More on Robert S. Taylor Paper

Additional research about Robert Taylor:

Blurb from Library Journal, December 1984, Vol.109, Issue 20, page 220 "Former Dean Robert Taylor recruited Klaus Barbie." Reports that in October 17th issue of the Syracuse Post Standard, the lead story was "Ex-SU Dean Recruited Klaus Barbie as U.S. Agent." Comments that Robert Taylor said he didn't know of Barbie's past when he recommended him in 1947.

Ryan, Allan A. Jr. Klaus Barbie and the United States Government, The Report, with Documentary Appendix, to the Attorney General of the United States. Frederick, MD: University Publications of America, Inc., 1983.

General information from Ryan text:
Robert Taylor was part of the 66th Counter Intelligence Corps under European Command (EUCOM) stationed in Region IV (headquarters in Munich) in Memmingen. Since April 1946 Kurt Merk had been working for Taylor. On April 10, 1947, Merk told Taylor about Barbie. Taylor knew that Barbie was wanted in Operation Selection Board. Taylor did not notify Headquarters about Barbie. Checked with superior Lt. Col. Dale Garvey, Commanding Officer of Region IV. On April 14-15 decision made by Taylor and Garvey to use Barbie as an informant.

Taylor met with Barbie on or about April 18, 1947 and deal was made. Barbie impressed Taylor as "an honest man, both intellectually and personally, absolutely without nerves or fear. He is strongly anti-Communist and a Nazi idealist who believes that he and his beliefs were betrayed by the Nazis in power" (p.13). Barbie reported on French intelligence operations in U.S. zone of Germany, on activities of Romanian ethnic Germans, and on Soviet activities in U.S. zone. Use of Barbie not known to headquarters until two months later.

On May 22, 1947, Captain Frazier at CIC HQ asked for clarification of certain matters. Taylor for first time reported to CIC HQ that information came from Barbie not Merk. Taylor acknowledged that Barbie was to be arrested in Operation Selection Board, but requested he be allowed to retain freedom. Region IV forwarded Taylor's report to CIC HQ on June 3, 1947 recommending Barbie be used as an asset. Appears as if request was ignored.

Taylor placed increasing reliance on Merk and Barbie. By summer of 1947, Merk had web of 48 to 52 informants in Germany and Eastern Europe. (all previous from page 13).

Web known as "Buro Petersen." (page 14).

Agent Hahdu took over for Taylor in the spring of 1948 (page 18).

Synopsis of Robert S. Taylor Article

Taylor, Robert S. "Reminiscing About the Future: Professional Education and the Information Environment," in Library Journal, (September 15, 1979), 104(16), p1871(5).

This is a thought provoking article about library and information science education in which Taylor asserts that "the future is what professional education is all about" (p.1871). In the article, Taylor argues that librarianship as a profession needs to distance itself from the physical library - a concept that seems quite simple (although controversial for many, I'm sure), but one that I still haven't totally been able to wrap my mind around. I had a definite "Eureka" moment when reading this, I have to admit. The library is not the center of the information universe, but is only a piece - and not necessarily a central one. Taylor writes that "a failure to participate in the whole system will tend to isolate the library and the librarian even more than they currently are from the blooming, dymanic, changing world out there" (p.1872). I couldn't agree more - and again, I'm amazed at the relevancy of this article today and it was written 27 years ago!!!

Later in the article, Taylor point out that library systems are fine for what they are, but that they only exist in the library world. They are not systems with which the world at large are familiar. We, in libraries, should be thinking about the user and the questions they ask and the information needs that they posess rather than focusing on preserving established library traditions (p.1872).

Taylor identifies several skills and attitudes that librarians could and should acquire if they were to "cut their umbilical cord to libraries and similar document-based systems" (p.1873). They could possess "an ability to organize data and information for people to use," "an awareness of the totality of information resources and strategies in search for information," "a sensitivity to use, uses, and users of information," and "a strong tradition of service" (p.1973). Such attributes would help library and information science school graduates understand that systems must be designed by and for human beings.

