LibWorm.com provides a librarian RSS filtering service. Over 1500 RSS librarian sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest headlines from journals and sites in the Social Networking interest group. http://www.libworm.com/rss/librarianqueries.php Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:53:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/08/weve-heard-it-before-well-hear-it-again-jurors-no-twittering-allowed/ David Kravets writes: A federal court policy making body is belatedly entering the internet age by proposing that judges clearly inform jurors they must not electronically discuss cases they are hearing. It’s standard procedure to inform jurors to remain mum and not conduct any research about the case until a verdict. But recent gadget use by jurors has forced the hand of the Judicial Conference, the policy making body of the U.S. federal courts. “You may not communicate with anyone about the case on your cell phone, through e-mail, Blackberry, iPhone, text messaging, or on Twitter, through any blog or website, through any internet chat room, or by way of any other social networking websites, including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube,” (.pdf) according to the model jury instructions the Judicial Conference released days ago to the federal judiciary. See: Juror Use of Electronic Technologies (3 pages; PDF) Source: Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM) Access the Complete Article Source: Wired (Source: ResourceShelf) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:09:18 +0100 816474 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/-5lB76kJS2c/ WebWorkerDaily has got a very interesting and thought-provoking blog post where they are actually questioning the worthiness of having comments turned on in a blog, whether for personal or business use, given the recent happenings of very popular blogs finally deciding to turn comments off for now. That WebWorkerDaily article surely is a good read providing lots of insightful thoughts on what are some of the pros and cons of such a bold move. Well, here’s my take: keep them! Turn comments on. They are worth it. And here is why. As most of you folks know already, I have been blogging for nearly five years externally, and for seven years internally, and even today I still think comments on blog posts are essential to the overall experience of blogging. I have always been thinking that a blog without comments is just another Web site. There is no interaction. No dialogue. No conversation. No reaction. No nothing. You just basically consume the content… and move on. Just like you would do with a regular (1.0) Web site. However, think for a minute, the kind of impact you would be provoking if you open up for comments in your blog. You are opening your front door for other knowledge workers interested about what you may have got to say to share their ¢2 with you. To help improve the original ideas through conversation, through open dialogue, through constructive feedback; with as little barriers of engagement as possible. Yet, the outcome being tremendously much more powerful, since a good bunch of those comments are bound to improve the original blog entry. ... Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:42:31 +0100 816514 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/m1vCmkLkueA/theory-mimetic-desire Nearly 50 years on, René Girard's theory remains a powerfully illuminating insight into both literature and the worldMany thanks for your insightful comments on "The Death of the Author" and interesting suggestions concerning future discussion topics – please keep them coming. All this feedback confirms the utility of a debate on the purpose of literary theory at a time when critics have all too often retreated into academia or become appendages of publishers' marketing departments. Talented critics can do so much more than just test-drive the latest products for consumers. They can shape the zeitgeist, renew our perception of great literary works and even help authors make sense of their own worlds – a hat-trick René Girard pulled off with Deceit, Desire and the Novel. Discovering Deceit, Desire and the Novel is like putting on a pair of glasses and seeing the world come into focus. At its heart is an idea so simple, and yet so fundamental, that it seems incredible that no one had articulated it before. Girard's premise is the Romantic myth of "divine autonomy", according to which our desires are freely chosen expressions of our individuality. Don Quixote, for instance, aspires to a chivalric lifestyle. Nothing seems more straightforward but, besides the subject (Don Quixote) and object (chivalry), Girard highlights the vital presence of a model he calls the mediator (Amadis de Gaule in this instance). Don Quixote wants to lead the life of a knight errant because he has read the romances of Amadis de Gaule: far from being spontaneous, his desire stems from, and is mediated through, a third party. Metaphysical desire – as opposed to simple needs or appetites – is triangular, not linear. You can always trust a Frenchman to view the world as a ménage à trois. Mediation is said to be external when the distance between subject and mediator is so great that never the twain shall meet. ... Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:03 +0100 816376 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=What39s_New__Roselle_Public_Library_Roselle_Illinois_IL The Roselle Public Library Network is an online social network for patrons, staff and supporters of Roselle Library. Network members discuss the book (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:31 +0100 816277 http://liszen.com/trends/story.php?title=A_Search_Engine_That_Relies_on_Humans Aardvark, a social search company, is developing a new paradigm for Web searches that taps into social networks, not automated formulas, to provide a (Source: pligg - all) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:09 +0100 816284 http://lisnews.org/search_engine_relies_humans Aardvark, a social search company, is developing a new paradigm for Web searches that taps into social networks, not automated formulas, to provide answers to queries. Article at NYT.com (Source: LISNews.org) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:56:06 +0100 816184 http://www.hsdl.org/hslog/?q=node/5359 A surprising amount of Islamic radicalization is occurring in the United States. For instance, the five young Americans that were arrested in Pakistan last December for seeking terrorist training were recruited through the commonly used sites Facebook and Youtube. Also, the Christmas Day "Underwear Bomber" Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab attended a two-week religious program in Houston, Texas about a year before attempting to attempting to blow up the Detroit bound Northwest Airlines flight. The conference in Texas was hosted by the AlMaghrib Institute and supposedly involved a number of individuals known for teaching radical Islamist ideas. The cases of radical jihadist recruitment in the United States raise two major questions: How is this recruitment taking place? And what sort of messages are being conveyed? In this report, "How the Christmas Bomber Spent his Summer in the United States" the Investigative Project on Terrorism identifies what types of radical ideology are being proliferated by groups such as the AlMaghrib Institute. Videos and transcripts of lectures that took place in previous conferences and lectures are provided. In "Taking al-Qaeda’s Jihad to Facebook", the Jamestown Foundation analyzes ways that radical Islamic groups are actively seeking to recruit American youth on popular social networking sites. read more (Source: HSDL Weblog - On the HomeFront) Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:01:34 +0100 815662 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/05/update-social-networking-and-constituent-communications-member-use-of-twitter-during-a-two-month-period-in-the-111th-congress/ This report was first published in September, 2009. The version linked here was updated on February 3, 2010 (17 pages; PDF). From the Summary: This report examines Member use of one specific new electronic communication medium: Twitter. After providing an overview and background of Twitter, the report analyzes patterns of Member use of Twitter during August and September 2009. This report is inherently a snapshot in time of a dynamic process. As with any new technology, the number of Members using Twitter and the patterns of use may change rapidly in short periods of time. Thus, the conclusions drawn from this data can not be easily generalized nor can these results be used to predict future behavior. The data show that 205 Representatives and Senators are registered with Twitter (as of September 30, 2009) and issued a total of 7,078 “tweets” during the data collection period of August and September 2009. With approximately 38% of House Members and 39% of Senators registered with Twitter, Members sent an average of 116 tweets per day collectively. Members’ use of Twitter can be divided into eight categories: position taking, policy, district or state activities, official congressional action, personal, media, campaign activities, and other. The data suggest that the most frequent type of tweets were district or state tweets (24%), followed by policy tweets (23%), media tweets (14%), and position-taking tweets (14%). Access Full Text of Report Updated on February 3, 2010 (17 pages; PDF). Sources: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists) (Source: ResourceShelf) Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:37:45 +0100 815550 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/05/preprint-facebook-as-a-library-tool-perceived-v-actual-use/ Author: Terra B. Jacobson Accepted: February 2, 2010 Anticipated Publication Date: January 2011 Source: ACRL Access Full Text of PREPRINT: Facebook as a Library Tool: Perceived v. Actual Use (23 pages; PDF) From the Intro: Libraries, in the past few years, have begun to examine the possibilities available to them through social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook as a tool for library awareness and marketing. As Facebook has come to dominate the social networking site arena, more libraries have created their own library pages on Facebook to create library awareness and to function as a marketing tool. This has spurred a large amount of how-to articles about the uses for Facebook in libraries as well as research about how librarians and libraries use Facebook. This paper examines reported versus actual use of Facebook in libraries to identify discrepancies between intended goals and actual use. The results of the 2009 study by Hendrix, Chiarella, Hasman, Murphy and Zafron, about the use of Facebook in libraries, is used as a guide to gauge the perceived and actual uses for Facebook in this study. (Source: ResourceShelf) Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:24:57 +0100 815551 http://sites.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/05/user-2-0-patron-2-0-librarian-2-0/ My network admin husband shared this article with me about User 2.0 and dealing with them in a networking and security context.  One section of the article really spoke to me: User 2.0 has different expectations of their work environment.  Social and work activities are blurred, different means of communications are used.  Email is dated, IM, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc are the tools to use to communicate.  There is also an expectation/desire to use own equipment.  Own phone, own laptop, own applications. This is true of library staff and library patrons as well.  Some libraries are not allowing staff to engage in social networking.  Some are continuing to filter access to social networking sites for patrons. I have heard the argument that if people are allowed to answer their personal cell phone at work, there will be anarchy.  The same if staff are allowed to blog, tweet or do Facebook on work time.  Or if we allow all staff to update our websites!  Or take their own pictures and put them up on Flickr.  Or any other thing that we directors do not have firm control over. Let me tell you, that ship has sailed.  You may think you have control over your staff accessing social networking, but you do not.  It is not something you can ever control.  So what choice are you going to make?  Are you going to try to control the uncontrollable?  Which seems madness to me.  Or are you going to draft those employees into advocating for your library via the tools they love to use? As long as my staff are doing good work, putting in a strong effort and being advocates for our library, I have no problem with the tools they are using.  In fact, I’d love to have more of my staff using social networking and talking up our library…  But then I consider myself to be User 2.0 anyway. ... Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815823 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/DD0RYymTopY/ I have mentioned already a couple of times how my first contact with social software tools inside IBM, my current employer, was around the year 2000, when one of the communities I still belong to (And still one of my favourite ones, too!) decided to put together a wiki where we could all contribute and share our knowledge across. From there onwards, the continuous learning experience of transitioning from traditional collaboration and knowledge sharing tools to these social tools has been quite exciting, to say the least. But I am sure you may be wondering when did IBM *really* got started with all things 2.0 on a wider scale, right? Well, this is a blog post where I will share some of those insights myself. However, I am not going to start telling you all sorts of various different details on how IBM has been adopting social software tools over the last few years, starting probably on that landmark date of late 2003, when a blogging platform called BlogCentral  first became available through the Technology Adoption Program (a.k.a. TAP). No, I am not going to do that. Mainly, because I am not very fond of re-inventing the wheel myself, and, secondly, because there is a stunning online resource out there that has done a wonderful job in describing very thoroughly how everything got started and where we are now. Check out the article put together by Casey Hibbard, over at Social Media Examiner, under the title: "How IBM Uses Social Media to Spur Employee Innovation". Casey has been working with my fellow IBM colleague, and good friend, Adam Christensen, putting together, perhaps, one of the most tremendously comprehensive and thorough articles / reports, available out there that clearly describes in very simple, effective and helpful terms what IBM’s Social Media strategy is at the moment, and how it all got started a few years back. ... Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:54:52 +0100 816515 http://www.librarystuff.net/2010/02/04/social-media-and-young-adults/ Pew – “Two Pew Internet Project surveys of teens and adults reveal a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. Even as blogging declines among those under 30, wireless connectivity continues to rise in this age group, as does social network use. Teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers, though high school-aged girls show the greatest enthusiasm for the application.” Read the report (Source: Library Stuff) Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:25:38 +0100 815096 http://ntrls.blogspot.com/2010/02/blogging-is-for-old-people-pew-report.html Blogging is for Old People, Pew Report Finds Benny Evangelista, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, February 4, 2010 Teenagers and young adults spent less time blogging during the past three years as social networks like Facebook became more popular, according to a Pew Research Center study released Wednesday.Still, one social network, Twitter, has failed to catch on with the vast majority of (Source: North Texas Regional Library System) Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 816252 http://centeredlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/02/pew-survey-says-teens-love-facebook.html Ninety-three percent of teens ages 12 to 17 go online, 75% of them own a cell phone, and 66% say they text. 58% of 12-year-olds now have mobiles, compared to 18% just five years ago. Sixty-two percent use the Internet to access information on news and politics, and some teens are even using the Internet as a guardian: 17% say they go online to research information about drug use, sexual health, and other topics that are awkward to talk about with real people.Social networking is up to 73% of "wired" teens, or those who use the Internet often, compared to the 55% of teens who used the sites just three years ago. However, blogging is down, with only 14% of wired teens saying they blog, compared to 28% three years ago. Commenting on blogs is also down to 52%, from 76% in 2006. And while Twitter may be hot with the older crowd, only 8% of teens ages 12 to 17 say they use the microblogging service. The highest percentage of teens on Twitter is 13% of high school girls ages 14 to 17, but compared to the one-third of adults ages 18 to 29 who update or read a microblogging service, the numbers are low.Blatantly lifted from Fast Company. More info and charts at the jump. (Source: The Centered Librarian) Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815397 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LawLibrarianBlog/~3/6ZyE21miIU8/more-gangsters-take-part-in-social-networking.html Following up yesterday's story about a English gangsterusing his Facebook account to threaten witnesses from jail come this report courtesy of SiliconValley.com reporting that domestic gang members are hopping on the social networking bandwagon too. While using Twitter and Facebook... (Source: Law Librarian Blog) Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815357 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/03/new-report-social-media-and-young-adults/ From the Overview: Two Pew Internet Project surveys of teens and adults reveal a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. Even as blogging declines among those under 30, wireless connectivity continues to rise in this age group, as does social network use. Teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers, though high school-aged girls show the greatest enthusiasm for the application. Read the Complete Report (HTML) Read the Complete Report (PDF) The Summary of Findings are Quite Extensive. Here are a Few We Found to be the Most Interesting. Make Sure to Visit the Page to Review All of the Data.everal Findings that Blogging has declined in popularity among both teens and young adults since 2006. Blog commenting has also dropped among teens. 14% of online teens now say they blog, down from 28% of teen internet users in 2006. By comparison, the prevalence of blogging within the overall adult internet population has remained steady in recent years. Pew Internet surveys since 2005 have consistently found that roughly one in ten online adults maintain a personal online journal or blog. In December 2007, 24% of online 18-29 year olds reported blogging, compared with 7% of those thirty and older. By 2009, just 15% of internet users ages 18-29 maintain a blog—a nine percentage point drop in two years. However, 11% of internet users ages thirty and older now maintain a personal blog. 73% of wired American teens now use social networking websites, a significant increase from previous surveys. Just over half of online teens (55%) used social networking sites in November 2006 and 65% did so in February 2008. 47% of online adults use social networking sites, up from 37% in November 2008. Adults are increasingly fragmenting their social networking experience as a majority of those who use social networking sites – 52% – say they have two or more different profiles. ... Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:45:35 +0100 814919 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/davidleeking/~3/EeZf1os5iYg/ First, a funny story. When I lived in Nashville, I frequented a cool used record store. During one trip, I was trying to decide whether or not to buy a couple of old jazz cassette tapes (hey – I was on a tight budget). The tiny shelf these cassette tapes were on was packed WAY too tightly, so when I tried to pull one cassette out to examine it, 2-3 others would fall out at the same time. And make lots of noise as they hit the floor (it was tile, of course). This happened a couple of times … in a row … and was pretty embarrassing! So – to ease my embarrassment at not being able to figure out how to successfully pull a cassette tape off the shelf, a “helpful” shop security guard came over to me. He stood behind me, stared at me for a second, and said (and I quote) – “you’ve got 10 minutes, then you’d better be out of my store.” Then he walked away. Boy, that helped. Thanks That day, the store essentially “showed me the door” in no uncertain terms. Even though the problem wasn’t me – it was their tightly-packed shelf. Now on to the title of this post, and to my point. Showing patrons the door? Yikes – we’d never do that (under normal circumstances, anyway)! Unlike the silly used record shop, librarians would never consciously walk up to a patron and tell them to leave if that patron was having trouble using something in the library … right? I think we DO sometimes tell our patrons to leave when we make things difficult for them. We might as well be saying “here’s the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out.” For example, if your library has a blog, do you moderate those comments? Quickly? I know of libraries that can go 1-2 weeks before they get around to moderating comments. ... Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:33:33 +0100 815567 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TravelinLibrarian/~3/5FjgQwxc7s0/ Via PlanetOddity: How would it have been if today’s popular internet websites and their web applications were artistically reinvented and designed as the 1960s book covers, so as to provide an insight into how these social networking sites may look if they were designed about 40 or 50 years ago? This innovating and enthralling series of images, in fact throw light on the illustrator’s creative thinking-process. The famous French autodidact graphic designer Stephane Massa-Bidal whose leading concept known as “Retrofuturs” (a mix of past, present and future), normally creates his designs with a minimalist approach and a retro touch. (Source: Travelin' Librarian) Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:58:08 +0100 815905 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/teleread/KHnj/~3/jTspvFtcoOo/ I noticed that in the stories following CES this year, lots of media outlets were amazed at the sheer quantities of e-readers, tablets and other media devices on parade. Library Journal, http://www.libraryjournal.com/, also noted this but mentioned as well new companies such as COPIA, http://www.thecopia.com, and Blio, http://www.blioreader.com, which are advocating new methods and formats for ebooks and other types of media. At the cost of alienating many of us, the push for innovation and different formats, I think, is a good thing. From a library standpoint, now is a great time to push for internal change and integrate these methods as well as the ebook formats currently in use. New Approaches Looking at COPIA and Blio, both offer new approaches to reading and sharing ebooks and other media. COPIA, while offering hardware, is focusing on the social networking aspect of ebooks, that is that more than just a single reader and a device. Their software offers groups chances to work together on whatever goal they might be going for. Blio, taking a different angle, promises to bring a “more media” experience across a whole spectrum of devices. Information I’ve gathered is that Blio is also planning to partner with Baker and Taylor, a traditional supplier most librarians are quite familiar with. Integrating Changes As a librarian, I’m excited at these changes and can see how they would benefit the average library patron. Integrating social networking tools as mentioned by COPIA and other companies would help afterschool programs, summer programming and even the more traditional adult library patron who might be interested in joining a book group. Any changes in viewing media, such as the one Blio promotes can be integrated into genealogy collections, magazines and serial collections and a host of increased opportunities for patrons looking for library materials on a particular subject. ... Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:05:05 +0100 814760 http://www.sla.org.uk/blg-hotbook--what-is-it.php The Great Wipe hath irrayzed much of world culcha, butta few bits of licheracha haveth bn found - pleez help mi choose most bestest 2 exxibit - the curator of a history of the book 2/2/3010This message will be beamed from the future to secondary students in the UK via the HOTBOOK, a ground breaking and free digital resource created by if:book, the think and do tank.  This was launched yesterday at the Free Word Centre, Farringdon Road, London, with the aim to ignite a passion for literature (past, present and future) by introducing and exploring fragments of great works and presenting them in a way that will excite an audience that is more at ease with an electronic game or gadget than a book and with people who spend time social networking rather than reading.   In the HOTBOOK poems and extracts from plays, novels, non-fiction texts and broadcasts are presented as short films, Flash animations, podcasts and HTML web pages. They include Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow" speech as stop frame animation, Christina Rossetti's poem "Spring" performed by cartoon rabbits, a rap version of Chaucer's Prologue, an animated version of Benjamin Zephaniah's "Talking Turkeys" and a story of computer gamers by cult sci-fi author Cory Doctorow.  The HOTBOOK includes rebooted classics and new commissions from award-winning contemporary writers such as Daljit Nagra, Kate Pullinger and Naomi Alderman, who were asked to write examples of the literature of the future. Funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The HOTBOOK is aimed at year eight and nine students, and was conceived as a way to help less confident readers stay interested in literature at an age when many young people start to switch off from books.The HOTBOOK has been piloted in four schools and evaluated by the Research Team at Booktrust. ... Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:57:38 +0100 816012 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JohnBattellesSearchblog/~3/h_2SL0081Nw/005113.php Traveling to a marketing conference in Scottsdale today, so here's the roundup from last night's best headlines: Facebook Marketing Goes to the Super Bowl (InsideFacebook) Over and over again, we are reminded that this is the year the Superbowl ad becomes an adjunct to an ongoing social media platform. Good. More Than Half Of Mobile Pageviews Are To Social Networking Sites (BI) This in no way is a surprise but it's worth reiterating: social drives mobile drives social drives mobile drives location drives mobile drives content consumption drives brands. 3 New Ways to Measure the Social Web (Mashable) These are certainly *not* new (we've been measuring these and more for years at FM), but any evolving consensus on measurement is worth pointing out, and reinforcing. Time Spent on Social Media Surges (MarketingProfs) You want metrics proving the social web is huge? Here's more. Top Marketing Innovation Killers (iMedia) Well, don't kill innovation. Just don't make silly mistakes. And make sure your partner can deliver. That's certainly my focus. Google before you Tweet is the new think before you speak. (TheNextWeb) Funny. (Source: John Battelle's Searchblog) Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 814717 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Davidrothmannet/~3/R-YpsYmZFvI/ The Health Tweeder appears to be an attempt at visualizing tweets about health conditions on Twitter. Interesting. (Source: davidrothman.net) Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:36:31 +0100 814546 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/IsUY1CXK2VQ/ It has been nearly a month since the last time I put together a blog post over here on how I’m doing living "A World Without Email" and, while looking into the last few weeks, I have just realised that I’m almost on the closure of the second year experiment of giving up on corporate email altogether. So I thought I would write down today the one before last blog entry for Year #2 of those weekly (Now probably more monthly) progress reports sharing some further insights on the state of things at this point, as I am about to close the second year of this my new reality. Over at my Flickr account you would be able to see the weekly progress reports for weeks #49 and #50. However, for week #51 I am going to share it over here, so you can get a quick glimpse of what the last three weeks have been like put together in combination. So here you have it: As you would be able to see things are looking amazingly good, since, during the course of those three weeks, I received a total number of 44 emails, with an average of 14 per week! Yes, 14 emails received per week! Not sure what you would think, but I am feeling incredibly excited that what started as 30 to 40 emails a day (Nearly two years ago), it’s now turned to 14 emails a week! Huge achievement, if you ask me, and well on target for that follow up challenge that I set up at the beginning of the year of receiving 20, or less, emails a week. Yes, I know … double w00t!!! If you notice, you will see there has been a steady decrease in the number of emails received over the last few weeks, yet that doesn’t mean that virtual online interactions have not been taking place. Actually, quite the opposite. I can certainly share with you folks how the number of those online interactions through social software tools have tripled during that time. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:11:48 +0100 814667 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/eclecticlibrarian/~3/xMQOnhKrp68/ Speaker: Jamene Brooks-Kieffer Article level, for those familiar with link resolvers, means the best link type to give to users. The article is the object of pursuit, and the library and the user collaborate on identifying it, locating it, and acquiring it. In 1980, the only good article-level identification was the Medline ID. Users would need to go through a qualified Medline search to track down relevant articles, and the library would need the article level identifier to make a fast request from another library. Today, the user can search Medline on their own; use the OpenURL linking to get to the full text, print, or ILL request; and obtain the article from the source or ILL. Unlike in 1980, the user no longer needs to find the journal first to get to the article. Also, the librarian’s role is more in providing relevant metadata maintenance to give the user the tools to locate the articles themselves. In thirty years, the library has moved from being a partner with the user in pursuit of the article to being the magician behind the curtain. Our magic is made possible by the technology we know but that our users do not know. Unique identifiers solve the problem of making sure that you are retrieving the correct article. CrossRef can link to specific instances of items, but not necessarily the one the user has access to. The link resolver will use that DOI to find other instances of the article available to users of the library. Easy user authentication at the point of need is the final key to implementing article-level services. One of the library’s biggest roles is facilitating access. It’s not as simple as setting up a link resolver – it must be maintained or the system will break down. Also, document delivery service provides an opportunity to generate goodwill between libraries and users. The next step is supporting the users preferred interface, through tools like LibX, Papers, Google Scholar link resolver integration, and mobile devices. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:28:36 +0100 815591 http://www.docuticker.com/?p=32008 Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009 Source: Harvard Business School What were the management trends in 2009? Fascination with social networking and rethinking common wisdom about goal setting. Here are the Top 10 articles and Top 5 working papers that appeared in HBS Working Knowledge in 2009. Enjoy! + Top 10 articles (with links to full text) Understanding Users of Social Networks Social Network Marketing: What Works? Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Teams When Goal Setting Goes Bad Sharpening Your Skills: Career & Life Balance 10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting (Working Paper) High Commitment, High Performance Management Can Entrepreneurs Drive ‘People Movers’ to Success? + Top 5 working papers (with links to full text) Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network? ‘I read Playboy for the articles’: Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences Corporate Social Entrepreneurship The Devil Wears Prada? Effects of Exposure to Luxury Goods on Cognition and Decision Making (Source: Docuticker) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:35:27 +0100 814387 http://sites.menashalibrary.org/2010/02/02/ping-me/ If you are looking for a way to post easily to multiple social networks, this is the site for you!  Ping.fm allows you to post to a wide variety of social sites, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Delicious and Flickr.  Nicely, the updates work with iGoogle, SMS, instant messengers, and email too.  You decide which sites get the update, or you can select to update all of your accounts.  They also have a handy toolbar that works on both Firefox and IE.  It allows you to easily ping from any site you are on.  Definitely a service worth trying out to see if it will save you time and effort.  (Source: Sites and Soundbytes) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815825 http://librarywriting.blogspot.com/2010/02/reference-renaissance-2010-call-for.html A Reference Renaissance 2010: Call for ProposalsAugust 8-10, 2010 in Denver, Coloradohttp://www.bcr.org/referencerenaissance/index.htmlThe inaugural “Reference Renaissance” conference in 2008 was a truly amazing and inspirational event with over 500 people attending. Building on this success, and the exciting array of new approaches to reference that are emerging, we invite your participation! As we move into a new decade of the 21st century reference services continue to undergo rapid, revolutionary change, as well as facing the challenge of difficult times with human and financial resources becoming scarcer. It is up to each and every one of us to rev up the Renaissance and to Invent the Future. We must choose to be change agents, being proactive rather than reactive. Reference Renaissance 2010 will be a reaffirmation of the importance of reference and information services which encompass not just traditional forms such as in-person point-of-service, telephone, and e-mail, but also chat, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging (SMS), blogs, wikis, Twitter, library pages on MySpace and Facebook, and virtual reference desks in Second Life.Reference Renaissance 2010: Inventing the Future will explore all aspects of reference service in a broad range of contexts, including libraries and information centers, in academic, public, school, corporate, and other special library environments. This two-day conference will incorporate the multitude of established, emerging, and merging types of reference service including both traditional and virtual reference. It presents an opportunity for all reference practitioners and scholars to explore the evolving nature of reference, as an escalating array of information technologies blend with traditional reference service to create vibrant hybrids, new staffing models, and possibilities that allow us to take reference services to the next level. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815820 http://centeredlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/02/15-must-have-web-apps-for-students.html In a guest post over at Digitized, Karen Schweitzer lists the 15 must-have web apps for college students. Well done and valuable enough to repost here.Posti.ca – Students who love sticky notes will also love Posti.ca. It can be used to create and place digital notes around the web that can be accessed from any computer. Sticky notes can also be sent via Twitter and iGoogle and may be shared with anyone–even people who do not have a Posti.ca account.Adobe Buzzword – Buzzword is a word processor that works in a web browser instead of on your desktop. This Adobe beta site can be used to create documents, collaborate with others, and track changes from anywhere.Creative Pro Office – Creative Pro Office is a free suite of web-based office management tools. Features include an office dashboard, project manager, time tracker, calendar, and expense tracking. Creative Pro Office was designed for independent professionals and small tech teams, but it would useful to any student who wants to boost productivity.Whiteboard – With this free web app, students can collaborate on documents from anywhere and view changes in a snap. Whiteboard allows users write, collaborate, and compare in real time without fear of losing information.Bubble.us – This free web app allows students to turn ideas into color-coded mind maps. Bubble.us is the perfect tool for brainstorming with visual aids.PromoOnline – PromoOnline is a free way to create PDF documents without having to install software. With a few simple steps, you can create a PDF version of any file.BibMe – BibMe is a free bibliography maker for students who want to create a fast bibliography or works cited page in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian format. You can enter the required information in yourself or use the search feature to find books, articles, websites, or films.ThinkFold – Students needing an easy way to work on group projects may find what they need in ThinkFold. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815406 http://librarytwopointzero.blogspot.com/2010/02/interesting-books.html I've just quit smoking (or am trying to quit smoking). This has meant rather than going for a cigarette at breaks, I've started reading a lot more. I did read Groundswell. It focuses on how companies can take advantage of emerging social technologies. What a load of tosh. Felt like reading microwaved Clue Train manifesto but at 2 star Michelin restaurant price tag. If you've not read it, well done. I just felt Charlene Li was just trying to make money for Forrester's by underlining how good they are. The book was so bad I sold it on Amazon.Then I read Cyburbia by James Harkin. He says of that Cyburbia, in his interpretation, is the place to which we go when we spend huge swathes of our time hooked up to other people via a continuous loop of electronic information, and online social networks are only its most visible manifestation. This was a more enjoyable read for me. Looking at the impact of the network society are affecting us and how we interact. Worth a look.Then I just finished The Accidental Billionaires: Sex, Money, Betrayal and the Founding of Facebook. I really was not expecting much from this but its a good read, and feels more like a thriller. The author Ben Mezrich obviously seems to side with Eduardo Saverin than Mark Zuckerberg as the originators of facebook. This is not surprising as Eduardo gave him the most time in his researh for the novel. The author also does not have the greatest grasp of Facebook. At one stage he describes how open facebook is. Really? It doesn't even allow you to customise your page unlike Myspace. Its also open to data mining users profiles and is often seen as a walled garden.Apart from that its a good read. (Source: librarytwopointzero) Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 814635 http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2010/02/lets-blame-twitter-because-it-makes-a-good-headline.html Sometimes I really despair of journalists who seem to think that a sensational headline ensures that they don't need to do any proper work. And yes, Susanna Kelley, of the Canadian Press, I'm talking about you, just in case you ego surf. The headline in question is Students failing because of Twitter, texting and from the outset, that seems to pretty much tell the story doesn't it. The first paragraph explains: "Little or no grammar teaching, cellphone texting, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, all are being blamed for an increasingly unacceptable number of post-secondary students who can't write properly." OK, fair enough - now where's your evidence. Apparently there's been a flood of anecdotal evidence 'for years' , despite the fact that the influence of Facebook and Twitter hasn't been around for years, and in the case of the latter, probably only a few months.Various academics are questioned over the lack of grammar, and schools are criticised for not eaching it. 'Definately' (sic) comes in for particular criticism for some reason. Students 'seem to have no idea what an apostrophe is for.' Another comment is 'we haven't taught grammar for 30-40 years'. There's a brief mention of the use of emoticons, use of 'cuz' 'alot' but that's about it. And then someone from the Association of University Teachers 'takes all the complaints about student literacy with a grain of salt'. So where's the story? And what's it's relationship to Twitter? Virtually none, as far as I can tell. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples to show that Twitter is helping children when it comes to maths or poetry, while the UK government seems to think that pupils should study Twitter, and research has shown that texting can improve spelling with 8-12 year old students, while another linguistics expert says 'txt is gr8 4 language'. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 814372 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/davidleeking/~3/53ykzLjbQcY/ This is a follow-up post to my original post, Foursquare and Libraries – Anything There? Lots of you left some great ideas in the comments, so I thought I’d do a little copy/paste and highlight some of them … because they’re really very cool ideas! So – here are what some of YOU are doing with Foursquare: Colleen Greene: Pollak Library (at Cal State Fullerton) is using it in beta mode, adding in a bunch of To Do items and Tips for students (i.e., get a Titan Card, set up their borrowing privileges, check their circulation record, use one of our AV or Group study rooms, visit the latest exhibit, etc.). our Social Media Team is exploring the idea of prizes. I am also teaching our campus social media working group how to use it and incorporate it into a campus culture. Jason Clark: Saw this in a tweet from NYPL which talks about the kernel of an idea – summer reading meets foursquare . A friendly reading competition in the mobile space? Job description provides some more detail. While this isn’t true foursquare integration, it points to how foursquare could lead to/inspire new library apps and services. Brad Czerniak: Canton Public Library offers a weekly prize to their Mayor. Just a concept. This week it’s a #totebag http://twitpic.com/ynn7x libmario: Harvard and UNC recently teamed up with Foursquare to encourage social engagement with the campus community ,including faculty. Innovative way to encourage learning and connections that could be extended to libraries. – http://mashable.com/2010/01/12/harvard-foursquare/ And one interesting sidenote. Sometimes, people can be a bit negative about our libraries while adding tips to Foursquare. For example, Stephen Francoeur said “Saddened to see that one tag already added to my library: shitty wifi. Hope to find a way to turn that perception around.” We’ve had one of those, too. Jason D. ... Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:42:18 +0100 815568 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/02/01/the-economist-special-report-on-social-networking/ A world of connections Although Facebook is the world’s biggest social network, there are a number of other globetrotting sites, such as MySpace, which concentrates on music and entertainment; LinkedIn, which targets career-minded professionals; and Twitter, a networking service that lets members send out short, 140-character messages called “tweets”. All of these appear in a ranking of the world’s most popular networks by total monthly web visits (see chart 1), which also includes Orkut, a Google-owned service that is heavily used in India and Brazil, and QQ, which is big in China. On top of these there are other big national community sites such as Skyrock in France, VKontakte in Russia, and Cyworld in South Korea, as well as numerous smaller social networks that appeal to specific interests such as Muxlim, aimed at the world’s Muslims, and ResearchGATE, which connects scientists and researchers. Source: The Economist (Source: ResourceShelf) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:47:54 +0100 814202 http://nnlm.gov/mcr/news_blog/?p=5137 Keep up with hospitals that are participating in social networking with the “HospitalGroup” Twitter feed:  http://twitter.com/hospitalgroup. [SD] (Source: Midcontinental Region News) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:53:14 +0100 814242 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/TFFY-dc9Luk/ One of the reasons why I have always enjoyed Twitter quite a bit is how sometimes serendipity does its magic and it helps you bump into a URL link that will make you think quite a bit and / or WOW you in the process. It doesn’t happen too often, and probably that’s a good thing, too! (So that you don’t get overwhelmed by the whole thing), but when it does you just can’t stop thinking about the content you have just kindly been provided by those social networks you nurture and cultivate preciously through something so trivial as Twitter. Check the latest example; a YouTube video clip that the always inspiring and insightful Harold Jarche shared a few hours ago on this tweet under the title "The Unconsidered Life", where philosopher and author A.C. Grayling comes to talk for a little bit over two minutes on some thought-provoking topics like the "unconsidered life" (That one will WOW you big time, I am sure!); how we move seamlessly from data to knowledge to, finally, understanding (Which reminded me of the blog post I put together not long ago on Nick Milton’s distinction about Data, Information & Knowledge Management and which I think takes knowledge into the next frontier: our understanding of things around us). Another topic that A.C. Grayling touches base on, and which I thought was rather interesting as well, was that one of Citizen of the World, which I am not going to talk much about it, to be honest, since it touches base on one of the three topics that I decided long long time ago I would never go and discuss online. I am sure that after you watch the video you will understand why. ... Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:44:18 +0100 814668 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/6FkBSCJDvAU/digital-media-magazines-mixing-bowl The typical publishing story these days involves a print mag being shuttered to go web-only. But Meredith and Hearst are taking a little break from that trend to publish print versions of two of their web properties, Mediaweek reports. These steps come as Condé Nast said last week that it would try to figure out ways to resurrect defunct print titles like Gourmet and Domino by possibly licensing the brands for consumer products. Although the print ad environment is still parlous, 2010 is looking a little less bad than 2009. And reduced bad news appears to be enough for mag publishers to take some chances.Meredith already printed one issue tied to its social net recipes site MixingBowl last year. This past week, Meredith published a second issue and it plans to publish more on a regular basis. The publisher is also taking a look at sites and channels that might make it as a print product this year. Meredith has been trying to build up its marketing services over the past year, and it might feel that with an additional revenue stream, the timing may be more propitious for a mag rollout.The food category looks particularly ripe for the renewed print focus, as consumers are likely to stay home to entertain amid what appears to be a weak economic recovery. Hearst's print turn involves Light & Delish, which is the latest in a line of "bookazines" the publisher has been producing over the past year. This bookazine is derived from cooking site Delish.Over the past few months, Good Housekeeping and Country Living both had bookazines tied to the original mags. But Light & Delish is coming straight from the web. Hearst has four other websites on deck for at least one bookazine this year: RealBeauty.com, RealAge.com and Kaboodle.com. Those bookazines are still planned as one-offs, but Light & Delish is expected to be turned into a series. ... Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:16:50 +0100 813957 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grumpator/~3/TVHrwfiXElY/februarys-theme-focus.html 2010 is already one month in! I can't believe how fast January sped by. January's theme was getting up 30 minutes earlier.  I am making progress on this, but it's a hard habit to form! I'll continue working on it. As far as eggs are concerned, I've made a couple of nice breakfasts: I made fried eggs with hashbrowns with THE best hashbrowns I've ever made, and this weekend I made Egg in the Hole.  That was pretty tasty, but I think next time I'll leave the eggs sunny side up, just because I think it'll look nicer.  I'll try to post about the eggs on a more regular basis, with pictures! So, on to February's theme.  This month I'm really going to work on my focus at work.  I tend to distract myself when I'm trying to work on a task by checking my email, etc., so this needs to stop.  Additionally, I need to get better at prioritizing my tasks. So focusing this month has a few specific goals: Limit checking my email to once per hour. Limit checking social networking to once every 2 hours. First thing each day, identify the Most Important Task of the day and do it before anything else. Next month will probably be an expansion of this theme, but I think this is a good start. Finally, here's an older picture of Kitty - I'm trying to focus on being understanding and patient with her this morning. It's amazing how much she's aged in 2 years. (Source: Grumpator) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 815614 http://librarytwopointzero.blogspot.com/2010/02/foursquare-for-libraries.html I had heard some months ago about Foursquare from an old colleague of mine. Wikipedia describes the service as:-Foursquare is a location-based social networking website, software for mobile devices, and game. Users "check-in" at venues using text messaging or a device specific application. They are then awarded points and sometimes "badges." You earn points for finding new places, tagging them and describing them. And if your the first there you can become mayor and win other titles. Anyway, I like Helene Blowers feel that :-It's been awhile since I've seen a new social technology emerge on scene that looked like it had that "explosion potential". The last real time for me was TwitterDavid King also has an interesting article on the use of Foursquare for libraries. Below are 5 ingenious idea's he has thought up:-1.Add your library as a place, or edit the entry if someone else has already added it. You can enter your street address (Google map is included, phone number, and your library’s Twitter name. 2.Add tags relevant to the library. For example, I have added the tags library, books, music, movies, and wifi to my library’s Foursquare entry. If you are in the area (Foursquare is a location-based service, so it knows where you are) and search for wifi – guess who’s at the top of the list? Yep – the library. 3.Add Tips and To Do lists. When you check in to a place, you have the option to add tips of things you can do there, and you can create To-Do lists of things you want to do there. For libraries, both are helpful – it’s a way to broadcast your services to Foursquare players. To Do lists are handy, because you can make the list and other players can add those To Do list items to their lists, too. When they do something on those lists, they gain points. Think of it as a fun way to get people doing stuff at your library! Just think – someone could gain points by getting a library card – how cool is that? 4. ... Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100 814636 http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2010/01/31/january-31st-stream.html dear location-based services: offering an iphone app as the only way to check in is like designing 4 internet explorer. pls join us in 2010 [shifted] Shared The Children of Cyberspace: Old Fogies by Their 20s — NYTimes.com. “Another bubbling intra-generational gap, as any modern parent knows, is that younger children tend to be ever more artful multitaskers. Studies performed by Dr. Rosen at Cal State show that 16– to 18-year-olds perform seven tasks, on average, in their free time — like texting on the phone, sending instant messages and checking Facebook while sitting in front of the television. People in their early 20s can handle only six, Dr. Rosen found, and those in their 30s perform about five and a half. That versatility is great when they’re killing time, but will a younger generation be as focused at school and work as their forebears? ” Posted josh neff, geek at large: I would really love to live in Lawrence, KS.. @griffey doesn’t really matter for you, right? you’re abandoning the #superduperbutnotquitemagical #iphone regardless [shifted] @griffey maybe the addition of iUnicorn will keep you on the #iphone but I’m taking bets on how much longer u can hold out against #android [shifted] @griffey yeah, just like internet explorer [shifted] Shared 6 photos. Shared What the Web of Tomorrow Will Look Like: 4 Big Trends to Watch. “Stats published by Nielsen show that social media usage has increased by 82% in the last year, an astronomical rise. Facebook (Facebook), Twitter (Twitter), YouTube, blogs, and social interaction are becoming the focus of our online interactions, even more than search. We’re social creatures, so it was only a matter of time until we figured out how to make the web an efficient medium for communication, sharing, and forging friendships. ... Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:40:11 +0100 815564 http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/climbing-the-social-latter/ Two and a half years ago Social Technographics presented a visual analysis of social technology behaviour. Despite the rapid pace of technology adoption, the rungs on the ladder have shown steady growth, with some (like Joiners) growing faster than others (like Creators). In an update -  Social Technographics: Conversationalists get onto the ladder – which includes not just Twitter users, but also people who update social network status to converse (since this activity in Facebook is actually more prevalent than tweeting). Where do you fit on the ladder? Filed under: Communication Tools, Social Media, Social Networking (Source: heyjude) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 04:02:36 +0100 815629 http://www.librarystuff.net/2010/01/31/students-failing-because-of-twitter-texting/ Canoe.ca – “Little or no grammar teaching, cellphone texting, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, all are being blamed for an increasingly unacceptable number of post-secondary students who can’t write properly.” (Source: Library Stuff) Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:54:27 +0100 814001 http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/uw8FZeAFAz8/ipad-imapact-on-media Less than a week old, it has generated reams of copy and already changed the way Amazon deals with book publishers. Guardian writers consider what the iPad means for different sectors of the media industrySearch for "Steve Jobs iPad" and Google will offer you "about 86,000,000" results for the past year. Print those pages out – now including this one – and they would probably reach to the moon, which may be the only place left not reeling from iPad coverage mania (or ennui; delete as appropriate). But after all the build-up, the hype, the gushing reviews, is it really going to change media? Is it a lifeline for publishers, schedulers and newspapers – or just another toy?It's easy to write off the iPad, based on it not being like things you've seen before. Don't. When Apple introduced Lisa and Macintosh, it brought us the idea of "windows" and a "mouse". Hardened computer users of the time, accustomed to typing CP C:*.txt to copy files, didn't rush to it – though interestingly, journalists who tried it were gushing in their praise. How do you copy files on your computer now?Similarly the iPod, launched in 2001, was dismissed by geeks as having "no wireless. Less space than a [established MP3 player brand] Nomad." Conclusion: it was "Lame". And the iPhone? Right after the 2007 launch, people pointed out that it couldn't do 3G or photo messaging or even forward SMSs. There were no apps (or even a way to build them). A senior Microsoft executive sniped that it was a "closed system" that didn't support – oh no! – Microsoft Office. So obviously it must be a dud.Today? Apple has sold 250m iPods, of which more than 40m are iPod Touches, and more than 30m iPhones. Given that, are you seriously going to be against the iPad?Apple's track record is singular: it makes devices easier to use, and then refines them. ... Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:06:08 +0100 813963 http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/working-at-web-scale/ The Web as “humanity connected by technology”. This is the Semantic Web -  the web of linked data, according to Sir Time Berners Lee vision. Tim Berners-Lee spoke  at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland about the future of the Web and the value of working at “Web Scale”. The next generation of the Web promises greater opportunity for advancing human intelligence by making us part of the technology system. Social networking is people working together – but they are not using the intelligence of the system. What would it be like if we got the mass of humanity connecting with machines? (via titticimmino.com ) Filed under: Semantic Web, Social Media, Web 3.0 Tagged: Tim Berners-Lee, web scale (Source: heyjude) Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:18:54 +0100 815631 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/YoXYoFWoQ_c/survey-of-higher-education-faculty.html "The Survey of Higher Education Faculty: Evaluation of Library Efforts Index, Preserve and Catalog Blogs, Websites, Email Archives and other Cyber Resources presents data on how higher education faculty in the United States and Canada view the usefulness and quality of academic library efforts to further scholarship based on internet sources such as websites, blogs, listervs, social networking sites, online ads and other internet resources. The report presents highly detailed data on how faculty use blogs, websites, social networking sites, email archives, listservs, webcasts and podcasts, ezines, online ads and other cyber resources in scholarship. It also highlights how faculty rate the efforts of academic libraries to index, preserve and catalog these resources. In addition, the report discusses other pertinent trends, such as the degree of use of web archiving software" (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:21:04 +0100 813515 http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/google-very-social-searching/ Last year, Google unveiled its Social Search and launched into Labs. The idea is that you would see blog posts and other content from your social network in your search results. Now, the feature is being rolled out to everyone as a new beta feature of Google.com. As part of the release, Google has also integrated social search into their Image search. You’ll see pictures from photo sharing sites such as Flickr and Picasa. via blog.searchenginewatch.com Filed under: Australia (Source: heyjude) Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:14:51 +0100 813629 http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/023383.html "EPIC submitted comments to the FTC prior to the agency’s second privacy roundtable. EPIC warned of the ongoing privacy risks... (Source: beSpacific) Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 813528 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TameTheWeb/~3/n3fNaAOHaEs/ Deadline: 2 April 2010 Got information to share with your peers? Worked on an innovative project at your library? Introduced technologies to increase the relevancy of your information service? Developed new techniques for managing electronic resources? Raised the profile of your library within your organisation? Created new opportunities within an information environment? You’re invited to present at Internet Librarian International 2010, taking place on 14 & 15 October 2010 at Novotel London West, with a day of workshops on 13 October. We’re looking for dynamic speakers from any country and all types of libraries to share their knowledge and experience about information tools, techniques, processes, innovations and management. If you’re running innovative projects within any of the following environments, we want to hear from you: Academic libraries Corporate information and knowledge settings Government libraries Health/Medical libraries Public libraries Non-traditional information settings Get real, stay relevant. The reality of the current economic climate means that it’s imperative to provide pertinent services, utilise the most appropriate tools, and explore alternative approaches, regardless of your library type. Even if you’re managing information outside a traditional library setting – as web designer, content evaluator, portal creator, systems professional or independent researcher – you must continue to offer services that are relevant and cost-efficient. Internet Librarian International seeks a mix of papers for conference sessions, workshops, and short tutorials. As always, our emphasis is on the practical rather than theoretical: case studies and proposals about initiatives in your organisation, not product pitches or overviews. ... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:30:01 +0100 813190 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/EROoh1htMBI/ I know that plenty of folks out there do not buy into the argument of the generational divide; most people think it’s just something that has been designed and developed to sell the concept of Enterprise 2.0 to businesses (Specially, if you think about the good old KM meme of "Knowledge Transfer" of senior employees about to retire to younger ones). So naming conventions like Traditionalist, Boomer, Gen X or Millennial all seem to be bogus, but are they really? I mean, when was the last time, while at work, you stopped doing what you were doing and started looking around at the various peer knowledge workers close to you? I bet that in most cases you may have found two or three different generations working together in the same project, being part of the same team or belonging to the same communities. So how do they get along well with one another then? How are they managed? Not sure what you would think, but I *do* believe there is such distinction of how various generations get to collaborate and share knowledge across with their peers in the same working environment. That’s also the incredibly provocative phenomenon that this YouTube video titled "How Will You Manage?" (Put together by Kronos) tries to cover over the course of nearly 5 minutes. If you are an skeptic on the concept of the generational divide I would strongly encourage you all to have a look and watch it. It may, or may not, change your perspective on things, specially around those folks working closer with you. However, one thing I can certainly assure you is that it would make you think twice about the whole subject and I am certain you won’t be looking at your peers in the same fashion as before any longer. ... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:24:15 +0100 814670 http://lib.wmrc.uiuc.edu/enb/2010/01/29/facebook-status-update-were-opening-a-green-data-center/ Read the full story at GreenerComputing. If “Facebook’s Green Data Center” were a group, I’d become a fan of it.* The social networking giant and cause of huge losses of productivity around the globe announced last week that it had made plans to open its first company-owned data center, and would take steps to make it among the greenest in the industry. (Source: Environmental News Bits) Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:37:13 +0100 813296 http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2010/01/cornwall-council-and-the-bbc-doesnt-get-it.html Interesting article on the BBC site entitled: Council Twitter users face rebuke because some of them have been using social networking sites - Twitter in particular - to 'mock other members' during meetings. The BBC further reported "The council said in a statement: "Employees or councillors using social networking sites to send inappropriate messages could be referred to the standards committee."I'm pleased to see that they're also developing a social media policy, which is sensible. However, I doubt that it's going to be any use to anyone, since they don't appear to understand a basic - it's not the resource that's the problem - it's the attitude of the users. If your users understand what they can do with these systems, what their responsibilities are, and the importance of using them correctly this wouldn't happen. Now let's look at the BBC take on reporting this. They've gone for the easy sensational line as is to be expected. 'Councillors in Cornwall could face being reported' (my emphasis) - so they've not been reported then. Moreover, the Council actually hasn't received any complaints, and one councillor who read the tweets said that he didn't think they were inappropriate. So no-one has complained, no-one has been hauled up before anyone, so BBC - please tell me exactly what IS the story you're attempting to cover, because I really can't work it out. (Source: Phil Bradley) Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 813176 http://www.docuticker.com/?p=31853 Cyber Crime: A Clear and Present Danger Source: Deloitte The rise of the sophisticated cyber criminal has become one of the fastest growing security threats to organizations and to citizens. The CSO 2010 CyberSecurity Watch survey shows that cybercrime threats to organizations are increasing faster than they can combat them. The issue – attackers are becoming smarter and using more sophisticated malware, viruses and techniques that have outpaced traditional security models and many current signature-based detection techniques. And, it looks like this gap is only going to widen as cyber criminals build more complex and innovative threats. Adding a layer of complexity to this issue, is the rise of social networking and online communications, online financial transactions, organized crime extending into cyber space, and the unfortunate motivation of economic hardships all over the world. Improvements to address your cyber vulnerabilities can start with thinking about cybercrime differently. Comprehend the seriousness of threats to your data, processes and tools; shift from a security-based to more of a risk-based approach to cyber security, and finally, knock down the siloes across the enterprise. Share and combine security practices across your organization. + Full Report (PDF; 542 KB) See also: Top 10 Security & Privacy Challenges in 2010 (Source: Docuticker) Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:06:26 +0100 812946 http://laurenpressley.com/library/2010/01/content-creators-and-consumers-and-the-ipad/ Air'd One of the coolest things about today’s internet is that we all can be creators of information as much as we are consumers of it. It’s something I like to make sure we talk a lot about in my information literacy class. Old internet=read only (unless you were geeky enough to understand HTML and how to get it online). New internet=read/write. There are lots of reasons for this: Web 2.0, cheaper tools (digital cameras, microphones, etc), easier to use tools (largely because of Apple). Anyone who has ever made a Facebook profile has seen how easy it is to get content online. And because of that we all have the potential to influence large scale conversations. It’s one of the things I love about the internet. At the same time, there is a lot of discussion about how Twitter is killing blogs. I’m not sure exactly where I fall in that argument, though certainly a lot of blogs I follow are producing less content than they used to. A lot of those authors are spending a lot of time on Twitter. But most of what they’re posting to Twitter isn’t the same type of content they used to blog about. I’m not judging if this is good or bad, it’s just Twitter and blogs achieve two different purposes. Blogging allows the writer to consider an issue in depth or to pull together seemingly unrelated ideas. Twitter allows for real-time information sharing and conversation. For most of us, that type of content is something we can put up much more frequently than blog posts, and is much more reasonable to post regularly as well. There was a period of time, a few years ago, where to participate in online library discussions, you pretty much had to be blogging or at least commenting on them. That’s not true anymore. ... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:59:29 +0100 814607 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalKoans/~3/LueQOx-VzDE/ Rose Holley has self-archived Crowdsourcing and Social Engagement: Potential, Power and Freedom for Libraries and Users in E-LIS. Here's an excerpt: The definition and purpose of crowdsourcing and social engagement with users is discussed with particular reference to the Australian Newspapers service http://newspapers.nla.gov.au, FamilySearch http://familysearchindexing.org, Wikipedia http://wikipedia.org, the Distributed Proofreaders http://www.pgdp.net, Galaxy Zoo http://www.galaxyzoo.org and The Guardian MP's Expenses Scandal http://mps-expenses.guardian.co.uk. These services have harnessed thousands of digital volunteers who transcribe, create, enhance and correct text, images and archives. The successful strategies which motivated users to help, engage, and develop the outcomes will be examined. How can the lessons learnt be applied more broadly across the library and archive sector and what is the future potential? What are useful tips for crowdsourcing? Users no longer expect to be passive receivers of information and want to engage with data, each other and nonprofit making organisations to help achieve what may seem to be impossible goals and targets. If libraries want to stay relevant and valued, offer high quality data and continue to have a significant social impact they must develop active engagement strategies and harness crowdsourcing techniques and partnerships to enhance their services. Can libraries respond to the shift in power and control of information and dare to give users something greater than power—freedom? Related Posts NIH Awards $12.2 Million Grant for VIVOweb, Social Networking Software for Scientists Personal Engagement with Repositories through Social Networking Applications: Final Report Mobile Libraries: M-Libraries: Information Use on the Move Birmingham City University Offers M.A. in Social Media Wikipedia May Screen Changes to Popular Pages Prior to Publication (Source: DigitalKoans) Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:05:29 +0100 813579 http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/01/data-privacy-day-2010-some-further.html January 28th is Data Privacy Day. The concept of International Data Privacy Day is an annual observance to raise awareness and generate discussion about information privacy issues. I wrote a post about it for promotional and education purposes over in my library's blog here. When I write post for work, it is a little different than when I write in my professional blog. There are certain things I can say in here that I cannot say over there for various reasons. So, in addition to sharing the link from my library's blog with my four readers, I am using this post to add a few additional thoughts that did not make it into "the official version."For one, I also wanted to speak about our university's online privacy policies. It is not something that folks talk about very often, and it is also something that I think more people need to be aware of. I work for the University of Texas at Tyler, and as such, I am considered a state employee. With that label comes a good amount of bureaucratic baggage. Again, it is the reason that I can say some things here that I would never say over there. For one, I don't want someone from Campus News and Information calling me because I said something they may perceive as less than flattering to the university. It's the nature of how things work, and I have learned to just work with it for now. I wanted to speak about the policies in the library post because students are often not aware of how the university handles online privacy.Before I go on, here are a couple of items for reference purposes:this is the policy about the website privacy policy for the public that explains what the university does with information they obtain from the public. and this is the section from the UT System Policies for System Information Resources Use and Security.The second item above is more for employees, but it still applies to students since they make use of the computers and networks that the university provides. ... Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:04:00 +0100 813576 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LibraryClips/~3/VWKpBTzz5OI/ Mark Gould has a great post which has picked up on a thread in one of the LinkedIn forums on the "Pulling" and "Pushing" of information. Mark’s post also covers some blog discussion on the difference between sharing and communication, which I may add to in another post. Nick Milton says in a blog post: "…there is no point in creating a culture of sharing, if you have no culture of re-use. Pull is a far more powerful driver for Knowledge Management than Push, and I would always look to create a culture of knowledge seeking before creating a culture of knowledge sharing." Firstly, we don’t create a knowledge sharing culture, we help create conditions so this happens! I agree that the organisation needs to be open to helping others. Our best kind of Communities of Practice at work are the "Support" type. People ask questions, and others respond, discussion ensues, and usually the person who asked the question can take something away and move on…great sense-making via people to get things done at work. Plus everyone else on the thread got to learn for free. In the future our CoPs at work will be complemented by a social network, which amplifies sense-making even more. This perspective also reminds me of Nancy Dixon’s article "Does your organisation have an asking problem" But I don’t entirely agree with Nicks statement, as it’s too black and white. Plus when someone shares something it may not result in a direct action for me, but it may make something more clear for me, or give me a better outlook on something…this is an implicit type of value (even though I’m not actioning what I have learnt into something explicit). ... Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:49:29 +0100 812895 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/28/monthly-report-operas-state-of-the-mobile-web-december-2009/ Access the Complete Report Summary Facts: + From December 2008 to December 2009, page views in the top 9 countries of Southeast Asia increased by 599%, unique users increased by 385%, and data transferred increased by 587%. + Facebook is now the dominant player in Southeast Asia among mobile-Web users, both in Indonesia — where Friendster has fallen to #5 — and the rest of the region, where Facebook is among the top visited sites in numerous countries. + By far, Opera Mini users in Southeast Asia prefer Nokia handsets. + Part 4 of this month’s report lists the most popular social-networking sites around the world visited by mobile Web users. Both global and country-specific site rankings are presented. + Given the popularity of Opera in Russian-speaking countries, VKontakte used to be in the top position (based on unique users), but it was overtaken by Facebook in 2009. + Twitter was the other big winner in terms of growth in 2009. + All of the listed social-networking sites, except for Friendster, showed significant user growth (via Opera Mini) in 2009. Access the Complete Report Source: Opera Software (Source: ResourceShelf) Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:15:08 +0100 812969 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/iRcS/~3/3NwZll-0pK4/atmospeer-from-proquest.html AtmosPeer is a research tool designed specifically for researchers, faculty, librarians & students in the atmospheric science community. AtmosPeer provides:* A central source of news in the atmospheric sciences (from reputable established sites like AMS, UCAR, Royal Meteorological Society, Scientific American, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)* Current lists of conferences, scholars, and funding related to the Atmospheric Sciences, sourced from the ProQuest RefWorks COS Scholar Universe, Funding Opportunities and (Conference) Papers Invited products* Capability to search recent research in the Meteorological & GeoAstrophysical Abstracts (MGA) collection - a product developed in partnership between AMS and ProQuest* Social Networking - find, evaluate and initiate contact with new people. Share documents and receive feedback and collaborate on researchAtmosPeer is a free service from ProQuest in partnership with American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI), & the Conference Exchange (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:10:26 +0100 812761 http://www.librarybytes.com/2010/01/fourqquare.html It's been awhile since I've seen a new social technology emerge on scene that looked like it had that "explosion potential". The last real time for me was Twitter (and for all you FB apps fans, sorry I don't count Farmville) and that was nearly three years ago.* But Foursquare is different, because it creates a new take on social networking by through local-based gaming that adds in the elements of GPS tagging along with localized loyalty rewards. As David King also notes, this new technology is worth exploring. If you haven't explored Foursquare on your own yet, here's a informational slide deck to get you start:How Foursquare Helps Consumers and Business Owners View more presentations from 22squared.* According to my twitter trail, my start date on Twitter was April 14, 1997 (Source: LibraryBytes) Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:21:00 +0100 813838 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/27/googles-social-search-begins-rollout-beta-to-all-users/ From the Article Google has begun the rollout of its Social Search product, a way of seeing customized search results based upon the people in your social network. Social Search has been an opt-in Google Labs experiment since its debut in October, but will be available as a beta product in the “next few days” to all users on Google.com. Overview of Today’s Release from the Official Google Blog More in this October, 2009 Post With Material From the Official Google Blog and Danny Sullivan. Source: Search Engine Land (Source: ResourceShelf) Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:19:32 +0100 812609 http://www.lisnews.org/what039s_new_liswire_librarian039s_news_wire Did you know LISNews has a sister site devoted to PR? Over at LISWire.com( http://liswire.com/ ) - The Librarian's News Wire - we have now posted well over 200 releases. You can subscribe to one of our mailing lists Right Here. You can grab the main LISWire RSS Feed Here. There are a bunch of other feeds you can subscribe to listed Right Here. You can also follow along on Twitter Right Here. Below the break I've posted all the latest releases. ---LibraryWorld Allows Librarians to Customize Reports -- http://liswire.com/node/561/ - Release posted by Blake on January 27th 2010 02:28 LibraryWorld, a leading Web-based library and collection management system, has expanded user options for customizing catalog reports, patron lists, and overdue letter reports. These enhancements are immediately available to new customers and the more than 2,000 libraries who manage their collections using LibraryWorlds secure online portal. Users can now customize a catalog report by selecti... ---Tech Logic offers new TAGSYS security gates -- http://liswire.com/node/560/ - Release posted by Blake on January 27th 2010 02:27 WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. (Jan. 27, 2010) Tech Logic now offers newly designed TAGSYS Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) security gates that offer advanced protection through high-performance read range and speed. The L-SP3 security gates use advanced digital signal processing and RF front-end technology to achieve breakthrough performance in read range and read speed, providing enhanced secu... ---Trendy Topics 2010: Social Networking for Libraries -- http://liswire. ... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:30:24 +0100 813069 http://lisnews.org/what039s_new_liswire_librarian039s_news_wire Did you know LISNews has a sister site devoted to PR? Over at LISWire.com( http://liswire.com/ ) - The Librarian's News Wire - we have now posted well over 200 releases. You can subscribe to one of our mailing lists Right Here. You can grab the main LISWire RSS Feed Here. There are a bunch of other feeds you can subscribe to listed Right Here. You can also follow along on Twitter Right Here. Below the break I've posted all the latest releases. ---LibraryWorld Allows Librarians to Customize Reports -- http://liswire.com/node/561/ - Release posted by Blake on January 27th 2010 02:28 LibraryWorld, a leading Web-based library and collection management system, has expanded user options for customizing catalog reports, patron lists, and overdue letter reports. These enhancements are immediately available to new customers and the more than 2,000 libraries who manage their collections using LibraryWorlds secure online portal. Users can now customize a catalog report by selecti... ---Tech Logic offers new TAGSYS security gates -- http://liswire.com/node/560/ - Release posted by Blake on January 27th 2010 02:27 WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. (Jan. 27, 2010) Tech Logic now offers newly designed TAGSYS Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) security gates that offer advanced protection through high-performance read range and speed. The L-SP3 security gates use advanced digital signal processing and RF front-end technology to achieve breakthrough performance in read range and read speed, providing enhanced secu... ---Trendy Topics 2010: Social Networking for Libraries -- http://liswire. ... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:30:24 +0100 812570 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TameTheWeb/~3/8AG7P6CASCA/ Note: This is the second column I co-wrote with Jan Klerk for Digitale Bibliotek last year. I realized it was one of the first times I’ve discussed the backchannel in my classes in print. Michael Stephens and Jan Klerk did their open conversation this time on microblog platform Twitter. The topic was of course… Twitter and Libraries. INTRODUCTION MS Jan- I’ve been thinking about librarians using Twitter as medium 4 collaboration & as info space. Have u seen this? JK I see a small but growing group Dutch librarians just over- came prejudices & are experimenting. How it’s in the USA? 3 CATEGORIES OF TWITTER USE IN LIBRARIES MS I see librarians using Twitter in 3 ways: as a thriving commentary/community, as a useful tool & as a question space. MS As commentary/community, we might look at the use of #ALAMW09 as a means to network, plan and state opini- ons. MS As a useful tool to save time, my favorite example is UGL alerts and @askundergrad2 JK Yes, the UGL is a nice example of smart timesaving distribution. MS 3rd area is monitoring Twittersphere 4 ?s to answer & using the space as info resource if ?s asked we need to be here. JK I think your categorization is very enlightening I also see librarians use Twitter interconnecting different social networks. JK In this way Twitter is a very smart & fast way to distribute the same information simultaneously on different platforms. JK Aggregating reactions from different platforms in 1 email account makes it easy to communicate either with patrons or staff. JK The way Twitter=used at #ALAMW09 2 share sad feelings about the tragic loss of colleagues is very touching & adds value. MS Yes, the human factor comes through the medium strongly to convey the sadness & shock at losing colleagues. ... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:49:17 +0100 812415 http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/jleeson/2010/01/27/are-you-living-your-life-or-recording-it/ In this, the first of two posts on the subject I am going to examine the impact that ‘lifestreaming’ may be having on some of our experiences. I have been thinking a bit about this in relation to education for some time but a really interesting post on the lifestream blog on the psychology [...] (Source: Education.au Blog) Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:53:08 +0100 812309 http://ksulib.typepad.com/talking/2010/01/library-day-in-the-life.html The Librarian Cabal has decided to tear asunder the veil of secrecy surrounding our daily activities. If you've ever wondered what we do all day, or just assumed that you knew, pack up your assumptions and send them on vacation. This week, you can eavesdrop on our backroom machinations, follow us as we hunt down elusive information, stare down wide screens of code, and divine arcane cataloging rules. Participating librarians come from across the United States and around the world. We're academic, public, law, corporate, school and, well, any kind of librarian you can think of. Check us out! (What, you thought I'd pass up a dorky library joke? Not a chance.) We've flooded social networking and online communication streams with Library Day in the Life updates. Follow us on Twitter (#libday4); a multitude of blogs; Flickr; and a bunch of other places. (Source: K-State Libraries: Talking in the Library) Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 812883 http://nnlm.gov/pnr/dragonfly/2010/01/26/gbg_open/ Last fall, NN/LM PNR offered the online course Geeks Bearing Gifts: Unwrapping New Technology Trends. This course provided participants with an introduction to social media and the opportunity for some hands-on practice. The Pacific Northwest Region’s “Geeks Bearing Gifts” course pages are now open for your self-paced learning and amusement. Each unit in the course consists of readings and videos to review for background information, step-by-step exercises to get you started using new Web tools, links to examples of how these tools are being implemented in libraries and/or public health settings, and a discussion forum where you can post questions, comments, and reflections. The links below point to a login page for the NN/LM Moodle site (Moodle is our course management system). To see the course content, simply choose “Login as a guest.” You will need to create a Moodle account or sign in with an existing account in order to post comments in the course discussion forums. Web 2.0 Basics: Blogs & Wikis — Get a grip on what “Web 2.0” means and how it is changing the way we communicate. Then get some hands-on practice with blogs and wikis, two of the most well-established types of Web 2.0 tools. Social Networking — Social networking sites, especially Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, are wildly popular right now. Find out which social networking sites are the best match for your target demographic, then dive in and start exploring some online communities. Managing Information Overload — Learn strategies to help you manage the flow of information and stay updated on topics that are important to you. This course covers social bookmarking, RSS, and e-mail management. As with any course materials created for NN/LM classes, you are welcome to use and adapt the materials in Geeks Bearing Gifts for your own teaching purposes. ... Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:32:52 +0100 814309 http://mblc.state.ma.us/jobs/find_jobs/rss.php?job_id=5967 The web manager/programmer will be responsible for the Library's digital initiatives and online resources in order to improve access to the collection, promote the library in the community and expand patrons' online experience. Other responsibilities include developing staff resources, re- organize and re-design of the existing web, and exploring the use of third party online social networking as a means of interacting with patrons. Help launch new initiatives in digitizing the Library's collection and online information portals. This position emphasizes the use of web programming to modernize the Library's online presence. (Source: MBLC Job Listings) Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:00:01 +0100 812207 http://www.slaw.ca/2010/01/26/social-networking-success-for-organizations/ A recent InformationWeek article explores 7 key questions organizations must ask themselves about investing in social networking in 2010. The important questions include: Is it necessary to have a corporate policy around social networking? Yes. It must be short, simple, and clear. Which way works best? Definitely get involved with the 4 dominant social networking players: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Maintain a four-pronged public networking strategy. Its also recommended that companies build a dual social media strategy that incorporates homegrown online communities with an involvement with the key public social networks. Where’s the ROI? Don’t think of social networking as only a marketing activity. Don’t think of sales as the only end goal of social networking. Its about conversations and relationships, not salesmanship or messaging. ROI is hard to track, but the cost savings can be measured. (Source: Slaw) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:51:07 +0100 813879 http://futura.edublogs.org/2010/01/26/why-one-answer/ When we wonder why our students should be connecting globally–I have an  answer right now- Haiti. Following the devastating earthquake, it has been social networking that has facilitated so much of the information and help that aid agencies needed to know to help survivors. Amazing stories abound, from the man who saved his life during the earthquake with an iPhone, to the amazing photographs tweeted out by @photomorel in the first hours after the quake, to the posts to Twitter by @RAMHaiti each day, to the incredible work the self-organized Crisis Camps around the country are doing–bringing programmers together of all sorts to create apps that may be needed by relief agencies, to the sole librarian who used a blog and Youtube to collect over 20,000 in three days for relief efforts, to a wiki site Lisa Parisi organized to help children of Haiti for classes to participate in. From large to small, the network has allowed all of us to be a part of the global community–offering aid, gathering news, and extending a hand.   This is why our students need to know how to use these tools, how to connect and communicate with others, and what/when is appropriate.  It’s an amazing story that will be repeated in newspaper and magazine articles across the world, because once again it drives home the power of networking.   But even more so, it is a message to schools–our students need to be a part of this global community.  We need to empower them by helping them build the knowledge and skills to truly become globally connected citizens.  And we need to do it now.  So they can know this: RAMhaiti     “To drive around the whole city of PauP is too unbelievable. Destruction everywhere.” When you hear it first hand, what a difference it will make for our students’ understanding that this is all one world, and that they are part of it.     addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Ffutura. ... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:26:03 +0100 813598 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BabyBoomerLibrarian/~3/1c0OvccOalw/oclc-americas-regional-council-service.html I am serving on a committee of the OCLC Americas Regional Council (ARC) looking at how to improve upon and move what has been called service groups forward in the new climate of social networking and world wide collaboration now possible.Members of the committee include:Ted Schwitzner, Coordinator, Bibliographic Services, Illinois State University Library, ChairShirley Baker, Dean, Washington University LibrariesMorag Boyd, Head, Special Collections Cataloging, Ohio State University LibrariesBill Drew, Systems Librarian and Librarian for Technical Services, Electronic Information Resources and Serials, Tompkins Cortland Community CollegePatricia French, Manager, Collections & Technical Services, Multnomah County Public LibraryMichael Lacroix, Director, Leighton University-Reinert-Alumni Memorial LibrarySuzanne Lauer, OCLCSiôn Romaine, Assistant Head, Serials Acquisitions, University of Washington LibrariesSuzanne Schriar, Associate Director/Library Automation & Technology, Illinois State LibraryGregg Silvis, Assistant Director, University of Delaware LibraryJohn Teskey, Director, University of New Brunswick Libraries-FrederictonRich Van Orden, OCLCThe service groups serve to (quoted from charge document):The service groups have served an important function in two-way communication between OCLC and members regarding existing products and servicesThey also provided an excellent opportunity to explore new ideas and possibilitiesUnder the new ARC structure there is an opportunity for broader participation from all member libraries, including multiple participants from a given member libraryWeb conferencing offers possibilities to conduct Service Group meetings throughout the year and to increase participation both synchronously and asynchronouslySome topics of greatest interest to the largest number of members may be appropriate for presentation at annual meetings of the ARCThe committee met via conference call on January 11, 2010. ... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:52:00 +0100 812333 http://centeredlibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/01/inkpop-social-network-for-teen-writers.html inkpop is an online community that connects rising stars in teen lit with talent-spotting readers and publishing professionals.Its social networking forum spotlights aspiring authors and the readers who provide the positive springboard for feedback. inkpop members play a critical role in deciding who will land a publishing contract with HarperCollins.Susan Katz, President and Publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, said: “Teens are a key consumer group with significant financial impact. Teen fiction is one of the most robust and fastest-growing categories in publishing today.”Since its "soft-launch" debut in November 2009, inkpop has attracted more than 10,000 members, who have submitted close to 11,000 novels, poems, essays, and short stories. HarperCollins says visitors are teens ages 13 and older, from 109 different countries and territories, though the site is only available in English.HarperCollins says it will announce partnerships throughout the year that will further enrich the inkpop community experience for teen members. The publishers says it’s working on bringing other formats such as photography, video and artwork sharing to inkpop, in order to enhance projects and promote additional forms of creativity. (Source: The Centered Librarian) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 813493 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.education.web4lib/15598 Alliance Library System and TAP Information Services Announce Trendy Topics  2010:  Social Networking for Libraries! Start your New Year right with a resolution to keep up with quickly changing library trends!  Alliance Library System and TAP Information Services are pleased to announce a dynamic monthly series of online workshops you can enjoy right at your desktop on these hot topics.  The first conference on Social Software for Libraries is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9.  Meredith Farkas of Norwich University and columnist for American Libraries, will be the opening keynote speaker at 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, and 8:00 Pacific.  She will address “Building Collaboration, Participation, and Community in Libraries.”  Farkas will talk about how social software is opening up new opportunities for reaching out to patrons, providing library services, and transforming our websites.  Other speakers for this inspiring  day-long conference include: Lauren Jensen talk (Source: gmane.education.web4lib) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 812143 http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/files/online_marketing_for_academic_libraries.pdf Resumen [Abstract] [Resum]Objetivos. Realizar una aproximación teórica sobre el concepto de marketing y su aplicación en bibliotecas a la luz de las transformaciones tecnológicas y sociales protagonizadas por los medios sociales y las aplicaciones de la web social y elaborar unas pautas para el diseño de un plan de marketing 2.0 en bibliotecas.Metodología. Análisis de la bibliografía y de los comportamientos observados en las bibliotecas en relación a las políticas y planes de marketing en red, estudio de casos de uso de las redes sociales de mayor impacto: Facebook, Twitter y Tuenti para el caso español, y presentación de las tendencias en marketing más actuales que pueden servir de referente para la elaboración de un plan de marketing 2.0 en bibliotecas.Resultados. Las bibliotecas deben promocionar sus servicios bibliotecarios y considerar las tareas de marketing como parte sustancial de su actividad diaria, principalmente en un mundo interconectado y en red, en el que se impone el uso de las herramientas de la web social y los medios sociales y la presencia de las bibliotecas en las redes sociales para promocionar sus contenidos y facilitar la conversación con sus usuarios. Las bibliotecas deben saber controlar su impacto en la red, midiendo la presencia y la imagen de marca de su biblioteca en el entorno digital. El marketing en red es vital para el éxito y la continuidad del servicio de bibliotecas, ya que en su momento permitirá que éstas se anticipen, sean relevantes y afronten de forma proactiva las futuras necesidades de sus usuarios. Por lo tanto, las bibliotecas deben incorporar en sus planificaciones estratégicas el diseño de un plan de marketing en red, epecífico, que se adapte a las características propias de cada biblioteca."No es vender lo que se produce, sino producir lo que se vende". ... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:43:00 +0100 811964 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Elsua/~3/0fsxE_cup7U/ As you may have noticed, it’s been a bit over a week since the last time I have been able to put together a blog post over here. And that, basically, means that things didn’t work out all right eventually. Yes, of course, I am talking about last week’s IBM’s Lotusphere 2010 event that took place from the 17th till 21st of January. If you have been reading this blog for a while I sense you already know where I’m heading, right? … Indeed, this is another article with a plea towards, finally, putting together "A Proposal for DIA". Remember that blog post that I put together a few months ago that talked about one of the highlights of the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston? Yes, the one about the lack of a decent, and accessible!, wi-fi connection throughout the conference? Well, that very same thing happened most of the week last week. Again! So that’s why you didn’t see any blog posts coming through from yours truly, and why my twittering was very much like the Guadiana river! Ouch!! Once again, Lotusphere couldn’t cope with the demand of its thousands of attendees to provide a decent, and reliable!, Internet connection while the event took place during the course of the week. So those of us who came from abroad were left out in limbo land. Once again! Very disappointing! I know the demand for this year’s event has been huge, tremendous, probably too much, if you ask me (45,000 connections to the various access points on a single moment at the beginning of the conference?!?! WOW!), but I’m wondering whether it is the right time for that "Proposal for DIA (Decent Internet Access)". ... Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:43:10 +0100 812447 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/25/report-from-deloitte-discusses-the-smartphone-becoming-a-search-phone/ A new report from Deloitte, 2010 Global Telecommunications Predictions, includes a couple of pages on search in the mobile space, specifically with smartphones. A second section on Mobile VoIP becoming a social network might also be of interest. Access the Complete Report (28 pages; PDF) Source: Deloitte (Source: ResourceShelf) Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:44:23 +0100 811925 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/davidleeking/~3/gbw_Imqc-cg/ Foursquare is a location-based game. From Foursquare’s website: “We’re all about helping you find new ways to explore the city. We’ll help you meet up with your friends and let you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people.” Basically, Foursquare works like last.fm or librarything, but instead of sharing music you’ve listened to or books you’ve read, you’re sharing places you’re visiting, and aggregating that list out to your friends. To play, install an app on your phone, via an iPhone or Android app (a Blackberry one is in the works). You can also use the mobile version of their website for other phones that have web access. Then go visit places … like a coffee shop, a restaurant … basically wherever it is that you go. Once there, “check in” with the app. Checking in gives you points and badges. If you visit a place more than anyone else, you become the “mayor” of that place (until your title is swiped by someone else). Friend people, and see your points tallied with everyone on your friends list. In the process, you can also create to-do lists and tips at each place you visit, and suggest things for your friends to try or do. Every time you do something, it can be shared with your Twitter and Facebook friends. So … how does this relate to libraries again? Well… here are some ideas for your library or organization on Foursquare: Add your library as a place, or edit the entry if someone else has already added it. You can enter your street address (Google map is included, phone number, and your library’s Twitter name. Add tags relevant to the library. For example, I have added the tags library, books, music, movies, and wifi to my library’s Foursquare entry. ... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:33:14 +0100 811915 http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/ksmith/2010/01/25/where-are-you-on-the-social-technographics-ladder/ Many thanks to Stephen Downes to pointing to this article in today’s OLDaily. This is from a blog called Groundswell: How People with Social Technologies are Changing Everything. The diagram embedded below relates to analysing social technology behaviour. The post is titled Social Technographics: Conversationalists get onto the ladder. The categories shown in the diagram overlap. If [...] (Source: Education.au Blog) Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:03:27 +0100 811625 http://caslisottawainformation.blogspot.com/2010/01/ottawa-public-library-acknowledged-for.html When Ottawa made the short list for the 2010 intelligent communities of the year award at the annual conference of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) on January 20, the Ottawa Public Library’s (OPL) digital inclusion programs were singled out as actively using broadband and information technology to excel in today’s global economy.“This international recognition confirms the important role that the Ottawa Public Library plays in the education of our future community leaders,” says Councillor Jan Harder, OPL Board Chair. Ottawa was commended for its commitment to using information technology for education that helps young people prepare for knowledge-based careers in the community.OPL offers a dynamic array of digital products and services to its patrons. It has seen consistent, year-over-year increases in visits to its web site, which numbered more than five million in 2008. And in 2009, electronic database usage was up nearly 20 per cent over the previous year.BiblioCommons, the new catalogue introduced in 2009, is an example of constant technical and usability enhancements to ensure that information is accessible in a way that keeps users engaged. The new catalogue is easier to use, has greater search relevancy and provides social networking tools so that people can share information and interests.In 2009, circulation of digital media such as audio books, e-books, and music increased by 90 per cent over 2008. Patrons can download these items from the OPL web site and many of the holdings may be transferred to a personal listening device such as an iPod or iPhone so that users can learn on the go.High-speed wireless Internet access was first piloted at the Ottawa Public Library in 2007. Since 2008, it has been available in all 33 branches of the OPL. Users enjoy online connectivity in OPL branches that allows them a place, other than school or home, to continue studying, working and living online. ... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 812658 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Librarianinblack/~3/8D5S9EKuums/tech.html Below you will see my 13 Ways (and 147 Tools) to Help Your Library Save Money on Technology. These are my favorite options for libraries to use as alternatives to the expensive paid services and software that we use now, usually because our parent organizations or IT departments have gone along with the mainstream, bought the expensive stuff from the well-known companies, and never blinked.  But now that we are all facing budget crunches the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades, we have a chance to show these alternatives to the decision-makers, save the organization some money, and support the open source movement at the same time. I have personally used all of these, at least in a demo setting. Most of them I use on a regular basis at work or at home. So trust me — these recommendations do not come lightly!  I think these tools are darn good, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the cut. This list has come out of a few different presentations I’ve given for public libraries recently, from Hawaii to Iowa.  Take a look, see what you want to try, and let me know how it works.  The list is not exhaustive, so I invite all of you to comment on this post and add your own favorite free web tools, software, and open source awesomeness. 1. ... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:47:16 +0100 813673 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/24/some-controlled-serendipity-in-the-the-time-of-search/ Resource of the Week — Some Thoughts on “Controlled Serendipity” By Gary Price and Shirl Kennedy, editors ‘Controlled Serendipity’ Liberates the Web (Nick Bilton, New York Times) If someone approached me even five years ago and explained that one day in the near future I would be filtering, collecting and sharing content for thousands of perfect strangers to read — and doing it for free — I would have responded with a pretty perplexed look. Yet today I can’t imagine living in a world where I don’t filter, collect and share. More important, I couldn’t conceive of a world of news and information without the aid of others helping me find the relevant links. Comments From ResourceShelf From Gary: “(F)iltering, collecting and sharing content” are things that info pros and many information companies have been doing for a long time, both in print and electronically — particularly in the area of aggregation. Now, many of us — both information professionals and information industry vendors — have to find new ideas and methods to make our services valuable to users. Which by itself is not enough. We must also make sure people know about our services rather than just going to the web and bypassing us completely. Which means information professionals need to adjust, learn new skills, and develop new services to go along with those skills. That doesn’t mean we should be forgetting our “classic skills”. It means we should be adapting them to the times and circumstances in which we find ourselves. On example — metadata creation and management (what some might call “cataloging 2010?) is more important now than ever. And facilitating information literacy is an ongoing process. Other new skills that come to mind are digital preservation, digital curation, organization of digital content, and working with/for the open access community. ... Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:15:24 +0100 811713 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/24/research-brains-can%e2%80%99t-handle-all-our-facebook-friends-can-manage-150-friends-max/ From the Article: We may be able to amass 5,000 friends on Facebook but humans’ brains are capable of managing a maximum of only 150 friendships, a study has found. Robin Dunbar, professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, has conducted research revealing that while social networking sites allow us to maintain more relationships, the number of meaningful friendships is the same as it has been throughout history. Dunbar developed a theory known as “Dunbar’s number” in the 1990s which claimed that the size of our neocortex — the part of the brain used for conscious thought and language — limits us to managing social circles of around 150 friends, no matter how sociable we are. These are relationships in which a person knows how each friend relates to every other friend. They are people you care about and contact at least once a year. Source: The Times of London (Source: ResourceShelf) Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:23:18 +0100 811590 http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-england-library-instruction-group.html The New England Library Instruction Group (NELIG), an interest group of ACRL New England, is requesting proposals for its annual program Meeting Digital Natives Where They Are: New Standards for the New Student, to be held at Yale University in Orange, CT, on Friday June 4, 2010.Proposal topics could include topics such as: Using Twitter, Facebook, and social networks in library instruction; Using mobile devices for research education; Using ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards; Tapping into learning styles or searching behaviors of current students to better educate future students. For more info or to submit proposals contact Laura O'Neill (loneill@holycross.edu) or Elizabeth Dolinger (elizabethdolinger@landmark.edu) by February 19, 2010.Photo by Sheila Webber: Moscow, December 2009. (Source: Information Literacy Weblog) Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 811612 http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/understanding-games-education/ ETC Press is a publishing imprint with a twist, being interested in the participatory future of content creation across multiple media. Great credibility and open source  adds up to a great way to transform learning! ETC Press  is an academic, open source, multimedia, publishing imprint affiliated with the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and in partnership with Lulu.com.  ETC Press has an affiliation with the Institute for the Future of the Book and MediaCommons, sharing in the exploration of the evolution of discourse. ETC Press also has an agreement with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to place ETC Press publications in the ACM Digital Portal, and another with Feedbooks to place ETC Press texts in their e-reading platform. Also, ETC Press publications will be in the ThoughtMesh. ETC Press publications focus on issues revolving around entertainment technologies as they are applied across a variety of fields. Thanks to a tweet from @lernys I’ve now happily downloaded a copy of Ludoliteracy: Defining, Understanding, and Supporting Games Education, by José P. Zagal. This is free and looks like a very worthwhile read. Grab yourself a copy. Book Description: It seems like teaching about games should be easy. After all, students enjoy engaging with course content and have extensive experience with videogames. However, games education can be surprisingly complex. This book explores ludoliteracy, or the question of what it means to understand games, by looking at the challenges and problems faced by students taking games-related classes. In response to these challenges, this book then describes how online learning environments can be used to support learning about games by helping students get more from their experiences with games, and helping students use what they know to establish deeper understanding. ... Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:46:51 +0100 811666 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/rihlib/2010/01/22/library-news-notes-12210/ Rowland Institute at Harvard Library News & Notes January 22, 2010 This is the final issue of Library News & Notes. I am grateful to have served as librarian in the Rowland Institute these past twelve years. The science keeps getting better and better. Thank you. Quotes of the week There is no way unless you’re dead, and even then there is still a question, that you’re not going to offend somebody. There’s always someone that’s going to get offended over something that somebody does. ... Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:33:50 +0100 811863 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ouseful/~3/YWem_6P_5vI/ … And so it came to pass that The Open University announced that it was going to adopt Google Apps for Education, and in one fell swoop sign up over 150,000 students to the platform. And what bounteous riches would those students henceforth be able to benefit from, with “a service level agreement with higher levels of availability than [the OU] could achieve itself”: email: “students will be offered their own Gmail accounts with addresses ending in @my.open.ac.uk” calendar: when the OU’s student calendaring team held a consultation about future plans a couple of years or so ago, I lobbied hard for iCal/ics feed support, as well as tentatively suggesting that we might be use calendar feeds to transport payloads (documents, or audio files for example) either to students or within the context of a feed powered VLE. (I think I also suggested that they just not bother and embed Google calendars instead, and did a working demo to show what it could look like). ... Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:40:57 +0100 811211 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/EA7Lp_AtT1E/understanding-web-to-make-search-more.html Last year at our second Searchology event, we announced Google Squared and Rich Snippets, two approaches to improve search by better understanding the web. Today, we're kicking off the new year with two improvements based on those technologies. First, we're applying the research behind Google Squared to add a new "answer-highlighting" feature to search, and second we're expanding Rich Snippets to include events.Answer highlighting in search resultsMost information on the web is unstructured. For example, blogs integrate paragraphs of text, videos and images in ways that don't follow simple rules. Product review sites each have their own formats, rating scales and categories. Unstructured data is difficult for a computer to interpret, which means that we humans still have to do a fair amount of work to synthesize and understand information on the web.Google Squared is one of our early efforts to automatically identify and extract structured data from across the Internet. We've been making progress, and today the research behind Google Squared is, for the first time, making search better for everyone with a new feature called "answer highlighting."Answer highlighting helps you get to information more quickly by seeking out and bolding the likely answer to your question right in search results. The feature is meant for searches with factual answers, such as [meet john doe director], [john lennon died], or [what was the political party of president ford]. If the pages returned for these queries contain a simple answer, the search snippet will more often include the relevant text and bold it for easy reference.Consider the example, [empire state height]. The first search result used to look like this:With today's improvements, the answer —1250 ft, or 381 m — is highlighted right in the search result:This kind of quick answer only makes sense for certain kinds of searches. ... Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 812474 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/21/facebooks-u-s-usage-boomed-in-2009/ From an Article: The use of Facebook in the U.S. significantly intensified last year, driving up the social-networking site’s usage to impressive levels in the country that is its oldest, most mature market, according to comScore. In December 2009, almost 112 million unique visitors went to the site, up 105 percent compared with December 2008, making Facebook the fourth-most-popular site in the country. On average, 37.7 million people visited the site per day, up 181 percent, and viewed a total of almost 45 billion pages during the month, up 151 percent. Overall, Facebook users spent almost 28 billion minutes on the site, almost triple the time in December 2008 and giving Facebook a 7 percent share of time spent online in the U.S. in general. Total visits more than tripled to almost 3.1 billion. Access the Complete Article Source: IDG News Service (Source: ResourceShelf) Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:04:13 +0100 810609 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/21/highlights-only-survey-of-higher-education-faculty-evaluation-of-library-efforts-to-index-preserve-and-catalog-blogs-websites-email-archives-and-other-cyber-resources/ Primary Research has published (fee-based) a new report, The Survey of Higher Education Faculty: Evaluation of Library Efforts to Index, Preserve and Catalog Blogs, Websites, Email Archives and Other Cyber Resources. From the Summary: …presents data on how higher education faculty in the United States and Canada view the usefulness and quality of academic library efforts to further scholarship based on internet sources such as websites, blogs, listervs, social networking sites, online ads and other internet resources. The report presents highly detailed data on how faculty use blogs, websites, social networking sites, email archives, listservs, webcasts and podcasts, ezines, online ads and other cyber resources in scholarship. It also highlights how faculty rate the efforts of academic libraries to index, preserve and catalog these resources. In addition, the report discusses other pertinent trends, such as the degree of use of web archiving software. The report presents the results of a survey of more than 550 higher education faculty in the United States and Canada. Data is presented in the aggregate and for 12 criteria including academic field, size of college, type of college, academic title and other factors. Here are a Few Findings from the Report: _ More than 53% of faculty in the sample refer to websites in scholarly papers. Research university faculty were the most likely among faculty at all types of institutions to refer to websites in their scholarly papers 62.5% of them do so. + 15.34% of faculty sampled refer to listserv or usenet postings in presentations. 