You Can Enter Information Today's 2007 InfoTubey Awards!

Hi Everyone,
My company is starting a new contest this year to award interesting library
promotional work. We're calling it the InfoTubey Awards! ;-)

We’re looking for videos that librarians have created and posted to YouTube.
Each production must demonstrate creativity, humor, and sincerity in
marketing a library, promoting library services, or enhancing a library's
value. Videos cannot be more than 5 minutes long.

The deadline is Feb. 14. All submissions will be judged by a panel of
distinguished information professionals, who will contact winners in March.

Five InfoTubey Award winners will each receive one free 3-day
conference pass to the Computers in Libraries 2007 conference (a $449
value). Awards will be presented at a gala event during the CIL conference
on April 17 near Washington, D.C.

The entry form is at https://secure.infotoday.com/InfoTubies/Submit.asp.

You can direct your questions to InfoTubies@infotoday.com.
C'mon, show us what you've done! And feel free to pass this on to your
colleagues (unless you're afraid they'll beat you!).
~Kathy


Kathy Dempsey
editor in chief, Computers in Libraries magazine
editor, Marketing Library Services newsletter

Information Today, Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055 USA
609/ 654-6266, www.infotoday.com

Blog article on IT-Director.com: We The Librarian http://www.it-director.com/blogs/MWD/2007/1/we_the_librarian.html . As blogs impacted media, social software services are predicted to impact knowledge management, making 'everyman' a librarian.

Have you created a wonderful education newsletter, brochure, video, or other form of communication? Then enter it in this year's APEX Awards http://www.apexawards.com/apex2007awardscategories.htm! Deadline for entries is: March 15, 2007.

Join the Live Discussion at The Chronicle of Higher Education on Feb 1, noon (Eastern Time): The Changing Role of Academic Libraries in the Information Age http://chronicle.com/live/2007/02/gorman/ . Michael Gorman, Dean of library services at California State University, Fresno, will speak on the future of libraries, and take questions. A transcript of the session will be posted to the address above following the discussion.

Advocating for libraries these days? You might be interested in reading this blog entry and the links included that take you to other stories covering the EPA's work to reduce their library:
EPA librarians told: Shush! http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/environment/archives/110714.asp .

Noted in the LA Times article that is linked to the blog entry:
"An EPA study in 2004 concluded that the libraries saved millions of dollars a year by performing time-consuming research for agency staff members. "

From the Washington Post: A Librarian's Lament: Books are a hard sell http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/19/AR2007011901361.html?sub=AR .

Google has just announced in their Librarian Newsletter that they have created a Librarian Central blog: http://librariancentral.blogspot.com/ . They have added a link to their teaching tools that might come in handy during your next user education session: http://www.google.com/librariancenter/librarian_tools.html .

17 Grantseeking tips in this article:
Habits of Fearless Grant Seekers http://grantseeking.net/?p=8 .

An event you don't want to miss, if you are anywhere close to NYC on Jan. 18th:

Un-Bound: Advanced Book Publishing in a Digital World
http://www.google.com/intl/en/events/unbound/index.html .

From the invitation: "Please join us for a day examining how the book business has changed and how it will continue to evolve. Hear from thought leaders and industry veterans who are taking advantage of our increasingly digital world - from blogs and social networks to print-on-demand and online access."

Free Hacker Scan for Universities, Nonprofits (Story found in NetworkWorld):
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/011007-acunetix-free-scan.html?nlhtsec=0108securityalert4&company=SonicWall . The company Acunetix is offering a free web site security scan and reporting service. Use this link to apply: http://www.acunetix.com/site-audit/us-universities.htm.

Harvesting RF [Radio Frequency] Energy - story on CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12760_7-9673092-5.html?tag=cnetfd.mtThis could be a benefit for patrons that visit the library in person - they could charge their cell phones for free while browsing the library resources.

New search engine expected in 2007: Powerset
The Powerset CEO was on CNBC this morning, talking about the new search engine they expect to launch late 2007. The Digital Markets blog at ZDNet posted a message on this topic: http://blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/?p=825 . Powerset claims that they are developing a search engine that 'breaks the confines of keyword search'. It is not apparent at this time if they can do better than a good librarian.

Medical librarian site mentioned in AMA's e-newsletter:

Medical librarian is featured health profession

Now featured on the Health Professions Network's Web site
is the medical librarian profession:
http://enews.ama-assn.org/UM/T.asp?A40.576.4015.10.194066

If you or someone you know uses the OpenOffice suite, there has been a patch issued for a security flaw. More in this story from Network World: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/010407-openoffice-patch.html?nlhtsec=0101securityalert4&company=Finjan.

Washington Post has an article on weeding in public libraries that you might find interesting:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/01/AR2007010100729.html

You may soon be able to purchase a mobile Wi-Fi unit for your car, or rent Wi-Fi from Avis when you rent your next car: http://www.playfuls.com/
news_05676_Drivers_Can_Now_Go_Surfing_With_New_Internet_Service.html. Since more than one user can access the Wi-Fi within a 30 meter area, your next outreach training class could take place under the trees and sky, instead of a computer training room.