Author Archives: Brenda Ellis

Online Training Site of Interest

See the Library Journal article “Colorado State Library Expands Online Training Site” for information on technology training materials that may be relevant for the Library and ITS.

Excerpt:

“The Colorado State Library (CSL) is continuing to build out its Library Creation & Learning Centers website, a free online resource where libraries throughout the state and beyond can access interactive technology and customer service training modules for staff, Maker space programming ideas, curated links to digital creation software, and more.”

“Using Articulate Storyline authoring tools, Faccioli also created a new series of interactive online training modules that communicate several key concepts from the in-person workshops, including how to conduct a technology reference interview; how to assess staff proficiency with technology; how to create resources to help with common questions; how to use effective one-on-one technology training techniques; how to deal with challenging patron situations in a positive way; how to tailor training techniques to the needs of adults; and how to design technology training classes for groups.”

Includes a Technology Proficiency Checklist for the really basics skills and instructional materials that would be helpful if ITS ever offers a basic computing class for staff.

Developer Maps NY Public Library Photo Archives

Library Journal article about “the launch of OldNYC.org, a website that overlays photo locations on a Google Maps interface, enabling visitors to explore the collection by zooming, dragging, and clicking their way around an online map of the city.”  Not only is this interesting to see, it could be useful for students interested in seeing old NYC architecture.  Also discusses a similar project for San Francisco.

ekocycle1

Friday Links – January 23, 2015

NEH & Mellon Announce Pilot Grant Program to Digitize Out of Print Books in Humanities and Make Them Available With CC License  (From infoDOCKET / Library Journal)

Experimental Meadowhawk Module Featured in Mercedes-Benz’s CES Concept Car – Embedded into the console, Leap Motion’s Meadowhawk modules allow drivers to access an experimental natural user interface.

CES 2015: Five big 3D printing trends to shape the year ahead – When it comes to 3D printing, the theme of 2015 is simple: make it useful. The last couple years has been exciting for fans of the technology and people in the industry, as it has developed so rapidly it has been hard to keep up with.

Lunch time Learning: Library Services & Resources at Middlebury

Wed. Sept. 3rd, noon – 1pm, Davis Family Library Computer Lab (DFL 105) – lower level.  Drop-ins welcome or sign-up online (use the last box to tell us if there is something specific you want covered).

Description: Bring your lunch to the library and learn about what we have to offer you and your family.  We’ll introduce you to library services and resources available to Midd users and their families and show you how to search MIDCAT, the library catalog, and Summon (our “search everything” tool) to discover resources like books, articles, films, eBooks, audiobooks, and more. Learn how to access news and popular magazines online as well as find online resources aimed at all ages.  Questions will be answered throughout the session.

Friday Links – August 15

How Successful People Stay Calm (from LinkedIn)

  • Article explains optimal stress and includes 10 best strategies for managing stress (and emotions).

Churnalism: When Press Releases Masquerade as News Stories

  • British YouTube video illustrating “churnalism” (media articles based on press releases) with examples of how some fake press releases made it into mainstream media.  By Churnalism.com (promotes their churnalism detection extension for Chrome and Firefox). (Shared on the ili-l listserv by Maryke Barber).

Demand Media Infographic

  • Infographic illustrating how “content mills” work based on one example.  Shows how content (matching web search terms) is written for the internet to generate ad sales. (Also shared on the ili-l listserv by Maryke Barber).

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) seeks to weed out ‘predatory’ OA journals.

… following criticism of [DOAJ’s] quality-control checks, the website is asking all of the journals in its directory to reapply on the basis of stricter criteria. It hopes the move will weed out ‘predatory journals’: those that profess to publish research openly, often charging fees, but that are either outright scams or do not provide the services a scientist would expect, such as a minimal standard of peer review or permanent archiving …

More background and perspective from Rick Anderson via the Scholarly Kitchen.