Web 2.0 gets covered

Have you seen the Newsweek cover article on Web 2.0. Here's a sample:

"The massive success of MySpace and the exemplary strategy of Flickr are milestones in a new high-tech wave reminiscent of the craziness of the early dot-com days. This rebooting owes everything to the enhanced power and pervasiveness of the Web, which has finally matured to the point where it can fulfill some of the outlandish promises that we heard in the '90s. The generic term for this movement, especially among the hundreds of new companies jamming the waiting rooms of venture-capital offices, is Web 2.0, but that's misleading—some supposedly Web 1.0 companies like eBay and Google have been clueful about this all along."

Student Blogs

The day two assignment for my online blogs workshop is to create a blog using Blogger. Here's the results. (Obviously some are thinking that their work is for the long-term while others are not.)

• Woohoo to you
• Lymon Book Discussion
• Tane's Tantrums
• Kids R Fun
• Holly Mama and Her Fam
• What's Going On?
• The Daily Katie Diaries
• teen
• pagine a pagine
• Local History Blog - Hulltt, Wyoming
• Library Staff Room
• Sweetwater Librarian
• WYLibrarian
• Little Miss and the Doof
• It's a dog's life...and that ain't so bad

Library 2.OMG, if this ain't it, nothing is.

Brian Matthers, a reference librarian at Georgia Tech has released the preliminary results of an experiment in using student blogs to find library patrons. From his blog:

"Essentially, the paper describes a proactive approach toward interacting with college students. While the library world has just discovered blogs, these students have been keeping online journals for years. They use services like LiveJournal and Xanga, and even MySpace and Facebook to interact—often providing insight and commentary on their hectic lives. My interest was mining this data for educational opportunities."

What he did was read his students' blogs and looked for opportunities to respond via comments giving them assistance and guiding them to library resources. The four-page summary is something every librarian must read. (There's also a screencast available.)

Now that is Library 2.0!

Intellectual Property Run Amok

Mother Jones has a great list of funny IP law related stories. My favorite one is:

FOR INCLUDING a 60-second piece of silence on their album, the Planets were threatened with a lawsuit by the estate of composer John Cage, which said they’d ripped off his silent work 4’33”. The Planets countered that the estate failed to specify which 60 of the 273 seconds in Cage’s piece had been pilfered.

Found Blogs

I've started another series on online Blogging workshops sponsored by the Wyoming State Library. The first assignment is to find three blogs of interest and report back. Here's what's been found this time around.

1. alancreech
2. County Librarian
3. Happyville Library
4. The Information Literacy Land of Confusion
5. A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette
6. Library Grants
7. Peter Scott's Library Blog
8. Soccer Coaching World
9. Scientific American
10. The Shifted Librarian
11. one hundred words
12. skyecade online
13. WeeklyShot
14. Daily Kos
15. Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing
16. Jackson Hole Blog
17. Linkin Park
18. Book discussion group
19. Depraved Librarian
20. LifeHack.org
21. Librarian In Black
22. Emergic
23. Jeremy Blachman's Brand New Blog
24. Tour Egypt
25. Rasta Boy's Blog
26. Young Adult Blogs Online
27. PLA Blog
28. It's all good
29. Wildrun
30. SF Signal
31. SciFi Blogs
32. book_icons
33. Living with Bengals
34. Splendid Pictures Around The Net
35. Science in Action
36. Off The Hook Awe!Some Crochet Blog
37. Smart Traveler
38. Post Secret
39. Dave Levy's Weblog
40. Go fug yourself
41. Hardblogger
42. The Punk Vault
43. Cape Table Club
44. Gizmodo
45. Paper Cuts
46. Indie Interviews
47. Bookslut
48. the blues blog

Unclear on the concept

Today I won a prize in an online contest for Caribou Coffee. My prize was a free drink of my choice and I was informed that I would be notified via e-mail later in the day. Within the hour I received the confirmation e-mail which, I assumed since it was the result of an online contest it would contain the information needed for me to receive my drink. Instead I was informed that I would "receive your gift certificate in the mail 8-10 weeks after the end of the promotion. It will be mailed to the address you provided on the registration form. The promotion ends on April 7, 2006." So, enter an online contest, receive your prize (a coupon) about three months later. What's up with that?

Internet Virii

Google current takes on viral videos on the Internet. (If you've never watched Google current this is a great introductory episode.)

Frog Review

Web site usability from a frog's point of view. (Funny yet, very accurate.)
Thanks Darlene

Allrecipes: A cool way to search

As someone who rarely has a full larder, I'd love a way to enter the ingredients I have and find a recipie to match. Well, with Allrecipes' Recipe Ingredient Search I can do just that.

Game abuse strikes back

This video teachs gamers not to abuse their characters.

Library Thing: Initial Reactions

I've had a Library Thing account for 24 hours now and I have some initial reactions. I'm hoping that a few of my complaints are just me now knowing how to perform the actions I believe are missing from the service. If I'm in need of correction, please do so.

• The Fun statistics page is very interesting. However, why can't I click on any of these numbers to see which of my books is generating them? For example, I'd love to figure out which five titles were not in Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk and needed to be looked up in the Library of Congress.
• Speaking of the Fun statistics page why were most books looked up in "amazon.com" while the newest one, the one I entered manually instead of importing I'm assuming, was looked up in "Amazon.com". I'm sure this is just a system bug but I do find it slightly annoying.
• Speaking of the statistics, ISBNs didn't exist before the late 70s. But, according to my stats page, I've got eleven books with ISBNs published prior to 1970. This must be an error in the system as they dates are "the edition's publication date, not date of original work" so technically such a statistic is impossible.
• I imported 59 titles to test the system before purchasing my account and importing my full collection. However, the system didn't de-dupe. (I'm assuming this is by design since, theoretically, someone may want to own two copies of the exact same edition of a title.) However, I how have 59 titles that are in the system twice but I only own one copy of. I'd like a way to search for duplicates so I can delete the spare record.
• Regarding tagging: Every other service that supports tagging I've used has you enter multiple tags as space delimited. So, tot his point I've been trained to separate my tags with spaces and enter multiple-word tags with quotation marks. Library Thing does not follow this implied standard. Library Thing requires a comma delimited list of entered tags with spaces indicating a multi-word tag. Because of this I ended up with some books tagged as "sf scifi uk tv doctor who". Luckily I caught this early and was able to clean them up. I guess I just wonder why Library Thing feels they need to do things differently from everyone else.

Firefox 2.0 alpha

As expected the Firefox 2.0 alpha release, named "Bon Echo Alpha 1 Milestone", is now available for downloading. I'm going to wait for someone to report on it's stability before installing it on any of my machines. There is also a Firefox 2 wiki for those wishing to track the project.

5 U.S. airports to avoid, if you can

The key to this list is the "if you can" part. However, I do like the fact that all of the airports on this list fall into the category of "I have no reason to fly to/through them" for me.

Digitization 101

Interested in digitization? If so check out Jill Hurst-Wahl's Digitization 101 blog. (I met Jill at CIL.)

Presentations (CIL2006)

My presentations page has been updated to include three recent PPT files including my CIL post-conference on RSS.

CIL2006 Sketches

Flickr user Madinkbeard didn't take photos of the conference, he did sketches. (If he ever fails as a librarian, he could be one of those folks that does courtroom sketches.)

2006: Conference Wrap-up

Some final thoughts and reflections on my recent attendance at the Computers and Libraries 2006 conference in Washington, DC.

• I was happy to meet Kimberly Babcock Mashek of Wartburg College (IA), Erin Kinney of the Wyoming State Library, and Paul Miller of Talking with Talis during the conference yet have been remiss in mentioning them earlier. Many apologies. (I'm bad with names so, if you should feel that you earned a mention, many more appologies as I probably have forgotten your name. It's nothing personal, honest.)
• Michael Casey: we were both there but somehow never linked up. Maybe next time.
• During the conference Neal-Schuman sold four copies of my latest Web design book. That may not sound like a lot but it was every copy they brought with them and more than most titles sell at a conference.
• The March issue of Computers in Libraries was the one being given away from free at the conference. The cool part is that that's the issue with my article in it.
• The overlap with PLA basically sucked but I understand the difficulties involved in planning such an event. However, I've been thinking about this and I thinking that maybe it was a good thing. Here's why. Granted, many of the people I wanted to talk to and hang out with went to PLA on Thursday but several people made the comment to me that it was "nice to see new blood presenting at the conference." One of the things that allowed all this new blood was the fact that the old blood wasn't there. Those folks not being there also forced me to hand out with different people and hopefully make some new long-term friends and contacts.

Well, unless anything else comes to mind in the next week you can safely assume that this is it for my blogging of CIL2006. Thanks for reading.

"Family Friendly"

Before I get into this post I'd like to make one thing perfectly clear: my intention in this post is to discuss how things are advertised and the appropriateness of what's played on the radio of a van that's taking people to the airport. None of what you're about to read should be interpreted as disparaging anyone's religious faith in any way.