In terms of the future of professional education, Taylor identifies six subject ares of concern. First is the organization of information. He suggests that we need to organize information based on the "natural processes of information-seeking and knowledge utilization" (p.1873) rather than in traditional methods. The second area is the information environment which can be explained as the context of knowledge and how humans process information. Next is the area or information media which deals with media formats and the natural way in which information is organized. The systems and technologies area is the fourth area. In this area, Taylor is more concerned about the formal methods of design, analysis and evaluation of systems that are created by people, machines and information. The fifth area is reasearch methods which "is concerned with the education of critical consumers of research results and effective participants in the research process" (p.1874). Finally, the last subject area is management which is the area that binds all of the previous ones together. It is the area which is concerned with the identification and definition of information problems (p.1874).

In conclusion, Taylor writes that "libraianship is too important a profession to be tied to the fate of a single institution" (p.1875). He suggests that the profession has several large problems with which it needs to deal: "better filters to withhold rather than supply information, better means for making information available, programs on information literacy, and maintenance of a human scale in information and knowledge transfer processes" (p.1875).

Other references that I need to check:
Taylor, Robert S., Manpower and Education Programs for Management, Research, and Professional Growth in Library and Information Services, report to the National Commission on LIbrary and Information Science, October 1974.

Taylor, R.S., "Libraries, Librarians, and the Information Environment" (copyright 1979 by the author).

Taylor, R.S., "Educational Breakaway," American Libraries, June 1979, p.364-68.

Information on Robert Taylor Biographical Research Report

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am writing a biographical research report on Robert S. Taylor for my Foundations of Librarianship (ILS503) class. I will include journal-type entries to document my research.

Robert Saxton Taylor - born 1918.

Worked at both Lehigh University (as Librarian and Director of the Library Center and Professor of Language and Communications) and Syracuse University (as Professor and Dean).

Published in area of user studies - known for "value-added approach" to information services.

Awards - 1972 American Society for Information Science Best Information Science Book, was appointed Fulbright Lecturer in 1965.

Was president of American Society for Information Science in 1968

biographical information taken from http://www.unc.edu/~fazel/taylor.html - accessed on 1/27/06.

Classes Have Begun

The spring semester has started. I've been reading like mad this week to get myself into the spirit of things. So far, I'm fairly excited about both classes - a little bit more so for my Foundations of Librarianship class (ILS503). But this is only because Reference and Information Resources and Services (ILS504) focuses on professsional competences for a reference librarian - and I know that I do not want to be a reference librarian. Admittedly, it is an important class - and I know that I will learn a great deal (and that I need to learn the material). Also, ILS503 delves into a historical perspective of libraries and information services along with current trends and challenges (paraphrased from class syllabus). These are the type of issues that are of primary interest to me.

One thing that I am very excited about is an assignment to do a biographical research report on someone important to the field of librarianship. I was assigned Robert S. Taylor - whom I had never heard of before. However, I have been researching him for the past week and am thoroughly enjoying the project. His interest in information science and systems is right up my alley

I Added Another Class

Last week, I decided to take a second class this spring semester. SCSU added another section of ILS504 Reference and Information Resources and Services. - and I felt compelled to try and take two classes this semester. I'm a bit nervous about the amount of work - two classes and a full time job - but hopeful that the workload won't be too much. I have ordered the one required text and the two recommended texts - and am hoping they come in before classes start on the 29th of January.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to read the textbook for ILS503 class (Foundations of librarianship) - Richard E. Rubin's Foundations of Library and Information Science (2nd Edition - Neal Schuman Publishers, 2004). Admittedly, it is slow going. I have been enjoying the quite of life after the holidays and away from school - and now need to get myself back into school mode.

I Passed My First Class

SCSU posted grades for the fall semester today online. I'm very happy to say that I passed my first class. Yeah! I now have 3 credits - only 33 more to go!!! I'm busy trying to get ready for my next class - ILS 503 Foundations of Librarianship. The class doesn't start until January 29th, but I'm trying to get through the majority of the textbook before then.

