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Archive for January, 2007

Tutorial: Make a firefox search for your website (very little coding required)

This is a tutorial to create an addition to Firefox’s search bar (that thing in the upper right hand corner) with any search box. This would be really useful for a library- give users easy access to your collection.

Step 1: Generate Code

The first step here is to generate the code needed to add the search box. This can be accomplished by writing the code yourself, (instructions are here), but this tutorial is meant for anyone to be able to do it. (including me)

My approach was to have a program generate the code for me. To do that, install the “Add to Search Bar” extension located here:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3682/

Then restart firefox. This extension enables you to right click ANY search field and choose “add to search bar.” This is a handy feature, built into Opera, and nice to have in Firefox.

OK, now go to the page you want to enable a firefox search box for. I’m using my page as an example, but it could be any page.

Right Click in the search box and choose “add to search box” and click ok

Add search demo screenshot

After you do this, your search will show up in the list of Search Box choices:

Add search demo screenshot

Step Two: Upload Code to web server

What you have just done is to create a text file inside Firefox’s application folder with your search. You can find this by going to:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ght6klyu.default\searchplugins

(note that ght6klyu.default is a random string, yours will be different. This is not my real random string. Also note that this location is slightly different if you have firefox installed as a portable application)

In order to see all the folders, you will probably need to enable hidden folders in Windows. do this by going to Start>Control Panel>Folder Options. Click on the tab “View” and under “Hidden files and folders” choose “Show hidden files and folders.”

OK, now you should have access to your “searchplugins” folder. You will find text files for all the searches you have added. In my example, my text file is called “niraknet—karin-dalziels-webpage.xml”

Upload this file somewhere on your webserver. I created a folder called “plugins” in the main directory.

Step 3: enable Firefox auto-discovery

The next step is to make this search plugin available to your users.

You want to add a bit of code to whatever page your user will download the plugin from that tells firefox it’s there. This page explains the process:

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Creating_OpenSearch_plugins_for_Firefox#Autodiscovery_of_search_plugins

But basically you are going to add this bit of code to the head element of your web page, (somewhere between the <head> and </head> but not between any other element pairs) replacing pluginURL with the path to your file and replacing searchTitle with the title of your search.

<link rel=”search” type=”application/opensearchdescription+xml” title=”searchTitle” href=”pluginURL”>

So mine would look like this:

<link rel=”search” type=”application/opensearchdescription+xml” title=”Search Nirak.net” href=”/plugins/niraknet—karin-dalziels-webpage.xml”>

Once you are done, your user will be able to click on the search bar icon and add your website to their searches

Add search demo screenshot

You can even have multiple searches available- say, one for a title search, one for a keyword search, etc.

I added UNL’s library and the local city library to my search bar (using the Firefox plugin), and it’s great!

Search demo- in action

karin :: Jan.25.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Cather Donation Video

UNL’s Love Library (my workplace) just received a great donation from the Willa Cather family. It’s been exciting around here! My coworker, Andy Jewell, was interviewed for the local news, which aired last night:

http://www.kolnkgin.com/home/headlines/5327837.html

I’m a little sad because Cather’s will specified that her letters could not be published.

karin :: Jan.24.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

School Update - Classes for Winter/Spring 2007

“How’s School Going?”

Since I get this question quite often, here’s my attempt to answer it definitively.

I am taking 3 classes this semester- Cataloging, Special Libraries, and Foundations of Library and Information Science.

Cataloging is by far going to be the hardest of the three. There’s not a lot of reading, but there is a lot of hands on exercises , practical applications and the like. There are several short papers exploring online cataloging resources, comparison of different library catalogs, trends in technical services, etc. I’m glad that the class includes discussion of the future of cataloging and not just the practical aspects of current cataloging. As useful as the MARC21 format has been, I can see how a move to something new (and more flexible) would be useful, and I look forward to reading about the options.

Although I may perform some cataloging functions, I doubt I will ever catalog full time. However, I can already see that this class will help me understand how the library works, now to find things, and why things are the way they are. I’m quite glad that I am taking this class before my reference class. After this week, I have an assignment due every week for Cataloging - this class should keep me on my toes.

Special Libraries is a class I chose, in part, to balance out Cataloging. I knew Cataloging would be a lot of work, and hoped Special Libraries would offset that. I was partially right. The bulk of Special Libraries consists of field trips to various special libraries in Omaha and Lincoln. Four are required - McGoogan Medical Library, UNMC, the Nebraska Library Commission, Schmid Law Library/UNL, and Offutt Air Force Base Library in Bellevue. We then get to choose three other libraries to visit from a list, I will be going to the Nebraska State Library in the Capitol, the Lincoln Correctional Center library, and to the Ford Conservation Center in Omaha. Whew! We also have to read articles and websites in preparation for these visits, and develop meaningful questions. Not too bad. There is also a final presentation - we are to choose a recent book from the library profession and do a power point-ish presentation on it.

