Catmama39's Weblog

Advanced Googling

catmama39 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:33:20 +0000

WOW! So amazing. Google is my search engine of choice and so much more. I played with Google Maps and loved the satellite and street views. My current house had both, but unfortunately, my childhood house in Detroit only had a satellite view. I did a search for driving directions from suburban Detroit to Glenview. I have to say that the MapQuest driving directions were more complete. For some reason, Google Maps repeated “Continue straight to stay on Telegraph Rd.” six times. Trust me, it is not a complicated street to drive. Also, Google Maps did not mention that I-90 W before entering Chicago is called The Chicago Skyway. So, it looks like I will keep using MapQuest for driving directions. Google Product Search was fun, but slow. I was amazed by the coolness factor of Google Book Search. I loved the link on the right “Find this book in a library”. The link takes you to WorldCat and then to our iBistro catalog.

Now that I have finished all of the adventures, I want to express my gratitude to the Great 8 team. It has been a fun and educational experience! Thanks for your hard work and creativity!

Wikis

catmama39 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:18:01 +0000

I absolutely love Lisa’s wiki song, but I only like wikis. I believe that a wiki is a good way to share information, but you have to trust the people you are “wiki-ing” with. I do find Wikipedia helpful, but I know that you can never be sure that the information hasn’t been changed or tampered with. CCS’s Technical Services group is talking about putting our cataloging manual into wiki format. I’m assuming that they will make access to editing the wiki passworded or validated by e-mail address. One benefit of the wiki would be easy editing of pages after changes in rules or after decisions are made about cataloging new formats. So, wikis seem to be the way to go for CCS. So, I better think about falling in love with wikis … maybe singing Lisa’s wiki song will help. So, what’s the tune?

IM and Ask Away

catmama39 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:30:56 +0000

I typed in the following question: “I like to read fiction with a Jewish theme. Do you have any recommendations?” and clicked on Send. I waited 5 minutes before I got a response. I was AAK … JK. I continued with cataloging Youth DVDs while I waited. Finally, a librarian from a CCS library joined the session. It took her 2 minutes to say that she would check Novelist for recommendations. She asked me a question (what specific type was I looking for?) to narrow the search. The two books she ended up recommending had Jewish characters, but not Jewish themes. I politely thanked her and exited. In all fairness to her, I looked at Novelist to recreate what she did. Both books did have Jewish American fiction as a subject heading. However, if I was asked the same question, I would not have given those two titles as a response. IMHO, waiting 5 minutes for a response and then getting a less than stellar answer might turn patrons off to the Ask Away service. I guess that it depends on who is answerering your question. I’m sure that when one of the WPL librarians is on “Ask Away duty”, patrons would get much better service.

Podcasts

catmama39 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:30:54 +0000

Wow! There is an amazing amount of information and entertainment out there for whenever you want it. I can’t imagine sitting at my computer listening to podcasts, but I could imagine using a portable music devise to do so. I asked Lyn to explain how to get the programs from your computer to your iPod and it is easy. I never thought that I would use an iPod before, but now I see that I would. Podcasting would be great for the library. We could record a number of our programs to podcast later on. I think that the One Book Everyone Reads author speeches would be particularly popular. And, how about podcasting our Board Meetings!

By the way, I listened to some of the Candace Bushnell episode of iTunes: Meet the Author.

http://odeo.com/episodes/23498828-Candace-Bushnell-Meet-the-Author

I also listened to some of the Nov. 1, 2008 broadcast of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96433796

catmama39 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:58:53 +0000

We have a wonderful collection of online resources on our website! I have had to familiarize myself with them for when I work in the Adult Services department. You never know when a patron will ask a question that only one of these resources will answer. I have also used the online resources when I, personally, have needed information. For example, I have used the genealogical databases to do research on my family. The “Birth, Marriage & Death Records” section of Ancestry Library Edition has been helpful for a volunteer job that I do for my Temple. I use the online resources when I work in Technical Services as well. For example, I recently used Novelist Plus to help me determine subject headings for a book written in French (I had to know the title translated into English first).

Thanks to The Chicago Tribune Historical Database, I now know that, on the day I was born, there was a cold wave that gripped Chicago in the wake of a 3.6 inch snowfall that slowed morning rush hour traffic to a crawl. I wonder what the weather was like in Detroit that day?

Another cat video

catmama39 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:18:30 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVjzd320gew

Another cat video sent to me by my Tuesday night dinner buddy. This one is also very funny and very easy to find on YouTube.

My musical husband on YouTube

catmama39 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:29:19 +0000

Here is my musical husband singing “A Satisfied Mind.” It was recorded on Sunday May 18, 2008 at The Woodridge Public Library in Woodridge, Illinois by Mike Kara.

We could post links to YouTube videos on our website to give our patrons a sneek peak at performers scheduled to do programs here. I also like the idea of YouTube videos to promote the library and its services.

An Engineer’s Guide to Cats

catmama39 — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:09:31 +0000

This video was sent to me by my cat-loving Tuesday night dinner buddy. I love this video. Both the cats and the humans are so funny! It was very easy to find this video on YouTube and even easier to add it to my blog. Enjoy.

My musical husband

catmama39 — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:01:28 +0000

Originally uploaded by catmama39

My musical husband is performing at the Evanston Public Library on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2:00 p.m. He will be performing at the Wilmette Public Library on Sunday, Jan, 4, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Come and listen to some vintage folk and classic country music.

Interesting quote from American Libraries Direct 10/15/2008

catmama39 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:41:54 +0000

“I just like the vibe in libraries, the musty smell, the out-of-date books, the ultra-helpful librarians, the way people will generally respect the ‘quiet in the library’ theme, the charming fact that they are still clinging to the Dewey Decimal System. I find that inspiring, really.”

—Kansas City (Mo.) Star columnist Joe Posnanski, in a talk at the Olathe (Kans.) Public Library during Banned Books Week.