LibraryThing seems like a fun thing to play around with. While exploring, I ran into some thoughtful reviews and discussion threads. Useful stuff. And it's always interesting to see what other people with similar tastes are reading and recommending.
It would be fun to have something like this available through the library's website. We obviously wouldn't want to catalogue things automatically for customers (as they check things out, for instance), but it would be a nice feature to make available. I think a lot of people would enjoy posting their reading lists, wish lists, and reviews. There is apparently a large group of people who want to make connections based upon what they read in common, and a system like LibraryThing's could be really useful that way. Library 2.0: the library is always open online.
I noticed in the discussion thread that a couple of people use GoodReads instead. I'd be curious to hear preferences from people who have used both. What makes one better than the other? What distinguishes them?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thing 10: Image Generators
This stuff is hilarious. My favorite so far is the IKEA name generator. My bad. It's a "Swedish Furniture Name Generator."
Here's my name:
I am "Matraek", a cheap, fashion-forward chair.
For fun, I tried a couple of others:
"Learn&Play" becomes "Slerndoerd", a minimalistic desk with handy storage features.
And "CML" yields KMML, a vaguely retro set of drawers. Vowels sold seperately Each are available in birch, beech, white or black laminate.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thing 9: Finding Feeds
I've enjoyed exploring both topix.net and technorati. My impression is that Topix is more useful as a news source since they appear to present more varied headlines. Technorati gives a really interesting overview of the blogosphere. I think their authority ratings are interesting and useful.
I still prefer to get my news from more traditional news sources, and I am likely to pick only a few blogs to follow as well. I normally find new blogs by following links from sites I already follow. This process more closely replicates recommendations from people I already trust. But I can imagine using Technorati as a good source for finding new blogs to follow if I want to catch up on some topic that isn't addressed by my regular reading, or if I want to be able to look at what other people are talking about.
The idea of using an authority score really intrigues me. I wonder if that's something we could use as we beef up social networking on the library's websites, as a way for people to evaluate the reviews of others, or to measure the popularity or influence of a title in the collection.
I still prefer to get my news from more traditional news sources, and I am likely to pick only a few blogs to follow as well. I normally find new blogs by following links from sites I already follow. This process more closely replicates recommendations from people I already trust. But I can imagine using Technorati as a good source for finding new blogs to follow if I want to catch up on some topic that isn't addressed by my regular reading, or if I want to be able to look at what other people are talking about.
The idea of using an authority score really intrigues me. I wonder if that's something we could use as we beef up social networking on the library's websites, as a way for people to evaluate the reviews of others, or to measure the popularity or influence of a title in the collection.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thing 8: RSS Feeds
RSS readers are great ways to keep up with online content from a centralized location. I have my reader at home as a pane in my iGoogle page, and rarely bother going to the actual blog sites anymore.
For the library, I know we already let people feed on our new acqusitions through the toolbar. It seems like a no-brainer. If you want to be aware of new holdings with particular keywords or by an author, why wouldn't you subscribe? If we were to add user accounts and let people review matierials, it would be nice to be able to feed particular reviewers' comments as well. Or maybe when a certain title become availabe at your local branch (for when you don't want it badly enough to request it, but want to look at it if it's around...). There are all kinds of useful things a library can do with RSS feeds!
I've been using the Google reader for a while, but thought I'd play with the Bloglines reader too for L&P.
Wow.
Bloglines is bad. Google's is much, much more intuitive and quick. I'll be transferring my Bloglines list to Reader ASAP. For the record though, my Blogline public account is linked here.
For the library, I know we already let people feed on our new acqusitions through the toolbar. It seems like a no-brainer. If you want to be aware of new holdings with particular keywords or by an author, why wouldn't you subscribe? If we were to add user accounts and let people review matierials, it would be nice to be able to feed particular reviewers' comments as well. Or maybe when a certain title become availabe at your local branch (for when you don't want it badly enough to request it, but want to look at it if it's around...). There are all kinds of useful things a library can do with RSS feeds!
I've been using the Google reader for a while, but thought I'd play with the Bloglines reader too for L&P.
Wow.
Bloglines is bad. Google's is much, much more intuitive and quick. I'll be transferring my Bloglines list to Reader ASAP. For the record though, my Blogline public account is linked here.
More on Technology
Via Library Stuff, an article on the effects of online searches on the aging brain in the New York Times. It dovetails nicely with the Atlantic Monthly article I linked to in the last post. If Google (or the web generally) eventually leads us to lose our ability to think in certain valuable ways, it also enhances our ability to think in other ways. The question is: does it make our lives or libraries better?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thing 7: Blog About Technology
I wonder sometimes if we have allowed ourselves to put the cart before the horse with our use of technology.
