I like my tunes in the car and my prime time as much as anyone, so don't call me crazy yet. Still, with the advent of podcasting and YouTube, I often download my favorite programs and listen to them on my iPod, or watch TV shows online (like this 2007 version of Jane Austen's Persuasion).
Oh readers, I can hear you now, "I need a Common Craft video on Podcasting, stat!" And that you shall have, my friends:
To start listening, here are some places to find podcasts: PostCastAlley.com and ODEO (also a podcatcher, like iTunes). Traditional radio, like NPR, is also creating podcasts of their shows. Browse NPR's Podcast Directory to find your favorite show.
You might have noticed, that the video up there was brought to you via YouTube- Common Craft produced it, and Lee LeFever posted it for all the world to enjoy (and even post to their own blogs). Videos can be promotional, educational, tutorial, personal, commercial, nonsensical, and just about anything else. Are ya gettin' it yet?
As you can imagine, both of these tools are becoming increasingly popular for schools and students. Why limit lectures and project presentations to just the classroom audience, when the world at-large could be watching or listening in? For libraries, podcasting and YouTube are both another way to connect with your users. YouTube is not only a Web site- it is a community. People say, "Thank you, YouTube," and they're talking about the other people on YouTube, not the company.
The possibilities are really limitless for librarians and educators... instead of only promoting a "design a bookmark contest", ask people to submit videos to YouTube about why they need a bookmark. Or, if teaching, why not use educational Podcasts and YouTube videos to add to the content in your curriculum? Or, on the administrative side of things, why not create podcasts or videos for training purposes? I'm sure that now you're hip to this technology, you'll get a big light bulb over your head next time it can be used in your library or classroom.
As for me, I'm going to go look for a podcast with Guy or Pierre on beginner conversational French...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
GO AHEAD- POST THOSE PHOTOS!
I have been a longtime fan of Flickr, one of the many online photo sharing Web sites out there. It is such a great way to share major events, daily life, and your world with friends, family and even strangers if you choose. If you have a digital camera, then nothing should be stopping you. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then watch this Common Craft video to learn about Online Photo Sharing in Plain English:
It was originally a sign of a sheep, but was industriously changed into an elephant.(By bored teens wielding sharpies I assume.) It definitely got a laugh out of us, and we just had to stop and photograph it.
Just out of curiosity, I searched Flickr for other elephant road signs, and got over 2,000 results! Who would have thought that something as random as an elephant road sign would be such a fun window to the world?
I feel oddly connected to the people who posted similar pictures; we were obviously all travelers reveling in a new landscape. But this connection shouldn't be too surprising, given the power of pictures.
For this very reason, libraries benefit from having photos online. Post pictures of spaces, events and staff and get connected with your users, your community, and the anyone else who happens across your photos.
Here's an example of the power of sharing photos online. Take this photo, for example:
It was originally a sign of a sheep, but was industriously changed into an elephant.(By bored teens wielding sharpies I assume.) It definitely got a laugh out of us, and we just had to stop and photograph it.Just out of curiosity, I searched Flickr for other elephant road signs, and got over 2,000 results! Who would have thought that something as random as an elephant road sign would be such a fun window to the world?
I feel oddly connected to the people who posted similar pictures; we were obviously all travelers reveling in a new landscape. But this connection shouldn't be too surprising, given the power of pictures.
For this very reason, libraries benefit from having photos online. Post pictures of spaces, events and staff and get connected with your users, your community, and the anyone else who happens across your photos.
Monday, April 21, 2008
GOOGLE DOCS AND FREE ONLINE DOCUMENT SOFTWARE
I am creating this post using a free, online document software. That means, that I don't have to have Microsoft installed, or anything installed for that matter. Since I heart Google, and like to keep my online self as least scattered as possible, I am using Google Docs. When I sign into Google, many services (like my news reader, custom home page, and even this dear old blog) are right there at my fingertips. Now, so are my online documents, spread sheets, and presentations.
Is this where all software applications are headed, you ask? Hmmm... Not if software companies have anything to do with it (Online yes. Free, maybe notsomuch.) And we're by no means there yet, as many of the online document creators still have many, many glitches. I assume those glitches will be worked out eventually and online docs will become more and more common. But if I had to put a wager on it, I would imagine that software companies will continue to increase the features and usability of their products, so that we still want, nay need, to continue to buy their products. Microsoft is half way there, and just announced an download-able subscription based service for office products, although critics are already picking apart the idea of paying for this service forever.