I think I will enjoy this class a lot, and I hope to come out of it with a better idea of my career options.

Foundations of Library and Information Science is a (duh) foundation course. It’s a bunch of reading and open book multiple choice tests. I really need to dive into this and get it done- many people have told me I can finish it in a couple of weeks easily.

I have looked at the course options for other library schools and, not surprisingly, there’s a much bigger variety of classes at other places. However, even with my limited options I’m still not going to be able to take everything I want, so it does not really matter to me. I imagine that I will never really be done with school, and as the reality of this wears in, I find that I’m ok with it. I get restless when I’m not learning something, and I learn best in a structured, classroom like environment, even if not in an actual classroom. I feel like, after years of waiting for my life to start, it did- what it took wasn’t an end to my education but a decision on where my education is going.

karin :: Jan.22.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Outsourcing Design - Finally

Designers are everywhere nowadays. There are plenty of kids with a pirated version of Photoshop (or, more hopefully, Gimp) that can do what used to be up to the professionals. There’s an army of people proficient at designing, and not only that, they can edit video, audio, write copy (ok, that’s debatable), and more. It’s kind of hard for me to admit as one that had planned to build my career on the visual. It’s both sad and exciting to see visual literacy booming. Sad, because it’s no longer an exclusive club- it’s always disappointing to see something you have taken years to master picked up easily by a 15 year old. It’s exciting, though, because the possibilities for the visual continue to increase. More and more people are able to take what is in their head and turn it into something tangible- if digital representations can be called tangible. The results are sometimes disturbing, but it’s great to get a glimpse into so many minds, to have so many choices. I’m thinking of YouTube, of course, but also sites like Deviant Art and all the other places people hang out to share the visual. I love, too, how the “visual” is blending, expanding: the addictive game Linerider debuted on Deviant Art.

With all this, it should come as no surprise that companies are starting to outsource their marketing. Pepsi recently sent out a press release detailing their plans to have fans design billboards, even race car designs (found via Library Marketing). The recent flog uncoverings have demonstrated the wrong way to try to harness new web technologies for advertising. Pepsi may be on the right track in trying to involve people in the process. Might there be a future where armies of designers create advertising campaigns in order to compete for prize money- or even just for notoriety?

A more interesting question, for me, is: can we harness this mass of creative energy for something besides advertising? People obviously want to be involved in something- they want their voice heard. Why else would they post confessional videos to YouTube? I talked about this before, but I would love to see a community wide project that tries to harness this collective energy. I even did my final project for my Library Administration class last semester on a similar idea. Here in Lincoln we have these community art projects - they are designed so that “anyone” can get involved, but in reality, only the artists to. I would love to see that expanded.

I keep going back and forth about academic vs public libraries- the kind of things I keep thinking about may only be possible in a public library, but public libraries seem to have their own set of problems - lower play and less benefits, for one, but also the problems that come with being a community hang out. I will need to work in both before I make up my mind. I’m hoping my practicum will involve a little bit of public library experience. My problem is, there’s so much I want to try, but only so much time!

karin :: Jan.18.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Visual learning, active learning, and learning of the future (and something about video games)

I have read a lot over the years about visual vs auditory vs kinesthetic learning (kinesthetic learning is learning through body movement, I think). There are also those that seem to be great at book learning - just reading something and remembering it.

I always thought I was a visual learner- after all, I depend on my vision perhaps a bit too much, I paint, I revel in imagery. I never really had any proof, though.

Lately, I have been playing the game “Brian Age” a lot - for those of you that don’t know, this is a “game” for the Nintendo DS portable game system that has little brain games and tests. You do the tests, and over time, you can see how your brain is performing. If you have several people doing it (on the same system), you can compete against them to get a better score. Otherwise, you can just compete against yourself. One of the “games” is a test where you see a list of words- maybe 30 or so- for two minutes, and then you have three minutes to remember as many words as you can. The first time I tried this test, I just tried to memorize them by reading them over and over. I only remembered about 8. Next, I tried saying them out loud. I got 9 and 10 several times, until I hit upon the idea of visualizing the words. Some words lend themselves better to visualizations than others (nouns) but this method worked the best- I was consistently remembering 12-14. Yesterday I tried also adding actions- I look silly- but if the word was a verb I could act out, I did, and that upped my score to 16.

I imagine others who have played have gotten much better scores that I have but my point is that even at the age of 27, I still have no clear idea of how I learn. This seems like it’s a failing of the educational system more than anything. If we want students to live up to their best potential, we need to evaluate this kind of thing- students will learn more, and feel as if they are accomplishing more- if they have learning that is catered to them. Failing that, if the student is at least aware of how they best learn, and is armed with techniques to make the most of that knowledge, they will have a greater chance for success.

