Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Case Study No. 0576: Ryan Larkin and the Staff of Harper College Library

Tour The Library
2:40
Hop on a cart and take a tour of the Harper College Library while the knowledgable staff quides you to your destination.
Tags: Library Tour Welcome William Rainey Harper College Reference Librarian Circulation Cart Books Palatine
Added: 4 years ago
From: HarperCollegeLibrary
Views: 48,875

[scene opens with a bald man (holding a coffee mug that reads "Employer of the Year") walking away from a group of people and laughing, as if he had just finished telling a particularly funny joke, then walking towards a young female student before addressing the camera directly]
RYAN LARKIN: Hi, I'm Ryan Larkin. You might remember me from other library productions such as "Timmy Checks Out a Book" or "A Bibliography for Jane" ... This is Sarah, a student here at Harper College.
[the student gives a confused look]
JUSTINA: Actually, my name is Justina--
RYAN LARKIN: [interrupts without looking away from the camera] Sally's having trouble writing a paper for her class and she can't find the information she really needs ...
JUSTINA: No, I'm already done with my paper ...
[he ignores her, as another male librarian comes up behind them pulling a bookcart]
RYAN LARKIN: Come on Susan, let's go to the library, where their knowledgable staff can help you get that A-plus paper!
JUSTINA: [pause] Alright ...
[cut to the two riding the cart to the information desk, where a female librarian is waiting for them]
RYAN LARKIN: Let's start at the information desk, where the knowledgable staff can guide you to your destination ...
[cut to the librarian speaking directly to the camera]
FEMALE LIBRARIAN 1: Good morning, would you care for a beverage or a pillow?
[she begins pointing to either side like a flight attendant]
FEMALE LIBRARIAN 1: Our photocopiers are located here, and our printers are located here, and computers for use are behind me, and our reference desk is this way. Please enjoy your tour.
[cut to Ryan and Justina riding the cart, as the other male librarian pushes them around the library]
RYAN LARKIN: Y'know, many people think the library's only for attractive people and live concerts, but they're wrong! For instance, Mary, do you like talking?
[she begins to speak, but Ryan quickly interrupts]
RYAN LARKIN: Of course you do! Behind us are specialized quiet rooms, with four doors and a wall for you and a friend to talk in ...
[cut to Ryan and Justina riding the cart in another part of the library]
RYAN LARKIN: Let me ask you another question, Michelle. Do your friends laugh at you because you haven't seen the latest movies or read the newest books?
JUSTINA: No, I actually find the latest bestsellers right here in the library, and my favorite DVDs downstairs.
[he takes a sip of his coffee, then continues addressing the camera]
RYAN LARKIN: Of course they laugh at you! But right here in the library we have the newest DVDs and the latest books, so you'll never have to be embarrassed again.
[the male librarian begins wheeling them out of camera frame]
JUSTINA: Didn't I just say that?
[cut to Ryan and Justina riding the cart towards the reference desk, where another female librarian is waiting for them]
RYAN LARKIN: Welcome to the reference desk, Chuck. Anytime you need help on a paper, just come here and speak to one of our reference librarians, like Kim or any of her friends.
JUSTINA: [waves to the librarian] Hi, I'm Justina!
KIM: Welcome to the Harper College Library reference desk. If you're working on a paper, a project, or speech, and need sources to strengthen the assignment, we can help you. We have access to thousands of sources you probably didn't know existed, including a specialized reference collection, over three hundred thousand books, and fifteen thousand journal subscriptions online. What this means is that you will successfully be able to complete the assignment with a little help from a reference librarian.
[cut to Ryan placing a large stack of books on Justina's lap]
RYAN LARKIN: While you were learning more about the library, I found some books to help you on your paper ... Now let's go check out the checkout desk, Sparky!
JUSTINA: What did you just call me?
[cut to Ryan and Justina (carrying the large stack of books) standing in front of the circulation desk, where another female librarian is serving them]
RYAN LARKIN: Welcome to the circulation desk, Mary Jane. Here you can check out books or media ...
FEMALE LIBRARIAN 2: Thanks for using the library! Do you have your Harper card?
[a group of librarian run into the scene behind her and start waving to the camera]
JUSTINA: I don't need these books ...
RYAN LARKIN: Y'know, it looks like with the help of the library, you're ready to start writing that paper!
JUSTINA: [angrily] I already told you, I'm done with my paper! I came to the library, I asked a librarian, they helped me pick a topic, and I wrote it right here on your laptops!
[he gives a smug laugh and addresses the camera directly]
RYAN LARKIN: Yes student, we did learn a valuable lesson today. Y'know, not everyone looks alike, but we still need to conserve paper ... Thanks for letting me take you around the library.
JUSTINA: [looks around] You said I was gonna get paid to do this ...
[all of the librarians scatter]
JUSTINA: Are you serious, I don't get paid to do this?
[Ryan turns and calmly walks away]
JUSTINA: [looks around] You guys, come back!