I just got back from a week largely spent without a computer or cell phone service. The last part of the week I was hanging with the Amish in Holmes County. Aside from a few initial pangs of feeling disconnected though, I would have to say that the experience of actually being disconnected was a positive one. As it turns out, the Amish aren't generally opposed to technology for its own sake. But they do take the adoption of new technologies seriously -- they think about the ramifications before they jump in. If a new device or method threatens to cause division within the family, they decide not to use it.
There are plenty of reasons to question whether electricity use is divisive. But my one-week tech-fast has really got me thinking about our "conveniences" and how they impact our relationships with other people. I spent several days actually spending uninterrupted time with family and friends, and another several days of uninterrupted time with my wife and strangers. I found that, without the expectation or temptation of phone calls or emails to respond to, without a television or the internet to distract me, without even a radio blaring at me, I was better able to focus on what I was doing and who I was with. My relationship to the world around me was more wonderous and less mediated.
The trip provided personal evidence for some ideas I have been running across in my reading lately. In a recent Atlantic Monthly article, Nicholas Carr looked at the relationship between how we think and the technologies we use. Wendell Berry writes prolifically about many things, one of which is why he refuses to buy a computer to write. In The Toyota Way, which describes the principles of Toyota's uniquely successful management practices, Jeffrey Liker explains how and why Toyota adopts new technologies in a deliberate process that might seem backward to many. In fact, it keeps the company focused on innovation and customer satisfaction (and ultimately the bottom line) in a way that other automakers have been unable to replicate.
I understand that libraries need to keep current with customer expectations for service. The computer makes gathering and sorting information more thorough and accurate. Many of the web 2.0 services are great for allowing us to make contact with people, information, and ideas that we otherwise wouldn't have access to. And increasingly these technologies are the way people want to communicate with each other. Not being fluent in the digital world would only serve to guarantee our obsolescence.
But I am concerned about our approach to technology. I think it is important to be able and willing to ask whether a particular technology actually helps us provide better service, or if it is a toy that distracts us from actually being a better library. What if the Amish are right more than we want to admit? What if discarding or refusing some of the available technologies would actually allow us to develop stronger relationships with our customers?
I just got back from a week largely spent without a computer or cell phone service. The last part of the week I was hanging with the Amish in Holmes County. Aside from a few initial pangs of feeling disconnected though, I would have to say that the experience of actually being disconnected was a positive one. As it turns out, the Amish aren't generally opposed to technology for its own sake. But they do take the adoption of new technologies seriously -- they think about the ramifications before they jump in. If a new device or method threatens to cause division within the family, they decide not to use it.
There are plenty of reasons to question whether electricity use is divisive. But my one-week tech-fast has really got me thinking about our "conveniences" and how they impact our relationships with other people. I spent several days actually spending uninterrupted time with family and friends, and another several days of uninterrupted time with my wife and strangers. I found that, without the expectation or temptation of phone calls or emails to respond to, without a television or the internet to distract me, without even a radio blaring at me, I was better able to focus on what I was doing and who I was with. My relationship to the world around me was more wonderous and less mediated.
The trip provided personal evidence for some ideas I have been running across in my reading lately. In a recent Atlantic Monthly article, Nicholas Carr looked at the relationship between how we think and the technologies we use. Wendell Berry writes prolifically about many things, one of which is why he refuses to buy a computer to write. In The Toyota Way, which describes the principles of Toyota's uniquely successful management practices, Jeffrey Liker explains how and why Toyota adopts new technologies in a deliberate process that might seem backward to many. In fact, it keeps the company focused on innovation and customer satisfaction (and ultimately the bottom line) in a way that other automakers have been unable to replicate.
I understand that libraries need to keep current with customer expectations for service. The computer makes gathering and sorting information more thorough and accurate. Many of the web 2.0 services are great for allowing us to make contact with people, information, and ideas that we otherwise wouldn't have access to. And increasingly these technologies are the way people want to communicate with each other. Not being fluent in the digital world would only serve to guarantee our obsolescence.
But I am concerned about our approach to technology. I think it is important to be able and willing to ask whether a particular technology actually helps us provide better service, or if it is a toy that distracts us from actually being a better library. What if the Amish are right more than we want to admit? What if discarding or refusing some of the available technologies would actually allow us to develop stronger relationships with our customers?
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