12/06/2011
12/01/2011
Broadcasting now to Pods around the world................
Friends our time together has almost come to an end. This is officially my last school assigned topic blog that I have to to write. Soon I will be able to write about anything my little heart desires, from what nail polish color I am wearing to how I feel about Occupy Wall Street. The choice of topics is endless. Maybe I will even do a vegetarian Julie and Julia type adventure in the new year. Who knows?
But for now we have one more exciting multimedia topic to discuss. Today we get into our spaceships and talk about pod-casting. What exactly is a podcast? Well a podcast is a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar type of program, which is made available on the internet to download to any personal audio player, such as an iPod. In simple terms it is an audio file that is created with the express purpose of being shared and heard. There are two main methods of how podcasts are presented. The first is audio and the second is video. My experiences with podcasts as with most of my blog topics is quite limited. I had never really experienced video podcasts, but I do actually have some experience listening to audio podcasts.I have followed a few different audio podcasts and all were quite different from each other. I really like podcasts and use them myself. Unfortunately all the podcasts that I have really liked and followed have from one reason or another have ended. Despite this I still really enjoy podcasts and would love recommendations for a new one to listen to!
The first podcast that I ever really followed was the Russell Brand show on BBC2. (It unfortunately ended in 2008 due to scandal!) This podcast was a mixture of talk and music. To be more accurate actually the Russell Brand podcast was an audio version of a radio show that was made available on the internet through BBC's website, Russell's website and on Itunes. When they turned the show into a podcast they cut out all the music. So when you listened to the podcast Russell and his co-host Matt would make reference to the song your about to hear, or did just hear, but the podcast listener never actually heard the music played. What I enjoyed most about following this podcast is identical to what I enjoy about every podcast that I have ever listened to, which is the convenience factor.When I found the podcast on Itunes I clicked on the subscribe free button. After that every time there was a new podcast it automatically downloaded into my itunes upon my next use. After that I could listen to it on my computer, burn it onto a cd or as I did put it onto my iPod. Since I am a frequent bus user I enjoy being able to take my entertainment on the road with me. At times I am sure people must have thought I was a nutjob because Russell Brand tends be very colourful and I ended up laughing out loud to a lot of what was said on his show. I never really cared though what people thought of the crazy girl on the bus. I was't as crazy as the women fighting with her imaginary friends, or the guy yelling profanities. I have to say I was pretty disappointed when he put his foot in his mouth which resulted in him having to resign from the BBC, thus ending my favorite podcast. My second favorite podcast was specifically about a television show that I was watching. Once the show ended in 2009 the podcast inevitably ended as well. But my favorite television show in the world The Mighty Boosh does have a 2010 podcast, (screen shot below) which I listen to to dry my tears. (And P.S if you don't watch the Mighty Boosh yet........... your missing out. Buy the dvds immediately!)
As with a lot of modern multimedia Apple is the leader in providing podcasts to the world. All you need to get started is a free download of the newest version of Itunes, if you don't have one already. Once you are on Itunes it could not get more simple. Below you will see a screen shot Itunes. On left hand side you will that the highlighted line says Itunes store. If you click on this you are brought to the entire store. Once you are in the store if you look to the left (top
on the newer versions) there is a link to podcasts. Once you click this link you are brought to all the podcasts available to you. From here you can search if you are looking for one specific podcast or you can browse by genre or most popular. A vast majority of the podcasts are available to you for free, but there are some that Itunes charges you to download. It is really that simple! Of course you don't have to go through Itunes. That just seems to be the most popular. Many websites will also contain links to their own podcasts if they have any. For example when doing a little research for this blog I listened to a few different library podcasts, which I didn't find through Itunes, but on their sites. I wanted to see how they varied. I found out that differences are vast.
The first genre of library audio podcast I listened to was a storyteller. I actually listened to two so I could compare and contrast. I first heard the Clayton Public Library reading of the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. I am a big Poe fan. (I know that it is no surprise, he is dark and brooding like me.) I was greatly disappointed by this reading though. The person who did the reading had the most boring voice I have ever listened to. Okay that is not entirely true, I have heard more boring voices, but his was in the top 20. The first thing that I noticed about this was there was zero introduction. You pressed play and right away the reader started the first line. I would have liked to know who was reading this or why but I guess this library did not find this information necessary. The reader used zero inflection in his voice. Though the poem can conjure a lot of feeling and suspense, I felt zilch from this reader. I almost felt like he was doing a presentation for Tabitha were he only had ten minutes and someone was going to cut him off. He sounded like he was rushing through it a bit and forgot to actually put some effort in. The quality of the podcast was good, but based solely on the reader I wouldn't listen to another of their podcasts. Unfortunately in this world we don't get many second chances, so keep that in mind if you ever decide to make your own podcast. The second reading was of the Giving Tree. Although the quality of this podcast was not as good I enjoyed the reading much more. Even thought it was a very loud podcast with a lot of background noise and a lot of lulls but overall I felt this one was a podcast I would be more likely to listen to again.
Some other genres I listened to were author readings, and an information podcast. The first was the reading of Hopkinton's book entitled Scrawl. I found it to be professional sounding, catchy and more interesting. There were some music cues at the beginning to welcome you and some added sound effects. There as just enough of an excerpt to keep you interested without giving away too much. The informational library podcast was intended for a university telling students about Google Scholar. This was the one I liked least. The entire thing was so contrived and trying way to hard to be funny. It came off sounding like a (bad) joke. The horrible clichéd surfer and the simplified tone made me cringe. I would certainly never listen any podcast from them again!
So who can use a podcast? Everyone and anyone. There is a podcast for every interest, every age group and every topic you can think off. It is basically a digitized version of your radio or tv except you have an even wider range of options to what you can watch or listen to. As the Russell Brand example shows, if it wasn't for the podcast I wouldn't have had access to a British radio show as readily as I did. You don't have to have any tech saavy to listen to a podcast. As from creating them, there is all kinds of software specifically designed to help you create the best podcast you can.
