ishush

Nest Settling

2010-09-05T17:55:00.001-07:00

Lookit: http://woodyevans.wordpress.com/

facebook q&a

2010-08-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

I've publicly criticized FB's use by libraries before -- but at the link below I don't even bother to mention the dissolution of reference services this development suggests. http://woodyevans.com/public_html/archives/795 http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Facebook-Questions--Askcom-Cashing-in-on-Mass-Ignorance-69187.asp

Happy Ada Lovelace Day: Donna Haraway

2010-03-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ada Lovelace Day: Donna HarawayHappy Ada Lovelace Day!My hero of the day is Donna Haraway.I think I first encountered Donna Haraway’s work in about 1996. I was studying up on Actor-Network Theory as part of an effort to get into an exchange program to Keele University (John Law had taught at Keele, and that’s how I got into ANT), and somehow that led me to theCyborg Manifesto. Once at Keele,

woodyevans.com goes archival

2010-03-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Grab it while you can, hoss:http://woodyevans.com/public_html/feed

2009-10-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

(teaching a class how to embed video for their blog projects... Dave ended up as the example for some reason...)

QR book to Web application: live

2009-08-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

Via "Building Library 3.0" blog:QR book to Web application: liveQR Library application -- this is very homemade, very "beta" -- actually very "delta".I've described it before: QR code slapped on a book, a patron uses their phone to snap a pic, QR pic takes them to whatever online resource you want them to see.Here's an example:Imagine you've just picked up this book in the library, "Chess and the

cc open id

2009-08-07T20:37:00.001-07:00

via bq:http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2009/08/06/06readwriteweb-creative-commons-launches-cc-openid-profile-92620.html?emc=eta1""Says open source advocate Chris Messina in a recent blog post on CC OpenID:"Creative Commons is redistributing the brand equity and social capital their members have accrued over the last several years by letting people show and verify their affiliation to

heather liggett on npr

2009-08-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here's Ms. H. Liggett's twitter page. NPR's M. Brand (?) interviewed her on Fri. afternoon. Go take a look for yrself at her activism-type work:http://twitter.com/hal512Some good old libertarianista type ideas there, but not often fully formed... I wouldn't trade a corporate oligarchy for a collectivist-leaning republic, I don't think... but maybe some "libertarians" would. What would Ron Paul

use yr infoskillz

2009-08-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here you go, see if you can find problems with Maddow's logic here:Maybe you can't. But who else is going to try? And who the frak else is dissecting the layers of oligarchy at recessrally.com?

buildingthree blogspot wearable web

2009-07-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

http://buildingthree.blogspot.com/2009/07/wearable-web-3-4.html:Following on from last post's comment on gendering of the Web... it occurs to me that the Web won't be or can't be successfully gendered by in the way I suggested. Just because feminine terms out-rank masculine terms, etc. Bibliometric brute force won't make the Web pink nor blue. Many reasons for this (maybe more on the subject

cellphones libraries reminder, gee

2009-07-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

2 COMMENTS:quietman said...Cell phones are not annoying in and of themselves, it is the abuse of cell phones that should be outlawed.Unfortunately most people are too inconsiderate simply by nature to understand that a loud annoying ringtone or cell yell irritates everyone in their vicinity. They ruin it for everyone.Until basic manners catch up with technology an outright cell phone ban is the

google os based on chrome

2009-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

NY Times has (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/technology/companies/08operate.html):SAN FRANCISCO — In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs that is tied to its Chrome Web browser.The software, called the GoogleChrome Operating System, is initially intended for use in the tiny, low-cost portable computers known as

hunch, @ we blog

2009-06-25T17:48:00.001-07:00

hunchNew work up at Information Today’s Newsbreaks.“Hunch: Psycho-Social Divinatory Machine for the Masses”(Thanks @ Chris Dixon for the dialog!)Posted in info-sci, research, writing.

qik & sousveillance

2009-06-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillancehttp://qik.com/Sousveillance is about us all 'at the bottom' observing what goes on around and above us in an intentional way. Missteps by those in power (censorship, abuse, illegal moves of other kinds) can be recorded and cataloged just as well as the illegal moves of those 'below' -- us -- can be recorded and cataloged by those in power.Qik may be a

addictomatic re:

