Post Number Four: Library Link of the Day

One of the library-world websites that appeals to me is Library Link of the Day.  This site will be familiar to many of you who are web-savvy and/or who have been working in the library world for some years.  It is worth a look for anyone not familiar with it.  Each day the website selects a web page from the internet that contains interesting information related to the library world.  The source may be a journal, like Library Journal, or a newspaper, or a web-based publication, or a library site, or someone`s blog.  Each web page that is chosen becomes that days syndicated piece.  The user may choose to view the link of the day and move on, or subscribe to the website either through an RSS feed or by an email application, both of which are free.

To me, one of the best things about this site is that it introduces the library worker  to  a wider world of digitally based library conversations.   The explanatory matter on the home page makes it clear that this is a prime function of the site.  There is a link within the introductory paragraphs that will bring up a categorized group of library blogs, and often within any given web page that is selected as the Link of the Day there are other links to library blogs with interesting content.  I think this is a fine, creative use of RSS.  For someone who may not know where to start exploring the biblioblogosphere, this site should be recommended.

Another aspect of this site that I admire is that the content is so varied and carefully chosen that it is bound to appeal to  people working  in vastly different areas of the library community and entice them to learn something about areas that may be unfamiliar to them.  The content comes from libraries and publications all over the world.  If one of the most important facets of the internet is the opportunity it provides for growing the individual`s imaginative participation in a wider world, then Library Link of the Day  is another example of how that growth can be made  easily available.

All entries are archived with links on the home page, so that if you are on vacation for a month without internet access (hard to imagine), you can catch up on your LibLinks afterward.  However, one can`t wait too long.   Some of the links in the archive (which goes back over four years) ‘die’ as the source moves on creating new content.  A surprising number of the older links remain active, however, and some of those web pages that do not come up can be brought up with a search of the source website.

The content made available here falls into many categories.  Today`s link (June 30) is focussed squarely on web communications, as Bradley Horowitz (a chief designer for Yahoo) discusses the feasibility of creating a “universal resolver,” a code protocol for identifying every entity one could possibly refer to, without confusion.  Other web pages linked by this website discuss matters as diverse as privacy issues,  social networking and copyright, library practices instruction,  and  digital rights management.  There are personal essays, such as one about the uniquely humane atmosphere of bookish places.  There are stories of people in the library community, such as Jackie, a homeless woman who reads as if her life depends on it.  There are stories of people, such as a digital publisher in Egypt, who are remaking our world and directly affecting our libraries.

Anyone who hasn`t given this site a try is in for a treat.  I would recommend delving into the archived links and looking for stories and ideas that intrigue you.  You will find an occasional  lapsed link, but the hunt will be worth it.