As with all the multimedia topics we have discussed previously podcasting is great for libraries. Audio podcasts can be used to give walking tours of the library. They could be preloaded onto an mp3 player or made available for free download. These tours could direct patrons to what they are looking for while highlighting areas of the library that are of interest or even giving history facts. When I went to Versailles they had this exact set up. I thought it was great. The audio was available in a number of languages and you had the convenience of exploring the building at your leisure. Libraries could use this technology to make available readings, including children's readings, authors readings and interviews, as well as general library talk. If you have an even coming up why not podcast about it to peak your patrons interest? Having the access to this type of technology makes your library seem more approachable and less frightening to navigate to people who are intimidated by the library. Libraries could even combine the technology of rss feeds with their podcasts to double the chances of patrons finding the information. Why not encourage patrons to create their own book review podcasts to help start a dialogue about books? Maybe book clubs could use podcasts within the library to discuss books and to give recommendations. The ideas are endless for what we can do with this technology if only we would use it to the full advantage.
Well my friends that is about all she wrote. I hope you enjoyed reading about multimedia in the library as much as I enjoyed learning about them. One final note on podcasting. Do you know where the name podcast came from? It is actually a combination of the words iPod and broadcasting. So you see Apple is taking over the world, and I for one am okay with that!
Have a great holiday season friends, see you in 2012!
Always your favorite nerdy librarian.
Amanda!
Librarian currently reading:
Library Recommendations:
DVD:
Holiday Music: (which is playing on a constant loop in my house!)
But for now we have one more exciting multimedia topic to discuss. Today we get into our spaceships and talk about pod-casting. What exactly is a podcast? Well a podcast is a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar type of program, which is made available on the internet to download to any personal audio player, such as an iPod. In simple terms it is an audio file that is created with the express purpose of being shared and heard. There are two main methods of how podcasts are presented. The first is audio and the second is video. My experiences with podcasts as with most of my blog topics is quite limited. I had never really experienced video podcasts, but I do actually have some experience listening to audio podcasts.I have followed a few different audio podcasts and all were quite different from each other. I really like podcasts and use them myself. Unfortunately all the podcasts that I have really liked and followed have from one reason or another have ended. Despite this I still really enjoy podcasts and would love recommendations for a new one to listen to! 
As with a lot of modern multimedia Apple is the leader in providing podcasts to the world. All you need to get started is a free download of the newest version of Itunes, if you don't have one already. Once you are on Itunes it could not get more simple. Below you will see a screen shot Itunes. On left hand side you will that the highlighted line says Itunes store. If you click on this you are brought to the entire store. Once you are in the store if you look to the left (top
The first genre of library audio podcast I listened to was a storyteller. I actually listened to two so I could compare and contrast. I first heard the Clayton Public Library reading of the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. I am a big Poe fan. (I know that it is no surprise, he is dark and brooding like me.) I was greatly disappointed by this reading though. The person who did the reading had the most boring voice I have ever listened to. Okay that is not entirely true, I have heard more boring voices, but his was in the top 20. The first thing that I noticed about this was there was zero introduction. You pressed play and right away the reader started the first line. I would have liked to know who was reading this or why but I guess this library did not find this information necessary. The reader used zero inflection in his voice. Though the poem can conjure a lot of feeling and suspense, I felt zilch from this reader. I almost felt like he was doing a presentation for Tabitha were he only had ten minutes and someone was going to cut him off. He sounded like he was rushing through it a bit and forgot to actually put some effort in. The quality of the podcast was good, but based solely on the reader I wouldn't listen to another of their podcasts. Unfortunately in this world we don't get many second chances, so keep that in mind if you ever decide to make your own podcast. The second reading was of the Giving Tree. Although the quality of this podcast was not as good I enjoyed the reading much more. Even thought it was a very loud podcast with a lot of background noise and a lot of lulls but overall I felt this one was a podcast I would be more likely to listen to again.
Some other genres I listened to were author readings, and an information podcast. The first was the reading of Hopkinton's book entitled Scrawl. I found it to be professional sounding, catchy and more interesting. There were some music cues at the beginning to welcome you and some added sound effects. There as just enough of an excerpt to keep you interested without giving away too much. The informational library podcast was intended for a university telling students about Google Scholar. This was the one I liked least. The entire thing was so contrived and trying way to hard to be funny. It came off sounding like a (bad) joke. The horrible clichéd surfer and the simplified tone made me cringe. I would certainly never listen any podcast from them again!
So who can use a podcast? Everyone and anyone. There is a podcast for every interest, every age group and every topic you can think off. It is basically a digitized version of your radio or tv except you have an even wider range of options to what you can watch or listen to. As the Russell Brand example shows, if it wasn't for the podcast I wouldn't have had access to a British radio show as readily as I did. You don't have to have any tech saavy to listen to a podcast. As from creating them, there is all kinds of software specifically designed to help you create the best podcast you can.
As with all the multimedia topics we have discussed previously podcasting is great for libraries. Audio podcasts can be used to give walking tours of the library. They could be preloaded onto an mp3 player or made available for free download. These tours could direct patrons to what they are looking for while highlighting areas of the library that are of interest or even giving history facts. When I went to Versailles they had this exact set up. I thought it was great. The audio was available in a number of languages and you had the convenience of exploring the building at your leisure. Libraries could use this technology to make available readings, including children's readings, authors readings and interviews, as well as general library talk. If you have an even coming up why not podcast about it to peak your patrons interest? Having the access to this type of technology makes your library seem more approachable and less frightening to navigate to people who are intimidated by the library. Libraries could even combine the technology of rss feeds with their podcasts to double the chances of patrons finding the information. Why not encourage patrons to create their own book review podcasts to help start a dialogue about books? Maybe book clubs could use podcasts within the library to discuss books and to give recommendations. The ideas are endless for what we can do with this technology if only we would use it to the full advantage.
