Wandering Librarian: NYPL Roosevelt Island

I enjoy riding the Tram every so often, so a few weeks ago, I was wandering around Roosevelt Island and ended up in the New York Public Library (NYPL) Roosevelt Island branch. It was a fairly warm day outside and the library was no exception. There were a few fans and a portable AC on.

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A few highlights:

• It’s got a small town feel.
• There’s a little bit of everything.
• Noticed that NYPL has a welcome guide.
• Found out that it’s going to be renovated, which is great, but I hope the friendly small town feel is kept post-renovation.

Wandering Librarian: NYPL 53rd Street Library

Wandering around NYC, I ended up on the block of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and across the street is the recently opened NYPL 53rd Street Library. I had remembered visiting the former library in this location and was curious to see what the new one looks like. Upon entering, I was greeted by friendly staff. Enlarged posters of book cover jackets line the top of the bookshelves. “Staff picks” cards were displayed on bookshelves throughout the library, reminding me of local bookstores. One service desk was simply a desk with a nook for supplies where staff would carry a laptop to the desk during their shift. Outlets almost everywhere you looked from tabletops to seating areas. A seating area next to the stairs that doubled as an auditorium/theater. Saw a colleague who is now working at this location, it was great to reconnect. Bright and open space, fairly quiet and comfortable. NYPL 53rd Street Library was a quick but enjoyable and welcoming visit.

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METRO User Experience Meeting with Guest Speakers – Josh Hadro from NYPL Labs and Alex Hylton from Darien Library

Join us for our 3rd METRO User Experience Special Interest Group Meeting next Tuesday, February 10th from 10am-12pm

We’ll hear from guest speakers Josh Hadro, Deputy Director of the New York Public Library (NYPL) Labs and editorial board member of the open-access Weave Journal of Library User Experience, and Alex Hylton, User Experience Ninja at Darien Library. We’ll also have time to network with colleagues, share UX tips, and get feedback on UX projects.

For more information and to register.

Weave Journal of User Experience: Founding a New Open Access Journal of Library UX Practice
Josh Hadro
User Experience has become an essential and prominent element of core service design in the library profession, and with that comes the need for a dedicated outlet for high quality discussion of professional concerns. Come learn more about Weave, the new peer-reviewed journal of user experience design for librarians and professionals in related fields. The talk will cover the founding philosophy behind the publication, which strives “for a balance between theoretical and practical topics.” You’ll also hear about the various kinds of submissions the journal is seeking, including peer-reviewed journal articles and more informal discussions of UX practice.

UX at Darien Library
Alex Hylton
A look at our focus, challenges, project highlights and new initiatives

2014 METRO Annual Conference Recap

The 2014 METRO Annual Conference kicked off with a keynote presentation by Jessamyn West where she talked about libraries, information, technology, and projects like the Open Library. The rest of the day consisted of 30-minute project briefing sessions with many opportunities to meet and connect with colleagues.

Some highlights:

NYPLarcade is like a book discussion, but for video games. It’s about promoting game literacy.

NYPL TechConnect program offers technology classes in over 80 NYPL branches. In order to develop the program to transform technology training services/classes, part of the process involved asking three questions: What do we start, what do we stop, and what do we continue.  NYPL continues to evaluate the program by talking to both staff and patrons (Yes! Someone else understands the importance of getting feedback from both groups) and understands that it’s about asking the right questions – “Don’t ask questions that you can’t action.”

NY Librarians Meetup E-Portfolio Presentation at NYPL

 

More on e-portfolios…