Week 11 – YouTube and Podcasts

I think this is going to be a dangerous week for me. Last night I started working on the YouTube item and went straight to the librarian’s workout tape – very funny! From there I wandered into Dan the Librarian (marginally funny) and a few other clips that weren’t so great. Anyway…that little excursion ate up about 45 minutes…I’ll have to be on my best behavior today to ensure that I actually do the assignment rather than just drift somewhat aimlessly throughout YouTube land.

On another note – I introduced my family to hulu.com. We watched our first episode of The Office. Hmmm – this could be a way watch shows that we don’t get with our rabbit-ear antenna.

Ahhh….I fell into Youtube again! I loved the Wizard of Oz Library bit.If only I could find it again….. Found it and posted to the blog – see Links on the right….

Best find (so far) the Fine Brothers “100 Movie Spoilers in 5 Minutes” – very funny and true and WILL spoil movies for you. Also found several homemade music videos of Wild Horses by Natasha Bedingfield – one of favorite songs. And, of course, MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Downside: The nasty and foul-mouthed comments about videos are distracting, unwelcome and unnecessary.

On to thing 22: Podcasts

Checking out a few of the links. One thing I look for is a site that regularly adds or updates their material. great job Cheryl at the Springfield Town Library. Not so for LibVibes which has 6/8/08 as their last update.

I could see myself getting hooked on NPR Podcasts – Splendid Table, Car Talk, Fresh Air….

As far as applications to a one-person library…I’m not sure that podcasts would be appropriate and/or useful. I’m concentrating on getting my patrons comfortable with ListenUpVermont and am busy automating the library in addition to dealing with the challenges of budget, programs, etc. I don’t think carving out time to create podcasts is the best use of my time right now. I could see it as a fun project for a TAB – podcasts and YouTube both.

Thing 23 – Summary -

Whew! I did it! I’m feeling pretty good that I was able to keep on track with this course as I’ve never done an online self-paced class before. Learned lots, gained experience with all sorts of Web 2.0 applications – most of which I never would have been aware of if not for this class. Some are just plain fun, some make me wonder why they were created, a few will be useful at the library and others for personal use.

My Summary of the Fun, the “Who Cares” and the Useful

Fun: Flickr Spell, creating an online avatar;-), podcasts, YouTube.

“Who Cares?”: Facebook – sorry to say it, but I don’t see the big deal here (no I’m not just bitter because not a lot of people have friended me;- ) I haven’t got a lot of time to spend online and most of my online communications are directly to one person -so why not continue sending emails? I understand that I can also post photos here, but again, I’m a pretty private person and want control over who sees my posts. Shutterfly works well for this. Technorati – ugh!

Useful: Online productivity tools like the Zoho suite, RSS feeds from places like NYT Book Review, librarything.com, delicious for public access computer users, .docstoc.com and two I use currently which were not discussed in this course: frontporchforum.com, freecycle.com.

Neutral/Undecided: Wiki – still have my original reservations, but would consider as a secondary source or use one created by a group for a specific purpose (like the Wiki for library successes).

Other stuff I’ve learned: Blogging – easy to do. I thought I might change my library’s website to a blog but have decided not to because I can’t post pdf to the blog. Adding other links, pages and info is very easy. Other than for professional purposes, I still hold to my original thought that blogging is an exercise in self-importance. If I have something to tell friends, I’ll zip them an email rather than opening my thoughts to the world.

Whew! Now I just need to remember to use what I’ve learned without getting overwhelmed! I might start by suggesting that patrons create their own delicious pages. I’ll keep using librarything (for reader’s advisory), RSS feeds, frontporchforum, and will work on improving my webpage which is currently published in Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Week 10 – Online Applications and Tools

I recently loaded OpenOffice on to one of the public access computers and am interested in what else may be out there to help improve productivity (personal and business) while saving money.

So, off I go to Thing 19……

From my Zoho doc because I couldn’t post it to this blog (will have to work more on that later)..where is the help feature?!?

