Monthly Archives: March 2009

Google Ventures and Libology

Posted on 31 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Now that Google Ventures has been officially announced, I can go public with my own news: Libology is one of the first group of startup companies which will be receiving Google Ventures funding.  I have been in talks with someone … Continue reading →

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Social Backrub

Posted on 31 March 2009 by Rick Mason

This is just one of my passing thoughts, which I suspect is understood by many, but not necessarily expressed this way: Google’s PageRank is, for all practical purposes, a form of social networking applied to the concept of a particular … Continue reading →

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Understanding Library Bar Code Structure

Posted on 31 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Understanding the Bar Code Structure is a description of the structure of the standardized bar code used by many libraries for both their patrons and their materials.  It resides on the website of JerseyCat, New Jersey’s nicely named “statewide virtual … Continue reading →

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Internet Resources Newsletter

Posted on 31 March 2009 by Rick Mason

The Internet Resources Newsletter is a British online publication listing items of interest for “academics, students, engineers, scientists and social scientists.” They should add librarian to that list, because there are quite a few excellent resources in this month’s issue … Continue reading →

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Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies

Posted on 30 March 2009 by Rick Mason

The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies is a British site “established by Jane Hart as a place to keep track of learning trends, technologies and tools.” Most impressive, at first glance, are the lists of free tools and resources: … Continue reading →

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YouTube EDU

Posted on 27 March 2009 by Rick Mason

YouTube EDU is a collection of videos from dozens, if not hundreds, of educational sources, including Stanford, MIT, Purdue University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Harvard Business School. This looks to be the start of a very useful collection of lectures … Continue reading →

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Free Drinks Tomorrow

Posted on 27 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Karen Coyle writes about the Library of Congress and their follow-up to the lcsh.info shuttering last fall.  In LC discovers infinity, she points out that at ALA Midwinter they not only stated that they recognized the value of the service, … Continue reading →

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Wake Up and Bathe

Posted on 25 March 2009 by Rick Mason

A library district in suburban Chicago (Schaumberg, Illinois) is implementing rules governing library user’s odor and library sleeping habits, but is stressing that the rules are not aimed at homeless users of the library. This is a little hard to … Continue reading →

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Document Freedom Day!

Posted on 25 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Today is the second annual celebration of Document Freedom Day! So why are open document formats important?  What happens when someone sends you a document created with Microsoft Word 2007, and saved with the default file format?  You get a … Continue reading →

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Strategic Thinking Guide for Academic Librarians in the New Economy

Posted on 24 March 2009 by Rick Mason

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has issued a new report titled Strategic Thinking Guide for Academic Librarians in the New Economy (pdf). It joins the growing chorus of reports that indicate that we are in for a … Continue reading →

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Annoyed Librarian on Support Staff

Posted on 22 March 2009 by Rick Mason

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, the Annoyed Librarian addresses the topic of library support staff, library workers, paraprofessionals, library assistants, or whatever it is we’re called these days.  How about paraprofesupportstantstaff? As with all humor, especially the pointed variety, … Continue reading →

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Library Automation Information

Posted on 22 March 2009 by Rick Mason

It is nearly time for Marshall Breeding’s annual Automation Systems Marketplace report, published in the April 1st edition of Library Journal.  This is as comprehensive and informative a report on the software we use to organize and present our collections … Continue reading →

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Art Resources

Posted on 22 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Here are two art resources which can be the starting point for many art-related questions: smARThistory was designed as “a free multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement (or even substitute) for the traditional and static art history textbook.”  Find … Continue reading →

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MathTV

Posted on 22 March 2009 by Rick Mason

MathTV is a collection of video tutorials, ranging from basic mathematical concepts to complex calculus applications, meant to assist students by providing a demonstration of how to work a type of problem. This is a great resource for anyone needing … Continue reading →

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TicTOCs in the OPAC

Posted on 19 March 2009 by Rick Mason

File this as a future wish-list item for your online catalog: There is a new and interesting way to connect an OPAC search result for a journal to the full-text journal articles, and it is called ticTOC.  The application of … Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Periodicals, Search, Web Design, WebSearch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

16mm Films on AV Geeks

Posted on 17 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Remember those 16mm films from your school days?  Well, at least some of them have been saved from dumpsters and archived on the A/V Geeks website for online viewing.  As a former high school A/V Geek myself, this warms my … Continue reading →

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Pathways to Innovation and Inclusion

Posted on 16 March 2009 by Rick Mason

NASA’s Inclusion and Innovations Council has released a follow-up to Barriers to Innovation and Inclusion (link goes to my post containing the embedded video) which shows ways to encourage innovation and inclusion: Again, I think that the lessons from this … Continue reading →

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Map of Knowledge

Posted on 16 March 2009 by Rick Mason

The Map of Knowledge is a visualization of the interconnectedness of various scientfic disciplines.  From the PloS ONE article: Over the course of 2007 and 2008, we collected nearly 1 billion user interactions recorded by the scholarly web portals of … Continue reading →

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Print vs. Electronic

Posted on 16 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Notes from last month’s OLE (Open Library Environment) Regional Workshop are on LibShare, and they are interesting to scan through, especially the comments. I found this through the Disruptive Library Technology Jester blog, and looked into it because of two … Continue reading →

Posted in Acquisitions, Conferences, Education, Libraries, Library 2.0, Training | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Library Related Conferences

Posted on 16 March 2009 by Rick Mason

Marian Dworaczek has moved her Library Related Conferences website, so make a note of it. If you haven’t seen her listing, check it out.  If you know of any conferences that aren’t on her list, let her know! found via … Continue reading →

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