A shout across time

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on July 2nd, 2008 in · 0 Comments

If I had a time machine, I would go back to various points throughout the previous century and tell anyone that was going to archive documents for posterity to not staple them together.  Seriously, anyone from the past who might be reading, do not staple your documents together! I keep ripping the documents when I try to remove your ancient staples so I can scan them for our newfangled digital archive.  I know you don’t know what a digital archive is, but trust me, your documents will look better in it if they’re not ripped from having their staples removed.  And please don’t glue them together either.  Seriously.  Put the glue down and walk away.

Also, I would use my time machine to get my Auntie Angie’s pepper biscuit recipes.  I know I’d have to be insistent, but dammit, recipes should never go to the grave.  Unless they involve Jell-o molds.

Not a sign of a cloud passing by

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 27th, 2008 in , and · 0 Comments

The Pot of Gold's in Safeway!

So here’s what’s exciting in my life these days. On July 14, I’ll be starting my first job as a full-fledged librarian. I got a job as a cataloger at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Central Library. This is good, since I have to pay someone to smash a gigantic hole in one of the walls of my house (long story). Also, how can you not be excited about working for the parent agency for the National Weather Service?  The job is a contract position through the employment agency InfoCurrent, which I mention as a segue into the next bit of personal news.

I have also started a job writing about government information for the new library professional networking site LibGig. The site is a service by Library Associates (LAC), another employment agency and one that I’ve worked for a number of times over my career. LigGig has a particular focus on library jobs, which makes sense given the nature of LAC’s business. The job board is intended to be a general job board instead of just a listing of LAC jobs. Of course, there are currently a lot of LAC jobs there, but there should a lot more general listings forthcoming now that the site is public.

Greg Schwartz and company discussed LibGig on Uncontrolled Vocabulary this week, which you can listen to here; the specific discussion begins at the 34:23 mark. They were a bit skeptical about it as a job site, which I think is understandable since there is an employment agency behind it. Greg invited anyone from LibGig to call into UV next week to talk about the site, and hopefully someone will take him up on the offer.

So far, I’ve had two posts published on LibGig.  The first post is an overview of what I’ll be writing about for the site, while the latest post previews government information-related sessions at this year’s ALA conference.

SLA 2008: die Pfosten

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 24th, 2008 in and · 1 Comment

Ribbon overkill

There is no guilt on earth more potent than the guilt you feel when you don’t blog while tooling around an SLA conference wearing an “SLA Blogger” ribbon on your badge. I did successfully recruit Marie Kaddell from Government Info Pro to the Library Society of the World though, so that mitigates the guilt somewhat.

I was actually been fairly busy during the conference. Tuesday was particularly hectic: three sessions (including one that I co-presented at with two of my Germany parliamentary tour companions, Donna Scheeder and Eileen Deegan), two meetings (including one that bordered on revolution… but I don’t think I should talk about that just yet), and a joint division reception.

From the point of view of the Government Information Division (DGI), the conference was a success. Almost all of our sessions were standing-room only, and the primary complaint we received on our feedback forms was that the rooms were too small to accommodate all interested attendees. The only session that wasn’t SRO was the annual division business meeting, since that is primarily of interest to division members. Still, we had a great turn-out for that, too.

I will be writing two recaps about the conference, and I’ll let you know when they’re published. One will be a session recap for the DGI website, while the other will be a general recap for another website that I will discuss in a later post. That later post, by the way, is going to be really exciting. Like, it is going to be more thrilling than George Clooney driving a reasonably priced car on Top Gear while Kat Deely cheers him on. (Your thrills may vary.)

UPDATED 27 June 2008: I ended up not recapping the SLA conference for the other website, LibGig, but I did write a preview of ALA.

By the way, this post has nothing to do with the band Die Pfosten, who according to their website is “Hardcore-Fun-Heavy-Recreation-Wellness- Beauty-Death-Punk-Rock Mit Gesang (with singing)”. Oddly enough, that description suits me as well, aside from the “Mit Gesang” part. Anyway, if you’re looking for Die Pfosten MP3s instead of an SLA 2008 recap, then here’s one for their song “Ein Wiedersehn.”

Off to SLA 2008

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 13th, 2008 in and · 0 Comments

An MLS shelving? Betcher ass!

SLA’s annual conference begins in Seattle this weekend.  I head out tomorrow and I will have my laptop in tow.  I don’t know how much blogging I will end up doing, since my three major aims at the conference are: 

  1. Help make sure the Government Information Division sessions go smoothly;
  2. Meet up with co-workers past and present, old pals, and online buddies;
  3. Find a bar showing the Austria-Germany game on Monday.

The following is the slate of sessions DGI is sponsoring and co-sponsoring at this year’s conference.  We will be posting recaps of these sessions on our site after the conference is finished, and I’ll update this post with links when they’re published.

