Office for Literacy and Outreach Services Toolkits (ALA)

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/olos/toolkits.cfm

10 Tips for Teaching Technology to Teachers by Liz B. Davis

http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2009/09/10-tips-for-teaching-technology-to.html

Cites & Insights: Crawford at Large Vol. 9 No. 12

http://citesandinsights.info/v9i12a.htm

Developing Research & Communication Skills Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum – Middle States Commission on Higher Education

http://www.msche.org/publications/Developing-Skills080111151714.pdf

ILI-L, the Information Literacy Instruction Discussion List (hosted by ALA)

http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/ili-l

IL Resources & Tools by Lisa Metzer

http://www.mindomo.com/view.htm?m=b93aa8ef223445ff8919191fbc3ed23c

Information literacy in the disciplines (ACRL wiki)

http://wikis.ala.org/acrl/index.php?title=Information_literacy_in_the_disciplines

LION: Library Information Literacy Online Network – Downloadable & Embeddable Guides

http://liontv.blip.tv/

Project Information Literacy

http://projectinfolit.org/

Turning Topics Into Searches by Iris

http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2009/11/turning-topics-into-searches.html

UCLA Library Research Guides – Teach Information Literacy & Critical Thinking!

http://guides.library.ucla.edu/teachingtips


Advice:

The Top Ten Things a new Sci/Tech Librarian Should Know: Developing Core Competencies (STS Issues in Sci/Tech Library Management Discussion Group ALA Annual Meeting, Toronto June 22, 2003) Victoria S. Mitchell


Looking Toward the Future:

Citizen Scientists Reconnecting Science with Civil Society (pdf)by Jack Stilgoe ~ If you only look at one link I have listed I highly encourage you to read the first part of this pamphlet, starting on page 13 of the pdf file.

Libraries and e-science by Lorcan Dempsey

Training to Climb an Everest of Digital Data by Ashlee Vance

What Should Social Software for Science Look Like? By Cameron Neylon

Science Readings and Resources:

Annual Reviews – Subscription Based Resource

http://www.annualreviews.org

Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports Prepared for the web by Robert L. Bolin

http://www.unl.edu/Bolin_resources/bsir-xml/

BioMed Central The Open Access Publisher – Free Access, registration required.  This site hosts journals on a variety of topics, mainly medical, including journals on ecology, plant biology and zoology.

BIRN Biomedical Informatics Research Network

http://www.birncommunity.org/

BookBoon.com – Online Ad Financed Textbooks in Business, Math, and Science

Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives

http://www.clir.org/hiddencollections/index.html

Deep Dyve Online Rental Service Announcement

http://www.deepdyve.com/corp/about/press/20091027

Directory of Open Access Journals

http://www.doaj.org

Government Information Sources for Science and Technology – ACRL wiki

http://wikis.ala.org/acrl/index.php/Government_Information_Sources_for_Science_and_Technology

Gray literature: Resources for locating unpublished research by Brian S. Mathews C&RL News, March 2004 Vol 65., No. 3

Green Foostep – An assessment tool for reducing carbon emissions from building construction projects by the Rocky Mountain Institute ~ I’ve seen several reference questions about carbon emissions recently; it’s also been suggested as a planning resource for creating new library buildings.

INFOMINE Scholarly Internet Resource Collections

http://infomine.ucr.edu

LibGuides by Springshare – Paid Service

http://www.springshare.com/libguides/

LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe)

http://www.lockss.org/lockss/Home

Mendeley Research Networks

http://www.mendeley.com/

NLM Gateway – Search multiple NLM resources in one search.

Orphan Data

http://orphandata.org/

Rethinking Science & Technology for the 21^st Century by Alan Maynard

http://2020science.org/rethinking-science-technology-for-the-21st-century/

RSABG Library: Research Sources in Botany by Harvey R. Brenneise and Gary D. Wallace ~ This was created to support an annual graduate level research class in the field of Botany.

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography by Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

“The Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography (SEPB) presents selected English-language articles, books, and other printed and electronic sources that are useful in understanding scholarly electronic publishing efforts on the Internet.”

