Flash coolness at the Newseum website

Jen just sent me a link to the Newseum's webpage where you can see the day's front pages WORLDWIDE. To quote Jen, "Oooooooooh!"

What's the top news in LA? What is Phoenix's banner compared to Tucson's? What do newspapers look like in Italy, or South Africa? Mouseover the city on the map and the front page appears on the right. I love how easy it is to browse the news coverage!

Too bad it won't work on my iPhone.

Find the nearest mailbox

One of the questions we get all the time here at the library is "Where is the nearest mailbox?" Well, now there is a website to help: Mailbox Locator can list mailboxes by zip code or by city. It's ugly but it works.

Google launches new search engine for Patents

Google has created their own search for patents and it is much easier to use than the USPTO version.

Have you ever looked at a patent? I find the diagrams on the old ones to be quite beautiful. I went looking for patents from my grandfather Honorino Pereira but no luck. On the other hand, my great-great grandfather Samuel L. Rockfellow witnessed 2 of them. Here is one.

Making my list and checking it twice

I am having too much fun with a new list wiki that Amazon has created, and wondering how libraries could use it. They have named it UnSpun (beta).

The interface is smooth and pretty intuitive -- lots of Ajax so things fade nicely in and out as you write or save.

List sampling:
Most Powerful Character in the TV Show "Heroes," Favorite Quote from Your Mom, and the Best Things about Public Libraries.

Scratch your librarian/geek/listmaking itch and check it out. I am happy to say I created the first 3 lists for Tucson, AZ and one entitled "Best Book to Read a 3-Year-Old Child before Bedtime."