Online reviews, website redesigns, and other stuff

This post is a little of this and a little of that. It made sense when I saved the links, but like most things in this hyperlinked world–what makes sense one minute makes much less sense the next (especially as the smell of burned leaves permeates the library–generator issues, don’t ask and don’t panic). So on to the technology stuff and please forgive any randomness along the way.

First up, this post from Lifehacker on how to Hone your eye for fake online reviews. I teach freshmen in my classes how to evaluate online sources and I think I’ll include this in my next class. How annoying is it that we have to be on the lookout for fake reviews? So annoying, especially as Consumer Reports is not freely available online.

Okay, so this isn’t about libraries, but it is about technology and archives. If you care about the NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) website, you might want to participate in Archives.gov redesign. I am so excited that the website will be redesigned and that NARA is asking for input. (Yes, I know this makes me an archives geek.)

I posted a bit ago about the exciting news of Library of Congress archiving public tweets from Twitter; this is a follow up by Resourceshelf: more information about Library of Congress and Twitter. Resourceshelf has done a lovely job of summarizing and explaining what will happen now that Library of Congress is archiving Twitter. There is also information about Google’s service, Google Replay, that allows for searching Twitter tweets.

And we end today with 6 proven ways to make new habits stick. I love easy ways to tackle new things.

Back soon with more technology and library news.

Archives and Local History

This post is a break in the Waki Librarian’s regularly scheduled programming; we will return to a discussion of libraries, technology, and self-improvement in the next post. Today’s post turns to my other loves in the information world, history and archives, so just bear with me for a moment and I promise it will be worth it. This post is about a spotlight on local history, well local to California, and the wonders of archives. So please leave your pens and drinks outside of the archives and join me in delving into the world of archives for just a bit.

In addition to my role as online literacy librarian (and all around help support for my colleagues when they have questions about web stuff) I also oversee the University Archives. Or, to be more precise, I go down to the basement of the library each week, try to make as much sense as possible out of the collections, and just process a collection until I can’t take it any more (any archivists reading this will know exactly what I am talking about, for the librarians in the audience, go find your local archivist, buy her/him a nice cup of coffee, and s/he will be happy to explain what we do in the archives). This method seems to be working as we have an entire collection processed, described and even findable via our library’s catalog; this is a huge triumph in my opinion.

So why would anyone go into archives or, as our archives intern/volunteer would say, deal with the Sisyphean task of processing in the archives? Because it’s about bringing order into the chaos, it’s about constructing history and making visible what was previously invisible, and it’s about using all the skills, talent, and schooling to retain the records that help formulate collective memory, solidify social identity, and allow for the possibility of social justice. Now I’m not saying all the collections I process can help with all these things, but they all do help with maintaining institutional memory which is important. All too often in today’s hyperlinked, hyperkinetic world we forget about the past, forget about history, and forget about memory. Or, even worse, we relegate those concepts and research to the dusty back shelves that only “old timers” and “luddites” would want and care to go. Obviously I don’t buy that argument for a second and think archives are incredibly important (if not also time consuming and at times frustrating places to work) and I’ll give you a couple of examples of why archives are vital.

One of my colleagues, Joe, is currently taking a history class which requires him to create a blog as part of his class project. He also happens to be one of the few people at my library I can talk with about history without having his eyes glaze over in the first 30 seconds. Joe gave me permission to share his blog Italian Farmers of Alameda. I highly suggest you take a look and poke around a bit; it is beautifully laid out and the photographs are fantastic. I love the way that this blog shows a combination of local history and archival research melded into a blog format. And, you completely understand and get a sense of his love of history and interest in family genealogy from this blog. See, archives and history don’t have to be dusty (in fact, if your archives are dusty, you have a problem and should check your HVAC).

Archival materials have also been used in moving ways in historical documentaries and films. Of course the first name that comes to mind is Ken Burns, who has created numerous films using archival sources as visual aids in telling his story. (Yes, I know there is great debate about Burns’ use of archival materials, but we aren’t getting into that right now). Photographs and historic documents are evocative and moving and completely lovely when used correctly in film.

Collin, the aforementioned intern/volunteer at our archives, isn’t taking a history course at the moment, but he is currently working on archives and web design courses; he created the video below for one of his classes (turn up the volume on your computer, or even better use headphones, because the audio track is very quiet).

This video shows yet another good use of archival materials in a web environment plus it would be a fabulous marketing piece for the archives. If you liked it, go leave him a nice comment on YouTube or better yet go visit his blog The Litbrarian and pester him to start posting again.

Finally, if all this talk about archives and local history has given you archives fever, and you live in the Bay Area, go check out the San Francisco History Center. The archivists are very nice and helpful, the collections are wonderful, and it is a great place to get your feet wet in archival research. But definitely bring a warm coat, the reading room is rather chilly.

That is all I’m going to say about the archives and local history right now. I hope it peaked your interest enough to go talk to your local archivist or visit a local archives. Really, archivists like to talk with people and show off their archives’ collections as much as librarians love to explain research strategies to people. And archivists don’t bite, I promise.

The Waki Librarian will be back with your regularly scheduled library and technology programming shortly. Enjoy the day, read a lot, and share the good vibes of National Library Week with the archivists, there is totally enough of it to go around.

Wild World of Information

Today is a very exciting day for me (and I hope for you too, although probably for different reasons). Today is the kick-off event for the Faculty Learning Communities at my university and I’m facilitating the learning community on teaching with technology. It is exciting and anxiety-producing and all that other stuff. I’m also excited to talk, or I guess more accurately write, more about information today.

First up is this rather disturbing article: As the Internet Replaces Print Publishing, Urge to ‘Unpublish’ Means Censoring History. Archivists have to deal with issues like this all the time and they are only amplified with digital data. More information is being produced than ever before, but if it isn’t properly preserved and managed, all that digital information can be lost. On a positive note, at least this issue is getting more attention outside of library and archives journals. Hopefully this means we’ll actually make progress in preserving digital data and not “unpublish” the past.

Archivists will have no trouble identifying with the issues presented in this next article: Archives and electrons. It extends, yet again, the seemingly never-ending debate over history and digital sources versus traditional physical archival sources. That some historians stood up and testified that sources outside the archives are just as important, and sometimes make the researching and writing of history possible, was definitely a “Yes!” moment for those of us who work in archives and also in history. Again, like I’ve said before, the world is not binary (even if binary code is) and we don’t have to give up analog for digital or vice versa. Instead, we can use what makes sense for each project and program.

Not about “unpublishing” or debates over digital archives, but instead about finding fantastic, usable sources: 25 sources for Creative Commons content. I think anyone who has read posts on this blog understands how much I love Creative Commons and this list makes me happy. Now I have even more places to look for great Creative Commons content.

This article is just lovely: Students wary of sourcing Wikipedia from the Spartan Daily at San Jose State. As I teach information literacy to first year students and we often discuss Wikipedia, this article just made me smile. Wow, students acknowledging that Wikipedia may not be accurate, my teacher heart is happy. With that insight, we can move on to more interesting discussions about discernment, crowdsourcing content, and Web 2.0 conundrums.

In a different vein, I got asked yet again by a colleague if I sleep. Why do I get asked these questions? Do I really look that haggard? It is actually possible to be highly productive and also get enough hours of sleep so as to avoid all those nasty illnesses and health complications that come from not getting enough sleep. The real reason, I think people ask me if I sleep is because they can’t believe I don’t procrastinate and I must have to “burn the midnight oil” to get my work done. I contend that if you actually are passionate about your work, and really focus for 8-9 hours on work a day, you have more than enough time to sleep, eat, relax, meditate, and do whatever else you need or want to do. So I fully support Lifehacker’s It’s National Procrastination Week: Let’s Celebrate by not Honoring it. Just don’t procrastinate–it only hurts you.

And something else from Lifehacker that truly makes me smile: Naps can Seriously Improve All-Day Learning Abilities. Let’s hear it for nap time! This just supports my argument that I’ve been making since I got back from Bolivia that we really need to get the siesta mainstreamed in the United States.

Finally, something fun from The New Yorker The Subconscious Shelf. Check out the photographs of readers’ bookshelves and the analyses of what the shelves say about the readers.

Have a lovely day, a fantastic weekend, and don’t forget to read a lot. Because, as Seth Godin writes in his new book Linchpin “It’s not an accident that successful people read more books” (p. 126).

Thoughts on ALISE

First, I’m sorry for the lack of updates and posts. My only excuse is that I was having way too much fun in Boston at ALISE (and with friends) to find time to post and only now have time to write down some of my thoughts.

This ALISE (Association of Library and Information Science Educators) Conference was the first one I’ve attended. Overall, I felt it was a good conference. The best part, of course, was reconnecting with friends and colleagues and meeting new people. I also thought the poster sessions were interesting, especially the works in progress because it gave a quick snapshot of the trends in LIS research. The doctoral poster session was also interesting because of the breadth of topics that the students studied. There was an emphasis on information seeking behaviors and information literacy, along with work in metadata, technology, and various other subjects.

Two of the sessions I attended stood out–one because I know one of the principle investigators and it is just an awesome project and the other because it was very relevant and timely.

The first was a presentation entitled, “Building a virtual archives and preservation curriculum laboratory at Simmons college: A case study in collaborative construction.” It was presented by Dr. Martha Mahard who, along with Jeannette Bastian, Ross Harvey, and Terry Plum, is working with many partners to construct a digital curriculum laboratory to train archival students in the preservation and curation of digital objects. This is such a wonderful idea and will be a great tool for students and those in the field. I love the fact that the lab is being built using open source software wherever possible and will be open access when completed. What a wonderful project! This project is being supported in part by a grant from IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services).

The second presentation that was very timely and most useful was the panel on site visits, job talks, and negotiation for doctoral students. I thought the panelists were very thoughtful and gave practical tips and answers to all of the audience questions. It is great that professors are taking the time to talk with doctoral students and demystify the entire hiring and tenure process before the students plunge into the interviewing pool. This was just a very well-done and practical session–I’m sure the advice will come in handy for everyone there who will someday be looking for a faculty position.

Although I’m done with traveling for a bit, I think this post will be very helpful to those of you who will be flying soon: Will I be charged for baggage and meals?. This is a great table by Orbitz comparing various airlines’ charges for checked luggage and meals. This will help you decide whether a bargain fare is actually a bargain after you factor in the extra charges.

Have a great day and I’ll be back soon with more library and technology news.