Thumbprint cookies recipe (vegan)

Ingredients:

1 c. oat flour

1 c. spelt flour (if you want gluten free, use oat, rice, almond, or another nut flour)

1 c. ground pecans (can use more!)

1 Tbsp. (heaping) cinnamon

3/4 c. pure maple syrup

3/4 c. oil (can use canola or a mixture of canola and a nut oil)

1 Tbsp. vanilla (heaping)

Any kind of fruit jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.  Add the wet mixture to the dry.  Put the dough in the fridge for a while until it hardens. Then roll dough into balls, make a thumb-print in the middle, and add the jam on top of the thumb-print.

Bake on unngreased cookie sheets for about 10 minutes.

Many thanks to Robin Goldstein for this recipe.

Web site creation process

In all honesty, this assignment was at times frustrating and challenging for me but ultimately rewarding. It seems hard to believe that I created this site in 2 weeks; the learning curve was very steep in this short period of time. I began with the idea of doing resource pages for a high school library’s web site. I chose to do it on Chicago history as a number of area high schools offer this subject

After the components of the assignment were introduced in class, the parts of my site became readily apparent. The overall “roadmap” or structure of the site made sense but the task of creating it seemed daunting. I knew I wanted to keep it simple and straightforward–it didn’t need to be fancy or have a lot of bells and whistles. As a resource for students doing their research, the site needed to provide information and access to sources and also include some images that were representative of Chicago. For the visuals, I decided that pictures of recognizable Chicago landmarks were a good way to go, and flickr was a total treasure trove (so many great pictures with the Creative Commons license). After finding appropriate pictures, I started coding; tables and the role they played in the page layout remained a mystery to me.

It was slow-going; then I began working with a classmate (thank you, Jason) which was great because we were able to help each other. We set up camp in a group study room in Crown Library and got to work (and ate a lot of chocolate and lifesavers too). The camaraderie and support was a crucial part of the whole process for me. Once I got the main page done, the others fell into place. It did not take as much effort as it did in the beginning. Now the HTML coding/web page creation stuff all kind of makes sense–the language of it, the logic, the structure.

Web 2.0 Review: My new favorite thing – LibraryThing

LibraryThing (LT) is a book sharing and social cataloging site where members catalog their collections and connect to others who have the same books and share similar tastes. Started in 2005, the site now has 380,000 members who have cataloged 24 million books. Here’s how it works: To sign up, all one needs is a username and password. After creating a user profile, one can begin cataloging. This is quite easy: the user searches Amazon, LC, or 250+ sources worldwide by title, author, ISBN, or LC call number. A list of titles with bookcovers appears, and after selecting one, the member can add tags and/or a review. Library items can be displayed in different formats with sections for tags and comments. Other LT features include a blog and discussion groups such as “Librarians who LT,” “Hogwarts Express,” and “Knitters, Inc.”

“Librarians who LT” is the biggest discussion group on the site; librarians clearly like LT. All kinds of libraries use it; I will highlight public and school. Two public libraries, Danbury (CT) and Arlington Heights Memorial, are using LT’s specialized service where its user-generated content is directly incorporated into each library’s catalog. LT’s tags, created by the collective cataloging of LT’s thousands of users, expand the searching capabilities of these libraries’ catalogs and enable their users to search by descriptive words that make sense to them. Tags appear at the bottom of a record as a tag-cloud at Arlington Heights, and at Danbury, the cloud appears a bit farther down the page (you may need to scroll down to see it). Clicking on a tag links to the tag browser window which enables one to search for other books with the same and related tags.

Niles West High School in Skokie used LT for an English class sci-fi/fantasy booktalk where staff tagged books in its LT catalog for the booktalk. It then created a list of these tagged books, adding notes to the comments section for the booktalk and posting a link on the library’s webpage. Students could use the list to select a book for their class.

In addition to booktalks, school libraries can also use LT for organizing class resources by tagging specified items with a teacher’s name. A list can then be created to which students and the teacher can refer. Book reviews and tags provide opportunities for further exploration. Also, LT could serve as the catalog for a small school library without an online catalog (more likely an elementary than a high school). A big plus for schools is that it is a free service up to 200 books; after that is is only $15 a year for up to 5,000 books.

Blog reflection for LIS 724

I have been writing in this blog for LIS 753, Internet Fundamentals and Design, since January, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. As this is my first blog, it took me a little while to get used to the format and a blog-style of writing. I tend to write in a more academic fashion, but I think my writing has loosened up somewhat over the past few months.

Another thing that was really fun was creating “my librarian trading card” featured earlier in the blog. You can make one too, as well as a lot of other cool stuff, at bighugelabs.

What I’ve liked most about blogging are reading my classmate’s blog posts, responding to them, and discovering other blogs out there in the blogosphere. I’ve particularly found blogs by school librarians and other librarians who address technology issues to be very helpful. Among my favorites are: the Shifted librarian, Infomancy, Library Gamer, and Tame the Web because of their insights, resources, collegiality, and sense of fun. Two blogs from our 724 list that appealed to me are Joyce Valenza’s NeverEnding Search, and Alice in Infoland, because of their school-librarianship slants.

Because blogging can be reflective as well as a way to share resources and ideas, it is something I’d like to keep doing as I continue in school and then go out into the real-life world of libraries.

Post#4: Gaming and school libraries

Because gaming is a hot topic, I wanted to explore it in school libraries. Much discussion has focused on gaming in academic libraries (see Paul Waelchli’s blog and chart that matches the ACRL standards with 3 video games), so the blogging about school library gaming has been a welcome addition. When initially learning about this service/issue, I wondered what gaming had to do with libraries and learning. After investigating more, the idea of using board games as learning tools in school libraries has become more appealing.