Science: So what? – So what? By Alan Maynard

http://2020science.org/2009/11/27/science-so-what-so-what/

SPARC Guide: Income Models for Supporting Open Access

http://www.arl.org/sparc/publisher/incomemodels/

Top 10 Sci-Tech Books 2009 by Donna Seaman for Booklist Online

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3885134

Trailblazing Three and a half centuries of Royal Society publishing ~ 60 articles selected from over 60,000 published by the Royal Society (UK) between 1665 and 2010.

Translation resources on the Web: A guide to accurate, free sites by Rebecca A Martin and Sarah Mc-Hone-Chase C& RL News, June 2009 Vol 70, No. 6 ~ Due to the Internet access to scholarly information from foreign countries is increasing the need for translation, while I would not recommend using these resources to try and translate an entire article they may be use in translating abstracts, or enough of an article to determine whether or not it is worth having fully translated.

The UCverse

http://ucverse.universityofcalifornia.edu/

WolframAlpha ~ “Wolfram|Alpha’s long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything”


Blogs:

2020Science by Alan Maynard ~ Anything Alan writes is worth reading and, while he is involved with policy, he accurately represents a large portion of the scientific community’s thoughts.  He is also very good about citing sources and explaining in detail why he disagrees with alternate points of view, enabling the reader to make a more informed decision on whether or not they agree with him.

RSS Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/2020science

Confessions of a Science Librarian by John Dupuis

RSS Feed – http://scienceblogs.com/channel/rss.php

CS Librarian News by Missy Harvey ~ Missy is the Computer Science Librarian at Carnegie Mellon University.  The focus of her blog is to distribute information in the areas of computer science, electrical & computer engineering, and robotics.

RSS Feed – http://cslibrarian.net/feed

Discussion for best practices and links to Escience Portal, Supporting biomedical librarians everywhere…

RSS Feed – http://escienceportal.wordpress.com/feed/

Science Blogs – Scroll down the page and you can choose your news feed topic.  The definition of Science being used encompasses politics, and the arts, as well as the hard sciences and education.  Be warned it is easy to be overwhelmed by their subject specific news feeds, it may be better to choose a few frequent posters to follow than all people posting on a given subject.

Science in the open, An openwetware blog on the challenges of open and connected Science by Cameron Neylon

RSS Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/scienceintheopen


Just For Fun:

Drive for geothermal power heats up on US campuses by Dinesh Ramde

A recent article in the New York Times featured information about putting a bar code on places.  I think this would be an easy fun way to reach out to the more technologically inclined patrons in your community.  All you have to do is decide what information you want to put in your barcode (a URL,Text(250 char.), Phone Number, or SMS) and enter the information at a site like Kaywa which will then generate your free bar code which can be placed near the entrance to your library.  You can use this to promote events, link people to your events webpage, or make announcements. All it costs is a few minutes of your time, a piece of paper, ink, and some tape.

There was also an interesting article on WIRED: How the iPhone Could Reboot Education by Brian X. Chen.  While I do not think that paper books will go away, I do think it is important to engage students in a way that shows we are paying attention to their interests, and how they learn.  Another interesting article, from Library Journal, covers the new EBSCOhost Mobile, and Summon mobile, smartphone interfaces to their electronic resources.

There is a large focus, and rightly so, on how technology changes interactions with our patrons, but what about how it changes the interactions between librarians?  Without the advances in technology we would not have listserves, Twitter topics (#librarians, #cataloging), or Facebook pages. Check out Library Web Chic’s recent post: Tools for Remote Collaboration and Interaction, and remember that your fellow librarians are an invaluable resource.

I encourage anyone interested in technology to check out Alan Maynard’s 2020Science.org.  Starting today, Monday December 14, 2009 he will have 10 guest bloggers, with differing points of view, answering the question “How should technology innovation contribute to life in the 21st century?”.


