Hello all,
This is Dan Lester, still at Boise State’s Albertsons Library for a few more months until retiring on Halloween (which some have suggested is a particularly appropriate date to become a ghost who just won’t go away).
I’d be interested in some discussion, ideas, comments, on how we decide what technologies we should invest in.  [...]

Filed under: New Ideas | 8 Comments »

Last night, our TSRP tried out a cell phone game @ the mall.  It went… terrific!  I’m posting it here to share with other libraries serving teens because (a.) it was cheap — the only cost was prizes and gas to get to the mall, and (b.) it was A BIG HIT with the seventeen [...]

Filed under: New Ideas | Tagged: cell phones, program, Technology, teens | No Comments »

One of my Facebook Friends is Jim Milles of the SUNY Buffalo law school. This week, he’s attending a conference on computer-assisted legal instruction. Jim is using Twitter during the conference sessions, so I’m receiving a steady stream of interesting observations and ideas.
Here’s an example:
“#calicon08: FSU survey: 82% of students use Facebook at least once [...]

Filed under: New Ideas, Surveys & Polls | No Comments »

I’ve been so involved with blogs and what twitter is that I have been ignoring the obvious - people still think that the Historical Society Library is on 4th St. They come in all the time saying, “When did you guys move?” and when I tell them I get a weird look. We always talk [...]

Filed under: New Ideas, web creation | Tagged: old ideas | 3 Comments »

Are you plurking … a competitor for Twitter with some interesting visuals!
www.plurk.com
Shirley

Filed under: New Ideas | Tagged: plurk, Social Networking | 4 Comments »

Libraries all over are excited about summer reading, teen summer reading, adult summer programs, and, well, summer.  Here in Jerome, we have five more reasons to be excited this summer… five summer interns!
Steve Poppinoat the College of Southern Idaho helped us arrange for our interns to get college credit for their experience at the library.  [...]

Filed under: New Ideas, Recent News | Tagged: blog, intern, jerome, Library | 4 Comments »

I have been reading William Patry’s blog on copyright issues for the last year. He is the senior copyright lawyer for Google Inc., with lots of experience dealing with copyright law. He discusses current case laws, international implications, etc. Recently, he discussed illegal art, forensics of infringement, and infringement by copying public domain works. [...]

Filed under: New Ideas | Tagged: copyright, intellectual property | No Comments »

Faced with an aging home computer (5+ years is certainly a dinosaur) and the inevitable need to upgrade, I started looking at Linux operating systems. Upgrading to Vista would certainly mean a new computer. I am reluctant to upgrade to Vista for a variety of reasons so I have been testing various versions of Linux. [...]

Filed under: New Ideas | Tagged: computers, Technology | 3 Comments »

Basically the hardest thing to do is implement any new idea or be innovative when you work for a place where there is very little money, and little room for error. Working for the State of Idaho it’s hard to convince anyone to adopt a new idea, even if it costs nothing and has the [...]

Filed under: New Ideas, web creation | Tagged: 2.0, case studies, collaboration, community, government, help, Libraries, open, project | No Comments »

I just finished listening to this book on audio. Some of you may have already read this book as it was published in 2005. The subtitle of the book tells it all, “The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books”. Aaron Lansky chronicles his adventures of saving Yiddish books, and simultaneously [...]

Filed under: New Ideas | Tagged: conservation, Libraries | No Comments »