Instruction ideas

Web tutorials are not new, but they're still pretty cool. There are a number of sites out there that offer helpful directions for using various web thingies. But what about more traditional library instruction? Well, those are out there, too.

CLIP, or the Cooperative Library Instruction Project is one that, while it hasn't been updated recently, still has some good content to offer. The brainchild of librarians at Northwestern State University in Oklahoma, the site has links to content on issues and topics from Citations and Plagiarism to searching Google, and what constitutes a peer reviewed source. Some of the links no longer work, but the ones that do provide a great spot to start.

ALPS LINK Still want more? You might also be interested in surfing over to the LINK, or Library Instruction Knapsack. This one is a bit more up-to-date as far as content, and offers links to recently uploaded instruction content, as well as tools you can download and use.

That's all for today!
Small bites, but lots to chew on :)

Live Satellite Tracking (a.k.a. Now THAT was an Oops!)

Back in the fall last year, Endeavor astronaut Heidi Stefanyshyn-Piper lost a tool bag. Dubbed the ISS Toolbag by amateur astronomers, the bag (with a $100,000 price tag) drifted away into space as she was working on the space station.

Today's nify web-thingy is none other than a real-time satellite tracking map that shows a live action representation of the tool bag inching it's way surprisingly quickly around the globe.

Also viewable at a mouse click are numerous other satellites' paths. Organized in categories such as "most popular" and "latest launches" as well as "live in your sky" and a few others, there's certainly plenty of information here to browse. Scroll down the page for recent satellite & space shuttle news items.

PSA : Are you expressing YOUR opinion?

Okay, it's that time again - for SD, ND and MN librarians, you guys all need to be checking in at the Minitex RFP page and doing some trialing!

Minitex compiles a fantastic list of resources every year, and we all get the opportunity to play with them. Even if you don't have time to do an in-depth survey, being familiar with what's on the list can really help you help your patrons - I mean, come on! They're handing us the keys to the full Gale Virtual Reference Library, not to mention a raft of collections from EBSCO & Proquest.

End of the semester is rolling up for all of you academic & school librarians - why not use some of these freebies when your students come in wondering where to find information on the Civil War, immigration from Russia in the 1830's, or dental plaque?

Something work well for you already, or hit the spot with your searchers? Then for heaven's sake, let Mintex know!

Finding free stuff for the sciences...

Yesterday I posted a few widgets you can grab from various government sources. But what about actual research-type content?

Well, once again government-hosted sites can be a great source.

Take the sciences, for example -

• Science.gov is one spot to start. Divided into 36+ databases, it searches millions of pages of U.S. government science info. It's also helpfully divided into categories by topic, which can speed up the search process if you know what you're after.
  
• PubMed Central is a fantastic source for biomedical and life sciences journal articles. It's free, full text, and contains articles (over 1,500,000) from over 450 journals.
• NCBI - the National Center for Biotechnology Information - has a central search interface for multiple databases relating to genetics, molecular processes, and all sorts of molecular biology information.

Not finding what you want? Try the private sector for more free possibilities.

• Public Library of Science. PLoS is a non-profit organization made up of scientists and doctors working to make medical infomation & literature available to the public. Everything they publish is free and openly available (thus the "open access").

That barely scratches the surface, of course. If you're looking for more, HighWire Press has a list of free science resources, and their related lists key (on the same page) will also prove helpful for researchers.

Not a fan of peanut butter?

If you're not a peanut butter lover, unlike President Obama's daughters, you may not need to check out the FDA's peanut avoidance widget. But how about some other .gov tools? I thought you'd never ask!

Here are a couple from the EPA - one that provides tips on how to combat climate change:

Or here's one for finding the watershed in your area:

Maybe you're wondering what you and your patrons can do to help save the environment? Check this out:

These and several more EPA tools are snazzy to look at and easy to add to using simple copy and paste into your site's code.