2009-05-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

For my money, Addictomatic is still a great way to grok the 'tone of the web' on newsy subjects.http://addictomatic.com/topic/"frank+black"http://addictomatic.com/topic/"swine+flu"+texashttp://addictomatic.com/topic/star-tidesListening: "Rejoice" U2, October Reading: 'library ala carte' faqs

wolfram alpha semantic search

2009-05-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Wolfram|Alpha write up at InfoToday's NewsBreaks:http://tinyurl.com/we-wolfram

new work by Reverend Doctor Hegwood

2009-05-20T11:54:00.001-07:00

Jared Hegwood has new pieces out this year -- go read them:“Like Fish” here at elimae“Hugs” here at Keyhole Magazine“Lately” forthcoming at Night Train

disinformation on education

2009-04-26T11:28:00.001-07:00

If Mr Gatto is right, are librarians who really do equitably and on principle defend free access to any information for the common good systemically at odds with the system? Are librarians acceptable enemies of the corporate state structure (that is, are we enemies that are necessary & have to be tolerated)? What gives?(Via disinfo.com...)

disaster pandemic aid notes

2009-04-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates on mosquitos, Vinay Gupta on ending poverty with open hardware. ----And now we have the Swine Flu in North America.http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/personal/swine-flu-its-on-now-1426Disaster relief, open design solutions, local control, growing food from your own garden, solar water distillation and solar UV purification... all sounds a little more suburan in light of these worries:

building library 3.0

2009-04-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:Amazon's US page for my book is:http://www.amazon.com/Building-Library-3-0-Woody-Evans/dp/1843344971/---Got a book due out soon. It's with the copy-editor now, an able chap named Peter Williams.Here, I'll summarize the book. Libraries gotta get with supporting niche groups & 'communities of interest' with 2.0 tools now so that when Semantic (web 3.0) applications start spilling out and

off the facebooks

2009-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Facebook was fun. I'll miss it.

notes / links

2009-04-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Just some things I want to keep up with..http://nancydowd.wordpress.com/http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/yalsa.cfmhttp://popculturebookreview.blogspot.com/http://yzocaet.blogspot.com/http://www.coloradolibraries.orghttp://www.coloradolibraries.org/2009/04/22/new-guidelines-for-donating-to-state-prison-libraries/http://njla.pbwiki.com/Conference+2009http://nancydowd.wordpress.com/2009/02/11

catching up on TLA

2009-04-23T12:57:00.001-07:00

by way of the blog and notes sent from friends...http://tla2009.wordpress.com/ --...Woody Evans http://woodyevans.com/ Writing & Research for Hire

infosthetics messing me up

2009-04-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

like I know he can.http://infosthetics.com/archives/2009/04/world_builder_the_future_of_interacting_with_holographic_tools.html#extendednow I'm thinking abt customizability (why not infinite?) and control. And how control is pyschosis. Why not infinite psychoses for an Augmented Reality or VR world? Huh?Do we have psycho sprouts jumping up now in the seedbeds of MySpace?blech.

lib inst cms's

2009-04-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

Thinking about instructional CMS... Libguides looks might smooth, very nice. Austin Community College seems to know how to use the tools. But is the brand worth the money?Now looking at Library a la Carte from Oregon State...http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/Seems to get the same job done. Free & free, too.But I'll keep reading and looking at yr CMS ventures, looking for gaps, failings,

judith krug, thankee sai

2009-04-15T18:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/april2009/oifkrug.cfm CHICAGO –Judith Fingeret Krug, 69, the long-time director of the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, who fought censorship on behalf of the nation's libraries, died April 11 after a lengthy illness. Krug, who often

bird watchers, ah, twitter

2009-04-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/A social networking site for bird watchers -- evidence / content driven. Post vids, pics, comments, news items, and rate the work of others.This is ground-swell amateur naturalism dosed with octane. This is what the web is for. Lovely.(Thanks Jo!)

