Monday, October 30, 2006
Not too much library related news this time, but a link to a entertaining, (and well discussed by everyone before Librarydude found out about it and jumped on the bandwagon), seach engine.
www.msdewey.com
(broadband, or superduper connections only)
If this is what search engines will be like in the future, we'll all be entertained, but less informed. The engine is not all that great, but the 18-30 year old male demographic is well catered for....
www.msdewey.com
(broadband, or superduper connections only)
If this is what search engines will be like in the future, we'll all be entertained, but less informed. The engine is not all that great, but the 18-30 year old male demographic is well catered for....
Friday, October 27, 2006
Our library is finally getting technologically up to date. We are going to impliment the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system within the next year or so. A description of RFID can be found here http://www.ala.org/ala/pla/plapubs/technotes/rfidtechnology.htm.
I wasn't sure what to expect it to look like, but after researching it today, (I only found out about the implimentation yesterday), I realised I have already seen similar technology, (at an ALIA conference a few years back) and was impressed by it. It will, at least, stop me from having to hand-scan stacks of material both going in and coming out.
It seems that RFID has a lot of features that are useful for our library service. It only remains to be seen what the drawbacks and problems are. More about RFID closer to the implimentation date, or whenever new issues crop up about it.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Librarydude.
I wasn't sure what to expect it to look like, but after researching it today, (I only found out about the implimentation yesterday), I realised I have already seen similar technology, (at an ALIA conference a few years back) and was impressed by it. It will, at least, stop me from having to hand-scan stacks of material both going in and coming out.
It seems that RFID has a lot of features that are useful for our library service. It only remains to be seen what the drawbacks and problems are. More about RFID closer to the implimentation date, or whenever new issues crop up about it.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Librarydude.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
It seem that my library is returning back to a view that we used to have, namely promoting public libraries more as a place to facilitate reading, rather than, as has been the case in the last few years, solely for the purpose of obtaining information. While this is obviously an important role for libraries to perform, it seems that the entertainment and relaxtion aspect of public libraries (ie being able to borrow a book to enjoy) has been pushed aside in an effort to make us more "important" than just lending books.
Wow that was a big sentence.
The training that I had today, which I admit I thought was not going to be useful and a waste of time, the Rewarding Reading program, is designed to enable us to assist library clients when they come to the library to find a book to enjoy. I work in a public library, so this is quite a common occurance. The Rewarding Reading program will help me develop my skills to act as a guide for customers to select books for their enjoyment.
One of the most important things that somebody can possess today is having a high level of literacy. Literacy these days has been expanded to mean able to read and comprehend the written word and the ability to locate and assesss the relevance and accuracy of the work. This is also true for fiction, and it is this skill that I am being trained to help people develop.
I shall see you next time,
Your books are due in three weeks.
Wow that was a big sentence.
The training that I had today, which I admit I thought was not going to be useful and a waste of time, the Rewarding Reading program, is designed to enable us to assist library clients when they come to the library to find a book to enjoy. I work in a public library, so this is quite a common occurance. The Rewarding Reading program will help me develop my skills to act as a guide for customers to select books for their enjoyment.
One of the most important things that somebody can possess today is having a high level of literacy. Literacy these days has been expanded to mean able to read and comprehend the written word and the ability to locate and assesss the relevance and accuracy of the work. This is also true for fiction, and it is this skill that I am being trained to help people develop.
I shall see you next time,
Your books are due in three weeks.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Over one year since I updated here. Could this be because there have been no issues in Library Science occurring in my life or in the world in the previous 12 months? No actually. It's because I forgot the password to access this Blog. For some reason the password just popped into my head this afternoon. So here I am back and ready to blog.
For those who don't know me, and if there is someone who still reads this after my one year absence, I am a library technician in Canberra, Australia. I am currently trying to completing my degree in Librarianship at Charles Sturt University. I am attached to my lovely lady, bunnicakes (name withheld to protect the innocent) and father to two wonderful girls (from Hell). Between all this I am trying to study via distance education which stresses me quite a bit. You may get to read the writings of a stressed Librarydude later... Stressed Librarydude may appear next September when I make an honest woman out of Bunnicakes, and we are married.
Not so much in the way of Library ramblings this time. I'm deep into an assignment about setting up a fictional library, while at the same time my current employer is undergoing a restructure/rethink/rightsizing. Nice piece of timing... Anyway, part of the reason I thought of this blog again was that Blogger is an ideal place to learn and practice HTML, the mastery of which has been on my New Years Resolutions lists for the past three years at least.
Nice to be back, and hers a blog that is a fun, but non-library related read (and most of you would know about it anyway): Riverbend-Girl Blog From Iraq. Rather interesting reading, and a good companion blog to Salam Pax's.
See you at the Circ Desk.
For those who don't know me, and if there is someone who still reads this after my one year absence, I am a library technician in Canberra, Australia. I am currently trying to completing my degree in Librarianship at Charles Sturt University. I am attached to my lovely lady, bunnicakes (name withheld to protect the innocent) and father to two wonderful girls (from Hell). Between all this I am trying to study via distance education which stresses me quite a bit. You may get to read the writings of a stressed Librarydude later... Stressed Librarydude may appear next September when I make an honest woman out of Bunnicakes, and we are married.
Not so much in the way of Library ramblings this time. I'm deep into an assignment about setting up a fictional library, while at the same time my current employer is undergoing a restructure/rethink/rightsizing. Nice piece of timing... Anyway, part of the reason I thought of this blog again was that Blogger is an ideal place to learn and practice HTML, the mastery of which has been on my New Years Resolutions lists for the past three years at least.
Nice to be back, and hers a blog that is a fun, but non-library related read (and most of you would know about it anyway): Riverbend-Girl Blog From Iraq. Rather interesting reading, and a good companion blog to Salam Pax's.
See you at the Circ Desk.
