The Unquiet Librarian

I have added some new posts tonight to my library blog, http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com, to promote some wonderful YA Lit 2.0 resources available to teen readers! Book publishers, authors, and organizations dedicated to promoting YA lit now have blogs, Twitter accounts, My Space pages, Facebook pages, and You Tube channels that provide interviews, book updates, podcasts, and videos to help teens communicate one on one with their favorite authors. Please take a peek at some of my favorite resources!

http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/sarah-dessen-20/

http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/harper-teen-books-check-out-this-web-20-presence/

http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/calling-all-vampire-kisses-fans/

http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/paula-yoo-readergirlz-september-author-of-the-month-on-youtube/

http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/get-plugged-into-reading-the-plugged-into-reading-network/

We use our blog and our Twitter account, https://twitter.com/unquietlibrary , to alert our patrons to our latest blog posts. I hope you will enjoy some of the resources I have highlighted!

The Unquiet Library via kwout

Georgia COMO 2008

Come join the Georgia COMO 2008 Ning!  What is the Georgia COMO 2008 Ning?  It is a social networking space where COMO attendees (as well as those who may not be able to attend in person but who want to get a taste of the conference happenings from afar!) can share ideas and network with other professionals and peers! 

In addition, we are inviting everyone who is presenting to jump into our “Session Discussions” forum!  This is a space where speakers and presenters can tell others about their presentations and embed content for their presentations.  As a member of our Georgia COMO 2008 Ning, you can embed content on “My Page” and share ideas with others.  Ning allows members to upload videos, photos, and other multimedia content—what a great Web 2.0 way to share the knowledge from our upcoming COMO 2008 conference!  In addition, members may create or join special interest groups where you can network with colleagues on a smaller scale.  You may also add a Georgia COMO 2008 Ning badge to your blog, wiki, or website!

To join our Ning, you must first register a free Ning account.  Click on this link to register for free! Once you have registered, you can then join our Ning going to http://georgiacomo2008.ning.com/ and click on the text link, “Sign Up”, on the left side of the page.

The Georgia COMO 2008 Ning is a terrific way for speakers and presenters to share information from their sessions.   Our network will allow attendees to get a taste of the sessions that they may not be able to get to; the Ning provides a means for those who cannot attend in person to experience the essence of the conference vicariously.  We have created in our Ning in the spirit of the NECC 2008 network, and we hope that our network will prove beneficial to you as a learning space. 

If you have any difficulties registering or navigating our Ning, please feel free to contact me at buffy.hamilton@cherokee.k12.ga.us .  The network is open for discussion and registration (free for everyone!), so surf on over to http://georgiacomo2008.ning.com/ and join today!

Buffy Hamilton, Media Specialist
Creekview High School
http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com
http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com

I actually stumbled on this yesterday while working on a pathfinder (and sent an email of pure excitement to my fellow district media specialists!), but in case you haven’t heard this exciting news, the Library of Congress is now on Flickr!  Check out all the tags on the Library of Congress Flickr account!

What is the project about?  Why would the Library of Congress create a Flickr account?  You can read the full scoop here, but here is what you need to know in a nutshell straight from the Library of Congress on Flickr Project Page; you can also learn more by visiting the Library of Congress on Flickr FAQ Page.  The purpose of creating a LOC Flickr page includes these aims:

• To share photographs from the Library’s collections with people who enjoy images but might not visit the Library’s own Web site.
• To gain a better understanding of how social tagging and community input could benefit both the Library and users of the collections.  
• To gain experience participating in Web communities that are interested in the kinds of materials in the Library’s collections.

Here are two “must read” posts detailing the project and the public’s response to this new project from the Library of Congress Blog:

• Post 1
• Post 2

What does all this mean for us as educators and librarians?  I personally feel this is going to make the rich photo collection so much more accessible to our students and the American public in general.  Talk about an easier mode of searching!  Wow!  This new tool is a fabulous way to tap into these amazing primary sources.  To me, this is another example of the power of Web 2.0 tools to ignite learning and get our students excited about history. 

As always, Joyce Valenza has her thoughts and musings on this exciting development, too—you can read more in her post, “Let’s Tag:  Library of Congress Shares on Flickr“.

What do you think about the Library of Congress @ Flicker?  Share your thoughts!