Return of the Free Stuff calendar
Over the summer of 2004, I posted a calendar to this domain that listed free events in the Boston metro area. Since I’m always on the lookout for free stuff to do (libraries often offer lots of free programming, so perhaps it’s just in my librarian nature), I figured it’d be neat to post my findings online.
It was meant to be an experiment, just a summer fling with an information collection feeling that couldn’t be denied. And then it grew bigger than I ever could have imagined. Almost too big.
I took down the calendar near the end of last year, since I hadn’t really been keeping it updated, and I was contemplating it’s future, if there was one. But then the emails came. Friends, friends of friends, random site visitors, asking, “Hey, what happened to the calendar?” With demand like that for a service, I had to bring it back. 
Now there is a permanent link in the right navigation of my site for the “Free stuff to do in Boston” calendar, which I refer to as the “Free Stuff” calendar for short. One of the issues with keeping the calendar around was finding a more efficient way to keep it current, as well as a way to get the word out on newly posted events. After evaluating several resources and options (including building something myself), RSSCalendar came to the rescue. Now adding an event is as easy as filling out a form (OK, as a part-coder, this makes me sound like a lazy slacker, but as a librarian, I’m finding resources to suit my needs… the conflict! go fig). And regular visitors can stay updated easily by subscribing to a daily, 3-month, or specific event category RSS feed.
My selection criteria for events isn’t terribly well-defined (bad librarian, no biscuit!). I list events that sound interesting to me, and that, if I could, I’d attend. The events all take place in the Boston metro area (Boston, Brighton, Allston, Brookline, Charlestown, Somerville, and Cambridge), with a few exceptions here and there. Each event listed must have an online listing somewhere, like the site of the planners, sponsors, or some other event site that is fairly reliable in my experience. I don’t list family- or kid-centric events, and I have no plans to. And, well, obviously it’s all free. Call it a loose collection development policy.
If you’d like to submit a suggestion, send me email with the name of the event, and the URL of the web page where you saw a good listing for the event.
Tags: checkitout
