Archives
Friday, October 29, 2004
ProBlogger
ProBlogger is a “free collection of tips on writing content, search engine optimization, using advertising and affiliate programs etc - to help bloggers explore ways of adding revenue streams to what they do.” ProBlogger also contains articles on promoting and marketing your blog. [link via B.L. Ochman].
Very varied and useful information.
Blogging — laura
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
knowledge management and librarianship
knowledge management and librarianship is both a blog and a series of articles contained therein. It’s an interesting set of essays complete with references.
- knowledge management and librarianship: Part 1
- KM and LIS: part2
- KM and LIS: part3
- KM and LIS: part4
- KM and LIS: part5
Library Links — laura
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
IT Kitchen
The Kitchen: How to Cook a Weblog is a two-week clinic on weblogging and related topics for webloggers and those who read webloggers and even those who don’t but still manage to use the web without stumbling all over us. The focus of the clinic is on community participation, contribution, and benefit.
Today’s topic is collaboration. Group Blogging for Corporations and Conferences is a nice introduction to publishing with a group of writers to offset the time drain blogging alone can bring to already hectic schedules.
Web Tools — laura
Introduction to Databases
Digital Web Magazine - Introduction to Databases is an explanation of the nature of databases in terms that non-techs can understand.
Website Design — laura
Monday, October 25, 2004
Uses of RSS
Every librarian should read these articles by drew. They offer both reasons to read and reasons to offer syndication(RSS) files.
- Uses of RSS
- RSS has already been put to a number of fascinating and imaginative uses, which will hopefully continue to grow healthily into the future. What follows is a list of some of the current (non-library) applications of syndication technologies, beginning with the more popular.
- Uses of RSS Part 2: benefits for all WWW users
- Here I consider the benefits of RSS along three themes: Convenience, Connecting and Getting the very latest.
- Uses of RSS Part 3: benefits for libraries
- Building on the Uses of RSS, this article considers some of the benefits particular to special libraries.
Web Tools — laura
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Uber Bibliography
The Internet Courses: Weblogs is the ultimate list of sources on weblogs in libraries. There’s no way to tell if she plans on updating it but it makes for a great launching pad for research.
Thanks Jessamyn.
Blogging — laura
Friday, October 22, 2004
Gary Price Interview
Gary Price answers some very relevant questions on librarianship today and how we should go from here.
Career Info — laura
Thursday, October 21, 2004
J Med Libr Assoc
The October issue of The Journal of the American Library Association has several articles of interest to electronic medical librarians. And it is provided open-access through Pubmed Central
Library Links — laura
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Product Weblogs
But wait, you might say, isn’t the whole point to get people to visit your website? No, it isn’t. The point, insofar as product marketing is concerned, is to get people in touch with information about your products. Your website is just a means to that end, as is an RSS feed. It isn’t about the weblog or the website. It is about the product. Pure and simple, but easily forgotten.
Substitute information for product and this article easily applies to library services. It’s a great set of guidelines for blogs that are meant to accomplish specific goals.
Blogging — laura
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
OPML Starter
walking paper: A Starter OPML File for Librarians*
OPML is a standard format for RSS agregators (think MARC). If you want to try feed reading, just download the file and import it into your aggregator for a ready-made set of feeds of interest to librarians.
Web Tools — laura
Newbie Blues
It all seems to have started with Fixing the First Job and snowballed from there. In the last few days there have been several posts about the plight of new librarians as they head out into the professional world. For those who like me have gotten lost without a scorecard I’ve compiled the list below in roughly publication order.
- Tell me why
- What We Really Want
- More on the NextGen librarian hiring freeze
- let the NextGenners shine
- NextGen librarians don’t need to be all systems, all the time
- THE RIGHT HAND KNOWETH NOT…
- What to do ’bout us young-brarians- Read the comments particularly.
- Library Web Chic
There are a lot of good points made. The balance of theory and practice comes up a couple of times. No one seems happy with the current level, whether they think it’s too much or too little. Personally, I think they’re both important. The practice prepares us for today while the theory helps us deal with tomorrow. A favorite quote The key is the *blend* of skills. Classic library skills, communication skills, people-networking skills, tech skills, and a love for the profession. Not just a way out of a recession. That’s who the library schools should be putting out right now. And it’s who libraries should be hiring.
LibraryTechtonics
Looking over the diversity of the areas the survey respondents wished they knew more in, I wonder if it isn’t too much to fit into a two-year degree. Would the profession be better off if students went for a four-year degree and emerged with the equivalent of a Ph.D. like lawyers. That way students would have more time to do more than “get their feet wet” in the various topics we need to understand. Easy for me to say I know. The financial hardship would be twice as tough. But money is already a problem and only going to get worse for a long time before it gets better. I hope to hear what anyone else has to say.
Career Info — laura
Monday, October 18, 2004
Communications Handbook
“A Communications Handbook for Libraries” will help libraries preserve and promote their programs-while dealing with the challenges of the USA PATRIOT Act and seemingly endless budget cuts.
ALA | Free online handbook will help libraries get the word out
This looks to be a great resource, unfortunately, it’s only available in pdf.
