books

Reading, OCLC, and Gadgets

/ dwakimoto

Happy Monday! It is bright and sunny in the Bay Area and I am feeling very guilty about enjoying the day because it should be raining. Unlike other parts of the country, we really need it to rain here.

But enough about the weather, you are here for the techie and library related goodies! And I have some fun and some disturbing information to relay to you today.

I thought we better get the bad and disturbing information out of the way first: check out this analysis of the new OCLC policy. It sounds like member libraries could be negatively impacted by this new policy. I want to read the entire policy before adding to much to this discussion, but I think everyone should be aware of this coming change.

On to less disturbing news: online reading versus book reading–what is better? There is a lot of debate surrounding this question, especially as more and more of the information and services offered to students and patrons moves online. Check out a summary of research done on this very issue that says that there may be negatives to reading and learning online. I know this is a huge debate and there isn’t nearly enough research to say definitively whether online and print reading are equivalent in terms of cognition and comprehension levels. But I think it is a good idea to keep up on the research and discussion surrounding reading and learning as we spend resources and time on ebooks, online instruction and services.

Online reading works for me in small doses and for short periods of time, but I would never want to read the complete works of Foucault online. What do you think?

Now for the fun: you might have thought we were done with lists because, after all, it is January 12th, but no! Here is a list I just had to pass along: New Year’s Resolutions for Readers. I love this list; I find it inspiring and encouraging and will use it as a reason for my indulgence of reading more this year. So go forth and read; then let me know what books you liked–I’m always interested in what other people are reading.

Lastly, I couldn’t have another post without talking about some technology. Here is Wired’s list of 12 Good Gadgets for Hard Times. It is a thought-provoking list (as shown by the massive amounts of comments on the article, some of which are entertaining and others of which are not very nice). I think it is always interesting to see what someone else thinks are the go to gadgets. I have to say, after living in South America, I’ve got to agree with the hand-crank radio, multi-tool and some kind of water filtration unit. A solar powered or hand-crank laptop would be icing on the cake. Remember, don’t let technology rule your life or your work, make it be a tool that works for you.

Have a great rest of your Monday, see you again later this week!

A Happy New Year of Books, Self-Improvement and Education!

/ dwakimoto

Happy New Year! Well, The Waki Librarian is back after a lovely holiday break. I hope you had a great holiday break as well.

For 2009 first post, I have for your reading pleasure articles about Self-Development/Improvement, thoughts on undergraduate education, and reasons for buying books! So let’s dive in for more fun in the waki world of libraries, education and technology!

First off, here is another great, slightly old (sorry, I just have so much I want to share but limited time to share it in!), article from Lifehacker on Self-Development because this might help you with some of your New Year’s Resolutions! These are really simple tips, like watching a TED talk and writing thank you notes, which will not only improve your brain but can make others feel better too. And that is a great situation. I’d also add that learning new things should always be on a list of self-development tips and can easily be accomplished in small chunks so you don’t become overwhelmed and give up on your resolution of self-development. Hopefully this year, The Waki Librarian blog will help you implement technology that helps you and your organization without overwhelming you!

The New York Times has this great article on why an undergraduate degree should not be a job qualification. I think this is a very well-written opinion editorial and it brings up a point no one ever wants to talk about: the fact that college isn’t for everyone. Everyone should have the opportunity to further their education, but that doesn’t, and shouldn’t, necessarily mean a 4-year liberal arts degree. By pushing college and the bachelor degree on everyone, I completely agree with Murray that students are coming to campuses across the country who do not really want to be there. And I think it is hurting everyone, the students who want the bachelor degree, those who don’t, the instructors and society. I think Murray’s suggestion of a more holistic view of job qualifications and certifications is a very valid one. I think it is time that we do something about this crucial matter.

Finally, a post about the joys of buying books. Don’t forget to read the comments which are fantastic. I love the per hour rate comparison of buying books to other indulgences. I love it when people talk about books and I like this nuanced view of buying books versus using the library and how one person’s buying/reading habits might not suit someone else. And, yes, I am biased–I *heart* libraries (but I really love a good used bookstore too!).

