Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Snow Day

In the twenty-some years I've worked in libraries, the libraries I've worked at have closed fewer than half-a-dozen times--until this year. Rockford Public Library has closed twice in the past week! This is unheard of in the annals of RPLdom. There are hundreds of homeless depending on the library being open. There are countless people with questions waiting to find answers. How dare the library close!
But the administration jus announced that the library will close tonight at 5:00 PM due to the blizzard-like conditions.

Happy holidays!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The end of the beginning

I've enjoyed reading all of the summations on my colleagues' (classmates') blogs, and I wanted to do something spectacular for refdeskpaul to celebrate the end of the semester. But this is not the end, merely the beginning, for refdeskpaul, and it seems kind of silly to list each of the 23 things and what I learned from each of them during the past 16 weeks.
I am, however, so very glad that I have learned the hands-on basics for web 2.0 by actually doing each of the 23 things: I learned the theory of web 2.0 in other classes, but this has been an exceptional learning experience because I have had to actually apply what I have learned. Being a Piagetian constructionist at heart, I firmly believe we learn best by coordinating sequences of neuronal firings in multiple parts of the brain simultaneously--employing motor neurons in hand-eye coordination, exercising verbal (and actual speech) neurons in constructing letters and symbols and words, neurons in the corpus callosum that coordinate the two hemispheres of the brain and allow cross-talk to happen between the left and right brains, etc. That happened in this class because of the "realness" of blogging for each other in real time. We all had to use parts of our brains in new ways. Now that we know how to do all of these things (way more than 23 things), we'll continue to build new learning on top of the base we constructed in this class. So I intend to continue blogging on RefdeskPaul. This is only the beginning....

Monday, December 15, 2008

Reference Resources Wiki

I have started a Reference resources Wiki at Wikispaces . Come and join me at http://referenceresources.wikispaces.com/ and join the conversation about full-text reference resources available online.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Checking all the new places I've visited in this class

In preparation for summing up the 2300+ things I've learned in this class, I went to http://www.checkusername.com/ and entered refdeskpaul. I discovered I've registered this blog or used the blog's username to create accounts at Blogger, Diigo, Flickr, Hellotxt, Livejournal, Myspace, stumbleupon, technorati, tinyurl, tumblr, twitter, vi.sualize.us, Yahoo, and YouTube. But that's not nearly half of the web 2.0 places I've visited or where I've created new accounts because of this class. This has been a super learning experience.

Gave you see All My Faves. yet? http://allmyfaves.com/ offers logoized links to all of the web 2.0 sites, including 43 Things. Check them out!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Statcounter.com

Carrie had an interesting post about viewing visitors who view our blogs, and I took her suggestion to add a stat counter to my blog. Now everyone can see who visits this site!

Statistics Counter from statcounter.com

Carrie introduced us to statcounter today, and I thought it sounded like a great idea.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Podcast

This is a test, this is only a test!

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=10448909
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=10448909

Created with Google Docs -- Take our BlogSite Survey

2 men with guns kill each other over Toys R Us Toys

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/28/state/n123739S87.DTL&tsp=1

It's not safe out there in the malls on Black Friday! It's safer in Mombai or Baghdad or Kabul than it is in Toys R Us.

Black Friday Horror

I just heard on CNN (over lunch) that a Wal-mart employee was trampled to death this morning by shoppers (good morning, Wal-Mart shoppers!) eager to buy those elusive early-bird bargains (you know, the ones that say "guaranteed five per store, no rainchecks, first come, frist served").

This is just another example of a society that extols the virtues of greed (and saving a buck) over all else. Read Mark Rhodes' blog for more on the direction our modern society has erred into:
http://markrhodes.blogspot.com/2008/11/buy-nothing-day.html

What would Jesus buy?

Didn't He overturn the moneylenders' tables in the Temple? Wasn't there supposed to be a message in that?

We're everywhere!

I just googled (TM) "refdeskpaul" and found links to my blog on all of the other blogs created by students in Charlet's Reference (LIS 635) class at UW Madison. If you linked to this blog as part of the 23 things assignment, you'll find your blog listed in google searches for refdeskpaul. Here's the first page from teh Google search:

mean: refdesk paul
Search Results
refdeskpaul
refdeskpaul. Friday, November 7, 2008. The Invisible Web ... Subscribe To refdeskpaul. Posts. Atom. Posts. All Comments. Atom. All Comments. Followers (2) ...refdeskpaul.blogspot.com/ - 60k - Cached - Similar pages -
refdeskpaul: Flickr photos
I have created a new Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/refdeskpaul/ . You can see a couple of my photos by clicking on the link. ...refdeskpaul.blogspot.com/2008/10/flickr-photos.html - 64k - Cached - Similar pages -More results from refdeskpaul.blogspot.com »
Flickr: ahappiercamper's Photostream
Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, ...www.flickr.com/photos/refdeskpaul/ - 28k - Cached - Similar pages -
Untitled RSS
Today I went to downtown Chicago (the Loop, man!) and attended a workshop on Information Commons/Library as personal space. Powered by Tumblr.refdeskpaul.tumblr.com/ - 15k - Cached - Similar pages -
Rollyo: Paul Anderson
About refdeskpaul. refdeskpaul: refdeskpaul: First Name: Paul: Last Name: Anderson: Homepage: refdeskpaul.blogspot.com ...rollyo.com/refdeskpaul/ - 5k - Cached - Similar pages -
23 Things Search Engine
23 Things Search Engine. Discover, browse and search 23 Things sites. A custom search engine featuring hand-selected 23 Things resources, created by Paul ...rollyo.com/refdeskpaul/23_things/ - 7k - Cached - Similar pages -
twenty3things: My daughter in 15 years
Paul Anderson said... Cute. Doesn't look anything like you. Sure it's your daughter? Are you really sure? refdeskpaul. September 24, 2008 7:47 AM ...twenty3things-emily.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-daughter-in-15-years.html - 46k - Cached - Similar pages -
Reference This!: #10 Play Around with Image Generators
1 week ago. Exile On Main Street · RSS, Part Next. 2 weeks ago. Shookspear's Circle of Learning · #13. 2 weeks ago. refdeskpaul · Library Thing. 2 weeks ago ...uwmlibrarystudent.blogspot.com/2008/10/10-play-around-with-image-generators.html - 97k - Cached - Similar pages -
Much Ado About Twenty-Three Things: Activity # 23: Summarize thoughts
1 week ago. refdeskpaul · Library Thing. 1 week ago. David's Reference Thoughts · Roll, Roll, Rollyo search engine. 2 weeks ago ...lis635.blogspot.com/2008/10/activity-23-summarize-thoughts.html - 77k - Cached - Similar pages -
Blogapalooza: Thing #7: Post on anything technology related that ...
2 days ago. refdeskpaul · OCLC and WorldCat Flap. 3 days ago. Gwen 23(things) skidoo · "thing" no. 15: perspectives about Web 2.0. 3 days ago ...brownbethsblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/thing-7-post-on-anything-technology.html - 83k -

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

This book has one of my stories!




J. N. Williamson's Masques is a graphic adaptation of the stories that appeared in Williamson's award-winning anthologies. The harcover compilation of the graphic stories will be published in February 2009 (available sometime after January 15). Here is the link to the book on Amazon.com:




Hardcover: 162 pages
Publisher: Checker Book Publishing Group (January 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933160780
ISBN-13: 978-1933160788








Video and sound Welcome to RefDeskPaul

Monday, November 24, 2008

Online Library Crashes

My worst fear is to lose all access to information. What happens when we depend entirely on digital access and then the system goes down?

Here's an example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7742390.stm

Monday, November 17, 2008

OCLC and WorldCat Flap

There are some things going on at OCLC that we need to discuss in the library community. In case you missed the flap, here is an intro:

http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/oclcscam

Open Library

Great new site worth investigating. Try some of the links on this site and see what you get:

http://openlibrary.org/

Locating and analyzing digital publications

Great new study about doing digital reasearch. Here's the link:

http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/current-models-report.pdf

Saturday, November 15, 2008

What Do You Do When The Internet Server is Down or You Lose Your Connection to the Web?

During the nearly 20 years that I have used client-server technology to navigate the internet and/or surf the web, I've learned a few lessons that come in handy when technology fails to deliver all it promised. And it will fail. Trust me on this. Technology isn't perfect. It will fail. And sometimes it will fail when you need it most.
Whenever human beings interface with machines, things can--and will--go wrong. Human error is usually to blame. But electronic media also naturally deteriorate or become corrupted over time, and programs simply self-destruct without warning. A path that once delivered valuable information can be closed or moved or blocked. You won't know it's happened until you try it and it doesn't work.
This week a construction company accidentally cut the buried fiber optic clable that supplies Comcast users in Northen Illinois with internet, cable tv, and telephone service. For 14 hours, about half of Comcast's subscribers were in the dark; they had no tv, no telephone, and no internet. They had no way of knowing what had happened because they had no access to information. Only ten percent of those had any backup system in place: cell phone; analog tv with antenna; dial up IP with land line connection; etc.
Really smart people used the public library as their backup system: they brought their laptops to a library branch and used the library's wi-fi connection; they logged on to one of the public access desktop computers and used the library's T1 line; they used Skype or Vonage or IM via their library commection in lieu of a telephone; they simply came to a library and asked a librarian what had happened and learned the details from a friendly source.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Refdesk.com is Wonderful!

I love http://www.refdesk.com. It has everything you need for ready reference. I have it open at my desk while I'm doing virtual reference or telephone reference, and I go there often when students ask research questions. I wish Rockford Public Library would add a link to www.refdesk.com on the RPL web site. It would be so easy to do, and I'd be happy to show admin how to do it.

Now that I've been playing around with 23 Things, I feel really technosavy!

Rollyo Searchbox


Powered by Rollyo

This a lot like 23 Things

While looking for things to add to my blog (tech explorations, natch), I came across these useful sites:

http://instructionwiki.org/Main_Page


http://supercrazylibrarianguy.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Add to Technorati Favorites

Facebook

I do have a wall on Facebook. Here is the address: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=649342983

How do we possibly keep up with posting to all of these sites? Is there an easy way to post to all of them simultaneously?

Flickr photos

I have created a new Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/refdeskpaul/. You can see a couple of my photos by clicking on the link.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Magic Nmber Seven Plus or Minus Two

Working through the 23 Things, I was reminded of George Miller's 1957 seminal research into the nature of working memory: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information by George A. Miller (1956) of Harvard University. First published in Psychological Review, 63, 81-97. You can find a complete full-text copy posted at http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Miller/. I'll talk later about the wonderful things you can find posted at http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/, but now I want to talk a little about Miller's amazing discovery and its contribution to information theory. Dr. Miller was doing important grant research work for the U.S. Navy during and after the Korean War to learn how many bits of information a navy signalman could remember while transmitting or receiving coded signals. Though this was in the days before the digital revolution, Miller's research has played a crucial role in the theory and development of digital communication (as well as all communication and memory, human or machine). In essence, Miller's discovery is this: the human brain can retain in working memory only 7 bits of information (yes or no, on or off) give or take two additional bits of information. We suffer from information overload whenever we try to absorb more than 7 (+/- 2) bits of information unless we chunk this information into recognizable groups. An excellent example of chunking is telephone numbers: we can remember the 7 numbers in a phone number easily enough, but when we add the numbers of the area code we go immediately into information overload unless we chunk those numbers and piece the chunks together. Remembering 815 or 315 as one chunked bit rather than 3 separate bits is relatively easy. So, to dial long distance, you remember 1 plus area code plus phone number plus extension. Each one of these elements can be chunked and then pieced together, up to 7 +/-2 chunks. If we try to remember each number separately and in serial order, it seems extremely difficult because we are trying to remember more than seven (plus or minus two) pieces of information, and the cognitive load is tremendous. But if we remember separate chunks and piece them together, we can easily recall the entire number. Long term memory is similarly created out of "chunks" that are pieced together in recall.

Tackling the 23 Things is easy when you take each thing one at a time. But all 23 together can seem like an insurmountable ordeal....

Sunday, October 5, 2008

State of the Blogosphere 2008

What is the current state of blogs? You know there had to be someone besides Pew that kept track of such things, didn't you? Here's a link to discover the state of the blogosphere 2008!

http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/

Enjoy!
A recent Library Journal article suggested that librarians use "member" to replace "patron" or "user" or "cardholder" and I like the sound of member and the way it works: member provides a feeling of belonging that is missing with the other terms; member implies obligations of membership; and member is easy to remember (sorry; I just had to do that because that's the way my weird mind works).

But I really like the term "member". I am a member of my community and a member of my community's library!

Book Notes - This is a quick, fun read

Author: Kerrelyn Sparks Date Read: 9-28-08

Title: The Undead Next Door Pub. Date: February 2008

Publisher: Avon Books mass market pbk (Imprint of HarperCollins)

Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Sub-genre: Paranormal/Supernatural/Vampire Fantasy

Pages: 369

Appeal Characteristics: Combines supernatural fantasy with standard conventions of Contemporary Romance; love between mortal woman and vampire hunk; humor;
Pacing: Fast-paced emotional roller coaster; complications

Characterizations: Heather Lynn Westerfield, mortal
Jean-Luc Echarpe, vampire
Roman Draganesti, vampire
Angus MacKay, vampire in kilts
Robby MacKay, vampire
Emma MacKay, vampire wife of Angus

Lui, vampire of many names (Jacques Clement, Damiens, Ravaillac, etc)
Fidelia, mortal psychic & Heather’s babysitter
Bethany Westerfield, Heather’s mortal daughter
Shanna Draganesti, mortal wife of a vampire

Story Line: Heather Lynn Westerfield has always wanted to be a fashion designer, but Heather lives in Schnitzelberg, Texas, and Schnitzelberg isn’t exactly the heart of the fashion world. Then Jean-Luc Echarpe (E-sharp) world-famous fashion designer opens a shop in Schnitzelberg. He designs evening wear for vampires because he is a vampire. But the recently-divorced full-figure Heather doesn’t know that. Jean-Luc likes full figured women because they look healthier than most mortals. Lui, a vampire assassin, has been killing Jean-Luc’s girlfriends for more than 3 centuries, and Lui mistakes Heather for Jean-Luc’s mistress when Heather interferes with Lui’s attempt to kill Jean-Luc. So Jean-Luc becomes honor-bound to protect Heather and her extended family from Lui and the Malcontents. Heather comes to believe Jean-Luc is an immortal (like in the Highlander movies) but when she tries to learn Jean’s secrets and discovers he’s a vampire, she doesn’t see how they can have a future together. Will true love conquer all? Is there a way they can be together after all? Lots of humor, sexual tension, and plot twists in this “trashy” romance.

