Mozilla add-ons and Morris bookmarklets

I've been a fan of Mozilla's browser (Firefox) for a few years. This week's Library 2.0 lesson introduced me to the wonderful world of add-ons: additions and features that can be installed to enhance and customize your browser. I decided to install the "server switcher" because it can allow me to switch easily between our website's 'development' server and the 'live' server. This comes in handy when editing our library webpages. I also downloaded "StumbleUpon" which I'm having a lot of fun with. With the "Stumble!" icon now on my toolbar, I can click it and Mozilla displays a website (randomly) based on interests that I have selected from a list. I told StumbleUpon to display sites on: Psychology, Quizzes, Cats, Web design, Books, Desktop Publishing, Bizarre/Oddities, Internet tools, Multimedia and Writing.

StumbleUpon's criteria for selecting sites for viewing is based on how popular they are (i.e. the number of times a site was hit). If I'm only in the mood to look at cat websites, I can ask Mozilla to only search and display cat related sites. I have stumbled upon several websites dedicated to writing and books and I've saved these to a special bookmark folder: I might want to revisit them, or possibly refer these sites to others in the future.

I installed the Morris bookmarklets feature but haven't used it much yet. I programmed it to search: Title, Author, Subject, Journal title, Journal title, Keywords anywhere and Title keyword. I think it's neat that I can access this search box for items in Morris (our library catalogue), even though I may have a different site open in my browser (Mozilla will recognize that I'm asking for a search in the catalogue and, viola, I'm taken over to Morris).

Tam

Nora, The Piano-Playing Cat (www.ravenswingstudio.com)

This is one talented kitty!

Colonel Mustard with the Rope in the Library

After I read this article by Heather Newman on Freep.com (Detroit Free Press), I wasn't wholly convinced that games necessarily have a place in every library setting, but if gaming activities manage to draw young people into the library with the promise of fun 'n' games (i.e. they may not equate it with learning or schoolwork), then there is definitely an argument to be made for games as an aspect of a library visit. As today's youth spend more and more time playing computer games, and less time reading, public libraries would be one step ahead of the game (no pun intended!) by bringing people what they want: youth will get hooked and keep comin' back for more (maybe even inspire someone to read a book!)

In academic libraries, maybe not all games would be as suitable in the same way they could be with children and young adult programming in a public libraries. However, virtual 'worlds' such as Second Life (and MMORPG games such as Battleground Europe - WWII Online) most definitely have a role to play encouraging and promoting teamwork, leadership, new learning styles and creating new social networks. Library staff should continue to try to reach patrons with all the new technological tools (for gaming and communication) that are becoming a staple in our culture and society (for the young and old alike!) The library of the future may "look" substantially different than 'the way it was', but if we can't offer the types of resources and services that appeal to the masses, I think we stand the chance of becoming antiquated and somewhat less appealing than at any time in the past.

Tam

It's a cats world

I downloaded one of my favourite arcade games today and managed to get to Level 16 with 110,780 points! Cubis Gold is available from MSN Games as well as Yahoo. Cubis is a 3-D puzzle game: you move and left-click your mouse to remove a number of colourful cubes (with a time limit) to advance to the next level. This is done by matching three same colored cubes (that can span up to three levels). As the game progresses and you move up the levels, you are introduced to wedge cubes, osmosis cubes, and laser cubes.

A friend recommended this game to me about 3 years ago, and I fell in love with it: it's extremely easy to learn, and the high scoring possibilities are good for the ego! After my free downloaded version expired (when I first learned of Cubis, years ago), I played the online version, but it is not as flashy and aesthetically pleasing (the music and sound effects are pretty cool too... they really suite the game's graphics). I'm unlikely to become an addicted player of Cubis: I'd hate to develop a repetitive strain injury in my wrist! (But I'll revisit it from time to time since it is such good fun, and a great way to distract oneself from more serious pursuits).

Tam

Hello Facebook!

Facebook, "a social utility that connects you with the people around you", is a handy-dandy, no-nonsense tool for keeping up with friends, (and making new ones? The jury is still out on that one). Before Facebook, there was MySpace. Not that MySpace isn't around anymore, it was just born before Facebook. I had a peak at MySpace and didn't like the busy, hyperactive "look". Ivor Tossell, Globe and Mail writer, finds "MySpace [to be] a post-aesthetic wasteland of blinking, honking, neon things; photos that [cascade] down the page, animated baubles and all manner of widgets." He's got a point. Most profiles on MySpace are just too darn hard to look at. Every attempt at creativity in MySpace lends itself to hideous results. Facebook offers the same services as MySpace, but without the messiness, so I think I'll stick with a social utility that is organized, uniform and aesthetically pleasing. The only drawback with Facebook: it would not allow me to enter my surname (but my brother found a way around it, so I must ask him how he did that).