Shortly after I was picked up at my hotel in DC by a SuperShuttle van for my ride to BWI, the driver turned on the radio. What came on was WGTS which marketed itself as "family friendly radio" which played only "positive & encouraging" music. After listening to the station for a few minutes I cam,e to realize that this was a Christian station that only played music with a Christian message; mostly music containing some fort of praise for God and/or Jesus.

My first thought was that music of this type should not be played in a SuperShuttle van. This might be what the driver is interested in listening to but that does not mean that the rest of the riders should be subjected to it. I would have the same sort of reaction if the driver was playing gangsta rap. I understand that you can't please everyone all of the time when it comes to music but picking something with a specific message and/or at a far end of the musical spectrum is not appropriate.

Listening to the stations promotional material further along in the ride, I started to question the "family friendly" nature of the content. Granted, I would describe it as perfectly friendly to Christian families, but what about Jewish or Muslim families. Praising Jesus song after song would not be considered friendly someone with a radically different faith. I understand their point when it comes to the fact that they kept pointing out that the lyrics to the songs they were playing were not (traditionally) offensive and lacking in sexual content, but that doesn't instantly make it "family friendly" when you look outside of a narrow definition of family.

As usual, all comments welcome.

LibraryThing

LibraryThing import
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

After talking about LibraryThing to a few people at CIL, I decided to take the plunge and get the lifetime membership. I've just set it to the task of importing the list of my books that have ISBNs. (I've got an Access database of my complete fiction collection.) The import list is 2,963 books long. I guess I'm doing my part to add to the LibraryThing database. (Just to put this in perspective, as crazy as that perspective is, my import list does not include my non-fiction, nor the aproximately 1000 books that are old enough to not have ISBNs.) You can access my catalog at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/travelinlibrarian where an RSS feed is also available.

CIL2006: RSS Post-Conference

Goor morning everyone. Thanks for attending and lasting 'till day four of the conference.

CIL2006: Virtual Reference, IM Chat, & Beyond - Taking Refernce Services Out of the Library

Marilyn Parr, Library of Congress
Susan McGlamery, OCLC
Joe Thompson, Maryland Ask Us Now!
Laura Maldonado, Deborah Gaspar, and Sarah Palacios-Wilhelp, Gelman library, George Washington University
4:15-5:00pm LC

• LOC Web site
• Ask a Librarian link
• people want sketch of patents
• questions on photographs (American Memory)
• Thomas Jefferson's papers
• What is QuestionPoint
• developed by OCLC and LC
• supports both local and global online refernce
• local component: Web-based question submission, email, chat, local KB
• Global component: world-wide network of ref librarians sharing via best-fit routing, global KB
• LC exempt from PATRIOT Act due to being part of the legislative branch
• Use QP to:
• interact
• cooperate
• build
• manage

OCLC: Collaboration for Success

• Be there when they need you
• coverage around the clock
• expand hours of service without adding staff
• failsafe coverage
• staffed by librarian like you
• 2 cooperatives
• public
• academic
• 24/7 reference is
• > 800 libraries in US, Canada, and England
• staffing cooperatively
• contract staff for hours when no libraries are online
• Merged w/ QP in August 2004
• Who participates
• single library
• libraries w/in a region
• statewide service
• CA, DE, IL, MD, MA, MT, NJ, NC, OR, WA, WI
• countrywide service
• England
• How do they know: Answering on behalf of other libraries
• library policy pages
• scripted messages
• communication
• conference/transfer
• IM
• Follow-up/referral
• Local FAQ
• send to patron's library
• Referral networks
• 24/7 subject experts
• medical
• art
• business
• genealogy
• spanish
• next: multi-lingual cooperatives
• global reference network
• quality control
• session review
• QC staff
• training

Maryland: AskUsNow

• Service
• launched March 2003
• 27 partnet library systems
• staffed by > 250 librarians
• first state-wide participant in 24/7 cooperative
• Maryland was 25% of all 24/7 questions
• now part of QP 24/7
• LSTA funded
• 85% positive feedback
• 120k questions to date
• InfoEyes project
• launched Jan 2004
• specific for those with visual imparements
• e-mail mostly
• VoIP also available

GWU: IM reference implementation

• Introducing IM to GW
• millenials and the Pew Internet study
• IM? We already have VR!
• Research
• Training
• Pilot studies
• Next?
• IM Generation
• Teens use e-mail but prefer IM
• 75% of 12-17 year-olds send or receive instant messages
• VR vs. IM
• Has had VR for over 4 years
• only 1.5% of GW students used VR
• how do we serve students in their preferred medium of communication
• Getting started
• study phase
• software requirements
• lit search
• potential IM usage
• surveyed other universities going it
• pilot for librarians
• introduce ref ream to IM
• is IM a good fit for the library?
• training opportunity
• Fall 2005
• patron pre-pilot pilot
• offered for 10 days
• designed advertising
• designed web page for spring pilot
• tested patron experience
• standardized usage procedures
• Spring 2006 - Patron pilot
• documented student use
• logs and statistics
• preferred hours of service
• documneted APL guidelines
• reference questions
• directional questions
• "best practices"
• drafted and implemented
• continuous service assessment
• ...and beyond
• student feedback
• expanded advertising
• evening hours
• inclusion of other library staff
• evaluation of service

CIL2006: The Web 2.0 Challence to Libraries

Paul Miller, Technology Evangelist, Talis
3:15-4:00pm

• Topics
• libraries - trusted but bypassed online
• reaching out from the library
• a library 2.0 platform
• shared innovation
• The reality gap
• how do people find stuff?
• Google
• How else do people find stuff?
• Google toolbar
• Google desktop
• Google embedded in Web sites
• Some library background
• Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (OCLC)
• Understanding the Audience (UK)
• Basic Library Statistics (CLIFA)
• Active borrowers going down since 1999
• but people visit libraries
• 96% of people asked had been to a library in some point in their life
• Visits to libraries are up
• Visits per borrower are up
• people gon online in libraries
• 21% local library for Net access, 80% at home (UK)
• but 46% know they can go to the library for Net access
• 5% perfer the library, 3% on a mobile device
• 19% would use library if they decided to go online
• "Build it an they will come" myth
• Do people trust libraries? (UK)
  
• 89% trust libraries
• 84% BBC
• So, what went wrong online?
• 27% said visited public library Web site
• Long list of databases, pick one...
• The "competition"
• Web 2.0 logo graphic
• Innovative
• relevant
• cool
• nimble
• participatice
• user centric
• responsive
• The Web 2.0 Companies
• Library 2.0 - Talis white paper in conference package
• Library 2.0
• open the library
• push the library everywhere
• engage with actual and potential user communities
• disaggregate library systems...
• ...and bring them together
• shared innovation
• "The library system should be like Lego"
• Talking With Talis podcast
• Library 2.0 Gang
• Doing it on their own...
• WPopac
• Greasemonkey - Amazon.com checking your local library (University of Huttersfield)
• www.daveyp.com/blog/
• Jacket images
  
• vielmetti.typepad.com/superpatron
• Card Catalog
• www.aadl.org/catalog
• Doing it together...
• share a platform
• nurture a community
• Introducing the Platform
• Why a platform
• most effecient use of development copabilities
• lowers barrier to entry
• offers evolutionary path
• crosses vendor divides
• exposes libraries to wider world, significantly increasing visibility
• Characteristics of the platform
• consistent exposure of data
• consistent access to data
• consistent exposure of function
• consistent access to functionality
• shared components, shared esperiences
• shared innovation
• open
• collaborative
• standards and specs
  
• functionality and data
• hides complexty
• reduced cost and risk
• Image of Talis platform (whitepapers available)
  
• Leveraging the Platform
• Amazon example showing box that shows multiple libraries that have the book, linking through to the correct catalog
• A platform of loosely coupled components
• Talis Base (example)
• Web services
• Book jackets from Amazon
• Amazon prices
• library holdings
• links to library catalogs
• A Public view?
• Whisper (proof of concept)
• research.talis.com/2005/whisper/
• library info, Google, Amazon
• Much is possible...
• RedLightGreen
• UCD Connect
• Libraries on a map a la Google maps
• My Amazon widget
• Talis Whisper widget for library holdings
• Stepping back...
• Fuzzing out congress on Google Maps
• National libraries in the world (Talis Whisper)
• Working together
• Talis: Shared Innovation
  
• Creative Commons licence
• DIscussion threads
• Documentation
• Contribute code
• Share ideas, experiences, code
• make it your own
• share innovation
• Conclustions
• the librray deservice to reach beyond its walls
• vendor- and library-initated silos just don't make sense
• current business models? ("because that's the way it's always been done")
  
• challenge all assumptions
• share innovation

CIL2006: Day Two Lunch

I just got back from lunch, too late for the first afternoon session of course, at a local Italian place. My lunch companions were Andrew Pace, Emily Lynema, Meredith Farkas, Roy Tennant, and Dorthea. Of course, the conversation was worth the price of admission. Especially learning about the Roy Tennant Thong.

CIL2006: SMS in Libraries - The Killer App?

