Dumpling in a Hanky

There’s a saying about making foolish assumptions , and it certainly applies in this situation. CILIP, a leading professional body for the library sector has recently launched a new Virtual Learning Environment for members, which will provide an online method of tracking and submitting the evidence of members professional registration activities (e.g. Certification, Chartership etc). It should hold all the information we need to do those things, and the My Portfolio area is an add-on to the VLE, a virtual portfolio which allows logging and submission of evidence of your professional activities directly. It should be better than the old, paper based, "oh god, I think I just destroyed half the Amazon, and now I have to index tab it...in triplicate!” option, and simplify and speed up what had become rather time consuming, mainly because of the admin. However..it doesn't appear that the changes, at this present moment, are much of an improvement. I initially went on yesterday...

Quite literally, the small print. I wanted to try and download voicemails from my phone (call me sentimental, but in years to come, I might be happy to still be able to hear my Mum leaving rambling messages about what insane item she's found for me on eBay today), which appears to actually be quite a difficult thing to do. Multiple forums recommended various techniques involving cables, computers, headphones and microphones, but that's all a bit complex for me, and I decided to try one of the free apps that claimed to be able to manage voicemails. I did the sign-up, email, password etc, but I thought "hey, since this mini-computerabob that I'm carrying everywhere has access to a LOT of information about me and my life...maybe I'd better actually read the terms and conditions that I have to confirm that I agree with?". After all, there's plenty of stories about w hat can happen if you allow apps or services access to your phone without considering it. ...

I wonder if the makers of Jing are secretly Scottish...or perhaps  Oor Wullie fans? Because Jing's name is awwfy like wan o' Wullie's favourite wurds... Anyhoo - Thing 18 , one which looks at a tool for recording your actions on your computer, in order to let others see exactly what you're doing on your computer, rather than have to explain things in a convoluted way. A screencast! Lovely! This is actually something my boss and I have been discussing on and off for a while - the ability to have a recorded version of how to find/use the things that new staff are most going to want to use on their computers, that we have responsibility for. To have that sort of information available to them at any point (after they've recovered from the induction process information bombardment from every department) would be quite handy. The sound recording aspect would be redundant, as we have open plan offices, and sound disabled on the computers, so an ability to tag things wi...

I like handwriting. I was informed by my Dad at an early age that an inability to write in a straight line without having a lined page to guide you was the sign of a Weak Mind.* I can write in a straight line without having a lined page to guide me. I can write in multiple sizes (1mm high is my favourite). I struggle to write continuously in capitals when official forms require it (lower case is my natural habit). I have nice, readable handwriting. I write to people, because it's nice to get a letter. I keep every letter or postcard ever sent to me. I make interesting line images using words. I wrote all my University notes by hand...with bonus illustrations, when I was bored. I keep to-do lists in my handbag, and delight in carefully scoring out things when they're done. So...writing: is fun, even though I barely do it for the bulk of my time - in my daily life, typing is King! But I find that writing's actually the best way that I learn: the physical act of ...

So, some companies are moving towards allowing staff to buy their own computers to work on? That all sounds very nice, and whizzy in concept, but...I don't think I'd be wanting that option, myself. I am a librarian - I do information retrieval and research work. As part of that, I'm reasonably well aware of some sorts of techie stuff, and the main Dos and Don'ts. But when things go wrong, I need a Grown Up, in the form of the IT Department. They are trained and experienced with the proper technical stuff, both the hardware and software. They build the systems we work in. They've dealt with the regular problems that occur pretty frequently, and they have the skills to work out what's going on when a new problem crops up. They know what that random code in that pop-up box means - I certainly don't have a clue, and I definitely don't have the time to find out about it, teach myself about it, and then attempt to fix it. Chances are, I'd end up breaking s...

