Today is Christmas 2008, but unlike many of my peers, I decided to go ahead and do a little work today. I spent some time creating the international versions of E-commerce For Everyone websites on one of our test domains. It was fun creating Amazon Associate websites for our French, German, Canadian and UK friends. I'm still working on the Japanese version (that one is gonna be a little tricky).
I had a revelation this week while working on the international versions of Amazon Associates. The first revelation is that it's not called Amazon Associates everywhere, it's actually called PartnerNet in Germany (that blew my mind for a minute, lol). Another revelation I had is that Babel has come a long way (your translations rock now). A third revelation is that even though it took me 20 minutes to do, I didn't need someone else who spoke Japanese to sign-up for the Japanese version of Amazon Associates.
I have to say that this month has been awesome for sales, I broke my monthly sales record too, so that is always encouraging. I'm even more excited now at the prospect of making lots of international revenue. I've primarily focused on the United States as my main source of sales, but if this recession has taught me anything, it's that I should diversify my already recession proof business. I'm excited by the prospect that internationally, there is still so much growth opportunity.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Northern Lights Library Network Event
Media Center Staff…and other interested people:
Before you leave for the Christmas holidays, mark your calendars, register, and begin making arrangements to join us for a spectacular workshop in late January to learn about games and gadgets in an informal setting, and to spend some quality time with fellow Destiny users acquiring new skills and applying new applications to your Destiny system.
Sunday evening, Jan 25, 2009,
Games and Gadgets
(with hors d’oeuvres buffet)
4pm - 8pm…or whenever
Monday, Jan 26, 2009
Meet Your Destiny in the Sandbox
(with breakfast and lunch included)
8:30am-3:30pm
Who is invited: All members of the North Star Library Consortium
All Minnesota Destiny users
Anyone interested in networking with colleagues about enhancing media center services
Cost: Registration is required, but there is no cost to attend. Please use this online <http://nlln.org/Reg1-26-09.html> registration form to register.
Location: Arrowwood Resort and <http://www.arrowwoodresort.com/> Conference Center, Alexandria, MN
Lodging arrangements can be made directly with Arrowwood by calling 866-386-5263 and request the Northern Lights Conference rate of $79.00.
Laptop Computers: It is strongly recommended that you bring a wireless-enabled laptop computer. This is hands-on event and to be fully engaged you’ll find a computer is a great benefit.
Content: This is the fun part. This Conference will largely be built on the interests of the participants.
A planning wiki is available at: meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com <http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com/> . Check it out. Add your thoughts, ask your questions, make suggestions, share great ideas. Do you want to know about e-book devices, or see World of Warcraft in action, try a WII, or learn how to make your Destiny Homepage glitzier or how to add e-books to Destiny or how to set up a gaming event? What are your interests? Deepest questions? Things you’d like to know more about because it seems everyone else does?
This wiki is open for you to contribute. Add your areas of interest, gadgets you might bring, games to share, topics you’d like discussed, suggestions for the flow of the day.
This Conference will be participant created and produced. This will be the perfect setting and perfect combination of knowledgeable practitioners to learn with and from. We must have a minimum of 35 registered participants by Jan 16 to ensure we will have the Conference, so register early and start contributing to the planning wiki.
Weather issues: In the event that we are unable to have the conference due to bad weather, we will simply cancel. It will not be possible to re-schedule the Conference. Arrowwood will honor lodging cancellations made for weather-related reasons if you contact them prior to the date of your reservation. Please include a cell phone or home phone number on the registration form so that we can contact you on Saturday or Sunday if necessary. This is the only reason the registration form asks for a home number. Past experience has shown us this is important in the event of changes or cancellations.
More information: is available on the Northern Lights Library Network webpage at: nlln.org <http://nlln.org/> and on the online registration <http://nlln.org/Reg1-26-09.html> page. Also on the planning wiki at http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com <http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com/> . Anyone can contribute to the wiki, but you must be registered with pbwiki to log in.
