Library Stuff

Did you see the wiki that was set up for Northern Voice? Audio links to the presentations, links to commentary on the presentation, and a complete “meta” section using Technorati, PubSub, Flickr, and Del.icio.us. Wowsa!

Michael Stephens has written up Six Tips to Enjoying Computers in Libraries 2005. My favorites:

“Six Feet Under: Don’t miss the TechForum 2005! It’s Wednesday night, after a reception when the exhibits open so you get some food, some “festive” beverage of your choice and a couple of hilarious hours with some presenters discussing dead and emerging technologies moderated by Mr. D. Scott Brandt. And my friend Aaron is on the panel this year!”

This is a must for all attendees. You never know what you will see and hear at this session. Last year, D. Scott Brandt had us crying on the floor with his opening address.

“Dine Dine Around : Look for announcements about dine arounds and choose one or two and go! A Dine Around is sort of like a hungry community of interest that goes out to eat together and discusses a particular topic. Last year’s blogger’s dinner was a HOOT! This is a great way to meet like-minded/focused folks and do some networking.”

The dine-arounds are online now. I didn’t get to attend any last year, but will be hosting two this year. One on “Library Blogs, Collaborative Communities & Wireless Applications” with Stephen Abrams and the other on “IM, Blogs & Emerging Technologies” with Michael and Aaron Schmidt.

“Don’t be too shy! If you see someone at CIL that you’ve read/heard and you’d like to ask him or her a question or make a comment — go for it! Librarians are pretty darn approachable, and if someone isn’t – shame on them!”

I’d like to add that the best place to network would be at the bar with the free wifi (I heard that it was live and free last year – both the networking and the wifi, that is). You’ll see me with a beer in my hand most evenings. The best conversations take place with a circle of us talking shop with more and more people coming on board as the night progresses. Please come and say hi.

Peter Scott points out that Yahoo now provides RSS feeds for some of their directory topics/subtopics. There are only a handful of them, but it’s a start. They will probably have them for all of their categories soon enough. Suweeeeeet.

A VERY timely article by Rachel Singer Gordon (no stranger to print and online publication). She makes a poignant statement about weblogs:

“If you do decide to publish a library or information-related blog or web site as a counterpart to other professional writing, keep these simple guidelines in mind: keep it useful, keep it topical, and keep it professional. Look at what else is out there, and think about where you might fill a niche. Think about your overall research and writing interests and how these can intersect with your online activities. Before establishing your own site or blog, think about how often you can commit to updating it and whether you have the self-motivation to continue writing after the initial creative rush.”

You’ll see another wonderful quote (notice my satire – get it?) from El Presidente elect, which has already made its way around the library circle:

“The temptation to throw your work online without thinking it through leads some to speak quite dismissively of the potential of these self-publishing venues. Michael Gorman, for one, writes: “Unfortunately, if there are writers of genius, or talent, or even basic competence out there blogging, I have yet to find them. In the early heady days of the Internet, we were promised that, in the future, everyone could be published. Alas, that promise is being fulfilled, which should remind us all to be wary of what we wish for” (Our Own Selves: More Meditations for Librarians. Chicago: ALA, 2005: 208).”

The members of ALA are in for one heck of a year. I don’t envy them. Let’s hope that he doesn’t set our profession back 10 years when the job of the president should be to move it forward.

I must admit, I’m addicted to the PubSub Sidebar. I have a constant stream of real-time customized feeds right in my browser all day. It’s one of the best ways to stay on top of a subject if you don’t want to use an aggregator.

When I saw Flickrfox, I was of course, excited, because it added the element of pictures into the mix.