Blogging Internet Librarian

This is the first librarian conference I've been to that is this meta! Liz Lawley is blogging, Steven M. Cohen is blogging, and Aaron is photoblogging. Kind of all at the same time. Greg Notess is on stage showing how to find the various IL blog posts using Daypop, Feedster, etc. He's making his point nicely.... ;-)

BTW, here's shifted - Aaron is instant messaging me via his cell phone... while he's sitting next to me photoblogging!

Marian The Robot Librarian

Soon, robots to turn your friendly
librarian!

librarian.net : avoiding the PATRIOT Act
since 2001

librarian.net/technicality.html
track this site | 3 links

When a Search Engine Isn't Enough, Call
a Librarian?

Shifted Librarian unpacks free CDs from
the RIAA

Jenny Levine (AKA the Shifted Librarian) works at a library where the RIAA care packages have started to come in. She reports on the contents thereof:

Several of the boxes are literally cut on the side, and the cut goes into the jewel cases themselves. Hence my declaration that we received a ton of "cut-outs." Some of the boxes even have dates of 2001 and 2002 posted on the labels, which I hope doesn't mean the date they were boxed up and put into storage. There is no way these boxes were packed by mistake as the result of a computer glitch. Some of the labels very clearly say 30 copies of this or that title, and I highly doubt the labels were supposed to cut the boxes after boxing and labeling them.

Selected Presentations from Internet
Librarian Conference

Librarian of Congress Posts DMCA
Exemptions

French librarian fears US domination on
the Internet

New Track for Public Librarians at
Internet Librarian!

Michael Stephens is organizi ng a track just for public librarians at October's Internet Librarian conference. This is most welcome news because PLA books sessions at its conferences too far in advance to address "current" trends, while most public librarians I know feel LITA is beyond them. I think we can fill a real niche here, especially since Michael plans to focus on practical advice and tips, not theory. Even better, he's aiming the sessions at small- to medium-sized libraries, those that need this the most.

He's already got a few ideas that he wants to implement, but he's also asking for comments, suggestions, offers, and discussion from all public librarians. Got a topic that intrigues you? Heard about a "top tech trend" but you're not sure how to actually implement it? Have some ideas of your own? Share them all over on Michael's post. This is your chance to help build a track that addresses YOUR needs. Help us prove that if you build it [the public librarian track], they will come!

Then make sure you register for Internet Librarian (October 24-26, 2005). :-)

Ask a Librarian - An Online Reference
Service from the Library of Congress

Librarian of Congress grants DMCA
copyright exemptions

The Librarian of Congress granted several exemptions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ( DMCA , 1998). The ruling covers :

(1.) decoding lists of Web pages or directories blocked by Internet filtering software, also known as censorware; (2.) circumventing obsolete digital rights management devices called "dongles" that prevent access due to malfunction or damage; (3.) accessing computer programs and video games distributed in obsolete formats; and (4.) accessing ebooks for which the publisher has disabled the read-aloud function or the ability to use screen readers to render the text into a specialized format, such as Braille for access by the blind.

The DMCA provides for the Librarian to review implementations every three years. Seth Finkelstein led the lobbying for this set. The majority of requests for exemptions, however, did not succeed, and the Act remains controversial .

Accelerated Designs Announces Ultra
Librarian On-Line

Leading French librarian calls for
European counter to Google

The head librarian of the Bibliothèque nationale de France has called for a European digitization project to counter or balance Google. Jean-Noël Jeanneney critized Google for cultural bias :

the criteria of choice will be heavily influenced -- even if we contribute ourselves, uncomplainingly, to the riches of this project -- by a point of view which is Anglo-Saxon, with its specific approach to the diversities of human civilization.

(thanks to Steven Kaye )

Librarian of Congress names 50
recordings to the 2004 National
Recording Registry

loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/nrpb-2004reg.html
track this site | 3 links

Dover Community Editorial: Librarian
asks Boston to stop the poppycock

seacoastonline.com/news/dover/d7_30edit.htm
track this site | 2 links

Robotic wheelchairs

Traditional wheelchairs used by the elderly and people with severe disabilities have some limited functions and flexibility. Their users often need help from nurses or relatives. Several teams are currently at work to develop robotic wheelchairs to overcome these limitations. For example, researchers from the University of Essex and the Institute of Automation at Beijing are developing the RoboChair.

RoboChair will be equipped with a vision system and a 3G wireless communication system. It will be able to avoid collisions and to plan a path. Meanwhile, Professor Ray Jarvis of Monash University’s Intelligent Robotics Centre in Australia, is building another robotic wheelchair which will help people to travel off the beaten track (PDF format, 1 page, 131 KB). His prototype system combines robotic navigation with a four-wheel drive. It automatically ad apts itself to the user’s capabilities and takes control when needed. You'll find more details and a picture in this overview. Keep in mind that there are still major issues to solve, such as security and costs, before these robotic wheelchairs become available.

Erotic Robotic

Nothing Robotic About Robo-Art

Robotic Librarian