NetLibrary and Project Gutenburg are free resources that allow you to download books in print or audio formats.
I think it's pretty cool that I can get "The Raven" and DaVinci's Notebooks for free from Project Gutenburg. Here are the Top 100 downloaded audio books from Project Gutenburg.
NetLibrary is a collection of over 20,000 electronic books you can search, borrow, read and return over the Internet at any time from anywhere. Included are travel, classics, computer, reference, and other non-fiction titles. Note: You must first register for a free Net-Library account at a computer in one of the three county libraries. After that you can use your account from your home computer as well as in the library.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Podcasting
Podcasting is GREAT! For libraries, it can be a wonderful tool for bibliographic instruction, whether you have just an audio podcast or go all the way and have a video podcast.
I actually have a podcast on iTunes. There are only two episodes, but if you do a podcast search for author: Teleologic, you'll see two short video podcasts we made for an online webware program I created for my Master's project.
And I've tried a couple of audio podcasts using GarageBand for SinglesHealth.com. I haven't published them yet because I want to have at least ten podcasts before I do.
So I used Podcast.net to search for new podcasts I might like. I ended up adding The Rev Up Review to my Blogroll, a British fiction book review.
I'm honestly not crazy about Podcast.net. I might be too addicted to my iPod, but I find iTunes a little easier to use. :D
I actually have a podcast on iTunes. There are only two episodes, but if you do a podcast search for author: Teleologic, you'll see two short video podcasts we made for an online webware program I created for my Master's project.
And I've tried a couple of audio podcasts using GarageBand for SinglesHealth.com. I haven't published them yet because I want to have at least ten podcasts before I do.
So I used Podcast.net to search for new podcasts I might like. I ended up adding The Rev Up Review to my Blogroll, a British fiction book review.
I'm honestly not crazy about Podcast.net. I might be too addicted to my iPod, but I find iTunes a little easier to use. :D
I've been hearing a lot about Twitter. If I may say so, there's been a lot of twitter about Twitter...
(sorry)
At the Computers In Libraries conference, many of the presenters had their laptops open to Twitter and said things like, "I can see there are a few audience members Twittering about my lecture now." I was amazed. It was like being back in school with kids passing notes behind the teacher's back, except now, the teacher can electronically catch all the notes! So I think it's time I explore the phenomenon (or as it's called in internet slang, the 'meme') of Twitter.
Twitter is a website that allows you to update your friends on what you're doing right now. It's designed to be used with your cell phone, but I just set it up online with my laptop. I think the site is mainly intended for the Millenial generation that ABSOLUTELY HAS to be in touch with their friends, 24/7. My friends couldn't really care less what I'm up to from one minute to the next.
The website is extremely basic. Once you create an account, all you do is enter whatever it is you're doing right now, and submit it. You're only allowed 140 characters for your description (a little bit more than you might be able to fit in a text message from your cell phone), so Twitter couldn't be called a blog - the entries are too short. It's like broadcasting slivers of your life from the point of view of a GPS tracker. And if your friends have Twitter accounts, you can follow their every move, like a lowjack.
If you're stuck on a deserted island or bedridden and are interested in my life, I have created a Twitter widget that goes in my Blogger sidebar. You can see it on the left, near the bottom of the sidebar. :D
(sorry)
At the Computers In Libraries conference, many of the presenters had their laptops open to Twitter and said things like, "I can see there are a few audience members Twittering about my lecture now." I was amazed. It was like being back in school with kids passing notes behind the teacher's back, except now, the teacher can electronically catch all the notes! So I think it's time I explore the phenomenon (or as it's called in internet slang, the 'meme') of Twitter.
Twitter is a website that allows you to update your friends on what you're doing right now. It's designed to be used with your cell phone, but I just set it up online with my laptop. I think the site is mainly intended for the Millenial generation that ABSOLUTELY HAS to be in touch with their friends, 24/7. My friends couldn't really care less what I'm up to from one minute to the next.
The website is extremely basic. Once you create an account, all you do is enter whatever it is you're doing right now, and submit it. You're only allowed 140 characters for your description (a little bit more than you might be able to fit in a text message from your cell phone), so Twitter couldn't be called a blog - the entries are too short. It's like broadcasting slivers of your life from the point of view of a GPS tracker. And if your friends have Twitter accounts, you can follow their every move, like a lowjack.
If you're stuck on a deserted island or bedridden and are interested in my life, I have created a Twitter widget that goes in my Blogger sidebar. You can see it on the left, near the bottom of the sidebar. :D
Free Office Software Online!
And you thought you had to spend $400 to be able to write a Word document or create an Excel spreadsheet...
Well, not anymore! Google Docsand Zoho Writer both have free, online versions of Microsoft Office (of course, different enough so as not to infringe on any copyrights). As long as you have an internet connection, you have access to these tools.
One of the greatest features of these websites is the chance for online collaboration. I had use Google Docs with a writer friend of mine to help him edit his short stories, but I've never used Zoho Writer.
