Chryssi's INFO652 Blog

Chryssi on Copyright

2008-04-23T17:02:00.004-04:00

Well, even ALA's Copyright specialist doesn't seem to be completely clear on how the laws apply in certain areas, but at least she tries to offer advice. It seem as if I use thumbnails for the book covers, I might be able to use them and since it is for a library, it's educational ...so she seems to think that falls under fair use...but I still may find another way to spotlight the books without using the covers.

I thought the Copyright Advisory Network website (linked from the University of California, Irvine's Copyright Guidelines website) was a good resource though, at least to give librarians a forum to discuss these issues.

Crazy Copyright Confusion

2008-04-22T14:30:00.000-04:00

I guess it helps when you realize some of the readings for the week happen to be on copyright:) Maybe I can find some answers about images in there.

A Kids' Page

2008-04-22T13:28:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about creating a children's page as part of the library website. I'm not sure if I will spotlight new children's books at the library or provide links to free children's websites (homework help sites, reading sites, etc.).

The only thing I am worried about with showcasing new children's books is whether or not posting an image of the book cover will be breaking the copyright. I've been reading some mixed opinions about whether that falls under fair use or not. Maybe I should check with the U.S. Copyright Office or consult their website.

I saw one idea where someone had kids post reviews of books by making a slideshow of photographs or pictures that weren't from the book, but still had to do with the subject of the book: Great Book Stories Project. They used their own photos or some they found on websites such as Flickr's Creative Common Image Search. Then someone could watch the slideshow while listening to the audio of the child reading their review. The children used VoiceThread to create their reviews.

This isn't for a library website, but it was a creative way of presenting a book without using the cover image!

Update on Progress with Final Project

2008-04-22T13:21:00.000-04:00

I think I am going to stick with doing my website on the small public library. I would love to do one on Colbert, but I think that one may take up too much time and I don't have much of that when I'm going to school full-time.

So far, I've tried to brainstorm about what should be on the site. I think the homepage should have:

the name of the library
a photo of the library
the address
the phone number
the fax number
the email address
the days of the week and hours they are open

I've also looked at the Delaware County Library website to see what other branches have done with their library homepages.

The Colbert Report: "Dorito's Spicy Sweet Pennsylvania Primary Coverage From Chili-Delphia - The City of Brotherly Crunch!"

2008-04-15T13:02:00.000-04:00

This has nothing at all to do with my experience in this course, but
Stephen Colbert is at the Annenberg Center at UPENN filming The Colbert Report this week and I've been so busy that I somehow missed that he was going to be there, so I could try to get tickets. My boyfriend goes to PENN and he just found out yesterday as well:(

It might have helped if I knew about this fan site which is a blog of Stephen Colbert news:

No Fact Zone

If anyone is interested in watching his very funny coverage of the Pennsylvania Primary, The Colbert Report airs at 1:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Hmm...I'm starting to think I should I should do a website about Stephen Colbert:) I guess if the public library idea doesn't work out, I could consider that. I also love John Oliver on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. My Irish grandmother would be rolling over in her grave if she heard me say that because he's British.

Blog Experience

2008-04-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

I'm not entirely new to blogging. I have a blog on my MySpace profile that I write in, but I keep my profile private so only my friends can read my blog. I have to admit I have a much easier time writing in there than I do on this class blog. I am very shy by nature and though writing is usually easier for me than speaking, I think I am still being a bit bashful about the fact that other people that I don't really know that well may be reading this, so I'm afraid my posts are turning out to be quite boring. I think I feel a little restricted that the blog also has to be about what we are doing in this course because I'm not sure how many times I can write down my thoughts on what I could do my website on. But I'm having fun reading others' blogs and replying to your posts!

Website Experience

2008-04-15T12:02:00.000-04:00

I think I created my first website when I was about 19 or 20, which means it was probably about 10 or 11 years ago. I guess that gives away my age. Yes, I'm 30... but no one really seems to believe me.

I guess I look younger than I am because people even sometimes mistake me for being in high school and I get carded everywhere (even the movie theatre). I just got carded in Atlantic City at the Tropicana a couple of weekends ago by a roulette table. I'm taking this as a good sign though because I'm hoping people still tell me I look young when I'm 40 or 50!

Anyway, I created my first webpages on Geocities. They were in a neighborhood called Rainforest - for my interest in protecting the environment. I had a lot of friends that went to technical schools for computers and they taught me html codes. The website was pretty much just a personal space about me. I posted some photos, my poetry, links to animal and environmental organizations, etc.

When I was attending Ocean County College before I transferred to Georgian Court University to finish my undergrad degree, I took a computer course where I had to create webpages. I created mine about a road trip I took across the country. I never uploaded my pages to a server; I just had to hand them in to my teacher on a floppy disk. This was probably about 6 years ago, so you can see how much things have changed in that amount of time. I don't think people even get floppy disk drives put on new computers much anymore. Everyone uses CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, etc.

Other than that, I use html codes on MySpace, but that's about it for my experience with websites. All of my experience has been about creating webpages of a personal nature, so it should be interesting trying to create a website that is about something else for a change.

Thoughts on the Final Project

2008-04-08T22:50:00.001-04:00

I'm volunteering for a small public library this summer to help out with their children's programs, and I noticed that on the county library website many of the library branches have links to individual websites except for this one. After speaking to my boyfriend's mother who works there, I found out that they really want to have one. Unfortunately, no one at the library knows how to do it or anytime someone offers, they never actually follow through. One member of the staff took a course on creating webpages, but left the library before she could create it. I felt so bad that their little library didn't have a website that I offered to try to work on one for them this summer. I was really hoping to work on a website about this library branch as a topic for this course, but I'm not sure if that would be acceptable as my topic. I'm looking forward to giving back to the small town that gave me a home while I am going to graduate school:)

Web2.0, Stephen Colbert, and "Wikiality"

2008-04-08T15:56:00.000-04:00

As I was reading the Web2.0 readings, particularly the one entitled "7 things you should know about...Wikipedia," I remembered one of the other websites I often like to visit that I didn't list in my introduction is Comedy Central's page for the television show The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert, who used to be on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart before hosting his own show, has often mentioned Wikipedia is his comedy skits.

In a segment he calls "The Word," he defines what he likes to call "Wikiality."

You can read a news article about how his editing of Wikipedia articles on the show led to him being temporarily blocked from Wikipedia: Stephen Colbert Causes Chaos, Gets Banned from Site.

Other fun Stephen Colbert Websites include:

Colbert Nation : the Official Fansite
Wikiality: Truthiness Encyclopedia (a parody of Wikipedia)

Wikipedia Entries related to Stephen Colbert:

Introduction

2008-04-02T20:06:00.000-04:00

My name is Chryssi.

I am a student at Drexel University in the Master of Library and Information Science program.

I am a pet sitter.

I am hoping to become a children's librarian when I am finished with graduate school.

Three websites I often use are: