World Digital Library

This is just a reminder about the World Digital Library - there are some amazing documents and drawings........

World Digital LibraryMission
The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.

The principal objectives of the WDL are to:

Promote international and intercultural understanding;
Expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet;
Provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences;
Build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries.

Denton County Libraries Hit Hard

Area libraries take budget hits
11:59 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 28, 2010
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer

Thursday is Georgette Taylor’s last day as program coordinator for the Lake Cities Library.

The library, which serves Corinth, Hickory Creek, Lake Dallas and Shady Shores, is one of several in the area that made big cuts after seeing their budgets trimmed for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Director Rebecca Belknap said the Lake Cities Library’s budget took hits from all sides, including a 6 percent decrease in funding from Corinth. The library board had no choice but to make cuts, she said.

Funding from Denton County and Lone Star Libraries — grant funding through the Texas State Libraries — was cut this year. Belknap had originally planned to use a Lone Star Libraries grant to pay for digitizing copies of local newspapers in the library’s collection.

“We have some papers that no one else has,” Belknap said.

With the staff cut, she is rethinking that plan. Libraries statewide are working together to fund digitization, a project that the Lake Cities Library could join. If so, the library could use the Lone Star grant to restore some summer children’s programs.

Such early literacy programs are important because they help children make reading a part of their daily lives, according to Eva Poole, director of the Denton Public Library.

“They learn how to read and how to love reading,” she said.

Entire Article

Reminder about the NOLO matching program

Love Your Library? Help it out with Nolo's Matching Funds Program

Pass this information on to your stakeholders......

Our nation's libraries are in serious financial trouble. State, county, city and school budgets continue to be slashed and libraries have fewer and fewer dollars to work with. Nolo will help you support your favorite library by matching any contribution you make to it.

Here's how it works:

Fill out the nifty matching-funds form.
Send us the completed form and a check (made out to Nolo) and tell us which library you want to receive your gift of Nolo books.
We'll then match the amount of your check (up to $1500) and send the library a credit for Nolo books, along with a catalog and a letter acknowledging you as the donor. Your library will then choose which books they would like to receive.
So send us $10, $100 or (yes!) $1000 (up to $1500), and your library will receive $20, $200, or $2000 (up to $3000) worth of Nolo books, in your name.

Need more information? Call us at (800) 955-4775 or email LibraryCS@nolo.com

Evaluating Electronic Resources

I recently received a question about my experience with managing electronic resources. After writing it, it occurred to me that other people may have the same question, so I am posting my reply here as well. I have not managed electronic resources in about three years. The technology has changed quite a bit, but my primary concerns have not changed. For that reason, I still have some strong opinions on the subject. Here are the first four things I consider when evaluating a service.

1) Useful reports. This is not a big headliner, but most companies give obfuscated information about how people actually use what you pay for. ePeriodicals prefer to tout the number of searches and omit the number of full-text articles actually retrieved. The book analog is counting the number of times people search the catalog while ignoring the number of books actually checked out. Are they really giving you information that lets you form a valid decision to continue the contract?

2) Useful usage. This is actually a continuation of useful reports, but directed at statistics that appear useful but are actually deceptive. eBooks are particularly bad about this. An eBook may circulate 500% more often than its print counterpart, but only have a 2-day checkout compared to the print book's 21-day checkout. Should the eBook's circulation be discounted by 1050% to make the comparison a direct measure of time spent in the patron's hands? Should "views" be compared to in-house use instead of getting bundled with circulation? Or is the number so vague that it should be ignored the way we ignore title reading in the stacks? Every vendor is different. Knowing how the numbers are derived is important to creating honest comparisons.

3) Broad access. An eAudiobook that can only be listened to with the vendor's player is worth less than an eAudiobook that can be played with any device. If they demand the same price, resist buying and try to get a price that reflects the limitation. This is especially true when the limit creates ADA liability for the library.

