#16 Technorati and blog tagging

One of the tasks we were to try on Technorati was to try searching for the term "Learning 2.0" on the three different search options there. The three are "Blog posts", "Tags" and "Blog directory". When I did the search, the first two rounds were different, but not significantly so. The third, "Blog directory" gave quite different results.
Looking around the site elsewhere, the tagging idea seemed good, but there was a lot of clicking on links to be done in order to get anywhere. It seemed as if I were looking down the wrong end of a telescope sometimes! Overall though this idea seems sound, though, as someone who actually likes and uses the LC subject headings, I would rather keep both than simply dump the "stuffy old LC terms" and have library patrons tag our records for us.

#15. Tagging

Delicious was very handy, though I only got a small taste of what it had to offer. Regarding the comments from people who had tagged particular sites--I didn't see 'em. However, I did click on some of the tags that acted as links to other lists, and this was interesting. I looked at several Top 50,or 10, etc. -type lists, and these were good. I found one from Paste, a magazine I like but that I only read when I'm at my in-laws house, since my brother-in-law gets it.

#14 Best of Web 2.0

For this assignment, I chose from the Books category and then looked at lulu.com. This is in the used-to-be-known-as "vanity press" listing, and in some ways it appears things haven't changed. I say that because many of the books there looked quite dubious. In the religion area, for example, there were a number of books for the budding Satanist on your Christmas (or Samhain, or whatever) list--all kinds of wonderful titles that would last about two days on a library shelf before it disappeared--stolen either by said Satanist teenager or somehow disposed of by an enraged library patron who doesn't like to see his or her money spent on such books. (I think the latter more often "hide" them, but I'm sure more extreme measures have been taken too...)
OK, there are some good titles too--it's just that the Satanic ones were the first I saw. What got my interest more was the service for the reprinting of old (copyright free) books. This seemed genuinely worthwhile, and could be useful both for libraries who might own a rare OP book that they want to keep on their shelf, or even for individuals who want to reintroduce a title they love. For the latter, I was thinking it's time to reissue that wonderful, late career Huysmans' book "The Crowds of Lourdes", which I read a couple years ago. My copy, purchased online, was a rare find then (2004?) and even rarer now. It's only available in hundred dollar print-on-demand versions through Bookfinder. But who knows how many copies I'd sell?

#13: Zoho (Online productivity)

This is a very useful site. It'd be especially helpful for anyone--like myself--who has written a document, saved it to a floppy or flash drive, but then forgotten the drive when it needed to be edited or printed. Since internet access is so ubiquitous nowadays, this sort of retrieval could be easily done. What's also interesting is that this is akin to the "Go to my PC" service I hear advertised on the radio, except that this is free.

Here's part of the first document I created. Fortunately it's also seasonally appropriate:

[II.]

Friday after thanksgiving

Let the madness begin!

Whoever heard of Advent

when the goal is so slim?

(See accompanying sale papers)

#12 Customized Search Engines

This assignment involved creating a Rollyo account. I put in seven or eight sites that I read a lot, and tried a couple different searches. The inclusion of Amazon.com meant that a LOT of the results I got back were from that site. So although this meant wading through a glut of book titles (and some other random, non-book items--electronic appliances found using "John Henry Newman"??) it was also very helpful at times. For instance, today I did a search using the term "conciliarism" (it was my bedtime reading last night, before my cold got the best of me). This gave me some good results, since not only were there (not surprisingly) a number of entries from First Things magazine but also a book by Nicholas of Cusa, whom I read about last night, that showed up on Amazon. Aha! Another book I want for Christmas.
I will have to tweak my website list a bit more to get a broader set of results, and when I get to that I will try it again. Overall, I think Rollyo is a very helpful search engine.
http://rollyo.com/davids/librariangr/

