The summary thing...
I had fun learning the different things covered in the program, and there were a lot of things I hadn't tried out before. As I am a member of the Virtual Services Team, I felt a little pressure to be sure and finish the 23 things, which was a nice motivator. It seems like a lot of people started but then didn't get very far. Also, since I was part of the "tracking team," I was often reading other people's blogs and commenting on them, which made me feel connected to the rest of the people working on the program. All in all I had fun working on Learning 2.0 and would definitely participate in the future if there was another program like this.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Thing 22 - ebooks and audio ebooks
The ebook/audio ebook thing...
I'm not crazy about ebooks in a general way, but have used them for research. The California missions ebooks are really useful when every 4th grader needs a mission book at the same time. I've also found that people like the learn-a-language audio ebooks. One of my neighbors gushed about them to me after Ken Yeager, our former city council rep, mentioned them in his email newsletter. I was bugged that she found out from him and not me, but how would I know she wanted them - she's a music teacher, for goodness sake.
I searched the Project Gutenberg site; the Top 100 lists were pretty interesting. The only thing I could think of to search for was Shakespeare and his works are certainly available.
I'm not crazy about ebooks in a general way, but have used them for research. The California missions ebooks are really useful when every 4th grader needs a mission book at the same time. I've also found that people like the learn-a-language audio ebooks. One of my neighbors gushed about them to me after Ken Yeager, our former city council rep, mentioned them in his email newsletter. I was bugged that she found out from him and not me, but how would I know she wanted them - she's a music teacher, for goodness sake.
I searched the Project Gutenberg site; the Top 100 lists were pretty interesting. The only thing I could think of to search for was Shakespeare and his works are certainly available.
Thing 21 - podcasts
The Podcast thing...
I have been listening to podcasts for a couple months, since they are part of the Learning 2.0 exercises. I explored lots of podcasts from the podcast directories listed. Some of the podcasts didn't work on my computer at work, but I was able to listen to many different ones. I must confess that some were not library related. So I did search for library related podcasts and listened to some from Library Geek. Some were boring (ie, geeky), some interesting. I liked the podcasts from the Sunnyvale Public Library - it was cool to hear about the history of the valley. The Thomas Ford Memorial Library has a "click-a-story" program of podcasts; it's really fun even with the Illinois accent ;).
I added the feed for NPR's Fresh Air to my Bloglines account. That's one of my favorite shows on KQED, but don't always get a chance to hear it.
I'd love to be able to have our storytimes available as podcasts. At least then the kids (and parents) who can't make it when we offer them would be able to hear them from home.
I have been listening to podcasts for a couple months, since they are part of the Learning 2.0 exercises. I explored lots of podcasts from the podcast directories listed. Some of the podcasts didn't work on my computer at work, but I was able to listen to many different ones. I must confess that some were not library related. So I did search for library related podcasts and listened to some from Library Geek. Some were boring (ie, geeky), some interesting. I liked the podcasts from the Sunnyvale Public Library - it was cool to hear about the history of the valley. The Thomas Ford Memorial Library has a "click-a-story" program of podcasts; it's really fun even with the Illinois accent ;).
I added the feed for NPR's Fresh Air to my Bloglines account. That's one of my favorite shows on KQED, but don't always get a chance to hear it.
I'd love to be able to have our storytimes available as podcasts. At least then the kids (and parents) who can't make it when we offer them would be able to hear them from home.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Thing 20 - YouTube
The YouTube thing...
I had posted a video a few days ago because I was testing it out - it is a very funny anti-emoticon piece. I hate it when people overuse lol - I can't imagine that they are actually laughing out loud. Liars. Actually what is funny is that I have an aunt named Laurel, only we always called her Lol, so it looks like she's saying lol but she's really just signing her email. It can be confusing when she's discussing my granmother's latest illness and then she says lol.
So YouTube is easy to use and pretty fun to play around with - there are so many crazy things out there! Here are a few of my new library related favorites that I've found on other people's Learning 2.0 blogs and some I've discovered on my own:
Web 2.0 Song
80s Library Workout
Library 2.0 Manifesto
Prangstrup Library Musical
Mercedes Commercial
I had posted a video a few days ago because I was testing it out - it is a very funny anti-emoticon piece. I hate it when people overuse lol - I can't imagine that they are actually laughing out loud. Liars. Actually what is funny is that I have an aunt named Laurel, only we always called her Lol, so it looks like she's saying lol but she's really just signing her email. It can be confusing when she's discussing my granmother's latest illness and then she says lol.
So YouTube is easy to use and pretty fun to play around with - there are so many crazy things out there! Here are a few of my new library related favorites that I've found on other people's Learning 2.0 blogs and some I've discovered on my own:
Web 2.0 Song
80s Library Workout
Library 2.0 Manifesto
Prangstrup Library Musical
Mercedes Commercial
Thing 19 - LibraryThing
The LibraryThing thing...
LibraryThing is super cool and I have had a lot of fun with it. I set up my account ages ago (ok, months), and have a widget on my blog for all to see random books from my library. LibraryThing is ridiculously easy to use and I love being able to see what other people say about the books I love. The unsuggester is pretty interesting - when I put in Geek Love by Katherine Dunn I got back a bunch of Christian titles. When I put in Crossing California by Adam Langer I got all of Terry Pratchett's works and lots of other sci-fi books.
