Nice kitty.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Adding the JaxCat Search Gadget
I added the search gadget to this blog, as you can see. I also added it to IGoogle. The instructions were fairly simple to follow.
One use of the JaxCat gadget I can think of would be to place it on the local art museums' web pages so that anyone accessing those pages could search for art-related books and DVDs at JPL.
One use of the JaxCat gadget I can think of would be to place it on the local art museums' web pages so that anyone accessing those pages could search for art-related books and DVDs at JPL.
LibraryThing is a great site for readers. I plan to check it each week.
I can see that this site will be a good source for collection development, especially catch-up titles.
Here is the link to my library:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jamespat
I can see that this site will be a good source for collection development, especially catch-up titles.
Here is the link to my library:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jamespat
Magnigraph
I thought Magnigraph was somewhat interesting. This is the site that transforms a photo into an extremely high contrast image. I uploaded a photo of a chimpanzee and my JPL employee directory photo. It would be possible to use such images on posters and flyers when such images would be more effective than just a photo.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Bloglines
I can see the value of sharing your your favorite blogs with your co-workers. If every JPL librarian had a Bloglines account for library/professional blogs and all of these were shared, you could find some very interesting feeds that you might not know about otherwise.
The library home page could also feature recommended RSS feeds for customers with particular interests.
On the personal level, I may never be very comfortable with the social networking concept. I am not, by nature, a "joiner".
The library home page could also feature recommended RSS feeds for customers with particular interests.
On the personal level, I may never be very comfortable with the social networking concept. I am not, by nature, a "joiner".
RSS exercise
It's obvious that subscribing to RSS feeds can streamline the amount of time I spend looking for favorite sites. I see the RSS as a dynamic version of the "Favorites" feature that's at the top of your Internet Explorer screen. The difference is that RSS keeps updating daily, while the "Favorites" list is a static list.
I will continue to use RSS feeds on my home computer. As far as libraries' use of this technology, RSS is useful for alerting customers to upcoming programs. If a customer is a film buff, he/she could subscribe to a feed that announces all films being screened at JPL Main and at all the branches.
The downside of RSS is what many people have mentioned before: the daily information stream can become unmanageable and overwhelming.
I will continue to use RSS feeds on my home computer. As far as libraries' use of this technology, RSS is useful for alerting customers to upcoming programs. If a customer is a film buff, he/she could subscribe to a feed that announces all films being screened at JPL Main and at all the branches.
The downside of RSS is what many people have mentioned before: the daily information stream can become unmanageable and overwhelming.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Cautionary notes
Looking at blogs like The Shifted Librarian and LibraryBytes elicited these thoughts:
The most technologically savvy librarians seem to be in an early discovery/exploratory phase in which a lot of possibly useful technologies are presenting themselves to the new generation of library professionals.
It is virtually impossible for any one person to be aware of all of the new tools currently available or in development.
It will take time to find out which internet-based tools have useful applications to the library environment.
Two cautionary notes:
1. When personal computers came on the scene in 1981-82, they were sold to the educational profession as a tool that would revolutionize teaching and rescue teachers from the drudgery of
repetitive, routine drills. A lot of computers and software were sold to school systems. From the perspective of nearly 30 years later, what has been the real impact of digital technology on education? It might be instructive for librarians to do some research regarding how computers and the internet have changed schools and the teaching profession.
2. New technology (RFID, for example) is expensive to purchase, and transitioning/retrofitting libraries and materials is also expensive. Will local governments and taxpayers be willing to pay for the new technologies? Recent history suggests that library systems are among the first entities to be cut when there are budget shortfalls.
The most technologically savvy librarians seem to be in an early discovery/exploratory phase in which a lot of possibly useful technologies are presenting themselves to the new generation of library professionals.
It is virtually impossible for any one person to be aware of all of the new tools currently available or in development.
It will take time to find out which internet-based tools have useful applications to the library environment.
Two cautionary notes:
1. When personal computers came on the scene in 1981-82, they were sold to the educational profession as a tool that would revolutionize teaching and rescue teachers from the drudgery of
repetitive, routine drills. A lot of computers and software were sold to school systems. From the perspective of nearly 30 years later, what has been the real impact of digital technology on education? It might be instructive for librarians to do some research regarding how computers and the internet have changed schools and the teaching profession.
2. New technology (RFID, for example) is expensive to purchase, and transitioning/retrofitting libraries and materials is also expensive. Will local governments and taxpayers be willing to pay for the new technologies? Recent history suggests that library systems are among the first entities to be cut when there are budget shortfalls.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Walden Pond - 11/14/07 - 03_01
SInce I mentioned the book Walden, here's a photo of Walden Pond. I visited this site a couple of times when I was living in New England.
From the parking area you can take a short walk to the site of Thoreau's cabin. The original cabin is gone; the hearth was excavated about 60 years ago. At the end of his 2-year stay, Thoreau dismantled and recycled the cabin. A replica is near the parking area at the park headquarters.
Jim P.
jamespat@coj.net
From the parking area you can take a short walk to the site of Thoreau's cabin. The original cabin is gone; the hearth was excavated about 60 years ago. At the end of his 2-year stay, Thoreau dismantled and recycled the cabin. A replica is near the parking area at the park headquarters.
Jim P.
jamespat@coj.net
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Thoughts on Technology
Whenever I think about computer technology, these words from Henry David Thoreau come to mind:
"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end,… We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate." --- from Walden, Chapter 1.
Technology, digital or otherwise, is essentially a set of tools. Learning how to use new tools is almost always labor intensive and can be painful. I am more concerned about whether we, as librarians, have anything important to communicate to the public than I am with the particular communication technology we might use.
Jim Patterson
jamespat@coj.net
"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end,… We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate." --- from Walden, Chapter 1.
Technology, digital or otherwise, is essentially a set of tools. Learning how to use new tools is almost always labor intensive and can be painful. I am more concerned about whether we, as librarians, have anything important to communicate to the public than I am with the particular communication technology we might use.
Jim Patterson
jamespat@coj.net
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