tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77423856021283895182024-03-12T20:03:45.939-07:00Briggs BlogAn academic librarian's diary of the 23 Things program.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-43833714291328178462009-06-19T10:13:00.001-07:002009-06-19T10:13:37.710-07:00Thing 46Joined WebJunction.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-72015626562940195812009-06-19T10:05:00.000-07:002009-06-19T10:13:12.807-07:00Thing 45Didn't know it was called that. Not to be confused with cloud tags or results. UMM uses NetFiles for back-upPeter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-70133991253233026292009-06-19T10:03:00.001-07:002009-06-19T10:03:20.389-07:00Thing 44Some useful tools I hadn't heard of.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-9710764235207526522009-06-19T09:58:00.001-07:002009-06-19T09:58:56.962-07:00Thing 43Hulu is cool. I like using it.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-34061055168914641422009-06-19T09:56:00.000-07:002009-06-19T09:57:01.629-07:00Thing 42Alternatives to NPR and MPR!Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-37634804540647359992009-06-19T09:41:00.000-07:002009-06-19T09:42:23.776-07:00Thing 41Digsby and Lifestream could be invaluable at organizing all our social tools.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-57179406452862187072009-06-19T09:36:00.001-07:002009-06-19T09:36:52.526-07:00Thing 40More mashups. More friviolity.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-75189376119030082612009-06-19T09:22:00.000-07:002009-06-19T09:23:54.202-07:00Thing 39I made a photo album on Snapfish. Scrapbooking online is the next wave.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-69121591315753009682009-06-19T09:20:00.001-07:002009-06-19T09:21:16.810-07:00Thing 38Looking forward to playing around with screencasting using one of the free tools. I'll need a mic which I can use for podasting too. I wonder which of the free screencasting tools allows you to edit?Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-76040610274582407262009-06-19T08:54:00.001-07:002009-06-19T08:55:38.546-07:00Thing 37I have a Flickr account and a Snapfish account. I also use Phixr for fast and dirty photo fixing.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-34348547616743423642009-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:002009-06-19T08:53:06.529-07:00Thing 36So much fun so little time.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-8123323365882254592009-06-19T06:54:00.000-07:002009-06-19T08:49:02.655-07:00Thing 35Great articles and very interesting book review/reading/cataloging sites. As always, the sheer number of social book sites is a bit overwhelming, but it's good to be aware of them. Perhaps when the majority of reading is online (Kindle, etc) we can still have virtual bookshelves to show off.<br /><br />Personally, I feel that the Internet does provide a more superficial and scattered experience that robs concentration even as it assists struggling readers and gives a more varied opinion and layered media stimulis.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-49152922690314826102009-06-18T08:55:00.000-07:002009-06-18T08:58:23.221-07:00Thing 34Really cool articles on the future of reference. Concerning Internet answer sites...libraries have always been behind the curve and fairly isolated. Only recently have they really branched out in a coordinated effort. Wouldn't it be cool if WorldCat offered a reference service with participation from subscribing libraries? We have AskMN, why not AskALibrarian?Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-24329923260021769702009-06-18T08:42:00.000-07:002009-06-18T08:43:23.306-07:00Thing 33More user feedback good. Need a filter, however.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-24498195864771659312009-06-18T08:41:00.001-07:002009-06-18T08:41:50.773-07:00Thing 32Would like to create a Google Map for independent bookstores someday.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-65468151698831688572009-06-18T08:26:00.000-07:002009-06-18T08:27:32.632-07:00Thing 31Surprisingly, a few interesting things about Twitter. The possible RSS applications were new and I downloaded Twhirl.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-76804990059210271002009-06-17T08:22:00.000-07:002009-06-17T08:27:18.400-07:00Thing 30I really appreciate the feed filters as well as the Delicious search options. Unfortunately, I rarely search Delicious, using it simply as a online bookmark site instead. I do have rss feeds, and look at them occasionally, but I can't think of terms that would be ideal for either exclusion or inclusion. It works better for me to scan and review manually.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-35590416463134326552009-06-17T07:50:00.000-07:002009-06-17T08:11:40.150-07:00Thing 29Google Tools is a lot like a college student who graduates with 6 majors and then has no idea what to do. As cool as some of the ideas are I really wish Google would work on improving their admittedly good search engine instead of all these alpha/beta experimental thingees that don't always work the best. For every GoogleEarth there's a 1-800-GOOG-411. Great in theory (free info look-up service) but not so great in practice. I tried it, and it took me several times for the automated service to understand my city and state correctly. <br /><br />Google Scholar is another bold venture that was begun and then just quietly languishes. How many years will it be in beta? Perhaps the best thing that could happen to Google is Bing, a pretty good search engine in its own right. Privacy concerns notwithstanding, good may not be good enough sooner than Google thinks.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-42300083873065876102009-06-16T13:21:00.001-07:002009-06-16T13:25:30.030-07:00Thing 28The trouble with iGoogle and the other customizable portal sites is that you can't always put EVERYTHING in them. Case in point. I have a university email and calendar that I can't drop and drop into iGoogle. These are probably the two most important tools I have on a daily basis. So what do I have in iGoogle? Lots of fun gadgets like Nature Pictures, clock, weather, even some RSS feeds with a library perspective. Others that don't. Which means I rarely use it. The university has a portal that does have my email and calebdar, among other things, I can add other tools as well. Truth be known, I haven't used it much either. But the interface is getting better so that may change.<br /><br />So much of what we do is habit...Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-31331119792338810592009-06-15T09:48:00.000-07:002009-06-15T10:02:49.294-07:00Thing 27I've been trying (really I have) to discern true useful applications of Twitter for myself in a academic environment. At it's heart, Twitter is a really easy way to let individuals know what you're doing on a minute-by-minute basis either through the Web, IM or texting. For example: I just scratched my nose. That would be an awesome Twitter entry and well below the 140 character limit per post. One of the 23 Things videos explained that your friend wouldn't have to need to know that you're mowing the lawn, but then went on to say that others might like to follow what you're doing? My immediate reaction is why? Who has the time to post about trivial matters or read about them? To me, Twitter undermines concentration, focus and deep thinking and puts in its place scattered tidbits of gossip. Think of a bird, fluttering its wings and darting here and there. That's what Twitter does a thousand times over. <br /><br />I do see a use for it as another means of querying a certain group on a question or problem. Instead of inanely posting gibberish it could be used as a means to get answers. Twittering conferences, is fine I suppose, but wouldn't it be better to summarize the speaker and then blog about it? <br /><br />The reference applications of Twitter deserve further consideration. Right now, our online reference tools don't get that much use, but if our users start using Twitter then we need to be there as well. I've already begun discussions on setting up a library Twitter account for publicity purposes.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-33931212387889939322009-06-15T07:45:00.000-07:002009-06-15T08:54:47.167-07:00Thing 26I had already joined Ning, but I posted a query and also did a search, joining Ning for the NLLN region of which I'm a part. One thing I've noticed is that most of the conversations happening on these library Nings revolve around Ning itself, rather than some separate library question or issue. It's akin to sitting in a car and debating the merits or drawbacks of the vehicle in question instead of actually going someplace. <br /><br />I understand that Ning like many of the Web 2.0 social sites is quite new and there is bound to be discussion about it. I'm just hoping that the best sites will survive and we can move on to actually using them for professional communication and growth.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-33149657019630449882009-06-12T09:02:00.000-07:002009-06-12T09:15:35.159-07:00Thing 25Widgets, widgets, and more widgets. Oh yes, and some gadgets too!<br /><br />What time is it?<br /><script src="http://www.clocklink.com/embed.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">obj=new Object;obj.clockfile="0034-orange.swf";obj.TimeZone="CST";obj.width=120;obj.height=120;obj.wmode="transparent";showClock(obj);</script><br /><br />What's the meaning of life? (Search here)<br /><!-- BITTY BROWSER : WWW.BITTY.COM : {BEGIN} --><br /><script type="text/javascript"><br /><!--<br /><br />/* Bitty Browser tips & tricks: */<br />/* http://www.bitty.com/manual/ */<br /><br />bitty = {contents: [{<br />service: "bitty:browser",<br />title: "Bitty Browser",<br />width: "100%",<br />height: "400",<br />titlebar: {display: "on"},<br />buttonbar: {textlabels: "on"},<br />searchbar: {display: "on"},<br />homepage: {contents: [{}]}<br />}]};<br /><br />// --><br /></script><script src="http://b1.bitty.com/b2script/" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.bitty.com/">Bitty Browser</a> (JavaScript required)</noscript><br /><!-- BITTY BROWSER : WWW.BITTY.COM : {END} --><br /><br />Picture Perfect<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js"></script><script>if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('0effef02-c284-4f56-8cbe-5d2c6d115271');</script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/blinkx">Blinkx Video Wall</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><br /><br />Feed Me!<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js"></script><script>if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('b8944d85-2345-44a7-a20c-f9bd4f1e70dd');</script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/grazr">Grazr</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><br /><br />Library Land<br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js"></script><script>if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('10a371b6-bd6d-4e7d-aa4e-2dab265ba025');</script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/ilibrarian">iLibrarian</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript>Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-68717034798822033952009-06-11T08:22:00.000-07:002009-06-11T08:32:44.203-07:00Tennis TimeAvatar of Aces?<br /><br /><a href="http://avatars.yahoo.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/ewimages?enc=DP0N15BFScEY5Tyu3hgPbh61PH_1bpqgdw--&size=large&type=png" width="150" height="235" border="0" alt="Yahoo! Avatars"></a><br /><br><br />Okay, I'm no Roger Federer, but I like to play tennis whenever I can. Lately I've been hearing a lot of talk concerning who the best tennis player ever is. Blame The Fed. Since winning his 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open he's officially tied Pete Sampras. At only 27 years-old he has a good shot at beating it too. But is he the best? Hmm. I would suggest another possibility and the answer might just <a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/pbremer/libris/">surprise</a> you.Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-89137971851241207602009-06-11T08:04:00.001-07:002009-06-11T08:10:49.308-07:00Thing 24Well, it's good to be back. I added a gadget (a picture of me in Librarian on the Loose mode), edited my profile and changed the template design of the blog. Most of the students are gone for the summer and it's quiet. Real quiet. Lots of time to work on special projects, take webinars and blog a bit, but I always have a hard time transitioning from the hustle and bustle of the academic year to this more relaxed atmosphere. <br /><br />One of the things I miss is getting out of the librarian more as part of my Librarian on the Loose initiative. Basically, I take a laptop and set up a temporary reference desk somewhere on campus nearly every day. I bring a "quiz" that matches a monthly theme I pick and students who take it are automatically entered into a drawing for a nifty little prize. Along the way I make a pitch about Briggs Library reference services answer any research questions they might have. It's been a great way to meet and get to know students who don't come into the library very much. It also makes the library more approachable. <br /><br />All for now. Bring on Thing 25!Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7742385602128389518.post-55242743770954036062009-06-11T07:44:00.001-07:002009-06-11T07:46:21.688-07:00Thing 23I finally made it! Thanks for making this learning tool possible. I learned so much that I wouldn't have otherwise. Now on to More Things on a Stick...Peter Bremerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932906666866360348noreply@blogger.com0