Tips & Tutorials:

7 Tips to Make Your Web Site Mobile-friendly by Igor Faletski

10 LOL Cat Laws of Web Services for Smaller and Underfunded Libraries from the Librarian in Black Sarah Houghton-Jan

50 Free Open Courseware Classes for Web Designers by Best Web Design Schools

Full Web Building Tutorials by W3Schools.com

How to Build a Social Media Cheat Sheet for Any Topic by Marshall Kirkpatrick

How to Embed Almost Anything in your Website from digital inspiration

Modern CSS Layouts: The Essential Characteristics by Zoe Mickley Gillenwater

Web Accessibility from the American Library Association

W-E-B-S-I-T-E, Find Out What It Means To Me by Brett Bonfield

Five Essential Apps for Your Nonprofit Facebook Page provides guidance on how to market your nonprofit(library) on Facebook more effectively.

Six Things Libraries Should Tweet by Andy

100 Ways to Use Twitter in Your Library by Mobile Libraries

Twitter for Organizations by the Lowrider Librarian.


Leaders of Academic Libraries:

Bookless Libraries? by Steve Kolowich

Libraries of the Future from Inside Higher Ed

View from the Trenches:

Reviving the Academic Library by Johann Neem

The Hyperlinked Library in Times of Change and Challenge by Michael Stephens


Sources of News & Information

ACRL Tech Connect
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/proftools/techconnect/index.cfm

Campus Technology
http://campustechnology.com – Website
http://campustechnology.com/RSS-Feeds/All-Articles.aspx – RSS Feed

David Lee King
http://www.davidleeking.com/ – Website
http://www.davidleeking.com/feed – RSS Feed

Journal of Information Architecture
http://journalofia.org/

The Librarian in Black Sarah Houghton-Jan
http://librarianinblack.net/ – Website
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Librarianinblack – Choose Your RSS Feed Here

Library Web Chic
http://www.librarywebchic.net/

Libraryman
http://www.libraryman.com – Website
http://www.libraryman.com/blog/feed/ – RSS Feed

Library Tech Talk
http://libtechtalk.wordpress.com/ – Website
http://libtechtalk.wordpress.com/feed/ – RSS Feed

LibWorm: Librarianship RSS Search and Current Awareness
http://www.libworm.com

The Loose Canon Librarian
http://loosecannonlibrarian.net/

Tame the Web
http://tametheweb.com/

TechKNOW a quarterly publication by the Technical Services Division of the Ohio Library Council
http://www.library.kent.edu/page/11226

Web Science Trust
http://webscience.org


Need more ideas of how to combine new technology with library service?  Check out:
Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data
Edited by Nicole C. Engard
ISBN 978-1-57387-372-7
http://books.infotoday.com/books/LibraryMashups.shtml

Who do you look to for technological innovation?  What issues do you find interesting?

What have I been up to?

ACRL Residency Interest Group:
On October 1^st, 2009 I became the Web Editor and List Administrator responsible for maintaining and facilitating the flow of information on the website and the group mailing list.

ARL Initiative To Recruit A Diverse Workforce:
October 15, 2009 I was privileged to receive an acceptance letter and became a 2009-2011 ARL Diversity Scholar.

California Library Association Annual Conference:
Although initially unsure of what to expect I greatly enjoyed my first conference in library land.  While I did attend a few sessions, those seats are not made for people with short legs, I spent the majority of my time in the exhibit hall promoting the creation of, and application to, library residency programs.  I was very excited to learn more about California’s preservation programs, OCLC’s ContentDM, and Mango Languages.  I recommend checking all of these out.  Apologies to those who I missed in passing, hopefully I’ll catch up with some of you at MidWinter.

Drexel University:
As I continue in week seven of our quarter I am excited to be past the half way mark and accelerating toward completion of my degree in June.  As I finish with my required courses the main problem is choosing between all of the marvelous special topics for my four electives.  Next quarter I will be taking my first two electives Resources in Social Science and Instructional Role Information Specialist. 15 classes may seem like a lot but with the variety of offerings at Drexel I could almost do a second MSLIS degree, if I took everything that interests me.

Me:
For myself, I am grateful we are finally back on standard time.  I’m busy with my volunteer internship at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden’s research library, the end of the quarter, and the beginnings of holiday scheduling.  Additionally, I am working on an application for a library residency program, special thanks to Megan Perez for his editorial help!

