BLTeens: July 2006 Archives

« June 2006 | Main | August 2006 »

July 30, 2006

Filmmaking Workshop a Success

Josh Roth, President of the Roslyn High School Film Society, led the BLTeens Filmmaking Workshop this past week. He explained that his experience in film started slowly. He described at age 8, making a 3 minute film about nothing, then he moved on to making 5, 8 and 10 minute films about nothing... now he's learned how to write scripts and his films are actually about something! I learned a lot about directing and filmmaking from Josh, as I know the students in the class did as well. Here are my notes:

* Josh uses Final Cut Pro, but if you use a Mac, you can also use iMovie Motion for visual effects
* He recommends Avid Express, Pinnacle or Movie Maker for PC users
* use music, but don't overdo it
* definitely start with a script, before you begin filming
* if you want to direct, you have to know how to act
* learn about films by watching a lot of films -- find a director whose work you find visually appealing and run with it -- see all of their movies! Josh particularly enjoys Terry Gilliam. Use Internet Movie Database (imdb) to find out everything about movies!
* use camera angles as a tool in cinema
* when you see a movie, think about how it was made. Take note of camera angles, use of color and lighting
* shoot with a tripod when you can

And, what do you do with a film that you've created? Josh recommends uploading them to youtube -- there it will be seen by many people and you'll get feedback from others. Or, you can submit it to Film Society to have it viewed on a big screen and get feedback from RHS fim experts!

Thanks, Josh for an enlightening and entertaining afternoon! Look for Josh's Photoshop Workshop this coming Wednesday afternoon!

Posted by Michele at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 21, 2006

Second Life

I have read a lot about Second Life Library in the blogosphere over the last several months, but I hadn’t had the time to investigate. Yesterday, I downloaded Second Life and began the experience. I’ve never participated in the online gaming world, but I thought I knew kind of what to expect from observing my daughter’s playing Sims. It turns out that Second Life turns Sims on it’s head. Sims is a game – Second Life(at least the library) really isn’t.

Yes, it’s virtual and digital, but it’s also an educational experience. Consider this description from Beth’s Blog “What has been going on here is experimentation to understand the possibilities and potential of virtual worlds as an educational, instructional, therapeutic, marketing, and/or collaboration medium.” Clearly, SL has business implications as well. In one of her recent posts, she discusses the fundraising possibilities on SL and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life that’s taking place this weekend. The Librarian in Black reports that the BBC has rented space on SL for music festivals (Second Life News)

Second Life has become big business, too -- it boasts over 200,000 subscribers. A recent Business Week article says, “All that has caught real-world investors' attention, too. On Mar. 28, Linden Lab raised a second, $11 million round of private financing, including new investor Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com Inc.” “In January inside Second Life alone, people spent nearly $5 million in some 4.2 million transactions buying or selling clothes, buildings, and the like.That can add up to serious change. Some 3,100 residents each earn a net profit on an average of $20,000 in annual revenues, and that's in real U.S. dollars.”

So, real life librarians are once again stretching out of their comfort zones to meet the public where they feel comfortable. Second Life is a new way to interact with the public, and with our colleagues to do what we do best – organize and promote the dissemination of information. This time, however, we're doing it in a virtual world. (Can I say that I occasionally feel a little like Jane Jetson?!) ALA Techsource explains it like this,"The process of creating the Second Life Library 2.0 in the Second Life virtual-reality environment has been very interesting to date. Basically, a group of avatars controlled by self-selecting volunteer librarians has been working to create and launch the new library. The Alliance Library System, headquartered in East Peoria, Illinois, is the real-world library organization providing the impetus and overall management of the project."

When you enter the Second Life Library, the Reference Desk is the first thing you see – this, in itself, is an improvement over most “real life” libraries. Even if a librarian is not at the desk, you can IM any one of about 5 librarians to ask for help. The library itself has 8 floors – each floor has various meeting rooms, screens for PowerPoint presentations, books written by SL authors, book discussions (three of them that I read about had the authors “present” at the discussions, computers, interactive art, sculpture, posters, government documents, historical, etc. For example, within the library, you can check out real e-books, read magazines and newspapers and peruse databases. Some vendors, OCLC and EBSCO, for example, are giving trial subscriptions to proprietary databases and the public otherwise wouldn’t have access to (except through their libraries, possibly). Techsoup (an online “techy” space for nonprofits) has a presence there. They recently did a “mixed reality event.” How’s that for a new phrase?! It was a presentation that took place in a publicized area of Second Life, but also in a hotel in California at the same time!