After experimenting with it, I think I like the Zoho interface better. It's a little more friendly than the Google Docs interface. Other than that, it's pretty similar. I'll probably continue to use Google Docs, simply because I have a Gmail account from my email and I use Google Calendar for everything. :D
Well, not anymore! Google Docsand Zoho Writer both have free, online versions of Microsoft Office (of course, different enough so as not to infringe on any copyrights). As long as you have an internet connection, you have access to these tools.
One of the greatest features of these websites is the chance for online collaboration. I had use Google Docs with a writer friend of mine to help him edit his short stories, but I've never used Zoho Writer.
After experimenting with it, I think I like the Zoho interface better. It's a little more friendly than the Google Docs interface. Other than that, it's pretty similar. I'll probably continue to use Google Docs, simply because I have a Gmail account from my email and I use Google Calendar for everything. :D
Wikis
How cool is that? Yeah, that's right guys. I cruised straight through viewing other library wikis, then went ahead and made my own. That's just how I roll.
Oh, yeah, I checked out the Core Competency blog and the Princeton Public Library's summer reading wiki. Thrilling. I even checked out the other library wiki examples. That's where I found PBwiki.
PBwiki gives you a free wiki! With templates! And instructional videos! And all sorts of jazz. Your library could have a wiki right now - for free! (And if you noticed, the Princeton Public Library does use PBwiki for their wiki.)
So this exercise took entirely too long, but it was a lot of fun and I hope to find a use for my cool new wiki soon. :D
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Library 2.0 - Just for laughs
When I think of Library 2.0, I think of a huge robot, tearing through a city of book shelves, eating all the books, and shushing the screaming crowds of patrons as they vainly try to escape the awesome power of Library 2.0.
Library 2.0 would have rocket launchers that propel water balloons full of Germ-X at dirty patrons, unlimited funding sources, and exhaustive databanks with the answers to each and every silly question a patron could ask.
Library 2.0 also has fiery eyes that cause patrons with censoring thoughts to burn with guilty feelings of inadequacy, stopping them in their tracks before they even think of asking Library 2.0 to take Harry Potter off the shelves.
Library 2.0 reeks of robot charisma. All the kids want to be like Library 2.0, men want to be around him, and women want to be with him.
Library 2.0 would have rocket launchers that propel water balloons full of Germ-X at dirty patrons, unlimited funding sources, and exhaustive databanks with the answers to each and every silly question a patron could ask.
Library 2.0 also has fiery eyes that cause patrons with censoring thoughts to burn with guilty feelings of inadequacy, stopping them in their tracks before they even think of asking Library 2.0 to take Harry Potter off the shelves.
Library 2.0 reeks of robot charisma. All the kids want to be like Library 2.0, men want to be around him, and women want to be with him.
Technorati
In this previous post, I had already established a Technorati account, not realizing there would be an exercise on it later. I didn't mean to double-up my exercises like that, but it sort of worked out because now I can see that my Singles' Health blog has a Technorati authority of 12, which is pretty cool (this blog has a zero authority so far...heheheh). Here's a Technorati widget that shows SH's current status:
View blog authority
So now I have claimed two of my blogs on Technorati. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer Technorati's search engine for blogs.
As for searching for "Learning 2.0," the blog directory search had by far the best results. I never would have discovered that tool if you hadn't pointed that out. Thanks!
And from the Popular page, I enjoyed reading Boing Boing! These are the same guys who create Make magazine, another cool resource.
View blog authority
So now I have claimed two of my blogs on Technorati. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer Technorati's search engine for blogs.
As for searching for "Learning 2.0," the blog directory search had by far the best results. I never would have discovered that tool if you hadn't pointed that out. Thanks!
And from the Popular page, I enjoyed reading Boing Boing! These are the same guys who create Make magazine, another cool resource.
Del.icio.us
Of course I have heard of Del.icio.us for about as long as I've been in the 21st Century. It's about time I started keeping my bookmarks there. Many is the time I have been on someone else's computer and wondered, what was that cool site I discovered that day about [something or other]. I have finally created my own Del.icio.us account. Down with procrastination! Yay for 23 Things!
Beyond the bookmarking usefulness of this website, the only way I can envision Del.icio.us becoming useful as a research tool is for people with really bizarre vocabularies discovering sites they were looking for because someone else out there also had the same bizarre vocabulary and tagged that particular site with the bizarre search term. I've heard Tim Spalding talk about how LibraryThing's social bookmarking actually works better than the LOC's subject headings in some cases, and I love tag clouds, but I feel like social bookmarking can only be a secondary research tool at best.
Check out my Del.icio.us network badge:
Aren't I fancy-schmancy.
Beyond the bookmarking usefulness of this website, the only way I can envision Del.icio.us becoming useful as a research tool is for people with really bizarre vocabularies discovering sites they were looking for because someone else out there also had the same bizarre vocabulary and tagged that particular site with the bizarre search term. I've heard Tim Spalding talk about how LibraryThing's social bookmarking actually works better than the LOC's subject headings in some cases, and I love tag clouds, but I feel like social bookmarking can only be a secondary research tool at best.
Check out my Del.icio.us network badge:
Aren't I fancy-schmancy.
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