Here is the link to the SLV Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSRJfj7wjdHjRXK2JUFY7oQ
Wednesday, November 5
Sharing blog posts to twitter
It is super easy to share a blog post over to your twitter account. Simply click on the little 't' in the bar under the post you want to share, edit the tweet and then publish.
So now there are no excuses for not sharing your favourite posts!
So now there are no excuses for not sharing your favourite posts!
Skerricks: Newspaper Map: find, translate, read
What an awesome resource. Will have to have a play around with this once assignments are all done!
Skerricks: Newspaper Map: find, translate, read: How cool is this? Every balloon is a different newspaper, the languages indicated by colour. You can use the hand icon to move around the...
Skerricks: Newspaper Map: find, translate, read: How cool is this? Every balloon is a different newspaper, the languages indicated by colour. You can use the hand icon to move around the...
Libraries using social media
In this post I will have a look at three different social media accounts from a few local libraries.
The Moonee Valley Library Service has a great Pinterest account - with boards dedicated to staff picks, genres and local history. I particularly like their 'local writers' board which lists a whole range of works by people who either lived in or written about the Moonee Valley area. They have also linked most of the titles back to the library catalogue, so if you see something you like you can instantly see if it is available at your local library. The sad thing is that Pinterest just isn't as popular as many other social media platforms - and as such the Moonee Valley Library only has around 150 followers at this point in time.
I love the SLV twitter feed. It is constantly being updated with not only library news but general Melbourne arts news. The quality of their tweets is also very high and they use a variety of picture, videos, links and text to keep their audience interested. For example they had a whole lots of tweets about Cup Day, some historical photos and some practical information (like when the library would be open). It is also great for keeping up-to-date with events, however I sometimes find that it's a little bit short notice and that sometimes events are fully booked just after the event has been advertised via twitter (although I guess this is just what they wanted).
The UoM Library does a great job of promoting some of its resources and helpful study information while also tapping in to some pop-culture references. They seem to suffer from a similar problem to the Moonee Valley Pinterest in that they don't have as many followers as they probably should. Only 11 000 out of the hundreds of thousands of past and present students. This is a shame as it is one of the better University social media accounts.
Copyright Issues
I did briefly touch on some of the copyright issues that can arise when using social media in a previous post, but here is one dedicated entirely to what you can and can't do according to Australian Law.
If you are a content collector:
If you own a website that people contribute content to you cannot use posted content for your own purposes unless you have permission. This permission can be sought after the content is posted but generally websites will have a set of terms and conditions which the contributor must agree to before posting any content.
This also applies to allowing other people to use the content others have posted to your site.
One thing to be aware of as a content collector is that unless you specify otherwise in your terms and conditions, you will be responsible for anyone who contributes non-original content even if they do so unknowingly.
This information came from a government fact sheet, follow the link to read the real deal!
If you are a content maker:
In Australia you are automatically placed under copyright protection for creating:
However, this law can be overridden by the terms and conditions of the site you use to share them. As such it is very important to be aware of where you publish your content.
It is taking some time for copyright laws to catch up with web 2.0, and it is quite possible that it never will as the internet evolves so quickly.
Just about everything on the internet will have some sort of copyright breach attached to it - and it is almost impossible to seek the appropriate permissions at the rate that things are shared.
If you do want to upload a work that you have created it is best to state explicitly and in plain English who owns the copyright and whether you will allow the item to be copied or uploaded by other people.
This information was adapted from this artslaw factsheet.
If you are a content sharer:
I think that content sharers have the simplest job in all of this:
If you didn't create the work yourself then reference it!
Provide a link back to the original source and check that it is o.k. to use the content for your purposes. We are all guilty of copyright infringement on the net - I have no doubt that I have missed something on this blog even.
Referencing original content will lead to a higher quality of online material, something that will benefit us all!
If you are a content collector:
If you own a website that people contribute content to you cannot use posted content for your own purposes unless you have permission. This permission can be sought after the content is posted but generally websites will have a set of terms and conditions which the contributor must agree to before posting any content.
This also applies to allowing other people to use the content others have posted to your site.
One thing to be aware of as a content collector is that unless you specify otherwise in your terms and conditions, you will be responsible for anyone who contributes non-original content even if they do so unknowingly.
