Library Tourguide to Technology

2007-12-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

Google has made privacy a little simpler...

By making some videos and posting them on YouTube about how to control your privacy while using their applications.

Not a bad idea...

For example:
Privacy levels and sharing using Google Docs

2007-12-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know if anybody is still subscribed but...

Google has a new product that is beta called Knol. It is supposed to be the place you go to first when you want to learn about a subject. It will be authored by an expert on a subject but then subject to edits by the public which would have to be reviewed and approved by the author first (a little flip on wikipedia)

2007-11-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

Neato. Two things I like a lot - libraries and quilts

This person made a quilt that incorporates library catalog cards (printed on fabric) and has grommets for the hole in the bottom where the big steel rod goes through.

Those of you library afficianados who remember the card catalog know about the rod. There was a mystery novel I read one time where the murderer killed someone with one of those rods - skewered em!

2007-10-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

King Library was definitely effected by the Earthquake last night. Just take a look at what the 8th floor looked like at 9:30 am

The aisles are filled with books which fell from the shelves. 5th, 6th and 7th floors will likely be available this afternoon. Staff are working hard to undo the damage. 8th floor will probably take all day, if not longer. The mess up there is staggering!

2007-10-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Just When I Thought I Was Out...They Pull Me Back In.

For the session I'll be doing at CLA on Monday.

Video Games and Teens

GameOn: Games in Libraries Blog
ALA Techsource – Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium

Gamespot Game information, reviews, cheats and walkthroughs.

Not to be confused with Gamestop - the place to BUY games

Or with Gamespy

IGN Game information, reviews, cheats and walkthroughs.

Library Success Wiki - Gaming Libraries doing gaming!

How to Choose a Good Library Videogame

3 key points to look for...

Multi-Player
Short Rounds
Fast Learning Curve

This Librarian Recommends the following Games...

Playstation 2
DDR aka Dance Dance Revolution
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's
Guitar Hero III
Karaoke Revolution
Sing Star

Gamecube
Donkey Konga and Donkey Konga 2
Mario Kart
Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Smash Bros. Melee

Wii
Elebits
Mario Party 8
Raving Rabbids
Wii Sports

Further Reading:

Here are some long, heady articles all about how video games allow kids to learn skills that modern businesses are looking for. These are BIG pdf files so be prepared to wait.

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education in the 21st Century - Henry Jenkins

Harnessing the Power of Video Games for Learning - Summit on Educational Games - Federation of American Scientists

Unlimited Learning: Computer and Video Games in the Learning Landscape - Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association

Video Games: Serious Business for America's Economy - Crandall and Sidak

2007-08-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

The Half-Life of a Blog...

may be just a few months long. I have been blogging less and less frequently - mainly due to the fact that other Library blogs are doing a bang up job and my new position being more consuming of brain cells.

The tourguide aspect of my blogging has ended. There are great sites and introductions to technology for librarians- the Learning 2.0 programs, the Best Practices Wiki and others. I don't like to be redundant, and so, I am making this post the swan song for Library Tourguide to Technology.

2007-06-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the new interactive screen table computer by Microsoft...
- nabbed from Librarian in Black, nabbed from Tame the Web

Anybody remember the movie Minority Report?

2007-05-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Super Bibliography creator - Bibme.org So automated, so great! Maybe bibliographies won't be so painful for students after all!!

2007-05-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Life's gotten busy now that I'm a Youth Services Coordinator. But Technology continues to hurtle forward at the same pace! Perhaps Super Librarian here can inspire me! NJ State Library is promoting teen literacy with this buxom bespectacled brunette. She reminds me of an ideal version of me, only I wouldn't wear purple spandex.

Okay - on to more serious pursuits. If you don't have an mp3 player or an ipod, kick yourself and go get one. They are getting seriously cheap. I bought a 1 gb mp3 player on woot for $35 including shipping and handling. I bought a 2gb expansion card for it for another $20. That's a 3gb mp3 player for $55. And I have music and an Ayn Rand audiobook loaded on it with plenty of room for more.

Social Networking is the rage. All the Library 2.0'ers are on Ning. I recommend joining this social network because a lot of good stuff about libraryland is being shared over there. Get in on this one, it is worth it.

Unlike Twitter - a bigger time-waster seems never to have been invented. Sorry all you Library 2.0'ers who love it-- I can't spend my time looking up what you did all day. And I don't want to tell you what I did all day.

But back onto the interesting, practical and useful. I'm thinking of Elgg, which is an open source social software package you can use to put up your own social software site. I *think* Ning uses it. Imagine, if you will a library with a social software site all its own - no lewd or annoying advertisements. This is an opportunity to truly create a Virtual Friends Group. The possibilities are endless! There are several schools using it currently for curriculum purposes. I'm going to give this a much closer look.

2007-03-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Just for Fun

This isn't a problem at my place of work. We have a food and drink is okay policy and cafe's in half our branches.

