We label and stamp them, charge them out, and then back in again. We gather them in great piles from the drop boxes. We shelve them, a never-ending task, much like bailing out the ocean with a teaspoon. Still, we love them – the books.

Our first books were about girl detectives, boy wizards, kind monsters, and countless heroic orphans. We inhabited these completely, and they live on inside of us. As adults, we still encounter books that mark us. This exhibit is a way for members of the library staff to share our passion for books and reading.

 
The books in this exhibit on the first floor of the Richardson Library are all the personal copies of DePaul library staff.  Join the discussion at our Shelfari online group – go to www.shelfari.com and search for the group called “Bookmarked”.

delicious (formerly called del.icio.us) is a free social bookmarking service that allows you to save, organize, and share web favorites.  After creating an account, you can import your existing browser bookmarks or start saving new ones right away.  You can also tag your favorites, and organize them into tag "bundles," making them easier to find. Take a look at this example to get a better idea of how tags and tag bundles work: 

http://delicious.com/depaulstudent

Some other useful features include bookmark add-ons for Explorer or Firefox browser bars.  For fun, check out the "Most Popular" sites on the front delicious page. You might find something you'll want to bookmark! 

Broken links are so annoying. Suppose you email a link to a Time magazine feature, "50 Best Websites 2008." The original URL (web address) looks like this:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1809858,00.html

Because the address is a little long, your friend may get a broken, unusable link instead:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,
1809858,00.html

Thanks to TinyURL^TM, broken links can be banned forever! TinyURL is a free, web-based tool that allows you to create permanent "tiny" URLs for your link. The new URLs redirect the viewer to the original web page. The basic TinyURL for the article looks like this:

http://tinyurl.com/5jgc8o

You can also create a custom name for your new link, or give your recipients a preview of the original link, just so they know it isn't a virus or spam. Since spammers often use aliases for their websites, you should always exercise caution if you get an email with a TinyURL--or any link, for that matter. Because of this type of abuse, some social networking websites have restricted the posting of TinyURLs. Before you click a link within an email, make sure it is from someone you know for a legitimate reason and doesn't sound too generic.

TinyURL.com is definitely one of the coolest tools for helping you share your online discoveries. And, it's one of Time's "50 Best Websites 2008."

TinyURL.com

'Tis the season to make your own gifts! Homemade holiday gifts will save you a few bucks AND help save the planet--no plastic packaging or stuff made in sweatshops.  Instructables is a website where people share instructions for making almost anything.  The instructions range from the simple (how to fold an origami crane) to the complicated (build your own home security system), and are usually illustrated with step-by-step photos or video clips.  For the holiday season, Instructables has grouped some items into their Gift Ideas section.  There are a bunch of cool ideas that you won't see in a regular craft magazine: a sweet duct tape messenger bag,bath bombs,recycled paper bows, recycled can trays/candle holders and much more.  Instructables are tagged and searchable, and there's a community forum where you can talk to other DIYers.  We wish you a merry and creative December!

Have an image you need to resize and crop, or perhaps a photo with a bad case of the red-eye?  In order to do that, you could use a photo editing software like Photoshop, Corel or Paintshop Pro.  However,  professional-level software can be expensive. Besides, what if you need it right away?  Luckily, there is a great alternative, and it can be downloaded immediately for the low, low price of $0.00!

Paint.NET is a free photo editing software for computers that run on Windows. The magazine PC World was so impressed they included it as #19 on their “Top 100 Products of 2007” list.  Paint.NET has a very intuitive user interface, and dozens of editing tools.  You can easily resize and flip an image, tweak the color or contrast, and use features like the Clone Stamp for perfect retouches.  Special effects can be used to  make a photograph look like an ink sketch or painting.  More experienced users will want to experiment with “layers,” which allow you to combine two or more pictures.

The most difficult thing about Paint.NET is remembering where to go to download it.  It’s at: http://www.getpaint.net  (NOT paint.net), and installation takes between five and ten minutes.  Help documentation, tutorials and a user forum are also located on the site. 

Give it a try, you have nothing to lose but your red-eye!