SLA Kentucky Chapter

One SLA Feed to Rule Them All

Want to keep up with the ever-growing number of SLA blog feeds out there?  Simply subscribe to this feed:

I've put together a combined feed of all the active (in 2008) SLA blogs I could find. This gives you the chance to see and subscribe to all these blogs in one fell swoop.

More info is on a blog (of course!) — in particular, the NJSLA blog, at http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/njsla/2008/05/sla-blogs-meg-1.html

— Eric Schwarz, NJSLA president-elect

How nifty.  Thanks, Eric!

New Pew Study - Summarized

Law Librarian Blog summarizes highlights of a recent Pew Internet study.  The Internet and library are the top and bottom percentage of sources for assistance in the survey that asked about 10 specific problems related to the government.

Generation Gap?

Israel's President Peres says fight anti-Semitism with Facebook.  That is innovative and crosses all kinds of dividing lines.

Friday is Blog Day!

Be part of something special this Friday by posting about five new blogs you'd like to share with others.   Celebrate Blog Day with us and post here.  Thinking about getting into blogging?  Why not start your own blog on Friday?  What better time than now?

UK's First Second Life Exhibit

If you haven't checked out Second Life yet, here's another reason to consider.  UK Libraries' Belle Brezing collection is featured as an exhibit in a Second Life library: Whitehorn     Memorial Library in Caledon, Victoria City. 

More information about the exhibit.

Maybe we should try a chapter gathering in Second Life sometime.  What do you think?

UK's Information Commons Now Open

Next time you are in Lexington, be sure to stop by the William T Young Library and visit UK's new Information Commons, the Hub @ WT's.  The Hub opened for service on Monday, March 5, and our official Grand Opening ceremony will be Tuesday, March 27 at 10 am.

I love the concept of the information commons, and I am so happy to be involved in UK's project from the early stages.  It's wonderful to see students congregating around our new whiteboards, using our new computers, collaborating together in small groups.  Students are slowly approaching us at our new information desk, and I remember how much I enjoyed helping students directly.  In our information commons work group, we spent so much time researching what other institutions were doing and developing our own ideas.  Seeing it all come together is so exciting.

The Geek in Me

Cataloging is by no means my forte in the professional world of librarianship.  Yet, I've been doing a lot of stuff related to cataloging for what seems ages now.  As our library staff continues to seek a replacement system for our current ILS, the word Catalog captures my attention more and more.

Thus this article about the usefulness of the online catalog caught my eye.  http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january07/markey/01markey.html.  (I do have hope for myself I could not make it all the way through the article in one try.)  Those dedicated catalogers that make my life easy, I admire you.  However a few things did strike me as relevant in this article.

I too get frustrated with the searching in an OPAC.  I want to find information but when I use, say, a public library OPAC, the results I receive are not what I expected more often than not.  I truly expect when I search for an author, to retrieve works by that author and only that author.  My frustration is multplied when a title search is performed and I get crap results.  That's when I become the nightmare Library Patron.  I go to the desk and demand that the staff find what I want.  Odd, I use electronic databases remotely often, but rarely do I use the public libray OPAC remotely.

Is the OPAC past its prime? Should we be considering a replacement/upgrade/enhancement to the ILS or should we really think of revolutionary solutions that deliver information rather than providing a search mechanism that generally frustrates?  Are ILS systems for the staff or the user?

SLA on Facebook

I'm not sure if readers of this blog also read the IT Division Blogging Section Blog, but I thought I'd share this about the SLA Facebook Group just in case.  If you haven't checked out Facebook yet, consider creating a profile (and join the SLA group!). 

UK's Facebook Group is clicking along, but I'd like to do more with it.  If you haven't heard about our Facebook profile (and all other library profiles) getting shut down, here's the story.

Questions?  I'd be glad to talk to you about Facebook further.

Library Promotional Videos on YouTube

I'm sure you've been forwarded links to some of the neat library promotional videos out there on YouTube.  Just last night I watched one from our neighbors in Paducah.  This rap is pretty funny, especially if you've seen the SNL sketch it parodies.  I particularly enjoy the Library Mystery Tour and hope we can explore doing something like this at UK in the future.

What are some of your favorite library promotional videos?  Please share in the comments.

New Blogs/RSS at UK Libraries

Sue Smith, our own Bulletin co-editor, announces the launch of the first library blog at the UK Libraries, the Shaver Engineering Library blog.  Way to go, Sue!  The Engineering Library is undergoing a big renovation right now, so new posts include images of the construction.  It will be fun to watch the progress on the blog.  Check it out!

UK Libraries News now has an RSS feed.  Consider subscribing in your favorite aggregator to keep up with what's new at UK.

Who else is using blogs and RSS?  Please share in the comments.

EDUCAUSE Conference Presentations Available Online

Presentation slides, audio, and/or video files from EDUCAUSE 2006 are now available online.  Even if you aren't an academic librarian, many of these presentations may be useful to you with topics ranging from podcasting to better customer service.

This is a great conference, and if you ever get the opportunity, I urge you to check it out.

Free LJ Subscription for LIS Students

Please spread the word to current LIS students.  US only, for one year, valid student ID required, just fill out this form.

Link via the Liminal Librarian.

Library Technology Conference Podcasts Available

The Access conference in Canada offers some terrific programming on libraries and technology.  Many of the session podcasts and/or slides are now available on the conference website.  Some topics of interest include Library 2.0, improving the library catalog, privacy, and open access.

New Maps Wiki

This morning I ran across a blog called the 'Brary Web Diva.  An entry about a new wiki, Wikimapia,  caught my eye.  It is an interactive map of the world, set up as a wiki so anyone can mark interesting places--her suggestion, of course, was to add libraries.  Each new entry has to be voted on by two people before it is allowed to stay marked on the map.  The idea has potential, although it is already showing the usual difficulties of open wikis:  there is one entry in Lexington for "Evil McDonald's Parking Lot."

Second Life and Libraries

Some of you may have heard of Second Life, a virtual world, and maybe even that librarians are getting involved with that virtual world.  In addition to more coverage on the blogs, a lot of folks were talking about it at KLA last week.  If you'd like to learn more, the Second Life Library is hosting a grand opening Oct 12-14.  Just create an account, find the library, and check it out!

Library's Facebook Profile Shut Down

I'm not sure if you all read the SLA IT Division's Blogging Section blog, but I just posted some information there about UK's Facebook profile getting shut down.  I can understand not wanting profiles for objects like kegs, beer bottles, fake names, etc. (apparently there are many) but why no profiles for libraries?  It is especially frustrating considering the time we spent on setting up the profile and keeping it up to date.  Beth Kraemer and I have even done a couple of presentations for UK Libraries' employees on using social software, Facebook and MySpace in particular, and how to use them to promote your library. We just created a Facebook Group for the library -- not quite the same thing, lacks all the features and is harder to find, but it is still a way to reach out to students.