Posts filed under 'libraries'
I’m working on a presentation one of my colleagues is giving next week. I had the idea to insert a well-known piece of TV history. Thanks to sites like YouTube, Google Video, and MySpace, the video I wanted was easily found. Unfortunately, we’re using PowerPoint which presented its own set of challenges and that’s another story. Ideally, I wanted to cue the video to start at a specific spot in my clip. Sure, the whole clip is of itself entertaining, but I’m trying more and more to keep presentations direct, to the point, and tasteful.
After some searching, I discovered that Google Video now supports timecode linking. Google Video uses the Flash Player and Adobe’s marketing name for timecode links is Cue Points. Well, it turns out that this method works nicely if I want to show the video surrounded by the usual Google search box, links, and video information. I didn’t. I wanted to embed a video object that would preserve my cueing either in a web page or directly within my PowerPoint.
Finally, I discovered Angsuman Chakraborty’s post on how to achieve just what I wanted using embedded Google Video. Google makes the embedding easy, but not so much the cueing. It took me a good hour of searching and URL hacking before I realized that it would have to be done in the FlashVars property of the Flash player if at all. That turned out to be the key not only to solving my original problem, but also in creating a successful search in Google.
I don’t frequently bemoan the weaknesses of brute-force search, as it’s been referred to in the digital library community. Frankly, I don’t experience those weaknesses much. However, this was certainly one of those times.
January 18th, 2007
I continue to be inspired by WPopac, Corey Bisson’s reformulation of the library catalog using WordPress. Corey calls WPopac “an OPAC 2.0 Testbed”. In this case, WordPress is just the means of bringing the library catalog into the 21st Century, with open standards and flexible interfaces.
I first learned about WPopac at Corey’s IUG Presentation, “Designing An OPAC for Web 2.0“. As a satisfied new user of WordPress, I was already convinced that somehow it might be a great tool for the library. I certainly wasn’t the first to wonder how and Corey’s work wrapped some flesh around it.
You can experience WPopac at Plymouth State, Corey’s place, and there are more implementations to come.
Who needs WebOPAC software for our catalogs as long as we have access to our data and open source apps like WordPress or Joomla!? The answer, of course, is those of us who are locked into turnkey systems that build walls around our data and then force us to pay for still more software in order to stick some doors into the walls. Change is in the air though, especially as librarians increasingly take to the Web 2.0 meme and begin to expect more from their systems.
August 5th, 2006
Nancy Davenport, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources and keynote speaker at IUG 2006, gave a stirring and forward-looking talk. Librarians as IT workers and IT as the evolving DNA of libraries were her central themes. She also pointed to some nice examples of how some libraries are innovating their physical spaces to better accomodate customer behavior.
Coincidentally or inevitably, she cited research into Starbuck’s brand awareness and cultural impact and urged us to replace “Starbuck’s” with “library” as we read the article excerpt. Unfortunately, I missed the author’s name but I’ll be on the lookout. Until then, I’ll just have to point you here.
May 22nd, 2006
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