technology in information literacy: an appeal
I'm going to be doing a presentation on information literacy in a few weeks, and I'm planning on looking at how new technologies can be used in information literacy instruction.…
Federated searching and why users aren’t finding/using your electronic materials
Looking at my alma mater’s library website, I noticed that they are implementing a new federated search tool that searches eight resources (a mix of A&I databases and full-text). It's…
Movers and Shakers!
Two bloggers from whose writing I get a great deal of food for thought were just named "movers and shakers" by Library Journal. Congratulations Aaron Schmidt and Michael Stephens! You…
Posted inlibraries
What They Didn’t Tell You in Library School
So this week I'm all alone in the big chilly city of Chicago (hubby's in New England on business). When, on Monday, I heard that there was a free conference…
Posted inlibraries our digital future reference
Screencasting? Finally something I can get behind!
I think Podcasting is cool, but not for me. I'm a visual learner, so listening to my favorite bloggers takes more mental energy to absorb than reading their blog entries.…
Google Maps: Oh the possibilities!!!
When I wrote my first post on how excited I was about Google Maps, I had no earthly idea what the broad capabilities of the application were. I don't think…
Neil Gaiman isn’t a fan of Michael Gorman
Neil Gaiman isn't a fan of Michael Gorman either (welcome to the club). I've been really amazed by the reaction of people outside of the library world to Gorman's piece,…
Posted inALA blogging our digital future
Michael Gorman and “Revenge of the Blog People”
Blog people... Sounds like creatures from a cheesy sci-fi movie you'd see on MST3K. ;) I know this has been talked to death, but as a dues-paying member of the…
Google Movies!
Yes, another new Google search tool (it seems like there's been a new one every day over the past few months!). Google Blog reports that Google has come out with…
Posted inlibraries
Sometimes we all need a little reminder…
Sometimes we all need a little reminder why we got into the library field in the first place. When you hear about the lack of a librarian shortage, the low…
Posted inALA intellectual freedom
What is happening to our country?
I was more than a little frightened when I saw the survey, sponsored by the James L. Knight Foundation, which found that 35% of the high school students surveyed thought…
Posted inlibraries
Questioning library terminology
I just found this very interesting website via TangognaT. John Kupersmith, a reference librarian at UC Berkeley has collected usability survey data from various libraries as well as the library…
Fabulous maps
Ever since I started this blog, I've made a big effort to post regularly. Unfortunately, I slacked off last week. Well, I don't know if packing, putting our junk into…
Posted inlibraries our digital future
Library websites that don’t suck
Thank you Librarian Avengers for spelling out what most of us say to ourselves day after day as we navigate library websites and library catalogs: most library websites suck. In…
Posted injob search libraries
The art of the interview
I've had many interviews, both in the social work and library fields. Some have gone great and some have been disasters. But the disasters haven't always been mine. I've read…
Posted inour digital future reference
What a wonderful Wiki world
If 2004 was the year of the blog, I think 2005 will be the year of the Wiki. Wikis first came to my attention in 2003 in the form of…
The cool yellow pages
If you haven't already, go check out A9.com, a yellow pages for the future. More a reference work than simply a "phone book", A9 allows users to not only search…
Giving the patron what s/he wants
Steph at TechnoBiblio wrote about an interesting observation at a recent panel discussion she attended: The final panelist came forth with a statement that seemed to take the audience by…
Posted inour digital future reference
The future of virtual reference services
I've been reading a lot of great articles and posts about the viability of virtual reference and how we can make it better for our patrons. The Library Journal article,…
Posted inlibraries
The place of the ALA in Salinas
Michael McGrorty is an ALA Councilor and a man of conscience. He is one of the few people who has made more than a mention about the Salinas libraries and…