Well my friends that is about all she wrote. I hope you enjoyed reading about multimedia in the library as much as I enjoyed learning about them. One final note on podcasting. Do you know where the name podcast came from? It is actually a combination of the words iPod and broadcasting. So you see Apple is taking over the world, and I for one am okay with that!
Have a great holiday season friends, see you in 2012!
Always your favorite nerdy librarian.
Amanda!
Librarian currently reading:
Library Recommendations:
DVD:
Holiday Music: (which is playing on a constant loop in my house!)
11/16/2011
Facespace, Mybook, Youbo, Bewitter How Do You Keep Them All Straight?
So we meet again friends.....
What fascinating venue are we going to explore together today? Today we enter into the world of "Social Networking". No I am not talking about the lame movie with Justin Timberlake; what I am talking about is a whole plethora of websites that seem to be expanding every day.
It seems over the last few years the words "social networking" and "social media" have become so ingrained in our everyday language and media, but exactly do they mean?
Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content." Social media includes things such as social networking, social book marching, and social cataloguing.
A social network is an online service, or site that focuses on building and reflecting social networks or social relations among people, share interests or activities. A social network site usually consists of each individuals users representation of him or herself; sometimes called a profile, and a variety of additional pages or services. The most popular forms of social media are web based sites that provide ways for users to stay in touch with each other through things like email, and instant messaging. Social networking sites allow users to stay connected and share ideas, thoughts, activities, events, photos, videos and interests with their individual networks.
The most popular form of social networking site over the last few years has been the more "friend" based sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Bebo and Twitter. The main purpose behind these sites is to get or stay connected to your friends through personalized profile pages. The pages and their ease of use can vary greatly from site to site. For example Facebook is quite user friendly as you just type your information into pre-prepared boxes; but the information on every one's page is displayed in nearly identical ways. Facebook page do not allow for very much personalization. On the other hand Myspace allowed for a much more personalized page, including music, background pics and colours as well as thousands of different lay outs; essentially allowing the user to be as creative with their profile page as he or she wanted. Unfortunately in order to personalize your Myspace page you had to be much more HTML comfortable.
In basic terms social networking and social media are a websites designed to make connecting with others easier. The two most popular social media sites currently are of course Facebook and Twitter. When you sign up to either of these sites the first thing that you do is set up your profile page.
The amount of information you give is completely up to you. The things the site will require you to give are a name, (not necessarily your real name, but it will make it much more difficult for friends to find you if you don't provide your true identity.) and an email address. After that you can provide as much or as little information about yourself that you wish. Most social media sites allow you to add a pictures of yourself, age, birthday, city you live in, sex, education and relationship status. But like I said you only have to give as much of that information as you want. Social networking sites are the most popular in the world of social media. These sites allow people to connect with one another based on personal interests, common activities or simply the fact that they are friends in the "real world". On these sites you can post pictures, chat with long lost friends are people sitting right beside you. You can connect with people you haven't seen in ages or find out what your latest celebrity crush is up to today. Interesting Facebook fact: The fastest growing Facebook demographic is those 25 years old or older. I personally have used Myspace, Bebo and Facebook. I used to really like Myspace when people were actually on it. I like being able to personalize my sites with backgrounds and pictures that show who I am and what I am interested in. (I think that is one of the big reasons I use Google Chrome; because I can choose an adorable cupcake them for my tabs!) Bebo wasn't a bad site either. I mainly used it when I lived in Europe to connect with my friends who lived in Ireland who though "Facebook would never last" (Yup my cousin Joanne said this to me and she now has 3 Facebook pages!) I have a Facebook page (Amanda's Facebook). I jumped on the band wagon quite early in the game. In face the first time I tried to sign up; you still had to be affiliated with specific schools. I find Facebook extremely easy to use, but also incredibly annoying. The number of ads on their pages has gone up exponentially over the last few years and I don't know how much influence Mark Zuckerberg actually has any more with the day to day Facebook operations but if you are listening; STOP UPDATING FACEBOOK EVERY OTHER WEEK! My big frustration with Facebook is that every time you get used to a function, they "update" it or tweak it in some unnecessary way.
What fascinating venue are we going to explore together today? Today we enter into the world of "Social Networking". No I am not talking about the lame movie with Justin Timberlake; what I am talking about is a whole plethora of websites that seem to be expanding every day.
 |
| A Selection of Social Networking Site Logos |
Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content." Social media includes things such as social networking, social book marching, and social cataloguing.
A social network is an online service, or site that focuses on building and reflecting social networks or social relations among people, share interests or activities. A social network site usually consists of each individuals users representation of him or herself; sometimes called a profile, and a variety of additional pages or services. The most popular forms of social media are web based sites that provide ways for users to stay in touch with each other through things like email, and instant messaging. Social networking sites allow users to stay connected and share ideas, thoughts, activities, events, photos, videos and interests with their individual networks.
The most popular form of social networking site over the last few years has been the more "friend" based sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Bebo and Twitter. The main purpose behind these sites is to get or stay connected to your friends through personalized profile pages. The pages and their ease of use can vary greatly from site to site. For example Facebook is quite user friendly as you just type your information into pre-prepared boxes; but the information on every one's page is displayed in nearly identical ways. Facebook page do not allow for very much personalization. On the other hand Myspace allowed for a much more personalized page, including music, background pics and colours as well as thousands of different lay outs; essentially allowing the user to be as creative with their profile page as he or she wanted. Unfortunately in order to personalize your Myspace page you had to be much more HTML comfortable.
