The Distant Librarian

LJ Movers and Shakers 2007

The nomination form for the 2007 Library Journal Movers and Shakers is up, and I'm pleased to see that this year it's an electronic submission form.  From the site:

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Our sixth annual Movers & Shakers
supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across
the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a
difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the
library field, Movers & Shakers 2007 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead.

Deadline for submissions is November 1, 2006.  Last year's list is here.


Technorati Tags: Librarians

Sony eBook Reader PRS-500

Looks like the North American version of the Sony eBook reader will be out in time for Xmas.  Still a little light on important details like price, and whether it will be possible to borrow books from a library, but Engadget has a slew of pictures that make me think I could do just fine with this product.  :-)


Technorati Tags: eBooks

Collaborative Screencasts and Blog Recommendation

I've got an undersung blog to recommend to you: Brain_blog from the Library at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.  The librarians there are using this blog more as a newsletter, and only publish to it once per month, with a single lengthy post, and that's why it's probably not as well-known as it should be.  But every month I get something useful out of this site. 

This month's post includes a link to a screencast put together by two people, one male, one female.  Huh, two good voices to listen to really break up the screencast, and I think it makes it more pleasant to listen to.  I'll betcha that's why they do that with the nightly news too, eh?  It's such a simple little change from what I've done, but I think it's a pretty good strategy.  They've also incorporated some nice background music where appropriate, something I've been meaning to do for a looong time.

So the other neat link I got from this month's post is to the US Colleges section of YouTube.  Is your school on the list?

Incidentally, you can also read about the genesis of Brain_blog in vol 52(2) of Feliciter, the magazine of the Canadian Library Association. (link to Academic Search Premier).


Technorati Tags: Brain_blog, screencasting, YouTube

Examples of screencasts built with Wink

It's been an awful long time since I took a look at Wink, one of the free screencasting tools that are floating around for Windows.  Last time I looked, Wink didn't even support audio, something that has come to be a necessity in my checklist for screencasting tools.  It seems it now does, and I've got to get around to taking another look at it, thanks to the screencast Rich Hoeg put together on how to use Google Blog Search.  Two things I noticed that I'll definitely explore: the preload of the SWF file took a loooong time, and I wonder if the Flash file is well-optimized.  I'll try to create a screencast using two or three other tools in addition to Wink and compare the file sizes.  The second thing I noticed is that the audio was pretty scratchy, but that may be a result of Rich's mike, and not the software.  We'll do a comparison there as well.  This won't happen for a couple weeks, I'm guessing, but I'm looking forward to putting the current generation of packages through their paces.


Technorati Tags: screencasting, Wink

Zotero: Web-based citation manager

When people like Lorcan Dempsey and Peter Binkley suggest one pays attention to a service like Zotero, I'm gonna pay attention!  It's in private beta right now, so I haven't actually tried it, but here's what it's all about.  From thier homepage, Zotero:

• captures citation information
  you want from a web page automatically, without typing or cutting and
  pasting on your part, and saves this information directly into the
  correct fields (e.g., author, title, etc.) of your Zotero library
• lets you store—beyond citations—PDFs, files, images, links, and whole web pages
• allows you to easily take notes on the research materials you capture
• makes it easy to organize your research materials in multiple ways, such as folders, saved searches (smart folders), and tags
• offers fast, as-you-type search through your materials so that you can quickly find that source that you only vaguely remember
• lets you export formatted citations to your paper, article, book, or website
• has an easy-to-use, modern interface that simplifies all of your research tasks, with "where has that been?" features such as autosaving your notes as you type
• runs right in your web browser and is a platform for new forms of digital research that can be extended with other web tools and services
• is free and open source

It's a free citation manager that lives in your Firefox browser.  What's that?  You don't use Firefox yet?  Guess it's time to start :-) 


Technorati Tags: Zotero, citation_manager, bibliographies

Linking to chat services in the catalogue

Stephen Francoeur at Digital Reference has an intriguing post about how the New Jersey Instititute of Technology has a feature in their catalogue where a search result that ends in no hits provides a link to the school's virtual reference service.

That's a great idea!  I've already told our Catalogue Wrangler how lucky he is we don't have a centralized virtual reference service here or I'd be poking at him to develop a similar feature in our catalogue.  It being Friday, I also suggested to him that perhaps he could develop a script that would direct the patron to the appropriate librarian based either upon the search request or the searcher's major (would have to be determined by the patron's login, which we of course don't require to search the catalogue).

What about embedding a MeeboMe or Chatango flash IM window in the null search results page? Both of those give immediate information about whether someone's actually logged in on the librarian side, and would allow the patron to begin a dialogue w/o even having to leave the page.  Sure would suck if the catalogue timed out on them and reset in the middle of a conversation though!


