John Taube - Upgrading ever since...

Moving over to WordPress

2011-03-11T14:55:00.002-05:00

Effective immediately, my blogging activity will take place at http://alleganylibrarydirector.wordpress.com/ Please drop by and check out the Library's new web site that goes with the new blog site. Thanks.

Knowledge isn't like a cheeseburger

2010-12-09T15:58:00.002-05:00

Dr Tae - Building a New Culture of Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Tae — Building A New Culture Of Teaching And Learning from Dr. Tae on Vimeo.

Another persuasive presentation from Ken Robinson

2010-11-12T12:22:00.001-05:00

Changing Education Paradigms

Libraries reinvent themselves as they struggle to remain relevant in the digital age

2010-11-12T11:27:00.001-05:00

This story was sent to you by: John

--------------------
Libraries reinvent themselves as they struggle to remain relevant in the digital age
--------------------

They're preparing for a future in which materials can be checked out and read from a home computer, smart phone or e-reader.

By David Sarno, Los Angeles Times

November 12 2010

Kathy DeGrego's T-shirt lets you know right away she isn't an old-school librarian. "Shhh," it says, "is a four-letter word."

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-libraries-20101112,0,6514361.story

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com

If Romeo and Juliet had Facebook

2010-11-07T22:14:00.001-05:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

If Romeo and Juliet had Facebook

via English Muse by englishmuse@yahoo.com (Tina) on 11/4/10

Found on this fantastic blog!

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to English Muse using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Gadgetwise: Children's Books With Online Extras

2010-11-07T16:12:00.001-05:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Gadgetwise: Children's Books With Online Extras

via NYT > Technology by By SAM GROBART on 11/6/10

Three young-adult novels-all which use the Internet to add to what's on their printed pages-are reviewed in this week's Sunday Book Review.

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to NYT > Technology using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

US News & World Report to drop monthly print mag

2010-11-06T12:11:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

US News & World Report to drop monthly print mag

via Wash Post Nation by washingtonpost.com on 11/5/10

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. News & World Report magazine is going to stop sending its monthly print edition to subscribers next year and go mostly online.

Things you can do from here:

Subscribe to Wash Post Nation using Google Reader
Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

What's The Difference Between Regular and Decaf Coffee?

2010-11-05T22:15:00.001-04:00

What's The Difference Between Regular and Decaf Coffee?

What Happens When You Swipe a Credit Card

2010-10-14T11:37:00.002-04:00

What Happens When You Swipe a Credit Card

via The AppsLab by Jake on 10/12/10

A great data visualization of the flow of data and money that occurs when you swipe a credit card courtesy of FeeFighters.

Credit card processing is a dark arts, and this infographic helps simply the process.

FSU Center for Creative Writing to Host Fourth Annual Press Festival

2010-09-29T19:07:00.001-04:00

FSU Center for Creative Writing to Host Fourth Annual Press Festival

The Frostburg State University Center for Creative Writing, in partnership with the Allegany County Library System, is excited to announce that our fourth annual Western Maryland Small and Regional Press Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 16, from 11:00 am- 4:30 pm, at Main Street, Frostburg.

This annual event brings together editors and publishers with writers and educators of the local literary community. Participating journals and presses are provided with tables inside Frostburg?s Lyric Theater to display books, submission guidelines, and other promotional materials. Panel discussions and roundtable sessions include topics on writing and getting published; teachers and students; blogging and new media publishing; using social media for promotion; and multi-genre craft discussions. The Press Festival is an excellent opportunity for members of the local literary community to meet directly with editors and publishers and learn all about writing and publishing.

Some participants this year include Mammoth Books, CityLit Press, Lines + Stars, Kestrel, Gargoyle Magazine, No Tell Books, and The Broadkill Review.

This year we have expanded the Festival to several partnering locations on Main Street, including Mountain City Traditional Arts, the Frostburg Public Library and the Lyric Theater. Additionally, we are kicking off the Press Festival with a poetry reading by Nancy Krygowski from the Gist Street Reading Series on Friday, Oct. 15, at 5:30 pm, at Main Street Books; a reception for press and journal attendees at the Center for Creative Writing from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm; and a panel discussion on forging a literary community at 7:30 pm.

Leading up to the Small Press Festival, we will feature interviews and information about participating presses and journals on the Center?s website and Wordpress blog. Please see our website at http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/ for more information and a complete list of participants.

Kimberly Brown
AmeriCorps VISTA
Community Outreach Coordinator
Center for Creative Writing
Frostburg State University
Office: 301-687-4340 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 301-687-4340 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: 301-687-3099
http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/

Banned Books Week: a chance to be subversive

2010-09-29T19:04:00.000-04:00

Banned Books Week: a chance to be subversive

Read Street is ever-vigilant in exposing the vigilantes who try to ban or challenge library books, so we welcome another Banned Books Week.

The American Library Association sponsors the event each year to highlight the nagging issue. Publishers, authors and others are holding their own events. Random House, for example, has a Facebook page on the issue. The Harford County Library has developed a quiz to test your acceptance of these controversial books. And The Baltimore Sun has an interesting photo gallery of banned or challenged books, including "My Friend Flicka," which made the list because it used the word "bitch" in referring to a female dog.

So enjoy the week, and take this opportunity for a bit of literary subversiveness.

What to Do If Hackers Steal Accounts

2010-09-29T17:58:00.001-04:00

What to Do If Hackers Steal Accounts

If your e-mail, Facebook or Twitter account has been broken into and taken over by crooks, here's what you can do to kick them out and regain control over your online life.

Are Dads the Key to Get Boys to Read?

2010-09-29T16:40:00.001-04:00

Are Dads the Key to Get Boys to Read?

A new report from publisher Scholastic affirms what many parents and teachers already know viscerally: As kids grow, they read less and spend more time going online and texting.

Celebrate Banned Books Week September 25 – October 2

2010-09-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

Celebrate Banned Books Week September 25 – October 2

The American Library Association observes Banned Books Week September 25 – October 2 to celebrate the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. The top ten challenged books in 2009 are listed below followed by the reasons they were challenged. VOYA reviews fo the young adult challenged books are also included. VOYA supports teens' freedom to read!

ttyl (Internet Girls series) by Lauren Myracle (Amulet/Abrams, 2004/VOYA June 2004).

Nudity, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group, drugs.

Myracle, Lauren. ttyl. Amulet Books/Harry N. Abrams, 2004. 224p. $15.95. 0-8109-4821-4. 3Q 4P M J

Three friends in tenth grade, Angela, Maddie, and Zoe, use instant messaging (IM) to discuss the events and issues in their lives. This novel is written entirely in the IM format and gives the reader a voyeuristic view of high school life in Atlanta. In addition to the usual chatter about outfits, jobs, and homework, the girls face problems with friends and with a lecherous teacher, and they discuss spirituality and family issues. Each girl has a distinctive personality: Zoe is reserved and interested in church, Maddie is outgoing and searches for new experiences and friends, and Angela lies somewhere between them.

Myracle captures the banter and shorthand style of instant messaging, and she successfully conveys personalities and settings through the dialogue, but the format does not allow a complex plot to develop. Instead it is an episodic slice-of-life story. Younger teens will enjoy the novelty of its style, and the names of current television shows, movies, and restaurants scattered throughout the book will make it easy for them to identify with Angela, Maddie, and Zoe. But just like the latest technology, this book will be discarded when the next new thing comes along. Leisure readers should enjoy it before it becomes outdated.-Jenny Ingram.

In ttyl Myracle shows the hardships of three girls' high school lives. As a younger student, I cannot relate to the problems that Angela, Zoe, and Maddie have to endure, and I think that girls in grades eight through eleven or twelve will like this book more. Girls in those grades would be able to more easily connect with Angela, Zoe, or Maddie in at least one aspect of their lives. 3P 3Q-Rebecca Mor...

John E. Taube

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2010

2010-09-27T09:12:00.002-04:00

View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2010 in a larger map

IDEO’s vision for the future of the book

2010-09-22T14:51:00.002-04:00

The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.

My6sense review

2010-09-08T20:34:00.000-04:00

With all the excitement over the Android release of the My6sense app,
I decided to give it a whirl. It was great as a reader, but unless it
can sync and mark items as read in Google Reader, I can't afford the
time to read them in My6sense and then read them again in Google
Reader.

LIBRARIES ADVANCE AGAINST ALL ODDS

2010-08-23T15:59:00.001-04:00

Neil Peirce of the Washington Post writes that "America's public libraries, fast turning themselves into "one-stop shops" for digital job searches, appear to be staging one of their great historic transformations." .... "What's amazing is that many libraries are able to maintain the bulk of their services and adapt to growing needs during a recession, even in the face of snowballing funding cuts by their local governments.

Read the full article.

Top 10 Facebook Fixes [Lifehacker Top 10]

2010-08-21T12:50:00.001-04:00

Top 10 Facebook Fixes [Lifehacker Top 10]

Facebook may be the de facto social network of, frankly, almost everyone, but that doesn't mean you have to use Facebook exactly the way its creators, or your Farmville-addicted friends, want you to. Here are 10 tweaks to make Facebook better. More »

Paper cuts: a blog about books

2010-08-19T10:50:00.004-04:00

Paper Cuts from the New York Times is a blog about books and other forms of printed matter, written by the editors of the Book Review. Look here for book news and opinion, interviews with writers, regular raids on the Book Review’s archives, and other special features.

New ELI 7 Things... Brief Explores Assessing Online Team-Based Learning

2010-08-18T19:55:00.001-04:00

New ELI 7 Things... Brief Explores Assessing Online Team-Based Learning

In team-based learning, students work in groups on outcome-based or problem-based assignments. Assessing the work produced by teams, however, presents a significant challenge, and this difficulty is especially prominent in online environments. Developing and implementing a transparent assessment process that both supports and recognizes individual and group learning can generate a powerful combination of interdependency and peer cooperation.

Online Database: Michigan State University’s Quilt Index Receives 100K Grant from IMLS

2010-08-15T12:03:00.001-04:00

Online Database: Michigan State University's Quilt Index Receives 100K Grant from IMLS

Yes, a quilt index. It's even searchable Read on!

Access the the Quilt Index

Search the Quilt Index

Signature Quilt Search

From the Article:

This fall, the MSU Museum's Quilt Index — an online database of more than 50,000 quilt images — will prepare to expand its resources internationally, using an almost $100,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS.

[Clip]

The grant period begins Oct. 1 when the MSU Museum will begin contacting potential international contributors, such as libraries and museums, said Marsha MacDowell, the Quilt Index co-director, curator at the MSU Museum and acting co-director for MSU's Museum Studies Program.

[Clip]

The Quilt Index uses technology that allows the MSU Museum to expand its information database and, ultimately, make it easier for the public to obtain knowledge, said Lora Helou, the MSU Museum's communications director.

Access the the Quilt Index

"Socialize" about the Quilt Index on Facebook and/or Follow on Twitter

Source: The State News

Q.&A.: Bookmarks From A to Z

2010-08-04T09:15:00.000-04:00

From from NYT > Personal Tech by By J.D. BIERSDORFER

How do I automatically alphabetize my Web bookmarks?

Q.&A.: Bookmarks From A to Z: "How to put bookmarks in alphabetical order depends on what browser you use.

"

Mobile Web: Library of Congress Launches Their First Mobile App, A Virtual Tour of LC

2010-08-03T21:09:00.000-04:00

Mobile Web: Library of Congress Launches Their First Mobile App, A Virtual Tour of LC

The new app (free) for iPhone/Pad/Touch is a virtual tour of the library.