This is a new doc created on Zoho Writer. It has a very similar look and feel to Word. Let’s see if I can post this to my blog. oohhhh! cute emoticons! I don’t think Word has those….

It would be very useful for folks who do not have their own computers, but use public access computers instead. They could work on a doc at one place (say, school) and then continue it at another location (say, the library). It helps close the technology gap for folks who may not be able to afford a computer.

Thing 20 – Web 2.0 Awards – I’ll check some of these out, but did want to mention freecycle.com which is a Craig’s list where all items are free. Several librarians recommended it to me as a way to dispose of book sale remains. I was quite skeptical (as I often am!) but decided to give it a try. It worked! I have eight responses within my first hour of posting. I was worried that I’d have lots of interest but no action – I wasn wrong. The first respondent said she come and take all books and she did! I posted on Criag’s list first and did not get as many responses.

Checked out Care 2 (make a difference) in the category of Philanthropy – very busy pages; interesting info (can you really get clothes clean with magentic balls instead of detergent?); content almost too broad-ranging. Not sure how this site will help at the library. I suppose, though, that since this site is an award winner that it’s been vetted or investigated to ensure that it’s legit.

Giveness was more focused and easier on the eyes. It’s like Good Search for shopping. Say, could the library be set up in Good Search? Hmmm…interesting thought….

.docstoc.com seems like an interesting site. If someone is looking for a government form or template, they might find it here.  Be aware that if you use the term papers and other assigments posted here you are setting youself up for trouble! Mango is a language site that might be useful for patrons. It appears to be free so libraries would not need to purchase language courses, but instead direction people to this site.

Librarything got an honorable mention…I use this site at least once a week for reader’s advisory. Love it!

I’m curious about VuFind but am not sure I’ll make/take the time to investigate further. Especially since I’m invested in LibraryWorld.

Another thought about online tools/applications….

Frontporchforum.com is a community-based bulletin board and a wonderful way to publicize library events. I send a note out every Saturday with the upcoming week’s worth of events. The Forum is Westford is quite active and patrons tell me that they appreciate getting info this way.

Week 9 – Wikis

I checked out the following Wikis – Nancy Pearl, BookLovers, Libary Success and Bull Run Public Library. I also read the NYTimes article about Middlebury College banning the use of Wikis as footnoted sources for papers, and – just for fun – listened to Colbert’s take on Wikis.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve been a Wiki-sceptic for a long time. In fact, I was somewhat mortified when my daughter’s teachers started encouraging the students to use Wiki for academic research. It just doesn’t feel like “real information” to me…. Not when Sarah Palin’s Wiki entry was polished-up just a few hours before she was announced as McCain’s VP.  I’m not picking on her specifically, but on the way Wikis work and how they can be manipulated to assert certain opinions rather than state unbiased information. This may sound naive and I know that broadcast media or magazines or radio can be just as biased. In fact, with market segmentation, we can choose the news outlet that reinforces our already held beliefs and now we can help create that information – just the point Colbert made in his sketch.

For research, I would rather use an original, rather than secondary source. For example, if I need info on cancer, I’ll try the American Cancer Society or AMA websites, not Wikipedia.

I did see that the Bull Run Library uses a Wiki as a website. It’s an interesting idea and may make it easier to update content. Also, the Library Success wiki is a nice resource, but I was expecting more content (I checked out Adult and Children’s programming). I can see how it could be helpful to a group of professionals who are geographically disbursed in exchanging ideas and building community. Much better than getting tons of email!

I suppose for casual web browsing Wikis could be fun, but I’m usually more focused on getting an answer to a specific question, not taking a serendipitous journey in the internet.

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I liked Wetpaint and Mediawiki because no account was needed – I’m on total overload for accounts and passwords right now! On the other hand, requiring an account might give the owners more control over folks who intentionally vandalize a site. I added one of my favorite restaurants to the Wetpaint site.

All done for another week -unless my Facebook account gets some action. It’s been pretty quite, but that’s ok. Email seems to do the job for me, but at some point I may use Facebook for sharing photos. For now I use Shutterfly.

Week 8 – Tagging and Folksonomies and Technorati – Oh My!

Hmm….the title of this week makes me think of two very different things…

First, it’s kinda like “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” from the Wizard of Oz….

Second and completely unrelated — tagging – isn’t that something you do with a can of spray paint to an abandoned warehouse? I guess I’ll have to do this lesson to learn what it means in the world of Web 2.0…..

Later – I intentionally looked up something that a) I didn’t know a lot about and b) thought there would be a lot of hits in google. In preparation for my trip to NYC, I queried “broadway shows” and got less than 500 hits in delicious but over 5 million hits on google!  Five million is a bit overwhelming (like NYC itself) and while 500 is still a big number, I can see what the top sites were as far as number of links go. This narrows my search to less than a dozen sites. Very manageable.

I also tried a more narrow topic that I know a bit about – letterboxing. Both delicious and google listed the same top sites, but again, google had 100’s of thosands of hits vs delicious’ 500.

I’ll create my own delicious page with some of my favorite personal and library links and see what happens. I made the mistake of importing all my bookmarks – most of which I’m not interested in sharing. I’d like to delete them all and start again, but haven’t yet figured out how to do a mass delete. I also tagged some but they don’t seem to be showing up in delicious search.

***Mara – can you help me out? I’m missing something. My bookmarks show only under “my bookmarks” not with other people’s results.

Monday, 11/10 – On to Technorati…..

First up – on the front page – a story about Britney Spear’s two-year old son being rushed to the hospital. This is the biggest, most important news available??!!? This doesn’t bode well Technorati’s reputation in my mind…Luckily Mara has kindly let us off the hook from creating a Technorati account. One more account and password and I’m afraid my head might explode! But, since we’re only on thing 14 or so, I must brace myself as I’m sure at least a few more accounts are heading my way in the coming weeks.

Cruising through Technorati, I discovered that Angelina’s twins are starting to show their personalities, Taylor Swift couldn’t sleep last night because her album is being released today, Andy Pettitte (sp?) is now a free agent, and some people already want to create a holiday in honor of Barak Obama. Enough already! This is the kind of mindless drivel that numbs people’s brains. Ugh! Visiting Technorati was like taking a field trip to a land where intelligent discourse on important issues has been outlawed.

Thing16 – Library 2.0

Away from the Icebergs. “Just in case” Collection: I agree that any library (esp a one-person library) cannot and should not attempt to own every possible resource a patron might want. That’s why we have, not only the web, but also a nation-wide ILL network. The author’s circulation stats don’t jive with mine. I see just the opposite – a large increase in both visits and circ (actual numbers to be posted later. I need to check my DOL report for the specifics). User Education – I agree that tools and techniques should be intuitive and easily understood by patrons. “Come to Us” Model – While we need to meet patrons where they “live” – ie on the web, we also need to be a bricks and mortor operation. Without a real building, our mission as a community center would be in jeopardy. We are, one librarian said, the “living room of the community”. A place to quietly read the paper or play a game or complete a puzzle, use the free WiFi, use a computer if you don’t own one or live where there is no internet service available,  come to storytime or knitting or book group and visit with neighbors.

Into a new world of librarianship.  Agree: User-focused programming and resources. Pay attention to what your community wants and cares about. Provide materials, events and programs on these topics. However, don’t be afraid to take a chance on a book, movie or program that no one has requested yet, but seems to fit the “personality” of your town or even is something slightly “out of the box” that might draw new patrons.I understand and support controlling “techno-lust” – technology for the sake of technology. If it’s cool technology but impedes staff or patrons, it’s not the right technology for your situation. Some of the author’s other points are a bit beyond me at this time – OCLC Pattern Recognition and User Perception???

