Lark Birdsong's List: Birdsong Info Services Publications

"These videos are produced by Lark Birdsong through the Information Literacy Initiative at the University of Washington, Information School.\n\nThe goal of the video series is to provide consumers who go online a way to find basic health information "

The Information Literacy Initiative at the University of Washington Information School is a funded, active organization that began in 2007 after the successful training of a group of youth labeled “at-risk.” In the course of thinking about providing this kind of training, I came across bq’s editorial in the September 2008 issue of Searcher magazine in which she discusses the concept of “outliers.” At that time I had just started another information literacy class for women without homes at The Gathering Place, a day shelter for homeless women in Denver, Colo. I wanted to define the population I was working with and the term outliers stuck and helped me focus on the population the Information Literacy Initiative currently serves.

Following up on the article in the September issue, this article describes a collaborative research project between women who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness. My co-authors include Anonymous Researcher #1, Barbara, and Gladys Grisier, with assists by Kathy and Catharine.

"Having spent 4 weeks in the Netherlands in August and September 2009 visiting libraries, universities, and research institutes and hearing lectures from the Dutch, I learned quite a bit from these innovative professionals. The public and academic libraries and research institutes have an innovation engine driving their daily existence and research. No matter where I find innovation at work, it inspires me. So let’s start with the DOK Library Concept Center (DOK) in Delft, Netherlands, a place some folks call the “most modern” or “best” public library in the world."

An example of a website embedding a Searcher In Charge Video to help the health consumer

"Health Videos available for FREE!

Videos and audio files about health topics can be great in the classroom. A different voice or authority source can do wonders. That's why I'm pleased to share with you all "Searching in Charge" video series. The videos are produced by Lark Birdsong and the Information Literacy Initiative based out of the University of Washington.

http://www.birdsonginfo.com/blog/2010/06/searcher-in-charge-health-..."

"In addition, you should avoid using your iPod and cell phone at the dinner table or whenever you're in the company of others. Give the people you're with your full attention. Show an interest in their perspectives and insights. Birdsong concludes, "The truth is, some of the most significant information doesn't come from things, but from people." "

"'Succeeding' At Homelessness - Public Libraries Reach Out To Clients In Crisis

In these tough times, libraries are full of families and people who have lost jobs and turn to the library for support in their time of need. Besides the traditional information services, libraries are supplying digital services; in particular, through public computing services, they are replacing lost internet connectivity and web access for people who need them to survive and recover. A group of women experiencing homelessness have provided tips on surviving and getting out of homelessness in the October issue of Searcher Magazine (http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/oct09/Birdsong.shtml). The article is the second in a series by Lark Birdsong, director of the Information Literacy Initiative at the University of Washington's Information School. The first article -- Information Literacy Training for All: The Outliers (http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/sep09/Birdsong.shtml) -- appeared in the September issue and is also available free on the infotoday.com website."

"There are many ways to have a presence on Facebook for Businesses, with Facebook Pages being the most widely used one, especially since you can get a bunch of Insights using the Facebooks inbuilt Page Analytics Platform.

However, it isn’t necessary to have a Facebook page for website owners to understand insights – there is a little talked about functionality that allows you to gain an insight platform for your own websites, without the need of setting up a page on Facebook. This should take under 5 minutes to set up! "