society.  He has served on advisory boards and study teams in the fields of libraries, telecommunications, education, and transportation including at the National Academies.  He has been appointed as a visiting fellow at the National Library of Canada, the Harvard School of Education and the first fellow of ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy.

On the occasion of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ 40th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL), Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) present another in a series of speakers to address the Institution on the future of libraries, museums and archives in a digital world.

Roy Tennant to speak in Future of Libraries, Museums and Archives series

Roy Tennant

Libraries in a Networked World

October 23, 2008

10:00-Noon, Ripley Center, Lecture Hall, Room 3027

~~the lecture will also be webcast live ~~

http://www.sil.si.edu/lectures_40th_Tennant.html

Roy Tennant is an internationally known speaker and writer on library and information technology issues.  He is currently Senior Program Officer for OCLC Programs and Research where he provides expertise and advice on scholarly expectations and research information needs of OCLC institutions to maximize their impact and effectiveness for their respective institutions.  While working for the California Digital Library, Roy was instrumental in the development and deployment of the eScholarship Repository and the eScholarship Editions publishing services.  Roy's recent book, Technology in Libraries: Essays in Honor of Anne Grodzins Lipow, is the latest of several of his publications on digital library technologies and management.

On the occasion of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ 40th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL), Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) present another in a series of speakers to address the Institution on the future of libraries, museums and archives in a digital world.

SIL Joins LibraryThing

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries is pleased to announce its participation in Library Thing. This free online service was originally created to help people catalog their own books more easily and has become a great way to link readers to books, interests and each other.

Combining the best of a commercial bookseller’s website and a typical library catalog, Library Thing takes book browsing to another level. It’s a fun and useful tool to work alongside the SIRIS catalog, not replace it, and connects users to the people and books that have helped build SIL. Users can now explore the personal library of James Smithson or the “Heralds of Science” collection of Bern Dibner on Library Thing. Smithson and Dibner join the likes of Leonardo daVinci, Charles Darwin and Benjamin Franklin in the “Legacy Libraries” section which contains inventories of the book collections of notable figures.

Researchers can also utilize Library Thing by selecting records from SIRIS (one of 690 catalogs already integrated) to create personalized bibliographies or book lists. Users can make recommendations, create reviews or organize titles by creating their own tags. Because of the social aspect of Library Thing, patrons can connect with other users, find those with similar research interests and take a look at what their colleagues have collected.

James Smithson’s library on LibraryThing.com:
http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?view=JamesSmithson

Bern Dibner’s “Herald of Science” collection on LibraryThing.com:
http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?view=HeraldsOfScience