Ever wanted to make a game, but didn’t know where to start? Here’s one way -download the Unreal Developer Kit from NVIDIA. More from their site:

NVIDIA now offers the Unreal® Development Kit, a free version of the award-winning Unreal® Engine 3, the software development framework used to create computer and video games, 3D simulations, TV shows, films and more.

Anyone can download UDK and work with the same game development tools used to create blockbuster games, architectural walkthroughs and digital movies. UDK ships with the latest version of the Unreal® Editor, with its unrivaled content creation toolset and rapid prototyping functionality. It can be found on NVIDIA’s Developer Zone site at http://developer.nvidia.com/object/udk.html or at the UDK home site, www.udk.com.

Read more about it here.

Michael Porter and I have been extremely pleased about the response to our Library 101 project so far. The video? Seven days in, it’s been viewed 11,200 times, and counting. The Facebook Page? 3157 fans and counting. Our Library 101 website with 23 essays? Lots of activity there as well.

And for the most part, response has been very positive. Sure, some of you loved the video and the essays … others, not so much – fair enough. So why do I say “positive?”

Because our goal with this project is being met – people are starting conversations about the changing face of librarianship and the future. In Facebook, at our Project site, and on other blogs and websites, too. Have we hit our mark so far? You bet. We hope those conversations continue, and grow into real change for libraries.

Interestingly, there’s a group of you that have questioned why we included Hulu, of all things, on our 101 list, so I thought I’d start up a conversation about that particular item.

Here’s what our 101 page says about Hulu and other multimedia tools: “Heard of new media tools and services, like iTunes (58), Netflix (59), Amazon (60), Hulu (61), and YouTube (62)? Yep – if you haven’t already, be sure to learn them like the back of your hand. Because you WILL be (more likely, ARE) getting questions about them! Even better, gain some in-depth understanding of these services so you, say, know the difference between YouTube and Blip.tv (63), for example.”

We didn’t actually focus on specific tools (though I can see why some would think so – Hulu’s #61 on the list, after all). The goal of that section wasn’t so much on individual tools, but more about understanding the differences between the tools, and what the future holds for that content.

Why? A couple of reasons. First of all, it’s to help to our patrons:

• It’s important to be familiar with different search tools (and Hulu is a niche multimedia search tool)
• It’s also important to know where to access content your library doesn’t own. For example, if a patron wants to watch the second season of I Dream of Jeannie – you might not own it, but it’s free to view on Hulu.

The second reason services like Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, etc were included brings up a slowly growing dilemma for libraries.

Hulu claims to make more money through online ads for a tv show than traditional broadcast companies make with traditional commericals (heard at a presentation by Hulu). That’s a game-changer for broadcast programming. Combine that with Hulu getting more licenses for streamed content, Netflix going all digital, iTunes doing the same, and the fact that most of these services are already subscription-based, or are rumored to be thinking about a subscription-based model … what does that leave libraries with?

Nothing. That is, nothing physical to check out in the library. No DVDs (which I’m guessing will be disappearing as multimedia content shifts to primarily online access). These companies – at least right now – don’t seem to be interested in working with libraries. They’re going after individuals.

At the very least, libraries need to begin working with these corporations to help set up organizational licensing and check-out models for libraries (because if they aren’t subscription-based yet, they will be). And that really only begins to scrape the surface of emerging online content (ie., do you catalog it? Include it in our digital collection? can patrons comfortably watch multimedia content in our libraries? Etc).

So again – thank you guys so much for watching, reading … and starting these important conversations! The goal is to move libraries forward, one step at a time. And I’m pretty confident we can do it. What a fun time to be a librarian!

Found this at Mashable – “Students at Purdue University are experimenting with a new application developed at the school called Hotseat that integrates Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to help students “backchannel” during class.”

I’ve certainly seen some good uses of status updates during conferences, from discussions about a presenter’s content, to asking questions of other people in multiple committees during an ALA Annual conference, to … yes … planning for lunch with friends.

But this could be a pretty useful tool – from the simple “what did he say again” types of questions, to thinking “out loud” about content …

Cool project! It will be an interesting one to watch, to be sure.

Library 101 has launched! There are a few things you should know about the project:

• It’s a collaborative project – Michael Porter and I created it (with over 500 others!)
• There’s a website for the Library 101 Project
• There’s a video (watch above, at the project site, or on YouTube)
• Download the mp3 for your iPods/favorite mp3 player!
• Become a Fan at our Library 101 Facebook Page
• Even better – read one of the many essays attached to the project, written by some top-notch librarians
• And … read our 101 Resources  and Things to Know essay, complete with 101 links of things Michael and I think you should know!

But even better than watching the video, listening to the song, or reading an essay is this – please participate by commenting! Let us know what YOU think is a “Library 101″ for your library – what do you think librarians need to know to succeed? Tell us in the comments attached to each essay!

Here’s my Tuesday morning presentation on Experience Design Makeovers for library websites. Even better – some of the presentation was livestreamed here and here!

Enjoy!

My part of this session is above… I introduced the concept and talked about the variety of interactions available using social networks.

Up next was Amy Kearns and Julie Strange, talking about: Tweet What? 5 sweet ways to connect in 140 characters or less. Notes below:

Searching for tweets with a positive/negative attitude – sentiment at advanced search of search.twitter.com

showing examples of types of tweets from libraries

Twitter can be embedded anywhere…

1. use it for reference
2. connect for customer service
3. broadcast news & events
4. solicit feedback
5. broaden professional networks
6. harness the hive

Lists overview

I am one part of a 3-person preconference session at Internet Librarian 2009 that’s focused completely on Twitter! Here’s my part of the session – enjoy!

Great tips from the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 blog on avoiding social media burnout (some of which I could use, boy howdy). The tips are:

1. Don’t update your organization’s profiles on the weekend.
2. Pick a time to quit in the evening and stick to it.
3. Pick one social networking profile and keep it entirely for fun and your personal life.
4. Sometimes just leave the smartphone at home.
5. Take time for lunch.
6. Breathe, exercise, and treat yourself. Seriously.
7. Make time to connect with friends… in person or over the phone!
8. Ignore, block, and delete grumpy, mean people.
9. Stay focused on the Good.
10. Make sure your work is appreciated by the higher ups in your organization.

Go read the whole article – lots more explanation for each point! Here are a couple more articles on burnout for those interested:

• How to Avoid Social Media Burnout
• Social Media Burnout
• Are You Flirting with Burnout and Disaster?
• How to Deal with Burnout

Pic by shoothead

Originally posted at Libraryman.com. Michael says:

As of today, the Library 101 Project pre-launch page is live! This page is a teaser page at this point with launch info and a link to the Library 101 facebook page (where you can become a fan and get project updates). We’ll have a few prizes around both the pre-launch here and next week’s full on Library 101 Project launch! Woo hoo!

fyi, Next Wednesday at 2:00pm PST, this page will host all three of the main Library 101 Project pages, including the song, video, nearly 20 essays from Libraryland thought leaders and a resource list of things to help library staff keep up, get ahead and feel good about library work…even as technology and culture evolve in unexpected ways!

Information Today sent me a copy of Kathy Dempsey’s new book, The Accidental Library Marketer (Amazon Associate link). I read it and loved it! Let me tell you a bit about the book.

As Kathy says right in the introduction, on pg. xv – “The Accidental Library Marketer fills a need for library professionals and paraprofessionals who find themselves in an awkward position: they need to promote their libraries and services in the age of the internet, but they’ve never been taught how to do so effectively.”

There’s a lot that’s good in the book (check out my post-it notes in the pic!). Why am I interested in marketing? Well … by being a Digital Branch Manager, I AM part marketer/promoter. Part of my job is sharing the library’s digital branch with Topeka. And that takes … well, marketing and promotion.

Kathy starts with the basics – what IS marketing, anyway? The rest of the book is full of “how to’s” – including creating a marketing plan, basic rules for producing good promotional materials, different ways to get your promotional materials out, and using demographic data as a great starting point. Good stuff indeed – I learned things.

Anything bad about the book? … … well, not the book itself. I was more bummed out that my grad school’s library science program (University of Tennessee) didn’t teach me squat about marketing. Zilch. Seems to be a pretty important topic to me (and it is completely plausible that at the time they DID have classes on marketing, but I wasn’t interested – best-laid plans always seem to change)!

So… go read, go learn. Go market – but not accidentally!