Monthly Archives: January 2005

38 posts

Evaluating LIS Weblogs

I updated a handout from last year this morning after chatting with Karen about this important facet of Weblog training. I’ll use it in February for a class I just scheduled at the Purdue library. It’s one thing to say to classes “Look at all the stuff you can get to via RSS!” but we must also remember to give folks tools to choose the LIS weblogs right for them. I incoprated some of the excellent work by Laurel Clyde and updated the banner. Take a look — and use it if you’d like! http://www.tametheweb.com/presentations/EvaluatingLISWeblogs.pdf

Is Virtual Reference User Centered?

Aaron, who also made this Winter’s NetConnect with a most cool TOP TEN, posts a most thoughtful bit about his thoughts on the state of VR in libraries. http://www.walkingpaper.org/index.php?id=143 Virtual Reference is not user-centric, he writes. Expecting people to enter into and operate in a little world that vendors have created is a bit naive. VR systems clearly were built with librarian in mind. The benefits awarded librarians vs. patrons illustrates this. Yes. I agree. Who were we planning for when so many libraries jumped on to the RMS Virtual Reference as it sailed toward greatness only to encounter a […]

Shifting Worlds

The call for speakers is up! http://www.infotoday.com/il2005/ How are libraries and librarians changing to meet the needs of users in 2005? Got something to say? Want a great place and a wonderful crowd to say it to? Ponder a submission for Internet Librarian 2005! I’m still fired up from last November!

Circulating Digital Content

This weekend the South Bend Tribune reported that my hometown library has jumped into the digital content arena by aligning with Recorded Books in a $10,000 contract. The service, the paper reports, gives patrons access to 500 titles. “Patrons will be able to download the books to their home computers and then load them into any of the small media players that are Windows-based. Patrons also will be able to go to the library and download books onto their MP3’s or similar players.” Here’s their site: http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.downloadable There are choices now for this type of content: Audible, Recorded, OverDrive. My […]

Techie Circulation Job at SJCPL

I’ve been at SJCPL almost 14 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes. We just posted the Head of Circulation job and it really strikes me how much this particular job has “shifted.” The Job description is here. Lok at these excerpted techie duties: 4. Develop and maintain circulation training materials for system-wide use and oversee training procedures of all new Circulation staff. 5. Manage Innovative/Millennium circulation products systemwide, including recommending new products, working to implement software and hardware changes, helping to develop training and communicating changes to library staff. 9. Evaluate trends in circulation services and recommend policy […]

Tagging my Musings (Images)

Chad at Hidden Peanuts just posted this: http://www.hiddenpeanuts.com/index.php?p=53 ..where he ponders the tagging of images. Guess what? I’ve been doing the same thing at Flickr. I didn’t realive the text string I was using “Posted via Michael’s Treo 600..” was becoming tags. So I have been going through and tagging some photos. It’s kind of fun — sort of like “Metadata for Dummies” — which is me as I dip my toe in the python pool… My flickr stuff: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/ AND I have to say I really get sucked in to flickr and all the different folks posting there…