Month: January 2006

Martin Luther King @ your library

Posted on by jessamyn

A selection of libraries with MLK Day content for today:

See also: Technorati tag search: Martin Luther King +Library, Google Search “martin luther king jr library“, del.icio.us/tag/mlk, Flickr MLK tag

NCSU Libraries new “pig butchering” OPAC

Posted on by jessamyn

We talk a lot about what library catalogs could look like, but who is building them? Well, Andrew Pace and NCSU for one. Here is the press release announcing their new Endeca-powered OPAC. Why is it different? It focuses on relevance instead of some arbitrary criteria — our OPAC at one of my old jobs would list DVDs by add date, so all the ones that showed up at the top a search list were labeled “IN PROCESS” and thus not available to patrons — and allows simple search narrowing. Andrew explains more. Don’t let me blather on about it, check it out yourself (and notice the slick URL while you’re at it). [web4lib]

Joe Janes and the iSchool podcast

Posted on by jessamyn

I sometimes have a hard time talking about technologies I don’t know much about. I can see things like cell phones in a professional context — library policy, kids IM on them, they’re good for updates — as well as in a personal context — I don’t have one, I can’t get service at my house, if I really wanted one, I would have one. I feel this way about podcasts as I’ve said before. I don’t listen much to radio shows, sometimes I feel like the only person of my political persuasion who isn’t an NPR junkie, so podcasting doesn’t appeal. On the other hand, the whole idea of personally created content appeals to me much the same way that zines do. How great is it to be able to produce your own radio show and immediately be able to distribute it internationally? Seems sort of great. With that in mind, I point you to InfoSpeak created by the tech-positive smarties at the University of Washington iSchool (yes I went there, no it wasn’t anything like this when I was there). It’s “student-produced serial media” which, yes, is a podcast, but if you don’t get the whole podcast blah blah blah, you can also just listen to it online, simple. First episode, one of my favorite talkers Joe Janes, iSchool prof and Google pundit talking about how Google is changing the way we work, among other things. Check out the links next to the description, that’s what I’d like to see from more podcasters. Happy inaugural podcast, iSchool! [thanks carolyn]

Rivkah Sass—Librarian of the Year 2006

Posted on by jessamyn

Rivkah Sass, Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year for 2006, talks about what she’s done with Omaha Public Library, and where she’s come from. Of particular note: she came from Multnomah County Public Library in Portland, OR which has spawned other great library directors like Seattle Public’s Deborah Jacobs (and one of my favorite librarians and friend Sara Ryan)

Rivkah Sass is a librarian unafraid of, indeed energized by, risk, happy to force change, and rooted in a library philosophy of service and “give ’em what they want.” A teller of truth, willing to risk the consequences. A person boiling over with enthusiasm for people and passion for librarianship. Couple these with a career odyssey that has taken her to all kinds of libraries, both as manager and front-line worker, and you have the ingredients for an exceptional “Librarian of the Year.”