I’m thankful for many things: family, home, my work, and my online life. I’m also thankful for LISNews and the hosting services that Blake Carver provides. He puts up with the mountains of spam comments TTW gets as well as all my strange requests. If you are thankful for the sites and services Blake provides also, head on over to: http://www.lisnews.org/node/28308 to make a donation of any size to the efforts of the LISNews folks! Thanks to all who’ve made this year so incredble online. It’s been a heartbreaking and wonderful year and the support I’ve received from my friends […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
3974 posts
http://opensocialweb.org/2007/09/05/bill-of-rights/ Preamble: There are already many who support the ideas laid out in this Bill of Rights, but we are actively seeking to grow the roster of those publicly backing the principles and approaches it outlines. That said, this Bill of Rights is not a document “carved in stone” (or written on paper). It is a blog post, and it is intended to spur conversation and debate, which will naturally lead to tweaks of the language. So, let’s get the dialogue going and get as many of the major stakeholders on board as we can! A Bill of Rights for […]
Anne Beaumont, Digital Systems Research Analyst, Office of eStrategy & Innovation at the State Library of Victoria, Australia wrote to share this link: http://www.silicon.com/retailandleisure/0,3800011842,39169123-2,00.htm Every room in this UK hotel includes a Mac as media hub: Web, Music, DVD, etc. Nice! However, read the comments for the other side of the story: I stayed in the City Inn a few weeks ago and thought it was great but was underwhelmed by the Mac. Internet access via the Mac was charged for and the menu interface is akin to that of a mobile phone. Similar sequences of menus to navigate through […]
Strictly Originally uploaded by mstephens7 How did I miss this? http://filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/04/liep-nus-central-library.html Von, the Filipino Librarian, writes: Click on any of the photos above to see the photos I took of the Central Library of the National University of Singapore. Check out the lounge with vendo machines; the separate rooms for Internet and multimedia use; the automated machines for paying fines and borrowing books; the staff-built machine for returning books; the laptop charging area; the do-it-yourself, honesty-system photocopying machines; and the rooms for those who need to talk on their cell phones. Maybe someday… Checkout more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vonjobi/tags/nationaluniversity/ Looks like this […]
Don’t Miss: http://wordpress.shanachietour.com/2007/11/01/october-31st/ I had to get back to school, so I missed this incredible evening. It’s amazing how many folks were touched by the enthusiasm, commitment and vision of these fine fellows..
Claire Obrecht, Education/Collection Development Librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library writes: Michael: Really enjoyed your latest presentation at STDL – had heard your previous talk there as well. I spoke to you about the experimental station at our Woodfield Post Office. Apparently it is pretty much a big secret – as nothing has yet appeared on the USPS website about it – even though it has been open for about 2 months. Rather strange that they aren’t publicizing it. Here is an article from our local newspaper the Daily Herald. Visit post office of the future in Schaumburg: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=59822 […]
Brett Bonfield in Library Journal, 10/15/2007 guides readers through a toolkit of software and sites to help control the flow of information into your life: If you’re just going to take one step, I recommend getting to know Firefox. Your browser should be your most used application. Still, the tools and techniques I cite might not be right for everyone. They’re intended mostly to illustrate ways we can save time without sacrificing our security, privacy, or the option to change our minds. They also follow our core principles, are complementary rather than interdependent, and are simple, familiar, and comfortably within […]
From David Isaacson in Library Journal, 11/15/2007: The good news is there is much potential for improvement. Notably, in the more than two decades since Miller’s article was published, libraries have become more attractive places to meet people, both in person and in cyberspace, whether to do research or to interact socially. Unfortunately, the 1984 reference model endures in too many libraries today: librarians passively waiting at a desk for people to approach. We must experiment more with having reference librarians roam among users, actively asking if they can help them. Some libraries already have embraced this strategy with positive […]
http://www.pcworld.ca/Pages/NewsColumn.aspx?id=3502a6180a010408008b33e8c209b786 Great Top Ten List at PC World Canada. Includes mention of closed source technology, DRM and over-promising and under-delivering. Also includes this gem that made me ponder: 8. Fanboys The definition of fanboy (or fangirl) is an individual who harbours a fanatic devotion to something without logical reason. In the case of consumer technology, it can be applied to a situation where a person’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth is attached the success of a particular product or brand. Whatever happened to just buying the best product? Instead, consumer technology buyers are broken into hostile camps: Apple vs. Windows, […]
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/flip_flip_flip_goes_the_librar.php Darien Library’s new logo is written up at a branding blog: When you think of public libraries — that glorious old book smell, the studious people learning something new, the kind of light that is rarely found anywhere else, the challenge of judging books by their spine — their identity is probably the last thing you notice, consider or even care for… you are there for the books and what lies between their pages. And that’s exactly what C&G Partners celebrates in their design of the new identity for the Darien Public Library in the affluent town of Darien, […]