A Poem - Spring Flower and Autumn Moon

Spring flowers and autumn moon come and go,
How much memories one can hold.
Eastern winds through the attic blows,
In the bright moonlight,
think of home makes you low.
Carved rails and marble steps still remain,
but the beauty can't sustain,
How much sorrow can one withhold
like river to the east it flows.

Netlibrary

I signed up to the Netlibrary and tried it out. There are 773 items right now. I did a subject search and found out that there are quite a number of science book (128) , computer books (62) management (46) and religion (32) . Some titles for example the For Dummies series and Absolute beginner’s guide series have both printed and e format. The ebook are of pdf formats and take a long time to download. A major issue is that readers cannot save the file so if they cannot finish the book they have to download it every time. However readers can print it out.

Searh result of Netlibrary

Podcast

I searched the directories Podcast.net, Podcastalley.com and Yahoo Podcasts for any New Zealand podcast, unfortunately, there are not many and they are old, mostly 2006. Then I google searched for library podcast and find one interesting one, Denver Public Library Podcast There you can download songs and stories for kids.


Denver Library Podcast

I then search for any news podcast, I found CNN and ABC podcast quite good. I subscribed all three.


CNN News Podcast


ABC New Podcast

Youtube

Youtube is one of my favourite web site. I am a fan of football (not rugby but soccer) and basketball, sadly the local TV stations have no coverage of both, thanks to Youtube and those fans all over the world I can view matches of English Premier League and NBA from the USA. It is a godsend. I posted a TV commercial from Youtube below. The idea is simple but genius. In addition I put a video bar showing videos of NBA and English Premier League from Youtube on the top of this blog as well.

Web 2.0 Award

I was astonished to find out that there are so many wonderful sites in the Web 2.0 Award page. People are so innovative and talented. They devoted hours in making these sites and so generous to let us use for free. That's the spirit of web. Among all the sites I am more interested in Arcaplay, a site of games. I put one here, lets play.

Web Based Applications

Web based applications are quite useful for those on-the-go people like backpackers who can write and edit documents anywhere and share it with other people as long as they can access to internet. It is also good for people who cannot afford the pricey Microsoft Suite and don't have to worry about upgrades There are web based applications for word processing, spreadsheet and even photo editing. Google Docs is quite popular because you can use email, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation in one account..

To read my Google Doc click HERE

I have tried Zoho, there are more applications than Google and is easy to use.

Sandbox

Editing Sandbox is easy in point-and-click mode, it is the same as writing a blog post. If you know html, you can use classic mode which gives you more flexibility.

Wiki

My first impression of wiki is from my experience with wikipedia. It is quite negative because in the library circle it is seen as an unreliable, non orthodox source of information as compare with traditional reference sources such as encyclopedias. Now I realized that if you use it with caution, it is a handy tool to do initial research, as long as you go further to check the source. Now wiki is used widely in all sorts of areas as a tool for collaborative writing, pooling knowledge or exchanging ideas. Library wikis are mostly used to share information and resources such as subject heading, reference resources amongst librarians. Other areas I can think of are operation procedures and customer informations.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

The Web has been evolving since its emergence. It has evolved from websites to search engines and now to a shared network space. This has much impact on library services, not only of the capabilities of the new technologies but also of its characteristics of simplicity, interactivity, user participation and collective intelligence.
Although Web 2.0 technologies enable libraries to deliver the so called Library 2.0 services, but the essence of Library 2.0 is user-centered mind-set. It is a model for library service that encourages constant and purposeful change, invite user participation in the creation of both the physical and the virtual services they want. The goals are to reach new users and to better serve current ones through improved customer-driven offerings. To do this, libraries can borrow ideas from Web 2.0 sites. For example, library blogs can push news and information to patrons; wikis (e.g. Booklovers Wiki) can engage customers to share book reviews; online catalogue (e.g. Librarything) enables patrons to keep reading records and share book review.
click HERE to go to Wellington City Libraries Blog
click HERE to go to Booklovers Wiki

Technorati

I tried different search methods in Technorati namely keyword, URL, tag and directory using 'learning 2.0" The results are : keyword 500 hits; URL and tag both 626 hits and directory 771 hits. I browsed the site and was overwhelmed by the number of posts coming up every second. It shows how popular blogging is right now and create the problem of overflowing of posts. You really don't know what to read. In Technorati posts are classified by topics, but still there are too many that you can only skim the heading. I tried the favorite and top blogs, they are mostly technology related, may be I am not a techno geek, I am not that interested.