John Iliff, Library Technology Development Consultant, PALINET
11:30am-12:15pm

• Alternate titles for this presentation
  
• Please, not another powerpoint presentation
• getting in touch with your inner-cellular nature
• What is a killer application
• ubiquitous
• life-changing
• such as
• email
• web
• word processing
• Cell phones are everywhere
• wasy to use
• relatively inexepnsive
• worldwide
• bridging the digital devide
• computing power increasing
• Texting
• sending simple text messages from cell to cell
• use phone keys
• 160 character limit
• asynchronous
• more popular overseas, catching on in US
• Demographics
• 500 billion messages per year worldwide
• in U.S. 45% of teens have cell phones 33% are texting
• US teens send 42 billion txt messages last year
• UK - 4 million have repetative stress injuries do to thumbing
• 66% of 250 million cell phones owners in Eurpe use SMS
• US growth un 2004 up by 105%
• Permeating our culture
• Pamela Anderson urges sending a txt message to your loved on on valentines day
• Bible translated into txting lingo
• mobile voter
• "Students Called on SMS Cheating"
• Technology of SMS
  
• Short Messaging Service
• Part of GSM
• GSM is 70% of the world's market
• Msgs limited to 160 characters
• msgs are held in a service center until delivered to the phone
• each service has centers to store and forward the message
• Cost roughly $0.10 each (packages are available)
• Short code numbers
• send txt via a 4-6 digit number
• Google = 46645
• send 80010 library finds libraries in that zipcode
• Google send to phone
• Firefox extension
• send portion of web site sent to cell via SMS
• Why has Google done this
• why not?
• queries are short by their nature
• responses equally short
• ready reference by SMS
• Simms Memorial Library
• Southeeastern LA University
  
• computer population business school
• Hammond, LA
• 15k students
• "Text a Librarian"
• ~50 questions per month
• delivered to ref e-mail account
• response sent back to cell phone
• Uses Altarama Reference by SMS
• Curtin University of Technology
• Perth, Australia
• 31k students, 11k off shore
• 70% of students use SMS
• 200 questions in six months
• concise questions: hours, simple searches, etc.
• responses typically brief
• $1000/year w/ $30 month
• converted to email
• staff traingin minimal
• MessageNet Pty Limited
• Helsinki University of Technology
• Liblet by Portalify
• Circ notices via Endeavor system
• Three other brief examples...
• Approaches to providing SMS service
• Altarama
• MessageNet Pty Ltd
• Library run
• Cellular modem
• software to convert to SMS
• Software
• SMS Gateway
• OzekiSMS
• gnokki for Linux
• Diagram of the process...
• Other SMS services
• iTiva - SMS circ notification system
• ILS Vendors
• LibraryElf
• Other possibilities
• database queries
• updates on library programs
• quotation service
• patrons must opt-in due to cost
• The future
• being replaced by IM
• new standards allowing for greater sophistication
• SMS will continue to grow for the foreseeable future
• It's not a Killer App
• not life changing
• not omni-present
• in the long tail
• It is worthwhile
• trust the patrons
• meet requirement w/ small effort
• mileage may vary

CIL2006: Supporting the Digital World with Gadgets

Hope Tillman, Director of Libraries, Babson College
10:30-11:15am

• Definition of Gadgets
• small electronic or mechanical device which a practical used often thought of as a novelty
• Consumer electronics
• Gadgets are all arounds us
• productivty vs. distraction
• useful or time-consuming toys
• time shifting
• blurring of work and personal time
• overload vs. the more the better
• makes time to do more
• makes more to do
• Today's students
• Class of 2009
• voice mail always available
• may have slept w. game boys in their crib
• always digital cameras
• may not distinguished between news entertainment
• libraries have always been comp access centers
• Why single out gadgets
• what consumers are willing to buy
• refelect customization and personalization trends
• continue to change, show evolution and shift
• qustions to consider
• what features lend themselves to info magt knowlege sharing
• how to identify gadgets to adopt/support
• what do patrons use now
• who are you listening to?
• what makes your life easier
• what are other libraries doing
• what's the tipping point
• how do you look at the issue of interoperability and upgrades
• Tends
• convergence
• personalization and customixation
• miniaturization / portability
• ZDNet top 10 gadget must haves list
  
• changes every 2-3 weeks
• Creative Zen
• Sony PSP
• XBox 360
• Mobile DVR
• Slingbox
• Treo 700w
  
• Soundmatters MainstageHD
• A few of the gadgets
• PDAs
• tablets
• cell phones
• MP3 players
• video players
• digital cameras
• pocket scanners
• Morphing the name of the PDA
• Personal Digital Assistant
• Palm or PocketPC
• Handheld
• Portable Media Player
• Movile Media Companion
• PocketPC phone
• Ruggedized handhled
• Ultra personal computer
• PDA/Handhelds/Tablets
• Convergence
• thickness weight vs. functionality
• PDAs still part of the mix
• Smart watches
• Embedded GPS for kids
• wireless or synched
• limited by recption area
• content
• IM cell phone features
• Smart phones
• single device for all data and voice nees
• e-mail access
• SMS
• browser
• organizer
• phone
• MP3 players
• iPods
• Nomad Jukebox
• Walkman Bean
• iRiver
• Rio Carbon
• Creative Zen
• Flash/HD/FM
• Digital voice recordres
• smartphone/pds
• iPod addon
• olympus DM-20 w/ USB interface
• Video Players/recorders
• Creative Zen vision
• iPod w/ video
• Archos Gmini 402
• Smasung YEPP YH-999 PMC
• Digital still video cameras
• Standalones
• Embedded/addons to other devices
• one-time use
• webcams
• Pocket scanners (reader pen)
• scan, store send
• reads notes aloud
• beams data
• get immediate translations definitions
• reading aids
• Wizcom technologies
• Docupen RC800
• Digital Pen (drawing pen)
• Logitech io2 Digital Writing System
• TabletPC w/o the tablet
• Security everywhere
• fingerprint
• Keyboards
• jump drives
  
• biometrics
• RFID
• Pros cons
• inventory vs. privacy
• Special purpose chips
• USB drive
• flash memory
• fitkeys
• dexit
• sanDisk flashCP Cruzer
• DRM dongle
• IBM Soulpad
• Wireless devices
• mice
• keyboards
• presentation remotes
• Remote control
• Logitech Harmony
• MyNevo
• Game machines
• Sony PSP was the gadget of 2005
• "Video Games and the Future of Learning"
• "Everything Bad is Good for You"
• Games and Libraries
• Gaming in Libraries blog
• Game Primer
• Parallel Worlds: Online Games and Digital Information Services
• GPS
• Stand alones
• smart phone
• pc-based
• geocaching
• What toys do your toys have?
• memory chips
• keyboards
• speakers
• skins
• caps
• cases
• solar backpacks
• ringtones
• subscription content
• library applications
• marketing
• Geocaching
• podacsts
• blogging
• MySpace
  
• operations
• Inventory control / RFID
• remote control
• circulation of devices
• bibliographic file management
  
• communication/collaborations
• IM
• blogs
• videoconferencing
• wikis
  
• learning/entertainment
• delivery of files data
• role of games in learning
• search engines
• ebooks/ejournals
• current awareness
• iPod use
• catalog pages
• pubmed for handhelds
• What's next?
• e-ink
• e-paper
• flexible displays
• soft-hardware
• ElekTex keyboard
  
• wearable computing
• itunes jacket
• movie glasses
• MP3 sunglasses
• Head-word display
  
• more games w/in libraries
• additional tool to help librarians provide realistic simulations
• reference librarian avatars
• "Active Worlds" site
• Convergence of information and connectivity
• "Ambient Findability" by Peter Morville
• Trends
• convergence
• personalization
• customization
• portability
• "Save the time of the reader"
• any time, any where, and way
• Where to go
• Engadget
• Gizmodo
• ZDNet must have list
  

CIL2006: Friday Keynote

The Internet: Enhancing Digital Work Play Lee Rainie, Pew Internet and American Life Project 9:00-9:45am

