I can honestly say I'm not the biggest fan of podcasts. That's pretty weird since I'm not necessarily bothered by the lack of visual entertainment- I browse the internet all the time while listening to episodes of shows and movies. Podcasts just don't do anything for me. As for the "important" podcasts, like of news stories....why not just read the news? I mean, you're already online. You might even get through the story faster than whoever is talking on the podcast.
I checked out Piers Morgan's podcast about the concerns over radiation coming from Japan. It seems to me that a lot of podcasts (this one, anyway) are just an outlet for the people from 24 hour news stations who aren't on the air 24 hours a day to be on the air a bit more. It's not like he's not going to talk about it tonight on his show. I could just listen to the radio, or whatever. I promise I'm not trying to be stubborn about technology...I'm just not into podcasts. ^_^
I do know that there are other podcasts out there that I might be interested in (like a few years ago when I was into the whole paranormal investigation scene, the guys from Ghost Hunters had a weekly podcast that I thought about listening to). I just don't really care. I'd rather read than listen- I read faster than people can talk, anyway.
Needless to say, I won't be subscribing to any podcasts in the near future.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
NetLibrary Thing
This is the first time I've actually used NetLibrary, even though I tell patrons how to use it several times a week.
The audiobook I selected was actually a collection of a few books from the Old Testament. I'm reading through the Bible this year, and I'm currently in the book of Joshua. The audio version available through NetLibrary is four hours and thirty minutes long. It contains three books of the Bible. It's good to know that these are on here because we often have patrons who want the Bible on audio and there are very few books available in the system (which I find odd, considering the general popularity of the text. I'm sure it's expensive, though.) We have some lectures and some books on tape, and maybe one or two on CD. Most of the materials are lectures, though. Patrons will be glad to know that they can actually download what they're looking for, and it will be free.
The audiobook I selected was actually a collection of a few books from the Old Testament. I'm reading through the Bible this year, and I'm currently in the book of Joshua. The audio version available through NetLibrary is four hours and thirty minutes long. It contains three books of the Bible. It's good to know that these are on here because we often have patrons who want the Bible on audio and there are very few books available in the system (which I find odd, considering the general popularity of the text. I'm sure it's expensive, though.) We have some lectures and some books on tape, and maybe one or two on CD. Most of the materials are lectures, though. Patrons will be glad to know that they can actually download what they're looking for, and it will be free.
Video Thing
"When I discovered YouTube, I didn't work for five days. I did nothing. I watched 'Cookie Monster Sings Chocolate Rain' about a thousand times."
-Michael Scott
I was pleased to see that YouTube has a reliable section of their site where videos are posted from universities around the country. Just like with any other form of search engine on the internet, the info you find may not be useful info at all. Some YouTube videos are mislabeled on purpose. Some have a screenshot to make you think you're about to watch what you need, but then the screen will turn black and you're stuck listening to some song you don't care about. It's pretty stupid and frustrating. If I needed videos on an academic subject, there is a better chance of finding what I need (with accurate info) on these channels.
Here's the video I chose to embed:
I made this video for an American Presidency class back in 2008. We had to make a campaign video. My professor really liked it. I wasn't quite as impressed. I got the music from a cd from the library.
-Michael Scott
I was pleased to see that YouTube has a reliable section of their site where videos are posted from universities around the country. Just like with any other form of search engine on the internet, the info you find may not be useful info at all. Some YouTube videos are mislabeled on purpose. Some have a screenshot to make you think you're about to watch what you need, but then the screen will turn black and you're stuck listening to some song you don't care about. It's pretty stupid and frustrating. If I needed videos on an academic subject, there is a better chance of finding what I need (with accurate info) on these channels.
Here's the video I chose to embed:
I made this video for an American Presidency class back in 2008. We had to make a campaign video. My professor really liked it. I wasn't quite as impressed. I got the music from a cd from the library.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Feed thing
I have a little bit of familiarity with RSS feeds, mostly from accidentally clicking the RSS button when I'm heading to the library's list of new titles. I have never really liked the look of google reader, so I've just stuck with visiting my favorite websites individually. However, I think that I will make the switch to using the RSS feeds on my google reader from now on. There are several websites that I like to check on a regular basis, but my internet at home is not currently working. When I do get to a computer, I have a hard time remembering all the things that I want to check. Google Reader will help me with that (I don't know why but I always thought it was just for blogs, like the kind people post using blogger. Now I know better.)
Since our assignment was to sign up for two RSS feeds, the ones I chose were ZooBorns and Cute Overload. I love animals. I mentioned in an earlier post that I could look at pictures of animals all day long. Cute Overload is just a place to show off pictures, but ZooBorns actually serves a purpose. It showcases new baby animals at zoos and aquariums all over the globe. They range from animals that are at no risk to those that are critically endangered. It's very exciting to see zoos helping to bring these animals back from the brink of extinction. And, of course, most of them are just plain adorable.
