Category Archives: Libraries

New Hybrid ILS Front End

Posted on 14 August 2010 by Rick Mason

A regional group of public libraries in Antwerp, Belgium have announced a new hybrid OPAC for their library software. They have merged WordPress with AquaBrowser to create a web presence with the capabilities they felt were most important for their … Continue reading →

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Library Staff Using Online Tools

Posted on 11 August 2010 by Rick Mason

WebJunction has posted the survey results for online tool usage by library staff, and a few of the results might surprise: The online tool that has had at least some use by the highest percentage of staff is Online Courses, … Continue reading →

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OCLC Questions

Posted on 7 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Jonathan Rochkind at Bibliographic Wilderness weighs in on the OCLC issue, and ultimately asks a lot of significant questions that don’t have easy answers. We all need to be asking significant questions, not only of OCLC, SkyRiver, and III, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, Classification, Ethics, Groups, History, ILL, ILS, Libraries, OCLC, Online Databases, Online Services | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on OCLC Questions

Chickens in the Library

Posted on 6 August 2010 by Rick Mason

So, what would you do if live chickens were released in your library?  Is this covered in your organization’s disaster plan? If you need to examine another library’s response, review this Shelf Check comic for the following procedure: Alert the … Continue reading →

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OCLC’s Response to Lawsuit

Posted on 5 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Just received via OCLC Member Update e-mail: The following statement is from Larry Alford, Chair, OCLC Board of Trustees, and Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO: “On July 29, SkyRiver Technology Solutions and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. filed suit against OCLC, … Continue reading →

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One Possible OCLC Solution

Posted on 2 August 2010 by Rick Mason

I am going to be very presumptuous and put forth a possible solution to the OCLC situation. Ready? Divide OCLC in two. One entity, which we will call OCLC.org (just to keep from having to make up some name for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, Ethics, ILS, Libraries, Licensing, News, OCLC, Online Databases, Online Services, OPAC, Open Access, Open Source, Search, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

InfoToday Article on Lawsuit

Posted on 2 August 2010 by Rick Mason

InfoToday has posted a very good overview of the SkyRiver/III/OCLC suit on their website, written by Edward M. Corrado, who also blogs at http://blog.ecorrado.us (I have quoted him on this blog several times, and follow his posts closely). My post … Continue reading →

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Guide to the SkyRiver vs. OCLC Lawsuit

Posted on 1 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Marshall Breeding at LibraryTechnology.org has gathered together resources and information regarding the lawsuit filed by SkyRiver against OCLC: Guide to the SkyRiver vs. OCLC Lawsuit

Posted in Cataloging, Groups, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Licensing, News, OCLC, Online Services, OPAC | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Guide to the SkyRiver vs. OCLC Lawsuit

Practical Open Source for Libraries

Posted on 1 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Nicole Engard has posted the slides for one of her presentations: Practical Open Source Software for Libraries (Part 2)

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SkyRiver sues OCLC

Posted on 29 July 2010 by Rick Mason

SkyRiver, the new bibliographic records company created by Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III) owner Jerry Kline, has filed suit against OCLC, alleging that they are “unlawfully monopolizing the markets for cataloging services, interlibrary lending, and bibliographic data.” SkyRiver has been joined … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, Ethics, ILL, ILS, Libraries, News, OCLC, Online Databases, Online Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Searching A Card Catalog

Posted on 28 July 2010 by Rick Mason

The Obsolete Skills wiki has an entry on Searching A Card Catalog, which includes: “Use of the retaining rods for swordplay, while a way to break up the tedium of searching, was not appreciated by library staff.” I beg to … Continue reading →

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Lexicool

Posted on 20 July 2010 by Rick Mason

Lexicool.com is website that connects you with translation tools.  Simply select the languages you wish to translate between, then select an optional subject to narrow the results, and you get a list of translation resources to use. found in College … Continue reading →

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How to Respond to Bad Press, continued

Posted on 10 July 2010 by Rick Mason

In a post a few days ago I referred to a letter written by Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, as a response to a Fox Chicago News story that asked Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Government, Groups, History, Libraries, News, Online Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Respond to Bad Press

Posted on 7 July 2010 by Rick Mason

Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, responded exceptionally well to a story on Fox Chicago News that suggested that the $120 million spent on the library was a waste, given the amount of information on the internet … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Government, Language, Libraries, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Four Years Later…

Posted on 6 July 2010 by Rick Mason

It was on July 6, 2006 that I set this blog in motion.  Originally named The LibrarySupportStaff.org Blog, this is the 881st post, and by one metric* gets an average of over 200 page views per day. I began this … Continue reading →

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

The Scope of the Illinois Crisis

Posted on 3 July 2010 by Rick Mason

The New York Times is running an article in today’s edition that highlights just how poorly the state budget in Illinois has been managed: Payback Time : Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can’t Stop Digging Hole The article doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Names

Posted on 29 June 2010 by Rick Mason

A blog post by Patrick McKenzie titled Falsehoods Programmers Believe about Names is a great reminder of the increasing complexity surrounding computer software and personal names. It is presented as a list, and most likely will contain some thought-provoking “rules” … Continue reading →

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Thinking about the Free Range Librarian Thinking about Open Source

Posted on 24 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Karen Schneider has been Thinking about Open Source.  This is a good thing, as she tends to do a great job exploring the interrelationships between people, organizations, and technology. I want to highlight one portion of her post in order … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Groups, Language, Libraries, Library 2.0, Open Source, Software | 1 Comment

Open Source ILS Glossary

Posted on 23 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Earlier this month, Equinox Software‘s Bob Molyneux posted an Open Source ILS Glossary in Pdf format.  It is a great overview of the concepts and environment of the current open source library software environment. Today Bob posted an updated version … Continue reading →

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Libraries as Business Incubators

Posted on 19 June 2010 by Rick Mason

Public Libraries as Business Incubators is an article in PC World suggesting that libraries could provide a service to their communities by serving as a connection to resources that small businesses might need and/or provide to other small businesses.  This … Continue reading →

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