Wednesday, September 26, 2007

WEEK 9 THING 23

WHOOPEE.....I'M FINISHED!!!!

I actually enjoyed doing most of the 23 things. There were some frustrating moments, but, I am pleased that I was able to figure most things out on my own. I also was able to accomplish some things that I would have thought were beyond me technologically.

I especially like playing with photos on Flickr and some of the other sites.

I think this program helped to bring me up to speed on the new technologies and started me thinking about applications that I can use during my work day and that the library could incorporate into our day to day business.

It takes time to explore these things, use them and get comfortable with them. I think many times it is not that people are adverse to new technology we just don't feel like we have the time to devote to it. This program gave us that time.

I would definitely participate in another program of this type.
WEEK 9 THING 22

I have never been a fan of audiobooks. I've always preferred the printed word. But, I took a look at the titles available from Overdrive. I think the technology is amazing and allows people to "read" when they are doing other things like driving, exercising, cleaning houuse, etc.... It is also great for anyone with difficulties in reading. It's just not my thing.

I did download the print version of Alice in Wonderland from Project Gutenberg just to see how it looked. It wasn't great but would certainly do in a pinch if you have a student who needs to read a book quickly!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

WEEK 9 THING 21



Well I think I added an RSS feed, but, it was confusing and complicated and now I am not so sure.

Yippeee! I figured it out (by myself!!!) I now have both an link to a podcast and a newsfeed.

Furby in Microwave

Will it Microwave?-Christmas Lights

Moving Rainbow Time Lapse

WEEK 9 THING 20

YOUTUBE......Finally I can spend some time doing what my sons spend most their time doing.....watching youtube videos!

I had no idea that there was a "videos being watched now" or "promoted videos" sections. The videos watched now gives a great indication of current events that are of interest to the younger population. I think it is mostly younger people that are watching YouTube because: a. they have lots of free time b. they tell each other about cool videos and then race home to watch them and c. computers are their life-blook.
I know people of all ages watch them, but, not many 50 year olds spend hours cruising around YouTube looking for air guitar videos for example.

I found the site easy to navigate and search. I suppose there will be applications for library use, but, I can't think of any right now. I'll ask my sons;)
WEEK 8 THING 19

Wow, I loved looking at all the sites on the Web 2.0 winners list. It seems like there really is a website for just about any interest or question you may have. I had never explored Craigslist before (though I had heard about it) and was amazed at the many different groups, local events,jobs, housing etc.
I also love Pandora and have used it before. Very cool the way it matches music based on artists you enjoy.

I think there could be applications in the library for some of these sites. For example, customers could use Pandora to identify new artists they may want to explore. I also think the blog guides and bookmarking applications could be useful. We just have to be open to explore and be innovative. The old way isn's necessarily the best way to do things now!
WEEK 8 THING 18

I created a free account on Google documents. It was easy because I already had an account for my blog and used the same password.
I thought Google documents was somewhat like microsoft word. I don't know if you can publish a document straight to the internet from microsoft word like you can on Google documents.
I have been researching non verbal learning disablility and compiling information from lots of different, so, I created a document on that topic. Maybe I will publish it to the internet when I am finished.
The main advantage to Google documents is that you don't need software to create documents. I will definitely pursue other applications.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

WEEK 7 THING 17

I added my blog to the Maryland Libraries Sandbox. I was pretty impressed by the number that are already there. I even bookmarked this site with my del.icio.us account. I posted to several of the existing favorites lists and enjoyed reading about favorite vacation spots.
WEEK 7 THING 16

WIKIS! I thought I knew what they were because I have been to wikipedia....boy was I wrong. I am amazed at the wide variety of applications in library settings. I think having a wiki subject guide that anyone can post to is a great idea. I looked at one and selected cooking and I then linked to the Southern Living website. I also selected a book title and went right into the library catalog. It's all about expanding access!

I would love to see BCPL create a wiki for a new construction project....hint, hint Perry Hall maybe. That would be so cool for all of us (including the Perry Hall community) to be able to follow along more closely as the project progresses. Of course it would have lots of photos during the construction phase and other bits of information.

I am also going to keep wikis in mind when working on projects.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

WEEK 6 THING 15

WEB 2.0, LIBRARY 2.0 AND THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES

Icebergs threatening our progress. Continuing to develop just in case collections. We obviously no longer need to do this and need to let go of our previous behaviors. Reliance on user education. We should be concentrating not on teaching research skills, but, on elimating barriers.
Come to us. We have to place library services in our user's environment.

Wow, my head is swimming. So many innovative ideas out there and how do libraries utilize them. 23 things is a good beginning. Just knowing what is going on and getting comfortable with the technology is essential.
WEEK 6 THING 14

TECHNORATI

A tag search in Technorati produced 21, 677 hits. A blog search produced 382. Quite a difference. The weblog I chose to read is posted by Michael Stephens. He made some good points about where some of our customers are hanging out (MY SPACE). If a library is going to have a My Space presence they had better be prepared to serve those customers and not send out a canned message "this user has chosen not to receive instant messages".

I like how the Technoratit website provided fan rating of blogs. That helped me chose a few to view from the hundreds and thousands that are out there.

I looked at the top favorited blog and can understand why it holds that title. Boing Boing is a fabulous collection of the bizarre, weird, interesting and things that make yoiu say hmmmm.
The top search was Britney Spears which didn't surprise me but did make me sad. The top blog was Engadget. Of course Engadget would be the top blog.....it's high tech!.

I will use Technorati in the future.
WEEK 6 THING 13


I discovered del.icio.us and have added it to my toolbar. Sometimes I think the technology is way more sophisticated than what I need. Seems to me del.icio.us is pretty similar to bookmarking and since I know all the sites I have bookmarked I probably won't need del.icio.us.
I can see where it would be helpful when researching though.