BCU Library

Now here's a new take on the "digital native" debate. I once bought into that whole concept, but find myself rethinking it. Perhaps the landscape has just changed so much that I'm on the path of deportation? I love this quote: Digital native is a fantasy invented by the fans of silicon valley to pigeonhole a generation for the sake of selling technology, but the truth is far less convenient. Not only the digital natives, but many people take on a feral state in their interactions with the internet, as it constantly shifts its boundaries, its cities and deserts. Likewise, the library is a place where we ought to allow for the feral. The ACRL information literacy standards are only useful to the domesticated to promote their efficient and purposeful use of the library.

"Providing nearly 700,000 species, 35 million pages of scanned literature and over 600,000 photos of living creatures, the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) has recently launched a new version of its free online system in response to requests from the general public, citizen scientists, educators and professional biologists around the world for a site that was more engaging, accessible and personal."

May be a great resource for general biological information on species.

Contains link to presentation at RLG by David Lewis outlining a strategy for academic libraries with the following points: "Complete the migration from print to electronic collections Retire legacy print collections Redevelop library space Reposition library and information tools, resources, and expertise Migrate the focus of collections from purchasing materials to curating content"

Possibly of use for student training ... "23 Things is a self-directed course aimed at introducing you to a range of tools that could help your personal and professional development as a librarian, information professional or something else."

Faceup scanner BookEye

includes a 20-minute video of a demo user test - has just about the perfect script for any user test.

Pretty please watch the video before our next web meeting! It's really good, but requires listening so get comfy in a quiet place. :-)

I especially liked this quote: I'll call attention once again to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's House Party as an example of an excellent new year kick-off event. There's no bait-and-switch, but they have built-in incentives to keep students coming back to use the library for its intended purpose. For example, the winner of the Texas Hold'Em tournie wins their own study table in the library for the year, complete with a nice sign designating it their table. The first interaction most new students have with a librarian is having their palm read or playing ninja tag with them, not finding out about resources which they don't yet need. We do much the same with our button-making booth and CARNinfoVAL. It's a strong, unexpected first impression.

Possible collection-development tool

How we can deploy search in LibGuides

LibGuide help for creating search boxes to various providers, with the code to use

Embed a JSTOR search widget into a web page

via InfoDocket

For the fifth time since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed in 1998, the Library of Congress is preparing to grant limited rights to crack DRM locks on digital content. Not that it matters much; despite an increased willingness at the Library to grant such permission, the actual tools most people need to bypass DRM remain forbidden.