Thanks to the assistant director's invitation, I was invited to visit the new Oceano Library prior to the Grand Opening on the 22nd of October. It is a bright, inviting and colorful library. It gave me the tingles to see how attractive everything was arranged for easy access. Compliments to all who worked to bring it together -- librarians, tech services and administrative staff members. It was inspiring to see first hand what a happy space this is/will be for the community of Oceano!!
Congratulations everyone!
OO/Gwen
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Internet Librarian Conference
Two other reference librarians and I had a very busy, and enjoyable time last Sunday and Monday in Monterey at the Internet Librarian Conference 2005. There are always so many practical things to take away with you when leaving the conference, my knowledge and skills as a reference librarian are enhanced each year. If I miss a year... I fear that I will not keep up or be "employable" in this field! I learned so much the first day that I have enough to practice for a whole year. Day two of the conference re-emphasized much of the same skills I am in need of gaining if I want to stay current.... and the amount of information was both exciting and overwhelming.
This year there was a lot of emphasis once again on using more than one Internet search engine. Google is great, but AskJeeves (soon to be called Ask.com) and Exelead, and SearchYahoo (great, streamlined version that looks similar to Google), A9 (an Amazon engine) and MSN Search... are some of the few additional search engines that the speakers urge librarians maintain familiarity.
Other tools stressed in most presentations included the efficacy of RSS (Rich Site Summary... or "Really Simple Syndication" :-) tools) . Also there was a lot of discussion about "social networking services." This is where the data you collect is available online for others, and theirs to you, if you choose to participate. Librarians are finding that the networking that was usually done by phone and mail and meetings, are done more and more online. Documents are exchanged, or sites and search tips are shared and compared. Some of these social networks can be joined anonymously to avoid mass mailings to your personal e-mail.
Podcasts in audio and now video are other services that many speakers stresssed. There is a way to search word by word television newscasts ... I hope I am describing it correctly. For a detailed description on one of the advanced services to to blinkz.tv and read:
More later.
OO/Ref
This year there was a lot of emphasis once again on using more than one Internet search engine. Google is great, but AskJeeves (soon to be called Ask.com) and Exelead, and SearchYahoo (great, streamlined version that looks similar to Google), A9 (an Amazon engine) and MSN Search... are some of the few additional search engines that the speakers urge librarians maintain familiarity.
Other tools stressed in most presentations included the efficacy of RSS (Rich Site Summary... or "Really Simple Syndication" :-) tools) . Also there was a lot of discussion about "social networking services." This is where the data you collect is available online for others, and theirs to you, if you choose to participate. Librarians are finding that the networking that was usually done by phone and mail and meetings, are done more and more online. Documents are exchanged, or sites and search tips are shared and compared. Some of these social networks can be joined anonymously to avoid mass mailings to your personal e-mail.
Podcasts in audio and now video are other services that many speakers stresssed. There is a way to search word by word television newscasts ... I hope I am describing it correctly. For a detailed description on one of the advanced services to to blinkz.tv and read:
More later.
OO/Ref
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