Libraries affected by tornadoes

If you are aware of damage to libraries or other cultural institutions in the storm affected counties, please send a message to the HERA (Heritage Emergency Response Alliance) list: HERA@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU or Marlee Givens if you're not able to get through there.

If you have access to Facebook, you can also contact HERA via their page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ATLHERA

Or on Twitter: @ATLHERA

The Heritage Emergency Response Alliance (HERA) is an affiliation of institutions and individuals interested in preserving the cultural heritage in the metro Atlanta area and serving as a resource to cultural institutions around the state. The primary aim of HERA is to mitigate the loss of cultural heritage in the event of a disaster. We are a group of curators, archivists, librarians, preservation specialists, conservators, emergency management personnel, disaster recovery vendors, safety and security staff, and anyone with an interest in protecting cultural institutions. http://www.heritagepreservation.org/AfR/Atlanta/index.html

Thank you for your help!

Marlee

End of typewriters

Although there are still a lot of typewriters on the market, mashable (a technology news source) & others are reporting that Godrej and Boyce, the last remaining manufacturer of typewriters, has shut down production

http://mashable.com/2011/04/26/rip-typewriter/

More here:
http://tinyurl.com/3cefhtg


A history of typewriters and key layouts

(...and I keep reading that keyboards are on the way out, too)

Survey on GeorgiaInfo

GeorgiaInfo, available in GALILEO and Digital Library of Georgia database menus, is a portal to historical, cultural, statistical, governmental, and geographical information on Georgia. The GeorgiaInfo team would like our feedback to help inform the redesign of this robust resource. Please see their message below.

“We’re redesigning GeorgiaInfo! Please take our short user survey at http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu to help us improve GeorgiaInfo.”

If you have any questions, please submit a comment at http://www.galileo.usg.edu/contact.  Thank you for participating.

How can you tell if it's an Auto DM (Twitter)?

I do use DM (direct messages) in Twitter to "email" my Twitter followers and those I follow, esp. if it's of a more personal nature.My DMs are always real; however, some Twitter users use various tools to create an AutoDM. It can sometimes be hard to tell if a DM is "real" (actually handwritten by a person) or AUTO (generated by a bot based upon some criteria). AutoDMs annoy me and it is one criteria I will use to unfollow (or not follow) someone. 

Characteristics of an AutoDM (individually, not every characteristic indicates an AutoDM, but as a collective criteria> yes)

• Instant - the moment after you follow someone you receive a DM - if they are not online (their twitter feed can be somewhat of an indicator) then they are AutoDMing. 
• Generic - even to the point of mentioning themselves by title, official name or career.
• Promotes their other websites: Blog or facebook account included & hotlinked. 
• Anon -  no mention of you or addressing of you specifically (or even by the WRONG name).
• Thanks you. 
• Includes hashtags and very generic phrases. (Hashtags aren't really useful in DMs)
• May try to sell you something. 
• Ignores your Twitter rules: will DM you even if your Twitter account states that you do not read DMs.
• Even admits to being a AutoDM.

 Examples (based upon real DMs): 

• Thanks for following this Artist & Project Manager. You can see my work at blahblahblah.com.

• Thanks for the follow! Want more ____  in you life? Sign up for our newsletter 
• Welcome to _________! Your temporary Username is xxxxxxxxxxxx, and your password is xxxxxxxxxxx. [a lot of services you use will send you a DM] 
• Yep This is an auto message but I thought since your following you might wanna see my latest pictures anyway
• Glad 2 find U on Twitter! I post ... #TEAMFOLLOWBACK
• Thanks for following me, I look forward to following your tweets
• Want an #iPad? Follow us at ... 
• Thanks 4 the follow! / 4 the quickest response  4 more info on the  please see ...

Kindle offers lending to libraries

In case you haven't seen the news:
Kindle is launching library lending!!!! Read about it here 
here,  at Amazon's own press release
or just google it. Because anybody with a kindle is probably talking about it. ;-)

New facebook changes - security, changes to commenting, your news feed

Commenting, your friends and news stream:
In addition to changing the comment and messaging system (I hate the new threaded comments), Facebook in the past month or so has rolled out a few new changes:

If you're wondering why your news stream is sort of anemic: Facebook has chosen to select who you see and who sees you. Under Most Recent> Edit Options; select All Friends and Fans to see everyone. Of course, this can be very helpful for filtering info, but nice of Facebook to tell everyone. More info about this change here and here.


