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- More library system are taking on Learning 2.0 initiatives for training staff members in new technology such as:
- PB Wiki has added a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor for new wiki's. This will greatly aid new users unfamiliar with html and java script.
- Best gift of the holiday season so far is the Flicker increase of upload limit from 20 MB/month to 100 MB/month and UNLIMITED for pro accounts.
- What's Next from Kent District Library is even easier to use now. You can now search with partial information.
- Bull Run Library Wiki has added a section on Spanish for Staff from WebJunction. This addition should make it easier for library staff members to use.
Here's one library's solution to - the after-school teen user situation.
Test your knowledge of Movies.
Test your knowledge of teen slang.
From WebJunction Infopeople's Survival Spanish for Library Staff
Staff blogging is starting to get some publicity.
IMing is slowly growing in acceptance in libraries. Arlington Public Library is the only library in the area to offer this service. Reasons for libraries to offer IM service can be found on these talking points. To find libraries offering IM Reference check out Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki.
Here's how to motivate: drug test library volunteers. Did anyone really think this one out?
The Search Institute has published a list of 40 building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Important to note is the number of items that stress outside influence, such as youth activities and youth involvement in the community.
A nice resource for people who work with kids is free printable coloring pages.
The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien will be released on 17 April 2007. A Deluxe Edition is also available for $100.
Firefox 2.0 has been released. This update includes a spell check feature. Check out PCMag for a comparison of the two recently upgraded internet browsers, IE7 and Firefox.
Another valuable wiki is I read, a readers advisory.
Create custom feeds from Amazon - another useful tool.
PCN8 is an online photo image editor. You can rotate, resize, crop, etc and upload to your flickr account. Another photo resource, My Picture helps to resize photos for online sharing.
Check out this awesome wiki: Deer Valley Track Wiki
RSS and JavaScript Cookbook is a wiki worth remembering created by Meredith Farkas and Paul R. Pival.
Tech Express 2006 was presented in September in South Carolina through the State Library. Speakers included Stephen Abram, Jenny Levine and Michael Stephens. Their entire presentations are online. It will take a couple of time well spent hours to watch all of them.
The Toronto Star has an article on a study that finds that "instant messaging could actually be strengthening teenagers' English".
Wake up call - Email is for Old People I knew it!!!
SirsiDynix just launched SchoolRooms, a redesigned website that is an online learning portal for students, teachers and parents. Go to SchoolRooms for a direct link.
Google has now incorporated their recently acquired documents capability into the existing spreadsheets capability. Now, if you are a previous user of "Writely", when you sign into Google spreadsheets you will also see your documents. Nice addition, now if they would add the capability of embedding the spreadsheets and documents onto webpages, as google calendars are, it would even be better
From 10 October to 8 November you can be a part of Yahoo’s Time Capsule, the first-ever electronic record of audio/video from a global community. Entries can be uploaded in the form of words, pictures, video, sound, or drawings in the categories of love, anger, fun, sorrow, faith, beauty, past, now, hope, and you.
New Resource Links and Recommended Books are being continually added without being trotted through the FrontPage.
October is National Cookbook and Diversity Awareness Month. Informational links have been added to Resource Links under Home Arts and Social Sciences.
This library is giving the patrons an option to save a Reading History.
Young Adult Library Services, YALSA is doing a 30 day project on "Positive Use of Social Networking". The first posting was on using Del.icio.us. The second posting was on Library Thing. Great reading is small bytes for those interested in Web 2.0 solutions.
Also from Library Thing is information about another cataloguing internet site, Squirl, which lets you catalog collections in addition to books, dvds, etc.
Check out the Berkeley Tool Lending Library. Read Library Science, Home Depot Style for more information on tool libraries.
Library 2.0 is a year old now. For a good read on where we have been, where we are and where we are going read ALA TechSources 'The Culture of Trust'.
- Sony has finally introduced the long waited for Reader at a cost of arount $350. While a "nice to have" gadget, it lacks some functunality that would greatly enhance the drive to buy such as ability to easily look up words in a dictionary. Also nice to have would be the ability to look up references along the lines of "cliff notes". Eventually ebooks and electronic readers will sync up. One nice feature though is the ability to change the font size.
- Also new this week is the retooled look of the Google Reader for RSS. Very nice.
All Google calendars have been moved to the relevant subpages.
Also at Pandora is a tool that will select music that you like based on information that you provide such as an artist that you like. Then they will set up a station and play continuous streaming music.
Check out these searchable databases and more: Music, medical image database (primarily for medical professionals and students), and Shakespeare. Now that's a diverse group!
The host city for Wikimania 2007 is Taipei (Taiwan).
Steal this Idea! - PLCMC's Learning 2.0 is a great way to teach staff about new technology. Weeks 8 and 9 have been added, completing the program. Great job!
Favorite Books is an experiment in opening up this wiki to external input (Seeing that Recommend a Book didn't result in many recommendations). The instructions to add a favorite book, using Library Thing are on the page.