Thanks to the lovely @technollama, I'm pretending to be professional, and organising an event for the Scottish Law Librarians Group. The Mighty Llama himself will be presenting on this topic: Digital Copyright: The Next Generation During the first decade of the century copyright law has been one of the most important legal issues when it comes to the Internet. Recent developments may give copyright law a different face for the next decade. From the passing of the Digital Economy Act, to the rise of user-generated content and open licensing schemes such as open source and Creative Commons, the future of copyright is shaping up to present an interesting juxtaposition between two very different ideas about content management. Date: Thursday 1st July 2010 Venue: Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue , 16 St. Mary Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SU Time: 5.30pm Members should have received their email invite by now, but if not, and you're a member, email me on the address in the contact d...

Bloglines, I'm not going to mince my words here, or break it to you gently: it's all over between us. I don't know if you noticed, but I actually dumped you about a month ago. I'd got fed up with your lack of attention, your seeming lack of knowledge that I existed...but the final straw was when you went away. For a day. Without telling me about it. Eventually, you got your idiot friend the plumber (or whatever he claims to be) to make an excuse on your behalf, but it was too late. I didn't trust you any more. How could I, when you left me in the lurch like that? At least Google was there for me in my time of need. I'd given it a backup version of my feeds long ago...I never thought I'd have to turn to it in desperation. Look what you drove me to, Bloglines. Goodbye.

Ohhh, an interactive book , with QR codes embedded that links to additional content ! Tempted to buy a copy, just to see what it's like :)

So, The Improvement Service (which sounds faintly menacing, and makes me imagine the staff all walk around the office with straight backs, books balanced on their heads and have perfect pronunciation) have issued a guide for Scottish Councillors about blogging and tweeting. Now, is it just me, or is this a bit silly? If you're tweeting or blogging, then you're at least mildly tech savvy. And if you're a Councillor, then you're probably pretty smart, and also reasonably aware about confidentiality, public image etc. You know what people will be interested in hearing about from you, what your constituents concerns are. So, does it really need an 11 page guide to tell you how to do that? I think that 3 sentences on page 7 about what not to do should perhaps be given a bit more prominence, else Councillors are going to blunder into trouble.... So, some top tips for Councillors on blogging and tweeting, from moi: Don't talk about confidential stuff. Don't be abusiv...

Back in 2008 I blogged about some of the materials being made available online at State Papers Online. At that stage, only Part I was accessible, with plans for Part II to be available in 2009. Well, they've got part II on the site now, and have announced plans for 2010 and 2011: Coming soon in 2010 State Papers Online Part III: The Stuarts, James I to Anne, 1603-1713, State Papers Domestic Coming in 2011 State Papers Online Part IV:The Stuarts, James I to Anne, 1603-1713, State Papers Foreign, Ireland and Acts of Privy Council Might be of interest to any Tudor-loving historians out there, although the Stuart-loving ones will have to wait a wee bit yet :) Although I have to admit to being somewhat stumped as to what it costs...no option for individual subscriptions, and you have to contact them to request pricing as an institution, or a trial...

So, tomorrow's a big day - CILIP Council are experimenting with an open session to discuss how CILIP could / should be using Web 2.0 tools to interact with and support its membership. If (like me) you can't be there in person, you can take part via Twitter (although I'm not sure how this is going to be integrated into the session), and the presentations of Phil Bradley and Brian Kelly are either already available in draft form, or will (I think) be made available after the session. CILIP Council blog post here . Twitter hash tag is #CILIP2 (#CILIP2.0 tag has been abandoned as the 'point' disrupts some applications)

CaseCheck issued this press release a few days ago, and it's a great service, so I thought it was worth popping on here: CaseCheck Launches UK-wide Service – Free Access to over 5000 legal case summaries and more Scotland ’s leading online legal information provider, CaseCheck, has linked up with Law Brief Publishing. This collaboration with the English legal publisher will give users free access to a database of more than 5,000 case summaries. The resource is popular with the Scottish legal community and has ambitious plans for the rest of the UK and beyond. The free web-based resource now covers all major areas of law across the UK and EU, and includes expert opinions covering a wide variety of specialist subjects. Visit www.casecheck.co.uk to find out more. CaseCheck is the brainchild of legal geek, Stephen Moore, who gave up practicing law for a career in legal information technology. Moore combines his work as a technology consultant with a number of leadi...

