Wikiwonderlands

For the wiki site, I really liked Princeton's Book Lovers Wiki, as well as the SJCPL Subject Guides. The first offers a wide range of book recommendations based on subject -- not too dissimilar from our Adult Booklists links. The latter was perhaps the most interesting, because it hosts a large variety of subjects, from Community Organizations and Resources to Local Authors to Indiana State Government information. I liked the local touch to this particular wiki. Some of these pages have been accessed more than 35,000 times. Pretty rad.

library 2.0: goatees required?

"This librarian does not buy technology for the sake of technology. 'Techno-worship' does not exist here. Without a firm foundation in the mission and goals of the institution, new technologies are not implemented for the sake of coolness and status." Goatees, however, are another matter. I was happy to note at Valley that Ellen had replied to a child's request for a Wii station with an earnest assurance that we are researching the matter -- and why not? In my opinion, keeping up with popular and cool technology and perhaps implementing that techonology promptly is not a bad way to inspire some kids to learn. After all, I learned to type as a kid by playing King's Quest on my parents old IBM computer. And because the game starred such weird and creepy characters as Medusa, I went to the library and checked out whatever books I could about Greek mythology, which lead to a whole other bevy of intellectual pursuits. The great thing about it was: I had no idea that I was meandering along the random pathways of learning. This was an excellent thing, because I tended to be the sort of kid that grew bored and tuned out whenever I felt like I was being "lead" somewhere (hence my baffling stupidity at math). So game on, I say, maybe not in spite of it being cool and popular but perhaps even because it's cool and popular. All of those little kids elbowing one another out of the way as they sprint toward the learning stations clearly agree with me.

boing boinging with technorati

the most popular site on Technorati today is, apparently, Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things. one of the "wonderful things" blogged about was a kids' song by Eric Herman called "Elephant Song." thought I would post this for all of the childrens' librarians in the house:

that's how i roll

my Rollyo is aimed at resources for fiction writers and includes several reference tools such as the Poets and Writers' website, The Duotrope Digest, a couple of agent databases, and other writerly sites.

shake your thang.

one of my fav books (above)
view five other books i've read or plan to read here: http://www.librarything.com/home/Sharma
i'm also a member of good reads, thanks to sonia and amber: www.goodreads.com

emily bronte, warholized

the warholizer

the murder of leo tolstoy

for my rss feeds, i wanted to include some journals that are my perennial favorites, ie Harper's, McSweeney's, A Public Space and The New Yorker. i found the feeds by going to their websites and/or doing the search for them offered on bloglines.
i'm presently reading a really funny article in Harper's about one man's hilariously half-hearted attempt to prove to the scholarly world that Leo Tolstoy did not die of natural causes, but was brutally murdered.

better than bumper stickers

[sharing your] personal taste is everything...
http://www.bloglines.com/public/kkshields

musings on technology

so...until today i was pretty sure that i was the first person to coin the term "ranther", but when I googled "robot + panther" i came up with several "ranther" images. and while these robot/panthers were not necessarily labeled "ranthers", i was understandably crushed by my apparent lack of originality. technology! [i cried out, shaking my fist at the sky] you winsome devil! you've foiled me again!

it means "library" in Spanish.

murkiness

Raging Spokane Falls, originally uploaded by Mista Yuck.

a creepy murky photo found on flickr

library assignment #1

first assignment: write down which habit among the 7½ is easiest for you and which is hardest. use your personal blog to post your thoughts about lifelong learning.

easiest: accepting responsibility for my own learning. i have no doubt, for example, that my utter stupidity in math is directly connected to my complete disavowal of its relevance.

hardest: i have a problem viewing problems as problems rather than as challenges.

7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners

Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play