The amount of information you give is completely up to you. The things the site will require you to give are a name, (not necessarily your real name, but it will make it much more difficult for friends to find you if you don't provide your true identity.) and an email address. After that you can provide as much or as little information about yourself that you wish. Most social media sites allow you to add a pictures of yourself, age, birthday, city you live in, sex, education and relationship status. But like I said you only have to give as much of that information as you want. Social networking sites are the most popular in the world of social media. These sites allow people to connect with one another based on personal interests, common activities or simply the fact that they are friends in the "real world". On these sites you can post pictures, chat with long lost friends are people sitting right beside you. You can connect with people you haven't seen in ages or find out what your latest celebrity crush is up to today. Interesting Facebook fact: The fastest growing Facebook demographic is those 25 years old or older. I personally have used Myspace, Bebo and Facebook. I used to really like Myspace when people were actually on it. I like being able to personalize my sites with backgrounds and pictures that show who I am and what I am interested in. (I think that is one of the big reasons I use Google Chrome; because I can choose an adorable cupcake them for my tabs!) Bebo wasn't a bad site either. I mainly used it when I lived in Europe to connect with my friends who lived in Ireland who though "Facebook would never last" (Yup my cousin Joanne said this to me and she now has 3 Facebook pages!) I have a Facebook page (Amanda's Facebook). I jumped on the band wagon quite early in the game. In face the first time I tried to sign up; you still had to be affiliated with specific schools. I find Facebook extremely easy to use, but also incredibly annoying. The number of ads on their pages has gone up exponentially over the last few years and I don't know how much influence Mark Zuckerberg actually has any more with the day to day Facebook operations but if you are listening; STOP UPDATING FACEBOOK EVERY OTHER WEEK! My big frustration with Facebook is that every time you get used to a function, they "update" it or tweak it in some unnecessary way.
10/31/2011
10/26/2011
Aloha world of Wiki's
Friends lets just get it out of the way now! When you heard the word wiki you thought Wikipedia right? You thought to yourself; why would I want to read an entire blog about Wikipedia? I use it everyday and I know everything there is to know about Wikipedia. Well my friends I have something to tell you. Wiki isn't Wikipedia.............
Your shocked aren't you? Granted Wikipedia is the most famous wiki page in the world right now, but it is not by any means the oldest. In fact it is only one of millions out there.
So if Wiki is not short of Wikipedia then what does it mean?
A wiki is a piece of server software that easily allows members to participate in the creation of the web site quickly and easily without any prier HTML knowledge. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has simple text syntax for creating new page and links between pages. So basically a wiki is a type of website where any member of the site can easily go into the page and change information without having to have a degree in computer speak. As an example lets use the big bad world of Wikipedia, which as you may or may not know is a online dictionary of sorts. Members and staff of Wikipedia will enter information on a subject and than post it. What if a member reading it can looks at the page and says "hey that's not entirely correct!" Well than that member can go in and change the information. The change can be performed as easily as typing in text in a word program. There are no codes to know or formulas to figure out. If enough people on Wikipedia agree that a piece of information is correct, it will then be changed on the page.
This is a screen shot to show you an example of Wikipedia:
The little numbers in brackets represent citations; which can be changed. Occasionally with the citation there will be a note stating that a citation or more information is needed. Information on Wikipedia can actually be published before the information is agreed to be fact. The blue font is of course links; which will bring you to other pages within the Wikipedia world. All wikis allow you to utilize links very simply without any knowledge.
Now there are good and bad things about being able to so easily change information. An example of the bad is comedian Stephan Colbert. On his show "The Colbert Report" he has routinely asked his audience to all go to Wikipedia, on specific articles and change the information to make it incorrect. The flaw is that with enough people claiming something is fact it does become fact. If enough people stated the sky is green Wikipedia could actually post that as fact. This does not seem to be much of a problem for smaller wiki sites.
Wiki sites can be large or small; on any topic. They can be used internally within companies, or externally to fans or groups. If you wanted to start a wiki site of your own; on say your favorite TV show or band, books you have read or even a political party you choose to support; the first thing you want to do is go to a site such as Wikia, webpaint or pbworks. These are all FREE wiki web hosting sites that will help you get started. Out of there three I personally like Wikia the best. It seems the most straight forward and easy to use site. Plus it just looks the best of the three. And lets be honest a big part of the websites we choose to use these days is based on the aesthetics. PB works is aimed towards businesses and the site seems a little too beige and boring for my taste.
Now as with many of the things I have blogged about, I have never really used wikis before; other then the king of the wiki of course. I use Wikipedia all the time; but I do not think my use has anything to do with the fact that the information can easily be changed. I like the idea of community use of web sites and the simplicity of wikis, but I don't think I would really use them myself. I personally think that if I wanted to import information of any kind on a website I would just use a blog perhaps. I don't think I would ever take the time to follow another wiki or change information in any other wiki. I can see for certain groups of people why wikis would be quite useful for being able to easily change information but for my personal use I do not find them that useful.One place that could easily benefit from Wikis use would be libraries; especially public libraries. Internally libraries could use wiki's to communicate information to each other. The best feature of course is the fact that so many hosting sites are free to the library. Any free services that the library can use are things we should take advantage of. There are many uses for a library wiki page. Higher ups could put information in a wiki page and the people who respond can easily add or change information as needed. Also patrons could benefit from things such as changes in hours, upcoming events, new materials available in the library, library history and general information; such as late fees, card applications and types of materials available. The nice part is that all the things on the libraries wiki page can easily be changed without hiring on outside company to run a website or an expert in html
.
.
While I was researching wikis I did come across a few that I thought were fun, so if your want to see a few examples of different types of wikis then please take a look!
1. The Mighty Boosh Wiki
This is an example of a very simple, user friendly television show wiki.(And my personal favorite show!)
2.Hello Kitty
This is an example of a Wikia wiki page. A nice, colorful page dedicated to Hello Kitty, with pictures, video and text.
