End of the semester

Well, my first semester as a graduate student is over. It has been a hectic time. Going back to school after all these years was a big adjust. And to top it off, starting a new job in whole position was not easy either. But somehow everything came together. I managed to turn everything in on time and came to realize how much I was learning all semester. It seems impossible that I read all the books and did the metadata assignments and web assignments in a little over two short months.

So now I have a few weeks to catch up on my teen literature and go on two mini vacations before next semester. But I am looking ahead to the fall semester with anticipation of everything to come.

So what am I going to do now??

My website is pretty completed at this point, my first response to the readings has been written, and the required books have been read. So now what? I'm going to Disney World. Okay, not really, but I am planning a trip to Disney World. I am a Disney World freak! I love it! And for the first EVER, I will be their on my birthday! Which is no easy thing since I was born less than a week before Christmas. But as the Fall semester winds down in December, I will be packing my bags to visit warm sunny Florida and experience Christmas is a warm climate. I cannot wait!!

new website...Carmun

The July/August 2007 iss ue of The CyberSkeptic's Guide to the Internet led me to a new website that sounds really useful. The website is www.carmun.com. It is a social netowrking site similiar to MySpace and Facebook, but the main focus is that it is a network for students "to hang out and share their research interests". So far there are two groups that sounds interesting to me. One is a literature group and there is one on Web 2.0. Once class is over next week, I can focus on taking a better look at this website.

Libraries of the future

This article goes great with what we talked about in class today. Maybe libraries will abandon Dewey in favor of something more consumer friendly!

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6449104.html

FastTrack week

Can't believe it is Tuesday and I will be heading home in another day. This has been great week. Met lots of cool people and I had fun doing our group discussion in person today. Adn the news that we won't have to do the last paper but will a do a book discussion....well I could have stood up and cheered!! When I get home I have to finish my webpage and read the last books....then the semester will be over and it will be vacation time for me :)

This is very funny!

After hearing all about my copyright talks in the carpool every morning (well almost every morning), the E.D. of our library system sent me this link.

http://www.improveverywhere.com/2002/01/19/writers-against-piracy/

WE both like the quote "Only crooks, check out books!"

I would have loved to have seen the group in action. The patrons reactions were great too! Some agreeable, some not so agreeable.

Great unshelved comic

http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20070713

This one seems very relevant with all the readings we did two weeks ago. Especially Anarchist in the Library!

FINALLY..maybe

I have a website. After much trial and error it works! WHEW!

check out the link :)

www.pitt.edu/~hla9

Now maybe tonight I can go to bed at a reasonable hour...meaning sometime before midnight!

Looking forward to next week!!

It finally appears everything is falling into place. I am carpooling with other out to campus next week. Which is good because I have never driven that long a distance before. I am really looking forward to meeting everyone who I have been been messaging to on-line.

And I can't believe after next week the semester will be winding down over the next few weeks. It seems as if we barely got started. It has been a tough one, but I feel as though I learned a lot! NOW, if I can only wrap my mind around the html and javascript for the website, I may do okay.

Fun with Koha

Loved the Koha assignment! I feel as if I just made my own little library.


Here are the title I posted in my library :)

Outreach services in academic and special libraries
Serving older teens
A year of programs for teens -- Amy Alessio
Extreme teens -- Sheila B. Anderson
The thriving library -- Marylaine Block
Teen Spaces -- Kimberly Bolan
Serving Teens through Reader's Advisory -- Heather Booth
Hooking Teens with the Net -- Linda W. Braun
Technically involved -- Linda W. Braun
Teens.library -- Linda W. Braun
Booktalking that Works -- Jennifer Bromann
Sex, brain, and videogames -- Jennifer Burek Pierce
Story Telling for Young adults -- Gail De Vos
Teen Book Discussion Groups @ the Library -- Constance B. Dickerson
Teen Volunteer Services in Libraries -- Kellie Gillespie
Get Connected -- RoseMary Honnold


The best part of this assignment was finding new books that I didn't know existed on the subject of teens and libraries.

One Laptop per Child

Last month was the first I had heard about the One Laptop per child iniative. I thought it sounded like a great idea and I still do. My main concern was that the when the laptops were given to the schools, there would not be educational things imposed on the schools.

Never thought about this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070629/od_afp/nigeriaeducationit_070629183418
A Nigerian school just received the gist of laptops for one of schools. However, it seems electricty is a problem in Nigeria.

Second life

I decided on Saturday to take a break from writing my paper and check out Second Life. Like I said in my previous post, I have played several on-line games. I am not sure what to think about second life. I was rather confused in the beginning island..I forget what it was called. But perhaps because I was doing it alone that was the reason. Also, I don't know if it was my computer but my character was very slow and at times it was very hard to make her turn a different way. I kept wanting to get to the part where I could change what my avatar looked like, but I couldn't seem to find it. Overall I was a bit frustrated and bored. Maybe over the summer I will go back into the Second Life and try it again.