Technology
A Valentine for my Macbook
Posted February 18, 2014 by Carolyn Lucas
Roses are redViolets are blueMy dear MacbookI love you. For a long time, I was a pen-and-paper kinda gal. If you read my most recent post about office supply rehab, this should come as no surprise to you. However, in the last few years of college and all of graduate school I have found myself starting to take more and more notes on the computer. This can be attributed to the fact that I was an art history major taking a Japanese art class, and my mutilated spellings of “Hiroshige” along with descriptive phrases like “View of Mt Fuji with Plants and bridge No. 2” led me to need to insert the actual piece of art itself, and since then I realized how much more easy it is for me to take notes on a computer. It hasn’t stopped there. I have started buying and reading my textbooks on my iPad, which is an absolutely amazing resource when it comes to not having to lug textbooks on the train if I want to refer to…
Learning the World of Computers
Posted January 27, 2014 by Jill Silverberg
As we all know, last Tuesday’s snow storm caused Simmons to cancel class that night. As I stayed nice and warm inside, I decided to do the responsible thing and do some reading for class. It was while I was reading through one of my two books for LIS 488 (Technology for Information Professionals) that I realized that I have a lot to learn in regards to computers. Now for those of you who might not know, LIS 488 focuses on the conceptual foundation and context of computing, Internet, and other technologies used within information-based professions. Besides learning the concepts and skills related to various pieces and aspects of technology, we are learning about the inner workings and history of computers. Considering that I grew up in the 1990s and had a front row seat to all the changes that occurred within the world technology, I figured that this course was going to relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. But not for the reasons that you’re probably thinking. I’ll be the first to admit that…
Let’s Talk About the Cloud
Posted September 24, 2013 by Carolyn Lucas
The cloud: depending on who you’re talking to, it’s a magical place where dreams are born and an infinite amount of data is stored forever; an invitation for hackers to steal your identity, your money, your husband, and your cat; something mysterious that your boss keeps talking about but that you never really understood; or, those puffy white things in the sky that people started recently referring to in the singular (isn’t it cloudS?). The cloud has somewhat recently made the foray into the “personal” market. One of the first that got me personally hooked was Dropbox – they were giving away free space if you signed up with an email account. (Throughout the years and various promotions we have somehow accrued about 80 Gigabytes of storage for free…Dropbox is awesome.) On Dropbox, I can access all of the files I upload on virtually any computer in the world once I enter in my dropbox information and install the software (which is the best price – free – by the way). After the cloud foray…
My iPad is Mad at Me, and Other Fun Technical Things
Posted September 20, 2013 by Emily Boyd
Last week my iPad and I got into a fight. I’m not sure what I did to upset it but it refused to cooperate. This led to a long (but thankfully free) visit to the Apple store. As it turned out, there was a software issue that wasn’t my fault at all, and the Apple Genius even told me he could tell I take great care of my iPad. I was less excited to learn that I have been using the “iCloud” storage function entirely wrong. I added insult to injury when I mentioned I should know better seeing as I’m working towards a degree in Information Science! The Apple Genius laughed and kindly taught me how to use the storage function more efficiently in the future. Although it’s never fun admitting that you don’t know something I’m glad to have had the whole system explained to me, not only for my own selfish reasons but also so I can explain it to other people who have difficulties. Despite having some technical mishaps in my…
You Could Technically Be A Better Librarian Than Me
Posted September 16, 2013 by Sarah Barton
The GSLIS curriculum offers four specialized programs: Archives, Dual Degree Archives/History, Dual Degree LIS/Children’s Literature, and School Library Teacher. If none of those “tracks” suit your fancy, then you are considered a generalist and essentially create your own track. Given the sheer number of course offerings, you can cater your classes to get down and dirty with a particular topic of interest. Given my interest in corporate/special libraries, technology is one aspect of the GSLIS curriculum that I essentially neglected. I took the one required tech class during my first semester, and that was it. GSLIS offers fourteen technology courses, which is more than enough to fill the eight electives that you need to graduate. Technically you could earn a GSLIS degree having only taken three library-specific courses, which would technically make you a better librarian than me. And I’m ok with that. There are all kinds of IT, systems, information architecture, web development, and other technology-oriented jobs out there, and I’ve heard that they generally pay quite well. Some of those jobs are in…
Apps-olutely none
Posted March 22, 2013 by Maggie Davidov
I know. It’s a terrible pun, but here’s my question: where are the amazing apps for librarians? Where are the “must-haves”? Where is the list that circulates around blogs by amazingly talented librarians, who stay informed on this topic? So far, I have found nothing. I was given an ipad this week at work to integrate into the information literacy course I teach. All hate/jealousy mail may be forwarded to [email protected]. So, I’m playing around on the ipad this morning and I’m surfing the magazines offered on the app store and American Libraries, the official magazine of the ALA, doesn’t show up! I also searched YALSA, and found nothing. NOTHING! What gives, people? I know we all love the incessant naggings of the list-serv emails that crowd our inboxes everyday, but frankly, I’d rather access all the latest library buzz and book trends from an app. Isn’t it about time a fantastic app was released by the ALA? I’m going to write them a letter, or an email, whatever form of communication from the past…
We are Not on the Same e-Page
Posted January 21, 2013 by Sarah Barton
My mother reads more books than anyone I know. She is always reading something, and more often than not she has multiple books going. She legally possesses three library cards from three different libraries, and she actively uses each of them. For the past few years, my father had been talking about getting my mom an e-reader for Christmas, but I always told him that she doesn’t need one because she is at a library multiple times per week. This year (and it is unclear whether this was the result of a lack of other gift ideas or a concerted effort to put my mom at the forefront of book technology), he finally gave her a Nook. For all the books that my mother reads, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her purchase one. That said, getting a Nook is not going to make her any less of a library user. I will be shocked if she purchases a book on her Nook – she is a library user through and through. Anyway, I was…
McAllen Public Library Part Two: People and Programs
Posted January 13, 2013 by lazylibrarian
Last week I had the pleasure of sharing with you some insights from my visit to McAllen Public Library, winner of the 2012 ALA Award for Interior Design. To read the first part of this two part series that talks about the physical building click here. A library, of course, is not just about the building. The building itself might be marvelous, but if the library is not consistently offering services and resources that its patrons desire it will not remain praiseworthy for long. Fortunately, the director of the McAllen Public Library, Kathleen Horan, is not one to forget this. She is not content to let the library rest on its laurels. “Because of our culture and the way the news, the fads and trends come at us, everything comes and goes so we can’t afford to sit back and say ‘ok we can rest easy now because we won this design award,’ because we constantly have to stay valuable,” states Ms. Horan. In her eyes, although the national and international press is welcome, the more…
A Book by Any Other Name
Posted January 9, 2013 by Julie Steenson
Yesterday was a busy day at my local library. A recent phone call from a patron began with, “I can’t believe you have only one copy of this book…” He wasn’t talking about the copy on our shelves, but about our virtual e-collection that we share with other libraries in our state (New Hampshire). The discussion turned to an explanation about library costs for eBooks versus what a patron might pay on Amazon for a Kindle download, as well as a referral to other sources of free eBooks (such as Project Gutenberg and Amazon’s Lending Library), and lastly, of course, a brief lesson on how to search only for available titles one can read right now on the state’s downloadable eBook consortium. This call was followed by a visiting patron, Nook in hand, who needed help to access the downloadable collection. Behind her stood a patron who wanted to download an audiobook to her iPhone…and a young lady of 12 with her new Kindle Fire… and a mom, with a stack of thirty picture books….
Do we still need libraries?
Posted December 29, 2012 by Maggie Davidov
It still blows my mind that the New York Times still thinks that this is a controversial question, worthy of their op ed section. And yet, every couple of months the topic rears its ugly head. This time, the conversation has four professionals arguing in favor of libraries from many different perspectives. One of the voices in this pro-library dialogue is Buffy Hamilton, school librarian of Canton, Georgia. I am a huge fan of Buffy’s, and her Unquiet blog. She speaks about how libraries are not just about book collection, but about connecting with a community and providing a learning space for that group. Lest you think that this is the only valid opinion posited, there are three more. All are wonderful, and use all those buzz words we hear in class: digital divide, marketspace, technology access and that echoing refrain, “…of the people, by the people and for the people.” There are also plenty of comments by the people like you and me. It’s a quick, interesting read that will get your engines revved…