SEMLS Tech Watch

New Home for SEMLS Tech Watch

2009-02-04T22:39:00.002-05:00

For the past year and a half, I have been planning to move SEMLS Tech Watch to the Movable Type platform we installed on our Web server. But it's never been a top priority and I was beginning to think I would live on Blogger forever. With the cancellation of my HTML class today due to the minuscule amount of snow on the roads, I decided I would use the free day to clear away some projects that have been sitting on the back burner. After creating a new blog for one of my colleagues who has been patiently waiting for one, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and move this blog to a new home. Because of the way we configured Movable Type on our server, I unfortunately could not keep the blog at the same URL. So this will be the last post that you can view on this Web site address. From now on, you will need to access SEMLS Tech Watch at www.semls.org/community/technews. I'm about to configure my feed now, but I'm fairly certain the RSS feed will be the same. E-mail notifications should also continue without interruption. See you on the new blog!

Science Reference Center Subscription is Now Active

2009-01-27T12:36:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, SEMLS has selected Ebsco’s Science Reference Center as the new database subscription available to SEMLS members this year. The funds for a new database subscription were made available after the state took over the region’s ProQuest newspaper subscriptions. Ebsco has finished setting up access for SEMLS members. Since we already subscribe to Literary Reference Center through Ebsco, the access information is similar to what you use for that product. To access Science Reference Center and Literary Reference Center from one link, use the following URL: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cookie,uid&custid=xxxx With this URL, you need to replace xxxx with your library's Ebsco customer ID. This is the same customer ID that is used in your library's link to Literary Reference Center. It usually starts with the letter s and is followed by seven numbers. If you want to link directly to Science Reference Center, the URL is: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cookie,uid&profile=scienceref&custid=xxxx Once again, the xxxx needs to be replaced with your library's Ebsco customer ID. If you have any questions about setting up access for this subscription or cannot find your Ebsco customer ID, feel free to send an e-mail to helpdesk@semls.org.

Wikipedia Changes May Become More Restrictive

2009-01-25T06:27:00.002-05:00

According to the NY Times, Wikipedia may restrict who can make updates to the encyclopedia. Under the new system, only registered, reliable users will be able to make live updates to Wikipedia. All others will be flagged to be reviewed by one of those reliable users. Will librarians be more accepting of Wikipedia with these rules? And is this a good move for Wikipedia? According to the article, under a test case with German Wikipedia, some revisions took as long as three weeks to appear on the site.

Digital Paper: a few years late, and not so flexible - The Boston Globe

2009-01-20T18:58:00.001-05:00

Digital Paper: a few years late, and not so flexible - The Boston Globe

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Top 100 Web Apps for 2008

2009-01-05T12:17:00.003-05:00

OK - so it's the beginning of the new year, and it looks like I'll be posting a bunch of lists over the next couple of days. Here are the Top 100 Web Apps for 2008 from WebWare. Some, like WordPress, Flickr, and Pandora, are old favorites. Others, like ooVoo, are fairly new. I'll have to spend some time over the next week checking out some of these sites.

Top Technology Breakthroughs from Wired Magazine

2009-01-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

Wired's list of Top Technology Breakthroughs for 2008 gives us some good ideas of what will be seeing over the next couple of years. Some, like the edible chip, are just creepy. Others, like flexible displays, could have a big impact on libraries as we continue to wait for the eBook device that will catch on with the public.

When Technology Fails: A New Report from Pew

2008-11-17T22:03:00.003-05:00

The Pew Internet & American Life Project just issued a report on what consumers do when computers, Internet connections and devices fail. You can read the report at http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/267/report_display.asp. I was particularly interested in reading this report after spending the last few Saturdays helping my neighbor fix a problem with his Internet connection. The sole reason he has Internet is so that he can keep in touch with his son when he is in Iraq (fortunately, his son was in the US when this most recent Internet trouble came up.) I couldn't help but wonder what he would do if I wasn't available to help him with his computer. The tech support for his ISP was truly awful, and I doubt he ever would have been able to follow their instructions. According to the Pew report, 48% of tech users say they need help from others to get new devices and services to work. Is there a place for public libraries to assist these users? SEMLS has been bringing a Technology Sandbox to members so that library staff can get their hands on new gadgets and learn how to use them. Perhaps libraries can do similar programs for their users so that they can try some of this technology out before buying it.

I can't wait for this day to happen

2008-10-25T17:02:00.002-05:00

According to this NY Times article, the days of faster boot-up times are coming soon. I can't wait! This article says the average boot time is three minutes. But it feels like my Vista machine takes an eternity. My Windows 98 machine at home, on the other hand, is a dream when it comes to boot-up time.

I Love This Library Staff Page

2008-10-01T10:35:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share this link to the Darien Library's Information Services Staff page. Yes, I understand that library staff does not usually like to post their photos to the Web, but look at how much information their public can learn about them. They can connect names with faces and learn which librarian they should be talking to if they want a good mystery or who to consult if they have a business question. What a great starting point for making connections with the community!

Google is 10 years old already?