patron granulation again, due date chance

2009-04-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

This at LISNews (http://lisnews.org/due_date_stamps_thing_past) reminds me of a previous thought (http://ishush.blogspot.com/2008/07/patron-granulation.html)... maybe the very CONCEPT of due dates, or rigid & standard due dates, is kinda not-needed. A flexible tiered style of 'account types' which gives different due dates, item number allowances, renewal limits, etc. is in order -- Netflix

reference is dead, quit yr kvetch

2009-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.hplusmagazine.com/articles/ai/wolframalpha-searching-truthRather than looking up the answer to your question, Wolfram|Alpha figures out what your question means, looks up the necessary data to answer your question, computes an answer, designs a page to present the answer in a pleasing way, and sends the page back to your computer.Let me give three random examples. If you enter the

institute for the future, library

2009-04-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.iftf.org/libraryABOUT THE LIBRARYThe Institute for the Future is pleased to offer the following reports to the public at no cost. A PDF of the report can be downloaded by clicking on the title through to the individual report. Please note that most of our recent reports are proprietary to our members. If you have a question about a particular report or our membership programs, please

lankes libraries

2009-04-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/intro.php

band names 9

2009-02-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

I make up band names and post them here. You can use them if you want.The Badassettes.

work is wot?

2009-01-27T18:32:00.001-08:00

Yeah, so I don't write about work -- not directly. Reading through all these here archives, you'll find none never no direct mention of where I spend my ten a day. Alright. Obliquely, maybe, you could reckon on out sudoku-like... but it don't matter. What matters is: work is getting interesting again. Work is getting able, agile, smart. Work is getting will, and work is getting vision.

liblog landscape listing

2009-01-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

Here Ishush got itself listed in Walt Crawford's Liblog Landscape for ought-seven through ought-eight:

creativity in libraries, 3

2009-01-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

All this is about 'creativity in learning in libraries', really.But we've got some handicaps, from the start.Library systems aren't built for wandering; libraries happen to be brilliant places to wander and bumble and bump into unexpected things -- but the systems of organization were not designed for wandering. They were designed to minimize the need for wandering. They were designed to move

creativity in libraries, 2

2009-01-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's more complicated, of course: here we got a slew of 19 year olds who want more than anything to get the girl or get the guy, to be cool, be tough, be famous. God bless them. Making mistakes in front of others, helpful though it might be ultimately in making them more confident learners -- that ain't high on anybody's list.And the 'making of mistakes' is predicate -- it ain't what we or they

creativity in libraries

2009-01-07T06:41:00.001-08:00

Ken Robinson's TED talk on creativity in education -- his main point being that creativity ought to be encouraged and valued as much as literacy in our schools -- has got me thinking how I can bring student/patron creativity to our library literacy sessions. Again. I've made an important shift in my bibliographical instructionating in the last year. Used to be (and this is mainly what I

10 writing tips

2008-12-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

Interesting take on "how to be a writer" from Writingforhire.blogspot.com:http://writingforhire.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-write-for-cash-generalities.htmlTips 1-3:1. Get a job and keep it. This "job" won't be writing, probably; it'll be counting things or working a register or mulching pear trees or sweeping floors in bowling alleys or delivering pizzas or teaching 6th graders or working in a

woodyevans.com

2008-11-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

Moving my main blogging interests back to my own site for a while.[Point of clarification -- my main writing work blog is woodyevans.com. My thoughts on libraries, searching, & info-sci will mostly constellate around here and ghostfooting; plenty cross-over will happen, as always :]

STAR-TIDES makes WIRED

2008-10-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/fast-cheap-and.htmlLots of folks working hard on various parts and pieces of this for years now.Syncrety. And, yes, we could still use librarians on this to do KM work and metadata for documents...

