Categories TTW Ephemera

Drupal in Libraries by Andy Austin and Christopher HarrisLibraries are about content: acquiring it, storing it, indexing it, retrieving it, and presenting it. Content management systems (CMS) help libraries accomplish these tasks on the Web by providing a back-end structure for a Web site so that librarians can focus on content. Authors Andy Austin and Christopher Harris have evaluated a number of these systems and have selected Drupal as the CMS with the best balance of usability and power. In this issue of LTR, you will learn how this open-source content management system makes use of the separation of content and […]

Some synchronicity with the last post about Netflix: http://www.macworld.com/article/133531/2008/05/napster.html The Napster MP3 store has over 6 million songs that will be sold without any Digital Rights Management (DRM). This allows customers purchasing music from Napster to load their songs on virtually any MP3 player, including Apple’s iPod and iPhone. Songs on Napster’s download store will sell for 99 cents and albums will cost $9.95 — pretty much the same price as Apple’s pricing on iTunes. Currently Apple’s FairPlay DRM restricts the number of computers a user can have registered to play songs purchased from the iTunes Store, a restriction some […]

File this under AV Trendspotting and watch how this emerging application/technology changes consumer consumption of digital content: While appearing to have double the collection of Apple TV of Vudu, what do you get in Netflix’s 10,000 movie collection? Basically, you get a lot of back catalog (classic movies) and a lot of TV shows (unheard of in rental situations!) right as they hit the market. But you don’t get the same blockbusters on day one release that you’d get from Apple TV or VuDu. That makes the Netflix box and disc system a great supplement to those systems, which seem […]

Via Hans Roes, Director of Information Resources and Multimedia at Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany: The beta test of the IRC’s first Library 2.0 Widget: jOPAC. jOPAC allows searching the library catalogue within various other platforms, such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Windows Vista Sidebar, Macintosh Dashboard, etc. Further information and installation links can be found on http://teamwork.jacobs-university.de:8080/confluence/x/05Ce. The jOPAC is an integrated OPAC widget. It eases searching the library catalogue by integrating it into various platforms, and it introduces some nice extras. A list of all platforms with installation links can be found below. If you don’t use any of these platforms […]

P. Toby Graham,Director of the Digital Library of Georgia at the University of Georgia writes: Michael, Readers of Tame the Web may be interested in the new Civil Rights Digital Library. More than 80 institutions have partnered to create a seamless virtual library on the Movement featuring 30 hours of historical news film, along with original documents and images, and instructional materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and other organizations across the U.S. http://crdl.usg.edu I’ll present on CRDL at the SOLINET Annual Membership Meeting if you’re still around on Friday morning. Toby – Sorry to miss your presentation, but thanks for sending […]

MS: Comments on my blog ranged from the forward-thinking, right-up-Ranganathan’s alley and the “Anonymous” who said, “Of course that crap should be banned” to the thoughtful critique and commentary of Ian McKinney from cutting-edge Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN. He reminds us the problem was specific kids, not technology. Indeed, I worry the teens in Mishawaka won’t care about the library and that will hurt the whole community. Were other solutions considered? MC: When we advocate bringing teens into the library, we don’t acquiesce to rowdy teen behavior, as some suspect. Behavioral problems are never acceptable in the […]

Frank Haulgren, Collection Services Manager, ILL & Document Delivery – Media – Microforms for Wilson Library at Western Washington University, writes:     I checkout your blog regularly and always find some interesting stuff posted.  Always fun to share the ideas there with colleagues.  You may find our library’s current blogging project of interest.  We’ve put up a heavily promoted, limited life blog as the academic year ends to gather ideas about what the library should be doing differently.  There is a short video at the top that explains to users what the intent is. 14 Days To Have Your Say   May 7 – 21 The […]

Columbus Metropolitan Library just posted a new management position: Digital Experience Manager  http://tinyurl.com/5ynzvq Under the general direction of the Director of Digital Strategy, the Digital Experience Manager plans, administers, coordinates and drives all aspects of the digital customer experience including customer engagement, usability testing, design, content creation and service delivery. With a high level of independence and accountability, the position oversees the design and development process for the library’s websites and coordinates digital services efforts system-wide working closely with Information Technology, Community Relations’, and Development and Public Services’ staff to ensure the library’s  development process and services are customer-centric.    Apply […]

Brian Herzog writes a perfect post on why Firefox could and should be used on public computers (emphasis mine): http://tinyurl.com/4fzz6b My library is in the process of re-doing all of our public computers. One major change we’re making is to switch to Firefox for our web browser, instead of the Internet Explorer/Public Web Browser combo we’ve always used. The reason we’re switching is a simple one – Firefox is just cooler. It lets us have more control over how the browser functions, and lets us offer more tools integrated right into the browser. Better for us, better for patrons. Here’s […]

John Klima writes: Here’s the magic of this. I am not confined in thinking that I need to be like everyone else, think like everyone else, or act like everyone else. I can’t be. We’re all unique. And being unique means that none of us are alike. You couldn’t follow the crowd if you wanted to. So how is this helpful? Why would you want to tell this to students? For me, it removed my inhibitions, it removed my fear of failure. No matter how awful things might feel in the moment, you can know deep down that you bring […]