Happy 2009!

Videos, Secure Data and Napping

/ dwakimoto

Happy Monday!

So my library isn’t even open to the public yet (we open at 10am as we are between terms right now) and it is going to be a pretty dead day around here. Which means, of course, lots of work will get done-thus it is a happy (work) Monday.

So, why would it be a happy Monday for you? Because, faithful reader, I have a trio of resources and articles to inspire you to protect your data, make YouTube videos and, well, nap. So without further ado:

First up is this article on students using YouTube videos for help with classes. And, no, I’m not talking about those horrible videos on how to cheat. This article talks about how students watch videos on math problems, biology concepts and physics in order to learn. Yes, they learn on YouTube. This is just great, really! I use YouTube videos in my classes on information literacy all the time and I’ve seen some library videos up on YouTube, but I think it is a place where there is a lot of untapped potential for librarians to populate the YouTube sphere with great library videos. I mean, we’ve already got the vlogbrothers on our side. If you have no clue who the vlogbrothers are, please click the previous link and find out.

Speaking of retaining what you learn, check out this article on how napping helps memory. Yes, we should have students watch YouTube videos and then nap so they retain the information and can think of new ways of using the information they have now retained. I am totally for napping; we need to institute napping during the work day.

And, in order to keep your data secure, while you are napping or otherwise, check out Lifehacker’s guide to the top 10 ways to lock down your data. This is very important stuff. No one wants to be the poor person who loses the confidential company data. So do yourself a favor, and lock down your data.

As a bonus, just for fun because this is probably the last post before I leave on vacation, check out John, of the vlogbrothers talking about his library and other fun stuff.

Enjoy, happy Monday, and happy holidays!

Internet, Books and Graduation Rates

/ dwakimoto

No, I don’t think I’ll actually be able to link all the items in the post’s title together, but those are the topics to be discussed today. I saw a lot of random articles I had been saving and just had to add my 2 cents.

First, the article, Is the Internet the Start of History? This is a very interesting article and I give the author full-props for writing about how the Internet changes the very meaning of archives and archival appraisal (even if he doesn’t say it in this way). However, like so many that do not have a preservation background, he gets a few things wrong. Changing movies from analog to digital can help with access and can, sometimes, help with preservation. But preserving things on cds or dvds is really not a good idea as the media degrades quickly and formats change. Really, you don’t want to get a person who works in preservation or digital archives to get started on this topic. They could talk about it for days and days! It is a huge archival issue. But the concept of the Internet starting a new page in human history is a very cool one.

Here is another article on Google vs. the Libraries in the realm of the Google Books project. Interesting read and argument of private versus common good. That argument reminds me of the whole argument about the commons in England.

And, to end, an article about how the United States lags behind other nations in the graduation rate of students from universities. Interesting read.

And, so as to not end on a pessimistic note, it is a beautiful sunny day and we have the weekend to look forward to. Enjoy!

Chris Crutcher

/ dwakimoto / 1 Comment

I love, love, love this reply that Chris Crutcher wrote to a man who is trying to get Crutcher’s books banned at a school. Sheer eloquence and never once does Crutcher resort to nastiness. He just lays out his argument and, as my mother would say, takes Mark off at the knees but in a Miss Manners-like way so he had no clue until way after the fact.

Check out the article here on Stonewall News.

Oh, and this post is also a shout-out to Mary Boutet, a huge Chris Crutcher fan and future librarian and her mother, Nancy, who is one of the coolest librarians ever.

Digital Libraries

/ dwakimoto

What is better on a Monday than talking about the latest paper to be causing a stir in the library world?

By now, you’ve probably heard about the “Free Our Libraries!” white paper by Richard K. Johnson commissioned by the Boston Library Consortium. Lots of valid points are raised in the paper, but if ideas had been presented more clearly we probably could have avoided some of the confusion the paper has created. So I’ll put in my 2 cents on this Monday morning.