After a few hours, when my eyes started to cross and my brain started to hurt, I wandered out of the library to see what else I could find. I saw a group of people (avatars, really) standing around. As I got closer, I realized that I could eavesdrop on their conversation by reading along with the chat they were having. I introduced myself and it turns out that one of the women was also a librarian and one of the “big names,” Lori Bell, Alliance Library System, in Illinois, director of innovation or, as she’s known at SL, Lorelei Junot! They’re planning to launch a Second Life section for teens in the fall! You can read more about Second Life on their blog or visit their myspace page.

My husband says that the only people who need a Second Life are those who don’t have a “first life!” Point taken – anything that proves to be this much of an enormous time suck is suspicious. But, I have to say that there is a lot of fascinating stuff here. SL truly blurs the line between reality and virtual reality.

Posted by Michele at 10:18 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 20, 2006

Chocolicious

Yesterday afternoon, a very happy bunch of teens created delicious chocolate treats! It's always great to see kids who often didn't know each other before, come to interact over a creative project like this one.

Bryant teens are so lucky that we offer so many great programs during the summer. Coming up are: filmmaking (which is next Wed.), Adobe Photoshop, sushi making, henna and more! Sign up at the Reference Desk or call us at 621-2240 to reserve your spot now!

Posted by Michele at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 18, 2006

We're in Hysterics

Okay, I know that I've lost all music credibility, and deservedly so, but... I've mentioned before that my 15 (soon to be 16-year-old) brother, Josh is in a band called Hysterics. We've seen them play a number of times and they're very talented! They're becoming quite successful lately -- they filmed a music video last week, will probably sign with the record label V2 this week, are playing all over the Northeast, from now through September and they were pictured in Teen Vogue (August)!

While these four guys are clearly talented musically, they are surprisingly non-techie, considering their age. I am finding it very interesting, though that despite this fact, the web seems to be driving at least some of their success. They do have their own website. One of them put up a myspace page, which isn't updated very often, but appears to get plenty of attention -- they have almost 2500 friends -- plus, you can hear a few of their songs! Then, they are also on Music for Robots, which is a "music blog." There are even Hysterics fansites! At first, they were a very local NYC band, but now they have gotten publicity nationally! Once their cd comes out -- who knows where it will take them?!! Maybe we can even get them to the Bryant Library!

Posted by Michele at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 14, 2006

Which Teen Angst Novel Are You?

I just took a quiz to see which teen angst book I am (thanks, Cool Librarian!), and it turns out that I'm a book that I loved -- It's called Looking for Alaska by John Green. It also won the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2006. Cool Librarian turned out to be the same title, but it said that only 27% of people who took the quiz turned up with this title. The funny thing is that it describes me as "sad, funny, boozy and thought-provoking." I wouldn't describe myself as sad, I can be funny and I hope to be thought-provoking sometimes, but ... boozy? Definitely not!

Posted by Michele at 9:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 13, 2006

Duck Rescue Update

I received a joyous email to update us on the progress of the little ducks that were rescued back in June. Check it out!
"After weeks on a healthy nutritious diet, the ducklings were finally ready to move to their new forever home. On Friday, July 7, they moved in with their new family. April, their primary caregiver, is an extraordinary young lady who is an animal lover and hopes one day to attend veterinary school. April's father worked tirelessly building the perfect predator proof pen for the ducks to ensure they would be safe. April spent hours researching to find out all she could about keeping ducks, including the proper care and food necessary to ensure the ducks live a long and healthy life. It all paid off. When the ducklings met their new mom, it was love at first sight. They immediately began following her around her backyard and even followed her right into the family swimming pool, enjoying a cool dip after a stressful car ride to their new home.

Thanks to everyone who participated in rescuing these ducklings. Most ducklings abandoned at ponds don't survive the night. They truly are defenseless and fall prey to predators such as raccoons, dogs, snapping turtles, cats, and even other ducks. Kudos to all who worked so hard to help!"

Posted by Michele at 7:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 11, 2006

Floyd, Comma Pink

What happens when you marry a librarian? She tries to alphabetize your music! This is what I did when I first got married and I'll never forget how hard my husband laughed when he saw that I put Pink Floyd under Floyd, Pink.

I went to a concert the other day. Friends of ours are musicians and since their last name happens to be Wood, they host a "Woodstock" every year at their home. There are always a number of bands, the quality of the music is excellent, and it's a always a fun day. A lot of "old rock music" is played -- and I did comment that I wasn't too fond of Pink Floyd the first time around. It always surprises me that it's still being played today.
The founder of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, died today. Clearly, his music didn't die with him. I guess that both librarians and musicians are both cultural archivists, each in our own way.

Posted by Michele at 12:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 7, 2006

Lucky in Love and in Library

Okay -- it's no secret. If you know me for 5 minutes, you know that there are two things that I love and am passionate about: my family (or to be more specific, my husband) and my profession.

Today, I came across these 5 tips from Leslie Burger's (President Elect of ALA) Inauguration Speech, at The Shifted Librarian. As you read them, try to think not only of libraries, but also of the things that make up a happy marriage. I they're perfect! Not that I'm an expert, but this weekend we will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. Maybe this does make me an expert...!

"Our Libraries Transform Communities Toolkit will be a source of many ideas and much inspiration. I’d like to share just five tips that are especially important to me. "

1.
The first is to be passionate. Believe 150% in what you do. Share your passion with others. Engage in shameless promotion. Be out there in the community.
2.
Create a vision to guide the future. Focus every aspect of how you do business to reflect that vision. Engage your board, staff, Friends, faculty colleagues, students, etc. Don’t just talk…listen.
3.
Walk on the wild side. Try a different new practice each week or month. Do what businesses do. Hire for attitude as much as skills. Challenge the status quo. Give someone the title of 'chief innovator.'
4.
Build a culture that encourages and rewards change. Encourage your staff to take some risks. Offer rewards for new/different ways of doing things. If they turn out be better, great! If not, recognize, appreciate and learn from the effort. Be relentless about promoting the changes you want to see. Good example: The library that encourages staff to keep track of how many times they say no and figures out how to turn no into yes.
5.
'Keep everlastingly at it.' That’s what John Cotton Dana, our first and perhaps greatest library promoter would say. Never give up."

"If you all think this sounds like a pep talk, it is. . . I am now the official library cheerleader. I love and believe in libraries. I can’t think of any other work that provides the stimulation and excitement that I find each day. We in this room are fortunate to call ourselves librarians."

Is it any wonder that I feel so lucky in my professional (and married) life?!! So, happy anniversary to me (and to Andy) and congratulations to Leslie Burger!

Posted by Michele at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 5, 2006

July 3, 2006

Garbage In, Garbage Out

This was the advice given to me by someone I worked with when I first started using computers a long time http://www.nassaulibrary.org/bryant/Ch_Room/Programs.htmago. She was explaining to me that if you're searching for a title in the catalog and it's misspelled in the catalog, you won't find it. (Now, of course, you can always choose an author or keyword search) But, I've found this phrase useful in other situations as well.

A couple of nights ago, I went to see Devil Wears Prada with a friend. When the book came out in 2003, I didn't feel the need to read it. Lots of titles come out all the time that are immensely popular, but don't appeal to me. Why, then did I want to see the movie? Just take a look at this cast -- I love Meryl Streep, Ann Hathaway was great in Princess Diaries and just look at how adorable her boyfriend, played by Adrian Grenier is! I see movies so rarely that I am surely no critic, but the most I can say for it is entertaining and "cute." This may be a little harsh, but even with the awesome cast, there was nothing to the story. As I said, "garbage in, garbage out."

The more exciting thing for me was that we got to the theater early, as it was opening night and we got to see not only the trailers, but the advertisements before that. Okay, most of them are boring, local ads, but one of them caught my eye -- it was advertising the Nassau Library System and the summer reading club at your local library! I thought that was major cool!

Posted by Michele at 9:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack