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Friday, November 20, 2009

Library 101


Library 101 is a collaborative multimedia project started by David Lee King and Michael Porter. Here are some of the great resources you can find on this site:
  • Essays on Library 101 - David and Michael asked some widely known and respected folks in Libraryland to talk about what they see changing in libraries and what we need to be doing to ensure we remain relevant as technology and society evolve.

  • Links to 101 resources and things to know (RTK)

  • An entertaining video

If you are interested in keeping up with technologies in libraries this is a site for you!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

19 Free Web Services That Keep Saving You Money

Zack Stern article profiles 19 Free Web Services That Keep Saving You Money. Web resources are mentioned under the following categories:


Free long distance

No fee faxes

Videoconference for free

Conference calls for free

Use a No-Cost Directory-Assistance Service

Turn Scanned Docs Into Text, at No Cost

Free Services for Taking Notes

Grabbing E-Books

Download free MP3s

Automatically Transcribe Voice Notes for Free

Read Free E-Classics

Beat the Text-Messaging Swindle

Store Large Files Online for Free


I am sure you'll discover something you can use immeiately

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

100 Best blogs for Librarians of the Future

Donna Scott (Learn-gasm)lists the 100 best Blogs for Librarians of the Future. Kudos to Geddes Davis (my significant other) on his blog The LibVocate making the list:

Here are the top twenty blogs under the category Technology and education:

Wired Librarian: Karen Kliegman is the Library Media Specialist at her elementary school and shares thoughts on library conventions, blogging, information literacy, and more.
Free Range Librarian: K.G. Schneider is Community Librarian for Evergreen open-source library software, and she blogs about writing, tech toys, and more.
Information Wants to Be Free: Meredith Farkas is the distance learning librarian at Norwich University. Learn about how libraries work in a distance learning environment from her posts.
Librarians Matter: This blog discusses how new technology systems can be used in libraries.
Libraryman: This young librarian likes stirring up new ideas and controversial new technology systems and trends for libraries.
LibrarianInBlack: Here, tech librarians will find all kinds of resources and discussions about keeping up with technology trends and developments.
ALA TechSource Blog: This multi-author blog contains information about ways to bring your library into the 21st century and beyond.
LITA Blog: The Library and Information Technology Association blogs here.
info-fetishist: Anne-Marie Deitering is the Franklin McEdward Professor for Undergraduate Learning Initiatives at Oregon State University Libraries, and she blogs about emerging web technologies and systems.
Theoretical Librarian: This blog reports on new technology systems and how they may or may not be able to be used in libraries.
iLibrarian: The OEDb’s Library blog is full of tech tips for librarians.
MichaelZimmer.org: For news and analysis on privacy, surveillance, new media, ethics and technology, check out this blog.
Peter Scott’s Library Blog: Peter Scott blogs about Google books, e-learning, web archiving, and more.
The Handheld Librarian: Librarians submit articles about computers and technology to this blog. Blog without a library: Learn about library and tech news and trends from Blog without a library.
The Ubiquitous Librarian: Brian Mathews blogs about media, design, the future of libraries, and more.
Hey Jude: Follow this blog if you want to discover more about "learning in an online world."
Social Networking Librarian: Find out if social networking is something you want to encourage in your library or not.
Connie Crosby: This Canadian law librarian is up-to-date on social media, e-commerce and more.
Tame the Web: On Tame the Web, Michael Stephens and his guest bloggers cover library 2.0, librarians and leadership, and more.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Hotlinks to OCLC Cataloging and Metadata meetings held at ALA 2009 Annual Conference

Recordings are now available for many of the OCLC Cataloging and metadata meetings held during last month’s ALA 2009 Annual Conference.

You can visit OCLC Web site to view the following hotlinks to listen to the recording and view the presentation slides.

Redesigning Technical Services Workflows – with presentations including:
Streamlining Book Metadata Workflow: A Report from NISO and OCLC presented by Todd Carpenter, NISO, and Renee Register, OCLC; The Only Constant is Change presented by Arlene Klair, University of Maryland Libraries; and Technical Services for a Radically New Reality presented by Rick Anderson, University of Utah.

