KILL THE BIRD.

I just found out a guy named Lonnie got a haircut. Does my brain have room for this information? Is it twitter making my head hurt? And even if there was useful information tweeted, isn't it already gone? (I better check now to be sure!)... Nope!, but some girl got sunburnt yesterday. That's too bad.

And this is a fast-growing phenomena? That's too bad, too. I thought Twitter was a fast-dying fad that peaked a year ago. I was looking forward to NOT hearing about it in the future. I don't know if I'm just in a bad mood today, but I truly dislike Twitter and everything it signifies about society. Maybe it's just because I have an aversion to birds, in general

We tweet everyday from the Humanities Department about upcoming events, or what's going on in our department, but I can't say I ever felt like it was a worthwhile way to spend my time. (Especially since it usually turns into a mathematical dilemma trying to fit anything sensical into 140 characters.) I don't know who is following out there, so I can't say for sure if it's worthwhile, though. Maybe it is. But I still hate it.

From a library-tweeter perspective, sure, why not? Doesn't hurt.

From a tweet-reader perspective. Nope... Never!

Speaking of which, I'm gonna go tweet about this year's SRA.

LibraryThing

I've been using this site for over a year and have always found it to be great fun, and surprisingly informative. It's quite addictive at first, filling the shelves with (up to) 200 books, but does wear off if you don't visit for awhile. It's hard to say what my favorite part of LibraryThing is, as it has many attractive features.

It's a great way to make lists of books you own, instead of some boring excel spreadsheet, for book collectors who are in over their heads. I have a separate account for books I WANT/NEED, which is easy to print out before I go off to the bookstore.

The recommendations are surprisingly accurate. When authors I have been curious about but always choose to dismiss keep showing up on my recommendations list, it gets hard to ignore, then I have a whole new line of literature to discover.

ALL TIME MOST FAVOURITE ASPECT OF LT: The covers! Even though it's more of an Amazon-based feature, I love being able to choose the covers of the books in my virtual library. I often find much cooler covers than what is really on my shelf, and makes me a much better book-shopper... (I will seek out the cover, the Edition, I like best instead of settling for whatever is at the bookstore).

This Exists?!

I don't know how long Google Documents has been available, but if I had known about it a couple of years ago I never would have purchased Microsoft Word for my home computer. All I really need is the most simple of Word templates - nothing fancy, so Google Documents would have totally been adequate for my needs. I remember being shocked at the price for Microsoft Word hardware... If only I had known about this.

I guess it would be pretty annoying if the internet was down, or if I wanted to work on a document without being plugged into a network, so maybe I would have needed Word anyways. Not too sure how I can apply this great discovery to my work at CPL, but I will certainly pass the information along whenever applicable.

I've also been trying to find a template for recreating the feel and look of a typewriter for a long time, and the easily searchable selection of templates Google Documents has to offer led me to a somewhat satisfactory interface. Now I can create typewriter style documents without the noise, grime, sore fingers, and maintenance of an actual typewriter.

flick & tube

flickr is less user-friendly than youtube.
flickr has pretty pictures.
youtube has funny videos.

Really Silly Situation

Really Simple Syndication is not for me. I was successfully able to set up a feed, but wish I hadn't. I ran into problems because I didn't want to set up a favorite on a work terminal, and if I want updates from a certain resource my strategy has always been to GO THERE, not COME HERE. There is something to be said for the act of seeking and discovering. There is something lazy about really simple syndication. Maybe it's too simple. Maybe I haven't had time to properly explore this "most useful resource", I'm too busy searching for what hasn't already been fed to me. Either way I'm glad it's over.

What's next?

I Googled Google

So many products to choose from... Hmmm... I work at a library... Google Books?

Google BOOKS!

As a purist, the idea of digitizing books has always made me feel sick. It still does, but boy do I like having access to all these books online. There's a lot of books out there that I won't be able to buy in my lifetime, although I'm trying to buy every book I want, but now I can access books that aren't on my shelf.

