Friday, December 31, 2010

What is becoming extinct?

Driving into work today - and yes I think it is wrong to work on New Year'e Eve - I heard the radio announcer asking what we think may become extinct in 2011. He was mostly speaking about technology..........but this really started my thinking.

I would like to see the following become extinct.....hate, wars, scorpions, raisins, complaining, taxes, world hunger, disasters, and did I mention raisins??

But also I started thinking about what I use or have used regularly that we just don't really need anymore.........not sure they will be extinct, but?????

Whiteout
Rolodex
CD's
Garage Door Opener Remote
Watch
Stand Alone Clocks
Not to forget of course the ongoing demise of land lines, fax machines, VHS, newspapers, using email outside of work..............

What else??

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Yea - Fort Worth libraries saved!

Two public libraries slated for significant cuts will remain open
Posted Dec. 16, 2010

After an extensive review, the City Council has concluded that the City will be able to keep the doors open at two libraries thanks to improving sales tax returns and budget savings across the City.

With this decision, the Fort Worth Library will maintain full management of the Northside and Ridglea branch libraries, and the libraries will remain open at their normal hours at a cost of roughly $620,000.

Mayor Mike Moncrief said he and the entire City Council shared the concerns from residents about reducing library hours or completely closing the two branches. He was pleased that the City Council and staff found a way to maintain library services.

“The local economy is improving, and this week we heard more good news with respect to our sales tax numbers,” Moncrief said. “The City Council believes that, with the recent boost to the reserve fund, it was appropriate to use some of this money to keep these libraries open through this fiscal year. Looking ahead, we’ve asked city staff to take a hard look at how we might fund these libraries in the future.

Monday, December 20, 2010

What’s Next for Delicious?

What’s Next for Delicious? (Please note this is taken from the Delicious Blog...

Many of you have read the news stories about Delicious that began appearing yesterday. We’re genuinely sorry to have these stories appear with so little context for our loyal users. While we can’t answer each of your questions individually, we wanted to address what we can at this stage and we promise to keep you posted as future plans get finalized.
Is Delicious being shut down? And should I be worried about my data?
- No, we are not shutting down Delicious. While we have determined that there is not a strategic fit at Yahoo!, we believe there is a ideal home for Delicious outside of the company where it can be resourced to the level where it can be competitive.
What is Yahoo! going to do with Delicious?
- We’re actively thinking about the future of Delicious and we believe there is a home outside the company that would make more sense for the service and our users. We’re in the process of exploring a variety of options and talking to companies right now. And we’ll share our plans with you as soon as we can.
What if I want to get my bookmarks out of Delicious right away?
- As noted above, there’s no reason to panic. We are maintaining Delicious and encourage you to keep using it. That said, we have export options if you so choose. Additionally, many services provide the ability to import Delicious links and tags.
We can only imagine how upsetting the news coverage over the past 24 hours has been to many of you. Speaking for our team, we were very disappointed by the way that this appeared in the press. We’ll let you know more as things develop.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Yahoo targets Buzz, AltaVista, Delicious for death - Dec. 17, 2010

Yahoo targets Buzz, AltaVista, Delicious for death - Dec. 17, 2010: "Yahoo targets Buzz, AltaVista, Delicious for death
By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporterDecember 17, 2010: 4:01 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Days after cutting its global workforce by 4%, Yahoo turned the axe on its product portfolio. Yahoo said Friday that it is killing Buzz, a two-year-old experiment in community news curation.
Buzz never took off, and its termination isn't much of a surprise. But deeper and more painful cuts are coming: According to a leaked screenshot of an internal webcast by Yahoo Chief Product Officer Blake Irving, the list of products slated for 'sunset' also includes MyBlogLog, Yahoo Picks, AltaVista, Yahoo Bookmarks and Delicious."

IMLS Calls for 2011 Native American Library Services

IMLS Calls for 2011 Native American Library Services
Basic Grant Applications
Application Deadline: March 1, 2011

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting applications for the 2011 Native American Library Services Basic Grant program. Federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations may apply for these grants in either the Basic or the Basic with Education/Assessment Option categories.

These noncompetitive grants are designed to support existing library operations and maintain core library services in tribal communities across the country. The supplemental Education/Assessment Option provides funds for continuing education opportunities for library staff and on-site library assessments. In 2010, IMLS awarded 31 Basic Grants and 190 Basic Grants with Education/Assessment Option to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations.

Please note that IMLS is publishing the Basic Grant guidelines separately from the competitive Enhancement Grant guidelines, which are anticipated to be available in January 2011. The Enhancement Grant deadline will be May 2, 2011. An eligible entity must apply for a Basic Grant in order to be eligible for the Enhancement Grant competition.