As video games progress, I hope that so called educational games will come out of the niche market and become mainstream. It’s already starting to happen - Brain Age #2 was the number 1 seller in Japan last year on the #1 selling system - the DS. (Reference- Kotaku.com) It’s doing quite well in America as well. However, most “educational” games for kids are hokey, poorly made, and look rushed. (Please correct me if I’m wrong, I have not seen too many of them.) I also keep expecting to see computer peripherals aimed towards a younger audience - not just brightly colored keyboards, but truly different things, like a USB powered pad for toddlers that would learn and react with the movements of the child (via sounds, lights, whatever.) Now that more and more computers are finding their way into the living room, I keep expecting things like this, but nothing yet.

I think one of the reasons I love the Wii so much is that it’s made a giant leap into making gaming a whole body rather than a hand coordination thing. Maybe the reason I’m so clumsy is because I have spent so many years working on my hand eye coordination through video games that my body coordination is lacking. (ok, that’s a stretch. I’m really just clumsy) The PS3 has the potential to become just as body interactive as the Wii- it just needs the right peripherals and the right games. Learning through experience is almost always the best method, and video games have the potential to not only provide a visual and auditory experience, but a active one as well. Imagine the possibilities! All we need is companies to figure out how to tap into this market, and to hire truly talented gaming programmers rather than just rushing something to market. Make it good, and kids (and adults) will want to play it.

As the success of Brain Age shows - learning *is* fun, if you make it fun.

karin :: Jan.11.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 1 Comment »

Excuse me while I dork out. (Synergy on Ubuntu and Windows)

I read today about the program Synergy, which lets you move a mouse (and copy and paste) across multiple systems as if they were one desktop. I’ve been wishing for something like this for a while, but figured it was impossible. I have the Linux monitor next to the Windows Machine, and have been using a KVM (minus the M) switch to switch my keyboard and mouse between them. With Synergy I can just move my mouse over. I can also copy and paste text and images.

In possibly my dorkiest move ever, I videotaped a demo (albeit a crappy quality one)

Here I am copying an image from the windows machine and pasting it in Ubuntu. HOW FRIGGIN’ COOL IS THAT?!?!

You can find better demos on Youtube  (just look for “synergy” and “linux”)

karin :: Jan.09.2007 :: Uncategorized :: 2 Comments »

The History of Humanities Computing available online!

The hefty, interesting, and useful “A Companion to Digital Humanities” has been published online at: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companion/. This is a great and informative book, and the online publishing is great because not everyone can afford it’s hefty $160 price tag. It will be released in paperback soon, though, so maybe I’ll be able to afford a copy for myself.

karin :: Jan.09.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

Too much or not enough simplicity

I am constantly being frustrated by too much or not enough simplicity.

Let me explain.

There are times when one really needs simplicity. I love Google Reader - I go to the page, everything is there, ready for me to read. I scroll down, and it marks items as read as I pass them. If i have to stop in the middle, I go back later and the items I have read are gone, others are still there. Dead simple and that’s why it works well.

However, sometimes you just need options. I’m trying out a project management system called Homebase at work. We’re looking for a way to help us manage our 36 some odd projects- not only manage the tasks and to do’s, but the often overlapping people, the meetings, and resources. I like that Homebase is simple for the user- We’re never going to be able to get anyone to use it if it complicated, they need the equivalent of Google reader- damn simple and easy. However, I am frustrated by the lack of options on the back end. You can separate people in to “Companies” - but that’s the ONLY way you can sort them. And one person can’t be in more than one company. You can set due dates, but no times. There’s little in the way of email options. The rss feed is password protected, which makes it difficult to use, and there’s no option to un-encrypt it. There’s no way to sign up for email updates, and you can’t set a reply to address for the emails that get sent. My biggest beef is that the software does nothing to help my most time consuming task: setting meetings.

I could go on and on, but the point is- I need options. I need to be able to customize the hell out of it until it works exactly right. Front end=simplicity. Back end=lots of complicated options. Is that so hard?

The problem is, no software package can be everything to everyone, and so some just say “fine, we’ll just be simple.” It’s the same problem that gives us feature crawl in gadgets- I would love a cell phone that takes high quality pictures and makes calls and that’s it. But if another person also wants texting, and person ‘C’ over there wants to watch multimedia, we end up with gadgets that aim to please everyone and end up pleasing no one.

There’s been a lot of talk in library land about what a library should be. Last month’s “American Libraries” featured a column about how maybe Librarians should make some judgment calls about what materials we present to the community (to which several people have said “no, that’s not our place to decide” - and I agree.) There’s been talk about which is better, a noisy or a quiet library. Ideally, you’ll have options (a quiet and a noisy area), but in a small library, you can’t do that- it’s either quiet or noisy.

Here’s the really hard wall I keep running myself up against: you can’t please everyone. You just can’t no matter what you do; someone will be unhappy. Some people want simplicity, some want options. Some want you to decide for them, some want to decide everything for themselves. This is the reason that I keep scratching my head when I read about usability of a site, because I always thing “usability for who?”

karin :: Jan.05.2007 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »