Monthly Archives: October 2008

Google Book Search Copyright Settlement

Posted on 28 October 2008 by Rick Mason

Google has reached a settlement with the group of publishers who filed suit in 2005 over the book digitization project.  It is a legal document with many elements, and I cannot hope to make an overall evaluation of the agreement … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Copyright, Fair Use, Google, Libraries, Library 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Google Book Search Copyright Settlement

OCLC Cloud on the Horizon???

Posted on 28 October 2008 by Rick Mason

It is all rumor at this point, but apparently OCLC will be making an announcement on November 2nd regarding its record use policy, and that using any OCLC records services (including WorldCat?) will imply acceptance of said policy. Some people … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Licensing, News, OCLC, Online Services | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Aw, snap!

Posted on 27 October 2008 by Rick Mason

On a lighthearted, and non-library, note:  here is a screenshot of what the Google Chrome browser shows when a web page goes kaploee:

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Blogs in the Liblog Landscape

Posted on 26 October 2008 by Rick Mason

Walt Crawford has posted his list of 607 library-related blogs (this one included).  This is as definitive and current a list as one is likely to find, and Walt has done an excellent job compiling and checking the links. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, Library 2.0 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Been There, Done That

Posted on 25 October 2008 by Rick Mason

Male library assistants, you are probably familiar with this experience… (I was announced this way when I attended a (non-library) administrative assistant workshop as the only male participant, once… memories!)

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Social Networks and College Students

Posted on 23 October 2008 by Rick Mason

The 2008 ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) survey has been released, and they have added a section on social networking (pdf version of chapter here).  Among the findings: Slightly over 85% of those surveyed use social networks, with Facebook … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Libraries, Library 2.0, OCLC, Online Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

International Music Score Library Project

Posted on 22 October 2008 by Rick Mason

The International Music Score Library Project is a great concept:  a collection of public domain musical scores made freely available to musicians, composers, and everyone else as well! Note also that the site was built using MediaWiki software. found via … Continue reading →

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Check Out My Cool New Sweater

Posted on 19 October 2008 by Rick Mason

When Tears for Fears created a video for their song Head Over Heels way back in the 1980s, they used a library for the set.  The lyrics, however, had nothing to do with libraries. This has been corrected: thanks to … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Libraries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

OpenOffice.Org 3.0

Posted on 15 October 2008 by Rick Mason

OpenOffice.Org released version 3.0 of their office suite on Monday.  The changes aren’t dramatic, but it is definitely a step forward for the user in many ways. Also of note:  this is the first version of OpenOffice that runs natively … Continue reading →

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What We Need

Posted on 10 October 2008 by Rick Mason

The cover story for the October issue of Library Journal is titled What We Need.  It centers on the results of a survey of Movers & Shakers, the annual group of people recognized by Library Journal for innovation and leadership.  … Continue reading →

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Five drafts and One Sophie Book ago…

Posted on 9 October 2008 by Rick Mason

If you don’t have it already, install the Sophie Reader on your computer and take a look at this version of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It features five drafts of the famous speech, displayed so that you can compare and … Continue reading →

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2008 Presidential Election Search Engine

Posted on 9 October 2008 by Rick Mason

The 2008 Presidential Election Search Engine is a Google Custom Search Engine created by the University of Kansas Library. It is a great resource in that one can find the needles of information in the haystack of campaign rhetoric. found … Continue reading →

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Confusing Traffic Signs

Posted on 6 October 2008 by Rick Mason

Two planets of coincidence had to converge for me to make this decidedly non-library post: I posted a reference to the Manual of Traffic Signs a couple of months ago. I am familiar enough with example number three from DeKalb, … Continue reading →

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Text Yourself from the OPAC

Posted on 3 October 2008 by Rick Mason

I am playing catch-up in many areas right now, and as a result there hasn’t been as much activity here.  Hopefully the time of less activity has reached a middle… An interesting new feature that has begun to appear in … Continue reading →

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Text Yourself from the OPAC