Mashups

Mashups is a new feature I learned through this course. It's amazing what mashups can do by combining features of one application and mashing it up with another. I was checking out the Public Library Finder and thought it to be a good idea for locating libraries. We can also create maps of this sought and embed them on our library website, pinpointing the locations of all our branches and also having extra features such as getting directions from here to there, to your local library! And these are maps to scale, so distances could also be measured accurately.

London: a life in Google maps was also very informative, featuring a virtual exhibition of maps through history covering different timelines. On these lines, it would be good if our libraries can make use of this feature by mashing up the Local studies pictures with Google maps and creating our very own history of the local area in maps.

I also explored Keir Clarkes' Star viewer and navigated through sky maps, galaxy images and the interactive galaxy map where I saw the the new images issued by NASA to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope. All these images were possible due to the web technologies of Google maps. Under Virtual Tourism I also checked the Australian landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Uluru, Great Barrier Reef etc. under maps, satellite and hybrid and tried out the other features such as zooming, panning and videos.

For my discovery I created this calendar.

This is a calendar I created using Big Huge labs. I linked my Flickr account onto Big Huge labs and uploaded a picture from my Fickr account. I noticed some very interesting 'artwork' one could create using Big Huge labs. You can come up with calendars such as above, you can create maps, jigsaws, pocket albums, movie posters, mosaics, wall paper, bead art, galleries, billboards and oh so many more! At a later time I would like to try my hand at creating some of these. In libraries, calendars would be a good way of promoting our services and programs. Apart from the printing costs, it is a cheap and easy way that can be produced in-house and you can highlight 12 areas of your library each year. I also think, jigsaws, billboards and movie posters (which can be changed to book covers) could also be made use of in libraries for advertising good books and promoting activities, special events etc. You could be very creative and use some of the features in Big Huge lab to make your library displays look unique, you could use mashups in library brochures or any other promotional material.