Are librarians obsolete?
Will Sherman’s answer to this question is “no” in his post yesterday listing 33 Reasons Librarians Are Still Extremely Important.
Read the list, pick your favorite, and hope that he’s right…
1 comment January 31st, 2007
Archive for January, 2007
Few Spaces Left for R U A nOOb? Program
There are just a few spaces left for the R U A nOOb? Bridging the Gap Between Boomers and Gamers Special Program on February 15, 2007 at Lansing Community College – West Campus. Also, today’s the last day to register and be in the running for the MP3 player which will be given away at the program. For more information and to register, click here.
If you are already registered, don’t forget to bring your laptop. Wired and Wireless internet connections as well as power sources will be available at each workstation.
1 comment January 31st, 2007
MLC Staff in Second Life
Here’s a photo of MLC staff taken today in Second Life. From left to right: Diana, Aaron, Ruth, Evette, Mark, Randy, Brian, and Suzanne. If you’re in Second Life, please stop by and visit our MLC building in Cybrary City (see especially our rooftop hot tub with complimentary bathing suits).
One of our neighbors in Cybrary City is the Kansas State Library. Some of you may remember Shannon Roy who used to work at the Library of Michigan. Shannon is now the head of Library Development at the Kansas State Library – read her article on Second Life in her January 2007 newsletter. There’s also a good introduction to Second Life article in the same issue written by Bill Sowers.
Like the Kansas State Library, MLC is still working on finding our opportunities in Second Life. So far, we’ve hosted one seminar in Second Life about MySpace, and on February 20, we’re hosting an afterglow party to celebrate the new MeL gateway (watch this blog and our Second Life announcements for further details). We’re looking forward to hosting more training, meetings and parties in Second Life in the future – suggestions welcome!
1 comment January 30th, 2007
Discounted Registration for Computers in Libraries 2007
The Computers in Libraries 2007 conference will be held April 16-18, 2007 in Arlington, VA. MLC, in conjunction with the Missouri Library Network Corporation (MLNC) is pleased to be able to offer discounted rates to our members. Registration Information is available at http://www.mlnc.org/. Registrations must be received at MLNC no later than Friday, March 9, 2007, with a check for the conference fees made payable to Information Today, Inc., the conference sponsor.
The cost is $199 for the full CIL 2007 conference program. This is more than 50% off the regular price, a savings of up to $250! In addition, discount prices of $99 on the Internet@Schools East conference and $199 for the combo of I@SE/CIL are being offered. (No discount rates are available for single day registrations or pre- or post-conference seminars and workshops.)
For details about this exciting event, please visit MLNC’s website.
Add comment January 24th, 2007
MLC MySpace Seminar in Second Life
On January 11, 2007, MLC hosted our first event in Second Life. Angela Semifero (known as Semife Roar in Second Life), Deputy Director and Head of Technical Services at the Marshall District Library, gave the presentation, “MySpace is Your Library’s Space: Reference, Programing and Promotion.” Our thanks and congratulations to Angela Semifero for presenting a great program and to Evette Atkin for putting the program together – no easy feat in a virtual world!
MLC was proud to be the debut lecture in Cybrary City, Second Life’s new Talis-sponsored island for librarians. Cybrary City is part of Info Island/Second Life Library services, created to provide a space for participating libraries and library organizations to showcase their local resources.
For further details, please see the latest post in MLC’s special program series blog, The Library Rebooted: Unwrapped:
http://www.mlcnet.org/blog-tlr/
Do you want to learn more about Second Life? Please consider attending MLC’s next special program in our Library Rebooted series, “R U A nOOb? Bridging the Gap Between Boomers and Gamers.” For information and to register online, go to:
https://members.mlcnet.org/workshops/viewcourse.html?id=151
1 comment January 12th, 2007
Melba Moose in Second Life
If you’re in Second Life, please stop by the MLC building. Melba Moose is at the front door giving away virtual MLC tshirts.
2 comments January 9th, 2007
Member news
I received news about one of our newest members – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.
“We are cleaning up after a tornado hit the campus on 12/25/06, and the library lost about 800 books. What a job of cleaning and sorting. The building has been patched and
we are open for business. Classes will start on the 16th instead of the 10th. The admin building was totaled and we lost the usage of several other buildings but no classroom buildings. The campus was vacant, so nobody got hurt. What a miracle.”
Add comment January 9th, 2007
Electronic Readers
Plastic Logic – located in Cambridge, UK – announced today that it will build the first factory to manufacture plastic electronics on a commercial scale. The facility will produce flexible active-matrix display modules for ‘take anywhere, read anywhere’ electronic reader products. It will utilize Plastic Logic’s unique process to fabricate active-matrix displays that are thin, light and robust; enabling a reading experience closer to paper than any other technology.
1 comment January 3rd, 2007
ALA President-Elect in Second Life
The Shifted Librarian reported that Loriene Roy, ALA President-Elect, is the first ALA President to have an avatar in Second Life. Loriene’s SL name is Mukwa Dibou (Mukwa means bear in the Ojibwe language).
A number of staff here at MLC now have avatars in Second Life, although only a couple are active. You can visit MLC in Second Life at our building in Cybrary City. There’s not a whole lot of “there†yet to our building, but Evette is working on it. There are computer monitors for MLC training workshops and for MeL. And, of course, there’s the giant portrait of our fearless leader in the front hall.
Second Life will be featured – along with other social networking software and library gaming – at our special program, “R U A nOOb? Bridging the Gap Between Boomers and Gamers,†on February 15. This is the third program is our series, The Library Rebooted. You can read about the first two programs in the series on The Library Rebooted blog.
1 comment January 2nd, 2007