Lost in the Stacks

23 Things Experience

2007-10-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

This project was completely worthwhile. I'm thankful to the developers of this program for putting it together and making new information so accessible.

Teaching My Mom

2007-10-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

My mom loves quilting, dolls, and books. I plan to show her how to find podcasts on these topics!

Podcasts

2007-10-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

My first experience with a podcast was the Helene Blowers' 23 Things for Managers. I see this technology becoming a part of everyday communication. I enjoyed Yahoo's Podcast search--did a search for classical music and found many interesting podcasts.

YouTube

2007-09-13T15:39:00.001-07:00

Just finished watching a video by the Denver Public Library advertising their Teen Summer Reading Program. Someone dressed up in a white cat costume danced around the library, hugged skateboarders, and climbed modern art sculpture. It was fun! And funny! Many people had added comments. This in contrast to some of the other more traditional videos I viewed on library services. No comments. Make it fun.

Google Maps

2007-09-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

I love the satellite view of the library. That's a great feature. Never thought I'd see the roof.

Online Productivity Tools

2007-09-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

I had heard about these tools before. They are useful because they free you from needing access to a certain program in order to create a document. Web access is much more universal then access to Word or Excel, particularly in the public library. And the tools are easy to use: the icons are recognizable, no training required, no long list of faqs to read.

Our 23 Things Wiki

2007-08-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Adding content to this wiki was surprisingly easy! I added a not very brilliant comment about wikis. I admire Infopeople for creating this wiki and putting what we've been learning to practical use.

Wikis

2007-08-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wikis are web sites that allow users to add content. One of the most famous examples is Wikipedia, which, fortunately or unfortunately, has become a popular reference tool. One of the most exciting wikis I've viewed so far is "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki" at www.libsuccess.org. This wiki comprehensively lists topics of interest to libraries from academic to public to special. Anyone can add to these topics but somehow the site remains clean, organized, and relevant. Coming from a public library, I found the information on patron behavior guidelines and unattended children/unattended adults in the children's room very helpful. Wikis are good tools for libraries and among the most practical of the web 2.0 technologies.

Web 2.0

2007-08-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

I found Walt Crawford's article very interesting. Of the different levels of enthusiasm over 2.0, I fall into the category of wanting to "attract new users within the framework of retaining the users who love what libraries currently do." Change is very good and necessary but change should also be tempered with reason and caution. Many of the web 2.0 tools are fun, funky, and should be added to library services. But added and interwoven as yet another service reaching out to the more tech minded of library users. No group should be excluded or marginalized for the sake of progress. Like that person who just wants a good book to read and could care less that the library offers IM reference.

Technorati

2007-08-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not fond of reading blogs (I don't expect anyone to read mine)! So Technorati is not a site I'll visit again. Technorati is for insomniacs and others who have more time than they know what to do with. The site is a compilation of blogs, videos, and music. There just isn't enough time in my life to read the news much less someone blogging about the coffee they enjoyed last night. So not a site I plan to remember.

Del.icio.us

2007-08-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

I've heard a lot of buzz about Del.icio.us and now know why! First off, the name is creative--I just can't always remember where to put the periods. But after dealing with that issue, the site itself is very useful. I can create a list of favorite sites, bookmark them, and then retrieve that list from any computer with Internet access. Del.icio.us also includes top sites that people have bookmarked; it's always interesting to see what other people find interesting. A very practical site--one of the most practical I've seen so far with the 23 Things.

Rollyo

2007-08-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Rollyo is a perfect example of 2.0 technology because it is customizable. My only experience with something similar is using advanced preferences in Google to include only certain domains in search results. Rollyo allows the user to cover only certain websites, divided by subject, in search results. These subjects are preset or customizable. For example, I used the key word "cinnamon" and searched using three different preset subject groupings: Health, Recipes, Celebrity Gossip. As you can imagine, the results were very different! An interesting search tool.

MySpace for Book People

2007-07-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

At first glance, Library Thing appears to be the ultimate book loving introvert's dream. Being able to catalog according to MARC standards, publishing a cataloged collection online, and gaining search capabilities all for a nominal fee are just a few of the reasons why this website is so popular.

But Library Thing is not just for the introverted! As I delved deeper into this site, I was surprised and pleased to find a vibrant social world. Library Thing enables people to form and join groups founded around common interests. And the groups are alive and happening!

I found one specific library related group (although I'm sure there are many more): "Wadsworth Public Library Teen Loft." This group encourages teens to share their thoughts about books and the library's services. This would be a great feature for a library to add to their site.

Online Image Generators

2007-07-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you've ever worked in the library, I'm sure you've experienced this picture! I could become addicted to using online image generators. One of my colleagues showed me how to save this image to my blog. This is silly and fun and great to laugh about in your office! A constructive use of venting!

Twitter: The Desire to Stay in Constant Touch

2007-07-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Twitter is an interesting site in that it demonstrates just how much people want to stay in communication with each other. People post messages to friends with twitter accounts and their messages are also displayed on Twitter's website. The messages are fairly trivial as they are limited to 140 characters.

I'm guessing that posting to Twitter adds importance to people's actions such as "drinking coffee and watching the sunset" or "just finished watching episode 8 of 24". People feel a sense of community, that someone cares about what they are doing, even if that person is a stranger.

Twitter would enhance a library website as a comment box: "please add more Nora Roberts' titles" or "an expresso machine in the lobby would be great." An interesting site! But not one I'd use personally.

Library Related Blogs

2007-06-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

The Infopeople Challenge, Step #8, encourages participants to subscribe to a library related blog and provides a link to Internet Public Library's list of these blogs. Sad to say, the library blogs were unanimously unappealing! At least to me. So I subscribed to a cooking blog instead. Zucchini and Chocolate is a blog that covers French cooking, living, and love for life. What could be better?!

RSS Feeds and Bloglines

2007-06-28T14:14:00.001-07:00

RSS Feeds is a new concept for me. I didn't realize how many Feeds there are out there. My experience has been keeping a list of my favorite sites and then visiting them when I have time. Now, with Bloglines, I can view content from my favorites easily and quickly. The only negative is the number of RSS Feeds that I want to subscribe to! And no time to keep up with them all! Bloglines is an easy way to manage these RSS Feeds. The registration is simple. I look forward to adding to my list of Feeds in the future using Bloglines. Still much to learn.

Libraries Using 2.0

2007-06-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

I visited the websites of several libraries that are utilizing 2.0 technology but was most impressed with PLCMC. The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County (PLCMC) offers an extensive summer reading program including "Relax and Read" for adults. This club enabled users to create an online reading log, view podcasts, and subscribe to RSS feeds about upcoming events at the library or new additions to the catalog. This is just one aspect of PLCMC's website that is impressive. The whole site is community minded--the library is represented as a community center for activities and interaction. The site's organization and focus represented the whole point of 2.0: user participation and empowerment. Libraries take note!

Flickr Mashups

2007-06-11T13:02:00.001-07:00

Flickr continues to amaze and delight--also educate. As part of InfoPeople's 23 things, I viewed Flickr's top ten mashups. What creativity! What craziness! In my opinion, the most creative, artistic mashup is Flickeur which combines photos and music to create a short movie. The most bizarre mashup (but strangely addicting) is Flickr Chia Pet. I now have a better understanding of Flickr and mashups. Best of all, though, is my growing appreciation of the ever evolving nature of the web fueled as it is by unlimited imagination.

Librarian Action Figures and Flickr

2007-06-05T09:07:00.001-07:00

Flickr is an amazing site! I've just returned from visiting Hawaii and touring Doris Duke's Shangri-La mansion. How fun to see pictures taken by people from all over the world of her home. But my favorite discovery was to find a Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure group. These creative, crazy people use Nancy as a prop for all sorts of situations.

Helene Blower's Webcast

2007-05-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

This blog was created to meet Infopeople's 23 Things Challenge course requirements. I approached viewing Helene Blower's webcast, Web 2.0: What Library Managers Need to Know, with excitement mixed with trepidation. Being a librarian, I love libraries but the technology side of the job is not my favorite. This webcast and the 23 Things Challenge is a great opportunity for me to learn in a structured, supportive environment. Perhaps I may learn to enjoy being lost in technology as much as I love being lost in the stacks!