Finally, it's over!

I enjoyed learn and play for the most part. Somewhere in the middle of it I started feeling like each new web 2.0 thing was just another variation on the theme, and I can't imagine using everything we learned. I'd be on the computer all day! But I think it was helpful to find what technologies/websites work for you, personally. My favorite "things" were, You Tube, Flickr, Library Thing, wikis, google docs and image generators.
Yes, I would participate in another discovery exercise!

MOLDI

MOLDI is an interesting concept. How nice it would be to borrow audio books without leaving the comfort of your own home! The major drawback is (was) that it is not currently compatible with iPods. I mean, really, who listens to audio books at their computer?! I understand, however, that starting November 10th, MOLDI will be compatible with your iPod!!! Hurray!! That's great news, maybe I'll actually use it now.

My other comment is that the selection is not great. Shouldn't an online library have unlimited items? And why are there a limited number of copies for some titles, so that you have to place a reserve on them?

Podcast, podcast, podcast!

I played around with the podcast directories, but had a little trouble finding what I wanted because there were so many to sort through and I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted. I did, however, subscribe to one through itunes from home. It was very easy and convenient to do. I think libraries will use this technology more in the future, maybe to keep employees informed of the latest changes that are always happening around the "L."

You Tube

When You Tube started becoming more popular, I was initially skeptical. I mean, what a waste of time, and my kids loved it. Well, I've come to love You Tube, too. Just about anything you can think of has been posted. I've found videos of my high school marching band, clips from old tv shows, how to knit instructions, and videos from Cedar Point in the 70's to mention just a few. I also find it useful to watch news items or really anything that has been talked about in the news.

Did you ever think you'd see this classic commercial again?

CML power tools

Stumble upon seems like a really neat way to keep up with interesting websites. How cool that it becomes more personalized to your tastes the more you use it. But I still question how useful it is to sign up for numerous web 2.0 apps. I think after awhile you would be spending more time browsing and updating your sites and that seems like a waste of time.
I do like the power tools page on the cml homepage as an introduction to web 2.0 for many of our cutomers, but why is it not more prominently displayed?

Web 2.0 Tools

I looked at Yelp, a wiki for reviewing local establishments for this "thing." I like the idea of regular people rating local restaurants and businesses. This could be very helpful for travelers or newcomers to the area, and you can search for any city in the U.S.

Google Docs

I have heard of Google Docs before, but haven't really played around with it much. After doing so, I think it's a great idea and could be useful in a library. We could create reader's advisory lists, and each staff member could edit them according to books they know.
I also think it would be great for those hand-passed sign-ups for potlucks or going away parties...

Learn and Play Wiki

I had a little trouble adding my blog to the Favorite Blogs on the CML Learn & Play wiki, but I finally figured it out. I think the directions were not very helpful or clear. Was this just me, or did anyone else think this too? It's actually very simple once you know how. It was kind of fun having the power to edit the page.

Wikibrary

The idea of wikis used in libraries is interesting. I think, however, we should be careful with what we let the general public edit. After all, people come to libraries and library websites for accurate information, and even the most well-meaning customer could edit something with incorrect information. On the other hand, it could be helpful for some things. What if our customers could post reviews of books they've read on our catalog? That would be a neat reader's advisory tool that we wouldn't need to upkeep at all. Imagine being able to see what others thought of a book you are considering reading, just like Amazon or Library Thing. Librarians could even promote certain books by leaving a review.

Library 2.0

Dr. Wendy Schultz comments on Library 2.0 and where we will go after that in "To a temporary place in time." For me it is hard to imagine what will come next, as technologies are constantly changing. Who would have thought 30 years ago that we would rely so heavily on computers today. 20 years ago, who would have been able to picture the internet, email, and mp3 players? And just 10 years ago--Web 2.0? What's that?!

I liked what she says about Library 2.0 "the library is everywhere, barrier-free, and participatory." I think barrier-free is the key here--Library 2.0 and beyond will continue to break down the barriers between people and the information that they seek.

Social Bookmarking is Delicious!

After looking around on Delicious, I think this could be a very useful tool for libraries in the 21st century. Great news for readers advisory--just look at what other people have tagged. I also love the idea of web-based personal bookmarks that can be accessed from any computer you use, anywhere.

