March
2007
Tidbits
This month's issue of Tidbits is dedicated to "keeping up." What resources should you be watching, reading, and/or exploring to keep up with the mind-blowingly fast changes in libraries? Here are a few to get you started.
Keeping Up web site
Steven Bell's Keeping Up Web Site "lists more than a hundred different sources for developing a well-rounded keeping up regimen that includes e-newsletters, web page change detection services, good web sites to monitor... and of course, some blogs. The philosophy of this site is that to really keep up with librarianship you need to go outside the boundaries of traditional librarianship, which means keeping up with internet search, information technology, teaching and learning, and (for academic librarians) higher education." (Keeping Up With the Profession - Library Success wiki)
Can't say I care much for the design of this web site, but I have to give Mr. Bell credit for gathering a lot of good links to resources. A good page to check out is Cool & New Web Sites where he has gathered links to sites that find the cool new stuff for you, so you don't have to do the work yourself.
Library Link of the Day
This site's name states exactly what it is... a library link of the day. Links might include "the latest library news, good reads on the web, and other valuable resources that a library knowledge worker should know about." You can get the link delivered to your email or subscribe to the RSS feed so it will be fed into Bloglines or your aggregator of choice. Subscribing to this site provides a fast, easy way to keep up with what's going on in the library world.
Food for thought
Did you know that you can have a web page appear in Thunderbird's Start Page when you first open your email? You may have a generic Thunderbird page displaying right now. How about setting the Library Link of the Day as your Thunderbird Start Page? When you open your email, the Library Link of the Day page will display automatically, and you can read the link and decide if you want to follow it or not. If you want to try it, here's how:
- Open Thunderbird.
- Go to TOOLS > OPTIONS on the menu bar.
- Click on GENERAL if it isn't selected already.
- You'll see Thunderbird Start Page. Fill it in like the image below:
- Click OK.
The next time you open Thunderbird, the link page will be there! Now you're one step closer to keeping up.
Current Cites
Roy Tennant serves as editor for Current Cites, a monthly publication that includes 8-12 annotated citations of current library literature. "A team of librarians and library staff monitors information technology literature in both print and digital forms, each month selecting only the best items to annotate for this free publication." You can subscribe to a mailing list to receive each issue via email or pull the RSS feed into your news aggregator. Isn't it nice of them to do all the hard work for us?
Blogs to watch
I highly recommend signing up for a free Bloglines account to aggregate all of the RSS feeds you are interested in keeping up with. There are other aggregators out there, but I have found Bloglines the easiest to use. Once you have an account, here are a few blog feeds I recommend subscribing to:
- LibrarianInBlack
Sarah Houghton-Jan is a very active librarian, often speaking at library conferences across the States. She usually write brief, but interesting blog posts on a variety of gadgets, web sites, and other library news. - LITA Blog
The Library and Information Technology Association has its own blog, and many of their recent posts include podcasts and vodcasts. A great place to keep up on technology in the library world. - Stephen's Lighthouse
SirsiDynix's Vice President of Innovation keeps his blog up-to-date with all kinds of library-related info. Worth a look. - Lifehacker
This site isn't necessarily library-related, but it's a great way to keep up with computer and technology-related information. This one isn't for the faint of heart, as it has lots of posts on a daily basis. It's one of my favorites, but it can be overwhelming if you're not willing to skip some posts! - For webmeisters... A List Apart
If you're really into web design, standards, and all things related to CSS, Flash and other cool tools, this is a great site for you. - And last but not least... the InfoSoup Development Blog
What's going on with InfoSoup? Check out our blog to see what we're working on.
Start slow and see what you think. You can always add more later or delete the feeds that take too much of your time. The bottom line is that an RSS feed aggregator like Bloglines can save you loads of time, because you only have to check one site rather than lots of separate ones. It's a great way to keep up!
Adieu
Farewell until next time from the library system where all the computers are fast, all the books are worth reading, and all the librarians are above average!
This issue of Tidbits was written by Beth Carpenter, Library Services Manager for the Outagamie Waupaca Library System. Please send any comments or questions about this issue to Beth.
Supporting public libraries in Outagamie and Waupaca counties