....I love you, really, I do. I know, I know: I may have become slightly disillusioned late last year, and threatened to leave you for Greader, or Netvibes, or NewsGator, or any of the other feed readers I tried out when you were having "personal issues" and trying to "find yourself". But I stayed with your original version, I didn't desert you for that fickle Beta, I liked you just the way you were. And I didn't get on with those others like I do with you. And I thought you appreciated that. You bucked up your ideas, sorted yourself out, and I thought we were happy together. Until this week. My dear, why do you now think I want you to import every post, from every feed I take, dating back to 2007, all marked as new and unread? I mean, it's nice that you want me to have comprehensive information, but really, it would have been better just to stick with what I asked you to do, which was supply me with the feeds, and make them go away once I'd read the...

Ok, going on holiday for a month sounded like a fabulous plan, but the reality is, you get the best part of a months work backlogged for when you come back, and spend all your time trying to get that done while also keeping on top of the current stuff. I'm aiming high - by the end of this week, the mail pile should be gone....hopefully. In the meantime, a link to a story the lovely Hedgehog Librarian sent me while I was off bungee jumping in New Zealand... The Digital Repository of the National Library of Scotland (which has its very own lovely blog here ) has made a choice of technical partner for its ongoing project of creating a Digital Repository of many of the important documents from their massive (and always increasing!) collection. Also, I just realised that the NLS also has a Flickr account , uploading lots of interesting photos from their photograph collections. A great way to be able to see some of the things you wouldn't always expect a library to have. After all,...

The State Papers Domestic of Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, covering the period from 1509 to 1603 are now available online for anyone who's interested to rummage though, at State Papers Online. The papers cover a vast range of issues from the time: Containing 380,000 facsimile manuscript documents linked to fully-searchable Calendar entries, Part I delivers the complete collection of State Papers Domestic for this era. Every facet of early modern Government is detailed including social and economic affairs. Key themes of Part I include: Henry VIII’s relations with Europe The Reformation The Dissolution of Monasteries Elizabeth I: Marriage and the Succession Voyages of Discovery of Drake, Gilbert, Hawkins and Frobisher Relations between the Crown and the nobility The rise and fall of the Earl of Essex The diplomacy of William Cecil and Francis Walsingham Includes: From the National Archives, London: SP 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 From the British Libra...

Gadget Lab muses on what would improve the next version of the Kindle, as the original version's been out for a year. Have to say, it's never struck me as the most attractive of toys: definitely looks like it's escaped from a 1960 "visualisation" of the future...

Looking at the report here from The Register , it looks like the Kindle (and other e-readers) might not be selling as well as the hype may have previously suggested. I dunno if that makes the Luddite in me happy, or the techie geek in me sad...regardless, I'd like to at least have a shot of one to see what I'm missing :D

As I waffled about back in March , it was recently shown that pacemakers could be hacked. At that point, they weren't sure what exactly could be done to the pacemakers, but now...they know. Some academics have managed to turn off pacemakers by remote control ... Definitely not conducive to good heart health!

After some checks by someone who's much more technical than me, it appears the invite for the survey was for a BT telephone directory. Glad of that - the less I have to do with Phorm the better (although as a Virgin Media customer, I wonder if that decision's always going to be mine to make)

I participate in various online surveys, getting pennies, or prize draw entries in return. Last night, I got sent the following invite - hands up who thinks it's in some way linked to BTs Phorm experiment? Hi Jennie, We have a new survey available for you to take. You will also be asked if you would like to take part in an ongoing program run by BT in which you will be asked to take part in online activities. You will need to provide your e-mail address and register on the website so that you can be sent the details of how to take part. In exchange for taking part you will be entered into weekly prize draws. If you complete the survey but do not register to take part in the rest of the online program you will be rewarded 25p if you register to take part in BT's online activities you will receive £1.00. You will also be redirected straight to a BT site at the end of the survey. Please be assured that your e-mail address will only be used to contact you about this study. Or maybe...