Monday, June 18, 2007

#25, #26 and #27 The Finale

KCLS eAudio is something I am pretty familiar with from answering patron queries at the Answer Line but will look forward to trying it out once I have a new MP3 player.

This program has expanded my horizons as any lifelong learning effort should, and given me a sense of pride and satisfaction with each new lesson. I often refer friends and family to my blog site and only wish there were more comments. Pictures on Flickr have been one of my favorite new things, to say nothing of winning a photo contest for cookbooks on LibraryThing (hip, hip, hooray for LibraryThing & thanks to Meredith who first sent out a staff email announcing it) with a Flickr photo submission. That would not have happened before starting KCLS27Things. The success of my accomplishments in this program encouraged me to try other new projects . I think all of us have raised our "technological IQ" and it shows in our interactions with patrons and friends.

The mashups were a surprise to me, as was the ease with which you could hyperlink things on the blog. I had made an attempt at trying to subscribe to an RSS feed about a year or more ago and failed miserably, thinking I had to have a website to accomplish it. Now I'm adding all kinds of RSS feeds (even podcasts) to my Bloglines account (another favorite for keeping abreast of sites of interest). I was probably most tickled with the photo and slide show capabilities of Flickr but hope to spend a little more time on Zoho developing a common history and tools for my book club. And what would we be without Delicious for keeping track of all of these amazing new sites!
The wikis are the area where I'd like to spend a lot more time, understanding, applying and seeing how these will be useful. For instance, this might be a smarter alternative for the book club but I'm not as confident with wikis as I would like to be.

There were moments of getting stuck and being unable to find the solution on my own, but Matt, Peggi and Jen (our youthful compatriots) were generous and helpful in moving me along and I salute each of them with heartfelt thanks. At least one of them was usually available to soothe my ruffled brow. Time constraints were perhaps the major frustration in that the picture would be all ready to download and I'd be stymied and then have to return to the phones. This happened with the MySpace site and the blog when Matt had to walk me through the Paint schemes to reduce the picture size but we created a usable photo.

I would like to see more speakers on Web 2.0 since I missed most of the talks. But what a nice thing to have them linked on the blog.

David & Laurel, you have done a great job and given me a boost both career-wise and personally. There are few things more satisfying than learning new things and applying them. I would definitely do this program again and look forward to similar opportunities.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

#24 Podcasts

Podcasts are *so* appropriate to the library. I just listened to one from ASU called "Don't Panic: Information Resources For When Your Deadline Looms!" which is addressed to the pajama-clad student searching frantically for resources at 2am. We have those same patrons, and many of the same resources, i.e. Ask a Librarian 24 hours, Google Scholar, and various journal article databases. A couple of databases they mentioned were Academic Search Premier (formerly called EBSCO Host) and one called Polling the Nation. This is an ideal way of reaching patrons. Also heard a brief bit of an "un-microphonegenic" speaker (uh, ahhhh, ummmm) which was dreadful so that is something to keep in mind when planning library podcasts. Of course, David & Bruce were audible and pleasant-sounding.

Podcastalley wouldn't let me listen to the first library podcast I selected without downloading an aggregator, and further searches required more and more downloads and mysterious error messages. The Yahoo Podcasts were easiest to search and listen to. After perusing several relatively dull library podcasts, I subscribed to Mr. Nice Guy (a former reference librarian) http://mrniceguy.org/who provides fairly animated reference tidbits, and listened to an interesting piece on sleep studies and the importance of naps. It appears that many libraries are using podcasts to give instruction on library use or tours of the library, library services, collections, as well as revisit public talks and lectures.

I also added a podcast of San Francisco's KQED public radio host, Michael Krasny http://www.kqed.org/programs/program-landing.jsp?progID=RD19, who recently interviewed Michael Chabon, and another episode with his listeners' Summer Reading recommendations. First title listed is Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detective http://www.elliottbaybook.com/product/info.jsp?isbn=0374191484 which is on my list, too.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Video - #23

The addiction factor is a real concern here! I've already spent half an hour watching dogs talk, babies fall asleep, fashion icons blabber and the only chance I can see for the library is replication of interesting talks and presentations. To wit, the Ninja Librarian, below.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

#22 Web 2.0 Award Winners and Webware

The first Webware article which grabbed me was one about a new Zoho Notebook but further reading brought up serious glitches (disappearing content) although the designer commented that these problems have now been smoothed out. From here I found out about Google Notebook, Netvibes http://www.netvibes.com/, Clipmarks http://www.clipmarks.com/(bookmarking service) and simplest of all, Notefish, which provides a sample of gathering online data such as all one needs for a trip to New York http://www.notefish.com/notes.php?p=122 or to purchase a laptop http://www.notefish.com/notes.php?p=162 I would have to sign up for each to really evaluate them (perhaps someone already has) but they sound perfect for public computer users at the library and student or work groups working on team projects.

