CLA Conference 2009 Exhibit Hall - BookScanner

I got a chance to visit the exhibit floor of the California Library Association Conference. With the economy and the rapid changes in the industry I was surprised to see as many vendors as I did.

However, I didn't see e-book device vendors. I did see examples of e-book readers so I was able to view some of the well know devices like the Kindle and the one from Sony.

This is a short video that I recorded on a scanner system that could make a lot of sense to an academic library. This is just for demonstration purposes only, no endorsement is intended or implied.



Maybe this is the sign of the times. I was shocked to learn that the bad apple kind of students have been tearing pages out of reference books and flat out stealing materials.

Maybe a device like this could be set up so that those less than ethical students would not have access to the actual reference book but could acquire the readings that they need for class via a .pdf document.

Now knowing bad apples they way I do I wouldn't necessarily expect that they would pay for their readings. These are the kind of folks that would talk a friend into paying for them with the promise of paying them back later. (Cough!)

Another idea was that this could replace the photocopy machine. Since many students have access to e-mail, USB devices and other recordable media the student or staff member could scan the material and load it into the USB device or save as a .pdf

This could be the same amount of money used to charge for a copy but you wouldn't have the paper and the repair costs associated with the copy machines. Now don't think that the copy machine folks haven't thought about this because there are copy machines that can scan to .pdf and have the document e-mailed to the user.

Well, it is a though. But if you were looking to buy the library a holiday gift I'm thinking this would not be necessarily turned down.

Awful Library Books - In Praise of Weeding

There are times when a book has got to go. When it needs to be pulled from the shelf and placed on the 25 cent table of re-circulation or disapear.

Awful Library Books is a blog devoted to those titles that have seen better days.


There are many reasons to weed collections but this is a very visual and humorous guide that really helps to make clear that some books really are past there time.

For example:

• Jobs in Office and Business
  
• Mystery Date
• Milady's For Men Only - Styling and Techniques (Mullet Alert!)
  
• Knitting Now
  

Holly and Mary are actual librarians working at a public library. There is also a Why We Weed Page where folks can share their reasons for weeding a collection.

Social Networking - Twibes

It's been over a month since I first tried to join Twibes. Joining Twibes itself didn't seem all that difficult. But joining an individual twibe, I have to say it wasn't as easy to do as adding people to my Twitter account for technical reasons it appears. Every time I'd go to my page, I'd see I still wasn't in the Librarians Twibe that I tried joining multiple times. I have to say I was getting mighty frustrated. Here I was trying to venture out and be more bold in joining online groups and not getting very far in doing so.

Today I decided to check my page once again and expected not to see myself a part of the Librarians Twibe. Much to my surprise and delight, I finally succeeded! One of the reasons I like this twibe is its members come from different areas of librarianship. So come and check out this group and see what they are sharing.

Search Engine Tips - InTitle Search Video

I am finding that what I thought I would be doing with my library skills and what has come to pass are way different. I thought by this time I would be doing this in a library situation. I am reminded that the library has expanded a thousand fold.

I am certainly applying reference and ready reference skills in my writing. I have been working on a few new projects. One of those projects is to learn how to better present information using video.



This is a short videos showing how to use the InTitle search operator to find websites that have a specific word in the title.

Audio Transcript

Are you searching for a web page that has a specific title?
Save yourself some grief, here's how.

Click in the Search box and type intitle:(don't use the spacebar)and now type the search term, in this case libguides.

As you can see, there is a list of other suggested searches that may or may not have anything to do with what you are looking for; if these are bothersome you can turn them off.

When you are ready, click the Search button or hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

Ask.com will show you a list of all of the web pages that use the term "libguides" in the title. This is a pretty effective way of targeting those websites that specifically talk about, in this case library guides.

You can perform the same operator search in Bing, for example
intitle:libguides

This is the listings of websites that have "libguides" in the title.

And yes, you can use the intitle: search on Google as well.

The Journey So Far

This is both exciting and terrifying to start down a blind alley. One of the things I am constantly telling people is the need for flexibility and the ability to scope out new opportunities.

I've seen a lot of bad tutorials. I also see a need for tutorials in areas that are not being serviced. As the world moves from a paper based communication system to an electronic one there still needs to be sources of credible information. Those of us at the nexus point have to be involved in this process.

Anyway, there will be a few more videos and my continuing resolve to find a captioning program that works and doesn't make me feel stupid in the process. If you have time I would love feedback or topic suggestions.

ProQuest Example Video from Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson is an Assistant Librarian at Bloomquest College in New Jersey. He created an easy to understand demonstration video on using ProQuest to find a specific topic in a specific journal article.

Screencasts and videos online

Mike is using a free online program called ScreenToaster. One of the features of that service is that it makes it easier to add subtitles and captions to videos.

Anyway, this is a really clear, quick instruction on how to get the most of ProQuest.

Dispatches From A Public Librarian At McSweeney's

McSweeney's is a literary publisher. Kinda. McSweeney's is a seeker of crafted literary voices. Sort of. McSweeney's is a word lovers warm fuzzy blanket with threads that can take you anywhere. Ok, McSweeney's is very hard to describe. It is a wonderful place for people who love language.

In this case you should check out Scott Douglass and Dispatches from A Public Library. Real librarian with a literary twist. In his dispatches sometimes Scott uses a Twitter format to report the doings in the library.

Here is an example from Dispatch #32

Patron wants to know why our computer won't let him log into e-mail. Ask what his e-mail address is. He can't remember.

Sometimes it is a narrative on the Patron on the Week:

Some patrons you can just tell are going to be crazy. Clemens, a homeless man in drag who came into the library this week, saved me from guessing and told me right when he walked in: "My name's Clemens. I'm crazy and want to use a computer." To seal the deal, he extended his hand to shake.

It is the stories, the challenges and how he sees his patrons as a source of never ending material defining the human experience. He doesn't necessarily make fun of these folks but the humor of the situations he faces is amazing.

For me there is Ms. Haskell. I can think of several older patrons I get a kick out of, but I knew Ms. Haskell was special the first day I met her; she asked for the dictionary ... on audiotape. Not an abridged version, or a "500 Power Words Everyone Should Know"—not even a collegiate dictionary would do. She had it all scribbled out on a stained napkin, which she proudly dangled in front of my eyes: "OED Dictionary on audiotape." When I said no, we did not have that, she said, "Well, compact disc will have to do then." That was my first encounter with her, and all the encounters that followed were also about audiotapes.

When you finish with Scott make a little time to visit the rest of McSweeney's.

Reminder - Flex Day next Tuesday

This is a reminder that next Tuesday, September 29, 2009 the entire PCC campus will be closed including student services and the library for Flex Day.