You can download it here.

Matt Raymond writes on the LC Blog:

The app includes highlights of exhibitions and architectural features, with photos, audio by curators and other experts, links to more detailed online exhibitions, and even a video about the history of Thomas Jefferson's Library, which in 1815 reconstituted the Library of Congress after the British burned the Capitol in the War of 1812. The architectural photos come courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith, who has been donating magnificent collections of images to the Library copyright-free, for the American people

Matt adds that the app, "is an ideal companion to an on-site tour, as much of its content tracks with the Library of Congress Experience in the Jefferson Building."

Congrats to everyone at LC especially the three staff members who developed it in-house.

We're downloading it now.

Finally, the blog post end with a reminder that this is the first of many apps. We'll do the best we can keeping you current here on ResourceShelf. Btw, we have sent along a request to find out if the new app (#1) will also be available for Android users. If/when we here back, we will let you know with an update to this post.

Source: LC Blog

The Library of Congress is the world's largest library and the largest body of knowledge under a single roof. Whether you're onsite, at home, in a classroom or elsewhere, this app will give you a virtual tour that mirrors the Library of Congress Experience, an award-winning group of exhibitions and features that has drawn record numbers of visitors.

Sleeping In on Weekends Might Help You Catch Up From the Week [Sleep]

2010-08-03T21:07:00.000-04:00

Sleeping In on Weekends Might Help You Catch Up From the Week [Sleep]

Contrary to what we've heard in the past, scientists suggest in a new study that grabbing an extra hour or two in one night can help restore your performance after a week of less-than-awesome slumber. More »

Summer Road Trip Movies

2010-08-03T09:32:00.000-04:00

from Amazon Daily by Amazon Daily

Summer Road Trip Movies: "

There's just something about the call of the open road that promises a break
from the heat of summer. And while most of us don't seek the kind of
adventures shown in the following list of movies, riding along in the
passenger seat is just right for a lazy summer afternoon. Especially
since the car--usually a classic of some kind--is often as much a
part of the action as the actors. So fasten your seat belts, it's
gonna be a bumpy ride … or at least chock full of ridiculously fun
hijinks.

The Muppet Movie (1979)

Starring:
Jim Hensen (voices) and Frank Oz (voices)

Kermit ditches the swamp and heads for Hollywood, determined to become a
star. The green frog picks up new friends once he hits the
road--Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and more Muppet favorites--and tries
to avoid the evil Doc Hopper, who wants him to promote his frog leg
restaurant. The gang encounter a plethora of Hollywood notables,
including Mel Brooks, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, and Richard Pryor as
they try to make it big. The bouncy, Paul Williams penned score will
stick with you for days, and you can't help bob your head as Kermit
and Fozzie sing 'Movin' Right Along' because you want to be there, movin' right along side them.

Rain Man (1988)

Starring:
Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman

When hot-shot Los Angeles car dealer Charlie (Cruise) learns that his late
father has left a $3 million estate to his heretofore unknown--and
mentally disabled--brother Raymond (Hoffman) and all he got was a
1948 Buick convertible, he sets off in the car to kidnap his brother
and get the money for himself. As with any good road trip, the
hijinks involve a stop in Vegas after Charlie discovers Raymond's
autistic savant carries over to counting cards. Still, the touching
story offers a journey of discovery for Charlie as he gets to know
the brother he wasn't even aware he had and you feel his loss as he
realizes he isn't capable of caring for him alone. Winner of the 1989
Academy Award for Best Picture.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Starring: Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis

A short weekend getaway turns into the fugitive road trip of a life
time when Louise (Sarandon) shoots the man who tried to attack Thelma
(Davis). With the feds on their tail, the women decide to make a run
for Mexico and lead the authorities on a cross-country chase. More
than just a chick flick, the strong female characters offered
audiences a smart and funny gender reversal on the typical
buddies-on-the-road formula of the day. And no one will forget the
now iconic shot of the '66 Thunderbird flying out over the canyon.
Girl power was never the same.

Road Trip (2000)

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, and Amy Smart

Appropriately named, this by-the-numbers teen flick follows Josh (Meyer) as he
tries to intercept a package containing a videoed encounter with an
infatuation (Smart) that was accidentally mailed to his girlfriend.
Friends E.L. (Scott), Kyle (D.J. Qualls), and Rubin (Paulo
Costanzo) hit the highway with him and, predictably, hijinks ensue: a
car explodes, a bus is stolen, French toast is horribly violated …
but for all that, no schmaltzy lessons are learned along the way.
This is simply a tale of three guys on the road with one mission in
mind, okay, maybe two: get the package and have fun.

Harold
and Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)

Starring: John Cho and Kal Penn

Taking place over the course of one, munchie-induced night, Harold (Cho) and
Kumar (Penn) set off in search of the nearest White Castle. The two
burger-seeking buddies are sidetracked by skateboarding hooligans,
racist cops, an inbred tow truck driver and his hot wife, and Neil
Patrick Harris (as himself). And while the audience might
occasionally wonder how much of their road trip adventure is
influenced by Harold and Kumar's choice of herbal refreshment (a ride
through the woods on a cheetah?!) it's a blast to go along as they
seek their fix, finally hang-gliding off a cliff for their ultimate
and well-earned sweet reward.

Eurotrip (2004)

Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, and Michelle Trachtenberg

Head across the pond for a post-high school romp through Europe. After
getting dumped by his girlfriend, Scott Thomas (Mechlowicz) confides
in his German pen pal, Mike. When Mike makes a romantic advance upon
hearing the news, Scott tells him he never wants to hear from him
again. Then Scott learns that Mike is actually Mieke, a girl … a
hot girl, who has now blocked all his calls and attempts at apology.
Determined to make amends in person, Scott, his girl-crazy best
friend Cooper (Pitts), and twins Jenny (Trachtenberg) and Jamie
(Travis Wester) head to Berlin. Though their improvised trip through
Europe is full of clichés and stereotypes, it's all good natured and
you find yourself hoping the guy gets the girl in the end.

Into the Wild (2007)

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, John Hurt

Inspired by a true story, recent college grad Christopher McCandless (Emile
Hirsch) rids himself of all possessions and donates his entire
savings to charity and sets out to hitchhike to Alaska. McCandless'
quest takes him from his safe life in South Dakota to the
non-conformist refuge in Slab City, CA before he heads into the wilds
of the Alaska. Along the way he meets a series of characters who not
only change his life, but benefit from his influence as well.
Unmentioned in the credits, the sweeping scenery plays more than a
supporting role. Academy Award nominated.

Wild Hogs (2007)

Starring: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy

Four mid-life crises + motorcycles = adventure on the open road for adults
instead of teens this time around. Doug (Allen), Woody (Travolta),
Bobby (Lawrence), and Dudley (Macy) set out to break up their hum
drum suburban lives. So they dub themselves the Wild Hogs and go off
in search of adventure. But an encounter with the Del Fuegos, a real
biker gang lead by Jack (Ray Liotta), adds more spice than the
weekend warriors were looking for. When Dudley's bike is stolen by
the Del Fuegos, the Wild Hogs hatch a plan to get it back.

The Hangover (2009)

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis

Four guys. A bachelor party in Vegas. A borrowed classic Mercedes Benz.
What could possibly go wrong? Try everything, including a missing
groom-to-be. While most of this movie takes place in Sin City and not
in a car, the time these four friends spend on the road sets the tone
for the rest of the unbelievable bachelor party weekend (a tiger, a
missing tooth, a baby). They search Las Vegas, piecing random bits of
memory and clues together as they try to find their missing friend
before his wedding. Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture:
Musical or Comedy.

What movies (or TV shows) make you want to head out on the open road?

--Jill Corddry

$200 Textbook vs. Free. You Do the Math.

2010-08-01T10:24:00.001-04:00

From The New York Times:

PING: $200 Textbook vs. Free. You Do the Math.

Two founders of Sun Microsystems have created two nonprofits to bring open-source textbooks to kindergarten through high school classes.

http://nyti.ms/bmYKfl

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

Top Ten (10) Social Media Competencies for Librarians The Search Principle blog

2010-07-30T10:24:00.000-04:00

Top Ten (10) Social Media Competencies for Librarians from the The Search Principle blog

Amazon: E-books Will Overtake Paperbacks by the End of 2011

2010-07-29T23:23:00.000-04:00

Amazon: E-books Will Overtake Paperbacks by the End of 2011

Amazon predicts that it will sell more e-books than paperbacks by the end of next year, and that they will eclipse both paperback and hardcover sales combined shortly thereafter.

"I predict we will surpass paperback sales sometime in the next nine to 12 months. Sometime after that, we'll surpass the combination of paperback and hardcover," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told USA Today.

Kindle books have already eclipsed hardcover sales; Amazon recently said it sells 180 e-books for every 100 hardcovers, with the ratio constantly shifting in e-books' favor.

Many readers still favor the good old printed book. In a recent poll, most Mashable readers cited a preference for physical books over e-books. However, with the e-reader/tablet battle heating up (the iPad is selling amazingly well, and Amazon recently launched a new version of the

Happy birthday to the paperback!

2010-07-29T15:27:00.000-04:00

from Read Stree t by Dave Rosenthal

Happy birthday to the paperback!: "

The Census Bureau alerted me to an important birthday: This week 75 years ago, Penguin brought out the first modern paperback. The idea came from British publishing exec Allen Lane, who was seeking a respite from a Depression-era revenue slump. The cheap, convenient, color-coded format caught on with readers and within months Penguin books were selling in the millions. Today, half of the books bought each year are softcover, the Census Bureau says.

Here's how Penguin's corporate history describes Lane's epiphany: "After a weekend visiting Agatha Christie in Devon, he found himself on a platform at Exeter station searching its bookstall for something to read on his journey back to London, but discovered only popular magazines and reprints of Victorian novels.

"Appalled by the selection on offer, Lane decided that good quality contemporary fiction should be made available at an attractive price and sold not just in traditional bookshops, but also in railway stations, tobacconists and chain stores. He also wanted a 'dignified but flippant' symbol for his new business. His secretary suggested a Penguin and another employee was sent to London Zoo to make some sketches. ...

"The first Penguin paperbacks appeared in the summer of 1935 and included works by Ernest Hemingway, André Maurois and Agatha Christie. They were colour coded (orange for fiction, blue for biography, green for crime) and cost just sixpence, the same price as a packet of cigarettes."

This week, let's tip back a pint -- or a cup of tea -- to honor Mr. Lane.

Five Best Book Recommendation Services [Hive Five]

2010-07-29T11:35:00.000-04:00

from Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick

Five Best Book Recommendation Services [Hive Five]: "

It's disappointing to haul a book home from the library or shell out hard-earned cash at the bookstore only to settle in at home and find you don't enjoy it one bit. Stock your reading list with these five great recommendation services. More »

Study: Libraries Top The Competition In Lending Movies

2010-07-29T11:29:00.000-04:00

from ResourceShelf by resourceshelf

Study: Libraries Top The Competition In Lending Movies: "

From the Article:

Red boxes, red envelopes and the blue and yellow Blockbuster stores may dominate the movie rental landscape, but according to a recent survey, when Americans want to watch a DVD, they are most likely to turn to their local library.

The survey, released this year by OCLC, a nonprofit library co-operative and research organization, found that public libraries in the United States lend an average 2.1 million videos every day, slightly more than the 2 million that Netflix ships. The other top two competitors, Redbox and Blockbuster, come in at 1.4 million and 1.2 million respectively, according to daily averages provided by company representatives.

The findings were part of a report called “How Libraries Stack Up,” which highlights the many roles that libraries play in communities, according to OCLC market analysis manager Peggy Gallagher. It also includes statistics on career assistance and Wi-Fi use — the extent of which might be surprising to the general public or even to businesses offering similar services.

“I think of libraries as places for books,” said Steve Swasey, Netflix’s vice president of corporate communications, adding that Netflix doesn’t view public libraries as a competitor.

Note: We wonder when the last time Mr. Swasy visited the public library in his town or even took a look at their web site? Perhaps we should let him know that libraries are about books and so much more.

One more point, the concept of having to go somewhere to pick up or having someone send you video content on a DVD is coming to an end. Within the next 4-6 years it will be a primarily on-demand world. Want a movie or a repeat of a classic tv show? Go to your TV or computer, press the buttons and either view the show on a traditional television screen or take it with you on a Smartphone or other portable device. For many movies and tv programs it’s already this way and it’s only going to expand. All of the content will be in the “cloud” and users will pull down what they want when they want it. Netflix is placing more and more content online to stream for no extra charge each day. A great way to get users use to the concept.

The Denver Public Library is an example of a library offering video content to download.

Source: Hartford Courant

Hat Tip: DigiLibraryBlog

Information Literacy reality check.

2010-07-29T11:27:00.000-04:00

In a post titled, New Research (Full Text): Not as Web Savvy as You May Think; Young People, Web Search, and Credibility, ResourceShelf reports on a new article by Eszter Hargittai in the International Journal of Communication. The article Trust Online: Young Adults’ Evaluation of Web Content says

Google it. That’s what many college students do when asked to read an excerpt of a play for class, write a resume or find the e-mail address of a politician.
They trust Google so much that a Northwestern University study has found many students only click on websites that turn up at the top of Google searches to complete assigned tasks. If they don’t use Google, researchers found that students trust other brand-name search engines and brand-name websites to lead them to information.
The study was published by the International Journal of Communication. (Abstract and Full Text)
[Our Emphasis] “Many students think, ‘Google placed it number one, so, of course it’s credible,’” said Eszter Hargittai, associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern. “This is potentially tricky because Google doesn’t rank a site by its credibility.”

E-Books Fly Beyond Mere Text

2010-07-29T06:46:00.000-04:00

From The New York Times:

E-Books Fly Beyond Mere Text

Like DVDs, electronic books for the iPad are now being loaded with extras, including video clips that are integrated with text.

http://nyti.ms/a0wNiG

5 Online Sources For Amazon Promotional Codes

2010-07-28T20:23:00.000-04:00

5 Online Sources For Amazon Promotional Codes: our friends at makeuseof.com have provided these links.

NYTimes: Readers Are Abandoning Print, Yet Don't Trust the Web

2010-07-28T08:11:00.000-04:00

From The New York Times:

Readers Are Abandoning Print, Yet Don't Trust the Web

A new report finds that even as people abandon print publications, they distrust the information they read online.

http://nyti.ms/bwJzJQ

Now You Can Bump iPhones to Connect on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

2010-07-26T20:23:00.000-04:00

Now You Can Bump iPhones to Connect on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

One of my favorite iPhone apps get supersized.

from our friends at Mashable

Top (Free!) Tools to Organize Online Research

2010-07-26T20:10:00.000-04:00

from Bib 2.0 by noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Hurd)

Top (Free!) Tools to Organize Online Research: "I'm starting to think about what tools I'm going to introduce to the IB Extended Essay students to help organize themselves as they do their research. It seemed like a good time to do a re-cap (or a gathering!) of the different online note-taking/bookmarking tools I've mentioned before, and to look for any new ones. All of these apps work via browser add-ons, and all allow sharing.

I will add that I tested several different tools; I only included a) those that allow you to grab and save content (images, text, etc.) b) the ones that actually worked. A couple that shall remain nameless repeatedly crashed my browser, wouldn't save content, etc. They didn't make the list, even in a negative review. I also didn't include Google Notebook because they've stopped working on it. With that said, here are my top choices:

Diigo: Originally my app of choice, Diigo's biggest flaw is that you can't make folders to organize/categorize your saved information. Which means you have to rely heavily on tagging to sift through the items. Still, it's a nifty app, and they recently added the ability to capture screenshots and add call-outs to the image. Very cool. Diigo is most famous for the ability to both highlight text on a website, or add public or private sticky notes to the site. (Kids really love that!) They offer an education account that makes student sharing and collaboration a breeze. Diigo now has a web highlighter for Safari on the iPad as well as an offline reader for the iPhone.

iCyte: The best thing about iCyte is it's so incredibly easy to use. While the features are somewhat limited, it's perfect for upper elementary and middle school students. Clicking on the right side of the iCyte browser button captures a screenshot of the page you're on and brings up a window that allows you to assign the capture to a project, tag the shot and add notes. Clicking on the left side brings up a list of all your captures. How easy is that?

Evernote: The granddaddy of them all, of course, and probably the tool I will use with my IB students. Evernote is multi-faceted in that has a Firefox add-on, a desktop application, an iPhone/iPad app AND an online version. All of which sync, of course. You can also add noted from Facebook, Twitter or via email. Evernote also recently added Trunk, a collection of a wide variety of apps and hardware that also work with Evernote. You can add images, text, audio, and video. Evernote saves it all. You can create folders to organize it all. It allows users to create to do lists, which is nice to help students organize their research tasks. Because it does so much, there is something of a learning curve, but it's not huge. You can find my more detailed review here.

SpringPad: While not as elegant as Evernote, SpringPad has one feature I really like: it has a notebook app that allows students to add content, and then arrange it onto different tabs. So, as you can see in the image, I created a general notebook for research on St. Francis, with tabs for him, the 5th crusade, and the sultan. It has an alarm feature that can send either email or SMS reminders (about due dates, for example), as well as a to-do list to help students organize themselves. Like the others, it can grab text as well as capture a screenshot of your webpage. It also offers apps for the iPhone or Android.

Zotero: I have a real love/hate thing going on with Zotero. I love it in theory. Designed for college and graduate level research, it is phenomenal at capturing bibliographic info from online books, journal articles, websites--even pdf's--with a simple click, and allows users to choose from the major citation styles. It's a cross between EasyBib and EverNote, in essence. Sort of a free Noodle Tools. It will store full files, you can add notes, grab screenshots and all the usual collaborative functions. You can even use it as a notetaking tool with physical texts (though there's no reason you couldn't do that with Evernote, too.) Manually add the bibliographic info, then notes are grouped under that entry. But for some reason I just don't like working with it much, and I don't think it would be all that intuitive for high-school students, though I'll admit I've never tried it with them. If any of you have experience with it, I would be interested to hear what you thin
"

‎101 best genealogy websites of 2010

2010-07-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

Family Tree magazine has posted their ‎101 best genealogy websites of 2010.

Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

2010-07-24T22:27:00.001-04:00

The American Association of School Librarians has posted the Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning .

10 Search Engines For Kids That Help Out Parents With Safe Browsing

2010-07-24T22:22:00.000-04:00

10 Search Engines For Kids That Help Out Parents With Safe Browsing
by Saikat Basu of Makeuseof.com

5 More Websites To Learn More About GIMP Photo Editing

2010-07-24T22:11:00.003-04:00

5 More Websites To Learn More About GIMP Photo Editing from Tim Lenahan at Makeuseof.com

Amazon: We sell more books in Kindle format than hardcover.

2010-07-19T21:52:00.001-04:00

From boingboing

Amazon: We sell more books in Kindle format than hardcover.

Amazon today released an announcement boasting that sales of the Kindle device have tripled since the unit price dropped from $259 to $189. And with that, a related piece of news. Founder Jeff Bezos: "While our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books--astonishing when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months."

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

5 Effective Ways To Workout At Home With Online Videos

2010-07-19T17:41:00.000-04:00

From. MakeUseOf.com

by Mohan Ramkumar on Jul 19, 2010 2:32 PM

5 Effective Ways To Workout At Home With Online Videos

Everybody wants to be fit and healthy. Working out in a gym and taking the help of a fitness coach can be a very relaxing experience. But going to a gym to work out is not everyone's cup of tea. Gyms with personal trainers tend to be expensive and if you are anything like me, driving to a gym is such a chore.

The quasi lazy person's alternative is workout videos. Online workout videos offer the best of both worlds – staying in the comfort of your own home and also getting professional fitness advice. After the advent of broadband, delivering professionally produced videos for free while upselling full length DVDs and fitness products has become one of the most common ways to workout at home.

There are a lot of sites and blogs out there that help us tone our body with free workout videos. We have covered quite a few of them in the past and have come up with five more for our beloved readers.

Diet.com

Diet.com has a dedicated videos section featuring hundreds of video workouts and exercises. All the videos are neatly categorized and are updated pretty regularly. Even though there are paid plans available, the videos are not chopped off in the middle and can be viewed by unregistered users free of charge.

Video with tips to reduce weight, reduce fat etc. are an added bonus. Diet's workout video archive is quiet fun to watch with videos like celebrity workouts, workouts without the need for gym equipments and the like. The Diet Investigates section features videos that probes a lot of health related topics and is a must watch.

Workoutz.com

On top of the great workout and exercise videos, Workoutz.com also has a dedicated section for specialty training videos. Video workouts of Yoga positions, kettle ball, speed & agility, stretching etc. are covered in the speciality training section.

These workout videos are of varying len...

Why we need librarians more than ever.

2010-07-16T12:49:00.001-04:00

From Jeri Hurd at the Bib 2.0 blog

Download Entire Newspapers Or Blogs To Your eBook Reader With Calibre

2010-07-14T15:45:00.001-04:00

from MakeUseOf.com by Justin Pot

Download Entire Newspapers Or Blogs To Your eBook Reader With Calibre: "
Ebook readers are pretty fantastic, but if you’re more into newspapers and magazines than books you may think your only option is to stick to what sites offer subscriptions for your device. That’s not true.

Calibre can download entire websites and convert them to any eBook format, meaning you can read your favorite news articles or blogs on practically any eBook reader, from the Kindle to the Nook to the Kobo and everything in between. Heck, it even has easy built-in connectivity for iPhone/iPad app extraordinaire Stanza.

Or, if all you’re looking for is a great way to download your favorite websites for offline reading, Calibre’s got a great built-in reader for your computer as well.

Simon wrote all about Calibre’s superb function as an eBook manager in an article in which he called Calibre mighty eBook management software. In the article he mentioned Calibre’s amazing ability to download entire online newspapers, but didn’t go into any depth. Having said that, let’s take a look at this amazing function.

Getting Started

If you read Simon’s article, you should be familiar with installing Calibre on your machine. If not, check out the download page here for Windows, Mac and Linux downloads (though as always, Linux types should check their repositories before downloading from the web).

The first time you start up the application you’ll go through a simple setup wizard and then you’ll be ready to use the program. As I said, check out Simon’s Calibre article for more information on day-to-day usage; I’m going to focus here on downloading news.

Find Your Publication

Downloading news from many websites simply could not be easier. Just click the “Fetch News” button (pictured above) to bring up the list of many websites built into the program. When you do you’ll be presented with the many sites, broken down into categories.

For example, here’s everything you can find under Canadian English:

All the major daily newspapers are there, ready to be downloaded and read offline. If the category function is too overwhelming, simply search for your given website by typing the name in the search box.

I like to read the entirety of The Economist every week if my schedule allows for it, and Calibre helps nicely with that. I can download the entirety of the print edition to my computer for offline reading, or for reading on any eBook reading device.

