idea soup

Maybe it's the glorious southern fall weather (75, breezy, full sun) or the vast amount of sugar I've consumed in the past 3 hours (7 Whole Foods truffles, about 20 mini chocolate chip cookies, big Sprite). Maybe it was the cool lunchtime talk by a coworker on Web 2.0 apps in libraries. But I'm all sparked and wanting to accomplish cool stuff like:
-dynamic linking from catalog records to web page with maps of floors allowing you to actually find the book. I've been pushing this for a year now, and the group in charge of OPAC technology either decided it couldn't be done in our interface, or it wasn't worth the bother to do it. Or they hate me. Given that our books are moving all the time becuase of the reclass, more important now than ever.
-help pages like UT Austin's, which are a database of searchable pages with keywords (http://www.lib.utexas.edu/help/), and have the most popular/most searched float to the top. (We are working on a new structure for pages helping and teaching patrons how to use the library and online tools.)
-allowing patrons to tag/comment on catalog records (imagine a prof tagging all books he recommends for use in his class, so students can go in search of them, and they can tage their own, too).
-allowing patrons to tag/comment on our help pages, helping us make them better, 'cause they SUCK.
-dynamic Subject Guides.
-implementing LibX (a Firefox extension) for our catalog, so searching for books to order in BIP, then checking the catalog manually, is rendered obsolete (still problematic with multiple editions, as it searches by ISBN/ISSN only).

Then I think, I am interested in all this cool stuff, but have neither the technological know-how nor, really, the aptitude to make it happen. I'm so much more a content person than an implementer, and one of the reasons we haven't done any of this yet is the breakdown between the "cool idea" and the "make it work" side of things (that, and bureaucraxxy and fear of the new.) Eve if I went to Library School, I don't know that I'll ever have the mad skillz to do more than watch other people make cool stuff happen. But today, I want to be in CV's job, or at least work in CIT.

city pimpage

Pimping Durham NC for b/org F2F, Spring 2007

Date considerations: earlier is generally better, for weather; by mid-May we risk 90 degrees. Avoid Mother's Day/local college Graduation weekend. My "test" weekend was May 4-6, 2007.

Localistas: 3 Durham, 2 Chapel Hill (20 minutes away), 1 Winston-Salem (1 hour away). Note we all live in small places (not a lot of room for sleepovers) and between the 5 local households I think we currently have only 4 cars.

Airport: RDU. Test flights on Travelocity: from SF, ca. $350 RT; NYC, less than $200 RT.

Other transport: ca. 5 hours by car from Washington, DC; similarly from Atlanta. Greyhound Bus and Amtrak both service Durham.

Car rentals: Using Travelocity, from the airport, daily rates ca. $35. Most major rental agencies are available.

In-town transportation: several local taxi companies are used to ferrying Duke students around on weekend nights.

Public transportation: TTA Transit buses (www.ridetta.org; includes airport shuttles), DATA buses (http://data.durhamnc.gov/Index_DATA.cfm). Cheap, but not, shall we say, wildly convenient.

Hotel possibilities:

-Durham Marriott Convention Center, downtown (http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/RDUCV). Free parking, free wireless internet, non-group rate for king/2 doubles is $109; assume group rate will be better. Used to doing events, catering, have a variety of public spaces and in-hour restaurants.

Walkable (within 15 brisk minutes, possibly a little sketchy at night, depending on how urban-oriented you are) from downtown Durham:

-Carolina Theater, art movies and live performances. http://www.carolinatheatre.org/
-Farmer's Market, also crafts, 8-12 Saturdays. http://www.durhamfarmersmarket.com/
-Durham Bulls Athletic Park, AAA Baseball, schmancy new stadium. On the road 1st weekend in May, but at home last 2 weekends in April. http://www.carolinatheatre.org/
-American Tobacco, renovated warehouse space, restaurants, outdoor dining, free summer evening concerts sometimes. http://www.americantobaccohistoricdistrict.com/
-Brightleaf Square: similar to above, but less corporate, more funky. http://www.historicbrightleaf.com/
-Ninth Street, shops and restaurants: http://www.ninthst.com/

Short Drive (in Durham):
-Museum of Life and Science, kid-oriented, hands-on: http://www.ncmls.org/
-Duke chapel, big, 1920s Gothic: http://www.chapel.duke.edu/home/
-Duke gardens, gorgeous: http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/

In the region:
-UNC Campus. www.unc.edu
-Morehead Planetarium. http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/
-downtown Chapel Hill http://wikitravel.org/en/Chapel_Hill
-Raleigh (state capitol, art museum, history museum, science museum)
-Historic Hillsborough (colonial period capital)

Good general resources:
-Durham Arts and Business Coalition (links to stuff to do): http://www.abcddurham.com/
-The Independent, free weekly paper with events: http://www.indyweek.com/
-Durham Convention Center, for corporate pimpage needs: http://www.durham-nc.com