Technorati Tags: virtual_reference

Libraries and Google - Internet Reference Services Quarterly

I wonder if I'll ever fully understand the World of Serials.  I just got an email alert that Volume 10(3/4) 2005 of Internet Reference Services Quarterly is a special issue titled "Libraries and Google".  We have a paper and electronic subscription so I checked and see that we received this 2005 volume one week ago.  And the email notice I got claims, "This issue is now available online and will soon be mailed to subscribers in approximately 4-6 weeks."  OK, whatever.  It's here, and here's the interesting-sounding TOC - I haven't read any of 'em yet:

Introduction: Libraries and Their Interrelationships with Google
William Miller
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69222

Disruptive Beneficence The Google Print Program and the Future of Libraries
Mark Sandler
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69224

The Google Library Project at Oxford
Ronald Milne
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69225

The (Uncertain) Future of Libraries in a Google World Sounding an Alarm
Rick Anderson
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69227

A Gaggle of Googles Limitations and Defects of Electronic Access as Panacea
Mark Y. Herring
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69229

Using the Google Search Appliance for Federated Searching A Case Study
Mary Taylor
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69231

Google's Print and Scholar Initiatives The Value of and Impact on Libraries and Information Services
Robert J. Lackie
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69232

Google Scholar vs. Library Scholar Testing the Performance of Schoogle
Burton Callicott, Debbie Vaughn
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69233

Google, the Invisible Web, and Librarians Slaying the Research Goliath
Francine Egger-Sider, Jane Devine
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69235

Choices in the Paradigm Shift Where Next for Libraries?
Shelley E. Phipps, Krisellen Maloney
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69236

Calling the Scholars Home Google Scholar as a Tool for Rediscovering the Academic Library
Maurice C. York
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69237

Checking Under the Hood Evaluating Google Scholar for Reference Use
Janice Adlington, Chris Benda
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69239

Running with the Devil Accessing Library-Licensed Full Text Holdings Through Google Scholar
Rebecca Donlan, Rachel Cooke
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69240

Directing Students to New Information Types A New Role for Google in Literature Searches
Mike Thelwall
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69241

Evaluating Google Scholar as a Tool for Information Literacy
Rachael Cathcart, Amanda Roberts
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69242

Optimising Publications for Google Users
Alan Dawson
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69243

Google and Privacy
Paul S. Piper
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69244

Image Google's Most Important Product
Ron Force
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69245

Keeping Up with Google Resources and Strategies for Staying Ahead of the Pack
Michael J. Krasulski, Steven J. Bell
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?ID=69246

Technorati Tags: Google, Libraries

Who wants paper tickets?

OK, I know the airlines prefer not to issue paper tickets anymore, but have you seen what they actually charge if you decide you do want them?  Holy Cripes!  I just booked my flights to Monterey for Internet Librarian, and happened to glance at one of the confirmation pages as it flew by.  Can you imagine the outcry if they defaulted to one of the paper delivery options instead of to electronic ticket?!?  (click for full size)

Website Heatmap

OUseful Info blogs about a neat tool called the Clickdensity heatmap.  Check out the neat screenshot, and note that they provide a free trial.  I'm passing this one on to our webfolk.


Technorati Tags: usability, heatmap

Yay, no snow down here

Well so far the forecasters have been wrong; while it's damn chilly and we did get rain all night, so far there's no snow here in Calgary.  Took a peek at the webcams on the ski hills in Banff, and they did indeed get some snow.  You know what though?  I forget that of course it's actually quite pretty:

That one was taken at 7:50 this AM at the Banff Gondola.

Sorry for any feed weirdness

Hey all, sorry if any or all of you are getting weird or double entries on my feed.  I'm trying to sort out a problem reported by a reader, but I'm backing off for now so things should stabalize.  Will you let me know if, either prior to today, or after this afternoon's glitch, the feed isn't behaving as it should?  Thanks!

Free Online Books

Rich at eContent has pointed to two interesting sources of free books in the past week.  The first is to a site called FreeLoad Press that sounds really familiar, but I didn't blog it before so I must've not seen it before ;-)  From the site: "Thanks to our sponsors, you can "freeload" e-textbooks and study aids for some of your college courses in Business, Math and Computer Applications."  I haven't had a chance to look past the list of titles, but Rich says there are ads on the first page of each book, but that's it.  If you're supporting students in Business, Math or Computer Applications, you might want to have a look.

The second post is about WikiBooks, "a collection of free, open-content textbooks that you can edit."  Interestingly, a number of these books are also available as a downloadable PDF.  You can still edit these books, but there's a disclaimer that, "The HTML files show the current state of the book - the PDF Editions are often out of date relative to the HTML files."  Very interesting.