This information came from a government fact sheet, follow the link to read the real deal!
If you are a content maker:
In Australia you are automatically placed under copyright protection for creating:
- literary works (e.g. written works such as the content on your blog, computer programs, compilations, novels, screenplays, song lyrics);
- artistic works (e.g. paintings, drawings, photographs, maps and plans);
- dramatic works (e.g. choreography, screenplays, plays);
- musicals works (which are separate from the sound recording or the lyrics); and
- films, sound recordings, broadcasts and published editions.
However, this law can be overridden by the terms and conditions of the site you use to share them. As such it is very important to be aware of where you publish your content.
It is taking some time for copyright laws to catch up with web 2.0, and it is quite possible that it never will as the internet evolves so quickly.
Just about everything on the internet will have some sort of copyright breach attached to it - and it is almost impossible to seek the appropriate permissions at the rate that things are shared.
If you do want to upload a work that you have created it is best to state explicitly and in plain English who owns the copyright and whether you will allow the item to be copied or uploaded by other people.
This information was adapted from this artslaw factsheet.
If you are a content sharer:
I think that content sharers have the simplest job in all of this:
If you didn't create the work yourself then reference it!
Provide a link back to the original source and check that it is o.k. to use the content for your purposes. We are all guilty of copyright infringement on the net - I have no doubt that I have missed something on this blog even.
Referencing original content will lead to a higher quality of online material, something that will benefit us all!
Privacy Issues
Privacy and social media. It's a tricky area and something that we will probably keep hearing about for the foreseeable future. If I was to break it down I would say that it is not so much about what you share, but who you share it with.
It is the nature of the web that everything can be accessed by anyone - assuming they have the right tools to do so. But let's just think about social media on a small scale to begin with. Just what you and I would use in day-to-day life. Many social networking tools allow you to fiddle with your privacy settings. Most of the time you can decide who sees what you post: you can have secret groups on Facebook and private boards on Pinterest.
What you can't control, however, is what the people you do choose to share with then do with your information.
As soon as you click that button you are releasing a piece of information about yourself to the world. Perhaps one person you do know shares it, then someone they know sees it and alters it a little, and then it gets posted to a different platform and altered again.
Don't get me wrong, web 2.0 and this process of sharing has led to all sorts of fantastic things, but generally speaking these are organised and intended to 'go viral'.
So I guess there are two ways to deal with this:
Only share your personal information with people you are 100% sure won't do anything with that information.
and
If you're going to share things with the whole world do a double check and see if there is anyone in your life you wouldn't like to see it. Your boss? Grandmother? An identity thief? If you can think of one then just don't share it!
This guide from PC world gives you a few helpful and practical tips for different social media platforms. I think I will be going to review all my privacy settings right now!
Wednesday, October 15
The top 7 ways to use libraries while travelling
Libraries are totally undervalued as a resource by people on holiday. They hold a wealth of information that can be super useful and also provide an insight into the culture that you are exploring. Enjoy!
1.
So you have just arrived in a brand new city and want to find some cool places to go. While your first port of call would usually be a tourist office or brochures in a hostel/hotel lobby why not head to the local library? Most will have guidebooks that you can browse - there is no need to buy the detailed and expensive single-country versions of these anymore!
2.
Maybe that guidebook you're looking at has a section on some common greetings and phrases. But what if you have a not so common interest? Luckily libraries also tend to stock language dictionaries, so you can look up the word for "post box" in Pinyin while in China (it's "yóutǒng" in case you were wondering), and marvel at the green boxes to your hearts content.
3.
While we are on the topic of languages, it is pretty common for librarians to know multiple languages. So if you are ever lost and in need of some directions there is bound to be a member of staff around who could give you a hand.
4.
There are very few places where it is publicly acceptable to nap. Trains are fine, as are airports, and a nice sunny patch of grass is ideal if the weather permits. However, if it is blowing a gale outside and you can't check in to your accommodation for a few hours why not find the closest academic library? Sure you might get a few strange looks and a nudge or two if you're prone to snoring, but it is nothing they haven't seen before!
5.
Libraries all over the world can also provide you with access to one of the traveler's most highly sought after resources: the internet. If you have a device that can connect to the wireless chances are you can access it for free. Otherwise you could probably talk a staff member into letting you sign up as a member even though you *technically* don't reside nearby. Perhaps you could carry around a few pairs of these awesome socks as a thank you present?
