Thanks to Judith for pointing out Kathy’s editorial from the most recent issue of CIL.
“In the library world, many processes are still done the way they were years ago. The old adage ‘because we’ve always done it that way’ still holds sway, and entangled layers of bureaucracy can make real change incredibly slow, if no [...]

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I would soon be the chair of the SLA-IT Blogging section - well - it’s that time. I’ve posted my hello post and I’m ready to roll!!
Technorati Tags: blogging, sla, special libraries association

The first issue of the Code4Lib Journal has been released and the TOC looks pretty enticing - now I just have to find time to read some of these articles.

Editorial Introduction "” Issue 1
Beyond OPAC 2.0: Library Catalog as Versatile Discovery Platform
Facet-based search and navigation with LCSH: Problems and opportunities
The Rutgers Workflow Management System: Migrating [...]

Thank you Brad - I was very tired and cranky because I had to go back out after work to a work party - but now I can’t stop laughing! You have to read his post entitled Michael Gorman makes me cry. Well Brad, I’m still laughing and that’s why I’m crying!! I [...]

Okay - I’ve been fighting with Drupal for months! Now there is finally some help in sight!
As the name implies, ‘DRUPAL4LIB‘ is for those interested in Drupal, a popular open-source CMS, as it relates to libraries and librarians. The idea is to have a forum to exchange ideas and advice, share experiences, and maybe even [...]

Don’t miss this free opportunity hosted by PALINET:
Koha Camp is a unique first opportunity for systems librarians, library software developers and designers to come together for an open source experience with Koha Library Integrated System.
This one-day workshop, limited to 25 participants, is a place where teams of software developers and librarians will join to explore [...]

Found via Beyond the Job:
A new series of free online OPAL (www.opal-online.org) events is about to get underway. As the series name implies, these "Casual Conversations" will be one-hour informal conversations with librarians. Everyone in the world is welcome to participate. There is no need to register. Just show up online, listen, text chat, and [...]

Back when I started here at the Seminary I decided to catalog my blog as an exercise in cataloging a serial. “But why a serial?” you may ask. I recently got an email to this affect and sent it on to Chris Schwartz, my cataloging mentor here, and here was her answer:
Here’s how [...]

I had an interesting chat with a friend regarding cataloging rules and tools that I wanted to share with you all. I know it can sometimes be hard to follow someone else’s chat transcript - but here you go:
Brooke: I think I want to try gluing my catordogging cripple speak to my lack of [...]

What an amazing idea! David Lee King posts about an addition to his library catalog. When patrons can’t find what they’re searching for they’re prompted with a meebo chat box to ask a librarian for help! Check out the picture on Flickr.

Via AutoCat (by J. McRee (Mac) Elrod) & Cataloging Futures:
Brian Campbell called my attention to this recorded lecture by Francis Miksa. It’s well worth the hour and a half it takes to listen to it (and I probably kept Hal awake doing so).
http://www.catalogingfutures.com/catalogingfutures/2007/11/essential-liste.html.
After a fascinating detailed history (which establishes that nothing is new under [...]

While Thanksgiving has passed, I can be thankful anytime and I want to repeat Michael’s thanks to LISNews & Blake Carver.
I’m also thankful for LISNews and the hosting services that Blake Carver provides. He puts up with the mountains of spam comments TTW gets as well as all my strange requests. If you [...]

Via Autocat:
Greetings! I am working on a research article for ALA-NMRT’s Footnotes about transitions in librarianship. If you have made a significant career change during your first decade of professional service, then please take several minutes to complete this survey.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thanks so much [...]

I totally agree with Michelle and am so happy that she has put it into print - hopefully other librarians out there will learn from the biblioblogsphere - that’s why we’re here isn’t it? To share our knowledge with our colleagues:
I have been thinking about the biblioblogosphere and all the library bloggers out there, sharing [...]

After CIL last year I briefly mentioned that WorldCat was going to have a new service (WorldCat Identities). Well, this just in from the Outgoing blog:
Over the weekend WorldCat Identities went into production. Personal authors now have a link to their WorldCat Identity page under the Details tab.
As Thom Hickey mentions, it’s still [...]

My husband is an avid gamer and has tried over the years to get me to join him in his role-playing sessions - but I never get into it. Now, Terence J. Fitzgerald writes in Library Journal that I should use role-playing games to help me be a better librarian - a more playful [...]

From a post by Joseph Lucia at Villanova on the ngc4lib mailing list:
If we look beyond money to personnel, the option looks even better. Let me suggest some numbers. What if, in the U.S., 50 ARL libraries, 20 large public libraries, 20 medium-sized academic libraries, and 20 Oberlin group libraries anted up one [...]

I don’t know the answer to this, but it seems to me that people all over feel that undergrads today have no idea how to use the library or library resources. I got the impression from an attendee at the NFAIS Humanities Rountable last month that he felt that students were too lazy or that [...]

I think there is a need for a blog/website/mailing list/general list of OCLC Connexion tips! I’ve been attending training at PALINET and keep learning new little tips that will make my life easier - plus I keep finding that I sometimes know a thing or two that the others in the class didn’t. [...]

This sounds very promising. The eXtensible Catalog project has received more funding. I love seeing open source library apps moving forward:
A $749,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the University’s River Campus Libraries will be used toward building and deploying the eXtensible Catalog (XC), a set of open-source software applications libraries [...]

I just had a short chat with a friend about the catalog at her local library. They used to have a terrible system that didn’t seem to work at all and now they’ve put Aquabrowser on top of it:
[09:47] Friend: *sigh*
[09:47] Friend: catalogs are so finicky!
[09:47] Nicole: yep
[09:47] Nicole: what’s the matter now?
[09:47] Friend: [...]

Presented by Ed Corrado of TCNJ - here are the 10 (or so) hacks for the Voyager OPAC (WebVoyage):

New Book List by Michael Doran:

Shelflister by Michael Doran

Spell Checker but not checking against your db - so you can get did you means that aren’t actually in your catalog. (ex at University of Waikato)

Search Voyager [...]

This list of presentations from the Sustaining the Digital Library : Symposium, 13-14 September 2007, University of Edinburgh sounds interesting:
1. Keynote Presentation [pdf], Rick Luce, Vice Provost and Director of University Libraries, Emory University
Rick asks an interesting question: “Could it be that we are well enough funded to be comfortable with our traditional roles?”

2. [...]

I got to hear an update about the new releases of Voyager at today’s conference. One of my biggest complaints about our current system is that it’s ugly - so very very ugly! Now, I have no experience trying to edit the interface of a Voyager system (that’s not my job anymore), but [...]

While watching a demo of Primo at the EMA conference today I had a brainstorm.
Most academic libraries remove the dust jackets from books before putting them on the shelf. This means that adding images of book covers isn’t quite at valuable to us as it might be to a public library. So - [...]