There is an interesting blog post over at In the Library with the Lead Pipe concerning presentations; Presentation = Speech + Slides, by Derek Badman. Conversation regarding power point is ongoing, consider: Should we use ppt? Should it be brief? Be careful not to overfill your slide. Don't read your presentation to the audience. Don't pass out handouts before the show. Don't use handouts at all. And who can forget Life After Death By PowerPoint, by Don McMillan on YouTube?
I will never forget the first time I viewed a PowerPoint presentation in library school. I was so enthralled by the presenter's use of every single bell and whistle available; I missed the entire point of the presentation. With ALA Midwinter Meetings just around the corner followed closely by ACRL's 14th National Conference and any number of state and national conferences and workshops, 'tis the season for viewing and presenting. It's time to once again take a look at how we craft our presentations - and to look at them from both a presenter and audience point of view.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
SPARC & ACRL at Midwinter
SPARC and ACRL Announce Slate for Denver Forumon Open Educational Resources:
Washington, DC & Chicago, IL – December 15, 2008
Four pioneers from the Open Educational Resources community will offer their insights into “The transformative potential of Open Educational Resources (OER)” at the next SPARC-ACRL Forum, to be held during the 2009 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Denver, CO.
The forum, hosted by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), will introduce OER and the philosophy behind them to the wider library community, highlight examples of how different constituencies are currently advancing OER on campuses, and offer suggestions for how libraries can further engage to support OER.
OER are a logical extension of what the library community supports in the Open Access movement, and underscore the need for the larger playing field on which scholarly communication takes place to be made more equitable. OER focus not only on journals, but also on full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials or techniques that are critical in the learning environment.
Forum presenters will include:
The 18th biennial SPARC-ACRL Forum will be held from 4:00 – 5:30 PM on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Centennial D. The ACRL Scholarly Communications Discussion Group will also host an open conversation about issues that surface at the Forum from 4:00 – 5:30 PM on Sunday, January 25 in room 403 of the Colorado Convention Center.
The Forum will be available via SPARC podcast at a later date. For more information, visit the SPARC Web site at http://www.arl.org/sparc. - Jennifer McLennan, SPARC
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
New ACRL website
Fresh from my email inbox this morning, a notice asking for input concerning the new ACRL website:
I just finished taking the survey and am happy to report it does not take much longer than the 10 - 15 minutes advertised and provides opportunity to work with the new site template on their staging server. It's very clean and follows the new ALA web site template making it more user friendly working between the two sites.
Dear ACRL member,
On Monday, September 22, ALA launched a new version of its Web site (www.ala.org). Since the launch of the new ALA site design, ACRL has been refining a prototype design for its website. ACRL recognizes that users of our site may have information needs that differ from those who visit the main ALA site. After drawing on the experience and knowledge gained during the ALA Web redesign process, we are now surveying ACRL members to determine the best way to serve you.
Please assist us by completing a short survey available at http://tinyurl.com/5wm35c. The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes.
We appreciate your help as we work to improve the ACRL Web site.
I just finished taking the survey and am happy to report it does not take much longer than the 10 - 15 minutes advertised and provides opportunity to work with the new site template on their staging server. It's very clean and follows the new ALA web site template making it more user friendly working between the two sites.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Lists... and more lists
As the year winds down, children's literature best books lists are published. Earlier this month I pulled books from our juvenile collection featured in both the Children's Choice and Teacher's Choice 2008 lists from The Reading Teacherto be placed on reserve for a children's literature course this spring. Read Roger, the Horn Book editor's blog, posted And the Hit's Just Keep on Comin yesterday; links to the Horn Book Fanfare List: Best Books of 2008.This morning I had opportunity to check our collection against the Horn Book list and School Library Journals Best Books of 2008 list. While being on the list does
not mean I automatically purchase any given title, it does mean I will re-evaluate reviews of titles we don't have, look at curriculum needs and OhioLINK holdings, and then consider purchase. It was interesting to see how many of the books already in our collection were currently circulating within the AU community and OhioLINK.I was pleased to note I had read several fiction titles on the various lists. Sometimes what circulates does so via recommendation and discussion in the
resource center (Did you read?.....), it helps. Included in that group were Waiting for Normal, Paper Towns, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Here are a few of the current "best books" lists for 2008:Wednesday, December 03, 2008
SPARC Open Access Newsletter
The December edition (issue #128) of SPARC Open Access Newsletter is now available online.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thanksgiving Break?
Today began quite briskly with both weather and students, the latter working to finish last minute assignments before break and the former causing definite annoyance. As the day progressed patron traffic slowed dramatically, the printer rested, and computers became available; unfortunately the snow has not followed this trend. I have just returned to my office to resume work on a LibGuide! (and eat lunch)after sending a grateful student worker home early and covering the end of her afternoon shift in the IRC. A quick conversation with my GA, granting her permission to leave early if weather conditions worsen and IRC traffic remains non-existent, completes the last of my administrative tasks.Thanksgiving break begins today after night classes or a student's last class, whichever comes first. It has been a long arduous stretch between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, break gives us all an opportunity to be thankful for an abundance of things and recharge for the last week of classes and finals. The library has already prepared to do its part by offering extended hours (the library as a place) and a holiday open house with music, fellowship, and food. And of course, there will be special holiday treats for my student workers.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Synchronized, it's more than swimming
Last Monday, a week later than posted previously (I jumped the gun a bit prematurely), the new Ashland University Library and Instructional Resource Center web sites went live shortly before noon. Thanks to the seemingly endless hard work by the Ashland University web master Shelly Shaver, the site roll-over itself went seamlessly. That said, network server changes combined with script oddities and other technology related gremlins, soon proved the actual launch may have been the easiest part of the process.
During the week that followed I learned, among other things, some scripts can overpower inherent LibGuides scripts and render the content management system useless (oops), style sheets can be applied to many different things, my computer is capable of hopping IP addresses, and web sites can, and probably should, be synchronized ... without the flowery swimming caps (it was cool). Luckily most of my lessons were learned behind the scenes and user web site service was not interrupted.
For the things we could not correct in-house (library), the IT department was able to manage for us by the end of the week - and - our new blog provided a communication tool to update users on progress. A few outstanding tasks remain, including a non-invasive header for LibGuides and updating the ERes page, but overall the project is completed. Yes!
During the week that followed I learned, among other things, some scripts can overpower inherent LibGuides scripts and render the content management system useless (oops), style sheets can be applied to many different things, my computer is capable of hopping IP addresses, and web sites can, and probably should, be synchronized ... without the flowery swimming caps (it was cool). Luckily most of my lessons were learned behind the scenes and user web site service was not interrupted.
For the things we could not correct in-house (library), the IT department was able to manage for us by the end of the week - and - our new blog provided a communication tool to update users on progress. A few outstanding tasks remain, including a non-invasive header for LibGuides and updating the ERes page, but overall the project is completed. Yes!
Monday, November 03, 2008
I am so excited!
This week, barring any unforeseen complications, Ashland University Library and the Instructional Resource Center will both have new web sites! Even better, both are part of the University template and help with the branding and marketing of the sites. After a year of hard work, web committee meetings, and collaboration with the fabulous Ashland University web master who tweaked our template again and again to make it feasible for the library, I can not even begin to describe my enthusiasm for the end products.
Keeping my fingers crossed, actually and metaphorically, for a problem free launch later this week (I still have a couple of pages to finish).
Keeping my fingers crossed, actually and metaphorically, for a problem free launch later this week (I still have a couple of pages to finish).
