Tooling Around

I've been playing around with a new search engine "computational knowledge engine" from British author/physicist Stephen Wolfram called Wolfram|Alpha and I'm not sure where I stand on it just yet. The trick with W|A is that you have to keep in mind that it's not a search engine. It is not going to give you results like Google, so don't even try to compare them.

Wolfram|Alpha's long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything. Our goal is to build on the achievements of science and other systematizations of knowledge to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for definitive answers to factual queries.

Wolfram|Alpha uses Mathematica, a software piece that smart guys like scientists and engineers go ga-ga over. I think of it as a giant textbook or a giant brain that knows lots of math. And the math part is key, because Wolfram|Alpha doesn't seem to be as strong in other fields, such as pop culture or history, as it is in the sciences. But W|A is still in its early stages and has said that they are working to add more source information for topics such as cars, sports and food. So what do you think? Some of the comments I've seen in the Internet World are all over the place, some praising it, other condemning it. You can plug complex equations into it to get some pretty powerful results (just try "integrate (x^2)*sin(x)" and see what you get), but when I type in "British Columbia," Wolfram|Alpha FAIL. Will I use it? I'm not sure. I think I can get the results I need from Google and Wikipedia, but like the fact that there's a strong scientific background. Play around with it and let me know what you think of Wolfram|Alpha. Is it the next big thing?

While I'd love to wax exponentially about how great of a web browser Firefox is, I'm going to try and give it to you in a nutshell. A very easy-to-crack nutshell, that is...

1. Gotta love that tabbed browsing! Firefox came up with it first, folks, so accept no imitations! A simple "Ctrl + T" will open a new tab for you instantly.
2. A session-restore feature that rocks my world. If you get interrupted by a power outage or something like that while you're working in Firefox, it will restore your session when you open it up again. What's great is that it restores things to the exact pages you were working in.
3. It's the little things that mean so much: a built-in spell checker, search suggestions, a pop-up blocker, easy RSS feed-management, the ability to clear your private data after every session, automatic updates, protection from spyware and phishing, and DHTML accessibility. Plus, there's an integrated search bar that comes pre-loaded with Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, eBay, Answers.com, and Creative Commons search engines so, no matter where you are on the web, you can easily search one of these sites without ever opening a new tab or leaving the page you are on. And you can add more engines! I like to add the IMDB, Wikipedia, del.icio.us, Flickr tags, and Webster's dictionary. I use this search engine feature all the time! AND...what's great is that now you can add the CML catalog as a search in Firefox! You never have to leave the page you're on to search the library's catalog again!
4. Finally, one of the things I really like best about Firefox, is that you can do some serious pimpin' and personalizin' to this browser. Firefox calls them "add-ons," but I call them little rays of sunshine that make the browser mine. These add-ons tweak the browser in such a way that you control what it does, what it searches and what it looks like. For example, say you want to search a bookmark in del.icio.us quickly. Instead of logging in to del.icio.us, add the del.icio.us extension to the Firefox browser and you can do it all with one click. The list of recommended extensions is awesome. You can also change the look of the browser overall by installing a theme from the myriad of choices they have. I promise you you'll have fun with this! I often choose more than one theme to download at a time and then I can switch back and forth between them, just to mix it up a little. Hey, it's YOUR browser, make it look and feel and function the way YOU want it to!

But don't take my word on how great Firefox is. Download it today and start playing around with it. Did you know it is the best browser to use when searching the library catalog? Use it for all your searching. Take advantage of all the things it can do for you and it will change the way you use the Web... in a very good way!

Any dedicated or long-time users of Firefox out there? What do you like best about it?

It's here! Check out our new catalog plugin! It will sit in your browser and be available for you to easily search the CML catalog, no matter what site you are on. It works with both Firefox and Internet Explorer and installation is as easy as a couple of clicks. Try it out and let us know what you think!

Here at the library, we will soon begin work on creating resources that allow customers to embed widgets into their personal space. We want you to be able to take valuable libraries tools along with you. We want you to be able to embed useful products (and advertising for us!), on your blogs, Facebook and Myspace pages, etc. You love the library, so why not let it show! Some things we're considering:

• Catalog & Premium Resources search box
• "I love the library" badges
• A ticker of items you have checked out
• A My Account box to keep you updated on due dates, etc.

What else would you like to see? Widgets are so cool... they save time and they look fab. What's not to love?

We hope you've had a chance to try out the new Library Toolbar by now. I want to take a few minutes to explain the functionality and the different parts of it, so that you can use it to its full advantage. So, starting from left to right, let me break it down for you:

• The first button has the library logo on it. Just clicking once on this logo button will take you to the Columbus Metropolitan Library's homepage.
• This logo button is also a drop-down menu. If you click on the small arrow to the right of the logo, you'll see the full menu: CML Homepage, Contact Us, Help, Privacy, About, Tell a Friend, Refresh Toolbar, Clear Search History, Upgrade, and Toolbar Options.
• Next is the Search Box. The default search is a Google search, but you can use the drop-down menu just to the right of the arrow to access other search features. Catalog Search will search the library's catalog, and Premium Resources will search our online subscription databases. There are other search functions here that will allow you to do basic Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Image and Weather searches.
• The next part of the toolbar is the drop-down menu for the search box. This allows you to go through and see your previous toolbar searches. You can clear this by clicking on Clear Search History in the logo drop-down menu.
• The Go button will execute the search commands you have specified.
• The My Account link opens the My Account window so you can check your library card.

• The next button is a drop-down menu for all the available eMedia resources the library offers. These resources are from the Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative, where you can download eBooks, Audio Books, eFlicks and music!
• The Events link will take you to the online library events calendar.
• Then we come to the New Items button. These are RSS feeds for the latest items added to our catalog. Please note that this functionality is still a work-in-progress, so enhancements will continue.
• The next two links, Kids and Teens, offer direct access to the library's Kids and Teens web sites.

I encourage you to play around with the new features of the toolbar! Remember that, no matter where you are online, you have one-click access to many helpful library features. In the coming weeks, we will highlight more toolbar features and talk about some of the links on the Power Tools page. Feel free to let us know what you think. We will use your suggestions to develop more tools and discover more cool sites!