Tomb of the Unknown Librarian » Uncategorized

iPhone Library uses

/paul — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:44:49 +0000

So I’ve had my iPhone for about two weeks now. I needed a new cell phone and an organizer/PDA, plus I had technolust. The crazy thing is that it has proven to be an awesome help at the library. During the past two weeks the I have:

Checked the wireless network at the library to see if it was up and running
Got directions to Rohnert Park for a patron, using Google Maps when our entire wired network was down
Browsed the catalog for titles about dog breeds while roaming the library
Took photos of the Eclipse book release party
Took photos of books I want to read in the future but not ready to yet
Looked up a definition of “Judas hole” while in a meeting

Morgan Hill Library Grand Opening

/paul — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:22:39 +0000

Yesterday, a new Morgan Hill Library held its grand opening with fan fare, speeches, Taiko drummers, a costume contest, storytimes, a passport to the library program, and a ton of other fun events.

I was there for the first part of the day taking pictures of volunteers, staff, local politicians and all of the other folks who made the new library possible. My good friend Emily was there with her husband, both in costume.

There was a mad rush to get in and soon the place was swamped with patrons picking up their reserved copies of Harry Potter, checking out DVDs, using the internet. Good fun. Check out the photos on Flickr

Forensic Scientist program

/paul — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 03:15:53 +0000

So we had Linda from the Santa Clara County Crime lab speak at the of our “Summer of Mystery” events. She was a great speaker and the twenty five people who showed up to here her talk seemed to enjoy it.

Free Multi Service IM Clients reviewed & rated

/paul — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:21:14 +0000

ExtremeTech reviews six multi-service IM clients. Adium, eBuddy, meebo, Meetro, Pidgin, and Trillian get a going over and a run-through. meebo is the only one that is browser based, and the only Mac client they review is Adium. For anyone conducting chat classes or thinking about implementing multi-service clients in your library, the article has a handy table that compares their respective features.

[ Via Slashdot ]

Star Wars 30th Annivserary Kit for Librarians

/paul — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 05:01:17 +0000

Okay, it’s shameless marketing but can you imagine Stormtroopers directing traffic to your storytime? Random House has created an event tie-in kit for Star Wars’ 30th Anniversary for libraries and booksellers complete with Star Wars characters and authors. It’s worth it for the pins alone.

Hip Library Programs

/paul — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 06:37:48 +0000

Sasha Cagen, author of Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics and founder of the movement for people who would rather be single than settle for an unfulfilling relationship gave a presentation at the library last night. The week before, Cagen was a featured guest on KQED’s Forum discussing the whole “51% of Women Are Now Living Without a Husband.” We showed a short video posted on Current TV , had a Q&A, and everyone mingled afterward. A lot of people who never or rarely come to the library attended the program and everyone seemed to have a great time. Thanks Sasha! and just in time for International Quirkyalone Day! Check out the Quirkyalone website for more details.

Last Wednesday, Jon Yang, author of the Rough Guide to Blogging gave a talk on basics of blogging. It was a full house! There were seniors and teens with their parents, and just people interested in starting a blog. I hope they did. Thanks Jon!

Turn your favorite author into a dancing elf

/paul — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 02:32:05 +0000

I couldn’t resist turning Meg Cabot into a dancing elf.

The End

/paul — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 07:10:12 +0000

I finished The End by Lemony Snicket last night. The unfortunate events don’t ever seem to end as the Beaudelaire orphans find themselves stranded on an island with their nemesis, Count Olaf, and a rather passive-aggressive cult leader named Ishmael. As usual, literary references abound, from Moby Dick to Heart of Darkness. The thrust of the narrative is borrowed largely from Shakepeare’s The Tempest. It’s all there, mutiny, rebellion, revenge, redemption, and a hatch. All it’s missing is a polar bear… or is it?

Fun with summer squash

/paul — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:54:33 +0000

I know it’s no where near Halloween, but the first summer squash was a little too ripe to make risotto. What else would you do with a little orange fruit on the verge of becoming a gourd?

Make a mini Jack ‘O Lantern, the perfect addendum to a morbid book list.

More MeeboMe!

/paul — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 19:54:33 +0000

MeeboMe seems to have problems running in IE on a networked thin-client system like the library I work for has; it just kind of hangs as if it is trying to connect, but never does. Switching browsers to Mozilla or Netscape (if that’s an option) seems to work here. It’s probably more a bug in our system than Meebo’s. Thanks F.L. for the heads up!

I think it’s a great resource for libraries looking to connect with patron and other staff.

Another option for libraries looking for a LOCAL live chat reference component, and don’t want to spend a fortune is a support chat web application like PHP Live! . It’s a pretty straightforward chat app designed for support and sales with the download option running betwwen $89 and $350. With a little PHP and MySQL knowledge, a library could really adapt one of these web support apps to offer web based chat staffed by local librarians.