my first web page…

2008/11/20 — anna

I recently received a message from my alma mater that my ONYEN (the Only Name You’ll Ever Need) password was about to expire.  I graduated back in 2001, but I still have this username with the university.  I decided to see just what I still have access to…..it looks like email and apparently server space.

I stumbled upon my first website.  Behold the beauty I made with Netscape Composer:

http://www.unc.edu/~annavan/

Reading it makes me laugh…especially for a few reasons 1) I am no where near as physically active as I used to be; 2) my linking to my (now ex-) husband’s page; and 3) my mentioning of my good, hometown friend (and former swimming nemesis from when I was 8-years-old), Lia Menken (who I’ve just reconnected with via Facebook).

Looking at it makes me a bit sad, because I don’t think i could design/develop anything much better today.  Well, maybe a bit better, but not much….

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oh the horror…

2008/11/18 — anna

One of the reasons I love that librarians blog so much: I can find a kind, virtual colleague who has done some reconnaissance, which prevents me from re-creating the wheel from scratch.  Whether it be blog software, Camtasia tips, or program ideas, I have found so many helpful ideas and advice from fellow librarian bloggers.

A simple case in point: One of our staff members is out on long-term disability.  One of her responsibilities is to periodically create a display of books showcasing a segment of our collection.  I’ve taken on the task ’til she can return to work.

In the spirit of Halloween, I made a book display of horror books — “Bone Chillin’ Horror Books: In Case the Weather Outside Isn’t Chilly Enough for You!“ Now…it can be daunting coming up with an innovative book display…and I don’t really read horror books.  I like vampire stories, but horror really encompasses more than my night stalking friends.  I have to thank The Lair of the Undead Rat for his blog post that contained a list of horror books from last year.  His list gave me a great head start in creating my booklist for the display….and kept me from having to scrounge from scratch.

So to all my librarian blogger friends out there — thank you!  I hope that some day I can reciprocate by something (e.g., a program, a service, etc.) I’ve posted on first conclusions.

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trenton public branches pull through…for now…

2008/11/11 — anna

Back in September, I posted an entry about the annoucement that the four Trenton Public Library branches would be closing.

According to the Trenton Times, by manipulating the main library’s hours and shifting some of the main library’s staff to its branches, the branches will be able to stay open — at least until the end of 2009.

I’m glad to see the neighborhood branches are able to remain open for the time being.  These branches serve as crucial and established portals for learning, access points to information, and venues for community events for both children and adults living in the surrounding Trenton neighborhoods.

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message for our president-elect…

2008/11/10 — anna

On November 6, 2008, The Guardian on Flickr started the flickr group, “A Message for Obama.”  Whether or not you voted for President-Elect Obama, people can simply: 1) Write a message on a bit of paper, 2) Take a picture, and 3) Add your photo message to the group.

My son and I did just that.

msg4obama

(Next thing I know, we’ve made the flickr blog.)

As of this morning, there are 799 posted items to the group.  Posts range from messages on resisting war to advocating gay rights to wishing our president-elect good luck to wanting to be proved wrong.

Even if you don’t post a message, I highly recommend looking through the “A Message for Obama” photostream.  There are some visually beautiful, as well as thought-provoking, messages from people all over the world.

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tell a friend via socialtwist….

2008/11/05 — anna

I leaned from Jane Hart’s blog, Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day, about the Tell-a-Friend widget, which is described as a “word-of-mouth marketing tool.” The widget conveniently allows a site visitor the ability to share content via the visitor’s email account, instant messenger account, social networking site, or blog without navigating the user away from the webpage s/he wants to share.

I’ve added it to my WordPress.com blog, and thus far I’m relatively happy with how easy it is to configure, install, and use.  Unfortunately, there are some WordPress.com limitations since WordPress.com does not allow users to add javascript (only HTML) to a template.  So, I don’t get the cute little pop-up, floating box; a new window opens up for the user to share the info via their account of choice.

One of the elements I look forward to investigating further is the easy-to-read usage statistics component, which lets me know what channels (e.g., IM, email, blog or social network) are used and how often.

tell-a-friend-graph

Oh, and I almost forgot — this customizable widget is free to boot.

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