Hello Kitty Wiki
3. Travel Wikis
A very wikipedia style travel wiki page. This one is is a very classically styled page that is easy to use. There is a lot of information to find and the ease of use is high.
A travel Wiki
Till next time friends!
Sincerely
Amanda- Head Librarian.
Librarian Currently Listening to: City Lounge: Paris
Lies that Chelsea Lately Told Me- Audio Book
Library Currently Reading:
The Swan Thieves- Elizabeth Kostova
The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton : Noel Fielding
Random facts for today:
To celebrate the last days of Canadian Library Month don't forget to stop by any local branch to drop off a book in our donate a book program! Or stop by any of this weekends children's reading events with Where the Wild Things are read by David Sedaris on Saturday and The Cat In The Hat read by Chuck Palahnuik.
10/08/2011
Real Smart Stuff about RSS feeds
Librarian currently listening to: William Orbit- Pieces in a Modern Style.
Royksopp- Junior and Senior
Good to see you again friends and patrons.
You have now officially entered into the world of blogging. As it turns out it can be a lot of fun. You started following our blog, your friend’s blogs, cooking blogs, and art blogs. You have even started following the blogs of big organizations such as CNN, The New York Times, The Huffington Post and the Onion. But now that you have all these blogs to follow how will you keep track of them all? There is the old fashion way. Every day you could log on to each individual blog to see what; if anything they have updated that day. Don’t forget to write them down on a piece of paper so you don’t forget any of them. Maybe you could add them to your favorites on the browser you happen to use. That would make it a little easier to keep track. I don’t know about you, but I do not have that kind of time on my hands. I do not want to go to a bunch of blogs only to find out they have nothing new. This is where the RSS feeds come in handy.
What is an RSS feed?
Admittedly if you asked me this question yesterday I would not have been able to answer it. Up till yesterday I didn’t know what an RSS feed was or how it was used. But today I know the answer and I am glad you asked.
Originally called RDF (Resource Description Framework), RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Unfortunately the explanation is anything but simple. RSS takes all these blog entries, news headlines, music and videos that you subscribe to; and in a standardized format they publish the frequent updates.This is all done through one standardized format. It is all clear now right? It wasn’t for me either. Basically an RSS feed is a way of getting updates from all the sites you subscribe to. Instead of you going to each website individually all the news you want comes to you. And with this method it is only the news you want that comes to you. Your favorite writer is coming to town at some point this year, but you don’t know when. You could go to the website every day and see if there may be an update. Or you can simply subscribe to the RSS feed and when the information is updated; bling it will come to you.
Now that you know what an RSS feed is how do you use it? Let me explain.
The first thing you will need to do in order to use the RSS feeds is get yourself an RSS reader. Readers are free websites that you can use to house all your feeds and information. The lucky thing is to access one all you need is email account. When it comes to the readers you have many options to choose from. Some of the most popular include Google Reader (GoogleReader), Bloglines (www.bloglines.com), Newsgator (www.newsgator.com) and MyYahoo (ca.my.yahoo.com). For a full list and reviews of RSS readers you can check out Choosing an RSS reader or lib guides to choosing RSS readers
The handy thing I found out is that I already subscribed to a reader and didn’t even know it! I happen to be a Gmail girl. (Google’s email service) When I got this assignment about RSS feeds the first thing I was asked to do was subscribe to another libraries RSS feed. So like you, I had to figure out how to use a reader. I decided on the Google reader since I am most comfortable with all things Google. I went over to the Google Reader site and found out all I had to do was type in the email I already used and voila! I was all set up! Once I put in my password it brought me to my reader. Here is a handy screen shot of my Google Reader page to help you:
This is what you will see when you first open your reader. On the left you will see all the subscriptions that you have. Google Reader happens to even organize your subscriptions for you by type. So all the BlogSpot blogs (Google’s blog pages), that I follow are in one category and all others are in another. In this screen shot we happen to be looking at the news feed of MoMA. (The Museum of Modern Art) So what you see on the right is the recent updates from MoMa, including the date and time, category, title and a brief description. Now if any of these things interest me all I have to do is click on the link and it will bring me to the appropriate place on the website. It is as easy as that! Since I have recently began following many of my classmates new blogs they are all listed there as well. So to catch up with all my classmates writings all I have to do is click on the left on the title of their blog. If they have written anything new, it will be there for me to see on the right.
Now that you have chosen your reader and set it up you can begin adding all the subscriptions you want! I’ll tell you how.
For this explanation I will use part of my class assignment to help us out. Part of the assignment was to find another library of our choice and subscribe to their page or blog, and then link it to our blog. This was a tough decision for me. There are just too many libraries that I love. The one that is closest to my heart is the Bibliothèque Nationale De France (National Library of France).
I have been a Parisaholic for years and when I saw this library and couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful. So I headed on over to the site and sure enough they had an RSS feed. To subscribe to any page is simple. Head on over to any page you would like to subscribe to and look for this logo:
This pretty orange symbol is the RSS feeds logo. If a page subscribes to an RSS feed it will have this symbol somewhere on the page. (sometimes they can be a little hidden under media links or the like, so look hard!) Once you click this button you will get a big jumble of html wording. (Hypertext Markup Language) What you will want to do is go to the address bar at the top of your page and copy that address. Now go back to your RSS reader and find the button or section that says “add a subscription”. In that bar paste the address you just copied. Now click add. You are now subscribed to that pages RSS feeds! It is really that simple.
You could also see links like this:
These are quick links to subscribe directly to your specific reader. All you have to do with these is click the appropriate box for you and follow the easy steps!
