Archive for November, 2005
Beyond Blogs and Social Networks
November 30th, 2005I’ll be speaking at and attending the Beyond Blogs and Social Networks Conference in Jersey City for the next two days so I probably won’t be able to blog until this weekend at the earliest. To tell you the truth, I could use the break. See you in a few days.
BookBurro
November 30th, 2005
BookBurro
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Book Burro is a Firefox plug-in that will magically appear on your screen (top left on the screenshot) when you are looking at a book record online (like Amazon, BN, etc) It will advise you of prices from other booksellers and whether local libraries [...]
E-LIS Reaches 3,000 Docs
November 30th, 2005Congrats to E-LIS for reaching the 3,000 mark for open access documents in the LIS world. The E-LIS RSS feed is one of my favorites and have found some very useful articles. (link via Open Access News)
Tagging at UPenn Library
November 30th, 2005I had to look at this page for a bit to figure out exactly what it was. Once I was able to wrap my brain around it, the more this seemed like an amazing idea. The main page is an aggregate for all of the tagged items that the UPenn community is adding [...]
Is ‘Beta’ Better?
November 30th, 2005It’s easy to “slap a beta” on a product and release it to the wild, with a note saying, “Hey, were in beta so if something breaks, sorry.” The WSJ has has an article on the increase of the word ‘Beta’ which really doesn’t mean anything anymore. What is not mentioned in the [...]
If I Were in London in February…
November 30th, 2005I’d be in the front row at The Future of Web Apps summit, put on by Carson Workshops Summitt. Just to meet Joshua Schachter and Eric Costello would be worth the trip. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend, but if the summit comes to the states, I’ll be the first to sign [...]
2006 EBSCOhost Enhancements Include RSS Feeds
November 30th, 2005The University of Calgary Collection News blogged it. You can also find the information on the support page.
“We are very pleased to announce plans to introduce several significant product enhancements in the beginning of 2006, each designed to increase the efficiency and productivity of EBSCOhost researchers around the world.
+ RSS enabled Alerts allow librarians [...]
Acatopia
November 28th, 2005
Acatopia
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
I wish that I had known about Acatopia when I was up in Massachusetts presenting on web-based readers advisory. I would have pointed to it as an example of a good idea with a lot of potential, but no users (I was explaining that [...]
syncPEOPLE
November 28th, 2005Gregory Narain has announced syncPEOPLE:
“We build and maintain web-based communities for events of all sizes, from the biggest trade show to the smallest club. Every event provides opportunities for new connections, we simplify and accelerate the process. Our unique event management system will deliver measurable value and lasting results to event attendees, exhibitors and [...]
NYRB on WTV
November 28th, 2005I apologize if I’m blogging so much about William T. Vollmann (WTV), but I’m just too excited about his National Book Award. In the future, these posts will go on my litblog, if I can find the time to get it going. Anyway, The New York Review of Books has a review of [...]
Entrepreneur Launches Web’s First Tag Directory to Raise Money for His Wedding
November 28th, 2005I’ve been warned about tagging in the past. Spammers will get a hold of it and ruin it (enter Digg and the like as rating systems to fix that problem), there’s no pre-determined classification schema (er, duh, that’s the point), etc. Well, I think I may have met my match. According to [...]
What’s on Tap at Library Thing…
November 28th, 2005Tim Spalding informs us what may be future enhancements of Library Thing, including, possibly, hopefully, maybe, “Find in a Library”.
Suweeeet! (with fingers crossed)
When I tell people about Library Thing, I include a warning. Don’t blame me when you realize that you have wasted a whole day adding your booklists. It’s really addictive, and [...]
From Here to There: A Look at International Libraries
November 28th, 2005A perfect niche filled in the library blog community.
From Here to There: A Look at International Libraries – “Have you ever wondered what libraries are like in Kashmir or Laos? How are library services different in less-developed countries? What do camels and donkeys have to do with literacy? Libraries and librarianship can serve as interesting [...]
Cambridge Journal Feeds
November 28th, 2005Wow! Take a look at all the feeds (RSS and ATOM) available for the journals published by the Cambridge University Press Online.
Update on a Few Librarian Memes
November 27th, 2005I’m loving the recent librarian-type/2.0 memes going on. I also hope that they continue to thrive.
First, the Blogging Librarians page on Frappr currently has 172 members. Ivan Chew mentions that he’s like to see more library bloggers from Asia on the map. I agree. The ever poignant Chew writes:
“Size doesn’t [...]
