NPR Reports on the Resurgence of Libraries

Stop the press! It's an NPR 'driveway moment.' All Things Considered featured a segment on how "Libraries Shine in Tough Economic Times."
It proved so popular with listeners that many responded the next day and were featured in "Letters: Resurgent Libraries".

With the down turn in the economy, patrons are coming back to the library in record numbers. If ever there was a need for libraries, now is the time.

What was most impressive was that the Library Director for Boyd County Public Library, Debbie Cosper, was working the reference desk while she was doing the interview with Melissa Block! Kudos for Cosper!

LOLCat photo becomes famous!

My little LOL cat photo is only 4 days old and has become famous! It has been used in an article in NowPublic, a participatory news network which mobilizes an army of reporters to cover world events. The article is "I can haz lolcode?," by Rob Peters. It covers the efforts by lolcode.com to create a real computer language that is supported on multiple platforms. Enjoy!

Google Knol - a more serious challenger to Wikipedia

Google has come out with a potential Wikipedia killer. Its latest product, called Knol (short for knowledge), will require article writers to post their name. You will not be able to post anonymously. Others can edit your knol, but you can choose to accept, modify or reject any edits that others make. They predict multiple articles on the same topic with variances of opinion. The author can also choose to accept ads on their Knol. If they accept those ads, Google will compensate them substantially. Will this be World Book or Britannica killer? Probably not, unless it can really offer features that World Book, Encyclopedia Americana, and Encyclopedia Britannica excel at, such as outstanding graphics, maps, charts, timelines and video clips that easily explain difficult concepts.

I see it as a possible first stop for certain kinds of research. But it will not replace everything. It will be no replacement for the kind of in-depth research that would be available at your library. But many will attempt to use it for exactly that since it's easy. Doing real research is time consuming and as Americans who want instant achievement, Google Knol will satisfy the need of instant gratification.

For more information, check out Google unfurls less laughable Wikipedia, by Cade Metz in The Register.

Thing 30: LOLCats

more cat pictures

For this discovery exercise I got to know what LOLCats were all about. I've seen many of these photos in emails that friends have sent me but just didn't realize where they were being generated. Then when I explored many of the popular LOLCats sites I found where they originated. It's hard to believe that this Internet phenomenon has been around since 2005. It's been mentioned in Time Magazine, Wired, the New York Times, even Business Week and the Wall Street Journal!

Shown above is my favorite LOLCat, which is actually a collage of several in the 'Invisible' theme. Just in time for the Summer Olympics comes the Invisibl Olimpiks! I can just imagine these cats taking over gold, silver, and bronze medals.

I also created my own LOLcat using the LolCat Buildr. I've always thought the angry wet cat look left a lasting impression. The picture came from funnycatpix.com. Then I just added Dr. Banner's famous line from the Incredible Hulk in LOLcatspeak and presto!! A great looking LOLcat. Meow!

SnagFilms - Documentaries Finally Have Distribution

For too long it has been a challenge for creators of documentaries to have access to a distribution network to get their films to the audience that would like to see them. But SnagFilms has changed all of that. You can watch the documentaries for free and you can also place them as a widget on your web page or blog or other places that accept them.

That means that advocacy groups would benefit from the documentaries that support their cause. That also means for libraries, another way to assist patrons with access to non-fiction videos that they might not otherwise have in their collection. These are professionally made documentaries. They are not the garage filmmaker kind that you would find on YouTube. These you will find at the Sundance Film Festival and are produced by the likes of National Geographic, PBS, and IndiePix. SnagFilms is to documentaries as Project Gutenburg is to books. A great resource. Check out Jefferson Graham's article, "SnagFilms gives documentaries an online outlet" in the USAToday for more details.

Thing 29 : Scrapblog - Online Scrapbooking

I have really enjoyed getting to know about Scrapblog. It took me a while because when I read "favorite" books in the exercise description I panicked! I thought--I have so many favorites! So I decided to do the most influential books instead. When I read these 5 classics they influenced everything else that I enjoy reading. I have also posted the scrapblog to Flickr. They are tagged as "scrapblogbooks." There was a slight glitch, when I tried to share/post to Flickr directly from Scrapblog it only seemed to load the first page. So I exported all the slides as .JPGs to my PC and then uploaded them to Flickr. No problem.

