SeeqPod - Easy to Use Web MP3 Player

I love music but do not have the time to search endless MySpace pages to listen to clips. A new site called SeeqPod lets you type in an artist and listen instantly to MP3s or watch videos. SeeqPod has gathered the music clips for you and taken the search tedium out of the process. You can just as quickly share your song list with your friends. It is amazing how quick this works. You do not have to register like Pandora or install anything like last.fm. I would highly recommend it.

Librarian on Location : Live Blogging Feb. 27

11:27 a.m. I am all setup in the main cafeteria. I don't really know what to expect over here. I am definitely in the students domain by being here. The first student I told said, "That is something different." I feel a little like a professor trying to do a lecture in the cafeteria. That would not be received very well. We will see. The idea is not to bludgeon people with our services but to provide convenient access to our services. Stay tuned...

11: 38 a.m. The best part about being at the cafeteria is the hamburgers. I wouldn't normally recommend school cafeteria food but these burgers are top notch. Yes..I am eating. I thought that might help show solidarity with the students rather then just a guy in a golf shirt pushing his services.

If anyone would like to IM me while I am doing this, my name is dbulibrarian.

12:06 p.m. The rush is on. The room is filling up. I am amazed at the number of students who are getting take out boxes and leaving with their food. Maybe they have a class to prepare for, maybe they are working on campus, or maybe they are practicing the constant motion lifestyle that seems to be evident in this generation. How do librarians account for groups that rarely just do one thing at a time? In a way, that is what this Librarian on Location idea is about. If students are constantly in motion, then the more ubiquitous the library can be the better. I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this issue.

Librarian on Location: Live Blogging

I take the LOL show to the international building today at 2 p.m. Our university has a large international student population and their building is hopping with activity on most days. Their developing English keeps them from asking too many questions from the "Big Bad Librarians" in our main location so I am hoping that my presence in their environment will be a positive.

Hopefully the wireless connection will work better than our last attempt at the campus cafe.

2:15 p.m. All set up here in the international building. There is not another place on campus that has as much activity as this building. From 8a.m. to 10 p.m., this place is busy. The international students are not always in the position for heavy research but that is where the simplest instruction on the online catalog or a database can make a big difference.

2:43 p.m. Here are some good links to other libraries and their information designed for international students:

Library terminology glossary at Rutgers University.

Library tutorial for international students at U of North Carolina

3:00 p.m. This exercise continues to be useful more for the faculty rather than the students. I just set up library instruction with an instructor of the intensive English program. The face to face contact helped clear up some confusion on both of our parts.

3:32 p.m. Looking around the public area where I am stationed I notice Japanese, Chinese, and Nepalese. I had some Netlibrary complimentary highlighters and I passed them out to some students. I also have candy and pens. No one seems to want my business card though.

Live Blogging: Librarian on Location Feb. 6

2:21 Today is the second day of our new program - Librarian on Location. I have had a difficult time connecting to the network. Obviously, much of what we will gain from this experiment will be where I can get wireless access and where I cannot. Right now, the Patriot Cafe is a spotty locale for wi-fi.

Rock and Roll Library

One of the more fun library related events that I have witnessed in the last two years was the Library Tour of the band Jetpack UK (now The Nobility). These rockers from Nashville toured the country in support of a recent children's book about their life as a band. I saw them perform at a Public Library in Arlington and it was surreal to see a rock band at a library. The best part was that Jetpack didn't hold back. The instruments were set to loud and they played with conviction despite the crowd of mostly curious onlookers. Kudos to Jetpack for finding a creative way to get their music out and to libraries for taking a risk on rock.

The trend continues as the band The High Strung has planned a library tour this summer.