Barbie turns 50 but she's still a teenager!

Couldn't let today go past without noting that it is Barbie Millicent Roberts' 50th birthday. The new Barbie dolls certainly look glamorous but I prefer the charm of the vintage Barbie, especially the mod era Barbie. Mod era Barbie really captured the carefree feeling of being a teen and the era of truly innovative fashions.

Noah Wyle is... The Librarian!

Haven't posted to my blog in ages but I just had to post this. Apparently "The Librarian III: Curse Of The Judas Chalice" has just been released on DVD. I had to investigate... and so I located "The Librarian I: Quest For The Spear" and "Librarian II: Return To King Solomon's Mines" - what the ??? The blurb for the first film (refer Beyond Home Entertainment website) states "Having spent his life buried in the cloisters of academia, uber-geek Flynn is uncomfortable in the real world. But fate has a job for Flynn – as a new kind of superhero, at work in the basement of the New York Public Library." Man, this sounds like the job for me - a librarian but with a definite purpose, a calling, but more importantly, weaponry beyond a barcode scanning wand! However, I do believe these are Indiana Jones type movies and would seem to have a very tenuous link with libraries, although having not viewed these films I cannot be certain. It's kind of cool to challenge the old stereotype of librarians with this action hero and adventure stuff though, especially for kids. Hmmmnnn, how do I get hold of a copy now...

Spring into Springshare or open source equivalent

Well, I am feeling invigorated with new ideas and directions after the New Librarians Symposium in Melbourne. It was great to hear what paths new grads have taken after finishing their degrees. Many librarians have found interesting roles, sometimes with job titles which sound very little like librarians, and not always via a straight path. Some have taken contract and temporary positions to gain experience and zig-zagged their way to their chosen roles, collecting many valuable skills and life experience on the way. Web 2.0 and beyond also featured heavily at the symposium.

At the Uni where I work, I heard about Springshare Web 2.0 Library Guides. Basically it's a solution that's ideal for academic libraries and school libraries in particular to draw together many of the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools. The main feature is the Library Guides to aid students in their research, however there are many other useful interactive features.

I particularly liked the way users can rate each guide. I also liked the librarian profiles and the reporting functions to track usage of the guides.
LibGuides Intro from Springshare on Vimeo highlights many of the features. The downside is that Springshare isn't free, unlike many Web 2.0 tools, but at around US $800 or so, it is probably worth the (annual) cost. This is especially the case where the library (such as a public library) might be short of programmers: Springshare is so easy to use and does not require any programming skills to add content and functionality - it's just point and click stuff.

Hands Free 3D for SL

Linden Labs are developing technology which will allow Second Lifers to move through SL hands-free via a 3D webcam. Check out the video on YouTube which explains how it is done!

Second Lives

If anyone has any doubt about the potential of virtual online realms such as Second Life (SL), they need only read one of the books I am currently reading myself, that being "Second Lives" by Tim Guest. Tim relates the story of a group of people with cerebral palsy who are expanding their lives through SL. Although they cannot physically do many activities themselves in Real Life, using the virtual world they are able to enhance their quality of life and experience many new things. The group play as one character that can be whatever they want he/she/it to be. They can interact freely with others virtually. To give you some idea of how liberating the experience of using SL is to these people, here are some quotes from the book: "Second Life gives us the voice we've always wanted to have" and "It's like being rescued after drifting what seemed like a lifetime at sea. Like a door I've been banging on was finally opened, or like being born for the first time. It feels how I imagine an innocent man who has been locked up wrongly feels when he's finally set free." (page 49, "Second Lives", Guest). In some ways I feel ashamed of my reluctance to get into these virtual realms, where this group of wonderful people are bursting with the need to express themselves and the desire to interact with others. It is heartwarming to hear that new technologies such as these are helping people to have better lives, rather than just being for vanity or amusement.