Del.icio.us

I signed up Del.ico.us and tried it out. It is quite useful in managing your bookmarks, the layout is better than that of Internet Explorer and Firefox, it is easier to locate a bookmark in del.ico.us. Tagging is useful when you have too many bookmarks. Unlike subject headings people can use whatever wording as tags, the same tag may have different meaning to different people. so in the network environment , sometimes you find bookmarks under a tag are not what you expected. It is easy to upload bookmarks from other browsers, so there is no hassle to switch to del.ico.us . I don't think the network function is useful to me though, I find few interesting sites from other users except PLCMCL2.

Rollyo

When you search the web, it is frustrating when you get too many hits, you have to browse through the hits to find the sources that you can trust. With Rollyo, you can limit the sites that you want to search. Also you can catagorise the sites by subject or interest. I created several categories to include the reference and news sites that I use most often.

You can use Rollyo by going to its web page or create a search box in your own web page or blog. You can do the same with Google but you cannot put a group of sites. I put both Rollyo and Google search box in my blog.

Librarything

Librarything (http://www.librarything.com/) is fantastic. You can create your own catalogue of your own books. I had made a catalogue of my own books a few years ago with MS Access, it took me some time to create the database and much more time to enter the bibliographic data. It was so tiring that I stopped using it very soon. With Librarything, the software is there and data entry is easy, just key in the ISBN and the site can find the bibliographic data for you from Amazon and libraries all over the world. Real genius. With no room for more books, I am more selective in buying books now, but I will set up a Librarything catalogue for my own books and the books I have read. One interesting feature is that the catalogue can show the books by the covers.

my catalogue in "cover view"

please click the below button to check my catalogue

or go to the following page HERE

Online Image Generator

I used Google search to find online image generator and found that there are quite many. I tried several of them Cooltext (http://cooltext.com), Text2logo (http://www.text2logo.com/) and Spiffytext (http://www.spiffytext.com/). In general they are easy to use, just key in the text, select font, effect, color and you get very stunning images and logos. Among these Cooltext is the easiest. and there are lots of effects and fonts to choose from. With the online image generators, you don't need pricey software to make your own logo. Here are some logos I made with Cooltext.

(click above to see the effect)

Library Blogs (Thing 9)

Libraries have been trying hard to promote awareness of their programs and services. In addition to traditional media like newspapers and TV, many libraries including university and public libraries have stepped up to use blogs. They use blog to promote their collections services and events, and the customers can give feedbacks and comments. This new channel helps libraries to reach out to the growing blog community.

Library of Congress Blog
http://www.loc.gov/blog/

List of public library blogs in New Zealand:
Hamilton
http://hamiltoncitylibrary.blogspot.com/
Christchurch
http://cclblog.wordpress.com/
Rodney
http://www.rodney-libraries.blogspot.com/
Wellington
http://wellington-city-libraries.blogspot.com/
Hastings
http://haslibnews.blogspot.com/

RSS Feeds and Bloglines (Week 4 Thing 8)

RSS can save you a lot of time in looking for update messages, especially when you have diverse interest. I used Bloglines to creat RSS feeds. The process is quite straight forward, instructions are clear. When choosing feeds, the Most Popular Feeds list is quite good for reference,I picked up several feeds from it. I also put a RSS subscription icon in my blog. I used Blogrolls to share my feeds, but keep some feeds private.

Technology (Week 3 Thing 7)

Technology advancement is now beyond our imagination. We use PC, mobile phone, high definition LCD television, fax, email, MP3 player digital camera on the daily basis. Among which the impact of mobile phone is the greatest to us. Why? Because it is now the mother of all gadgets; mobile phone is no longer a mobile phone in its original sense, it is now the platform in which all the above can operate. The latest example is iPhone.

The iPhone's functions include camera and MP3 player (iPod), in addition to voice, text and video mail. It also offers Internet services including email, web browsing, and local WiFi connectivity. It also has the capability of a hand held computer and personal organizer.

A CBS report on iPhone on Youtube

The growing popularity of mobile phone is phenomenal,as recently as 2002 the number of mobile phone mobile subscribers reached 1 billion, just 20 years after it was introduced, making it the fastest growing technology. In the same year it overtook the land line network and its growth has carried on unabated with the second billion coming in a record 3 years time in 2005.

