I have an RSS field for the website WikiHow. Some of the entries are useful others not so much. This morning’s selection includes How to Practice IM Etiquette– a list of quick tips to use be be an efficient IMer in the business setting. Take a look!
I was finally catching up on some LONG overdue blog reading and found this in the ALA Techsource Blog from Cindi Trainor:
One of the beautiful library spaces I had the privilege of visiting this summer was the new main Boone County Public Library building in Burlington, Kentucky, in the northern part of the state. A big focus of the new space is to facilitate user self-sufficiency and self-service using technology: self-checkout stations are located in multiple areas of the library, listening and viewing stations are located near the media collections, wireless internet access is available throughout the building, and many seating areas throughout the building were located conveniently close to electrical outlets.
I visited the photo tour posted on Flickr and was just enamored. I’d love to be a regular user of this library.
Sanford Friends of the Library Week Proclamation
Governor’s Proclamation
WHEREAS, libraries are an essential part of the fabric of communities throughout the state and they link us to one another and to the ideas and events of yesterday, helping us prepare for tomorrow, and serving as a sanctuary in which we are free to read, write, and dream about events and ideas of the past present and future; and
WHEREAS, libraries have become powerful equalizing forces in society where every visitor is welcome and knowledge is free to all regardless of personal wealth or position; and
WHEREAS, Friends of the Library groups energize libraries by enhancing their services and capabilities in communities across the Palmetto State; and
WHEREAS, Friends of the Library volunteers give their time and talents to sponsor recreational and educational programs for children and adults and organize book sales and other events to raise funds to meet special library needs.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mark Sanford Governor of the Great State of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim October 19-25, 2008, as
Throughout the state and encourage all South Carolinians to support their local libraries and to recognize the Friends of South Carolina Libraries and all local Friends groups for their dedication to the Palmetto State.
As I was reading the e-newsletter for SLJ, I read about a new website for teen jobseekers. MyFirstPaycheck.com actually has job openings in every state (although you need to scroll down to get the states listings) and gives tips for the teen in search of their first job. Employers in search of teen employees can post their jobs. There is also a very easy resume builder as well as advice on what not to do at an interview. Take a look!
For those of you working on sustainable building designs or interested in building green, you may find this interesting. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) is a group of more than 15,000 organizations within the building industry, working together to expand sustainable building practices and create “environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy” buildings. They sponsor research in sustainable design, provide training, produce resources, etc. If you’re interested in sustainable design, this is a group to know.
They have just announced their new strategic plan for 2009-2013.
Strategic goals include:
- Sustainable Cities and Communities: Catalyze and lead the building sector’s active participation in the movement to achieve sustainable cities and communities.
- Climate Change and Natural Resources: Lead the dramatic reduction and eventual elimination of building construction and operations’ contribution to climate change and natural resource depletion.
- Green Building Marketplace: Accelerate green building demand, delivery, and accessibility.
- Public Policy: Advocate for effective and comprehensive green building policy and codes at all levels of government.
- International: Advance green building around the world by developing certification capacity, sharing knowledge, and collaboratively advancing regionally appropriate and effective green building practices and policies.
- Organizational Excellence: Leverage USGBC’s organizational structure and capacity to support and catalyze the market transformation required to achieve its mission.
However, no one has mentioned the Firefox plugins, and I wonder why? Jessamyn West gave a great workshop on Firefox developer's tools addons at CIL2007. Firebug and Web Developer are two of the addons I use.
Our SLIS intern, Adam Vorobok, presented on open source web tools for our 2008 Webmasters Exchange. You can view the slides here.
We did have one or two candidates mention Gimp, the GNU image manipulation program.
…But we knew that already, didn’t we? Since one of the advantages of having games available for kids to use in the library is that we see first hand the enthusiasm and new awareness of the library that goes hand in hand with our gaming programs.
A new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds electronic game playing is close to universal among teens, and gaming provides a “significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement.” The study, titled “Teens, Video Games, and Civics” claims to be the first to look at video gaming in a social context, and to offer data on the significant connection between gaming and civic activities and commitments.
The connection made between gaming and civics or political thinking is interesting. The study asserts that “some particular qualities of game play have a strong and consistent positive relationship to a range of civic outcomes.” One such quality is playing games in company with other teens (rather than playing alone and/or online.) Qualities in the games themselves include those where players may be:
- Helping or guiding other players.
- Learning about a problem in society.
- Exploring a social issue the player cares about.
- Thinking about moral or ethical issues as part of game play.
- Helping to make decisions about how a community, city or nation should be run.
- Organizing game groups or guilds.
The study answers in part some of the earlier concerns expressed about the effect of violence and antisocial attitudes presented in games. An interesting finding is that teens involved in game play, who witness aggressive behavior in other players, report a high percentage (73%) will attempt to stop bad behavior in other players.
Librarians and parents will also like to hear that a substantial amount of reading and writing results from game play: “More than a third of gamers (36%) read websites, reviews, or discussions related to games they play. Another 12% of gaming teens contribute to these sites, write reviews, and participate in discussions about games they play.” Guitar Hero, Madden, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, and Dance Dance Revolution continue to be among the most popular games teens play.
Maybe kids don’t actually say I think I’ll go have a social and civic experience at the library…but the evidence is there. Games do offer positive social benefits under the guise of popular entertainment. It’s a little like sneaking spinach into the meatloaf and carrots into cupcakes…gaming is actually doing something good for kids.
Just when you thought the web couldn’t squeeze one more social network in……
From the Public Library Association Blog:
PLAspace is the new website designed to support the transition of Public Library Association (PLA) committees to Communities of Practice (CoPs). In addition to CoPs, the site offers other interactive tools including blogs, forums, chats, an events calendar, a custom projects module, and file storage and archives.
PLAspace communities allow for better collaboration and participation between PLA members without requiring face-to-face meetings. Nonmembers also are welcome. Check it out at www.plaspace.org.
From ALA Techsource Blog:
The titanic battle of musical rhythm games happens this Fall, when both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band II will be released. Both are sequels to hugely successful games, and both games up the ante in their own way. Guitar Hero World Tour eschews the solo guitar as the ideal of rocking and adds the rest of the band–drums, microphone, and bass. The game setup is similar to Rock Band but there are now 4 instruments to rock out on. Guitar Hero World Tour is adding additional complexity to the game–it includes a touch-pad on the new guitars that allows for note variations, sliding tones and a variety of other effects. There is also a more complicated drum set that is velocity sensitive, an improvement on the binary sensitivity of Rock Band I.
Read the whole article.
$100 library cards. That’s what’s being proposed by city commissioners of Treasure Island, FL. This isn’t an out of county use fee for visitors or non-residents. It’s a $100 user fee for residents, for the 5000+ current cardholders of the library and any future users.
The library in Treasure Island is one of five beach communities that make up the Gulf Beaches Public Library, a cooperative that costs the city about $107,000. City commissioners have proposed that Treasure Island leave the cooperative. The library isn’t the only agency being targeted. It’s part of a larger trend to save money and transition from a property-tax-based budget, to one that incorporates more user fees. The city is facing a 17.25% property tax increase to fund its originally proposed $16.78 million budget for FY2009.
It’s a sign of hard financial times, but the implications go far beyond the hit for the individual user. The Library Director of the Gulf Beaches Public Library fears that losing the $100,000+ funds from Treasure Island will put the entire system in jeopardy. The cooperative runs now on just over $500,000 per year. “I can’t cut $100,000 out of our budget,” says Director, Jan Horah. It takes almost $200,000 just to pay salaries….I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Read the whole story at: http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article781342.ece
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