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.