Renee recently mentioned Brian Mayer’s post linking board games to the NY State Standards. It caught my attention because when a tool/process/curriculum is linked to state standards, educators and administrators will take notice. He has connected different board games to social studies, language arts, math, science & technology, and other subjects. Brian, a Library Technology Specialist for a school library system in western NY, makes the case for board games by arguing that they reinforce classroom learning as well as social skills like teamwork. Brian’s entire blog, Library Gamer, is very useful because he discusses and reviews board games that are appropriate for school libraries, and includes very cool pictures of the games themselves.

More resources mentioned on the wonderful Shifted Librarian blog about how to teach games and integrating lesson plans & games can be found at Mayfair Games. I plan to continue learning about gaming in school libraries and its potential for reinforcing learning.

Post #3: Not just for school librarians

I’ve recently been trolling the blogosphere, searching for blogs by and for school librarians. I’m interested in school librarians reflecting on their experiences, offering tips/advice (particularly in terms of technology), and connecting with others in cyberspace, creating community (like classroom teachers, they can often feel isolated). Some great ones I’ve found lately are Infomancy, created by the leader of a NY school library system (mentioned in Teresa’s post); Lucy and Ethel’s Library Schemes featuring tips and tricks of the trade from 2 high school librarians; and the Teen Librarian blog written by a library media specialist at a San Francisco middle school.

A recent post on the Teen Librarian blog highlighted an article “25 Useful Social Networking Tools for Librarians.” This article included some Web 2.0 tools new to me that could be useful in a school setting. Footnote combines historical documents and social networking. It features over 10 million primary source documents that people can comment on; users can also create their own history topic pages with their docs/photos. (the historian in me is excited about this resource) On Community Walk, one can create interactive maps that show photos, videos, comments. aNobbi is a community of bookworms that shares recommendations and reviews; and Connotea provides a very simple way to save & organize links to references and add your own keywords. Because there is such a proliferation of these live web tools, it’s very helpful to get recommendations from working school librarians via their blogs.

Web Page Review

Two well-designed and user friendly library websites that embrace white space with clean, clear layouts and manageable amounts of information are those of Bowdoin and Simmons Colleges. Both feature use of tabs as graphic organizers; prominently placed search boxes; and easily accessible reference help.

Bowdoin’s site is very logically organized and its layout is easy on the eyes. Enhancing navigability, the tab buttons of “catalog,” “reserves,” “find journals,” “find articles,” and “cast-a-net” (subject searching on pre-selected databases) are located front & center on the main page. Underneath the tabs is a search box where one can search within all the above categories, or do an advanced search. Beneath the search box are four boxes labeled “find,” “research help,” “services & forms,” and “about the library.” Ask a Librarian is listed in the “research help” box and links to a page offering options of in-person, phone, email, or chat/IM. Another way to contact a librarian via chat/IM is through the easy-to-find live help box on the main page.

Simmons’ library page is equally inviting and features intuitive navigation. At the top of the page, the tabs organize the information into “collections,” “catalog” (links to another tabbed search page), “research,” “services,” “how do I?,” and “ask now” (through live chat, email, in-person, or phone). Under the tabs is a quick catalog search box, with an advanced search option. Another nice feature on this site is the easily identifiable big yellow & green “?sk Now” button that appears in the center of the main page. Other ways to access “ask now” on the main page are via the last tab or the link at the bottom.

Two features from the above sites would benefit the users of Crown Library’s webpage. First, a better place for the Ask-a-Librarian/live chat box and “Ask Us” link would be at the top of the page instead of at the bottom of the page. Having the “Ask” features in a prominent place at the top of the page conveys Crown’s staff accessibility and availability. (And for the email option on the “Ask Us” page, it would be good to link to a form or email instead of having to find a librarian’s email address.) Second, a search box on the main page for searching the Dominican catalog/books (like Simmons) or one with the option of searching either the catalog or databases (like Bowdoin), each with an Advanced search option, would be good for the many users who come to the library page looking for materials, ready to search right away.

My trading card

Here it is ya’ll. It was fun making this card at bighugelabs.com.

Post #2: Appealing to teens with MySpace

As someone new to the concept of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook who plans to work with teens in a school library, I read with interest a story entitled “Social Networking Sites: Why Teens Need Places Like MySpace” from the winter 2007 issue of Young Adult Library Services (sorry can’t provide link as access is restricted–you can find it through Crown databases). Written by Sean Rapacki, Teen Services Librarian at the Wadsworth (Ohio) Public Library, his belief is that the fluid and ever-changing nature of these sites can help teens negotiate their adolescent years, playing an important role in their identity development.

Rapacki also writes about his library’s decision to create a MySpace account for its teen program and so I decided to check it out. The site (www.myspace.com/wadsworthpubliclibrary) features rock music, a slide show of new books & CDs, pictures of teen participants, a heroes section which includes Melvil Dewey (I’m not kidding!) and 227 friends. An unexpected issue faced was who would be added as friends–it’s been YA authors, librarians, and local teens, as long as their screen names don’t have offensive language.

Utilizing the technology kids are already using that is part of their world, this public library is employing an innovative and useful way to connect with local youth, learn more about their interests and challenges, and promote programming. It’s an interesting idea but probably would not fly in schools because of privacy issues.

Pew Study Finds Girls Dominate Boys in Creating Web Content

I was poking around on School Library Journal tonight and found this article. A somewhat surprising yet very cool finding.

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6517989.html