Vinay's Briefing in Reykjavik

2008-09-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Six Ways To Die - Hexayurt Project briefing, Reykjavik, 17/9/2008 from Hexayurt on Vimeo.

life online

2008-09-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Could Life Evolve on the Internet?By Brandon Keim September 09, 2008 | 7:50:23 PMCategories: Complexity, Evolution, Systems Biology If principles of life are universal, could life emerge on the internet?I posed the question to evolutionary dynamicist Martin Nowak of Harvard University, developer of amathematical model of evolution's origins, the period during which unique chemical structures

just a great little video

2008-09-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Borges reminds us: the map is not the territory.

palin library banned books: update

2008-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

In my last post I quoted the Kilkenny e-mail about how Palin tried to ban books at Wasilla Public Library. To be fair now, Snopes goes into more detail on the subject and holds that Palin never actually attempted to ban any specific titles.My call to actively oppose her based on her opposition to the right to read must now in fairness be actively recalled, as she did not actively pursue an

sarah palin, censorship, libraries

2008-09-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

The e-mail below by Anne Kilkenny is circulating now in lots of places, but I wanted to post it here for the matter of the Wasilla Librarian.Excerpt:While Sarah was mayor of Wasilla, she tried to fire our highly respected city librarian because the librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the city

forced migration

2008-08-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Heavy-D:http://www.forcedmigration.org/Forced Migration Online (FMO) provides instant access to a wide variety of online resources dealing with the situation of forced migrants worldwide. Designed for use by practitioners, policy makers, researchers, students or anyone interested in the field, FMO aims to give comprehensive information in an impartial environment and to promote

symphony e library

2008-08-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Just a bit of news, if you haven't seen it yet:--PROVO, UT, August 27, 2008 – SirsiDynix, the global leader in strategic technology solutions for libraries,today announced the release of SirsiDynix Symphony e-Library,™ an enhanced online library catalog solutionthat offers the speed, ease and flexibility librarians have requested. The product runs on SirsiDynixSymphony 3.2.1; its predecessor,

mere anarchy loosed upon the shelves

2008-08-29T07:46:00.001-07:00

(Via Unshelved)Anarchy hints at a basic faith in people's ability to govern themselves and order their own affairs without oversight. Does the above logo hint that everything really is now miscellaneous?

community property library books are

2008-08-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

Boingboing has: Judge orders woman to return two library books or go to jail Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, August 28, 2008 8:24 AM | permalink A judge has ordered JoAn Karkos of Lewiston, Maine to return two copies of It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health, which she checked out the

country feedback: audio homunculi

2008-08-27T07:31:00.001-07:00

Text analysis of body parts mentioned in popular music lyrics, by genre. Above, see 'country'. Check out all the booty in hip-hop, too: http://www.fleshmap.com/listen/index.html

webhead, i got the

2008-08-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

I've been online in what feels like a heavy way for about 10 years now. In the last 3 years or so, I've spent an enormous amount of time using the web to learn and to share info. I've composed a book online, with a web-based word processor. So. It's time for a break.I'm sure I'll post to my blogs now and then, especially to the anonymous ones, and I'll keep using e-mail and engaging with the

kevin kelly on the one machine

2008-08-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

The next 5,000 days of the Internet: we makeout with the web; heavy-petting; particularity and specificity for info-objects describing regular objects; web overlays reality; internet of things; other excellent points:

ufostalker: mufon live map database

2008-08-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Using a google maps api, MUFON has created a live feed and archive-search database for UFO sightings. Very cool for aerial anomaly buffs and serious investigators alike.

from a senator from Texas

2008-08-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Evans:Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). As you know, FISA passed the Senate on July 9, 2008, and I appreciate having the benefit of your comments.Gathering communications intelligence is one of America’s front lines of defense in the war on terror. As you may know, Congress passed the Protect

Appropedia Discussion Group

2008-08-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Appropedia community @ google groups:http://groups.google.com/group/appropedia-communityAppropedia is the open encyclopedia of sustainable and appropriate technology at:http://www.appropedia.org/If sustainable technology interests you, see above links and join in the talk. Info sci and library folks have a lot to lend this movement.