Here are a few articles for further reading: Office Live Workspace vs Google Docs: Feature-by-Feature Comparison,
A (sort of) screenshot of me working on this doc. You'll notice that the toolbar looks very very familiar. But it is missing a few formatting features. For example, I would really love to have been able to add an outline for this image box, but I had to do that in a another program before dropping the image in.
Is this where all software applications are headed, you ask? Hmmm... Not if software companies have anything to do with it (Online yes. Free, maybe notsomuch.) And we're by no means there yet, as many of the online document creators still have many, many glitches. I assume those glitches will be worked out eventually and online docs will become more and more common. But if I had to put a wager on it, I would imagine that software companies will continue to increase the features and usability of their products, so that we still want, nay need, to continue to buy their products. Microsoft is half way there, and just announced an download-able subscription based service for office products, although critics are already picking apart the idea of paying for this service forever.
Here are a few articles for further reading: Office Live Workspace vs Google Docs: Feature-by-Feature Comparison,
The State of Office 2.0 and its Future.
A (sort of) screenshot of me working on this doc. You'll notice that the toolbar looks very very familiar. But it is missing a few formatting features. For example, I would really love to have been able to add an outline for this image box, but I had to do that in a another program before dropping the image in.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK! Welcome to the Jungle... err Library.
This is just too good not to share. I can imagine mean karaoke versions of this classic Guns N' Roses song cropping up at summer reading celebrations and teen nights all over the place. Lyrics courtesy of my co-worker, as part of the on-going National Library Week celebration in my office.
“Welcome to the Library”
Lyrics adaptation by Samantha Wallace
Welcome to the library
We got books 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the notion honey
We got your good read
Chorus:
In the library
Welcome to the library
Watch it bring you to your shun n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n knees, knees
I wanna watch you read
Welcome to the library
We take it page by page
If you want it you're gonna read
But it's the price you pay
And you're a very well read girl
That's very hard to please
You can see the fancy new books
and you can rent them for free
In the library
Welcome to the library
Of Dewey decimal you will learn
I, I wanna hear that page turn!
Welcome to the library
It gets better here everyday
Ya learn ta read like a professional
In the library where we say
“If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
And you can rent it for free!”
Chorus
And when you're high you never
Ever want to come down, so down, so down, so down. YEAH!
You know where you are
You're in the library baby
You're gonna check out a book!
In the library
Welcome to the library
Watch it bring you to your shu n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n knees, knees
In the library
Welcome to the library
Or watch, watch, watch a dvd
In the library
Welcome to the library
Watch it bring you to your shun n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n,n, knees, knees
In the library
Welcome to the library
Watch it bring you to your
Research that baby down!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
HAPPY NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK! Jokes all around
As ALA celebrates the 50th anniversary of National Library Week, my own office is celebrating me- their librarian! Such a great surprise. I feel all warm and fuzzy. Part of the celebration includes an onslaught of library and librarian themed cartoons, experiences, and jokes. I'm sure half of these jokes were pilfered from someone else's blog, so please excuse me for lifting them. Then again, some are just so bad, I imagine they were dreamed up on the spot.
So, without further ado...
What does a library book wear whenever it leaves the building?
A pager.
........
Why did the librarian slip and fall on the library floor?
Because she was in the non-friction section.
........
I was waiting in line to check out some books at the library desk. Ahead of me a teenager stood empty-handed, shifting his weight from one slim, tightly clad hip to the other. The librarian looked at him enquiringly. "I want a play by Shakespeare," the youth blurted out. The librarian, suppressing a smile, asked gently, "Which one?" The young man shifted his hips again, ruffed up his hair with one hand, cupped his chin between thumb and forefinger of the other, all the while frowning in concentration. Finally, he raised his head and looked at the librarian. "William," he replied triumphantly.
........
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Clothes on.
Clothes on who?
The Library's clothes on Thanksgiving,
but we'll be open again on Friday!
........
Why did the vampire check out a drawing book?
He wanted to learn how to draw blood.
........
Librarian: Knock knock.
Student: Who's there?
Librarian: Winnie.
Student: Winnie who?
Librarian: Winnie you going to bring back that overdue book, hmm?
........
Patron: "I am looking for a globe of the earth."
Librarian: "We have a table-top model over here."
Patron: "No, that's not good enough. Don't you have a life-size?"
Librarian: (pause) "Yes, but it's in use right now."
........
Patron: How many reference librarians does it take to change a light-bulb?