• Who's blogging this?
• Show of hands
• Writings of a loud librarian
• Stephen's Web
• Freedom to Connect conference
• Onscreen IRC while he was talking
• URLs to document he was talking about
• "He's a lot older than I imagined"
• "Looks like a typical foundation suit"
• Younger Internet users
• Cover story of time this week: "Are Kids Too Wired for Their Own Good"
• Reality 1: Millennials are a distinct age cohort, accordin to many measures of generational behavior and attitude
• "Millennials Rising"
• Born 1982-2000
• 36% of current population
• 31% minority
• Special
• Sheltered
• Confident
• Team-oriented
• Acheiving
• Pressured
• "Hellicopter Parrents"
• Monday's Wallstreet Journal
• Parrents accompanying their kids on their first job interview
• Conventional
• Tech-embracing
• Use but don't necessarily understand
• They don't need to know how it works
• The computer has always existed
• Reality 2: Millennials are immersed in a world of media and gadgets
• "Generation M" report from the Kaiser Family Foundation
• 50% broadband
• 97% TVs
• 87% video game console
• Home media ecology - 1975 vs. today
• Expect multiple devices in multiple places
• IM vs SMS is not the right question
• Love the device they're with. They want the info on the device that they have in their hand.
• Reality 3: Their technology is mobile
• Precentage of 8 to 18 year olds that have...
• MP3 player 37%
• handheld device 13%
• laptop w/ Wifi 26%
• PDA 11%
• Cell phone 45%
• Contatnly interacting and forming smart mobs
• share info in ways that allow them to act quickly without top-down management
• Reality 4: Teh Internet plays a special role in their world
• Not more intense internet users
• case about certain things than their elders
• A lot of
• TV/movie info
• online games
• hunt for schools
• political news
• religious/spiritual info
• create Web pages
• look for info that's hard to discuss
• 33% of online teens share their own content online
• 32% have created on web pages or blogs for others
• 22% kepe their own person web page (MySpace)
• 19% have their own blog
• 19% remix content they find online into new content
• Steve Bartman's journey
• Caught the Cubs ball in the NL championship game causing the Cubs to loose
• All his info was posted online within the hour
• Three hours, story in 14 languages
• Fark photoshop contest examples
• Ranking and reputation systems to comment on the creations of others
• Ping their friends for information support
• Reality 5: They are multi-taskers
• Do 8.5 hours of work in 6.3 hours
• "Continuous Partial Attention"
• Not the same as muli-taking
• constantly scanning for the one best thing to pay attention to
• Reality 6: Millennials are often unaware of the consquences of their technology
• downloading music is so easy it's unrealistic to say that people shouldn't do it
• it's ok to share some things for free as long as people are still buying it
• don't care whether what they're downloading is copyrighted or not
• digital footprints, lots of disclosure, long term privacy consequences
• soft surveilance
• Reality 7: Their (our) technology world will change readically in the next decade
• Moore's law
• computing power x2 ever 9 mo
• spectrum power
• communications power
• storage power x2 every 12mo
• "The Long Tail"
• RFID
• more mobility
• explosion of content creativity
• search is getting better
• Reality 8: The way they approach learning and research tasks wil be shaped by their new techno-world
• More self-directred
• Less top-down instruction
• more tied to group outreach and knowledge
• more cross-diciplinary
• tagging / folksonomies
• more oriented towards people being their own nodes of creation
• Lots to study in all this
• Librarians have the privledge of shping this environment

CIL2006: Day two wrap-up

I ended up going to dinner with the "splinter group" of bloggers at Cafe Luna at 17th & P. Due to the size of the group in comparrison with the size of the restrauant, I ended up speaking with Dorathea of Caveat Lector and a friend of her's for most of the dinner. Other folks there included Greg Schwartz, Chris Zammarelli, and Meredith Farkas among others. (Sorry, I'm really bad with names.)

After dinner it was back to the hotel lounge once again for more talk. Stephen Abram held court, and many of us listend with great intensity. ;-) Topics included how to be approachable to patrons at the reference desk and the want to create an IM bot that would cue incoming messages allowing for just a slightly more effective reference via IM interface with the ultimate goal being consortial IM virtual reference.

As expected, I wasn't back to my room before midnight. Of course, I'd yet to iron my shirt for today, so that kept me up just a bit longer. Now that I've figured out where the WiFi is (and that it's working) I allowed myself to sleep an extra hour. Now, to find some coffee...

CIL2006: Online Teaching Skills

Missy Harvey, Computer Science Librarian, Carnegie Mellon University
4:15-5:00pm

• Overview
• What qualifies me
• becoming a great teacher
• how does training online differ from teaching in the classroom
• skills and techniques for teaching online
• What qulaifies me
• degree in elementary eduaction
• 11 years teaching for library schools
• teaching kindergarten was on eo fmy favorites
• find the best means to enable students to learn
• teaching only online since 2003
  
• Becoming a great teacher
• quotes vision of college she graduated from
• anyone can teach mindset is false
  
• can everyone write well?
• limitations and abilities
• you do not know everything
• we may not all laern the same way
• use more than one approach
• approach from a new point of view
• opportunity to rethink/ reconsider
• respect
• be sensitive to the needs of your students
  
• handle questions delicately
• provide positive reinforcement
• How does teaching online differ from teaching in the classroom?
• considerably more work (I was the person clapping in the back of the room)
  
• good communication is vital
• state expectations up front
• requires more self-dicipline
• preconceived ideas of the necessary time commitment
• (example of time committment explaination)
• Discussion boards as a tool
• weekly discussion boards
• require attendance
• how I "listen" and participate
• keep discussions on track
• avoid dominating the conversations
• managing chat sessions
• managable if poeple
• people talk over each other
• tough to keep up
• lay out ground rules first
• one discussion board per week
• Skills and techniques for teaching online
• good organization is key
• deliver segments, not all at once
  
• provide clear and detailed instructions
• set consistent due dates
• you have to be the person who is consistent and reliable
• immediate feedback
• (example of her "clear, detailed" indtructions)
• increase communication efforts
• encourage students to share ideas with each other
• rely on assignment manager
• e-mail confirmations of receipt of assignments
• provide more handouts than normal
• provide more than a syllabus
• links to additional resources
• make yourself more accessable than in a traditional class
  
• encourage content
• never ignore student e-mails
• do not forget praise
• Heard from students
• post reasonable expectations
• make learning fun
• re-explain to make sure they understand
• encourage student aprticipation
• allow your personality to come through
• keep communication lines open
• take the "distance" out of distance learning
• missed a few others...
• Backbone of my teaching philosophy
• teachers have a moral obligation to act in the best instrests of the students they serve
• teachers are strongly encouraged to
• reflect upon their teaching
• engage with others in questioning their methods
• something else...
• Links...
  

CIL2006: Information Literacy & Instruction

Kathleen Stacy, Instruction Librarian, Montgomery College
Chad Soeninger, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Ohio University 3:15-4:00pm

Kathleen: How Basic is Basic?

• Rosy future is... now
• working toward integrated infro literacy
• one-shot presentation is flawed but still the reality for many academic libraries
• Definition
• One shot
• a single presentation, usually less than an hour, to a college class
• conductd by a librarian at the request of a professor
• may or may not be tied into an assignment
• We can't cover everything
• too much information available to present
• have to choose carefully
• it's all about what you leave out
• Successful one shots
• clear objectives
• often overlooked
• task based
• trangible results
• tied to a task
• students walk away with something
• have to apply skills immediately
• include hands-on time
• a nod to short attention spans
• learn by doing
• time for individual questions
• time to accomplish the task
• what to include in presentation
• lots of how, some what, minimal why
• the smallest number of steps to perform the task
• get the students through a task successfully, then add the why
• What to leave out
• advanced features
• advanced searches
• boolean
• evaluation of resources and results
• personal information about instructor
• jargon
• The humble handout
• low tech but effective
• to take away, inplace of note taking
• first steps only
• contact info for more help
• 1 side, lots of white space
• Hands-on time
• need to actually try it, even briefly
• time needed to complete a task
• may be squandered

Chad: Wikis in the Classroom - Powerful Tools for Library Instruction

• Library instruction goals
• teach tools to accomplish a project
• teach research/information literacy concepts
• begin a relationship and dialogue between the librariarn and the students
• Library instruction challenges
• 50 minute class length
• 15-20 classes per quarter
• college of business has 1700 students
• penetration of library instruction in the curriculum is spotty
• I'm only one person
• More challenges
• instruction early in quarter may not be relevant later
• variety of projects means instruction must be scalable
• location of instruction may vary
• class requests may be spur of the moment
• Traditional research guides
• pathfinder
• popular method for disseminating library information
• rarely used
• limitations of research guides
• redundancy
• no interlinking
• multiple edits of the same content
• not searchable
• no way to measure use
• timely updates are difficult (yearly)
• What's a Wiki?
• editable Web site, by a community of users
• Wikipedia is best exmple
• srength of the resource is often dependent on the strength of the community
• The Biz Wiki
• www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki
• organized by topic
• interlinked
• editable
• scalable
• How to use the resource
• Teaching with a wiki
• wikis make excellent teaching tools
• replace class handouts
• examples
• doing business in another county
• industry research basics
• Biz Wiki content
• point to the best tools with "nugets" of information literacy concepts
• content can be a guide for general or more specific tpoics
• wikis support keyword to subject heading concepts
• Wikis are flexible
• learning raises more questions
• wikis offer the flexability to address questions when needed
• content is easy to edit/update
• new/updated content is available immediately
• Wikis are fast
• example: ref question via IM
• same question previously from e-mail
• turned e-mail answer into wiki article
• sent wiki page as IM answer
• Wiki build community
• frequent updates create dialog
• wikis have feedback mechanisms
• potential for building/strengthening community of researchers
• Why a wiki
• fast
• scalable
• can make librarian's job easier

CIL 2006: Training for Staff & Patrons in Public libraries

Janie Hassard Hermann, Technology Instruction Librarianm Princeton Public Library
Travis Bussler, Network Administrator, Chippewa River Library District

