No Clue

As we all know there is so much stuff on the web. I was playing around with Firefox and came across a free download called Interclue. Here is what it says it does, and it's a free download.
"Before you click the link Hover your mouse pointer over the link, and a Linkclue icon will appear. Rest your mouse on the icon, and up pops an enhanced summary of the linked page.
Interclue can give you:A text content summary A small snapshot of the page Sizes and dates of linked files Useful stats and metadata Next actions - save, e-mail...And more. Check the options!"

Maybe you all knew about it, but it's news to me. I wondered if this is what Helene and others use on their sites for their link popups?

What Else Is Going On In Our Profession?

I've been looking for other sites that we can use for library information and came upon Library Spot! This is like shopping at Meijers! Check out all (well, you know) the links, blogs, etc. found on the Librarian's page.While on this site, I came across this : Hab.la for libraries and wondered a lot of things! Is this something we could offer customers? That is, virtual users. I know we provide reference via email at Main, but what about customers working with us in real time? If this allows them to ask a question and follow our search as we gather the answer, or if it allows us to show them where to find something on our website, wouldn't this be a great service to customers? And what about Digsby? Have any of you used this? I will be searching for more fodder for the flock. If you find things like this, drop them on us!

Everything old is new again?

Helene's new post is on New Knowledge. It made me think, too. I've quoted the link and mused a bit about it out loud ( or whatever you call typing in the now). What's your take on this?

Quote of the Day: New Knowledge

From “Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace” (600+ page .pdf) comes this passage by Robert Steele in his essay “Creating a Smart Nation:”

Published knowledge is old knowledge: The art of intelligence in the 21st Century will be less concerned with integrating old knowledge and more concerned with using published knowledge as a path to exactly the right source or sources that can create new knowledge tailored to a new situation, in real time.”

While this is in the context of national security and intelligence, I think it’s applicable to the ways in which we think about networked learning, which is why we need to publish what we know and share it widely.

Publish what we know. So, how do we know what we know? Better yet, how do we know what we believe we know is factual (if that is important) and is worth publishing? How do we as disseminators of information assure our customers that what we are giving them is factual if our new definition of knowledge is this vague or unfounded? (Isn’t that the argument about Wiki’s and tagging-letting anyone add to a document? Is it fact or opinion; isn’t this how urban legends come about?) Who is the “we” in the above statement? What if “we” begin to make up what we know, or “refine” what we know (aka revisionism) or just slant what we know (like journalists?). What happens if this knowledge is passed on in real time but is later on discovered to be unreliable?

If published knowledge is old knowledge, and the art of intelligence in the 21st Century will be less concerned with integrating old knowledge and more concerned with using published knowledge as a path to exactly the right source or sources that can create new knowledge tailored to a new situation, in real time, doesn’t this mean that they are more concerned with using old knowledge?

Maybe taking ideas from other disciplines and trying to adapt them elsewhere is not always workable. Maybe it’s like what happened on the Island of Dr. Moreau…..

Geek.com Newsletter: Pick O' The Letter

Skype introduces unlimited calling subscriptions - $1.95 per month for unlimited (actually over 5 hours daily) calls within the US.

LockedEnvelope sends messages over the Internet securely - Got any emails you want to keep private? Also, look at the first comment for an alternative.

Murdoch open to Yahoo joint bid with Microsoft - Fox, MySpace, Wall Street Journal, and now this?!!??

Opinion: The dangers of subscription software - This sums it up nicely:

"There are alternatives. They offer real functionality for free. They do not require you constantly “phone home” and tell the software author/company what’s up about your usage patterns, your content, how often you do anything on your computer. In this author’s opinion, it’s absolutely none of their business. If they want to make better software, they can ask for volunteers to participate in those kinds of information-gathering programs. In the alternative, they can simply hire very clever people who use their computers to find out what the best offering is, the one that will give people the most bang for their buck."

Via Geek.com

How Do You.....?

Ever wondered how to do something? Here's a solution. Wonderhowto.com is a social how-to video aggregator that's much more valuable than the sum of its parts. Plus, the layout is logical and fairly easy to navigate. I thought ExpertVillage was on-point until I ran across this one...partially because WonderHowTo pulls in videos from ExpertVillage through its search (even giving you links for videos that are a part of a series). Not only does it display results from how-to sites, but it finds how-to videos on YouTube and various other websites and blogs. Trouble narrowing your search? WonderHowTo implements a nice refinement tool on the left-hand side of the screen.

Wanna learn how to cook soba noodles or chop up vegetables? What about cutting your own hair or cutting up a record? This is the place to visit.

Stupid Windows Trick: Opening Two Windows at the Same Time

Press 'Ctrl' while clicking on two or more items on the task bar. Then, you can choose how you want them displayed (side-by-side, cascading, stacked) by right-clicking and choosing the option you want.

Via How-To Geek

Doodling at its best and SRC

Here's another link from Helene. I think this will be of use the summer for SRC! Check out the monsters. Even though there is a book (we do not own it or anything by this author), watching how he does them may be instructive for anyone who likes this style of drawing, or wants to really doodle up a storm!

Site Seeing.

I went to a meeting today and Deborah Repogle mentioned the site Webjunction.org as a the portal to publib.org. Well I went to the site and never got to publib because there was so much on webjunction. I am recommending this site to you as it gives you a good place to see what other library staff on this hemisphere are doing.

Then there is the Rubye Payne article, Nine Powerful Practices written for teachers but still applicable to us as we interact with students in poverty and also try to establish rapport and teach a thing or two, too.

A Second Life for Cleveland

As you know I really am glad I escaped from Cleveland, so you may also understand why I thought that a virtual place called Cleveland Plus that makes the environment there really exciting was humorous. (This may be the only way that Cleveland will be exciting for a while--editors comment only).
The link to Cleveland Plus ( see article "Case Keeps Expanding 3-D Vitrual Cybercity") is the portal to the new service from OLC. To keep up on news around the state and region, you may want to log on to this site from time to time.

Pictures are Worth a 1000 Words

Pacman strikes again!

I'm sure Proquest thinks its recent purchase is great, but how will it affect us? In the latest American Libraries there is an article about this and I found a link on the web to ProQuest Acquires WebFeat.

According to the AL article, "Webfeat will be under the leadership of Serials Solutions' general manager Jane Burke, the company said in a statement, and the strengths of Webfeat's and Serials Solutions' federated search platforms will be combined to create a single, market-leading solution. The new platform will debut in early 2009, providing libraries with more power and efficiency in accessing their data pools".

Hmmmm. Sounds like this is just over the...Horizon.......

There is a link on CMLsi to a Columbus Dispatch article about Central Ohio (Columbus in particular) that is interesting. "Data From Central Ohio Tells Two Tales" talks about the area in relation to other cities it may want to emulate (or not). I find the fervor created by Net Jet to be strange and the arts comments interesting. What do you think?

In the cml@pla blog, there is an entry for information 911.
In it, Christina Trecker says, " Yesterday I attended a session called "Information 911" that talked about diversity and the roadblocks that individuals sometimes face when seeking information or services from the library. Tracie Hall from Dominican University talked about the different facets of diversity--not just race and language, but things like education, age, gender, accents, and limitations based on lifestyle. All of these things affect how we are able to find information, and all of these things need to be taken into consideration when we think about our services.

What we at the library need to do is examine ourselves on a regular basis and determine whether we are looking at our services through different lenses so that we are not inadvertently creating more roadblocks for people. If an individual is illiterate, how do we expect them to read our signs to find out where things are? If an individual has been excluded from services in the past based on race or age or gender, how can expect them to feel safe coming to us for information if our staff does not reflect any bit of the diversity that we see in our customers? Awareness of these roadblocks is the first step, but not the only step. It is an ongoing process to constantly evaluate our services and how we are presenting them to different individuals."

Whereas these concepts may not be new to us, they are note and discussion worthy. I'd add fashion trends to the list of things that may set people apart. What other diversity issues have you encountered?