Prize winners in waiting
You might have noticed some attractive new novels and picture books on display near the stairs on Level 4 of the library. These have recently been acquired for the Curriculum Resources collection and are the 16 shortlisted books for the 2013 CILIP Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal respectively.
As the website notes, the medals are the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards. Often described by authors and illustrators as ‘the one they want to win’, they are the gold standard in children’s literature.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book for children and young people, whilst the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.
The CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013 shortlist in full:
- The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury
- A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle, Marion Lloyd Books
- Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Hot Key Books
- In Darkness by Nick Lake, Bloomsbury
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Bodley Head
- Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, Indigo
- A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton, David Fickling Books
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Electric Monkey
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2013 shortlist in full:
- Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children’s Books
- Again! by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children’s Books
- Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, Walker Books
- I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Walker Books
- Pirates ‘n’ Pistols by Chris Mould, Hodder Children’s Books
- King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (author), Puffin Books
- Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, Templar Publishing
- Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author), Walker Books
You will have to hurry if you want to borrow any of these books, as some keen library users have already got there! In the meantime, why not catch up on some previous years’ winners? A full list can be found on the website above, and most are in stock in the library.
Winners of the two medals will be announced on Wednesday 19th June 2013.
Alternatives to Google Reader
From 1st July 2013, Google Reader will no longer be available. If you have been using Google Reader to save your RSS feeds (to keep current with research), you can export the feeds to other readers. This post suggests a few that I have tried and which I think are almost as good as Google’s Reader. However, the suggestions come with a warning – we didn’t expect the plug to be pulled on Reader as it is popular and has a large following; this could also happen to the readers I am suggesting below so I would recommend that you save your feeds on a regular basis (by exporting them – see below for instructions) and using two readers just in case one dies a sudden death like Reader.
Computer/Laptop Readers
If you read your feeds on a computer or a laptop, the following two readers are extremely user-friendly: The Old Reader and CommaFeed Both are working quickly to develop Apps for mobile devices which they promise will be ready by the end of June 2013. Instructions on how to export your RSS feeds from Google Reader to The Old Reader and to CommaFeed are attached.
Mobile RSS Apps
If you read your feeds on mobile devices such your smart phone or tablet, I can recommend a couple of apps: Zite and Feedly. Both of these are available from the App Store and both have received good reviews hence my recommendation. Feedly is also available as a reader on a browser (Firefox, Safari and Chrome).
Open source software relies on the goodwill of people in terms of time they give to developing an application and donations by individuals. This software can very easily be available one day and not the next as open source companies may go out of business. My advice to you is to back up your feeds on a regular basis and use more than one reader – especially if you are not able to access your feeds because the server is over capacity (this has just happened to me with Feedly which is very popular). If you suddenly find a reader is unavailable, you certainly won’t want to have to start from scratch if you keep updates. We haven’t had to do this with Google as we have been given time to prpare for Google Reader’s demise. Do also be aware that if you use RSS on a browser and your hardware develops a fault, you could also lose your feeds with your computer/laptop. So be safe and use at least a couple of readers. Google has taught us a valuable lesson - not to rely on its products or on technology as this post in Forbes explains so clearly.
As the time of Google Reader’s demise draws nearer, many more software companies are announcing replacements so watch this space for more recommendations as I try new feed readers to keep current with research.
Tags: current, digital literacies, digital literacy, Google Reader, research, researcher, RSS, updated
New guides for a new landscape
‘Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner’ (CILIP 2004). The Alexandria Proclamation adds that information literacy is ‘a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion in all nations’ (UNESCO 2005).
There is no doubt that information, digital and academic literacies are finally being taken seriously after librarians have been banging about their importance for years. In 2013, being able to find, evaluate, manage and communicate information is an essential research skill in a constantly changing information landscape and IOE librarians are keen to provide both personal and online information literacy support. In addition to face-to-face sessions and Enquiry Desk advice, LibGuides and LibAnswers are vital in ensuring that library users have useful information at any time and in any place.
New IOE LibGuides just published include:
The importance of the unique
I was listening to the BBC World Service yesterday and an article on the Boston Calling programme made me think about the importance of items that are completely unique.
The programme talked about how a Japanese photography company are travelling to areas affected by the 2011 tsunami. The company are voluntarily taking photographs of families who lost everything. The really important part is that they are using an instant film camera. After the picture is taken, they hand it over, and leave with nothing. The programme mentions how the people feel that many people have come and taken pictures of the devastation, leaving the them in the same position as before. This way they are given back something that noone else has. There are no copies, it is the true archival record in the traditional sense.
Having recently spent half a week talking about digital preservation, where storing copies of material in multiple places makes sure it will still be accessible in the future, it was interesting to think about the importance of documentation to the individual, and how the truly unique still holds such weight.
Photographs as objects are very important to me. If my house was burning down and I could save one thing, I think it would probably be the small box of photographs I have, rather than my laptop which contains thousands. How about you?
Tags: digital photography, photography
Demo of Mendeley at the IOE
The following message has been circulated, but in case you’ve missed it, here it is again:
John Jardin and Simon Litt from Swets, who represent Mendeley Institutional in the UK, will come and give us a demo of this software on Thursday 14th March at 3.15 p.m. The free version of this software is installed on the student machines and in the Library Teaching Room.
In case you’re asking what this is all about, here’s a brief explanation of what Mendeley can do …
Mendeley is often referred to as the ‘iTunes for Researchers’ – it is an all-singing, all-dancing bibliographic software management system and an academic social networking tool which allows researchers to share their references and find and collaborate with other researchers. The Mendeley database now has 30M+ bibliographic references and so is a useful searching tool.
Like EndNote (which we support here at the IOE) and Zotero (another free bibliographic management software system), Mendeley can be an extremely valuable tool when doing research and composing papers. The program stores bibliographic references, figures, and PDFs all in one place on a computer, which makes retrieving these items easy. Mendeley also works with Microsoft Word and Open Office to insert in-text citations and compose bibliographies with just a few mouse clicks.
If you’re interested in attending this demo, please contact Nazlin Bhimani (n.bhimani@ioe.ac.uk), Research Support & Special Collections Librarian as spaces are limited.
Tags: Bibliographic Software, information management, Mendeley, networking, reference manager, referencing software, research, researcher, social networking, Web 2.0
Digital Preservation Training Programme, the OAIS, and descriptive metadata
Last week I took part in the Digital Preservation Training Programme. A great three days discussing digital preservation, ending with a feeling that while it is a big job, we really can take steps to address it. An activity I particularly enjoyed was mapping our existing functions/situation to the OAIS to work out where the gaps are. I was happy to see that we’re pretty strong in some areas, and pleased to identify the areas we’re lacking in so that they can be addressed.
One of the noticeable gaps in the OAIS is the ingest of digital material, so I’m pleased that I have been having a wee look a the descriptive metadata requirements from depositors mentioned in Sarah’s last post. I took a one-to-one session with one of our IT training staff in order to create a spreadsheet that we can give to depositors of digital records.
We are aware there will be no one size fits all approach, but due to previous experience I’m convinced that we can pare down the descriptive metadata we have asked of depositors previously. Firstly, I don’t feel that learning ISAD(G) is a good use of time for depositors. Secondly, receiving such standardised descriptions from them, while not unhelpful, does not appear to be the best way to proceed. A lack of standards for the description of born-digital archives may be part of the problem here, but that is another story.
My aim now is to create an easy to fill in spreadsheet with as few fields as possible which we can then enhance at ingest stage for easy import into Calm/Eprints. I think I’m about there in terms of how the spreadsheet works (locked and unlocked areas, protecting the sheet etc.), but terminology continues to be a problem.
So far I have identified three minimum fields
Title [name]
Date
Does it contain any sensitive personal information? [Y/N]
Ideally the field names will not require further explanation, as this is where things can get confused when more than one person is working on the transfer of material. These fields of course also lack the context of a file structure, if that is how people work. So that’s the next thing to consider, while the days of “Pink folder series 1″ may soon be over, the days of “New folder” are probably here to stay, which will cause some headaches…
Tags: descriptive metadata, DPTP, JISC transformations, JISC Transformations; Meta-morphosis; digital archives, OAIS
Google Apps for Education: demo in the Library for PhD students & staff
One of our DEdInt (PhD) students has agreed, at very short notice, to demonstrate Google Apps for Education to us (and to some of his cohort). Rab recently won the Apple Distinguished Educator’s Award for Japan and is a expert on Web 2.0. He has just come back from visiting Google Enterprises so has a lot to show us. Rab is only in the UK until Saturday – hence this last minute announcement.
