OctoLibrarian - watch more funny videos
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Attention Tech History Buffs: ASIS&T History Fund 2010
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ASIST HISTORY FUND 2010 RESEARCH AWARD AND RESEARCH PAPER AWARD
The ASIST History Fund Advisory Board announces the following two competitive awards for 2010:
The ASIST History Fund Research Award:
This award will be for a maximum of $1,000 and will be awarded for the best research support proposal submitted by July 1, 2010. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology may be proposed. The proposal should state: central topic or question to be researched, qualifications of the researcher (a brief vita should be included), a budget, and how the funds will be expended. All funds must be expended by June 30, 2011. Submit proposals to: http://www.softconf.com/asist/
The ASIST History Fund Research Paper Award:
This award will be for a maximum of $500 and awarded for the best paper submitted by July 1, 2010. All topics relevant to the history of information science and technology will be considered. The paper should not have been previously published or submitted to a journal. The paper should not exceed 30 pages double-spaced, including notes/references, using the APA style manual. The ASIST History Fund Advisory Board will review all submissions and decide if an award is to be made by Sept. 1, 2010. If an award is made the winner will be expected to present the paper at the 2011 ASIST Annual Meeting and give first rights of refusal for publication to the Journal of The American Society for Information Science and Technology. Submit papers to: http://www.softconf.com/asist/
For additional information contact: Robert V. Williams at: bobwill@sc.edu
YouTube Tuesday: SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY
(DISCLAIMER: This week's YouTube Tuesday video does not actually come from YouTube. On with the show.)
Thesad truly glorious thing about that fake commercial is that I think it might actually work. I don't think that's a real commercial, but if it was, I'd send them my resume today. Fun times!
Library Re-Opening Ad - watch more funny videos
The
Friday, January 29, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Elsewhere in the Tech World
Tired of iPad news? Your faithful blogger has scoured the Internet for news of anything but Apple's unfortunately-named new release.
* Lest Steve Jobs get all the spotlight this week, Bill Gates and the foundation he shares with wife Melinda have made improving online learning a priority. In his annual letter, Bill Gates ponders the future of e-Learning at every level and wonders who will shape it.
* Before you completely write off the Amazon Kindle, you might want to know that tech company Qualcomm released a video-capable, color screen at the recent CES show, and the buzz is that the next Kindle will use this technology.
* In the midst of all this e-reader insanity, one content format seems uniquely suited to take advantage of it: the comic and graphic novel. eComic reader software Graphic.ly and Longbox recently went into public beta. Some publishers like Marvel, the home of Spider-Man and Captain America, already have their own in-house, subscription-based digital comics readers but nothing yet allows readers (or libraries) to purchase and keep individual volumes.
Sorry! Not entirely iPad-free, but it's still interesting to see how its ripples affect other realms of media technology.
* Lest Steve Jobs get all the spotlight this week, Bill Gates and the foundation he shares with wife Melinda have made improving online learning a priority. In his annual letter, Bill Gates ponders the future of e-Learning at every level and wonders who will shape it.
* Before you completely write off the Amazon Kindle, you might want to know that tech company Qualcomm released a video-capable, color screen at the recent CES show, and the buzz is that the next Kindle will use this technology.
* In the midst of all this e-reader insanity, one content format seems uniquely suited to take advantage of it: the comic and graphic novel. eComic reader software Graphic.ly and Longbox recently went into public beta. Some publishers like Marvel, the home of Spider-Man and Captain America, already have their own in-house, subscription-based digital comics readers but nothing yet allows readers (or libraries) to purchase and keep individual volumes.
Sorry! Not entirely iPad-free, but it's still interesting to see how its ripples affect other realms of media technology.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
You Tube Tuesday: Customer Service
Parker Posey gives a patron a lesson in information organization.
I feel like I need to go review the RUSA Guidelines now...
I feel like I need to go review the RUSA Guidelines now...
Friday, January 22, 2010
Impress Your Professor: Bookbinding 101
How do you treat your textbooks? Penciled notes in the margins, easily erased? Dog-eared pages, highlighting, and inkblotted underlining? Crumpled corners from daily transport to campus or a pristine cover (likely from lack of use)?
Or do you download it? PDF it? eRead it? Could you if you wanted to?
The state of California has given its colleges and universities until 2020 to make their textbooks available electronically "to the extent practicable." Some of the rationalization given is that it will put more technology in the classroom and teach students valuable technological skills.
This is, of course, doable for bloated freshman and 100-level textbooks constantly in publication, but what about smaller texts with smaller print runs for upper level and graduate courses? What if the book isn't even in print anymore?
This is reasoning behind the "extent practicable" clause, which has led some to question the usefulness of such a law that doesn't seem to mandate anything. Still others question the idea that textbook vendors will encourage or require students to rent their textbooks, not buy them. Again, this may be fine for required courses outside a student's major, but the theory behind a text is that it should serve as a reference throughout a student's career. Many will want to keep their texts, and some observe that students still buy hard copies more often than electronic when given the choice.
I guess they like to highlight!
In my experience, professors have already been assigning electronic texts. Prior graduate courses required downloading digitized primary source texts that were several hundred years old and several hundred pages long from digital libraries. A great use of technology, but I spent as long printing and assembling my "book" as I did reading it.
Will such laws give students the technological skills promised, or will it just give them a lesson in printing and bookmaking?
Or do you download it? PDF it? eRead it? Could you if you wanted to?
The state of California has given its colleges and universities until 2020 to make their textbooks available electronically "to the extent practicable." Some of the rationalization given is that it will put more technology in the classroom and teach students valuable technological skills.
This is, of course, doable for bloated freshman and 100-level textbooks constantly in publication, but what about smaller texts with smaller print runs for upper level and graduate courses? What if the book isn't even in print anymore?
This is reasoning behind the "extent practicable" clause, which has led some to question the usefulness of such a law that doesn't seem to mandate anything. Still others question the idea that textbook vendors will encourage or require students to rent their textbooks, not buy them. Again, this may be fine for required courses outside a student's major, but the theory behind a text is that it should serve as a reference throughout a student's career. Many will want to keep their texts, and some observe that students still buy hard copies more often than electronic when given the choice.
I guess they like to highlight!
In my experience, professors have already been assigning electronic texts. Prior graduate courses required downloading digitized primary source texts that were several hundred years old and several hundred pages long from digital libraries. A great use of technology, but I spent as long printing and assembling my "book" as I did reading it.
Will such laws give students the technological skills promised, or will it just give them a lesson in printing and bookmaking?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
YouTube Wednesday... What?
This week's edition of YouTube Tuesday will be brought to you on Wednesday. We got a little carried away with the holiday - oops.
Now here's the Monty Python crew interviewing a gorilla for a library position. As though the job hunt wasn't challenging enough. Who can compete with a gorilla?
Now here's the Monty Python crew interviewing a gorilla for a library position. As though the job hunt wasn't challenging enough. Who can compete with a gorilla?
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