tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2312627882300558872024-03-14T21:41:08.659+13:00Get With It!!! ... More Web 2.0 TechnologiesA learning programme for North Shore Libraries staffNSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-80620489894357388722009-09-25T11:41:00.102+12:002010-06-16T15:39:59.281+12:00About the Programme<p><strong>Kia ora and a very warm welcome to</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">‘Get With It... more Web 2.0 Technologies’</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br />... a self-paced learning programme for North Shore Libraries staff that builds on the knowledge and skills gained from the <a href="http://northshorelibraries.blogspot.com/">NSL Learning 2.0 Programme</a>. It explores how Web 2.0 is being used in libraries today and provides an opportunity for you to:</p><ul><li>refresh your Web 2.0 skills and knowledge</li><li>have a look at what's new</li><li>understand how the web can be used to enhance our library service</li></ul><p>The programme runs for 8 weeks from <strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">14 June – 9 August 2010.</span></strong> There are <strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">6 modules</span></strong> to work through <strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">at your own pace</span>. </strong>You choose how much depth you go into with each topic (depending on previous knowledge, interest, time, etc). </p><p>Each module explores a different area of the web relevant to libraries today. By working through the modules you will:</p><ul><li>get an understanding for the subject</li><li>find valuable resources</li><li>be able to practice and apply skills</li><li>pick up some tips and tricks to pass on to patrons</li><li>and maybe even experience be a few "aha" moments! </li></ul><p>For some it might be an opportunity to look closer at something they are aware of but haven't had a chance to explore - while for others it may be a whole new learning curve!</p><p>Expect a <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><strong>time commitment of 25-30 hours</strong></span> to complete all 6 modules. While we would encourage you to complete all modules, there's no reason why you can't just do selected modules - especially if time (or motivation) is a problem. </p><p>A <strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">certificate</span></strong> will be awarded to those who complete the programme by 9 August.</p><p>More specific information - the when, where and why's - are detailed in <a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-programme-works.html">How the Programme works</a>. </p><p><a href="http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/images/Register%20Now.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 114px; height: 90px;" alt="" src="http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/images/Register%20Now.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><p><a href="http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/images/Register%20Now.JPG"></a></p><p><a href="http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/images/Register%20Now.JPG"></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br />You will need to <a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-register.html">register </a>with the NSL Training Support team before you start this programme.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">We hope you enjoy your learning journey! </span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">NSL Training Support Team</span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:78%;" >Updated: 1 June 2010</span></strong></p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-2488903826848636002009-09-21T12:56:00.014+12:002010-06-11T11:05:11.106+12:00Module 1 - Introduction<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;"></span></strong></span><br />Module 1 looks at <strong><span style="color:#000099;">Online Life</span></strong> in the broader context and highlights some background knowledge and issues we should all be aware of when using the Web. As librarians, we can pass this information on to our patrons.<br /><br />The module is broken down into 3 separate topics:<br /><br />1. Online Privacy and Security<br />2. Open ID<br />3. Creative Commons<br /><br />which gives a thorough explanation of what they are and offers some useful information, tips and advice to make your "online life" a simpler, safer and more enjoyable experience.<br /><br />Given the nature of this learning programme this first module is a great starting point - even if it is just a refresher for some of you.<br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><a href="http://getwithitweb2.blogspot.com/"></a></span> </div>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-87847568900582064932009-09-20T15:16:00.030+12:002009-10-23T11:30:38.236+13:00Module 1 - Topic 1<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"></span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">ONLINE PRIVACY AND SECURITY</span></strong><br /></span><br />The World Wide Web has provided us with myriad ways of finding information, communicating and collaborating, and many entertainment options. Social networks let you keep in contact with family and friends. But, it has also made it easy to give a lot of personal information out to the wide world, which, in personal circumstances, you would never give to ‘strangers’. Once you have published information on the web it can be found even after you have deleted it.<br /><br />What kinds of personal information do people post online that can compromise their privacy?<br /><br /><br /><ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupi01D4UdAcDaWcQRR1GkG2fXoxewzbWGPOM4UoMkaVYKUFiPmnewRHTtLDkK-xiGfc08dcqw5O54vKxe4ohdiXZ2gl9iLB3yKYA2ECijlQjG16LcMRvvT-TGky9I2dWzRfOU0egglDio/s1600-h/3headeddog.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393040217951454626" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 225px; HEIGHT: 264px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupi01D4UdAcDaWcQRR1GkG2fXoxewzbWGPOM4UoMkaVYKUFiPmnewRHTtLDkK-xiGfc08dcqw5O54vKxe4ohdiXZ2gl9iLB3yKYA2ECijlQjG16LcMRvvT-TGky9I2dWzRfOU0egglDio/s400/3headeddog.jpg" border="0" /></a> <li>Names </li><br /><li>Addresses, including email addresses </li><br /><li>Photos </li><br /><li>Phone numbers </li><br /><li>Names of schools, sport teams, clubs and other social groups </li><br /><li>Personal details of family and friends </li><br /><li>Passwords </li></ul><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Safeguarding your privacy</span> </strong></span><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong>Before posting information, think about who can see the information – friends, family, colleagues, prospective employers, anyone with an Internet connection. Picture yourself shouting the information to a world wide audience while a recording is made for posterity! </p><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Have a look at these resources:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEulJbx0b7IXfY7N4c2ab1IoVhKKjKNECXmWM9mMS3ahsXLwWcL74xYNYOf_nYepQRKEHfK-_g2D7fePsN8W8McpJhv9LHOazBQWZT-gkRFvB5QSnPQyLX9XhN6MhZ1L45QHttFIasU4H/s1600-h/3headeddog.jpg"></a></span></strong></p><p></p><ul><li><a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/805142-privacy-and-social-netwo">Privacy and Social Networks</a> - video. </li><br /><li>McAfee has a brochure with good basic <a href="http://ca.mcafee.com/en-ca/local/docs/McAfeeInternetSafetyPlan.pdf">online privacy and security advice for families</a>.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.netsafe.org.nz/">Netsafe</a> gives cyber safety and security advice for New Zealand, including access to different websites for net safe information for parents and children. It also has lots of resources on <a href="http://www.netsafe.org.nz/keeping_safe.php?sectionID=computers">computer security. </a></li></ul><p></p><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Online privacy tips:</span></strong> </p><ul><li>Be careful about what personal/private information you post online, including private information about your friends and family - ask their permission first.</li><br /><li>Read the website private policies and statements before submitting personal information. </li><br /><li>Use pseudonyms and 'disposable' email addresses for accounts where you don't want (or need) to give personal information. </li><br /><li>Make sure you use secure web connections for sensitive transactions such as online purchases or online banking. A secure connection URL usually starts with https, or you could also see a 'lock' icon in the right bottom corner of your screen. </li></ul><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Password security</span></strong></span></p><p>Passwords are the security gates to your accounts. There are different levels of security depending on the type of account you are operating. Some accounts don't require personal information - it is just for fun or convenience - therefore you would not need a high level of security. A password that is easy to remember is suited to this type of account. </p><p>Other accounts which contain personal identification, financial transactions and personal whereabouts need a high level of security. Protection is necessary to prevent identity theft, financial fraud and cyber stalking. </p><p>The key to secure accounts are strong passwords and never giving out your passwords to anyone. General advice for creating strong passwords include:</p><ul><li>Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters, at least 8 digits long to create strong (more secure) passwords – a good practice as encouraged by our City Council. </li><br /><li>Do not leave your passwords lying around. </li><br /><li>Change passwords regularly, especially on critical accounts. </li><br /><li>You could use a secure password storage service, so only you can access them with a master password, e.g. <a href="http://www.keepass.info/">Keepass</a></li><br /><li>You could also use a <a href="http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/">password generator</a> </li></ul><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">(If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.)</span></p><p>...............................................................................................................................</p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-1-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-1-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> *** - optional </span></p><p>..............................................................................................................................</p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-72896511861258808452009-09-20T13:46:00.015+12:002010-10-16T19:15:02.744+13:00Module 1 - Topic 2<strong><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000099;"></span></span></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000099;">OpenID</span> </span><br /></span></strong><br />The web offers some neat services, but it can be frustrating keeping tabs on all those web accounts. (How many times have you forgotten usernames and passwords, lost the pieces of paper with all your accounts' details on it? Or, have it on a file on your computer, but not the computer where you need the information at this moment?)<br /><br />OpenID offers a solution to the problem.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFfirBvSY7t-qq8dg_GZ5H3eGg6bGXmMBz6vb-or8EplIEEf8n8R9qtcwoerRNoSkCtaPHkgivgoYPxEPxvxTKdpCxdDrxdQAmCvNu8s4sG5NE-kyM6HbR-WvnJdFqVB17LX_NBbXWzuX/s1600-h/OpenID+icon.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384848255203270194" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 97px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 95px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFfirBvSY7t-qq8dg_GZ5H3eGg6bGXmMBz6vb-or8EplIEEf8n8R9qtcwoerRNoSkCtaPHkgivgoYPxEPxvxTKdpCxdDrxdQAmCvNu8s4sG5NE-kyM6HbR-WvnJdFqVB17LX_NBbXWzuX/s320/OpenID+icon.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">What is OpenID?</span></strong></span><br /><br />OpenID is an open protocol which allows you to use the same username and password for different web accounts.<br /><br />This <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcmY8Pk-qEk">video</a> explains how it works. (In the video My Vidoop is used as an OpenID provider.)<br /><br />As you saw, it works like this:<br /><br />Normally when you first open an account you sign up giving some details, including an email address, and choose an available username and password. A verification email is sent to the email address you have provided to verify that the email belongs to you. When you click on the link sent in the email to you (or use the code supplied) you are identified with the email address. This process is called <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">authentication</span>.<br /><br />With OpenID you use a website address (URL) supplied by your chosen OpenID provider to authenticate yourself. The process is more automated. You sign in with your OpenID and the website goes directly to your OpenID provider for the verification process.<br /><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" ><br />Why use OpenID?<br /><br /></span></strong>You can now set up accounts and log in with the same username and password - quick and easy to sign up and sign in. No more creating 12 different usernames (because the one you wanted to use isn't available) and remembering passwords for all of them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">How to use an OpenID:</span></strong><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><strong><br /></strong></span>Not all web services make use of OpenID. When you see the OpenID <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">icon</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"> (shown at top) or </span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">"sign in using your existing Google or Yahoo ID"</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">it means </span></span>that account has enabled OpenID authentication. So you can go ahead and sign in with your Google or Yahoo account details.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHO5Hy_jVY_Fb6Sw2It1GYNXrbYPd4JEqmLcYwCgKy2cnOSsd8PeZqW0UjcjSlihy9zga8AgLYEZ2AEk_ipuHvvwq9rqoaaCptGiueHWq_31b6JFubH1Gmffpdpzc3-qn8JT8xC0Q9Jt_Y/s1600-h/OPEN+ID+sign+in.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384848621625891602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 201px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 198px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHO5Hy_jVY_Fb6Sw2It1GYNXrbYPd4JEqmLcYwCgKy2cnOSsd8PeZqW0UjcjSlihy9zga8AgLYEZ2AEk_ipuHvvwq9rqoaaCptGiueHWq_31b6JFubH1Gmffpdpzc3-qn8JT8xC0Q9Jt_Y/s320/OPEN+ID+sign+in.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbGNOLqgdFPJrZZmglQvxWrBSHWLJ6SHSmbLJY9R4sslDdoxvfdUTDFR9KJeBXtI6q72cR1t9rL65HOGCGTC0kn9pS6HZalLArnlg2Mx8xmnmZ0MC_P2G2fayyw0-IVEOORBxtCMH8Dee/s1600-h/openid+sign+in.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392963922276252674" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbGNOLqgdFPJrZZmglQvxWrBSHWLJ6SHSmbLJY9R4sslDdoxvfdUTDFR9KJeBXtI6q72cR1t9rL65HOGCGTC0kn9pS6HZalLArnlg2Mx8xmnmZ0MC_P2G2fayyw0-IVEOORBxtCMH8Dee/s400/openid+sign+in.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZqCY6458B2lSnA6Q9YqsFH_ILZbz0V5bukNrwIm0tf4FNsEkFdLWn3ddcb5CMNYHP_N7dHcCQNlS-66xe2xxZrXOqyQP6rTRsvWAwQXJdM65UI-TzAqryhumMdEl_Z4HN4NunQfItraN/s1600-h/openid+sign+in.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There are several OpenID providers :<br /><br /><ul><li><strong><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal" href="http://openid.net/get-an-openid/">OpenID.net's list</a></strong> has examples of URLs of popular accounts.