Janie: Technolog Training for Library Cusomters

• Reaching & Teaching a Tech-savy public
• library customers are becoming increasing proficient with computers/internet/technology
• tech & training expectations are rising exponentially
• computer classes and technology training must evolve to meet this demand
• constant innovation to remain relevant is crucial
• Princeton PL
• single branch downtown near university
• WiFi
• 50FTE, pop 31,000
• 100+ computers for public
• 58k sqft building built in 2004
• Looking back
• 10 years since started doing comp training - basic computer & net classes
• emphasis on mouse skills & using OPAC
• subject specific classes, email, and MS Office classes soon added
• focus on basic computing and searching skills
• Looking forwad
• digital cameras, MP3 players, other gadgets
• "Gadget Garage"
• eAudiobook instruction and legal downloading
• Blogging, wikis, RSS, VoIP, & other trends
• lectures & demos that help community stay current with technology and relatd issues
• Instruction that is more individualized
• "open texh time"
• Someone on staff, in room, to answer any question
• 10 steps to creating a tech-savy training program It's a time consuming process, can take several years to build PPL's current program has been over five years in the making
• Start modest
• implement monthly programs that appeal to advanced users
• technology talks, "DataBytes"
• use invited guest to minimize staff prep time
• offer one or two advanced classes
• gather feedback
• Build a mailing list
• gather addresses at every session
• send more than one or two emails per month
• inform but don't spam
• Make a training plan
• comprehensiveness is curcial
• who will attend
• hoe many courses per month/week
• hoe many new courses per year
• Write lesson plans
• create a template
• borrow from others
• create support materials
• Sources
• WebJunction
• Learn the Net
• SeniorNet
• Train staff and Volunteers
• hire or recruit volunteer trainers to assist depending on budget considerations
• training the trainer is essential
• provide practice sessions before going live to work out glitches
• Decide Registration Proceedures
• register or not
• card holders or whole community
• how many students per class
• gadget classes need to be smaller than hands on comp classes
• Acquire the equipment & software
• funding
• purchase
• install
• Promote!
• print calendars
• email calendars
• press released
• library newsletter
• network w/ computer clubs
• e-mail lists
• front page of library Web site
• Feedback & Evaluation
• listen
• eval stats
• Update frequently
• stay current
• scan literature
• keep programs on cutting edge
• Don't forget
• compile stats
• demonstrate impact

Travis: How to Create a Tech-Savy Staff

• patrons expect more tech from libraries than ever before
• library staff needs to support this; IT, ref, circ, everyone else
• staff needs to at least know how to exit out of the progams on the public computers
• Why does the IT staff need a tech savy staff
• makes everyone's job easier
• to communicate effectively
• to offer the best support possible
• Problems in the beginning
• "network is down" = "the neopets web site is down"
• "the copier is broken" = "the copier is out of paper"
• What is needed?
• Assessments
• all staff members
• where are they now
• where do they need to be
• sell assessment for new employees
• What to assess
• OS
• office productivity
• hardware
• library web site
• items based on individual job functions
• automation system
• Training
• types
• in house
• workshops
• cd-rom
• online
• CC & Univ
• books
• what
• everything that's relevant
• tips
• make training mandatory
• short sessions
• similar skill level groups
• stay focused
• interactive as possible
• plenty of practice time
• repetition
• offer CEUs
• offer to other lib organizations
• let staff share experiences
• use variety of trainers & techniques
• let staff members being food & drinks
• Documentation
• items to document
• everything
• instructions
• faqs
• cheat cheets
• tips
• keep it simple
• use lots of pictures
• printed and electronic copies
• Conclusion
• assesments + training + deocumentation = tech-savy staff

Offline Blogging with Performancing

My only problem with using Blogger as my blogger platform is the fact that offline blogging is not as eash as it should be. Typically my options have been to use notepad and manually add the markup or use Word and clean out all the extra markup if gives me. Well, I've found a better solution, and it's something I've mentioned before: Performancing for Firefox.

Performancing is a blogging extension that seemlessly integrates with Blogger and other blogging platforms. Why I'm finally sold on it is the fact that I can use it while not online (such as durring conference sessions with no WiFi in the room) and save my posts as a "note". Once I'm back to a location with connectivity I can pull up the note and click publish. Additionally, posts written with Performancing allows me to write in WYSIWYG without the unnecessary markup created by word.

Problems solved!

(It seems that even before I posted this I convinced both David King and Greg Schwartz of the usefullness of this solution. Both already had Perfromancing installed but weren't using it. I know they both blogged at least Lorcan Dempsy's session with it.)

CIL2006: Exploiting the Value of Structured Metadata

Lorcan Dempsy, OCLC
10:30-11:15am

Structured data, Web 2.0, libraries

• Releasing value
• We have a lot of classical bibliogrpahical data
• Web 2.0
• Flat applications
• APIs
  
• Rich interaction
• Ajax
  
• Data is the new functionality
• make the data work harder
  
• Participation
• Social services
• Mobilizing the edge
• Contributing to create additional value
• Co-creation
• folksonomies
  
• Lightweight service composition
• Audience Level Web service
• human and machine readable interface that resolves OCLC record numb er or ISBN to probable audeince level
• uses type-of-library holdings data in WorldCat to calulate audience levels for books representented in WorldCat
• ARL=1.0, Academic=0.66, Public=0.33, School=0
• Greasemonkey script to expose in Amazon and Open World Cat
• Shows "audience level" result in the "Product Details" of the book's on Amazon.com
  
• Funny example: "The Bibliography of Canadian Bibliographies"
• Hints at level only, not definitive
• Examples
• The Selfish Gene = 0.6
  
• The World is Flat = 0.5
  
• Theories of the Information Society = 0.71
  
• Ajax - rich interaction
• Live Search
• Quick searches target with each additional keystroke of search term/phrase
• retreives ordered, FRBR-instpred results
• Narrow-by Dewey attributes
• Catalog of Phoenix PL
• Indexed every three-word combination
• Display results as you type
• Ranked by holdings
• "satisficing engine" (good enough, asap)
• Many biblical references as has the most holdings
• Top categories list on the side based on DDC
• LCSH Live
• Make data harder
• Fiction Finder
• Interface that supports searching browsing of fiction materials in WorldCat
• retrieves ordered, FRBR-inspired results
• Faceted browse
• New interface available 1st qtr 2006
• aplhabetical browse by genre
• retrieves works, ordered by holdings
• click on work, get aggregate details from multiple editions in multiple libraries
• Narrow by type, language
• sort by different methods (newest, oldest, etc)
• Pick edition, link to WorldCat to find copies in libraries
• Exposes data such as literary form and setting
• links to related works, author, etc.
  
• Audience Level
  
• Participation
• Reviews WikiD
• Not covered due to time limitations
  

CIL2006: Thursday Keynote

Planning for a Handheld Mobile Future
Megan Fox, Web Electronic Resources Librarian, Simmons College
9:00-9:45am

Note: This is the second time in a week that I've heard/read someone that "mobile" is the future. Sorry, but it's already here.

• Planning for is no longer an option, it's a necessity
• 1.4 billion in the world have mobile phones
• 62% of users use SMS
• 350 billion SMS messages per month world wide
• Devices
• PDAs
• Tablets
• iPods
• eBook readers
• Smart Watches
• Blackberry
• Smartphones
• Gaming Devices
• "PIN numbers" ARGH!
• eBook readers
• digital ink
• less than 9oz
• 80 books on internal memory
• Ultra Personal Computer
• OQO
• Vulcan Flipstart
• Looking to vertical markets instead of consumers
• Ultra Mobile PC
• Microsoft Oragami
• WinXP Tablet
• 7" or smaller display
• 400x800
• 60gb hard drive
• WiFi Bluetooth
• Touchpad program
• Appropriate for fingers
• customizable
• onscreen thumb-based keyboard
• New font: Cambria (Times New Roman replacement?)
• Mobile Optomized Web
• Web sites intended for large screens, busy, multimedia content
• Reduce content
• Remove graphics
• Word wrap
• Narrow
• Examples
  
• TV Guide
• Google, Personalized Google
• National Weather Service
• Conversion
• iyhi
• sqeezer
• google
• Might loose wanted content when using 3rd party conversion
• Can't translate flash
• Mobile Blue
• Flickr
• Mobiledelicious
• Native mobile content
• Splash Blog
• Moblog
• mob5
• hosted mobile web space
• Blogger on the go
• Top mobile content
• Weather
• Yahoo mail
• hotmail
• google
• ESPN
• Mapwuest
• CNN
• dining
• Traditional Library content
• opac (I do this with the Aurora Public Library)
• III: AirPac
  
• ebooks
• subscription content
• dictionaries
• encyclopedias
• Oxford American Dictionary
• PDAs
• Smartphones
• Look on Tucows for mobile content
• Handango
• 240+ reference titles for smartphones
• Handmark
• Tools toys for a mobile generation
• Cell phone downloads
• Mobile Genealogy (blog)
• Popular books
• Overdrive
• NetLibary
• ebrary
• Audible Air (Audible)
  
