Librariology - A FriendFeed Room

Social Media aggregator FriendFeed announced Rooms today, and it really has quite a bit of potential for networking, sharing links and conversation among folks who have something in common.

Interested? Grab a FriendFeed account if you don't already have one and check out Librariology. Let's see how this plays out...

OCLC and Google Exchange Data for WorldCat

OCLC member libraries who participate in the Google Book Search™ program will begin to see their collections linked in WorldCat.

The new agreement enables OCLC to create MARC records describing the Google digitized books from OCLC member libraries and to link to them. These linking arrangements should help drive more traffic to libraries, both online and in person.

Google Book Search and WorldCat agreement [OCLC]

On Building Exceptional Virtual Learning Teams

We're putting to use wikis and collaborative content management systems at our library and these topics definitely come into play: Chief Learning Officer Brandon Hall discusses Building Exceptional Virtual Learning Teams...

1. Adopt project management principles
2. Use team inventory tools to access strengths and weaknesses
3. Use technology for a collaborative virtual work environment
4. Enhance openness and trust
5. Encourage professional development

Where do you sit in class?

PHD Comics graphs where you sit in class as it relates to how much you care. I always sat Mid-Center. Bring it on!

Lori Reed and Sue Waters FTW (31 Day Comment Challenge)

Activity 15 of the Comment Challenge asks that we award our blog commenters that I appreciate the most. Lori Reed and Sue Waters win by the numbers (check out the new sidebar widget on the main page!) but they also win for inspiring me.

Sue is one of the brilliant people behind the Challenge. I hadn't known Sue before, but I've got to say that the more I do get to know her the more impressed I am. An Educator, she's absolutely passionate about her work , learning and technology. She's been inspiring and full of encouragement. Thank you, Sue!

Lori is a Training Specialist for a large public library and has helped to produce one of the most widely known formats for 21st Century Library training. While there are many people in my social network that are leading the way, Lori exemplifies what a modern-day Library Trainer is all about. It's wonderful to find someone online who's doing the same thing that you're doing and with whom you can share ideas and mishaps. Thanks, Lori, for everything!

Snackr: For when you just can't get too much information

Lifestream dude @krynsky twittered about RRW's 'giddy like a school girl' review of Snackr, an RSS ticker built using Adobe AIR and Flex.

I couldn't resist. It's not going to replace Google Reader as my primary feed reader, but...yeah, it's definitely exciting.

I was able to easily import my OPML from gReader and my feeds fell right in line, scrolling new posts. I love the unobtrusive ticker that you can dock on any side of the monitor. Keep it up front or hidden, there seem to be lots of user preferences.

I'm thinking it may induce information overload, but we'll see. I'll report back later if my brain doesn't fry while I'm testing...

Minimalist Motivational Active Desktop Wallpaper

Ralph Marston has a very special gift: He writes the most beautiful, uplifting articles and shares them at The Daily Motivator. I've been a subscriber of his wisdom for a long, long time.

I've written an html page which incorporates an excerpt from the daily message. Clicking on the brighter title opens the full text of the message. The document works nicely as a minimalist Active Desktop. Mr. Marston has graciously given me permission to reproduce his work and republish it in this form. The background is random among different colors, and (via <meta refresh> and BuzzBoost) each day brings an inspiring new message.

Please feel free to download the page and use it as your homepage, favorite, or desktop.

Thank you, Mr. Marston, for your beautiful words and for allowing me to share them in this way.