Of course, I'm a huge fan of our new interface to the Voyager catalog -- Encore. I like lots of things about it -- I like being about get more relevant hits to just a few words without having to decide what search to use (subject, title, author); I like the cover art; i like the tag cloud which helps me find other words that might be more relevent; I like the ability to limits by the facets that appear on the left.
I'm a heavy user of our Lexington Public Library and I got use to their version of such an interface which is called ThoroughBrowser. They have summaries, tables of contents, and reviews in their interface. I'm also looking forward to the day when we'll have more items like that in ours.
I think it will also be interesting to consider whether we will implement the feature that allows our users to annotate records in the catalog.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Blue 2.0: iGoogle
I actually discovered iGoogle some months ago. So I set up my page and think it is a fun idea. Here are some widgets I have on my page:
- Mapquest driving directions
- OCLC WorldCat search box
- Weather
- Calendar
- Calculator
- Flight status (so I check whether my flights is on time or delayed!)
- News feeds such as CNN
- Calorie counter
I like my page but haven't been willing to make it my defaculty home page. I have as my default the UK home page as I tend to be watching that for news etc.
Preservation in the age of large-scale digitization
From American Libraries Direct
Preservation in the age of large-scale digitizationA white paper (PDF file) published by the Council on Library and Information Resources examines large-scale digital initiatives (Google Book Search, Microsoft Live Search Books, Open Content Alliance, and the Million Book Project) to identify issues that affect the availability and usability of the digital books these projects create. Written by Cornell University’s Oya Y. Rieger, the paper describes the selection, quality control, and infrastructure of the four projects....Council on Library and Information Resources, Feb. 15
Preservation in the age of large-scale digitizationA white paper (PDF file) published by the Council on Library and Information Resources examines large-scale digital initiatives (Google Book Search, Microsoft Live Search Books, Open Content Alliance, and the Million Book Project) to identify issues that affect the availability and usability of the digital books these projects create. Written by Cornell University’s Oya Y. Rieger, the paper describes the selection, quality control, and infrastructure of the four projects....Council on Library and Information Resources, Feb. 15
Library search tools for researchers
From American Libraries Direct
Library search tools for researchers
College Degree.com came up with a selection of 25 web tools, many of them developed by libraries, that enhance the research process. Included are the University of Virginia’s Project Blacklight, Michigan State’s Encore, LibWorm, and Fez....College Degree.com, Feb. 12
Library search tools for researchers
College Degree.com came up with a selection of 25 web tools, many of them developed by libraries, that enhance the research process. Included are the University of Virginia’s Project Blacklight, Michigan State’s Encore, LibWorm, and Fez....College Degree.com, Feb. 12
100 ways to use an iPod to learn and study better
From American Libraries Direct
100 ways to use an iPod to learn and study better
If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven’t been keeping up with the latest technology. The Apple-developed music player now features all kinds of accessories to help you study better, and now other companies are in a rush to get their designs in sync with the iPod. Preteens, college kids, and even adults are taking advantage of the educational benefits an iPod affords them....Online Education Database, Feb. 12
100 ways to use an iPod to learn and study better
If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven’t been keeping up with the latest technology. The Apple-developed music player now features all kinds of accessories to help you study better, and now other companies are in a rush to get their designs in sync with the iPod. Preteens, college kids, and even adults are taking advantage of the educational benefits an iPod affords them....Online Education Database, Feb. 12
Librarian is one of the best careers of 2008
From American Libraries Direct
Librarian is one of the best careers of 2008
U.S. News & World Report says: “Librarians these days must be high-tech information sleuths, helping researchers plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records. It’s an underrated career.” Some of the other best careers include investment banker, urban planner, ghostwriter, locksmith, hairstylist, and editor....U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 19
Librarian is one of the best careers of 2008
U.S. News & World Report says: “Librarians these days must be high-tech information sleuths, helping researchers plumb the oceans of information available in books and digital records. It’s an underrated career.” Some of the other best careers include investment banker, urban planner, ghostwriter, locksmith, hairstylist, and editor....U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 19
2008 Horizon Report
From American Libraries Direct
2008 Horizon Report
New Media Consortium (NMC) and the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI) released the 2008 Horizon Report (PDF file) at the ELI Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, January 30. The report describes the continuing work of the NMC’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education. The fifth edition in this annual series is again a collaboration between NMC and ELI....New Media Consortium, Jan. 30
