Highlights from Computers in Libraries, 2007

• In a talk on Web 2.0, Lee Rainie (of the Pew Internet & American Life Project) talked about how
more and more people are turning to their friends and connections (he called it 'pinging their
network) to validate the info they find online (whether it is professionally produced, like CNN, or
more amateurish like 'Ask a Ninja' on YouTube)

o So the librarian's job is to be on that network and be available to validate (or

discredit) their info

• Mary Ellen Bates (search expert) talked up:

o scandoo, which is a search engine that checks for malware, phishing, and offensive
content in real time. So you can conduct a search and if there is a green check mark
by the page, you are OK to proceed. If there is a red X, then you should stay away (for
example, that martinluther-king.org site is granted a red X since it is correctly
identified as a site built by a hate group)
o NationMaster.com and StateMaster.com as wonderful sites that provide a very nice
aggregation of statistical information - the sites also do a good job of presenting stats
in a nice manageable format ANd allow for comparisons
o OneLook's Reverse Dictionary (start with a definition and end up with the word you
need; for example, "fear of bridges" begets you "gephyrophobia") - it's better than a
thesaurus

• Jessamyn West (librarian.net) presentation: "Pimp my Firefox"

• In a presentation on Mobile Search (did you know that there is new domain for mobile websites-
.mobi?!), the idea of providing SMS Reference Service was broached ('Text a Librarian')

o This is something we should look into as Southeastern Louisiana U's Sims Memorial
Library is providing this service (using a product from a company called Altarama) as
is Curtin School of Technology.

• Ellyssa Kroski (of Columbia U) presented on Information Design for the New Web and it was a
very worthwhile presentation - she posted it to her blog at InfoTangle

• Web-based photo editors were much talked about: pixer.us and picnik.com - I prefer pixer.us

• Helene (silent 'E') Bowers presented on her 'baby' Learning 2.0 (here is her presentation in PDF
format: http://www.librarybytes.com/presentations/cil2007.pdf). She makes the following very
salient points:

o Don't confuse learning with training - Learning 2.0 is a learning program not a training
program
o Practice 'radical trust' (in her case, allow for anonymous blogging)
o "Learning 2.0 [is] really more about providing staff with exposure to...new tools and
just encouraging them to get out their comfort zone..."

• Chad Boeninger (of Ohio University) presented on improving instructions with 'Dynamic
Instructional Content'

o Teach off a blog, not a handout

 Blog entry can be printed out by those who prefer print
 Resources can be linked
 Assistance is a click away, via an embedded meebome widget or via Skype
  Can serve as a pseudo-tutorial, for those classes that are off-campus (or
online)
 Offer audio / podcast supplements along with blog entries (use Audacity)
o Supplement face-to-face with audio (using Audacity, free audio editor and recorder)
and/or video
o For video/screencasting use Wink (which must be rendered before it can be viewed)
OR Cam Studio (which saves as AVI, already a video format - so there is no need for
rendering))

• Steven Cohen (of Library Stuff) presented on "What's Hot in RSS" and shared some neat tools
and ideas:

o use page2rss for those pages you follow that lack an RSS feed (!)
o Justia Dockets allow for *free* PACER searching (for now, it only reaches back to 2006)
o See what other libraries are adding to their collections via their New Books RSS Feeds
(use as inspiration for our own collection development)
 http://libraries.ou.edu/rss
 http://wally.rit.edu/feeds/
o Recommends CiteBite (which allows you to link directly to specific quotes in web pages)

• David Lee King shared this bon mot: "Whine with Purpose" (in a talk about Managing Change, for
yourself or others) and I like the thought behind it (page 20 of his PDF-formatted presentation).
The message I take away is that while complaining for complaining sake is wonderful and
seemingly restorative, our workspaces and colleagues are better off of we do more than simply
complain but instead offer constructive criticisms and/or solutions relating to the source of the
complaint.

• Gary Price shared his highlights from his ResourceShelf blog:

o Webharvest is a distant cousin to archive.org in that it is a web data extraction tool (that
requires a download) that allows you to keep (and find) website that go tend to get
lost/disappear
o PortableApps
o OmniDrive - free online storage
o also you can use eSnips

• Rich Wiggins (of Michigan State U) talked about the importance of the search box (See slide #6)

o Google has trained us to believe in the Search Box

o Search box = 50% of all user experience!!! 1 out of every 2 website interactions
starts and stops with a given site's search box
• see duke.edu for manifestation the idea Search Box importance - note how
it is centrally located on 1st page of site

• Princeton Public Library suggests librarians offer themselves to their patrons as technology gurus
by providing 'Technology Training' classes (do *not* call them computer classes). One way to do
this is to offer classes in specialized software (dreamweaver, photoshop, etc) and to offer classes
relating to the myriad of *free* tools that you can find online

o Where to find out about the various free/cool tools:

 PC Magazine's Top 101 Sites

 Time Magazine's 50 Coolest Websites
 FileHippo
 Other techie librarian sites