Friday, October 31, 2008
A Halloween Classic
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving was first published in 1820. Since then this short story has become an American literature classic and a favorite Halloween ghost story. Set in North Tarrytown, New York. Schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane competes for the hand of eighteen year old Katrina Van Tassel, only to find himself hunted by the menacing, Headless Horseman. Two hundred years after the story has been written, the town of Tarrytown, NY has since changed its name to Sleepy Hollow in order to embrace its connection to Irving’s famed story. Despite the gas stations and other modern shops along North Broadway, also known as Route 9, visitors can still envision the terrified ride that the village schoolteacher Ichabod Crane took from Sleepy Hollow, leaving a party given by the family of the Katrina Van Tassel. Henry Steiner, the village historian, occasionally gives tours of the one-mile route, pointing out the bridge to the church where the Headless Horseman mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a trampled saddle and a smashed pumpkin. Today the bridge is gone, to mark the spot for sightseers two years ago on Halloween; the village erected a steel statue of the headless horseman preparing to hurl his jack-o’-lantern at his target.Read a copy of, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow online, from Encyclopedia Britannica and have a Happy Halloween!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
ALAO Conference: Peace Resource Collection
The first session I attended at last Friday's much anticipated ALAO Conference was the Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group (CMCIG) sponsored session, Peace Resource Collection: Another Link in the Campus Connection. The session highlighted collection resources available at Wilmington College's Peace Resource Center and the impact it had on one particular student.
For more information:
The highlight of this session was viewing a history project created by a high school freshman from Maryland on the Hiroshima Maidens. After locating the Peace Resource Center online via links to their finding guide to the Barbara Reynolds Papers, she created a stunning visual history of the Hiroshima Maidens. I found this session particularly interesting as I had recently finished reading White Sands, Red Menace, a juvenile book by Ellen Klages set in 1946 and features a family dealing with the aftermath of the atomic bomb from a different perspective; the mother and father were scientists on the Manhattan Project."The Wilmington College Peace Resource Center has a long-standing commitment to peace and justice. Since 1975 it has taken an active role in providing peace education materials both locally and throughout the country."
"The Center houses the world's largest collection (outside of Japan) of reference materials related to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peace education is accomplished through a book purchase service, audio-visual rentals and circulating libraries in both English and Japanese." -- Peace Resource Center
For more information:
Though not currently available, submitted power point presentations from the conference are to be loaded on the ALAO web site in the near future.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Grants Available - Deadlines Looming!
The State Library of Ohio has sent out a reminder about their Blog which lists grants.
"BlogJunction Ohio has a category for posting grant opportunities. Some of the current listings have deadlines coming up soon.
I encourage you to check out the posts, set up an RSS feed so that you get up-to-date postings, and share information about other funding opportunities."
- Marsha McDevitt-Stredney -
http://webjunctionworks.org/oh/blog/index.php/category/ohgrantopp/
"BlogJunction Ohio has a category for posting grant opportunities. Some of the current listings have deadlines coming up soon.
I encourage you to check out the posts, set up an RSS feed so that you get up-to-date postings, and share information about other funding opportunities."
- Marsha McDevitt-Stredney -
http://webjunctionworks.org/oh/blog/index.php/category/ohgrantopp/
Friday, October 17, 2008
History Comes Alive When a Teacher Cares
I recently attended a program, Successful Teaching, by Richard A. Jones II, a retired history teacher from my own high school, River Valley High School. This program was offered by our local chapter of Phi Delta Kappa. Rick was very entertaining to listen to and his enthusiasm and passion for teaching history was evident. He took us through how he taught an interactive history class and shared some of his philosophies. One in particular stood out for me, as I could see how this easily translated to our own profession. He called it the CPR's of Success:
Commitment (for your profession and to doing the best you possibly can)
Passion (for your profession and to never stop preparing and learning all you can)
Respect (I respect you, your ideas, your suggestions, and know that I am here for you)
He added Love as the fourth element because without that, the others cannot succeed.
I see that this is so true for our library profession and how it can help us to be good administrators, directors, managers, librarians, etc.
When we constantly badmouth or downplay our colleagues and not support or offer ways for them to grow in the organization or profession, we are not ensuring a future workforce that is committed, passionate or even respectful. Have you done CPR today?
Rick has written two books and a third is in the works. He shares his teaching philosphies in the book Educational Pyramid of Success, published by PublishAmerica. His other book is Veterans' Voices: Central Ohio's Greatest Generation Speaks, Volume One: World War II.
A third book, dealing with Marion County (Ohio) veterans is underway. I admire the fact that Rick is still so involved in education and so passionate about history and teaching it after all these years. There is something to say for having the right attitude. Thanks, Rick, for sharing.
Commitment (for your profession and to doing the best you possibly can)
Passion (for your profession and to never stop preparing and learning all you can)
Respect (I respect you, your ideas, your suggestions, and know that I am here for you)
He added Love as the fourth element because without that, the others cannot succeed.
I see that this is so true for our library profession and how it can help us to be good administrators, directors, managers, librarians, etc.
When we constantly badmouth or downplay our colleagues and not support or offer ways for them to grow in the organization or profession, we are not ensuring a future workforce that is committed, passionate or even respectful. Have you done CPR today?
Rick has written two books and a third is in the works. He shares his teaching philosphies in the book Educational Pyramid of Success, published by PublishAmerica. His other book is Veterans' Voices: Central Ohio's Greatest Generation Speaks, Volume One: World War II.
A third book, dealing with Marion County (Ohio) veterans is underway. I admire the fact that Rick is still so involved in education and so passionate about history and teaching it after all these years. There is something to say for having the right attitude. Thanks, Rick, for sharing.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
ALAO: Conference registration extended
Fresh from the ALAO-CMCIG list serv, and my email inbox, this announcement regarding a registration extension for the 34th Annual ALAO Conference.
Deadline extended to October 10, 2008
Register now for the Academic Library Association of Ohio's 34th Annual Conference entitled Connecting the Campus: Linking Users, Institutions and Information.
Join ALAO and your colleagues for a conference full of programs and unique opportunities to share your own means of connecting users with the information they need.
This year's conference will be held at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio on Friday, October 24th. The conference will feature keynote speaker Dr. David Carr from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science, an exciting slate of programs, presentations, and poster sessions by Ohio library innovators, and a full complement of vendor exhibits.
Dr. David Carr lectures and writes on learning and thinking in libraries and museums. He has consulted for institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Carr's keynote address will explore the human elements of connecting users with information.
Program and poster session titles include:·
Confirmed vendors include: Gale Cengage Learning, ProQuest, H.W. Wilson, Ebsco Information Services, Blackwell, YBP Library Services, Learning Express, OHIONET, Regional Library Systems of Ohio,Wimba and many more.
The conference will be preceded on October 23rd by an OhioLINK-sponsored workshop and a preconference social.
Please visit the conference web site for more details, program schedules, a complete list of vendors and registration information. Conference hotel information along with special ALAO conference hotel rates can be found (on the conference site).
Looking forward to seeing you at the Conference!
ALAO Conference Committee
Sheryl Gannon
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
ALAO Conference: No rooms at the Inn
Going to the conference? Need to stay overnight? Looking for a room at the conference hotel? I was lucky enough to have gentle, and not-so-gentle, reminders from Betsy and Sara regarding registration (this year the conference is a bit earlier than usual) and booking a hotel room; after careful consideration, we determined distance made overnight stay necessary. Rumor has it the block of conference rooms reserved by ALAO is sold out. Never fear, as of this morning it is still possible to get pricing close to the conference rate at the conference hotel, Holiday Inn Wilmington, using Travelocity ($96) or Orbitz ($96).
Academic Library Association of Ohio’s (ALAO) 34th Annual Conference; Connecting the Campus: Linking Users, Institutions and Information, will take place on Friday, October 24th at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio and features keynote speaker Dr. David Carr from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science.
Friday, October 3, is the conference registration deadline.
Academic Library Association of Ohio’s (ALAO) 34th Annual Conference; Connecting the Campus: Linking Users, Institutions and Information, will take place on Friday, October 24th at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio and features keynote speaker Dr. David Carr from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science.
