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LibraryThing vs. Shelfari

LibraryThing was easier to use. After I added some books, by selecting about ten from a series by J.D. Robb(Nora Roberts), LibraryThing displayed the books in a list with publication dates, the tags I assigned and easy access to reviews, groups and tags. It was very simple even to delete the book from my library. The list could be sorted by any column: title, author, date or tags. The reviews were easy to find under the social data.

By contrast Shelfari just displayed the book covers on my bookshelf. Selecting the book provided more information, but I could not find a review, except for the “star” indicators. In general, Shelfari seemed to give less information and require more input. For some reason it was also blocked in my office, while LibraryThing was not.

Robb’s “In Death” novels is a series of books that I have read from the first to the most recent, just several months ago. LibraryThing appeals to me for the social/discussion aspect and once I’m finished with school I will become involved with it. I tend to read all of an author’s books, once I decide I like him/her, and this is one way to be able to discuss the authors.

Podcast of comments on Brown's Re-education

Brown and Duguid believe that digital access to information will change the nature of colleges and universities, those conventional avenues for turning information into learning. Hear more about this chapter in the podcast below.

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Homework PBWiki

Our PBWiki can be found at

http://rrscils598s07.pbwiki.com/

And, yes, it really is simple.

Brown addressing his concepts to the field of education

Brown's example of the 5,000 new words for each of our first sixteen years sounded very familiar to me and reminded me, finally, of an article we read during first summer session, for HIB.

In the article: Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, P. (1989, Jan/Feb). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 32-42., Brown applies his concept of practical learning, or practices, to the educational field. With Collins and Duguid he asserts:

Dramatic improvement in learning might be accomplished by the acceptance of the
importance of activity and enculturation into common education practice.

Comments on Brown's Chapter 5

Brown gives enlightening examples of all his assertions. This chapter discusses knowledge

Click To Play

Leading up to Comments on Brown

Well, I moved this weekend, and it was even worse than I anticipated. In between packing and unpacking and lining shelves, I was reading Brown and highlightling the chapter for later comments. I continued reading on lunch today and then I left my highlighted version of the chapter in the office. So my comments are a bit of memory recall and a bit of a quick re-read on the screen tonight.

Oh, did I mention that my computer hookup was one of the casualties of the move? Optimum is coming on Saturday because FIOS doesn't work in my new building. So I'm on a lapton, on a temporary DSL connection, but aside from the time to install, the connection seems to be working fine.

My First Podcast

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Librarians as a resource

Kimberly said:

The library then doesn't just have resources, it becomes a resource. You
can't become obsolete, if you are always one step ahead.

Not only the library, but the librarian becomes a resource. We have to learn all about our profession, but no one area is more important than another, not even technology, even if I do love technology. Depending on the type of library each of us chooses we will use different skills, but we will always be a resource. And as several of my classmates have pointed out, if our venue is a public library, our patrons needs will be very diverse..

Information is a building block, not the whole building

Brown seems to be cautioning information professionals, including librarians, not to be seduced by the notion that access to information will create a new, exciting world. Computers, chips, and the internet have influenced every aspect of our world, but it has not necessarily changed it permanently. Even Microsoft, which was the prime example of the new approach to business, has become very much like the old AT&T, even to being sued for monopolistic practices.

Information is a tool. Even as conclusions are drawn about our culture and how the technological revolution has affected it, that culture is constantly changing. So as librarians we should make use of the tool that is technology, but keep in sight our goal of serving our customers in all their needs, not just the demand for information.

A comprehensive and clear model for a library blog

Kansas City Public Library uses a blog to create a website which displays a great deal of information in a clear, uncluttered manner. Several other library blogs scroll down too far, but not this one.

MP3 to iPod

Picking up bits all the time. I downloaded Lee Rainie's audio to my daughter's iPod so I could be mobile while listening. Couldn't find it on the iPod.

I had to import the MP3 file into iTunes, then save it to the iPod. All MP3 players are not equal.

Working a bit with Blogger

I decided my blog needed a picture. I moved yahoo's avatar from a printscreen to Word to Paint to Fireworks to create a .bmp file, then uploaded it.