Clear the Kitchenaid Mixer and the Toaster oven off the counter, you might want to make room for the kitchen PC. ExtremeTech has the plans on Building a Kitchen PC. So why would you want a PC in the kitchen? Well the obvious one is that Food Network would be very nearby. Other reasons include:... Continue Reading →
Accolades for Firefox
PC world has named Firefox the 2005 Product of the Year. A related story talks about Firefox's gains in browser market share. Apparently this week marks the first time that more than 20% of the visitors to the PC World website were using Firefox.
IM, Virtual Reference, and Podcasting Survey
While the details have yet to be ironed out, sometime this summer the Ohio University Libraries will have a pilot program of providing reference via Instant Messaging. We have been thinking about this for some time, and by now my colleagues are probably getting very tired of me forwarding links from Michael, Aaron, Bill, Sarah,... Continue Reading →
I Can Live Without It, Honest
Starting at about 8 a.m. yesterday, we have been experiencing an interesting lesson about our dependence on (or addiction to) technology. Yesterday morning, one of the raid arrays malfunctioned on one of then main campus servers. The server that was impacted held faculty, staff, and student net id and email information. As a result, nothing... Continue Reading →
Guerilla IM Survey
Last week I ended one of my library instruction classes with a spur-of-the-moment survey by asking how many students in the class had used our Ask-A-Librarian service. Four students raised their hands. I then asked how many students used IM, and nearly every one of the 25 students raised their hands. I asked them if... Continue Reading →
Academic Library IM Survey
Schwagbag has just begun a survey about using IM for digital reference in an academic library setting. The questions that UNLV are asking are simple and to the point, and should provide the library with some useful information to help them gear up for an IM reference program. I'll be interested to see what the... Continue Reading →
Good Article on IM in Libraries
Aaron Schmidt and Michael Stephens have put together a good write-up about using Instant Messaging in libraries. Once you read this, you'll want to try IM at your library. Link via LibrarianInBlack.
Open Source Software
Meredith has provided a good summary or open source applications, and several good reasons for using open source software options. She promises to share future reviews of open source products: Anyways, I’m getting off my soapbox now. I just hate to think that I am holding onto information that might be useful to my readers... Continue Reading →
Not Just for Reference Anymore
Since January 6, I have had a total of eleven IM sessions with business students. Of these , nine were basically your run-of-the-mill reference questions. Most had questions about industry ratios, market shares, or SWOT analyses. However, the last two interactions were a little more unique. The first encounter occurred last Thursday. The question started... Continue Reading →