Librarian: Well, I don't know right off-hand, but I know where we can look it up!
........
A blonde walks into a library and shouts ''I'LL HAVE A HAMBURGER A COKE AND SOME FRIES.''
The librarian says, ''This is a Library.''
And one limerick:
There is a librarian named Molly,
Whose devotion to books was her folly,
A stack fell on her head,
She was safe, and not dead,
But she sure saw some stars, by golly!
So, without further ado...
What does a library book wear whenever it leaves the building?
A pager.
........
Why did the librarian slip and fall on the library floor?
Because she was in the non-friction section.
........
I was waiting in line to check out some books at the library desk. Ahead of me a teenager stood empty-handed, shifting his weight from one slim, tightly clad hip to the other. The librarian looked at him enquiringly. "I want a play by Shakespeare," the youth blurted out. The librarian, suppressing a smile, asked gently, "Which one?" The young man shifted his hips again, ruffed up his hair with one hand, cupped his chin between thumb and forefinger of the other, all the while frowning in concentration. Finally, he raised his head and looked at the librarian. "William," he replied triumphantly.
........
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Clothes on.
Clothes on who?
The Library's clothes on Thanksgiving,
but we'll be open again on Friday!
........
Why did the vampire check out a drawing book?
He wanted to learn how to draw blood.
........
Librarian: Knock knock.
Student: Who's there?
Librarian: Winnie.
Student: Winnie who?
Librarian: Winnie you going to bring back that overdue book, hmm?
........
Patron: "I am looking for a globe of the earth."
Librarian: "We have a table-top model over here."
Patron: "No, that's not good enough. Don't you have a life-size?"
Librarian: (pause) "Yes, but it's in use right now."
........
Patron: How many reference librarians does it take to change a light-bulb?
Librarian: Well, I don't know right off-hand, but I know where we can look it up!
........
A blonde walks into a library and shouts ''I'LL HAVE A HAMBURGER A COKE AND SOME FRIES.''
The librarian says, ''This is a Library.''
The blonde says, ''Yes I know. I'LL HAVE A HAMBURGER A COKE AND FRIES.'' And the librarian says, one more time, ''This is a library Miss''
The blonde goes ''Oh,'' and whispers, '' I'll have a hamburger a coke and fries!"
And one limerick:
There is a librarian named Molly,
Whose devotion to books was her folly,
A stack fell on her head,
She was safe, and not dead,
But she sure saw some stars, by golly!
Monday, April 7, 2008
WHAT'S THE USE IN SOCIAL BOOKMARKING?
Social bookmarking... what can I say? I love it! First of all, it allows me to take my bookmarks with me where ever I go, organize them, make notes about them (I always found the small box for my browser bookmarks to be too constrictive any), and share them with the world... And likewise, see what the world is bookmarking. It's even a good PR tool for your own web resources.
Watch this Common Craft video (I heart their work!) to learn "Social Bookmarking in Plain Language":
Del.icio.us is probably one of the most widely used social bookmarking sites out there. It is free and easy to tag anything from your Dr's Web site to your favorite recipes or flickr accounts. BUT think of the professional uses as well. I can organize my most frequented (and not so frequented) reference Web sites. To accommodate users familiar with tagging, I could publish my cloud tag to my library's Web page. I could... (insert fascinating use here.)
The next time I'm doing research, or have a research partner, I can imagine a bookmarking application like Citeulike coming in really handy. This free service helps you to store, organize and share the scholarly papers you are reading. Not to mention that it gathers citation details that one can then export to Endnote. This service could possibly do for organizing research what the word processor or xerox machine did for office production. (And maybe save some paper too.)
Watch this Common Craft video (I heart their work!) to learn "Social Bookmarking in Plain Language":
Del.icio.us is probably one of the most widely used social bookmarking sites out there. It is free and easy to tag anything from your Dr's Web site to your favorite recipes or flickr accounts. BUT think of the professional uses as well. I can organize my most frequented (and not so frequented) reference Web sites. To accommodate users familiar with tagging, I could publish my cloud tag to my library's Web page. I could... (insert fascinating use here.)
The next time I'm doing research, or have a research partner, I can imagine a bookmarking application like Citeulike coming in really handy. This free service helps you to store, organize and share the scholarly papers you are reading. Not to mention that it gathers citation details that one can then export to Endnote. This service could possibly do for organizing research what the word processor or xerox machine did for office production. (And maybe save some paper too.)
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