u.s. defense tech docs, declassified

2008-08-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

Enter DTIC Public STINET Coverage: 1965-present (Research Summaries); full text: 1924-present (selected documents)Description: U.S. Defense Technical Information Center's technical reports and specifications (including DODISS), mostly in fields related to aerospace engineering and aerodynamics. STINET MultiSearch allows simultaneous searching of up to 34 databases including NASA, NIH, DOE, EPA,

nra of the 4th amendment

2008-08-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

...that Heston line abt taking away his 2nd amendment rights to bear arms "from his cold dead hands"... makes me think about a sort of "NRA of the 4th Amendment" -- may be budding with groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ALA, the ACLU. This has, increasingly, to do more with information than with objects, and that plants it firmly in library land.How to "de-ACLU" it (such a

seizing information without warrant

2008-08-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the bizness folks and to the ACLU for making the DHS out this (the federales can seize your papers, your info storage devices, without warrant, without explanation. surprised?).Seemed to me like we had an amendment in our constitution about that...Check out Article IV, see if it jars any memories:Now I'm getting fed up. You hear that ECHELON? The executive leg of this three legged

patron granulation

2008-07-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

granulated abilities with variations in patron account types.has it been done yet?Welcome to Library X, which type of account would you like? your options are:. The Buzz Plan: you can check out up to 100 items at once, but they're all due back within 48 hours. Stiff late fines go with this one, and a deposit of $x is required.. The Daily: standard item numbers and return times. normal fines,

ubuntu stuff

2008-07-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

I was raising cane about Ubuntu, telling folks "my laptop is Microsoft FREE!", but you know, it's a like the man says about web browsers -- you can't get by with just one anymore. So if running multiple scripts in multiple sites is a hassle, or if Ubuntu has a bad day and won't load right, I have found myself using Vista. Tsk tsk. All that said, I'm a much mo happy man using Ubuntu 80% of the

cheap solar

2008-07-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, this pulls the rug even out from under the Pickens Plan:http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/global/the-age-of-cheap-solar-energy-now-to-be-precise-738'The implication is clear: the global power economy is in the early stages of a shift as profound as the shift when gasoline began to be widely used. With new battery technology expected in the near future the issues around powering systems

info/ethno ning thing

2008-07-10T06:46:00.001-07:00

http://informethno.ning.com/Information Science \ Social Science > socio-info literacy solutions

ubuntu in yr library

2008-07-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

Good old Ms West puts Ubuntu on some donated computers:By the way, I guess you noticed I got my dates wrong on that FISA bill thing. But what the hell. Once you tell yr representatives that yr vote for their re-election is on the line, you've played the last hand. No ace card left, is there?

fisa vote tomorrow, 8 july

2008-07-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the day to speak up. Tomorrow they vote.http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/07/daniel-ellsberg-on-w.html"Over on Boing Boing Gadgets, our Joel posts this video in which Tim Ferriss interviews Daniel "Pentagon Papers" Ellsberg about tomorrow's vote on warrantless wiretapping in the USA. If Congress passes this bill (the "FISA bill"), it will become legal for intelligence agencies to

xkcd webliometrics

2008-06-25T06:12:00.001-07:00

on del.icio.us: swampfunk

2008-06-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

wordle

bidi books, bidibooks, bidimensional books

2008-06-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

QR Code in print, [Kaywa reports]. Bidibooks, bi-dimensional (here it means 2d as in quick code) books, they're called in Madrid. But they are also bidi because they're both eye-readable, and phone-linkable to otro resources. An online appendix. Hell yes, people.Or, as they say in Spain, "La hipertextualidad del papel es posible."

second life library quick note

2008-06-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

In the last year I've heard folks speak on behalf of Second Life Library twice at conferences, and I've been in touch w/ SLL (infoisland.org) staff through this blog. I've yet to hear a good answer to the simple question how does Second Life help my patrons at my reference desk tonight?The answers usually float around Mars, then veer toward institutional marketing, sweep back into a low-earth

Royal Mail and QR Code

2008-06-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Update: I was looking, I guess I should have said, to learn more about RM's use of QR. I mean, they do. As does the USPS... and FedEx, UPS... DHL. QR is common as can be, and it's meter-printed on just about any piece of mail you might pick up these days, nevermind parcels.So, like, somebody at the RM ought to know something about it... and surely someone (lots and lots of folks) do... I just

ishush.tumblr.com

2008-06-09T08:18:00.001-07:00

I kinda like.

