Updates from Julie's Intranet

Northwestern study reveals a different kind of digital divide

2008-06-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

The survey of 1,060 freshmen revealed that while 61% of both men and women engaged in creative endeavors offline, more men shared their work online (2/3 of men vs. 1/2 of women).

Microsoft no longer a player in ebooks

2008-05-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

"...we are ending the Live Search Books and Live Search Academic projects ... both sites will be taken down next week." Wow! I didn't see this coming!

University of Houston Study: Hybrid Courses More Effective for Students

2008-04-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

In an examination of 658 final grades over 6 semesters, Professor Brian McFarlin discovered that students in hybrid classes scored on average an entire letter grade higher their counterparts in traditional face-to-face classes.

Georgia State sued over e-reserves

2008-04-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is huge. The suit was filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and SAGE Publications, with support from the Association of American Publishers. No statement has been issued by Georgia State yet. Also on NYT and Chronicle.com.

I See Dead People['s Books]

2008-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Compare your reading tastes to those of famous dead people, such as Benjamin Franklin, Rembrandt, Marie Antoinette, Charles Darwin, John Muir, or Tupac Shakur. (Via SLJ.)

Check out new books on del.icio.us

2008-04-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hi folks, instead of using LibraryThing for new books notifications, I'm going to use del.icio.us instead. The main reason is because the links in the RSS feeds created by LibraryThing take you to Amazon or the Library of Congress. That implies you should buy the book or go to Washington DC, which is not what I'm saying at all.

Del.icio.us doesn't look as nice -- for one, it doesn't have book jackets -- but the links in the RSS feeds go where I want them to: directly to the library catalog, where you can find out whether the book you want is checked in/out or online.

I'm using the following tags: CIS for Computer Information Systems, CS for Computer Science, and JUV for the Juvenile Collection.

If you use an RSS reader, be sure to click on the orange RSS button on each page that you want to track.

If you don't use an RSS reader and you just want to bookmark the page, that will work too. The titles are arranged chronologically, starting with the most recently added.

Bear with me as it's going to take me a little while to add all the titles I've ordered this year. Hopefully this will become a useful tool for all of you.

Originally posted 2/26/08

I'm trying something new; I'm sharing all the titles I'm selecting during 2007-08 using my LibraryThing account. Hopefully this will make it easier for interested readers to find them.

If you are only interested in the CIS titles, go here. If you are only interested in the CS titles, go here. Notice that you can also track updates to these pages using an RSS reader by clicking on the orange XML icon on those pages.

I will start adding Juvenile titles soon!

Fire Vox is...

2008-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

...an open source, freely available talking browser extension for the Firefox web browser. Think of it as a screen reader that is designed especially for Firefox. Very cool!

David Tempest of Elsevier reveals how people are gaming the system

2008-03-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

Call me naive, but I found this interview positively titillating! Researchers and publishers trying to manipulate bibliometrics such as impact factor in their own favor? How scandalous!

(Via Thomson Scientific, maker of Web of Science and other products.)

Will libraries be extinct by 2019? Slashdot readers respond

2008-03-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

I blogged some choice quotes over on julieshen.com.

Alternatives to Facebook and Myspace for scientists

2008-03-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

SciTechNet tracks social networking services in the sciences and technology. Recent links include MyExperiment.org and 2collab.com.

Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education and Museums Conference

2008-03-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

I attended a conference in Second Life today. Click on the title link to read about the experience. Also, check out my pictures!

30 Benefits of Ebooks

2008-03-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

March 2 to March 8 is Read An Ebook Week! Read an ebook today! (Library password or VPN connection required off campus.)

The Librarian Song

2008-03-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

She loved to show me where to go
When there were things I needed to know.
First she would say, "Joe, be clear
About just what you're searching for."
So I narrowed my scope
and together off we would go
And first she'd show it to me
Then she would do it with me
Then she'd smile so happily
When I could do it for myself
She's the interactive kind
When there are things I need to find
Oh my librarian, she is so fine.
She's one part techno whiz,
Politically she fights censorship.
In a world of wikis and blogs
She keeps a running dialog...

ROFL!!!

Pubmed search via new Facebook apps (via Gerry Mckiernan)

2008-03-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you're a Facebook member, add Pubface and/or Pubmed Search to your profile!

Of course, if you're a Cal Poly student, faculty, or staff, you really should take advantage of our SFX-enabled subscription to Medline instead. (Library password or VPN connection required off campus.)

Free blogs for Educators at edublogs.org

2008-02-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

Just learned about this website. Its features include NO advertising and the ability to embed video and create podcasts.

Univ of Washington computer science students exploring social and technological implications of RFID

2008-02-27T09:32:00.001-08:00

Project leader Magda Balazinska, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering, says, "Our goal is to ask what benefits can we get out of this technology and how can we protect people's privacy at the same time," Balazinska said. "We want to get a handle on the issues that would crop up if these systems become a reality." What an extraordinary project! Can't wait to read the followups. (Via Wired via IEEE.)

Harvard faculty to put all articles in Open Access repository

2008-02-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

"This is a large and very important step," said computer science professor Stuart Shieber. "It should be a very powerful message to the academic community that we want and should have more control over how our work is used and disseminated." The main reason given for this move to support open access is the ever-rising prices of journals.

New Books in the Library!

2008-01-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

I've updated my new titles page with the books I've ordered so far during 2007-08. Documents are in Word format. Many of the titles I ordered for Computer Science and Computer Information Systems are ebooks. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Meebo Firefox Add-on

2008-01-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

If you've seen me online more often lately, it's thanks in large part to this neat gizmo.

ARTstor is on Facebook

2008-01-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

Not much there yet. I'm waiting to see if they add anything interesting. Meanwhile, check out ARTstor via the library's databases page (library password required if you're off campus).

Library Outreach via Facebook?

2008-01-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Librarians at the University of Michigan recently conducted a survey on how users view their website and online tools. Of 330 respondents, 62% were undergraduate or graduate students. In response to the question, "[i]f you could contact a librarian via Facebook or MySpace for help with your research, would you?" an overall 23% answered yes or maybe. Curiously, graduate/Ph.D. students had a lower than average percentage of 20% whereas undergraduates had a higher than average percentage of 34%. (Via Gerry McKiernan.)

Educators using comics to engage learners

2008-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

Proponents say comics can make reading less intimidating for those who are struggling. Working with Diamond Comic Distributors and Disney Publishing Worldwide, a pilot program in Maryland has received positive feedback from teachers and students.

WorldCat Facebook App

2008-01-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

If you're in Facebook, try this app to search for books in libraries near you. I believe it pulls address information from your profile. If not, just enter zip code 91768 to find books in the Cal Poly Pomona University Library and at libraries near by.

(Caveat emptor! WorldCat does not search every library! For example, it does not search the Los Angeles County library system.)

EDIT (1/23/08): My bad, WorldCAT does search the Los Angeles County library system, but it doesn't list each library separately, so if you don't live near Downey, you probably won't see LA County listed in the first page of your results.

Pew Internet: Libraries Report

2007-12-31T22:38:00.000-08:00

Key findings include

53% of Americans visited a library the past year
40% of Gen Y respondents said they would use libraries if they needed help finding information vs. only 20% of those above age 30

Firefox and IE head to head among college students

2007-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

According to a survey by Eduventures, Firefox and IE each take 45 percent of the market share, with Safari, Netscape, Opera, and the miscellaneous Other category taking up the remaining 10 percent.

My default browser is Firefox, but I've noticed some web apps seem to work better in IE, including some library databases.