My reading this month was dominated by one topic: Google+. So much so that it started to eclipse this list. I therefore decided to remove the links completely and will post separately on that topic.

Digital scholarship

Digital scholarship recognition – the debate – Martin Weller presents his side of the keynote debate at the recent EdMedia conference addressing the question of when digital scholarship will reach the same status as traditional scholarship.

Digital Research Tools Wiki – this wiki collates information on tools which can be used by researchers to enhance their work processes.

Academics and libraries

Collaborating with faculty: what our partnerships look like – the second in a series written by Kim Leeder for In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

How academic libraries annoy academics – this post by Greyson, a health librarian and researcher, highlights how library bureaucracy can put academics off using library services. You need to read the comments too to get the full picture of this issue.

Doing it wrong – after reading the post above Katie Birkwood penned this reasoned response. It sums up remarkably well my own thoughts as I was reading through the comments.

Search

Thinking about ‘The Filter Bubble’ – Jessica Hagman writes for the ACRLog on how the filter bubble will impact what librarians teach about using search engines.

Workflows / Productivity

How one newspaper rebooted its workflow with GoogleDocs and WordPress – I’m always looking for ways to improve workflows using (free) online tools, this indication that it can be implemented not just by a small group, but a whole organisation, is encouraging.

June has been a month of heavy reading. There have been so many links that I could have shared below. In an effort to keep the list relatively short (and therefore manageable) I’ve narrowed down to what I consider the most interesting. For any of you with extra reading time on your hands you can take on Kathryn Greenhill’s challenge of the 100 articles every librarian should read.

Technology
Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen – Gestural interfaces: a step backwards in usability

Richard Nurse (libwebrarian) – Discovery Solutions Thoughts on Content

Maria Popover (BrainPicker) – 7 Must-Read Books on the Future of the Internet

Leadership
Davenport Ursillo – How to Lead Without Followers

Future of libraries/librarians
Save NYC Libraries – The Library is Dead, Long Live the Libary

Alexis Madrigal (The Atlantic) – What Big Media Can Learn From the New York Public Library

Steve Petersen (The Bivings Report) – Librarians offer plenty in a social media world

Education
Derek Rodrigeuz – Understanding library impacts on student learning

Heather Braum (Librarian in the Cloud) – The Future of Education

Sarah Kessler (Mashable) – 5 innovative ways to teach online

Digital scholarship
A. Dias de Figueiredo (ED MEDIA 2011) – ED MEDIA Keynote Debate: Digital Scholarship

Matthew Reisz (THE) – Title Fights

Further reading
Kathryn Greenhill – 100 articles every librarian should read

Quite a few blogs I read have weekly reading round-ups where the authors share a selection of the stuff they have been reading. I kind of like this method as a way of mopping up things I might have missed on Twitter or RSS. So here’s a little list for you of the things I’ve been reading over the past few weeks (and catching up on this evening):

Higher Education

Deloitte – Making the Grade 2011: a study of the top 10 issues facing higher education

Martin Paul Eve – Guarding your academic ideas

Information managment

Brian Croxall (ProfHacker) - Zotero vs. EndNote

The Internet and social media

Amit Agarwal (Digital Inspiration) – How people share content online and with whom

Brian Herzog (Swiss Army Librarian) – Being personal and professional on Twitter

Sarah Kessler (Mashable) – How to: Talk to children about online safety

Libraries/Librarians

Seth Godin - The future of the library

Bohyun Kim (Library Hat) - Tech skills for new librarians & me

Productivity

Courtney (BoostBlog) – Trialling an Agile to-do list

Just for fun here’s a little reading habits meme found on the Far Off Librarian blog.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Not much. If it’s anything it would be a cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
Yes the idea of writing in books horrifies me – any kind of book mutilation horrifies me. I use post-it notes to mark pages I want to come back to.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Bookmarks. My favourite is a fabric Simon Drew drawing – “You lived your life like a camel in the wind” but I’m also currently using one I picked up at Newcastle City Library.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Mostly fiction. If it’s non-fiction is has to be really really good in order to grip me – I find I struggle with a lot of non-fiction books even if I’m interested in the topic.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Now hard copy but when I was a kid I read very little, I was all about the audiobooks.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I prefer to read to the end of chapters but sometimes when I’m reading in bed I get to a point where I can feel my eyes closing and I just have to stop no matter what stage I’m at.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
I usually ask Laura first. If she doesn’t know then I just carry on.

What are you currently reading?
Man and Boy by Tony Parsons

What is the last book you bought?
Four Past Midnight by Stephen King for the section Three Past Midnight: The Library Policeman

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
Just one at a time. I’d get confused otherwise, especially if I had more than one fiction book on the go.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
I usually read in bed either just before sleep or on a lazy morning. My ideal place to read is in an armchair in a sunny room.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
I really have no preference. I do however read a lot of crime fiction and with those I like to follow a single detective through a series – at the moment it’s Guido Brunetti in the Donna Leon’s series.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
At the moment I’m extolling the virtues of Jennifer Donnelly having just read The Winter Rose.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Fiction is by author. Non-fiction by subject.