Alice in InfoLand

Check out All Together Now: Learning 2.0, led by Michael Stephens and sponsored by SLJ. It’s an opportunity to work with SLs all over the world, as we — jointly — explore 12 “Read/Write” web tools and figure out how to use them with(in) our library communities.
I’m signing up: I may be retired, but I’m never too old to learn…and play with some new toys!

*Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash* — a news report from The Onion.
(found via The Committed Sardine)

as per the 5/18/07 article by Mat Homan on Wired: *Hijacked Disney Characters Explain Copyright: “Disney lawyers’ heads must be spinning over this one. A movie posted on Stanford University’s site called “A Fair(y) Use Tale*” mashes up all your Disney favorites to humorously and effectively explain copyright law. The ten minute movie, directed by Eric Faden, came out of Stanford University’s Fair Use Project Documentary Film Program. Stanford’s Fair Use Project—to which Stanford Law professor, Copyright guru, Creative Commons advocate and Wired writer Lawrence Lessig contributes—was founded last year to “support to a range of projects designed to clarify, and extend, the boundaries of fair use in order to enhance creative freedom.” And, well, the movie is damn sure creative, and certainly seems to take the boundaries of fair use about as far as they can go.”
FYI: Eric Faden teaches Film Studies at Bucknell University.This 10 minute video can be viewed online at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society or YouTube , and is also available on DVD from The Media Education Foundation

Ironically, the video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License, which must be driving the Disney lawyers nuts, since the Walt Disney Company is extremely protective (to the point of ridiculousness) about allowing anyone (like, say, a library) to use any of their images anywhere (on a program flyer or mural, perhaps) without prior permission and payment. (BTDT, can you tell?)

Enjoy and share: Bembo’s Zoo — “an abecedary of animals made entirely from Bembo letterforms and punctuation marks — nothing else” — created by deVicq de Cumptich.

(found via Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project)

Wow! Share this intriguing video with everyone you know!
The original presentation was created by Karl Fisch, Director of Technology at Arapahoe High School in Colorado: http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/08/did-you-know.html,
then re-mixed by Scott McLeod, a professor in Minnesota: http://scottmcleod.typepad.com/dangerouslyirrelevant/2007/01/gone_fischin.html
And definitely read the comments at both posts for more background info!

also cross-posted at the AASL blog

I’ve put together an introduction to online search tools at http://aliceyucht.pbwiki.com/SearchTools to help novice info-seekers find their way.
Let me know if you find this list useful in any way… AND any additions you would recommend!

There’s been major harrumphing in the biblioblogosphere and then the MSM about a discussion on LM_Net re the 2007 Newbery Award winner:
Susan Patron’s The Higher Power of Lucky.

FWIW, the definitive response to the whole brouhaha is Kristen Mclean’s Thoughts on the Great Scrotum Kerfuffle of 2007.  As Liz B on Pop Goes the Library says of Mclean’s exposition: “It’s thoughtful, it’s well documented, it covers all sides.  And it has a scientific illustration!”

My comment to all those who’ve dismissed the book without even reading it — Judge not, lest ye be judged.

Addendum:  read Susan Patron’s excellent article in the L.A. Times, responding to all the criticism.  As she points out:

The problem with “scrotum,” evidently, is discomfort among adults who do not wish to see references to body parts in children’s literature. Also, fear of giggling. What if the teacher or librarian loses control of a class of kids, however briefly, while reading the book aloud? …

Of course, adults are right to fear a word in a book, although not, as in this instance, because it names a body part. They are right in the implied assumption that books have enormous power and influence. Children who read widely understand more about the world; they have a foundation for making better decisions. …

There are Newberys for every taste and for a range of reading ability and developmental levels. …Certain winning titles introduce concepts such as child abuse, racism, animal neglect, the Holocaust, slavery, abandonment. Why burden children with these heavy subjects? Because they live in the same world we do. They perceive much more than we may want to recognize. Well-written books that respect a child’s intelligence enable readers to identify with the protagonist’s mental and physical struggles. This helps them to see different perspectives and shades of gray, rather than a world of absolutes.

Granville Hicks said it best:  “A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.”

tags: Newbery, censorship

From the Online Education Database, a wonderful list of *119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources*

Bookmark and/or tag this list for reference, link to it on your library’s webpage, and make sure you share it with everyone you know!!

Sophie Brookover (Pop Goes the Library) and I did a presentation on WebFeeds 101 for the NJ Youth Services Forum. Unfortunately, our list of recommended blogs for Children’s, Young Adult, and School Librarians who are just starting to explore the biblioblogosphere somehow never quite made it into the handouts folders!
So go to http://aliceyucht.pbwiki.com/YouthServicesBlogList*, for the handout, which will also get posted to Sophie’s blog.

I love Gmail for many reasons, but this *printable chart of keyboard shortcuts* to speed up my Gmail navigation will make me love it even more!
(thanks to Chris Brogan at lifehack.org for the tip)

Alive and thriving!!!
Great reports coming in from ALA2006 in NOLA, and soon from NECC in San Diego. I feel like a proud midwife of the new baby at http://blogs.ala.org/aasl.php, or as we call it for short: *http://www.aaslblog.org*

Guaranteed to make your day brighter:
Eleven Twelve , a classic Sesame Street counting video.

Here’s the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDm0PqjAF78

(Þ: Snarkmarket )

Sloan, the co-creator of EPIC, a must-see for all informed citizenry, appreciates libraries (and librarians):

“One of the really magical things about libraries, after all, is that they are all about service. They don’t want anything from you; they don’t want to sell you anything. Today, that is almost a radical proposition. Like serious journalism, librarianship is worth preserving and extending in the era of Google’s cold genius; in both cases there is something valuable at the core. “

Steve Breen’s wonderful comic-strip Grand Avenue takes on blogging, as Michael decides to become a cyber-presence and his caustic twin sister adds her own take on his efforts.
Check out the week of strips from May 1 - 5.
My personal favorite: this one from Wednesday, May 3:

Aha! This post at Webjunction led me to this post at NewlyMintedLibrarian which took me to the Boston Globe’s article on how blogging can help your career:

1. Blogging creates a network.
2. Blogging can get you a job.
3. Blogging is great training.
4. Blogging helps you move up quickly.
5. Blogging makes self-employment easier.
6. Blogging provides more opportunities.
7. Blogging could be your big break.
8. Blogging makes the world a better place.

Read the entire article for expanded explanations.
Of course, they did leave out my favorite: Blogging (on professional topics, rather than just personal blatherings) forces you to keep current on the important issues in your field!
Addendum: found via Libraryola, Walt Crawford’s excellent article on blog vs book writing.

Technorati Tags: biblioblogosphere, blogging, self-promotion