Monday, July 31, 2006

Tourist Remover


Tourist Remover

This is cool. Have not tried it yet, but it seems like it works like my Canon camera software for splicing panorama photos together. Comparing two or more images and removing what is not in them all (or a majority) and leaving the common elements. Now if Canon would just add that functionality to its "zoombrowzer" software.

Wiley Introduces Six New Journals in 2007 with Complimentary Online Access


FROM WILEY INTERSCIENCE NEWSLETTER JULY 2006

Wiley is launching 6 new journals with complimentary online access during 2007.

* Asia Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering
* Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine
* Statistical Analysis and Data Mining
* Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
* Macromolecular Reaction Engineering*
* physica status solidi - Rapid Research Letters**


If you wish to opt-in to receive complimentary access to any of these journals contact your Account Manager or e-mail us at optinaccess@wiley.co.uk.

*Libraries who renew subscriptions to Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics and/or Macromolecular Materials and Engineering for 2007, automatically receive complimentary access to Macromolecular Reaction Engineering.

** Libraries who renew subscriptions to physica status solidi a and/or physica status solidi b for 2007 automatically receive complimentary access to physica status solidi - Rapid Research Letters.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Alaska Grizzly Bears, McNeil River Falls - Wildcam Grizzlies - National Geographic Magazine


Alaska Grizzly Bears, McNeil River Falls - Wildcam Grizzlies - National Geographic Magazine

This is a treat. I have checked in on they throughout the day and just a minute ago saw one catch a fish. Just like on TV. Wish I could go in person!!

You need to have realplayer (not my favourite) but the quality is good and there seems to be human intervention in the camera all day today, not just from 1-5 like is advertised.

There is also sound.

Well worth checking out.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Sobre o Livre -- access to free online journals


Sobre o Livre: "LivRe!

LivRe! is the portal developed by CNEN - Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear (Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission), through its CIN - Centro de Informações Nucleares (Nuclear Information Center), aiming to ease the identification and the access to free journals available on the Internet.

The Portal covers scientific journals, magazines, bulletins and newsletters.

Free access journals are spreaded over several categories:

* free access to all the issues and articles. Great part of the titles are included in this category;
* free access requiring mandatory registration;
* free access only during a pre-established period from the publishing on;
* free access only after a period following publishing;
* partial free access, that means, only part of the articles are available for free.

The following data are available for each title: time coverage, language, secondary sources indexing the title, if it is a peeer reviewed journal, optional comments and contents description, as supplied by the publisher.

Beyond displaying journals by initial letter of its title, searches can be done by title words and by subject field.

Searches can be refined selecting only peer-reviewed journals or only journals indexed by any secondary source.

Your collaboration by sending us comments or suggest"

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Wiki: the ultimate tool for online collaboration


July 13, 2006
Meredith G. Farkas, Distance Learning Librarian, Norwich University

This was a very good overview session on wikis. She went over what a wiki is, what a wiki is not, what they are good for, what they are not good for, how various libraries are using wikis and how to start your own.

Most of the first part I was familiar with, the what is and what for parts. It was interesting to know who is using them, however, what I wanted was the "how to get started with wikis" session.

After attending this session I have a better overview of the software available, but still don't know how to really set one up inside a corporate firewall environment. I have some access to the server, but the software you install yourself assumes knowledge and access I don't have. I suppose that information is good to have and I will have to deal with IT. I was hoping I could just download something to a folder in my library webserver folder and it would go.

I tried wikimedia and could not understand the installation instructions and finding the location and actual file do download was not as easy as I would have liked. I did find a simple download and one click install system and wondered why the others cannot be as easy to install. Projectforum gives you one zip file which self extracts, loads and goes. The install asked me almost nothing and it still works. It is not, however, free. I need something I can use to prove to management that wikis are a good thing and I have no budget for this. It is not really my job, but someone needs to do it.

I will keep trying. Perhaps I can talk an IT person to look at this with me. Here's hoping!!

