Library Stuff

This is, um, interesting. Type in your favorite author and a map shows up of other authors that you may be interested in. Click on any author name and that author becomes the center of the map. I just wish the names would stop moving at some point. It gave me a headache. (link via a populicio.us)

Here’s something I’ve never seen before. In their wiki, The Library and Information Technology Services part of Vanderbilt University has provided a “How to” to setting up their staff and news feeds in Google Portal, the customized front page. Neat.

Cindy Chick has a very useful post on using blogs as presentation media. She discusses advantages and disadvantages and links to a presentation that she recently did in Blogger. I’ve been going back and forth on this for a while and I think I’m at the point that I will never present using PowerPoint again. Last week, I spoke at the Nassau Library System and used a blog for my presentation and loved it because the presentation flowed better. Cindy Chick writes:

“The organization of a blog forced me to think, not in bullet points, but in speaking points. I’ve been skeptical at claims that PowerPoint dictates a certain undesirable structure upon it’s users, but after working with a blog, I’m starting to think there may be something to that idea.”

Remember to watch the LITA Blog for the ongoings at the LITA Forum next week. Or (duh!), you can subscribe to the feed.

The University of Minnesota Libraries, home of the famous UThink project, is using a wiki for their “Staff Home Page”. What I love about the wiki is that it is open for all to read, but only available for editing by those with access. So, we can learn from their staff, but not change their content. Very blog like.

Yet another great idea from the librarians at this University library.