I can really see using Scrapblog in many different ways to showcase what the library is doing. What a way to jazz up your branch photos. Also they can be used for PR to showcase a program you want to feature, to commemorate library volunteers, retirees, or staff functions. You could even highlight your trip to ALA or Internet Librarian! They could even be used as prizes for summer reading or any other library contest. Over all, Scrapblog is a very useful tool.

Could Google's Lively Be the Next Second Life?

Although still in Beta, Google's 3D Virtual World called Lively could be the next Second Life. You still have to download the software to use it, like Second Life, but it allows you to make widgets of your avatar and room and place them on your website or blog--making it web-based. You will only need Flash and a small plug-in for it to work. Do I sense a new craze coming our way? Only time will tell. Get more details in Matt Vella's article, "Live from Lively, Google's New 3D Virtual World," in Business Week or Garett Rodgers' article "Google's Secret Project Turns Out to Be Second Life," on ZDNet.

Online Games Article for The Gaming Zone

I have written an overview of Online Games for the Gaming Zone Blog. It defines online gaming and terminology, role playing games (RPGs), servers (shards), payment options, and web-based online games. Enjoy!

Review of Tishomingo Blues

Elmore Leonard is back at his spellbinding best with one of his latest offerings, Tishomingo Blues, which takes its readers through a string of nerve-wracking events. The tale blends big city mobsters with backwoods criminals and a very confused high-diver. Only Leonard can weave a tale like this and leave the readers on the edge of their seats. Step into a world where justice takes a back seat to the whims of the heavy hitting criminals.
Dennis Lenahan is a diver in his late thirties who has come to Tunica, Mississippi to work at a new casino. He has traveled from one sideshow to another trying to carve out a living after being a phenomenal diver in college. He’s somebody that you’d describe as someone who’s seen it all. So, to say he was relatively unfazed when he witnessed a murder from atop his forty-foot ladder is not surprising. He’s certainly rattled a bit, but just wants to finish his stint and get paid.
The murderers are a couple country boys who take the law in their own hands and think they run the town. Enter Robert Taylor. Taylor is a gangster in town from Detroit with designs on taking over the drug trafficking in the area. His plan involves intimidating the men who Lenahan saw from his high perch. Taylor is a slick-talking man with no a take-no-prisoners attitude. He befriends Lenahan and tries to recruit him to his side. He offers him protection from the men he saw commit murder as they attempt to intimidate him to have him keep his mouth shut. Lenahan is in a real pickle as he wants to remain safe, but isn’t sure if he wants to enter a life of crime.
This tale is spun in the Deep South where the confederate flags still wave with pride. The climax of the novel takes place during a Civil War reenactment where every attention to detail is considered. Leonard weaves this story with a mixture of 21st century crime with 19th century sensibilities. Only the accomplished crime novelist, Elmore Leonard, can pull off a tale which sounds so unbelievable on the surface and make you believe it’s happening in real life. Lenahan is the catalyst in the novel because whichever way he winds up leaning as he weighs his options. You can just sense that his calm, reasonable demeanor is the only calming influence in the story and you pray that he doesn’t meet an untimely end and hope he emerges as unscathed as possible in the hornets’ nest that Leonard presents in Tishomingo Blues.

By-line:

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, who regularly writes on ITT Tech Reviews. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Guest Reviewer on the QL Blog

Please welcome Heather Johnson, guest reviewer on the QL Blog.

She regularly writes on ITT Tech Reviews and has written articles on the College@Home Blog including 40 Most Useful Mashups for College Students and 50 Ways to Greenify your Classroom and Campus.

She will be writing a book review of Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard. Let's give her a big QL Blog welcome!

Book Review on Reader's Club

I just reviewed Storm Front by Jim Butcher for Reader's Club. This is the first in the Dresden Files series. Reader's Club is a guide to enjoyable books for adults and teens. They will be hosting the summer reading program for adults this year called Relax and Read. Sign up and read 5 books over the summer and enter the drawing for some great prizes. It is available to adults 18 and over that are Mecklenburg County residents or PLCMC card holders.