Tag Archives: Libraries

The Passion Paradox

Posted on 6 February 2010 by Rick Mason

This is a couple of months old, but it is worth highlighting: Unlocking the Passion Paradox Kenneth Eikenberry illustrates the benefits of being passionate about your work, and how one can encourage and develop those passions. From the post: When … Continue reading →

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Change and Trust

Posted on 31 January 2010 by Rick Mason

Bill Mayer, the University Librarian at American University, has been implementing some fairly radical (for libraries) changes in how the library exists on campus and interacts with the university community: Next Steps : Change at American University I really don’t … Continue reading →

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Anatomy of a Catalog Record

Posted on 1 January 2010 by Rick Mason

The American Antiquary Society has a great visual reference on the Anatomy of a Catalog Record: found via Catalogablog

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Granularity and Relational

Posted on 1 January 2010 by Rick Mason

While clearing out old lists of post inspirations, I ran across a post on Commonplace.net that still gets my brain going: At my place of work, my desk is in close proximity to our two catalogers.  The conversations that ensue … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Customer Service Skills for Library Staff

Posted on 15 December 2009 by Rick Mason

ALA Learning’s Top Ten Customer Service Skills for Library Staff is not only a great review of those habits that can make us more effective when we interact with the public, but are also good reminders of what we can … Continue reading →

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Baker & Taylor E-Book Technology

Posted on 9 December 2009 by Rick Mason

Baker & Taylor has the next big thing in ebooks. Really! As with all of  the “next big things” we see in digital technology, we get to “wait and see”. However, reading the post makes me marvel at the possibilities … Continue reading →

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Library Website Fails

Posted on 8 December 2009 by Rick Mason

I see these types of messages all the time on library-related websites, and I agree that it sends the message that those who manage those sites don’t have a good grasp of current web technology: Time to Update? by David … Continue reading →

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OCLC Policies Directory Preview

Posted on 3 December 2009 by Rick Mason

OCLC is previewing their new Policies Directory site, which is set to go live on December 13th.  To try it out, point your browser to: https://policies-preview.oclc.org/ Authorization:  100028264 Password:  oclc Be sure to enter your OCLC Institution Symbol to view … Continue reading →

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How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age

Posted on 2 December 2009 by Rick Mason

How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age (pdf) is a report from Project Information Literacy, maintained by the Information School at the University of Washington that contains a few surprises for libraries: Course readings were the first place … Continue reading →

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Library 101

Posted on 28 October 2009 by Rick Mason

The Library 101 video debuted today at the Internet Librarian conference.  Created by Michael Porter (a.k.a. Libraryman) and David Lee King, the video is a foot-tapping, library-rocking tour-de-force.  Clear the next eight minutes in your schedule, put on some headphones, … Continue reading →

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Maximizing Eureka Moments

Posted on 14 October 2009 by Rick Mason

Want to Innovate? Stop Working So Hard is a post on Librarian by Day by Bobbi Newman that reminds us that the ideas most likely to transform the way we work tend to come at moments of relaxation. Not convinced?  … Continue reading →

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gOOGLE Barcode

Posted on 7 October 2009 by Rick Mason

Google is celebrating the 57th anniversary of the first barcode patent by (surprise!) replacing their logo: Having played around with barcodes over the years, I got curious.  I printed out the page, plugged in my declawed CueCat, and scanned the … Continue reading →

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Cookery is Toast

Posted on 1 October 2009 by Rick Mason

My favorite example of “proper” library terminology that doesn’t relate to the language in use by the general public (or most library employees for that matter) is Cookery. The Library of Congress is in the process of retiring the subject … Continue reading →

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Drinking from the Firehose of Metadata

Posted on 22 September 2009 by Rick Mason

Lorcan Demsey discusses a previous post about Metadata that he wrote a couple of years ago, and the implications for how we approach the creation and selection of information about information.  His four categories: Professional. Produced by staff in support … Continue reading →

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Professionalism

Posted on 6 September 2009 by Rick Mason

Circulating Zen posts about dealing with a staffing issue on a holiday weekend. She is faced with a student worker scheduled to cover several shifts (allowing other students to travel home for the holiday weekend) who has come down with … Continue reading →

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Future of Libraries, With or Without Books

Posted on 4 September 2009 by Rick Mason

The Future of Libraries, With or Without Books is a rarity : a mass-media (CNN) news article about the ongoing evolution of libraries that doesn’t dwell in stereotypes, cliches or “gee-whiz” style examples.  What the reader gets is a well-written … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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