How NYPL uses Foursquare and other social media

Hello bloggers!

I have abandoned my post in recent weeks while on leave, and notice that others have done likewise! It's a busy time of year for us all in the Library, but I feel it's time to check in and tell you about this interview (flick to page 8) that I came across in the Routledge newsletter with Johannes Nueur of the New York Public Library. He explains how NYPL has used low-cost social media to promote their libraries. While we might not have the same resources and personnel available to us, it's interesting to think about what could be done if we clunk our heads together, with the tools/resources available. Perhaps after the flurry of new students subsides. We could (as mentioned at last staff meeting) have a provisional meeting on Monday 17th Oct. to discuss what we've taken from the 23 Things Programme and decide how we want to take it forward, with a Library video/podcast/etc. I think it would be nice to see what everybody liked the most about the whole experience.

Illustration Corner - children reading

The last picture I had up was a bit dark and moody; I've decided to replace it with a more cheery image of a vintage children's book illustration. I found it nestled in a group of vintage children's book illustrations on Flickr here.
It does a good job of showing how thoroughly absorbing a good (or even mediocre) book can be when you're a soft and malleable childling. I cant wait to bombard my nieces and nephew with beautifully illustrated and cleverly written books!
There are some more beautiful examples of the genre in another Flickr set here.

Making books...then and now

Lots of intriguing little videos to show that the technology of making books has been evolving for centuries in this post: How a Book is Made: AD 400 vs. 1947 vs. 1961 vs. 2011 on BrainPickings.org.

Illustration Corner

Today's Illustration Corner is by Russian digital artist Sergey Ryzhov. Nice and sinister:) The image below is called Fishing. For more of his work see here.

Friday (sanctioned) Fun: Image Mosaic Generator

I couldn't quite bring myself to "smurf" myself, so I had a go at the Image mosaic generator. I used a beautiful photo of my niece Hannah giving one of her very first genuine (non-wind related) smiles, and to be honest I don't know if I like the end result...it's somewhat creepy compared to the original:

Have a great weekend all of y'all!

Library joke *adjusts spectacles

OH. MY. GOD. Becky, look at her book - Imgur

Google maps

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What in the heck did we do before google maps?! I don't know and I don't want to know.
What an amazing (when you think about it) facility to have at your fingertips. I tinkered around with the New York map and could instantly see the current state of the traffic, the public transport system overlaid over the map,cycle lanes, photos/videos of various spots, and something called 'Buzz' which links up to Twitter/flickr, etc. to tell/show you what's going on around New York. I clicked on the buzz around Coney Island and was linked to this lovely polaroid somebody took of the Wonder Wheel.The map will also link you to the relevant Wikipedia page.
Why New York?
Places like Brooklyn, Manhattan and Coney Island hold a fascination for me (and loads of other people!). I was in NY once with my parents and sister for a very humid, slightly touristy weekend, and didn't get to explore the dinky little record and book shops like I wanted to. It's my dream holiday and that's why I chose it as my map. I know I'm not alone with this, (Ann Lib maybe I'll see you in NY some day!)...sigh.
Below is one of the gorgeous kodachrome photos taken by Charles Weever Cushman in New York in the 1940's. His collection is held by Indiana University and documents America in it's golden age. You can see more of the NY ones on Flavorwire, or the whole astounding collection on the Cushman Photograph Collection site.

What a load of cloudwashing

The concept of cloud computing is quite simple on the surface and is already familiar to most of us through web-based services such as Google Docs and flickr. I came across a simple definition on Wikipedia:
"Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services...cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on Internet protocols, and it typically involves provisioning of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This may take the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if they were programs installed locally on their own computers."

Easy, right? But dont get too comfortable with that concept just yet, as the real question is how cloud computing will develop and be utilised - the more complex side of the coin involves application of the model to the future of computing both personally and for organisations such as libraries. Having all of our data in the cloud would have rammifications. The benefits of cloud computing for organisations are found in (a) it's economy of scale and (b) it's accessibility - web-based applications/tools can be used across lots of devices including laptops, desktops, smartphones, etc. which allows(please excuse irritating buzz words)the sharing/networking of different types of data. All while cutting down on the amount of work/maintenance/network-building that the organisation has to do. So far so good.
The obvious problem with external management of an organisation's data lies in the security issues inherrent in that model. Which is not to say that it would be necessarily insecure, but it is certainly a key concern. If you have sensitive information on the internet...it ain't safe. The solution probably lies in standardisation between operators and providers and international legislation. I can understand why the computing industry (IBM, Google, Apple,etc.) is racing to stake a claim in the cloud and companies are busy "cloudwashing" their products, but it probably makes sense for most organisations (and individuals) to play the waiting game and see which providers emerge with the best all-in-package and most water-tight security; until standards are set and you will be able to change providers easily, should you wish to. All that... and then maybe I like having a hard-drive:)