On Security:

• Facebook photos become a security issue (read here)  Basically you should opt out of tagging. Also, to turn off the stupid slideshow, after a photo opens F5 (you will need to do this everytime you open Facebook, I have yet to figure out a way to turn it off permanently)

• FB has reset itself to the Non-Secure browsing setting. While on FB, look at your URL address (top box on your screen) If you see "http:" instead of "https:" then you DON'T have a secure session & can be hacked [esp. if you are using wi-fi]. Go to Account - Acct Settings - Acct Security - click Change. Check the box labeled "Secure Browsing" - Click Save.....
  

For those of you who admin pages, lots of new features including the ability to post at Facebook on behalf of your page (organization, etc.)

There's the scoop. Now back to your regularly scheduled pollen laden day.

Creating a social media policy (Free webinar)

You do know that if you work for a public university or publicly funded library, you are a government employee, right? ;-)

Designing Social Media Policy for Government: Eight Essential Elements
Instructors:   
Jana Hrdinova (Center for Technology in Government) & Giovanni Carnaroli (Dept.of Transportation)

Government agencies are increasingly looking to leverage social media to improve the quality of government services and elicit greater citizen engagement. Developing a social media policy can be an important first step for government agencies considering using social media and can ultimately serve as a key enabler for responsibly and effectively leveraging social media tools.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Time 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
 http://lnkd.in/ywVEUU

RDA implement or no?

 As many of you in the library community know,  RDA is the new cataloging rules, which replace AACR2. RDA works within the FRBR and FRAD framework (for those who don't know what those terms mean, they are essentially semantic web and linked data friendly schemas for library metadata for library materials, like books.)

One of the key parts of the semantic web is to be able to support multiple schemas, as long as the schema is referenced (linked to), the schema is available on the web to search engines, bots, spiders, etc. and the data can be parsed and crosswalked into multiple platforms. Sounds easy enough except library metadata has been traditionally silo-ed;  unlike some communities on the web, our data is not only very unique, but virtually invisible to the world wide web.

Right now there are discussions about whether to implement RDA and if so, how? Overall, I think RDA is a step in the right direction though I really do think it's just an interim step until our systems and softwares catch up with the rest of the web world.  There are some things that seem rather silly in RDA  to me (getting rid of most abbreviations for one... I realize templates can be created to reduce manual data entry, but why can't ALL of our systems be flexible enough to map to WHATEVER we want (I'm looking at you, library catalog software)... Our systems should be smart enough to map ill. (illustrations) to display HOWEVER we want. Of course, then standard terminologies in library metadata should not have to be coded anyhow. Our systems should be able to generate it, or at least provide a selection list that we can add to (dropdowns, tags, whatever...)

Anyhow, I digress...

A discussion paper has recently been released from the Program for Cooperative Cataloging  (essentially, a collaborative group that helps coordinate metadata creation within libraries):

-------------------------
At the November 2010 meeting of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) Policy Committee (PoCo), a task group (Beth Picknally Camden, Phil Schreur, Kate Harcourt, Judith Cannan) was charged to write a discussion paper making recommendations on PCC RDA implementation alternatives. Rather than wait for the decision of the US National Libraries (LC, NLM, NAL), PoCo wished to consider the options available for the PCC membership regarding RDA.

An email from the US RDA Test Coordinating Committee (“Status of the US RDA Test” 11/30/10) stated that there were four possible decisions as a result of the test:

• Do not implement RDA
• Postpone implementation until certain changes are made
• Implement RDA
• Implement RDA with specific recommended changes or policy decisions for US libraries

 If we examine each of these possible decisions, considering the implications for the PCC, under each decision there are at least two paths for the PCC: 

• PCC follows US national libraries 
• PCC does not follow US national libraries

In any scenario, PCC must adapt to a hybrid environment.

The paper in full is located here 
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/PoCo-RDA-Discussion-Paper040511.pdf

Free education/technology conference (mobile, Ipads, emerging technologies)

Free online/virtual conference , April 28th
Mobile learning evangelists Elliot Soloway and Cathleen Norris present their session, "The Educational Reset of 2011: Mobile Learning" The pros and cons of mobile learning are important topics for educators looking to reach this new generation of digital natives.
Other sessions include: iThink iNeed iPods, iPhones and iPads in the Classroom and sessions on Emerging Technologies. Register here: http://fetc.org/events/virtual-conference/information/schedule.aspx

Nominate me -- or your favorite librarian ;-)

Apparently only 1 Georgia Librarian has been nominated. Seriously and I know some great people (for whom I will write nominations...)


For those of you with a competitive, or appreciative, spirit -

ALA-APA is hosting a contest with no prize other than the knowledge that your state celebrates its library workers publicly on National Library Workers Day (NLWD), Tuesday, April 12.  The states above have no NLWD stars currently submitted, but there’s still time.  The state with the most NLWD stars will be announced in the May issue of Library Worklife: HR E-News for Today’s Leaders.  Submitting your favorite library employee as an NLWD Star is a simple way to let them know that you notice and appreciate the good job they’re doing.  ALA-APA will accept Star nominations through the end of the day on Tuesday, April 12, and they will be posted by Friday, April 15.

