Rockdale's New Full-Time Librarian

Everyone send your congratulations out to Kip Cates, who just became full-time at Rockdale. According to a forwarded email from Laura Tartak, Kip got his MLS from the University of Tennessee, has 19 years of experience in academic and public libraries, and will be a Rockdale committee representative. A lot of us have already met Kip, who has been part-time at Rockdale since October 2004, and we think he's just swell.

Congrats, Kip!

Libraries In The Chronicle

The Sept. 30 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education has a big section of articles on libraries. Scroll down the contents page on the Chronicle website and you'll get to it eventually. Think a username/password is need to access most articles directly online but FT will show up in Academic Search Premier in about a month if you really wanna read it from a computer.

More Wiki!

Had enough wiki talk yet? I didn't think so. Reading some blogs and noticed a post on Library Stuff about the University of Minnesota Libraries using a wiki for their staff home page. Great way to get information out to what I assume is a huge staff.

And now for something completely different: I'm going to switch out a few of the blogs in our blogroll for some variety. So bookmark (or better yet subscribe via RSS) to your faves in case they go away. Also, send me any suggestions you have for new LIS related blogs to feature. I'll probably make the switches next week sometime.

Exalead beta search engine

I'm just now reading the 7/05 issue of LJ. This is from Readers' Delight by Cheryl LaGuardia about a beta search tool:

Exalead (beta.exalead.com/search) is a new search engine built from a unique perspective. "Unlike physical libraries, with volumes on shelves in predictable order, the web is a mess," writes François Bourdoncle, Exalead's founder. "With Exalead, decisions about what should be searched, in what form, or where, needn't be made before the net is cast to gather relevant information. . . . When results are delivered, a tailoring tool appears at screen left, and retrieved information is arranged by Related Terms, Related Categories, Web Site Location, and Document Type. . . . Searchers can fine-tune results before clicking on one link."

Library Instruction Wiki

There was a post on the ILI-L digest today about a new Library Instruction Wiki created by the Oregon Library Association. Looks to be along the same lines as a couple of the previously mentioned LIS wikis but focusing exclusively on library instruction topics and materials. Not a whole lot of stuff there yet, but looks promising.

Sympodium tips?

The library instruction room Sympodium recently was installed at Clarkston. Besides the basic circling, underlining, and highlighting, are any of you using the Sympodium more creatively? Posting annotated pages for students to access later? Drawing hand turkeys?

Katrina's Animal Victims

I know that everyone is as concerned as I am for what is going on on the Gulf Coast. As a Mississippian, I'’ve been deeply touched by the outpouring of tangible aid and emotional support coming from folks all over the country. I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the pets and other domestic animals, livestock, and wildlife that are in desperate need of our help as well.

Many people who had to move to shelters, and many people who have been rescued from the rooftops of their flooded homes, were not allowed to bring their pets with them. Now, these beloved pets may be the only things these folks have left in the world and they are frantic to save them. There is some good news trickling in, but much more remains to be done.

The Humane Society of the United States and The American Humane Association are the two animal charities that I have donated to and I hope that you will consider doing the same. They are working diligently (with local animal groups) to rescue and care for the animals now trapped in homes, or homeless, all along the Coast. If you cannot make a donation at this time, please consider contacting these groups and seeing if there is anything else that they need. They managed to coordinate with some local shelters before the storm, to evacuate animals already housed there, and are now trying to find homes for them. If you were thinking of bringing a new animal into your family, this would be a wonderful way to do it.

Petfinder.com is also working on developing a comprehensive database to aid the pets affected by Hurricane Katrina and hopes to have it operational in a few days. (Petfinder is also an excellent way to adopt a new pet.) The ASPCA, Noah's Wish, and many other wonderful organizations are also doing everything they can to help.

Thanks everyone.

SOLINET Joins the Call for Housing

I know that some of you may have seen this already, but I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention.

SOLINET is calling on all who can to provide free shelter to library staff displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina. The Lexington (KY) Public Library is creating a database of information and providing it to the library associations in the affected states.

Please forward your offer of free housing to hurricanehelp@lexpublib.org with this information:
* Name, city and state, phone numbers, email address
* Brief description of space available
* Number of people that can be accommodated
* If pets or children are welcome
* Smoking or non-smoking
* Handicapped accessible
* Willingness to help with transportation
* Any other information

More Google!

Saw a story about yet another new Google service yesterday.