31.25% of faculty in colleges with fewer than 1,000 students refer to listserv or usenet postings in presentations, the highest among all types of colleges defined by size range in the sample. + 14.71% of faculty sampled had ever used a web archive in their scholarly work. ... Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:16:30 +0100 810621 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LibraryClips/~3/MjLUrBKfQak/johnt How social networks work: the puzzle of exhaust data :: Grant McCracken Phatic is Phat - Herd - the hidden truth about who we are Collaborative Thinking: Year-End Thoughts On Enterprise 2.0 Social Software (Part 2) PebbleRoad: The culture of collaboration and what it means for your intranet On Incentivizing Knowledge Management (Gurteen Knowledge) Realtime RSS - Google Reader is wrong Oops! (Learn from My KM Mistakes) « Apin Talisayon’s Weblog Oops! CoP portal before community building (Source: Library clips) Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100 811793 http://sites.menashalibrary.org/2010/01/21/recent-reads/ Here are some of the articles online that I’ve been lingering at lately: Offline Book “Lending” Costs US Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion exposes the true reality of librarians as contraband dealers.  We have lived in the darkness too long!  I consider Another Black Eye for the Seattle Public Library’s Administration to be a must-read for library administrators.  The power of social networking cannot be controlled in the same way internal dialogue and complaints can be.  That should force every library administrator to be more careful when dismissing staff concerns. 10 Ways Leaders Can Use a Flip Video Camera will have you thinking about uses for videos in your library. (Source: Sites and Soundbytes) Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 811844 http://www.teleread.org/2010/01/20/the-egalitarianism-of-e-commerce/ On January 12, 2010 the world seemed a place of infinite fears and possibilities. Human suffering seemed a fact of life that many of us have become all too used to. The occasional news story of a deadly car bombing in a far off distant place was relatively easy to ignore. That was all before the ground shook and redefined once again our understanding of human suffering. This piece is not about that catastrophic event but rather the immediate and palpable response which arose in reaction to it. In particular, the ingenious way, in which enormous companies have led the charge to aid those in need. The narrative is one, that I feel, must be told before it is all too easily forgotten and we once again revert back to our default positions, regarding corporate greed and injudicious actions. I am referring to the use of a simple donation device on Amazon and WalMart’s websites. It allows you to simply type in a donation amount which is automatically billed from your credit card. The funds immediately go to legitimate charities and help people in a more expedient manner than most of us can even imagine. The fact that there may be some unresolved issues regarding possible profit taking by credit cards is a legitimate concern but these loose ends do not dramatically impact the efficiency nor the contributions gained through the process. Felix Torres has often weighed in on the discussions held on Teleread reminding us of the growing relevance of electronic communities. This dynamic is wisely being harnessed by companies such as Amazon and Walmart in their attempts to aid the on-going relief efforts.I can relate to you a simple story regarding how social networks can not only assist but also inspire people towards aiding one another. As a future Social Studies teacher I was assigned a university project in which I was asked to gather public opinions concerning the Patriot Act and to then offer a public policy suggestion based on those opinions. ... Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:17:33 +0100 810480 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/teleread/KHnj/~3/_MnxVdBAM6Q/ On January 12, 2010 the world seemed a place of infinite fears and possibilities. Human suffering seemed a fact of life that many of us have become all too used to. The occasional news story of a deadly car bombing in a far off distant place was relatively easy to ignore. That was all before the ground shook and redefined once again our understanding of human suffering. This piece is not about that catastrophic event but rather the immediate and palpable response which arose in reaction to it. In particular, the ingenious way, in which enormous companies have led the charge to aid those in need. The narrative is one, that I feel, must be told before it is all too easily forgotten and we once again revert back to our default positions, regarding corporate greed and injudicious actions. I am referring to the use of a simple donation device on Amazon and WalMart’s websites. It allows you to simply type in a donation amount which is automatically billed from your credit card. The funds immediately go to legitimate charities and help people in a more expedient manner than most of us can even imagine. The fact that there may be some unresolved issues regarding possible profit taking by credit cards is a legitimate concern but these loose ends do not dramatically impact the efficiency nor the contributions gained through the process. Felix Torres has often weighed in on the discussions held on Teleread reminding us of the growing relevance of electronic communities. This dynamic is wisely being harnessed by companies such as Amazon and Walmart in their attempts to aid the on-going relief efforts.I can relate to you a simple story regarding how social networks can not only assist but also inspire people towards aiding one another. As a future Social Studies teacher I was assigned a university project in which I was asked to gather public opinions concerning the Patriot Act and to then offer a public policy suggestion based on those opinions. ... Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:17:33 +0100 810240 http://lisnews.org/harpercollins_apple_may_be_looking_unique_ebooks HarperCollins is reportedly negotiating with Apple, Inc. about e-books that could go beyond text on Apple's expected tablet computer. Brian Murray, CEO of HarperCollins, has said e-books could be priced higher with videos, author interviews, and social networking. Apple's tablet is expected to offer more than Amazon.com's Kindle. Article at Sci-Tech Today (Source: LISNews.org) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:27:23 +0100 809896 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/19/canadian-privacy-commission-to-investigate-facebook/ From the EPIC Web Site: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has launched an investigation into the information collection and use practices of online social networking sites. This investigation is being conducted as the Parliament prepares to review the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. Stoddart plans to examine “issues that we feel pose a serious challenge to the privacy of consumers, now and in the near future,” and to foster discussions about “the impact of these technological developments on privacy.” This is not the first time the Commissioner has investigated the information practices of Facebook. In August 2009, Facebook made several changes to its privacy policy, following recommendations by the Commissioner and a complaint filed by the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. Source: EPIC See Also: Privacy commissioner looking at how Facebook gets data (via CTV News) (Source: ResourceShelf) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:35:54 +0100 809937 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/booksquare/~3/OIF2Gm7c3Z8/ Short answer: nobody knows. Longer answer: the magic elixir publishers are injecting into ebooks in hopes they will entice people to pay higher prices. As you might guess, I am a bit of an “enhancement” skeptic. I have a few reasons. First, they feel like an attempt to skip the walking phase. Right now ebooks are crawling, technical quality-wise, and enhanced ebooks will be (theoretically) leaping and pirouetting. Second, what is being proposed in some publisher statements sounds a lot like standard print material (reader guides) and marketing fluff. Finally, I’m not sure readers are clamoring for enhanced ebooks as much as they’d like publishers to rethink what a “book” is. First, let’s talk about the technical quality. We could debate the quality of content and editing until the cows come home. We could restart the debate when the cows go wherever cows go when they’re not home. And so on. I believe publishers too readily dismiss reader comments about bad books, value, and price; it hurts the publisher argument because it’s not the job of readers to make the right format and pricing decisions. That’s a discussion for another day. What I’m talking about is the actual ebook. How it looks, how it flows, how it works for readers. Right now, most commercial ebooks are treated as exact (but not really exact, which is a problem when it comes to value perception) replica of the print version. Right down to nonsensical elements like references to page numbers within the digital text. The process of taking the final print layout and converting it to an ebook ignores the basics of ebook creation. It cheapens the product sold to readers. It seems that publishers have been seduced by outsourcing and are neglecting the basic production tasks that are required for ebooks to actually become working books. ... Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:33:34 +0100 809926 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/01/19/the-apple-tablet-harpercollins-enhanced-e-books/ Many people are saying that on January 27th, Apple will introduce it’s much discussed but never seen, tablet device at an event in San Francisco. Stay tuned. Now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is in talks, “according to people familiar with the situation,” with Harper Collins to provide book content from the tablet (or whatever it might be named). Also, according to the article and those familiar with the story, Apple has also met with other publishers. From the Article: Brian Murray, the chief executive of HarperCollins, said in December that e-books enhanced with video, author interviews and social-networking applications could command higher retail prices for publishers than current e-books. That’s the phrase of the day, enhanced e-books. Finally, The HarperCollins negotiations with Apple represent a direct challenge to Amazon, which dominates the fast-growing e-book market but which could face significant competition from an Apple tablet. HarperCollins is one of several major publishing houses that are holding back e-book versions of some new hardcover best sellers. The HarperCollins account of the 2008 presidential election, “Game Change,” by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, was released in hardcover Jan. 11 but the e-book edition doesn’t go on sale until Feb. 23. Enhanced e-books likely would be available for sale simultaneously with the hardcovers. Source: The Wall Street Journal See Also: Apple ‘in talks’ with HarperCollins over tablet (via The Telegraph) (Source: ResourceShelf) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:43:08 +0100 809942 http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/jleeson/2010/01/19/twitter-stats-do-they-influence-you/ As an occasional user of Twitter every now and then I get a message in my email letting me know that someone is following me. If it’s someone I know (ie have an existing relationship) I will generally follow them with out much further thought - after all it is someone that I already [...] (Source: Education.au Blog) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:19:57 +0100 809656 http://blog.skagirlie.net/2010/01/19/whered-i-go/ I know this blog is mostly quiet nowadays. A lot of it has to do with my position change two years ago. There’s not a lot of wiggle room for innovation when you’re busy manning desks / scheduling / weeding / etc. It’s really a lot of fun, but doesn’t make interesting blog fodder. A colleague of mine asked if I missed working at the Main Library, since I’m no longer a part of “the new and exciting.” I honestly don’t see it that way. Libraries are still way ahead of the game when it comes to using shiny things, so I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by sitting back and watching. Yes, I am still watching. I still exist on all of your favorite social networking sites, but I’m just not as visible as I once was. (Source: blog.skagirlie.net) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:35:46 +0100 811468 http://micheladrien.blogspot.com/2010/01/privacy-commissioner-of-canada-launches.html Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart wants to consult Canadian citizens about online consumer tracking:"In the practice of online consumer tracking, data about the browsing habits of individuals is collected through digital markers such as cookies. Additional data may be gathered using other technologies, such as deep packet inspection and the global positioning systems (GPS) common in many mobile communications devices.""Individuals themselves, moreover, volunteer significant amounts of personal information, especially through their participation in social networking sites (...)""Proponents say that online consumer tracking, profiling and targeting supports free Internet content, allows people to receive more relevant advertising and discount offers, and promotes the development of useful services ... ""Critics, however, warn that people may be unaware that their personal information is being collected, and do not understand how it is used. They also argue that, even when the information is anonymous, it can sometimes be combined with other information to identify individuals."Interested people can send written submissions until March 15, 2010. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is also seeking to recruit people to participate in formal discussion panels in Toronto in April and Montreal in May. (Source: Library Boy) Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 809932 http://invisibleweblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/isic-2010.html Information Seeking in Context (ISIC) 2010 will take place in the Faculty of Letters, University of Murcia, September 28, 2010 – October 2, 2010. According to their call for paper, the conference main themes include: "theories and models of information seeking and searching, research approaches and methodologies, information seeking, searching and use in specific contexts, organizational structures and processes and information seeking, searching and use, information seeking and searching in virtual social networks, information behaviour in everyday life, integrating studies on information seeking and interactive retrieval, information use and the nature of information and how information is used to help solve problems, aid decision making or satisfy an initial need, the mediation of information behaviour, the design of information delivery systems to meet information needs generally, or in organizational or disciplinary contexts, including Web 2.0 developments, information seeking and information requirements, and the communication of information to users: relationship between communication theory and information behaviour. (Source: The Invisible Web Weblog) Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 811168 http://micheladrien.blogspot.com/2010/01/yet-another-item-about-top-tech-trends.html Paula J. Hane, the editor of Newsbreaks from the info industry publisher Information Today, has written a two-part Review of the Year 2009 and Trends Watch:Review of the Year 2009 and Trends Watch—Part 1 (Janaury 4, 2010): "Other trends I mentioned that have carried through the year include increased interest in the mobile web, enterprise social networking, open source solutions, book digitization, ebook readers, etc. In fact, the trends I said I'd be watching in 2009 have all proven to be important drivers during the year.Review of the Year 2009 and Trends Watch—Part 2 (January 7, 2010): "... I cover the trends I'll be watching in 2010 that I expect to have an impact on libraries and the information industry. I also present a wrap-up with links to some of the most interesting coverage from other commentators and analysts. (Source: Library Boy) Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 809708 http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/2010/01/educause-quarterly-special-issue-on-student-engagement.html In the latest issue of EDUCAUSE Quarterly (Winter 2009), now online, the focus is on student engagement. From social network software to clickers to lecture capture, each article explores methods that might be used to create greater student engagement. It features the usual columnists and a variety of columns. Read more at: http://www.educause.edu/eq (Source: The Kept-Up Academic Librarian) Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100 809586