Ebooks and iTunes University

Ebooks seem to be the hot topic in the library world for the last few years - virtually every conference I've been to was about the pros and cons of ebooks. The concensus seems to be that they're very much in the works for academic libraries and that they can be extremely useful for academic purposes. There is some debate over whether they're as useful to Humanities scholars as they are for business, science and technology-based disciplines, but I think they can work within any discipline; especially as the technology grows to become more intuitive and functional and as publishers loosen their tight grip on licensing issues.
Within our library, I know the copyright restriction of 5% is offputting for some students, but I think this can help students to be more efficient and focussed in their choice of materials for study. Most of us have at some point been that 1st year who worriedly photocopied large chunks of a dozen books while cramming for exams or assignments, only to throw the unread majority of papers into the recycling bin. Realistically students need to be very selective about the materials they can absorb. In any case they can take notes within an e-book as they read it, and search within it for a particular topic or reference.

I found iTunes University staggering in its potential. I really do believe that learning in the future can and will incorporate many different streams; videos, podcasts, ebooks, print books, online resources etc. It makes perfect sense that a range of learning tools will be utilised to fully engage students. I've often wondered if Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe is being incorporated into a learning environment somewhere in the world. I've seen dozens of eye-opening documentaries and heard radio programmes that would have both clarified and educated me in ways that classes, lectures and reading lists didn't. As a library we have good reason to be in on the shift towards multimedia educational resources, but a thought that struck me was that you really do need the collaboration of the whole College if you're going to make something as far-reaching as iTunes University work to its full potential. Imagine if every student had a Google reader type place to gather lots of feeds in different formats related to their subjects of study, which they could share with others in their class. I think it would contextualise their subjects by giving them the current news, updates and opportunities that relate to what they're studying, instead of receiving their education in abstract or unsituated chunks...ok I think I'm getting carried away here. I'm off to splash my face with cold water...

Papercut or the Perils of Working in Libraries

Illustration Corner

Sadly one of the world's best (and most painterly) portrait artists Lucian Freud passed away yesterday at the age of 88. See the New York Times obituary here. Illustration Corner is featuring 'Double Portrait' in celebration of his life and work.

Time lapse video

Black Hole Sun - Astronomic Landscape TimeLapse from Christoph Malin on Vimeo.

Alright going slightly off-piste here (although it is a video?) - this will betray two little-known facts about me - (A) I am a Soundgarden fan of years gone by (!), and (B) I love time-lapse footage.
This is a beautiful (8 minute!) Vimeo film of the sky. If Soundgarden make you squeamish you can always mute the sound and bask in the wondrous spectacle of the universe unfolding!
For more nice videos of a similar ilk go to Matador TV (which says it curates the best travel videos) and Joshy Washington offers a selection of "the best Milky Way time lapse videos". Also notable on the Matador TV site is '8 moments in video that changed the world". These clips are astonishing.

I suppose if I was trying to bring this back on track I might suggest a time-lapse video of the library during a busy period, which at the very least would put paid to the notion that librarians sit around reading books;)

Librarians on coffee break

Its an oldie but a goodie - this remains my favourite library-related video/ad. It's a Youtube number. I have come to like Vimeo (I signed up a few weeks ago) but have yet to post any of my own videos to it. Since acquiring an iphone I now have a decent camera, along with an 8mm app which allows you to shoot old-time movies, complete with 20's music and vintage feel, or 70's effects. Vimeo seems to be a more sophisticated tool to Youtube but it has a completely different vibe... I did a quick search for funny library videos and could find nary a one on Vimeo. Everything has to be one's own work, and it seems to be quite community oriented. Tons of lovely documentary type stuff and alot less of the most stupid commentary on the net (you know who you are, Youtube commenters!! desist! )...

Secret bookshop in New York City

There's No Place Like Here: Brazenhead Books from Etsy on Vimeo.

Mmmm...books that smell like pipe-smoke, I love it! This short video is truly beautiful. For more great stuff see the Openculture website.

Illustration corner and Vintage Ads

Animalrium, (as I've said before), is one of my favourite blogs. She really curates a lovely collection of animal-related illustrations and short videos. The post that I got today's Illustration Corner from is all about the kind of vintage advertising that populated her Italian childhood, including lots of visual delights such as the wild horses featured in Illustration Corner, and the elephant/tire in the Pirelli ad by Armando Testa below.

