Until I became a librarian, I never gave much thought to web browsers. In the past I used Safari when working on a Mac, Chrome on my Android tablet, and showed the typical disdain for Internet Explorer. If I ever used Firefox it was purely coincidental, but now it’s my first choice and here’s why. This month Mozilla launched Firefox 34 and announced a deal to make Yahoo their default search engine. I wasn’t alone in wondering if that move would be bad for business (if you’re like me, you avoid Yahoo like the plague). Mozilla also raised some eyebrows by asking for donations on their home page this year. I switched to Firefox a few months ago, prior to all the commotion, when I came across Mozilla’s X-Ray Goggles, an add-on that allows you to view how a webpage is constructed (the Denver Public Library has a great project…
Category: General information
Don’t Miss the OpenStreetMaps Webinar
Before Hackforge’s Mita Williams Masters session on new spaces at the ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting, you can attend her next LITA webinar, part of the “Re-drawing the Map”–a webinar series: OpenStreetMaps: Trust the map that anyone can change Tuesday December 9, 2014 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central Time Instructor: Mita Williams Register for this webinar Ever had a map send you the wrong way and wished you could change it? Learn how to add your local knowledge to the “Wikipedia of Maps.” It’s been said that “the map is not the territory”. But when when the most of the world’s websites and mobile apps rely on maps from private corporations who selectively show you places based on who you are (and who pays for the privilege), perhaps we should cede that territory for higher ground. It’s counter-intuitive to trust a map that anyone can edit, but OpenStreetMap is already…
LITA Updates, December 2014
This is one of our periodic messages sent to all LITA members. This update includes items as follows: 2015 Election Slate January Workshops in Chicago Online Learning Opportunities 2015 LITA Forum Call for Proposals Emerging Leaders LITA Blog Transformation 2015 Election Slate The Nominating Committee recommended the slate of candidates, and, the Board approved the slate for the spring 2015 election as follows: President: Nancy Colyar and Aimee Fifarek. Directors-at-Large: Frank Cervone, Martin Kalfatovic, Susan Sharpless Smith, and, Ken Varnum. The ballot will indicate that you may vote for two Directors-at-Large. The Board thanks the Nominating Committee: Karen G. Schneider, chair, and, Adriene Lim, Pat Ensor, and, Chris Evjy, members, for their work in developing this slate. The Board thanks each candidate for their dedication to LITA. Please note the corrected filing date: Individuals who are not selected by the Nominating Committee may run for office by petition. You may file…
Tell your LITA story
Building on ALA Midwinter 2014’s #becauseLITA initiative, members of LITA’s membership development committee want to pull together a short video that captures your response to one of the following prompts: What was your best LITA moment? How has LITA made your life awesome? What interests you most about LITA? That means we want YOU to participate! Yes, I know – sounds like a lot of pressure to talk on camera, but it’s really not that bad. Plus you’ll get everlasting appreciation from the LITA crew for helping out! In particular, we are looking to hear the perspectives of LITA members who are students, new professionals and/or new to LITA, and longstanding LITA members. Specifics Length can be as brief as a Vine (6 seconds) up to two minutes, though be warned we may need to only use a portion of what you submit. Please keep it short and sweet! Include…
5 Tech Tools to be Thankful For
In honor of Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks for 5 tech tools that make life as a librarian much easier. Google Drive On any given day I work on at least 6 different computers and tablets. That means I need instant access to my documents wherever I go and without cloud storage I’d be lost. While there are plenty of other free file hosting services, I like Drive the most because it offers 15GB of free storage and it’s incredibly easy to use. When I’m working with patrons who already have a Gmail account, setting up Drive is just a click away. Libib I dabbled in Goodreads for a bit, but I must say, Libib has won me over. Libib lets you catalog your personal library and share your favorite media with others. While it doesn’t handle images quite as well as Goodreads, I much prefer Libib’s sleek and…
Tech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself – Vol. 3
The holidays are upon us, LITA Blog readers. As we all wind down end of year tasks and prepare for our own celebrations, this penultimate installment of Tech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself for 2014 is my way of saying thanks. Thanksgiving is maybe my favorite holiday- I love the way in which it is casual, hangout-focused, and food-intensive- but I also love the tone of gratitude that colors it. So, let me express how grateful I am for all of you, reading this blog and supporting our efforts. Thank you for being there. For the uninitiated, Tech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself (TYBYWY) is a monthly selection of free webinars, classes, and other education opportunities for the aspiring technologist and the total newbie alike. The Monthly MOOC If, like so many of us, you’re intrigued by use of gamification in content design and delivery, Coursera’s perennially popular MOOC on…
Why Learn Unix? My Two Cents
There’s an conversation shaping up on the Code4Lib email list with the title “Why Learn Unix?”, and this is a wonderful question to ask. A lot of technical library jobs are asking for UNIX experience and as a result a lot of library schools are injecting bits and pieces of it into their courses, but without a proper understanding of the why of Unix, the how might just go in one ear and out the other. When I was learning about Unix in library school, it was in the context of an introductory course to library IT. I needed no convincing, I fell in love almost immediately and cemented my future as a command line junkie. Others in the course were not so easily impressed, and never received a satisfactory answer to the question of “Why Learn Unix?” other than a terse “Because It’s Required”. Without a solid understanding of…
IA & UX Meet Library Technology
The class I enjoy the most this semester at Indiana University is Information Architecture. It is a class where theory and practical application are blended so that we can create something tangible, but also understand the approaches – my favorite kind! As usability.gov defines it, Information Architecture (IA) “focuses on organizing, structuring, and labeling content in an effective and sustainable way.” While the class doesn’t necessarily focus on Library Science since it is offered through the Information Science courses, this concept may sound a bit familiar to those working in a library. In the class, we have chosen a small website we believe could benefit from restructuring. Some students chose public library websites, and others websites from the private sector. Regardless of each website’s purpose, the process of restructuring is the same. The emphasis is placed on usability and user experience (UX), which the ALA Reference and User Services Association defines as “employing user…
Game Night at LITA Forum
Are you attending the 2014 LITA Forum in Albuquerque? Like board games? If so, come to the LITA Game Night! Thursday, November 6, 2014 8:00 – 11:00 pm Hotel Albuquerque, Room Alvarado C Games that people are bringing: King of Tokyo Cheaty Mages Cards Against Humanity One Night Ultimate Werewolf Star Fluxx Love Letter Seven Dragons Pandemic Coup Avalon Bang!: The Dice Game Carcassonne Uno Gloom Monty Python Fluxx and probably more… Hope you can come!
Come Map with Us! LITA Education Webinar Series
Join LITA Education and instructors Mita Williams and Cecily Walker in “Re-drawing the Map”–a webinar series! Register for a single webinar or all three at a discounted rate! Can’t make all the dates but still want to join in? Registered participants will have access to the recorded webinars. Full details Web Mapping: moving from maps on the web to maps of the web Tuesday Nov. 18, 2014 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central Time Instructor: Mita Williams Register for this webinar Get an introduction to web mapping tools and learn about the stories they can help you to tell! OpenStreetMaps: Trust the map that anyone can change Tuesday December 9, 2014, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central Time Instructor: Mita Williams Register for this webinar Ever had a map send you the wrong way and wished you could change it? Learn how to add your local knowledge to the “Wikipedia…