2008-09-25T09:40:00.002-05:00

Do you remember when you first saw Google? I remember sitting in a SEMLS workshop (before I worked here), talking about this new search engine, and trying to figure out why people liked it so much. It didn't take long from me to move away from my favorite search engines at the time - AltaVista, HotBot, and Yahoo (this is when Yahoo was primarily a directory.) It really doesn't seem that long ago, but apparently it was because Google is now celebrating its 10th birthday. Can you believe it?

Boston Globe Columnist Touts Online Materials Available throug the Library

2008-08-29T08:43:00.003-05:00

From one of my favorite columnists at the Boston Globe, Hiawatha Bray, comes this column about all the online materials available through the library. Notice the very positive experience he had with MassAnswers while working with a librarian from a SEMLS regional reference center. Good work Jill!

I'm a Wii Fit believer

2008-08-26T09:26:00.002-05:00

I enjoyed this article from ZDNet education since I had a similar experience with the Wii Fit we just got in the SEMLS office. Before it arrived, I couldn't see how it would be any different than all the exercise videos that are left untouched on my bookshelf at home. But I think I could become hooked on this thing. I love how it tracks your progress and encourages you to work towards a goal. I was a little angry the first time I used it because it gave me a Wii Fit age that was five years older than my real age. However, now that it's shaving years off of my true age, I'm as happy as a clam. The Wii Fit will be part of a technology sandbox that will be available to members of the region. But I'm not quite sure if it has a place in libraries. It would be nice to have a group exercise program at the library, but only one person can use the Wii Fit at a time. And, where it does display your weight and BMI in large letters on the screen, I can't imagine most people would want to use it in a group experience.

A New Kind of Ebook?

2008-08-06T08:12:00.002-05:00

This eBook, expected to be released in the Fall 2008, looks interesting. The Readius eBook Reader will fit into your pocket and will have a screen that you can pull out like a shade.

Has the Market Maxed Out for the Kindle

2008-08-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

An interesting article from Wired about the potential growth (or lack thereof) for the Kindle market. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2008/08/portfolio_0805.

New WebJunction

2008-08-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

For those of your who are fans of WebJunction, you may want to take a look at its new platform. They fully migrated to the new Web site over the weekend. According to the WebJuntion announcement, the new site features:

New course catalog offers hundreds of new courses from WebJunction, LE@D, and SkillSoft.
My WebJunction tab on the main page creates a more personalized experience. Sign in to see My WebJunction and start to collect all your bookmarks, contributions, and activities in one place.
More partners means more choices for subscribing to customized content from library service organizations.
Deeper member profile with personalized fields allows you to choose how to represent yourself to other WebJunction members. Plus, you control how much of your WebJunction profile to share.
Community ownership means you contribute too. The new platform makes it easy for anyone across the community to add content in all kinds of formats.
Friendly Terms of Use now include Creative Commons licensing and custom privacy options. When you sign in you'll be accepting our new Terms (http://webjunction.org/terms). Please take some time to review them before you get started.

SEMLS Members Making Their Mark on the Web

2008-03-06T15:45:00.002-05:00

A couple of cool things have come up during the past week involving SEMLS members and their travels on the Web. I posted this on the SEMLS home page, but I wanted to mention it here as well. The Dartmouth Public Library's Voter's Guide was recognized by LJ Insider last week. LJ Associate Editor Raya Kuzyk says, "(Dartmouth) produced one of the finer pages I've seen in my ongoing survey of public libraries' election-education initiatives: easily accessible, simply organized and straightforwardly designed, seriously informative, and with a winning catch phrase: "Smart Voting Begins at the Library." Dartmouth has been working on a library Web site redesign for a few months, and, like anyone doing a major redesign, is struggling to balance its time between keeping the current site fresh while also creating a new one. It looks like they've done a great job on providing a valuable service to their residents while going through this transition. Kudos to Sharani Robins for her work on the site. My next story doesn't involve a library Web site, but is about a burgeoning blogger in the region. Daisy Delano from the Taunton Public Library created her The Games Afoot blog as part of the recent SEMLS Learning 2.0 class. She learned last week how powerful blogging could be. After a frustrating experience trying to sign up for a Facebook account as part of the class, she ranted about it in this blog post. The problem was that she wasn't receiving confirmation e-mails after trying multiple accounts, including her Comcast account. Well, somebody from Comcast stumbled across her blog post, ultimately contacted Facebook to discover the cause of the problem, and fixed a problem that was preventing confirmation e-mailsl from getting to Comcast accounts. You can read her account of it here. Imagine how many potential Facebook users with Comcast accounts were getting frustrated by this problem. And now, because a librarian from our region ranted about it on her blog, Comcast users can now start signing up for Facebook accounts again without any trouble. Daisy - I hope you keep your blog up after the class is done because I am definitely subscribing to your feed!

Stephen's Lighthouse: Ten things that will change your future

2008-01-07T16:22:00.000-05:00

As we start the New Year, here are ten things to take the time to explore as you're trying to keep up with what's new in technology. Found through Stephen Abram's blog, Stephen Lighthouse, here are Ten things that will change your future.

The iPod of eBooks?

2007-11-21T15:18:00.000-05:00

That was the question posed in Macworld: this article about Amazon's new Kindle e-Book reader. We're still waiting for a reader that will actually become something. Will this be it?

Learn tricks for making video at Flickschool

2007-11-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

Flick School is a site I learned about at the MassCUE Conference today that offers some great tips for making video.

Feeling inspired after MassCue Conference

2007-11-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

I just returned from the first day of the third conference I've attended in Sturbridge within the span of a month. Today's conference was for MassCue (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators.) I've heard from several school librarians that this is a great conference, and I finally got a chance to experience it myself this year. Although I dreaded returning to the conference hotel, where wireless access has been horrendous for each of the three conferences I've attended and has even gone down for the presentations, I was soon very much engaged in the program after sitting in on a session on Global Learning from Alan November, a national consultant in educational technology - http://www.novemberlearning.com/. I hadn't been planning to blog the conference at all (I'm a little burnt out on conference blogging after NELA), but, after hearing November speak, I had to log in and share a couple of the things he said. I didn't learn about any new technologies - it was the standard Web 2.0 stuff - but I got really excited about his ideas for using them in the classroom and for essentially recreating the learning experience. He advocated for starting to use Skype (free Internet phone service) with kids at pre-school to grade 1. Since children at this age are too young to read and write on the Web, this is an obvious technology with which to get them started. Students should start podcasting from grade 1, he said. Middle school students in Falmouth are using podcasts to interact with global warming experts based in Woods Hole. Not only is it a great experience for them to interact with these scientists, but the results of this learning are available in iTunes where the whole world can hear them. "We've got to teach children the courage of having a global voice," he said. Learning to manage information by using RSS feeds should be required in schools. He noted that this is routine for students in Singapore, while students in the US are learning to follow bookmarks. He pointed to a Wikipedia article on Pitot House in New Orleans, which was originally written by a third grade class, is now the third hit in the search results list when Pitot House is Googled, and has since been expanded upon by people from all over the world. "We've got to start teaching in early elementary that their responsibility is adding value to the world," he said. The Pitot House article is just one example of how young children are able to contribute to the world. He also talked about the phenomena of social bookmarking and tagging by showing us del.icio.us If you go on to del.icio.us and look up the tag apcalc06, you'll see an example of how an AP Calculus class is using del.icio.us. Students who come across a calculus site of interest to them can add it to their del.icio.us bookmarks with this tag so that others from the class can benefit from their discovery. Granted, this is done by the few students who are really interested in calculus, but it is an example where "the knowledge of the few contributes to the many." And how did November describe tagging? "Dewey's over! The whole world is tagging." Of course, it's really LCSH that's over (and it's not really over but should be hidden from public view where only the expert searchers can find it), but since the room was full of non-librarians, I guess Dewey works. November's talk was inspiring, and I would love to invite him to the region to do a presentation for our school librarians. He does have a podcast available at itpc://feeds.novemberlearning.com/blc06. He also coordinates a Building Learning Communities Conference in the summer that looks quite interesting. Books recommended by November: A whole new mind : moving from the information age to the conceptual age, Daniel Pink. The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century, Thomas Friedman. Flow : the psychology of optimal experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. By the way, if podcasting, RSS, social bookmarking, tagging or any of the other technologies in this post are unfamiliar to you, I am offering an online course for SEMLS members this winter called Learning 2.o that will cover all of these Web 2.o applications. Unfortunately, we will not cover Skype, but I can talk to you about it if you're interested in getting more information. I'm off to my second day of MassCue tomorrow and hope to see more speakers that are just as engaging.

Broadcast Your Cause: A YouTube Channel for Your Nonprofit | TechSoup Blog

2007-11-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

This program is for registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, but I wonder if libraries could take advantage of this as well. YouTube has a program that allows non-profits to create their own channel free of charge to get their message out. There's also a feature that allows viewers to donate to the organization. Broadcast Your Cause: A YouTube Channel for Your Nonprofit | TechSoup Blog

Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World [OCLC - Membership reports]

2007-10-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

OCLC has issued this report on the use of social networking, social media, commercial and library services on the Web. Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World [OCLC - Membership reports]

Why I don’t block YouTube anymore | Education IT | ZDNet.com

2007-10-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

Why I don’t block YouTube anymore by ZDNet's Christopher Dawson -- YouTube has long been on my list of banned sites, not because it’s inherently a bad place to hang out, but because there is plenty of content that simply isn’t appropriate for the average public school. Recently, however, several teachers have come to me and asked if we could open it up, citing great [...]

� Parents emphasize safety, not credibility online | Education IT | ZDNet.com

2007-10-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

Parents emphasize safety, not credibility online by ZDNet's Christopher Dawson -- eSchoolNews is reporting that while most parents at least talk with their kids about online safety and privacy issues, few address the academic concerns associated with research and learning on the Web, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media. According to the article, The majority of parents and guardians said they have [...]

Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books - New York Times

2007-09-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

The latest news on what could be coming up for eBooks. Envisioning the Next Chapter for Electronic Books - New York Times