• download recordings
• Medical Health database vendors leading in mobile access to databases
• Point of need answers
• Yahoo! Go
• AOL Mobile
• Google Mobile
• Types
  
• Definitions
• phone numbers
• geographical information
• 4info
• SMS to 44636
• Searching shortcuts
• Medio
• "answers instead of lists of links"
• preferences, location, device to personalize results
• Answers.com mobile interface
• Have a librarians section
• "pre-research market"
• Don't want to step on librarian's toes
• gada.be
• mobile metasearch
• builds search into URL
• Search software packages being built into phones
• SMS-based search
  
• Google SMS (46645)
  
• send "shortcuts" to get list of commands
  
• Synfonic
• AskMeNow
• Yahoo! Go
• Voice messages
• Text alerts
• scheduled once or ongoing
• Reference IM
• Typically computer to computer
• Reference via SMS
• Altarama
• Converts SMS to e-mail
• Overdue notices
• Teleflip
• Free txt messages
• Cell#@teleflip.com
• RSS
• Talis, patron account data alerts
• LibraryElf
• Wake Forest, MobileU
• voice activated commands
• checking laundry in the dorm
  
• Montclair State U, Dawgtel
• Stephen King's Cell (I did this)
• Other services
• Feedalot
• Mobdex
• feedbeep
• litefeeds
• UpSnap
• search
• live mobile audio content
• sports
• faith
• magic 8 ball
• iPods
• circulating shuffles
• podcasts
• local tours
• ebooks
• subway maps
• spark notes for iPod
• Test prep
• iPods @ GCSU
• All audio reserves on every iPod
• storyhour
• instruction sessions
• Mobile video
• mostly due to video iPod
• "mobisodes" mobile episodes
• mobitv
• LocationFree TV
• Guide by cell
• Self guided tours via mobile phone
• For library staff
• Sirsi PocketCirc
• Check out from anywhere
• III's Wireless workstation
• 10 libraries currently using
• Glimpse of the future
• Shopping price comparrison
• Yahoo! Shopping (testing)
• Froogle (testing)
• Fandango
• movie times, reviews, buy online
• tickets sent to device w/ barcode
• barcode read off of phone
• e-version of Bonita Daily News
• Small version
• SMS alerts
• video highlights
• New business models
• free ebook reader w/ content membership
• ESPN phone
• mobot
• take pic, send in, get song
• mobile visual search
• Resources
• engadget
• imobile
• textually.org
• gizmodo
• mobileread.com
• gottabemobile.com
• web.simmons.edu/~fox/pda

75 bands in one photo

75 bands in one photo
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

Can you name them all?

Thanks L

CIL 2006: Day one wrap-up (the next morning)

I was able to roam the exhibits and talk to Miguel, the rep from Neal-Schuman and Amy, the editor at Informatio Today, Inc. currently working on my Blogs & RSS book. (According to her, it's scheduled to be released in October.) Between the evening conference reception and the speaker's reception I was able to find just about everyone I was looking for. The Dead & Emerging Technologies session was a fun as always. This year's theme, Library 2.0. Many a humorous 1.0/2.0 comparrison was made. Stephen Abram went long as usual but none of the attendees (with one or two execptions) complained about him going over time. (I will add that as much as I appreciated all of the speakers, seven of them was a few too many for the 1.5 hour allotted time.)

Next, the post-day gathering at the hotel lounge was as exciting, entertaining, and thought-provoking as usual. There I was finally able to meet both Lorcan Dempsy of OCLC, who's blog I've been admiring for a while now.

I endd up back at my room about midnight with a 6am wakeup. I've finished my venti caramel machiato form the starbucks down the street and I'm waiting at the tables near the exhibits for the press room to open for the day. (The blogger's WiFi is still not working down here. I was told that it had been fixed but I've yet to see it.) As soon as I get connected, I'll be posting this and uploading the rest of my photos from yesterday to flickr.

CIL: Day one

I've made it to DC and finally to the conference. I've check in to the hotel and got my badge. The WiFi for the bloggers is down and the WiFi in the hotel lounge is no longer free I've been told. So, I'm in the press roow with the wired connection. I'm going to upload my pics of the trip here to flick then I'm off the the evening reception. Later, the speaker's reception, then the Dead Technology session. After that, collapse.

Out-dated design

Survey
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I'm using Firefox 1.5. There is no reason for me to upgrade to IE5. Point of fact, that would be a downgrade, no matter how you look at it.

Bankruptcy, Schmankruptcy

If you're an airline and you need to make more money, just charge more for a ticket, don't come up with an idea to charge more for an aisle seat!

Firefox 2.0 Alpha Imminent?

"Firefox 2.0, which at one point Mozilla officials said would debut in Alpha 1 format by the end of February, may appear as early as Tuesday. The browser, which will stress bookmark, tab, and extension changes, is in early development, and is scheduled for a final rollout in the third quarter."

Admit it.

You knew this announcement was coming.

"Microsoft Corp. will delay the consumer release of its new Windows operating system until January 2007, missing the holiday sales season and throwing some PC makers and retailers into turmoil."

Feedo Style

I just discovered Feedo Style which allows you to republish RSS feed content on your Web site. (This is one of the topics I'm covering in my CIL post-conference but has not made it into the slides.)

Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft released an updated version of Internet Explorer 7: Beta 2 yesterday. It's stable enough to use but it will replace your copy of IE6 and some sites that do browser sniffing will not recognize it as a "supported" browser.

Getting itchy

The photos from CIL06 are starting to appear... I'm not getting to the conference 'till tomorrow afternoon. I do not want to be in my office right now, I want to be in DC!

Another silly quiz

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

MySpace

I have a MySpace account. Not that anyone, including myself, will care about for more than 30 seconds.

do u im?

do u im?
Originally uploaded by February 28.

Definitely 2.0!
SUNY Stony Brook, Health Sciences Center library.
(More versions of the ad in flickr.)

Library ad

Buick ad
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I was browsing through the newest issue of Newsweek over lunch and found this ad. The library card pocket is real and the card is "stuck" to the pocket but can be removed with a little work. On the back of the card is an ad for the Buick Lucerne with "QuietTuning". The ad is continued on the back of the page also. (Photo of other side also in flickr.)

Talk about a stereotypical view of the librrary. First, most libraries don't use those pockets any more. Second, when was the last time you were in a quiet library?

Sample chapter available

The folks at Neal-Schuman have made Chapter 5: Images of my book XHTML & CSS Essentials for Library Web Design available as a PDF for your sampling pleasure.

Travel Survey

My favorite travel blog Yu Hu Stewardess is asking your opinion of cell phones on planes. Do you want to sit next to someone yacking on their cell for hours? Submit your opinion.

It's 2am and you're a little too honest

Check out this video of a QVC segment about a Dell computer. A guy calls in and they ask him what his new Dell is good for. The problem is, he's honest about it. (Contains adult subject matter but no bad words.)

This kid's good

Here's a video of a kid playing two guitars at once. You get bonus points if you recognize the tune he's playing.

Juggling

I've seen this video before and it seems to be making the rounds again so I figured I'd pass it along this time. Be sure to play it on a computer with sound, that's half the fun.

Anguished English

The saftey video on my flight home said "jump into the slide with your legs out in front of you."

Library WiFi Access: Follow-up

One of the comments, left by "Anonymous", in regards to my comments regarding requiring a login for public WiFi access in a library was worthy of a response. Here it is:

A teenager insisting on accessing quite offensive pornography was recently a regular at the computers at one of our local libraries.

Sir (I'm assuming but could be wrong), I'm sorry to hear that you're upset about this issue. However, since I am unaware of the actual content of the material that the “teenager” of unspecified age (as an 18-year-old is an adult but still technically a teenager) was viewing I can not judge as to the level of offensiveness of the material. Even if I could judge however, I would not as what is offensive to one individual may not be offensive to another. This is why things that are merely offensive are generally allowed under the first amendment. Even so, if that material was so patently offensive to offend even my tolerant sensibilities, the requirement of a log-in for WiFi access would neither prevent or necessarily track such usage as there are privacy issues involved and libraries rarely keep such information longer than is absolutely necessary (typically through the end of the day.) The information that is kept is generally done so to be able to track those that cause damage to their property. Since such in formation in this case would not even do that, I see even less reason to ask for the information in the first place.

Do you propose that others should be able to access and download child pornography and remain untraceable by the police by just going to the library?

This sentence has nothing to do with the first nor did I write anything thing to suggest that doing something illegal should be allowed in a library. (The afore mentioned teenager may have been doing something inappropriate yet still legal) Even if the log-in is required and kept, there are any number of ways of masking what you're doing while logged into the library's, or any other, network. Therefore, again, the log-in requirement is useless in preventing illegal activity rendering that defense of the policy impotent.

Surely, it's already going to be difficult enough to fight this evil in the coming era of mobile devices with totally removable memory and storage?

