My favorite app so far is Google Sky Map. My local astronomer immediately took it outside to test it against the real sky and gave it two thumbs up. The sky moves with you and zooms in to give you more detail of any section of the sky.

There are options to turn stars, constellations, grids and other sky features on and off. Type a planet or star into the search box and it helpfully suggests objects so you don’t have to type the whole name. Select an object to get a big circle and arrows that point you to that object. Look, I found Mars! I wonder if it will show the location of meteor showers?

My astronomer is now fearing redundancy. I promise that will never happen! Really.

p.s. There’s a web based version of Google Sky and a Sky feature in Google Earth too.

What I didn’t notice till yesterday was the ability to outline the person’s face on the photo. Just click and drag a box around someone’s face and you get an option to add a note or a person’s name. Just like face tagging in Facebook.

Want to find all the photos of someone? Just substitute their username in this URL: http://www.flickr.com/people/username/photosof/

Don’t like the idea of people adding your name to photos? There’s an option for that in your Privacy Settings. You can prevent anyone from using the new “people tags”, but that doesn’t prevent someone from adding your name to the regular tags. So I guess some of the really awful pictures of me are out there to stay!

Digital Library Landscape – Roy Tennant
Internet Library, Session D11
Monday, Oct 26 2009

Scribbled notes from a terrific session. Any misquotes are my own mistakes!

• Libraries are in imminent danger – if we do nothing – and even if we do  “something”, it may be the wrong thing.
• OCLC Perceptions Report – the public still sees our ‘brand’ as book, books, books..
• So the public goes to google & amazon for books? Where are libraries then?
• In the card catalog days, we were it! The center of the book finding universe.
• When we first started automating catalogs, they were (and mostly still are)  just cards on a screen.
• But we are no longer operating in an environment of scarcity, rather one of ubiquity – ubiquitous connections and access to information
• Users used to build their workflow around libraries, NOW we need to build our services around their workflow, be where they are, when they want it.
• “if you dislike change, you’re going to disklike irrelevance even more” Gen. Eric Shinseki
• Network level – concentration – big enough to have value and lots of information to attract users
• Webscale – diffusion – ie:  get the info OUT – ie: get library links on google books. Get data out to get users to your collections – worldcat date to put that info out in the path of users
• Eg: blog post w/ link to book – linkedto  record in worldcat, remembers your location, book  on shelf. What’s missing? Deliver it to my door. (ALSO missing  lots of libraries don’t participate in worldcat)
• Publishers send book metadata to booksellers, etc  – onix – standard metadata format used by publishers.
• Their metadata isn’t necessarily as complete as ours – so let’s collaboarate
• OCLC is taking onix data, enriching it and giving it back – “next generation cataloging” project. Helps libraries become “essential”
• “we must look  at we do through the prism of our imminent demise”
• Tools we develop need to solve problems that patrons/customers have. Not the problems we have “scratch their itch”
• Don’t worry too much about crafting perfect portals …. WHY? If you expose your data well, your audience will find your content through other search tools.
• Have to get our data out to google, flickr, etc. eg: LOC put their pics on flickr and stats went off the charts – even though those photos had been on the LOC site for years (photo)
• NYPL Live – lib becomes the center of conversation in that community. Be the place “where stuff happens”
• Not a time to be timid or panic
• Deserve a destiny of our own making.

Glad to be in Monterey for the Internet Librarian conference. The program looks terrific and what can beat the weather in Monterey, especially when it’s already feeling wintery back home.

I’m looking forward to teaching a workshop this afternoon on using WordPress as a content mgmt system. And also can’t wait to meet up with lots of friends old and new.

Follow the live twitter stream. Hash tag for the conference is #il2009

• Hertz – I called to confirm a reservation, they found me a cheaper rate. Nearly $100 cheaper! Yay.
• Coldwater Creek – Stopped at local store to return an item from mail order. Noticed one of the items I’d decided to keep was on sale in the store. They refunded the price difference! Ok, I turned right around and spent that savings on something else.
• Hampton Inn – A phone call from them to let me know that their Internet service might be interrupted during an upcoming stay. Wow, they must have made a zillion phone calls. 
• Best Western Monterey – Helpful, friendly reservations person who answered all my questions and was really pleasant in the process.
• Ok US AIR! – you’ve got a lot to live up to tomorrow…… Please astonish me – in a good way!

Classes this week are:

• Dreamweaver (2 days)
• Online Outreach & Marketing
• Wordpress as CMS – special session for the Friends of CT libraries – they’ll soon be moving their web site to WordPress
• Screencasting with Camtasia

Next week I’m hoping to get to the SUNYLA Library Software Users Group Conference.  But I’m really sorry to be missing the New York Library Association Annual Meeting – I haven’t missed this in many years.

To top off the month, I’ll be at Internet Librarian in Monterey, CA teaching a preconference workshop on using WordPress as a Content Mgmt System.  The conference program is chock full of great programs and speakers. And you can’t beat the location!

Hope to see YOU somewhere in my travels this month.

Today, we’re announcing nine new Search Options tools: past hour, specific date range, more shopping sites, fewer shopping sites, visited pages, not yet visited, books, blogs and news. These features have been rolling out gradually and will be available globally in English by the end of the day. You can try them yourself by searching Google and clicking “Show options” in the blue bar just under the logo. (source: Google Blog)

I use this side panel all the time now and with each new bunch of search filters, it becomes even more helpful. I love the Timeline Feature to get a very rough idea of how long a particular product, term or concept has been kicking around. The Wonder Wheel is great fun to get an idea of related terms when my mind goes blank. Images from the Page helps me find screenshots and photos that are often more relevant than the regular Images search. And I think I’m going to love the Fewer Shopping Sites feature (ok and maybe the More Shopping Sites one too!)

(via: Phil Bradley’s weblog)

Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. (Transliteracy.com)

The term resonates so much for me, I started using it in conversations and training sessions immediately. Bobbi has put together a terrific slide show that builds on her blog post and put together a page of resources. Check it out and think about how you’re helping your customers and students become transliterate.

A new calendar page is devoted to listing upcoming training and professional development opportunities available across the State. … continuing education programs from a wide variety of providers, especially library systems throughout the State.  We will be incorporating free webinars and training programs on a wide variety of subjects.

Handy! Thanks Elizabeth.