4) Concurrent access. Multi-user (aka., Library) editions cost more than single-user (Retail) editions, but also address the liability of patrons copying the content to their player and then using it after returning it. Retail editions usually prohibit sharing the same way software licenses usually prohibit sharing, and the courts have been upholding those prohibitions. Libraries need to do their part in discouraging piracy. Concurrent access lets you convert potential illicit access into a chance for several patrons to concurrently check out a single item for group study, a book club, etc. It's more flexible and less expensive than trying to quickly buy a bunch of copies that will soon be discarded. Just remind them to delete their copies when they finish.

That would be my top four thoughts. I hope this helps. -Paul

The Vanishing Line Between Books and Internet

O'Reilly Insights
The Vanishing Line Between Books And Internet
Hugh McGuire, 09.15.10, 06:00 AM EDT
The inevitability of truly connected books and why publishers need APIs.



A few months ago I posted a tweet that said: "The distinction between 'the internet' & 'books' is totally totally arbitrary, and will disappear in 5 years. Start adjusting now."

The tweet got some negative reaction. But I'm certain this shift will happen, and should happen. (I won't take bets on the timeline, though.) It should happen because a book properly hooked into the Internet is a far more valuable collection of information than a book not properly hooked into the Internet. Once something is "properly hooked into the Internet," that something is part of the Internet.


Yahoo! BuzzIt will happen because: What is a book, after all, but a collection of data (text + images), with a defined structure (chapters, headings, captions), meta data (title, author, ISBN), prettied up with some presentation design? In other words, what is a book, but a website that happens to be written on paper and not connected to the Web?

E-books to date have mostly been approached as digital versions of print books to be read on a variety of digital devices, with a few bells and whistles--like video. While the false battle between e-books and print books will continue--you can read one on the beach, with no batteries; you can read another at night with no bedside lamp--these battles only scratch the surface of what the move to digital books really means. They continue to ignore the real, though as-yet unknown, value that comes with books being truly digital; not the phony, unconnected digital of our current understanding of "e-books."

Interview on KERA about libraries and the declining economy - in case you missed it!

The KERA interview program Think (The TV version of the show) interviewed Corinne Hill from the Dallas Public Library and Cathy Ziegler from the Plano Public Library about economic problems affecting libraries.

The link is the TSLAC Library Developments blog, which posted a video of the interview. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/librarydevelopments/?p=4759

Grant Opportunity for Technology Access and Training

Support for Technology Skills Training Programs
Microsoft Elevate America Community Initiative

The Microsoft Elevate America Community Initiative partners with nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. that provide technology access and training in their local communities to help people find employment. Through the current request for proposals, Microsoft will award cash grants of $100,000 to $250,000, software, and technology training curriculum to eligible U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, including workforce agencies, community colleges, labor organizations, etc.

Eligible organizations should provide technology skills training, job placement, and strong employer connections. The focus is on organizations in underserved communities, with emphasis on organizations that address the needs of women and young workers (ages 18-25). The application deadline is October 8, 2010. Application guidelines are available on the Microsoft Elevate America website under "Information for Organizations."

Wikipedia for Credit - Inside Higher Ed

Wikipedia is here to stay................we need to learn to use the tool effectively - not just ban it.
Wikipedia for Credit - Inside Higher Ed

IFLA World Report on Libraries

The World Report series is a biennial report series that reports on the state of the world in terms of freedom of access to information, freedom of expresion and related issues. The reports are available online at:
http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/iflafaife-world-report-series
and can be downloaded free of charge.

Interesting Webinar -

WEBINAR Fall 2010 - Register today!

The Conference for Entrepreneurial Librarians Webinar will be held on September 17, 2010 from noon to 1:30pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Registration for the webinar is now open! The cost is $15 and libraries can feel free to share this access with a group.

Tim Bucknall, the Assistant Dean, University Libraries at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and the Founder and Convener of the Carolina Consortia will describe how Journal Finder, the first link resolver to go into production in the U.S. was developed from an in house journal linking solution to its current use by 40 libraries in 6 states. It was recently sold to WT Cox, a serials subscription agency.

