Ballad in Plain E

Rex Turgano, one of the good folks at Andornot, has developed a neat site called LibraryDevCamp.ca, dubbed “a web playground for the library community”. It’s a place where people can try out open source software that might be of use to them in their jobs. Lately they’ve been adding links to libraries and other websites that are using particular software so that you can see it in action. Some recent posts have been on PBWiki, Scriblio, and Blogger.

A great idea, Rex. Keep up the good work!

From Stray Questions for Douglas Coupland, in the New York Times Papercuts blog:

“Without hesitation the Web is a blessing, but you know what I miss? Reference librarians. I used to live in the reference library but it’s now been over a year since I’ve visited one. They must be doing a lot of sudoku puzzles at their desks these days.”

Check out the comments from librarians, and a response from ol’ Doug himself, looks like.

As noted on Slaw, Google’s introduced “teleportation” - the poor man’s site: syntax shortcut.

Best of all, it works for the Government of BC website, which is notoriously hard to search using its own site search engine.

Just type “gov bc” into Google and you’ll see the little site search box below the first hit’s URL, intro text, and “refine your search” options. You get the same results whether you use the teleportation box or just do a straight up site: syntax search with a search term.

If you have a moment, please answer the following question in the latest LTAIG Snapshot Survey:

Throughout our training and careers, library staff cultivate many additional skills beyond traditional ones such as cataloguing, conducting reference interviews, and online searching. These transferable skills can be extremely useful in our personal lives, as well as in future jobs or volunteer positions.

What skill (library-related or otherwise) have you developed through education or work experience that you are most proud of and/or find most valuable?

Look for your answer in the next issue of LTAIG News!