About this blog
I've been a web developer for 14+ years. Most of my experience is with academic library web projects, and I've learned many things by experimenting and "Reading the Friendly Manual". My toolbox has grown over the years and it's still fun to build web sites and try new ways of doing things. Last year, I joined the Amazon Associates Program, and find that newbies there have a hard time adding Amazon links and widgets to blogger. I made this blog so I could understand the issues and help answer questions. My interests are broader than that, so I plan to post other tips and interesting bits here as well.
About me
I became a librarian in 1970, when libraries were just beginning to embrace online tools for automating the creation of catalog records. Libraries are all about disseminating information, so there were many opportunities to work with and incorporate new technologies into library work. At one time, the shiny new things were Dialog's online research databases, CD-ROMs, Bitnet and Usenet, CompuServe with dial-up access, videos on VHS and DVD, local DOS databases, and web sites with Mosaic and Netscape.
I got hooked on making web pages in 1996, starting with a website for Ramsey Library, University of North Carolina at Asheville. It was a great opportunity to learn new things and make library resources available to the UNCA community. Browsers got better. I learned how to use Microsoft FrontPage, Paint Shop Pro, CSS and Active Server Pages to make more engaging sites and incorporate database search results.
Then, in mid-2000, I moved to Reno, Nevada, where I served as Web Development Librarian until the end of June 2008.
While at UNR, I created special websites for exhibits and other library projects, as well as the main Library site. I fell in love with Photoshop, developed ASP.net/SQL Server applications for managing electronic journals, online databases, course reserves, subject guides, the photograph collection, and anything else that required data manipulation and/or presentation. It was truly a dream job.
My final projects at UNR were a "construction" site for a beautiful new building to house both the main University Library and IT User Services, and a website for the completed Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. It was hectic, challenging, filled with meetings, working with many new people, and a labor of love.
Now that I've "retired", I’m keeping up previously-learned skills by learning ASP.Net 3.5, Visual Studio 2008, and SQL Server 2008. Of course, in the real world, most websites are created with open-source resources, so I'm digging into new sites with a web host that supports a LAMP environment. I'm also having fun learning to make screencasts with Camtasia, and becoming a knowledgeable Blogger user. I read and buy a lot of books, mostly from Amazon, so I signed on as an Amazon associate to share my "picks" with others.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
—Araby Greene
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