6.
Number six on the list should come as no surprise - if you're all tuckered out from sight seeing you can find a comfy spot in the library and good book (I would highly recommend a short story collection as you can finish up in the middle and not be horribly disappointed). Lots of libraries will also have a local history section, newspapers and magazines so you can do a bit of background reading if you would like to understand a bit more about the place you are visiting.
7.
Picture this: You have a slight obsession with American beat poets so you jump onto the catalogue to find your favourite Jack Kerouac title. Unfortunately it's on reserve and due to be picked up sometime today. You locate the reserves shelf and to your delight it is still there! You decide that you'll take the chance and pick it up - just for a quick peruse of course. Next thing you know the most stunningly attractive person taps you on the shoulder and tell you that they are the one the book was reserved for. You immediately bond over shared passions, fall in love and live happily ever after.
O.K. so maybe number seven isn't quite as realistically useful as the others but you never know where you will meet someone new. I hope this post has given you a few new ideas about what libraries can be used for while travelling, feel free to leave a comment with any other ideas!
1.
So you have just arrived in a brand new city and want to find some cool places to go. While your first port of call would usually be a tourist office or brochures in a hostel/hotel lobby why not head to the local library? Most will have guidebooks that you can browse - there is no need to buy the detailed and expensive single-country versions of these anymore!
2.
Maybe that guidebook you're looking at has a section on some common greetings and phrases. But what if you have a not so common interest? Luckily libraries also tend to stock language dictionaries, so you can look up the word for "post box" in Pinyin while in China (it's "yóutǒng" in case you were wondering), and marvel at the green boxes to your hearts content.
3.
While we are on the topic of languages, it is pretty common for librarians to know multiple languages. So if you are ever lost and in need of some directions there is bound to be a member of staff around who could give you a hand.
4.
There are very few places where it is publicly acceptable to nap. Trains are fine, as are airports, and a nice sunny patch of grass is ideal if the weather permits. However, if it is blowing a gale outside and you can't check in to your accommodation for a few hours why not find the closest academic library? Sure you might get a few strange looks and a nudge or two if you're prone to snoring, but it is nothing they haven't seen before!
5.
Libraries all over the world can also provide you with access to one of the traveler's most highly sought after resources: the internet. If you have a device that can connect to the wireless chances are you can access it for free. Otherwise you could probably talk a staff member into letting you sign up as a member even though you *technically* don't reside nearby. Perhaps you could carry around a few pairs of these awesome socks as a thank you present?
6.
Number six on the list should come as no surprise - if you're all tuckered out from sight seeing you can find a comfy spot in the library and good book (I would highly recommend a short story collection as you can finish up in the middle and not be horribly disappointed). Lots of libraries will also have a local history section, newspapers and magazines so you can do a bit of background reading if you would like to understand a bit more about the place you are visiting.
7.
Picture this: You have a slight obsession with American beat poets so you jump onto the catalogue to find your favourite Jack Kerouac title. Unfortunately it's on reserve and due to be picked up sometime today. You locate the reserves shelf and to your delight it is still there! You decide that you'll take the chance and pick it up - just for a quick peruse of course. Next thing you know the most stunningly attractive person taps you on the shoulder and tell you that they are the one the book was reserved for. You immediately bond over shared passions, fall in love and live happily ever after.
O.K. so maybe number seven isn't quite as realistically useful as the others but you never know where you will meet someone new. I hope this post has given you a few new ideas about what libraries can be used for while travelling, feel free to leave a comment with any other ideas!
How to be unpopular on social media
A ten step guide to losing friends in the world of tweets, likes and pins (with links to additional and sometimes funny resources).
Step 1:
Forget everything you ever learnt about grammar and spelling. If you can't be bothered using an apostrophe then don't! If you end up with an apostrophe catastrophe then that is totally fine.
Step 2:
If you see a hashtag trending and can somehow relate it into your tweet then go for it! Just make sure you don't look up the tag to see what it is actually referring to first. See number 4 in this list.
Step 3:
Emojis are to social media as exclamation marks were to emails in the early noughties. The more you have the more exciting and eye-catching you are. You could even make emoji cookies and add them to a pinterest board!
