Shelfari shelf, I have been having fun with Shelfari, loading books and sharing. I like this program because it has the book covers. I often remember the book by its cover.... I know the old saying....
but I really like this site
Here is the address:
http://www.shelfari.com/o1518043104
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Technorati
Ok,
If I didn't already think my head was going to explode from information overload, Technorati may just push me over the top!
Seriously though, this is a great site, with lots and Lots and LOTS of information, all flashing in front of me at blinding speed. A great aggregate of the blogoshpere, if you really, really want to get an aggregate of the blogosphere!
I'm going to go sit in a dark room for a while..... and breathe slowly.
If I didn't already think my head was going to explode from information overload, Technorati may just push me over the top!
Seriously though, this is a great site, with lots and Lots and LOTS of information, all flashing in front of me at blinding speed. A great aggregate of the blogoshpere, if you really, really want to get an aggregate of the blogosphere!
I'm going to go sit in a dark room for a while..... and breathe slowly.
a nice little youtube I often listen to....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjnvSQuv-H4
This song always makes me feel better!
Also, check out Chad Vader....
This song always makes me feel better!
Also, check out Chad Vader....
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
My Bookshelf
Hey, is this cool or what?
My bookshelf, as you can see, now lives on my blog! I love all this stuff... I wish I had more time to play with these things!
My bookshelf, as you can see, now lives on my blog! I love all this stuff... I wish I had more time to play with these things!
Shelfari vs. Librarything, a cage match
So I'm comparing Shelfari and Librarything this morning, and I've got to say I prefer Shelfari. I've always like to look for books by the cover.... I know about the "judging" proverb.... but I love cover art and design. I'm one of those font geeks who actually looks at the verso of the cover page to see if there are notes about what font was used for a given book and the paper content, etc. I love books as objets d' art as well as actual things to read. Go figure, I'm in library school!
For that reason, I'm currently in love with Shelfari. I love the bookshelf concept, and I get to gaze fondly at the covers of books I've read, and books that I'd like to read. I invited some of my friends to the party, and I'm looking forward to hearing from them. One of my friends is 13, and he's into Stephanie Meyer right now, so I'm really interested in what he's reading. I enjoy SciFi and fantasy lit, but I'm behind the times on the current trends, so having friends who are reading different things is really cool.
A couple of classmates and I were discussing the SciFi/Fantasy options for literary criticism, and bemoaning the fact that, beyond the Hugo and Nebula awards, SciFi and Fantasy are largely a word-of-mouth type of genre as far as literary criticism. A lot of the more mainstream sources for popular fiction review don't really get the picture with SciFi/Fantasy. Anyone got any ideas on where to find a reliable critical source? That being said, the word of mouth thing is really interesting and can take up hours of gushing conversation!
For that reason, I'm currently in love with Shelfari. I love the bookshelf concept, and I get to gaze fondly at the covers of books I've read, and books that I'd like to read. I invited some of my friends to the party, and I'm looking forward to hearing from them. One of my friends is 13, and he's into Stephanie Meyer right now, so I'm really interested in what he's reading. I enjoy SciFi and fantasy lit, but I'm behind the times on the current trends, so having friends who are reading different things is really cool.
A couple of classmates and I were discussing the SciFi/Fantasy options for literary criticism, and bemoaning the fact that, beyond the Hugo and Nebula awards, SciFi and Fantasy are largely a word-of-mouth type of genre as far as literary criticism. A lot of the more mainstream sources for popular fiction review don't really get the picture with SciFi/Fantasy. Anyone got any ideas on where to find a reliable critical source? That being said, the word of mouth thing is really interesting and can take up hours of gushing conversation!
Sold on Mozilla Firefox
Good Morning,
So, I was having trouble with my email the other day, having just switched carriers, and had to call the new company's help desk. On advice from the very helpful (thank the heavens) help desk person, I switched to Mozilla Firefox. I love it! So fast and easy to use, and, of course, as you may have noticed from other posts, free.
I'm so tight I squeak.... and I'm a full time grad student, single mom and new owner of a third cat....(they sure are hungry when they show up on your doorstep and sit out in the rain crying to come in, go figure).
In any case, Mozilla is lightning fast and I love the tabbed browsing, which is much more responsive than my old program.
In other news, I feel like a rock star, I picked up a "follower". Shout out to you, you know who you are classics reader. I often feel like I'm sending the proverbial message in a bottle when blogging and that my posts are those that only an instructor can love, so thanks for the shot in the arm! I follow your posts, which are far more interesting than mine!
More on Flickr and mash-ups later.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Library Thing expands
I was just doing my morning reading of the LJ website when I spotted this article about Library Thing expanding its reviewing for libraries. Looks interesting.....
Here is the link:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6607897.html?desc=topstory
Here is the link:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6607897.html?desc=topstory
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Flickr and tech
So, while loading stuff into a flickr set, I realized that there seems to be no way to rearrange the pictures without creating another set, a problem that I have discussed with my practicum supervisor this semester. She can't figure it out either.
Cool website for photo sharing, there is also another called snapfish that is very similar. Hp has a photoshare website, but it is not free.
I still love the Cattycamehome feed that plays on my iGoogle homepage, however, with flowers of the day.
On another note, there is a great service/site that I am using for one of my other courses this semester that enables screen shots, and videos with narration if you want, of procedures on your computer. It is called Jing, (jing.com) and is free. It shadows your work, when you want it to, and can be copied into email, sent to the instructor or copy/pasted into word processing programs as part of a message to illustrate what you are doing without having to describe it in text. As trying to learn new computer procedures can be "lost in translation" while describing what you are doing onscreen, this is a great way to circumvent the confusion. Like pbwiki, the service can be upgraded for a fee, but for class, all we need is the free version and it works great!
