This was really quite easy for me. In some ways, I've had access to RSS for quite a while, regardless of whether I used it or not. Since I generally use Firefox, it automatically updates its RSS feed list under its "Bookmarks" tab constantly with news headlines from around the world. For my own part, I've had several blogs bookmarked for a while, but never bothered to set up an RSS feed (even though, with a Google account, I've always had access to Google Reader!). So, now, I consolidated everything, putting my bookmarked blogs into my Google Reader account, instead.
There didn't seem to be any very good way to link my Google Reader account up to my blog account, though. Maybe I just haven't fiddled with it enough, but for now I settled for adding two of my favorite blogs (Booklicious, a book blog, and Eating in Madison A to Z, a food blog) to their own little compartments in the right-hand column. In the meantime, I'm enjoying Google Reader, because it can suggest new blogs for me that I may want to subscribe to. It seems to show some degree of intelligence with it, too - librarian blogs, obviously, came up, but so did Wisconsin, and especially Madison, blogs, even though I didn't have any subscriptions to Madison/Wisconsin blogs, which makes me wonder how it knows where I am... but, since I didn't have to sign up for a new account (using my Google/Gmail account) and since it seems to have some smart suggestions, I think I'll enjoy Google Reader.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thing #3 - Learn about Blog Search Tools
This had never really occurred to me, not being much of a blogger myself, but with so many blogs on so many topics, it must be very useful to be able to search specifically blogs for certain topic threads and content. My first quick search brought me to a very good website:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/blog-search-engines-the-complete-overview/7856/
This looks at four different blog search engines: Google Blog Search, Technorati, Blog Pulse, and Blog Lines, comparing and contrasting their different search techniques. Unfortunately, Blog Lines is shutting down as of October 1, 2010. I've never looked at it while it was fully functional, but it looks to be very professional, offering lots of options. It was also the first blog search engine created, dating way back to 2003.
Of the remaining three contenders, I have to admit, I like Google Blog Search the least. It's very Googley, in that you get a plain screen with a bunch of results, list-style. Compared to BlogPulse and Technorati, though, it feels awfully stripped-down, since they're both teeming with options, menus, and advanced content, like BlogPulse's Top Links/Videos/Phrases along with Top Blogs, and Technorati's tag clouds and incorporation of other Web 2.0 content. Technorati is, so far, my favorite. I find it easy to both search and browse (I'm really into browsing, which is part of why Google Blog Search was so disappointing), and the vast array of menu options let you narrow down your topic before you even begin searching in earnest. BlogPulse has a lot of that, as well, but it's spread out more, and involves more page-scanning to pick out all the available options. While I can see how this could be overwhelming for people who want a straightforward search, I like menus and options and alternate content, so in the future I'll probably rely on Technorati, and possibly BlogPulse, for my blog-searching needs.
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/blog-search-engines-the-complete-overview/7856/
This looks at four different blog search engines: Google Blog Search, Technorati, Blog Pulse, and Blog Lines, comparing and contrasting their different search techniques. Unfortunately, Blog Lines is shutting down as of October 1, 2010. I've never looked at it while it was fully functional, but it looks to be very professional, offering lots of options. It was also the first blog search engine created, dating way back to 2003.
Of the remaining three contenders, I have to admit, I like Google Blog Search the least. It's very Googley, in that you get a plain screen with a bunch of results, list-style. Compared to BlogPulse and Technorati, though, it feels awfully stripped-down, since they're both teeming with options, menus, and advanced content, like BlogPulse's Top Links/Videos/Phrases along with Top Blogs, and Technorati's tag clouds and incorporation of other Web 2.0 content. Technorati is, so far, my favorite. I find it easy to both search and browse (I'm really into browsing, which is part of why Google Blog Search was so disappointing), and the vast array of menu options let you narrow down your topic before you even begin searching in earnest. BlogPulse has a lot of that, as well, but it's spread out more, and involves more page-scanning to pick out all the available options. While I can see how this could be overwhelming for people who want a straightforward search, I like menus and options and alternate content, so in the future I'll probably rely on Technorati, and possibly BlogPulse, for my blog-searching needs.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thing #2 - Learn about Web 2.0 & Library 2.0
Ok, I've actually already done both of these things, since I've been taking the more technology-oriented courses from SLIS. The main point that most of the Web 2.0 and especially Library 2.0 discussions I've had in class have boiled down to is that many libraries are still trying to cope with Web/Library 1.0. The trouble is that, even though many patrons and libraries would welcome a chance to move on to higher technology, many patrons and librarians struggle to accept and use the current technology level effectively.
