In his latest podcast, Michael Cart discusses the rebirth of the popular 1980's teen series Sweet Valley High and looks at what's changed and what's stayed the same. He also examines the often symbiotic relationship between teen and tween book series and the TV shows they spawn.
Here is a list of items mentioned in the podcast (PDF fomat).
In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, George and Joan and their guest Jennifer Baker take a hard look at what libraries count, how they do it, why they do it, and ask whether the info we gather is accomplishing what it should. 
Jennifer Baker has been a public services librarian for 12 years, seven of them in California. She has worked in most areas of the library at one point or another as a shelver, circulation clerk, library secretary, children’s librarian, reference librarian, adult services librarian and branch supervisor. She has worked for county systems and municipalities with service areas as large as 1 million and as small as 6,000. She is currently the director of the St. Helena Public Library in Napa County.
George, Joan and Jennifer cover a lot of ground in this podcast: do hash marks on reference sheets do any good anymore, are we actually measuring the real things we do, and how relevant are the numbers we gather? What's the history behind the sorts of statistics libraries are mandated to collect each year? George makes special note of Jim Collins' monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, which is a response by Collins to questions raised by readers of his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't.
In this podcast, bookmeister extraordinaire Michael Cart discusses the goings on at this year's Book Expo America (BEA). It's not just for publishers anymore - the welcome mat is out for librarians now!
Here is a list of references from this podcast.
In this latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, our intrepid pundits explore issues raised by Barbara Fister in her April 15, 2008 article in Library Journal entitled, What If You Ran Your Bookstore Like a Library? Key thoughts they examine: The erosion of distinctions between enterprises; How can libraries approach some of the issues affecting bookstores these days? What can libraries teach bookstores?
Also discussed: The McDonaldization of Society, and John Scalzi's blog post Why YA. For the latter, George encourages you to be sure to read the comments as well as the post.
In their latest podcast, George and Joan take a look at the future and they see a lot of good stuff happening! What they're talking about:
What's America's favorite book of all time? Michael Cart tells you that and more in his latest podcast from the book beat!
Here is a list of titles mentioned in this podcast (there were a lot of them!).
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's resident comics enthusiast Michael Cart reports on the latest big doings in the world of the visual in this podcast.
Highlights include some thoughts on new trends in the field and an overview of the recent New York Comic Con. Here is a bibliography of citations from this podcast (in PDF format).
In his latest podcast, Michael Cart talks about the increasing use of comic books in the (gasp!) classroom. Is he outraged? What do you think?
Here is a bibliography of citations from this podcast (in PDF format).
Note: This was incorrectly posted as a podcast on New York's April
Comic Con. Our apologies for the error.
In their latest podcast of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham & Joan Frye Williams take a look at the Public Library Association's 2008 conference (it was paperless, so as G&J point out, it is a very rich website!). Some highlights: the exhibit hall (ChiliFresh.com, STImaging.com, MusicPump) and the Minneapolis Public Library's Game Center. They cover a lot of ground, so be sure to tune in!
If you tuned in to today's webinar on Effective "Virtual Visits" Statistics for the Annual Public Library Survey with Sarah Houghton-Jan, you know that we had some audio problems (technology! sheesh!). Anyway, Sarah very kindly re-recorded the audio in MP3 format so you can hear all that good information you may have missed the first time around. Be sure to download her neat resource handout as well, and the PowerPoint -- it'll be almost just like being there!
Thanks for a great webinar, Sarah, and for bearing with us through the technology glitches.
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart talks about the gradual migration of books and other print-based product from paper to digital formats.
Missed some of the books & other references he makes in this podcast? Ta-da, a PDF list is here!
In the latest Thinking Out Loud podcast, George and Joan take a look at the report Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future (PDF format). This report was conducted by the Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research (CIBER) in the UK.
The report looks at the information seeking behavior of young people and what that means for libraries in the next 10-15 years. As George says, demographics are destiny so it's important to look at how young people are looking for information.
Needless to say, George and Joan have a lot of thoughts on the report and its findings, so be sure to listen! This podcast is 19 minutes long.