2008 Horizon Report
New Media Consortium (NMC) and the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI) released the 2008 Horizon Report (PDF file) at the ELI Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, January 30. The report describes the continuing work of the NMC’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education. The fifth edition in this annual series is again a collaboration between NMC and ELI....New Media Consortium, Jan. 30
ABC-CLIO’s History 2.0
From American Libraries Direct
ABC-CLIO’s History 2.0
ABC-CLIO has released a 2.0 version of its eight online history, issues, and geography databases. Enhancements to the new versions include an “analyze” section that helps students examine key dilemmas in history, grapple with issues, and build historical inquiry skills. The eight databases have a common interface, cross-database searching capabilities, and a new filtered search option for refining queries. Developed in collaboration with leading historians, librarians, and educators, these resources are targeted to middle- and high-school students served by school and public libraries....ABC-CLIO, Jan. 14
ABC-CLIO’s History 2.0
ABC-CLIO has released a 2.0 version of its eight online history, issues, and geography databases. Enhancements to the new versions include an “analyze” section that helps students examine key dilemmas in history, grapple with issues, and build historical inquiry skills. The eight databases have a common interface, cross-database searching capabilities, and a new filtered search option for refining queries. Developed in collaboration with leading historians, librarians, and educators, these resources are targeted to middle- and high-school students served by school and public libraries....ABC-CLIO, Jan. 14
Lafayette College postcards promote reference service
From American Libraries Direct
Lafayette College postcards promote reference service
Rebecca Metzger writes: “For the past seven years, the Lafayette College Libraries in Easton, Pennsylvania, have been creating and mailing humorous collectible postcards to students as a way of publicizing PRA (Personalized Research Assistance) sessions, which are essentially individual research consultations with reference librarians. PRA cards get the faces of reference librarians out to students in a comedic format that shakes up the stereotype of librarians as stodgy and serious, hopefully making us more approachable.”...Library Marketing blog, Jan. 25
Lafayette College postcards promote reference service
Rebecca Metzger writes: “For the past seven years, the Lafayette College Libraries in Easton, Pennsylvania, have been creating and mailing humorous collectible postcards to students as a way of publicizing PRA (Personalized Research Assistance) sessions, which are essentially individual research consultations with reference librarians. PRA cards get the faces of reference librarians out to students in a comedic format that shakes up the stereotype of librarians as stodgy and serious, hopefully making us more approachable.”...Library Marketing blog, Jan. 25
Dean’s Update in Blog Format
For some time, Stacey, Beth and I have been talking about my moving my weekly update to a blog format. As part of Blue 2.0, I have established that blog and experimented with it. I’ve also been looking for a way to ensure that if we move to a blog that no one will be disadvantaged or unable to get access to the content. This week, I have provided the update in three formats:
· Attached to this message as a Word document as usual
· Added to the Office of the Dean SharePoint site as a Word document as usual
· As individual blog entries in my blog which can be found at:
http://ukdeansupdate.blogspot.com/
If you go to the blog, in the left column you will see Labels and under that Update 2-29-08 which has 7 entries. If you click on that label, you will get just the 7 entries which are part of this week’s update. The entries also have other labels as well. Unfortunately, I’m still in learning mode as well so I entered the entries in the order I had them in the Word document, first to last, before realizing that meant that the ones I would normally place first – all the kudos – are now at the end! That will change anyway because the advantage of the blog approach is that I will likely enter entries throughout the week rather than just once a week.
For those who are participating in Blue 2.0 or who already know how to use RSS feeders, you will also have the option of having the entries posted to your RSS feeders as they occur.
I’m going to experiment for a while with the dual approach and I welcome your thoughts and comments on these options. The point of the Dean’s Update is communication so I want a process that works for all of us.
· Attached to this message as a Word document as usual
· Added to the Office of the Dean SharePoint site as a Word document as usual
· As individual blog entries in my blog which can be found at:
http://ukdeansupdate.blogspot.com/
If you go to the blog, in the left column you will see Labels and under that Update 2-29-08 which has 7 entries. If you click on that label, you will get just the 7 entries which are part of this week’s update. The entries also have other labels as well. Unfortunately, I’m still in learning mode as well so I entered the entries in the order I had them in the Word document, first to last, before realizing that meant that the ones I would normally place first – all the kudos – are now at the end! That will change anyway because the advantage of the blog approach is that I will likely enter entries throughout the week rather than just once a week.
For those who are participating in Blue 2.0 or who already know how to use RSS feeders, you will also have the option of having the entries posted to your RSS feeders as they occur.
