public computing: thoughts from the field

Public computing : Thoughts from the field

Librarians generally don’t like to say “No” to patrons: no, you can’t do this, no, you can’t have this. But they don’t understand the technical challenges involved as we try to preserve and protect public computers so that everyone has…

Head Meets Desk (Part Two)

(You can see Part One here.) Last time on MeanLaura, I shared stories from library IT staff about moments they had with non-tech staff that were frustrating.  This week, I’m sharing more stories, this time about some of the…interesting…things that…
Head meets desk moments from Library IT

Head Meets Desk (Part One)

A little while ago, I put out a call to the public library IT community to share their best (worst?) “Head meets desk” moments.  You know, those times when they drove out to a branch, only discover that the thing…

Ignorantiaphobia

It’s no secret, yet it’s not widely talked about.  There’s a divide in library staff.  It’s not between degreed and the not, and it’s not digital.   It’s not about who uses Twitter and who doesn’t.   This divide may not…

How to hire a good tech for your library?

I think that one of the most difficult hiring decisions a public library has to make is that of a tech.1 Although the systems that enable all of the digital resources of the library are truly mission-critical, they represent one…