The best part about Google Books is the search function. Being able to CTRL+F a book is hugely useful for research, or to find specific parts of a book without re-reading for hours, even if it is only a "preview".

One problem with Google Books is that the book you need is rarely available due to its copyright limitations (which is great!). Sometimes it seems like they purposely digitize only books for other people. Who are those people, anyways?

There's a whole lot more to this that I should explore, but it's been really busy here in Humanities with National Poetry Month and I'm a sub so I don't work as much as I'd like to.

F%@#BOOK, 2.0 part IV

Facebook is definitely not a time-waster for me. Even in the instance that I am just wandering through the site, wasting time, that's when I will end up finding something - an event or opportunity of some sort, that I wouldn't have heard about anywhere else.

The only aspect of Facebook I don't like is how other people sometimes use it. Anyone who feels the need to report their thoughts on an hourly basis should start a new facebook of their own - some kind of ultra-facebook. I feel sad for these people and then stop wanting to be their friend, even in real life.

Nowadays, it's the promotional potential of Facebook that impresses me. Being able to "Become A Fan" of certain pages and get regular updates on events is really useful. And the ability to announce interesting opportunities, and the possibility of finding them, to and from people I generally respect, is a really good thing.

Wiki-wiki-WHACK!

While researching sandstorms in the American Southwest this winter I came across a lack of information concerning a sandstorm that occured in Tucson, Arizona in 1971. The only online details of this storm were: "A dust storm that occurred near Tucson, Arizona on July 16 was extensively documented by meteorologists." Continuing my search I came across this sentence again and again - "extensively documented by meteorologists"... and nothing else. Through our E-Library I found an article abstract from the January 197X edition of Scientific American, then found the magazine in the basement of Central. I have posted details from this article to Wikipedia's "Sandstorm" page.


I also attempted to write a Wikipedia article, but it proved to be too complicated to do so properly while maintaining customer service duties at the info desk. This attempt greatly increased my respect for the validity of Wikipedia articles. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, and tons of reading, to submit a valid article. I will use Wikipedia even more now, with increased faith, knowing how much work goes into an article's creation.

2.0 (delicious).

What are the advantages of storing, sharing, and tagging web content this way?

1) Well, there are a lot of resources out there and it isn't very practical, efficient, or professional to go and google what you need every time. This is a wonderful way to narrow down the ridiculously large "on-line world" into a more manageable, library-specific size.

2) A lot of really smart people work at the library and these aren't the type of resources that come up in training so this way we less tech-savvy workers can get in on what the real smart full-timers are using.

3) The only advantages to tagging it this way, I think, are so that we can find it. I don't see how else this could work.


What are the disadvantages?

1) Maintenance of this, at least in a library setting, must be a nightmare. URLs change and then we've a got a dead link. The internet's claim to fame of being an ever-changing, fluid resource does not react well to being pinned down.

2) Titles of some of the bookmarked sites are so similar to each other that they blur into a blue meaningless mess, unless you really squint, which may cause head pain.

3) Some of the most useful (or newer) sites may not have made it on to Delicious, so you may be doing yourself a disservice, missing out on the latest greatest stuff. And there's no "thrill of the chase".

Otherwise it's quite nice. There are no disadvantages to sharing or tagging. Sharing and tagging are like bees pollinating flowers.

From the Back of our Throats

Open wide...

...Read!

A GUTTURAL APPROACH TO CHOOSING YOUR NEXT BOOK.

If you are a compulsive reader but aren't sure where to find your next meal, listen to the grumbling of your stomach and the itch at the top of your throat and find what your mind is in the mood for.

Over time, this blog will develop into a Reader's Menu, offering author and title choices based on the reader's cravings for food. I will offer Fine Dining titles, Hip Diner authors, Appetizers, Homecooking selections, and of course, Dessert. And as long as I can taste the quality of a book at the top of my throat, the menu will grow.

*Dear CPL 2.0.

Reasons I am intrigued and excited about this?

A place to nurture and develop all my great ideas.