Contacts: Feel free to contact the Conference organizers: Patricia Post at CMLE (papost@stcloudstate.edu) or Ruth Solie at NLLN (rsolie@nlln.org) if you have questions.
We’re very excited about this event and look forward to having an energetic group of fun and talented people, on a winter weekend in a lovely setting, to play some games, share some gadgets, and figure out our Destiny! We hope you will join us!
Before you leave for the Christmas holidays, mark your calendars, register, and begin making arrangements to join us for a spectacular workshop in late January to learn about games and gadgets in an informal setting, and to spend some quality time with fellow Destiny users acquiring new skills and applying new applications to your Destiny system.
Sunday evening, Jan 25, 2009,
Games and Gadgets
(with hors d’oeuvres buffet)
4pm - 8pm…or whenever
Monday, Jan 26, 2009
Meet Your Destiny in the Sandbox
(with breakfast and lunch included)
8:30am-3:30pm
Who is invited: All members of the North Star Library Consortium
All Minnesota Destiny users
Anyone interested in networking with colleagues about enhancing media center services
Cost: Registration is required, but there is no cost to attend. Please use this online <http://nlln.org/Reg1-26-09.html> registration form to register.
Location: Arrowwood Resort and <http://www.arrowwoodresort.com/> Conference Center, Alexandria, MN
Lodging arrangements can be made directly with Arrowwood by calling 866-386-5263 and request the Northern Lights Conference rate of $79.00.
Laptop Computers: It is strongly recommended that you bring a wireless-enabled laptop computer. This is hands-on event and to be fully engaged you’ll find a computer is a great benefit.
Content: This is the fun part. This Conference will largely be built on the interests of the participants.
A planning wiki is available at: meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com <http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com/> . Check it out. Add your thoughts, ask your questions, make suggestions, share great ideas. Do you want to know about e-book devices, or see World of Warcraft in action, try a WII, or learn how to make your Destiny Homepage glitzier or how to add e-books to Destiny or how to set up a gaming event? What are your interests? Deepest questions? Things you’d like to know more about because it seems everyone else does?
This wiki is open for you to contribute. Add your areas of interest, gadgets you might bring, games to share, topics you’d like discussed, suggestions for the flow of the day.
This Conference will be participant created and produced. This will be the perfect setting and perfect combination of knowledgeable practitioners to learn with and from. We must have a minimum of 35 registered participants by Jan 16 to ensure we will have the Conference, so register early and start contributing to the planning wiki.
Weather issues: In the event that we are unable to have the conference due to bad weather, we will simply cancel. It will not be possible to re-schedule the Conference. Arrowwood will honor lodging cancellations made for weather-related reasons if you contact them prior to the date of your reservation. Please include a cell phone or home phone number on the registration form so that we can contact you on Saturday or Sunday if necessary. This is the only reason the registration form asks for a home number. Past experience has shown us this is important in the event of changes or cancellations.
More information: is available on the Northern Lights Library Network webpage at: nlln.org <http://nlln.org/> and on the online registration <http://nlln.org/Reg1-26-09.html> page. Also on the planning wiki at http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com <http://meetyourdestiny.pbwiki.com/> . Anyone can contribute to the wiki, but you must be registered with pbwiki to log in.
Contacts: Feel free to contact the Conference organizers: Patricia Post at CMLE (papost@stcloudstate.edu) or Ruth Solie at NLLN (rsolie@nlln.org) if you have questions.
We’re very excited about this event and look forward to having an energetic group of fun and talented people, on a winter weekend in a lovely setting, to play some games, share some gadgets, and figure out our Destiny! We hope you will join us!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Library Clerk - Houston
Library Associates Companies (LAC) seeks a part time Library Clerk to work on a temporary reclassification project at a global energy company located in Houston, TX. This position will work part-time, approximately 3 days per week, for a period of 4-8 weeks, possibly longer. The primary responsibility of the position is to conduct a shelf inventory of approximately 25,000 items working off a printed shelf list, while taking notes in two teams of two.
Responsibilities:
* Conduct a shelf inventory of approximately 25,000 items working off a printed shelf list;
* Take extensive notes on inventory & other required items;
* Label books with appropriate tags;
* Reorganize & re-shelve corporate library using newly re-label materials;
* Additional duties as assigned and required
Qualifications:
* Previous experience working in a library setting required, corporate work experience is a plus;
* Knowledge of library shelving and classification standards is preferred (LC/Dewey);
* Excellent attention to detail required;
* Excellent communication skills including the ability to write is required;
* Demonstrated reliability & punctuality is required.
To Apply:
* For immediate consideration please email your cover letter and resume to Brad Rogers at, jobs@libraryassociates.com<mailto:jobs@libraryassociates.com>.
* Please use "Library Clerk - Houston" as the subject line of your email.
Library Associates Companies is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that values diversity in the workforce.
Responsibilities:
* Conduct a shelf inventory of approximately 25,000 items working off a printed shelf list;
* Take extensive notes on inventory & other required items;
* Label books with appropriate tags;
* Reorganize & re-shelve corporate library using newly re-label materials;
* Additional duties as assigned and required
Qualifications:
* Previous experience working in a library setting required, corporate work experience is a plus;
* Knowledge of library shelving and classification standards is preferred (LC/Dewey);
* Excellent attention to detail required;
* Excellent communication skills including the ability to write is required;
* Demonstrated reliability & punctuality is required.
To Apply:
* For immediate consideration please email your cover letter and resume to Brad Rogers at, jobs@libraryassociates.com<mailto:jobs@libraryassociates.com>.
* Please use "Library Clerk - Houston" as the subject line of your email.
Library Associates Companies is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that values diversity in the workforce.
LIBRARY ASSOCIATE - SIOUXLAND LIBRARIES
LIBRARY ASSOCIATE - SIOUXLAND LIBRARIES
Hiring Range DOQ: $18.39 - $19.94 per hour
Deadline for Filing: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 5:00 pm.
The Position
Perform complex paraprofessional library work with extensive public contact. Assist library customers of all ages to locate library materials, use the Internet, find specific information and do research. Coordinate interlibrary loan. Use library and office computer software as well as Internet resources in daily work. May be assigned to Main Library, Branches or Bookmobile. Current position is in Information Services at the Main Library.
Qualification Standards
Graduation from a college or university with course work in library science and a minimum of two years' library experience, or any such combination of education, experience, and training as may be acceptable to the hiring authority. Must be willing to work evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays as required. Ability to perform physical work, including lifting and/or moving up to 30 pounds of library materials frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally; pushing a loaded book truck, and standing or sitting for long periods of time. Positions assigned to Extension, Circulation or Youth Services must possess or be able to obtain, prior to hire, a valid driver's license.
Application and Selection
Apply online at www.siouxfalls.org or at:
South Dakota Department of Labor
811 East Tenth Street
Department 41
Sioux Falls, SD 57103-1650.
Most qualified will be invited for testing. Special accommodations for application and/or testing or job information in alternative formats available upon request.
Donna Cranmer
Technical Services Librarian
Siouxland Libraries
200 N Dakota Ave.
PO Box 7403
Sioux Falls, SD 57117
605-367-8712
605-367-8754 fax
dcranmer@siouxfalls.org
Hiring Range DOQ: $18.39 - $19.94 per hour
Deadline for Filing: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 5:00 pm.
The Position
Perform complex paraprofessional library work with extensive public contact. Assist library customers of all ages to locate library materials, use the Internet, find specific information and do research. Coordinate interlibrary loan. Use library and office computer software as well as Internet resources in daily work. May be assigned to Main Library, Branches or Bookmobile. Current position is in Information Services at the Main Library.
Qualification Standards
Graduation from a college or university with course work in library science and a minimum of two years' library experience, or any such combination of education, experience, and training as may be acceptable to the hiring authority. Must be willing to work evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays as required. Ability to perform physical work, including lifting and/or moving up to 30 pounds of library materials frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally; pushing a loaded book truck, and standing or sitting for long periods of time. Positions assigned to Extension, Circulation or Youth Services must possess or be able to obtain, prior to hire, a valid driver's license.