Twitter

Twitter--I'm not really seeing the point. Do I really want other people to know what I'm doing 24/7? Do I care what other people are doing 24/7? This reminds me of teenagers who text each other (and run up their phone bills) texting things like What r u doing? and OMG, how R U?
Seems pointless to me. But that's just me.

Check out what I'm doing on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/jewly1

I'm a Library Thing

I'll admit, this "thing" was an easy one for me. I've known about Library Thing for some time and this summer I signed up and catalogued all of the books that I have read over the past few years. My husband saw how incredibly fun this was and he is now a member, too (with more books entered than me!).
I could see this being very helpful for librarians as a reader's advisory tool. For example, that co-worker who knows every sci-fi title ever written when your experience with that genre is almost nonexistent? No problem, just check their library thing book shelves!
Check out my Library Thing catalog:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/julie555

Oh, the possibilities...

So far I like this week's "things" better than last week's. Image generators are fun...I have played around with some and liked Letter James. If only I were more creative, I could have a blast with this, but this was all I could come up with.

Here's the link:

http://www.letterjames.com/start.php?mod=image-personalization

Finding Feeds

Finding feeds was a little more difficult for me. Mostly what I did was manually subscribe by cutting and pasting from a website or clicking on the little orange icon. I haven't been too successful searching and looking for other feeds. I found the search tools somewhat confusing, but I think I'll play around with it more next week.

Really Simple RSS (yeah, right!)

Hooray, I've finally learned what those little orange RSS feed icons are for! Setting up the bloglines account and subscribing to feeds was not that difficult, but I found myself wondering...why? What is the point? Maybe I just don't have enough sites that i check on a regular basis to make it worth it. However, I think this could be a great thing for librarians to keep up with new releases, book trends, authors, etc.

Vancouver, here I come....

magazine1225010
Originally uploaded by jewly1

Okay, so the summer Olympics just ended and we all had a bit of Olympic fever for a few weeks. Good news: the winter games in 2010 are only 18 months away! I had fun playing with Flickr to create this futuristic magazine cover.

I find it amazing that it is so easy to create something like this today, when not that many years ago this would have been a very complicated, time consuming and expensive task.

Skate for Hope

Skate for Hope
Originally uploaded by jewly1

This Saturday my daughter will be participating in the 5th annual Skate for Hope at Nationwide Arena. A $15 ticket will let you see over 100 local skaters and several Olympic and National Champions. All proceeds go to breast cancer research, and each skater has raised at least $350 to participate. This is a great cause, and the local skaters involved have a great time performing in Nationwide Arena and meeting the stars.

Visit the website at www.skateforhope.org for more info.

A little help from Technology

Okay, so I've decided to use technology to update my blog. How much easier could it be than to subscribe to Merriam-Webster's word of the day and cut and paste from the email? After all, it was pretty tedious to open the dictionary every day or so and type in the definition...

Today's word is trepidation:
Meaning
: timorous uncertain agitation : apprehension

Lifelong learning

For me, the hardest of the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners is certainly the first one, begin with an end in mind. Frequently my learning is connected to my interests. If something catches my interest, I am likely to seek more knowledge about it. However, a clear end is not always in sight, and I may wander from my original idea or it may turn into something completely different.

The easiest for me is using technology to my advantage. I think it is fascinating that at 3 in the morning if you suddenly want to know more about the life cycle of a flea, a quick google search will put more information that you ever wanted to know at your fingertips.

Today's random word is circulation:

1: orderly movement through a circuit; especially : the movement of blood through the vessels of the body induced by the pumping action of the heart2: flow3 a: passage or transmission from person to person or place to place; especially : the interchange of currency b: the extent of dissemination: as (1): the average number of copies of a publication sold over a given period (2): the total number of items borrowed from a library


Hmmm...what a fitting word for a library employee!

Quiet, please!

Today's word is:

tacet - to be silent - used as a direction in music for a part to be silent through a movement or a section.

August 15, 2008

Here is my blog, with a random word of the day from Webster's Third New International Dictionary.


Today's word:


kinkaider - a settler on free land in Nebraska under terms of the Kinkaid Act in 1904 which allowed each bona fide settler 640 acres upon payment of a filing fee of 14 dollars.