Tech Tip of the Week #2: Library Extension

For the first installment of Tech Tip of the Week, I mentioned Learnist, a great site for finding and creating curated collections. This time around, I’d like to feature Library Extension, a very useful tool for those that make use of the Chrome browser. As a general rule, I try to avoid promoting things that are limited to one browser or platform, but Library Extension is pretty neat. Also, I’m a huge Chrome fan. If you value speed, efficiency and extensibility, then I highly suggest you give Chrome a shot. In the end, whatever works for you is the browser to go with.

But I digress. My reason for liking Library Extension stems from 2 passions of mine – I love shopping for books on Amazon, and I love borrowing books from the library. So what if I could do my book browsing on Amazon and then easily find out that the book I want is available at my public library. Enter Library Extension. Just today I was looking at my Amazon wishlist dedicated to materials for Salesian, and thanks to Library Extension I was shown the image at right prompting me to request the book through the Oakland Public Library system. Clicking on the little plus sign will show you exactly which branch currently has the title in its possession. Of course, you may easily discover that a book you’re looking at on Amazon is unavailable at your public library. When that is the case, you’ll see the image shown at left. It would probably help if I told you why I keep referring to the Oakland Public Library. When you first install the extension, you can tell it whatever library system you would like it to search as you peruse Amazon.

If nothing else, the big take away here should be the importance of a public library card. Without that, none of this is possible. If you feel like the public library has nothing to offer you, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love the opportunity to try to convince you of the many benefits, all available to you for a small fee in the form of tax dollars.

If you have a tech tip that you’d love to share, please drop it in the comments. Otherwise, don’t hesitate to contact me with any technology questions you may have.

Related articles

• Browser Extension Encourages Amazon Searchers to Head to Their Library | LJ Insider (lj.libraryjournal.com)

Tech Tip of the Week #1: Learnist and College Preparedness

I don’t know about you, but I’m always searching for ways to make the time I spend online more efficient. Oftentimes, that means finding a website, application, journalist, etc, that is able to curate and synthesize things that previously required me to scour the web. My latest and greatest find on the path towards efficiency is a site called Learnist. In a nutshell, Learnist allows you to cobble different parts of the web together into nice little collections. For the growing number of people familiar with Pinterest, Learnist will look pretty familiar, minus its darker color scheme. If you’re interested in creating your own Learnist collections, visit the site, sign up for an account and start grabbing things from around the web using the handy Learnist bookmark. Otherwise, dive into one or more of the categories that suit your interests and see what others have put together. If you don’t see a category that appeals to you, perform a search for whatever it is that’s currently tickling your curiosity bone.

I bring up Learnist not only because it’s awesome, but because the great folks at Edudemic just rounded up 10 Learnist boards for getting ready for college. There’s always another round of SAT and ACT tests right around the corner, and who can forget the growing cost of sending a son or daughter to college. If college preparedness is a concern of yours, check out the Edudemic recommendations and enjoy the many wonders that Learnist has to offer in the process.

Banned Books Week – Part Two

Earlier in the week, I pointed out a few ways in which the Salesian library is participating in Banned Books Week. On this, the final official day of Banned Books Week, I wanted to point you to a few great resources marking the occasion. The first resource is a video put together by Cal State Poly. One of the school’s library employees walked around campus asking students for their reactions on having read banned books. Check it out:

Next up is a series of author reactions to their books being banned, courtesy of Flavorwire. The following comes from J.K. Rowling following an accusation that Harry Potter  promotes satanism:

“A very famous writer once said, ‘A book is like a mirror. If a fool looks in, you can’t expect a genius to look out.’ People tend to find in books what they want to find. And I think my books are very moral. I know they have absolutely nothing to do with what this lady is writing about, so I’m afraid I can’t give her much help there.”

Follow the link above or visit Flavorwire to read the rest from the likes of Mark Twain and Philip Pullman.

Google Books has put together a page pointing out books that have been challenged this year and in the past. All of the books are linked so you can easily sample or even purchase them, if you so choose. For any Android users out there, Google Books offers a nice alternative to Amazon’s Kindle app and the other assorted eReader applications available in the Google Play store.

Bill Moyers, a famous journalist and commentator, always seems to have something profound to say. As an honorary cochair of Banned Books Week, he put together the following video essay:

This next video comes from the parent organization behind Banned Books Week and features prominent contemporary authors speaking out against censorship:

Since you might not enjoy watching endless videos on this topic, I’ll point out one more and be done with it. For something different, this last video features an alternative take on flash mobs, courtesy of Lafayette College:

 

Related articles

• Banned Books Week (salesianlibrary.wordpress.com)

Magnetic Poetry – Episode 01

The school year began with several new additions in the Salesian library. One of those additions was magnetic poetry. Magnetic poetry allows students to be creative, to have their creativity displayed for others, and to play an active role in cultivating the library as a space. For starters, I introduced the original magnetic poetry kit, as well as the Shakespeare edition. When introduced, the two sets remained separate, but they have predictably been combined to form a nice hybrid of modern and Elizabethan English. The first few days of this experiment involved the regular removal of words as it became obvious some students couldn’t control their inclination towards perversion. Regardless, some real gems were created, and this is only the first batch. As time goes on, I’d like to add additional words, either by purchasing another set or by devising a way to have students create their own custom magnetic tiles. For now, I hope you enjoy these student creations as much as I have.

