More search engines

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Aug, 2008

Laura Milligan at BestCollegesOnline.com puts together a mega-list of 50 Awesome Search Engines Every Librarian Should Know About. If you’re looking for a departure from your usual search engine, or just want to add more resources to your search toolkit, you’ll want to check this one out. Search tools are divided into the following sections:

  • Meta Search and Multi Search Engines
  • Multimedia and Interactive
  • Google Search Engines
  • Great Niche Sites for Librarians
  • Custom Searches
  • Reference Searches
  • Library Search Engines
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Free for All: Open Source Software

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Aug, 2008

I’ve been waiting for this latest article from Karen Schneider to be published in School Library Journal and I wasn’t disappointed. She provides an even-handed overview of Open Source software tools, the pros and cons, and the current uses in the library field. I’ll be adding this one to my class reading list for next semester.

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Pirated and Open Source Books

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Aug, 2008

The New York Times covers the latest trend in file-sharing in First It Was Song Downloads. Now It’s Organic Chemistry. Students who are angry about the cost of textbooks are turning not only to used books, but places like PirateBay.org where they can download scanned textbooks for free.

I have actually been looking into this topic for my upcoming course on Libraries and the Open Movement and have come across quite a few projects with Open Source books which have been made free by their copyright holders. If you are a student or a professor about to choose your readings for the fall semester, you may want to consider some of these choices:

If you know of any other open source textbook projects, please link to them in the comments!

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70+ Open Courseware Resources

Posted by Celia Walter | 4 Aug, 2008

Christina Laun at CollegeDegrees.com has compiled The Ultimate Guide to Using Open Courseware: 70+ Apps, Search Engines and Resources for Free Learning. Her annotated list of resources are divided into the following categories:

  • Search Engines and Directories
  • Open Courseware Collections
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • eBooks
  • Educational TV
  • Resources, Articles and Guides
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