Now that I understand the world of RSS feeds I think they are a great resource. RSS feeds can be used by absolutely everybody. I find them very useful. I used to go to my favorite food blog once a week to see if it had been updated; and if I found any of the recipes useful. Now I can just add it to my RSS feed and know instantly whether I should visit the page. Business types can keep up with The Wall Street Journal, people like me can keep up with friends blogs, and the news of the day from the Onion at the same time, and fans can find out what is happening with bands and upcoming books. I think it is a great tool to filter out what I don’t need to know while keeping me up to date on what I do want to know. I honestly do not think that if I wasn’t assigned the topic of RSS feeds I would have ever given them a thought. Now that I know what they are I will use them with certainty. I love knowing what is going on in my favorite libraries, and with my favorite people around the world.
I think RSS feeds can be a fantastic benefit to libraries. There is so much news that the library would like to share with its patrons. With the excess amount of information that is being feed to the public many things can be overlooked. This way the people who are looking for the information will actually receive it. I am not sure that most libraries are using RSS to their full advantage. Libraries could use RSS feeds to give their patrons such information as upcoming book releases, events, library closings, exhibits and book groups. Libraries could also use RSS feeds internally to announce such things as job postings, and general information. Public libraries could benefit most from this technology; but smaller libraries and more specialized libraries could benefit also.
Sincerely head librarian Amanda
For a really fun simple explanation of RSS feeds check out the video below.
RSS in Plain English
Librarian Currently Reading:
Larry Clark- Tulsa
Note to the reader: This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Otherwise know as Pinktober!) In honor of this I decided to make this entire blog PINK! If you would like more information about Breast Cancer Awareness Month or to pick up your own Pinktober merchandise checkout these sites:
http://www.hardrock.com/philanthropy/pinktober/pinktober-2011.aspx
To find out more about Pink Ribbons in your country click here;
Australia
www.pinkribbonday.com.au
America and Canada
www.thebreastcancersite.com
www.pinkribbonstore.com
United Kingdom
www.pinkribbonfoundation.org.uk
9/30/2011
I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie
Welcome back friends and patrons.
One of the things that I mentioned in my previous blog post was that I would be giving book recommendations. Well there is no better time to start then right now. In the future I will give you book recommendations based on age, genre or interest, but today I thought, since this is the first book recommendation, it would be purely books that I have read and enjoyed. So here is a short list of books for your to check out, and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!
1. The Gargoyle- by Andrew Davidson.
I thought it might be nice to start this recommendation with a local writer. Andrew Davidson is orignally from just outside of Winnipeg. I was recommended this book by a good friend of mine and once I started reading it I could not put it down again. Before I knew it 6 hours had gone by I was reading the last chapter. This book is intense and beautiful. It is the story of a man recovering in the hospital after a horrible accident, when he meets a woman who will change his life in profound ways. The story intertwines with love stories of the past that will break your heart. The story of the Glassblower to this day still gives me shivers. This book could be in its own genre all to itself its so unique. I, without doubt fully recommend this title!
2. The Secret Lives of People in Love- Simon Von Booy
This is a book of short stories that I read last winter. It is the perfect book to read on a cold winter day sitting by your fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate. (I myself love Aztec hot chocolate) As the title suggests all the stories are about love. Now before you start thinking that I am a sucker for a love story, (which I am) love in this case is not told in only one form. There are stories of fathers and sons, friends, lovers, parents and everything in between. The way in which Simon von Booy chooses his words is haunting. His descriptions are like little paintings of words on paper. One of my favorite things about this book is due to the fact that it is short stories of only five to ten pages; if you ever need a little pick me up just grab this book flip to any story and start reading. Even his saddest of stories will leave you with a feeling of hope.
3. I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence & Simple Times, Crafts for Poor People both by Amy Sedaris.
For something a little bit on the lighter side pick-up either or both of Amy Sedaris’ books. Amy Sedaris is a comedian who very much enjoys the art of crafts and dinner parties. The first book is all about hospitality. There are tips for throwing themed parties, recipes, favors and everything in between. As she is a comedian these are all written with a slight twist. An example to throwing a dinner party for senior citizens, which she reminds you not to make too many hard to chew dinner items. Instead opt for jello. Crafts for Poor people is exactly that; crafts. The crafts she suggests have a very at home feel and just reading them will brighten your day. There are a lot of popsicle sticks used as well as cotton balls and glitter.
4. The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club- Laurie Notaro
5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog- Muriel Barbery
This was by far the best book I read last summer. This is a dual narrative book set in an apartment building in a rich neighborhood in Paris. The book switches back and forth between the buildings concierge and an eleven year old girl who lives in one of the apartments. Both characters have a perceived persona to the outside world that they have to play up to a certain degree; as well as their hidden persons. The inhabitants of the building assume the concierge is of a certain educational background, yet when they aren’t looking she reads War and Peace and speaks different languages. Same goes with the other main character who seems to be one person but by the end you will see is a completely different character. The way this book is written is beautiful. I was hooked right from the first chapter. The characters and rich and multifaceted, the story is intriguing and the setting is my favorite city in the world!
7. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things- J.T Leroy
I read this book for the first time in high school and it shocked me. It’s the story of a young boy being raised by his single mother. The best way to describe his mother Sarah is that she should never have been a mother. It is a story of his physical and mental abuse throughout his childhood. It is written through the eyes of a child, and although it sounds like horrifically heavy subject matter it is hard to put down. There was a lot of controversy around this book actually. In 2005 Asia Argento made a film version of this book. She had met with Jt Leroy and collaborated with him on the story. Right before the film was released it was revealed that there was no such person as JT Leroy. A woman had been writing on the assumed name of JT Leroy and had then hired her sister in law to portray the character in person. After everyone, including a lot of celebrities came out publically sympathizing this poor boy for the things that had happened it came out this was purely a work of fiction. So read it and find out what all the fuss is about!
