Goodbye, Pledge? Hello, Shelfari!

I believe one of my least favorite chores involves whipping out that old dust rag and hitting the shelves with my can of Pledge. Of course, I do love the fresh lemony scent that fills my apartment after wiping down the furniture, but having to remove all the books and trinkets to sort and clean isn’t the most desirable of tasks. Wouldn’t it be just be great if there was a shelf out there that didn’t make me sneeze? In a virtual world, maybe!

Two years ago, my sister, who is an elementary teacher, showed me an online tool introduced to her during one of her professional development classes in technology. Shelfari, as it is called, allows users to list the books they have read, are reading, or intend to read and put them on their virtual bookshelf. For my sister, she was able to include books she has read for school (elementary, high school summer reading, college novels and textbooks), for pleasure (fiction and nonfiction, in book clubs and solo), and for work (teaching resources). Through this tremendous variety of books on her shelf, she is connected to so many different networks of users, from those who teach young children to those who enjoy a good work of historical fiction in their free time!

I created an account for professional and academic use to sort through all the books and textbooks I have been using for my graduate classes. Not only can other users see that I have these books at hand (fellow students could ask to borrow one for a class), but I can view other users with similar preferences in the field. One user, “Foundation Center,” also recommended one of my books, and after looking into the user profile, I learned that it lends books related to nonprofit management. That’s a perfect resource for someone still in school or for a nonprofit administrator who wishes to obtain a resource without purchasing it due to budgetary constraints.

Shelfari also allows users to post their bookshelves to a website or blog, as I have done. The advantage to this is that my classmates, who may have never heard of the website will stumble across it on my blog and have another access point to my bookshelf. I recognize that the tool is all about resource sharing, providing recommendations, and making connections among users. This would be particularly helpful for educators, students, academic professionals, organizations that promote literacy and learning, and even for organizations who engage in resource sharing.

My recommendation is to check out the site and explore the ways it can be used for your academic or organizational needs. Unfortunately, Shelfari won’t remove the dust from the bookshelf in your living room, but it will allow you to sort through the resources you own or hope to access for personal or professional use.

E-Government: It's All About the Relationships

Beth Simone Noveck’s book Wiki Government explores the ways in which government has been able to use technology to its advantage: improving service delivery, promoting democratic exchange, and strengthening civil society. According to Darrell West, “E-government refers to the delivery of information and services online through the Internet or other digital means.” Thus E-government maximizes the utility of the tasks government is already committed to achieving and strengthens connections. In the simplest of terms, E-government builds and strengthens relationships, characterized by the interactions among government agencies, businesses, citizens, states, and nonprofits.

I think about how I regularly benefit from some of the government’s use of technology. Growing up, I watched my dad sit down with his check book and stuff an envelope for each of our utility providers. Now, every time I want to pay my electric bill, I merely log on to the city of Newark’s website and watch the money disappear instantly from my bank account. The ease of this process is undeniable, but because the task has become simpler, I also find that I push off paying my bills until the last minute. However, while E-procurement at times enables me to meet certain responsibilities “later” (which isn’t always the best for being proactive), I also begin to think about how much it benefits the city accounting office on the other end. At the end of the day, fewer papers to file or checks to cash is a help to local bureaucrats. Nevertheless, this shift from the paper-shuffling logistical tasks requires a more tech-savvy workforce, even at the lowest levels of local government.

Aside from the convenience of E-government, from filing my tax return online to driving through the EZ-Pass lane (a private company serving government transportation services), there is also tremendous value of this technology for law enforcement. E-enforcement encompasses the cameras used to track for highway violations and the software that detects those who avoid paying use tax. However, enforcement isn’t just developing the pre-existing government services like traffic control. With increased cyber crime, law enforcement has had to develop its intelligence out of necessity. Thus technology has not only shifted the delivery of government services but has expanded the role of government in order to match the growth of these advances.

All of this comes down to relationships. As a citizen, it is easier for me to use government services, at least in terms of paying my bills. I experience the benefits of a private-public partnership with EZ-Pass. Through my current work and upcoming internship with a nonprofit, I am aware of how government is able to funnel grant money more easily to the organization. The relationships and networks among government and the various sectors of society always existed. We now have the privilege of improving the efficiency of these connections and enhancing service delivery in everyday life.