2007-03-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

James Patterson Page Turner Awards Announced

James Patterson Page Turner Awards are in their second year and they celebrate people and organizations who come up with innovative ways to promote reading. Cool, eh? And right up our alley in Libraryland.

I especially liked the Laundry Basket Library! Neat way to get people reading...

2007-03-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Neat Idea - Storypalooza

In a nutshell, Gail Borden Public Library is hosting Storypalooza on Youtube. Kids make video booktalks of their favorite books and post them on Youtube to participate in a contest where people can vote for their favorite video. Prizes include a camcorder, digital camera and gift certificates. Simon and Schuster picked up on the story and is publicizing it on their website.

Isn't this cute?

2007-02-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

Busted!

Read this article from the Anchorage Daily News...

So this guy was sitting in his car in the parking lot of the library after the library was closed. The wifi was running and he was using it. The police chased him off and he did it again. (fool me twice...)

I think that the library in question should go ahead and have wi-fi turned off when the library is closed. That's what we do at SJPL and many other libraries in the Bay Area also follow this procedure.

Keeps guys from squatting in your parking lot and being hauled off by the cops anyway...

2007-02-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Low-Tech Bookmobile Gets Some High-Tech Press

Bloggers are talking about the Camel Bookmobile service in Kenya. There are a group of authors who've sent boxes of books to this mobile library and there is a novel by Masha Hamilton called the Camel Bookmobile which is coming out in April.

So, if your Friends group is looking for some interesting ways to spread literacy world-wide, they may consider paying the shipping and sending some of their donated books to the Camel Bookmobile!

2007-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Psst... There's a rumor about Google Docs adding a Presentation feature.

I hear its called "Presently" after Writely which Google bought and turned into Google Docs.

2007-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Library of Congress got an Alfred P. Sloan Grant to digitize brittle books.

WOOT!

Here's the CNN article...

2007-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - will be available July 21st.

JK Rowling's Website will update you. By the by, this is a cool site with a lot of interactive hoo-has.

While I'm by the by'ing, The Leaky Cauldron is *the* definitive Harry Potter Fansite and simply the best place for Harry Potter anything.

And yes, Wizard Rock is still okay by me!

2007-01-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this WIRED article on Public Libraries and downloadable audiobooks from Overdrive.

Talk about a weird perspective?!? He's mad because Overdrive has DRM software which doesn't let him use the files past the due date. He's also mad because he can't use it on a Mac. (okay, I'm with him there)

And I quote...

"It's alarming to me that publically-funded institutions are embracing proprietary DRM and participating enthusiastically in the business world, but maybe it shouldn't be (at least Halliburton didn't get the contract). In the end, it's just another entry for the DRM nightmare file."

Hoo boy.

2007-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

If you want to predict tech trends, watch Japan...

In Wired today, an article about Cellphone Novels. Ebooks essentially downloadable onto your phone for portable reading pleasure.

I recall a couple of years back reading about Cellphones with cameras and videocameras being all the rage and I thought it was quite silly and why would someone want a camera on their phone...and now look at us!

This cellphone novel just might become the next big thing!

2006-12-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

Get Ready - Search Engine from Wikipedia Founder Coming Your Way...

So you may know already that the Wikipedia folks have founded a new wiki they're doing by keeping the riff-raff out- - they're hoping for a way better product. Its called Wikia.

Now there were murmurings on the web about it the past few weeks, but today in Wired, there's an article outlining the new venture of the same folks to tranform searching. Its called Search Wikia. According to the article, "Wales' plan for the Search Wikia project is to put ordinary users in charge of ranking search results. Heavy lifting such as indexing and raw ranking will still be done by machines, but the more nuanced work of deciding how search results are displayed will be completed by humans."

This tourguide suggests you take a look, this is coming and with the popularity of Wikipedia, I think it may become a heavily used site.

2006-12-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hey a Search Engine for Kids that I Like?!?

Take a surf over to Quintura for Kids. This search engine is powered by Yahoo Kids and has a pleasant illustrated splash page with the search box right in the center.

But what is really neat about it is that it includes a tag cloud! Click on a word in the tag cloud and it will bring back searches for that word. Then more changes happen - just give this a try...

2006-12-27T15:25:00.000-08:00

Lotsa talk about automated shelving...

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/start.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-library25dec25,0,6869771.story?coll=la-home-local

Quiet in the Library today...

2006-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

The Biblioblogosphere at Your Fingertips...

Take a look at LISZEN and search over 600 Library related blogs.

-found on ALA TechSource Blog

2006-12-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

Download Free Music...and Legally too!

Musopen.com is a new website where musicians can upload recordings of them performing public domain (mostly classical) music. Think of this as Project Gutenberg for music.

Lovely. Simply Lovely.

Don't forget Librivox - public domain audiobooks.

2006-11-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Did you miss the Stephen Abrahm's lecture last Friday?

Check it out online at the SJSU Library School Website.