Wikipedia:Peer review/Reader's advisory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readers%27_advisory

Listed for Peer Review : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Peer_review/Reader%27s_advisory/archive1

Please help by making suggestions and improvements



Also, librarian/library science (and supporters) editors, consider staying connected at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Librarians

Wikipedia : Reader's advisory

I have been editing the
Wikipedia article on Readers' Advisory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readers_advisory


Library Scientist Wikipedia editors out there, let's make this great!

I also plan on making a "Public Library" template to put on the bottom of all
articles related to Public Libraries and Public Library services with a box of related topics for cross referencing and easy editing across many pages. I will post a link when I make the template, but if its already out there or someone else makes one, please post a link here.

Having Fun With Customizable RSS Feeds

from my last post:

USF Library also provides the option of making a feed from any catalog search that you do, even those complicated "advanced searches" (good for searches that you do often, for example, items in your field of research, new from your favorite author, etc). USF's catalog : http://usf.catalog.fcla.edu/sf.jsp

Imagine how beneficial for our patrons customizable RSS feeds (discussed above, available from USF's catalog) would be in the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative Catalog! While other RSS feeds are library driven and the same for every user, these feeds are user driven with infinite possibilities. Compare the amount of time saved, and user benefit in these two RSS scenarios:

• A patron checks our new book list every week for items to place on hold by going to "Find a Good Book" vs. A patron receives an RSS feed of new items in their news aggregator.



• A patron has 25 RSS feeds set-up to deliver new materials instantly to their feed reader anytime materials are added to the catalog from their favorite authors, subjects, musicians, movies (and more) vs. A patron goes to our catalog and types in 25 different media restrictive searches every week to check for new materials of interest to them.

These feeds would also greatly benefit patrons who have filled out "Suggest An Item" forms for materials that they would like to have in the library collection. These patrons would not longer have to check the catalog randomly to see if items have been acquired for the collection; they could set up an RSS feed and be notified instantly.

This would be a great benefit to customers and I can only imagine the circulation boost that would result.

Also, for those patrons uncomfortable with RSS feeds there are services, like RSSFWD, that forward RSS subscriptions right to your e-mail.

You can create a custom RSS feed from any GALE database searche. Learn how at http://hcplcreference.blogspot.com/2007/12/personalized-news-delivered-to-you.html

"Subscribing to an RSS Search Alert Feed

Here's how to subscribe to the Gale RSS feed alerting you of new content in this database:
1. Perform a search using any of the search types to search for the information for which you want to receive alerts; you may use any type of search criteria, including search limiters
2. On the results list, click the Create a Search Alert link
3. To subscribe to the RSS feed, copy the Feed URL and paste it into the software you use as your RSS reader or news aggregator
4. Click the Close when you have finished.

Now that's a PowerSearch!

You can find the PowerSearch option at the top of every section of the Library's Databases & Websites.
Click here for more information about using RSS (courtesy of CommonCraft)."

Sometimes the link is too long to copy nicely, you can also click the XML button to open the feed.

The Libraries that Feed Us (link list)

The Moxie Librarian just posted a great list: 10 Ways Libraries Can Use RSS.

In the spirit of seeing those ideas in action, here is a list that I have collected of some libraries that use RSS feeds (in no particular order)

• "Want to know what new items have just arrived in the MIT Libraries?" They have a lot of feeds available (broken down by subject). http://libraries.mit.edu/help/rss/barton/



• Minneapolis Public Library has feeds for new materials, website updates, links of interest and library events at http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/rss.asp
  
  
• USF Library has a list of "Whats New in the USF Library Media Collection" and library "News" and "Events" feeds. They can be found here : http://www.lib.usf.edu/public/index.cfm?Pg=RSS



• USF Library also provides the option of making a feed from any catalog search that you do, even those complicated "advanced searches" (good for searches that you do often, for example, items in your field of research, new from your favorite author, etc). USF's catalog : http://usf.catalog.fcla.edu/sf.jsp