Step 4:
If people post to your wall/tweet you/mention you etc then you can reply when (or if) you feel like it! An even better option is to set up an auto-response which will leave you more time to post pictures of your brunch/cat/inspirational fitness quote. If you're lucky something like this will happen and people will be talking about your replies all over the net!
Step 5:
Don't complete your profile or have a profile picture, this makes you look mysterious and you might even generate enough hype to become the Loch Ness Monster of the social media world.
Step 6:
Remember: You should only post things that are important to you. Venting or complaining are a great way of gaining attention.
Step 7:
Don't bother keeping your page up-to-date. Social media is not at all an interactive and constantly evolving form of communication so you can pretty much make a page and leave it at that. The Allianz Australia page is doing a top job of this!
Step 8:
Spam away! Posting the same thing over and over will mean that people can't miss it. You can up the ante even further by posting the same thing across a variety of social media feeds. For the truly dedicated spammers you can tag random people in your post to get in touch with their networks too.
Step 9:
Don't let people post to your page. The world isn't interested in what they have to say about you, just what you have to say about yourself! Lots of top companies are putting this to use: The McDonald's Facebook page is a great example.
Step 10:
There is no need to give sources for things you say, share or post on social media. It is commonly understood that once you put something online it isn't yours anymore and other people can claim it as their own without any real-world repercussions. Who cares about copyright anyway, this selfie-taking monkey sure doesn't.
P.S. To reiterate step 10 I am definitely not going to provide links to any articles, lists or guides that I looked at while I was compiling this blog post.
P.P.S. This is an update to say you should also definitely not look at this infographic that a fellow student, Cynthia, posted to her blog!
Some thoughts on Scoop.it
So we have started looking at scoop.it! this week and to be honest I had never heard of it before starting this social media class.
In some ways it reminds me of the flipboard app, combining lots of stories and articles and pictures and resources on different topics in one place. It seems pretty handy for keeping up with industry news, but I get the feeling that it is more for contributing original content rather than sharing other people's content.
As such I am not sure that we will be able to get the most out of it, though I can see how it would be useful for businesses and other institutions who already generate interesting articles.
Perhaps I will 'scoop' some of my blog posts - at least then it will be original and fit in to the whole scoop.it! idea.
Here is the link to my account:
http://www.scoop.it/u/susannah-carr
In some ways it reminds me of the flipboard app, combining lots of stories and articles and pictures and resources on different topics in one place. It seems pretty handy for keeping up with industry news, but I get the feeling that it is more for contributing original content rather than sharing other people's content.
As such I am not sure that we will be able to get the most out of it, though I can see how it would be useful for businesses and other institutions who already generate interesting articles.
Perhaps I will 'scoop' some of my blog posts - at least then it will be original and fit in to the whole scoop.it! idea.
Here is the link to my account:
http://www.scoop.it/u/susannah-carr
Wednesday, September 10
Horrible Websites!
We have been talking a bit about website design today and effective ways to lay out and sort information. This got me thinking about some of the horrible websites that I have come across and just what it is that makes them a bit yucky to use.
I have blogged before about the Melbourne Print Museum and how great I think it is but I would love to get my hands on the website and sort it out! There are just a few too many colours and all the blue hyperlinks are a bit of an eye-sore. It can become a bit of a maze and navigation between the pages can get tricky. It would be very much improved if there was a floating menu bar on each of the pages.
When I was younger I had a little bit of an obsession with cows and used to spend a lot of time in IT class playing this game. Reflecting back to the website now, however, I can see that it was a maze of information, and some entries could really do with being sorted chronologically. This said, the world would probably be a better place if this post was buried in the internet f o r e v e r.
I am also not a big fan of the AFL website, it is way too busy and has four header bars which completely defeats their purpose. I understand that they need to meet a heap of advertiser's demands but it tends to get clogged up and it is sometimes hard to tell what is AFL content and what will take you to external sites.
Here is a Buzzfeed article with a bunch of other horrific websites for your viewing displeasure...
I have blogged before about the Melbourne Print Museum and how great I think it is but I would love to get my hands on the website and sort it out! There are just a few too many colours and all the blue hyperlinks are a bit of an eye-sore. It can become a bit of a maze and navigation between the pages can get tricky. It would be very much improved if there was a floating menu bar on each of the pages.
