It's del.icio.us!

I first heard about del.icio.us over a year ago when it was mentioned in a piece on NPR, but I've only just started to use this really handy "Web 2.0" tool. (It's been on my "tech to-do list" for awhile now, but the CJRLC Tech Challenge gave me the impetus to get started!)

What thrills me about del.icio.us is that is provides a really easy way to keep frequently-used web sites handy -- whether you're at home, at work or in the classroom. And once you have an account, you can add sites from wherever you are, too. Your sites are organized using tags, or words that you choose to describe them. Since you can use more than one "tag" to describe a site, tagging gives you more flexibility in categorizing (and remembering!) your favorites.
It's easy to create an account, and you can export the bookmarks currently saved on your desktop(s) into your del.icio.us account for future easy-access.

There are a number of other features/applications to del.icio.us as well -- including the ability to share sites with friends, family or colleagues -- but I have yet to explore them all. If anyone is using del.icio.us in other, innovative ways, please share!

NJLA Conference Programs - Reference Section

Take a look at the latest edition of the NJLA Reference Section newsletter for a list of the NJLA Conference Programs they are sponsoring this year.

Best Free Reference Web Sites

Check out this index of the Best Free Reference Web Sites: 1999-2006 from the Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of ALA.

Dawn Popoff Talks About Discussion Groups for Librarians

At the January 10, 2007 meeting of the NJLA Reference Section, Dawn Popoff, (creator of the CJARL group) spoke about librarians meeting in discussion groups. Paul Schroeder, Chair of the Reference Section, sent this summary of Dawn's talk:

Originally, Dawn set up the Academic Librarians' discussion group to meet once a semester, but she suggested that each group should decide on a meeting schedule that is best for its members. Also, the discussion group should agree not to take on any projects. Any ideas that come from the discussion are passed on to the appropriate group: school administration, NJLA etc. The group meets for two hours and is divided into four topic sessions: for example, technology, reference tools, current issues, etc. Again each group would choose the topics that suited them. One of Dawn's main messages is that discussion groups foster empowerment and support among librarians. You can find an article Dawn wrote about this in the Sept 2006 issue of American Libraries. Dawn will also be presenting a program on discussion groups at the NJLA Conference in April.

Thanks to Lisa Coats for alerting me to this information and to Paul Schroeder for sending the summary!

"Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources"

Happy New Year! This article was featured in the weekly newsletter of the Librarians' Internet Index in December and I thought I'd share it here for anyone interested. The list of "119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources" is presented by subject/topic area. Enjoy!