Note that, for some of these publications, you will need a subscription to the website in order to make use of Calibre’s downloading function. This is because these sites do not offer access to the full paper without a subscription. Even in these cases, however, it’s nice to be able to download content you’re paying for for offline reading, isn’t it?

Roll Your Own

Can’t find the application of your choice? If you consider yourself fairly tech-savvy you might consider simply rolling your own. A Calibre recipe, you see, is little more than a script that explains how to download the content from a given website and convert it into an e-book. Calibre allows for you to add your own custom recipes if you like. Find out more about creating custom recipes over at the Calibre user manual.

If you create any useful recipes you should share them; it just might end up being integrated into Calibre itself!

Conclusion

Calibre isn’t just a great eBook manager; it’s a fantastic way to download your favorite newspapers or websites to your computer or eBook reader. In this way it reminds me of Plucker, a service I used to use to download news sites and RSS feeds to my Palm Pilot. Calibre, it seems to me, does a much better job than Plucker ever did (and Plucker was really, really good). This is in large part thanks to the recipes tailor-made in order to give end users the best reading experience with a given site.

What do you awesome people think? Is Calibre’s ability to download entire publications and blogs useful to you, or would you rather just read everything online? Is this a threat to advertising models on the web, or does it encourage reader loyalty?

Most importantly, will any of you write a recipe for MakeUseOf? Sharing is caring, or something. Whatever. Just comment.

Image Credit : ShironekoEuro

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How-to: Effectively Manage your Facebook Privacy Settings with Three Simple Lists

2010-07-14T14:46:00.000-04:00

from iLibrarian by Ellyssa

How-to: Effectively Manage your Facebook Privacy Settings with Three Simple Lists: "

Nilay Patel at Engadget blogs about How-to: Effectively manage your Facebook privacy settings with three simple lists. This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to balance your personal and professional life on Facebook by setting up appropriate Privacy Settings and Friends Lists.

The Basic Parts Of A Computer & How To Upgrade Them [Technology Explained]

2010-07-14T10:35:00.000-04:00

from MakeUseOf.com by Steven Campbell

The Basic Parts Of A Computer & How To Upgrade Them [Technology Explained]: "

Do you know how to use a computer? Of course you do. But how familiar are you with what’s inside that shiny metal box of yours? For as complicated as the inner workings of computers may seem, they are really only made up of a few key pieces. If you ever have a hardware problem or would simply like to upgrade one of those pieces, it helps to know what they do and where they are located.

Today we’re taking it back to the basics. In this article, I am going to name the basic parts of a computer, describe what they do, show you where they are usually located, and give you a few tips on how to upgrade them. So the next time your hard drive dies or your CD-Rom stops reading discs, you don’t have to pay for a house call from your neighborhood PC-repair man.

[Note]: This article is meant to be a basic diagram of the basic parts of a computer and is by no means a complete and accurate description of everything that is inside a computer. While replacing computer parts, there are various things to consider that I will not be able to cover here, like compatibility issues.

This article is not about how to build a computer. For that, I invite you to check out our guides, How to Build a Gaming PC and The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Building Your Own PC. You can find a lot of what will be here in our Basic Computer Terms You Should Know Before Buying A PC article.

Now that most of the professionals and hardcore geeks have left, onto the basics!

Motherboard

Your motherboard is where all of the components I’m going to talk about will inevitably plug into. It has slots for most removable components like RAM, IDE/SATA drives, and video cards. If you are a beginner, I wouldn’t advise you to upgrade your motherboard yourself, but a lot of the other components I will cover require you to unplug things from the motherboard.

To view system specs, try Speccy.

Central Procesing Unit (CPU)

See: What Is A CPU and What Does It Do? [Technology Explained]

If a computer was a human, the CPU would be the brain. It is the single most important piece of a computer because it does all the processing of data, calculations, and it controls most of the other components. The CPU is usually located directly underneath a cooling unit on the motherboard.

Once again, I would not advise you to upgrade your CPU yourself if you are a beginner. In most cases, upgrading your CPU will require a new motherboard, along with a heat sink and perhaps other components. While I won’t go into it here, you can find a very informative and detailed walk-through on How to Upgrade a Processor here.

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The PSU provides power to your whole PC and is usually located in the top-back of your computer. PSUs are rated by the amount of power they give out (e.g. 600 watts). It is important that your computer is powered properly so that it does not fail on you.

To upgrade your PSU, you should research the specifications of the other components in your system, most importantly the video card and CPU. You also want to make sure you get the proper connectors for your system.

Calculate your PC power supply with eXtreme PSU Engine.

Hard Drive

Your hard drive is what stores all your data long-term. Hard drives are generally kept in the bottom-front of most PCs, and are usually connected to the motherboard via SATA cables (IDE for older PCs). Also, there will be a power cable.

If yours dies on you or you simply want to upgrade to a bigger one (storage wise), you just need to purchase one with the proper connections. Hard drives are usually screwed into place.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is temporary (or short-term) memory and helps out with overall system performance and speed. RAM consists of long sticks that are plugged directly into your motherboard. Consult your owner’s manual or system information to determine the maximum amount of RAM that’s supported by your system.

Upgrading RAM depends on how many slots you have and the maximum size each slot supports. Some computers require that you have the same amount of RAM in each slot. This would be listed in your manual as well.

Disk Drive (CD-ROM or DVD-ROM)

Your disk drive(s) is/are generally located at the top-front of your machine. They allow you to play and burn (copy) CDs and DVDs. Since discs spin in these drives, they occasionally break on you. Also, the speed at which these drives can read and write data is constantly increasing.

To upgrade a CD or DVD-ROM, simply unplug and unscrew the existing drive and plug the cables (power, SATA/IDE) into the new drive. If you are upgrading from one drive to multiple drives, you can learn about setting the drives to master/slave configuration here.

Video Card

Your video card is what allows you to view anything on your monitor (makes sense). If you’re into gaming, you either left already to learn how to build a gaming PC or you stuck around to see what I had to say about video cards.

Modern games require better video cards. Your video card is usually located in the bottom-back portion of your computer case. Aside from size specifications, slot placement, motherboard type, processor speed, and power intake – which are all compatibility issues – upgrading your video card is as simple as unplugging the stock card and plugging the new video card in its place.

How did I do? Leave a comment below and please be gentle!

Image Credit: William Hook, BBC News, William Hook, Fr3d.org, mattk1979, Renee V, mattjb

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The Essential Guide To Digital Photography [PDF]

2010-07-13T16:25:00.000-04:00

from MakeUseOf.com by Jack Cola

The Essential Guide To Digital Photography [PDF]: "

You may think that picking up a digital camera, turning it on, and taking the photo is all that you need to know about digital photography. Think again, as there is a whole heap more to learn that you might not even realise.

To add to MakeUseOf’s latest PDF collection, Bakari Chavanu from Mac Photography Tips has combined his knowledge to produce an 8000+ word, 59 page PDF eBook.

Download
The Essential Guide To Digital Photography

It’s jammed packed full of useful information for all type of photographers – from beginners photographers to advance photographers.

Inside, you will find information about:

The different types of digital cameras to choose from

What digital camera is right for you

What to look for when buying your digital camera

Accessories that you should have for your digital camera

Features that you should know about your camera

But wait, there’s more. There are also 5 beginner exercises for you to complete to help you become a professional photographer, and helpful instructions and information about editing your photo’s to make them even more magical.

If you have a digital camera, want to become a professional photographer, or you are already a professional photographer, then you do not want miss out on downloading The Essential Guide To Digital Photography.

Barnes & Noble looks to lock down e-book delivery for education with Nook Study

2010-07-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

from Engadget by Darren Murph

Barnes & Noble looks to lock down e-book delivery for education with Nook Study: "

Timely, no? Just as the 2010 back-to-school season really gets rolling (and that dreaded Fall semester arrives to pester you to death), Barnes & Noble is looking to become your go-to place for eTextbooks, study tools and pretty much anything else in the related field. Up until now, there's been no all-encompassing eTextbook delivery method, and the few options that are out there are generally poorly thought out and shockingly spartan. 'Course, B&N isn't coming right out and saying it, but why else would you create a comprehensive application suitable for Macs and PCs that not only puts digital textbooks into the hands of students for up to 40 percent less than conventional books, but also a full library of study aids, test prep guides, periodicals, and hundreds of thousands of trade and professional titles. Moreover, the app "provides students access to all of their materials -- eTextbooks, lecture notes, syllabi, slides, images, trade books and other course-related documents -- all in one place, so their digital library goes wherever they go." Oh, and did we mention that it also supports highlighting and notes, both of which are searchable? Yeah. Currently, Nook Study is being used in a smattering of universities, with an August rollout pegged for universal use. Lookout, used bookstore -- the end could be nigh.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble looks to lock down e-book delivery for education with Nook Study

Barnes & Noble looks to lock down e-book delivery for education with Nook Study originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Nook Study | Email this | Comments"

5 Handy YouTube Channels for DIY and Home Improvement

2010-07-11T22:07:00.002-04:00

From Mashable! by Amy-Mae Elliott on Jul 11, 2010 8:58 PM

5 Handy YouTube Channels for DIY and Home Improvement

The easiest way to learn how to do something practical is to first see it done properly by someone else. By breaking it down into easy-to-follow steps, these how-to videos offer an absolute wealth of knowledge that is just a few clicks away.
We've searched YouTube for the very best home improvement instructional video channels where experts and enthusiastic amateurs share their skills for free.
So the next time you have a DIY job to do, whether it's fixing a leaky faucet or a more ambitious project, check out our choice of top five channels where, no doubt, there's a handy video by someone who's been there, done that, and can help you avoid throwing the wrench against the wall in frustration.

1. VideoJug

VideoJug is one of the big boys in the online instructional video world, and specializes in helping people do a huge range of things, with separate channels for Food & Drink and Beauty & Style.
As far...

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

Article from California Newspaper: “Libraries Evolve into Information Clearinghouses”

2010-07-11T20:50:00.001-04:00

From ResourceShelf

by resourceshelf on Jul 11, 2010 7:01 PM

Article from California Newspaper: "Libraries Evolve into Information Clearinghouses"

What a POSITIVE article about public libraries. Great to read.

We really like the headline, especially the use of the word clearinghouse. It lets people know in a single word that libraries offer a variety of information services, resources, and tools plus the professionals that can train and assist in their use. Perhaps it's a term we should be using more?

Merriam-Webster defines clearinghouse as, "a central agency for the collection, classification, and distribution especially of information; broadly : an informal channel for distributing information or assistance." It's not a perfect definition but it's close and with some tweaking it be even better.

The article focuses on three libraries in the San Diego area.

From the Article:

Libraries, long recognized as book lenders, are evolving along with changing reading habits and new technology to become information clearinghouses, offering services as diverse as free passes for museums, e-book loans, housing clinics and live performances.

"Informing, educating, inspiring, these are all part of our mission and this fits in beautifully with that," said San Marcos branch manager Angelica Fortin.

+ You'll read about how the Friends of the San Marcos, CA Library donated $10,000 from used book sales to purchase about 500 ebooks. San Marcos is a branch library in the San Diego County Library System.

+ The Escondido, CA Library recently purchased an iPad so librarians can be out on the floor helping patrons.

+ The Oceanside, CA Library launch of a new "social web" catalog from BiblioCommons.

+ Several articles in the San Diego County Library System offering "Housing Clinics" and "Job Cafe."

