Library Symposium at Princeton Public Library

The Princeton University Library and the NJLA College & University Section/ACRL New Jersey Chapter are sponsoring an academic library symposium entitled, Technology and Library Services: Meeting Today's Users' Needs, on Thursday, March 15, 2007 from 8:30am - 4pm in the Frist Campus Center. Registration for this free program is currently full, but there is a waiting list. I added my name to the waiting list about a month ago and a spot recently opened up for me, so if you're interested email Trevor Dawes at tdawes@Princeton.EDU.

March Meeting Details & Call for Discussion Topics

Our next meeting will be held on March 23 from 10 - noon at Mercer County Community College. Please post a comment or email ideas for discussion so that I may put together an agenda. One topic that has come up is how different libraries are handling reference services and instruction at their branch campuses or alternate sites. The group welcomes discussion topic ideas from all members, so please share the current issues, challenges and successes faced by your library.

Also, if anyone is interested in contributing to our blog -- by posting articles of interest, upcoming events, or commentary -- please let me know.

Print & Electronic Resources Program

Check out the program flyer for the NJLA Reference Section's upcoming program, "Print vs. Electronic Resources: What's A Librarian To Do?" The program is March 27 from 10 - 12 at the Mount Olive Public Library in Flanders, NJ. Panelists will include librarians from public, community college and university libraries. This looks like a great opportunity for discussion of this issue.

Journal of Information Literacy

Journal of Information Literacy - Volume 1, Issue 1 is now available. Journal of Information Literacy is an international, peer-reviewed, academic journal that aims to investigate Information Literacy within a wide range of settings. Papers on any topic related to the practical, technological or philosophical issues raised by the attempt to increase information literacy throughout society are encouraged. JIL is an open-access journal, published in electronic format only. (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog)

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.