As for the feeds versus visiting the individual sites, I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Certainly the RSS feeds are more convenient, as they show you everything on one place. There is something missing from not visiting the sites. The people that maintain them (usually) put a lot of effort into the page design, and staring at Google Reader is definitely less colorful than going to each site. Additionally, when I logged into Google Reader I had more than one hundred unread posts waiting for me. I had already looked at these posts on my blogger homepage, so I guess now I have to scroll past them to get them to go away on my Google Reader page. I think I will definitely be using the RSS feeds of various websites in the future.
Since our assignment was to sign up for two RSS feeds, the ones I chose were ZooBorns and Cute Overload. I love animals. I mentioned in an earlier post that I could look at pictures of animals all day long. Cute Overload is just a place to show off pictures, but ZooBorns actually serves a purpose. It showcases new baby animals at zoos and aquariums all over the globe. They range from animals that are at no risk to those that are critically endangered. It's very exciting to see zoos helping to bring these animals back from the brink of extinction. And, of course, most of them are just plain adorable.
As for the feeds versus visiting the individual sites, I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Certainly the RSS feeds are more convenient, as they show you everything on one place. There is something missing from not visiting the sites. The people that maintain them (usually) put a lot of effort into the page design, and staring at Google Reader is definitely less colorful than going to each site. Additionally, when I logged into Google Reader I had more than one hundred unread posts waiting for me. I had already looked at these posts on my blogger homepage, so I guess now I have to scroll past them to get them to go away on my Google Reader page. I think I will definitely be using the RSS feeds of various websites in the future.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Database thing, part deux
I think that the most useful, frequently used databases are the magazines, journals, and newspapers on EBSCOHost. I can usually find whatever I'm looking for on there, and it's great for basic searches for patrons. I can't tell you how many high schoolers I have told to use the databases for research papers. Many times the kid just needs some written source with a bit of info on a person or event. Since the articles on the databases are written sources, they come in handy- especially if the student in question is a bit of a slow mover and his or her classmates have already checked out all the books on a subject. I think that the library staff needs to advertise the databases more in general. If we tell patrons about them, they can explore them more on their own and may find things they've always wondered about but didn't know how to look up before. Then the databases will be used more, and everyone will be happy. If we had to just keep one database I'd go with the EBSCOHost because it has so much stuff on there. We could probably use search engines and books to find a lot of other information. That's a tough question, though. Hopefully we will never be forced to make a decision like that.
Database Thing
Betty Jean McMichael's obituary was published March 18, 2008. She had four sons.
If I did the search right, LFPL doesn't have access to Telos, but we do have access to the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. Full text is available on a 12 month delay, and the journal is available through EBSCOhost. Clinical Medicine and Research is also available through EBSCOhost. It appears that full text is available, and there isn't a note about any delays.
The manager for the mutual fund Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 is Duane F. Kelly. Under "stewardship grade" it says that "this fund makes the grade in most respects." The overall Morningstar rating is 4 stars.
I was able to pull up an article from a 2008 issue of Consumer Reports regarding LCD TVs. The abstract is text only, but the full article is available in PDF format.
The next question was tough! I think that the biggest competitor for the 40202 zip code would be Starbucks. There are three of them. There are also two Dunkin' Donuts. This is definitely a question I would pass on to a reference librarian, though. ^ _^
If I did the search right, LFPL doesn't have access to Telos, but we do have access to the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. Full text is available on a 12 month delay, and the journal is available through EBSCOhost. Clinical Medicine and Research is also available through EBSCOhost. It appears that full text is available, and there isn't a note about any delays.
The manager for the mutual fund Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 is Duane F. Kelly. Under "stewardship grade" it says that "this fund makes the grade in most respects." The overall Morningstar rating is 4 stars.
I was able to pull up an article from a 2008 issue of Consumer Reports regarding LCD TVs. The abstract is text only, but the full article is available in PDF format.
The next question was tough! I think that the biggest competitor for the 40202 zip code would be Starbucks. There are three of them. There are also two Dunkin' Donuts. This is definitely a question I would pass on to a reference librarian, though. ^ _^
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Photosharing Thing
I don't recall ever getting a question about photo sharing specifically, but I do get questions from patrons asking for pictures. The most recent one needed to print some electoral maps from recent elections. Flickr and other photosharing sites are good options for getting these sorts of images. At the time, the student who needed the pictures was just sifting through a google image search. For this exercise, I searched Flickr using the same search terms she had used, and I was more satisfied with those results than what Google provided. I can also see the library staff using these photosharing tools to find images for programming. I frequently help our children's librarian prepare for storytime or other programs by printing pictures to display around the meeting room (for instance, arctic animals for a storytime on that theme). Photosharing sites would be a good place to look for these images- and I've found more results that fit what I'm looking for. Sometimes things pop up in Google searches that have nothing to do with what I'm looking for. Flickr seems to be a bit more concise.
On a more personal note, I like the "groups" feature that Flickr offers. Simple search engines don't offer tools like this. I searched 'arctic animals" and the site suggested the Animal Planet group. I love animals and would be very content to sit here and look through all 460,000 images, but I think that would be considered off task.
On a more personal note, I like the "groups" feature that Flickr offers. Simple search engines don't offer tools like this. I searched 'arctic animals" and the site suggested the Animal Planet group. I love animals and would be very content to sit here and look through all 460,000 images, but I think that would be considered off task.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)