</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OpenID_providers">Wikipedi</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OpenID_providers">a</a> has a<strong style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"> list of OpenID providers</strong></li><li><a href="http://openiddirectory.com/openid-providers-c-1.html">OpenID directory </a>can be a bit confusing to use but it is interesting to read the discussion on people's experiences with the individual OpenID providers.</li></ul><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Concerns about OpenID<br /><br /></span></strong></span>When OpenID first became available there were some security and privacy concerns mentioned. Privacy may be an issue for you if you feel uncomfortable with the idea that your activities on the Internet can be traced. A security concern around OpenID is that it may be more vulnerable to phishing attacks, but if you follow the security advice discussed earlier it shouldn't be a problem.<br /><br />General advice is to use OpenID for accounts where privacy and security are not important, but don't use it for sensitive accounts where security is very important.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">............................................................................................................................. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-2-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-2-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - Optional*** </span><br />.............................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-12465984260588935862009-09-19T15:52:00.017+12:002009-10-30T17:03:44.260+13:00Module 1 -Topic 3<strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">CREATIVE COMMONS</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span></strong><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_XDHAEqUhlKVnd4UjQf_osWBS5AJfCC3aq7-4wTvMU2w6GySL9SGEytntxPNIvrIQWwqnzbdjsAkVE8K363uLyJBfNHrsG9ktsuNEnqdABy8mZbQFd2eY7R8uwU03vEUXULEptFM4lyd/s1600-h/cc.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384857761160416210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 60px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_XDHAEqUhlKVnd4UjQf_osWBS5AJfCC3aq7-4wTvMU2w6GySL9SGEytntxPNIvrIQWwqnzbdjsAkVE8K363uLyJBfNHrsG9ktsuNEnqdABy8mZbQFd2eY7R8uwU03vEUXULEptFM4lyd/s320/cc.bmp" border="0" /></a>We invariably come across copyright issues during our normal working day – patrons making copies from books, copying from websites and printing out database articles.<br /><br />Copyright protects "original works of authorship", such as literary works, musical works, dramatic works, graphic works, audiovisual works and architectural works. It is very restrictive in that you first have to get the permission of the author/creator before you can use, reproduce, and rework the original work. In some cases this can be quite a mission, especially when there are several persons and corporations involved. The online medium has brought a new way of doing things and created many difficulties in terms of copyright.<br /><br /><strong>Creative Commons</strong> licenses present another legal way in which authors/creators of original works state how they want to share their work and which rights they retain.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" ><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">What is the Creative Commons?</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><br /></span>Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation who provide free legal tools for anyone to grant copyright permissions to their creative work in a standardised way. There are six main licenses based on a combination of the four main conditions creators wish to apply to their work. These licenses grant the public permission beforehand in terms of use, distribution, reuse/remix and attribution. As the Creative Commons organisation states on their website:<br /><br />“Creative Commons defines the spectrum of possibilities between full copyright and the public domain. From all rights reserved to no rights reserved.” (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/about/what-is-cc">Creative Commons.org - What is CC</a>)<br /><br />Creative Commons licenses do not replace copyright, but work alongside it to make the process of legally sharing much simpler and clearer.<br /><br /><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">More information on the Creative Commons:</span> </strong><br /><ul><li>YouTube video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DKm96Ftfko&NR=1">A shared culture</a> (This can take up to 5 mins to download on work computers - right click and open in new window, let it download while you get on with something else then come back to it).</li><li>Explore the <a href="http://www.creativecommons.org.nz/">NZ Creative Commons website</a> - all the basic information on Creative Commons.<br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></li></ul><p><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.</span></p><p>............................................................................................................................... </p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-3-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-1-topic-3-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - optional ***</span><br /><br />...............................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-31165235461965205132009-09-18T08:02:00.019+12:002009-11-25T14:17:16.741+13:00Module 2 - Topic 1<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong></strong></span></span><div><br /><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="font-size:130%;">TWITTER: AN INTRODUCTION</span></span></strong><br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)">WARNING! You may become addicted! Proceed with caution. Evidence:</span> </strong></span></div><div><span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"><strong><br /></strong></span></div><strong></strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392971475434197810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 191px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvkXOfL9i4xGwsY_FhDGip5xt2KL4T2oDUJAZfEorf71yyORxuNJWvBlYNieAhkkCHqXgMOcDpwzEml6mYAlJTBxBUEGYPIisQNVgWUtqp-RDHgz5_1sNELAYxDsGKP_7lR3ISg0XB40T/s400/taddiction.jpg" border="0" /><br />Have you wondered what all the fuss is about Twitter? Twitter has now become part of breaking news stories as reported in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter#Usage">wikipedia article on twitter</a>.<br /><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:130%;" >What is Twitter?</span> </span></p><p>Twitter <a href="http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/13920">describes itself in its FAQ</a> as “a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages". It asks the question: “What are you doing?” Twitter members write short posts /updates, often called "tweets”, of not more than140 characters<span style="COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)"> </span>(which is why Twitter is classed as microblogging). </p>These messages are posted to your profile (your Twitter page) and sent to your followers- people subscribing to your Twitter account. The messages can be published/sent through different platforms such as the Twitter website, cell phones, instant messaging (IM) and various web applications. Twitter accounts can be private or public and you can subscribe to the RSS feeds to keep up to date.<br /><br /><p>It has built-in social networking so that people can follow others’ updates in much the same way as with other social networking sites. Not only do people share what they do/think/plan, they also become part of a conversation with replying to tweets. As such it has become a huge information resource and communication tool. Businesses have already begun incorporating Twitter as part of their marketing and customer services strategies.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Twitter terms and conventions</span></p><p>When you first look at Twitter it can be very confusing. Nancy Friedman says that<a href="http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2009/04/twitters-language-problem.html"> Twitter's Language Problem</a> contributes to this confusion. Twitter's use of terms are different from what we usually apply to those terms. So, to help you make sense of the tweets here is a short list of terms and conventions used in Twitter:<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">tweet </span>- a twitter message up to a 140 characters long - also called an update. It can be about anything and everything. Messages are public unless a profile is protected (or have a private setting).<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">timeline</span> - this is your homepage on Twitter. It shows all the messages you send and messages that people you are following send. If you aren’t signed in you will only see the tweets sent by the tweeter. It also applies to any collection of tweets.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">following</span> - people you follow (similar to ‘friend’ in social networking) whose tweets will show up in your timeline. A selection in pictures of people/organisations you follow shows up on the twitterer’s page.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8sZgP9m8GdGqbUgkfnviz_XyZrNaXsMwGahZNnOCfvQlYb8A_TZCZCZUnmdhy1dCWFxbutavrauMnPzX0-tgx6h_D2iXUxtBap7JZ1t0QQ3D0dWjk-_Nx33AuzNLVU9tDaM81scjgk9k/s1600-h/hashtags.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393339863581096322" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 268px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8sZgP9m8GdGqbUgkfnviz_XyZrNaXsMwGahZNnOCfvQlYb8A_TZCZCZUnmdhy1dCWFxbutavrauMnPzX0-tgx6h_D2iXUxtBap7JZ1t0QQ3D0dWjk-_Nx33AuzNLVU9tDaM81scjgk9k/s400/hashtags.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">followers</span> - people who are following your tweets.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">@</span>username - a reply to a twitter message, i.e. @jaycie622.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">RT or retweet</span> - a message that is repeated because someone thinks it particularly good, i.e. RT @RachelleGardner: If you think publishing is slow, be glad you're not in major motion pictures.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">#</span> - hash tags are used to tag tweets with a theme or event, i.e. Great Read About the Role of Music in Life #music</p><p>Note that url shortening services, such as bit.ly, tinyURL and Tr.im are used in Twitter because of the character restriction - e.g http://bit.ly/fb9Fg. </p><p><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:130%;" >Why use Twitter?</span> </span></p><p>Twitter is many things to many people. Anne Hadley asked this question in her blog <em>MarketingProfs Daily Fix</em> - here is a reflection of some of the comments given (check the link to the blogpost under Further Reading): </p><ul><li>It's a great way to keep in touch with your friends. </li><li>It taps me into the shared knowledge of people I admire online</li><li>I also use Twitter as a discovery engine … it flows new interesting things past me that I wouldn't have thought to search out on my own.</li><li>I like the 140 character limit on what you can say and do with Twitter.</li><li>I use twitter primarily for entertainment purposes and to find cool stuff.</li></ul>Of course, not everyone is enamoured with Twitter, as reflected in these comments: <ul><li>I do worry though about return on time invested. I fear twittering can become a variation on voyeurism, an excuse to be not doing other more useful things. And yet, here I am, watching tweets in the early morning, and it was your tweet that led me to this post. Paradox makes the world go round.</li><br /><li>I personally find it rather unsettling to follow people I don’t actually know: there’s a voyeuristic quality to it, the sense of being a peeping Tom into someone else’s private life.</li></ul><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Other examples of Twitter use:</span></span><br /><ul><li>Get advice and feedback on ideas, problems, etc.</li><br /><li>Taking notes: Twitter can be an ideal place to store your thoughts. You can send an update from any mobile device.</li><br /><li>Create and manage your ToDo list through Some ToDo services such as <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/twitter/">Remember the Milk</a> which accept updates from Twitter. Tweeting via your cell phone makes this a convenient option.</li><br /><li>Send out notices about updates of your blog and website.</li></ul><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:130%;" >Interesting Twitters</span> </span></p><p>Although there are a lot of trivial twittering going on in the twitterverse, there are some very interesting twitters to follow. Here is a small sample.</p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Authors on Twitter:</span><br />Note: It looks like some authors twitter themselves, while other authors’ representatives do the twittering for them.<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/jodipicoult">Jodi Picoult</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/CliveCussler_">Clive Cussler </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/ElizStrout">Elizabeth Strout</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood">Margaret Atwood</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/jenniferweiner">Jennifer Weiner </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/elizabethbuchan">Elizabeth Buchan</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/DrAngelouOKAY">Dr. Maya Angelou</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/megcabot">Meg Cabot </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/LKHamilton">Laurell K. Hamilton</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/jamesrollins">James Rollins </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/nickypellegrino">Nicky Pellegrino</a></p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Politicians & Governments on Twitter:</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/DowningStreet">10 Downing Street </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/whitehouse">The White House</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/NZParliament">NZ Parliament </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/johnkeyPM">John Key</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/BARACKOBAMA">Barack Obama</a><br /></p><br /><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Science and environmental topics:</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/NASA">NASA</a> is one of the many organisations on Twitter.<br />An <a href="http://twitter.com/EcoInteractive">ecologically conscious Twitter </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/GreenPeace">Greenpeace </a></p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">New Zealand Twitters of interest:</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/nzru">All Blacks</a><br /><a href="http://thesalon.blogspot.com/2009/07/kiwinew-zealand-musicians-on-twitter.html">List of New Zealand musicians / music groups </a><br /><a href="http://billbennett.co.nz/2009/07/14/new-zealand-media-people-on-twitter/">New Zealand media people on Twitter</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/akldcitycouncil">Auckland City Council </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/nzmuseums">New Zealand museums</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/Karere">Te Karere Ipurangi Maori News Online </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/NZHistorydotnet">NZHistory Online</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/grabaseat">Grabaseat</a></p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Media on Twitter:</span><a href="http://twitter.com/time">Time magazine</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/NatGeoSocIety">National Graphic </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/GuardianNews">The Guardian </a></p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">A few other interesting Twitters:</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/grammargirl">Grammar girl</a> started as a podcasts, became famous and published a book.<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/cookbook">Cookbook via Twitter</a>. Recipes every day in Twitter speak.<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/arvindnatarajan">Cooking tips and food facts</a> for the foodies.<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/RedCross">American Red Cross </a>- alerts to disasters. The Australian Red Cross did the same during the wild fires earlier this year.<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/GenreStories">GenreStories</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/LivingFrugal">Frugal Living</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/FitMotivation">Fitness motivation</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/HerbalCommunity">HerbalCommunity</a></p><br /><p><strong>If you know of any other interesting Twitterers please share with us through the comments section of this blogpost.</strong></p><p><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.</span></p><p>..........................................................................................................................</p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-2-topic-1-exercises.html"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >EXERCISES </span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >*** </span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-2-topic-1-further-reading.html"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" > - optional </span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">...........................................................................................................................</span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,153,0)"></span></p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-60216524186274918892009-09-18T07:08:00.011+12:002009-10-17T19:36:08.582+13:00Module 2 - Topic 2<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">SEARCHING TWITTER</span></strong></p><p>Twitter can offer a wealth of information if you know how to look for it. But before we look at the various Twitter search engines let's have a look at the kind of information you could expect to find on Twitter.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">What kind of information will you find on Twitter?</span> </span></p><p>Don't expect to find the results that you would find with a Google search because it works in a social networking environment. Points to remember:</p><ul><li>Posts (or tweets) are restricted to 140 characters. You will find minimal information unless there is a link to longer documents.</li><li>You will usually see snippets of conversation so it lacks context. </li><li>Results are in "real time" - from the last few minutes, hours, maybe a few days.</li></ul><p>Always evaluate the information you find and the source of the information.</p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:130%;" >Twitter search engines<br /><br /></span></span>There are many search engines for searching Twitter. Twitter itself has a few search options. Third party Twitter search engines are developed all the time. Some have been established for a few years, others come and go. We are only going to look at a few search engines and other Twitter applications which use Twitter to find/get information.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Twitter's search options:</span><br />The video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGbLWQYJ6iM&feature=channel">Twitter search in plain English</a> gives a good basic introduction.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">On the homepage:</span> Search for words, people, places and hash tags. The Boolean operator AND is assumed between search terms. You can use OR , and minus sign for the NOT Boolean operator. Phrase searches and other <a href="http://search.twitter.com/operators">search operators</a> help refine your results.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153); FONT-STYLE: italic">Twitter's search engine:</span> There are two options - basic and advanced.<br />- <a href="http://search.twitter.com/"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Basic search option:</span></a> In the basic option you could use all the <a href="http://search.twitter.com/operators">twitter search operators</a>.<br />- <a href="http://search.twitter.com/advanced"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Advanced search option:</span></a> This option presents a form to make it easier to select your search specifications. The same search operators that can be used in basic search are presented in the form.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">3rd Party Twitter search engines:</span></strong> </span><br />Unfortunately Twitter's search engine only searches the tweets and not the bio section of the Twitter profile but the search engines listed below do:<br /><br /><a href="http://tweepsearch.com/">TweepSearch </a>searches the <strong>name</strong>, <strong>screen name</strong>, <strong>bio</strong> and <strong>location</strong> fields of Twitter profiles. This makes it possible to find people with common interests based on keywords in their bio section. See the <a href="http://tweepsearch.com/help.html">TweepSearch help page</a> for more information.<br /><br /><a href="http://twazzup.com/" target="_blank">Twazzup</a> - <strong>Note:</strong> This will not work in Internet Explorer 6. On the results page you get related words and hashtags at the top. If you mouseover an avatar, a bubble pops up with another look at the avatar, a “follow” link to their homepage, and other information from their Twitter.com settings. Useful information displayed on the right is the most popular tweets, top trendsetters, related photos and most popular links.<br /><br /><a href="http://chirpcity.com/">ChirpCity</a> - enter the city name in the search box. Results are displayed in two columns - on the left are the latest tweets sent from your specified city and on the right are tweets containing the city name in the tweets.<br /><br /><a href="http://tweetgrid.com/">Tweetgrid</a> - lets you do up to nine searches simultaneously and display results in a grid - each search result in its own block. The <a href="http://tweetgrid.com/howto">Howto page</a> has videos to explain how Tweedgrid works.<br /><br />The <a href="http://hashtags.org/#">#hashtag</a> site search only hash tags, which means you have to know which hash tag to use in your search. You could search tags (or keyword) hashtags and people hashtags. There is a directory under the tags- and people sections which you can browse.<br /><br />Others: <span lang="EN-GB" zid="283"></span><a href="http://twoogle.browsys.com/" target="_blank" zid="285">Twoogle</a> and <span lang="EN-GB" zid="288"><span zid="289"></span><a href="http://www.twiogle.com/" target="_blank" zid="290">Twiogle</a> searches Twitter and Google simultaneously. </span><span lang="EN-GB" zid="279"></span><a href="http://bingtweets.com/" target="_blank" zid="280">BingTweets</a> combine Twitter and Bing searches.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Keeping track of tweets and trends</span></strong></span></span> <p></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong></strong></span></span><a href="http://tweetmeme.com/">TweetMeme</a> tracks and displays the most popular links on twitter. The links are also categorised in broad topics as shown on their <a href="http://tweetmeme.alltop.com/"><em>All the top TweetMeme</em> page</a>. The <a href="http://help.tweetmeme.com/2009/05/11/search-guidelines/">Search guidelines page</a> has more information on how to use TweetMeme.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.monitter.com/#">Monitter</a>: In their own words: "It's a twitter monitor, it lets you "monitter" the twitter world for a set of keywords and watch what people are saying". Tweets can be filtered by location.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;color:#000099;" >Twitter directories</span></p><p>(What is the difference between search engines and directories? <a href="http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/kids/search/ysurf-04.html">YahooKids gives a simple explanation</a>.) Most of these directories can be searched. </p><ul><li><a href="http://wefollow.com/">Wefollow</a>: People add themselves to the directory using tags (keywords) and ranking is according to the number of followers.</li><li><a href="http://www.twellow.com/">Twello</a> - describes itself as the yellow pages of Twitter. Twitter users are placed in categories based on keywords in their bio field.</li><li><a href="http://justtweetit.com/">Just tweet it</a>: another directory where Twitter users can add themselves. It also has a Twitter tools directory.</li><li><a href="http://www.tweetfind.com/">Tweetfind</a>: Twitter users can add themselves. Clean interface and interesting sections to check out.</li></ul><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Question and answer services via Twitter</span><br /><br /></span>There are many places on the web where people can ask questions and anyone can answer them. Similar services are offered for Twitter users.<br /><br /><a href="http://ask.mosio.com/twitter/">Twitter Answers</a> - By following the Q&A twitter account you can send your question to them using the direct message. Your questions are then posted as a tweet on their account with a link to their website where you could see the answers posted (or post answers to questions you see on the account).<br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.lazytweet.com/">Lazytweet</a> - Use Twitter to ask a question, just add "lazytweet" to a post/tweet with no need to signing up and linking Lazytweet's Twitter account. The <a href="http://www.lazytweet.com/about"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Lazytweet About page</span></a> has more information on how it works.</p><p>Similar question/answer twitter services: <a href="http://www.twitqa.com/">twitQA</a>; <a href="http://twanswers.net/index.php">twAnswers.net</a>; <a href="http://www.askontwitter.com/">AskOnTwitter</a>; <a href="http://toanswer.net/">ToAnswer</a> and <a href="http://www.twitterpigeon.com/">Twitter Pigeon</a>.</p><p><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>...............................................................................................................................</p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-2-topic-2-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-2-topic-2-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - optional *** </span></p><p>..............................................................................................................................<br /></p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-16383792080654799262009-09-17T18:53:00.013+12:002009-11-19T17:33:47.769+13:00Module 2 - Topic 3<p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" ></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >TWITTER AND LIBRARIES</span></strong></p><p>Twitter is a great online social networking and communication tool. Why, you may ask, would libraries be interested in Twitter? As many other organisations, businesses and libraries have discovered, Twitter presents many opportunities to: </p><ul><li>Reach out to our patrons where they interact socially in an online environment.</li><li>Attract new users</li><li>Get feedback (active and passive) from patrons (and other people) about the services and facilities of the library</li><li>Promote library services</li><li>Increase awareness of the library </li></ul><p>Online social networking has become part of many of our patron's lifestyles. Both individuals and organisations are using social networks to keep in touch and keep up to date with what's going on in their world. With Twitter we have another tool to create a feel of community and become part of a wider community. Not only does this allow us to have a presence where our patrons are, but we become part of the action. Delivering relevant services means not only giving useful and appropriate services that is valued by our patrons but also delivering them in a way that is convenient to them.<br /><br />Twitter has added another dimension to communicating with our patrons. It is a much more interactive and direct medium with an informal communication style. Feedback is fast and tends to be 'honest', so you get a good picture of what your patrons think and feel. This is priceless information - all for free! (Companies pay huge amounts to measure the levels of customer service satisfaction.) Even better is that you could respond quickly to concerns and complaints, and retweet compliments to build on the value you deliver.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" ><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">How do libraries use Twitter?</span> </span></p><p>As a communication tool Twitter has been used in many ways. Here are a few ways in which libraries have used Twitter: </p><ul><li>To promote upcoming events</li><li>Share information sources </li><li>Post photos </li><li>Alert patrons to technical issues/problems</li><li>Answer information queries</li><li>Give advice in the use of library facilities and services</li><li>Notify followers of new blog posts or website updates</li><li>Talking to people about what they want to see from their library</li><li>Pass along some information literacy skills along the way</li></ul><p>Another important consideration is that it adds personality. Your followers can get a sense of who the people are behind the company. This is very attractive to followers as people tend to follow someone they can relate to. So with Twitter you can put a 'human' face to the organisation and give an insight to what happens behind the scenes.<br /><br />It also gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge through interaction with patrons. But it isn't (and shouldn't be) all serious and dry stuff. There is a great entertainment element to Twitter which makes it very attractive. And what a wonderful way to relate to our patrons by sharing something that makes them laugh and smile!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Libraries on Twitter</span></span><br /><br /><strong>New Zealand libraries:</strong><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/rodneylibraries">Rodney Libraries </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/Manukau_libs">Manukau Libraries</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/nlnz">National Library of New Zealand </a><br /><span class="bio" zid="444"><a href="http://twitter.com/dnlibraries">Dunedin Public Libraries</a> </span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/wcl_library">Wellington City Libraries</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/UHLibrary">Upper Hutt Library</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tararualibrary">Tararua Libraries </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/chblibraries">Central Hawke’s Bay</a></p><p>A sample of <strong>overseas libraries</strong>:<br /><a href="http://twitter.com/librarysecrets">Library - </a><span class="adr"><a href="http://twitter.com/librarysecrets">College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn</a> </span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/grpl">Grand Rapids Public Library</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/nypl">New York Public Library</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/BoroondaraLibr">Boroondara Library </a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/ALIANational">Australian Library & Information Assosiation</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/BritishLibrary">The British Library</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/rdpl">Red Deer Public Library, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/tudelftlibrary">TU Delft Library, Delft, Nederland</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/libr8">West D'tonshire Libs, West Dunbartonshire</a><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/twitter.com/adalib">Ada Community Library, Boise, ID</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/kcls">King Country Library System</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/vpl"><span class="fn">Vancouver Public Library</span></a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/askawaybc"><span class="fn">AskAway, </span></a><span class="adr"><a href="http://twitter.com/askawaybc">British Columbia, Canada</a>.