8. Chanel – A Woman of Her Own- Axel Madsen
I have always enjoyed biographies. They have been one of my favorite forms of book for quite some time. I have read biographies on everyone from The Marquis De Sade to Marilyn Manson, Lewis Carroll to Jenna Jamison. How a person gets from a to b and what happens to them in between is fascinating to me. Last summer I spent a great deal of time reading biographies and this one was one of my favorites. Almost everyone knows the name Chanel, but who is the woman behind the name? It turns out she is a amazing person. Some things you may not have known that I found out about her include being accused of being a Nazi sympathiser, she sold her famous #5 perfume for almost nothing and spent her whole life suing the company that owned it for the rights back to her own perfume, and she actually wanted to Yves Saint Laurant to take over the brand now Karl Lagerfeld. (Karl has now been designing for Chanel longer then she did) It’s a really interesting life, told in a very readable way.
9. Postsecret
If you have never heard of postsecret you are missing out! But in case you don’t know yet what it is I’ll fill you in. community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2005 as a blog, in which people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. The concept of the project was that completely anonymous people decorate a postcard and portray a secret that they had never previously revealed. No restrictions are made on the content of the secret; only that it must be completely truthful and must never have been spoken before. The secrets range from admissions of sexual misconduct and criminal activity to confessions of secret desires, embarrassing habits, hopes and dreams. Some are hilarious and some are horrifying. (When I get angry at my husband I put boogers in his soup, He is in jail for 10 years for something I did are just two examples of 1000’s) The blog updates new secrets every Sunday but there are also four different books full of secrets. They enlighten you, empower you, and make you feel just a little less alone in the world. PostSecret is an ongoing
10. Are You There Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea- Chelsea Handler
For anyone who has seen the show Chelsea Lately you know exactly how hilarious Chelsea Handler can be. This is the second book that she wrote, which is a collection of stories from her life. A large portion is dedicated to antics involving her family. The stories that stick out the most to me involve her father. My favorite story involves her taking her father on a vacation where he gets them upgraded to first class airplane tickets by telling the staff that Chelsea is his new wife not his daughter. Her dry comedic timing and the hilarity of knowing these stories are all true makes for a very funny read.
9/24/2011
Wouldn't You Like to Know...........
Just a little fyi for anyone in the internet world who is reading this blog:
This blog was created as an assignment for my College Library Information Technology class and therefore is used for the purpose of assignments. (The first being blog about blogging!) For this reason I am writing as a head librarian of a fictitious library I am calling "Parisian Public Library" Feel free to comment as a "patron" or as yourself.
Now you know the background enjoy the blog!
This blog was created as an assignment for my College Library Information Technology class and therefore is used for the purpose of assignments. (The first being blog about blogging!) For this reason I am writing as a head librarian of a fictitious library I am calling "Parisian Public Library" Feel free to comment as a "patron" or as yourself.
Now you know the background enjoy the blog!
Once Upon a Time There Was a Blog.........
Welcome to the wonderful world of the blog!
Is this your first blog experience? If so do not fret! To that's what I am here for! To walk you through the exciting world of the internet and show you paths you may have been to timid to explore. For those of you who have experience with the blogging world I hope you too can enjoy the trip, and maybe learn a few new things along the way!
Before we can get properly acquainted we should talk about this word blog. What exactly is a blog? Essentially a blog is one particular type of website, or one section within a website design to share information. A blog is most commonly ran by an individual with regular entries which are posted oldest to newest. Many people think of blogs as on-line journal entries. These journals can be as personal or professional as the blogger wishes them to be. There are as many different types of blog on the internet as there topics in the world. A blog can be about a particular subject that the author is interested in; like for example a fashion blog, travel blog, political blog, a book club or a food blog. Or it can be more of a personal diary type website where a person or persons discusses aspect of his or her life and feelings.
Blogs can be a simple word websites or they can become much more elaborate with picture blogs, video blogs, audio blogs, music blogs and art blogs. Many blogs today use a combination of words pictures and videos in their blogs. Users and creators can let their imagination run free. Blogs can be an incredibly interactive form of website. Many blogs not only include a comments section, but encourage its followers to leave comments and messages. In fact it is the interactivity that makes blogs stand out as their own form of website. Blogs are used by everyone from teenagers to senior citizens and beyond. There are corporate blogs, business blogs, personal blogs, and celebrity blogs. The world of blogging is a diverse as the world itself. As of February 16, 2011 there were over 156 million public blogs in existence according to Wikipedia.
I have to admit something to you now library friends. I am pretty new to the blog world. This is in fact is my very first blog entry. So you may be wondering why I think I should be able to share any information regarding this topic when I myself am new to posting blogs? Well I have been following blogs for quite some time and I enjoy it thoroughly. A blog is fantastic way to keep in contact with people of similar interests. For example this blog that I am starting today; hopefully you will be able to message and read comments of other lovely patrons of our library and find out what they are reading or if they have any recommendations for you!
As well they are a useful way to keep in touch with friends, loved ones and people who you don't get to see in your everyday life. Blogs help people connect with the world. A great example is a blog I follow. The blog is called "See Abby Write." Abby is a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a few years. She is living in a different province now and has recently become vegan. Her blog is all about her daily life and her continuing adventures with food. It's fun for me to be able to pop on for a few minutes and see what she is up to in her world. Abby- A Day to Day Life Blog
Blogs are great at giving people a place to share common interests. Other than books my other great love is cooking and baking. I love to cook for people and see them enjoy what I have made for them. Unfortunately I am not always as creative as I would like to be; which is where food blogs come in. For me following other peoples adventures in cooking helps give me great ideas with what I can do at home for dinner. I can pop on any time and get great ideas and recipes that I can use in my own life. There are a few different blogs that I like to follow: Food Gawker- a link to hundreds of food blogs and Cheeky Kitchen- A Food Blog. Both of these sites are great examples of specific interest blogs.
