The Distant Librarian

Running Meebo as an application (no web browser needed!)

OK gang, the biggest strength of Meebo, that it's web-based, has also been the biggest strike against it.  For those of us who are using it as a service, it's a bit of a pain to remember to fire it up, and to have the web browser open.  Accidentally shut down the page or have a browser crash and you lose the service.

Worry no more, here's how you can run Meebo completely independent of your web browser, as a desktop application!

You need to download a small application from Mozilla called Prism.  Did I mention it's available for Windows, Mac AND Linux?  :-)  Prism allows a web service (any website) to run in its own window, available with a desktop or startup menu shortcut.  Because it's in a separate window, you don't even have to have a web browser open to access Meebo, and because it can launch as an application,  you can add it to your startup routine so it starts with your OS, just like Trillian or Pidgin can.

It's incredibly easy to install and run; I'll be using it heavily starting tomorrow at the office.  Here it is in action (email and RSS subscribers will have to click through to view):

While this should run on Leopard, there's another application specifically built for the newest OS called Fluid.  Someone try it out and let me know how it works, kay?

How to embed a MeeboMe widget on a Mac desktop

Yesterday I posted a screencast about how to embed a MeeboMe widget right on the desktop using ActiveDesktop.  While surfing around to see who else had made use of this, I found a link to a Flickr page from late 2005 where someone was using ActiveDesktop to show their Meebo account, and in the comments was a suggestion for a Mac application called WebDesktop that does more or less the same thing on OS X.  It's not quite as good, IMHO, in that upon minimizing your active windows you have to click one more time to make the webdesktop become operational, but still, you don't have to have your browser running, and this could easily be made to run upon startup (though of course the Mac won't be starting up nearly as often ;-).  Just something else to experiment with.

Here's your screencast (aggregators and mail subscribers will have to click through to view):

Some screencasting news

I'm pleased to see Greg Notess has been posting again at the LibCasting blog.  The other day he pointed to FreeScreencast.com, which offers the software and online hosting, much like Jing.  I haven't tried FreeScreencast or TipCam (note, TipCam appears to be dead now - Oct, 2013), which does the exact same thing.  There are examples on each of their sites though, and the output looks pretty good - check them out!


Technorati Tags: Screencasting, Jing, FreeScreencast.com, TipCam

How to embed a MeeboMe widget on your desktop

Hey, I'm excited about this one!  At a meeting yesterday we were considering additional places we could stick our MeeboMe widget (you may recall we've had it embedded in our catalogue since the beginning of October, 2007).  Someone wondered if we could embed it on the desktop, and I recalled that Microsoft has something called Active Desktop that allows websites to be displayed on the desktop.  So this morning I did some quick checking and it works! 

So first you'll need to create a MeeboMe widget, and then you'll need to create a basic html file on your hard drive, OR you can point to a live website.  Just remember that folks will still want to use their desktop icons, so if you do use a live webpage, make sure it's not too cluttered.

Information on how to turn on Active Desktop is here.

And, um, that's it!

Here it is in action:

 

I don't know if there might be any security or other implications for this - haven't yet checked on that...

Update: My colleague David pointed out that we have over 200 machines in our InfoCommons, and wonders what having them always connected to our Meebo account might mean.  Good question - does anyone have any idea if there's a limit to the number of folks who can be simultaneously connected to a Meebo account?  I'm going to check their FAQ's and maybe send them an email.  Still, the above should work well for a small library...

Update #2: The Meebo Wiki says 100 people can be simultaneously connected via widgets:
"How many people can talk to me at any given time? Is there a limit?
Right now we have set the limit to 100 people who can see you online through your widget. In the future, we may make it a preference to help you do some crowd control. If you’ve got 100 peeps IMing you at any given time, you’re pretty popular and might wanna hit that Invisible mode! You can also disable a widget in the meebo pref pane."

Public Ivy, baby!