</span> A free online information reference service similar to our AnyQuestions service.<br /><br />Many of our <strong>database vendors</strong> are also on Twitter:<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/AccessScience"><span class="fn">AccessScience</span></a><br /><span class="fn"><a href="http://twitter.com/ProqUEST">ProQuest</a><br /></span><a href="http://twitter.com/EBSCOpublishing"><span class="fn">EBSCO Publishing</span></a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/galecengage"><span class="fn">Gale</span></a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/CochraneCollab"><span class="fn">Cochrane library database</span></a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/BRITannica">Encyclopaedia Britannica</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/medlineplus4you">MedlinePlus</a><br /><a onclick="return open_window('http://0-library.pressdisplay.com.www.elgar.govt.nz/');" href="http://twitter.com/Pressdisplay">Press Display</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/NoveListRA">NovelList</a><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span>...............................................................................................................................<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-2-part-3-exercise.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***<br /><br />*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/twittering-libraries-whats-in-it-for.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - optional *** </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>..............................................................................................................................<br /><br /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-36573602260615728122009-09-16T22:50:00.008+12:002009-11-04T15:47:40.027+13:00Module 3 - Topic 1<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH RSS</span></strong></p>We have never had such easy access to so much information as we have today via the Internet. Though technology has provided easy access to information, it also has developed tools for keeping up to date with the information influx and organising it to a manageable level.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Revisiting RSS</span><br /></span>We looked at <strong>RSS</strong> in week <a href="http://northshorelibrariesexercises.blogspot.com/2008/05/7-week-3-learn-about-rss-feeds-and.html">3 (#7) of the 23Things programme</a>. As part of the exercise you created a Bloglines account (the feed reader or aggregator) and subscribed to a few feeds. This was to demonstrate how convenient it is to read the latest news or updates of your favourite websites all in one place, saving you time and helping to keep you up to date.<br /><br />You may have notice that some websites have a variety of feeds for subscription. Our <a href="http://www.shorelibraries.govt.nz/RSS.aspx">North Shore Libraries website</a> is an example. There are two feeds for this blog - the posts and the comments on the posts. It is especially noticeable with news websites, such as BBC where you can choose to follow only those sections which you are interested in.<br /><br />Email newsletters are another way to keep up to date. Websites often have both email newsletters and RSS subscriptions to alert readers of the latest information and updates.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;color:#000099;" >RSS and the library databases</span><br />Our eResources offer the latest information through journal articles and other information sources on a huge variety of topics. Many of the databases make alert services available to our patrons. These alerts are invaluable in helping you keep track of the latest information on your topic(s) of interest. These alerts may include: <ul><li><strong>A search alert.</strong> Your saved searches are rerun to get the latest results and the results emailed to you. The saved search could also be rerun via a RSS feed.</li><br /><li><strong>A table of contents (TOC) alert.</strong> (Look for these in the publications section in the database.) When a new issue of the journal you selected is published an alert will be sent to your feed reader with the TOC.</li></ul>These alert services can save you a lot of time: <ul><li>It reruns the saved search automatically so you don't have to visit the databases as often.</li><br /><li>It delivers the information to your email or feed reader, so you can check all the latest information in one place - very convenient!</li></ul><p>Look out for the alert services links in the databases such as these:<br /><span style="color:#000099;">(click on thumbnail image to see larger image)<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWCpKd_HB-J_L1CeWAAYQ-584OtLngoohAI57ijZkNXznfSeCdea7Nxm6SpwWeExvEra3R3TYPxj8hGned_CkmlPlErxTWnR1etEc94rbsSf_DjN52ux9VgC5aJvvUDuGItkycmDHOK1W/s1600-h/Proquest2.bmp"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFDV3jh9H1gmR60REt7iyyav9UYaizY7fhB8wM2Q1XUigrPgVkFjw6-8fKqvjo-i4LjVhkF9ySrxbGt2aSwxlu4DUr2DXhwu9W6wIYdDLRkuix2ZWIIyQcg_bUEG2mVKMelADaIyAOIpR/s1600-h/Proquest2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385220043267236690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 173px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFDV3jh9H1gmR60REt7iyyav9UYaizY7fhB8wM2Q1XUigrPgVkFjw6-8fKqvjo-i4LjVhkF9ySrxbGt2aSwxlu4DUr2DXhwu9W6wIYdDLRkuix2ZWIIyQcg_bUEG2mVKMelADaIyAOIpR/s400/Proquest2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />When selecting the 'Set up alert' link for the above search this screen will open up:<br /><span style="color:#000099;">(click on thumbnail image to see larger image)<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOst5VCsObMvGOGBVTXSfvPeuFM71ZC8f3LdqNNzPaDv0xiFHg9qZ_000l23zEuGECj9_n0mMtjsMtsleyjgTYTgru5rSRJgQaY4g78LADSQMu07Fs5546gnGNZXDpHHGQqIos0WRTgCA/s1600-h/Proquest+search+alert.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381259223562896530" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 166px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOst5VCsObMvGOGBVTXSfvPeuFM71ZC8f3LdqNNzPaDv0xiFHg9qZ_000l23zEuGECj9_n0mMtjsMtsleyjgTYTgru5rSRJgQaY4g78LADSQMu07Fs5546gnGNZXDpHHGQqIos0WRTgCA/s200/Proquest+search+alert.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The 'Create a RSS feed' link opens up in this window:<br /><span style="color:#000099;">(click on thumbnail image to see larger image)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGw0f5EUAyBVY89X0y5LTmyPm0_Z-nbfJzWsJLlfpIPnmSvRQ0BBJJalZ-hXeC5unJFExiUSvwqEKfqGNXaK43Hy7AIbKWPmgpHo2RUl6ll1K9V0AVpf0O-TpSbLcE9NK4-kXIVB3DPks/s1600-h/Proquest+create+feed.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381258581168059362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGw0f5EUAyBVY89X0y5LTmyPm0_Z-nbfJzWsJLlfpIPnmSvRQ0BBJJalZ-hXeC5unJFExiUSvwqEKfqGNXaK43Hy7AIbKWPmgpHo2RUl6ll1K9V0AVpf0O-TpSbLcE9NK4-kXIVB3DPks/s200/Proquest+create+feed.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p>Some databases may require you to set up a profile page - look for the phrase 'My ...'. (Remember to record your profile detail.) You may need to log in through our library website to get access to the results sent via your feed or email alert.<br /><br />See links under <span style="color:#000099;">Further Reading</span> for the various databases' step-by-step instructions to alert services they offer. </p><p><span style="color:#000099;">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">...............................................................................................................................<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-3-topic-1-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-3-topic-1-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - optional ***<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">..............................................................................................................................</span> </p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-48883278870113452192009-09-11T18:30:00.026+12:002009-11-17T13:40:01.288+13:00Module 3 - Topic 2<strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >OTHER WAYS OF KEEPING UP TO DATE</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Keeping up with your favourite journals</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Most journals and magazines have a website associated with them, with both email and RSS alerts services. Sometimes it would be a Table of Contents alert, or it could offer one or more newsletters. Links to the magazine websites are often provided in our catalogue, or, do a Google search for the magazine title and then look for the links to email alerts or RSS feeds.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Saving searches in search engines</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Using search engines' alert services to keep track of topics of interest is a convenient way of keeping up to date. Both Google and Yahoo have alert services.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/alerts">Google Alerts</a>: "Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic." (In their own words.) This is easy to do with your Google account. The Google Guide has <a href="http://www.googleguide.com/alerts.html">Step-by-step instructions</a> - though old (2007) it is still valid. If you use your Google account to set up the alert you will get a separate page with a list of all your Google alerts, which can be edited. (This is where you can change the email alert to an RSS feed, which will be displayed in Google Reader. You can add the feed to your Bloglines account or as a gadget in iGoogle.)<br /><br />General consensus from those who have been using the service for some time is that you may not receive notices about everything available and at times you may get duplicate alerts. Advice is to tweak your alert and experiment until you get satisfactory results.<br /><br /><a href="http://alerts.yahoo.com/">Yahoo Alerts</a>: "Yahoo! Alerts is a free, personalized notification service that instantly informs you of what you consider important and relevant via email, instant message, pager, or cell phone." Yahoo alert services differs form Google alerts in that you select from a list of alert types (specific content such as Daily news, HotJobs, Weather). Look for the Yahoo Alert link on the Yahoo search sites. For more information check out the <a href="http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/alerts/about/;_ylt=AorPV2GyR0c7djjkYxTIPMlWjSN4">Yahoo! Alerts Help Topics page</a> .<br /><br />Yahoo has a 'Search Pad' feature where you could save your searches and make notes on the websites you visited during your search, though you can't get updates as with Google Alerts. The Yahoo help pages have <a href="http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/searchpad/;_ylt=A0oGkxImaKtKSUMBGM1XNyoA">more information on this feature</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Creating a feed for websites</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Not all websites provide RSS feeds, but there are ways around this problem - other than having to visit the website regularly to check for updates.<br /><ul><li>You could use Google alerts to create feeds for a specific website that doesn't provide feeds for updated content. Set up a Google alert but specify in your search to limit the search to a specific website or web page, e.g. site:tourism.net.nz.</li><li>Other services that create feeds:<br /><a href="http://feed43.com/">Feed42</a><br /><a href="http://www.feedyes.com/">FeedYes</a> - lets you tag the feeds<br /><a href="http://www.rsspect.com/">RSSpect</a><br /><a href="http://page2rss.com/">Page2RSS</a><br /><a href="http://www.diffbot.com/apps/feedbeater/">FeedBeater</a></li></ul><p><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >Filter your feeds</span></strong></p><p>It is tempting to subscribe to all those interesting book review sites, not to mention all the other interests we would like to follow. But, who has time to read it all? This is where feed filtering comes to the rescue to help you sift through all the information so that you only read the feeds that contain the keywords you specified. The following services do just that: </p><ul><li><a href="http://feedrinse.com/">FeedRinse</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.filtermyrss.com/google-rss-filter/">FilterMyRSS</a> - This is a link to their blog post on how to read the filtered feed in Google Reader (and it should be as simple to add the feed to your Bloglines account.) </li><li><a href="http://feedsifter.com/create.php">FeedSifter</a> </li></ul><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.</span></p><p>...........................................................................................</p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-3-topic-2-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-3-topic-2-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> - optional ***</span></p><p>............................................................................................</p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-83335736951755240672009-09-02T17:12:00.043+12:002010-07-01T09:33:09.777+12:00Module 4 - Topic 1<p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >GOOGLE WEB SEARCHES - LATEST OPTIONS</span></strong></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">** For this topic you will be following instructions to work through a demonstration. You will need to work in two screens. This screen will have the instructions and relevant information and the second screen is to do the search - you will have to toggle between the two. ** </span></p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;">Google is constantly changing. The notes and exercises in this module were updated in June 2010. As far as we know it reflects the current state but let us know if you find differently (via the comments section). </span></p><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >GOOGLE</span></strong></p><p>There has been some new developments recently in many of Google's search engines. These developments include more options to refine a search and various ways of displaying the results. </p><p>First of all - Watch the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtirDMfcOKE">Google Search Options</a> video for an overview of these options. </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click on </span><a href="http://www.google.co.nz/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><strong>Google </strong></span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">(to open up a separate window)</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>hemophilia </em></span></li></ul><p>Note: left bar - options to refine your search</p><ul><li><span style="color:#000099;">Click on the down arrow beside <em>More</em></span></li><li><span style="color:#000099;">Click on <em>Discussions </em>- note the change in results list</span></li><li><span style="color:#000099;">Click on some of the other options, such as news books, to what happens to your results</span></li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>Note: Videos through to Blogs are Google Specialist Search Engines - also shown at the top.