Online Tutorial for Blurb's Book Making Software

Check out this Blurb.com tutorial for their downloadable book making software. Did you ever have a book you wished you could make? I've been busting with ideas for photo books, art books, even funky poetry books...and if I download this, it eliminates my excuses. Not to mention making easier a process I struggled with on my first try. I am also thinking how helpful it would be to recommend a tool like this to library users who are into digital photography. Nothing replaces firsthand experience with a tool. Take a look:


Getting Started with Blurb Booksmart from Blurb Books on Vimeo.

What I'm Reading Today

Out of the Night That Covers Me by Pat Cunningham Devoto

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


12-year old John McMillan III navigates small-town Alabama after losing his parents. Indifferent or dangerous relatives are offset by a wise local “judge” and an array of other fascinating characters. In this book the wise have plenty of flaws too, as the Civil Rights movement gets underway. I enjoyed the complex ambience, and the way the characters talk to – and about - each other. I'm becoming a fan of Pat Cunningham Devoto. I'll have to read her other books now.

Some have compared this to To Kill a Mockingbird.





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Rosanne Cash: She is just so - Composed

 Rosanne Cash has written a book that I like very much. Her haunting and lovely music has always drawn me. (September When it Comes has the Scottish feel of the Cash heritage.) Her 1996 book "Bodies of Water" made me aware of what a fine thinker and writer she is. She reads from her 2010 memoir ("Composed") on her website. "Mrs L" (aka Rosanne) talks about her life in a way that is pleasing because it feels so ordinary. She seems to me like a person who stands out - and apart - from what you might expect of a child of celebrity. Follow the "About Composed" link beneath the picture of her newest book to hear her read:

http://mrslsmonthly.tumblr.com/

My First Podcast: Bilingual Storybook

This is my first attempt at podcasting! I love this little story of a family moving from Mexico to the U.S. Text is in both English and Spanish with wonderful illustrations, as you can see. This is page one. Listen in.

Sony Reader Tutorial

In preparation for practicing with our library's new E-readers, I'm scouring the Internet for hands-on tutorials. This one has its flaws, but the user shows various ports and delivers a running commentary while showing the device. Nothing can replace working with the real thing though.

Practicing with Publisher

I have been writing some book reviews and formatting them in an old version of Publisher. I don't quite understand how to export it from Publisher to the Internet in Web format, or if it is even possible to post an exported web page to a blog. While I learn if I can, here is a review of a wonderful book, uploaded as a JPEG file. Results below.

Get Low: Get to the Mystery in This Movie

I saw this film on Saturday, and liked it alot. It's a tale told in images, in the looks that pass between people, in the washed-out 1930's landscape and the haunting music. At its heart lies a secret that is held until the very end of the story. Robert Duvall seems to be an angry wrecked hermit, but just beneath the surface there is life in them old eyes. Sissy Spacek plays cautious, warm-hearted and beautiful: a lady from his past. Lucas Black is wonderful as the young Funeral assistant hired by Duvall to plan his "living funeral."  Bill Murray is the slightly sleazy funeral director, who may run off with the goods ... or stage a funeral the community and the deceased will long remember. I stayed till the last credit, just to hear the great bluegrass score .

Print or Pixels? The Debate (Apparently) Rages On

Came upon this NY Times Article while looking thru my Library Link of the Day. (I really like Library Link because the publications it features are first-rate and even scholarly. Nothing sensational, but things that make you think.)
Like:
Debating the aesthetics of the reading experience: how people like to get their reading "fix." E-readers like the Kindle claim "it produces neither glare in a well-lighted spot nor a glow in the dark." (see link above) Book lovers like the wife in the article counter this defending the smell and feel of real books, and suggest that there is a 'right' way to read.
So far the article has told me several things:
1. It's not strictly a generational split, because one older woman said she liked E-readers for their ability to magnify text.
2. Genuine disagreements occur among family members with strong differences of opinion.
3. Kids are being read to in both formats.
4. Book sellers are offering to sell "bundles" that include both formats.
5. People sold on the new E-form believe others will "get over" the need for the feel of real books.
6. Some folks read ebooks but collect real ones for sentimental reasons.
7. Time will tell.

Joined Goodreads - first review!

What a Great Idea!: The Key Steps Creative People Take by Charles Thompson




Love, love this book. When ever you think nobody cares about your ideas or that you don't have any to share, read about things like Killer Phrases, who throws them, and how to survive the wet blankets in your creative playpen.



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Evacuees Use Social Media To Keep Up On Boulder Wildfire

My sister lives in Boulder, where the Fourmile Fire is still burning.

The map below is a special "open collaboration" Google Maps that reflects information on burned areas, safe areas, etc. by icons placed on a map of the city and the adjacent canyon area which is burning.

The Denver Post headline today said:
“Evacuees Use Social Media To Keep Up On Boulder Wildfire Disaster Developments" and
"Tweets Feed Data Need" while the Boulder Camera says:
"Fourmile Fire: How to get help / How to help
The Boulder, Colorado fire is being coordinated on Boulder’s Facebook page

with hourly updates obtained via Twitter and links to sites like the Office of Emergency Management.

Our City is having an Emergency Preparedness focus this month. Would we do as well as Boulder should the need arise?

About Creating an Online Photo Book

Last spring I took part in Solo Photo Book Month, an online project that encourages people worldwide to create books from their own photos. All photos must have been taken within a 30 day period, (what they call a "fuzzy month")  A book due by the end of June could be started anytime in May or June so long as only 30 consecutive days are used in its creation. This deadline and structure is designed to encourage focus and create opportunity for people who take lots of pictures but never really make anything of them. Using the PDF format required for submission, participants can also fancy them up using a variety of hosting sites, like blurb.com. To submit your work, upload it to the "sofobomo" site where it can be viewed by other participants as well as friends and family you may browbeat into looking at your work.
Part of the fun of this project is deciding what your book will be "about." Text is optional, but frankly that's one of the best parts - having your say about something, explaining your photos, or whatever. Here is a link to my 2009 book. The photographs in it were all taken with a Nikon CoolPix L5 digital camera in Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona, as well as San Francisco and Santa Rosa, California - between May 18 and June 18, 2009.
Next time a fuzzy month comes along, join me.

No Thrill, No B.B King

Now I need a small music player for my blog. THAT turned out to be an adventure! First I got a free account on Playlist.com, found my favorite BB King song, (the 1969 version of "The Thrill is Gone") and put the player on the sidebar. Way too big and clunky. So out that went. Then I found Muzicons.com, which makes a very small widget. The choice of songs by King does not include my favorite, so I opted instead for a nice bluesy version by a female singer. On the down side also, it is only free for 45 days, and after a 2 week grace period, is deleted.
Oh, well. The search goes on for the perfect music widget.
Nothing's perfect I guess, especially when you want it for free. Sorry B.B.

Picasa Won't Play with Flickr

DSCN0136
Originally uploaded by margalearningzone

I created a couple of albums on my computer with Picasa and uploaded them to Facebook. I then sent some to Flickr. From there I can blog them, but I guess the only way I can blog them directly from Picasa is by using THEIR own "Web Album" feature. Drat. That means I need to create a web album account in Picasa.
The thing that stalls me with the wonders of technology is having things act noncompatible and refuse to do what I want them to. I'm sure this is getting better, but there are still plenty of functions that remain proprietary to the application that created them.

Motivation and Engagement @ Work

TED is one of my favorite places. You could spend days there. http://www.ted.com/
This video was posted on TEDTalk Tuesdays July20th. "The surprising truth about what motivates us." Not the usual polished TED experience but well worth watching anyway. I embedded this video by going to the Edit HTML tab in my New Post window. I made sure to leave some room above the code, so when I switched to Compose, there was room at the top for me to type this.

I was recently asked about embedding gadgets like the "Feed the Koi" so here is an overview:
First, click on the blue link amid the swimming fish to reach abowman at http://abowman.com/google-modules/fish/  and copy the string of code from where it says "embed."

Then  go to the Design tab at the top of your blog. Open it:

 

Click on the top link - "Add a Gadget" and the following box will appear:

Then choose one of the options (or better yet, investigate them all) I added the Koi at the "HTML/JavaScript" option.
 
 
  This is what you will be pasting in:

Finally, paste it into the large white area, and added a caption up at the top:  Save. Then "view blog" and see if it worked. If not, just try again. Getting there is more than half the fun! The first time this worked, I was plagued by delusions of grandeur.

 
 

Calculating the Value of Library $ervice$

While reading the March 2010 issue of Library Journal I saw this device from the Swiss Army Librarian. Here is Brian Herzog's Library Value Calculator mentioned in that article. I thought it was an interesting gadget and tried adding it to the sidebar, but it's too large. Therefore, you must view it here, and through the links below this post. Click on the words "Value of Service" to see how he arrived at these values.

Picasa Picasso

Picasa? I started by joining Flickr years ago, and just stayed there. Did all my editing in Photoshop Elements before uploading. Time to branch out, since the Library now offers Picasa classes. I was surprised by the ease of use right from the start. When I download Picasa, (to my own computer, not the Library’s) like a little mole it zeroed in on all my photos and busily gathered them up. I chose Picasa as the default to open. Almost immediately I saw how nicely it lets you browse through your stuff. Great big thumbnails – 50% larger than my ancient version of Photoshop Elements. First I zipped through creating a collage of my daughter’s wedding photos. Then I used the “star” tool to select a few dozen photos at random. (Little yellow stars show on the thumbnails, above.) Selections can then be grouped in sets - uploaded to web albums, emailed or blogged, or exported as a HTML document. I would still use Elements if I were editing alot, but maybe Picasa will tempt me with easier methods. I enlarged the toolbar below so you can take a look.

Check out two Picasa sets on my Facebook. (Click badge @ left)

Next: an investigation of the Web Albums feature, and the sharing aspects of Picasa…

Spanish Class and "Digital Nation"

I recently signed up for a class at the local Jr College: "Speedy Spanish." It's so frustrating understanding some Spanish and speaking a little but being unable to make it useful on the job. We are always scrambling to locate the person-who-speaks-Spanish for a customer. I always feel guilty when that person is not me, and think it should be. (Alas for all the French I took in College.) The class has no prerequisites, so I was hoping to revive and build on what I know. Several years of highschool Spanish and more decades of limping along beside the ambient Latino culture have kept me interested but not very effective.

Last Tuesday was our first class. The instructor greeted each person politely in Spanish as they entered the room. He introduced himself and explained that it would be mostly non-English and that it would be OK. After a short dictation - five sentences we were to write in Spanish as best we could - he spent the remainder of the class using the white board and we the students to demonstrate how one can learn (or re-learn) a language as children do; by paying attention and coming to understand what the teacher means. He wrote, gestured, laughed, nodded, illustrated, demonstrated, acted out, and occasionally explained in English. He invited us to talk to each other. This turned out to be possible. Everyone seemed to enjoy the class and warm up to the style of teaching being used. I was fascinated by how elegantly and painlessly the tools of learning a language can be picked up again.

I can't think of a way to tie this story to learning 2.0 or Emerging Technologies. However, I do have to hurry home from this Tuesday's Spanish class to catch the latest Front Line entitled "Digital Nation."

Welcome to Your e-Reading Place

One of my colleagues over at the Staff Information Hub posted interestingly about setting up an area or room in one of the libraries dedicated to promoting e-resources and teaching the public how to use them. I remember the days of the old Periodicals Room, a ponderous and serious place full of stacks of newspapers and magazines securely held behind a counter. Staff asked people for their drivers licenses or library cards as collateral when surrendering to them a copy of Barron's or the Wall Street Journal. Other staff policed the public computers with clipboard in hand, making sure people did not abuse their time limits. It was a different world back then!

These days all the periodicals are loose on the shelf, and sometimes issues cannot be found. Sometimes the publisher is less than diligent in getting our copy to us. Or it may be misplaced or even, (heaven forbid) taken from the library. These things happen. With back issues available online and the advent of downloadable materials of all sorts, a location in the library for teaching about their use is just common sense. Lots of people are comfortable with the internet but not so comfortable navigating to specific resources, or checking out a Netbook. With the plethora of devices out there, downloading books can be daunting too. At least the delivery side of the process, (The Greater Phoenix Digital Library) can be made easier to do with a little encouragement.

In that spirit, I located a stock photo and doctored it up a bit in Photoshop. Imagine this on the wall of an e-Reading Room in your local library. Instead of sending the message of the old days, "we don't trust you with our stuff" it welcomes people in to take a look and get comfortable.