What’s the most influential comic strip in history? In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s book guy – and unrepentant comics fan – Michael Cart answers that and other compelling questions about the contemporary world of comics publishing in his latest podcast!
Strips mentioned in this podcast include The Yellow Kid, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Krazy Kat, and Peanuts (thanks to Wikipedia for these descriptions). He also discusses the new biography on Charles Schulz, Schulz and Peanuts: a biography and Masters of American Comics.
In this latest session of Thinking Out Loud, our intrepid podcasters George & Joan look at TIME magazine's issue from Mar 24, 2008, 10 Ideas That Are Changing the World (among the ideas: the end of customer service and the new austerity) and they also talk about the Extinction Timeline, found on Ross Dawson's blog, rossdawsonblog.com, and created jointly by What’s Next and the Future Exploration Network. Of special interest to libraries: the year 2019, in which Dawson predicts the extinction of libraries! It's well worth a listen.
UPDATE: Sorry, folks. I seem incapable of typing (or for that matter, pasting, a file name correctly today. I have finally, absolutely, fixed the link to that latest G&J podcast. Sorry for any inconvenience! --Eileen the bad typist
Everybody has an opinion! Michael Cart weighed in on the state of reading today in his last podcast, and now in their latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams continue their take on the state of reading, a conversation that they started in their last podcast. This time out the look at the recent NEA report, To Read or Not to Read, and other trends affecting how and what people read. Also mentioned in this podcast: Book Glutton and Bibliocommons.
Is reading dead? None other than Steve Jobs seems to think so but Infopeople’s book guy, Michael Cart, disagrees and explains why in his latest podcast. Have a listen!
In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams take a look at current trends in reading. Specifically, George talks about his Kindle and they both riff on what the Kindle and other e-book readers of its ilk affect how and what we read.
For those of you who listen closely, you'll hear Joan reference something called the "ImaginoTransferenceDevice" and if you're like me, you're wondering what the heck that is. It's a term/concept coined by Jasper Fforde, and you can read more about it here.
Next up: they look at the NEA report, To Read or Not to Read - so stay tuned!
In this podcast, Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart reports and comments on the winners of this year’s ALA book awards for youth literature. Fasten your seat belts, folks. There are some surprises in store!
Can leadership be taught? In the latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham & Joan Frye Williams examine this question. George talks about the leadership academies in which he has participated (as a mentor). They also look at the differences between management and leadership, and the never-gets-old debate about nature versus nurture.
It all makes great food for thought!
In his most recent podcast, Infopeople’s mild-mannered book maven Michael Cart reports – with unseemly delight --on some recent and classic literary feuds. His favorite is the one between the Library of Congress and (wait for it) the entire country of Scotland!
Using the book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams look at the six attributes and discuss how those practices might be applied in libraries.
This 28-minute podcast is part two of a two-part series. If you missed part one, you can catch it here.
Infopeople’s book maven Michael Cart cleans out his in basket at year’s end and shares all of the book news and features he never quite got around to in 2007 in this podcast. It’s quite a collection, ranging from your pet ferret’s health to reviewing a new novel about Gone with Wind's roguish Rhett Butler.
Using the book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams look at the six attributes and discuss how those practices might be applied in libraries in this 22 minute podcast.
This is part one of a two-part podcast.
The American Management Association (AMA) offers free short (less than 15 minutes) podcasts with "insights and voices of recognized thought leaders across a wide range of topics." AMA offers these thought-provoking podcasts "to provide those essential 'nuggets' of perspective that will help you and your organization improve performance, adapt to changing business realities, and prosper in a complex and competitive world." The podcasts also include even shorter interviews with authors of new AMA books.
The February 1 podcast features Charles Handy, author of The Age of Unreason, The Elephant and the Flea, The Future or Work, The Age of Paradox and Myself and Other More Important Matters. It made me reflect upon how well positioned libraries are to help people discover what they are best at.
You can listen to individual podcasts at the AMA website or subscribe to the whole Edgewise series using iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts.
If you are considering "moving into management," these podcasts will give you a quick way to get current on management trends. If you want more than a quick listen, sign up for Infopeople's new onground course, Moving into Management, taught by Nancy Bolt. It will provide you with "information and exercises to help you to complete a self assessment to determine your competencies, confidence, and commitment for moving into library management; discover key roles of a library manager and tips about successful management, and think about your own career goals and if management is one of them."
In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart takes a fond – and sometimes wry -- look back at the year 2007 and what made news in the world of books and publishing. Can you say “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?”
What comes to mind when you hear the term "competencies"? Are competencies just the latest buzzword for leadership certification or for development of Librarian 2.0 skills? This podcast version of Mary Ross's Jan 8, 2008 Infopeople webcast will give you a basic understanding of competencies as guides for your library's recruitment and hiring, performance management, and staff development efforts.
In this podcast, Infopeople's book guru Michael Cart talks about the latest developments in the wide, wide world of comics, graphic novels, and manga. Prepare to be overwhelmed!
In this edition of Thinking Out Loud, George and Joan take a look at the state of library education. Is it worth all of the time and effort people put into it? George advocates a serious rethinking of MLS programs and what they teach.
It's food for thought!
In this podcast, Infopeople's bookman Michael Cart discusses the findings of the most recent National Endowment for the Arts survey of the health of reading in America. Hint: the patient is doing about as well as could be expected.
In their latest podcast, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams discuss how librarians refer to their...customers? patrons? users? and what those words mean, and how all of those terms have different connotations. As Joan says, it's more than just nomenclature.
In this podcast, Infopeople's book guy -- and author -- Michael Cart reports on writers' rush to the Internet to promote their work -- and, sometimes, themselves (think Michael Cart 2.0!).
In this latest podcast, Infopeople bookmeister Michael Cart takes an affectionate look at the long career of Ray Bradbury and recalls interviewing him at the recent CLA conference.
In this podcast, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams discuss George's trip to South Africa for the 2007 IFLA Conference, and the global library community in general.
Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart offers, in his latest podcast, an affectionate and nostalgic tribute to the late Walter R. Brooks' classic Freddy the Pig books for children (and adults like him!).
In their fourth podcast, George and Joan examine some sacred cows of librarianship, like the Dewey Decimal System, that are being challenged in libraries today.
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book groupie and comics connoisseur, Michael Cart, turns his attention to the latest developments in the world of comics and graphic novels -- which, he reports, are coming soon to a cell phone near you!
In their third podcast, George and Joan discuss how change in libraries is often viewed with resistance and suspicion. And in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day,be sure to take note of their likening of the bringers of change to pirates boarding a ship. Arrrrr!!
In the wake of the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon, Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart analyzes the obscure art of making a book a best-seller in this podcast.
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart, himself a reviewer for Booklist magazine, reviews the reviews of Amy Bloom's luminous new novel Away.
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart reviews a new memoir about the Garis family of children's book writers that gave us Uncle Wiggily, the Bobbsey Twins and more. Turns out there were very few happy endings at THE HOUSE OF HAPPY ENDINGS by Leslie Garis.
In their second podcast George Needham and Joan Frye Williams take a look at libraries that are doing new, exciting, and/or innovative things.
Update on 8/21: Sorry about the lack of a link there, folks! As you can see, it's corrected now.
In this podcast of her July 31 Infopeople webcast, library consultant Joan Frye Williams shares the fruits of her 15+ years of full-time consulting experience, providing practical information about everything you need to get started from in-demand consulting specialties, necessary skills, basic business requirements, proposals and contracts, and, of course, fees and billing.
If you've ever toyed with the idea of hanging out your shingle as a library consultant - or if you're just curious about what it might be like to pursue this library specialty – this podcast will give you an insider's view of the pleasures and pitfalls that await you.
Nationally-renowned Boomer expert Matt Thornhill says, "The demographics of California are quickly changing as Baby Boomers reinvent middle age as they reach 50, 60, and beyond. Traditional programs for "seniors" won't work for Boomers, nor will programs designed for younger adults. It's time libraries better understood California's largest, wealthiest, and most influential demographic group."
Matt Thornhill is president of the Boomer Project, a national leader in marketing and communicating with today's Boomer Consumer. In this podcast version of an August 7 Infopeople webcast, he shares seven "new rules" libraries need to master in order to effectively serve today's Boomers. Author of Boomer Consumer, Thornhill will provide insights and practical tips and techniques any
library can put to use immediately.
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart talks about the amazing Harry Potter phenomenon in a podcast that he guarantees is spoiler-free!
Michael Cart continues his report of the 2007 ALA conference in this podcast, recapping YALSA’s celebration of its fiftieth anniversary and reporting on the explosion of events related to young adult literature.
I thought I'd share some information about our new podcast series, George and Joan: Thinking Out Loud. If you use a newsreader you can subscribe to the George and Joan feed using this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfoblogGeorgeAndJoan. Just copy or click on the link, and pop it into your aggregator, and you'll know as soon as the next podcast is posted! The George and Joan podcasts will be appearing monthly. You can also find them in iTunes - just search for "Infopeople" and you'll find all of our podcasts listed.
Infopeople is pleased to announce a new series of podcasts: "George and Joan, Thinking Out Loud." Perspicacious pundits George Needham (OCLC) and Joan Frye Williams (library consultant) will compare notes - in their own inimitable style - on some of the hottest topics in libraries today. First on their list of conversation starters: Do trendy new service models amount to ‘dumbing down’ the library? Don’t miss the opportunity to listen in as Joan and George mix it up in a freewheeling format that’s sure to leave you with plenty to ponder.
If you like this one, stay tuned, because George and Joan will be Thinking Out Loud on the Infopeople site on a monthly basis. Upcoming topics include change and libraries, libraries getting it right, and the decline of deference.
Remember, you can listen to podcasts directly on your computer as long as it has speakers and is running any application that can play MP3 files, including Windows Media Player, WinAmp, and Real Player. Of course, if you have an iPod or any other type of MP3 player, you can download the files and take them with you to listen to wherever you happen to be.
If you have any difficulty accessing this or any other Infopeople podcast, you can get help from the Peep Geeks at ipweb@infopeople.org.
Does your library issue rules for patron behavior, i.e. odor, harassment, bare feet? Do you have a policy on young children unattended in the library? What types of rules are (and are not!) likely to be legally enforceable?
This is a podcast version of Mary Minow's July 19, 2007 webcast that analyzes lawsuits against libraries, and pulls together a legal framework to guide you in writing, revising and enforcing policies.
Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart reports on his experiences at the 2007 ALA conference in Washington, DC in his latest podcast. Expect particular attention to be given to the many faces of young adult literature represented at the conference.
Weeding is a necessary—and, for some, a worrisome collection maintenance task. What to keep? What to weed? Where to start? And how can weeding happen in a library without its users wondering why materials are being withdrawn? In fact, weeding can be the answer to stimulating circulation, and weeding is a requirement for keeping your collection vigorous and useful. Weeding eliminates the outdated, the superceded, the irreparably damaged, and the material that simply doesn't fit the scope of your collection. In return your library's collection can look better, be easier for users to navigate, and come through on its promise to provide real value to the library's community. In this podcast version of her July 9 webcast, Francisca addresses all of these issues.
Comics and graphic novels were a major presence at this year's Book Expo America trade show recently held in New York. Infopeople's Michael Cart tells you all about it in this podcast recorded on June 20, and he brings you up to date on other news from the ever-expanding world of graphic publishing.
We just posted the podcast version of Susan Hildreth's June 19 webcast. It's 46 minutes long and she covers a lot of ground. Topics include the appointment of Stacey Aldrich as Deputy State Librarian, the new State Library website, LSTA grant info, Early Learning with Families (ELF), and news about the Boomer initiative (the kickoff to this initiative will be a webcast on August 7).
Check it out!
Update: I forgot to mention that Susan and other State Library staff are participating in our 23 Things challenge!