Well there's no library information included in the rankings, but I was proud to see my undergrad alma mater, SUNY Geneseo, ranked #1 in Kiplinger's 100 Best College Values of 2008.  They were looking at both cost and academic success.  Go Knights!  :-)



Technorati Tags: Kiplinger, Geneseo

Online Workshop: Building a Community that Values Academic Integrity

You might be interested in this online workshop from the Center for Intellectual Property at UMUC ($150)

Building a Community that Values Academic Integrity
Dates: February 25 - March 7, 2008 (early registration by February 8 )
Moderators: Gary Pavela, M.A., J.D., Director of Judicial Programs and Student Ethical Development, University of Maryland -- College Park & Kimberly Bonner, J.D., Executive Director, Center for Intellectual Property, University of Maryland University College

Studies show that establishing a community of shared academic values fosters academic integrity in the classroom. However, establishing that community may be more difficult when students adopt the values of a digital "remix" culture that challenges the traditional understanding of authorship. How do institutions foster academic integrity values in light of changing cultural norms? Are there special techniques and tools required? Are the best tools to use in preventing academic dishonesty "technical" like Turnitin.com? And are there additional legal and ethical issues involved when using technical measures to prevent academic dishonesty?

Goals for the course:

• Examine faculty and student attitudes about academic integrity
• Examine several strategies to foster academic integrity and discourage dishonesty in teaching and learning
• Evaluate the importance of building trust in academic environments and identify key factors in achieving and sustaining trust online and face-to-face
• Review some of the currently available online tools helpful in discouraging academic dishonesty
• Evaluate the legal issues involved in using those tools to foster academic integrity
• Consider the educational tools that can be used to remediate students after academic dishonesty occurs

Another way for libraries to advertise in Facebook

Via Tame The Web, a Flickr account of one library's use of Facebook ads to simply promote the library page in Facebook.  The caption on the picture is, "64310 imprints, 67 clicks and 15 fans".


Technorati Tags: Facebook

Watch how Molly McDonald makes a screencast

A neat post from Molly McDonald of DemoGirl.com showing exactly how she creates a screencast using Camtasia Studio 4.

Utilizing WebQuests for Information Literacy Instruction in Distance Education

Haven't actually looked at this article myself...

Author: Blummer, Barbara
Source: College & Undergraduate Libraries, Volume 14, Number 3, 18 December 2007 , pp. 45-62(18)

Abstract:
The increasing use of problem-based learning in higher education affords librarians new avenues for promoting the development of information literacy skills among students. Information literacy instruction supports problem-based learning activities by providing students with skills to locate relevant resources for developing solutions to these exercises. The author created three WebQuests (together with tutorials) aimed at promoting faculty-librarian partnerships to deliver information literacy instruction through a problem-based learning approach in the context of course work in a distance learning environment. These problem-based learning WebQuests can be adapted to various disciplines as well as to traditional learning environments. Lastly, these WebQuests promote the development of information literacy skills in students as well as increase their exposure to problem-based learning. doi:10.1300/J106v14n03_03

Call for Proposals for Access 2008

Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Date: October 1-3, 2008 (Hackfest: Oct 1; Conference: Oct 2-4)
CFP Deadline: Friday, February 22, 2008
URL: http://access2008.mcmaster.ca

Access is Canada's premier library technology conference, featuring a single stream of sessions that deal with technology planning, development, challenges and solutions. We are now accepting proposals for prepared talks on the following topics (other ideas are more than welcome):

    * customized web applications and search interfaces
    * open source software
    * national and provincial/state-wide consortia technology initiatives
    * information policy
    * digital and social media
    * library catalogue innovations
    * digitization projects
    * institutional repositories
    * end-user searching behaviours
    * protocols and metadata

...or anything else suitably geeky, innovative and/or awe-inspiring! Sessions are usually 45 minutes or 1 hour in length. Proposals should include:

    * your name, title, institutional affiliation, contact information, blog/website URL
    * 100 word (max) abstract describing your proposed presentation
    * co-presenters you will (or hope to) present with

Submission Procedures:

    * deadline for submission is February 22, 2008.
    * send your proposal to Amanda Etches-Johnson, Program Chair, at etchesa AT mcmaster.ca
    * each submission will be acknowledged and all presenters will be notified of the status of their proposal by April 15, 2008.
    * if you'd simply like to recommend topics and/or speakers (other than yourself), feel free to get in touch!

