Category Archives: Librarianship

MOOCing up Librarianship | Hack Library School

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Insightful review of a MOOC experience from an MLIS graduate student.

During my final month of library school I decided to add one more item to my to do list: take the New Librarianship MOOC. The massive open online course MOOC was offered by Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies for graduate or continuing education credit, or just for fun. MOOCs can be a great way to supplement your library school education, so I enrolled just for fun as a final library school experience. See the full post: MOOCing up Librarianship | Hack Library School.

Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets | TED.com

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From simple alphabets to secret symbolic languages, graphic designer Saki Mafundikwa celebrates the many forms of written communication across the continent of Africa. He highlights the history and legacy that are embodied in written words and symbols, and urges African designers to draw on these graphic forms for fresh inspiration. It’s summed up in his favorite Ghanaian glyph, Sankofa, which means “return and get it” — or “learn from the past.”

via Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets | Video on TED.com.

SAPL To Debut Digital Commons, Test “Public Proof” OverDrive Kiosk | The Digital Shift

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As a beta tester for OverDrive, SAPL will be experimenting with an installation of the company’s new OverDrive Media Station (OMS) interface on a ruggedized kiosk that could be deployed in public areas outside of a library.

SAPL will be featuring the OMS interface on a Zivelo M32 Floor Display, a pedestal-mounted kiosk made with an aircraft-grade aluminum enclosure. With swipes and taps that will be intuitive for anyone who has used a tablet or smartphone, patrons can navigate the OMS interface to explore a library’s collection of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and videos, and easily read or listen to samples, place holds, or have an available ebook sent to their tablet, e-reader, or smartphone.

See the full article: SAPL To Debut Digital Commons, Test “Public Proof” OverDrive Kiosk | The Digital Shift.

OverDrive OMS

Books about Bullying | Stephen’s Lighthouse

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Books about Bullying | Stephen’s Lighthouse.

A list of 33 resources including suitable grade range for each.

‘Info ladies’ go biking to bring remote Bangladeshi villages online| Guardian Weekly

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Info ladies crisscross the countryside offering the chance to see a loved one, get a blood sugar check or even legal advice.

Info Ladies

Read this amazing story of entrepreneurial spirit: ‘Info ladies’ go biking to bring remote Bangladeshi villages online | Global development | Guardian Weekly.

The 25 Best Websites for Literature Lovers | Flavorwire

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The 25 Best Websites for Literature Lovers | Flavorwire.

The operative word here is “literature”…as there are many popular websites not mentioned within the list, which would be classified more as websites for book lovers or for people who love to read.

Plainfield library archivists dig up personal letter from John Quincy Adams | MyCentralJersey.com | mycentraljersey.com

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Plainfield library archivists dig up personal letter from John Quincy Adams | MyCentralJersey.com | mycentraljersey.com.

Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer: Search is far from over | Internet & Media – CNET News

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Mayer, who spent 13 years in the maw of search at Google, thinks Yahoo has a chance for a breakthrough in search that could lead to growth. Search, which can convey a lot about user intent, leading to more dollars per click, is the rocket ship that led Google to $14 billion in revenue for its last quarter. But Yahoo doesn’t own a search engine. For now, Yahoo is partnered with Microsoft for search results, which limits the scope of what those Ph.D.s could do to revolutionize search.

Mayer is taking the long view. “Search is far from over,” she stated in the interview. “It’s physics in the 1600s or biology in the 1800s. There’s miles to go before you get to quantum physics or even a microscope. There’s a lot of that you can do once you have mobile, and we are going to be very focused on the user experience.”

via Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer: Search is far from over | Internet & Media – CNET News.

A Librarians Worth | Visual.ly

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Librarians often have a specific reputation for being old book worms, but in reality librarians are savvy, technology adept and educated people who are serving thousands of people a day with necessary information and tools. This infographic [from early 2012] takes a look at a librarians profession, how much do librarians make, what’s their employment status and the future of librarians.

via A Librarians Worth | Visual.ly.

A Librarian's Worth

Download 151 science fiction and fantasy stories from Tor for free! | ion

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Tor.com is celebrating its fifth birthday with a gift for all of us science fiction fans: all of the original stories published on the site over the last five years collected in a single ebook. Happy birthday, Tor!

The collection, The Stories: Five Years of Original Fiction on Tor.com was first posted in mid-July, but the download link is coming down next week, so head over to Tor, sign up to become a registered member, and enjoy thousands of pages of free fiction!

via Download 151 science fiction and fantasy stories from Tor for free! | io9.

Tor