Application and Selection
Apply online at www.siouxfalls.org
South Dakota Department of Labor
811 East Tenth Street
Department 41
Sioux Falls, SD 57103-1650.
Most qualified will be invited for testing. Special accommodations for application and/or testing or job information in alternative formats available upon request.
Donna Cranmer
Technical Services Librarian
Siouxland Libraries
200 N Dakota Ave.
PO Box 7403
Sioux Falls, SD 57117
605-367-8712
605-367-8754 fax
dcranmer@siouxfalls.org
Monday, December 15, 2008
Office Depot Closing 112 Stores
It's been reported that Office Depot will be closing 112 stores. Although not filing for bankruptcy, it appears to be joining the ranks of Circuit City and CompUSA. Office Depot claims that the closing of underperforming stores is in alignment with it's strategic goals.
The move will allow Office Depot to reduce expenses and continue to be competitive in a changing market. New online competitors such as StockMyOffice.com seek to grow their market share in the office supply space. Included in the store 112 store closings are 6 distribution facilities and 2,200 employees that will be added to the current high unemployment rate.
In my own opinion, Office Depot is going to have a tough time moving office chairs, desks and office supplies at an affordable price if they have to support the overhead of stores and facilities that are not profitable on their own. I'm sure the store locations were a good pick at the time, but things change from one minute to the next, and unfortunately, sometimes consolidation is a necessary evil for big companies to stay competitive.
The move will allow Office Depot to reduce expenses and continue to be competitive in a changing market. New online competitors such as StockMyOffice.com seek to grow their market share in the office supply space. Included in the store 112 store closings are 6 distribution facilities and 2,200 employees that will be added to the current high unemployment rate.
In my own opinion, Office Depot is going to have a tough time moving office chairs, desks and office supplies at an affordable price if they have to support the overhead of stores and facilities that are not profitable on their own. I'm sure the store locations were a good pick at the time, but things change from one minute to the next, and unfortunately, sometimes consolidation is a necessary evil for big companies to stay competitive.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
I'm Considering Amazon Turk
It's my understanding that with Amazon Turk, you can put together an on demand work force to do various tasks. I'm considering using it as a marketing method. I figured that I might pay $1 for people to do a 5 or ten minute blog post.
There are plenty of places that offer pay per post, but it could be expensive. This experiment might be the start of a lot of cool new things. Potential the ability to outsource some tasks. I'll post my findings back here.
There are plenty of places that offer pay per post, but it could be expensive. This experiment might be the start of a lot of cool new things. Potential the ability to outsource some tasks. I'll post my findings back here.
WebJunction Minnesota
All Minnesota multicounty multitype library systems and five of the twelve regional public library systems (MELSA, Lake Agassiz, Traverse des Sioux, Great River, SELCO) have agreed to contribute time and effort to making WebJunction Minnesota a one-stop destination for library staff seeking news & information about Minnesota libraries, resources to improve library service, continuing education and more. Liaisons in these systems will help the WJMN Team get the word out, find content, and keep the site fresh and useful for you.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Recession Proofing Your Wallets With Amazon Associates
Want to be recession proof? Earning some extra income in these long recession days is a blessing to anyone who can get it. One of the easiest ways to earn a little extra money to pay the bills is simply to become a virtual merchant by selling products for Amazon. Earn a commission by generating sales for Amazon.
Amazon has a program called Amazon Associates. It will allow you to sell anything in their huge product catalog and earn a commission once an item ships. You might even find that the Amazon Associates program is better then your sales job. Work on your own hours, with no boss other then your own personal motivation. Work more, earn more.
Here's a very reasonable scenario of what the Amazon Associates program could do for you each month. I've attached a screen shot of my earnings for the first 11 days of the month. So far only $336.44, but that's more then enough for a car payment. With the remaining days of the month, I'll make enough to pay the electric ($150), water ($15), internet ($60), website ($30), marketing ($100), Savings ($200+ remainder of commissions). The beauty of the Amazon Associates program is that you can spend as little or as much time as you like, so while most of you won't quit your job just yet, you can work in your spare time from anywhere with internet access.