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Have you ever dabbled with magnetic poetry? If so, please share a favorite or two in the comments. Even if magnetic poetry isn’t your thing, share a favorite poem or quote in the comments. Stay tuned for the next episode of magnetic poetry.

Banned Books Week

This week libraries and bookstores across the country are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, an annual recognition and defense of the freedom to read. I’m a little late to the game on this one, but as a solo librarian I’m constantly playing catch up. Banned Books Week is being recognized at Salesian with a display of well known books that have at one time or another been banned. Many of these books are easily recognizable and most receive regular attention in high school classrooms. Just to give you an example, Catcher in the Rye has been banned at one time or another for being “obscene” and “anti-white,” for “excessive violence” and “dealing with the occult.” In some cases, teachers and librarians have lost their jobs for assigning these titles.

With every book display I put up, I can’t help putting up a quote as well. There’s a reason why quotes are used regularly in speeches and presentations; like a great photograph, a great quote has the ability to say far more than a thousand lesser words. The quote I chose for Banned Books Week comes from George R.R. Martin, author of the amazing Song of Ice and Fire series, the inspiration for HBO’s Game of Thrones. If you’re unable to read the quote, it reads “When you tear out a man’s tongue…you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” And because Twitter is always a great forum during events like this, I couldn’t resist displaying the #bannedbooksweek hashtag.

Lastly, as part of an ongoing effort to make the library space more engaging and interactive, I’ve updated the Thought Wall so that it is more aligned with Banned Books Week. I’m now asking students to think about the pros and cons of schools blocking websites. Though the larger white space allotted for the Cons section is unintentional, I am expecting the Cons to outnumber the Pros. The issue of blocked websites comes up daily in the library, and younger generations are consistently more liberal with the information they consume and publish. Only time will tell.

Related articles

• 30th Annual Banned Books Week Underway: Resources and Videos (infodocket.com)
• Banned Books Week celebrates its 30th anniversary (csmonitor.com)

New Theme Wall

Most recently, I detailed how the library entryway was getting some much needed love. With the entryway in a happy place, it was time to turn my attention to the library interior. Upon entering the library proper (beyond the beautiful entryway), visitors can look to their right and see several bookshelves all perfectly set up to serve as displays. These shelves previously held various reference materials, graphic novels and test prep books, with a little room saved for newly acquired titles.

Here’s the before picture:

Since all visitors pass this wall both entering and exiting the library, I figured it should have a little more luster and creativity to it – something to give it life and purpose. The first thing I did was move all the reference and test prep materials to their respective places in the reference section. As incredibly satisfying as that task was, it left me with a lot of white space to fill. While progress can’t always be pretty, I think the final product is a vast improvement. Check out the before and after in this brief slideshow:

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Notice the final two pictures showing the American Indian images, quote, and texts. This newest portion of the display shelving will rotate throughout the year and align itself with subjects being taught in the classroom. ‘Til creativity strikes again, thanks for reading.

Library Entryway Gets a Facelift

As the school year came to a close in the spring, I knew there were aesthetic changes that I wanted to make. One such change involved the library entryway. This space serves as the gateway from the outside to both the library and the media center. As such, this space is the first thing visitors see when they enter and the last thing they see when they leave.

In its previous iteration, this space housed three cork boards covered with black paper that were then overlaid with pictures of students. While there is nothing wrong with such a display, the pictures had developed tears and were in need of a general refresh. With the old display down, I was presented with a new challenge – what to do with the now blank canvas.

Such a challenge is best confronted by contacting an expert, in this case my wife. Under her guidance, it was decided that the space should be home to some form of interaction, a way to immediately engage visitors and make them feel like a participant in the library.

 

So, the library entryway is now home to a welcome sign, a technology board, and a thought wall. The welcome sign bears the URL of this blog, another way for students to participate in the life of the library. The technology board highlights three pieces of technology that can potentially assist students in accomplishing their information-seeking tasks.

My favorite feature, however, is the thought wall. The thought wall features two thought-provoking quotes and is equipped with markers and places for visitors to post their reactions.

The current quotes are as follows:

“The minute you start swimming with the stream is the minute when you get lost in the crowd.”

and

“A mind once opened never [c]loses.”

All three of these new features appear in bright colors to help liven up the space and hopefully put a smile on the faces of visitors. In the weeks and months ahead, I’ll be posting responses that students put on the thought wall. Stay tuned…