Web 2.0 awards under Books brought up nothing new until I spied http://reader2.com/ which was interesting in its links to the "global world takeover project" under Honorable Mentions.

MyFilmz - social list of movies.
MyProgs - social list of programs.
TagFacts - social knowledge base.
Bank of Ideas - social list of ideas.


It may be time for KCLS to link to these kinds of collecting and/or tagging sites if we cannot streamline our book bags and checkout lists for our patrons' use.

#21 Google Labs

Google Voice Local Search was the first thing I tried on the Google Labs' site and it worked liked a dream. I gave a business name (Rudy's Barbershop) and they listed the 5 locations and I uttered the one I wanted and was connected in less than a minute. (Faster than calling the Answer Line? Possibly.)

Next I exported (!) my Bloglines subscriptions to the Google Reader and installed a widget on my Blog for shared news items. I like the tagging feature of Google Reader harking back of course to my fondness for Library Thing and its tags. Of course, it also spurred me to read my feeds which cost about a half hour of progress on 27 Things as I shared, starred, tagged and emailed on the new Google Reader. I stopped short of adding it to my mobile phone.

Google Trends is amusing and possibly helpful at work since I don't know what half the citations are! Today, not a big news day, brought us:

1. dena schlosser (murderer)

2. kristen wiig (SNL star)

3. deanna laney (another murderer)

4. rita mori (Miss Universe)

but, best of all, I discovered a blog whose writer actually does the NYT crossword puzzle every day. http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/ *This* really is something we can use at Answer Line.

Monday, May 21, 2007

#18 Rollyo and Google

I am beginning to see how this might be very useful after looking at Booknotez roll which searched study or homework-oriented sites for literature questions. This could be a real boon in our Homework Help area on the library website, or certainly for those of us working on Chat queries. I created a general quick reference Google search box on my blog, but further thought suggests a more specific searchroll would be better used. The travel searchroll is very cool, as is the Food and Dining (I looked up morels).

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

#20 Google Docs and Zoho

I find Zoho more fun because it has the planning function which I use fairly often, making to do lists, adding notes to myself, book titles, etc. kind of an electronic organizer online. I tried to use the Google Docs to create a history of my book club's titles, working from someone else's Excel doc which caused me lots of table/cell grief, but the potential is there to share and to add to if I spend some time (not on the phone) figuring out this bonus from Google.
Both of these would be useful in a library setting as they would anywhere a shared document need be created and edited. I've already alerted an out-of-town traveling buddy who loves to organize our trips.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

#22 Choose Your Own Adventure

was the link I selected and then got lost for a long time just scanning the endless possibilities. Trying organization, I wasted considerable time setting up an online calendar. Then I pursued t-shirt designs , tools for using eBay & Craiglist , but ended up doing the most on Zoho http://www.zoho.com/ making notes from Kirkus & PW about titles I want to read (instead of using the Book Bag which I usually mistakenly close during multitasking) and http://www.listdump.com/ Who doesn't love lists?

It was a pleasure finding this list of film noir movies on stumbleupon (a site for finding new sites) http://www.stumbleupon.com/: http://www.ericenders.com/noir25.htm

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

#19 Web 2.0

The open library comes into its own. Sometimes we're so focused on the trees as we place holds for patrons, help them download audio books, renew materials, research phone numbers that we forget to step back and view the whole picture. And "the forest" is changing dynamically. A good friend called to discuss how many gigabites she needed on her new iPod since she expected to download podcasts of her favorite radio and news programs. Another calls me "rampant digerati" as I demo some new graphical toy on KCLS Learning 2.0. And each of them is a regular reader of print books, too, although I must admit they get their newspapers online, a morning routine I am reluctant to abandon. And abandoning old tools is part of this surge forward. Our resources at Answer Line have changed dramatically in recent years as book use declines and we use the Web for the vast majority of our responses. I don't think KCLS circ has declined like Rick Anderson's 55% but change is the key and we already are aboard as far as Questionpoint, Chat and Live Homework Help tools to connect with patrons. The Chicago map mash up mentioned by Michael Stephens was nice although not that far superior to ours. Dr. Wendy Schultz' vision was my favorite (probably the single malt!) but her idea of the library as a mind gym and her definition of a library: "Libraries are not just collections of documents and books, they are conversations, they are convocations of people, ideas, and artifacts in dynamic exchange. Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities: they preserve and promote community memories; they provide mentors not only for the exploration of stored memory, but also for the creation of new artifacts of memory." This entire exercise has helped stress these convocational attributes as we learn so many hip, new ways of connecting, not simply through writing and talking but through photos, videos and websites. Public response from friends and family has been awed and impressed by the breadth of the KCLS learning exercise and particularly that it is coming from the LIBRARY!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Library Thing


Cookbooks on Ice
Originally uploaded by featherlearning.


