Thursday, November 08, 2007

So, I went to Internet Librarian again this year, and it was...well, it was a mixed bag. The good included Monterey, of course, which is always awesome (and they're very friendly to the librarians invading their town), the energy level in the conference that comes from over 1000 wired librarians, the keynotes this year that were particularly good (especially the one from Joe Janes on Reference 2.0, which was fantastic, and now I want to work at the iSchool in Washington), and the tips and tricks I got from various sessions (for instance, I found out from Steven Cohen's RSS presentation that you can use RSS with Justia's docket site, which is just plain awesome. Way back in the days of Library 1.0, Steven told me that Folderol should get on the RSS wagon, and it took me a while but then I saw the light.)

The downsides included me nearing the end of my rope with a conference that has Internet in its very title, but doesn't have decent net access anywhere. The search engine track took place in a room with chairs (i.e. no place to put a laptop, other than balanced in one's lap) and no wifi. I felt like I was in the Monty Python cheese shop skit. (Also, while I am not anti-Library 2.0, I don't really get what the big deal is about it, so I think some of the theme of the whole shindig was lost on me. But that is a different discussion altogether!)

On to links!

A new government site is all about drought. This seems kind of ominous to me.

More political fun: Slate has a constantly-updated map of where the presidential candidates are and what they're saying in the news. It takes a while to load, but it's full of information. (At the moment, I can't even see Iowa, it's so covered in icons.)

LibraryThing has competitors. Some are good and useful, while others are evil. Evil!

If you've seen Flickrvision, which shows you who's uploading photos in real time, you may also like a similar app which shows you Wikipedia edits in nearly-real time around the world. This is also a fun way to find out about Wikipedia entries, too - I had no idea Depeche Mode's 101 film had its own entry until I saw someone updating it this morning.

For history buffs, here's a blog which posts a Soviet poster each day, with commentary. Very cool and informative.

Tomorrow: lots of links from others!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My impersonation of the Space Cadet or Ditzy Librarian -

"Uh. Hi! So, when’s the big unveiling?” “I can’t wait to see Web 2.0’s interface. Is it tomorrow? Maybe in the exhibition hall?”

“Hi, uh, excuse me, have you seen Web 2.0?”
Hmmmm…., she thinks to herself, “Everyone is talking about it in roundabout terms, but I haven’t seen it. Is this like the Emperor’s New Clothes?” “Hmmm….no one has defined it”, she wonders as she stumblefucks to the next seminar, hoping, “this will be the one.” HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Anonymous said...

Library 2.0 + Web 2.0 = Internet Librarians last grasp for validity.... oh...and don't get me started on "Gaming in Colleges and Libraries".....

Cassandra, you, my dear, have a BEAUTIFUL MIND. :)

Cheers!
Spookylibrarian #2