</p><ul><li><span style="color:#000099;">Click on <em>Everything </em>at the top of the options</span></li><li><span style="color:#000099;">Scroll down to have a look at the rest of the options</span></li><li><span style="color:#000099;">Go down to <em>More Search Tools </em>and expand the menu (click on the down arrow)</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on some of options <span style="COLOR: rgb(51,51,51)">(except Wonder wheel and Timeline)</span> </span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">See how the list of results change</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Look for the number of results </span></li></ul><p><strong>Note the following:</strong></p><ul><li>The range of options shown in the sidebar can change depending on the option you choose. </li><li>The time based options are the same as you would find in the <a href="http://www.google.co.nz/advanced_search?hl=en">Advanced search</a> , except the date range option which is only available under <em>Search options</em>. </li><li>All of the options narrow/filter or manipulate the result list for the search query entered, except for the Wonder wheel and Timeline (to be discussed later). </li><li>Links to related searches are displayed at the bottom of the page.</li></ul><p style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Google Wonder wheel</span></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on the <em>Wonder wheel</em> link in left side bar</span></li></ul><p>The wheel spokes show links to related searches, or broader/narrower searches in different contexts.</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on some of the spokes and see what sort of results you get</span></li></ul><p>To get back to the original wheel you just need to click in the circle of the previous wheel.</p><p><strong>?? Did you notice?</strong></p><ul><li>The results list on the right side changes as you click on each spoke</li><li>As you click on the spokes the search terms change in the search box (top and bottom)</li><li>The related search suggestions are not listed at the bottom of the page as with the basic search because they are represented in your wheel spokes.</li></ul><p></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on the link <em>Standard view </em>on the left above Wonder wheel</span></li></ul><p></p><p>All the Google search operators (as specified in the <a href="http://www.google.co.nz/advanced_search?hl=en"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Advanced search</span></a>) could still be used, e.g. 'unemployment site:govt.nz'.</p><p>It is comparable to clustering techniques and there are other search engines which follow this technique, e.g. <a href="http://clusty.com/">Clusty</a> , <a href="http://www.quintura.com/">Quintura</a> (cloud tag display), <a href="http://search.carrot2.org/stable/search">Carrot2</a> , <a href="http://www.webclust.com/">WebClust</a> , <a href="http://www.iboogie.com/">iBoogie</a> .<br /></p><br /><p>Some authors have suggested that the Wonder wheel can be used as a mind map. Though it may give some ideas for a mind map it cannot yet replace the human thought in organising information that goes with creating a mind map suited to a specific purpose.</p><p>Ways to use the Google Wonder wheel:<br /></p><ul><li>Look for related information - further search strategies, for questions like: Is there anything else I should look at for my topic? </li><br /><li>Ideas for creating topics within a subject (similar to mind mapping). Students often have to formulate their own research questions on a given topic as part of their assignments. </li><br /><li>Use it to explore a topic, especially helpful when patrons are not clear on exactly what they are looking for. Also useful when you want to have a quick look at related information on a topic new to you. </li></ul><p style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Google Timeline</span></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>flu epidemic </em>and Click on <em>Timeline </em></span></li></ul><p>Results are displayed under the timeline in chronological order. The dates are extracted from the web pages and the information related to the date are displayed in the 'snippet' with your search term highlighted. </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Drill down further by clicking in the timeline sections or by clicking on the dates in the result list.</span></li></ul><p>Note the following:<br /></p><ul><li>The dates mentioned are not always related to your search topic, but may be related to another event mentioned on the web page. </li><li>Sometimes the date may refer to the publication date of an article or blog post.</li><li>More results are found with a basic web search, however when selecting the timeline option the number of results are reduced. </li><li>You get different results when you select the timeline.</li><li>Default display is 10 items per page - though only the first page is displayed. When you choose more results per page the timeline is more detailed, and the resultant web pages displayed change.</li><li>The 'related searches' are not displayed on the timeline page. </li></ul><p>The value of the timeline lies in the access you get to historical records and the overview it gives of the historical treatment of a topic. Trends will also show up - depending on your topic - or even how the use of a term has changed over time.</p><p>Though it is an interesting way of searching for information, you still have to sift through and evaluate the information and most probably build a timeline of an event/topic yourself.</p><p>As always, you have to structure your search query carefully with appropriate keywords and phrases to get good results.</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Close your Google search window.</span></li></ul><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >OTHER GENERAL WEB SEARCH ENGINES</span></strong></p><p>Though we mostly use Google because it is familiar and easy to use and usually gives good results for well structured search queries, there are other search engines which are worth using as well.</p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >Yahoo</span></p><p>It’s the next popular search engine after Google. </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click </span><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Yahoo</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"> (to get a separate window)</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>tsunami </em></span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Have a good look at all the options offered.</span></li></ul><p><strong>?? Did you notice? </strong></p><ul><li>The suggestions under <strong><em>Also Try</em></strong> </li><li>When you click on the down arrow under the search box you get a list of related searches which you can scroll through via the up/down arrows. </li><li>On the left side bar you can choose to limit your search to a specific website, e.g. Twitter, Wikipedia, etc</li><li>There are also further 'related searches' listed in the left side bar.</li><li>The <em><strong>Options link</strong></em> next to the search button which takes you to the <em><strong>Advanced Search</strong></em></li></ul><p>The latest feature added to Yahoo search is the <em>Search pad</em>, a kind of note taking application where the sites you visited are listed and you can add your own notes, share the your notes and save it. You need to have a Yahoo account to use it. </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Close your Yahoo search window.</span></li></ul><br /><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >Bing</span></p><p>Launched in June 2009, Bing is Microsoft's replacement for their previous Live Search engine. </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right Click </span><a href="http://www.bing.com/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Bing</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"> (to get a separate window)</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>tsunami</em></span></li></ul><p>Features: </p><ul><li>Related searches are listed on the left side bar. </li><li>Preview of website on the right of a listed result (hold the mouse for a few seconds to give the preview time to load.)</li></ul><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"></span></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Close your Bing search window.</span></li></ul><br /><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >Exalead</span></p><p>A very easy to use search engine from Europe that has all the options on one page – even when you select the Advanced search option you still stay on the same page.</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click </span><a href="http://www.exalead.com/search/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Exalead</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"> (to get a separate window)</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>tsunami</em></span></li></ul><p>Notice:</p><ul><li>Thumbnails of websites are displayed to the left of the text result. </li><li>Related searches are listed under the search box</li><li>Related terms listed in the side bar. If you click on the related terms it will rerun your search with the related term/phrase added to the search query.</li><li>Breaking news listed at top]</li></ul><p></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on <em>Advanced Search</em> option</span></li></ul><p>Notice how it opens up in the same screen - very convenient!</p><p>The Advanced search options include a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Phonetic search</span> option (e.g. soundslike:lite) and an <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Approximate spelling</span> search option (spellslike:lite). (If you really misspell a word it will ask <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Did you mean …</span> as Google does.)</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Close Advanced Search screen</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on <em>Wikipedia link</em> at top of page</span></li></ul><p>Notice the interesting way of searching Wikipedia. The tag cloud on the right is colour coded searches for people , organisations, locations and categories related to the topic.</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Close your Exalead search window.</span></li></ul><p><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >USING MORE THAN ONE SEARCH ENGINE AT A TIME</span></strong></p><p>Want to try several search engines but don’t have time to do each individually? Then meta-search engines are the answer. Meta-search engines return search results from several search engines for every query submitted. Here are a few familiar ones:</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.dogpile.com/">Dogpile weg search</a> – searches Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask</li><li><a href="http://www.metacrawler.com/">Metacrawler </a>- searches Google, Yahoo, Ask</li></ul><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Open each one in a separate window (right click) and repeat some of the searches you did earlier to see how they work.</span></p><p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.</span></p><p>......................................................................................................................<br /><br /><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-4-topic-1-exercises-google-web.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES</span><br /></a><br /><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-4-topic-1-google-web-search.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING</span><br /></a>..................................................................................................................... </p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-43117916488516888592009-09-01T17:21:00.027+12:002010-07-01T09:46:27.728+12:00Module 4 - Topic 2<p><br /><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153);font-size:130%;" >GOOGLE SPECIALIST SEARCH ENGINES</span></strong></p><p>Google has a variety of specialist search engines, many of which you are already familiar with. There have been new developments with these search engines within the last year. We will look at these and other similar specialist search engines within the different categories at the same time.</p><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;font-size:130%;" >Google image search</span></span><br /><p>Google has added search options to their image search engine which makes it so much easier to refine image searches and get the exact images you need.</p><p>Let's explore the options:<br /></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click on </span><a href="http://images.google.co.nz/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Google Images</span></a> (open in a new window) </li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for Sport </span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"></span><em></em>Note: Size of images, Type of image, Colour - left hand column.</li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Choose any of the options and play around to see what results you get.</span></li></ul><p>You could use any combination of the search criteria at the same time. Did you notice the <em>Find similar images</em> link under some of the images? </p><p>Many of these options can also be found in <em>Advanced image search</em>. Copyright is an important issue with image use so it is very useful to have the option to filter your image search by <strong>Usage rights. </strong></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on </span><em><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Advanced image search</span> - </em>note <strong>Usage Rights</strong> (2nd from bottom). </li></ul><p>Just note that it is still your responsibility to make sure of copyright issues of any image you find on the web, even if you use the Usage rights filter. </p><p><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Other image search engines</span><br />All the general web search engines we looked at in <a href="http://getwithitweb2.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-4-topic-1-google-web-search.html">the previous post</a> have image search engines – <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/">Yahoo image search</a> , <a href="http://www.bing.com/images">Bing image search</a> and <a href="http://www.exalead.com/search/image/">Exalead image search</a>. Features they all have in common are:<br /></p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Size options</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Colour and black & white options</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Style options – photo, illustration</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Layout / orientation</span></li></ul>Bing and Yahoo have a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Related search option</span>. Yahoo has a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Reuse filter</span> and Exalead has a <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">File type</span> filter.<br /><br />More image search engines to try out:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/">Flickr</a> has a huge database of images, but be aware of copyright issues. (It has a Creative Commons search filter.)<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.viewzi.com/">Viewzi</a>: Do your search and then scroll through at the top to select the Photo section - mostly from Flickr and SmugMug - visually very appealing layout.<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.picsearch.com/">Picsearch</a> - simple to use with most of the search options and filters you would expect from image search engines.</li></ul><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Google video search</span> </span><br /><br />There are two video search engines associated with Google:</p><ol><li>In New Zealand (under the .nz domain) we have access only to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube search engine</a>. (Google owns YouTube.) </li><li>Google’s other video search engine (Google Video search) is available in some of the other country domains. You can access it by searching <a href="http://video.google.com/">http://video.google.com/</a> or <a href="http://www.google.com.au/">http://www.google.com.au/</a>. </li></ol><p>Let's explore further:</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click on </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">YouTube </span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">and select open in new window</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for </span><em><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Reference Interview</span> -</em> have a quick look at your results</li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on <em>Search Options </em>-</span> note the options, particularly Duration</li></ul><p>The other general search engines also have video search: </p><ul><li><a href="http://video.search.yahoo.com/">Yahoo video search</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos?FORM=Z9LH5">Bing video search</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.exalead.com/search/video/">Exalead video search</a></li></ul><p>They all work on the same principles and have most features in common. Another video search engine worth exploring is <a href="http://www.blinkx.com/">blinkx</a>. It has a very interesting <a href="http://www.blinkx.com/advanced">Advanced search</a> where you can select the source of video through removing the source button from the list displayed.<br /><br />Not surprisingly, YouTube sourced videos dominate the search results because of their immense database of videos. There is some duplication in the result lists because videos can be uploaded to multiple websites.<br /><br /><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"><span style="font-size:130%;">Google book search</span><br /></span></strong><br />There is a lot of controversy around Google’s book search tool, but it has some advantages for our work in the library. Before looking at the advantages let’s first explore some of the features.</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Right click </span><a href="http://books.google.co.nz/"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Google books</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"> and select open in new window</span></li></ul><p>Scenario: student has to find out why artifacts found at a burial site indicates that it is the grave of an ancient Greek priestess....</p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Search for <em>ancient Greek priestess burial</em></span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Go into any of the books in your result list</span> (Note: opens up on a specific page, options along the top, you can search for words within the book)</li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on <em>Overview</em> - scroll down and have a look at information available.</span> Note especially the common terms and phrases represented in a tag cloud that can give you an idea of topics discussed in the book.</li></ul><p>You can also filter your results according to viewing agreements between Google and Publishers/Authors: </p><ul><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Click on the Back button to go back to your results list</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Use the drop down menu and choose <em>Full view only -</em> have a look at your results</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Go back to drop down menu and choose<em> Public domain only -</em> have a look at your results</span></li><li><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">Let's go back to </span><a href="http://books.google.co.nz/books"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">home page</span></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)"> and explore the magazines featured. Many of the magazines are older editions, but some have up to date issues added. </span></li></ul>As Always, the <a href="http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search">Advanced search</a> makes it easy to narrow down your search considerably.<br /><br />Using Google book search in our work: <ul><li>It makes it easier to decide whether the book would be appropriate for a recommendation for purchase or because of helpful information on the book such as the table of contents, the words/phrases tag cloud, book reviews and book overview. Of course, you would also look at other resources such as the <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Global Books In Print</span> database, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Amazon</span>, etc. </li><li>It gives easy access to books in the public domain. And, because it is full text search, it is easy to search for the quote you need.</li><li>It is another way of verifying facts through the snippets of information gleaned from the content views. (Verifying facts means you should consult a variety of sources.) </li><li>For fiction works it is sometimes useful to read the first few pages of an unfamiliar author's work before deciding whether this is the kind of book that appeals to you. </li></ul>Have a look at this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7s8q9nTQh4">video of two people who found Google book search very useful</a>. Though this video is part of the Google channel and is used as a promotion for Google book search it still serves as an inspiration for using the service. There are other videos about people using Google Book search at this channel.<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,153)">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span>........................................................................................................................<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-4-topic-2-exercises-google.html">EXERCISES</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-4-topic-2-further-exercises.html">FURTHER READING</a></span><br />.........................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-4443450697014941932009-08-31T17:14:00.024+12:002009-11-06T16:11:19.765+13:00Module 5 - Topic 1<strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">FILE CONVERTERS</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Knowing how to convert files from one format to another is really useful especially when helping patrons at the public computers. This module will give you an overview of some file converters and practical skills to do just that!</span><br /><br />Our patrons, who are using the public computers, sometimes need to open files in formats for which we don’t have the software on the computers. Those documents have usually been created with other software programmes such as Word 2007 and OpenOffice.org.<br /><br />Most of the time patrons want to open or download files created with the Microsoft Office 2007 suite of programmes. To open these files you need software that is compatible with the file format, thus the format is converted to another format so that you can open and edit the document. There are a few ways to do this.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Note:</span> When converting files some of the formatting will be lost. Images and graphics might also cause some problems.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Using online productivity tools to open and convert files</span></span><br /></span><br />As part of the 23Things programme we looked at online productivity tools <a href="http://northshorelibrariesexercises.blogspot.com/2008/05/16-week-7-take-look-at-some-online.html">(#16), </a>such as Zoho and Google docs.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Google docs</span><br /></span>If you have a gmail account you can use Google docs easily to upload various file formats, including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Rich text (.rtf), OpenDocument (.odt) and PDF files. At time of writing PowerPoint 2007 still can’t be uploaded. Click on the Upload button and follow instructions. You can then edit it, save it and export it in various file formats, though not yet in Microsoft Office 2007 file formats.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Zoho</span><br /></span>You need to have a Zoho account to use the application. Zoho accepts similar formats as Google docs. Click on the Import button and follow instructions. You could also import Google documents into Zoho. As with Google docs you could export the files in various formats, but not yet in the Microsoft Office 2007 file formats.<br /><br />Our patrons may find it so convenient to have access to these online services that they might make full use of all the features such as online sharing and collaboration.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold;color:#000099;" >Online file converters</span></span><br /><br />There are online file converters that can convert a whole variety of files into different formats. Many have a free service package available for occasional users. Some also provide a file hosting service as well. The problem with using these services is that it takes some time before you get your file(s) back.<br /><br />Generally you upload your file and give your email address and other details. After the conversion is done your file will be emailed to you. Premium accounts will have a shorter time delay than the free accounts. There might also be a restriction of the file size.<br />This kind of service may not be of immediate help for our patrons, though they might find it useful if they know that they have to allow time for the service.<br /><br />The most well known online file converters are:<br />• <a href="http://www.zamzar.com/">Zamzar </a><br />• <a href="http://media-convert.com/">Media-Convert </a><br />• <a href="http://www.cometdocs.com/">CometDocs</a><br />• <a href="http://www.youconvertit.com/">YouConvertIt</a><br />• <a href="http://www.convertfiles.com/">Convert Files </a><br /><br />There are many others available, some which will only convert certain types of media. As always, you need to read the <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Terms of Service/Use</span> before using online services.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Although we may not use online converters in our work as such it is useful to be able to pass this information on to our patrons.<br /></span><br />......................................................................................................................<br /><br /><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-5-topic-1-exercises-file.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES<br /></span></a><br /><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-5-topic-1-further-reading-file.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING </span></a><br />.....................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-71550292824869424822009-08-29T17:17:00.040+12:002009-11-22T23:12:00.253+13:00Module 6 - Topic 1<em><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">There are a lot of links to resources listed for this topic. We don't suggest that you look at all of them necessarily (especially not in one go!) however we have put everything down not only to cater for different tastes but importantly to make it a resource that you can come back to whenever you need.</span></em><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >SITES FOR READERS AND BOOK LOVERS</span> </strong><br /><br />There are so many websites that give the opportunity for readers and book lovers to share their enthusiasm for their favourite books and authors. It can add immensely to the joy of reading and open up worlds of reading discovery. We are going to look mostly at the sites where readers can engage with online communities to enrich their reading experience. Some of these sites can also be used as a reader's advisory tool, but the emphasis will be on showing our patrons ways of extending their reading world through these social networking sites.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Online discussions</span><br /></span></span><br />Wonderful as it is to share your reading in a face-to-face situation with others, it isn't always possible in our busy lives to get together at a time and place to suit everyone - that is to say if you can get a group of like-minded people together. This is where online discussions open up ways of communicating with fellow readers. These online discussions can take various forms.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Online book clubs</span><br />There are many book clubs on the web. Here is a small selection:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/bookclub">Guardian book club</a>. This is a good example of how the virtual world and 'real' world complement each other. Hosted by John Mullan, professor of English at University College London, the Guardian's book club examines a book a month. In his column he posts three weekly articles on the book where he discusses various topics/themes. This is followed by a live Q&A session with the author, usually held at Kings Place in London, which is reported in the 4th column including referrals to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog">book blog discussion</a>. There is an archive of previous books. It is easier to follow this process on <a href="http://twitter.com/reviewbookclub">their Twitter account </a>which has the links to the relevant web pages.<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/thebookclub">The book club</a>- an international book club for Twitterers. Follow @thebookclub or <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=thebookclub">use this link </a>which gives you a result page of a Twitter search for the book club, where you will see the books people recommend. Followers can also mark their book recommendation tweets with the hash tag #goodbook so it could be used in a Twitter search to see everyone's recommendations.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readinggroupsonline.com/">Book Clique Cafe</a> - lists various online book clubs, upcoming author chats and instructions on establishing a new group. There are links to the reading groups' home pages, or, in some cases, to the group's page on Yahoo groups. They usually have scheduled live chat sessions. Some also have email discussions, or you could post to their message boards.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookgrouponline.com/forum/">Book group online</a> - includes all fiction genres as well as non-fiction, children & young adult groups, and a section for other media and views on life in general. The book groups discuss specific titles. You need to register to post to the forums.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.booktalk.org/">BookTalk.org</a> - A reading group and discussion forum for both fiction and non-fiction. Books are selected through online polls and anyone can make suggestions for books to be discussed. Includes live author interviews and general chats via the chat room. If you are not interested in the current book under discussion you can join the additional fiction or non-fiction book discussion forums. An archive is kept of previous book discussions. Also have a Facebook page and you can follow them on Twitter.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.encompassculture.com/">Encompass - the global book club</a> - "EnCompassCulture is a worldwide reading group, the place to find your next book and talk about books with other readers from around the world." Emphasis is placed on books published in the UK and the Commonwealth. Readers can talk through the <a href="http://britishcouncil.world-communities.org/encompass/discussionboards/FL_Interactive.LassoApp?CA37620118e153954FwUR16E663C">discussion boards</a> or join the live chat sessions. For the enthusiastic reader there is a <a href="http://www.encompassculture.com/readerinresidence/quiz/">monthly quiz</a> . Also have <a href="http://www.encompassculture.com/readerinresidence/authors/">author interviews </a>. It has a widget to create book lists based on your selected criteria, but expect some gaps in the lists. A useful feature of the book list is that there are links to reviews and author websites with each title.