IRs@Cornell

On Monday I made a presentation for CUL’s Professional Development Week titled, “IRs@Cornell: The Expanding Role of Institutional Repositories“. I used Prezi.com to make it, so it’s viewable online.

Like many of my presentations, it loses something without my “voiceover,” therefore I will provide an excerpt from said that may clarify one portion of the presentation:

The purpose of institutions and measures like the Federal Depository Library Program was to preserve government documentation in case of fire, flood, technological mishap, or other natural disasters.

(beat)

Too soon?

See if you can guess where it goes!

Semester’s end

My final papers are handed in for the semester, and my brain is mush. Thus, I fall back on the joy that is Wordle, and present this blog and my workout blog as interpreted by its most virtuous algorithms!

The Nascent Librarian, as of today:

Jim vs., as of today:

Have a great and restful weekend, all!

Apologies to Robert E. Howard

This illustrates why I probably shouldn’t keep writing at night after I start to get punchy:

“Know, O prince, that between the years when the undergrads drank Zima and nasty box-wine, and in the years of the rise of the collars on fratboys’ pastel polo shirts, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining graduate programs lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars — Ithaca College, Cortland, Cornell with her gold-tongued lies of instruction in any study, Binghamton with her WalMart-haunted depths. But the proudest graduate program was Syracuse, reigning supreme in the dreaming fields of information science. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, laptop in hand, a thief, a slayer, a library paraprofessional, with gigantic melancholies, gigantic mirth, and ever-more-gigantic student loan balances, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.”

It’s a good thing my semester’s almost over. And thanks, Judd, for getting me riffing on Conan. :)

Three links for a busy weekend

Working on my final assignments for the semester: a pair of issue briefs documenting net neutrality and internet filtering, respectively. With that in mind, here are three fun links that are worth a gander:

The Secret Of Google’s Book Scanning Machine Revealed

Using Dropbox for library document delivery

My presentation from Wednesday’s meeting of the ILR Extension Leadership Team, from prezi.com. Be warned: the “story” portion doesn’t make a lick of sense without me talking, but the software’s just plain keen.

Back to the grind.

EDIT: I have not forgotten about my promise of book reviews. They will come after I wrap my classes, possibly accompanied by one of When Gravity Fails, which has gotten off to an amazing start.