Archive for November, 2005
E-Mail Is So Five Minutes Ago
November 19th, 2005Again, I’m just sayin’. Well, it’s BusinessWeek this time. From the article:
“No surprise, then, that on Rangaswami’s orders, e-mail at Dresdner is beginning to fade as the collaboration tool of choice. Instead, workers there, as well as at places like Walt Disney (DIS ), Eastman Kodak (EK ), Yahoo! (YHOO ), and even [...]
Librarian Trading Cards
November 19th, 2005
I had a chance to hang out with Beth Gallaway this week. During one of our discussions, she mentioned the Librarian Trading Cards blog, which is incredible, funny, and a great marketing tool. There are two up there now: one for Jessy Griffith (she is the on on the right) and Amy Pelman. [...]
Librarians & Facebook
November 19th, 2005I’ve spent the past few days talking to colleagues at 2 separate events in Massachusetts on the benefits of online communities and how librarians can get active in them. Imagine my excitement when Emily Alling explained to the group at NEASIST that her library had become a member of the Facebook community at the [...]
Happy Birthday
November 19th, 2005
My Little Ballerina
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Happy 3rd birthday baby! I love you!
William T. Vollmann Wins The National Book Award for Fiction
November 17th, 2005Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
More here
Jacuba
November 17th, 2005
Jacuba
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
I hate the spell checker in Blogger (It still doesn’t recognize the word ‘Blog’) and have been using Spellcheck.net as an alternative. That is, until I met Jacuba. A free tool, you drag the bookmarklet to your favorites bar and when you [...]
Reader’s Advisory on the Web: Resources, Case Studies, and Community Involvement
November 17th, 2005For those interested, the presentation I gave today at the 21st Century Literacies conference can be found at the following URL:
http://stevenmcohen.pbwiki.com/ReadersAdvisoryOnline
Down With E-mail (Reprise)
November 17th, 2005I’m not going to go off on an anti-e-mail rant again (those seem fruitless), but I want to share two articles that I’ve read over the past two days; one sent via Meebo from Rochelle Hartman and the other came via Aggie.
Rochelle showed me this article from the BBC about the leader of Live8 hating [...]
MSU Library Blog
November 15th, 2005It looks like the Michigan State Libraries have set up a blog server for blogs. The only live blog that I see so far is the Red Tape blog which is about “Items of Interest to the Government Documents Librarians of Michigan.”
Anyone from MSU want to fill us in on what you plan [...]
AirSet
November 15th, 2005
AirSet
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
I swear one of these new organize your life tools is going to work on me. That’s a promise (mostly pointed in the direction of my wife). I’ve tried a bunch without any success. Maybe it’s a personality trait. I’m going [...]
What I Learned Today…
November 15th, 2005A new blog that seemed to have been started after Internet Librarian:
“Web 2.0 and programming tips from a library Web manager, What I Learned Today will cover blogs, rss, wikis, php programming and much more.”
Cool. Subscribed!
Carnival Hand-Off
November 14th, 2005If you were over at Ask Nettie Day to read the latest Carnival, you’ve noticed that I will be the proprietor for #16. You know what to do, right? Send your blog posts by November 20th to stevenmcohen atsign gmail dot com and put Carnival somewhere in the subject line. Have a [...]
WayFaring
November 14th, 2005
wayfaring
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
If you want to see an amazing do it yourself mapping tool, take a look at Wayfaring. You create your your own map points, name and tag them, add text, make them public or private, allow others to edit them, and search other maps. [...]
Netvibes as “My Library”
November 13th, 2005
netvibes
Originally uploaded by davidking.
David King has a great idea about using Netvibes as a “My Library” portal page. After the companies that work with libraries catch up with RSS technology (we’re getting there, but still have a long way to go), these types of pages will be [...]
Museums & Libraries
November 13th, 2005I love this. A new blog titled Museums & Libraries:
“This blog will discuss the many relationships that have existed between museums and libraries and new ones that are now emerging. Its main focus will be on why these dynamic associations were created, the tremendous positive impact that they have had on society, the [...]
Activist librarians shake quiet, meek stereotype
November 13th, 2005A slick article from AP on a few of our colleagues:
“Today’s librarians are using Web sites, e-mail, text messages and more to create an international community of like-minded library workers. They’re challenging perceptions and redefining themselves as fierce defenders of free speech who make activism part of the job.”
“Jessamyn West, an Americorp volunteer at libraries [...]
Podcast feeds on InfoTrac
November 12th, 2005Wowza! The good folks from It’s All Good point us to the great news. From the press release:
“Thomson Gale, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), announces the addition of podcast feeds to InfoTrac on Thomson Gale PowerSearch and its Student Resource Center, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center and History Resource Center [...]
Internet Librarian Mentioned on Yahoo Blog
November 12th, 2005Man, this conference is getting more media play than any previous ITI event in recent memory. Take a look at what Chris Fillius of Yahoo! Search had to say. From the post:
“Elsewhere, librarians discussed creating online library catalogs that allow patrons to tag, comment, review, share, recommend, and otherwise create a virtual community [...]
Ma.gnolia
November 12th, 2005
magnolia
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
We’re going to have to wait until December for this one. Ma.gnolia’s page entices us with the following:
“What you mark in Ma.gnolia not only stays found but keeps coming back to you as your interests change. That’s our pitch, plain and simple, and it’s [...]
Analygis
November 12th, 2005
Analygis
Analygis is probably one of the most useful resources using the Google Maps API. When queried with an town or zipcode (you can plug in a state too), it will match the location to the 2000 Census data and provide numbers based on 1, 3, and 5 miles from [...]
Instant Domain Search
November 12th, 2005Instant Domain Search
Add this to your quick, easy, time-saving tools list. The one part about domain lookups is the constant back and forth between searches. Instant Domain Search will automatically lookup your domains as you type in your queries. So far, it only checks .com and .net, but [...]
Watch Out For Digg
November 12th, 2005Digg is the charmer of the 2.0 resources. I first wrote about it in January, and since then, it’s use has grown and grown…and grown! Funding, a 5 hour shut down because of high volume, and now, a profile in BusinessWeek. Learn what makes people digg Digg. From the last paragraph:
“Digg [...]
Web 2.0 Workgroup
November 11th, 2005
Web 2.0 Workgroup
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
I’m thrilled to be a part of the Web 2.0 Workgroup. What is it? Well, for now, it’s a content republishing site for bloggers who are discussing the new Web. In the future, there will be more, so stay tuned. [...]
Elevator Pitch
November 10th, 2005
ElevatorPitch
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Library Stuff has always been about resources and tools (and the occasional rant) that librarians can use to make their lives a bit easier on the job. Lately, though, it’s been mostly about tools. I have a bunch saved up in my drafts [...]
The Gordian Knot
November 10th, 2005What a great use for blog technology. The Gordian Knot is…
“[A]n independent effort — not sponsored by SirsiDynix, CODI or UUGI — to try to begin bringing those users together to make their voices heard at this important time of development of the new, merged company. It’s important for customers of Sirsi products and [...]
What’s In Your Wallet?
November 10th, 2005From an article about a study on IM:
“A majority of users at work, 77 percent, feel instant messaging has had a positive effect on their work lives. About 13 percent say they have their IM screen name printed on their business cards.”
I asked the attendees at a session Internet Librarian if they had their [...]
Chain Reading
November 9th, 2005
Chain Reading
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
Yet another book cataloging and recommendation tool, in the very beginning stages of development. The creator seems to be putting an emphasis on the recommendation part:
“This page was born in recognition of an addiction that myself and many people I know share – [...]
Librarian Bloggers Who Frap
November 9th, 2005
frappr
Originally uploaded by stevenmcohen.
A great use of Frappr, from the brain of Scott Pfitzinger. I’ve always wanted to know where many library bloggers reside. If you are a librarian blogger, go frap yourself!
An Interview with William T. Vollmann
November 9th, 2005By now you know about my love for all things William T. Vollmann. I finished You Bright and Risen Angels last week (finally!) and am taking a WTV break before delving into my next title. In the meantime, I’m going to thoroughly enjoy an interview with my favorite author by my favorite lit [...]
Librarian Community List (Update)
November 8th, 2005The community lists have been receiving a good deal of attention in the blog world and the comments that have surfaced have been very useful (I’ll be sure to bring all of them back to the office for discussion). Thanks!
I’ve also received numerous e-mails from librarians to add their blogs to the list, which [...]