Link O'Day: Get your daily non-fiction fix at Delancey Place!

Do you love non-fiction? I think that for all librarians, the answer is yes. I love back stories about historical events, articles about science, and all kinds of informational readings. Here is how you can get yourself a daily fix: Subscribe to Delancey Place (linked from title). You will receive an emailed piece every day with a short and interesting offering. The selections are taken from periodical articles, from books, and from other resources.  I often save mine to read during my lunch break. Some days I am just too busy and simply delete without reading, but often I find these readings quite enjoyable. Case in point: Today I learned that Gutenberg got his idea for the printing press from the wine press. Who knew?

Link O'Day: ANOTHER Brand New Site...Blog by Alice Yucht

When Alice Yucht posts, I read. She has been an active contributor to the large and active message board for school librarians, LM_NET for as long as I can remember.  Her contributions are always worth reading. More often than not, she makes me think and laugh at the same time. She also has a great blog, Alice in Infoland (http://www.aliceinfo.org/).  Now she has another blog! She calls it Y's Guide SLIMPS and will be supporting her classes that she teaches at Rutgers. If you want to learn more about her, go to this link which will give you several facts and link to five more: http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/seven-things-you-dont-need-to-know-about-me-a-meme.htm lSo far it looks like she is sharing lots of link via her new blog. I promise not to swipe from her but also to learn from her. Stop by!

Link O'Day: Jumo! Another brand new social networking tool!

Jumo is the brain child of one of the original Facebook crew, Chris Hughes.  It is an idealistic endeavor for people who want to change the world for the better.

The purpose is to help people find non-profits and causes, follow them, and eventually contribute or become an activist. You sign on with your Facebook account. Then you find a cause that resonates with you and follow it. You will be informed of the organization's activities and perhaps take part in them or support the group financially. I signed up last night, on the launch day. I then did a search and found a number of praiseworthy organizations. I looked for two topics, libraries and pets, and found some interesting and worthy causes. In a world where there is way too much pessimism, cynicism and bigotry, maybe this is a way to make a difference.

Link O'Day: Author Chris Cleve

I don't read nearly as many books as I once did, or as I would like to enjoy. The reason is my work. My current job's administrative side eats up large chunks of my time during and after regular work hours. Then, like all online teachers, I find myself interacting with students, grading, keeping discussions going, etc. Cleve's book Little Bee has been on my want-to-read list for at least a year. I enjoy ebooks, but picked up a paper copy of this one for my flight home from a conference in San Diego. As promised by reviewers, I was drawn in and had trouble putting it down until finished. It is a quick read, though, and most readers will only need a few hours to finish. The set-up is interesting, with alternating chapters narrated by the two protagonists, Little Bee and the woman who sought to save her. The story really makes me think about how little I know about the conditions in Nigeria and other African countries today. It is one not to miss. All the laudatory reviews are spot on.

Then you will want to go to Chris Cleve's website. He talks about all his books and shares the first chapter of each. AND he posts in and converses with readers who leave comments. He also offers blog postings with his musings, and has a free children's book, satirical and frankly not my cup of tea. But I LOVE Little Bee. This is a book to remember. Great for book club choices also.

Link O'Day: Not Even Past

So far the links I have shared have been ones that I had in my bookmarks for a very long time. Today I am STOKED to share a link to a great site that is brand new! I learned about it via LM_NET and it was launched this very day. The name of the site is Not Even Past, and is a wonderful history resource put up by The University of Texas at Austin's History Department. Because it is so new I am just now exploring. My first question was scope...is it limited to American History? Here is a bit of the site's self-description:

'Not Even Past provides dynamic, accessible, short articles on every field of History. Founded in 2010 and developed by the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin, Not Even Past speaks to everyone interested in the past and in the ways the past lives on in the present.'

So the scope is...well...all encompassing. No doubt that means it will grow exponentially in the future. There are options for video, text, and audio content, and a special tab just for TEXAS.  Clearly this site has lots to offer to teachers, students, and researchers, but I hope the most enthusiastic audience will be the great unwashed masses. Everybody can benefit from this engaging and informative resource. I submit that you will want to visit again and again and watch it grow. So Feliz Navidad, Not Even Past!

Link O'Day: RefDesk.com

Step right up folks! No need to stand in line! Just click on the link above and behold. You will be taken to a one-stop shop for EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED OR WILL IN THE FUTURE WILL WANT to know! OK...maybe that is a bit of hyperbole, but click on the title and take a look at Refdesk. I happen to love sites that are densely packed with tons of information. This one is considered one of the most comprehensive on the Internet. Here is an interesting fact about this site: It is hosted by Bob Drudge. Name sound familiar? He is the father of Matt Drudge of The Drudge Report. The sites are not connected but Bob brags a bit about Matt on his "About" page. Me, I like Dad's site best, because there is no hint of bias or sensationalism. Instead you get the the facts, just the facts. Facts about what? Well pretty much everything under the sun! Give it a try and see if there is anything missing that you want. If there is, let Bob know. He'll likely put it in!

Link O'Day: Great organizational site..TaDa List!

I have probably mentioned this link at some point already in my blog, because it is a big part of my life. I have always been a list-maker.  I am not blessed with photographic memory--far from it. The biggest tool I have to combat my forgetfulness is writing things down, and the best online list-keeper for me has been TaDa List. It is a simple process to set up the lists you want to keep. Each item shows up with a little box next to it. When you complete a task, you check the box. The item does not go away. Instead it moves down below to join other completed tasks. Thus you get to see all your completed tasks. For me, checking the boxes and seeing the tasks demoted to "done" is a great feeling. First thing this morning I set up a list called "Things I Don't Want to Think About Because I Am Too Lazy to Do Them." I listed seven things that have been nagging at me but that I have continually been postponing, because they involve some thinking through how to successfully complete them. One by one I ticked them off today. By mid-afternoon they were all done. It is a great feeling!