Mentat
May 3, 2008
LibBook - Facebook for Libraries
I've been enjoying playing around with Facebook the last few weeks and one of the things I really like about it is the control I have over who I connect with, information I share with different groups of people, what applications I can install and how I organize them on my public site and my internal site.
And those applications - there are tons of them because anyone can write one. Facebook provides great tools for potential Facebook developers. And each app is a breeze to install. I can click to install it, then play around with it to see what it does. If I don't like it, I just delete it and poof its gone. It's sooooper easy to experiment...and play!
So, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if the library website worked like this? I could make connections with other library people, share book lists, install and play silly games, send little notes and pokes to people, publish my own personal news feed that others who thought I was interesting could subscribe to. I could share pictures and videos and poetry and excerpts from my favorite books and perhaps even create my own applications to share.
I encourage you to get on Facebook if you aren't already using it and while you're playing around, networking, and doing whatever you end up doing with your Facebook account....imagine it being provided by your local library --- LibBook. LibBook would have a focus on local events and bookish things rather than dating, and gossip. Instead of being fans of musical groups and TV shows, users might be be fans of books and authors. Instead of finding long lost classmates, users would be finding people with shared interests who are just across town or up the road.
Any LibBook developers out there?
Posted by at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
April 18, 2008
Sarah Long and Lori Ayre talk about Library Delivery
I recently did a delivery evaluation for the North Suburban Library System and had the opportunity to meet Sarah Long, Director of NSLS. I admire Sarah and the work she's done for libraries so it was especially rewarding to have her request an interview.
In case you find library delivery and materials handling as fascinating as I do, now you can get in on the action by listening to this little chat between Sarah and me for her Longshots Podcast series.
Posted by at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
April 15, 2008
Obama: Insighful, Analytical Response of Bitter Elitist?
This whole kerfuffle over Obama's "bitter" statement demonstrates what is so wrong with the so-called journalists of today and politics in general. Here's another situation where we can only say....thank god for bloggers. Here's how David Coleman (a Huffington Post blogger) described what Obama was doing at the time the statement was made. Evidently the statement was made in response to a campaign volunteer volunteer who was going to go out and talk to Pennsylvanians on Obama's behalf. The question was "What should we be telling the voters we encounter?"
According to Coleman "Obama's response to the questioner was that there are many, many different sections in Pennsylvania comprised of a range of racial, geographic, class, and economic groupings from Appalachia to Philadelphia....he urged the volunteer to tell Pennsylvania voters he encountered that Obama's campaign is about something more than programs and talking points."
Here's what Coleman wrote that really drove it all home for me:
"The response that followed sounded unscripted, in the moment, as if he were really trying to answer a question with intelligent conversation that explained more about what was going on in the Pennsylvania communities than what was germane to his political agenda. I had never heard him or any politician ever give such insightful, analytical responses. The statements were neither didactic nor contrived to convince. They were simply hypotheses (not unlike the kind made by de Tocqueville three centuries ago ) offered by an observer familiar with American communities. And that kind of thoughtfulness was quite unexpected in the middle of a political event. In my view, the way he answered the question was more important than the sociological accuracy or the cause and effect hypotheses contained in the answer. It was a moment of authenticity demonstrating informed intelligence, and the speaker's desire to have the audience join him in a deeper understanding of American politics."
Meanwhile, all you see is the little clip that leaves all the intelligent context out and creates an impression of Obama that is diametrically opposed to what really happened.
Here's the whole Coleman post if you are interested in more.
Posted by at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
February 21, 2008
Cloudbook for Laptop Loaner
The new Cloudbook is an ultralight PC (2 lbs) with all open source software installed including Open Office which provides a very nice substitute to the oh so pricey Microsoft Office suite.
At a cost of only $399, this might be a very nice option for libraries thinking about making laptops available to their users.
Not only is the OS (gOS Rocket) and the applications Open Source (Mozilla Firefox, gMail, Meebo, Skype, Wikipedia, GIMP, Blogger, YouTube, Xing Movie Player, RythemBox, Faqly, Facebook and OpenOffice.org 2.3 (includes WRITER, IMPRESS, DRAW, CALC, BASE)), but the units are also based on an "ultra-low power design" and are "whisper quiet."
I don't know about you but all that matters. In fact, the quiet part is one of the most important features in my selfish book because the buzz, hum and gurgle of most computers drives me mad!
Though the Cloudbook sounds interesting, you may want to sit tight while people like Meredith Farkas work out the kinks for you. It sounds like it isn't ready right out of the box for your library users but between the price, size, greenness and open sourceness.....it just might be the right fit down the road.
Posted by at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
February 17, 2008
Obama
I struggled quite a bit with my decision to vote for Obama in the California primary but since then, it has become crystal clear to me that I made the right decision. At least it's the right decision for me.
I submit two excellent creations that speak to the head and the heart and explain why it is so important for Barack Obama to become our next president:
Head:
Heart:
Posted by at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)