This SirsiDynix seminar is available to view at anytime from their archive at: http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php


7 Things You Should Know About...


EDUCAUSE | ELI | 7 Things You Should Know About...: "The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's (ELI's) 7 Things You Should Know About... series provides concise information on emerging learning technologies and related practices. Each brief focuses on a single technology or practice and describes:

* What it is
* How it works
* Where it is going
* Why it matters to teaching and learning

Use ELI's 7 Things You Should Know About... briefs to:

* Enhance faculty development activities
* Open a dialogue with senior administrators about emerging technologies and their implications for your institution
* Stay up-to-date on emerging technologies

7 Things You Should Know About...pieces provide quick, no-jargon overviews of technologies and related practices that have demonstrated or may demonstrate positive learning impacts. Any time you need to explain a new learning technology or practice quickly and clearly, look for a 7 Things You Should Know About... brief from ELI."

... virtual worlds
... google jockeying
... remote instrumentation
... screencasting
... virtual meetings
... grid computing
... collaborative editing
... instant messaging
... augmented reality
... blogs
... video blogging
... wikis
... podcasting
... clickers
... social bookmarking
...

New feeds in my reader


I have recently found and added a couple of new blogs to my Bloglines subscriptions.


Laurie-the-Librarian http://dl1.yukoncollege.yk.ca/laprange/ a Reference Librarian at Yukon College Library

Michael Habib On Librarianship and the Information Sciences http://mchabib.blogspot.com/ a M.S.L.S. student at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

ISBN-13: Ready or Not, Here it Comes


ISBN-13: Ready or Not, Here it Comes
SLA Toronto Courier, Volume 43, Number 4, Summer 2006
Carolyne Sidey

triskaidekaphobia: an irrational fear of the number 13 (http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Triskaidekaphobia)

In the case of the ISBN change, this fear may not be entirely irrational if your Library Management System cannot handle the extra digits. But so far, I have found it makes some things much easier.

Why?
To make room. It is a similar situation to the 905/416 phone numbers in the Greater Toronto Area. One day they just ran out and everyone had to start dialing ten digits. It's the same with international standard book numbers and now the ISBN-10 is an ISBN-13.

When?
January 1, 2007
Publishers are using both numbers as an interim step.


Who?

Everyone who uses an ISBN - publishers, cataloguers, librarians, book stores, etc.

What?
The ISBN-13 is the same number as the European Article Number (EAN). EAN is the barcode number on the back of books, now known as the "International Article Number." This 13-digit number has been in use for over 20 years in the retail trade.

If you look closely at the ISBN-10 and the barcode number on the back of a book, you will see they are mostly the same. The ISBN-10 simply has a 978 in front of the first nine digits.

The 10th digit of an ISBN is the check digit. A new check digit is required for the ISBN-13.

All books will have 978 or 979 as their first three EAN/ISBN-13 numbers. The official standard for this is ISO 2108:2005. Any ISBN-13 with a 978 prefix can be converted into an ISBN-10, however, there is no ISBN-10 equivalent for a book with a 979 prefix.

What do you need to do?

* Read up on the situation. Understand the implications for your own processes.
* Check with your database / management system vendor to ensure that you will be ISBN-13 compliant. Most will be, and you will not be the only library asking.
* If you use EDI for ordering or claiming, verify with your book vendor that your new EDI files and their EDI files will be read properly after the implementation.
* Enjoy the fact that you can now simply wand in the barcode on the back of the book for an ISBN search.
* Locate and save locations of conversion utilities. You may need them.

Other Sources:

Are You Ready for ISBN-13?
http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/transition.asp

Are You Ready for ISBN-13?
http://www.bisg.org/isbn-13/

Frequently Asked Questions about the new ISBN standard
http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/iso/tc46sc9/isbn.htm

Get Ready for the New ISBN!
http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/ISBN.html

ISBN-13 for Dummies
http://www.bisg.org/isbn-13/for.dummies.html

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Gliffy -- online colaborative graphics/diagrams


This one is cool!!!

To use Gliffy (very much like Visio) you need to register (free) and it allows you to set up flowcharts, process diagrams, floor plans (my kitchen) etc.

So, what do you all think?? the green is where I want to put front loading washer and dryer. Any one think a washer and dryer in the kithchen is just too weird??


It was easy to do, but more template items would be nice. I had to draw the stove myself. I used a stretched dresser for cupboards and counters.

so, really, post a comment. Laundry in the kitchen anyone??

Tangled Bank


I don't know why I have not seen this before. I am constantly on the lookout for good science blogs.

Tangled Bank is self described as : "It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life and from use and disuse: a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms."

It is a "carnival" by another name :)

The Tangled Bank

They are the newest addition to my BlogLines feeds.

Their rss feed is at http://tangledbank.net/index/tb/rss_2.0/