the cost of a book

2008-05-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

A salty cataloger reminded me (and whenever I get intensive time with tech processing folks I usually leave the meeting awed by their focus -- they turn the volume up on geek so high that I find myself tapping my feet) that a book costs a lot more than its list price, if it's a library book. There's air conditioning, lighting, all the stuff that goes along with housing; there is staff time and

wrong tool for the revolution

2008-05-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

Fledgling Rebellion on Facebook Is Struck Down by Force in EgyptBy Ellen KnickmeyerWashington Post Foreign ServiceSunday, May 18, 2008; A01CAIRO -- At 1:49 a.m. in an Internet cafe only then quieting after Cairo's daily rumble, 27-year-old Ahmed Maher worked at a computer. He wore the same shirt he had had on for two days. The essentials of his life on the run lay splayed out next to his keyboard

addictomatic

2008-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Addictomatic: hexayurt.Addictomatic story: InfoToday.

where my jetpack is

2008-05-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

I used to be like hell yeah, brother! where's my jetpack?! too... Angry about the future. Angry about the lack-of-future. Angry about the present?But I kind of like Bruce Sterling's answer to that question... "Are you Chinese?".Or, better, "you're not payin' fuckin' attention... you're all disillusioned and you're not actually looking at what's really happening."Aside, Doktor Sleepless as a

extropianism as literary movement?

2008-05-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

News to me, but it seems transhumanism is now considered to be a literary movement. Philosophy, yes. Political movement? ...could soon be. But artistic school?Check Warren Ellis' wikipedia page:Warren EllisBornFebruary 16, 1968 (1968-02-16) (age 40)Essex, EnglandOccupationwriterNationalityBritishGenresscience fiction, superheroLiterary movementExtropianism, TranshumanismNotable work(s)

powerset video

2008-05-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

We're in deep now -- Powerset furthers the assumption that Wikipedia is factual. Powerset Demo Video from officialpowerset on Vimeo.

be here at ref desk

2008-05-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Be here, be here now, yo?A lower noise-to-signal ratio, please.Light less mediated.Info seekers need our presence.

Myanmar Cyclone Resources

2008-05-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

STAR-TIDES working group for Myanmar:http://star-tides.net/myanmarInundation maps on Burmese coast, Dartmouth:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/images/2008052Burma.jpgAddictomatic feeds for Myanmar:http://addictomatic.com/topic/MyanmarICRC, Myanmar, [donations link].

Free Guptastan

2008-04-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

You are lucky that he is on your side.It only recently occurred to me that people don’t realize that I’m absolutely serious about starting a new nation state within three or four years if conditions are historically right.

library moment: grieg

2008-04-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

This wonderful patron (an exuberant and adventurous Russian grandmother) who I get to help every two or three weeks rushes into my office, says, "Can you hep me?"I say I can, and she has me pull up the Wikipedia page on Edvard Grieg, and play the .ogg there of the first movement of the piano concerto so that it will jog her memory. She thanks me profusely ("Thank you, thank you," she shakes her

Doctorow's Little Brother

2008-04-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Albert Hofmann gone now

2008-04-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Albert Hofmann, LSD inventor, RIP Posted by David Pescovitz, April 29, 2008 11:23 AM | permalink Albert Hofmann, who first synthesized Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), has passed away. He was 102 years-old. "I believe that if people would learn to use LSD's vision-inducing capability more wisely, under suitable conditions,

books are weapons in the war of ideas

2008-04-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this mean that "books" as an idea are the right idea and that book-ism is situated somewhere opposite State-ism (or maybe particular species of facism or national socialism)? That would imply that State-isms of any kind are the idea-things that book-ism undermines and subverts; and this would (or could) potentially threaten even American-ism, or Liberal-ism, or any other idea-thing, or

information decay

2008-04-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

like when you let your records go to seed, and the OPAC gets cumbersome; the interface is brittle and bright. A broken bureau-asthetique, a little red and yellow grave for books and mags and The Journal of Noospheric Phenomena & Neuro-Christology. A $15,000 so-what. Shelves sagging, homebrewed references crookedly photocopied onto acidic 2lb LaserBrite, and glum librarians staring lustily off