Something for Everyone: How New Approaches to Metadata Management Enable Discovery – Ted Fons and Matt Goldner, OCLC, discuss how information seekers look for information and how cataloging practices can contribute to the user experience.

Integrating Technical Services and Preservation Workflows: Mainstreaming Digital Resources – After an introduction from Geri Bunker Ingram of OCLC, Amy Rudersdorf, Director, Digital Information Management Program, The State Library of North Carolina, discusses integrating a whole host of systems into a digital curation workflow, including OCLC’s Connexion tools, Digital Archive, WorldCat, Digital Collection Gateway and CONTENTdm.

WorldCat Selection Users Group – presentations included:
Lean Budgets and Staff Shortages: How the implementation of WorldCat Selection is helpful to Collections and Technical Services staff at Binghamton University, by Caryl Ward, Binghamton University and Selected Selector Selections: post-selection ordering workflows at Cornell, by Boaz Nadav-Manes, Cornell University Libraries.


WorldCat Selection partners and recent enhancements to the service by David Whitehair of OCLC. The presentations were repeated for recording after ALA.

ONIX to MARC and Back Again: New Metadata Service Options at OCLC – Renee Register, OCLC, introduces OCLC Metadata Services for Publishers and describes the process of enriching publisher title metadata to create an ONIX file for use in the publisher supply chain.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

For Catalogers: - My thoughts on RDA (Resource Description and Access) the new AACR2






American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Chicago July 9-July 15 - Report on Pre-conference RDA , FRBR and FRAD : Making the Connection
http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Friday%2C_July_10



For catalogers and others with an interest in information organization and access RDA (Resource Description and Access) is the new set of cataloging rules/standards which will replace Anglo American Cataloging Rules AACR2. RDA is based on the FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) and FRAD (Functional Requirements for Authority Data) conceptual models. RDA was developed to simplify the patron’s task in finding, identifying, selecting and obtaining the resources they need in the library’s catalog.



Some perceived advantages of RDA for Cataloging:
· Although RDA is built on some of the key principles of AACR2, it has been described as a more comprehensive set of instructions and guidelines for describing all types of resources – traditional as well as digital and web based resources. Rules for cataloging digital and web based resources were not adequately covered by AACR2. For example, if cataloging Internet resources using the current AACR2 rules a cataloger would need to consult at least 3 chapters in describing this resource. RDA was developed specifically for libraries operating in a digital environment. (A comparison of AACR2 and RDA is adequately covered by Tom Delsey, editor of RDA at the ALCTS sponsored session Look before you Leap: Taking RDA for a Test Drive http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Saturday%2C_July_11)


· RDA is based on the FRBR conceptual model which emphasizes the relationship between a person’s work, the expression and manifestation of this work and the work’s physical copy (item). This enhances the clustering of bibliographic records to allow for better displays in library catalogs. For example, users will be able to view all the different editions, translations and physical formats of books and other resources in one macro/summary level cataloging record. OCLC WorldCat.org provides one example of a catalog which has been FRBR-ized. http://www.worldcat.org/. Another is OCLC Fiction finder http://fictionfinder.oclc.org/

· RDA is compatible with the MARC21 format. This compatibility is beneficial for catalogers as there will be no need to re-catalog older bibliographic or authority records. New fields have been added to the MARC format to accommodate RDA rules for description of digital and web resources: Field 336 (use to described content such as cartographic dataset, cartographic image); Field 337 (used to describe media such as microform, audio); Field 338 (used to describe Carrier type such as audio disc, microform cartridge).

· RDA was developed with input and suggestions from groups within and outside the library community. This allows for the standard to be readily adapted for use by information communities other than libraries. For example, organizations which use and support Dublin Core elements and the ONIX standard (publishing community) in creating metadata can easily adapt RDA to meet their needs.

· RDA emphasizes the rule “take what information you see on the resource you are cataloging”. This is advantageous for automating cataloging workflows. Technical Services departments in libraries can create workflows which utilize automatic machine–capture or harvesting of metadata already embedded in the resource. This is a time saver and can be viewed as more efficient as less time will be spent by catalogers on editing these machine-generated records.