There are different ways that you can promote Amazon products like a blog or website. It's important to have a professionally designed website that is ready to attract online shoppers. Don't worry if you don't have technical or web design skills, there are lots of free scripts available and even some professional designers that make Amazon Associate e-commerce websites. E-commerce For Everyone is one of the few developers creating innovation solutions for Amazon Associates. While the recession has negatively affected many sectors of the economy, online shopping is one of the few sectors that has seen continued growth.
There is no question that in the near future online shopping will far exceed brick and mortar shopping carts. With broadband access being rolled out world wide at a break neck speed, savvy businesses will be ready to do business online in the global marketplace.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Testing Microsoft’s Writer beta
This is the first blog post I create using the new Microsoft Writer beta. The application seems to be very clean, and gives the user a nice blogging platform.
I haven’t used it with all of my blogs as yet, but I think it’ll work well. The cool part about this application is that they’ve decided to add plugins. I didn’t actually have a lot to say in this post more then I wanted to check out it’s capabilities, and formatting.
The program is still in beta, but even for a beta it seems rather solid. I used a similar blogging program called Elicit, unfortunately they went out of business and took the licensing server with it, so it eventually stopped working.
Another little nicety about the new Microsoft blog tool is that it has a built in updater, so I don’t have to manually check.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Review of 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma is a great western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Crowe stars as a ruthless gangster who is wanted by the law. Bale stars as an ex-Union solder, now disabled, has been forced to become a deputy threw a series of circumstances, and is tasked to bring Crowe to the prison train leaving for Yuma at 3:10.
There is plenty of action and dialogue in the movie. You never felt bored at any point with this movie. In fact, there is lots of action and gun battles as Crowe's gang tries franticly to free their boss.
I'd recommend seeing this movie right away if you haven't seen it. My understanding is that this is a remake of an older movie.
Information Technology and Computer Related Books
Looking At A Cheap All-In-One Printer, Scanner and Fax Machine
As a small start-up business, I find myself need to do the typically office administrative work like printing, making copies of documents, and every now and then sending out a fax.
I didn't want to spend too much money either, so I came across this multi-function unit. This one is the HP Deskjet F4280 All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier (CB656A). Looks like it prints some decent documents. I don't really need anything fancy because I'm not going to be printing any images from a digital camera or anything. The last time I went to the UPS store to print and fax some documents, it ended up costing me somewhere around the neighborhod of $30.
After realizing how much I spent on one trip to the UPS store, I realized that I could have purchased my own equipment if I made two more visits in the rest of the year. I figured already that I would need to print and fax, so I might see about getting a deal on this one. Another cool part about the device is that it can scan too, so that comes in handy for making copies of receipts or any other business documents, and then store them on a server. This particular one is less then $100, so I figure it's a good deal. You can buy one from Amazon too if you want free shipping.
Internship - Hennepin County (MN)
This is a good opportunity for those considering a Spring 2009 internship that haven't finalized their plans.
Job Title: Literacy Specialist Internship - Northeast Library
Closing Date/Time: Fri. 01/02/09 5:00 PM Central Time
Salary: See Position Description
Job Type: Internship
Location: Northeast Library, Minnesota
Department: Library
Literacy Specialist Internship
Hennepin County Library
Hennepin County Library - Northeast Library is offering an internship opportunity to develop programs, services and resources to support literacy initiatives at the Library. This is an excellent opportunity for students in early elementary education, youth services librarianship, or youth development.
Commitment:
Winter semester 2009, 120 hours - part-time, flexible weekday/weekend/daytime/evening.
Wage:
This is an upaid position. The Intern will receive academic/internship credit through the college or university where enrolled.
Location:
Northeast Library, 2200 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis and Northeast Middle School, 2955 Hayes Street NE, Minneapolis.
Job Duties:
At the school you will lead book clubs two Fridays a month over the lunch break.
