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digg is a fascinating site that combines blogging and social bookmarking. The front page of the site lists the most visited diggs. You can visit the queue to visit blog posts that are waiting to make it to the front page. When you visit the link, you have increased the digg rating. A high enough rating will get the post listed on the front page. Even if you are not interested in visiting the queue, digg offers a great selection of interesting blog posts on its front page.
The official site of Margaret Coel contains biographical information, information on Wind River where her mystery series is set, appearances, and contact information.
Stephen J. Cannell, author of the Shane Scully novels has a site that opens with a video intro and leads to reviews, novels, and more.
How can you pass up a poem that starts: "A scent rather quietly loves the library."
Click American Poetry Review: An Oddness to read the rest.
The John Bunyan Archive pays homage to this author of Pilgrim's Progress. The site offers a large collection of Bunyan's writing.
FaithfulReader is a site dedicated to Christian fiction. The site offers author interviews, book reviews, feature articles, book excerpts, future releases, and bestseller lists.
The Complete Guide to iPod Audiobooks is the best guide I have seen on downloading audiobooks to an iPod and on ripping from CD to iPod. It is pretty easy once you know the steps, but before that I had a really messed up audiobook on my iTunes!
Yahoo! Widgets is the new Konfabulator site and is filled with helpful widgets, little helpful programs that live on your desktop. They range from weather to stock market information to clocks and calendars.
Smithsonian: Spotlight on Science is a weekly online newsletter offered by the Smithsonian. Recent issues have included articles on biodiversity, astronomy, evolution and conservation.
National Geographic News offers daily reporting on nature, archeology, environment, history, science, health, and travel. An RSS feed is available.
HousekeepingChannel is a site that offers those of us who are clean-house challenged information on how to better clean our homes. Topics include organization, bathrooms, vacuuming, floors, dusting, kitchens, laundry, ceilings and walls, exteriors, and windows. The site also has articles, reviews, tools, resources and online forums.
The Internet Archive is always worth mentioning. Have you explored their Moving Image Archive? It is a fascinating collection of films that are open source and free to use.
The World's Healthiest Foods is a website offering information on the most nutrient dense and healthy foods. You will find quick and easy but still healthy recipes as well.
The Museum of Online Museums serves as a portal to online museums. The museums include brick and mortar museums with great websites, exhibits on design and advertising, and links to interesting galleries online.
Cell Biology Animation is a colorful site filled with online animations on cells. Animations include DNA, amino acids, cell anatomy, and chromosome structure.
The Family Handyman Magazine offers an online how-to library with sections on repairs, exterior and interior projects, tools, and skills. Learn how to patch concrete, clear drains, build decks, regrout tile, and much more.
The Paleontology Portal is a website produced by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, UCMP Berkeley, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and PaleoSociety. The site offers information on paleontology in U.S. with a fossil gallery, flora and fauna, and resources like field guides and maps.
NPR : Nonfiction: Substance in the Summertime
A great article on the joys of reading nonfiction. It ends with this:
"The point of picking up a book is not to escape from the world -- which is the point of the movies David Thomson hates the most --but to embrace it. That's a worthy goal in all seasons."
Aardman Animations is the official site for the studio that creates the Wallace and Gromit programs, including their first feature film coming out in October. Enjoy all the wonderful whimsy on the site! And if you are not a fan already, head to your library to check out the Wallace and Gromit shows, they are definitely worth a look and a laugh.
Wikibooks is a wiki that offers open-content textbooks that everyone can edit. They currently have over 9,500 textbooks in progress. I will be the first to admit that some of the subjects are a suspect at best, but others are intriguing. I think this is an important trend for libraries to keep an eye on with the new popularity of wikis and tagging.
Podcasting News is a great site for information on podcasts. From lists of the most popular casts to news, articles, an online forum, and gear, this site covers everything in one easy place.
Another brand new library wiki! LISWiki just launched at the end of June, so most of what is on it is under the initial entries which offers a long list of subjects to explore. Remember, since it is a wiki, you can add content yourself as well.
Life Organizers is a website filled with information on organizing your life. Areas include office, clutter, time, finances, moving, family, and spirit, mind and soul. Each month there is a new checklist to help in organizing. The site also offers tips on organization.
The Academy of American Poets offers this site filled with poetry news, events, selected poets and poems, and online forums.
Official City Sites offers an easy way to find official sites for municipalities across the country. The site also lists Chambers of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureaus, and tourism sites.
Mamma, a great search engine, now offers a specialized engine just for health information, MammaHealth. The engine compiles information from the top health sites online and allows you to do a single search to find information.
HGTV now offers a Video Guide on their website. You can watch how-to videos online. The videos covers decorating, home upgrades, gardening, kitchen and bath, featured products and real estate.