I'm Now Enrolled!

I received a copy of my planned program from the Graduate School at SCSU yesterday afternoon along with the letter of acceptance from the School of Graduate Studies (rather than the School of Communication, Information and Library Science). All appropriate people have signed off - and I am officially enrolled in the MLS program. So far, I'm very impressed with the people and the program at SCSU.

Organizing My School Work

Given that I am just starting my journey through library school, I don't yet have a great organization scheme for my work. I have been giving this topic quite a bit of thought for the past couple of weeks. I figured that I really should try and get some type of organization in place before the start of next semester (my next class starts on January 29th). Imagine my delight when Joy (at Wanderings of a Student Librarian) posted her thoughts and ideas about organizing school work in a post in her blog this week.

Joy has some great ideas. I love the fact that she uses accordian files to keep track of material from individual classes. After my first class, I put all of my material into file folders: one folder for the syllabus and class information, one for class readings, one for readings that I used for research, one for my assignments, one for assignments from other students and one for study material. However, an accordian file would allow me to keep everything from one class together. I think I will be running out to get some accordian files.

Rather than shelves, I have (in the past) used boxes to store my files. I am thinking that one shelf near my computer for the material from my current class would be a great idea. Maybe this would help me to keep all of my material together. I do remember several times during the fall semester when I had to tear my house apart for the last week's information.

Rebecca Hedreen (from Frequently Answered Questions) pointed out to Joy that backing up one's files is also a critical part of keeping track of school work. I agree that backups are a critical part of any organizational scheme. Given that my classes are all online, everything that I have done is in electronic format with copies backed up on several computers. Additionally, I have put good portions of my work on this blog - which is backed up by another source. Of course, I also have several paper copies of everything.

There are a couple of additional things that I have done to organize my school work. One thing I do is keep a running bibliography of all class readings - required ones and all additional readings that I have discovered during my research. I keep a Refworks account with these citations. This comes in handy to check to see if I have already read a particular article - and if I have a hard copy of the article. RefWorks citations are fully searchable by author and title. I have already been able to avoid printing an article twice several times. I keep all of my articles in alphabetical order in file folders. My Refworks folders match the physical folders that I keep - hopefully to allow for quick retrieval.

Additionally, I try to write brief summations of all the articles that I read for a class. This brief summation is invaluable when I thumb through my articles to find any that may be helpful for an assignment. I have started to do this for articles that I read in my professional life as well. The one drawback to this scheme is that I keep all of this material in hard copy - and the amount of space it takes up will grow rapidly.

Ultimately, I am impressed with Joy's level of organization - and maybe even a bit jealous. Fortunately, her post has reinvigorated my quest to get everything organized before I start my next class.

Reflections on My First Class

My first class has been over for a couple of weeks - and I've had some time to reflect upon the whole experience - the first class in my MLS program and my first online class. Before taking the class, I was a bit unsure about what to expect from a distance education class. Admittedly, I worry about everything - especially schoolwork. I think I tend to believe that my grade will be based on the number of hours of self-flagellation I put myself through. So on top of my usual worries about starting a new program, I spent hours obsessing about what an online class would be like - would it be too easy? would it be too difficult? would there be any social interaction? how would I be able to figure out what the professor wanted? would I have the dedication and discipline needed to complete the class? how would the quality of the class be? how would others view a distance MLS?

I think I have mentioned before in this blog that I found the class to be a really rewarding experience. In addition to being worried about the online experience, I was a bit unsure about the actual class - Introduction to Information Science and Technology - and whether the material would be challenging. In my work, I am a head of library systems at a small academic library - and I am no stranger to information or technology. In fact, it is my job to be the most knowledgeable person about technology in the library. So, when I first opened the textbook and read the sections on how to connect to the internet, how to buy a computer etc., I wondered about the actual class material. Would it all be this basic? Fortunately, it wasn't. I really feel as if I learned quite a bit. The professor gave us choices in assignments so that we could choose projects that would challenge us. This was one of the reasons that I chose to do a wiki project - I was interested in wikis, but had no experience with them at all. Additionally, the web search exercise was fascinating - and I learned so much even though I have used search engines extensively for several years. All in all, the class made me look at several things in a whole new light - and that is worth its weight in gold (or the cost of tuition)!!

Apart from the actual content of the class, I also really enjoyed the online format. The threaded discussion took the place of classroom discussion - and I was actually suprised at how much social interaction the discussions promoted. People's personalities really shined through their posts. Also, in a traditional classroom, one cannot take classes with people in New England, Hawaii, and the Czech Republic (and assorted other places). It was an eye opening experience. The only difficult part of the online class was being able to read what the professor expected in terms of coursework. Well, I guess it wasn't difficult just very different. In a traditional class, there is human contact - and I guess that I have always relied upon that as a means to read the professor. Pouring through documents, email and discussion posts didn't give me confidence that I was writing my paper the right way or carrying out my project the right way. I was incredibly nervous about what material would be on the final. However, now that I look back, I was right about what the professor wanted - I was just second guessing myself because I didn't feel confident about taking an online class. Hopefully, I will be a bit more comfortable next semester!!!!

Planning my MLS Program

Now that the final for my class is over, I have been working on my program of study for my MLS. At Southern Connecticut State, accepted students must complete a program of study which details their planned track and expected classes. I had initially thought that I would take the Information Systems/Technology track because my current position at my library is in systems. However, the Info Systems/Technology track is extremely rigid with no room allowed for electives - and I would have to take several classes that I would prefer not to take. After an email discussion with my advisor, I decided to take his suggestion to take the Academic library track. This track is flexible enough to allow me to take most of the computer/systems/technology classes that I want. I finally have the plan complete and ready to be mailed. I won't be considered a matriculated student at SCSU until the school receives this document. Fortunately, I remembered to make a copy of this document given that if I decide to take different classes than I listed I have to revise the plan - and that would be tough to do if I didn't have a copy. I will confess that I didn't remember to make a copy until after I had sealed the envelope. A big almost whoops!!!!

My planned program looks like this:

Course Requirements:

Group I (Core 1) Requirements (2 classes)

• ILS501 Introduction to Information Science and Technology - Principles and applications of computers and information technologies in libraries and information centers. Scheduled fall, spring, and summer semesters.
• ILS503 Foundations of Librarianship - The development structure and function of library/information agencies. Scheduled fall, spring, and summer semesters.

Group II (Core 2) Requirements (2 classes)

• ILS504 Reference and Information Resources and Services - General reference sources; their content, evaluation and use. The reference process and the organization of reference and information services as they relate to different types of libraries. Lab in on-line retrieval.
• ILS506 Information Analysis and Organization - Principles of developing, evaluating, and organizing collections of all types of materials. Descriptive and subject analysis of materials. Commonly used guides, codes, and source materials. Lab in on-line retrieval.

Group III (Core 3) Requirements (1 class)

• ILS560 College and University Libraries - Organization and administration of academic libraries. The role of libraries in research and the relationship of academic libraries to curricula, students, faculty, and administration.

Group IV (Professional) Requirements (1-3 classes)

• ILS530 Information Systems Analysis and Design - An introduction to systems analysis in libraries. Includes flow charting, form design and control, time and cost analysis, sampling, and automation.
• ILS537 Information-Seeking Behavior - How people acquire, store and use information they receive from their environment. Topics include behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of information-seeking. Applications to information systems and user instruction.
• ILS565 Library Management - An examination of the general principles and practices of library management.

Group V (Technology) Requirements (1-3 classes)

• ILS534 Library Automation - An overview of automation with emphasis on computer assisted library processes: subsystems in technical services, user services, administrative services.
• ILS535 Information Networks - An examination of the impact of cooperation, consortia, and networks on the library/information field: developments, network characteristics, problems, and issues. Converging technologies and implications for emerging trends for information professionals are examined.

