Post #5-Photo blogging

A photo blog is a website that primarily displays photographs in a log format. Much like text-based blogs, photo blogs are entries that are made by an individual person on a regular basis. There usually is an archive that will have photos from previous months, years, etc. and can be separated by category. Like blogs, photo blogs allow comments to be left for different entries.

People like to photo blog for many different reasons. Some people like to put their work on display, purely for the world to see. Some like to receive praise for what they’ve done. And some want to profit from their work. Either way, photo blogging is a way for people to exercise their creative skills and to share with the world their artistic flavor. I like to photo blog because I love sharing beautiful and interesting pictures I may take or come across on the internet.

Since photo blogging has gained in popularity, maintaining a blog site has become cheaper and simpler than ever. A photo blog in particular that I've become accustomed to using is Flickr . It is a free photo blogging site that is maintained by Yahoo! and is perhaps the online photo management and sharing site available.

Adam Seifer and Andrew Long, editor and co-founder of Fotolog, converse in a May 12, 2006 Washington Post article titled "Photo Blogging". They pose many questions regarding copyright issues, photo blogging as an artform, profiting as a photo blogger and the future of photo blogging. Andrew Long says, in response to a questions posed as to whether or not photo blogging lowers the standard of another artform, "...photoblogs in general are places where people can learn and get useful feedback." I think that this statement alone ties in perferctly to the purpose of blogs in general. They are places where people learn and socialize with each other. Many photos that are posted to photo blogs are of low quality as Seifer points out, but they really do a lot for the development of an online culture. Photo blogging is a way that people can express themselves, with or without words, and brings people together. Photos that are posted to social networking sites such as these should automatically belong to everyone (without being profitable) and not be restricted, as long as they aren't offensive and don't damage a person's reputation.

Central Park in November

This is a beautiful picture I took at Central Park this past month when I visited New York.

Post #4- Library Law Blog

An interesting blog that I came across the other day is the Library Law Blog. It is a blog that primarily addresses issues concerning libraries and the law. The blog is an accompaniment to LibraryLaw.com. Its host, Mary Minow, is a JD and an AMLS. The blog also features three contributing authors; Peter Hirtle, an Intellectual Property Officer at Cornell University who serves as the bibliographer and Technology Strategist for the United States and General History Library; Susan Nevelow-Mart, a reference librarian and adjuct professor at UC Hastings College of Law; and Raizel Leibler, a law librarian in Chicago.

The blog is extensive and has active links in over two dozen categories. One in particular I found to be very useful is the copyright link. It is a link to the most recent blog posts that have been made. Although there is more information collocated on LibraryLaw.com, the blog gives actual insight into the issues that are defined rather than addressed on the website. I like this blog because I feel that it informs without being overly intellectual and maintains a high level of objectiveness because Minow alone is not the only writer. The blogs features archives as far back April 2004, but the website was created in 1997.

The information on the website appeared accurate. I was able to search and locate up-to-date ('05 & '06) information on library copyright guidelines. It also has multiple links to authoritative websites that provide copyright information such as the U.S. Copyright Office, OCLC, Yale University Library, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the American Bar Association, the American Library Association, and many others. Unfortunately there were a few links on the page that were outdated and the site does not show when it was last updated. It only gives a link to the blog for updates. Overall, I feel that the site has the potential to be a great ready reference tool or even as a simple bookmark for fact-checking.

Post #3-Podcasts

Today, I visited the Seattle Public Library website. The site is operated by, perhaps, one of the best (funded) libraries in the United States and I was curious as to how their website looked. I was very pleased overall by the site and was especially glad to find their Library Collection page. The page includes links to the library’s databases, catalog, digital books and podcasts. Along with a lot of other very detailed, concise information on library related materials and events, the page provides basic instruction on what podcasts are, how they operate and where they can be located on the net. For library patrons or anyone who does not know what podcasts are, this is a great start. The podcasts page also includes links to outside sources for more information on podcasts as well as a link to their ‘Ask A Librarian’ feature by email for any additional questions on the topic.

The Seattle Public Library is only one of many libraries now using podcasts. Podcasts are useful for libraries because they can transmit information in a faster more efficient way than most anything else on the internet in terms of audio effects. Libraries are using them to provide tutorials on how to use the library, give tours and provide instruction by making their information more widely available. Many other libraries that are podcasting are listed on LibSuccess.org. A few podcasts that stood out were the Arizona State University Libraries, Denver Public Library, and the Infopeople Project, which had quite an interesting link to a comical Gorilla Librarian YouTube video.

