RSS Digest: February 15, 2007

It’s that time again! Here’s the most interesting stuff I found this week.

LIS Articles

What I Learned Today… » Blog Archive » What makes a librarian? Read, think, respond. :-)

Outgoing: WorldCat Identities Ok, cool toy. Thanks to Walt Crawford for blogging this...

ResourceShelf » Research Paper: Selection and Management of Open Source Software in Libraries; Survey: Adoption of Open Source Digital Library Software Going by the abstract, looks like an interesting analysis of OA in academic libraries.

Library Stories: Libraries & Librarians in the News: Annoyed Librarian asks the tough question *applause* I work in a city that is pretty analagous to weatherford, and I wouldn't change a thing. jobseekers, be willing to be a little adventurous in your searching, and you may find some nifty places!

EDUCAUSE REVIEW |If the Academic Library Ceased to exist, would we have to invent it? Yet another article that makes me confident that the rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated.

Library Stories: Libraries & Librarians in the News: Bartlesville to show Bette I wanna be like Ruth Brown when I grow up. To find out more about Oklahoma's most famous Librarian, click on... :-)

Librarians Without Borders Okay, now this is just cool.

librarian.net » LoC Authority files, yours to keep! Free authority files? is the world coming to an end? I gotta make sure our cataloger knows about this. :-)

Information Wants To Be Free » Blog Archive » Making things happen! Wow! I didn't know Meredith is another social services veteran. This is a great post on how any of us can take a cool idea and make it a reality. That strategy's certainly worked for her...

Free Range Librarian: Your Gummint Nixes Digital Preservation *sigh*

» Jobless jitters I wouldn't go as far as saying that "NEWLIB-L should be required reading..."--but it's worth taking a look at if you haven't. I disagree with a lot of what's posted there, but I've also been very lucky in my LIS career so far...

Productivity/Time Management Articles

Get Rich Slowly » How to Win Friends and Influence People An oldie but a goodie. I don't reread this annually as JD does, but Dale Carnegie, Steven Covey, and David Allen are responsible for whatever productivity I've created in my right-brained, scattered self.

zen habits: Zen Mind: How to Declutter I'm a minimalist, Kevin is a collector. We're still working on meeting in the middle, but here are some tips on decluttering for your reading enjoyment.

zen habits: Think about your life goals Have you made a list of what you want to be/do when you grow up?

The Chief Happiness Officer Another new addition to my blogroll...check out this guy's insights on finding fulfillment at work.

Making Your LinkedIn Business Network Pay Dividends - lifehack.org Ya know how I was grumping a week or two back about not getting much benefit from LinkedIn? This has some great tips for making this site work better for you--I'm going to try some things it suggests and report back with progress.

Why you shouldn't buy that new gadget - Lifehacker Blasphemy!!! But definitely worth a read when you're lusting over an iPhone...

Top Ten Dalai Lama Tips - lifehack.org I don't have much to add here...how can you add on to the Dalai Lama anyway?

Being an Entrepreneur Sucks! -- Young Go Getter Every so often I ponder hanging out my shingle as an independent business researcher. Then I read something like this, and explaining how to log into the campus VPN for the 28th time that day doesn't seem nearly as bad of a gig.

How to maximize your first two hours of the day - Lifehacker Some good strategies on starting your day off on the right foot without getting bogged down on "urgent" emails and other minutia.

The only sure-fire investment - lifehack.org On You, Inc.

Reference resources of the week (and a few silly sites)

ResourceShelf » UK: New Web Site: World War II Films from the Home Front Ok, I'm an Anglophile and a WWII buff, making this the coolest history site I've run across in a while. Have fun!

How Good Are Zillow's Estimates? - WSJ.com On the real estate phenomenon known as Zillow--if a patron hasn't asked you about this resource, they will.

LISNews.org | The Romance of a Dozen Roses, the Gritty Reality of a Truckload I will never think of a dozen roses in quite the same way again.

Illuminating the Word: The St. John's Bible (A Library of Congress Exhibition) I don't care if you're a hardcore atheist--this thing's a work of art.

How does skywriting and skytyping work? Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress This is why I'm here. To share reference resources on the fine art of skywriting.

The Book of Household Management, by Isabella Beeton This week's highly cool archival find. Thank you Librarian's Index to the Internet--I now have a great employee manual to pass on to my next under-housemaid.

NPR : The Partisans of Ali Do you know less than you should about Islam? (and if you're not muslim, you probably know as less than you should about Islam). This great series NPR did this week gives a good primer. I finally understand the difference between Shia and Sunni!

The Man in Seat Sixty-One... I've always wanted to take a REALLY long voyage by boat or train--like an ocean crossing or the Orient express. Until I can finagle a month off work to make that happen, I'll read this site and dream...

LibrarianInBlack: Kitty goodness Title says it all. Cat people, surf away.

Wheel of Food Now this thing is just cool. Tired of snagging a cold sandwich in the library cafe for lunch, but not sure what you want? give this site a "whirl" and see what you come up with...

Stroke Warning Signs - lifehack.org This week's public service link, courtesy of lifehacker.

That’s it until Saturday, when I’m going to do that long-promised progress report on my indexcard GTD implementation. I’m sure you’re all aquiver with anticipation. See you soon!