But maybe the EPA isn't your cup of tea, either. If greening the planet isn't quite doing it for you, maybe you'd prefer keeping track of the FBI's ten most wanted. If you're always peeling your eyes for missing persons and criminal types, the FBI's got you covered.

They've even provided a history widget!

How cool is that?!
(And there are more to choose from, too.)

You can find a longer list of various different .gov widgets here in a very nice list courtesy of the McNeese Government Documents Department's wiki.

Oh no, peanuts!

Well, real life has intervened in my posting lately, but I'm back. Today's nifty new tool is a widget from the FDA for searching peanut product recalls.

FDA Product Recall List

My Balance bars - they were on there. And who'd have thought ice cream would be on the list? So, is there salmonella in your brownies?

To get the code and put it on YOUR website,

just click the share button above.

Around and around we go!

Now this is truly nifty, especially if you do ILL or your library has a Reserves service for faculty.

It's a Copyright Code tool.

The Section 108 Spinner lets you determine if a request meets code standards quickly and easily.

Really, I kid you not - it's interactive and everything. You can "grab" the wheel with your mouse and roll it around to whichever section addresses your particular question.

So if you happen to have a special collection or archives, and you have an unpublished manuscript that's gradually fading away, the spinner says....

Libraries or archives may make up to three copies of unpublished works for preservation or security purposes, if:

Dant! dant! da!
Cliffhanger

It's sort of like a Crazy 8 Ball,
but with more applicable answers!

It's a countdown!

Here's something fun - have you ever wanted a way to show visually your library's progress toward some goal? Maybe you have a YA group reading their way through 100 books, or you'd just like to track how many blog posts you manage in a month.

Here's a tool for you:
The Ticker Factory lets YOU
create your very own graphical tracker.

Although the main push of the site appears to be tracking for babies, ovulation/menstruation, the trackers available include some for building your savings, crafts & hobbies, weddings & birthdays & special events, weight loss & fundraising. With a wide variety of ticker rulers to choose from, you can create and re-configure to your heart's content.

I created this one for a fictional event to take place next month.

After selecting the ticker & slide you like, the site generates the html code for you - you can choose from large or small image size, light or dark backgrounds, and then just select the code appropriate for your particular intended use. The tickers can be used on Facebook, message boards, MySpace, MSN, webpages, blogs (duh!), and are even with iGoogle.

Forgive me, I've been slacking & Oh No Robot

In spite of my best intentions to keep up with at least one cool new-to-me technology/tool/gadget/widget every week, I let the holidays and then the rush of the new school year get the best of me. Must have been all the fruitcake! So this is my first appearance since.... the LibraryThing lesson.

This week's cool tool is Oh no Robot

With its Google-esque minimal-image screen and cute mechanical mascot, Oh no Robot is certainly innocuous looking enough. But what, you ask, does it DO?

Ah....

Do you like webcomics? Are you a closet Unshelved fan?

*Aside* If you haven't encountered Dewey, Mel, and Buddy the Book Beaver yet, where HAVE you been?

Would you like to be able to search for your favorite characters, specific episodes, or strip series?

If you answered YES to any of those questions, then Oh no Robot is your thingie. It's a personalized web comic search and transcription tool.

Yes, that's right, you can even help transcribe your favorite comic - If the author of your favorite webcomic has set up an Oh no Robot account, you, the reader, can assist in making all of the episodes easy to find. How it works: the comic author creates an account; the author, and any interested readers transcribe the content according to simple directions provided on the transcription form; the completed transcription goes to the author for review, and if approved, is added to the searchable database - pretty nifty, huh?

For a fun few minutes of screen flipping, see if there are any un-transcribed Unshelved episodes here - it's pretty popular, so don't be surprised if someone's already beat you to the latest one.

But if you can't find an Unshelved episode to transcribe, you can always take advantage of the site's random comics browser or help transcribe another comic's episodes. Or take a chance, and Let the Robot decide!