Boards.ie are giving away a free iPad 2...

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore iPad App Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

A fantastic new i-pad e-book for children (*cue physical-book loving mothers across the country shielding their children's eyes in horror) - which seems to preserve (and in fact add to) the mystery and imagination of reading. Read about how and why it is so well done here. Never mind the kids; I want it for my bedtimes:)

Illustration corner - memo!

Illustration corner got a little bit dusty and cobwebby there, so I put up a new illustration - ship in a bottle by memo. Memo is run by British illustrator Helen Entwisle and she creates charming hand drawn and screen printed illustration, self-published zines, hand printed stationery, limited edition prints, tote bags and accessories. Check out her blog or her Etsy shop for more nice things (many of which I'd fork out for if I were in a forking out mood). And see to the upper left her lovely tote bags - perhaps we should do something like this for our library totes! (Although some rephrasing and covering of our tracks would be necessary). (I joke!)

Library videos

I found this on a blog  purporting (is that a word?!) to have the best library videos. This kind of thing seems to be way out of our technical reach, but its still worth a look...
Who Will Help Me - University of Alberta Libraries

Podcasting 2

So I've had a good nose through other libraries' podcasts, and I've listened to Ann Lib's well-executed podcast (kudos!). Haven't been brave enough to record one yet and not entirely sure what I would talk about (and there's the small matter of a deeply engrained horror of my own voice), but here are some ideas for podcasts the library could do:

• A simple tour of the library in English/Irish (possibly other languages such as French with the help of the French department! which might help Erasmus students)
• A short interview with any of the authors or speakers that we have come to our events (i.e. Eneclann etc.)
• A guide to databases - i.e. one podcast per popular database.
• A talk about the Impac/Booker/(insert other major book award here) nominees for upcoming year

What I do know is that the talk would have to be structured and that a plan would have to be in place to keep the momentum up in the recording of a series rather than a random selection of recordings. I also don't think it should be a one-person job - the pressure should be dispersed over many library staff:) Now I've fulfilled the obligatory parts of this Thing, I'll wait and see if I think of anything good to podcast myself. iPodder  will tell you all about the best podcasting sites and what they have to offer. Image above is from here.

Podcasting 1

Alrighty moving on; we have new things to blog about! I'm only at the beginning of the podcasting journey but while having a snoop around other libraries' audio and video content, (which proved both fascinating and intimidating) I found this video (also available on audio) about "Digital Humanities and the Future of Libraries" from NYPL...seems timely (a word of warning watching this is like attending a conference - skip ahead through intro):

Smartphone needed asap so I can listen to as well as look at (and occasionally sniff) books, and all the other wonderful stuff there is out there waiting to be streamed, no wait, fed to me... sigh.
In other reflections, South Dublin libraries are long-renowned for their progressive tackling of new technologies - good for them! and the public!

Illustration corner

Today's featured illustrator is Sara Guindon from Montreal, now living in Denver. Theres a great interview with her on the Pikaland Blog about her work and inspiration, and more info on her own endearing blog. I like her indoor scenes at night of people sitting thinking - they remind me of an illustrated version of  Edward Hopper!

Reading list with lectures...

I must be having withdrawal symptoms from college (or have lost my mind) because since Academic Earth was highlighted by our library blog I've been toying with the idea of using one of the series of lectures (The American novel since 1945, given by Amy Hungerford of Yale, if you dont mind) as a structured reading list - picking those books I want to read (such as The Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth and Franny and Zooey by Salinger) and watching their accompanying lectures. Free schoolwork, yay! Image courtesy of Jesscreadsbooks.

Weekend reading listening browsing

Listening
A new compilation has been released of Buddy Holly covers by the likes of Karen Elson, Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, Lou Reed, She and Him, Modest Mouse and the Black Keys. I'm a bit taken with the Black Keys version of Dearest. Although let it be said: theres no substitute for the original. And for some reason they've got Kid Rock on there. Ahem. And then theres this Francoise Hardy song, thanks to Tomboy Style.

Reading
And these are the two books I've just received from Amazon: A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas and the Collected works of Nathaniel West.


Browsing
Sorry fellas, this ones for the girls:
Zooey Deschanel (she of the perfect fringe and mascara adds) has created a fun blog with her friends called hellogiggles. There may be a faint odour of hipster about it but we'll let them away with it!

Enjoy your weekends!