The "era" of mobile devices and removable memory/storage is already here, (as I can attest to with my Treo with an SD slot,) but now I'm just arguing semantics. I disagree with your premise that a library's job is to "fight evil" in the world. Granted, Batgirl was a librarian, but I digress. If I were to agree that one of the library's missions was to "fight evil" I would suggest that the best way for a library to do so was to provide access to more information and remove as many barriers to information as possible. The policy at issue does nothing to accomplish either. So, if fighting evil is the goal, this policy is not the way.

Library WiFi access issue

I've now published two articles on policy issues for public libraries when offering WiFi to the public. I though I'd thought of everything. I should have known better...

Yesterday one of my students from a WA small public library mentioned that they require a library card number (or other temporary id number) to access the library's WiFi connection. This caught me off guard as I'd never heard of this being done before. Granted, many lirbaries require some sort of login for the library computers for timing software purposes and/or to have a basic tracking system in case there is damage to the equipment. However, I'd never heard of requiring a login for the WiFi when the patron is using their own equipment.

I discussed it briefly with the librarian and she was unable to offer an explaination beyond the fact that since they did it with the library computers, they decided to do it for any computer that used their connection.

I thought about this overnight, and here's my opinion:

1. As a patron with a laptop, the last thing I want to do is to have to walk into the library and have to enter my library card number to use my laptop.
2. As a visitor to a library with my own laptop I don't want to have to ask for a temporary card to use my laptop.
3. As a staff member of a library that received a lot of tourists (as is the situation at the library in question) I don't want to have to give out temp ID cards to a large number of patrons whom will never get a library card since they're not residents.

Am I off base here? Do other libraries do this and I'm just unaware of it? What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Note to hotels

Not enough outlets
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

There are two problems with the outlet pictured in this photo. First, it's the only one on the desk in the room. This is a problem as I would like to plug in both my laptop and my cell phone. Second, this lamp, and therefore the embedded outlet, it connected to a switch just inside the room's door. This means that when I plug my cell phone into it to charge overnight and then turn off the room's lights, my cell does not charge. The solution: A powerstrip that's not connected to a wall switch.

Catching up

I'm still in Evertt, WA killing some time in the coffee shop in the Everett Public Library. Luckily, there is an crystal clear 11Mbps WiFi connection that's allowing me to caffeinate and blog at the same time. I'll be heading off to Richland, WA (about 220 miles East of here) after checking out the library proper when it opens at 10 but I figured getting this thing caught up was a great way to spend a raing Washington morning. (Pics on flickr.)

Must Love Jaws

Here's another movie trailer edit that shows us that jaws could have been just like Free Willie.
via YesButNotYes

Blondie/Doors mashup

Here's a QuickTime video mashup of Blondie's Rapture and The Doors' Riders on the Storm.
vis YesButNotYes

The Met takes on blogs

The London police are concerned about blogs. The blogs they're concerned about; those of their employees.
Thanks Rob

Alternate history

I love alternate history novels, espcially those by the master of the sub-genre Harry Turtledove. Well, here's a video showing us what would have happened had Microsoft developed and marketed the iPod.
Thanks Matt

Oil barrels price translation

information aesthetics has posted about a browser plugin that translates prices on Web pages from dollars to barrels of oil. A must for everyone that drives a vehicle that doesn't get at least 30mpg.

Borders Coupon

Here's this week's Borders coupon for 25% off one item.

The "four things" meme

I've been tagged...

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Internet Trainer
2. Writer
3. Bookseller
4. Clerk @ a Bed, Bath, & Beyond

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Labyrinth
2. Brotherhood of the Wolf
3. Chasing Amy
4. High Fedelity

Four places you have lived:
1. Rochester, NY
2. Albany, NY
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Aurora, CO

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. 24
2. Bones
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Doctor Who

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. London, England
2. San Francisco, CA
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Phoenix, AZ

Four websites I visit daily
1. Bloglines
2. Blogger
3. del.icio.us
4. flickr

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Sushi
2. Cheesecake
3. Pizza
4. Garlic Nan

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Anywhere but a Holiday Inn
2. Anywhere but a Holiday Inn
3. Anywhere but a Holiday Inn
4. Anywhere but a Holiday Inn

Four people I will tag thinking they will respond.....
1. I do these but I don’t pass them along…
2.
3.
4.

Four things I always carry with me
1. Pen
2. Treo 600
3. Wallet
4. Keys

I feel like I'm already there...

No WiFi @ Holiday Inn
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

At conference I mean. I'm at the Everett, WA Holiday Inn, one of the nicest Holiday Inn's I've ever stayed in (and I've stayed in a lot of them) and there's no WiFi in the rooms. It's avaiable down here in the lobby where, of course, there are no power outlets. Consider this post a warm-up to what I'll be complaining about next week at the DC Hilton.

Burn your own CD @ Starbucks

The CD
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I'm spending the night in Everett, WA on my way to teach in Marysville tomorrow. After dinner I spotted a starbucks down the street and decided to get a caramel machiato to help me relax. (Decaf.) Outside was a sign for Starbucks' new Hear Music Media Bar. I'd heard about this before and now I was definitely making a stop.

After getting my drink I sat down at the system and started to browse. It turns out that these systems have thousands of CDs completely available for selection and on site burning. Additionally you can select the tracks of your choice (nothing was "album only" as some iTunes tracks are) to burn onto a custom CD.

I selected seven songs for the base price of $8.98+tax. Each additional song is $0.99 but I held my ground. I was ablt to reorder my list since I hadn't selected my songs in the order I wanted them on the CD. I was also able to pick a graphic from a selection of about 40 images. (I didn't count so that number is just an estimation.) I was also asked to choose a title for my CD.

I finalized my list and swipped my credit card. It did not ask me for a signature and promptly processed the charge. While the CD was burning a printout was made which I folded along the perforations as instructed and inserted into the flaps of a paperboard and plastic jewelcase. About three minutes later my CD, lebeled with my title popped out, ready to be placed in the newly customized jewelcase.

Overall the system worked as advertised however it isn't perfect. First, the on-screen keyboard has keys in alphabetical order. As someone used to a QWERTY keyboard, this made my searching and title entry a bit dificult. Secondly, the price. The track peices are in line with iTunes but since you're getting a physical item, the starting price seems a bit high for seven songs but I guess it's justifiable.

I documented the process with my camera. The 12 photos can be found in a set in my Flickr account.

You've got mail, er, chat

Here's what the chat scene in You've Got Mail should have really looked like.

Earth... Moon...

Uh, Mars... What could possibly be next?

Washington (State)

Redondo Beach Park
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

Next week I'll be on the East coast in Washington, DC. This week I'm training on the West coast at three locations in Washington state. (Tacoma on Tuesday, Marrysville on Wednesday, and Richland on Friday.) Photos will be uploaded daily to this set.

On a lighter note, I got up at 3:30am MST for a 6am flight to SFO, a three hour layover, then a flight to SEA from which I landed at 1pm PST. The really crappy thing is I forgot to set my VCR and 24 is on at 9pm here when in Denver it's on at 8pm. I'm exhausted but I think my second wind is kicking in...

Unshelved blogging

Colleen over at Unshelved has been blogging this week. I've been laughing all week about it, especially since I've been working on edits to my blog book. I've been resisting posting about it but today's strip made it impossible for me to pass it up. The reason: the h@x0r humor at the end.

Library 2.0 in rural upstate New York

Patricia Uttaro the director of the Ogden Farmers' Library in Spencerport, NY (half-way between my folks in Greece and my brother in Brockport, and home to an aunt,) has a blog. Now, if the director of a library that serves a population of approximately 3500 thinks it's worth her time to blog, what's your director's excuse?

Oh, and did I mention they're getting iPods to circulate? Check out what they're pre-loading them with:

"In addition, we will offer iPod devices for borrowing. Some iPods will be pre-loaded with a recorded tour of the Village and Town so visitors can find their way to places like Coffee Cabana, Grandpa Sam's, the Unique Shop, Union Street Primitives, and Afrikamba Curios. Also loaded on the devices will be a pre-recorded historic tour of the Village that can be used by local people and school children studying the Erie Canal. Other iPods can be borrowed long-term by people traveling along the canal."

Next time I'm back home, I'm going to make a point to stop by and meet Ms. Uttaro and thank her for being so progressive.

RSS Screen Saver

The folks on the Microsoft RSS Team have released a beta of their RSS Platform Screen Saver. I've not yet had a chance to try it but it does look handy.

ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki

Meredith has done it again! Like last year's wiki for ALA Chicago and the current CIL2006 wiki, she now gives us the ALA 2006 New Orleans Wiki.

CIL2006 Presentation

CIL2006 Presentation
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

The slides for my post conference on RSS are finished and the file's been sent off to IT for photocopying. Yes, there are 199 slides but 90% of them are screenshots that the sttendees can take notes on while I'm projecting the live sites at the front of the room. Those interested in what my post conference is covering, check out all the CIL2006 items in my del.icio.us account.