Friday, October 3, is the conference registration deadline.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Being Early Does Help
Ever have one of those days when your equipment gives out at the wrong time? I did, last night. Being a person who likes to have everything set up and equipment tested, connected and working, I always start early to set up my portable classroom in the library. I use a SMARTboard and a digital projector and laptop on a cart. I had the space set up and was testing the equipment when I heard "Zzzzzzzztttttt" when I turned on the digital projector and no light appeared. I looked for a new bulb, presuming that to be the problem, but could not locate one immediately. A call to my assistant at home finally located it. The instructor came in at the right moment and I determined that we could move the class to my other teaching classroom which doesn't hold as many students. My evening assistant was able to get the computer hooked up while I transferred everything and everyone downstairs.
The good news is that in spite of the delay, I started only about 5 minutes late. The bad news is that it looks like I need a new digital projector and not just a bulb. (This is where it is good to have a great relationship with IT so they will lend me a projector to use for awhile)
This situation is one that I don't relish as an instructor; I like to be prepared and ready to go. Fortunately, I was able to stay relatively calm and not stress too much. "Accept what you cannot change." I tried to remember that. Good thing I had a spare room to use; it would have been a very short class, otherwise. Life throws you lemons all the time; I'm glad I was able to make lemonade this time.
The good news is that in spite of the delay, I started only about 5 minutes late. The bad news is that it looks like I need a new digital projector and not just a bulb. (This is where it is good to have a great relationship with IT so they will lend me a projector to use for awhile)
This situation is one that I don't relish as an instructor; I like to be prepared and ready to go. Fortunately, I was able to stay relatively calm and not stress too much. "Accept what you cannot change." I tried to remember that. Good thing I had a spare room to use; it would have been a very short class, otherwise. Life throws you lemons all the time; I'm glad I was able to make lemonade this time.
Friday, September 19, 2008
OhioLINK on Facebook
I am not the first person to the party here, 144 other people precede me, but today I became a fan of OhioLINK on Facebook.OhioLINK news mentions they are using a Twitter feed for updates as well.
Check it out!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Batting 1000
I missed the third anniversary of my first library blog earlier this summer (it was June 10th), but this morning I noticed something more interesting. Today marks the 1000th post for my Instructional Resource Center Blog. While not overly surprised the post in question details new juvenile books added to the collection, nor concerned it took three years to get to this point, I admit a tiny part of me is amazed the blog has lasted three years. The first official post, I specify "official" because until post option was available allowing users to schedule post dates, the IRC blog had one lonely post dated 2003 that refused to be changed, was The New IRC Collection Blog published June 10, 2005.
While this blog endeavor was specifically created for outreach and information, it had the exciting dual purpose - a perk - of being a time saver for me. Instead of carving out time to create collection lists at the end of the year, I was able to present new books as soon as I had the slips from technical services. With the blog I am able to categorize purchases added to the IRC, education, and juvenile collections, and tag them for ease of use. I have also quit flooding faculty member email inboxes with notifications and provided them access to new book lists at their leisure.
The blog has evolved somewhat with color, widgets, photographs, search boxes, and links to library web page and other library blogs. And, I do post IRC hours, technology updates, and basic news and information on an as needed basis. But it's main function and purpose remains the same ... a time saving technology to present collection development information and market the IRC. Here's hoping the technology remains viable for another few posts.
"Welcome to the Instructional Resource Center Collection Blog! Beginning with the fall 2005 academic school year, this blog will replace the yearly book lists published on the IRC web page. Items, both circulating and reference, will be entered as they are cataloged and available for use. Each entry will have an accompanying heading, specific to the genre. Please note that anyone with a specific book request will continue to be personally notified via email when the books arrive."
While this blog endeavor was specifically created for outreach and information, it had the exciting dual purpose - a perk - of being a time saver for me. Instead of carving out time to create collection lists at the end of the year, I was able to present new books as soon as I had the slips from technical services. With the blog I am able to categorize purchases added to the IRC, education, and juvenile collections, and tag them for ease of use. I have also quit flooding faculty member email inboxes with notifications and provided them access to new book lists at their leisure.
The blog has evolved somewhat with color, widgets, photographs, search boxes, and links to library web page and other library blogs. And, I do post IRC hours, technology updates, and basic news and information on an as needed basis. But it's main function and purpose remains the same ... a time saving technology to present collection development information and market the IRC. Here's hoping the technology remains viable for another few posts.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
University of Michigan: Undergrad Degree in Informatics
I routinely check the Library Cloud email, it notifies us of new comments, legitimate inquiries and information, and a plethora of intriguing spam. Who knew there were so many different ways to make money and order pharmaceuticals? This morning we had a message from Frank DeSanto, Communications, School of Information at the University of Michigan. Here, in part, is his email announcement:
Sept. 8, 2008
Contact: Frank DeSanto, (734) 647-7313, fdesanto@umich.edu
Ann Arbor, Mich.: The University of Michigan, the first to offer a master's specialization in social computing, is now opening up the opportunity to undergrads with the launch of a new undergraduate major in informatics that features a social computing track.
Students in the social computing informatics track will build and evaluate social software applications and study the influences of these systems on society.
Informatics is the study of information and the ways information is used by and affects people and social systems.
Experts in this field design information technology tools for scientific, business, and cultural needs, and study how such tools are used. Informatics specialists, for example, might help develop the systems that let your doctor quickly share your medical records with a specialist while still ensuring your privacy.
"The program offers students an opportunity to develop the skills to be leaders in an information-centric world," says Martha E. Pollack, Dean of the School of Information at Michigan. "Think of the analogyto biology: biology majors are experts in living organisms; informatics majors will be experts in information, in all its forms."
"Tremendous progress in computer science and communications is radically changing the way we do medical science, share and retrieve information,access services, and form communities," adds Professor Farnam Jahanian,chair of Computer Science andEngineering. "Informatics students will apply principles from computer science, statistics, and user-centered design to provide the expertise needed to shape these changes."
Key to the new concentration is its bringing together of both technological and social perspectives to study information. U-M's cross-disciplinary approach gives students a solid grounding in computerscience, mathematics, and statistics, combined with study of the ethical and social science dimensions of complex information systems.
"To understand how information technology interacts with social systems,you need to know something about both," says Associate Professor of Information Paul Conway, chair of the new program's steering committee."Our students explore the ways information and information technology are embedded in society, influencing our economic, political, and cultural systems."
After completing a common set of core courses, informatics students choose one of four concentration tracks:
I first posted about the University of Michigans Social Computing Specialization in March of last year. To learn more about informatics, and this new program, visit their website @ http://informatics.umich.edu .
Friday, September 05, 2008
We're on the list
Walt Crawford, Walt at Random, is compiling information for a new study on Library blogs and has posted a one-week-only opportunity for readers to recommended blogs for inclusion. There are specific criteria in place that must be met, including being "somehow related to libraries or librarianship" and "not an official blog of a library."
Reading a great library blog not on his list? Consider submitting it to the study, it's worthwhile for research and general information. I have a personal copy of Academic Library Blogs (and purchased one for our library) and found the number and types of academic library blogs a great resource.
In the interest of full-discloser .... Yes, I checked his list of 587 blogs and was surprised to see our own humble Library Cloud included. Go figure. :-)
"If you know of a blog or blogs that meet the criteria below and aren’t currently on the list, let me know–either by commenting here or by sending me email at waltcrawford, domain gmail.com. (Note: If you comment and include more than a couple of blog names and links, it’s possible your comment will be trapped as spam. That’s OK: I check spam before deleting it.) Please include the URL, although if you only have the blog’s name, chances are I can locate it. Deadline: Friday, September 12, 2008". - New libr* blogs? 9/4/08
Reading a great library blog not on his list? Consider submitting it to the study, it's worthwhile for research and general information. I have a personal copy of Academic Library Blogs (and purchased one for our library) and found the number and types of academic library blogs a great resource.
