What to do if Delicious disappears

If you haven't heard-Yahoo! is trying to get rid of its popular bookmarking site Delicious. And, like the article says, people are freaking out. This worries me, as I rely on it to a handle on what I see on the web (see my linkroll). According to the Delicious blog, they're not disappearing. They're looking for a buyer. If you're like me, you take some tech news with a grain of salt.

Here's a short article on 5 Delicious Alternatives. It can't help to be prepared.

National Archives Site Redesign

Take a look at the National Archives and Records Administration Site! The redesign is fabulous! It looks clean and friendly.

Consumer Trends!

Take a look through trendwatching.com's list of Consumer Trends for 2011. They include several predictions toward giving and social consumerism. In general, I see these trends as quite positive, even for libraries. I'm all for large economic powers giving back to not just their local communities, but the global community too.

Consumers are becoming more and more web-social savvy and putting in their two cents on a service or product. Not only does this create community, it also creates a certain level of accountability on the part of the manufacturer. You can't hide from a bad review that everyone is reading.

Also included are trends toward the demand for green products and products that help us live better. The list is quite interesting! Check it out!

Hurry! NaNoWriMo is almost over.

I was late to the party on this and NaNoWriMo is almost over. What's that? It's National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight, Nov. 30. No kidding. Why? Because it's fun! This is all about quantity, not quality. (The site emphasizes this.) Last year 165,000 people did it! You can too. Of course, if you haven't started by now....
You have 8 days
That's only 6,250 words a day
You can do it!

Science Fiction or Non-Fiction?

I just found a fun website via Resource Shelf. Purdue University runsImpact:Earth! It even has it's own Intro Video that looks just like a movie trailer!

If you've always wanted to calculate the impact of an asteroid (with specific density, etc). on the Earth (and who hasn't?), then this is the resource for you.

Or, perhaps this website isn't your thing but you like to watch movies about asteroids colliding with Earth. Here's a list. (Please note that I do not endorse the viewing of any particular film listed here, especially Armageddon. It's a stinker, IMHO.)
Armageddon
Deep Impact
Meteorites
Doomsday Rock
Fire in the Sky

The encyclopedia-a most underrated resource!

Every now and then I like to do a random search for something I know nothing about. (Okay, I actually do this often.) It keeps me on my toes. Today I felt like finding out about strange encyclopedias. I regularly use WorldCat so that seemed like a logical place to go to get a a million and one results. As I'm doing this, I realize I want reviews of encyclopedias. So off to another resource!

I also did some looking on Booklist Online. (Note: to get the long view of the reviews you do have to be a subscriber. However, some of the titles feature "buy it on Amazon" links. You can go use these to hop on Amazon to see reviews listed there too. Some come directly from Booklist.)
The American Beauty Industry Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of Perception
Liberators, Patriots and Leaders of Latin America:32 Biographies 
The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were: Creatures, Places, and People

Celebrate Sept 25-Oct 2, 2010! Read a Banned Book!

It's Banned Books Week! That means it's time to celebrate! Get out to your library, your bookstore, your e-book, reader, your blog, your wherever/whatever and support the right to make your own reading selections. Here are a couple of sites that give the background, events, interesting fact, and courses-of-action on Banned Books.
American Library Association (ALA)
Banned Books Week
New York Times-10 Ways to Celebrate Banned Books Week
Banned Books.com