They say that life is what you make of it, and right now life is great!

How do you start keeping up with all this?

• Breath.  No one expects you to know all of this information overnight.  Start keeping up with the profession now and you won’t have to cram right before you graduate and are looking for a job.  The longer you keep up with current events the easier it becomes as you pick up on the terminology and identify points of major concern within the profession.

• Acquire an RSS feed reader, if you do not already use one.  It does not matter which one you use so long as you check it on a regular basis.  I try and check mine a couple times a day but the world won’t end if you can only check it a couple times a week.  RSS feed readers allow you to check multiple sites at once, instead of  having to check them individually.

Some Popular Online RSS Feed Readers:

Blogline – http://www.bloglines.com/
Friend Feed – http://friendfeed.com/
Google Reader – http://reader.google.com

Desktop Mac Application:

NetNewsWire – http://www.NewsGator.com/NetNewsWire

What to read?

I’m sure you’ve seen at least one list titled something like “100 Best Blogs for Librarians”.  Websites and Twitter feeds found on lists like this tend to be high quality but who has time to keep up with 100 of anything?

Below is a list of RSS feeds that I use to keep up with major topics the library profession; it does not include the feeds I subscribe to about specialized library topics (academic, cataloging, education, history, research, science, technology, etc.).

Blogs:

The Embedded Librarian – http://embeddedlibrarian.wordpress.com/
RSS Feed Link – http://embeddedlibrarian.wordpress.com/feed/

A unique take on librarianship, complete with practical examples and recommendations, from a faculty member of the School of Library and Information Science at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.


In the Library with the Lead Pipe – http://inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/
RSS Feed Link – http://inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/feed/
RSS Comments Feed Link – http://inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/comments/feed/

One of the most thought provoking library blogs around, this group blog provides thoughtful advice, comments, and discussion on issues and topics important to librarians.  I have included a link to their comments feed as well as their post feed because you can learn almost as much from reading people’s thoughtful responses as from the original posts.

Library Man (Michael Porter) – http://www.libraryman.com/
RSS Feed Link – http://www.libraryman.com/blog/feed/

Always interesting, presenter, video maker, technology and PEZ fan, he is actively engaged in activities to promote and enrich libraries; Michael should be one everyone’s watch list.

Library Scenester (Erin Dorney) – http://libraryscenester.wordpress.com/
RSS Feed Link – http://libraryscenester.wordpress.com/feed/

Erin is in her second year as the Outreach Librarian at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.  Witty, connected, and active in both professional organizations and independent projects Erin is an example of what you can accomplish.  Erin’s blog covers a variety of topics and often includes tips and insights for new or aspiring librarians.

LISNEWS – http://lisnews.org/
RSS Feed Link – http://lisnews.org/rss.xml

This very popular blog posts summaries and links to news articles impacting librarians.  It is not uncommon to see items posted here reposted elsewhere with commentary and will give you a general overview of what issues and innovations librarians are talking about.

From Twitter:

Library Associates Companies (LAC) – http://twitter.com/libassociates
RSS Feed Link – http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/20789580.rss

This company hires and recruits librarians for their company, and library industry  jobs across the country.  Following them will make your more aware of what types of jobs are out there and what skills are in demand.  In addition, they regularly post news items of interest to the profession, and job seekers.

LIBGIG_Jobs – http://libgig.com/
RSS Feed Link – http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/16810581.rss

This company posts jobs across the information industry, not just in a traditional library setting.  Although most of the jobs listed are in the US they do occasionally post international jobs and, like LAC, they regularly post news items of interest to the profession, and job seekers.

Things to keep in mind:

• There are blogs by librarians for librarians on every topic and issue, I follow 30+ relevant librarians, associations, and companies using Google Reader.  This sounds like a lot, but, as you get more specialized posts are published less frequently, and there are more duplicate postings.

• Life happens and the world will not end if you miss a couple of news items. Do your best and with repetition it’ll become second nature to check your news feeds.

• RSS feeds provide you with additional material for your class discussions and papers.

Good luck, and happy reading!