In the interest of full-discloser .... Yes, I checked his list of 587 blogs and was surprised to see our own humble Library Cloud included. Go figure. :-)
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Chrome technology
There is a new web browser in town.Yesterday Google Chrome (BETA) for Windows became widely available for download and is touted as "a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier."
I vaguely remember hearing about Chrome yesterday morning as part of ABC news Tech Bytes blurb at 6:15 am on News Channel 5's morning show. Not a morning person (by any stretch of the imagination), I forgot about the roll-out until reading my blog feeds before lunch.
- How Chrome Changed the Web Overnight
- Blogosphere Buzzes over Google Chrome
- Official Google Blog: A Fresh Take on Browsers
- Google Chrome: Behind the Open Source Project
- Chrome is Fast, But Not that Fast
One article mentioned that Google's Chrome may be the beginning of Web 3.0. Though it will be quite some time until this browser makes it to campus computers, it will be interesting to learn how it works and observe what kind of impact it will have on existing browser giants IE and Mozilla.
On an aside, I have to admit, upon learning of the browser name all I could think of was the song Chrome by Trace Adkins. Probably not the product placement parallel Google anticipated...
Friday, August 29, 2008
ALAO Annual Conference 2008
Registration is now open for the Academic Library Association of Ohio’s (ALAO) 34th Annual Conference; Connecting the Campus: Linking Users, Institutions and Information. This year's conference will take place on Friday, October 24th at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio and features keynote speaker Dr. David Carr from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science.
The conference will be preceded on October 23rd by an OhioLINK-sponsored workshop and a preconference social. For more details:
- Please visit the conference web site: program schedules & registration information.
- Conference hotel information & ALAO conference hotel rates
- Directions to the Roberts Centre.
The registration deadline is October 3rd, 2008.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Mindset List
The 2012 Mindset List, brought to us by Beloit College professors, Tom McBride and Ron Neif, is a list of "observations that help to identify the experiences that have shaped the lives–and formed the mindset—of students starting their post-secondary education this fall."
For the past 11 years Beloit College, in Beloit, WI has released this list to help remind educator's of the rapidly changing times and events that have helped make this year's freshman class who they are. They joke that it is not their intention to make readers of this list feel old!
I think the Mindset List is a wonderful way of giving us a frame of reference in which to provide the best possible service to each new class of students.
For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.
1) Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2) Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3) They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4) GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5) Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6) Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7) Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8) Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9) Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10) Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11) All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12) As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13) Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14) Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15) Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16) Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17) Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18) WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19) Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20) The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21) Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22) Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23) Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24) We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25) There have always been gay rabbis.
26) Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27) College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28) IBM has never made typewriters.
29) Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30) McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31) They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32) There has always been Pearl Jam.
33) The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34) Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35) They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36) They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37) Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38) Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39) Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40) Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41) Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42) Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43) Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44) Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45) Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46) The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47) They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48) Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49) Soft drink refills have always been free.
50) They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51) Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52) Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53) The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54) The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55) 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56) Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57) Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58) Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59) There have always been charter schools.
60) Students always had Goosebumps.
For the past 11 years Beloit College, in Beloit, WI has released this list to help remind educator's of the rapidly changing times and events that have helped make this year's freshman class who they are. They joke that it is not their intention to make readers of this list feel old!
I think the Mindset List is a wonderful way of giving us a frame of reference in which to provide the best possible service to each new class of students.
Mindset List for the Class of 2012
Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.
1) Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2) Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3) They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4) GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5) Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6) Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7) Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8) Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9) Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10) Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11) All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12) As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13) Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14) Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15) Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16) Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17) Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18) WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19) Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20) The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21) Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22) Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23) Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24) We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25) There have always been gay rabbis.
26) Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27) College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28) IBM has never made typewriters.
29) Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30) McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31) They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32) There has always been Pearl Jam.
33) The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34) Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35) They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36) They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37) Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38) Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39) Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40) Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41) Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42) Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43) Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44) Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45) Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46) The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47) They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48) Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49) Soft drink refills have always been free.
50) They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51) Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52) Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53) The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54) The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55) 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56) Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57) Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58) Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59) There have always been charter schools.
60) Students always had Goosebumps.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sparky Award Web Tools
A message from Adam Burling at ALA:
The organizers of the Sparky Awards video contest have released several new resources to help college instructors and librarians engage students in an exploration of information sharing and copyright by encouraging their participation in the 2008 contest, “MindMashup: The Value of Information Sharing.” Contestants are invited to submit videos of two minutes or less that imaginatively portray the benefits of the open, legal exchange of information on the Internet. Mashup is an expression referring to a song, video, Web site, or software application that combines content from more than one source.
Educators at all types of institution – including 4-year colleges and universities, community and junior colleges, art and film schools, and others – are invited to incorporate the contest into fall curricula, whether as a formal assignment or extracurricular activity. The following new resources are available to facilitate adoption of the contest:
• Video invitation to enter the Sparky Awards
• Sparky Awards promotional poster
• Educators’ Guide to Using the Sparky Awards in Your Classes
• Librarians’ Guide to Introducing the Sparky Awards on Your Campus
• Banner ad art to promote the Sparky Awards on Web sites
All tools are available for download and customization through the Sparky Awards Web site at http://www.sparkyawards.org, along with complete details on the awards.
The 2008 Sparky Awards are organized by SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and cosponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, Campus MovieFest, Penn Libraries, Students for Free Culture, and The Student PIRGs.
The organizers of the Sparky Awards video contest have released several new resources to help college instructors and librarians engage students in an exploration of information sharing and copyright by encouraging their participation in the 2008 contest, “MindMashup: The Value of Information Sharing.” Contestants are invited to submit videos of two minutes or less that imaginatively portray the benefits of the open, legal exchange of information on the Internet. Mashup is an expression referring to a song, video, Web site, or software application that combines content from more than one source.
Educators at all types of institution – including 4-year colleges and universities, community and junior colleges, art and film schools, and others – are invited to incorporate the contest into fall curricula, whether as a formal assignment or extracurricular activity. The following new resources are available to facilitate adoption of the contest:
• Video invitation to enter the Sparky Awards
• Sparky Awards promotional poster
• Educators’ Guide to Using the Sparky Awards in Your Classes
• Librarians’ Guide to Introducing the Sparky Awards on Your Campus
• Banner ad art to promote the Sparky Awards on Web sites
All tools are available for download and customization through the Sparky Awards Web site at http://www.sparkyawards.org, along with complete details on the awards.
The 2008 Sparky Awards are organized by SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and cosponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, Campus MovieFest, Penn Libraries, Students for Free Culture, and The Student PIRGs.
Love a Librarian
It seems almost redundant to post this to a librarian-run blog, but hey, we all know other librarians who might be deserving of this award - - -
CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK/NEW YORK TIMES
I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN AWARD ANNOUNCED
Nominations for public librarians open August 15
Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded the American Library Association $489,000 to support the new Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.
Administered by the ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign for America’s Libraries, the award will launch this year and will continue annually through 2013. The award encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community.
Nominations for public librarians run from August 15 through October 1. Nominations for school and academic librarians begin September 2 and continue through October 15.
“In our democratic society, the library stands for hope, for learning, for progress, for literacy, for self-improvement and for civic engagement. The library is a symbol of opportunity, citizenship, equality, freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and hence, is a symbol for democracy itself,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York.
"We’re thrilled to be working with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the American Library Association to honor librarians who play such a vital role in our communities,” said Scott Heekin-Canedy, president of The New York Times. “What began as a local Times initiative in New York City seven years ago has grown to a national awards program and now we are proud to be co-presenting the award with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the ALA.”