When I was younger I had a little bit of an obsession with cows and used to spend a lot of time in IT class playing this game. Reflecting back to the website now, however, I can see that it was a maze of information, and some entries could really do with being sorted chronologically. This said, the world would probably be a better place if this post was buried in the internet f o r e v e r.
I am also not a big fan of the AFL website, it is way too busy and has four header bars which completely defeats their purpose. I understand that they need to meet a heap of advertiser's demands but it tends to get clogged up and it is sometimes hard to tell what is AFL content and what will take you to external sites.
Here is a Buzzfeed article with a bunch of other horrific websites for your viewing displeasure...
Pin-tastic!
Today we are starting to use Pinterest. Here is a link to my boards. Happy pinning folks!
Wednesday, August 27
Wednesday, August 20
atlas.id
Yesterday in acquisitions we had a look at demographics and how they can influence your choices when constructing a collection development policy. Needless to say I got slightly sidetracked by the .id sites. I fount the atlas.id component the most interesting - it allows you to visually see areas of high/low density, media age, birth place and so on.
For example, here is a map of Maribyrnong sorted by overseas births:
It can also sort by language spoken at home - such a fantastic tool!
It is a shame that it is not yet available for all council areas.
Here is the link. You can navigate to different sections using the tabs at the top of the page.
It can also sort by language spoken at home - such a fantastic tool!
It is a shame that it is not yet available for all council areas.
Here is the link. You can navigate to different sections using the tabs at the top of the page.
Crabtree
Morning all!
So I ended up giving my book talk last week on a fantastic children's book - Crabtree by Jon and Tucker Nichols. The kid in me found it absolutely hilarious, and it was interesting to see how well you got to know the main character, Alfred Crabtree, without many textual details.
It was published by McSweeney's who also do a bit of work with 826 Valencia.
I am still somewhat intrigued by his large collection of duck decoys however...
So I ended up giving my book talk last week on a fantastic children's book - Crabtree by Jon and Tucker Nichols. The kid in me found it absolutely hilarious, and it was interesting to see how well you got to know the main character, Alfred Crabtree, without many textual details.
It was published by McSweeney's who also do a bit of work with 826 Valencia.
I am still somewhat intrigued by his large collection of duck decoys however...
Wednesday, August 6
Booktalk
I will be presenting a booktalk for our children's lit class next week and am starting to try and think of some ideas. It would almost be easier if we didn't have to choose a book! This website is a kind of archive with a whole lot of different booktalks which was started in 1995. Hopefully it will give us all a few ideas, there is also a very handy tips section. There seems to be a big divide as to whether you can 'wing' a talk if you havn't read the entire book. Most seem to advise against it saying that the audience will know and hate you for it!
Here is the link
Will keep you updated on how my preparation goes!
Here is the link
Will keep you updated on how my preparation goes!
Wednesday, July 30
Melbourne Museum of Printing
Just found out that this place exists today. Had a quick browse through the website and it looks like they have a HUGE collection of print related materials including a library of "books as artifacts". I wonder how these would be catalogued?
Also interesting to note is the spelling of "font". Apparently this is the American spelling, and the English is actually "fount". Those Americans really must have something against the letter U!
The Facebook page for the museum is a little out of date but I love the logo they came up with.
Opening hours are 2pm - 5pm on Thursday and Sunday. Will try to stop by over the weekend!
Also interesting to note is the spelling of "font". Apparently this is the American spelling, and the English is actually "fount". Those Americans really must have something against the letter U!
The Facebook page for the museum is a little out of date but I love the logo they came up with.
Opening hours are 2pm - 5pm on Thursday and Sunday. Will try to stop by over the weekend!
A few links...
Here is the link to our class blog for webpage design 2014:
Margie's Class Blog
We also looked at the ALIA Library Technicians Group and ALIA Social Media Facebook pages this morning.
Margie's Class Blog
We also looked at the ALIA Library Technicians Group and ALIA Social Media Facebook pages this morning.
Wednesday, July 23
Shaun Tan - Why people read
Shaun Tan did an interview with a few members of the public. Here is his interpretation of their answers...
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