Rab is from Scotland but now lives and works in Japan. He teaches Academic Writing, Critical Thinking, Digital Literacy and Presentation Theory Skills at various universities in Tokyo (ICU, Todai, Dokkyo and JCSW) – his blog is at · http://www.technology-n-teaching.com and he is @rabpaterson on Twitter.
So if you are interested in looking at some of the new Google technologies that could be used in your work and which are being used in teaching, please join us. There are only 30 seats in the room, so if you are coming, please let Nazlin know at n.bhimani@ioe.ac.uk.
Tags: Google Apps, ICT, new technologies, peer reviewing, Web 2.0
Yes, you can still access the eLibrary this weekend!
1. If you are reading on Friday 1st March:
- Click on this link http://libguides.ioe.ac.uk/specialresourcesdetails to collect a temporary username and password. (You will need to login using your usual IOE network login details to access this page off campus).
- Make a note of the temporary username and password that you will be able to use over the weekend.
- Go to step 3.
2. If you are reading this page on Saturday 2nd March during Library Enquiry Desk hours:
- Phone, email or SMS the Library Enquiry Desk and ask for the temporary computer account. You will need to show that you are an IOE student by providing:
- Your student ID
- Your postcode
- Your date of birth
3. Start searching as usual:
- eBooks – Library Catalogue
- eJournals – eJournal Search
- Databases and article searching – Databases A-Z
If you reach this screen, type in the temporary username and password and select the Staff radio button.
4. At approximately 18:00 on Sunday 3 March, your IOE student account will be operational again. At this point, you will be able to use your own student username and password again, but will need to select Staff instead of Student on the login page.
If you have any questions about accessing electronic resources, please contact the Library Enquiry Desk
- Email: lib.enquiries@ioe.ac.uk
- SMS/Text: +44 (0)20 3322 1810
- Telephone: 020 7612 6080
Library Enquiry Desk hours are:
Monday – Friday: 10.45 – 19.00
Saturday: 09.30 – 17.00
Sunday: No Enquiry Desk service
Tags: access, digital library, eBooks, ejournals, eLibrary, eResources
The Papers of the White Family
Winifred White
Transcribing the 1897 diary of a London school teacher, Winifred White, has been almost like taking a trip back into the past, providing a fascinating glimpse into day-to-day life in late-Victorian England. 1st January, 1897 sees Winifred a virtual prisoner in her own home due to having had all her remaining top teeth removed so that false ones could be fitted, something that was apparently a very common practice at the time and, indeed, for a good many years after.
Fortunately our toothless heroine does get her new ‘pegs’, as she likes to call them and goes on to lead a full and active life and writing some intriguing diary entries such as taking part in the celebrations for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, involvement with the Victorian Era Exhibition and a cycling holiday in Anglesey where her elder sister’s hat goes up in flames (fortunately she wasn’t hurt!).
Winifred’s two surviving sisters were also teachers and the White sisters’ interest in music and performing arts informed their teaching and their views on education. Winifred was also an advocate of outdoor education, later establishing her own Garden School. The Papers of the White Family, which are held by the Archives, contain several diaries and notebooks recording some of their interests and activities, as well as a multitude of photographs.
Archive Collections LibGuide: http://libguides.ioe.ac.uk/content.php?pid=348872
Catalogue http://archive.ioe.ac.uk/DServe?
Child of our time
This week the BBC series following twenty-five children born in 2000 reaches the point where they transfer from primary to secondary school and become teenagers. The usual interesting blend of interview and documentary, this year’s two parts are broadcast on Wednesday and Thursday (27th & 28th February) at 9pm on BBC1.
We have the whole series to date available in our Teaching Video collection, and we’ll be adding the 2013 programmes. As one of the children comments, “It’s quite scary seeing myself get older.” Further information about the series is available on the BBC programme website and the Open University’s OpenLearn site.
Tags: BBC, New video, teaching video, Television