Powerful ways to cooperate. OK….I’m really starting to lose the train of thought here. is this a commericial for OCLC? I’m all for cooperation with my fellow librarians. I couldn’t provide a fraction of the service I do with idea-sharing and resource-sharing (ILL).

Week 7 – Things 12 & 13

I’m getting a jump on this week because I have (yet another) jam-packed week with library stuff, tons of errands and, oh yeah, an election!

Thing 12: Not sure what this is yet…..
Later…ok, so I’ve created an avatar (with my daughter’s help) that looks sorta like me… will pasting the html code here “transport” her to my blog?  It worked!

11/4 Update – Ahh!!!!! My daughter’s avatar replaced mine! I don’t “do” capris with pumps! Let me try to get “me” back……

Whew! I’m back. And, yes, the cat belongs with both avatars. She is our beloved Pompom – my daughter’s cat.

Thing 13: librarything.com – I ALREADY LOVE THIS! Here’s a real hands-on practical application that  – in business jargon – delights the customer. Patrons love this and are wowed by it.  Even librarians with limited RA experience (like me) look smart and savvy and are able to give patrons great suggestions for the “next great read”. Oh yes – and the unsuggestor is just plain silly fun!

Check out a few favorite books from my personal library – see the link.

Week 6 – Facebook (still!)

So…..last week was really busy with stuff other than 23 Things and this week isn’t looking too good either. But, I’ll give it try and catch up with Facebook. I’m glad that there aren’t any new “Things” this week!

Update…..I created a Facebook account but haven’t been able to add any friends yet ;-(

I’m also wondering if I can use a screen name or need to use my real name. I guess that’s something I’ll deal with over the next few days….

Update #2 – I now have a friend! (Vermont Librarian – is that you,Mara?) How did you get to list your pen name instead of your real name? I’ve requested a few friends – will they accept me? Gosh  – what social anxiety! Anyway, as with most of the Web 2.0 stuff, I’m interested in real and pragmatic applications. For example, I LOVE librarything! It helps me help my patrons find titles of interest. What is the value-add of Facebook in the world of one-person libraries? I’m not sure and am open to opinions….

Week 5 – Facebook!

OK , time to see what everyone was talking about during last August’s Collection Development class….

After checking out the various social networking sites, I have a bit of a headache – it felt like watching MTV – too much visual noise and chatter. Facebook was a little better. I can see some uses for Ning – if a group is focused on a particular topic. As far as library use – especially in a one person library – it seems like a website or blog might be just as good. Maybe a youth librarian might want to use Facebook. I dunno….

to be continued….

Spell from Flickr

Week 4 – RSS Feeds

Let’s add some RSS feeds to this blog. How about NYT Bestsellers and Independent Book Sellers bestsellers (which has a new name I don’t remember), and…just for fun – Unshelved!

3:19pm Update….Couldn’t find an RSS feed from the Indies (Independent Book Sellers), but did add VLA, NYT Book Review, Unshelved and a few others. I choose SAGE because I use Firefox. Also, I didn’t want to set up yet another account (BlogLines & Google Reader ) or download more s/w onto my laptop (FeedReader). Sage organizes things well; prior to Sage I just had the feeds sitting in my bookmark toolbar which was cluttering everything up.

Not sure how I would use this on the public access computers, but could see a use for my laptop – Early Word, ALA, NYT Best Sellers.

Off I go….

Well, after a bit of a struggle with usernames and passwords, I’m up and running. I’m still working on making the blog “pretty”, but this is a start.

Week 3 – Flickr

I posted one test picture to the VT23Things group and will grab some library pix to post later. One thing I’m wondering about – Shutterfly vs Flickr – which is “better”? I recently created two private websites on Shutterfly and it was super-easy. Flickr seems a bit less intuitive than Shutterfly. Comments, anyone?

new additions for 10/7 (test)

new additions to the collection:

Adult Fiction

Adult Nonfiction

Juv Fiction

Juv Nonfiction

DVD