In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart discusses the recently announced nominations for the 2007 Eisner Awards, the Oscars of the comics industry, and related trends in the publishing of comics and graphic novels.
This podcast is derived from the webcast Karen Calhoun presented on March 9, 2007 for Infopeople. It's based on the "Calhoun Report," prepared for the Library of Congress. This study examined factors affecting the future of library online catalogs and options for revitalizing them.
If you have ever wondered what to do to make your online catalog more appealing and useful for today's web-savvy users—and thereby make your library's collections more visible and helpful to your community—this podcast is sure to provide you with many ideas for next steps.
In his latest book-related podcast Michael Cart discusses the recent demise of the stand-alone newspaper book review section and what you can do to help revive this vanishing form of essential journalism.
I know we're beginning to sound like the Helene Blowers fan club here, but there is now a podcast version of her May 9 webcast available for listening! It's 53 minutes of good Web 2.0 info, so give it a listen!
Last year the Supreme Court ruled that some Ten Commandments displays on government property are not constitutional, while other Ten Commandments displays are permissible. What does this mean for your library? Is it OK to put up a Christmas tree? A Menorah? Can you allow religious use of your meeting rooms and display areas? Should you allow staff to talk about church or religion to coworkers? Religious issues are heating up and in this podcast of her May 3 webcast Mary Minow will help you find out where the legal lines are drawn.
In his latest podcast, Michael Cart mourns the recent death of Captain America so you don’t have to! But, hey, the Captain is a Marvel comics superhero, and those superheroes do have a way of coming back (and back and back and . . .)
RFID, patron holds, RSS feeds, personalized reading lists: personalized services and convenience are the gold coin of today. Can these services be introduced without compromising user privacy? Are there legal implications if patron preferences or personal information is not properly safeguarded? Mary Minow of librarylaw.com and library technology expert Lori Ayre take on these issues and more in this podcast version of their April 5, 2007 Infopeople webcast.
April 18 is Library Legislative Day here in California. To find out more about the goings-on, check out this CLA web page. To give you tips on how to be a good library lobbyist, we recently went up to Sacramento and recorded a talk by Nancy Amidei, a longtime activist and lobbyist.
So much fuss over one little word! Michael Cart reports in his latest podcast on the controversy over The Higher Power of Lucky, the 2007 Newbery Medal-winning children’s book by California author Susan Patron.
State Librarian Susan Hildreth gave her latest quarterly updates this past Wednesday, and now we have it available as a podcast!
Topics covered include:
The TED Conference mixes Technology, Entertainment and Design. The 2007 event was March 7-10 in Monterey and its focus was Icons, Geniuses and Mavericks.
As the San Francisco Chronicle put it, "Imagine going to school and learning how to tie your shoe correctly one moment and studying the rise of obesity the next. Then you might hear a 14-year-old piano virtuoso perform and improvise a piece on the spot, followed by a talk on global warming. They are just some of the presentations that the 1,000 or so invitation-only attendees have been treated to each year at the four-day Ted Conference."
You can listen to the fascinating talks, both audio and video, online or on your iPod FREE through iTunes. Examples of those featured are plyaright/actor Anne Deavere-Smith, Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, and rock star/activist Bono.
If you found TED 2007 intriguing, be sure to check out The Big Questions to be answered at TED 2008, February 27 - March 1, 2008 at the Monterey Conference Center.
Our book maven Michael Cart reports on his interviews with two award-winning graphic novelists: Gene Yang, whose AMERICAN-BORN CHINESE just copped the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, and Andy Runton, the creator of Owly, and winner of the 2006 Eisner Award for best graphic novel for younger readers. Check out the podcast here!
In his latest podcast, Michael Cart talks about the art of literary biography in the personal context of the critical biography he's currently writing about the life and work of children's book author Walter R. Brooks, creator of the characters of Ed, the talking horse, and, of course, of course, the immortal Freddy the Pig!
Do girls read graphic novels and comics? In his latest podcast, Michael Cart reports on the expanding world of Shojo - Japanese comics for girls - and efforts by American publishers to reach female audiences.