Marketing — laura
Friday, October 15, 2004
Temping
LibraryTechtonics: Librarian/information professional temp agencies
Career Info — laura
OA Library Journals
Via an email list, a list of open-access, peer-reviewed and indexed library journals.
- Information Research
- Library Philosophy and Practice
- LIBRES Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal
Library Links — laura
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Library as Business?
Seven Reasons Why Businesses Should Blog Now
The list could have also been called “Why Your Library Should Blog Now”. Actually, since libraries are businesses too (sometimes we forget that), the list should apply to libraries…
Read the comments for an interesting point from Walt Crawford. He reminds us that libraries are “commons” organizations. Steven points to the parts that libraries share with businesses as proof of a non-profit business identity.
Frankly, they’re both right. The problem is that libraries have existed for centuries in a stable condition a little behind the curve. But today’s society is moving so fast that the curve is getting longer and libraries are getting further behind. We have no choice but to leave parts of stability behind to catch up and the only guidelines we have are the businesses who have managed the change already.
But, by adopting those models we do run the risk of losing our identity. It’s a delicate balance we face.
Web Tools — laura
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Sony ditches DRM
Sony — which recently added MP3 support to its walkman devices — has abandoned publishing music on DRM-laden CDs. They say that it’s because of an “increase in awareness by music consumers,”
…they mean that their customers have grown aware of what abad [sic] deal these DRM discs are and don’t want them anymore. IOW, we complained loud and hard and Sony blinked.
Copyright — laura
Monday, October 11, 2004
Patriot Down
Yahoo! News - Court strikes down Patriot Act provision- Boing Boing: ACLU and EFF strike down part of PATRIOT Act
- librarian.net : gag orders unconstitutional says federal court. duh, says jessamyn.
Patriot Act — laura
Friday, October 8, 2004
VR Again
…or why you should look at your referrers once in a while. 
I’ve been blogrolled(!) by lbr(a blog about virtual reference for librarians by request) and browsing through the entries I found “To chat or not to chat”.
Anyone who’s participated in an online community for long knows that certain topics tend to come up again in cycles. It looks like it’s time for Virtual Reference. A recent post on one of my lists asks why don’t more people use virtual reference?
Like most questions, it’s deceptively simple and the best way to find out would be to ask them. However, that’s rarely practical on a library’s limited budget. Luke reports from Coffman and Arret:
While some decide to pull the plug, they suggested, others can look for ways to get more bang for their buck, by improving marketing, reducing costs (including reducing staff costs by employing contract services), joining consortia, and carefully considering software features and cost relative to their needs. Some of their more challenging ideas included taking another look at telephone reference (even round-the-clock!), improving email or other asynchronous options that are more economical to offer, and improving the “self-service” online features available on library websites.
I’m not going to go too far into marketing but once our “Ask a Librarian” email form was linked to from the library’s homepage, its use went up at least 200-300%.
aaron schmidt inadvertently offers one possible problem in walking paper: finally. Unfortunately, there are several Instant Messaging formats which have no interopperability. Picture needing a different email address depending on who your friends’ email host is. Using just one account excludes those patrons who have another type but juggling multiple accounts can be complicated and difficult for even a master geek.
Web Tools — laura
Thursday, October 7, 2004
Position Matching Knowledge
The recent growth in information technology has helped push salaries for law librarians at major firms up by nearly a third, according to a new survey.
The expansion of knowledge management systems and techniques has also moved law librarians towards the top in their firms, as their research and associated skills have grown in importance in an increasingly competitive legal world, according to the survey, by leading law publishing firm Sweet and Maxwell.
Pat Pritchard, national head of information services at leading law firm DLA, said:
Certainly the law library function works very differently now to that of say 10 years ago. New technology and the Internet mean that our legal and business current awareness is bang up to date.Scotsman.com News - Latest News - It Skills Pushing Up Law Librarians’ Pay via librarian.net
Yes! Now we need to figure out how to do it in other settings.
Career Info — laura
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Too Fun Not to Pass On
…Viet Dinh (G-town law prof, former AA General for Bush, author of the USA Patriot Act, and poster boy for conservative causes…). Viet made a comment at one point that I think you would like — he said what he had learned from the response to the Patriot Act was ‘Don’t mess with librarians.’”
hehe
Patriot Act — laura
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
The American Institute for Health Education
The American Institute for Health Education (AIHE) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to put “medical research articles into the hands of patients and their families.” AIHE will provide citations by email or full-text photocopies by snail mail. Clients with access to a good research library –or a lode of OA literature– might only want citations; others might want full-text. AIHE has some topics already prepared in its catalog and will research others on request. When clients want full-text photocopies, AIHE obtains permission from the copyright holder and pays any required fees. The service is not free, but is offered on a non-profit basis with discounts for “patients in need”
Library Links — laura
Monday, October 4, 2004
Web Feeds for Services
LLRX — Rich Site Services: Web Feeds for Extended Information and Library Services offers a great overview of RSS feeds for information filtering with examples of libraries who have implemented them for news updates.
Gerry also goes into other types of information that could benefit by broadened dissemination like new book/cd/etc. lists, subject-specific information, and general reference tips.
Web Tools — laura