“This award will continue to raise awareness of the valuable contributions of today’s librarians and the ways they make a difference in people’s lives and their communities, schools and campuses,” said ALA President Jim Rettig.
Up to 10 librarians in public, school and academic libraries will be selected each year and each will be honored at a ceremony and reception in New York at TheTimesCenter, hosted by The New York Times. Each winner also will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend the awards reception. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.
Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and commitment shown in helping library users.
Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.
For more information, visit www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.
The Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." For more than 95 years, the corporation has carried out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. As a private grant-making foundation, the corporation will invest more than $100 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Carnegie's mission, "to do real and permanent good in this world." The corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $3 billion on Sept. 30, 2007.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK/NEW YORK TIMES
I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN AWARD ANNOUNCED
Nominations for public librarians open August 15
Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded the American Library Association $489,000 to support the new Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.
Administered by the ALA’s Public Information Office and Campaign for America’s Libraries, the award will launch this year and will continue annually through 2013. The award encourages library users to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community.
Nominations for public librarians run from August 15 through October 1. Nominations for school and academic librarians begin September 2 and continue through October 15.
“In our democratic society, the library stands for hope, for learning, for progress, for literacy, for self-improvement and for civic engagement. The library is a symbol of opportunity, citizenship, equality, freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and hence, is a symbol for democracy itself,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York.
"We’re thrilled to be working with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the American Library Association to honor librarians who play such a vital role in our communities,” said Scott Heekin-Canedy, president of The New York Times. “What began as a local Times initiative in New York City seven years ago has grown to a national awards program and now we are proud to be co-presenting the award with the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the ALA.”
“This award will continue to raise awareness of the valuable contributions of today’s librarians and the ways they make a difference in people’s lives and their communities, schools and campuses,” said ALA President Jim Rettig.
Up to 10 librarians in public, school and academic libraries will be selected each year and each will be honored at a ceremony and reception in New York at TheTimesCenter, hosted by The New York Times. Each winner also will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend the awards reception. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.
Nominees will be judged by a selection committee based on quality of service to library users, demonstrated knowledge of the library and its resources and commitment shown in helping library users.
Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.
For more information, visit www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.
The Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." For more than 95 years, the corporation has carried out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. As a private grant-making foundation, the corporation will invest more than $100 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Carnegie's mission, "to do real and permanent good in this world." The corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $3 billion on Sept. 30, 2007.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
Ohio Librarians - LSTA Minigrants Available
The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce the availability of Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds for minigrant proposals. Under the minigrant program, any type of library may apply for funds in one of the following categories: Innovative Technology; Staff Development and Training; Services to Target Populations; and Services to Youth.
A maximum of $24,000 in federal funds may be requested. A cash match of 25% of the total project amount is required.
Proposals are due at the State Library by 4:00 p.m. October 29, 2008.
Approved proposals will run from April 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009.
The Request for Proposal, Application Guidelines and other documents to assist with preparing the application can be found at www.library.ohio.gov/publib/lstamini.html
If you have any questions about the LSTA Minigrants or the LSTA program in general, please contact Missy Lodge, Head, Library Programs and Development at mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us, 614-644-6914 or 800-686-1532.
A maximum of $24,000 in federal funds may be requested. A cash match of 25% of the total project amount is required.
Proposals are due at the State Library by 4:00 p.m. October 29, 2008.
Approved proposals will run from April 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009.
The Request for Proposal, Application Guidelines and other documents to assist with preparing the application can be found at www.library.ohio.gov/publib/lstamini.html
If you have any questions about the LSTA Minigrants or the LSTA program in general, please contact Missy Lodge, Head, Library Programs and Development at mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us, 614-644-6914 or 800-686-1532.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Keeping Cool
I recently received the July/August issue of Consumer's Corner, a newsletter from the Office of the Ohio Consumer's Counsel and in it contained a list of ways to save money on summer cooling bills. While most libraries have no control over the general environment of the library itself and cannot lower thermostat and install energy-saving features, we can pass along to our users ideas and tips to help them save.
10 ways to save money on your summer cooling bills:
1. Get an air-conditioning tune-up
2. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs
3. Conserve water
4. Use the OCC's Smart Energy House (an interactive tool that breaks down
how much an energy appliance use)
5. Use shading to keep heat out
6. Install a programmable thermostat
7. Take advantage of utility-sponsored programs
8. Add more insulation
9. Open windows, raise thermostat
10. Use ventilation fans sparingly
I wonder if there is a list of ways to conserve energy in libraries? What would you do in your library?
10 ways to save money on your summer cooling bills:
1. Get an air-conditioning tune-up
2. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs
3. Conserve water
4. Use the OCC's Smart Energy House (an interactive tool that breaks down
how much an energy appliance use)
5. Use shading to keep heat out
6. Install a programmable thermostat
7. Take advantage of utility-sponsored programs
8. Add more insulation
9. Open windows, raise thermostat
10. Use ventilation fans sparingly
I wonder if there is a list of ways to conserve energy in libraries? What would you do in your library?
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Resource Opportunity
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), in cooperation with the ALA Public Programs Office, is now accepting applications for the second round of Picturing America. Online applications will be accepted through Oct. 31 at http://picturingamerica.neh.org.
Picturing America is a free educational resource that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of our nation’s greatest works of art directly to classrooms and libraries. At no cost, recipients will receive a set of high-quality reproductions of 40 pieces of great American art (each approximately 24 inches by 36 inches) and an illustrated teachers resource book with information about the artists and artwork and lesson ideas for all grade levels to facilitate the use of the reproductions in core subject areas. Delivery of these materials is scheduled for spring 2009. Additional educational resources are also available through the Picturing America Web site, http://picturingamerica.neh.gov. Resources to support public library programming will be added in the spring.
All public libraries, schools (K–12, public, private, parochial, charter and home school consortia) in the United States and its territories who have not previously received Picturing America may apply for the program through Oct. 31 at http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.
Additionally, other libraries (academic, special, research) with programs and collections for the general public are eligible to apply. Please note that previous recipients of the Picturing America collection are not eligible for a second award.
With questions, contact the ALA Public Programs office at publicprograms@ala.org.
Picturing America is a free educational resource that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of our nation’s greatest works of art directly to classrooms and libraries. At no cost, recipients will receive a set of high-quality reproductions of 40 pieces of great American art (each approximately 24 inches by 36 inches) and an illustrated teachers resource book with information about the artists and artwork and lesson ideas for all grade levels to facilitate the use of the reproductions in core subject areas. Delivery of these materials is scheduled for spring 2009. Additional educational resources are also available through the Picturing America Web site, http://picturingamerica.neh.gov. Resources to support public library programming will be added in the spring.
All public libraries, schools (K–12, public, private, parochial, charter and home school consortia) in the United States and its territories who have not previously received Picturing America may apply for the program through Oct. 31 at http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.
Additionally, other libraries (academic, special, research) with programs and collections for the general public are eligible to apply. Please note that previous recipients of the Picturing America collection are not eligible for a second award.
With questions, contact the ALA Public Programs office at publicprograms@ala.org.
Article opportunity
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
College & Undergraduate Libraries presents
"Agility by Design: New Roles for Academic Libraries on Campus and Beyond"
College & Undergraduate Libraries, a peer-reviewed Taylor and Francis publication, invites proposals for articles to be published in a special issue focusing on emerging and perhaps unconventional roles of the academic library, both on campus and beyond. The growing intensity of users’ modern-day information needs coupled with an information technology landscape that is open and ever-changing, is facilitating administrative, organizational and programmatic changes within many academic libraries. In many cases, this is best illustrated by staff with new or unusual qualifications, backgrounds, or position descriptions; cutting edge services that are out of the mainstream; traditional services offered in innovative ways; new staffing configurations; new collaborations both on and off campus; and new roles on campus.
Would you describe your library as having any of these features? If so, then you may have an article to contribute to College & Undergraduate Libraries.