Government Librarians Get Savvy: Metrics, Metrics, Metrics!
Monday, Jun 16, 2008
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Convention Center 601

“What does Outsell’s latest benchmarking survey reveal about trends impacting information managers? How can benchmarking, ROI, and other metrics illustrate value to users and stakeholders? At this session facilitated by Outsell analysts, diverse government librarians will share challenges and best practices for applying metrics to quantify and justify their operations.”

Building Global Bridges Across Science Databases
Monday, Jun 16, 2008
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Convention Center 604

“Scientific knowledge sharing is racing ahead, thanks to WorldWideScience.org, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Portal, and the National Technical Information Service. These global science gateways link Internet searchers to key databases and reports in dozens of countries. Find out where these international bridges are headed and where they can transport you.”

Spotlight Session: UnSpun - Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation 
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Location: Convention Center 2AB

“As the 2008 U.S. election campaigns intensify, FactCheck.org Director Brooks Jackson is assiduously monitoring debate discourse and political ads, pointing out candidates’ exaggerations and inaccuracies. In his timely Spotlight Session, the veteran journalist will discuss the proactive strategies voters and information professionals should adopt to ferret out facts and get ‘unspun.’”

Cutting-Edge E-Preservation: Washington State’s Digital Archives
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: Convention Center 617

“Digital preservation is reaching beyond libraries’ boundaries, as states engage corporate and government players in e-preservation initiatives. Learn how Washington State librarians and archivists are creating a renown digital archive that safeguards historical and legal records, and facilitates public access. Panelists discuss project-management and technology challenges, solutions, and future paths.”

Government Information Division Business Meeting and Presentation: From USA to Deutschland
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Location: Convention Center 303

“Join us as DGI’s officers recap our past year’s achievements, and preview what’s ahead. Next, in a lively panel presentation, members will highlight events from their unique study tour of premier German government libraries. What information issues bridge our two countries and what networking avenues can we pursue? Find out!”

Let’s push things forward

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 6th, 2008 in and · 0 Comments

Jeane Kramer-Smyth from Spellbound Blog posted a couple of comments in the “Reboot” post about my decision to move the old Libraryola posts to Libraryola: Archive.  You can read my response in the comments. 

She mentioned a WordPress plug-in called Redirection, which forwards visitors to new versions of old links.  I installed it yesterday and set it up today, and so far it’s working like a charm.  To use Kramer-Smyth’s example, if you search Google for “LexisNexis Best Practices,” you see a link to a URL that is no longer on the Libraryola site.  If you click on the link, you’ll be forwarded to the correct URL.  Nifty!

In other site news, I’ve added a review of the California state portal to the State E-Gov Site Reviews.  More good stuff has been added since the last time I looked at the site early last month, so be sure to check it out.

State E-Gov Site Reviews redux

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 5th, 2008 in and · 1 Comment

I’ve started work on the “State E-Gov Site Reviews” section of the site.  The following sections have been added so far:

I’ve also finished, for the most part, my first new site review: “California: Governor.”  Obviously, I’m looking at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s site in this review.  I still have to add a screenshot of the site to the page, and I also need to test the podcasts out in iTunes, RSS Radio, or Nimiq.  Of course, by the time you read this, that last sentence will probably be rendered meaningless.

A fellow by the name of Rob Q emailed me recently to let me know that since the last review, the site has added RSS feeds and podcasts.  He also pointed out that the governor has a YouTube page, a Flickr group and a Twitter account.  I haven’t found links to these services on the governor’s site yet, but I’m looking.

Lastly, I’ve added a few new items to the sidebar.  First, the MP3 widget is back, as is a copy of my thesis.  I’ve added my del.icio.us feed, as well as a page explaining the abbreviations I use in the notes field.  Finally, I’ve added a little LIS blogroll.  Treat them all as you would your own brother.

Reboot

Posted by Chris Zammarelli on June 4th, 2008 in and · 8 Comments

One more of me and the turtle

I graduated from the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies (iSchool… yeah, I know) on May 23, 2008.  Note I didn’t say I got my degree: that’s coming in the mail later this month.  Anyway, now that I’m a real live librarian (versus some poseur like you see on TV), I decided to restart Libraryola.

I’m not going to mention a certain number followed by a certain puncuation mark followed by another certain number, but yeah, that’s sort of the idea.

Content-wise, Libraryola will still focus primarily on government information and technology, with new State E-Gov Site Reviews appearing shortly (as pages instead of as blog posts).  However, since I will be writing about this topic a lot elsewhere (more on that soon), I will also look at broader issues related to library science and technology.

My goal is to publish one decent-sized post a week, with periodic minor updates (e.g. when new State E-Gov Site Reviews are posted) and more frequent posting during conferences (e.g. SLA 2008 in Seattle, which starts in a couple of weeks).

I will also be adding some fun stuff to the sidebar, so if you subscribe to the Libraryola RSS feed, click through every now and then, won’t you?

By the way, if you’re looking for old Libraryola posts, they’re archived at Libraryola: Archive.