IMLS has scheduled an audio-conference call to give prospective applicants an opportunity to ask IMLS staff questions pertaining to Native American Library Services Basic Grant applications. This call will take place on January 19, 2011, from 4:00 to 5:00 pm ET. Please visit the website for more information closer to the call-in date.

Contact Alison Freese, Senior Program Officer, at 202-653-4665 or afreese@imls.gov with questions about this grant program.


About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Del.icio.us RIP

Del.icio.us, a beloved social bookmarking service, is being killed off as part of some "organizational streamlining" by Yahoo and we're already in tears. Here's some advice on how to preserve the memories—and bookmarks—we have with the service.

Simply head over to this link and you'll be offered the option to export all your bookmarks—you'll be provided with the option of including your tags and notes as well.

Formerly called del.icio.us, the site was founded in 2003 and acquired by Yahoo in 2005. It boasted more than 5.3 million users and 180 million unique bookmarked URLs by the end of 2008. Once one of the Web's top social sites, Delicious is still accessed by some 350,000 people per month, but it doesn't seem to fit in Yahoo's future plans.


Once you're done exporting those bookmarks and mourning, you can check out this list for some alternative bookmark management tools. [TechCrunch]

Stipend for TLA Conference

Thanks to the generosity of the Texas State Genealogical Society, the Archives, Genealogy, and Local History Round Table is able to offer a $500 stipend to the Texas Library Association Annual Conference in April, 2011 in Austin.

Please direct questions to me. Thanks!

Laurie Mahaffey, Genealogy Conference Stipend Committee Chair

Laurie Mahaffey, Deputy Director
Central Texas Library System, Inc.
1005 West 41st Street
Austin, Texas 78756
www.ctls.net
laurie.mahaffey"at"ctls.net
512-583-0704 x18
800-262-4431 x18

Friday, December 10, 2010

Follow NTLP on Twitter

North Texas Library Partners is now on Twitter as @NTxLibPartners .

Did you know you can follow Twitter via an RSS feed? Add the NTLP Twitter RSS feed to your newsreader so you can follow the blog and the Twitter stream in the same place, even if you don't care about having your own Twitter presence!

December opportunities for NTRLS members

Don't miss these opportunities for NTRLS member libraries!

Do you have a literacy program at your library, or do you want to start one? We are still seeking partners for next year's grant application to support the Libraries for Literacy program. Please submit your partnership application by December 15. Details of the program and the partnership application are at http://ntrls2.org/default.asp?action=article&ID=393.

The UNT Health Science Center will come to your library to offer a workshop for your patrons on locating authoritative health information on the Internet. Workshops will take place in March / April 2011. If you are interested, please let Adam Wright know by December 31 so that you can be worked into the schedule.

Adam Wright is available to speak to local clubs and organizations to promote your library in the community. Contact Lynn Gritta at the NTRLS System Office for information.

Registration is now open for the 2011 North Texas Conference for Library Supporters. Visit the CE Portal on NTRLS.org to register.

Don't forget to sign up for online continuing education courses through LE@D. For more information see http://www.ntrls2.org/default.asp?action=article&ID=333 .

This month the NTRLS website features library services to the homebound. Follow the NTRLS Homebound Project Blog for updates about our pilot projects.

To keep up with news from North Texas Library Partners, sign up for the NTLP-Announce email list or the NTLP-CE email list. Find information at the NTRLS.org website,

Follow North Texas Library Partners on Facebook or Twitter

Monday, December 06, 2010

Explaining Facebook's new profile pages - CNN.com

Explaining Facebook's new profile pages - CNN.com: "(CNN) -- An update to Facebook profiles that was rolled out Sunday puts an emphasis on personal details: letting users introduce, or re-introduce, themselves to fellow users more quickly.
The new profile page, which many of Facebook's 500 million or so users were shifting toward Monday morning, is topped with recent photos and lists relationship, hometown and work status, among other details, right up front."

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Groupon and Other Coupon Deals

Groupon CrunchBase Profile: "Groupon (www.groupon.com) features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 150 cities around the world. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere.

Groupon brings buyers and sellers together in a fun and collaborative way that offers the consumer an unbeatable deal, and businesses a large number of new customers. To date, it has saved consumers more than $300 million and claims it has generated millions in revenue for the businesses it features."

Also look at several copycats that have popped up: LivingSocial, 8coupons and AOL's Wow.com.

I have personally being using Groupon for months and have found a couple great dinner deals - and one great deal on a haircut!