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Groups to join in discussions</span><br />Another popular form of online discussion is to join the group forums. Yahoo groups is very popular and Google groups is the 'old' Usenet groups that has found a home with Google. Membership ranges from completely open to anyone, to requiring registering for posting, to where your membership needs to be approved before you could join in the discussion.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">Yahoo book groups:</span><br /><ul><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thebookloversclub/">The BookLovers' Club</a> - Reading and Discussion of books with fun :-) - "We read and discuss books here both classic and contemporary." </li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twilight_chat_group/">Twilight Chat Group</a> - "Any and all fans of the Stephenie Meyer books: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn will find a home here." </li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/paranormalromance/">Paranormal Romance</a> - "...discussing speculative romantic fiction, including time-travel, science fiction, vampire, shape-shifter, fantasy, and futuristic." </li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4_Mystery_Addicts/">4_Mystery_Addic</a><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4_Mystery_Addicts/">ts</a> · Be clueless no more! - "...discover new authors, great books, and the latest in mystery happenings. Every month we have a formal discussion of two books selected by the group plus one book in an ongoing series, as well as daily discussions of what we are reading and what's happening in the world of crime fiction."</li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DianaGabaldon/">DianaGabaldon · Outlandish Voices</a> - "...discuss Diana Gabaldon's books, the Outlander series. We ask that only 18+ readers join us. If you are new to Diana's work, we advise you to read all the books before you join the group so that you won't feel that anything has been "spoiled" for you."</li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MaryBaloghfans/">Mary Balogh Fans</a> - "This list is for the fans of Regency romance writer Mary Balogh. We have a great deal of fun discussing our other favourite romance writers and how their work is similar to/different from Mary's." </li></ul><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">Google groups:</span><br />There are a lot of spam on some of the Google groups! Perhaps that is why many of the book groups on Google groups seem to be inactive. Here are a few that have an active community.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.stephen-king/topics?lnk">alt.books.stephen-king</a> - "The works of horror writer Stephen King."</li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.pratchett/topics?lnk">alt.books.pratchett</a> - "Discussions of Terry Pratchett's books and characters."</li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.reviews/topics?lnk">alt.books.reviews</a> - "If you want to know how it turns out, read it!".</li><br /><li><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.m-lackey/topics">alt.books.m-lackey</a> - "Author Mercedes Lackey and her books."</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/://groups.google.com/group/melbourne-young-peoples-book-club?lnk=">Melbourne Young Peoples Book Club</a> - "Post messages, suggest books, arrange get-togethers (outside the regular book club meetings). So get to know your other members and get reading!! P.S. The Book Club meet on the first Tuesday of every month (at a CBD pub/bar location) - 6.45pm (meetings normally go for 1 hour)" - example of online communication supplementing real world get-togethers.</li></ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Online reading communities</span></span><br /><br />You are familiar with <a href="http://www.librarything.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">LibraryThing</span></a> from the 23Things programme. It is one of the most well known of the online reading communities. There are many other reading communities (<a href="http://www.shelfari.com/">Shelfari</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a> and <a href="http://www.anobii.com/">Anobii</a>) and they usually offer similar features such as :<br /><ul><li>Making a list of your books, usually with tags to make it easy to find and share them.</li><li>Rating items</li><li>Writing book reviews</li><li>Browsing other people's lists, read their reviews and see their ratings</li><li>Joining group discussions</li></ul>Have a look at these similar sites:<br /><br /><a href="http://weread.com/">weRead</a> - "is a community for book lovers. Whether you love classics or popular fiction; whether you love Dickens or Dan Brown; is a place where you can find others who share your reading tastes and through them discover new books that you will love." - This is a Facebook group.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookarmy.com/">Bookarmy</a> - "... is a social networking website for every sort of reader... to discuss and review books, build reading lists, get the best book recommendations, and where you and your friends, family or classmates can read books together. ..here you can make direct contact with authors."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.revish.com/">Revish</a> - "Read and write book reviews, keep and share a list of the books you're reading, keep and share a list of your favourite books, participate in discussions with other readers and reviewers." Distinguish itself from LibraryThing by emphasising that it is all about book reviews.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.connectviabooks.com/">ConnectViaBooks</a> is a social network where book lovers can find other people who enjoy similar books. Publishing and sharing book lists allows users to connect with others, and by writing reviews, users share their love of books with the public. Users can create multiple book lists, publish those lists on their own blog, and engage in lively discussions about books.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.yareads.com/">yaReads.com</a> - Appealing site for YA readers, with forums for book and other discussion. The <a href="http://www.yareads.com/forum/portal.php">portal page</a> gives you a good idea of the activity on the site. Also has a Facebook and MySpace page, and can be followed on Twitter.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookdivas.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=48">Book Divas</a> - "...is a unique online community. We are the leading online book club for young adult and college readers and we've been around since 2002. We love to read. And most of all, we love to talk about our latest literary finds." Rich site with many features, including author interviews, message board and contests. Has a Facebook page and <a href="http://twitter.com/bookdivas">can be followed on Twitter</a> , where the live author chats are announced.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bibliotravel.com/">BiblioTravel</a> - ".. is a free online resource for identifying books set in distinct locales." Site was set up by two librarians. Covers all genres - fiction and non-fiction.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Online book suggestions</span></span><br /></span><br />There are various techniques these sites use for making recommendations - a person recommending reads; suggestions based on reader's lists; etc. Have a look and see whether you think these services can replace, or supplement the services we provide for our readers.<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/BookSuggester">Book Suggester</a> - on Twitter. "Tweet the title of your favourite book and I will recommend other titles you may enjoy."<br /><br /><a href="http://bookseer.com/">The Book Seer</a> - A fun way of getting suggestion of books to read based on a title you submit. It gets the suggestions from Amazon and LibraryThing.<br /><br /><a href="http://beta.booklamp.org/">BookLamp.org</a> "matches readers to books through an analysis of writing styles, similar to the way that Pandora.com matches music lovers to new music. Do you like Stephen King’s It, but thought it was too long? BookLamp allows you to find books with a similar level of tone, tense, perspective, action, description, and dialog - while at the same time allowing you to specify details like... half the length." The recommendations may not be reliable because the small size of the book database.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readingtrails.com/">Reading trails</a> - a interesting concept to find books. They explain how it works: "A trail is a sequence of books linked in an interesting way—for example, a series of fun beach reads for your upcoming vacation, a tour through the books that influenced Milan Kundera, a professor's introduction to French existentialism. Because one book can appear on many trails, trails intersect. When browsing a trail, click the intersections link in each book to see all the intersections."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search">What Should I Read Next?</a> - Give the title and author of your favourite book and you get recommendation site based on members’ lists.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter</span></span><br /></span><br />Some Twitter sites h<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrnvyF5toibNoknY7AxPVLYpF_AyprU20jQXg0MCDK1LdMLY-n9lYe23J1-BOCZEIQ_Bm8ewf5F0fTRThZSD4EXs7p0pZJF3uX1U9PIanFzWWTzLeu5Uq4pBa9QAlsGRPScterLhEiTjH/s1600-h/twitterbook.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400545035560991778" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 266px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrnvyF5toibNoknY7AxPVLYpF_AyprU20jQXg0MCDK1LdMLY-n9lYe23J1-BOCZEIQ_Bm8ewf5F0fTRThZSD4EXs7p0pZJF3uX1U9PIanFzWWTzLeu5Uq4pBa9QAlsGRPScterLhEiTjH/s400/twitterbook.jpg" border="0" /></a>ave already been mentioned in the above lists. Here are a few more of the interesting pages.<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/litchat">LitChat</a> "is a fun, fast, and friendly way for book lovers to talk about books on Twitter. We chat on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 4-5 pm (est)." The topic of the week is introduced in the <a href="http://litchat.net/">LitChat blog</a>. You must have a Twitter account to participate in the litchats. Tweets are marked with a #litchat hash tag so they can be followed through other Twitter clients. There is an archive of past litchats.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Fun and quirky stuff on Twitter</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/VeryShortStory">Very Short Story</a> - "Twitter sized fiction for your entertainment. Written by @sean_hill. Send me a noun and I'll use the ones that inspire me in a story." Posts are marked by a #vss hash tag so that it is easy to find in a search.<br /><br /><a href="http://read-weep.com/">Read it and weep</a> - "a podcast about the worst in contemporary fiction. In each episode, three hip and happening twenty-something males bring their distinctive brand of analysis to popular novels/movies..." It is even more fun <a href="http://twitter.com/read_weep">following the rants on Twitter</a>.<br /><br />Tags to look for:<br />litchat<br />fridayreads<br />bookclub<br />followreader<br />You can also search for the terms 'books', 'reading', 'reviews'.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Miscellaneous</span></span><br /></span><br /><a href="http://bkkeepr.com/">bkkeepr</a> "lets you track your reading and bookmark on the go, via the web and SMS." You need to have a Twitter account, then <a href="http://twitter.com/bkkeepr">follow bkkeeper on Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://dailylit.com/">DailyLit</a> - sends books in instalments via e-mail or RSS feed. "We currently offer over 1000 classic and contemporary books available entirely for free or on a Pay-Per-Read basis (with sample instalments available for free). You can read your instalments wherever you receive e-mail/RSS feeds, including on your Blackberry and iPhone." Titles cover a wide range of genres and non-fiction. You can discuss books and authors on the forums.<br /><br /><a href="http://bookcrossing.com/">BookCrossing</a> - "is earth-friendly, and gives you a way to share your books, clear your shelves, and conserve precious resources at the same time. ... A book registered on BookCrossing is ready for adventure. ... Track the book's journey around the world as it is passed on from person to person." <a href="http://twitter.com/DailyLit">Also on Twitter</a> with interesting posts and comments.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blippr.com/books/home">Books on blippr</a> - described as the “Twitter for Reviews”. "Blips are 160 character reviews with smiley icons that sum up your opinion". These are sections for other media reviews as well - music, movies, games and apps.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My Library</span> in <a href="http://books.google.com/">Google Books</a>: If you have a Google account you can create your own 'library' or list of titles by clicking on the <em><strong>Add to my library link</strong></em>. This allows you to add book reviews and ratings. You can also import book lists using the ISBN. The list (My Library) has an unique URL to share your book list with other people - either send them the link or post it on your blog. RSS feeds are available so that people can subscribe to the list and get the latest updates. Detailed information in <a href="http://books.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=75375">My Library FAQ</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://notingbooks.com/">Noting:books</a>. "Keep notes about the books you are reading, including the day your started and your thoughts as you read. Share your notes with others or read members’ notebooks they keep."<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >That's all for now folks! ...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">What you've just seen is a fraction of what's available on the Internet. You may have heard a lot about the demise of the book era because of the advent of the web ... but hopefully with all you've just read we book lovers can be assured that the future of the book will be alive and well for many years to come. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span>.....................................................................................................................<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-6-topic-1-exercises.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span><br />....................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-53636557866543374152009-08-28T14:07:00.009+12:002009-11-17T13:31:45.252+13:00Module 6: Topic 2<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" ></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">AN AUTHOR'S PERSPECTIVE</span><br /><br />When authors talk about their work we get an insight not only into the book - the psyche of the characters, the social setting, the storyline - but also on the whole creative process and the inspiration behind the book. As you know, the stories behind the books can often be as fascinating as the books themselves, giving us a much richer experience!<br /><br />The development of Web 2.0 technologies - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">podcasts</span>, email newsletters, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">RSS</span> feeds, social networking sites, Twitter, chat groups, online forums - has brought information about authors and their works to our screens and made it all accessible to us with these easy to use technologies.