· RDA is being developed as an online, web-based tool with no immediate plans for a print version. As an online product it offers the following advantages:

·The interface can be easily customized to fit specific workflows and to catalog specific types of materials. Additionally, documents with local cataloging rules, policies and procedures can be easily integrated into RDA online.

· RDA will display the current rules and guidelines and the old AACR2 rules simultaneously in a single viewing pane.

· Catalogers can add personal notes and highlight rules useful to their workflow using a personal login.

RDA has not been officially released as a paid for product. October 2009 is the schedule date for testing by different library types in the US. The distribution date for the online product is 2010.

Here is the testing timeline as described by the Library of Congress:
· Test Days 1 through 90: Test partners use this three-month period to become familiar with the content of RDA and with navigating RDA Online.
· Test Days 91 through 180: Test partners produce records in the test and share them with the US National Libraries RDA Test Steering Committee.
· Post-Test Days 1-90: The US National Libraries RDA Test Steering Committee analyzes the results of the test and prepares its report to the management of the three national libraries.
· After Post-Test Day 91: The report is shared with the US library community.
To view more information about the proposed methodology for testing RDA visit http://www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/rda/

For more information on RDA visit http://www.rda-jsc.org/rda.html

For an overview of RDA with screen shots of the current version, and to view RDA in VTLS ILS system visit the following URL link to the ALCTS RDA Implementation Task Force session “Look Before You Leap: Taking RDA For a Test-Drive” http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Saturday%2C_July_11

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Chicago July 9-July 15 - Report


I attended the annual ALA 2009 conference in Chicago July 10-July 12. The conference wiki is available at: http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Here is a summary of some of the sessions I attended:

Saturday , July 11, Workflow Tools for Automating Metadata Creation and Maintenance
http://presentations.ala.org/index.php?title=Workflow_Tools_for_Automating_Metadata_Creation_and_Maintenance
Many academic libraries are recognizing that digitization is a value-added way of increasing visibility of unique and special collections to local and global communities. As libraries embark on these digital projects, staffs at all levels are mindful of the costs involved and are searching for ways to maintain cost effective projects. This session provided examples of work flows in current digital projects where tools such as macros have been used to automate the creation and maintenance of data.

Saturday July 11 – Library of Congress and Web 2.0 Technologies
There was a presentation at the LC exhibit booth on how LC has successfully embraced Web 2.0 technologies by integrating collections and services in high volume social networking sites like Flickr, Twitter, FaceBook, You Tube, and Itunes The Library of Congress on iTunes U.
Sunday July 12, OCLC Update Breakfast. Streaming video of this session is available at http://www.oclc.org/us/en/news/events/presentations/default.htm

· OCLC announced its intention to develop a web-scale cooperative library management system which will rival competing ILS vendors such as "Innovative, Sirsi Dynix, Aleph, and VTLS. This library management system will provide tools for managing library collections through modules such as circulation and delivery, print and licensed acquisitions, and license management. These new services will complement existing OCLC services.

· OCLC has centralized its product and services support functions. Support and service calls will no longer be handled by OCLC service partners such as SOLINET. The telephone number for OCLC support is 1-800 848 5800.

· WorldCat.org will soon be launched as the new interface or platform providing access to OCLC content such as FirstSearch, the WorldCat database, ArchiveGrid – database of over 1 million archival collections, CAMIO – a catalog of art museum and images online, and OAISTER – a union catalog of more than 19 million cords of digital resources from more than 1,000 contributors. This new interface will take the form of a single-search box, which can be branded with the library’s logo and placed anywhere on the library’s home page. This search box can be downloaded by users and added to their favorite websites. This product is available free of charge with current OCLC FirstSearch subscription. Access to the current FirstSearch interface will not be discontinued and will be available to OCLC users until 2011.

· WorldCat Local “quick start” will soon be included in subscriptions to the FirstSearch service at no additional charge. Content in WorldCat Local and the new Worldcat.org platform can be synchronized and delivered in the same customizable search box. WorldCat Local provides content from three sources: local library resources, content available through a consortia and global content such as what is available via the WorldCat database.

· With the expansion of the FirstSearch package users will have access to CONTENTdm Quickstart –an entry level hosted version of OCLC CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software which allows libraries to host 3,000 digital objects free of charge on OCLC server.

