When the wiki was first created, I put up a page for people who are blogging the conference so that people would know where they could find conference reports. Well, Luke, from the lbr blog took it one huge step further. Here’s an excerpt from the email he sent me: If a number of people …
Aaron at Walking Paper recently wrote a great post entitled Letting Go. In it, he encouraged librarians to let go of rules that really serve librarians rather than patrons (and often are barriers to patrons getting what they need from the library). Other than those rules preserving basic etiquette and safety, the rules should exist …
I must apologize for the lack of posts this week. I’ve come down with a horrible cold (bordering on the flu) and I just haven’t felt up to doing much of anything. I can’t believe I was healthy all winter while cooped up inside and now that the weather is warm and beautiful, I’m stuck …
I just had another really great interview today. I could get used to this (though I could also get used to having a job and being done with these shenanigans)! 😉 The search committee said a lot of things that impressed me, but what really stuck with me was the fact that when I asked …
In the past, I’ve written about the do’s and don’t’s of interviewing and have described some of the bad experiences I’ve had in interviews. So I thought it would be good to mention the absolutely wonderful interview experience I had on Friday (I just got home yesterday). Like I’ve said before, the way you are …
I found this link via Nexgenlib-L and I found it so amusing/horrifying that I had to share it with everyone. Human Events Online, which is a conservative journal, came out with this list of the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Apparently, they polled a group of conservative scholars who came …
I just read a fantastic article about wikis from the Educause Review (Sept/Oct 2004). Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not, by Brian Lamb, includes mentions about just about everything that I find so wonderful about wikis. He describes how groups of people have used wikis for such diverse purposes as research spaces, conference planners, …
Not that we don’t have enough going on at the ALA Conference, but there are going to be two other very cool events happening in Chicago at the same time. The first is Wired’s Nextfest, which is being billed as the World’s Fair for technology. For those of us who love gadgets and still dream …
What I love best about wikis is that their content is not limited to the imagination of just a few people (like most websites are). Anyone can add new sections and content to the wiki that they think people would find useful. From the Curmudgeony Librarian’s rethinking of the Calendar of Events to Andrea’s rockin’ …
Where I got my MLIS, distance learners had to pay more per credit hour than students who took classes on campus. I understood that the extra fees paid for the technology infrastructure we used. On the other hand, we distance learners missed out on many of the things that tuition goes towards. I couldn’t go …
I just saw this article, by Henry Raymond, in the Chronicle of Education that rivaled even the worst of my interview woes: The committee members repeatedly warned me that their students were not as academically equipped as my current students, and that I’d have a terrible time adjusting to a new caliber of teaching. (My …
This morning (at 8 am Central Time) I got a call from a college on the east coast. They wanted to interview me for a reference librarian position I’d applied for months ago. First, however, they needed me to get my references to write letters of recommendation that specifically addressed the job responsibilities. Personally, I …
I know this episode aired in 2004, but I was just watching it again today and it made me laugh just as hard as I did last time. And this time I remembered to write down the dialogue: Lisa: I have to research a paper. Where did all the books go? Librarian: Books? Books are …
Let me preface this post with the statement that I didn’t become a librarian in order to get rich. The average librarian’s salary is more than the average salary for social workers, so it was never one of my complaints. I would rather do something I love than make a lot of money, and I …
The June issue of Walt Crawford’s Cite & Insights is out with some interesting articles, particularly those about the open access movement and the broadcast flag. What surprised me was that there were two mentions of my blog in this issue. Wow!!! I guess I’m still surprised that people even read my blog, so I …
The Indian Blogger recently posted an excellent survey of screencasting and the software that can be used to create screencasts. People tend to talk about Qarbon Viewlet Builder, Macromedia Captivate, and TechSmith Camtasia in conjunction with screencasting. While these probably are the most usable products on the market, there are plenty of lower-cost or no-cost …
So, I’ve heard from several sources that there are no rooms left for the ALA Conference at the hotels suggested on the ALA’s website. Yikes! I live in Chicago, but I have never stayed in a hotel here, and therefore I really don’t have any insights other than to check Hotels.com/Orbitz/whatever and pick something in …
I’ve read a lot of posts and articles lamenting the fact that many students and patrons prefer using Google to the library’s print and electronic resources, but few look at why people prefer Google beyond the fact that “it’s easy to use”. Today, Lorcan Dempsey posted an excellent analysis of the characteristics of the user’s …
I just want to wish a hearty congratulations to Dorothea Salo who just received her MLS today. So glad you made it through! Ever since I started reading her blog, Dorothea has inspired and challenged me with her insightful comments and consistent questioning of the conventional wisdom (about everything). If you don’t read her blog, …
I recently had an interesting discussion with a librarian regarding the usability of OPACs. I, as usual, was arguing that there are lessons to be learned from Google, RedLightGreen, and Amazon in how information retrieval systems should be designed. He replied, “at some point don’t you think the responsibility should rest on the students? How …