• Feeds from the New York Public Library:
  Best of the Web - new links selected by NYPL librarians, NYPL Labs, Blogging@NYPL
  Databases and Indexes Online- recent additions, Calendar Feeds : New! Small Business Events in NYC, Today's Classes, Today's Events for Adults, Today's Events for Teens, Today's Events for Children, Exhibitions at NYPL. http://www.nypl.org/rss/



• Lots of feeds of new additions to the Aubrey R. Watzek Library (Lewis and Clark College) are available by format, by language and by subject. http://library.lclark.edu/dynamic/newbooks/rss.php



• Syracuse University Library has feeds of "Recent Additions to the Collection" (a large number broken down by subject) and "Library News" available at http://library.syr.edu/feeds/

And some links about RSS in libraries

• RSS4Lib : Innovative ways libraries use RSS
  
  
• Library Instruction - (very) basic intro to RSS for libraries July 8th, 2005 by Chad (Hidden Peanuts)



• RSS By Meredith Farkas - Posted on June 28th, 2006 (TechEssence.info - The essence of information technology for library decision-makers.)

You don't look like a librarian! (website)

I have been enjoying this awesome website "You don't look like a librarian!" run by Ruth A. Kneale all day (I just found out about it this morning) and wanted to spead the word to my library friends.

"So What is This About, Anyway?" :

"...a collection of talks and resources relating to the image and perception of librarians in the Internet age. Past talks, recent columns, and articles of interest from around the world are collected here..."

Now showing at a library near you?

Has anyone seen the new movieThe Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians through Film at your local library (or traveled a distance to see it)? I have not, but would love to see it this spring. It sounds like it touches on some really important issues to library service and helps.

"Dozens of interviews of real librarians will be interwoven with movie clips of cinematic librarians and serve as transitions between the themes of censorship, intellectual freedom, children and librarians, pay equity and funding issues, and the value of reading." http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com/about.html

It was screened in October of last year at the USF Lakeland campus and is being screened exclusivly in libraries. I would recommend people who want to see the film at a Hillsborough County Public Library make their interests known by filling out an online comment card.



About the Film

The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians Through Film is complete, and had its red-carpet premiere at the American Library Association annual conference in Washington, DC on June 22, 2007 to over 4,000 librarians and friends.

It is the first movie ever on the subject of the real lives and actual work of U.S. librarians. Using the “hook” of Hollywood motion picture clips, it introduces the audience to all kinds of librarians: school and children’s librarians, special librarians (medical and corporate), academic librarians, library educators and graduate students, a cataloger, and public librarians. Beginning with the history of information organization – Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria – it then touches on Andrew Carnegie, Melvil Dewey, and early women library professionals. Moving on into the 21st century, the documentary gives audiences the chance to peer into the world of librarians: the skills and passion it takes, the challenges of book censorship, and most of all, declining library funding.

The Hollywood Librarian is appropriate for audiences from young adult up. It runs 95 minutes (also known as “feature length”).

The documentary was filmed around the country from March 2005 through February 2006. The librarians in the movie are aged 24 through 85, and have a diversity of ethnic background, library position, and geographic location (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin).

It was shot on the Panasonic Varicam high definition digital camera, and professionally edited and sound mixed, with an original music score composed for the film. The total budget was $185,000, including grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York as well as $25,000 from individual librarians.

Read more about the film and lots of press articles (and other good things) at http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com

"IM" at your desk?

I have been thinking about the advantage of having a chat window open at all reference desks across the county. There could be a notification system that would pop-up a flag and beep when a branch needs attention of another branch (for example, when one branch needs another to pull a book). This might be easier (in some cases) than picking up the phone to call for a hold. This would lessen typos of patron’s names. If this was integrated into the staff catalog it could double check the status to make sure the item is checked-in at that library and there would be no more need to spend time saying the title, author and call number (or even typing all of it, once the other library pulls up the entry that their patron needs they could click a staff only button to request a specific copy).

You can see how this would be different than sending an e-mail. With this set-up the message flag would pop-up for whoever is at the reference desk and the ringing from the staff computer would not be any different than the phone ringing for assistance.

There are lots of details that would need to be worked out but hopefully these ideas coming out of HCPLC=Lib2.0 will inspire some people with possibilites for better customer service through emerging technology. Let's keep up the Best...Dream...Ever for Library 2.0