Library Thing: #11

I already knew about LT since it was mentioned in our Shelf Awareness daily e-mail we get here. But the assignment got me to start an account, which was good. However, I don't know if I'll continue with it or not--not because I don't have lots of books to catalog, but because I already have a much lower-tech version of LT at home. This would be a certain metal file box that I've been working on for about 7 or 8 years now, and that works like a traditional card catalog, though with less information than you'd find in the library. These cards have only very essential information--a title, an author, sometimes a subject heading (if it's not an easily recalled title) and then in one corner is a letter. This letter refers to a box, which is one of many in my attic (I'm close to "Z" now, actually). I've found that this system is quite reliable, and, for my purposes, efficient. Of course it's still no substitute for actually going through the boxes when it comes time to decide what to get rid of. This is something I did recently when looking for Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer", which I was sure I owned, despite there not being a card in the file for said book. I never did find the Percy, but in the process I came across a number of titles that were certainly ready to be "withdrawn".
Getting back to LT though. I think it does have one advantage: if I was in another town and was considering buying a book, I could always get online and check my collection--but first I have to get the whole collection on Library Thing! Given my current time constraints, it's going to be a long time....
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/shawd63

10. Web 2.0 and Libraries

I read two of the pieces posted for #10, the first by Anderson and the second by Stephens. They both have something in common, a trait I believe isn't quite as common for those of us who work in public libraries. That trait is one of "techiness" (if I may use such a term), and is driven by a very narrow vision of how the public uses public libraries. Put another way, they both seem to be rather ignorant of the fact that a good-sized percentage of library patrons are really not that much into technology. Believe it or not, we still have people who come into my library and ask whether we still have card catalogs! (Yes, the card and drawer kind.) These are people mostly older than 35, some, if not many, who have been busy doing other things in their life than worrying about what's up with Windows Explorer 5.1 or what their neighbor's blog is gossiping about. They want books, or maybe an ocassional movie (might still still be using a VCR even--gasp!). They like the fact that we can look things up for them, because they don't want to learn how to use a computer unless they absolutely have to. So when Anderson talks about the "user's preferred environment" being the internet, he's showing the bubble he lives in. The bubble other people live in has very little to do with the internet. Now, admittedly, the more simplified the OPAC is, the more likely some of those people will be to use it. But that's only true for some of them. Stephens shows the same kind of bubble when he blithely talks about librarians IMing--as if the majority of pulic library patrons really want to communicate that way, instead of a portion of the teenage population. I'll give Stephens credit for saying this though, that "honest human conversations need to take place...in physical space..." He gets it I think!

#9 Library Blogs

I tried all the RSS and blog search sites recommended on the exercise page. Using the name of one of my favorite writers, J.-K. Huysmans, I typed in the word "Huysmans" to see what came up. Not many results--big surprise--though one blogger had written several entries about JKH, one in which he was discussing him in the context of Philip Roth's new novel. I decided to leave a comment, since it was such a pleasant surprise to find someone else in the world actually likes this writer. Yes, loving the work of an obscure, 19th century, French novelist whose works sometimes act as much as a bibliography for medieval mystics as they do for any sort of drama can have its drawbacks, but at least in this case I found one other person! There is hope!

Of the sites suggested, I do want to note that Topix had the interesting feature of noticing that I was searching from Grand Rapids (not sure how it knew that--IP address maybe?), so that, for instance, the website for Channel 13-TV came up somewhere on the page. I did not notice such a feature on the other ones.

RSS feeds: #8

I have now posted my ten sites that had the RSS feeds option. Since I have not really started using it yet, I will reserve full judgement at this point, but will say this: it strikes me as a good idea, but is not much different than a fancy way of bookmarking websites like most people having been doing for a long time. I suppose if a person had many MANY blogs, etc., to check every day, this would be great; but I'm not one of those people. I have a handful of sites that I read every day--standfirminfaith, the New York Times (I've been getting their headlines e-mailed to me for years now), Amazon and maybe Channel 13 to get the weather. Also a few other blogs that are linked at Stand Firm, but that's it. The rest of my time is spent--if it's spent reading--with books.

#7: Image generator (Part two)

I couldn't quite figure out how to add text to my first image generator entry, so I'm doing it this way instead. The entry below has my original Bob Dylan message--since I'm a big fan, the words are best understood by those who have watched Bob's career take its many twist and turns. (I also happen to be one of those fans who very much like the "Christian-era" Bob albums, ones that probably never get played on the radio any more, like "Saved" and "Shot of Love".)
Here's the link to the site: http://www.dylanmessaging.com/create

#7: Image generators

Assignment #6: Mash-ups

This one was interesting, but some parts were hard to navigate. The photo collager was fun, but, as someone else said, somewhat (or really) useless. But then, this could be said for a lot of what we call art. I did a search for "altars" and got a wide range of results--many of them appeared to be created for a pagan ceremony, while others were beautiful Gothic or Baroque altars from American and European churches. The photos were of very good quality in terms of detail, lighting, etc.
The second thing I tried was Montagr, which didn't appear to be working correctly. I did a search for "books" and the screen said there were 500 or so results but I was only able to see a couple of them. Where the rest were hiding I have no idea.

What made you want to read that?

My tastes are certainly eclectic. Anyone who knows me would agree with that, though there are certain topics I read nothing of--sports, for instance. What's exciting is coming across titles you had no knowledge of until the moment you find them at some sale or on a shelf at the library. I think there are a number of factors that draw people to a particular book, and the following is one example--I'll post more later.
When I was in high school--a small school in rural Michigan--the library there was in many ways the best in town, since it actually carried titles that would never have survived at the public library. I don't know if the latter carried a copy of Faulkner's "Light in August", but it was at the high school that I came across this book. I'm sure I barely knew who this writer was when I found it there, but the particular edition there undoubtedly had something to do with pulling me in. Sometime after Faulkner got the Nobel Prize his early and important works were reprinted in lovely re-issues by Random House, but these editions came with the assumption that readers were already astute enough to know what these books were about, or that at the least they shouldn't worry about such things since, after all, it's William Faulkner. Hence the inside flap for "Light" had absolutely no description of the plot, other than something to the effect that it was "Faulkner's seventh novel..." and was published in 1932. This intrigued me: what was it about? At that time I read a lot of science fiction, but this was probably not that. And what did the title mean? Sure there's light in August, just like there is the rest of the year. There was nothing to do but go to the first page and begin reading. A young woman is walking along the road....
That beginning was more than enough to suck me in, but I must admit it took me a long time--like about two years--to actually get to the end. I think the issue was simply that I had never read anything like this book, and so, not being quite up to snuff, I had to put it down for awhile before I could finish it, at which point I was in college. What I want to emphasize here is how it wasn't the content of the book but rather its physical quality--mysterious, "literary", before-my-time--that did it. It was only much later that I fully understood how great the book really was. If someone had said to me in 12th grade, "Would you like to read a book set in the South, about a white man obsessed with possibly having black blood, and these crazy characters in the town where he lives?", I would've been very uninterested. Please, give me Bradbury or Asimov instead.
This is the heart of browsing, and it has nothing to do with teachers or taste, but rather simple curiosity.

Introductory Thoughts

Thing #3. This is the first post to indicate my start of the "23 Things" training program for Kent District Library. First a note about the blog title. This seems to be a good description of who I am, among many other facets of my personality. Among my many normal dreams (and others that can't be mentioned here that only get put down, if at all, in a personal journal) I have a recurring one about being somewhere and coming upon a stash, a cache, or a box of books. This is obviously part of the "wish-fulfilling" process that dreams do for us, and for me the dream of digging through some potentially exciting and unknown collection is one that goes very very deep. Fortunately though this activity is not just limited to the nocturnal, eyes-shut variety. Since I work at a public library that takes donations to (mostly) sell, I get to do a lot of digging. It's like seeing a random sampling of the history of recent American publishing, all in the space of five boxes. Just yesterday I came across a copy of a book a friend also owns--a great oldie called "Handbook of Nature Study", originally published in 1911 but, having gone through at least 24 editions, is obviously a work of some value. But that's enough for now. I am on work time after all.
OK, a few thoughts about the challenges of lifelong learning (#3 on the 23 Things) . To begin with, the stuff was pretty basic; I actually skipped some parts. But it was nevertheless somewhat useful. I think my biggest problem with learning is not the desire, but the distraction or even dissolution of that desire. Put another way, I have so many interests, that at times it can be hard to get focused on one thing and stick with it to the degree that a decent amount of skill is acquired. Secondly, I'd say that if something is required of me, but I don't have that desire, it's harder to take it seriously and get it done. This would explain why my grades in school were all over the map!
So, on to Thing #4. I can easily say that the "thing" I'm most excited about is Library Thing, which is a site I'm already familiar with, having heard about it from a daily e-mail/newsletter we get here that covers libraries and bookstores. But I must confess that I have quite a soft spot for a metal card file box I have at home that currently has a couple hundred cards in it, all of which enable me to find my books which are in boxes in my attic. I started this project about ten years ago, when I was doing some cataloging at my last library job. And though Library Thing strikes me as very neat, I will not be throwing out my cards anytime soon. They're just too easy to use. I will admit though that having remote access to my list would at times be handy....

