There is a plethora of technology-related information on countless websites. One can learn about anything-- from abstracting and indexing to zig zag books--by searching someone’s blog, perusing periodicals, glancing at a glossary and more. According to John J. Burke’s 3rd edition text, Neal-Schuman’s Library Technology Companion: A Basic Guide For Library Staff, there are four most common reasons librarians search for information on technology. We simply need to stay abreast of the latest goings-on, contrast and compare available products, find out more about what we have obtained and learn how to put whatever is acquired to use. As a relatively new school librarian, the number one reason that I search for technology is number one on the list: I need to know what is going on in technology today. Everything is news to me because everything is so new!
In addition to there being so many reasons that librarians search for information, there are so many ways do so. Blogs, e-mails and various forms of continuing education, e.g., webinars, appeal most to me. These particular tools are personalized and often updated regularly. I was grateful for the list of sources that Burke provided, and I have already bookmarked many of them as “Favorites” on my home computer. One is a blog, Librarian In Black, www.librarianinblack.net, written by Sara Houghton-Jan, a California-based librarian. It is totally informal—she actually uses profanity on her blog—but the librarian is not so edgy that I am turned off by what she writes. I really like the subtitle of her blog, “Amazing informed & therefore properly opinionated.” Considering Chicago
If you go to www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/7-things-you-should-know-about you, too, can learn what I did about VoIP, voice communication over the Internet, and mobile application development. Two periodicals of interest are the Library Journal and the School Library Journal, good sources for book reviews and full text technology-related information. I also recommend using ODLIS, the Online Dictionary of Library and Information Science, for a rich glossary that I displayed on a blog that I created for another LIMS course. Access the American Library Association’s calendar of library events at www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/calendar. What a great resource to help me stay aware library happenings throughout the country and abroad! (I am excited about the readings and discussions that will take place September 30-October 6, Banned Books Week.)
As suggested in Companion, I plan to closely monitor the blogs, journals and other sources of technology that I have found interesting. In the near future, our school’s newly-updated website should be up and running. In the meantime, I will bookmark the blog that I created last year, as well student- and teacher-friendly Library Science-related sites that I like. It is my desire that both groups at my school gain a greater understanding of the discipline while having a lot of fun learning.
I too like the blog Librarian in Black and was able to use one of her posts for a topic I researched last semester. ODLIS is a great dictionary and I can always find any "library-related" word there, it has been very helpful in my research in this class, as well as others. This chapter I will keep close, when I need to find quality information and am not quite sure where to look I'm sure it will help.
ReplyDeleteI've been teaching my 6th graders about quality reference resources. One of the resources was the almanac. They were suprised to find out what an almanac is, first of all. They were doubly surprised to find out that Ben Franklin created an almanac that was published for over 25 years during the 1700s.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that the Old Farmer's Almanac, www.almanac.com, first published in 1792, will soon have a 2013 edition rolling hot off the press! There is so much to learn from the almanac that I honestly think I could read it regularly for a year and not get bored with it. I learned that Abraham Lincoln allegedly used the almanac to discredit a man who said he had witnessed a crime committed by the light of the moon. Lincoln argued that on that particular night, according to the almanac, the moonlight would not have been sufficient to assist the man's vision. Wow! Way to go, Lincoln the Lawyer!
There are tons of recipes in OFA, too. So far, I only browsed the ones for candy, but I'll keep reading. I'm excited about what I'll find. Maybe there will be some old school crochet patterns online.