Liszen

I really must thank Kim for introducing me to such a great site. Liszen, search engine, hosted by Library Zen, features over 500 blogs related to the library profession. A few that I have taken a liking to are the Slacker Librarian, Annoyed Librarian, Spinster Librarian, and Vampire Librarian. These blogs feature highly comical anecdotes of their hosts and offer a refreshingly different approach to sharing ideas in the library community.

Post #2-Libraries and MySpace

Yesterday, I was reading an article titled “Your Space or MySpace?” in Library Journal’s’ Fall 2006 supplementary issue, Netconnect. The article outlines the many possibilities that libraries have by using this powerful social networking site. MySpace allows libraries to connect to students, patrons, and other libraries on a social level through blogs, email lists and post bulletins. Beth Evans of the Brooklyn College Library writes that libraries have been stalled by indecision to enter the world of MySpace mainly because of the negative media portrayal it has received. It is looked upon by many as a tool for online sexual predators rather that one for socialization and community networking.

Another librarian, Joanne Cameron of the Palm Beach Community College of Florida writes that librarians are suffering from “paralysis by analysis” because they are overthinking. Beth Evans suggests that libraries take the initiative to interact with students and young people via MySpace because it is one of the biggest advantages to contacting them in the masses or in specific groups. Evans also says that by interacting with the users in their environment of choice, you learn more about their needs there than you would in, say, online chat sessions with a reference person.

I feel that libraries becoming involved in popular social networking sites such as MySpace are a great idea and are important because it will make the library more up-to-date and in tuned with what the population and/or demographic they are serving wants and needs the most from its library. Those libraries that choose not to conform are simply not evolving according to the changes that their community needs. Although some libraries are choosing to use MySpace as its forum for outreach to young populations, I think that it’s important too to think about the possible affects it may have on its users. For instance, possible copyright issues if the host library wants to promote a campaign, or derogatory language or suggestions made by or to bloggers of their site.

Some libraries MySpace links that were featured in the article are:

Albany County Public Library

Brooklyn College Library

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Goshen Public Library

Hennepin County Library

Lansing Public Library

Post #1-ILA 2006: Creating Searchable Databases

This past Thursday, I attended the ILA, Illinois Library Association Conference, at Navy Pier. As part of the programming at the conference there was open attendance to each of the talks that were being given all week. One of the talks I attended was titled, “The Programmer’s Paper Chase: Build a Searchable Database Using MS Word, MS Outlook and Internet Explorer.” The presenter, Marci K. Buerger of Mount Prospect Public Library gave step-by-step basic information using PowerPoint on how to file program information by creating searchable databases using existing software such as MS Word, MS Outlook, and Internet Explorer (IE).

Using MS Outlook, Buerger explained that contact information will be easier to keep because you may keep unlimited files on contacts and you may also conduct searches in Outlook and other slightly different versions such as MS Outlook Web Access. Using MS Word, you can copy and paste files to cut back on paper used as well as search for documents using the search function under the start tab on a PC. On the IE aspect of the presentation, she gives some tips on saving or bookmarking web pages using the favorite’s option. She goes through the step-by-step process of explaining what the favorites feature is, how to find it and how to use it. She also gives tips on how to name web folders. Buerger said that you must be consistent in building your database by using the same names for folders in IE, MS Outlook and MS Word. She emphasized the use of terms that are searchable not only for yourself, but for your co-workers as well.

Buerger suggested a good resource for those who aren’t as meticulous as this method of organization she presents would have you be. She explained in detail what Google Desktop is and how it can be used for document retrieval. It is free, downloadable software that allows users to conduct a document search on your own personal files saved onto your email, computer files, web history, and online chats.

Librarian 2.0

An interesting aspect of School Library 2.0 article was that the library must adapt to the changing times and that the library and the librarians must transcend their physical space and become adaptable to every aspect of learning within the school. I think that the idea of the library reaching out to you and you not having to go to it is a very new and different way of learning.

It also is evident of librarians place within the realm of learning and realizing that in order to preserve their place among students, teachers, parents, etc. Librarians can no longer be the stereotype that many people had them pegged for: little old ladies with horn-rimmed glasses shhh-ing everybody in the library. They must let people know that the library is an important part of a child's education and that it has a number of uses.

Welcome

Hi. Welcome to my blog. This wonderful piece of the web was inspired by Dominican University's Internet Fundamentals and Design course.