More Things: An Aside about LibraryThing and SlideShare

With so many web 2.0 applications in use by librarians and libraries, it was probably not a great leap of the imagination to create an application like LibraryThing, which is a social networking programme for cataloging and sharing books. I recently gave a presentation on LibraryThing as part of the graduate trainee explorations into web 2.0 and social media applications. I find LibraryThing to be very useful, and also a source of much inspiration, as I am able to browse my friends' libraries in search of further reading material!
It has also successfully been implemented by libraries around Oxford such as the Vere Harmsworth and Nuffield College Libraries, where it is used for showcasing new accessions. My LibraryThing presentation can be found here on my SlideShare page:

http://www.slideshare.net/bodl2194librarian

I have also recently "discovered" SlideShare, a platform for sharing presentations. I have uploaded my LibraryThing presentation and a recent presentation that I did for a Philosophy of Mind course through the Continuing Education Department at Oxford University. SlideShare is often used by librarians to present information. Here are some examples of SlideShare from various librarians, including the biochemistry subject librarian (RSLBioChem) at the Radcliffe Science Library. Here is a "meta" presentation on presentations by Ned Potter, (AKA: the Real Wikiman) from his SlideShare page.

Things 9 & 10: Social Bookmarking and Tagging with Delicious

Delicious is a social tagging and bookmarking site which can be used to share websites and links of interest.
I have used Delicious to set up a list of useful web resources in botany and plant biology for the Sherardian Library. The account for the Sherardian Library can be found here (Plant biologists, please take note!):

http://www.delicious.com/sherardianlib

I first heard about tagging from a friend who used a university-based website to tag his photos in order to share them with friends. You can see some of his photos here: http://www.tagisu.com/user/2392
including some of one of my favourite cities, Paris!

Tagging is a non-hierarchical method of adding metadata to files. It creates folksonomic tag clouds which can be used to find further information. Although tagging is very helpful, it can also pose problems, as there might be inconsistencies in the keywords used and a lot of variation is present.

I have added numerous contacts to my network for my Delicious account with the Sherardian Library, including several librarians from the RSL (RSLBioChem and RSLForestry), some college libraries such as Nuffield and VHLib and also the LawBod.

Things 7 & 8: Digital Images with Flickr

Things 5 & 6: Exploring RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) are web feed formats used to send updates on frequently updated web sources.

Thing 5: Subscribe to an RSS reader, such as Google Reader.

The Google Reader was one of the items that I added to my iGoogle account following a course that I took on RSS readers through the WISER sessions at Oxford University. It has proven to be very useful. I use the Google Reader to track various scientific news sources, in addition to the Oxford Graduate Trainees Blog, the Oxford 23 Things blog, etc.

Thing 6: Add some RSS feeds to the feed reader.

Recently added: English National Opera news and the Oxford 23 Things blog!

Things 1-4: iGoogle and Gmail

Thing 1: Set up a Google ID:

I have been using Gmail (Google mail) and iGoogle for several years now, ever since I first started to use GoogleDocuments to share and collaborate with my labmates and classmates at Ohio University back in my white-coated laboratory days in the Department of Environmental and Plant Biology...My Gmail account gets little use these days, although I occaisionally use it to chat with friends and family back in Canada. GoogleDocuments is a wonderful opensource method of sharing documents, particularly useful for collaborative editing and writing.

The major difference between "http://" and  "https://" in URL web addresses is in the security of the item. HTTP pages are not secure and therefore subject to eavesdropping, whilst HTTPS use a secure protocol which restricts access by potential eavesdroppers.

Thing 2: Set up an iGoogle homepage with at least 5 gadgets on it:

My iGoogle page has several gadgets on it, including the weather, time, BBC iPlayer and NPR (brilliant American radio shows!), RSS feeds of some other blogs and news sources that I am following, including many Oxford blogs such as the Oxford Graduate Trainee Blog and the Oxford Science Blog. There is even a surf report, in case I ever make it down to Cornwall with my board...

Thing 3: Set up a blog on Blogger and make a first post:

I have already started a blog on Blogger. Pleaes look at my earlier posts for some interesting quips about information science and some photos of the fabulous libraries in Sheffield!

Thing 4: Register your 23 Things blog and explore others!

And now for something completely different...23 Things!

Part of the Oxford Graduate Library Trainee Programme will involve an introduction to web 2.0 applications in librarianship through a programme called "23 Things". Although this blog has up till now been mostly about library tours, with some "serious discussion" about information science, it will now change focus to incorporate this programme.

So now, on to 23 Things...

S.R. Ranganathan: A Bit of Inspiration

Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972) was a mathematician and librarian who devised the Five Laws of Library Science in addition to Colon Classification (in which books are classified by facets rather than a hierarchical taxonomy). His Five Laws (which every librarian should aspire to) are as follows:

1. Books are for use.
2. For Every Book its Reader.
3. For Every Reader its Book.
4. Save the Time of the Reader.
5. The Library is a growing organism

I have been reading the original volume of the Five Laws of Library Science, and have found it to be a fascinating and profound take on libraries, information structures, scientific enquiry (for instance, Ranganathan discusses the Scientific method as being like a spiral process, rather than a Kuhn-esque paradigm shift or Popper-ish falsificatory deflation) and even very inspirational. Take the following quotations: 

On Librarianship as Service (the Second Law):

"Because a postman handing over a packet of printed slips is not like a librarian who establishes contact between books and people"

"What is a library? A library is a collection of books kept for use. Librarianship, then, is connecting a user and a book. Hence the very life of a library is in the personal service given to the people."

On the Library as a Living Organism (the Fifth Law):

"But the vital principle of the library - which has struggled through all the stages of its evolution, is common to all its different forms and will persist to be its distinguishing feature for all time to come - is that it is an instrument of universal education, and assembles together and freely distributes all the tools of education and disseminates knowledge with their aid."

Ranganathan's Colon Classification was a form of faceted classificaiton, rather than a ranked taxonomic subject hierarchy. His classification system seemed to embody a certain amount of mysticism as well, something that would not be out of place in Doctor Who or even quantum physics, perhaps. His facets were as follows:

• Personality
• Matter
• Energy
• Space
• Time