No introduction needed to Library Thing for me. Search my library to the left. I'm already a big fan with many books entered and I am fascinated by the social aspects of seeing who has my books, what they have in their own libraries, how they review them and the conversations generated in the groups including Librarians Who Library Thing. While Gurulib has the same listing capabilities, it lacks the social aspects and group functions that I enjoy in Library Thing. Shelfari is more interesting because it offers Reading Lists and Wish Lists but they do not have the extensive bibliographic resources for downloading older or more obscure titles (i.e. libraries all over the world.) Library Thing is just bigger which is another plus if the social links draw you in. Any of these would serve library patrons in keeping lists of what they want to read or have read, plus Library Thing now has a feature directed at libraries where patrons can register at a cost of a nickel per patron. And they will be previewing even more and better things for libraries this weekend in Washington DC:

"LibraryThing for Libraries is composed of a series of widgets, designed to enhancing library catalogs with LibraryThing data and functionality. The achievement is that the widgets require NO back-end integration.

We're serious. Just add a single Javascript tag, and one
tag for every widget you want to display and we do the rest. To make sure the widgets use your library's version of a title and that some widgets only refer to books you have, you also need to upload a file with ISBNs in it—just ISBNs or all mixed together in MARC records or whatever. The whole thing should work with any catalog."
http://www.librarything.com/thingology/2007/04/sneak-peek-librarything-for-libraries_09.php

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Should libraries blog?

This quotation I read on The Book Depository says it all if we change "business" to "libraries:"

In an interview with David Sifry, the founder and CEO of Technorati, reproduced in Bob Walsh’s excellent Clear Blogging, Walsh asks: “So, do you think blogging is going to change the whole process of how companies and customers relate to each other?” Sifry replies: “Let me put it this way: Has email fundamentally changed how business and people relate to each other?”


If we are to be assured of reaching the young adult population, then blogging and MySpace accounts seem to be a good way to reach these folks on their own turf although it might be better to ask them!

Monday, March 26, 2007

#12 of the 27 Things

If del.icio.us didn't have such a challenging name (I look away and forget its breakdown), the concept is delectable. Working telephone reference, we need site access quickly and are plagued by too many bookmarks (some of which date way back) and too many systems of categorization by different compilers so one is never certain one can find the World Time Server under Geography, Time Zones, World Clock, etc. This would solve it. Having used Library Thing, I am completely onboard with the concept and consider del.icio.us an excellent tool which I only discovered today. This project really works! Look forward to using it at home, too.

27 Things Learning

I'm still thinking about how the library can use MySpace other than its obvious availability to young people.

Friday, March 23, 2007

The 27 Things Continued

MySpace.com may be my undoing. While setting up the account on MySpace was not a problem, it appears I am to remain a solitary poster or find some completely quiet, focused time off the phone to figure out these illusive paths to friendship. Perhaps it was something I said?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

#6, #7 and #8 of the 27 Things

Either I'm slowing down or the 27 things are speeding up. I feel like I'm panting to keep up with the assignments. Finally explored the mashups a bit last night and created a poster from one of my Flickr photos, thanks to the aid of Advocate Matt. I had so many windows open, I wasn't sure which one I was in at any one time and to whom I had handed my login info. The libary could do realistic posters of actual library events using these mashups, i.e. Connie & Lisa introducing the author at the Book Group Event, Jim in costume doing a story hour, etc. No end of options once we start documenting presentations on camera.

Moved on to Bloglines easily enough and set up an account, added all of the assigned RSS feeds and a few others. Today I managed to track down a library-related site and get back on target. This *is* a work project! I was hunting for Stumpers which I hadn't heard about for awhile and found it has retired, but is now being resurrected on a site called Project Wombat (which didn't have an RSS feed).

The buzz is contagious. All around the room, I can hear queries and exclamations as people tackle the 27 Things.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

4th Day of 27 Things

Registered my blog with the Powers That Be and recorded the 4 accomplishments thus far.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

3rd Day of 27 Things

I'm actually looking eagerly for the next assignment. Added links to my blog, changed a few font colors and enjoyed looking at fellow bloggers' sites today. This project definitely engenders curiosity and blog surfing (between calls!). I can see this being helpful at Answer Line since our schedules often do not overlap and we can update each other without having to send group emails.

Monday, February 26, 2007

2nd day of 27 Things

Feel hopeful that I've at least got the Blog up, although could not have posted the picture (recent vacation - Colonia, Uruguay) without Matt's considerable and generous help in shrinking and stretching and skewing in Paint. Tomorrow people will be able to read it, oh my!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

1st Day of 27 Things

Read the Welcome entry, listened to the podcast and I'm itching to begin so I went ahead and tried creating a blog...and here it is! I'm looking forward to learning about all of these mysteries which seem second nature to my 22-year-old nephew but Greek to me. I may even learn how to download that new digital camera in the next few entries. And I tried RSS once and failed so anticipate that lesson. Ready or not. Here we go.