The special issue will be edited by Scottie Cochrane from Denison University (cochrane@denison.edu) and Valeda F. Dent of Rutgers University (vdent@rutgers.edu).
In their pieces, authors should focus solely on those aspects that might be defined as unconventional or nontraditional in any area of library operations, programs, services, or administration. Authors are invited to submit articles/proposals for pieces such as:
1. theoretical, philosophical, or ideological discussions of the transition from traditional library roles, services, practices and organizational structures, to the more nontraditional/unconventional
2. opinion or position papers
3. case studies
4. collaboration or relationships between librarians and other campus partners
5. collaboration or relationships between librarians and off-campus partners
6. research studies dealing with the impact of nontraditional/unconventional roles, services, practices or organizational structures
7. annotated reviews of the literature.
We welcome proposals from librarians and campus and off-campus collaborators, individually and as teams. The proposal should consist of an abstract of 500 words together will all author contact information. Articles should run at least 20 double-spaced pages in length.
For additional information, please contact either editor. Please submit proposals to Scottie Cochrane or Valeda Dent by August 18, 2008. Selected proposals will be announced September 5, 2008, and first drafts of accepted proposals will be due by December 5, 2008.
Scottie Cochrane Valeda F. Dent
College & Undergraduate Libraries presents
"Agility by Design: New Roles for Academic Libraries on Campus and Beyond"
College & Undergraduate Libraries, a peer-reviewed Taylor and Francis publication, invites proposals for articles to be published in a special issue focusing on emerging and perhaps unconventional roles of the academic library, both on campus and beyond. The growing intensity of users’ modern-day information needs coupled with an information technology landscape that is open and ever-changing, is facilitating administrative, organizational and programmatic changes within many academic libraries. In many cases, this is best illustrated by staff with new or unusual qualifications, backgrounds, or position descriptions; cutting edge services that are out of the mainstream; traditional services offered in innovative ways; new staffing configurations; new collaborations both on and off campus; and new roles on campus.
Would you describe your library as having any of these features? If so, then you may have an article to contribute to College & Undergraduate Libraries.
The special issue will be edited by Scottie Cochrane from Denison University (cochrane@denison.edu) and Valeda F. Dent of Rutgers University (vdent@rutgers.edu).
In their pieces, authors should focus solely on those aspects that might be defined as unconventional or nontraditional in any area of library operations, programs, services, or administration. Authors are invited to submit articles/proposals for pieces such as:
1. theoretical, philosophical, or ideological discussions of the transition from traditional library roles, services, practices and organizational structures, to the more nontraditional/unconventional
2. opinion or position papers
3. case studies
4. collaboration or relationships between librarians and other campus partners
5. collaboration or relationships between librarians and off-campus partners
6. research studies dealing with the impact of nontraditional/unconventional roles, services, practices or organizational structures
7. annotated reviews of the literature.
We welcome proposals from librarians and campus and off-campus collaborators, individually and as teams. The proposal should consist of an abstract of 500 words together will all author contact information. Articles should run at least 20 double-spaced pages in length.
For additional information, please contact either editor. Please submit proposals to Scottie Cochrane or Valeda Dent by August 18, 2008. Selected proposals will be announced September 5, 2008, and first drafts of accepted proposals will be due by December 5, 2008.
Scottie Cochrane Valeda F. Dent
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
"To know the future - return to the past"
It's here, the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (though the official Harry Potter site at Warner Brothers links to Order of the Phoenix). Wired reports that Harry Potter has teamed with MTV, in much the same way as the new Batman movie had done recently, for promotional purposes.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer Unveiled - Telegraph.co.uk
- What Does the New "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Trailer Mean? - MTV Movie Blog
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer Shot by Shot - MTV Movie News Story
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - MTV Movies
The movie release date is November, so I have time to re-read my copy of Half-Blood Prince!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
APA PsycNET on Facebook
From APA PsycINFO via the EBSS list serv this morning:
APA PsycNet's first wall post describes their presence on Facebook:
Interested? Become an APA fan if you are a Facebook member (I was the 56th fan).
The PsycINFO Department of the American Psychological Association ispleased to announce the launch of our official APA PsycNET Facebookpage. This new presence on the popular social networking site provides us an opportunity to connect with customers. We will provide information about upcoming enhancements and create a forum for Facebook members to ask questions or leave feedback. Visit APA PsycNET's Facebook page. - Alexa Minetola Robertson, MLIS Documentation/Training Specialist.
APA PsycNet's first wall post describes their presence on Facebook:
"Welcome to the new APA PsycNET page on Facebook! Check out our search tools, join in discussions, post and share your ideas and suggestions, and invite your friends. Keep updated on how to find all things in psychology, from Freud's classic books to the latest studies in mental health and well-being. Our goal is to keep you posted on the latest information about psychology and PsycNET. So, visit us often!"
Interested? Become an APA fan if you are a Facebook member (I was the 56th fan).
Friday, July 18, 2008
Annual 2008 Wrap Up
"Live" from YouTube, the ALA Annual Conference wrap-up video featuring Mickey, Minnie, Doc, Grumpy, and the gang, as well as a few librarians and notable speakers. Special thanks to the ALSC Blog (Association for Library Services for Children) for posting about the video.
Now, if only I could find video on YouTube from this year's Book Cart Drill Team competition!
It's Friday and Nature Calls
It's Friday and the sun is shining and I am grateful for that, since we are doing collection inventory this summer and I've been working on it today.
I've been noticing more wildlife floating by my window and around my building lately. A young groundhog wandered by earlier this week but I wasn't fast enough to snag a picture of him. I did, however, catch a wild canary who has been repeatedly banging on my window for the last two weeks.
I also caught a great picture of a moth resting
on the ground just outside my building.
and a chipmunk just darted by my window as I am writing this!
There are great advantages to having a pond right outside your building and windows in your office!!
I've been noticing more wildlife floating by my window and around my building lately. A young groundhog wandered by earlier this week but I wasn't fast enough to snag a picture of him. I did, however, catch a wild canary who has been repeatedly banging on my window for the last two weeks.
I also caught a great picture of a moth resting
on the ground just outside my building.
and a chipmunk just darted by my window as I am writing this!
There are great advantages to having a pond right outside your building and windows in your office!!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Libraries Build Communities
Photograph c. ALA 2007 Don Wood, Program Officer Chapter Relations with ALA, sent 2008 Libraries Build Communities volunteers this photograph yesterday along with his thanks (you are welcome),a project evaluation form (I completed and returned it), and a request for photographs from individual sites (coming soon). This is the same picture featured in ALA Cognotes, Saturday, June 28 at ALA in Anaheim.
More than 100 conference attendees await their assignments before the kick of of Friday's "Libraries Build Communities" community service event. Volunteers were dispatched to 13 project sites in the Anaheim area to illustrte the importancer and influence local libraries can have on their communitries. Projects included helping a high school archive 115 years of its history, create a puppet show for grades K-4 (8-25 students) at a library serving a chilren's shelter and update another library's 20-year-old collection. "Libraries do help build communities," said Michael Dowling, director of ALA Chapter Relations Office. "We're excited to support the community and libraries in Anaheim and surrounding areas while we network to improve4 library services to millions of Americans across the country." - ALA Cognotes, Issue
1, 6/28/08
I selected Morse Elementary School from the listing of available locations. Upon arrival on Friday, I learned our task was to be cataloging! It's been years (eight or nine at least) since I have done any cataloging so I quickly volunteered for tech duties adding spine labels, reading levels, stamps, and library markings to cataloged titles. Team captain Rhonda Marker from Rutgers University, who contacted me via Facebook before ALA, led the way and our small group successfully cataloged eight boxes of Scholastic Book Fair titles for the library.
