Libraries are concerned with quality of information - so is Google, as mentioned in this New Scientist story: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/info-tech/mg18624975.900 (spotted on today's Slashdot). Google plans to rank sources with a patented process used to rank search results.
A quote from the story: "The patent also reveals that the same system could be roped in to rank other search results, not simply news. So sales and services could in the future be listed on the basis of price and the reputation of the company involved."
Something cool to consider - your local library might have the chance to prove its worth against other search services if libraries used this system as well.

Free global health resource - Little Green Data Book, 2005 edition. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20455564~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Copies can be requested by emailing an address listed on this page: http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/envext.nsf/44ByDocName/EnvironmentalIndicatorsCurrentInitiativesTheLittleGreenDataBook2005

Are you able to include pdf files of ebooks in your OPAC? If so, here is a link to the pdf:
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/envext.nsf/44ByDocName/TheLittleGreenDayaBook2005/$FILE/2005Littlegreendatabook.pdf

Using html to create user education resources? Writing HTML: a tutorial for creating web pages, by the Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction, is a great site to use as a reference as well as a tutorial for basic html code. The index of lessons is at this site: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/tut/lessons.html .

Looking for a web-based news aggregator? You and your users may be interested in this one: Waggr http://www.waggr.com . I had been using a desktop-based aggregator, but like most librarians, I use many computers during the day. Waggr has been great for me, since it is so easy to use. The registration is free, and pretty simple - just your email address and a password, and you are set. Take a look at it, and consider it the next time your users ask about the best way to keep up with your library's blog.

Slashdot [http://slashdot.org] has a thread asking about Open Source Software solutions for managing a library collection: http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/21/1535213 . The answers contain many links to resources, as well as advice, that should be useful if your library is considering a similar issue.

McGoogan Baseball Card

McGoogan Info Card
Originally uploaded by Bibliotek.

Our library introduced baseball cards last year as part of a promotional program. Our customers like the cards, since they are easy to carry in a wallet. The cards also contain our email, website, toll and toll-free numbers on the reverse. Our card set now includes: a basic information card, shown here; a distance education card; and a card that highlights our consumer health information reference service [CHIRS]. Consider creating a set of cards at your library as another way to promote your library's services.

I just learned of this site and its service on the boingboing.net. Wondir http://www.wondir.com/wondir/jsp/index.jsp appears to be the ultimate in virtual reference - only the questions are being asked to the public, not to any particular library. Your library could partner up with this site as well http://www.wondir.com/wondir/jsp/index.jsp . The site includes this disclaimer: "Wondir is not a substitute for professional advice." I would love to see if this is being used in current reference classes in library school, as real-life examples of questions that are looking for answers. And if you are looking for ways to reward your reference department, check out the Wondir Bowl contest. Librarians should know their own Answer Quality Rating, and get rewarded for a high average!

The National Health Information Technology Coordinator, Dr. David Brailer, spoke to the American Medical Informatics Association spring meeting yesterday in Boston. His theme: interoperability. If you are planning a library conference, or are looking for a speaker idea for your campus, this might be someone to bring in if possible. I am not sure how much they are keeping library information resources in mind while they are planning the "national health information network". More on the what Dr. Brailer spoke about is in this Health IT World News article (spotted on the iHealthbeat.org site) http://tmlr.net/jump/?c=12519&a=296&m=2954&p=1629440&t=164 .

I just discovered a great blog: SNTReport.com . Edited by K. Matthew Dames, the blog has categories of particular interest to library educators, including Education & Training. Take a look at it and consider adding it to your RSS reader: http://www.sntreport.com/ .

Boingboing.net has a posting about a Minneapolis Star-Tribune article on the first session of the Association of College and Research Libraries conference: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/04/08/take_me_to_the_dinos.html The topic of the session: how do libraries best serve the 'millenials', the students that have grown up with the Internet. There is a link to the newspaper article, registration is required.