Cache2

Simplify looking for info on the World Wide Web

2004-03-26T15:25:00.000Z

Have a 30 day trial of a useful little utility that makes it easier to put together info you have found on the web in a coherent and well presented way (and send it to someone else if you want). The professional version is more useful than the standard one, and since it's a free trial, you might as well try the better one!

Blogging and Marketing - 2 ace subjects in one

2003-11-17T11:46:00.000Z

Nice easy intro to blogs as marketing tool, with links to libraries who have done it.

Libraries and Portals - where does one end and the other begin?

2003-11-17T10:39:00.000Z

Detailed and thoughtprovoking article on how libraries can or should develop portals and how we need to be thinking in a larger way about making our services work for our users. I found this on the nelh bloglet
Here is taste of the writing style, and the way this article summarises what you may have been thinking already:
"The library wants to provide a web environment which: enriches learning and research by providing timely, convenient access to relevant and appropriate resources; surfaces potentially valuable resources which otherwise might be overlooked; and enables users and the library to focus on fruitful use of collections rather than on the messy mechanics of interaction. Such environments increasingly need to interact with other environments such as the learning management system, institutional portal frameworks, and the other 'hubs' of network presence. I suggest that this means that the
current portal discussion marks a transitional phase. The question we need to address is not the integration of library resources with each other; it is the integration of library services with the learning and research behaviors of users. The former may sometimes be a means to achieve the latter, however it should not be confused with it."

From blogs to k-logs

2003-11-07T13:43:00.000Z

Excellent article from Computer Weekly about corporate blogs (that's what a k-log is, of course)

Build Libraries Don't Burn Them

2003-10-27T17:30:00.000Z

Gary Wolf reflects on the latest developments from Amazon in the USA entitled "Search Inside the Book".
The Amazon premise is that people who only think of finding information by doing a Google search are missing out on all the reams of information which is still only available in books. By alerting e-savvy punters to books that have the information they want - they will buy more books (or, of course borrow them from the library...)
On the way Gary considers copyright, Project Gutenberg, and other stuff of interest to people who love books and information.

Meta-Search

2003-10-26T19:18:00.000Z

Is this where 'Thinking National Acting Local' is coming from? Meta-searching may be an answer to the Google's of the world but is it merely a dumbing down of the search process? Think about it, read about it, do something about it!

Adding RSS to Library Catalogues

2003-10-16T11:28:00.000+01:00

The shifted librarian forges ahead with RSS - always worth reading what she's got to say.

Database of International Rehabilitation Research

2003-09-29T21:33:00.000+01:00

Database of International Rehabilitation Research contains "over 21,000 citations of international rehabilitation research published between 1990 and the present." You can search by subject heading (and there is a thesaurus available), author, title keywords, research area, geographic area, and language.

DOIS RSS Description

2003-09-28T16:50:00.000+01:00

Neat little summary of what RSS is:

Rich Site Summary (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Think of it as a distributable "What's New" for your site. Originally developed by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves a myriad of problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services. ( Introduction to RSS - WebReference.com). For more information about RSS have a look at: http://web.resource.org/rss/1.0/.

Information Architecture and a bit of KM

2003-09-28T16:37:00.000+01:00

Tools aimed at supporting development of Information Architecture, perhaps something we should consider for site redesign as we reach that stage.

While I'm here some interesting stuff beyond Communities of Practice and from Educase on knowledge sharing. There is also a KMWiki.

Managing yourself Through Change

2003-09-28T09:15:00.000+01:00

Change we're used to it in the NHS, do we ever rationalise what we're up to, do we heck as like. Read and rationalise....

Ranganathan

2003-09-25T07:23:00.000+01:00

Ranganathan for IAs:An Introduction to the Thought of S.R. Ranganathan for Information Architects an excellent piece by Mike Steckel on Boxes and arrows, which is a site I need to investigate more fully. Go read.... this is the best introduction to analytico-synthetic classification I've seen.

Taxonomy - isn't that about stuffing dead animals?

2003-09-24T09:21:00.000+01:00

Taxonomy may be the sort of word you thought you could leave behind at library school, but there may come a time when you actually need to know what it's all about. This link takes you to a site where some major KM software packages are described, and the way they cope with taxonomy, classification and searching.

Young Librarian's Resource Page

2003-09-20T19:57:00.000+01:00

Might be worth keeping an eye on or contributing to, for Sally and Tracy, not old hacks like Val and me!

"I'd like for it to be a useful resource for librarians who are chronologically "young" and/or new to the profession. I'm toying with the idea of soliciting articles from people who are under 30/35 or have been in the profession for less than 5 years about issues they think are important. For example, how to supervise those who are old enough to be your parents, types of benefits to look for when considering a job, balancing a social life while advancing the career, the perception of a librarian by the public, etc. I think this will have the added benefit of giving people an opportunity for publication which will help with career advancement."

It has a blog by Katie too.

Change

2003-09-13T18:43:00.000+01:00

Accept that change is constant, and constant learning is the only reasonable response. Gone are the days (if they ever existed) when everything you need to know about being a librarian could be learned in library school. Learn to thrive on change. Anticipate it, smell it out, and chase after it. If you do this well enough, instead of being the victim of change, you will be its agent. And you will be able to mold change to serve your public better. Roy Tennant, Library Journal.

RSS

2003-09-13T10:57:00.000+01:00

SiteLines - Ideas About Web Searching: September 2003 Archives a brief bit about RSS to get you head round the technology. I use Feedreader as an aggregator personally but there is a load of choice out there.

What's a Wiki - Brainstorms and Raves

2003-09-13T10:26:00.000+01:00

For Sally a good place to understand the technology behind what I'm trying to do with FadeNHSSpeak. What's a Wiki - Brainstorms and Raves

What is blogging?

2003-09-11T09:16:00.000+01:00

All is revealed in this feature article from freepint.com - an excellent Newsletter which is worth signing up for.
The article says among many things:
"A weblog can take the form of a diary, a news service (or summaries of
and links to current news items on a topic), a collection of links to
other Web sites, a series of book reviews, reports of activity on a
project, the journal of an expedition, a diary of a family holiday
written for the folks back home, a photographic record of life with a
new puppy, or the random thoughts of a publicity-obsessed egomaniac.
Or any one of a number of other forms."
There is a second part in Newsletter 112 though you have to scroll nearly to the bottom of the article to find it.
There is also an introduction in the Guardian on-line which has a number of links to rude-sounding blogs but is a useful simple introduction.

Locating Eponymous Reports

2003-09-11T06:43:00.000+01:00

If we don't have it on Cairs at Fade try Rob Caley's Health related reports, inquiries, Green Papers and White Papers: short and official titles. Failing that Copac or the BL catalogue are worth a look.