Publishing

Libraries and publishing houses sometimes line up against eachother because we want to offer things free, or as cheaply as possible, while they need to meet publishing costs in order to survive and pay everyone involved, including writers. The video above from Techcrunch shows a new initiative called Cursor by the publisher, Richard Eoin Nash which aims to change the role of publishers. He also answers some of the questioins that could be (and often are, to our chagrin) levelled at library staff and librarians such as "what do you actually do??", or "cant people find their own stuff these days?", implying that with the advent and spread of technologies intermediaries are no longer needed. The same problem in a different light was discussed on The View during the week - the role of critics and whether or not we need them anymore, as mentioned by this 23things post. Lots of professions seem to be subject to this kind of questionning!
Have a look and see what you think.

Google Reader stats because I'm a loser and I like stats

Just had a look in the Trends part of my Google reader (which, by the way, is one of the 23things I have grown fond of)....
From my (ironic enough number of) 23 subscriptions, over the last 30 days I read 88 items, clicked 18 items, starred 0 items, shared 0 items, and emailed 1 items. Since April 11, 2011 I have read a total of 189 items....In the graph above the blue represents items posted from my subscriptions and the orange represents items read. Which might indicate that my eyes are bigger than my belly?! And below is a breakdown which provides me with the "information" that despite subscribing to some knowlede-related stuff its the fluff that I'm actually reading. And I dont seem to be sharing much! :)

Reading trends (last 30 days) Subscription # Read % Read frankie magazine :: all about fashion, art, craft, music, creative people, homewares and good times.   19 36% antler magazine   10 100% Film | guardian.co.uk   4 1% Stacey Rozich   3 50% Pugly Pixel   3 25% TED | Talks | List   3 14% TechCrunch   3 1% An Apple a Day   2 50% mint   2 20% Daily Art Fixx   2 7% Show: top 10 - top 20 - top 40	Subscription trends (last 30 days) Subscription Items/Day % Read NYT > Arts   28.4 0% Film | guardian.co.uk   18.2 1% TechCrunch   13.6 1% Cinematical   10.6 0% Books - The New York Times   6.7 1%   1.8 36% Daily Art Fixx   0.9 7% TED | Talks | List   0.7 14% europeana   0.4 0% Pugly Pixel   0.4 25% Show: top 10 - top 20 - top 40
Friends trends (last 30 days) Add some friends to see trends about them.	Tags Art Blogs Books General culture Libraries Magazines Movies Reviews

Another Illustration Corner

This week's illustration corner is from Finnish illustrator Anna Emilia Laitinen. She has a sweet blog called Weather Diary where she documents her musings on the colours and things that inspire her artwork. The one in illustration corner is called Tiny Tickles. The one above is called Heterochromia and the one below is called Rain Fresh Tea from a series called Tea Ceremonies (which I've included in honour of Buttonbeano). I love the delicacy of her paintings.

New illustration corner

Time for an illustration shake-up. I like totems (dont ask me why), and the ones in Illustration Corner and to the left are by Raymond Lemstra who I found through a blog called Ape on the Moon, run by two illustrators. It showcases a bit of contemporary illustration every day. I'm a fan of  hand-drawn looking stuff so Lemestra's art ticks that box, and the creepy box too!

Books and bookshelves

Hello, I have some book-related items for your delectation today, pilfered from the English Muse Blog that I've mentioned before. First of all for those of you who like to nose through other people's bookshelves (who doesn't?!) there is a new flickr bookshelf pool where you can unabashedly do so without having to justify your nosiness. Second of all the English Muse also brought to my attention this beautiful series of books from Penguin called Great Ideas. Now, there will be some who object to a  list of books which presumes to limit the world's greatest ideas to one hundred items, chosen by a publishing house - but I would suggest they take it with a pinch of salt. The books are great to look at, unaccompanied by pretext/context, and reasonably priced. Read more about them (and why they made the cut) on the Penguin book blog. I personally would like to buy the series in its entirety but I dont have a thousand pounds spare at the moment. Wouldn't that make a great prize for some sort of competition?! I think I just drooled on my keyboard a little.

Friday song

Ok seeing as the theme is summer songs and I'm doing a Beatles on it, I should really have picked Here comes the Sun, but I couldnt resist going for this one instead; its my favourite song at the moment and I could listen to it all day! So enjoy Michelle by the Beatles.