This is the second time I have been able to participate in the Libraries Build Communities effort, the first was in New Orleans; I highly recommend the volunteer experience. I hope to have a Picassa web album to share soon.
And yes, that is me in the front row holding my camera.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Visiting ALA Annual as a Newbie
Having been back from the Annual Conference in California for almost a week now I am settled back into the daily routine and ready to review my first time at ALA. As a new academic librarian and first timer to anything ALA related I was so excited to get there and see what brings 20,000 plus librarians away from their desks and out to the pacific coast. Of course I did the early bird registration and had been pouring over the preliminary program, trying to plan my conference time with appropriate sessions. As the conference grew closer I received much welcomed advice from my fellow colleagues also attending. One of the best pieces of advice, other than wear comfy shoes (which I of course only packed sandals with heels and ended up at Target in search of flip flops), was to leave yourself some breathing room. Often times there are additional events, sessions or just networking with others that pop up and will become a valuable resource. Also it is a good idea, if pre-planning your sessions, to pick back up options. Unfortunately, I was closed out of a session that filled up quickly only to find myself walking across the hall to attend my second choice. This turned out to be a wonderful session called Protecting Planet Earth sponsored by AFL FOLUSA, where each author not only captured my attention but gave away signed copies of their books!
Overall as a newbie, I think I did fairly well. I was happy with all of my selected sessions, only got lost once, took home 5 wonderful new books, and met some great people and decided to join a few organizations. The only thing I may not have done as well as others, is take full advantage of grabbing low cost and free items from the exhibit booths. Next time I'll be ready.
I would like to make mention of a great ALA organization called New Members Round Table (NMRT). I learned about this group at the conference and wished I would have discovered them sooner. They provide great resources and programs for new librarians or new ALA conference attendees or both. I recommend taking a look at their website. I know I will.
Overall as a newbie, I think I did fairly well. I was happy with all of my selected sessions, only got lost once, took home 5 wonderful new books, and met some great people and decided to join a few organizations. The only thing I may not have done as well as others, is take full advantage of grabbing low cost and free items from the exhibit booths. Next time I'll be ready.
I would like to make mention of a great ALA organization called New Members Round Table (NMRT). I learned about this group at the conference and wished I would have discovered them sooner. They provide great resources and programs for new librarians or new ALA conference attendees or both. I recommend taking a look at their website. I know I will.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
A New Kind of Book
Today, I discovered there is a new kind of book to borrow.
Actually a "human" book. Called the Living Library, it allows a person to "borrow" a human for a 30 minute chat. The borrowed person represents a certain aspect: gay, immigrant, goth, male nanny, librarian, etc. Read here for more about the concept.
A novel concept to be sure! I am sitting on a Visioning Task Force for OSU Libraries and my sub-committee is Collaboration. One of our members had read this and thought it interesting. Our committee as a whole thought it gave an unusual twist to providing information and reference service. Imagine being able to go to a university library and checking out a professor, a researcher, a scientists, an athlete or a scholar to talk with, as well as any of the ones mentioned above and lots of others not mentioned. What a way to provide a diversity experience in a unique way and information in a meaningful way!!
So, what book would YOU be???? I think I might be the harried mom or maybe the collaborator ......
Actually a "human" book. Called the Living Library, it allows a person to "borrow" a human for a 30 minute chat. The borrowed person represents a certain aspect: gay, immigrant, goth, male nanny, librarian, etc. Read here for more about the concept.
A novel concept to be sure! I am sitting on a Visioning Task Force for OSU Libraries and my sub-committee is Collaboration. One of our members had read this and thought it interesting. Our committee as a whole thought it gave an unusual twist to providing information and reference service. Imagine being able to go to a university library and checking out a professor, a researcher, a scientists, an athlete or a scholar to talk with, as well as any of the ones mentioned above and lots of others not mentioned. What a way to provide a diversity experience in a unique way and information in a meaningful way!!
So, what book would YOU be???? I think I might be the harried mom or maybe the collaborator ......
Friday, June 27, 2008
EBSS @ ALA Annual
Just a reminder, if you are attending ALA Annual be sure to consider attending the EBSS program Knowledge Wants to Be Known: Open Access for the Behavioral & Social Sciences.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
ALA Conference bound
Like many other librarians attending ALA Annual, I am scheduled to leave tomorrow. My journey begins early morning at the American Airlines gate, Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio; I am bound for Anaheim, California via Chicago's O'Hare Airport. My departure time has fluctuated during the last week and to that point I have scheduled cell phone alerts with the airlines and text alerts with ALA.For the first time I have not scheduled myself with a massive amount of activities, I want to try "winging it" with sessions upon arrival at the conference venue. I have obligations on Friday with Libraries Build Communities, will be working with the EBSS program committee on Saturday for the Knowledge Wants to Be Known: Open Access for the Behavioral Sciences session (a scheduled reminder post will appear here tomorrow), a lunch meeting on Sunday, and naturally time to visit the stacks, but beyond that look forward to perusing my program for sessions on children's literature, technology, academic libraries, and anything else that might catch my attention professionally.
I am traveling blissfully unencumbered by technology and do not know that I will actually take time to blog from ALA, so I have not added the blogger badge here. If there is opportunity, who knows? I need to load my MP3 with new tunes, pack my in-flight reading material, Fearless Fourteen, and put fresh batteries and new memory card in my camera. California, here I come.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Goodbye, George
George Carlin has died but I doubt that he will be gone from our memories. I was not a big fan of George. I thought he was rather coarse in his language (the famous 7 words???) and rather controversial. But it is because of that that many of our current comics have learned and molded their own careers. How wonderful to know that you had an impact in someone's life.
So George, here's my tribute to you. A colleague sent this to our campus and I find it rather fitting.
So George, here's my tribute to you. A colleague sent this to our campus and I find it rather fitting.
HOW TO STAY YOUNG - by George Carlin (1937 - 2008)
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. “An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
READ posters abound
I've been mulling over trying to see how my small staff might be able to create some local READ posters for our campus for some time now. The CDs have been gathering dust in my desk for too long! Personally, I think they are neat and have great outreach appeal, especially for small schools. I can see three distinct ways to use them: on campus among the students and faculty, using students (scholars and/or athletes) to give back by creating one of them and allowing them to give them to their home schools and finally, out in the community, featuring local celebrities or government officials with their favorite reads. Many libraries have already been doing such things.
Wow! What a great way to involve a whole community in the simple act of reading!
I just received in the mail today two READ posters from the State Library of Ohio. The featured persons are none other than our Governor, Ted Strickland, and his wife, Frances. How nifty and how generous that they sent a set to all libraries in Ohio! Check out the posters.
We are considering experimenting in developing one as part of our Constitution Day activities. Might be interesting. If only I knew Adobe Photoshop ........
Wow! What a great way to involve a whole community in the simple act of reading!
I just received in the mail today two READ posters from the State Library of Ohio. The featured persons are none other than our Governor, Ted Strickland, and his wife, Frances. How nifty and how generous that they sent a set to all libraries in Ohio! Check out the posters.
We are considering experimenting in developing one as part of our Constitution Day activities. Might be interesting. If only I knew Adobe Photoshop ........
Thursday, June 12, 2008
OLSSI 2008
OLSSI 2008
The Hidden Treasure of Libraries:
The Hidden Treasure of Libraries:
SUPPORT STAFF!
The Ohio Library Support Staff Institute is almost here !
Sunday, July 27th – Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
The Ohio Library Support Staff Institute is almost here !
Sunday, July 27th – Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
The University of Toledo.
Ahoy Mateys! The 2008 Ohio Library Support Staff Institute will set sail July 27 – 29, 2008 at the University of Toledo. OLSSI has planned outstanding programs, interesting lectures, and fun activities for participants.
