Persistence

Persistence is often listed as a 21st century skill. From yesterday's e-mail inbox:

Hello Mr. Johnson,
   
I am a research chemist in Cincinnati pulling double duty as our company's project leader in knowledge and information management.  I am fascinated by the way 'literacy' is changing as our information environment evolves, for digital immigrants like myself, but also for our children.  I came across your book over a year ago, Machines are the Easy Part, and spent a good hour trying to find my way back to it today...
      
It turns out my del.icio.us had the link, but my information literacy tag has so many links that I didn't find the link where I thought it should be - a classic case of failed re-finding.
      
I am reading Jones' Keeping Found Things Found, and just read about the 'Critical Incident Technique' of evaluating failures of PIM.  This was certainly a failure in re-finding. [See Johnson's Law of Finding]  In his other book, Personal Information Management, he points out that search failure during re-finding appears to be particularly frustrating in part because the information sought has been seen before and is known to exist....but....  I think the 'map' to the information has changed, which threw me off my path.  You've updated your site since the last time I was there.
      
Which is a rambling round about way to ask for the table of contents for 'Machines are the easy part' that I remember being available on the old site.
   
And I wanted to send an email to make sure that sending a check to the address posted on the site ... will actually lead to a book purchase!
   
 You may or may not be interested in my needle in a haystack route to find your site:
 
 Initial Google Search: 

book information literacy presentations computers <http://www.google.com/search?q=book+information+literacy+presentations+computers&amp;hl=en>
   
I remembered finding the book (turns out my del.icio.us link post was from November, 2006) while looking around for discussion of children and education and information literacy in schools.  I also seem to recall your book had comments about giving 'presentations.'

Then I tried:
   
book information literacy presentation computers teacher <http://www.google.com/search?q=book+information+literacy+presentations+computers&amp;hl=en>

The first hit was education related and I seemed to recall the book's audience was educators and that the author was a teacher, maybe?  So I added 'teacher'
   
Mankato kept coming up and I seemed to recall noting that the author was from Minnesota - I'm from MN and I was reminded of the coincidence.
   
So I added Minnesota to the search and a few other  words:
   
 book outline buy tips computer presentation computer teacher literacy minnesota <http://www.google.com/search?q=book+outline+buy+tips+computer+presentation+computer+teacher+literacy+minnesota&amp;hl=en&amp;start=10&amp;sa=N>
   
On the *second* page of hits was a link to Linworth Publishing which had your other book in the snippet, "The indispensable Teacher's guide..."  That sounded sort of like what I was looking for....
   
Visiting the site at
   
 http://www.linworth.com/linworth_books/?page=reviews&category=technology <http://www.linworth.com/linworth_books/?page=reviews&amp;category=technology>  <http://www.linworth.com/linworth_books/?page=reviews&amp;category=technology>
   
I saw that book and your name as author and it sounded familiar...
   
 So I search on that book title, looking for an author's site (the one I remembered) and found
   
 Indispensable Teacher’s Guide to Computer Skills <http://www.google.com/search?q=Indispensable+Teacher%E2%80%99s+Guide+to+Computer+Skills&amp;hl=en>
  
 ...and found a page on your site at
   
 http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/indispensable-teachers-gude-to-computer-skills.html
  
 Gude?
  
 Which had a link to 'books'
   
 http://www.doug-johnson.com/books
      
AH, there it is, the book I remembered!
      
I went back to del.icio.us and sure enough I'd posted a link - it just didn't come up where I expected....and then I saw another related post for an article you'd written:
  
 http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/johnson/johnson013.shtml
   
Which is where I found the link to the "Machines..." book in the first place while researching and commenting <http://futhermet.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/information-literacy-redefining-the-memex/>  on Webber's Information Literacy Article "As we May Think..." in which I actually link to your article, alluding to the comment, "One positive aspect of “adding” information literacy activities to the curriculum is that this should be a method of teaching rather than an add-on. "

Wow, memex inded.
   
So...If it wouldn't be a problem, could you send the TOC for "Machines are the Easy Part," and verify that I can purchase the book via the address given?
     
Thanks!
Matt

Hi Matt,
 
After all that work, the least I can do is mail you a complimentary copy. Send me a snail mail address!

All the best,
 
 Doug

The book is in today's mail.