Social media

I came across some more stuff thats kinda interesting (if not earth-shattering) about social media. I found 'em both on the Pugly Pixel blog - another favourite. The owner shares lots of tips on the technical side of blogging. The two snippets I've chosen were in a Links loved post which directs you towards lots of online cool stuff that Katrina has been enjoying of late. The first is a short video from Techcrunch with entrepeneur Gary Vaynerchuk  about why manners and a human touch matter when using social media for business and how "99.5% of social media experts are clowns". Oh dear. The second is an article called "The illusion of social networks" by Semil Shah, and it somewhat reinforces my own flimsy and dubious stance on social media. Useful yes. Truly social? ...not so sure. I must say I really enjoy the interaction we've been having on our blogs! But that might be because I know you all:)

Old movie alert!

As well as their recent showings of the African Queen, Apocolypse Now and Taxidriver, the IFI has a 'High Anxiety' season coming up (from today until the 26th) brimming with dark and paranoid thrillers like the Manchurian Candidate and Chinatown. Thats if you can stand to be crammed into their uncomfortable seats for a few hours! I know I can, but I have to give somebody else painkillers to get them to come along:)

Illustration Corner from Rilla Alexander

I know, I know; I'm pulling the carpet out from under your feet with a new Illustration Corner post so soon after the last. But I really love this sleepy-looking friendly bear on a bike illustration by Rilla Alexander. I also like his little sleepy freeloading back-friend. She's responsible for the fantastic, graphic ark pattern to the left aswell. I found Rilla on the Animalarium blog which is another of my absolute favourites because (a) I love the iconography of animals and (b) the 'zookeeper' has a great eye for beautiful pictures arranged into interesting categories. For example this post looked at illustrations of animals on bikes. Call me simple-minded (if you must), but does it get better than that? I dont want to know if it does!

Illustration corner from BibliOdyssey

This week's image in Illustration Corner is a beautiful lithograph: 'Hooded falcon close up' from 'Traité de Fauconnerie' by H Schlegel and AH Verster de Wulverhorst, courtesy of one of my favourite blogs, BibliOdyssey. I think I've mentioned it before, but this post on falconry is gorgeous and I love the way the curator combines images with text and book-lore. I also have a weakness for natural history type-paintings -see Audubon for more lovely birds which may pop up in Illustration Corner in the future! The picture to the left is in the same book. And the one below is by Audubon. In any case its worth mentioning BibliOdyssey as a rich source of book illustrations/fount of obscure knowledge again!

The Brothers

This has quite a tenuous link to the theme of our discussions - technology and social media and their role in our lives. For all the talk of allowing 'connectedness' to occur, most people know instinctively that social media dont go far in creating real, life-sustaining connections between people. The Guardian has some lovely photos and very brief excerpts from a new book by photographer Elin Høyland called 'The Brothers.' Call me soft but by the 12th photo I had a lump in my throat. The photos aint bad either!

The Copyright on the Internet Maze...

The Lauging Squid is a site dedicated to unique and interesting art, culture & technology and is one of the few really continuously worthwhile things I follow on twitter. If you're struggling for someone to follow, they get my vote. But I digress...the other day they tweeeted a link to an article about Stefanie Gordon who took a photo of Space Shuttle Endeavour's final launch from her airplane seat and tweeted it to her followers, and the moderate brouhaha that ensued (disclaimer: linking device heavily subsidised by the emperor) ;).
This segues nicely into our debate on creative commons, copyright and how the internet (and social media such as twitter) are muddying (or expanding) the copyright waters. Copyright law seems likes it's always been labyrinthine and now has a whole new battleground to unfold on. One interesting thing I found out was that using Twitpic (which you use to share pictures on Twitter) automatically gives Twitter the right to sell your photo, should you stumble upon, photograph and tweet a newsworthy event. You can sell it...but so can they! Which would obviously devalue your photo in the event of your selling it. Having said that, the woman in question did pretty well out of the whole thing, and the articles above give a balanced look at the issues involved. All in all it seems like having the murky presence of copyright somewhere in the background of your thoughts when using any technology is probably both wise and ethical if it makes you think twice before sharing (your own, or somebody else's) work - particularly if you're a big corporation,(thats you, CBS News!!)... a credit wouldn't hurt!

What would you save if your house/squat/apartment was burning down?

Last bit of Friday fun...this is a new blog dedicated to documenting people's favourite and most meaningful possessions. I think I'd save my old photos (from before computer-days!), my box of personal documents (containing everything from certs and qualifications to old hand-made valentines cards and diaries), my two cameras (a 70's Canon A1 I inherited from my uncle and my little digital), my phone, and ...my life! Most of the rest of what I want to own (teapots, plants, rugs, beautiful antiques) I dont own yet and thus only exists in my head... so I guess there are advantages to being young and relatively possession-less!

What would you save?