8.19.2010
8.16.2010
8.05.2010
Construction Officially Underway
Construction of our new collaborative technology sandbox space officially began this week! The carpet, ceiling grid, and lights have been removed to make way for new task lighting, sound absorbing panels, and updated, comfortable furnishings. If you visit the library, be prepared for drilling and construction noises. Here are a few photos:
7.27.2010
Government Backs 'Jailbreaking' Of iPhones
From the article at NPR, news for us:
In addition to jailbreaking, other exemptions announced Monday would:
— Allow college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.
"Gov't Unlocks Apple's iPhone But Is The Jailbreak Era Over?"
From an editorial at NPR:
The iPhone ecosystem, which Apple protects with the ferocity of a Smoke Monster, is about to get wilder.
And we have the Library of Congress to thank for it....
What other entrenched, unimpeachable American institution will be the next to take Apple down a notch? Betty White?
7.15.2010
Gulf Oil Spill Information Center Research Guide
The University of South Florida Libraries have created a great research guide to information and data on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spoil and the clean-up efforts.
Gulf Oil Spill Information Center Research Guide
Gulf Oil Spill Information Center Research Guide
6.23.2010
E-books after the iPad
Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg, considering the future of e-books, shares "some random ideas." It's not hard to imagine the implications that some of the features he fancies could have on education, higher education in particular. For instance, consider the prospect of an instructor leaving notes in certain passages of a text. Or a rich multimedia reference function (definitions, animation, video)in text - how might that change the textbooks for biology, chemistry, physics?
6.18.2010
What’s happening on the main floor of the Library?
You may have noticed that we are renovating a small portion of the library near the Reference Desk.
This spring, we held design workshops with students to talk about what they needed in the library that was not currently available. Roughly 45 students participated in the conversation and we received some really great suggestions.
We shared the student suggestions with the folks at Ayers/Saint/Gross, a design firm in Baltimore, and they helped us to design a space that would address as many of those ideas as possible. We are planning to have spaces where you can plug in your laptops to a shared screen to collaborate on projects, view videos on large screens together as a group, or work on your laptop in technology-equipped lounge chairs. We’re also planning to update the look and feel of the space with better lighting, brighter colors, and more comfortable furniture. And, most of the furniture will be on wheels, so you will be able to rearrange it to meet your needs.
Here are a few sketches that the Ayers/Saint/Gross folks shared with us. We may be making some changes as construction gets underway, but these images will give you a general idea of what we’re thinking:
You may be wondering about the café tables pictured on the portico in the images. One of our librarians noticed how great it was to have the temporary tables on the portico during our design sessions and students agreed, so we’re also planning to add café tables in time for the Fall semester!
We’ll be posting photos here on the blog as the space transforms to keep you up-to-date, but feel free to stop in and check out the changes for yourself over the course of the summer!
This spring, we held design workshops with students to talk about what they needed in the library that was not currently available. Roughly 45 students participated in the conversation and we received some really great suggestions.
We shared the student suggestions with the folks at Ayers/Saint/Gross, a design firm in Baltimore, and they helped us to design a space that would address as many of those ideas as possible. We are planning to have spaces where you can plug in your laptops to a shared screen to collaborate on projects, view videos on large screens together as a group, or work on your laptop in technology-equipped lounge chairs. We’re also planning to update the look and feel of the space with better lighting, brighter colors, and more comfortable furniture. And, most of the furniture will be on wheels, so you will be able to rearrange it to meet your needs.
Here are a few sketches that the Ayers/Saint/Gross folks shared with us. We may be making some changes as construction gets underway, but these images will give you a general idea of what we’re thinking:
You may be wondering about the café tables pictured on the portico in the images. One of our librarians noticed how great it was to have the temporary tables on the portico during our design sessions and students agreed, so we’re also planning to add café tables in time for the Fall semester!
We’ll be posting photos here on the blog as the space transforms to keep you up-to-date, but feel free to stop in and check out the changes for yourself over the course of the summer!
Major Changes to OED Online
In a letter on the Oxford English Dictionary web site, the company announced that they would be making major changes to OED online based on readers' comments and their own vision for the future of the site. The new version will be launched in December 2010. While the letter offers little in the way of details, the editor mentions the plan to include the content from the Historical Thesaurus of the OED.
Read the letter from the editor
Visit the OED
Read the letter from the editor
Visit the OED
6.17.2010
Best Anti-Plagiarism YouTube Video
I stumbled across this anti-plagiarism video created by the University of Bergen in a recent American Library Association newsletter...
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