<br /><br />Here is a selection of websites that make use of these technologies to bring the authors alive!<br /><br /><a href="http://authorsontourlive.com/">Authors on tour live</a>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Podcasts</span> of authors and their books - from the Tattered Cover Book Store. Has an archive of previous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">podcasts</span> which includes an alphabetical list by author name. Offers email alerts, can subscribe to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">RSS</span> feed or <a href="http://twitter.com/AuthorPodcasts">follow them on Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.openbookclub.tv/index.php">The Open Book Club</a> - TV programme - interviews with authors on their latest books. Has an archive of previous author interviews. Get their email newsletter or <a href="http://twitter.com/OpenBookClub">follow them on Twitter</a> for the latest news and updates.<br /><br />Authors@Google - are <a href="http://www.google.com/talks/authors/index.html">author interviews on video</a> hosted on YouTube. It is part of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/atgoogletalks"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">AtGoogleTalks</span> channel</a>. From their web page: "The Authors@Google program brings authors of all stripes to Google for informal talks centering on their recently published books."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bookbrowse.com/authors/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">BookBrowse</span></a> - has an author section featuring interviews, biographies, websites and pronunciation guide. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">BookBrowse</span> is a subscription book recommendation service, though some information is freely available to guest visitors. They <a href="http://www.bookbrowse.com/blogs/editor/">have a blog</a>, <a href="http://www.bookbrowse.com/newsletter/">two email newsletters</a> (previews and recommendations). They have a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Facebook</span> page and can be followed on Twitter.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.openbooksradio.org/interviews.htm#">Open Books</a>, according to the introduction on their website is "an hour-long, Chicago-based radio program on which I speak with writers whose work I find enlightening and affecting, perhaps beautiful, funny, urgent, profound, or all of the above. Open Books is rooted in my work as a reviewer and editor for <em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Booklist</span></em>, and my lifelong love for books." It offers a selection of free <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">down loadable</span> audio files of author interviews divided in fiction, non-fiction and poetry categories. There is also a <a href="http://openbooksradio.blogspot.com/">blog</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/literature.php">The Paris Review Interview Archive </a>- "Since 1953, when the first issue of the magazine appeared with an interview of E. M. Forster, our Q&A encounters with the great writers of our times have come to be recognized as a sort of literary genre unto themselves: the Paris Review interview." Featuring poets and writers interviewed from the 1950s to present. The archive is arranged according to decades (in which the interview was published), though you could switch to alphabetical author index, or search the archive for a specific author.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.powells.com/authors/interviews.html">Powell's Books: Author Interviews</a>. Contemporary writers interviewed by Powell's, the used books seller. The authors interviewed are listed alphabetically in the left side bar. Has a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Facebook</span> page, various <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">RSS</span> feed subscription options and can be followed on Twitter.<br /><br /><a href="http://libwww.freelibrary.org/podcast/">Free Library of Philadelphia</a> has <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">podcasts</span> of author events - also on Twitter.<br /><br />Author Interviews by <a href="http://wiredforbooks.org/swaim/">Don <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Swaim</span></a> "Listen to the voices of many of the best writers of the English language. These uncut, behind-the-scenes interviews were the foundation of Don <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Swaim's</span> long-running CBS Radio show, Book Beat." Extensive list of well known and popular authors.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews#authorlist">Reading Rockets: </a>Video Interviews with Renowned Children's Book Authors and Illustrators - from the Reading Rockets site which is all about teaching and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">encouraging</span> children to read. They have a sister website - <a href="http://www.adlit.org/articles/authors/">Adolescent Literacy</a>, also featuring author video interviews. Both organisations have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Facebook</span> pages and can be followed on Twitter. Subscription to newsletters and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">RSS</span> feeds are available for the latest news.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/on_the_web/auth-illA-I.html">Children's & YA Book Authors and Illustrators on the Web</a> . "Collection of links to children's and young adult book author and illustrator web sites and pages. Some are official, others tributes or interviews."<br /><br />For more information on children’s authors have a look at:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_children"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Wikipedia</span> list</a> - a list of notable children's literature authors and their most famous works. </li><li>The Christchurch City Libraries have a wonderful list of <a href="http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Kids/ChildrensAuthors/list.asp">New Zealand children’s author interviews </a>. </li><li><a href="http://www.storylines.org.nz/authors.asp?search=m&search_type=1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Storylines</span></a> has an online database which contains information on New Zealand Writers, illustrators, their books, storytellers and others involved with children's books. </li><li><a href="http://www.e-cast.co.nz/website/literature_live/index.php"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Literaturelive</span></a> - "A series of 10 videos that explore the creative process with 10 of New Zealand’s most highly acclaimed authors and illustrators."</li></ul>For New Zealand author information have a look at:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Information/Introduction.htm">NZ Book Council's NZ writer files</a> - author information, alphabetically listed, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">searchable</span>. </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:%20New_Zealand_writers">New_Zealand_writers</a> – <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Wikipedia</span> listing of New Zealand writers, but not extensive. </li><li><a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/countries/new-zealand.htm">Fantastic Fiction</a> has a list of NZ authors with an indication of the genre they write in where applicable. It <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">isn</span>’t an exhaustive list of NZ authors.</li><li><a href="http://thepulse.org.nz/Read/Authors/">Pulse interviews</a> with authors on Christchurch City Libraries website.</li></ul>Again, this is just a selection of what is available on the web. If you come across any other interesting websites, please share with us in the comments section below.<br /><br />.....................................................................................................................<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">*** </span><a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/09/module-6-topic-2-exercises-authors.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISE </span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">***</span><br />....................................................................................................................NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-231262788230055887.post-61813631608978607842009-08-27T17:27:00.019+12:002009-11-22T21:02:07.966+13:00Module 6 - Topic 3<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">EVALUATING WEBSITES</span><br /></span></span><br />During the course of our work we see many different types of resources and make quick decisions whether those resources are relevant/useful to the needs of our patrons.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >Criteria for evaluating information sources</span><br /><br />Whenever we evaluate sources to see whether it is appropriate for the patron's needs we use the standard criteria of:<br /><ul><li>Audience - who had the author in mind when this was written?</li><li>Purpose - why was this written? This criterion is closely related to the intended audience.</li><li>Authority - what is the expertise and reputation of the author?</li><li>Content scope or coverage - is it comprehensive or narrowly focused; in-depth or broad discussion?</li><li>Currency/Timeliness - Does it represent the latest facts/views/research findings? Is timeliness important to the patron's query?</li><li>Accuracy - is it based on facts which could (and should) be verified? Can you clearly distinguish opinion statements and are the opinions supported by a well structured discussion/argument. What viewpoints are presented?</li></ul>The web is a relatively new publishing medium and has grown exponentially over the last decade. Ultimately when we select websites we use the same criteria listed above to evaluate sources, but usability (or ease of use) becomes an important factor. There are other reasons too which makes evaluating websites more complicated:<br /><ul><li>There is an overwhelming amount of information on the web.</li><li>There is a lot of duplication of information.</li><li>It is easy for anyone to publish information on the web, but not always so easy to establish their credibility.</li></ul><p></p>Websites have unique features that make it different from other information sources:<br /><ul><li>Websites can have a mix of media - text, graphic elements, sound and video files</li><li>Hyperlinks - create ways for users to navigate in a much more random way inside a document than with other more traditional media.</li><li>In many websites there is an interactive component (enabled by the hyperlinks) that adds (or distracts) to the media experience.</li><li>Through the use of search engines you can land anywhere in a website, so that you often see information out of context.</li><li>Sometimes you need specialist software to access the files on the website.</li><li>The web is inherently unstable - links are broken (changed) ever so often, access to pages are denied or the server is down, etc.</li><li>Web pages change all the time, especially in the web 2.0 era. You may have noticed that many websites are perpetually in the beta development phase - a hall mark of web 2.0.</li><li>Advertising on web pages can be so intrusive it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between content and advertisements. </li></ul>UC Berkeley Library's <a href="http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html">Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask</a> is a well known guide to evaluating websites. It gives guidance on what to look for and which questions to ask. This is especially relevant to websites we use to find information.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >Types of Websites</span><br /><br />When evaluating websites the type of website should be taken into account. (The type of website is related to the purpose and intended audience of the website.) There are many types of websites:<br /><ul><li>Organizational & company websites </li><li>Information web sites - providing information with different levels of coverage and scope of topics</li><li>Educational websites - schools and other educational/training institutions </li><li>Commercial website - Online shopping, Auction websites</li><li>News and Journal Websites </li><li>Entertainment websites - Online Games</li><li>Personal websites, including blogs and online diaries </li><li>Social networking sites - promote interactions amongst the users. Facebook, Twitter, dating websites, forums.</li><li>Collaborative websites - e.g. wikis. Groups work together to create content on a specific topic or for a specific goal. </li><li>Search engines, web directories, portal websites and yellow pages - websites that list/refer to other websites. </li><li>Online Web tools - Web 2.0 web sites - web sites that offer a particular service. The purpose of these web sites can be varied - information storage, communication etc. Examples: Flickr, Google docs, del.icio.us.</li><li>Blogs and online diaries - The content of blogs vary widely from general musings to detailed and specific information on technical subjects.</li></ul>Your approach to evaluating the different types of websites will vary depending on the purpose and intended audience of the type website. Of course, in reality you will find many websites that are a blend of the types described above. The Library of The University of Albany has a guide on what to look for when <a href="http://library.albany.edu/usered/eval/evalweb/">evaluating the different types of websites</a>.<br /><br />Since Wikipedia is such a popular source of information on the web with our students a very useful brochure was developed by Otago University Library about the use of Wikipedia for a research project - <a href="http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/pdf/2008_WhyNotWikipediaBrochure.pdf">Why not Wikipedia?</a> - which gives guidance on how to evaluate Wikipedia articles.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >Websites that spread misinformation</span><br />Every now and then you might come across information that sounds too good to be true or too weird and wonderful for words! This should arouse your suspicion that it could be misinformation or a hoax. If this is the case you should always investigate by doing a search on the Internet and also looking at sites that expose these hoaxes (look under <strong>Further Reading </strong>for a list of these sites).<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The web offers a wonderful source of information but, as with any source, we need to have a careful look to see if it is relevant to the needs of our patrons and is useful for them.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">It is always a good idea to verify the information found on the web by using a variety of sources, including print and audio visual media.<br /></span><br /><br /><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">If the Comments section below is not open .... click on the link to find participants' comments which could be helpful for this topic.<br /></span>......................................................................................................................<br /><br />*** <a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/11/module-6-topic-3-evaluating-websites.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">EXERCISES<br /></span></a><br />*** <a href="http://additionalreading.blogspot.com/2009/11/module-6-topic-3-further-reading.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">FURTHER READING<br /></span></a>.....................................................................................................................</p>NSL Training Support Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05874883024191214514noreply@blogger.com2