YouTube Tuesday: Sing for your Stacks

Gators Can Sing?
A tour of the music library at the University of Florida



Symphonic Shelves
The stacks are haunted?

Impress Your Professor...Open Access

A victory for the advocates of open access in the academic world!! Two weeks ago, MIT faculty unanimously approved a policy that gives them “nonexclusive permission” to disseminate their journal articles through DSpace, as well as “the right to use and share the articles for any purpose other than to make a profit.” I think this is just great, but then I'm all about free and open scholarly communication. (Need more detail? Go here.)

Also, Gmail's fifth birthday is coming up next week on April 1. Keep an eye out for new features!!

YouTube Tuesday: Competition

Competitive Edge
How library's can gain a leg up.



Vikings!
I found this. It is slightly awesome.

Impress Your Professor: The Changing Net

The latest ASIST Bulletin has an interesting review of a discussion/panel at the recent Annual Meeting. At the meeting, Genevieve Bell gave a talk about how the Internet is more than just technology or a series or webpages. It's, in a way, a philosophy. The author states:

Bell’s final pivot point involves new and old anxieties. There are concerns about privacy, trust, security, and now, reliability. There are also concerns about access, reputation/image, participation, sustainability, responsibility, authenticity, authorship, ownership, surveillance and control, cultural health (digital literacy), dumbing down and distinctiveness. The list of things we need to worry about, she says, is expanding quickly.

If you were unable to make the Annual Meeting, I suggest checking the story out. Heck, even if you didn't miss the meeting, this review is still a good read.

I for one, find the idea of the Internet as cultural is too often overlooked. What say you?

YouTube Tuesday: Kiss Me, I'm Green!

Ireland and Europe
The role of the national library...



A Green Drill Team
Shamrockerific

Impress Your Professor : What does "The Year of the ebook" mean for YOUR professional life?

Gale Group is partnering up with Yankee Book Peddler to sell ebooks. An interesting development...what might it mean for the future of collection development?

Looks like it might behoove all of us to know a thing or two about developing electronic collections. Just FYI, Ned Kraft of the Department of State is teaching a class on just that topic this Summer at CUA-SLIS, and from what I understand he is an expert on the subject.

YouTube Tuesday: Books and Beyond

Service Learning
A project in Bloomington, IN.



Canada's Take
A little risque, but completely funny.

EVENT: The Cloud, the Exaflood, and the Internet of Things

The Cloud, the Exaflood, and the Internet of Things - Realizing the Full Potential of the Next Generation Internet

Speaker: Michael Nelson
Visiting Professor of Internet Studies in
Georgetown University's Communication, Culture, and Technology Program

Michael Nelson is currently Visiting Professor of Internet Studies in Georgetown University's Communication, Culture, and Technology Program. Since January, he has been doing research and teaching courses on "The Future of the Internet" and Internet governance as well as consulting and speaking on Internet technology and policy.

WHEN: Monday, March 30, 2009

TIME: Dinner 6:30 - 7:00pm / Program 7:00 - 8:30pm

LOCATION: Catholic University of America - Marist Hall, Information Commons

Cost:
$15 members
$20 non-members
students free, but must register

For directions and registration, click here:
https://www.asis.org/Chapters/asispvc/pvcregform_03302009.html

See you there!

Jeff Prater
2008-09 Chair, PVC-ASIST

Impress Your Professor...Copyright Issues

I've been fascinated lately by the hubbub over Kindle's text to speech capability. As you may know, Kindle is an ebook reader and it now has the ability to 'read' ebooks out loud. Publishers, of course, argue that this technology infringes the copyright to the audiobook. Others would argue that when you buy a book, you buy the right to read it out loud, and that the robotic voice produced by Kindle is no substitute for an audiobook anyway.
Some authors have weighed in on the issue. Here's what Wil Wheaton had to say. And Neil Gaiman. And Cory Doctorow. Who do you side with?

YouTube Tuesday: Spring Beak Fun

Darn Straight!
Everyone should want to be a librarian



Cat v. Snow
In honor of yesterday's snow day.