live long and pros.. er... learn something!

Good sites this week and lots to learn on a few of them. I spent a lot of time on the How Stuff Works site simply because I was interested in reading the articles. I also like the Nikon site because the articles about photography were interesting and came with great visual aids. I will probably spend more time in the future on the Nikon site to improve my photographic skills.

I did see some issues with a couple of the sites. Like many places on the web, sites get forgotten or ignored by their creators and fail to update regularly. For example, I looked at the DIY home theater lesson CNET's site. I was unable to get a price for the two receivers I was interested in because they were both "out of stock". It turns out the Denon is from 2006 and has very limited availability. Also, I was disturbed by the houses they showed in the the "hot houses" feature because they seemed to focus only on what I would consider an "upper class" home and not on things that can be done in smaller spaces.

I think that there will be more of this style of learning at all levels simply because it allows the user to learn on very specific subjects at the most convienent times. I think this shift is important because it empowers the user. Why sit through an entire electronics class to learn how to set up your surround sound?

Importance of historical web based information

Look for Pete the Perch to show up on Orlando Memory. Many thanks to the librarian on the 4th floor for supplying the picture on flickr.
We have been given an interesting question this week: how important are 2 distinct websites with historical information to me and the library. The first part is easy - obviously Orlando Memory gives us the opportunity to keep photos of how the library looked and how it has evolved. Since certain kinds of change can take time - and let's face it libraries are among the slowest changers for a variety of reasons - it's easy to show just how much change takes place in a long time. We are also in the unique position to see the changes that go on in the downtown area. With Orlando memory we can have a repository for information not only about our library but about the community in which we live. It's nice for me because I like historical things and find it fascinating to see how things change.
Orange Seed is a different idea. It's not as visual, so at times it's hard to see how the ideas presented will really fit until they are completed. It does allow for collaboration by a number of people - even those who don't have the initial idea, but may have ideas about implementation of other's ideas. I rarely look at the orange seed because I don't have time and I haven't had an idea that I think needs to be implemented.

Web 2.0 apps for Librarians

One of our clerks - I keep people nameless not to avoid giving due credit but because I try to respect their privacy - found this neat library catalog application that is very web 2.0 and I think would be very useful in most situations. Take a look at some of the features here VuFind Features.
I find it very interesting in that it allows patrons/members to find items, track searches, store and bookmark queries and translate into various languages. My only issue is that it was designed by librarians for librarians. I say this because it's painfully obvious that we didn't do the best job with things like Dewey (200s are a specific nightmare) and we don't always organize without letting our education and experience get in the way - i.e. I was looking at several library websites for government information for a project and when I did find the information on the websites it was hidden under headings like Reference and Research which may make sense to the average librarian, but probably doesn't make sense to a patron.
I also thought this award winner was neat - Galaxiki - because after all who doesn't aspire to own their own galaxy. Why stop at being emperor of the western hemisphere when you can be emperor of an entire star system? You can explore and read others works for free or purchase a system of your own. This seems like great fun for any sci-fi or fantasy addict.

Halloween

Because I can't resist it and I KNOW you are all out there reading - you have to check out this YouTube Video featuring Nick from Ref Central. Too Funny!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDRGffmCcr8

Have a safe halloween everyone, even if you do decide it lasts all weekend....

Changes ... or don't tell me to grow up or out of it...

Good stuff this week. The Radiohead article from Rolling Stone was very interesting even though I've never heard any of their music to the best of my knowledge. I may have to go download or stream some of it later on.
The reason I was most interested in that article is that I have an interest in continuous innovation. I think that as a library we try to innovate, certainly to the extent of doing more with fewer resources and to an extent we succeed. I think it's good from a customer standpoint that we can offer things other than books and even give them a place to download an audio book if they choose. I also think that as we've moved away from the "shush" culture of a library - the one where you can hear a pin drop from the far end of the building - we've created an atmosphere that is more "fun" for our patrons.
The Davinci articles were interesting. In particular, I enjoyed the gaming article which points out how addicted many humans are to some form of gaming. Games can take so many different forms and can make doing mundane tasks much more enjoyable. Oddly enough, there are books I remember from my youth which advocated this method - Mrs. Piggle Wiggle anyone?

Week four

Open source is a growing field. For the "early adopters" it can be a gold mine of software to do the same job as a $1000+ commercially produced product. I strongly believe that had I been better aware of the Open Office project I could have saved money when I was working on my Master's degree.
The YouTube video made some excellent points about how much information is available out there and how it is used in an election. It is nice to see that voices that would otherwise be disregarded now can be heard.
Liveleak is neat, but I had to take offense with the titling of the video I watched - Darwin Award Dimwits 14 - as few of these people CHOSE to be in the airplane accidents, they just chose to fly. There is spectacular footage, set to the song "Danger Zone", but to infer that these folks are eligible for the Darwin is questionable.
Answerbag is neat, but I was unable to find similar enough questions on TVs between Yahoo Answers, Answerbag and Askville. Yahoo answers seemed to me to have the better quality answers and a far larger number of answered questions.

Interesting copyright ruling

I ran across the following article via my favorite blog - Slashdot .

RIAA loses $222K verdict from ZDnet. I follow many of the cases that the RIAA has filed against individuals becauase I have an interest in copyright law and how it is applied. In this case, the RIAA claimed that simply "making ... available for download" was a violation. Fortunately the US District Court disagrees. This is important decision for libraries because simply allowing the RIAA to sue under this concept of "making available" could force libraries to do away with any CD, CD book, etc in their collection for fear of being sued for "making available" items people can then put on a peer to peer network. Granted, the RIAA has concentrated on going after individuals, but there is still the remote chance that those items would eventually be traced back to the library.

Another item, this one from Gamepolitics.com. Recommending Permanent Disbarment Jack Thompson. All the gamers can sleep easier knowing that this now former lawyer will have a much harder time filing lawsuits against their favorite games. For those that don't know, Mr. Thompson has filed several lawsuits in the past against a number of video games and video game producers.

Fitness and technology

Today was the Health, Wellness and Technology lesson. Lots of good links and good information on those links. I think the Wii is great for a workout - I particularly like the boxing which I tried at staff day last year - and the games are fun. I would like to see the library offer a Wii workout room for the staff to use; I'd be there every day on my lunch hour.
I would use the google maps pedometer, but my neighborhood does not show up on their map. I would like to know how far it is around my gated neighborhood, but I guess I'll just have to buy a new pedometer and find out.
Nike + looks like a good program just absurdly expensive and apparently not compatible with my iPod Touch.
Good ideas here and a great mix of techology that can be used to improve fitness.

Blogging

I just finished the second learn 2.1 lesson. The 2 blogging songs may be running through my head for the rest of the day... grrr...
I've read shifted librarian on and off for the last year and I really like that blog. I wasn't familiar with the librarian in black blog, but it triggered me that I have a Library Thing account that I hadn't looked at in ages. Lots of good recommendations for my reading pleasure and it reminded me that I need to upload more of what I own.
Looking forward to the next lesson.

March of the Reference Penguin

A new learn 2.1 blog from a marching penguin. I am looking forward to whatever has been cooked up for us this time, particularly the health section. Web 3.0 seems to be a very fluid concept that is subject to change at any time. This should be a fun journey for all of us.