Technically Random

This from the Chronicle Wired Campus:

Wired Campus: Twitter Ideas for Libraries - Chronicle.com

The Web site College@Home has put together a nice list of ideas for libraries interested in using the instant-blogging service Twitter.
More…

I’ve resisted Twitter so far because I’m trying to reduce the number of distractions that keep me from… well… work. I can see though how it could make it easier to do some things. Just yesterday I was trying to help diagnose a IP authentication problem with a new database. It seemed to be working from some subnets but not others. I was going through my IM list looking for people to help me test but it would have been much easier to send out something over Twitter so that whoever was available could to respond or not.
Maybe it’s time to jump in.

There’s been some talk going around about library applications in Facebook.  At the Web 2.0 Workshop last summer we talked a little about library and research-related tools that have Facebook apps, such as JSTOR and Books-I-Like.  An article appeared in the Chronicle last week on searching the catalog in facebook, discussing the worldcat.org tool. Mostly this article re-iterated the question: will people use Facebook as a tool for research?  Do they want library tools there in the first place?

Over the weekend, Gerry McKiernan posted the results of a survey to his blog, Friends: Social Networking Sites for Engaged Library Services, on Library Outreach and Social Networking sites.  In part of the survey, students are asked whether they would want library tools available in their MySpace or Facebook.  Take a look at the post for the results . . .

I’m just now going through my notes from EDUCAUSE 2007 (it’s been almost 2 months since the conference - yikes!). One of the best sessions I attended was a presentation from 2 librarians, Kim Duckett and Tito Sierra (see his article on  in the new code4lib journal), at NC State University, called “Course Views: A Scalable Project to Connect Students to Library Resources“. They described a project in which they created customized content and tools for individual classes at the university. Somewhat like an iGoogle or Dashboard view, widgets were created for individual “pieces” of course/subject guides, Course Reserves, and contact information, and customized at the course level. I have to admit that I missed half of the presentation after getting a bit lost on my way there, but I’m glad to see that their presentation is available as a ppt on the page above. Take a look - I especially like the diagrams on slides 79-81!

The first issue of the Code4lib Journal has just been published: http://journal.code4lig.org

The journal’s mission is “to foster community and
share information among those interested in the intersection of libraries,
technology, and the future.”

Sounds interesting, anyway!

I solemnly promise not to over-post, but thought this article, which appeared yesterday in University Affairs, is interesting on several levels (hehe - and yes, not to fret the management-types, read it on my own time..:)

http://www.universityaffairs.ca/issues/2007/december/new_librarians_01.html