Liberry2.0's Weblog

Question of the Day

liberry20 — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:28:01 +0000

From cute little kid peeking up over the check-out counter, to me: “Are you a sir or a ma’am?”

Databases: 1 Internet: 0

liberry20 — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:37:04 +0000

In my previous post, I rolled my eyes at the removal of the positive review of the film”The Golden Compass” on the Catholic News website. I posted a link to the review I found on another website. Sara noticed that the link no longer points to the review.

Smelling a good challenge, I set forth to find a copy of the elusive original review using Google. I didn’t have the time or inclination to sift through more than two pages of hits, so I used OneSearch with the same search terms and BINGO! The Newspaper Source database delivered on the first hit.

One Day When My Son Asks The Question,

liberry20 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:58:06 +0000

“Mommy, what does ironic mean?” my reply will be, “Click here son, and learn all about it.

Catholic News Service published a positive review of the film, “The Golden Compass” on November 29. The review was written by two staff members of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Earlier this week, the review was removed from the site ~~and the staff members were sent to Svalbard~~.

Here is a direct quote from the site ( http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/07mv242.htm ):

“Today the U.S. bishops withdrew the review of the film “The Golden Compass,” which opened in theaters in the United States Dec. 7. The review was written by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig, the director and staff reviewer respectively of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The review was released and posted on the CNS Web site Nov. 29. The USCCB gave no reason for withdrawing the review.”

For now, the original review can be found at: http://www.catholic.org/ae/movies/review.php?id=26062

Mandatory Cat Post

liberry20 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:01:45 +0000

Mr. Tibbs, our big orange and white cat, ate most of a Christmas bulb– right off the tree. The vet suggested bread soaked in milk in order to coat his innards and prevent internal bleeding (and a costly vet bill- oy vey). He seems fine and rather enjoyed the special treat. I hope to post a picture of the wee beast soon.

Accepting Steph Williams

liberry20 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:46:30 +0000

I set up a Facebook page for Liberry2.0 and a personal one using my real name and just have not had time to “do” anything with them. The other day I got an email from Facebook letting me know that Steph Williams has added me as a friend.

“Steph Williams,” I thought, ticking through all the Stephanies I’ve known. Turns out there have been two. Neither is or was a Williams.

Apparently, this is a fairly common practice- adding and requesting “friend” statuses of complete strangers on My Space and Facebook.

Creeps me out a bit, it does.

RSS Anon

liberry20 — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:15:33 +0000

Two years ago I set up a Bloglines account and quickly became addicted to the convenience and speed with which I could read all my favorite sites and blogs. A few days of recreational use soon escalated to an obsessive cycle of checking and reading, checking and reading, checking and reading.

It was nearly impossible for me to do real work knowing that dooce or Jessamyn West just updated their sites and I was missing out on something awfully funny or insightful. I knew that I had to give up RSS cold turkey and learning about deli.cio.us helped.

With deli.cio.us all websites and blogs are collected and organized in one place, but I have to actually click on each link to see any updates. That’s perfect for a lazy addict-type like me.

Then the good folks on the Digital Collaborative ask that we play with RSS feeds as part of the 21 Things and Learning 2.0. And so I set up Google Reader. And plugged it in to my iGoogle page (deep breath). This time, I can handle it.

Underserved

liberry20 — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:53:34 +0000

A million years ago libraries across the country introduced OPAC systems to communities of people who didn’t know how to use computer technology- like keyboards. Then, years later, we introduced web-based catalogs to large groups of peoplewho didn’t know how to use the mouse. Thing is? There are still people who don’t know how to use a mouse and many more who feel pretty nervous sitting in front of a monitor.

The other thing? These tech skills are now necessary not just to find a book in the library, but to fill out job applications and file unemployment vouchers. Lisa talks about her first-hand experiences working with patrons who lack these skills here. Web Chicken shares her experience here.
In 2002 librarians here at Main began teaching keyboard and mouse familiarity and the concept of windows in the Computer Basics class. We planned on offering the class to senior citizens for a few months or until demand dwindled. Younger people began showing and interest and those few months have turned into years and a larger variety of classes are now available. The Computer Basics class is still offered and attended by students ranging in age from late 30s on up.

Many librarians go back to the question of, “What can we do given the limited time, staff and money we have to work with?” Well, I think that free computer classes offered at branches throughout the county and class handouts available for the downloading make up a good contribution to solving the problem of tech illiteracy. What more could be reasonably be expected to do?

Old Folks and the National Book Award

liberry20 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:40:43 +0000

So, the National Book Award Finalists have been announced and my joints suddenly hurt and it’s hard to bend down. Remember when these authors used to be old?? Well, two of the finalists for fiction were born in 1973 and 1974! That’s MY age!

What’s even worse? These are first time novelists! These are the first novels these extremely young people have written!! The multiple exclamation points can not convey my flabbergasted-ness.

You can see the list here. Has anyone read any oft these?

Google Docs

liberry20 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:04:40 +0000

Google docs could make our O: drive look like a chump drive.

In 2017 Libraries will be…?

liberry20 — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:39:31 +0000

That was the question presented to librarians the National Library of New Zealand at a conference. Answers were written on cards, photographed and put on flickr (via the IT blog). Answers range from “Full of comprehensively cataloged ephemera” to “Older.” Do take a look at them.

I don’t know the future, but these are some characteristics that I think need to be present in healthy library systems:

Library culture must encourage conversation at all levels and in between all levels of the organizational hierarchy
Librarians and library workers must be aware and familiar with present technologies in order to anticipate future ones
Library culture should encourage adventurous thoughts and ideas
Library systems must be able to support change- fast change