Group VI (Research) Requirements (1 class)

• ILS680 Evaluation and Research - Principles and methods of evaluation and research are systematically reviewed. Major research undertakings are considered, as well as landmark studies. Prerequisite: 24 credits in library science or instructional technology.

Group VI (Elective) Requirement (1-3 classes)

• ILS599 Special Projects

That is 12 classes for 3 credits each for the total 36 required credits.

Whew! Writing it all down makes it seems like an insurmountable task. With only one class down, I have 11 more to go. I'm looking forward to it all, but wonder if I'll ever be done.

Finished the Final!!

WooHoo!! I just passed in my final for my class. It feels wonderful to be done for the semester!!! All in all, it was an interesting exam. I was so incredibly nervous about the exam because I found it very difficult to study for. Without traditional classroom lectures, it was difficult to see and judge what the professor felt was important. I have always been a big note taker - feeling as if lectures give me a clue to what the professor finds key to the class. In an online class, there aren't any traditional notes and that left me a bit stymied. Fortunately, the test was ok. I don't think I "aced" it, but I don't think I'm in danger of failing either - and I can be really happy with that - for tonight atleast. Now, I can go unwind a bit before Thanksgiving. YEAH!!!!!

The End of the Wiki Project

Wikipedia defines a Wiki as a web site that allows any number of users to add content and any other users to edit that content. This makes a Wiki an inherently collaborative tool best used by groups. In order for a Wiki to be successful, there must be a need for a group to collaborate on a specific project - and possibly a need for the group to edit each other's work. This may be one reason why Wikis as class project may not work as well - a class Wiki project does not fill a collaborative need on the part of the class. Ideally, the collaborative need to comes first - then the idea that a Wiki could facilitate the group communication.

The Wiki project is now at an end. It was a great learning experience - even though the project itself was not as successful as I would have liked. However, I have learned a great deal about Wikis and how they could be used. They have some great potential as library tools. I can envision library staff projects, library instruction collaborative tools and even a great resource for the library community to give feedback to library staff.

Last email to class for wiki project

Yesterday, I sent out a final email to everyone in my class asking if anyone else had any interest in participating in my wiki project. I don't expect any other participants, however. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of interest in the project - since only two of my classmates wanted to take part. Yet, I do understand the lack of interest. A wiki is a collaborative tool that people use for a specific purpose. In order for it to work well, a whole community must feel a need to collaborate. A wiki that is imposed upon people is bound to fail. I very much appreciate the fact that two people were willing to participate. A big thank you to them!

The Wiki Choice

(Process took place between September 1st and 5th)
After doing some general research on wikis, I then started doing more in depth research about specific wiki hosting sites where I could have my wiki hosted. First, I compiled a list of my requirments:

• I want a service that will host a wiki. I do not have the capabilities to use software that I download and install on a server.
• I want to be able to create specific accounts for classmates to use. I do not want the general public to be able to edit the pages that I create. I need 20 user accounts. I don't mind that the wiki be a public space, I simply want to control who can edit it.
• I want the ability to create private pages.
• I want the solution to be low to no cost.
• I would like a system that seems easy to use in order to encourage participation among my classmates.
• I want an advertisement free wiki.

With these needs in mind, I looked at several different wiki hosting services - including Socialtext, Wikispaces, Jotspot, Seed Wiki, Atlassian and EditMe.