I’m going to experiment for a while with the dual approach and I welcome your thoughts and comments on these options. The point of the Dean’s Update is communication so I want a process that works for all of us.
Center for Research Libraries Debuts New Catalog
The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) has a newly designed catalog of CRL collections (http://www.crl.edu/). New features include:
· English and French dual-language interfaces
· Scoped searches within individual collections, such as dissertation, newspaper, serial and electronic resources
· The e-resources scope covers 4,000-plus full text online titles which are available through the catalog to CRL member institutions.
· Improved relevancy ranking logic in search results display
In addition to standard search capabilities, unique browsing functions have been built to enhance discovery of CRL resources:
· Browsing by country and awarding institution in the dissertation scope
· Browsing by country and U.S. State in the newspaper scope
At the bottom of the search screens, there is an opportunity for you to provide feedback.
· English and French dual-language interfaces
· Scoped searches within individual collections, such as dissertation, newspaper, serial and electronic resources
· The e-resources scope covers 4,000-plus full text online titles which are available through the catalog to CRL member institutions.
· Improved relevancy ranking logic in search results display
In addition to standard search capabilities, unique browsing functions have been built to enhance discovery of CRL resources:
· Browsing by country and awarding institution in the dissertation scope
· Browsing by country and U.S. State in the newspaper scope
At the bottom of the search screens, there is an opportunity for you to provide feedback.
New Edition of Cataloging and Classification Published
UK library school professor Lois Mai Chan has taught many of you the fundamentals of cataloging and classification. She has been the editor of the primary textbook in this field for many years. Her international reputation and expertise is well known. The 3rd edition of her classic work, Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction, was published in 2007. That new edition was reviewed in the February 15, 2008 Library Journal.
“It has been well over a decade since Chan last revised her beginning cataloging textbook. The new, third edition retains the advantages of the second … and adds even more thorough, detailed discussion and illustration of every aspect of current cataloging and classification practice. … Highly recommended for library schools and professional catalogers.”
The review is more extensive than I’ve included here but speaks in detail about how excellent this new revision is. Congratulations to Dr. Chan and to all who have benefited from her teaching – at UK and beyond.
“It has been well over a decade since Chan last revised her beginning cataloging textbook. The new, third edition retains the advantages of the second … and adds even more thorough, detailed discussion and illustration of every aspect of current cataloging and classification practice. … Highly recommended for library schools and professional catalogers.”
The review is more extensive than I’ve included here but speaks in detail about how excellent this new revision is. Congratulations to Dr. Chan and to all who have benefited from her teaching – at UK and beyond.
Diversity on Display at Hub Exhibit
The Hub will present "Views of Diversity," an exhibit featuring six projected photography presentations on display in celebration of Black History Month throughout the month of February. Among the images featured in the exhibit are photographs of African-American milestones in the Commonwealth and at UK. Via mounted video projectors, the free public exhibit can be seen on the walls around the central rotunda of the Hub, located on the basement level of Young Library. See the full press release at http://news.uky.edu/news/display_article.php?artid=3132
New Web Site on Harlan Hubbard Featuring Meg Shaw
Meg Shaw is on sabbatical this semester to continue work and research on Harlan Hubbard. Take a look at the new web site they have created at http://www.harlanhubbard.com/ Click Hubbard at the Hopewell for more detail on what Meg is doing.
Alice Wasielewski Receives 2008 EBSCO/ALA Conference Sponsorship Award
The Hub at WT’s staff member, Alice Wasielewski, was awarded a 2008 EBSCO/ALA Conference Sponsorship. The award provides up to $1000 to reimburse expenses to attend the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA. Only ten applicants are selected annually for this competitive national award. If you attend the conference in Anaheim, be sure to check out the award winners’ display near the exhibit hall as Alice will be recognized there and in an issue of Cognotes. You can see the full press release from ALA at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=173056 A UK press release will go out next week. Congratulations, Alice!
UK Video to be Featured in ALA/ACRL Peer Reviewed Instructional Materials Online
Stacey Greenwell, Beth Kraemer, Debbie Sharp and Sue Smith have received word that their instruction video "Saving Student Brian," has been accepted into the ALA/ACRL Instruction Section's Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) project, and added to the PRIMO database. In addition, the video will be featured in one of ACRL’s "Site of the Month" interviews, which would be posted on the PRIMO committee website. The interview is intended to gather additional information to help librarians understand what resources, time commitment, and planning were needed to create projects represented in PRIMO. Previous "Site of the Month" interviews are available at the following URL: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/webpages/emergingtech/site/index.htm
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
Becky Ryder Receives ALCTS Award
Becky Ryder has been selected to be the first recipient of the LBI George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Award from ALCTS.