Hybrid Reading Experience

I have been using a hybrid form of reading without realizing it! Hooked on the West Wing series, I watch chunks (chapters) at a sitting, the audio turned low and the English subtitles turned on. I could hear it just fine, but found the technique very relaxing, allowing me to read (and re-read) the dense, well-written dialogue and explore the complicated political, international and personal dynamics. My husband laughed at me, saying he had never seen someone watch TV like that. The fact is, I would probably not have read a book entitled The West Wing. But the story is so well told, so filled with layers of meaning and blends of music, video, and scene transitions, it is excellent storytelling. Library Journal published an article last fall in which Tom Peters said. "Reading is one human activity that is at once both intensely cerebral and lusciously sensory." The article discusses the future of reading in the light of genuine reading hybrids like "Vooks."

Vooks (video books) blend print and video content. Vook.com partnered with Simon & Schuster last fall in this experiment: titles combining text and a dozen or more embedded videos in the text layout . Cost: around $7. The guy who introduced this is Bradley J. Inman, a Silicon Valley entepreneur. The NY Times and Publishers Weekly have informative articles on the print-media hybrid. And were vooks go, Twitter and online communities will surely follow.

Critics say human reading involves “immersion” or “flow”, which is by nature solitary. Also, when a story is augmented with video the imagination is diverted from making its own images. I agree to some extent. Should anyone else decide which "lusciously sensory" imagery is evoked when you or I read? Fiction reading is transportive, and half the fun is letting your mind freewheel and make associations on its own. Maybe hybrid fiction isn’t for everyone. Nonfiction could be pretty interesting though –a biography supplemented with embedded video or speeches? A nonfiction Vook would do the running around for you, mashing together various sources and enriching the content so you don’t have to. There is a certain appeal.

Meanwhile, I still like curling up to read a nice West Wing episode. And if some political or legislative story line confounds me, I hit pause, run to my computer (still no mobile device) and google for background insight into the topic. Am I being weird, or just finally starting to catch up?

"In Mongolia When a Dog Dies...

...he is buried high in the hills so people will not walk on his grave. The dog's master whispers into his ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life..." So begins "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Below is a video trailer for the book. I don't believe there is a movie (yet). I actually had to fiddle with HTML a tiny bit, and I don't really speak the language. But I got the video clip embedded, and that's what counts. Voila!



In this book the dog (and author) is Enzo. Don't be mistaken, it's no ordinary cute book pretending to be written by a dog about its master. But be warned, it may make you ponder your existence, yearn for lost love, and even cry. I checked it out on Amazon, and discovered it has 670 customer reviews.

Learning for Learning's Sake

I'm taking the lead from a post on the "2.1" site and from a coworker's blog to learn something new, if not "every day" than regularly as a matter of life stance. That seems less daunting than "every day" and has a permanent sort of ring to it besides. Today I investigated more places to find full text articles on the open web and snooped around on Magportal.com. I did a search for "Polling companies" from a sample query given in the book I am currently reading: "Conducting the Reference Interview" a 2009 edition of a "How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians". I checked it out a while back and ended by purchasing it because I could not bear to part with it.

Meanwhile, back to Magportal... my search for polling companies was yielding discouraging results until I narrowed the query to either political, commerical, academic, or some other category of polling. That helped but was still focusing on the results of polls. Let's see...the customer query cited in the Reference Interview book was "Do you have anything on polling companies?" Oh - so maybe it's really a question for Refence USA, for just the names of companies who do polls. See, you really do have to ask people to clarify what they really want. I have to remember that. No customer to ask this time though.

I went over to SPL's site for Ref USA but they're doing site maintenance this week so it will have to wait until later.

Concept: The Virtual Book Display

Still smitten by Hugo Cabret, I got this book for my daughter in law, an elementary school teacher. She saw possibilites for class read-alouds using a projector to show each page as she read. And I, imagining display possiblities for my library, assembled a variety of stuff from around the house. (Click picture for closer look)...a set of keys from an old jewelry box. A wooden artist's hand model. An old pocket watch. The pendulum from a family heirloom clock ... and the back view of the clock itself. Stories enter our minds and stir up all sorts of things, and this book is dandy for stimulating the subconscious and letting you dream. Like sitting in a theater watching a soundless movie, you enter the story. What if you were alone like Hugo? What about the old man and his mysterious past? The reader wants to walk invisibly through this story, seeing it all. Thankfully the reader can. I love this book.

Maybe our library will do virtual displays like this on our website: illustrated book reviews with a bit of whimsey to convey the enjoyment (hopefully contagious) we found in a particular book,