Ten Useful Websites for Techie Librarians

 by Rebekah Kati, former Head Editor, INALJ North Carolina

 Ten Useful Websites for Techie Librarians

RebekahKatiAs a techie librarian, I am frequently overwhelmed by the number of tech blogs and resources that show up in my feed reader and on the internet.  It is difficult to know which stories and sites are important, and which can be passed by.  I expect that I’m not alone in this feeling, and I’d like to share my favorite library tech sites in no particular order:

1) Codecademy http://www.codecademy.com/
Need to learn JavaScript, Ruby or HTML?  Codecademy provides free interactive online tutorials that will help you learn these languages and more.  It’s great for visual learners, such as myself, and let’s be honest – who doesn’t like earning badges for completing a task?

2) Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/
Lifehacker posts about tips and hacks to make your life easier.  I frequently learn about tweaks or new software from this blog.

3) The Librarian in Black http://librarianinblack.net/
If you haven’t read Sarah Houghton’s blog, you really should.  Sarah posts about issues in libraries and frequently touches on technology.  She is not afraid to voice controversial opinions.

4) Teleread http://www.teleread.com/
Teleread covers news related to ebooks and online publishing.  The blog also includes a section specific to libraries, so you can easily find relevant library news and stories.

5) Mashable http://mashable.com/social-media/
Mashable posts news about social media and other Web 2.0 systems.  Click on the Social Media tag to bypass the entertainment stories.

6) Not Safe! [for Libraries] http://ns4lib.com/
Michael Schofield posts about web design specifically with libraries in mind.

7) In the Library with the Lead Pipe http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org
Although not specific to technology issues, In the Library with the Lead Pipe posts peer reviewed journal articles that challenge many preconceptions of librarianship.

8) ReadWrite http://readwrite.com/
Formerly ReadWriteWeb, ReadWrite posts the latest tech news in a highly digestible way that is friendly towards non-techies.

9) Agnostic, Maybe http://agnosticmaybe.wordpress.com/
Andy Woodworth blogs about libraries, technology and life as a librarian in New Jersey.  I especially enjoy reading his opinions on ebooks and licensing.

10} ALA Techsource http://www.alatechsource.org/blog
Last, but not least, the ALA Techsource blog provides updates on technology news and initiatives that are occurring in other libraries.

I hope that this list gave you some new reading material!  Which technology blogs do you recommend?  Join the conversation on LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=4112382&type=member&item=215928370

 

previously published on 3/11/13 and  5/29/14

Naomi House

Naomi House, MLIS, is the founder and publisher of the popular webzine and jobs list INALJ.com (formerly I Need a Library Job) and former CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of T160K.org, a crowdfunding platform focused on African patrimony, heritage and cultural projects. INALJ was founded in October 2010 with the assistance of her fellow Rutgers classmate, Elizabeth Leonard. Its social media presence has grown to include Facebook (retired in 2016), Twitter and a LinkedIn group, in addition to the interviews, articles and jobs found on INALJ. INALJ has had over 21 Million page hits and helped many, many thousands of librarians find employment! Through grassroots marketing, word of mouth and a real focus on exploring unconventional resources for job leads, INALJ grew from a subscription base of 20 friends to a website with over 500,000 visits in one month. Naomi believes that well-sourced quantity is quality in this narrow job market and INALJ reflects this with many new jobs published daily. She has also written for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 LexisNexis Government Info Pro and many other publications in the past decade. She presents whenever she can, including serving on three panels at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Las Vegas; as breakout presenter at OCLC EMEA in Cape Town, South Africa; as a keynote speaker at the Virginia Library Association annual meeting; at the National Press Club in Washington DC; McGill University in Montreal, Canada; the University of the Emirates, Dubai, MLIS program and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Naomi was a Reference, Marketing and Acquisitions Librarian for a contractor at a federal library outside Washington, DC, and has been living and working in Budapest, Hungary and Western New York State. She spent years running her husband’s moving labor website, fixed and sold old houses and assisted her husband cooking delicious Pakistani food. She is preparing to re-enter the workforce and is job hunting. Her husband is now the co-editor of INALJ, a true support!  She has heard of spare time but hasn’t encountered it lately. She pronounces INALJ as eye-na-elle-jay. 

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