Two miniposts for the price of one!
Gold star
I would be remiss if I did not mention that this here blog received a gold star from Salem Press in its library blog thingie, particularly since they were very quick to move this blog from Public Library Blogs (!) to General Blogs (I was hoping for Quirky, but you can’t always get what you want) after I let them know…
(There seems to be no shortage of links to the Salem Press list, so the lack of one here shouldn’t be an issue.)
Quick expert advice from librarians about web tools
Here’s an easy two-part test for modern librarians–or, better yet, just those who are considered web specialists. They’re honest questions, and presumably y’all should be able to answer them on the spot, in the comments:
- I have a fully-formatted book ms. done using Word 2007, but also in PDF. How do I convert it to epub (without DRM), retaining as much of the formatting as possible? I even have Calibre, if that helps.
- OK, so I have the new Facebook privacy tools now, but I just looked at my Privacy settings and I don’t understand what’s going on here:
Note: This is a straight screen capture, cropped but with no other changes. You may have to scroll right to see what I’m really interested in.
To wit: What does “Other” mean? How can I find out?
I await responses with some interest. Based on other discussions, I assume that any employable web services librarian should have answers…
I don’t know what Other means, but perhaps this could help?
http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/
They make an open source tool, which runs entirely between your browser and Facebook (not their site). It’s supposed to read your settings and explain them.
“other” refers to any customized variation.
For example, you could choose to only let your closest friends see what is posted on your wall. Notice that “custom” is selected. Another thing that falls under “other” is if you set something to only be visible to yourself.
If I remember correctly, click on the customize settings link on the bottom left. The other covers mixed privileges… Ie your birthday is open to friends and network, but your religion or politics are friends only.
So here’s a summary after one day:
Nobody responded (here) to the epub question.
Two librarians responded to the FB question (I didn’t ask the *tough* question, “How should I set my FB privacy options?”–and I’ll argue that it’s irresponsible for a librarian to give a straightforward answer to that question)–and the answers are interesting, because they seem to be wrong. I’ve double-checked. I have only one privacy setting that is anything other than Friends Only, and that’s for my website visibility. It’s clear that at least two of the Other settings aren’t based on any mixed setting that I can see anywhere.
So, as far as I can tell, the appropriate answer to my question is “damned if I know, and FB doesn’t have an answer that’s consistent with the facts.”
No condemnation of any librarians, though, because I don’t believe it should be the duty of librarians to be on top of stuff like this–particularly when it requires guesswork or divination, as it seems to be in this case. (That is: I think the answer to “Other” is the only answer available–but I also think it’s wrong.)
As for epub: I believe we have a standard that isn’t supported by adequate tools, which makes it difficult to identify the best tools and their uses.
Thanks for playing!
As to the ebook thing, Calibre is the only tool I am aware of. I’ve never had success using it, though. Then again, my PowerPC-based recycled Linux box does have some incompatibilities that arise at times due to the architecture.
I’ll go dig through Synaptic to see if I am missing any tools that might be appropriate.