social_networking

Happy Halloween!

/ dwakimoto

So, if you want some Halloween fun, head on over to Lifehacker where they have some Halloween tips and tricks.

It’s Friday! Yahoo! So glad it is Friday. In California, we are getting the first major rain of the season which is wonderful, but makes me awful sleepy. I just want to curl up with a good book and hot chocolate! Hopefully it doesn’t rain on our trick-or-treaters.

Anyway, on to some library goodies for your digital Halloween bag of tricks!

So excited to get a feed yesterday about a Google Labs project. It is an accessible web search for the visually impaired! How great is that? As librarians, we are always trying to provide access to information without any barriers and this definitely helps. I’m always happy to see large companies making products that promote accessibility.

And, since we are on the topic of Google, here is a really cool article from Wired about how to use Google more intelligently. Some tips you might already know, but a lot of good stuff to share with people you know who use Google. (And, honestly, who goes on the Internet and doesn’t end up at Google at least once?)

Last up for the day, but definitely not least is Scott Brown’s article, Facebook Friendonomics also from Wired. The article is a very interesting look at how social networking sites are changing how we keep in contact with people we might otherwise not. Something to think about while you are simultaneously twittering away while you’re webcasting your life.

Have a great weekend!

The Library in a Social World

/ dwakimoto

Today’s topic is broadly about changes in how we interact with information and more narrowly about three interrelated (at least in my mind) topics: social learning, popularity versus authority online, and changing library spaces.

But before we get into that, I got a great comment from Luna Yang of Cooliris, Inc. who alerted me that the Lewis and Clark Library is already using Cooliris to show off their new books. It looks fabulous. Just thought I would share that in case you didn’t see the comment on the last post.

Beginning with popularity versus authority of online resources, we have Seth Finkelstein’s chapter “Google, Links, and Popularity versus Authority” from the book The Hyperlinked Society: Questioning Connections in the Digital Age. The entire book, along with New Media World’s other books are available for free online. This is a very relevant issue, especially as we try to teach our students evaluation skills in information literacy courses. I am going to have my students read this chapter. I think it could stimulate great discussion about search engines and democracy online.

The Engaged Learning Blog has 15 Objections to Social Learning post. It makes for interesting reading, especially in the context of the library, because so many of these objections we often here more generally as objections to change and using Web2.0 technologies in the library. So what do you think about this issue? Let’s start a discussion about this topic. Because social learning and social networking isn’t going away, so we need to figure out where we fit in this new landscape.

Finally, just another article about changing library spaces. But check out the comments, they are really interesting. As we re-imagine the library, what do we want to see the physical space become? How can we brand the library and stay relevant through all of the coming changes?

As always, I welcome your opinions and thoughts about anything related to libraries and learning.