(c) 2007 Harper College Library

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From webjunction.org:

The Harper College Library is committed to providing resources and services that support and enhance the Core Values of Harper College. They respond to their patron's informational needs by developing, maintaining and providing access to a balanced collection of materials and services that reflects the full range of diversity of the college community. In recognition of the fact that many of their users come from a Web 2.0 world the library has recently introduced a number of initiatives in order to highlight the library and its rich wealth of resources.

The Harper Library video tour is one such initiative. The video tour briefly introduces the services and resources available in the Harper Library in an entertaining and amusing way.

This video was coordinated by Michele Ukleja, written by staff member Ryan Larkin, and "stars" several library staff members and Harper College students.

Since its inclusion on the popular YouTube website it has gained the attention of a wide range of individuals and institutions such as ALA and NSLS. In only six weeks it has had over 2000 hits! Faculty members at Harper College, upon viewing the 3-minute video, have remarked that it is an excellent introduction of the services and resources available at the library. "This is great for my NetGen students! I can show the video in class right after I discuss the class syllabus and where to go on campus for research help!"

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From wordpress.com:

I'm Ryan Larkin, a Technical Assistant here at the Harper College Library, and a graduate student at the University of Illinois School of Library and Information Science. A hot topic in recent years is something we like to call WEB 2.0. Many of us are already using WEB 2.0 technology but are not aware of it, and the Harper College Library has many exciting applications that involve WEB 2.0. In fact, you're using it right now! So lets take a moment and talk about what WEB 2.0 is.

The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between a company called O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International. O'Reilly Media, named after its founder Tim O'Reilly, is a producer of books, magazines, and online service focusing on technology. It began as a technical writing consulting firm and published the first online catalog and open portal network, later to be purchased and used by America Online.

In the fall of 2001 there was what has been termed a "bursting of the dot-com bubble" where a large number of companies who were doing business solely over the internet began to go bankrupt and disappear. The "burst" has been seen as a major turning point in the development and usage of the internet. However, far from bringing about extinction for dot-com companies, O'Reilly noted that the web was actually more important than ever. Although dot-com companies had seen hard times, new applications and sites were popping up with surprising regularity. Far from ending the web, the crash had marked a turning point for it, hence the idea of a "Web 2.0".

Rather than revamping the internet, WEB 2.0, has become an added component of it. Think of it as you would a movie sequel. While WEB 2.0 has many of your same favorite characters, they have new story lines and faster action to keep you coming back. Our newer, sleeker, WEB 2.0 storyline is that users can contribute directly to the content. Before the dot-com crash the majority of sites on the internet were considered "static", meaning there was a site administrator and all content you found came from that person. WEB 2.0 is interactive, allowing for multiple users to contribute thoughts, media, links, directions, and formatting to the previous "static" sites. Let's look at an example; this very Blog you are reading now is WEB 2.0.

Blogging is one of the most touted features of WEB 2.0. Personal home pages have been around since the early days of the web, and at its best, a Blog is just a personal home page in diary format. However, there are two major differences: User Contribution and RSS. RSS allows someone to link not just to a page but to subscribe to it, with notifications every time that page changes and it allows users the choice of how they want to view the Blog. While some RSS aggregators, such as Bloglines, are web-based, there are desktop clients and portable devices to allow users to subscribe to constantly updated content. This content is no longer only controlled by the site author either. The inclusion of features such as commenting, chatting, editing, adding links, and adding media allows the user to make contributions to the site. The contribution by peers and readers creates a Blog that is a collaboration of intelligence rather than a personal journal.

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