LibraryThing is super cool and I have had a lot of fun with it. I set up my account ages ago (ok, months), and have a widget on my blog for all to see random books from my library. LibraryThing is ridiculously easy to use and I love being able to see what other people say about the books I love. The unsuggester is pretty interesting - when I put in Geek Love by Katherine Dunn I got back a bunch of Christian titles. When I put in Crossing California by Adam Langer I got all of Terry Pratchett's works and lots of other sci-fi books.
Thing 18 - Online productivity tools
The Zoho thing...
So I have a pretty good grasp of this already because I was the one who reviewed this exercise and created the "benefits of Zoho" document that is linked to on the exercise. It is pretty easy to use Zoho and Google Docs, and I have recommended them to librayr customers who need to save documents and don't have any other way to do it. I have found them to be very useful additions to my customer service toolbox.
So I have a pretty good grasp of this already because I was the one who reviewed this exercise and created the "benefits of Zoho" document that is linked to on the exercise. It is pretty easy to use Zoho and Google Docs, and I have recommended them to librayr customers who need to save documents and don't have any other way to do it. I have found them to be very useful additions to my customer service toolbox.
Thing 17 - SJLibrary sandbox
Thing 17 - the sandbox thing...
I added lots of things to the sandbox wiki. It is fun to see what other people have put up and to find interesting things to read and watch. I am all for wikis so it's cool to have people practice using this one.
I added lots of things to the sandbox wiki. It is fun to see what other people have put up and to find interesting things to read and watch. I am all for wikis so it's cool to have people practice using this one.
Thing 16 - wikis
The wiki thing...
Wikis are very super cool. The SJPL children's librarians have a wiki on pbwiki where we share story times, program ideas and more. Many librarians have added to it so far. We've had a few glitches here and there, but overall it has been a great way for us to share information. It sure beats getting all those emails with story time plans to download. So this is a very cool application of wikis to library service. It could also be used for procedures and other staff information. I liked the BookLoversWiki and think it would be cool to have a wiki-type feature on the library catalog, where customers can actually provide feedback about items in the collection.
Wikis are very super cool. The SJPL children's librarians have a wiki on pbwiki where we share story times, program ideas and more. Many librarians have added to it so far. We've had a few glitches here and there, but overall it has been a great way for us to share information. It sure beats getting all those emails with story time plans to download. So this is a very cool application of wikis to library service. It could also be used for procedures and other staff information. I liked the BookLoversWiki and think it would be cool to have a wiki-type feature on the library catalog, where customers can actually provide feedback about items in the collection.
Thing 15 - Library 2.0
The Library 2.0 thing...
I reviewed all the Library 2.0 discovery resources from the exercise. I think that Rick Anderson is right on track with his iceberg analogy. His "just in case" collection comments are right on track, I think. The public library would be much better served by relying on the digital versions of most research materials and saving the print budget for popular fiction, non-fiction and children's books. I think it is important to maintain print collections and for children to have access to books. Books have always been a huge part of my life and I think I will always be a book reader. That is an experience that should be preserved in our society and libraries should continue to be a part of that.
I must emphasize that it is important for a library to have sound collection development policies and guidelines for weeding. I was recently at the PLA Spring Symposium and one of the presenters at the customer service workshop was emphasizing the importance of weeding. She was searching a library catalog to see what they had on international adoption and found books from the 1980s!
But I digress...
Library 2.0 is, of course, a vital part of our future and will help guide us to further success. Public libraries need to continue to be information portals for all customers.
I reviewed all the Library 2.0 discovery resources from the exercise. I think that Rick Anderson is right on track with his iceberg analogy. His "just in case" collection comments are right on track, I think. The public library would be much better served by relying on the digital versions of most research materials and saving the print budget for popular fiction, non-fiction and children's books. I think it is important to maintain print collections and for children to have access to books. Books have always been a huge part of my life and I think I will always be a book reader. That is an experience that should be preserved in our society and libraries should continue to be a part of that.
I must emphasize that it is important for a library to have sound collection development policies and guidelines for weeding. I was recently at the PLA Spring Symposium and one of the presenters at the customer service workshop was emphasizing the importance of weeding. She was searching a library catalog to see what they had on international adoption and found books from the 1980s!
But I digress...
Library 2.0 is, of course, a vital part of our future and will help guide us to further success. Public libraries need to continue to be information portals for all customers.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Thing 14 - technorati
I claimed my blog and added the technorati widget to my blog. I tried out the Learning 2.0 search in the different fields, as described in the Discovery Exercise, and the number of results went down with each different field. I have also tried searching my own blog with the technorati search that I added to my blog, but it doesn't really seem to work.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Thing 13: del.icio.us
So I've taken a bit of a break from the 23 things, but am back now. There is so much to learn about del.icio.us - I think I've just hit the tip of the iceberg. I think it will be very useful for me for being able to access my bookmarks from any computer. I always find myself going to my favorites only to realize that the one I'm looking for is actually on my home/work computer.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
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