Recommendation Systems = Reader's Advisory

I was reading an article from TechReview about Recommendation systems and it struck me that services such as Amazon's "Customers who bought this also..." are a lot like what we do when we do Readers Advisory. The difference is that Amazon and iTunes, and Netflix make recommendations using mathematical algorithms where we have traditionally relied on our own past readings. The goal is the same "based on what I am interested in now, predict what I may be interested in next"

Since we have a relatively small staff, maybe we should outsource a large portion of our reader's advisory work to Amazon recommendations?

The trick would be to refine the recommendation algorithm so that it can make good recommendations based on who we are (kid vs adult, mystery vs romance reader) and what we browsed vs bought.

Pandora and Slacker are internet music site that select and play music that they think you will like based on the name of a band or artists that you say you like already.

Maybe the first step to outsourcing/supporting readers advisory is to find the right recommender for each type of material. pandora for music, IMDB or rotten tomatoes for DVDS, and Amazon for books?

Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes: How to Find a Novel, Short Story, or Poem Without Knowing its Title or Author

New from the Library of Congress: webguide

Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes:
How to Find a Novel, Short Story, or Poem Without Knowing its Title or Author

Locating a novel, short story, or poem without knowing its title or author can be very difficult. This guide is intended to help readers identify a literary work when they know only its plot or subject, or other textual information such as a character's name, a line of poetry, or a unique word or phrase.

A stretch or no stretch at all!

What do you think about setting the goal for FY 2009 to have an 8% increase in circulation over this year? That may seem big, but when you break it down, its very do-able, We are now averaging 39,112 circ per month. An 8% increase would only be 42,241 circs per month or an extra 3129 per month or 782 per week or 111 per day. Across 7 branches, that's only an extra 16 items per day.

John Venditta

John Venditta, Director of the Western Maryland Regional Library is moving to Chester County Pennsylvania to become their library director. John has been a great friend and partner of the Allegany County Library System in his 7 year tenure. Our recent accomplishments could not have been possible with out his help. To put it in musical terms (as he was a music major) he set the vibe that moved us all and we launched our adventures from that exciting platform. He also is just a decent guy who will always stand behind you, cheer you on, and let you take the credit (when he deserves a significant share of the credit.) Good Luck on your many adventures and successes to come!! May the accordion player always visit your table!

Great Time at the MLA Conference

Jack and I had a great time at the MLA conference. I only wish we could have served as the back up singers for Nancy's debut at the Polka Dot Lounge and Grill. Jack and I worked the vendor reception area, so we got to meet and greet the vendors who's participation makes the conference affordable for the rest of us. Actually, Jack liked it because he got dibs on all the chotchkeys before anyone else. I actually lost him for almost an hour. I found him playing on one of the AWE early Literacy Stations. (there goes parent of the year.) I also owe a big thanks to Mike Fiscus who presented with Lisa and I as well as helped keep an eye on Jack.

Making Podcasts with Audacity tutorial

photostory tutorial