Jon Obermeyer, Director of External Education and Outreach at Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and former CEO of the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network (PTEN), will help you to develop your entrepreneurial ideas and will provide a road map for bringing them to the marketplace.

Books Have Many Futures

AP
It's Kindle, and other e-readers, vs. The Book.
Published: August 20
, 2010
by Linton Weeks
The premise of Lane Smith's new work for children, It’s a Book, is simple: Books are under siege.

On the first page a donkey asks a monkey, "What do you have there?" The monkey replies: "It’s a book."
"How do you scroll down?" the donkey asks. "Do you blog with it?"
Then he asks: "Where’s your mouse? ... Can you make characters fight? ... Can it text? ... Tweet? ... Wi-Fi? ... Can it do this? TOOT!"
No, the monkey repeatedly replies. "It’s a book."
Smith's book, in stores this month, may be an example of a dying breed. A book, published -- and meant to be read -- on paper.
People have been talking about "the death of the book" for more than a decade. But recent events suggest the end may be imminent for bound-paper books as we have known them for more than 500 years. Hardbound and paperback books may never totally disappear, but they could become scary scarce -- like eight-track tapes, typewriters and wooden tennis rackets.

In July, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos announced that his customers now buy more digital versions of stories -- designed for Amazon's proprietary reading tablet, the Kindle -- than they do hardcover books. That is an astonishing fact, Bezos said, "when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months."

For the complete story.

Life Through Literacy

Take a look at this video - great literacy program for teens and their babies through the Arlington Public Library!

Get a Blazing-Fast Computer for Free

By Farhad Manjoo
Posted Monday, July 26, 2010, at 4:38 PM ET

excerpt:
So Ubuntu is good. But why should you use it? After all, nearly every computer you encounter will likely be running either Windows or the Mac OS. You can buy a new PC preloaded with Ubuntu, but they're not easy to find (and, anyway, you don't save too much by doing so). So what's the point?
To me, it's the perfect way to give an aging Windows PC new life. Many of us have an old computer sitting around that, theoretically, is perfectly usable—you've just given up on it because it's too slow and too broken down. Perhaps the machine doesn't run modern programs. Or maybe it's become bloated by software you should never have installed, or colonized by spyware that sneaked by your defenses. Or perhap! s the machine is just old—over time, computers, like people, pick up all kinds of annoying affectations, and eventually they begin to drive you insane. But unlike people, a computer can be completely remade. All you need to do is reinstall its operating system, wiping it clean of every tic it's picked up in its life. More often than not, this relatively simple step will make the machine as good as new.
If your machine is really old, though, reinstalling its original OS could be a step backward. Consider, for instance, the laptop that I purchased in the spring of 2006. The computer—a Dell with a Pentium M processor—came with Windows XP pre-installed. In its day, it was a pretty solid machine, and the only real hardware flaw it's picked up over the years is a busted battery—it doesn't hold a charge, which means I've got to keep the computer plugged in all the time. That hasn't bothered me too much; for about two years, as I picked up newer and better portable ma! chines, I've relegated the Dell laptop to my kitchen counter, where I use it mainly to consult recipes, check my e-mail, and listen to NPR while I cook (I lead a thrilling life). Despite this fairly undemanding assignment, I've noticed the machine getting progressively worse at simple tasks over the last few months. For reasons I haven't bothered to check out—maybe it was a virus or spyware, maybe some kind of hardware or driver error, who knows?—the laptop would take forever to load up a Web page and would completely bog down when more than two browser tabs were open. The machine needed a makeover.
Yes, I could have hunted down the Dell's original XP disks and reinstalled it to its factory settings. But it's 2010—why should I use an operating system first made in 2001? That's when I decided on Ubuntu. It took me 10 minutes to download the OS, and another five to burn a CD (you can also install it using a USB thumb drive). Installation took another 15 minutes, and it went swimmingly—Ubuntu detected all my machine's hardware (soun! d, Wi-Fi, and one-finger scrolling on the laptop's trackpad work perfectly), and it came to life with several key applications pre-installed.
One of the main problems I had with Ubuntu two years ago was its mysterious app-install process. Unlike on the Mac or in Windows, Ubuntu didn't really like when I went to the Web, downloaded a program, and installed it—it would either fail to install the program or fail to put the installed app where I could find it. Instead, Ubuntu wanted you to install programs through its built-in "package manager," a centralized repository of apps for the system. While the package manager is still the preferred route to get new applications, I didn't have any trouble downloading programs from the Web this time around. My only quibble: Ubuntu doesn't offer any kind of startup guide showing you around the OS's main features. You pretty much have to consult the helpful online communi! ty of Ubuntu devotees.