Frame: International jet-setter vampires meet small-town Texas mortals; high fashion

Plot Summary: Everyone in Texas carries guns; vampires carry swords; Teas mon meets Dracula
Similar Authors: Stephenie Meyer, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, Lynsay Sands, Michelle Bardsley, Katie MacAlister, Mary Janice Davidson, Michelle Rowen
Geographical setting: Texas Hill Country
Time period: Now
Series: Love at Stake
Subject Headings: Romance--fiction; Texas—fiction; vampires—fiction.

It’s like sex—only better!

It’s like sex—only better!

The Reference Interview and Reference Transaction: It’s like sex—only better!
The intimacy—the interpersonal rapport and trust and vulnerability and openness—of the reference relationship is definitely a lot like sex. When it’s done right, it can be the most fulfilling act on earth. Both parties separate feeling completely satisfied, smiling, all aglow, and looking forward to their next encounter.
If it’s done wrong, however, one or both of the parties can leave the meeting feeling hurt and betrayed and never ever wanting to see the other ever again. It can be extremely painful . It can destroy egos with a single misspoken word.
Each get-together is fraught with tension. It is exciting and fearful at the same time.
Of course, many of these things are true of all human interactions. But it does give one a different perspective to look at the reference transaction in Freudian terms, doesn’t it?

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Vampire fiction reviews on Library Thing

I have been having the greatest time reading reviews of vampire (paranormal romance) fiction on Library Thing. I can infiltrate this predominantly-female mindset and learn all kinds of things (not necessarily library things). Here is the link. See for yourself: http://www.librarything.com/groups/vampirefiction

I must admit I really love to read trashy romance novels. Librarians can read trashy fiction and justify doing it in order to provide RA service, but I gotta admit that I grew up reading pulp fiction and category romance novels are pure formula fiction just like in the old-time pulps. I just like reading (and writing) trashy novels!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Economy and the Election

Is anyone besides me tired of crisis after crisis? Does anyone besides me want to escape into the nice and safe world of books and libraries?

The modern economic crisis that "requires immediate response" or the whole world will immediately go to hell in a handbasket or explode or self-destruct (do not pass go and do not collect $200--$2.99 when adjusted for inflation) is tiring and boring and needs to just go away. I don't care about money. Don't bother me with the small stuff. Let's talk about really important things like books or films or Clay Aiken's sexual preferences or the war in Iraq or the War in Pakistan & Afghanistan or whatever else the government doesn't want us to talk about and is trying to hide with this economic smokescreen.

Didn't Richard Nixon write a book about how to use crisis to effectively manipulate the media?

refdesk.com

www.refdesk.com

This is one of the best web sites around for putting links to all kinds of helpful information in one place. refdesk.com is my one-stop shop for everything reference-related. If I can't get somewhere from there, then it's not worth going.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Mashups

Several of us have wondered how to create a mashup. I think I can figure how to mashup various Google apps, but how do you mix and match? Anyone out there in bloggerville who can answer my inquiry?

Google and the Future of Libraries

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/technology/21ping.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

This is an excellent example of using technology to your advantage. Google is not the boogeyman!

7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners

I am a lifelong learner, and I love to be around other lifelong learners. That's one of the reasons why I love working in a library.

That's also why I earned a degree in educational psychology and spent a few wonderful years working at an academic library.

I learn from other people as much or more than other people learn from me, even if I'm supposed to be the teacher.

But back to the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners:

1. Keep your eyes on the prize! Always see where you want to be at the end of the journey, and the road to get there doesn't seem so long.

2. Accept responsibility for your own learning. Don't wait for others to teach; teach yourself and others.

3. View problems as challenges. I think I can, I think I can, I know I can (I will, I can, I do). It's never too late (or early) to enjoy learning.

4. See the last half of #3.

5. Create your own learning toolbox (buy the bubblegum card, read the comic, see the movie). There is more than one way to skin a cat, and all five senses come into play when learning most efficiently and effectively.

6. Use technology to your advantage. Heck, use everything to your advantage!

7. Teach or mentor others: This is always the easiest way to really learn something!

7.5. Play. And sing. And dance. And rhyme. And be sublime. All the time.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Today is a good day

Today is a good day. The sun is shining. Birds are singing. Bloggers are blogging.