“Established in 2007, the award honors the memory of George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg, early leaders in cooperative preservation programming and strong advocates for collaboration in the field of preservation. The award acknowledges and supports cooperative preservation projects and/or rewards individuals or groups that foster collaboration for preservation goals.Ryder, head of the preservation department at the University of Kentucky Libraries, has made a wealth of contributions to the preservation field. She has an ongoing commitment to collaboration in advancing the preservation of library and archival materials and serves as an educator in both formal educational and professional development settings.With her expertise in preservation microfilming efforts, she has readily moved that expertise into the digital environment. For 12 years she was project director of the SOLINET/ASERL cooperative microfilming projects. Ms. Ryder also has served as project co-manager of “Beyond the Shelf: Serving Historic Kentuckiana Through Virtual Access,” through which 2,700 titles serving as the premier representation of Kentucky history are available through the Kentucky Virtual Library. She has been an integral part of the University of Kentucky National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) team, since the inception of the program in 2005. Taking lessons learned from NDNP, she and her institutional colleagues developed the “Meta - Morphosis” conference to share approaches in converting early newspapers on microfilm and preserving the resulting digital content. Ryder's work with the Keeneland Racetrack Library on a hybrid microfilm/digital project makes available a keyword searchable digital archive of the Triple Crown race coverage, while preserving the physical volumes and addressing long-term storage of the digital files.Ryder's broader collaborative service to preservation includes membership on SOLINET's preservation advisory committee and her work as an adjunct professor at the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science.”
The official ALA press release has now appeared at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=172926 so we will work with UK PR for UK to issue its press release as well.
Well done, Becky!
“Established in 2007, the award honors the memory of George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg, early leaders in cooperative preservation programming and strong advocates for collaboration in the field of preservation. The award acknowledges and supports cooperative preservation projects and/or rewards individuals or groups that foster collaboration for preservation goals.Ryder, head of the preservation department at the University of Kentucky Libraries, has made a wealth of contributions to the preservation field. She has an ongoing commitment to collaboration in advancing the preservation of library and archival materials and serves as an educator in both formal educational and professional development settings.With her expertise in preservation microfilming efforts, she has readily moved that expertise into the digital environment. For 12 years she was project director of the SOLINET/ASERL cooperative microfilming projects. Ms. Ryder also has served as project co-manager of “Beyond the Shelf: Serving Historic Kentuckiana Through Virtual Access,” through which 2,700 titles serving as the premier representation of Kentucky history are available through the Kentucky Virtual Library. She has been an integral part of the University of Kentucky National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) team, since the inception of the program in 2005. Taking lessons learned from NDNP, she and her institutional colleagues developed the “Meta - Morphosis” conference to share approaches in converting early newspapers on microfilm and preserving the resulting digital content. Ryder's work with the Keeneland Racetrack Library on a hybrid microfilm/digital project makes available a keyword searchable digital archive of the Triple Crown race coverage, while preserving the physical volumes and addressing long-term storage of the digital files.Ryder's broader collaborative service to preservation includes membership on SOLINET's preservation advisory committee and her work as an adjunct professor at the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science.”
The official ALA press release has now appeared at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=172926 so we will work with UK PR for UK to issue its press release as well.
Well done, Becky!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Blue 2.0: LibraryThing and GoogleDocs
Since I've already written a post about del.icio.us, I decided to use Google docs to write a post about LibraryThing. I established a LibraryThing account some time ago when I first heard about it. I read about 80-100 books a year and have kept track of what I read for some time (as well as things on my "to read" list). I'm not so much a buyer of books; instead I borrow most of my reading materials from the Lexington Public Library. So, one idea I have re LibraryThing is that instead of using it to catalog the books I own, I'd use it to catalog the books I've read. So, now I just need to find the time to do all that keying!
Blue 2.0: del.icio.us
I set up my del.icio.us account today. I have a long list of favorites already in my IE file and I put them in categories, but I like the ease of del.icio.us. What's easy for me is seeing the link on an article that I'm reading etc. and that I can just click to add it to my account. I also like how it shows me existing categories as I key entries. Now I just have to move all those other favorites over to the new account!