1. Socialtext - This software is a collaborative tool aimed at businesses. There is 30 day trial that is free. However, 30 days is not enough. An account costs $30.00 per month - a price that is too steep for a class project. It has some nice features like being able to email new pages to the wiki. This service would not be appropriate for a class project.
2. Wikispaces - This wiki farm seems to aimed at the general public. It is a free service, but has advertisements on the pages. There is no way to set up page security or create individual accounts. This would not meet my needs.
3. Jotspot - This service has a free hosting service. However, there can only be 5 named users and 20 pages. I'm not sure the 20 pages would be a problem, but 5 users isn't enough to create accounts for the entire class. The free package does allow the administrator to create public and/or private pages. The editor is WYSIWYG. For $9.00 a month, one can have 20 users and 250 pages. This option would suffice for the project. Jotspot is a possibility.
4. Seed Wiki - This service has free wiki hosting service. One can invite as many members as needed. However, no wiki can be restricted to members nor can member collaboration be tracked. This service has a traditional wiki look and feel with categories. For $9.95 a month, one can password any wikis for private use. However, in order to track user participation, one has to buy the $19.99 a month package. This is another good possibility for my wiki project.
5. Atlassian - This wiki farm has options aimed at peronsal wikis. However, to use this software, one downloads it and installs the program on a local computer. Additionally, access is only for two registered users. This is not really appropriate for my project.
6. Editme - This wiki farm is a hosted service. There is no free service. For $4.95 a month, one gets 25MB of storage (more than enough), as many users as needed, 10 days of backup and tracking of user changes. There are some other nice features - a variety of css templates, rss feeds, any person can comments on pages. I like the look and feel of this system - although it doens't necessarily look like traditional wikis.

I very quickly decided upon Editme for my wiki. I figured $4.95 was a small price to pay for the features that I wanted. The setup procedure was quite painless - and within a few seconds I had my very own wiki.

Refworks Account

This week I activated my Refworks account to try and keep track of all of my citations from my class. What an awesome tool!! I used it to create a bibliography for my wiki project which can be seen in my previous post. I've used both Procite and Endnote, but given that I don't own either program on my personal computer, I didn't find them particularly useful. Some of the import functions from different databases can be a bit difficult to get working correctly. However, they have a huge list of databases from which citations can be imported. With a little effort, I have been able to get all of the citations that I have marked or saved imported into Refworks. It is necessary to go through the bibliography that is created. I have noticed some formatting and spelling errors along with some extraneous characters in the data that Refworks generates. However, it is much easier to start with this data than type in citations by hand.

I also created accounts in both del.icio.us and Blinklist to organize and maintain my URLs. A big thanks to Rebecca Hedreen for pointing out these bookmarking services in her Frequently Answered Questions blog (which I think may be a SCSU distance education student's best friend). Her Using Bookmarking Services for Organizing Citations blog post is a great resource.

The Wiki Project Annotated

One of the assignments for ILS501 - Introduction to Information Science and Technology was a menu project where we were able to choose from several different menu options. As I have mentioned before, I decided to do a wiki project. I decided to try to create a wiki for classmates to post results of their web search exercise. With that decision made - and an ok from the professor, my next step was to research different wiki software.

Reading about Wikis

Web Sites

Using a Wiki for Documentation and Collaborative Authoring - http://www.llrx.com/features/librarywikis.htm - by Michael Angeles

Wiki: What is a Wiki? - http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki - a brief description of the wiki with some links detailing the Wiki’s history

What is a Wiki? - http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?WhatIsaWiki - another site defining wikis with some questions and answers

Should Wikis be a part of your KM Inititative? - http://excitedutterances.blogspot.com/2005/09/should-wikis-be-part-of-your-km.html - an interesting article about wikis from the excited utterances blog - http://excitedutterances.blogspot.com/

Articles

Chang May. I've gathered a basket of COMMUNICATION and COLLABORATION TOOLS. (cover story). Computers in Libraries. 2004; 24(8):6-64.

Clyde LA. Wikis. Teacher Librarian : The Journal for School Library Professionals. 2005; 32(4):54-56.

Frumkin, Jeremy. The wiki and the digital library. OCLC Systems & Services; OCLC Systems & Services. 2005; 21(1):18(5).

Gorman, G.E. Editorial: Is the Wiki Concept Really so Wonderful? Onine Information Review. 2005; 29(3); 25-226.