Lodgings for all attendees and scallywags will be at the Crossings, which features air-conditioned 3-bedroom suites. Each attendee will have his or her own bedroom.
The University of Toledo has a beautiful campus, including Centennial Mall. This picturesque lawn area in the heart of campus was named “One of the 100 most beautifully landscaped places in the country" by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Add in the 47-acre Stranahan Arboretum, the Center for the Visual Arts, six libraries, and the shops and restaurants of Toledo and nearby Sylvania, Ohio, and OLSSI 2008 is shaping up to be the best ever!
Grab the opportunity to network with peers, be exposed to new job-related skills and knowledge, and gain a sense of community and support from other library assistants throughout the state and region!
Classes include:
Lodgings for all attendees and scallywags will be at the Crossings, which features air-conditioned 3-bedroom suites. Each attendee will have his or her own bedroom.
The University of Toledo has a beautiful campus, including Centennial Mall. This picturesque lawn area in the heart of campus was named “One of the 100 most beautifully landscaped places in the country" by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Add in the 47-acre Stranahan Arboretum, the Center for the Visual Arts, six libraries, and the shops and restaurants of Toledo and nearby Sylvania, Ohio, and OLSSI 2008 is shaping up to be the best ever!
Grab the opportunity to network with peers, be exposed to new job-related skills and knowledge, and gain a sense of community and support from other library assistants throughout the state and region!
Classes include:
- Audiobooks, eBooks, Music, & Video: Digital Downloads Without Pirating!
- No Need to Draw Yer Cutlass! How Facebook Can Work for Libraries
- Putting the Rrrrrr in PublisheR: Making a Brochure from a Template
- Sail Ho! WorldCat Local and Resource Discovery
- Charting the Frontier of the Internet: Web 2.0
So come and be a part of the fun and learning that is OLSSI !
To register & find out more, visit us online at: http://www.olssi.org/
Michael Bradshaw, Vice-Chair Ohio Library Support Staff Institute
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
EBSS @ ALA in Anaheim
An invitation for those attending ALA Annual in Anaheim!
Want to know more about how open access is playing out in the social and behavioral sciences? Can’t learn enough about emerging academic publishing models? EBSS has scheduled two events you will want to attend:
Knowledge Wants to be Known:
Open Access for the Behavioral and Social Sciences
Education and Behavioral Sciences Section Conference Program
Saturday, June 28, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Disneyland Hotel, Magic Kingdom 4
Open access is not one-size-fits-all; disciplines have unique publishing histories and requirements. Learn how to energize behavioral science faculty and connect access issues with the “publish or perish” imperative. Prominent educator and open-access advocate John Willinsky (Stanford University) will frame the issue; Alison Mudditt (Sage Publications) and Ray English (Oberlin College) will help place this in context from a publisher and librarian perspective respectively.
For more information on this program, including a video explaining open access by Dr. Willinsky and the program flyer, visit EBSS's ALA Annual 2008 Program page.
This program is co-sponsored by Science and Technology Section and ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee.
Follow up with the EBSS Psychology/Psychiatry Discussion Forum
Practical Aspects of Open Access Publishing in the
Behavioral Sciences
Sunday, June 29, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
Hilton Anaheim (Manhattan)
A panel of practitioner experts will briefly outline publishing models from three perspectives after which open discussion will be encouraged.
- Linda Beebe, (Senior Director, PsycINFO) will talk briefly about APA policies for indexing open-access journals and touch on publishing models currently in use by the various APA divisions.
- Lorelei Tanji (Associate University Librarian, University of California, Irvine) and Brenda Johnson-Grau (Managing Editor, UCLA Center for the Study of Women) will share their experiences with the eScholarship IR sponsored by the University of California, particularly their work to encourage faculty members to post to the IR and the reactions they have received from them.
- Jennifer Laherty (Reference/Digital Services Librarian, Indiana University Bloomington) will talk about her experience with Museum Anthropology Review, an online open access journal published through the IU library.
- Laura Mullen (Behavioral Sciences Librarian, Rutgers University) will moderate the panel.
Hope to see you there!
Tags: ALA Annual, ACRL, EBSS, ACRL STS, Scholarly communicationWednesday, June 04, 2008
CMCIG Spring Workshop
ALAO's Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group (CMCIG) held their spring workshop on May 23, 2008 at OhioNET in Columbus. This year's workshop theme was Virtual Education Collections: Issues & Best Practices and focused upon "virtual collection development knowledge and experiences" of speakers and workshop attendees. Below is a brief synopsis of the workshop and speaker topics.
Anne Gilliland
Head, Copyright Management Office
Prior Health Sciences Library and Center for Knowledge Management
Ohio State University
Formerly the Assistant Director of Library Systems & Database Management at OhioLINK, Anne spoke about Best Practices for Developing a Virtual Collection detailing various aspects involved with developing individual virtual collections, as well as basic information concerning OhioLINK plans to increase their digital holdings. Highlighted within the presentation were topics of acquiring, cataloging, circulating, and maintaining a digital collection.
Cynthia DuChane
Project Coordinator
INFOhio
Cynthia provided an overview of the INFOhio and OhioLINK Special Task Force "Preparing 21st Century Ohio Learners for Success: The Role of Information Literacy and Libraries" as well as an preview of the current INFOhio and OhioLINK 12-13 transition project. A timely reminder to participants, the INFOhio password changes on July 1, 2008; be sure to download new toolkit, updates, and flyer's from the INFOhio site!
Mary Conroy
Electronic Resources Coordinator
OhioNet
Mary's presentation, OhioNet Library Services and Electronic Resources Programs, highlighted OhioNet mission, history, continuing education resources, workshop opportunities, and electronic resources available to Ohio academic, public, school, and special libraries.
Mary Cummings, Librarian
Clark Memorial Library
Shawnee State University
Mary's presentation, Virtual Education Collections: Issues and Best Practices, focused on both free and commercial multimedia resources available to libraries and curriculum materials centers. Highlights of Mary's session included live demonstrations of BookFlix and TumbleBooks, electronic books for children.
Thanks to Ann Raney and Greg Martin, CMCIG Co-Chairs, for their efforts preparing this workshop. It is always a pleasure and day well spent to attend a CMCIG spring workshop. And, plans are already underway for the CMCIG sponsored session at the ALAO conference in October!
The Picassa Web album featured at the beginning of this post includes photographs of the workshop. Please note, this slide show is also located on the CMCIG blog post CMCIG Spring Workshop.
Tags: Academic Library Association of Ohio, ALAO, Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group, CMCIG, CMCIG Spring Workshop 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
ALAO on Facebook!
Hot off the press from the ALAO Leadership Retreat; ALAO now has a Facebook page, Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO). Administered by ALAO Communications editor Lindsay Midkiff-Miller, it features ALAO information, news, photos, discussion board, and is open to anyone interested in joining to talk about academic libraries. A nice supplement to the ALAO Newsletter and ALAO News blog, it will definitely appeal to younger librarians.
Probably one of a dwindling number of people without a Facebook profile, I'm old and anti-social (*smile*), this morning I ventured forth and created an account (check out my Facebook badge, yes another widget). I struggled with "how much is too much information" and settled upon entering mostly professional information with a bit of my Pittsburgh sports mania thrown in for good measure. It was not difficult to set up the account and create my profile, as usual I was intrigued by the concept of adding a badge to the blog, joining groups, and wondering if I had time to search for friends from the ALAO page. Today I joined my first group, ALAO, and thanks to Rob Withers attending day two of the ALAO leadership retreat today, I also have a friend.
Visit ALAO on Facebook, view recently added photos from the leadership retreat, follow a link to the current ALAO Newsletter, join in the current discussion topic "What would you like to see on the ALAO Facebook Page?", post your comments to the wall, and make a new friend.
Tags: Academic Library Association of Ohio, ALAO, Facebook, Academic libraries
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