· In Feb 2009 OCLC began a pilot project where cataloging members with full level authorizations can enhance WorldCat records (previously there was a limit to the number of fields libraries could edit or enhance). This experiment will end in August 2009. More information is available at www.oclc.org/worldcat/catalog/quality/expert

Sunday July 12 Dr. John C. Tyson Award Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Program
As a member of the Dr. John C. Tyson Award Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association I helped organized a panel presentation titled "What do I Need to Know? Strategies for Career Growth and Promotion." This panel discussion focused on highlighting career strategies for new and mid-level librarians preparing for promotion and leadership. Three experienced librarians discussed their career path to higher management positions and outlined strategies for advancement for Millennial Librarians.

Presenters:
Steven J. Bell bells@temple.edu "Hills and Valleys: Moving Strategically On the Long Road of Your Library Career"
Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services Temple University

Jon E. Cawthorne jcawthor@rohan.sdsu.edu "Know thyself help will follow"
Interim Library Dean
San Diego State University

Virginia L. Cairns Virginia-Cairns@utc.edu "Make the best of what you've
got: creating the opportunities you need to advance your career"
Head, Reference and Instruction Services University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

Sunday July 12 Catalog Use and Usability Studies: What Do They Show and How Should This Evidence Affect Our Decision-Making?
A new report released by OCLC on Online Catalogs what Users and Librarians want http://www.oclc.org/us/en/reports/onlinecatalogs/default.htm suggests that end users want the following from the library online catalog:
· direct links to online content – text and media formats
· evaluative content such as summaries/abstracts, tables of contents and excerpts
· relevant search results
· item and availability information - if the item is available and how to get it
· simple keyword search with an advanced, guided search option.
Karen Calhoun (one of the authors of the report, gave a detailed overview of the findings) in her presentation which is available is available at:
http://presentations.ala.org/images/5/59/Calhoun_Online_Catalogs_ALA_July_2009.pdf

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

ALA Toolkit provides answers for finding a job in a tough economy



From the ALA website:
The “Getting a Job in a Tough Economy” toolkit is an interactive website with tips, narrative and suggested links and readings, comments, podcasts, and activities/checklists for new librarians and support staff, those looking to change position, people who have been laid off, and others who are having difficulty finding the right position. The site is a one-stop resource including and/or linking to information prepared for members from units within ALA, as well as linking to information about best practices in job searching from any field. The toolkit will shine a spotlight on the resources that ALA already offers, highlighting why they are especially valuable in the current economy.

ALA Job search resources on the site:

Especially In A Tough Job Market
How do I network?
How do I plan a job search strategy?
How do I uncover my strengths, talents, and work values?
What do I do if I’m laid off?
Where are the jobs?

In Any Job Market
How do I craft a resume?
How do I get ready for interviews?
How do I write cover letters?
Once I get the job, how do I negotiate for my salary and benefits?
What do I need to know about the job?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

ALA 2009


I attended the annual ALA conference in Chicago. A full report on sessions I attended will follow. Here are some interesting facts I can share with you:

1. Tired of standing in line at your library circulation desk to borrow your favorite book. The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is a new innovation for you. EBM is a print on demand (POD) machine that prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book in a few minutes, and can potentially allow readers to obtain any book title, even books that are out of print. A single machine can cost approximately $175,000 and seems like a great investment for libraries with high volume traffic.

2. For catalogers and others with an interest in information organization and access RDA (Resource Description and Access) is the new set of cataloging rules and will replace AACR. RDA is based on the FRBR conceptual model, and was created to fullfil the patron's task of finding, identifying, selecting and obtaining the resources they need. Testing of the new rules by select libraries is scheduled for October and publication date for this totally online product is early 2011.

3. Library of Congress has successfully embraced Web 2.0 technologies and has a prescence in high volume social networking sites like Flickr, Twitter, FaceBook, You Tube, The Library of Congress on iTunes U

4. OCLC has announced its intention to develop a web-scale library management system which will rival competing ILS vendors such as "Innovative, Sirsi Dynix, Aleph, and VTLS.

5. Libraries are continuing to provide innovative services despite a reduction in budget allocations.

Friday, June 26, 2009

King of Pop Passes on...



The iconic King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away yesterday June 25. He was a phenomenal and influential figure in my early years as an ardent listener of pop music. I sang along with all the songs in the mega album Thriller and stayed glued to my television set whenever one of his music videos aired. I would like to express my condolences to the Jackson family. May his music and legacy live on ...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Three new search engines on the horizon






WolframAlpha - described as a computational knowledge engine. Enter your question or calculation,and WolframAlpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer.

Google Squared is an experimental search tool that collects facts from the web and presents them in an organized collection, similar to a spreadsheet. If you search for [roller coasters], Google Squared builds a square with rows for each of several specific roller coasters and columns for corresponding facts, such as image, height and maximum speed.

Microsoft Bing - Bing makes an extra effort to help searchers with some targeted topics such as shopping, travel, local business and information, and health-related research which have been identified as areas in which people wanted more assistance from a search engine in making key decisions.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

ACURIL 2009



I attended the ACURIL (Association of Caribbean University Research and Institutional Libraries) annual Conference which was held June 1-5 in Guadeloupe. This provided an excellent opportunity to network with my colleagues from the English, Dutch, French and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands.

They were very receptive to my ideas outlined in my presentation Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0 - Innovative Services for Sustainable Caribbean Libraries.

Click here for the Powerpoint presentation

Click here for the Conference paper which includes examples of Libraries using Web 2.0 technologies and a list of free Web 2.0 resources on the Internet

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Podcast interview with Sarah Long on the book Caribbean Libraries in the 21st Century



My colleague Shamin Renwick and I talked to Sarah Long (Director of the North Suburban Library System) about our book Caribbean Libraries in the 21st Century: Changes, Challenges, and Choices. Sarah's podcast, "Longshots,explores the world of libraries through interviews with key library figures and commentary on issues that matter to libraries.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The Pontiff and Social networking tools

Web surfers can now send or receive virtual postcards of Pope Benedict XVI from their Facebook friends through a new Facebook application. The Vatican is taking new, technologically savvy steps to bring its message to social networking sites and smartphones. Also available on the Pope2You portal is an application for iPhone and iPod Touch that gives surfers video and audio news on the pope's trips and speeches, as well as on Catholic events worldwide. As early as January, Pope Benedict got his own YouTube channel, this is now linked to the portal.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

President Obama supports Libraries and Museums in budget allocation


Washington, DC—President Obama has requested $265,556,000 for fiscal year 2010 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The request, which was transmitted to Congress today, represents an increase of $1,453,000 over the FY 2009 enacted level for the Institute’s programs and administration. The proposed budget will support museums and libraries as they provide unparalleled value to the public, fuel knowledge sharing, and energize our economy, creativity, and competitiveness.
“We are pleased to have President Obama’s support for the nation’s museums and libraries,” said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS. “With this proposed budget, IMLS looks forward to continued support of these institutions as they connect people to information and ideas.”
The President requested $213,240,000 for the nation’s 123,000 libraries. Of that amount, approximately 80 percent is distributed through the Grants to States program to the State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and freely associated state, according to a population-based formula. These grants help libraries meet the community needs, use technology to develop new service models and reach underserved populations. Library funding also supports:

- National Leadership Grants to support creation of new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances to shape tomorrow’s libraries;
- Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services Grants to support improved access to library services for Native Americans, Alaska Native Villages, and Native Hawaiians; and the
- Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grants that build the professional capacity of libraries by improving staff knowledge and skills.

In support of the nation’s 17,500 museums, the President requested $35,182,000 for the following grant programs:
- Museums for America, a program that strengthens museums as active resources for lifelong learning and as community assets.
- The 21st Century Museum Professionals program, which supports projects that address the preparation of museum professionals for the future by updating and expanding their knowledge and skills.
- The Conservation Project Support program, which helps museums identify conservation needs and priorities and perform activities to ensure the safekeeping of their collections.
- National Leadership Grants to support creation of new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances to shape tomorrow’s museums.
- The Native American and Native Hawaiian Museum Services program, which enables Native American tribes, Alaska Native villages or corporations, and organizations that primarily serve Native Hawaiians to benefit their communities and audiences through strengthened museum services.
- The Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program, which builds professional capacity in the African American museum community.
- The Museum Assessment Program, which provides technical assistance to help institutions assess their strengths and weaknesses and plan for the future.
- The Conservation Assessment Program, which assists small museums in laying the groundwork for effective collections management.