Library TechBytes has written an interesting perspective on Leadership versus Management
Library TechBytes blogged about a fantastic article on My Space published in US News.
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week, 23-30 September, Check out a banned book through Google's Banned Book Search.
Welcome PLCMC Learning 2.0 "Wiki Week" Participants!
Thanks to all of the PLCMC Learning 2.0 Participants who stopped by last week. The comments left on the Guestbook were very much appreciated. Good luck with the rest of the Learning 2.0 Project - you are very lucky to have such a great program in which to participate.
This is a patron-driven wiki website devoted to Bull Run Regional Library in Prince County Virginia. You are welcome to look around, bookmark the page if you wish (links are available at the bottom) and come back to vist us often! Content is changed almost daily. If you are interested in the source code, click on "view page source" at the bottom. If you would like your own wiki go to PB Wiki
Series Readers, check out What's Next to help you search adult fiction in series.
Just for fun, make your own catalog card.
Teachers, check out A Back to School Night Wiki with templates and help on developing electronic presentations.
Another great idea from Hennepin, a Museum Adventure Pass available for check out at the library.
British Literature is a website for exploring English literature.
From ALA Tech Source Beta Source. Lots of info about beta including many library system services.
Forbes magazine lists the top 10 wired US cities. The results are surprising.
From George Mason University, Resources for Writers.
Shenandoah Library in Iowa is using Library Thing to list newly acquired books on their homepage.
Learning PLCMC is starting week 5. It's not too late to jump in and join the program. All of the information is on the link.
Another "just for fun" generator lists .
Just for fun on Labor Day Connect the Dots. (I made it to level 5)
Another Wiki worth looking at is Project Gutenberg with 19,000 free ebooks as well as audiobooks, cd's, and dvd's.
From Superpatron: a library that provides free access to children's books from around the world.
One good reason to use a Wiki for a webpage is that you have many eyes on your work. Assuming you want your webpage to be free from errors (such as spelling), providing your audience the opportunity to instantly correct mistakes can enhance your image. Consider this High School Webpage (how many spelling errors can you find?). Staff members could easily fix the answer here obvious errors on this page.
The eye on Charlotte/Mecklenburg Library system brings us Fab Friday Salute. Imagine easy access programming? Why not for libraries? (For that matter, imagine weekly recognition posts!)
Resource for research on social software (such as MySpace). (From LibrarianInBlack)
Check out Resource Links to see the states I have visited. Click on the link provided to make your own map.
Ready to go (back) to college? Check out MIT's Open Course Ware.
Another place to find book recommendation for children is A Year Of reading, included 100 cool teachers in Children's Literature (found on Jen Robinsons blog).
More Wiki resources here: LIS 753 including a "Do It Yourself Page".
Another library wiki, check out Princeton Public Library, a book lovers wiki.
As part of Learning 2.0 I have started my own blog.
Check out Chris Olson for library marketing advice, a nice newsletter, and library clipart!
Wiki Links can now be found on Web Learning along with other Web 2.0 links including an exciting project offered through Charlotte/Mecklenburg Public Libraries. Check out Learning 2.0.
Mark you calendar for April 2007 for the 2007 Computers in Libraries Conference
Del.icio.us can be used by libraries to organize online research. Check out San Mateo's account which is organized by the dewey decimal system .
Wyoming Authors - a very well done wiki complete with instructions on joining.
I am adding on the SideBar a section on Wiki Links. There is a fantastic speach by Meredith Farkas that you can listen to and follow along with slides posted there including all of the links mentioned in the talk. It is sponsored by SirsiDynixInstitute. AND PB Wiki is recommended as a favorite "wiki farm".
Check out WikiHow for a wiki site on how to do things.
Changed the SideBar to Recommended Books and added links for Childrens Literature. Check out Jen Robinson's Book Page for more recommendations.
From Wikimania 2006 check out Accuracy and Authority and Transitioning to a Wiki and Enabling Library Knowledgebases blog entries by Meredith Farkas.
Check out Gnod. This site is an interesting fit with a wiki because it relies on input. It also is a site to find a book to read based on authors you like.
WorldCat is now available to the public. Search the World Catalog to find out who has the book you want!
Playaways have arrived at Bull Run!
Enjoy digital sound from a lightweight player with eight simple buttonsWear it around your neck or stick it in your pocket. From novels to biographies, languages to business best sellers, Playaways come already loaded with your favorite content.
Check out these links for information:
http://www.playawaydigital.com/newsworthy/releases/release20051015.aspx
http://www.playawaydigital.com/index_flash.aspx
To get a complete list of playaways available click on the PWCPLS Online Catalog from the SideBar and enter playaways in the "subject" category.
Check out the Library Technician job Description,
Check out the Librarian job Description and
Check out the Library Assistant job Description.
A GuestBook has been added. Please sign the guest book when you visit!
The Online Catalog is just a click away in Links
The Prince William County Employment Page is just a click away in Links
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