No More GD Soundboards on Internet Archive
November 27th, 2005I listen to a Grateful Dead show every day, and my usual stop in the morning is the Internet Archive to grab my pick. Well, according to Boing Boing, the IA has had to trim down the collection to non-soundboard shows. What was once the biggest online collection of GD music history is [...]
A Note About Reviews
November 26th, 2005As I shift Library Stuff in another direction, I’m going to attempt to review at least one “Web 2.0″ tool every weekday. I’ve actually been doing just that over the past few weeks, and have had a blast playing with this stuff and then writing about it. I’m still going to mention blog/RSS/wiki [...]
Shoutwire
November 25th, 2005
Shoutwire
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery and in this new Web world, there are many out there flattering the heck out of us. Take, for example, Shoutwire, another rating resource similar to Digg, the clear leader in the space. That said, it [...]
RSS Sweet RSS
November 25th, 2005David Sterry mentioned on his blog the other day that Trend Sweet Trend is now RSS enabled. Subscribed. I’m really enjoying TST. It’s a great way for me to enjoy Livemarks without having to keep the page running. Thanks David.
Thanks for Teasing
November 25th, 2005“If they tease me, if they laugh at me they love me. For I am just Gwen, to be teased.”
- from “Missing, Mom” by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco, 2005) – page 239
Podcasting in Education
November 25th, 2005For those who work in higher education and want to get into podcasting, take a look at this lengthy article from Educause Review. While you’re at it, grab the RSS feed for the publication, as Educause puts out some great content. (link via j’s scratchpad)
Kaboodle
November 24th, 2005
Kaboodle
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
This is pretty slick, and, if developed well, could be huge. Kaboodle allows you to easily create favorites lists, with a Flickrish type style. After creating a public or private Kaboodle, you can customize everything that is displayed and the order in which [...]
Altered Books
November 24th, 2005
Altered Books
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
About Altered Books:
“Cut the bindings off of books found at a used book store. Find poems in the pages by the process of obliteration. Put pages in the mail and send them all around the world. Lather, rinse, repeat.”
Lots more poems on the blog, [...]
Tapping into the Wisdom of Communities
November 23rd, 2005I have a new favorite blog and it’s not (GASP!) library related. I scored it off of Howard Rheingold’s del.icio.us tags (which I was shocked to find out only 20 or so subscribers in Bloglines) and have been in blog reading-heaven since 10:00PM tonight with archive perusal.
The blog is the work of Irving Wladawsky-Berger [...]
Web 2.0 Bingo
November 23rd, 2005
Web 2.0 Bingo
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
This was bound to happen. Take a look at Web 2.0 Bingo. I think I’ll print out a bunch of these and have attendees play the game along with my presentation. (link via Adam Kalsey)
Web 2.0 WorkGroup Now Has 20 Blogs
November 23rd, 2005Michael Arrington just posted a note on TechCrunch that the Web 2.0 Workgroup has now reached 20 blogs. I guess 20 is one decimal place away from 2.0 so its significance is worth noting.
I am thrilled to be part of this workgroup and hope that we get more members added as these exciting new [...]
Trend Sweet Trend
November 22nd, 2005
TrendSweetTrend
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
I have about 4 new tools to review and I’ll try to get to them all within the next 24 hours. First up, Trend Sweet Trend (TST). TST takes Livemarks (which is so addicting that I don’t allow myself to load it [...]
40 and Counting
November 21st, 2005As of 8:34PM EST, there are 40 trading cards in the pool. Remember to tell your colleagues and let’s try to make this thing as large as possible…as a collective group. Unlike the Librarians With Giant Calculators meme at Internet Librarian, this one is open to all who want to create their own, [...]
Carnival of the Infosciences #16
November 20th, 2005Welcome to the Carnival folks. Step right up and read some special posts from around the library blog world.
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Joy Weese Moll of the Wanderings of a Student Librarian blogs about “an idea, inspired by The Cluetrain Manifesto, to offer backstage tours instead of ordinary library orientation tours.
The Krafty Librarian gives her thoughts on Cheryl [...]
AjaxWhois
November 19th, 2005
AjaxWhois
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Last week, I mentioned Instant Domain Search, as a quick and easy way to look up domains. This evening, Aggie sent me AjaxWhois, a similar tool. Not only will it check for availability of any domain, but it will provide you with other [...]