First, no, it’s not the libraries fault that everything is not available online and I do not think that Johnson is blaming the libraries for upholding copyright. Many people agree that copyright is broken. It takes so long for anything to come into the public domain that creativity is hindered instead of expanded and inspired as was one of the original goals of copyright. And yes, in this litigious society, there are many threats to the public domain and fair use. Simply check out Chilling Effects to learn more about challenges to fair use in the online environment.

Second, Johnson’s paper would have been much stronger had it compared anything to the Google Book Project. The Open Content Alliance is the most well-known competitor with the Google Book Project. Google is not the first and last word on digitization, yet.

Third, and this is the omission that always annoys me, there was no mention of archives and archivists. Honestly, do librarians think they are the only ones grappling with these issues? Really, we cannot afford to be that insular. Archivists are creating digital archives and digital libraries as well, and archives know all about preservation and preservation metadata. Do you know what a PDF/A is? Do you know why it is important? An archivist can tell you. We can do so much more if we collaborate and share our knowledge instead of reinventing the wheel in our own small part of the world. It annoys me to no end that archivists and librarians do not collaborate more often and there seems to be little understanding on either side of how the other could help.

Finally, to end on an upbeat note: check out Brewster Kahle’s talk on TED about digital libraries. It is possible to have digital libraries, respect copyright, and still have access. Let’s start working on it.

Fun on a Friday

/ dwakimoto

Today’s post is mostly about having fun with a little bit of food-for-thought thrown in along the way. I think we need some fun because it is a hot Friday and school has started!

Do you know what your sound is? Really-there is a site called Sound Badge that lets you create your own sound badge that you can use on your mobile phone, with Skype or on your blog if it allows JavaScript. I found this cool resource through Librarian in Black blog. While I’m not thrilled that there is no rock option for starting as the base of a sound badge (it will make more sense once you have been to the site, trust me), it is still fun and you could have all your students make a sound badge and compare them online. Mine’s here.

Did you know that many books have teaser trailers that are available on YouTube? Well, it was news to me. Some of the trailers were hilarious while others were very serious. Many were quite professionally done. I think this is a great way to publicize books. I think we need a trailer for our library on YouTube.

Here is the food-for-thought article on Jakob Nielsen’s findings of online literacy. If his name sounds familiar, it is not surprising as he is the big name in usability testing, among other research areas. He makes the case that online reading is not a replacement for reading in print based on his extensive research. This has profound implications for online teaching and online campuses. If students, and people in general, do not process or even read blocks of text online, how do we deliver online classes that require reading long passages of complicated text such as philosophy, history or English? What does this tell us about the whole push of buying ebooks (I’m not thinking of Kindle, etc. here but of ebooks that are read through online platforms such as ebrary, etc.)? Do students use them? Do they retain the information? Like I said, profound implications for online learning and for those of us who are trying to do what is best for our students in this increasingly online environment.

Now, I couldn’t end on such a heavy note for this Friday, so I have for you an article (with photographs) of a completely envy-inspiring library. I want Jay Walker’s library–enough said.

Have a great Friday and a terrific weekend. Comments always welcomed.

Short Post for a Monday Morning

/ dwakimoto

So, this is going to be much shorter than my usual posts as I am supposed to be at CSUEB fall convocation in 30 minutes…Well, I’ll try to be brief.

So, are you feeling that technology is taking over your life? Fear not! I have a couple of great resources from Lifehacker (once again subscribe to their blog, awesome stuff, although so many posts per day that it is easy to get overwhelmed).

I love this post Ungeek to Live: On Reading Well. Here’s just something to warm a librarian’s or bibliophile’s heart. A techie blog calling for more reading, scheduling time to read, and reading for fun. Very happy find on my RSS feed. Don’t miss the comments to this post, very lively discussion of the merits of libraries, used bookstores and chains as places to get books.

Second post from Lifehacker Best of the Best: High Five Winners. A great list of the top tools that Lifehacker readers voted on in various categories. I’ve got to say that I love VLC as a media player and a lot of these other recommendations. Also, I just found where the next time sink for me is coming from–testing all of these tools that I’ve not used yet. And notice that paper and pencil come in on top for quite a few categories. Ungeek to live indeed.

Enjoy your Monday. Comments welcomed.