Friday Fun Thing: Pop Bubble Wrap

Okay, you know who you are, those of you addicted to popping bubble wrap...this is for you! (And it doesn't even hurt the environment or your fingers when you do too much of it, not that I would know anything about that... It does, however, have the same annoyance factor for anyone in your vicinity while you're doing this.)

This site, which perhaps begs the question of how much time on one's hands is too much time, even has a "manic mode" for folks who don't want to slowly savor the popping. There's also an unexpected laugh--be sure to have your speakers turned up when you ask for a fresh sheet! (Not that I would know anything about that, either...)

SUBJECTS: FRIDAY FUN THINGS

Workshop Wealth: Technology Training To Go

A belated thank you to Stephanie Race et al. from NEFLIN for a fabulous TTTG program last Thursday and Friday! A great time was had by all. Thanks also to the State Library and the Gates Foundation for the funding for same.

The keynote speaker at the conference was Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix's Vice President of Innovation, a man who embodies his title. If you are under the impression that you are keeping up with most of the technology or at least most of the the technology terms, Stephen Abram is the man to disabuse you of that notion! One of his scarier statements is that we are approaching a 15- to 20-year stretch of change that will make the last couple of decades seem that we haven't even been marching in place. (What really happened these decades? We learned to click.) Go read his blog over at Stephen's Lighthouse, (it's well worth it!) and prepare yourselves for the deluge.

For some good real-time blogging about the conference, see John Miller's two posts over at PLAN's blog, Postcards from the Cracker Coast.

SUBJECTS: WORKSHOP WEALTH

Technology Tales: Happy Birthday WWW!

Well, a little belated Happy 15th Birthday to the Web. (HOW is that possible?!) Almost made the birthday greetings on time; the "official" birthday was yesterday, August 6th.

Birthday greetings, a quick poll, and a link to WWW history can be found at this About.com tribute.

SUBJECTS: TECHNOLOGY TALES

Friday Fun Thing: Move Over, MySpace!

Move over, MySpace -- here comes a brand new social networking site for the Boomers!

Eons.com is the brainchild of Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor and the article linked above tells of the plans to focus on finance, wellness, and love for those approaching retirement or those recently retired (defined as "Fifty plus"). Eons.com has a search engine (cRANKy) and will have ads targeting the "three pillars" on which it focuses.

For those CFLC members who have attended the Boomers and Gamers class, or for those who plan to (ironically, there was one today and there's one coming up August 25 at Indian River Community College), the fact that a site like this exists is important to know in serving the Boomer generation. A comparison of the interfaces makes it clear that the developers of both MySpace and Eons are very aware of what kind of "look" appeals to each audience.

Aside from just knowing of its existence, where Eons becomes interesting for libraries is its plan to "syndicate obituaries and allow users to contribute memorial-style content...People no longer stay in their geographic communities and don't have access to local obituaries. Eons.com plans to work directly with funeral homes to inform clients about the site's obituary feed and services."

Two of the popular features on the site (both require logging in) include the Longevity Calculator and the Brain Builders ("a game a day keeps dementia away"). Now, if you'll pardon me, my daily brain-exercising Sudoku calls...if I can remember that long enough to publish this post and open up the right window...but first...

SUBJECTS: FRIDAY FUN THINGS

CFLC Chronicles: CFLC "Globe" Trotting #9

The globe went trotting again...this time with one of the CFLC trainers to visit the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. For more specifics, click on those photos; for Miss Baker, in addition to the link at the photo itself, read the NY Times official obituary for her here.

SUBJECTS: CFLC CHRONICLES

ALA Assortments: A New Scrapbook in Town

There's a new electronic multimedia scrapbook on the Web that ought to make library workers proud, the American Library Association Public Information Office's Media Coverage of ALA Conference in New Orleans.

In the section on Volunteer Activity come these startling and "awwww"-inspiring statistics:

Over 2 days, 900+volunteers did over 3.8 years of work at 18 libraries, 6 private homes, 5 community centers and the primary food pantry in New Orleans. They touched the lives of over 250,000 people in the Crescent City, proving that libraries and librarians are visible agents of change across the nation.

To the numerous CFLC members who participated in these activities, way to go!

SUBJECTS: ALA ASSORTMENTS

Tuesday's Tool: ISBN-13

There are five months to go before the implementation of the new 13-digit ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) on January 1, 2007. Are you ready?

If you'd like to find out more about it, bookmark a conversion tool, sign-up for a mailing list, see samples of how to search it now in Books in Print, read answers to frequently asked questions, and more, then the Bowker ISBN-13 for Librarians site is for you!

SUBJECTS: REFERENCE RICHES