The President’s budget also provides continued support for research and policy activities in the Office of Policy, Planning, Research, and Communications.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

New OCLC Report - Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want


In 2008, OCLC conducted focus groups, administered a pop-up survey on WorldCat.org and conducted a Web-based survey of librarians worldwide on Online Catalogs. The report - Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want is now available for download.

Key research findings:

•The end user’s experience of the delivery of wanted items is as important, if not more important, than his or her discovery experience.

•End users rely on and expect enhanced content including summaries/abstracts and tables of contents.

•An advanced search option (supporting fielded searching) and facets help end users refine searches, navigate, browse and manage large result sets.

•Important differences exist between the catalog data quality priorities of end users and those who work in libraries.

•Librarians and library staff, like end users, approach catalogs and catalog data purposefully. End users generally want to find and obtain needed information; librarians and library staff generally have work responsibilities to carry out. The work roles of librarians and staff influence their data quality preferences.

•Librarians’ choice of data quality enhancements reflects their understanding of the importance of accurate, structured data in the catalog.

The findings suggest two traditions of information organization at work—one from librarianship and the other from the Web. Librarians’ perspectives about data quality remain highly influenced by their profession’s classical principles of information organization, while end users’ expectations of data quality arise largely from their experiences of how information is organized on popular Web sites. What is needed now is to integrate the best of both worlds in new, expanded definitions of what “quality” means in library online catalogs.

The report concludes with recommendations for a data quality program that balances what end users and librarians want and need from online catalogs, plus a few suggestions for further research.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Google Timeline



Here is a neat tool for Reference Librarians ...Google News Timeline is a web application that organizes search results chronologically. It allows users to view news and other data sources on a browsable, graphical timeline. Available data sources include recent and historical news, scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores, and information about various types of media, like music albums and movies.

Google News Timeline features search results from many different sources.
- News Sources
- Magazines and Newspapers
- Blogs
- Baseball Scores
- Wikipedia Events, Births, and Deaths
- Media from Freebase

Try it out....

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

UNESCO, Library of Congress and partners launch World Digital Library



UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, at UNESCO Headquarters on 21 April. The site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, and prints and photographs. It will provide unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this material.

The launch will take place at a reception co-hosted by UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, and U.S. Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington.

Mr Billington first proposed the creation of a World Digital Library (WDL) to UNESCO in 2005, remarking that such a project could “have the salutary effect of bringing people together by celebrating the depth and uniqueness of different cultures in a single global undertaking”. In addition to promoting international understanding, the project aims to expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide resources for educators, scholars and general audiences, and narrow the digital divide within and between countries by building capacity in partner countries.

The WDL will function in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and will include content in a great many other languages. Browse and search features will facilitate cross-cultural and cross-temporal exploration on the site. Descriptions of each item and videos with expert curators speaking about selected items will provide context for users, and are intended to spark curiosity and encourage both students and the general public to learn more about the cultural heritage of all countries.

The WDL was developed by a team at the Library of Congress. Technical assistance was provided by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina of Alexandria, Egypt. Institutions contributing content and expertise to the WDL include national libraries and cultural and educational institutions in Brazil, Egypt, China, France, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


Examples of treasures that will be featured on the WDL include oracle bones and steles contributed by the National Library of China; Arabic scientific manuscripts from the National Library and Archives of Egypt; early photographs of Latin America from the National Library of Brazil; the Hyakumanto darani, a publication from the year 764 from the National Diet Library of Japan; the famous 13th century “Devil’s Bible” from the National Library of Sweden; and works of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish calligraphy from the collections of the Library of Congress.

One of UNESCO’s main mandates is to promote the free flow of all forms of knowledge in education, science, culture and communication. The Organization therefore supports initiatives to improve and increase content on the Internet. To this end, it collaborates with a range of partners on the creation of digital and other repositories.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Test your IT IQ


Do you know how many searches there are on Google every month (30 billion), how about what country has become the no. 1 English-speaking country in the world(China), or that one out of eight married couples in the US met online, better yet the number of text messages sent and received exceeds the total population of the planet.

These and other interesting (albeit astounding) IT facts have been put together in a dramatic video researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman and posted on YouTube.

Click this link for the video

Or view video here:

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Library of Congress photo collection on Flickr - invites users to tag, comment




Want to take a stab at tagging and commenting on photos in the Library Of Congress photo collection? Here is a project for you.

Posted on LC Blog
Out of some 14 million prints, photographs and other visual materials at the Library of Congress, more than 3,000 photos from two of our most popular collections are being made available onour new LC Flickr page, to include only images for which no copyright restrictions are known to exist. Then the Flickr community takes over. Anyone can tag, comment and make notes on the images, just like any other Flickr photo, which will benefit not only the community but also the collections themselves. For instance, many photos are missing key caption information such as where the photo was taken and who is pictured. If such information is collected via Flickr members, it can potentially enhance the quality of the bibliographic records for the images.

Visit LC Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/

Monday, March 2, 2009

Journal of Library Innovation seeks submissions


The Journal of Library Innovation is seeking submissions for publication for its inaugural issue in January 2010.

The Journal of Library Innovation, one of the first journals devoted explicitly to innovation and creativity in libraries, is a peer reviewed, electronic journal published by the Western New York Library Resources Council. Its mission is to disseminate research and information on innovative practice in libraries of all types.

Innovation in libraries can include, but is not limited to the following:
• The discovery of unmet user needs.
• The introduction of new services or the retooling of traditional services resulting in a better user experience.
• Creative collaboration between libraries, or between libraries and other types of institutions, resulting in demonstrable improvements in service to users.
• Implementing new technologies to improve and extend library service to meet user needs.
• Explorations of the future of libraries.
• Pilot testing unconventional ideas and services.
• Redefining the roles of library staff to better serve users.
• Developing processes that encourage organizational innovation.
• Reaching out to and engaging library users and non-users in new and creative ways.
• Creative library instruction and patron programming.
• Finding new ways to make library collections or library facilities more useful.

The Journal of Library Innovation publishes original research, literature reviews, commentaries, case studies, reports on innovative practices, and book, conference and product reviews.

The journal also welcomes provocative essays that will stimulate thought on the current and future role of libraries in an Internet Age.

For more information and submission guidelines visit http://www.libraryinnovation.org or contact Pamela Jones, the Managing Editor, at pjones@medaille.edu.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Academic Earth provides links to Thousands Of Video Lectures From The World's Top Scholars



Academic Earth,an organization founded with the goal of giving everyone on earth access to a world-class education is now the site of thousands Of Video Lectures From The World's Top Scholars.

Click here to view videos categorized by subject area

Here is an excerpt from their "About page":

As more and more high quality educational content becomes available online for free, we ask ourselves, what are the real barriers to achieving a world class education? At Academic Earth, we are working to identify these barriers and find innovative ways to use technology to increase the ease of learning.

We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with, and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading scholars. Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and create an environment that in which that content is remarkably easy to use and in which user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable.

We invite those who share our passion to explore our website, participate in our online community, and help us continue to find new ways to make learning easier for everyone.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

President Barack Obama keynote address at ALA 2005 conference



President Barack Obama keynoted the opening general session at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 23–29, 2005, while a U.S. senator from Illinois. This article, published in the August 2005 issue of American Libraries, is an adaptation of that speech, which drew record crowds and garnered a standing ovation.

"Bound to the Word
Guardians of truth and knowledge, librarians must be thanked for their role as champions of privacy, literacy, independent thinking, and most of all reading"

Link to full text of article

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

44th President of the United States is sworn into Office

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite pics of this momentous day when my choice for President, Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.








Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Future of the Internet - Experts weigh in



Experts and analysts assess the future of the Internet in a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project that asked respondents to assess predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020.


Here is a summary of predictions:

• The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world in 2020.
• The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance or forgiveness.
• Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the Internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
• Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing "arms race," with the "crackers" who will find ways to copy and share content without paying for it.
• The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
• Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current Internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.

View full report