Technorati Tags: eBooks, wikis

Adobe Captivate 2 webinars

Last week Adobe announced the imminent release of version 2 of Adobe Captivate (formerly Macromedia Captivate).  I didn't mention it then 'cause you can't actually get your hands on the product yet - they say another 3-4 weeks before it ships.  Oddly, in one of the comments the product manager says this delay is due in part because of the time it takes to press CDs, produce boxes, and update the download section.  Wow.  Doesn't that sound Web 2.0!  We can't download the product until it's also available in hard copy :-(

Anyhoo, Adobe is offering a series of free one-hour webinars to introduce the new version, and one of the webinars is even geared towards using Captivate 2 in Education - that's the one I signed up for.  The description:

Adobe® Captivate™ 2 for Education
*Please note this session is designed for those in the Education industry*
See for yourself how to involve your students with interactive Flash® courses — without having to learn Flash. With the new Adobe Captivate 2, you and your students can quickly and easily create professional-quality, interactive learning scenarios like “Choose your own adventure” stories, simulations and software tutorials and publish them in Macromedia Flash format — without any programming knowledge. Join our seminar to find out how you can easily add hands-on excitement to your courses! You will even have the opportunity to experience an interactive simulation firsthand.

Right now they only have one session scheduled for education - Tuesday, Sept. 26th from 3-4 EST.


Technorati Tags: Screencasting, Captivate

The all-important end-of-Summer weather update

Gosh it was a nice day today.  Sure wish it was going to last.  Here's the forecast for the next few days, presented in both C and F for your horror:

I'm not sure what that icon for Saturday is - it's either ghosts or blowing snow.  Either way... shudder.

 

Great example of how voice can enhance your screencast

Shelly Drumm at Houston Community College Libraries has just posted a great Macromedia Captivate screencast that walks her students through the various IM options available to them (native client, Meebo, Chatango).  The screencast's really well done, with options to choose what to learn about, and to repeat if necessary, but what really struck me was Shelly's natural ease behind the microphone.  I suspect she was reading from a script only because her words matched those that were on the screen, but it sure didn't sound like she was reading.  It sounded like she was sitting there chatting with me, walking me through my options.  That's what you want your screencasts to sound like, folks!


Technorati Tags: screencasting, hcc

PowerPoint tips

It's the beginning of the semester and you're likely to be making at least a few ppt presentations in the coming weeks.  Next time you're giving one, why not try one of these nifty tricks?  You can get this help box by pressing the F1 key while your presentation is running.  I particularly like the B or W keys, but then I'm easily amused :-)

Camtasia studio on the Mac?

Techsmith is trying to justify developing a version of Camtasia Studio for the Mac.  As you know, this is something I'd love to see, and I've been contacted by other librarians looking for this to happen as well.  Troy Stein, product manager for Camtasia Studio, has a survey up at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225KKUB3JMP - if you're a Mac user and you'd like to see Techsmith work towards this project, please take a moment to fill it out - it's quite short...


Technorati Tags: Screencasting, OSX, Camtasia

How does your site stack up?

I only finished this short article today, but it was "published" a year ago - not sure how I missed it then, or found it now - probably someone's delicious feed.  Regardless of the provenance, I'd like to recommend the following article:

Nicholas, M., Tomeo, M. (2005). Can You Hear Me Now? Communicating Library Services to Distance Education Students and Faculty.  Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 8(2).

Based on the results of a LibQual study at their institution (Slippery Rock University of PA) that suggested distance students were unaware of the services available to them, the authors conducted a survey "of library web sites at 100 distance learning institutions seeking to establish a checklist of best practice in terms of library resources and services provided and to establish a template for the effective distance education gateway."

Basically they wanted to find out how other institutions with DE programs made it known to students that there were library services available to them.  Among the findings, they found that "only 31% of distance education program pages provided a link to the library for users and more often served the purpose of providing a broad overview or description of distance education programs or an entryway to course management software."  This is true at my institution, and I have just requested that a link to my department be placed on our campus elearning page.  In addition, only 21% of DE Library pages included information for DE faculty.  Guilty.  After reading this article I quickly created a brief page for DE faculty.

One of the interesting correlations they found was that "institutions with a distance education enrollment of 5,001-10,000+ led in offering database tutorials (29%) and course specific pathfinders (42%), as well as designating a distance education librarian (14%)."   What I would've loved to know is whether those institutions with a designated DE Librarian had better information pages, and better links from elsewhere in the institution to the DE Library pages.  In other words, was the DE Librarian doing a good job of getting the word out compared to institutions that didn't have a dedicated DE Librarian?

It's a quick read, and you might just get a couple of good ideas about what's missing from your pages, or where links to your pages should be.

Technorati Tags: distance_education, libraries, library_service