Blog Topic #6

  In my last year of high school, I had a STEP Co- Op placement in the Newfoundland Provincial Archives, located in The Rooms. (Archiving is a career- area I'm looking at persuing.)While there, my main project was the Expropriation Files Project. Here's some back- ground on it...
  During the WW2, the Newfoundland government expropriated large portions of land for the buiding of navy- bases. (I'm prety sure it was navy.) Anyways... everyone who lived on said land had to submit claims for compensation. (Reports, photos, and so on- all of which were filed, boxed, and put into storage.
  My job, during my placement, was to search through these boxes. When I found photos, I assigned each a number (linking it back to the folder it came from), catalogued it, and put each into its own protective sleeve.
  When I had enough photos, I'd scan them into The Rooms' database, and print off a copies which would be returned to the folders the originals had come from. Meanwhile, the originals would be stored sepperately- in conditions more ideal for photograph preservation. (Especially important, because the buildings in the pics were G-O-N-E... and the photos were all that was left of them...)
  Towards the end of my placement, I asked afew of the people who work there if there were any courses they'd reccommend. That was when I first heard about the Library Studies Certificate Program, actually. (It was also my 'intro to scanning.' (Since then, I've scanned some drawings I've done, and put them online. If  anyone wants to see them, this is the link  http://eternaldrifter24.deviantart.com/ )
  

Smartphones and Libraries (Blog topic # 5)

  As more and more people get phones with internet, email, and so on- the possibilities for libraries become virtually limitless. If a library has a facebook or twitter link, for example, people can send quick requests while on the move, and maybe fit in a stop to the library on the way home. It's a major opprotunity that needs to be explored. (Also, it's that much more important that the library sites aren't overly cluttered. If people can't see any of the site links on their handheld screen, it doesn't do anyone any good.)

Open Source Software

  This weeks topic, open source software, isn't something I've had much experience with. The following is what I see as the advantages and disadvantages of this software, based on what I've read and know about it:

Advantages: a less expensive means to run an e-reserve service, doesn't require staff members to devote as much time to in-house development, allows libraries to pool their resources and technical experience, programmers can work together to make a more complete version of a document (rather then everyone re- producing the same work over and over).
Disadvantages:  it's not the easiest software to set up and maintain, there's no requirement for the original developer of the site to resolve any problems that happen to pop up.

Overall, it sounds like a useful system (... as long as you know enough about the program to solve minor problems yourself).

Content Enrichment

  Truthfully, everything I know about content enrichment came from the one article on our course content page. I'm not a particularly tech- savvy person, but I can see the usefullness of what it provides. My post this week will involve tht advantages and dissadvantages of using this software.
   The main advantages that I see are as follows; users have the option to analyze and select online resources with a minimum amount of difficulty, it doesn't require actually going to the library, you might even be able to get  sample chapters of books. (All of these making it possible to work from... prety much anywhere, look for titles/ subjects you need, and get a quick look at what's in there, and if it's really what you need.
   The main downside is that, since you aren't actually with the resource, you can't flip through the book, look at illustrations, and so on. (Considering what can be accessed, though, this isn't too bad.)

Week 2 Post

 This week, since we have free- reign as to the topic, and this is a tech course, I'd post a review of the Amazon.com Kindle. (A kindle is like a computer/book in one.)

  It is, in my opinion, the best thing for the reading world since the invention of the printing press. As many books as you could want (the one I have can hold 1500), which you can buy, store, and carry around with you- while taking up no more space than the average paperback. It costs around $150 (I got mine as a birthday gift - so I don't recall the exact price)- but I think it's worth it. (If I hadn't been given one first, I would have bought my own at the first opprotunity.
(Also, as you can load free 'samples' of books- usually in the form of the first few chapters, for FREE, it's a very convenieant way to expand into new genres of books. )
   It's well worth looking into, believe me.

Week 1 Post

    For some reason, I had a hard time setting up this blog. First I couldn't get my page URL to connect to the page, followed by several instances of writers' block - this is my 4th or 5th time trying to post something, and second of actually being able to decide what I wanted to actually post. I've still been unable to figure out how to use / find the RSS- feed on this page, or if it offers that service. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn abit more about blogging - while I've visited plenty of blogs online, this is my first time 'managing one.

Why I set up this blog.

The main reason I set up this blog, is that it's an asignment for one of the university courses that I'm taking now. I'm not sure where it'll go after I finish the course, but that's what most of my posts will be about for the next 12 weeks that I'm in this course- figured I'd explain that at the start.