Depending on the number of submissions, we can't promise that every proposal will be accepted. However, we will have sessions set aside for Lightning/Thunder talks, which provide an informal opportunity to share your ideas with your peers.

For more information about Access, see the Access 2007 website. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with the members of the Program Planning Committee:

Amanda Etches-Johnson
User Experience Librarian, McMaster University
etchesa AT mcmaster.ca

Jenn Horwath
Virtual Branch Manager, Hamilton Public Library
jhorwath AT hpl.ca


Technorati Tags: ACCESS2008, Access2008, Access08

David's Favorite RSS Resources and Tools

David Rothman just posted a wonderful list of his Favorite RSS Resources and Tools.  You'll get links on

• explaining RSS,
  
• Resources to help you choose a feed aggregator,
  
• RSS Plugins for Outlook,
  
• Google Reader Tips and Plug-ins,
  
• RSS-to-Email tools,
  
• Publishing RSS content on Web Pages,
  
• Web-Based RSS-to-Web-Page tools,
  
• Hosted RSS-to-Web-Page Tools,
  
• Feed mashing and filtering tools,
  
• Creating feeds for pages that don’t offer them,
  
• Creating feeds from PubMed,
  
• Creating feeds from LibWorm (/MedWorm).

Great list, thanks David!


Technorati Tags: RSS

Information Literacy Programs in the Digital Age: Educating College and University Students Online

A new book from ACRL: Information Literacy Programs in the Digital Age: Educating College and University Students Online.

Information Literacy Programs in the Digital Age: Educating College and University Students Online describes significant and innovative online instruction programs in a straightforward, narrative way, focusing on the development, implementation, and assessment of each institution’s online information literacy instruction effort. By pooling the experiences of a variety of institutions and programs, this book provides a bank of knowledge that serves as a resource to other institutions currently teaching IL online and a guide to those contemplating it.

Price: $48.00
ALA Member Price: $43.20
278 pages
Softcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-8444-4
ISBN-10: 0-8389-8444-4
© 2007

TOC is here (I co-wrote a chapter on WISPR with my colleagues Shauna Rutherford and Alix Hayden).

EZproxy acquired by OCLC

Wow!

http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200690.htm

EZProxy Find and Replace: when the vendor says they can't...

Earlier this week we switched to the new interface for OvidSP (an attempt, I believe, at integrating the Silver Platter (SP) platform into Ovid).  It's nice, but the default configuration includes a Basic Search table, an Ovid Syntax tab, and a SilverPlatter Syntax tab.  Ovid Syntax and SilverPlatter Syntax don't mean anything to our users, and in fact we didn't even include the latter in our configuration.  But we wanted Ovid to change the text so the Ovid Syntax tab instead read Advanced Search.  We were told that it was a popular request, but that they couldn't do it right now.

Meh.  That's no good at all for our users.  I remembered that EZProxy has a Find and Replace feature, but hadn't really explored it yet.  Found this page on the Unofficial EZProxy Support Wiki and was off to the races.  Making the tab say what we wanted it to say took all of two lines of code to be added to the EZProxy configuration file for Ovid:

T Ovid (or whatever we're calling it)
U http://www.ovid.com (whatever)
DJ ovid.com  (whatever)
Find Ovid Syntax
Replace Advanced Search

So if you can find the T, U, and DJ lines in your Ovid (now or soon to be OvidSP for you too) you can stick in the two lines of red code and find that all is magically well.  Of course this means you can rename the tab whatever you want, and can rename other parts of the page as well.  Could be fun come April Fool's Day!  The other neat thing about this fix is that should Ovid change the tab themselves, our display will simply revert to their true and native display because EZProxy simply won't find the text string "Ovid Syntax" to replace!

So here are the before and after shots:

Have fun!

NewsGator now free

"...NewsGator also announced that all of its client RSS reader products are now available free of charge and include free synchronization along with other services."  Full press release here.

Might have to give them a looksee - I seem to recall that one of our databases only allows RSS feeds to work within Newsgator - maybe Factiva?  I'll try to follow up on that, but right now I'm out the door.


Technorati Tags: NewsGator, RSS