Consider: Untitled 1

2008-04-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/24/untitled-1.html

more information in fewer hands

2008-04-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Weekly News Digest from Info Today reports on the Thomson happenings:On April 17, The Thomson Corp. announced that it had completed its acquisition of Reuters Group, PLC, forming Thomson Reuters, a provider of "intelligent information" for businesses and professionals in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare, and media markets. Thomson Reuters has more than 50,000

gale, readspeaker

2008-04-21T19:22:00.001-07:00

At Library Journal, Michael Rogers reports that Gale's going to add text-to-audio software into 6 of its databases (including Opposing Viewpoints!)Hope the voices aren't super canned and tinny sounding like other such audio/text programs are, but even if they are robotic I'll be very happy to have this tool handy. Yessir.

ok, so i'm a copycat

2008-04-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a copycat too.But man, I love me some playlist.com... been waiting for a really good .mp3 search engine for a while now. Love it maybe just as much as I do Pandora...Enjoy while you can, before the RIAA or the CIA or Hillary Clinton or some other finger shaker takes it all away.(You know, we ought to shake our fingers too every once in a while...)

sphering the square

2008-04-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

News on AOL's Sphere deal at Information Today's Newsbreaks.Comments here...

tags, cois, library thing

2008-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

communities of interest, where descriptors have to be specific, exact, unambiguous...tags are lazy, sloppy, hasty. taxonomies are cumbersome (cheap shot), unintuitive... but also unambiguous.how to make tags for c.o.i.s unambiguous, precise? reference to the schema needed to define terms. building better schema, yes, but also building better ontological tools, meta-schematic maps that define

Thursday's TLA

2008-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Caught a couple good sessions in the TLA Net Fair area -- exhibitions hall.Todd Humble of North Richland Hills talked about implementing RFIDs in the collection -- really good talk, really practical, pragmatic info. He raised the issue of read/writable tags and data swiping, which is a real worry if you go for the 'smart' library cards for your patrons (his system was wise enough not to). This

What happened to Cali?

2008-04-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

If you were waiting to hear the GeekBrief.TV session at TLA today, Ms. Lewis explains what happened:When I arrived to setup for my speech, I found out that I was almost an hour late, and the majority of people that had been waiting patiently had moved on to other sessions. I was devastated, and still am. I’m pedantic about time, and unless Neal makes me slow down, I’m early for everything. I can’

ya, libraries might incubate talent

2008-04-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

If they give a damn (like this High School librarian clearly does) and make the effort.:)

the day at TLA

2008-04-16T17:52:00.001-07:00

What a good day to be at the TLA convention!I got to meet some excellent Texan librarians, learned a lot, and got some ideas for programs. I'm really enthused abt gaming in libraries (after hearing Eli's talk on literacy skills learned through gaming), but I reckon on starting with table top programs -- chess, mancala, RPGs.Learned a lot about LibraryThing and its uses in lib catalogs -- also

springshare libguides copy 2

2008-04-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I got my teeth into this gummy junk now.Of this corpus:Google Schmoogle Sure, your users can search Google and your online databases to find information. But you, the librarian, are the key to successful research. Heck, nobody knows research better! With LibGuides you help patrons find stuff they need and show them information they didn't even know existed! Now, patrons have best of

springshare libguides copy

2008-04-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

What exactly the hell does this mean, once parsed past the hip and informal tone?Google Schmoogle Sure, your users can search Google and your online databases to find information. But you, the librarian, are the key to successful research. Heck, nobody knows research better! With LibGuides you help patrons find stuff they need and show them information they didn't even know existed! Now,

reference sweetness

2008-04-09T12:22:00.001-07:00

is finding the exact set of statistics you need in Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center very quickly rather than digging through Lexis-Nexis tables for an hour, and teaching a patron how to do it for himself. Ah yes, so sweet it needs a bitter shot to chase.Now that's what I call librarianship.

tax time

2008-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ref desk duty: to say, sorry, I can't do your taxes for you...

ABCs by Marion Bataille

2008-03-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

edit: The second video, just above, was put in to demo finding and embedding science vids during a library instruction class. Carry on.

Sir Arthur has passed on

2008-03-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Writer Arthur C Clarke dies at 90 Sir Arthur C Clarke was famous for his science fiction writing Legendary British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of