NOTE: More about BiblioCommons in the item posted directly above this one.

+ The Library as community center

+ A bookmobile with wireless access and "resume counseling."

"We're realists, we're pragmatists," [San Diego County Library Director Jose] Aponte said. "We've built a library that we think focuses on community needs in a variety of different contexts."

Access the Complete Article

Source: North County Times (California)

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

Five Best Personal Money Management Sites [Hive Five]

2010-07-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

from Lifehacker by Jason Fitzpatrick

Five Best Personal Money Management Sites [Hive Five]: "

Web-based financial management tools have grown in sophistication to the point where many people manage their entire financial lives with online tools. Here's a look at five of the most popular personal money management sites. More »

Kids: Learn MovieMaking Free at Apple Summer Camp

2010-07-11T12:02:00.000-04:00

From. Bib 2.0

by noreply@blogger.com (Jeri Hurd) on Jul 10, 2010 6:14 AM

Kids: Learn MovieMaking Free at Apple Summer Camp

Smart move on Apple's part, and a great opportunity for kids. Local Apple stores are offering a free 3-day summer camp teaching 8-12 year olds the movie-making process from storyboarding to final viewing. They will need to bring their own camera. Check here to sign up at your local Apple store.

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

10 Sites That Will Teach You How To Draw

2010-07-09T18:06:00.001-04:00

From MakeUseOf.com

by Saikat Basu on Jul 9, 2010 3:31

10 Sites That Will Teach You How To Draw

They say that there are two skills that most humans wish they were born with. The first – to sing and play in tune; the second – to draw with ease. Unfortunately, most of us can only stare with envy as some of the blessed ones give voice to their talents.

I could never hold a tune, but to a moderate degree I succeeded in holding a brush and palette. I never reached the artistic heights of a Picasso or anywhere remotely close, but I did well enough to breeze through Biology's vertical sections and sundry anatomical illustrations. The art classes that I took certainly helped to shore up my understanding of symmetry and perspective.

Let's take computer art. Photoshop and Illustrator can help just that much with their tools and filters. It's the same with user-friendly drawing apps. To take it to the next level, a good drawing hand is essential. And it's never too late to dust off the years and take up lessons on how to draw. Think of the web and these websites profiled below as your free online drawing and art class. Brush up your skills.

How to Draw It

How to Draw it is a simple site but with lots of lessons. From the kid who is just beginning to take up the art to the guy who needs to go back to the basics, the lessons cover all. The beginner lessons are composed of 10 exercises from shading to use of watercolors. The fundamental concepts will require a lot of reading, but it's worth that for understanding how creative art comes together. For instance: the laws behind good composition.

The specialty of the site seems to be the lessons that show how to draw different kinds of animals easily.

Drawspace

Drawspace is definitely one of the best sites you could go to for learning how to draw and sketch. The person behind the site is Brenda Hoddinott. It's not only the variety of things you can learn to draw or the well supported discussion board on the site. It's also the layout of the site where you can jump straight to your skill level (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced) or choose a particular skill from the dropdown. Then there is the Gallery of finished art to...

Dear Book Lover: Keeping Libraries Open

2010-07-09T06:28:00.000-04:00

From the Wall Street Journal

Dear Book Lover: Keeping Libraries Open: "Cynthia Crossen on the benefits of free libraries."

NYTimes: For Those Facebook Left Behind

2010-07-08T22:21:00.002-04:00

From The New York Times:

STATE OF THE ART: For Those Facebook Left Behind

A primer on social networking sites for those who don't know a Yelp from a FriendFeed.

http://nyti.ms/aiDZhh

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

Is digital divide being narrowed by mobile phone Web use?

2010-07-08T21:32:00.002-04:00

librarianbyday: RT @dmlcentral: Is digital divide being narrowed by mobile phone Web use? NY Times http://nyti.ms/df92YY

6 Quick iBooks Tips For Better Reading Experience On iPhone

2010-07-08T14:30:00.000-04:00

from MakeUseOf.com by Jeffry Thurana

6 Quick iBooks Tips For Better Reading Experience On iPhone: "

I always thought that reading electronic books on a small screen would be a daunting experience. That’s why I had my doubts when I first heard that Apple had released the iPhone version of iBooks – which was originally made for the bigger screen of the iPad.

Nevertheless I would never turn down the possibility of carrying a library of books in my pocket. So after downloading and installing iBooks for iPhone and loading a bunch of digital books to it (as discussed in a previous article), I opened the first page of one of the books – the free complimentary classic “Winnie The Pooh” by “A. A. Milne”.

It felt strange holding and reading a book the size of your palm. It’s smaller than ordinary printed pocketbooks and I have to admit that the reading experience was indeed different from reading a real book. But it’s anything but inconvenient.

Here are a few things I can share after playing with iBooks for a short time.

Jumping Around Pages

One of the advantages of digital books is its ability to jump around pages easily, and the first place to do that is the table of contents. You can tap one of the chapters to go directly there or you can resume reading the page you were previously on.

You can also go to one of the bookmarks you created while you were reading. We’ll discuss more about bookmarks later.

Modifying The Looks

When you tap the page, the tools will appear. You can modify the look of the pages using these tools. For example, you can change the brightness by moving the slider.

You can also change the size and type of font used. The “Sepia” switch is to alternate the temperature of the page between warm and warmer for the eye.

At the top right of the page is the bookmark tool. Tap on it to place a bookmark, tap again to lift it. Bookmarked pages are accessible from the tab next to the table of contents.

Search & Define

You’ll notice a magnifying glass among the tools. This is the search tool. Tap to activate the search function (you can also do a search on highlighted text).

Type in the search string and you’ll have the search results. Clicking on one of the results will bring you to the page where it’s located.

But that’s not all. You also have the option to get results from Google and Wikipedia.

Adding Notes & Highlights

One of the things that I like (and hate) about buying used books is the amount of notes that I might find between the pages. Some people reading while making notes. You can do similar things – digitally – in iBooks.

Tap and hold a word to select it. You can expand the selection by moving the marker. From the pop-up menu you can add “Highlight” and/or “Note” to the selected text. Then the highlighted texts will appear on the bookmark list so you can access them easily anytime.

If you choose “Note“, a notepad and keyboard will appear. Just type in your thought or comment there.

After that, a tiny marker will appear next to the highlighted text, and your note will appear everytime you tap the marker.

Tap on the highlighted text and a new menu will appear. You can remove the note or you can change the color.

There are five colors that you can choose.

Define In Dictionary

Still using the tap and hold action, you can zoom in the text for better selection. A magnifying glass will help you select the text, and it will move along with your finger.

Another action that you can do with selected text is to find the definition in Dictionary. This feature will be a great help for students who read their textbooks in iBooks.

The first time you use it, iBooks has to download the dictionary first. tap on the “Download” button.

After the download has finished, you’ll have an elegant dictionary in the palm of your hand.

Flipping & Orienting Pages

So iBooks can give you a page-flipping like animation. So what? There are many applications that can do the same, right? This feature must be just eye candy.

Wrong. Even if it is just eye candy, it’s a beautiful and well-thought out one. It’s not just a boring flipping page which always goes in the same repetitive manner, but you can actually interact with the way the pages flip.

Try to tap and hold your finger at the edge of the page and slide a little bit to the left. Without releasing your finger, try to move around the page – left and right, also up and down.

Now what about changing the reading orientation of your iPhone from Portrait to Landscape? Will the book be turned into two smaller pages like an iPad? It turns out that the iPhone version of iBooks will still keep the one page view, and also maintain the size of the font. The changes happen to the page numbers.

The app adjusts the page number to keep up with the constant size of the font. This method will ensure that the book is still readable even if you change the orientation.

I guess this is one of the advantages of digital books in ePub format compared to PDF. Reading proportionally fixed PDF pages requires you to constantly adjust the zoom to compromise between page view and readable text.

So have you tried iBooks for iPhone? What’s your opinion about it? Please share your thoughts using the comments below. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s someone that I have to meet at the Pooh corner.

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2010-07-08T14:19:00.002-04:00

New York Times: Personal Tech Column

An Online Searchable Database of Health Games

2010-07-06T21:33:00.002-04:00

An Online Searchable Database of Health Games

via ResourceShelf by resourceshelf on 7/1/10

RESOURCESHELF REPOST: THIS ITEM WAS FIRST POSTED ON APRIL 13, 2010. We've seen a couple of tweets about it today and thought it was deserving of a second post.
Gaming is a major and growing topic of interest in libraries. But what about the use of digital games in the health world? Yes, absolutely, is the answer. Digital health games/gaming are also an established area of research and study. Now, this multidisciplinary topic has its own database.

Health Games Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio (RWJF), today unveiled a searchable database tracking more than 1,200 resources related to digital health games. This online tool, available at www.healthgamesresearch.org, for the first time enables researchers, game developers, health professionals, educators, funding agencies and policy makers to access in one place a wide-ranging compilation of health games, research findings, publications, organizations and events in this growing field.
"The demand for information about health games is extremely high and continues to rise," said Debra Lieberman, Ph.D., director of Health Games Research and communication researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "This database is designed to serve a wide range of people, from doctors who want to create games in their area of specialty, to health promotion professionals who want to use games in health campaigns, to students looking for academic programs in video game design and production, to game developers looking for health behavior-change strategies to incorporate into their games, to researchers looking for journal articles and collaborators. In addition to providing a wide range of information about the field, the database lists hundreds of health games."

Direct to the New Database (Keyword and Guided Search Available)
Complete Announcement
Sources: Health Games Research; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pioneer Portfolio; University of California, Santa Barbara

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8 Best Sources To Follow Computer Virus News & Alerts

2010-07-06T21:09:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

8 Best Sources To Follow Computer Virus News & Alerts

via MakeUseOf.com by Mohan Ramkumar on 7/5/10

Computers are becoming more and more indispensable day after day. They have become primary repositories our digital photos, documents, invoices, multimedia etc. The sheer volume of computer users and the advent of cheap always-on internet connections has made computers an attractive targets to hackers distributing viruses, spyware and other malicious software.

You might have an anti-virus software installed in your computer that auto updates itself against latest threats. if you haven't, here are MakeUseOf's recommendations for the best free antivirus you can get your hands on. In addition to that, it is always a good idea to keep yourself on top of what exactly is happening in the computer security front. Viruses and other threats have a tendency to replicate themselves, making it tough for security software vendors to issue a patch. We have compiled a list of reliable official and independent sources that publish computer virus news and alerts as and when the outbreak happens.

Official Sources

ESET Threat Blog

ESET is a trusted name in the desktop security business. They won the hearts of both enterprise and home users alike with their rapid virus signature updates, sometimes multiple times a day, if necessary. They maintain a fantastic ESET Threat blog to keep everyone up to date on any new virus or malware threats. The blog is updated regularly and in addition to providing the latest information on viruses, they post lot of useful data walking users through tips & tricks to avoid skimming, phising etc. ESET updates the blog with content that serves everyone – from newbies to White Hat hackers.

Posts detailing as to how the malware underground works, how BlackHat hackers distribute malware via online games, how botnets manipulate the stock market are some of the interesting topics covered in the blog.

Trend Micro Threat Encyclopedia

Trend Micro is one of the pioneers in the computer security business and they have put up a threat encyclopedia to keep their users in the know of the latest computer virus news and alerts. Recent strains of malware, spyware and vulnerabilities are segregated in their respective tables, with an appropriate risk rating. Clicking on the malware name opens a pretty detailed advisory as to how this malware harms the desktop and the platforms it is active on.

McAfee Virus Information

With a global map showing virus threat levels, list of recent threats to a general purpose threat meter, McAfee's Virus Information page is put together very well. There are free resources to teach beginners about various threats like virus, malware, spyware etc. and how to identify one from another. Free virus specific diagnostics and removal tools can also be downloaded from here.

Norton Threat Explorer

Being a name synonymous with the computer security industry, Norton maintains an exhaustive threat explorer index. You can check out all the latest computer security threats listed in a single page in alphabetical order and can even search for a particular virus if you know the name.

Securelist

Securelist is a computer virus threat information portal maintained by Kaspersky Labs. They list recent virus descriptions found, in depth reviews of Malware behaviour on test systems, news & analysis of hot security topics, Monthly malware statistics and a lot more related to information security.

Independent Sources

ComputerWeekly

ComputerWeekly, a reputed technology blog has an exclusive section dedicated to computer security alerts and analysis. In addition to covering news about computer security threats, they also publish in depth articles on vulnerabilities available in popular gadgets and smartphones. Their forward-looking coverage on future threats & impending spam campaigns and in-depth white papers on IT security alerts are thorough and written in a simple language making it easy for newbies to understand.

Virus Bulletin

True to its name, Virus Bulletin is a blog dedicated to cover virus, malware and spyware outbreaks. Virus Bulletin carries a lot of articles on malware tests & analysis complete with complex graphical interpretations. A fantastic chart showing the list of top malware and their prevalence percentage on computers adorns the homepage. There is also a calender displaying various security conferences & conventions across the globe.

Security News Portal

With hard to miss, color-coded list of recent IT security threats displayed prominently, Security News Portal makes an impression right from the first visit. The portal covers a lot of platforms but highlights vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, the biggest among them all.

Conclusion

Among the official sources, ESET's blog is an enjoyable read and is extremely qualified to become a full-fledged computer security blog. Kaspersky Securelist comes in as a close second with its computer virus alerts and analysis. The rest of the official sources are updated regularly with mostly basic computer threat description for a quick glance. ComputerWeekly and Virus Bulletin both do an excellent job in reporting and covering threat alerts in a language that even newbies can comprehend.

Now that you know where to read about computer virus alerts, you might want to check out our coverage of the best websites to find fixes for virus & malware.

Do you follow a great blog or portal for computer virus news and alerts that we have missed? Please do share it with us in the comments section.

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Whatever it costs, it's worth it! Independence Day poster, 1942

2010-07-04T20:02:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Whatever it costs, it's worth it! Independence Day poster, 1942

via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin on 7/4/10

From the The U.S. National Archives' photostream: Independence Day July 4th "Victory." Created by the US Office for Emergency Management, for the War Production Board.

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Fireworks animation by Pes

2010-07-04T16:30:00.001-04:00

Sent to you via Google Reader

Fireworks animation by Pes

Happy Independence Day!

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

Resources: HealthCare.gov: A New Health Insurance Info Web Site from HHS Launches Next Week

2010-06-25T22:42:00.001-04:00

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Resources: HealthCare.gov: A New Health Insurance Info Web Site from HHS Launches Next Week

From a iHealthBeat Summary:

HHS [Health and Human Services] on July 1 is scheduled to launch HealthCare.gov, a website designed to provide customers with information about health insurance plans, Politico reports.

The portal will serve as the "most tangible link" to the new health reform law for many U.S. residents, according to Politico. The reform law stipulates that the site must be launched by July 1.

[Snip]

HHS conducted market research to determine what consumers seek from an online insurance portal.

According to [HHS CTO Todd]Park, HHS learned that consumers "have a huge appetite for simplicity and hate jargon."

HHS officials said the site will avoid insurance industry language and will be easily navigable by users. In addition, each site page will contain a button soliciting feedback from users about the site.

Note: HealthCare.gov, will not be live until sometime next week, Thursday, July 1, 2010, at the latest.

Sources: iHealthBeat, Politico

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

50 Open Source Tools That Replace Popular Education Apps

2010-06-25T22:39:00.001-04:00

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50 Open Source Tools That Replace Popular Education Apps

Cynthia Harvey at Datamation has put together a mega-list of 50 Open Source Tools That Replace Popular Education Apps. This excellent list offers apps in each of these categories:

Astronomy

Chemistry

Classroom Management

Educational Games

Foreign Language

Flashcards

Geography

Library

Logic/Debate

Math

Miscellaneous

Music

Physics

Online education/eLearning

Religion

Report Authoring

Student Information System

Testing

Typing

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

Smories.com – A Safe Online Space For Kids To Be Read To By Other Kids

2010-06-24T14:55:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Smories.com – A Safe Online Space For Kids To Be Read To By Other Kids

via MakeUseOf.com by Tim Lenahan on 6/17/10

Kids love to be read to (check out StoryLine Online). In fact, it is good for kids to be read to. If a child is brought up being read to, they tend to develop a good imagination and even a desire to read themselves.

Something interesting about children is that they seem to enjoy being read to by other children. I remember being in grade school and having times when I was allowed to read to the kindergarten class. For some reason children love it when other children take that kind of time.

The creators of Smories had an idea. What if children had a place where they could watch other children reading stories without the inherent dangers of social video sites like YouTube? What they are doing with Smories.com is using the Internet to bring together story writers, child readers, and the children who love being read to. Now children can have carefully "vetted" (the word they use) stories read to them by other children without fear of danger.

Without the rest of the details, you can go straight to Smories right now and begin to watch the videos of the stories being read. It's easy because the front page contains thumbnails of a bunch of videos. As you hover your cursor over each thumbnail, you'll see the information about each video, including the age-appropriate label.

Clicking the thumbnail will bring you straight to the video page for watching.

You might notice that right now most of the children have an English accent. That is because the site was created in the UK. They are going to be having American readers soon also so keep an ear out for them.

You'll notice that the videos aren't professionally done. I think they were actually recorded using flip-style video cameras. They are trying to keep the atmosphere relaxed to keep the style of children reading to other children in the home.

Beyond just going and watching the videos, there is also information about how to submit your own stories. They used to run contests with cash prizes for stories submitted but they recently stopped doing that. If there is no cash rendered for accepted stories, why submit them? The exposure, of course.

For instance, they are now doing detailed author biography pages containing information you'd probably like to have spread around.

Don't worry because authors still retain the copyright (copyright information). You are only giving Smories.com permission to narrate, record, and publish the recording on their site. Check out the FAQ page for more information about submitting a story, the Submit a Story page to actually submit a story, and the Tips for Writers page for some tips on writing for children.

Now as for where they get the child readers, I haven't figured that part out yet.

Smories is a safe and fun online destination for children to be read to. That and being a new place for authors to test out unpublished work and gain some exposure, I think it's a good find. Oh, and did I mention they have an iPhone version?

Got Questions? Ask Them Now for FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Good Facebook Post and Review

2010-06-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

From Tamar Weinberg of Techipedia, Dear Facebook Friends, You’re Doing it Wrong. It walks you through the basics of Facebook.

What to Read Next? Omnivoracious

2010-05-27T12:29:00.002-04:00

Omnivoracious is a blog run by the book editors of at Amazon.com, features news, reviews, interviews, and more from a variety of genres.

Today is the day to lurk on Google Wave

2010-05-20T09:29:00.002-04:00

Today is day 2 of the Google Developers Conference. On day 1 they announced that Google Wave is now open to anyone who wants to try it out. Get started at wave.google.com and Google's intro page.

After you get established, then do a search for "with:public google I/O" you will see Gina Trapani's public wave of the Google Conference. Just watch and see how Wave works, with simultaneous comment streams at once and live updating.

The best time to lurk is during the keynote and today's starts at 8:30 AM PST or 11:30 AM Eastern Time.

Have fun, but be forewarned, some of the Wave Followers are no longer tolerant of newbie questions, so as they say, first RTFM.

UPDATE: follow the link to the live -wave

https://wave.google.com/wave/waveref/googlewave.com/w+qx1AxWIcE

May/June Bookmobile Schedule

2010-04-20T15:47:00.002-04:00

NY Times Best Selling Author in Cumberland

2010-04-16T16:42:00.002-04:00

Stephen Hunter NY Times Bestselling

Author in Cumberland

Saturday, April 24

On Saturday, April 24, The Book Center will host New York Times Bestselling author, Stephen Hunter. Mr. Hunter is the author of 15 thriller/suspense novels. His books, Point of Impact, Black Light & Time to Hunt, form a trilogy featuring Vietnam veteran & sniper Bob "the Nailer" Swagger. (The 2007 film Shooter was based on Point of Impact).

He is best known for his "Earl Swagger & Bobby Lee Swagger" stories. Hunter joined the Baltimore Sun in 1971, working on the newspaper's Sunday edition for a decade. He became its film critic in 1982, a post he held until moving to

the Washington Post in 1997, to fill the same position. In 2003, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. He is a frequent guest on The Tony Kornheiser Show for his movie reviews.

Mr. Hunter will give a short talk at 1 pm in the Allegany Arts Council Community Room, 9 N. Centre to be followed immediately by a book signing at The Book Center.

Mary Meeker April 2010 Internet Trends

2010-04-15T11:57:00.001-04:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Mary Meeker April 2010 Internet Trends

View more presentations from guest1222bdb.

How to Close the Digital Divide? Fund Public Libraries

2010-04-13T17:31:00.003-04:00

via The PLA Blog by Kathleen Hughes on 4/13/10

Check out this concise article from the April 6, 2010, online edition of Education Week. It states that '… public libraries may be the only place outside of school where low-income children can use a computer and learn to navigate the Internet' and also argues against library closings as an answer to community budget woes.

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Art Brodsky: Our Public Library Lifeline Is Fraying. We'll Be Sorry When it Snaps

2010-04-13T17:01:00.001-04:00

Art Brodsky: Our Public Library Lifeline Is Fraying. We'll Be Sorry When it Snaps

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Libraries, once considered a necessity, are now seen as a luxury. They are low-hanging fruit for budget pluckers, particularly at the state and local levels of government in communities across the country.

What to read next - RA for ALL

2010-04-13T10:44:00.003-04:00

Another great resource to find your next great read from the Jan/Feb issue of Public Libraries is RA for All (http://raforall.blogspot.com).

In RA for All, Becky Spratford dishes all about readers' advisory, what she's reading, what her patrons at Berwyn Public Library are reading, and what her students at Dominican University are learning.

May - June AlleUpdate

2010-04-07T16:13:00.002-04:00

What to read next- Historical Fiction

2010-04-06T14:39:00.002-04:00

Reading the Past, (http://readingthepast.blogspot.com). Previews of upcoming historical fiction as well as backlist reviews. Kudos to Sarah Johnson of Midwestern university.

Klickitat and All That

2010-04-02T16:04:00.000-04:00

(Originally posted to the Western Maryland Regional Library Learning Journal)

PLA in Portland and the home of the Quimby family. Lots of new ideas to think about and its always good to wander amidst people who have the same interests as you so when you suggest something wacky, at least they have a context.

One idea that struck me in these tough economic times was if we have to limit our collection spending than we need to be as fast and efficient as possible getting items back on the shelves. The session on "leaning your library " covered this area and reminded me of Frederick Taylor's time and motion studies, plus the recently in vogue ISO 9000 certification. Ask at your library, how many people touch an item before it is back on the shelf? Can you get it back to the shelf in less than 5 touches?

Unfortunately the LITA top ten tech trends was not their best work. If you think about time, convenience, and independence as the new currency, how can libraries assist our patrons make the most of their daily lives? Can technology help? Can technology help us form better relationships with our patrons?

Some good and reasonably priced stuff in the vendor areas as well. I was pleased to find web based scheduling software for our whole system would cost about $330. What do you think, would you like centralized scheduling of all staff?

Also thanks to some good questions, it dawned on me that if patron reviews of books is to succeed (be used by other patrons) in our catalog, we need a lot more reviews and multiple reviews per item. Which brought me to chilfresh a company that can insert those reviews and comments from patrons around the work into our catalog.

Visiting vendors also helped clarify the path so that our patrons can pay their fines by credit or debit card from within the library and from home.

Thanks for the invitation to post on the WMRL Learning blog.

Please share your comments and ideas here or my blog.

Hans Christian Andersen: Google Doodle Celebrates the Legendary Children’s Author

2010-04-02T06:25:00.001-04:00

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Hans Christian Andersen: Google Doodle Celebrates the Legendary Children's Author

What do The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Cloth and The Ugly Duckling all have in common? They are all the work of Hans Christian Andersen, one of literature's most famous children's authors.

Today, on what would have been his 205th birthday, Google is celebrating his life's accomplishments with not one, but a series of five different Google doodles, each depicting one of his famous stories.

The Danish poet and author definitely deserves the Google treatment: H.C. Andersen is responsible for some of most cherished fairy tales of all time. The Princess and the Pea, The Snow Queen, and dozens of his other stories have become essential components of our childhoods.

Google's been cranking out the Google Doodles in the last year. Most recently, Google celebrated Pi Day and math nerds everywhere.

Here's a compilation of all of the Google Doodles celebrating Hans Christian Andersen. Can you guess which stories each logo commemorates? Make your guesses in the comments.

Reviews: Google

Tags: Google, google doodle, google logo, Hans Christian Anderson, The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling...

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

What to read next-Upcoming Releases

2010-04-01T10:44:00.000-04:00

The January/February 2010 issue of Public Libraries cover story is on the topic of Reader Advisory. In non-library jargon, how to keep up and where to look to make suggestions as to what to read next.

At the top of the list is EarlyWord (www.earlyword.com). The article says "The brainchild of Nora Rawlinson, former editor for LiveJournal and Publishers Weekly, EarlyWord's goal is to help librarians stay ahead of public demand and identify hidden gems.... it's a Web-based crystal ball."

30 steps to financial health: Consumer Web Site of the Week

2010-03-31T10:42:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

30 steps to financial health: Consumer Web Site of the Week

via Consuming Interests on 3/31/10

Spring cleaning could include some tidying up of your financial house as well.

April is Financial Literacy Month, as we've told you before. Consider observing the occasion by spending some time each day working through the 30 tips to financial wellness provided by credit counselors Money Management International on its Financial Literacy Month Web site, our Consumer Web Site of the Week.

The literacy month site has online worksheets to help you assess your current fiscal situation --- including debts and income --- as well as determine what your goals are, create a budget and save for emergencies. It also includes good reminders about creating a home inventory for insurance purposes, checking your credit reports and other important tests and tune-ups that often fall by the wayside when things get busy. And many tips are supplemented with Webcasts that offer more information.

What steps are you taking to get your finances into shape --- or what tasks have you been putting off?

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Too Young to Fail? Teaching Kids About Money

2010-03-30T15:09:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Too Young to Fail? Teaching Kids About Money

via WSJ.com: The Juggle by Jeff D. Opdyke on 3/30/10

Failure is the best teacher. So why not let kids fail financially?

That's a debate my wife and I have had in recent months regarding our 13-year-old son. He's not one to regularly want to spend money, but when the urge strikes, he wants to spend every last dime he has—like wanting to take $800 out of his savings account to buy his own laptop computer.

My wife is quick to want to suppress that urge—to the point that she will very nearly forbid him from spending. That generally devolves into arguments between the two of them over "whose money is this?" And, my son will ask, "why can't I spend my money on what I want?" My wife's counterargument—common among parents—is always about saving for college or a first car. She'll often turn to me, a financial writer, for wise input. (I offered The 15 Money Rules Kids Should Learn in the Sunday Journal.)

But my input doesn't jibe with her thinking. The way I see it, kids should be allowed to fail financially (Rule No. 9).

The best lessons in life come from the experiences that leave a mark. And what better time for a financial mistake—like spending all your money on an immediate want—to leave a mark than when a kid is still so young that the screw up impacts only mood and emotion rather than financial security?

With sympathetic parental input after the fact—not the useless "I told you so" lecture—I'm convinced kids build on such financial failures and incorporate wiser analysis into their spending decisions as young adults.
But who takes the other side of this debate? Should parents always act to protect kids from stupid spending decisions? Or should we allow them to fail as a way of teaching them the financial lessons they need to learn?

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Fwd: Help make Maryland the best Internet-connected state in the nation

2010-03-26T18:50:00.002-04:00

March 26, 2010
A Message from Governor O'Malley
Dear Friends,

Many of Maryland's citizens and businesses do not have access to broadband (high speed Internet access) at their homes and offices. But the Maryland Broadband Map Team is taking action. By mapping current broadband availability and measuring Internet speeds, we will find those areas where broadband is not available, and where service can be improved.

You are receiving this message because you have been selected to help us improve the Maryland Broadband Map. It just takes answering a few questions and testing your connection speed from your residence and/or business. It's fast, simple, and confidential.

Your information will be held in confidence and will not be used for any other purpose. You may decline to participate, and you may stop your participation at any point during the survey.
We appreciate your time and participation! With your help, we can make Maryland one of the best-connected states in the Nation.
Take the Maryland Broadband Speed Test!
Martin O'Malley
Governor

P.S. Be sure to read this important notice:

Information collected from you will be kept confidential and only aggregate figures at the state and jurisdictional level will be presented. Participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose to participate, you will be asked to take a broadband Internet speed test and complete a short survey. We ask that you complete as many survey questions as possible. You may discontinue your participation at any time.

The Maryland Broadband Mapping Initiative is federally-funded through the National Telecommunications Administration. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley chose the Maryland Broadband Cooperative to lead the initiative. The Team partners include Salisbury University, Towson University, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and the Maryland State Geographic Information Officer.

Any questions can be directed to the Maryland Broadband Mapping Initiative team at mapinfo@mdbc.us.

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Blue heron brat and and a steel head!

2010-03-24T21:47:00.001-04:00

FY2011 Budget Presentation

2010-03-19T15:36:00.000-04:00

Below is our budget presentation I made today to the County Commissioners.

When the New Year hit, it dawned on me that I have been with the Allegany County Library System for 10 years.

WOW! Who would have figured I would have lasted that long? I have been very fortunate to work with great staff and a great Board of Library Trustees.

I have also been very lucky to work with a great set of County Commissioners. I say lucky because every chance you had, you made your commitment to local libraries visible with your funding decisions.

Every year, when you were able, you invested in your community by increasing your allocation to the public libraries.

The reality is that we have all been struggling in the past 2 years with the national recession. That is clear if you look at the allocations in the last 3 years and the flat part of graph. But now take a look at what your investments have yielded.

The chart shows that the number of items checked out has risen each year in the last decade.

And if you take a look at Chart #3 you will see that it is it’s not just computer usage and the internet; we are seeing increases in every category of what we offer. We are busier than ever.

But the great part is while you were last able to able increase your investment in local libraries in FY 2007. It is still yielding results.

Despite the flat funding years, usage is still going up.

I am not suggesting that we can continue to make improvements or see increases with permanent flat funding, but we have managed to improve and deliver in ever more stressful budget times.

While we are currently in the midst of a serious economic downturn, I remain optimistic about the region and the library system. We are working to stretch our resources, to minimize any disruptions to library service, and maintain core library functions, positions, and benefits. We are taking this time to reinforce and revaluate the many processes and operations that take place behind the scene to deliver superior library service. The goal is that by the time the economy recovers, we will be able to take greater strides in services and resources thanks to our ongoing analysis.

Let me touch on how fortunate the community has been as it relates to your commitment to Library capital projects. We have for the most part, beautiful, welcoming library buildings. With your significant help, we have opened a new Frostburg Library, opened a new George’s Creek Regional Library, renovated the Washington Street Library, and most recently renovated the Westernport Library. Which I modestly say, won the Maryland Interior Design Award of the Year for commercial property last year.

So over the last decade we have made tremendous progress together, and what we are asking, is to just keep it going. I am confident that the recession will end and I remain excited by what we can do down the road if we maintain flat funding this year and look at increases when the economic picture allows.

You will see a small increase in our local request so that we may honor a request by the Allconet partners to access Federal E-Rate funding to sustain the network. We are happy to serve as a pass through agency to access those funds for Allconet.

So our request for FY 2011 is $918,500, $905,000 is to keep the doors open and $13,500 is to serve as a pass through agency to access federal funds to maintain the Allconet network.

Thank you again for your support.

Made me laugh.

2010-03-15T22:38:00.001-04:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Made me laugh.

via swissmiss by swissmiss on 3/13/10

Published in The New Yorker 03/15/2010 by Mick Stevens. Made me laugh. Totally Tilo (our 4 week old son).

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South-by-Southwest Website honorees

2010-03-15T16:57:00.001-04:00

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South-by-Southwest Website honorees

via BaltTech by Gus Sentementes on 3/15/10

Looking for cool new Websites to discover? Here's Wired's list of the Websites that were honored at the 13th Annual South-by-Southwest Web Awards in Austin, Tex. yesterday.

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Alice Through the Ages

2010-03-11T09:59:00.001-05:00

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Alice Through the Ages

via Amazon Daily by Amazon Daily on 3/10/10

Alice in Wonderland has been a part of pop culture long before Tim Burton gave it his quirky touch. How many times have you heard someone's smile described as a "Cheshire Cat grin" or used the expression "I fell down a rabbit hole" to explain getting lost? As Burton's Alice enjoys a blockbuster opening, we look back at a few other film interpretations of the Lewis Carroll classic. P.S. Has this tale ever been just for kids?

Alice in Wonderland (1903): This B&W silent barely clocks in at nine minutes which was considered a "long" time for films back then. The 107-year-old film is ravaged by scratches, but it's still watchable here. Director Cecil M. Hepworth's prehistoric special effects are interesting. Check out when the camera pans back for Alice to "shrink" and the table next to her is replaced with a larger one.

Alice in Wonderland (1915): This silent seems to drag on at 51 minutes long but it's worth a brief look-see if only to appreciate how filmmaking matured in the 12 years since the first Alice. Costuming and sets stepped up a notch, too.

Alice in Wonderland (1933): Paramount regulars added some star luster to this version with W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Cary Grant as Mock Turtle and Gary Cooper as the White Knight. But the stars were barely recognizable in their character makeup – alas, this didn't help sell tickets. The film's original run time of 90 minutes was sliced in half and it was redistributed as a series of literary classics to be shown in '50s and'60s classrooms. Oh, oh – that means "educational."

Alice in Wonderland (1951): Alice received the Disney animated touch, but the magic didn't pay off with awards and box office receipts. Earlier animated tales such as Dumbo (1941), Pinocchio (1940) and Fantasia (1940) resonated with audiences and were hailed as instant classics. This Alice was re-released in the'60s and became popular with the counterculture youth who reveled in the wink-wink-nudge-nudge drug references. As Jefferson Airplane advised in their 1967 hit White Rabbit, "Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call."