By using the Help system in blogger, I figured out that you can edit a post off the Dashboard under Manage Posts. So, I'm updating this post to add a link to my del.icio.us account -- http://del.icio.us/cdiedrichs
By using the Help system in blogger, I figured out that you can edit a post off the Dashboard under Manage Posts. So, I'm updating this post to add a link to my del.icio.us account -- http://del.icio.us/cdiedrichs
Monday, February 4, 2008
Blue 2.0: Wikis
Since September 2007, I have been part of the a Kentucky Academic Libraries task force which has used a wiki for its work. That wiki can be found at http://fokal.pbwiki.com/. The Task Force resulted from a summit this summer of all the academic library directors in Kentucky (both public and private). The Task Force has proposed the formation of a federation called FoKAL: Federation of Kentucky Academic Libraries. On the wiki you can find some background information. If you click on Recommendations in Development, you will find the final proposal of the task force which is currently being voted on by the 4 groups -- SAALCK, AIKCU, KCTCS and the non-affliated group. SAALCK (of which UK is a member) has already approved the recommendations. The deadline for each group to report is February 15th. If approved, the task force will meet next on February 25th to begin the official process of forming the federation.
This was a really outstanding use of a wiki in my opinion. Of course, we used it to revise our work between meetings. But, also when we met, we had a PC available and projected the wiki on the screen. Then as we met, we would revise and edit during the meeting. As a result, our work went very quickly and did not seem onerous.
I think wikis have excellent potential for committees, working groups, departments and divisions who need to work together to create plans, documents, etc.
This was a really outstanding use of a wiki in my opinion. Of course, we used it to revise our work between meetings. But, also when we met, we had a PC available and projected the wiki on the screen. Then as we met, we would revise and edit during the meeting. As a result, our work went very quickly and did not seem onerous.
I think wikis have excellent potential for committees, working groups, departments and divisions who need to work together to create plans, documents, etc.
Blue 2.0: RSS Feeds
I have been using Bloglines for some time. It's been a terrific way to move some of the blogs that I want to follow out of my day to day email and into a separate place. Then when I have time -- particularly when I'm traveling since I can access Bloglines on my Treo -- I catch up on my reading.
The feeds I follow for work range from Lorcan Dempsey's weblog to The Shifted Librarian to the University of Kentucky press releases. Then I also have feeds which follow my personal interests such as a college roommate who blogs and the alumni news from my alma mater, Baylor University.
The feeds I follow for work range from Lorcan Dempsey's weblog to The Shifted Librarian to the University of Kentucky press releases. Then I also have feeds which follow my personal interests such as a college roommate who blogs and the alumni news from my alma mater, Baylor University.
Blue 2.0: Instant Messaging
Today I set up my AIM account on AOL. I definitely found it more challenging than setting up this blog. I experimented with adding buddies by looking at the participants blog and adding a few of my co-workers.
I can imagine using IM at work with the people that I email with the most during the day -- possibly the associate deans. We already use email for quick back and forth if both people are at their desks. What's different with IM is that you can see whether the person is at their desk (or at least logged into their IM account).
I can also see personal uses for IM. I doubt I can convince my husband to use this method but it would work great for quick consultations!
I can imagine using IM at work with the people that I email with the most during the day -- possibly the associate deans. We already use email for quick back and forth if both people are at their desks. What's different with IM is that you can see whether the person is at their desk (or at least logged into their IM account).
I can also see personal uses for IM. I doubt I can convince my husband to use this method but it would work great for quick consultations!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Blue 2.0: Blogging
I'm excited that we are having a UK version of learning new technologies called Blue 2.0. I found using the Blogger software fairly easy and I like how it formats things for you. Stacey, Beth and I have been talking about migrating my Word-based weekly Dean's Update to a blog format, so I have added a few entries to this blog from my Dean's Update dated February 1, 2008. I hope to have more time to experiment with the categories as I would like to take advantage of putting the various items in my update in appropriate categories.
Quarterly Reports
The division quarterly reports for the second quarter of FY08 (Oct-Dec 2007) are now posted on SharePoint at the Office of the Dean site under Quarterly Reports, Second Quarter FY2008. They are also posted on the Staff Information page.
https://libstaffsrv.uky.edu/OD/default.aspx
https://libstaffsrv.uky.edu/OD/default.aspx
Next Issue of Speaking Volumes Newsletter
We are planning the spring edition of Speaking Volumes with the lead article announcing the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Young Library opening on May 13th. We anticipate home delivery of Speaking Volumes for the week of April 14, 2008. Please send your event announcements, ideas, suggestions and articles for the spring edition to Sharon.Ross@uky.edu no later than Feb. 20. You may contact Sharon at 7-0500 ext. 2029 if you have questions.
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