now that's a holiday bookdrop!

Thing #9 - feed me

I used the Bloglines search tool to find the feeds for a couple of the library-related blogs I already knew were out there. I used Technorati when I was setting up the LPLS Learning 2.0 site, to find other local blogs for Thing #3.

I like how Technorati displays new blog posts in a rolling list. Neat! At Topix, I followed the link for the Nashville News page. Pretty straightforward. I like the traffic info, that could be helpful. A little confused on why they have Nashville listed as being in Williamson County... Feedster looks too hip for me. Anyway, did a couple of searches to compare results, found a few new blogs to read.

The most interesting thing I found using these sites, so far, was an ad for a new Coen brothers movie called No Country For Old Men. I didn't know they had a new movie coming out! I'm a big Coen brothers fan. (James Brolin is looking a little Charles Bronson, based on the IMDB photos. Weird.)

Thing #8 - RSS feeds

I've been using RSS feeds for a while to keep up with various library blogs and techy news (though I've been using something other than bloglines). It's an easy way to have lots of different kinds of information delivered to you in one place, which is a big time saver for me. Many of the feeds I get give a summary of the posted article, so if it's something that interests me, I follow the link and can read the whole thing. Otherwise, it's like scanning the headlines in a newspaper -- you get a feel, at least, for what's going on.

I think there is a big future for libraries using RSS feeds. I think it will be great when we finally have an OPAC that will allow patrons to sign up for RSS feeds for new books, new DVDs, etc., as well as for saved searches. Supposed you want to read every new book released about Princess Diana, or every new release by James Patterson. RSS feeds can give you a way to save your search and be notified when new items fitting your search criteria are added. Some of our online databases already offer RSS feeds -- including TEL, which lets you create a "search alert." This RSS feed will send you updates when new items meeting your search criteria are added to the digital collection. Isn't that swell? Great for people doing research or who are just curious about a particular topic. (In fact, I'm making a note on my to-do list to find ways to promote this on our library website.)

I've already shared my bloglines list, but here it is again.

#7 - online image archives

I think it's really neat that libraries are making materials from their archives available online. The picture here are from the Nashville Public Library. The one on the left is of the circulation desk area, circa 1955. Look at all that space! And the one on the right is of the Young Moderns Den of the Nashville Public Library, circa 1960. Note the description: "The young adults are making use of the educational and entertainment resources, while one couple dances to the sounds of a phonograph." (See the enlarged photos and more info in this collection.)

#6 - Flickr Mashups

I think there are a lot of fun tools out there to play with. I really liked the Spell with Flickr tool. How fun! In case you couldn't tell, I made both the images that accompany this Thing's post (at the LPLS Learning site). But, for the sake of fun, here's a new image I made using the Warholizer and an image of my kiddo:


I'm curious to hear whether anyone else thinks we should be using Flickr for library photos / promotion, and if so, how...

#5 - Flickr and other photos

This is a picture from the LPLS / Artsy Mamas zine workshop we hosted last month. I think it's really interesting to look at the original pages we created for the zine. I hadn't used Flickr before this program, so I was glad to get the experience and see how it works. I think Flickr is pretty neat because of how searchable it is and how it uses tags.

For my personal photos, though, I prefer to use Google's Picasa Web Album. I use Picasa on my home computer to manage and edit photos, and it's really easy to upload to the site using the program. I regularly post photos of my son, so our out-of-town relatives and friends can see how he's growing. Here's my online album. Tonight I'm going to upload some photos I took on my weekend trip to New Mexico, including the totally awesome library I visited.

Thing #4 - online resources

I used TEL to do a couple of searches for an article for my grad school class. (We have to read, and write a review of, at least 3 articles relevant to our course topic during the semester.) I find TEL to be very easy to use. I like that you can cross-search multiple databases at once, that you can refine your search or limit to full-text on the fly, and that the results are broken up into groups (magazines, academic journals, books, etc.) One nice feature I haven’t used in TEL yet is that you can generate a Search Alert RSS feed. Pretty cool. Anyway, yes, I was able to find an article that suited my needs, fairly quickly. TEL is always worth recommending.