Flickr Mashups (Week 3 Thing 6)

There are some mashups for Flickr, I have tried trading card and magazine cover, both are OK, but I can make better stuff with Photoshop. I found the Trip Planner real cool. You can create your own trip journal with the Flickr album and share with your friends.



Another good feature of Trip Planner is that you can plan your trip with, the site gives you accommodations and attraction information. They are soft ads, and I think Yahoo earn revenue from it. The best part is you can get good ideas and advice by reading other people's journal, some are as detail as "Lonely Planet" and even more current.

Flickr week 3 Thing 5

I have tried out Flickr. The site has loads of functions, easy to use and have a lot of pictures (in fact there are more than you can see) . I found some interesting pictures about libraries and librarian. I like this photo of actionfigure in particular. Although it is kind of stereotype, but it is cool to put one in the library to keep people quiet, and is better than 'shhhing' people


uploaded by gwENvision

I use Digitalmax myself. There are fewer functions, no blog, no community, but enough for me. I use it to share my photos with friends and relative and print. The price is reasonable and there is a pharmacy near my workplace where I can pick up the print.

Social Networking (Week 2 Thing 4)

I have been using social networking websites for some time, mainly sports forum, such as British soccer and US NBA. Through these sites I can get in touch with people with the same interest, discuss the good and bad of the team and game, and even view game photo and video. It is important to me that in NZ soccer and basketball are not as popular as rugby and have low media coverage, and I can't afford Sky TV. I have also tried Myspace, Bebo and the like and found that there are a lot of stuff in the sites and you can spend hours browsing (if you are interested in the content). They are more targeted to teens and teens-at-hearts(unfortunately I am not). I particular have difficulty with the style of English in some posts.

A post from Bebo

Although I am not a fan of Myspace and Bebo, I personally have no problem with them either. But there are growing concerns in the society about the gang culture portrait by many posts (rap music video, school bullying and street fight videos). Other concerns about the services are the same that have motivated previous Internet regulatory initiatives: underage access to objectionable material and fears about child predators. In USA, there are legislation in some states prohibiting school and public libraries to allow youngsters to access social networking sites.

According to Sunday Star Time (27 May 2007), over 2000 schools across the country have blocked students from accessing social networking sites. The ban come after growing concern about photos and videos of fights and bullying in schools and playgrounds.

Cherry Blossom

There are cheery blossom trees in my neighborhood. A few weeks ago, they were standing bare and shivering in cold and rain, now they are full of budding blossoms as if they have been painted.

A Joke

This joke flashed in my mind this afternoon when I was shelving.

A man came into the library and asked "What's the call number of Auckland? " The librarian replied without thinking, "919.32". The man exclaimed "Wow, I don't know the international telephone code has been changed to 5 digits now. "

School Holiday begins next week

Next week the 2-week term break begins, as this is a short break, most people will stay in town, and the library is the best place for parents to let their children to hang around. They think that it is safe and have lots of things for kids to do. Our library will soon become a kids-zone with children running around: and a war-zone with books trashed on the floor. It is particularly awful for us to tidy up the place and putting books back to the shelf. Every time, to make me feel better, I will recall the scene that I saw when I walked into a Shoes No 1 shop in one Christmas, there were shoes everywhere, because people just left the shoes on the floor after trying, and the staff were desperately matching the shoes (left and right, same size) and putting them back to the box and then the shelf. I just felt sorry for the staff. This make you feel better. because you know you are better off than those people in Shoes No 1. Remember "My Favorite Things" in "Sound of Music", there is a line like this ... I simply remember my favorite things(the people in Shoes No1) , and then I don't feel so bad. Try this fellow librarians, it works for me.

Ex libris exhibition

The Auckland War Memorial Museum is holding a Ex libris exhibition from 7 September 07 – 28 October 07. More information please visit http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/403/exquisite-ex-libris-1900-1950

The Blog

The purpose of this blog is to share my live as a librarian with you. I want to make a name that is fitting and yet scholastic. After some soul searching and book flipping, I decided to use a Latin quote "in libris, libertas" which means "in books, (there is) freedom". I find it fitting because as a librarian, books are my primary product I serve to my patrons. And most importantly I believe in what books can bring to people - knowledge.