Currently, Washington, DC is in the lead, followed by Virginia.

10Weeks to a 2.0 You Social Media Training

I'm teaching blogging (we'll do some widgets and advanced blogger customizations!), digital identity, and image editing in the cloud!

You must be a UGA member to participate; however, we hope to capture these and offer them online for free.

UGA's Training and Development is  offering a special 10-week training opportunity sponsored by the UGA Libraries on Social Media and its use in our work environment.  The training is free and open to anyone, but you must submit an application to register.

A brief summary is below. For more details on the classes see http://www.hr.uga.edu/careerdev/web20_info.pdf
Classes begin next week!

"Web 2.0 10 Weeks to a 2.0 You: Social Media & Web 2.0 Skills"
This hands-on course will demonstrate and teach how social media and web-based tools can be used creatively and effectively in a work environment. Each week will focus on a different topic, including Google Documents, blogging, tweeting, RSS feeds, wikis, LinkedIn, and photo/movie editing and publishing. Hands-on out-of-class assignments will reinforce concepts taught during class. Attendance of all 10 classes and completion of assignments will earn you a course completion certificate at the end of the series.
Time allotted for each class is 90 minutes. Basic familiarity with computers and the internet are required.

Choose one of the identical groups:
Group One – Meets every Tuesday 2pm @ Training and Development OR
Group Two – Meets every Friday 10am @ Training and Development
To register for ONE of these groups (space is limited) You must submit an application.
http://www.hr.uga.edu/careerdev/web20_app.pdf

For questions and concerns please respond to
Training and Development
Web 2.0 training information
training@uga.edu

Institutional Repositories webinars

Relatively inexpensive.

ALCTS webinar: Repository Metadata: Challenges of Interoperability

Date: April 13, 2011

All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 2pm Eastern, 1pm Central, noon Mountain, and 11am Pacific Time.

Description: This session will give an overview of some of the specific challenges in repository metadata including working with both user submitted data and automated processes. The presentation will discuss
how repository data may be searched and repurposed and the fields that are needed for interoperability to work most effectively. Some relevant metadata schemes will be discussed. The speaker will offer suggestions
for ways to look at data from a variety of perspectives to ensure that it meets the organization's most critical needs.

Audience: Anyone with an interest in institutional repositories and the significance of metadata will find this webinar of interest

Presenter: Wendy Robertson, Digital Resources Librarian, is responsible for helping to expand support of electronic scholarship and e-publishing, including supporting locally published e-journals and managing the institutional repository. Robertson performs data analysis on digital collections related to batch loading, migrating from one
system to another, and aggregating with other information resources.

Wendy received a B.A. in History from Grinnell College in 1988, and an M.L.I.S. from The University of Iowa in 1992. She has worked at The University of Iowa Libraries since 1988. Her previous work positions
include Electronic Resources Systems Librarian in Enterprise Applications, Electronic Resources Management Unit Head, Serials Cataloger and Supervisor in Technical Services.

This is the second in a series of four webinars about institutional repositories to be offered between January and June 2011. The webinars included in the IR series are:

January 26, 2011 - Copyright and Contracts: Moving Beyond Text in IRs April 13, 2011 - Repository Metadata: Challenges of Interoperability May 11, 2011 - Engaging Your Campus in Utilizing Institutional
Repositories, with Marianne Buehler
June 1, 2011 - Re-engineering the Institutional Repository to Engage Users, with Suzanne Bell and Nathan Sarr

*****************

To Register, complete the online registration form at http://www.ala.org/ala/onlinelearning/reg/webinar.cfm for the session you would like to attend.

Fees for individual sessions:

Group Rates - ALCTS Members & Non-Members: $99
Individuals - ALCTS Members: $39; Non-Members: $49
Participants outside the United States may register at the ALCTS member ate.

Pricing for IR Series: (All 4 webinars)
Group Rates - ALCTS Members & Non-Members: $346 (save $50)
Individuals - ALCTS Members: $120 (save $36); Non-Members: $160 (save $36)
Participants outside the United States may register at the ALCTS member rate.

ALCTS webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording shortly following the live event.

For questions about registration, contact Tom Ferren, ALA Senior Registration Coordinator at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4293 or tferren@ala.org .

For all other questions or comments related to the webinars, contact Julie Reese, ALCTS Events Manager at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5034 or jreese@ala.org .

Posted on behalf of the ALCTS Continuing Education Committee