Library videos

Here are the five finalists in the Librareo video contests held at the ALA conference. These are funny if you haven't slept in a few days or have just been bitten by a turtle.

100 Words of Smartness?

Apparently once you graduate from high school, you're supposed to know these words. I sure did. Don't you?

FastTrackWeekAlmostOver

I can't believe our week here in Pittsburgh is almost over. It's been a surprisingly relaxed yet informative time so far, interspersed with classes and introductions. I do have to say that it's been extremely helpful to get to meet all of the names I'd previously seen on the boards only. And yes, I did get to do some touristy stuff, too. Like stuff a ginormous Primanti's sandwich down my gullet on Saturday and take the famous Incline that overlooks downtown Pittsburgh (free w/Pitt ID, yay!) last night. I'd have to say I'm impressed with the city and with my classmates, so overall it's been a pretty good time. And that's coming from a Phillies fan...

Infamous NYT "hipster" article

I wouldn't be a true library blogger if I didn't reference the seemingly biting article about "cool" librarians who hang out in Brooklyn and do creative stuff after doing their stint at the local library. It seems like those in library world don't appreciate all the hype for some reason, although they're more than happy to discuss "library 2.0" until the world ends. I always enjoy the Annoyed Librarian personally, but I'm sure there are many more intelligent, sarcastic commentators on library life to be had.

And the adventure begins...

I'm excited to be heading out tomorrow morning for Pittsburgh. I think this week will solidify a lot of what has been missing so far with the lack of personal interaction. And it sounds like there are a lot of crazy people who will be a lot of fun to boot. We shall see how large groups of librarian wannabes behave in public places...

AACS Is Like Every Other DRM: All It Does Is Annoy Customers

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It's hot in here!

I feel the heat being turned up as our session in Pittsburgh approaches quickly. I can't believe I fly out of this place in less than a week. But I'm looking forward to it - to meeting all of those people who have been going through the same agonies and confusion and sleepless nights. We shouldn't have too much of a problem with bonding (my guess). I just hope I get to sample the local fare without being too repulsed by french fries in my sandwich. Or get too offended as a Philadelphia sports fan in a crazy sports obsessed town. But school work, school work is what the order of the day will be :) We shall see how it goes...

DRM for books?

A relevant piece on DRM (Digital Rights Management) caught my eye, as I've just finished researching it in relation to the music industry for our Hot Topic on Copyright. I've become thoroughly disgusted in learning about a technology seemingly designed specificially to create more problems for loyal customers than I thought imaginable. Instead of working on real issues related to a product, customer service has to troubleshoot problems caused by DRM instead when it comes to downloadable tracks or subscription services. Happily, the music labels have wisened up a little bit in regard to CDs and just about abolished DRM in that sphere all together. Don't cheer yet, though. I haven't even started on video (HD DVD vs Blu-ray.. gahh) or Microsoft Vista (I've had my laptop for a little under a week and either my hard drive is failing or Vista is corrupted... I wonder which one it is...).

Blast to the Past

As I was doing some research for our upcoming book review, I stumbled across Internet Archive. This site constantly updates its holdings, boasting a virtual library of all previous versions of web pages that have appeared on the internet. Go ahead, try out their Way Back Machine. Type in the url to a site you enjoy, and see its horrific beginnings (I had fun typing in my alma mater and the school I present work at - 1997 was NOT a good year for web design!).

Good to know someone's keeping track, right?