Cadaver displays in the library?

I just saw this article and it made me think this would be a great display in the anatomy section - let's pursue these types of exhibits for libraries!

Preserved cadaver exhibits banned in Seattle

Seattle council bans exhibits like 'Bodies'
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012391385_bodies19m.html
Exhibition or freak show? 'Bodies…The Exhibition' cashes in our own curiosity
http://www.seattlepi.com/visualart/286689_bodies28.html

Anatomy of a controversy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/19/AR2005081902055.html

Missouri congressman concerned about origin of bodies at exhibit currently in Cleveland
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/07/lawmaker_concerned_about_origi.html

20/20: Inside the Bodies Exhibit
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4300207

Photographic History of Human Dissection
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/29/dissection

Not many things get banned in Seattle, so it was a bit unusual this week to learn that the city council in the Emerald City voted to ban commercial cadaver displays. For those who might not be familiar with such matters, preserved cadaver displays have become tremendously popular over the past several years, and they include the exhibits "Bodies" and "Body Worlds". In Seattle, Councilmember Nick Licata expressed concern over the origins of the bodies used in these displays, and other citizens (including anatomy professors and museum directors) thought that the exhibits were disrespectful to the families of the deceased. The popular exhibit "Bodies" had been on display twice in Seattle, and the group responsible for sponsoring the exhibit stated that they received these bodies from a plastination facility in China, which had in turn, received them from Chinese medical universities. Similar laws have been signed into law in Hawaii, New York, and San Francisco. The ban in Seattle does not apply to human remains that are more than 100 years old or consist solely of human teeth or hair. Given the continued popularity of such exhibits, this issue may be revisited in other towns across the United States. [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to a news article from this Tuesday's Seattle Times which talks about the recent ban passed by the Seattle City Council. The second link leads to a thoughtful retrospective piece from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which reviews the original exhibit which found its way to Seattle in 2006. Moving on, the third link leads to an excellent piece from the Washington Post that reports on the initial reactions to the "Bodies: The Exhibition" display. The fourth link leads to a recent piece from the Cleveland Plain Dealer which discusses concerns about the "Bodies: The Exhibition" raised by a Missouri congressman which may affect an upcoming exhibit in St. Louis. The fifth link leads to a segment from ABC's "20/20" program about the Bodies exhibit. It should be noted that the segment contains images that some persons may find graphic in their depiction of the human body. The final link leads to a piece from Inside Higher Ed which provides material on a recent book about the photographic history of medical dissection.

Prefer E-books?

Mashable.com is a website devoted to news in social and digital media, technology and web culture. They asked their readers whether they preferred e-books or print books. The results were a little surprising, given the audience being polled:



23% prefer e-books

42% prefer print books

35% said each format had its advantages



You can see the results here: http://mashable.com/2010/07/24/e-book-real-book-results/

Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries

Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries

Gamestorming - Alternative Work Environments

In defense of games in the workplace
"Gamestorming" author Dave Gray on how games cut through creative chaos.
by Mac Slocum

We're hardwired to play games. We play them for fun. We play them in our social interactions. We play them at work.

That last one is tricky. "Games" and "work" don't seem like a natural pairing. Their coupling in the workplace either implies goofing off (the fun variant) or office politics (the not-so-fun type).

Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo, co-authors of the upcoming book Gamestorming, have a different perspective. They contend that an embrace and understanding of game mechanics can yield benefits in many work environments, particularly those where old hierarchical models are no longer applicable.

In the following Q&A, Gray discusses the collaborative power of games and how they can cut through increasing workplace complexity.


What is Gamestorming?

Dave Gray: Gamestorming is a set of collaboration practices that originated in Silicon Valley in the 1970s and has been evolving ever since. It's an approach that emphasizes quick, ad-hoc organization of teams so they can rapidly co-design and co-develop ideas. As my co-authors and I observed these practices, they seemed to look more like games than any other form of work we were familiar with. Hence the term "gamestorming."


Is each of us playing some sort of game all the time?

DG: In a sense we're always playing games of one sort or another. "Game" is a big word that can have many meanings. For example, "game-playing," "gaming the system," "getting your head in the game," and so on.

In this context, games are simply a way to put structure around the chaos of creative work. The game rules are a way of distributing information into the space you are working in, and distributing power equally among the people in a group. They are a method for flattening hierarchy, increasing engagement, and just generally speeding things up.


Does Gamestorming require specific skills?

DG: Gamestorming is primarily a mindset. It's an approach to work that's about engaging people in collaboratory activities. It's not a game if people are forced to play, so you need to have people and projects that stir people's curiosity and emotion. The Gamestorming skills are synthesizing and social skills, like visualization, improvisation, good listening and language skills.


Can games apply in any organization? Or, are there jobs and industries where it's less effective?

DG: Gamestorming is a great approach when you are entering into unknown territory, when you need to imagine or design for the future, and when you need to tap creative energy. What games are best at is facilitating collaboration and innovation. Where the work is predictable, or where you want consistency, games are not the solution. You don't want people playing too many games in the accounting department.


What is the relationship between complexity and game mechanics?

DG: The world is only getting more complex, and the more complex a system gets the less predictable it is. Games are a way to create simplified systems that mirror the real world. Plus, they're a safe place to try out various scenarios and see what kinds of results are possible. You can tweak one or two variables and see how that affects the system.




How has workplace motivation changed as we've moved into a knowledge economy?

DG: In a traditional industrial setting, say, a factory, it's easy to see what everybody is doing and how what they do fits into the bigger picture. It's easy to see when people are working and when they are slacking off.

But in a knowledge economy, where people are all moving symbols around on screens, and many work from home or the road, it's harder to coordinate the work. Fundamentally, in a knowledge economy, you want people to be creative. That means you need them to be interested, passionate and engaged. The modern cubicle layout and the intangibility of the work makes it difficult. You need to find ways to make it easier for people to share their work and the excitement they have for it. You need to fan the flames.

Are Online Tools Being Used??

Reposted from WebJunction’s blog;
In a survey to a random sample of WebJunction members this spring, respondents answered a question on how frequently they used online tools, either in or outside of their professional life. We found the results interesting. Nearly half of the respondents (49%) use email “listservs” daily. One-third of the respondents (35%) use professional or social networking sites daily. A quarter or less of the respondents use the following daily: online news or magazines (21%), blogs (14%), RSS feeds (14%), bookmarking sites (10%), wikis (9%), employment sites (6%) and online courses (3%).

Urban library respondents (72%) are more likely to use email listservs daily than suburban (57%) and rural (45%) library respondents. Also, urban library respondents (18%) are more likely to use RSS feeds daily than rural library respondents (9%). Suburban library respondents (40%) are more likely to use professional or social networking sites daily than urban (31%) and rural (31%) library respondents.
Alas, lists are still alive and well!

Does this match your activities? Go to the full blog post to see full chart and additional results. And check out our competencies for social networking in libraries.

Propaganda Bookmarks put in library books........

Fosters.com - Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME

Fosters.com - Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME

Fosters.com - Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME

This is interesting - will more groups start doing this? We should generate news like this that is for LIBRARY ADVOCACY!