Do We Need Libraries Anymore?

One Washington Post blogger’s question received some attention.

Random Friday Question: Do We Need Libraries Anymore?
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/06/random_friday_question_do_we_n.html

I am impressed by the sheer volumes of responses. I wasn’t able to read all of them, but the good many that I read were heavily in favor of keeping libraries open. Many commenters made excellent points, including their costs savings of checking out books instead of buying them, particularly for their kids; the Internet access for those who can’t afford it otherwise; the help the librarians give them; access to better quality, more reliable information; and a peaceful place to read and study.

Hmmm…I see a great marketing campaign somewhere in this…

found via the NexGenLib list

Blogging: Controversy on the Britannica Blog

Like I said, I like the Britannica blog…

Currently, there is a rather controversial Web 2.0 discussion going on there as well. Michael Gorman has made a couple of posts that have received a great deal of attention from the information world.

Have a read…

Web 2.0: The Sleep of Reason, Part 1 and Part 2
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/06/web-20-the-sleep-of-reason-part-i/
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/06/web-20-the-sleep-of-reason-part-ii/

Books: Fun Trivia from the Britannica Blog

I like the Britannica blog. The Britannica contributors post articles on a range of topics – current events, sports, culture, history, and they are often quite interesting articles to read.

Here is an example of the interesting things this blog includes frequently.

10 Things You (Maybe) Didn’t Know About Books
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2007/06/oddments-from-the-world-of-publishing/

Database Tips: Books Lists in WorldCat

WorldCat Lists

http://scanblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/worldcat-lists.html

Alice from the It’s All Good blog reports that WorldCat.org has added a new list-making functionality. She also offers some great suggestions for how to use this feature.

It took me a little while to figure out how to use this. You need a free account to create lists, and it helps if you are already logged in when you run your search. It also helps if you create a list first and then add items to it. Once you create a new list, use the the search box to find items. In your list of search results, you will have a dropdown menu to choose to save it to any list you have created or the Things I Recommend, Things I Own, or Things to Check Out lists that are already created for you.

I did a quick search of other lists (Search > Lists) and found these ideas:

• children’s books (I bet you could have lists for grade/age levels or certain themes/topics)
• favorite authors
• books read recently
• books to read soon

You can also search for people who have created profiles under Search > Contacts.

Anyone have suggestions for how to use this list feature?

Vendor News: Good News for History Buffs

EBSCO Publishing and ABC-CLIO Reach Historic Agreement
http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=366&t=h

EBSCO Publishing and ABC-CLIO have formed an alliance. “EBSCO has acquired two of ABC-CLIO’s renowned databases, Historical Abstracts (HA) and America: History and Life (AHL), and will distribute eight additional award-winning history databases in addition to ABC-CLIO’s online history eBook collection, History Reference Online.”

Vista Tips: Saving a Search

Find files faster: Save your searches in Windows Vista
http://blogs.msdn.com/tiptalk/archive/2007/04/30/save-your-common-searches-in-windows-vista.aspx

Vista is designed with a much more flexible folder system in that you don’t have to save files in a hierarchical manner. You can create search folders to organize your files in any way.

I haven’t tried this in Vista and can’t give examples, but I certainly appreciate the shift in thinking about how to organize files.

If anyone is already using Vista and would like to share how they found this feature useful, please share!

found via TipTalk: from Microsoft At Home and At Work

Tutorials: Information Literacy

Five Colleges of Ohio Research Tutorial
http://www.denison.edu/collaborations/ohio5/infolit/

These are nice tutorials comprised of text and hyperlinks – no extra plug-ins required.

Does anyone have recommendations for good online tutorials?

Wiki Help: Which One is Right for You?

Which Wiki is Right for You?
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6438167.html?q=which+wiki

School Library Journal has a nice article discussing the advantages and disadvantages of three popular free wikis: pbwiki, Wikispaces, and Wetpaint. There are several other free wiki programs, but these seem to be the easiest to set up and maintain.

Just to give you a visual of what these wikis look like, I’ve created Learning LibTech wikis for these three. I have purposely not done any editing, so you can see what you get when you first create it.

pbwiki
http://learninglibtech.pbwiki.com/
I like pbwiki because it is *easy* and they do not own your content. You can also choose to have a private wiki (not seen by the public) for free.

Wikispaces
http://learninglibtech.wikispaces.com/
Wikispaces is actually my personal favorite so far. I like the page layout and functions – they just seem to fit my head the best, and creating one is very easy. The problem is that a private wiki costs money, which is fine if you want a public wiki, but if you want a private one for whatever reason, you have to pay or pick another wiki…unless you are an educator – http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

Wetpaint
http://learninglibtech.wetpaint.com/
Wetpaint wikis are just beautiful and have many functionalities. I think the only complaint I have heard so far is that server response when editing them can be slow sometimes.

Accessibility: ADA Tool Kit

ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/toolkitmain.htm

This tool kit is for state and government agencies to better understand how to provide accessible services for persons with disabilities. This guide is helpful to anyone wanting to make their library building and services more accessible.

found via Docuticker

Education Tips: Using RSS in Education

RSS and Education
http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-and-education.htm

15 ways that RSS is being used in educational settings = 15 ideas that may work for your educational institution

How are you using RSS personally? How are you using RSS to educate and inform? Please share!!