Flickr versus Photobucket

This is for assignment #5. I first looked at Flickr, then Photobucket (hereafter referred to as F. and P.). F. was certainly more interesting from a graphic point of view--much nicer to look at. Especially helpful was the short "guided tour" they offered that pretty much laid out everything they offered. I used this and then, since I'm interested in maps and geography, tried the map option. This was mostly good, though sometimes hard to operate the Zoom option. Many of the photos--I'm saying this as someone who likes photography a lot, especially the older kind--struck me as OK, but not great. But I realize that's only part of what the site is all about. Obviously sharing family/friend pictures is a big part of it.
P. was less appealing graphically, and did not have a guided tour, which was unfortunate. I did a search on the image/video option and found some things, but nothing great. Again though I'm looking at it from an artist's point of view. I think when it comes to the personal sharing part it's quite similar.

Zodiac

I finished watching the David Fincher film "Zodiac" last night. Despite his status as something of a cult director, I had not yet seen anything by him. And even with this work, I was somewhat hesitant, since the combination of serial killers and movies is often one that means lots of blood. My tolerance for such things is much higher than that of my wife's (which is almost nil), but it's enough to keep me away from many such films. But I was wrong to think this was going to be a gore-fest. With the exception of about three minutes' worth of rather nasty killing (of both the gun and knife variety), this was an incredibly atmospheric, suspenseful and satisfying work which delivered its pleasure mostly through the dialogue of men, both police and press, seeking the identity of a man who takes great relish in keeping them guessing. It also has a great line about library books and libraries.

I've never been to California, but did come of age in the time (1969-1991) the movie covers. Needless to say, the way this film shows that era--mostly the seventies--is nothing short of gorgeous. There are few movies, and this is one of them, that makes you look at reality with new eyes after you've finished watching it. What is in some ways a film noir is also a sort of nostalgia piece for a time that, despite its many problems, actually looks simpler than our own. Now, I know this is a simplification, but it's so refreshing to see less technology, to not see people on cell phones every other minute (no, I don't own one) and to revel in the wonderfully decayed world of industrial and suburban San Francisco. (To be fair, it's not all decay, but it was quite prominent.)

The fact that library books play a role is great fun. Robert Graysmith (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is an amateur sleuth who already seems to own a copy of David Kahn's classic work "The Codebreakers" when Zodiac sends his first coded letter. The best scene in this regard comes in the second half, when Graysmith proudly tells a TV reporter that he broke the code with the help of "books from the library". Paul Avery, a sometime-friend from the newspaper where both men work, watches the broadcast resentfully from a bar while he takes hits of oxygen to stay alive. "F----ing library" he mutters. I've never quite heard resentment to the library expressed so succinctly and profanely at the same time. Also I think it's been quite awhile since I've seen a book that I also own shown so prominently in a movie.

Regarding the ending--no, I won't give much away here--this too was part of the pleasure the film delivered. I've thought for a number of years now that the way a movie (or a book, for that matter) concludes is hugely important to how much it stays with the viewer. I know this is not an original thought, but it does seem to get overlooked in all the hoopla about this or that actor, or the special effects, or something else. A case in point for me is the ending of Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (one of my favorite films). Linda, played by Linda Manz, has just gone through her purgatory on the farm of Sam Shepard, witnessing both beauty and destruction. She is then summarily sent to a girls' school from which she very quickly escapes. The last scene shows her and a friend skipping down some railroad tracks, destination unknown. How wonderfully open-ended! "Zodiac" does something like this in that there is no "final showdown" (so prominent today) between the killer and his pursuers--we learn the former's fate only at the credits-- just a long, knowing glare in the humble setting of an Ace Hardware Store.