Author Archives: Rick Mason

HealthBase

Posted on 2 September 2009 by Rick Mason

HealthBase is a health information search tool created by Netbase that should be on your short list of resources. Search results are drawn from a diverse range of resources, including WebMD, PubMed, Medline Plus, and the Mayo Clinic.  NetBase uses … Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Medical, Online Databases, Search | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Google Library?

Posted on 27 August 2009 by Rick Mason

As the Google Books settlement works its way to becoming reality, it is becoming apparent that Google Books will be transformed into something very much resembling a library. Think of how this might change our roles in society. found via … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Google, Libraries, Library 2.0, Search, WebSearch | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Google Library?

Ohio on iTunes U

Posted on 27 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The State of Ohio has launched an iTunes site that is designed “to share educational resources, professional development materials, and student videos which have been produced by members of higher education, the K-12 community, and community partners free of charge … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Education, Government, Groups, Lecture, Libraries, Library 2.0, News, Online Services, Software, Training, Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ohio on iTunes U

Definition of Cloud Computing

Posted on 26 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Cloud Computing is rapidly becoming the “in” buzz phrase.  Does this mean that it is all talk/no action?  Definitely not.  For many businesses or organizations, cloud computing can be a cost-effective way to have a great deal of control over … Continue reading →

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Sponsor a Magazine

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The Lepper Library in Lisbon, Ohio has initiated a new program to deal with severe budget cuts:  they are asking their users to help out by sponsoring magazine subscriptions. This is a creative and interesting way to help maintain and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Libraries, News, Periodicals, Promotions | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sponsor a Magazine

Dream your worst nightmare and invest in it

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Change is the one constant of the universe – unless you need it for the bus.  Seriously, though, thoughts of change can be very stressful for those in a workplace.  Libraries are no different.  In fact, we have avoided changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Libraries | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Dream your worst nightmare and invest in it

Social Your Site

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Jenny Levine makes a great case on The Shifted Librarian for adding a feature to your sites that allows users to easily share your content via social networks.  Not only will this offer a way for your users to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Open Source, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Social Your Site

BookChaser

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

I wrote a post about the BookChaser Editions service last year, but encountered a reference to another service they offer, and this led me to others: BookChaser Covers : compares cover images available from Amazon, Google Books, LibraryThing, and Open … Continue reading →

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

PLOS Currents : Influenza

Posted on 20 August 2009 by Rick Mason

For those who have been following  H1N1 influenza virus news (and those who might expect to get questions about it), the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and Google have launched a new mashup service: PLOS Currents : Influenza is built … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Government, Libraries, Library 2.0, Medical, News, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Publishing, Search | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Open Data – Interoperability not Property

Posted on 20 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Open Data : It’s About Interoperability, not Property is a post on Common Knowledge that does a great job at not only explaining why Open Data is such a powerful idea, but also why it is so complex, as well: … Continue reading →

Posted in Definitions, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Databases, Software | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Open Data – Interoperability not Property

Center for History and New Media

Posted on 17 August 2009 by Rick Mason

I have been aware of the Center for History and New Media for quite some time (even posted a link here), but only recently did I take a look at their site beyond the work they do with Zotero.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Center for History and New Media

Perfect Storm

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The Perfect Storm is a brief essay in the current issue of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) newsletter.  G. Sayeed Choudhury, the author of the essay, states that “Universities have authentication and authorization systems to identify who … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Google, Groups, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perfect Storm

RECAPing PACER

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”.  Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival, Copyright, Government, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on RECAPing PACER

Books : A Plan To Scan

Posted on 13 August 2009 by Rick Mason

A very straightforward and readable overview of the issues surrounding Google’s book scanning project appeared in yesterdays Financial Times :  Books : A plan to scan. A prime focus of the analysis is the Orphan Works issue, books that fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Copyright, Ethics, Fair Use, Google, Libraries, Library 2.0, Licensing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Books : A Plan To Scan

Open Source Documentation

Posted on 10 August 2009 by Rick Mason

One of the more frustrating things about open source software is the fact that many projects have little-to-no documentation.  William Shields, a software developer from Australia, posts about his experiences and concludes that he isn’t going to patronize projects that … Continue reading →

Posted in Groups, Open Source, Software, Training, Tutorials, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Open Source Documentation

Virtual Bookplates

Posted on 9 August 2009 by Rick Mason

With our increasing reliance on electronic record keeping, especially online records, it makes a lot of sense to consider the use of virtual bookplates for those items which would normally have a printed label affixed within the book: An item … Continue reading →

Posted in Acquisitions, Books, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TinEye Reverse Image Search

Posted on 9 August 2009 by Rick Mason

TinEye is an image search engine with a twist:  you provide it with an image, and it returns a list of websites utilizing that image. I can quickly think of a few really good uses of this service: You have … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Online Services, Photography, Search, WebSearch | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TinEye Reverse Image Search

OHP + SPO = OA

Posted on 7 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The Open Humanities Press (OHP) has joined forces with the University of Michigan Library’s Scholarly Publications Office (SPO) to start up a series of open access monographs: New Metaphysics Critical Climate Change Global Conversations Unidentified Theoretical Objects and my favorite… … Continue reading →

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NASA Educator Resource Centers

Posted on 6 August 2009 by Rick Mason

With NASA in the news so much lately(1, 2, 3, 4), it seems a good reminder that the organization has nearly 70 Educator Resource Centers across the country.  These are fantastic resources to tap for information relevant to a wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Government, Libraries, Medical, News, Science, Space | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on NASA Educator Resource Centers

Simple and Evolvable Standards

Posted on 6 August 2009 by Rick Mason

May All Your Standards Be Simple and Evolvable is a post by John Wilbanks on Science Blog’s Common Knowledge.  It is written with medical data standards in mind, but it could be discussing the state of library data as well: … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Medical, Online Databases, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Simple and Evolvable Standards