At the library you will observe and lead storytimes, assist with storytime preparation, assist with collection management, observe and possibly lead other book clubs, offer informal literacy activities to children in the library, prepare for your book clubs, and observe and assist with reference services to all ages.
Requirements:
This is an excellent opportunity for a student completing a bachelor's or master's degree in elementary education, youth development, library science or a related area of study. Ideal candidates will be creative, reliable, patient, adaptable and possess the ability to approach and engage youth, and will possess a strong commitment to literacy and libraries.
To Apply and for Questions:
Send cover letter outlining qualifications for this position, resume and contact information for two references to:
Tom.Grund@co.hennepin.mn.us
- OR -
Tom Grund
Hennepin County Library - Ridgedale
12601 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305
(952) 847-8518
For more information contact Susan Woodwick at smwoodwick@hclib.org or (612) 630-6903.
Job Title: Literacy Specialist Internship - Northeast Library
Closing Date/Time: Fri. 01/02/09 5:00 PM Central Time
Salary: See Position Description
Job Type: Internship
Location: Northeast Library, Minnesota
Department: Library
Literacy Specialist Internship
Hennepin County Library
Hennepin County Library - Northeast Library is offering an internship opportunity to develop programs, services and resources to support literacy initiatives at the Library. This is an excellent opportunity for students in early elementary education, youth services librarianship, or youth development.
Commitment:
Winter semester 2009, 120 hours - part-time, flexible weekday/weekend/daytime/evening.
Wage:
This is an upaid position. The Intern will receive academic/internship credit through the college or university where enrolled.
Location:
Northeast Library, 2200 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis and Northeast Middle School, 2955 Hayes Street NE, Minneapolis.
Job Duties:
At the school you will lead book clubs two Fridays a month over the lunch break.
At the library you will observe and lead storytimes, assist with storytime preparation, assist with collection management, observe and possibly lead other book clubs, offer informal literacy activities to children in the library, prepare for your book clubs, and observe and assist with reference services to all ages.
Requirements:
This is an excellent opportunity for a student completing a bachelor's or master's degree in elementary education, youth development, library science or a related area of study. Ideal candidates will be creative, reliable, patient, adaptable and possess the ability to approach and engage youth, and will possess a strong commitment to literacy and libraries.
To Apply and for Questions:
Send cover letter outlining qualifications for this position, resume and contact information for two references to:
Tom.Grund@co.hennepin.mn.us
- OR -
Tom Grund
Hennepin County Library - Ridgedale
12601 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305
(952) 847-8518
For more information contact Susan Woodwick at smwoodwick@hclib.org or (612) 630-6903.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Job posting - Washington State
King County Library System, Washington State
Lead Library Assistant II- Full Time
Job number: 2008-272
King County Library System, Auburn/Muckleshoot/Algona-Pacific Cluster
Application Deadline is December 15, 2008
Library Assistants are usually the first point of contact in KCLS libraries. As customer services representatives they provide basic information about KCLS materials, programs and services. This position directs the work of Library Assistants at multiple branch locations. Performs circulation services to patrons and resolves problems and answers questions of patrons.
REQ: A typical way of obtaining the knowledge, skills and abilities outlined above is with a high school diploma or GED, supplemented by some post-secondary training in a related field, plus 2-4 yrs experience in library operations, policies and procedures. Application deadline is December 15, 2008. $21.434 per hour plus excellent benefits. Send completed KCLS application and supplemental questionnaire (available on our website) to:
HR, King County Library System
960 Newport Way NW
Issaquah WA 98027
425-369-3224
Fax: 425-369-3214
www.kcls.org <http://www.kcls.org/>
EOE
Thank you,
Susan Hang
Human Resources Technician II
King County Library System
960 Newport Way NW
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-369-3224
FAX: 425-369-3214
Jobline: 425-369-3222
www.kcls.org <http://www.kcls.org>
Lead Library Assistant II- Full Time
Job number: 2008-272
King County Library System, Auburn/Muckleshoot/Algona-Pacific Cluster
Application Deadline is December 15, 2008
Library Assistants are usually the first point of contact in KCLS libraries. As customer services representatives they provide basic information about KCLS materials, programs and services. This position directs the work of Library Assistants at multiple branch locations. Performs circulation services to patrons and resolves problems and answers questions of patrons.
REQ: A typical way of obtaining the knowledge, skills and abilities outlined above is with a high school diploma or GED, supplemented by some post-secondary training in a related field, plus 2-4 yrs experience in library operations, policies and procedures. Application deadline is December 15, 2008. $21.434 per hour plus excellent benefits. Send completed KCLS application and supplemental questionnaire (available on our website) to:
HR, King County Library System
960 Newport Way NW
Issaquah WA 98027
425-369-3224
Fax: 425-369-3214
www.kcls.org <http://www.kcls.org/>
EOE
Thank you,
Susan Hang
Human Resources Technician II
King County Library System
960 Newport Way NW
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-369-3224
FAX: 425-369-3214
Jobline: 425-369-3222
www.kcls.org <http://www.kcls.org>
Monday, December 1, 2008
Google Gmail Notifier Doesn't Recognize Google Chrome As A Browser
Every once in a while internet users will notice an incompatibility within Google's programs. Today, a user discovered that Google's Gmail Notifier is not compatible with Google Chrome.I thought this pic was worth at least one laugh. I'm sure it won't take long for Google to fix the problem, but it would be good for all of their applications to be compatible.
Google is one of the few companies that doesn't get to make an honest mistake because they seem to be under such very strong public scrutiny.
One of the first things I noticed when I started using Google Chrome was that it was a very fast browser. One of the major things that it was clearly missing was the ability to add some kind of add-on or plugin. I'm sure future versions will carry the feature. Another thing I'd like to see resolved is the ability to login to my bank. Right now only Internet Explorer and FireFox are supported.
More Blogging MLA... Introduction to RDA/FRBR
No, we're not talking about Recommended Dietary Allowances, nor are we talking about a particular child rearing method, although one says FRBR like "Ferber." We're talking serious insider cataloging baseball talk. And nothing says "cataloging" like a bunch o' acronyms.
RDA, or Resource Description and Access, is the "new" AACR2r (that's Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd Edition, Revised), bringing library cataloging standards right into the 1990s. Uh, I mean the 21st century. FRBR, or Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, builds on an entity relationship model for cataloging resources. Until I went to this session, I confess, I did not really "get" FRBR. I've read quite a bit, I generally think I'm pretty quick to figure things out. But for whatever reason, I did not have a good understanding of what FRBR did. After 45 minutes with Chew Chiat Naun, Principal Cataloger at the University of Minnesota Libraries, I had a true "ah-ha!" moment, when it finally all clicked together. Here's my attempt to explain:
Basically, a catalog, or metadata, record for an item has some information that is unique to that particular item and some information that may be shared by other records. FRBR is an attempt to notice those differences in the information, and make distinctions between them by introducing different language to describe them. Let's consider the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers's Stone. The basic intellectual concept of the story is the work. Once that information is put into a tangible form, it becomes an expression of the work, with potentially different manifestations of the work: The book with the U.S. title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the audio book (which might be on CD or as a digital download), the large print edition, and so on. Eventually, we get to the item, the specific manifestation that Library A gives the call number, Juv Fic Row and barcodes with 3030222169788.
Then we look at what information is shared between all manifestations. Name of the creator, title, date of copyright, and basic topical controlled vocabulary terms would be shared. What is unique to the manifestation? The carrier (print book or audio CD), descriptive information that goes along with the carrier (the book's dimensions and number of pages, for example), publisher. What is unique to the item? Call number, barcode, local notes. RDA uses the framework provided by FRBR to restructure the elements of describing the various manifestations of an expression of a work. All that perfectly clear? That's what I thought.