That aside, there are plenty of Library 2.0 options that don't make drastic changes, and the changes they do make are easily and effectively used. My real interest with Library 2.0 has been next-generation OPACs, especially open-source next-generation OPACs. They've been around for quite a while already (Koha, the first one, was released in 1999) and offer a lot more options than standard, contracted OPACs. For one thing, purchased OPACs tend to be based off of the (archaic) card catalog model, and don't have too much flexibility beyond that. They're also made by non-library companies, whose goal is to make a salable product that librarians can be convinced to buy. Open-source OPACs, on the other hand, are usually created by or with librarians who want a better product and realize that, with nothing on the market, they need to make one themselves. They're free (being open-source), usually very flexible for whatever type of network or operating system they need to be installed on, and are often compatible with other software programs that increase their functionality even further (such as SOPAC's Locus and Insurge, programs that allow it to link with any ILS and create "social data" [such as user tags], or how Evergreen works as an OPAC and ILS combined).
The real downside to open-source next-generation OPACs is that there is no tech support. To install and use it, someone in the library has to be willing to work with it, to customize it to their library's needs and work out the kinks. There are discussion and help boards created by other people who have used it, but you do need to be a bit tech-savvy to make a lot of them work. And, like anything, it takes time to get functional and set up, and then once it's implemented, both librarians and patrons have to get used to it. After the learning curve, though, next-generation OPACs begin to more than pay for themselves, involving users in tagging and searching books and increasing overall functionality. For more information, here's some of the more popular open-source OPACs available:
Evergreen: http://www.evergreen-ils.org/
Koha: http://koha-community.org/
Scriblio: http://about.scriblio.net/
SOPAC: http://thesocialopac.net/
VuFind: http://vufind.org/
That aside, there are plenty of Library 2.0 options that don't make drastic changes, and the changes they do make are easily and effectively used. My real interest with Library 2.0 has been next-generation OPACs, especially open-source next-generation OPACs. They've been around for quite a while already (Koha, the first one, was released in 1999) and offer a lot more options than standard, contracted OPACs. For one thing, purchased OPACs tend to be based off of the (archaic) card catalog model, and don't have too much flexibility beyond that. They're also made by non-library companies, whose goal is to make a salable product that librarians can be convinced to buy. Open-source OPACs, on the other hand, are usually created by or with librarians who want a better product and realize that, with nothing on the market, they need to make one themselves. They're free (being open-source), usually very flexible for whatever type of network or operating system they need to be installed on, and are often compatible with other software programs that increase their functionality even further (such as SOPAC's Locus and Insurge, programs that allow it to link with any ILS and create "social data" [such as user tags], or how Evergreen works as an OPAC and ILS combined).
The real downside to open-source next-generation OPACs is that there is no tech support. To install and use it, someone in the library has to be willing to work with it, to customize it to their library's needs and work out the kinks. There are discussion and help boards created by other people who have used it, but you do need to be a bit tech-savvy to make a lot of them work. And, like anything, it takes time to get functional and set up, and then once it's implemented, both librarians and patrons have to get used to it. After the learning curve, though, next-generation OPACs begin to more than pay for themselves, involving users in tagging and searching books and increasing overall functionality. For more information, here's some of the more popular open-source OPACs available:
Evergreen: http://www.evergreen-ils.org/
Koha: http://koha-community.org/
Scriblio: http://about.scriblio.net/
SOPAC: http://thesocialopac.net/
VuFind: http://vufind.org/
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thing #1 - Create a Blog!
I'm working through the 23 Things that every good reference librarian should do at some point, starting with Thing 1: Create a Blog. This is a part of my LIS 635 class, but I do hope to learn a few things for my own personal (and professional) gain along the way =D
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