The last two blogs that I follow are both fashion blogs. Joanne Larby- Fashion Blogger and Michael Kovalik- Makeup Blogger . These two happen to be close personal friends of mine who are both in the fashion and make-up industry. They are two very talented individuals who use their blogs to show examples of their work, gain a larger client base as well as just share their love of the beauty world. Joanne's website encourages comments, questions and messages. (And if you look really hard you will find me on Michael's blog as well!)
As you can see I may be new to the blog posting, but I am by no means new to blog following. I encourage you to explore the world of the blog. What are you interested in? Sports? Music? Books? Art? Vintage furniture repair? Whatever you are interested in, there is a blog out there for you. On the off chance there isn't already a blog then start one! Start one about your life and share it with friends. Blogs are a great way to keep in touch, stay educated and have fun.
Blogs in Our Library
You may think blogs sound outdated but they are improving all the time and I plan on taking advantage of that fact! In the upcoming months I shall adding to this blog regularly. You will be able to find out about upcoming events, book clubs formations, book recommendations, children's activities, teen nights, guests at our fair library; including authors, publishers and readers. We will include videos of author readings and interviews. I encourage your feed back. Who would you like to see at the library? We will be starting book clubs, what books would you like to read and discuss? What do you think of blogs and what is your blog experience? We at Parisian Public Library want to make this the most interactive and enjoyable library experience you have ever had.
So for those of you in internet world who have experienced blogs tell me what you would like to see are your library. For those of you who are new to the blog world I hope I helped eradicate any fears or misconceptions you may have had.
Sincerely Head Librarian: Amanda
Want to start your own blog? Here's some helpful sites to get you started!
http://www.howtostartablog.org/
29tips tutorials and resources for new bloggers
How to Start a Blog- a Wiki
Librarian currently reading: The Master and Margarita
Blogs can be a simple word websites or they can become much more elaborate with picture blogs, video blogs, audio blogs, music blogs and art blogs. Many blogs today use a combination of words pictures and videos in their blogs. Users and creators can let their imagination run free. Blogs can be an incredibly interactive form of website. Many blogs not only include a comments section, but encourage its followers to leave comments and messages. In fact it is the interactivity that makes blogs stand out as their own form of website. Blogs are used by everyone from teenagers to senior citizens and beyond. There are corporate blogs, business blogs, personal blogs, and celebrity blogs. The world of blogging is a diverse as the world itself. As of February 16, 2011 there were over 156 million public blogs in existence according to Wikipedia.
I have to admit something to you now library friends. I am pretty new to the blog world. This is in fact is my very first blog entry. So you may be wondering why I think I should be able to share any information regarding this topic when I myself am new to posting blogs? Well I have been following blogs for quite some time and I enjoy it thoroughly. A blog is fantastic way to keep in contact with people of similar interests. For example this blog that I am starting today; hopefully you will be able to message and read comments of other lovely patrons of our library and find out what they are reading or if they have any recommendations for you!
As well they are a useful way to keep in touch with friends, loved ones and people who you don't get to see in your everyday life. Blogs help people connect with the world. A great example is a blog I follow. The blog is called "See Abby Write." Abby is a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a few years. She is living in a different province now and has recently become vegan. Her blog is all about her daily life and her continuing adventures with food. It's fun for me to be able to pop on for a few minutes and see what she is up to in her world. Abby- A Day to Day Life Blog
Blogs are great at giving people a place to share common interests. Other than books my other great love is cooking and baking. I love to cook for people and see them enjoy what I have made for them. Unfortunately I am not always as creative as I would like to be; which is where food blogs come in. For me following other peoples adventures in cooking helps give me great ideas with what I can do at home for dinner. I can pop on any time and get great ideas and recipes that I can use in my own life. There are a few different blogs that I like to follow: Food Gawker- a link to hundreds of food blogs and Cheeky Kitchen- A Food Blog. Both of these sites are great examples of specific interest blogs.
The last two blogs that I follow are both fashion blogs. Joanne Larby- Fashion Blogger and Michael Kovalik- Makeup Blogger . These two happen to be close personal friends of mine who are both in the fashion and make-up industry. They are two very talented individuals who use their blogs to show examples of their work, gain a larger client base as well as just share their love of the beauty world. Joanne's website encourages comments, questions and messages. (And if you look really hard you will find me on Michael's blog as well!)
As you can see I may be new to the blog posting, but I am by no means new to blog following. I encourage you to explore the world of the blog. What are you interested in? Sports? Music? Books? Art? Vintage furniture repair? Whatever you are interested in, there is a blog out there for you. On the off chance there isn't already a blog then start one! Start one about your life and share it with friends. Blogs are a great way to keep in touch, stay educated and have fun.
Blogs in Our Library
You may think blogs sound outdated but they are improving all the time and I plan on taking advantage of that fact! In the upcoming months I shall adding to this blog regularly. You will be able to find out about upcoming events, book clubs formations, book recommendations, children's activities, teen nights, guests at our fair library; including authors, publishers and readers. We will include videos of author readings and interviews. I encourage your feed back. Who would you like to see at the library? We will be starting book clubs, what books would you like to read and discuss? What do you think of blogs and what is your blog experience? We at Parisian Public Library want to make this the most interactive and enjoyable library experience you have ever had.
So for those of you in internet world who have experienced blogs tell me what you would like to see are your library. For those of you who are new to the blog world I hope I helped eradicate any fears or misconceptions you may have had.
Sincerely Head Librarian: Amanda
Want to start your own blog? Here's some helpful sites to get you started!
http://www.howtostartablog.org/
29tips tutorials and resources for new bloggers
How to Start a Blog- a Wiki
Librarian currently reading: The Master and Margarita
Librarians recommendations:
Recommended Author: Haruki Murakami
Lamb: Christopher Moore
Librarian Tip: Don't forget next week is Rosh Hashanah for tips visit--- Jewish food blog
For the kids in your life: Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher:
Recommended Author: Haruki Murakami
For the kids in your life: Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher:
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