Hammond T, Hannay T, Lund B, Scott J. Social bookmarking tools (I). D-Lib Magazine. 2005; 11(4):1-1.

Ishizuka, Kathy. Library success a best practices wiki: http://www.libsuccess.org.(site/ of the month). School Library Journal; School Library Journal. 2005; 51(10):26(1).
Jones P. Strategies and technologies of sharing in contributor-run archives. Library Trends. 2005; 53(4):651-662.

Lamb, Brian. Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not. Educause Review. September/October 2004; 39(5); - http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp?bhcp=1 - accessed 11/9/05.

Lipczynska, Sonya. Power to the People: the Case for Wikipedia. Reference Reviews. 2005; 19(2); 6-7.

Mattison D. Quickiwiki, swiki, twiki, zwiki and the plone wars. Searcher. 2003; 11(4):32.

McKiernan, Gerry. Wikimedia Worlds Part I: Wikipedia. Library Hi Tech News. 2005; 8; 46-54.

Rubenking, Neil J. Wiki Tools, PC Magazine. 12/30/2005 – http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1401071,00.asp - access 11/9/05.

The Wiki project nears an end

The wiki project that I have been working on Sunday - November 13th. All in all, it has been a great project - one that I have enjoyed working on tremendously. Of course, I have only been able to get two (out of 19) of my classmates to participate. When I started the project, I was fairly certain that the most difficult part of the project would be attracting users - and this has turned out to be true. Ultimately, a wiki can only be successful if people use it to collaborate on something - otherwise it is simply a web page. A wiki really needs to come from a collaborative idea that several people want to work on together.

It's Official!!

I finally received my letter of acceptance to Southern Connecticut State University's MLS program on Friday afternoon. Yahooooo!!!! I didn't realize how nervous I was about being accepted until I got the letter. I had read on the school's web site that their admissions decisions were mailed out on (or around) November 1st. So of course, I was expecting the letter on Wednesday . . . then on Thursday . . . and by Friday I was a wreck. Fortunately, all worked out well. Now, I have to complete my intended program of study which is a bit overwhelming. Do I really want to go back to school???????? (The answer is still yes).

So, I am officially back in school. I'm definitely excited - and only a little bit nervous. Now that I have been accepted, I have to get back to work on my class. Our menu option exercise is due next weekend. The class will be over by November 23 - so I also have to get ready for the final exam. Yikes!!!

New OCLC products

At work this week, I have been immersed in working with some of OCLC's new (relatively new) products for searching WorldCat through Internet Explorer and Firefox. The Yahoo! toolbar and the plug-ins for Firefox are really cool. You can search for material in WorldCat directly from the toolbars - and then check availability at local libraries. You can order your results by zip code, state, province or country. The software then retains the choice you made. The records link directly to local library catalogs. This seems to be a very useful tool. I hope to be able to sit down with our reference librarians to show them. I can't wait to play around with the project to display WorldCat holdings using Google Maps. This integration has some great possibilities.

I think these are some exciting trends in the evolution of bibliographic records. There are definitely some issues. I discovered that when searching by ISBN for a title that I knew was in our library catalog, a link to our catalog wasn't displayed in the Libraries tab. After a great deal of frustration, I discovered that there were several editions listed in the Editions tab. I had to go back to my library's OPAC to figure out which edition we had. When I clicked on the correct edition, the link to my libraries copy in our OPAC did show up. This was very confusing. An average user probably would not have looked beyond the libraries tab. However, I think these OCLC projects have some exciting possibilities.

The wiki project continues . . .

With the web search exercise completed, I am now back to work on my class wiki project. One of my classmates, posted information from her web assignment right after she finished working on it. A huge thanks to her for her help!!!! I think that having some examples of information will help the other students. Tonight, I sent out another email to everyone asking for their input. Here is hoping that people are willing to help!!!! I am a bit concerned about the best way to make people feel comfortable with the wiki. However, I will wait and see what the response from everyone is.