A standard feed icon

Feed Icons
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

The folks at FeedIcons.com are pushing the idea of a single, standard icon to indicate the presence of feeds. I like this idea. (If the Mozilla folks and the Microsoft folks can both agree on this icon, so can I.) I like this idea so much that I've already updated my link to this icon. But, and here's the funny part, does anyone but me find it odd that if you want updates from this site you have to submit an e-mail address? Wouldn't a feed but more appropriate?

Enter...

The Muppet Matrix
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

...The Muppet Matrix

The Torn-Up Credit Card Application

I'm not a paranoid sort of person. Some waiter could steal my credit card number much more easily than someone who dumpster dives my trash but I use my shredder for just about all paper I'm going to throw out. Not because I'm worried about identiy theft, it's just a habbit. However this guy took a torn up credit card application, taped it back together, filled it out and sent it in. Several weeks later he received a credit card! Maybe I should be paranoid if only for the stupidity of the credit card companies.
via BoingBoing

The Search and Google Book Search

As an author who actually wants my books to be fully indexed by both Google Book Search and Amazon.com's Search Inside the book I'm not exactly the most favorite writer of my publishers. (I've directly asked one of them and got "we're talking about that" as a response.) Here's the story of how the conversation between John Battelle, author of The Search (a book about Google), and his publisher went. According to Mr. Battelle "[his publisher is] afraid of the future. Afraid of what they don’t know…. It’s very irritating to me."

New USB device

In honor of yesterday's snow in Denver, today's thermometer hovering at 32F, and the 1500 watt heater in my office I give you USB Heating Gloves from USBGeek.com.

AOL runs on Windows 3.1?

AOL runs on Windows 3.1?
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I'm not sure which is funner: the fact that AOL still acutally runs on Windows 3.1 or the fact that they feel the need to put instructions for an operating system that was replaced eleven years ago.

The title is funnier than the actual description

Seen on Craig's List today: "Free VCR and Toaster" (You mean it does both?)

Bad design

Bad design
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

So I'm entering a contest sponsored by Northwest Airlines to win a golfing trip. (No I don't golf but I'd be happy to take the trip to Spain anyway.) I've got to fill in this form and see the following: "* denotes optional field". Come on NWA. How much are you paying these designers? Since when do you mark "optional" fields. You mark the required ones to draw attention to them. What's the point of drawing attention to an optional field. (Never mind that there's a total of one optional field in the whole form.)

Windows Vista: The Versions

Microsoft has put up pages describing the different versions of Windows Vista you'll have to choose from. This should help those who are unclear. One rumor I have heard is that when you install it, you will actually have everything but access to only the level you paid for. If you want to upgrade at a later time, you just do it online and it unlocks the additional features. That is a great feature.

Presenting: Project Management

The phases of project management
Originally uploaded by travelinlibrarian.

I just got back from a two-hour introductory seminar on project management. Normally this wouldn't be something worth bloggin about but the presenter had a unique "command" of the English language. Here's some of the more choice items I was able to write down:

• turbulations
• This person was very value add to the project
• soft copy of the data
• That person put th "uck" in suck
• work packages
• critical path
• change management process

O.k. the last three are actual project management terminology but I still find them amusing.

Gadget lets authors sign books from afar

I will NEVER attend an event in which the author is using one of these!

More Not Library 2.0

This post from Love the Liberry is both funny and sad at the same time. (Though I must admit I've run into the experience myself with a student in one of my workshops multitasking suring class and typing about 120wpm. You know who you are ;-)

80s Redux

Play Frogger with this Firefox extension.

RSS: I Get It

I've bought a new shirt to wear during my presentation at CIL. Check out the RSS: I Get It store at CafePress.

The Brick Testament

The Brick Testament is the Bible done in lego. I wonder when they'll get to the Gospel of Judas.
Thanks mom

Stupid e-mail disclaimers

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email transmission and any documents, files, or previous e-mail messages attached to it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, or a person responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any further review, disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, or use of any of the information contained in or attached to this e-mail transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail, discard any paper copies, and delete all electronic files of the message. If you are unable to contact the sender or you are not sure as to whether you are the intended recipient, please e-mail XXXXXXX@XXXXXXXHealth.org or call (xxx) 859-7777.

The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message and any attachments in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, copying or alteration of this message and/or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by electronic ail, and delete the original message.

Thanks dad

New article published

Well, I've heard that my article " Four Commandments for Writing Policies for Public-Access Wireless Networks" has appeared in the March 2006 issue of Computers in Libraries. Since I've not yet received my author copies I have a question for those that have seen it: how do the graphics look? I was told what they'd look like but I didn't get the opportunity to see the finished version.

Here's the first feedback I've received

"Thank you for the info. And yes I did enjoy the article. I am a one woman tech department here and we kinda go about things backwards. With no previous experience I implemented wireless access at a new branch location and it worked! yea! So now I'm finally doing the policy. Just figuring things out as I go and your article helped. Thanks again."

What Would You Do?

Take this Extreme Survival Quiz and see how you do. I got 10/17: "You're alive... but badly injured or maimed for life."

How do you pick a password

f you think you're good at it, check out this report on Password Security: What Users Know and What They Actually Do.

John's Background Switcher

Here's a new new tool, John's Background Switcher which "periodically changes the background image on your computer (like every hour or every day)." You can choose from pictures on your computer or from Flickr.

Import my subscriptions

For those interested, I've created an OPML file of my publicly subscribed RSS feeds which you can import into your aggregator. (Really, I created this as an exercise for my RSS workshop students.)

Library Staff Wiki

The folks at the Albany County Public Library in Wyoming have a staff wiki. "This is a web site to provide documentation to library staff on how to do things." According to the admin, "It's just a beginning. I work on this kind of stuff for our library when I have spare time, so it's kind of uneven." Uneven is fine at first. Every project of this nature has got to start somewhere.

U. of Michigan Offers Free Blogs for Students, Employees

Kudos to The U. of Michigan libraries for offering blogging to all staff and students.

"Recognizing the popularity—and potential—of blogs, the University of Michigan has launched mBlog, a program offering free blogs to UM students and employees. The program is a collaboration of the University Library, Information Technology Central Services (ITCS), and the university's Bentley Historical Library. Library officials said the project had been incubating for about a year and is the result of both student and faculty requests to use blogs and the library's interest in "exploring new modes" of publishing. "The Library is providing a platform for interactive publishing and discourse," Susan Hollar, the curriculum integration coordinator for the UM Library, said. To launch the program, the library purchased "off-the-shelf software," which was then modified by ITCS to fit UM's system."

via Library Journal

Free Coffee

On March 15th, go get yourself a free cup-o-joe from Starbucks.

"Starbucks will host its first-ever Starbucks Coffee Break, inviting customers across the country to enjoy a complimentary cup of freshly brewed coffee. In stores and on street corners, from insulated brewing equipment and giant coffee backpacks, partners (employees) will pour tall (12-ounce) cups of coffee to surprise customers and delight commuters."

via Starbucks Gossip

Zappa on Censorship

This video of Frank Zappa on Crossfire back in 1986, during his fight against The PMRC, has recently surfaced on the Net. In it "Frank argues against censorship and tells Washington Times wingnut John Lofton, to 'kiss my ass'".
via Crooks and Liars

Borders Coupon

This week's Borders coupon is 25% Off the Regular Price of One Item good through the 5th.

Hello from my Blogging workshop

This is a post demonstrating how Blogger works when creating a new post.

Free Jump Drive

Want a free jump drive from Microsoft? Check out their Mystery Solved page, answer a few questions and then wait 6-8 weeks. I don't know how big it is but since it says "Microsfot" on the case, it might be perfect for creating a XP bootable jump drive.

The perfect public access PC

If you're looking to put some new public access PCs in your librry Lori Bowen Ayre has done a lot of the work for you.

When Owning Isn't Owning

In her latest post on the ALA TechSource blog Jenny Levine discusses libraries, digital content, and DRM. Her central point is the one I've been making for a while now:

"But therein lies the problem, because while RGPL THINKS it owns the content in the traditional sense of the term—in the same way it thinks it own the books, CDs, and DVDs it has purchased—it DOESN'T. Because digital content is different from physical content, in that there is no right of first sale for it, despite the seemingly reassuring terms of the signed agreement."

I have no problem with libraries lending digital content (never mind thaccessibilityty problems; e-books on an iPoanyonenw?) but the problem is that the library doesn't own the content nor does it ultimately have control over said content. The content provider sets the length of loan time (which most libraries don't seem to mind for some reason) but, more importantly, what happens when the content provider goes out of business? Bye bye content. What then?

David Burt update

InfoThought is reporting this interesting bit of new on David Burt's Career.

"In the course of the conversation, I got a bit of censorware news confirmed publicly (I'd previously known it privately, but unsure whether it was off-the-record or not). This may not mean much to many readers, but long-time censorware critics will be interested to know that David Burt, censorware-advocate from way back, has left his position as a PR flack at censorware company Secure Computing for a position as a PR flack at Microsoft. All indications are that this was a jump and not a push, and that's all I'll say on that."

For those of you not familiar with Mr. Burt, he's been a pro-filtering librarian for the past decade who originally ran the now defunct Web site "Filtering Facts".