I found some famous Canadians on MySpace, just by accident, I might add (I didn't go looking for them, honestly.) George Stroumboulopoulos and Sook-Yin Lee could be my MySpace friends, with just a few clicks (but it appears George has 3 MySpace profiles... hmm, which one is the "real" George? uh-oh, the first one doesn't display graphics in my browser. wow, Sook-Yin Lee has 3013 friends... how long will it take me to be that popular?) Well, as tempting as it may seem, I think I'll stick to friend-ing folks who show up in my Facebook networks and groups. (Not that I don't want to be friends with George or Sook-Yin: they are very cool and it would be neat to run into them in the street, or maybe just watch them on t.v. ...or listen to them on the radio... gosh, I guess I already do that from time to time, so that makes me cool too).

Tam

Mr. Bigglesworth

I registered today on LibraryThing and added 5 books from my collection at home. I hope to eventually expand the number of books I have on LibraryThing to include everything I own but that is a summer project which I will work at slowly and leisurely. Yes, LibraryThing is fun and extremely easy to use. I decided to add three books I own by don Miguel Ruiz (including "The Four Agreements"). I also added "Brand Name Bullies: the Quest to Own and Control Culture", and "The Inferno of Dante" (a bilingual edition that was first published in 1994, a brilliant Italian-to-English translation by Harold Pinsky).

LibraryThing has many features that I am still exploring. I discovered a feature called "ottobib" that automatically displays your book's bibliographic citation information in any one of the major formats (i.e. MLA, Turabian). I added all my books by their ISBN, to be sure I was extracting information for the exact edition(s) I own. LibraryThing searches in Amazon or Library of Congress (you can select either). Once your title is displayed on the screen, you have the option of adding tags to describe your book. The complete descriptions are as thorough and detailed as you would find in any first rate library catalogue anywhere.

You can discover how many other people own your book (535 people own "The Four Agreements" and 3044 people own my edition of "The Inferno"). Discussions abound on this site, so it is a sociable book lover's paradise. Stuck for a new book to read? Refer to LibraryThing's "recommendations machine" to find similar books to what you like (based on what you have in your catalogue). There is also an "unsuggester", should you be curious to discover what the antithetical equivalent of your book is!

And what does Mr. Bigglesworth have to do with LibraryThing? I had my mind on cats, and needed to think of a username, so... viola.

Tam

Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a Library to Run

...according to Dewey Readmore Books!

(I couldn't resist reprinting these wonderful rules from a website dedicated to one very famous library cat.)

Sadly, Dewey passed away on November 29, 2006 due to complications from a stomach tumor. He lived to the ripe old (cat) age of 19. (Close in age to my cat, Scooper, who will turn 18 on June 29).

STAFF: If you are feeling particularly lonely and wanting more attention from the staff, sit on whatever papers, project, or computer they happen to be working on at the time---but sit with your back to the person and act aloof, so as not to appear too needy. Also, be sure to continually rub against the leg of the staff person who is wearing dark brown, blue, or black for maximum effect.

PATRONS: No matter how long the patron plans on staying at the library, climb into their briefcase or book bag for a long comfortable sleep until they must dump you out on the table in order to leave.

LADDERS: Never miss an opportunity to climb on ladders. It does not matter which human is on the ladder. It only matters that you get to the top and stay there.

CLOSING TIME: Wait until 10 minutes before closing time to get up from your nap. Just as the staff is getting ready to turn out the lights and lock the door, do all your cutest tricks in an effort to get them to stay and play with you. (Although this doesn't work very often, sometimes they can't resist giving in to one short game of hide & go seek.)

BOXES: Your humans must realize that all boxes which enter the library are yours. It doesn't matter how large, how small, or how full the box should be, it is yours! If you cannot fit your entire body into the box, then use whatever part of your body fits to assume ownership for naptime. (I have used one or two paws, my head, or even just my tail to gain entry and each works equally well for a truly restful sleep.)

MEETINGS: No matter the group, timing, or subject matter, if there is a meeting scheduled in the meeting room---you have an obligation to attend. If they have shut you out by closing the door, cry pitifully until they let you in or until someone opens the door to use the restroom or get a drink of water. After you gain entry, be sure to go around the room and greet each attendee. If there is a film shown or slide show, climb on any table close to the screen, settle in and watch the film to conclusion. As the credits roll, feign extreme boredom and leave the meeting before it concludes.

Tam

Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram has an article in today's Globe and Mail (Personal Tech column) about social networking tools and add-ons, such as Google Notebook, del-icio-us, Diigo, Clipmarks and EverNote.

Read the full article:

When Linking Isn't Enough

Tam