Rollyo and the Annoyed Librarian

Wow - I have been having the best time using rollyo.com and perusing the Annoyed Librarian postings about privacy. Such fun!

Rollyo is a great idea. You can "roll" or create your own customized search engine "using the websites you trust". Use web portals, blogs, whatever you like. And one of the best features is "Explore". If I could re-design their website, I would make this feature one of the highlights of the page. Right now it is on the black header with grey letters.

When get to the "Explore" page, you have some options. Do a search on any topic and you will likely find that someone else has create a rollyo on that topic. There is nothing I like better than benefitting from the work of others. Or you could check out one of the "Most Popular" Rollyo searches. If you like Wikipedia, "The Big Answer Deck" will be great fun for you.

Rollyo's search algorithms may need a bit of tweaking. When I searched the Rollyo called librarianblogs for "privacy", the results that showed up in the results pane were completely irrelevant. Luckily (or possibly by good design) Rollyo displays the websites that were searched in the column on the left. When I clicked individual blogs from the column on the left, I found the results I was looking for - lots of interesting articles on privacy related to libraries, librarians and the Bush Administration.

I then stumbled upon the Annoyed Librarian. She describes herself as, "possibly the most successful, respected, and desirable librarian of her generation." Along with making fun of librarian stereotypes, she makes intelligent comments about almost every aspect of librarianship. And to top it off it's fun to read. Well done!

Mashups - Check out this Amazon.com Similarity Web

A mashup, according to wikipedia (4/28/08), is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool. The similarity web for Amazon.com, created by a self-proclaimed starving student, takes information from "Customers who bought this item also bought..." and displays it in a very useful and visually interesting way.

I like it because I am often looking for several books on the same topic. Instead of following the links away from my original find and getting lost on another topic, I can now use this tool. It keeps my original book in the center which helps to keep my ADD in check. Books that customers also bought are in the first circle out from the center.

When I roll over the photo of the book with my mouse, the cover of the book and it's description appears in the box on the right hand side of the page. I can either look at the next book, or click through to get more details.

The only disadvantage I can see is that it takes some time to create the web. For me, however, it's worth the wait.

Odeo and YouTube

I enjoyed using odeo this week. I don't have an iPod yet. Now I'm inspired.

YouTube was a bit more tedious. I found some things I thought were funny. I found some things I thought were bad - really bad. I didn't find alot that I thought was useful and useful is a big plus for me.

If I were going to create something on YouTube for the libary, I would want to make it informative and interesting. What's exciting about libraries is usually not something visual. It's the A on the paper or the fleeting "Yes - I found it." moment.

Probably the best use of a video in libraries is professional development. For example, I am at an academic library with lots of allied health students. I don’t need to use MeSH subject headings very often so it would be great to look at a refresher video before I need to search with MeSH.

How to Start Your Research

I like this video by sharonlibrarian that I found on YouTube. It explains the advantages of using library resources, which are typically published resources, that are delivered via the web. Regular search engines like google, yahoo etc... usually provide access to self published information.

Online Photo Sharing

This week I learned a great deal about Creative Commons. Creative commons is a non-profit organization which has developed agreements and contacts that are similar to copyright - but that allow people to reserve some rights on how their work is used. What's even better is that they are allowing everyone to use these agreements and contracts for free.

Creative Commons agreements differ from copyright in that copyright "reserves all rights" of reproduction with the creator of the work. Creative commons agreements "reserve some rights". For example, you might not mind if someone uses a photo that you took on their not-for-profit or personal web page.

There are six combinations of creative commons licenses. They range from the most restrictive which only allows distribution of your work as long as you are attributed to the most accomodating licence which allows people to "distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation." (quote is taken from the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/meet-the-licenses)

The copyright landscape has changed quite a bit since I graduated from library school in 1996.

I am not sure yet how our library will use flickr. It may be the way to easily share the photos for the student newsletter.

Web Office Tools

Is this the future of all software products? What do you think?

After reading about, looking at and using google docs and zoho I am really impressed with with the quantity and quality of on-line applications available for collaborating. I don't think that all software products will end up on the web. Corporate and government security concerns might make it undesirable and intranets with more specialized software would make it unnecessary.

For students, non-profit groups and small businesses - along with many other groups that have characteristics such as geographic diversity, participants from different organizations, or low budget - these applications are useful and relatively easy for most computer users.

Social Bookmarking

Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?

Del.icio.us is a really easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere. I am using it to help me remember sites that would be good to recommend to students. I am also using connotea. So far, I have not seen a huge difference in the functionality. Connotea is more academic and following tags to other users tends to give you more academic sources. Del.icio.us is more popular and leads you to a bigger variety of web sites when you follow the tags to another persons library.

Social Networks

How can social networking be used by MLA (Medical Library Association) to connect members?

MLA can use their Facebook account as a virtual gathering place for MLA members. MLA does already have an eList for discussion - which works very well. The added benefit of a presence on Facebook is that members are able to "see" more of the other members. On the eList, only the people who post become known. With social networking, when you join the group, you can see all of the other people who have joined the group. This increases your ability to network with people and find common interests. Since people have a profile, you can get to know them on a more personal level than you do on the eList. Facebook can also be used during conferences as a message board.

Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?

We have alot of students on Facebook and MySpace. We could use our page to feature new books, answer questions about assignments, and post information about events. It would allow another access point to our services which would improve our customer service. Our students would also start thinking of us more frequently when they needed research for a paper or presentation.

Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites?

Yes - people should be careful to only post information that they are comfortable with anyone and everyone knowing. In addition, you would not want to make comments about other people that might get you sued.

What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace?

I am still avoiding joining Facebook and MySpace. I have joined LinkedIn. I like that it is business oriented and I enjoy being able to check-in on my connections periodically. I think one of the downsides of social networking is the large amount of time you can spend without much benefit to yourself or society.

Blogs vs. Wiki's

What is the difference between a blog and a wiki? What sort of things might be better suited for a blog and better suited for a wiki?

From my experience so far, a blog is very useful for providing information and having a discussion. It's a little bit like a public e-mail conversation. Once the information is posted, it pretty much stays the way it is and you can see a record of the conversation over time.

When I think about blogs, I usually think of someone (or a small group of people) either reporting or commenting on current events; or acting as an expert on a topic. An article is written and then comments are posted. I think a library might have a staff blog to let people know about new books, recommended books, give background information about events happening at the library, and highlight search tools or web pages.

A wiki, however, is more like a collaboration tool. It can be used for very large projects especially when there is alot of data. As new information is collected or agreed upon, the change is made and all you see is the new information. If someone makes an error (in syntax, a typo or maybe they post something that was a misunderstanding), another person can easily change or correct the entry.

At our library, we are using a wiki to capture answers to questions that are a little tricky. For example, the students have an assignment to find out about phlebotomy and malpractice. We keep notes on which databases have the best articles on this topic. It's great because if we find out new information, we just change the entry.

Both applications have the ability to remain private and restrict the ability of people to comment or edit.