The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters offers a food blog of their own as part of a larger site. The site has online forums, basic information, recipes, information on food events across the country, and food news.
Baking 911 is a baking site that starts with the basics, including definitions of terms, tips, and how it works. The site also has recipes for bread, cookies, pies, cakes, pastry, chocolate, candy, custard and frozen desserts.
Looking for great ideas for your library that really work? Then go to Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki, a site that lets you read others ideas and contribute your own. From technology and programming to reference and management, there are sections here for everyone.
Home Town News links to over 2600 newspapers with websites. Find newspapers from all sizes of community organized by state.
Leo's Icon Archive is a collecetion of desktop icons for both PCs and Macs. The icons are available in both gif and ico formats.
Kotaku is a great way to keep up on video game news and developments. It covers every console plus PCs. To find other great video game blogs, check out their recommended list.
Foxit is a free PDF reader what works much faster than Adobe. Less than 1 MB in size, it can be downloaded and installed quickly. This is a good solution for those of us looking for software that is friendly than Adobe.
Information Wants To Be Free has posted about Safe blogging, meaning blogging that is work safe and work friendly. As someone who has only blogged through my own workplace, I don't see a problem. Yes, you cannot complain about customers and coworkers in your blog, but you can comment on larger issues and speak in generalities. Yes, I have to watch my language because I am actually officially blogging on my library's site. Yes, I am careful, but I hope that I still offer perspectives and commentary that are insightful and timely.
Both of my blogs lean more toward the professional posting than the personal. I write as a professional on professional topics. I take professional stands and make professional comments. I have never regretted posting anything here, but that is probably because I am careful and filter my thoughts first. But really, if you are going to be posting as a librarian, then you really should be being careful. It only makes sense to avoid slandering co-workers and patrons.
So your blog may change along with your new job, but that should be expected anyway. Your perspective is going to adjust now that you are viewing the world through a specific library lens. And hopefully now that things are less theoretical and more actual, that change will be a very positive one.
iTunes is the talk of all the blogs and podcasts because the new version (4.9) offers a huge directory of podcasts that you can listen to via iTunes. You subscribe to whichever podcasts you like and then your subscription is updated when a new podcast is created. Very slick and easy.
My only complaints are that I can't figure out how to add a podcast that is not on their list, and their search/subscribe mechanism is rather roundabout and time consuming. There should be an easier way to return to your search.
This should be the break that podcasts need to become more mainstream. I look forward to finding some great podcasts in addition to the wonderful ones from NPR that I already listen to.
Marketing Treasures offers a newsletter with marketing ideas for librarians. The newsletter is written by Chris Olson, who also does LibraryClipArt where you can find all sorts of free library-related clip art.
Public Libraries Connect People to Technology but Face Challenges in Sustaining Service is a new report by the Information Use Management and Policy Institute the College of Information at Florida State University. The study shows that nearly all public libraries in the nation offer free Internet access, but that most libraries do not have enough stations to meet demands and do not have enough funding and planning to ensure the same access into the future.
Radio Memories is a podcast site that offers a collection of old-time radio programs, including Amon 'n' Andy, Big Band music, westerns, and Flash Gordon.
The Speculative Literature Foundation promotes speculative fiction through grants to writers, awards, and programs. The site also offers collections of resources for writers, readers, editors and academics.
WhatDoesThatMean is a wiki that offers information on English idioms and phrases from around the world. The site can be searched and you can contribute to the wiki as well.
Free Download A Day offers one recommended download each day. The downloads cover Linux, MacOS, and Windows and include communications, education, games, graphics, Internet and productivity. RSS feed available.
Utne's Knowledge for Sale is an important article for library supporters to read. The subtitle of "Are America's public libraries on the verge of losing their way?"
Personally, I appreciate the stance against public libraries forming partnerships with McDonalds and other vendors. I believe that part of the strength of public libraries is that they remain public and strive to be a neutral source of information. As we have seen through the media, it is hard to remain unbiased when you are paid by company interests.
Another point I have to make is that while it sounds wonderful to collect small press or self published works at a public library, in my experience those works do not circulate. I wish it was different! I wish that there was less big business publishing and more local, self-publishing, but that is not the case. As a librarian, I cannot spend money on materials that are not used. I must say though, if patrons are passionate about a library having a specific journal, book or movie, then ask! If the library gets enough requests, most libraries will purchase just on that fact. We are here to serve our communities and that means giving them what they need and want. I only wish communities really wanted small press publications along with Grisham's latest bestseller.
Go To Puerto Rico is the official site of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. It is a colorful site with gorgeous photos. Offering information on beaches, sports, culture, nature, and entertainment, this is a great site to visit to plan your trip.
Learning Styles Online lets you take an online quiz that reveals your learning styles. Once you have taken the quiz, you can learn about your learning styles and how they affect your learning.