Alice in Wonderland: What is a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?(1966): This animated TV special from Hanna Barbera put a mini-skirted Alice into modern times. Even the Cheshire Cat (voiced by Sammy Davis Jr.) wears a beret and a hepcat goatee. Want a catchy song stuck in your head for the rest of the day? Give this cha-cha-ish number a listen in a clip from the show.

Alice in Wonderland (1985): Produced by Irwin Allen, aka "Master of Disaster" thanks to his '70s movie hits like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. This two-part TV special married Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The all-star cast included Sammy Davis Jr. (again – but as the Caterpillar this time), Ringo Starr, Sid Caesar, Martha Raye, Scott Baio and Sherman Helmsley.

Alice in Wonderland (1999): This three-hour TV special was pure casting genius. Check it out: Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat, Miranda Richardson as the Queen of Hearts, Ben Kingsley as Major Caterpillar, George Wendt (Norm!) as Tweedledee, Martin Short as the Mad Hatter and Peter Ustinov as Walrus. It took home four Emmys, including a much-deserved one for special effects. See the trailer here.

Other notable Alice adaptations include:

Alice in Wonderland (1966): Peter Sellers stars in this Alice filmed for the BBC along with John Gielgud. Music by Ravi Shankar.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972): Some critics say this version is more faithful to the Carroll original than others. With Peter Sellers (again!) Dudley Moore, and Fiona Fullerton as Alice.
Alice (2009): Harry Dean Stanton? Tim Curry? Yep, and add Kathy Bates to the mix in this miniseries from the Syfy cable network.

- Francine Ruley

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Synonyms | Michigan Today

2010-03-11T09:54:00.001-05:00

via michigantoday.umich.edu

Posted via web from John Taube's Posterous

NYTimes.com: Gadgetwise: PCs for Pee-Wees

2010-03-05T12:26:00.001-05:00

This page was sent to you by: jtaube@allconet.org

TECHNOLOGY | March 04, 2010
Gadgetwise: PCs for Pee-Wees
By ERIC A. TAUB
A new software package entertains kids while protecting them from the negative aspects of the Internet.



Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company \| Privacy Policy

E-Book concerns

2010-03-05T11:10:00.002-05:00

I have 2 minor beefs with e-books.

1)you can fall asleep reading an e-book as easily as a printed book

2) when you borrow a e-book from the library, you can't keep it longer than the duedate. What is going to happen to Lisbeth Salander?

Oscar for Best Picture: a literary quiz

2010-03-05T06:26:00.000-05:00

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Oscar for Best Picture: a literary quiz

The Oscar for Best Picture will be awarded Sunday, and to get in the mood, here's a quiz on the nominees' literary heritage. Many of the top movies were adapted from books -- reaffirming the enormous creativity and storytelling power found on the printed page. For our quiz, match each movie title to the author of the book from which it was adapted. (No Googling!) Leave your answers as a comment; we'll send one lucky winner a paperback of "Crazy Heart" -- another great adaptation that got three nominations.

MOVIES

1. The Blind Side (Best picture)

2. An Education (Best picture)

3. Up in the Air (Best picture)

4. Precious (Best picture)

5. Julie and Julia (Best Actress)

6. Crazy Heart (Best Actor)

AUTHORS

a. Walter Kim

b. Michael Lewis

c. Thomas Cobb

d. Sapphire

e. Julie Powell

f. Lynn Barber

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

New Pew Internet Report on News Consumption: An Opportunity for Libraries

2010-03-01T15:20:00.000-05:00

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New Pew Internet Report on News Consumption: An Opportunity for Libraries

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report this morning about the consumption of news in a digital setting. The report can be found on the Pew website. Some of the interesting findings:

92% of Americans surveyed use multiple places & platforms to get their daily news

local & national television stations still come out ahead of the internet as news sources

59% of Americans surveyed use both online & offline news sources

33% of cell phone owners access news on their phones

28% of internet users have customized homepages with news sources (e.g. iGoogle)

37% of internet users have actually participated in news dissemination, creation, or commenting

75% of those who get news online find news through email forwards or through friends' posts on social networking sites

52% of those who get news online also share links to news with others through email or social networking

55% report that it is now easier to keep up with news and information than it was five years ago, and yet…

70% feel overwhelmed by the amount of news and information available

So how does this affect libraries? Well, we have an opportunity to help act as filters for our communities. Why not create a great webpage that offers widgets with headlines from local & national & international news sources in different media (radio, newspaper, blogs, television, podcasts, etc.)? Why not offer classes on finding good news sources? Why not present tutorials on the great news digesting widgets & personalized homepages for our customers?

Why not be the community resource that helps people with that last item about how people feel overwhelmed by too much news? That last issue really is a big one for me. It's the gap into which reference librarians can step. Dealing with information & information overload is a key resource we can offer our communities. I see few libraries doing it, and I sincerely hope that more of us will fill that gap and focus more on that need in the community.

John Taube

Allegany County Library System

jtaube@allconet.org

301-697-7384

NYTimes: Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book

2010-03-01T06:31:00.001-05:00

From The New York Times:

Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book

E-books are cheaper to produce than print volumes, but consumers may
not realize that expenses like overhead and royalties are still in
effect, publishers say.

http://s.nyt.com/u/lTl

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

John Taube
Allegany County Library System
jtaube@allconet.org
301-697-7384

A Mobile Library on the Backs of a Donkeys, It’s Biblioburro

2010-02-26T16:56:00.001-05:00

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

A Mobile Library on the Backs of a Donkeys, It’s Biblioburro

via ResourceShelf by resourceshelf on 2/26/10

It was only a couple of weeks ago when we posted about a mobile library where books are delivered by camel.

Today, we move to rural Columbia to meet, Luis Soriano, 38, [a] primary school teacher who, "spends his free time operating a mobile library from the backs of donkeys."

Soriano rides his "Biblioburro" with a bag full of more than a hundred books through "abandoned regions" in the Columbian state of Magdalena to reach thousands of children who don't or can't attend school. Soriano has helped more than 4,000 youngsters with their homework, geography and reading.

It's not always a safe and easy job.

He has fractured his leg and been "pounced on" by bandits.

Soriano has ridden the donkeys over 4,000 hours delivering books and helping with homework. He has no plans to slow down.

Soriano and his wife have also built the largest free library in Magdalena next to their home.

It's only February but this story will likely be one of the most interesting, charming, and yes, even important stories of the year.

Luis Soriano has been named a CNN Hero and a video about him is embedded in the article. We hope he is also recognized by some of the major library, education, and reading organizations around the world for his work.

A tip of the ResourceShelf cap today to Luis Soriano for his wonderful work.

Access the Complete Article

Source: The Huffington Post

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The CartDesk Is Aimed at a Very Specific Type of Traveler [Travel]

2010-02-26T15:59:00.001-05:00

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The CartDesk Is Aimed at a Very Specific Type of Traveler [Travel]

via Gizmodo by Mark Wilson on 2/26/10

The CartDesk may or may not be for you. The only way to know for sure is to take the following questionnaire:

Is the CartDesk Right For Me?

Do you despise those trendy roller bags?
Yes / No

Is your lap unable to sustain the pressure of a "lap"top?
Yes / No

Would you add 10 pounds to your payload to roll around something up to 20 pounds in weight?
Yes / No

Do you prefer taking up your personal overhead bin space with a bag accessory rather than a bag itself?
Yes / No

Does your rectum excrete invisible chairs upon command?
Yes / No

Do you just like to buy things because you like receiving packages in the mail?
Yes / No

If you answered "yes" to one of any of these questions, the $130 Cart Desk was tailored to your demographic. Enjoy. [ComfortHouse via RedFerret via OhGizmo!]

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“Libraries just aren’t about reading any more.”

2010-02-26T12:20:00.001-05:00

“Libraries just aren’t about reading any more.”: "

Justin Hoenke, a TTW Contributor, posted this video at 8BitLibrary:

http://blog.8bitlibrary.com/2010/02/26/how-has-gaming-changed-the-way-you-look-at-libraries/

Blogger and Google Reader Speed Up, Suggestions Improve

2010-02-19T13:54:00.001-05:00

What do you think? Have you explored the improved suggested items and sources on GReader? I found some good stuff.

Sent to you by john taube via Google Reader:

Blogger and Google Reader Speed Up, Suggestions Improve

via louisgray.com by louisgray@gmail.com (Louis Gray) on 2/19/10

Two of the major outlets where I produce content and consume content, both from Google, took steps forward on Thursday, as Blogger announced new improvements to load slow-performing pages more quickly, and Google Reader unofficially made a big move, with the likely addition of Pubsubhubbub support, which makes the service real-time enabled both incoming and outgoing. Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, Reader promised improved recommendations for you to find new sources to follow - including similar sites per feed.

I've been talking up Pubsubhubbub for months now, because it is the engine that is playing an ever-increasing role in pushing my data faster and faster from site to site. Google Reader shares had already been powered by Pubsubhubbub to flow downstream, but it had been widely assumed Google Reader was not using the same kind of lightning speed to get updates as blog posts were added. Starting today, Jesse Stay and others figured out they had flipped the switch.

An Instant Update from Posting to Reader

As others confirmed, and I saw later also, posts that used to take upwards of half an hour to hit Reader, without manual polling, were there practically instantly, showing 0 minutes to 2 minutes of delay. With FeedBurner also Pubsubhubbub enabled, there should be no latency between when I hit the publish button, and the posts hitting FriendFeed, Buzz Twitter and Reader all at once now.

Google has recently been talking a lot now about making page load times a more important element of how they are ranked in the company's search engine. This leads to the next announcement, from Blogger, who says that traditionally slow-loading pages, including label pages and archive pages, are now going to auto paginate these pages to deliver speedier load times in the browser. They are guessing not only will pages load more quickly, but total page views will go up. Always a good thing.

Reader Puts Me In Good Company

Recommendations from Coding Horror

Reader's move to Pubsubhubbub was likely part of a larger code push from the team, which did announce improved recommendations for new feeds. Now, in addition to tailored recommendations for you, you can click any feed and see what they believe are similar sites. For example, I found that Reader finds me most like Lifehacker, ReadWriteWeb, Engadget, GigaOM and Walt Mossberg. All very cool recommendations. I also found out that Reader finds Loic LeMeur's blog to be most similar to TechCrunch, Seth Godin's blog, Guy Kawasaki and Robert Scoble. I doubt Loic is complaining either.

The amazing thing about this new feature? It was my #1 request way back in March of 2007. It took almost three years, but it's finally here, and I'm going to spend some time finding new sources to follow.

More: louisgray.com | RSS | Buzz | E-mail | Cell: 408 646.2759

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What Consumers Will Pay for Online [STATS]

2010-02-16T15:01:00.001-05:00

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What Consumers Will Pay for Online [STATS]

via Mashable! by Adam Ostrow on 2/16/10

Movies, music, and games top a new list from Nielsen of the content types that consumers are most willing to pay for online. The data, which comes from a survey of 27,000 consumers across 52 countries, also indicates that content created online – like blogs, podcasts, and video – are least likely to attract consumer's dollars.

At face value, the findings might seem like good news for old media companies that are increasingly eying paywalls as a source of salvation, as consumers did indicate more of a willingness to pay for online newspapers, magazines and radio than their user-generated counterparts. You can see all of the findings in this chart:

However, Nielsen also found that "nearly eight out of every ten (79%) would no longer use a web site that charges them, presuming they can find the same information at no cost." In other words, unless your organization breaks lots of exclusive and important stories, charging for content will be a major uphill battle.

How do the findings compare to your willingness to pay for various forms of content? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: media, online content, paywalls, trending

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