Anyway, back to the session. I had my ah-ha moment about midway through the session. In a perfect world, we would have library catalog systems that would allow us to take full advantage of this entity relationship model and we could link all this information together. For example, J. K. Rowling writes other books too and is involved with other works (the movies, etc.); rather than copy her name into every metadata record for something she's been involved with, there should be a name authority record for her (actually, there is), and we should just plug in the identification number for that authority record into the information for the manifestation we're cataloging (that part, we can't do yet). Same thing with publisher. Have the version published by Scholastic? Look up the publisher authority record and put the number for Scholastic into the record (nope, can't do that yet either).
So, I had the epiphany that we should work toward an "HDTV" moment for library cataloging, where we move from the flat-file model we have now with metadata records that literally contain all of this information over and over again, to a "virtual" bibliographic/metadata record that fully makes use of the relationships between these information pieces and uses linking data to bring the user a uniform display that looks like what we're used to seeing. No reason we can't do that. Just need the will and some reinvestment in time and energy.
Anyway, the session went over some more nitty-gritty details of RDA changes, like moving from "main entry," to "preferred access point," no longer using GMD (General Material Designation) to media/carrier/content, and no more "rule of three" regarding access points. And, at some point, there's gonna be a whole lotta trainin' goin' on.
RDA, or Resource Description and Access, is the "new" AACR2r (that's Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd Edition, Revised), bringing library cataloging standards right into the 1990s. Uh, I mean the 21st century. FRBR, or Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, builds on an entity relationship model for cataloging resources. Until I went to this session, I confess, I did not really "get" FRBR. I've read quite a bit, I generally think I'm pretty quick to figure things out. But for whatever reason, I did not have a good understanding of what FRBR did. After 45 minutes with Chew Chiat Naun, Principal Cataloger at the University of Minnesota Libraries, I had a true "ah-ha!" moment, when it finally all clicked together. Here's my attempt to explain:
Basically, a catalog, or metadata, record for an item has some information that is unique to that particular item and some information that may be shared by other records. FRBR is an attempt to notice those differences in the information, and make distinctions between them by introducing different language to describe them. Let's consider the first book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers's Stone. The basic intellectual concept of the story is the work. Once that information is put into a tangible form, it becomes an expression of the work, with potentially different manifestations of the work: The book with the U.S. title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the audio book (which might be on CD or as a digital download), the large print edition, and so on. Eventually, we get to the item, the specific manifestation that Library A gives the call number, Juv Fic Row and barcodes with 3030222169788.
Then we look at what information is shared between all manifestations. Name of the creator, title, date of copyright, and basic topical controlled vocabulary terms would be shared. What is unique to the manifestation? The carrier (print book or audio CD), descriptive information that goes along with the carrier (the book's dimensions and number of pages, for example), publisher. What is unique to the item? Call number, barcode, local notes. RDA uses the framework provided by FRBR to restructure the elements of describing the various manifestations of an expression of a work. All that perfectly clear? That's what I thought.
Anyway, back to the session. I had my ah-ha moment about midway through the session. In a perfect world, we would have library catalog systems that would allow us to take full advantage of this entity relationship model and we could link all this information together. For example, J. K. Rowling writes other books too and is involved with other works (the movies, etc.); rather than copy her name into every metadata record for something she's been involved with, there should be a name authority record for her (actually, there is), and we should just plug in the identification number for that authority record into the information for the manifestation we're cataloging (that part, we can't do yet). Same thing with publisher. Have the version published by Scholastic? Look up the publisher authority record and put the number for Scholastic into the record (nope, can't do that yet either).
So, I had the epiphany that we should work toward an "HDTV" moment for library cataloging, where we move from the flat-file model we have now with metadata records that literally contain all of this information over and over again, to a "virtual" bibliographic/metadata record that fully makes use of the relationships between these information pieces and uses linking data to bring the user a uniform display that looks like what we're used to seeing. No reason we can't do that. Just need the will and some reinvestment in time and energy.
Anyway, the session went over some more nitty-gritty details of RDA changes, like moving from "main entry," to "preferred access point," no longer using GMD (General Material Designation) to media/carrier/content, and no more "rule of three" regarding access points. And, at some point, there's gonna be a whole lotta trainin' goin' on.
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