Category Archives: Online Services

healthcare.gov likes Opera

Posted on 20 October 2013 by Rick Mason

Even though I am not currently working in the library field (and am not following library-related news as closely), I have been following the implementation and rollout of the Affordable Care Act somewhat closely. I think libraries have an important … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Libraries, Medical, News, Online Services, Software, Web Design | Comments Off on healthcare.gov likes Opera

BandMusic PDF Library

Posted on 13 August 2013 by Rick Mason

If the BandMusic PDF Library, offering free access to public domain band music, seems familiar, you might be thinking of the IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library, which does the same for classical scores. Each of these should be on every library’s list … Continue reading →

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Libraries and the Affordable Care Act

Posted on 28 June 2013 by Rick Mason

Some interesting news will be announced at the American Library Association (ALA) conference in Chicago:  the ALA will be coordinating an effort to have libraries nationwide assist people who will be signing up for insurance beginning October 1st under the … Continue reading →

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Are Library Books on Borrowed Time?

Posted on 21 February 2013 by Rick Mason

Are Library Books on Borrowed Time? is a short article in Financial Times that covers what many in libraries have recognized for some time:  we are in the midst of a transition between paper books and some combination of e-books … Continue reading →

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Register to Vote on Libology

Posted on 2 September 2012 by Rick Mason

The Democratic National Committee recently released code that allows websites to offer streamlined voter registration pages through a Ruby on Rails interface.  The Obama campaign quickly modified that code to make it even easier to embed in nearly any website. … Continue reading →

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Wikipedia Redefined

Posted on 8 August 2012 by Rick Mason

Wikipedia Redefined is a proposal by a creative agency called NEW! which presents changes that would make Wikipedia more usable, both as a user and as an editor. Having used MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) extensively, I can vouch that … Continue reading →

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How to Create and Run Your Website

Posted on 6 December 2010 by Rick Mason

The San Jose Public Library has launched their new website. It has a clean design, with clear indications of how to find the information being sought.  But what really got my attention was the relationship of the library staff to … Continue reading →

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Google Election Maps

Posted on 1 October 2010 by Rick Mason

The mid-term elections are shaping up to be quite dramatic (although not quite the roller-coaster ride that we had with the 2008 election season). And Google has come up with a new way to visualize the flood of data that … Continue reading →

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IMSLP Petrucci Music Library

Posted on 15 September 2010 by Rick Mason

I’ve been on a project at work that involves tracking down information on some music scores, and have encountered a fantastic resource, the IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library. On this mediawiki-based site resides more than 72,000 scores representing over 29,000 works by … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright, Libraries, Online Services, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wikipedia : Lamest Edit Wars

Posted on 16 August 2010 by Rick Mason

From the folks at Open Source Living comes a link to a Wikipedia page about… Wikipedia pages.  Specifically the Lamest Edit Wars on Wikipedia pages.  The list contains some thought-provoking debates, and some truly trivial arguments. Some highlights of debates … 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 →

Posted in Blogs, Education, Libraries, News, Online Services, Software, Training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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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Unicorn Validator

Posted on 5 August 2010 by Rick Mason

Unicorn, W3C’s unified validation service, is live. As someone who has found the W3C html, css and feed validators to be valuable tools in web design, the merging of the three tools into one interface is a terrific step.  With … Continue reading →

Posted in Library 2.0, News, Online Services, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

OpenWith.org

Posted on 22 July 2010 by Rick Mason

You know the frustration:  you have a file, but either don’t know what program you need to open it, or you don’t have the program available where you need it. OpenWith.org can help locate a free program for most any … 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