Another Friday Edition

Another collection of items that relate to libraries and the staff that love them.

• How clever are they! Here is a library that used Google Maps to create a snapshot of their town with the most asked about city spots - post office, fire department, historic sites. Wow if we only had the staff time!
  


• "Nearly three quarters of American Internet users have used the Web to find travel information..." states a Pew report on the subject. But do they search effectively? Do they find pertinent and timely information? Probably not, according to the study. That is why the idea of a demonstration on travel web sites is still something we may want to pursue.
  


• "Yahoo's Inquisitor Makes Your Browser's Search Box Smarter". This may be a true statement and an interesting article, but isn't the name a bit off? Yahoo Inquisitor? "How long have you been using Google! Answer the question!"
  


• Google has gotten together with organizations like the League of Women Voters to create the 2008 US Voter Info site, where it is as simple as typing in an address to find a polling place and more. Can you say Smart Voter? We have had this available for years. Good thing the rest of the country has finally caught up.
  


• And finally, here is a contest that mixes two of my favorite things, beading and books! (see photo above). Maybe I should put in an entry. Or maybe one of you readers could enter - what do you think?

Have a wonderful and warm weekend.

It's Friday Time!

Here are some gems:

• The Jay Walker Library (no, not a law breaker, but who would name their child this?) This library is incredible! These pictures are the first allowed.


• Free Our Libraries is a scholarly four page treatise (pdf) on how public domain materials are being controlled by companies that upload them - and because of this, they are no longer freely public. Ouch!


• Some EPA libraries are about to reopen! Lets just call this one "And the clouds parted"


• And finally, I know we are all getting tired, or down right exhausted, with the presidential election. Here is humor for what ever side you are on.

Enjoy your weekend, the weather is great!

For Your Friday Entertainment Part II

It appears that some of you are, in fact, out there, and some miss their Friday fun! So here goes:

• Here is a very entertaining video clip showing a library customer rocking out. Really rocking out! Reminds me of one of our own excitable librarians ;D



• Don't you need to know more about pencils? After all, we are in the tiny pencil business, right?



• And, I have read about the book dispensing machines, but this is the first time I have seen them called a "robotic rural librarian"!



• Finally, here is how one Olympian used Google Earth to help her win a gold medal. What will those crazy kids think of next?
  
  Enjoy your weekend...

Great Online Music Source

Have any of you tried Pandora.com? This site allows you to create your own music stations based on your musical preferences. I find it fascinating! No commercials, no gimmicks. They describe themselves this way:

"The Music Genome Project®

On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever. Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level.

We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Enjoy, and pass it on!

Couldn't Pick Just One

Happy Friday!

I couldn't pick just one site to share, so here is an appetizer plate that will broaden your knowledge and delight (some) senses!

• A collection of incredible Chinese photographs


• A new resource for finding people on the web with some surprising results!


• A book list of what the FBI is reading this summer. Do we own these? Have you read any?

Pick a Pair

On this beautiful Friday I offer you a pair of readings:

1. For the more studious among us, a long but well written article titled The Library in the New Age.
2. For us light weights, an article titled Did He Spray Toes in Library? Really, that is the title. And really, that is his photo.

Two for Friday

For your Friday entertainment I am giving you two, yes TWO items to read. Let's see if I can sell them to you.

1. First, we have an article that answers that burning question I know you all have - "What IS the Meaning of Life?" Oh, wait, it really is "How Can We Use the 2.0 Training of Last Summer to Reach Out to Customers and Staff?" Here are 25 possible answers. Let me know if you find the meaning of life in any of them.

2. Second, we have the absolutely coolest hippest library in the world, maybe in the universe! How cool is it when you walk into the building and the library sends a message to your cell phone that welcomes you? Perhaps this is the meaning of life - and IKea library that everyone wants to walk into again and again and again. But seriously, the photos are amazing.

Friday Fun II

For our customers (and staff!) who wane nostalgic about the good ol' days and the toys of their childhood, I offer this toy encyclopedia site.

Ti's the season, after all - enjoy!

PS: I was distraught to not find any Chatty Cathy dolls!

Friday Noises

It is a tradition at Main on a Friday afternoon to make noise in the staff room - mostly animal noises with squeaky toys and other devices. Since the great exodus from Main we have had to supplement our racket. Here is your fun Friday site - animal sounds as they are made in different countries - you'll be surprised what a pig sounds like in Italian! Enjoy!