A note from the practicum, I got to be the geek the other day, as I was asked to subscribe to a feed using bloglines, and got to show someone how to do it. Admittedly, this is really easy, but it sure is nice to feel empowered by all this really simple tech!
Cool website for photo sharing, there is also another called snapfish that is very similar. Hp has a photoshare website, but it is not free.
I still love the Cattycamehome feed that plays on my iGoogle homepage, however, with flowers of the day.
On another note, there is a great service/site that I am using for one of my other courses this semester that enables screen shots, and videos with narration if you want, of procedures on your computer. It is called Jing, (jing.com) and is free. It shadows your work, when you want it to, and can be copied into email, sent to the instructor or copy/pasted into word processing programs as part of a message to illustrate what you are doing without having to describe it in text. As trying to learn new computer procedures can be "lost in translation" while describing what you are doing onscreen, this is a great way to circumvent the confusion. Like pbwiki, the service can be upgraded for a fee, but for class, all we need is the free version and it works great!
A note from the practicum, I got to be the geek the other day, as I was asked to subscribe to a feed using bloglines, and got to show someone how to do it. Admittedly, this is really easy, but it sure is nice to feel empowered by all this really simple tech!
Friday, October 17, 2008
RSS is really, really simple
Just went to Library Journal and was avidly reading the yearly salary and job outlook info that they have in their new issue. I was intrigued by some of the Neal Wyatt RA stuff and went to subscribe to the feed. It is so easy! I have my RSS feeds on Google Reader, so I can pin the reader into the home page for the iGoogle account I have set up and just go down the list. This is so simple and easy, and now I can read everyone's feeds, along with the feeds from the local newspaper, t.v. station and a few others that I find amusing. I had never played with iGoogle until this fall, just before classes started, so I'm really having fun with it right now. I have the flower of the day and the places you need to see before you die on a slide show, so I always get a quick pick-me-up when I log on. The 600 mile live doppler is cool, too.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Fall is finally here!
Oh, I do love the crisp days, even if it is the end of summer. Putting away all those summer tops and digging out the warm stuff, I am reminded of autumns that have passed and I'm already getting excited about Thanksgiving.
I am working on 23 things that the Public Libraries of Charlotte Mecklenberg (Charlotte, NC) has established as a tool for reference services for "library 2.0", or the library of the electronic future. PLCMC has won a national award for library service, so they have some good ideas worth looking into, and besides, it's part of our Reference Services Class this semester.
The first of the 23 things is a podcast describing the program. For someone who didn't know what a podcast was a year ago, these little audio documents are really cool. They are also, in this case, really informative.
The second of the 23, is a little thing that deals with the "7 1/2 Habits of Life Long Learners", which I personally think is a very important concept, and it has also been adopted in the mission statements of both the local school district and the local public library. We are asked to think about which of the habits are the easiest for us and which the hardest. Here they are:
Personally, I find many of these habits really easy to adopt, some a little harder. The easiest of these, of course, if you have some of the others, is to play. The hardest part of playing is making time for it, but it is also perhaps the most rewarding, because you find out something new. One of my favorite sayings is "That's so cool!" with regard to technology, even though one has to step out of a comfort zone in some cases to play with it. I also find it very challenging to have a goal in mind with most of my learning experiences, but not all (case in point, going to library school, big goal there) I value serendipity very highly, but I think that's why I like play so much, you always find something you weren't looking for.
In any case, these are great pointers to help focus yourself on lifelong learning. One of the next things on the "23" list is to learn how to blog and create one. Guess I've got that one covered right here!
I am working on 23 things that the Public Libraries of Charlotte Mecklenberg (Charlotte, NC) has established as a tool for reference services for "library 2.0", or the library of the electronic future. PLCMC has won a national award for library service, so they have some good ideas worth looking into, and besides, it's part of our Reference Services Class this semester.
The first of the 23 things is a podcast describing the program. For someone who didn't know what a podcast was a year ago, these little audio documents are really cool. They are also, in this case, really informative.
The second of the 23, is a little thing that deals with the "7 1/2 Habits of Life Long Learners", which I personally think is a very important concept, and it has also been adopted in the mission statements of both the local school district and the local public library. We are asked to think about which of the habits are the easiest for us and which the hardest. Here they are:
7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
Personally, I find many of these habits really easy to adopt, some a little harder. The easiest of these, of course, if you have some of the others, is to play. The hardest part of playing is making time for it, but it is also perhaps the most rewarding, because you find out something new. One of my favorite sayings is "That's so cool!" with regard to technology, even though one has to step out of a comfort zone in some cases to play with it. I also find it very challenging to have a goal in mind with most of my learning experiences, but not all (case in point, going to library school, big goal there) I value serendipity very highly, but I think that's why I like play so much, you always find something you weren't looking for.
In any case, these are great pointers to help focus yourself on lifelong learning. One of the next things on the "23" list is to learn how to blog and create one. Guess I've got that one covered right here!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Welcome to my Blog for Reference Services
Hi,
Welcome to my blog for Reference Services. Only 22 other assignments to complete on the list!
If you are looking for a good work of fiction, I created a wiki some time ago for another class that creates a reading map for a lot of books based on Diana Gabaldon's time traveler series. If you want to take a look, here is the wiki site: http://readersadvisoryreadingmap2008.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
PB wikis are fun, easy and free to create.
Talk to everyone later!
Welcome to my blog for Reference Services. Only 22 other assignments to complete on the list!
If you are looking for a good work of fiction, I created a wiki some time ago for another class that creates a reading map for a lot of books based on Diana Gabaldon's time traveler series. If you want to take a look, here is the wiki site: http://readersadvisoryreadingmap2008.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
PB wikis are fun, easy and free to create.
Talk to everyone later!
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