Archive for October, 2006
Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources
October 31st, 2006I received an e-mail from Jimmy Atkinson of OEDb who has put together an anotted list of resources called Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources. Definitely worth a bookmark.
Pink papers of hope
October 30th, 2006My uncle Larry (a fellow blogger and an editorial writer for the Asbury Park Press) writes about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that took place in NJ on Sunday:
“When you saw a young woman walking “In memory of my mom,” the impact of loss and, hopefully, renewal could not have been clearer. [...]
Missing Auctions
October 30th, 2006Brilliant use of eBay API. Missing Auctions will run searches for misspelled words in Ebay and return only those results. Slick. There’s even a customized RSS feed search form.
I ran a search for “libary” and saw some interesting stuff. This one is going in my remaining two presentations. (via)
dead.licious
October 30th, 2006Slick Mac software called dead.licious that will check for dead links in your del.icio.us account and provides the option of removing them for you.
I hope a PC version comes out soon. (via)
Web health info seekers tend not to check sources
October 30th, 2006Ack!
I’ve yet to read the Pew study, but reading this makes me very nervous:
“Pew researcher Susannah Fox said one possible reason why Internet users do not tend to check sources or dates is because of the health Web sites themselves. Only 2 percent of popular health sites display that information on their pages, according [...]
Internet Librarian 2006
October 29th, 2006I can’t begin to explain how awesome IL 2006 was. Besides feeling 100% rejuvinated professionally (which explains the many blog posts over the past few days), I really loved seeing old friends and making new ones.
I’ve put up my pictures here, but this one sums up the evening sessions at the Crown and Anchor
Thanks [...]
No Space
October 29th, 2006Two recent articles that suggest that use of huge social network sites like My Space may be on the decline.
First, this one from the WSJ:
“While it takes a critical mass of users to make these sites work, having too many users alienates some, especially when they attract an ever-growing cacophony of advertising and in some [...]
Flurl
October 29th, 2006Flurl seems to be a cross between Digg, YouTube, and any one of the meta video engines out there. I’d be interested to see how this one progreses. No development blog though. Some companies make it so hard to keep up with them.
(via)
A glance to Iranian librarianship blogs: a survey using webometrics method
October 29th, 2006This paper just came up on E-LIS.
“By the end of mid 1990 and the early of twentieth century, web 1.0 has pulled users to information; in contrast, using new structures, the creation of web 2.0 started pushing information to users. It was taken placed by marriage of content and technology. Electronic encyclopedias such as wiki, [...]
Library PodCasts @ Morraine Valley
October 28th, 2006Troy Swanson from Morraine Valley Community College sent me a link to his new library podcasts. Coolness!
Something else that I find intriguing are the Library PodCast Policies that were posted.
Thanks Troy!
Where’s the Beef?
October 28th, 2006While I absolutely love the concept of LISZEN, I can’t help but notice the big grey elephant standing in the corner that nobody wants to talk about.
Or maybe that should be a big orange button with three letters inside (pick your choice of which letters to use).
Not Garrett’s fault at all, but still.
I’m just sayin’.
Are consumer web-based RSS readers dead?
October 28th, 2006That’s what Marc Orchant asks in a post on his blog.
It was sad to read that Pluck will cease operations and I’m not surprised that many predict the downfall of independent aggregators. I don’t think Bloglines is going anywhere fast, due to its success in the marketplace. Rojo was recently purchased and may [...]
I’m Not Ignoring You
October 28th, 2006I have tons and tons and tons (and tons!) of e-mail to catch up on. If you sent me a note in the past week and I haven’t replied, I’ll get to it. Promise.
Invite Google to Chat
October 28th, 2006I love Gmail and get a few e-mail alerts from Google news searches in my inbox. I just saw this at the bottom of an alert.
Hey Google, wanna chat?
Two From beSpacific
October 27th, 2006Two interesting pieces from beSpacific today:
1) New York State Residents May Now Request and Obtain Records Via Email - I’m sending this one out to our clients.
2) Library of Congress Launches Comprehensive New Search Feature
ThumbQ
October 24th, 2006If you don’t (or can’t) spend the $30 for a years subscription to Flickr, try Thumbq:
“Thumbq is a straight-forward image hosting solution that makes uploading and sharing images easy as never before. Thumbq has got Lovely galleries, beautiful eye catching slideshows, the most simple interface to upload and manage your images. Thumbq lets you host [...]
Wikipedia and the Trust Factor
October 22nd, 2006“Wikipedia reckons to have 3,800 hardcore users making more than 100 edits a month, another 18,000 who make at least five and countless others dipping in as the mood takes them. It’s one of the closest expressions ever seen of genuine anarchy — a ’self-regulating cooperative of free thinkers acting voluntarily for a greater common [...]
Librarything, Shelfari, and Gurulib: Social Cataloging Sites Compared
October 21st, 2006“I have recently been looking at Social Cataloging Applications, and have previously looked (briefly) at Gurulib, Librarything, and Shelfari. I am now going to review these sites in unison and in a bit more depth, by looking at the following:
* Features.
* Look and feel / ease of use.
* Data control and ownership (can you import [...]
Library trumps search engines
October 20th, 2006“The problem is that when students get to college, they are asked to perform more complex and sophisticated research than they did in high school. Google may be a helpful starting point in some cases, but students need more than a one-stop information shop to enhance their learning experience and develop critical-thinking skills.” - (Philadelphia [...]
Public library offers haven for teens
October 20th, 2006“The teen center is also trying a method of reconfiguration of the previous book-finding system, in order to better suit teenagers. It used to be that all nonfiction and reference books were arranged in numerical order using the Dewey Decimal System. Now, these books are sorted in a different fashion.” - (Oshkosh West Index - [...]
Don’t Give Up
October 20th, 2006I’m in the process of placing all of my old CD’s onto iTunes. Talk about a stroll down memory lane! I haven’t heard some of this music in 15 years and I have biten by the nostalgia bug, thinking of what my life has been like during that time. Let’s see: [...]
Some Stuff I’ve Seen
October 17th, 2006ALA Legislative Action Center - Complete with RSS Feed.
Library Job RSS Feeds - (Beyond the Job - 10/17/06) - “I’ve just put a page up on LISjobs.com listing library job sites with associated RSS feeds. Please do e-mail in suggestions for any additions or changes. You can also download the associated OPML file for easy [...]
Znitch
October 14th, 2006Znich: “I’m your informer. I’m your narc. I’m that loud mouth kid in second grade that tells your Mom everything you do. I’m your witness protection program relocated ZNITCH. So go ahead.”
Feedster - A New Look With New Features
October 13th, 2006“We have just completed a small upgrade to our site, in both design and functionality. We’re excited to now be able to more fully showcase the tools we offer for both individuals and businesses, while creating a platform to add more during the next few months.” - (Feedster Blog - 10/13/06)
T’Mass blog’ to capture UK Tuesday
October 13th, 2006“People throughout the country are being asked to contribute to a mass web log recording a day in the life of Britain”
“The blogs will then be stored by the British Library and at other locations as a permanent record of everyday life.”- (BBC - 10/13/06)
Students lose ability to surf for porn, music
October 13th, 2006Beginning Oct. 20, only the databases paid for by the district or Web sites ending in “edu” or “gov,” which identify education or government sites, will remain unblocked. It’s not a move that sits well with some parents and teachers.
“You can’t browse the shelf to see what’s out there,” said Richard Leo, the parent of [...]
After fire, town hopes for new chapter
October 13th, 2006“Despite grief over what was lost, the community is rallying to rebuild. Staff members operating from a dining room table in the library director’s home are looking for ways to temporarily reopen the library, keep programs running, and find storage for donated books. ‘It’s been overwhelming, the kind words and thoughtful prayers from people to [...]
Lotus Notes adds blogs and Flash drives
October 13th, 2006“Support for USB Flash drives in Lotus Notes 7.02 means that users can create a replica of their Notes workplace on any laptop or PC in minutes.”
“The new blogging features provide a template to design, create and update blog entries. Bloggers can add or update content with Lotus Notes while offline, and transfer the updates [...]
Shelfari an online meeting place for bibliophiles
October 13th, 2006“Shelfari is not the only company trying to bring social-networking tools to book lovers. Perhaps the best known is LibraryThing, a startup in Portland, Maine, that started its book-catalog service last year. In just over a year, the company has attracted more than 88,000 members who have cataloged about 6.2 million books through the service. [...]
New Features at Pandora
October 13th, 2006“We’ve heard quite often that you want ways to get a wider variety of styles in one listening session. Some of you are looking for stations that are an eclectic mix of all of the kinds of music you love, not just one style. Tonight we’re rolling out a brand new feature called ‘QuickMix’ to [...]