Well, I'm done with the 23 things. I can't say I learned a whole lot aside from growing comfortable with RSS feeds, which I had a pathological aversion to in the past.
The staff more or less split in my building in their reaction to the 23 things. It more or less came down to those who were already comfortable with technology, and thus were engaged, and those that weren't, who to this day haven't gotten much farther than getting their blog set up.
I have to say that the Blog exercise was a hit. Everybody was just thrilled about the blog thing, what they could do, and what others did with theirs. Interest in the 23 things tapered off after that, and became more of a chore than a fun learning exercise.
To this end I think those in power could have tried to sell the program better, and to get the staff more excited about it. There were many, and will continue to be many, who just aren't interested in technology, belong to an older generation, or are just not motivated, and this (argueably sizable,) portion of the staff will very skeptical of supposed benefits from these 23 things.
This is not to say that the 23 things were in vain. Nay! They were/are a noble effort, and one that I applaud. Progress is progress, right? Furthermore, I'm not sure how I would get said group interested in this sort of thing in the first place. But, the problem is there none the less.
I hope that this exercise has given the powers that be more interest in useing these tools in our workplace. I daresay we're slightly behind the curve as far as libraries go and Web 2.0. This was a step towards that goal, and I hope it is achieved one day.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Overdrive
This is an interesting little feature we have. It's interesting to see the format of their catalog is similar to ours, so naturally I assumed it was a subset of our catalog and one could find this downloadable content in our catalog.
But, one would be wrong. It's a shame. I wish our catalog could interface with more content that we offer, like the netlibrary, for instance. I do know we have a whole bunch of reference books that are available in the catalog, which is a step, but I wish that the catalog could be the one-stop-shop for "do we have access to this book/material/something that isn't an article."
But, it was interesting to see it again, (as I'd briefly explored it when it was first introduced,) and to see how the collection has grown.
But, one would be wrong. It's a shame. I wish our catalog could interface with more content that we offer, like the netlibrary, for instance. I do know we have a whole bunch of reference books that are available in the catalog, which is a step, but I wish that the catalog could be the one-stop-shop for "do we have access to this book/material/something that isn't an article."
But, it was interesting to see it again, (as I'd briefly explored it when it was first introduced,) and to see how the collection has grown.
Podcasts
I actually already subscribe to several podcasts, all from NPR. I've yet to find one that seemed worth listening to, as others just seemed to be a Web 2.0 equivalent of talk radio, which I'm not particularly interested in.
But, I did enjoy this Podcast Ally website, and will peruse some podcasts that caught my eye when I get home.
Also, I don't like Bloglines, and I don't use it anymore. I do enjoy the google reader, however, but I'm not sure that that will support podcasts. So, I'll use the program that came with my mp3 player on my home PC.
But, I did enjoy this Podcast Ally website, and will peruse some podcasts that caught my eye when I get home.
Also, I don't like Bloglines, and I don't use it anymore. I do enjoy the google reader, however, but I'm not sure that that will support podcasts. So, I'll use the program that came with my mp3 player on my home PC.
YouTube
I'm fairly familiar with YouTube, although I certainly don't use it every day or even every week. I did once watch a documentary from the BBC about that crazy Fred Phelps family and the Westborough Baptist Church completely on YouTube. I'll have to look for more documentaires sometime.
But, the video I'm going to share with you today is a favorite of mine, and was a bit of a cult-hit.
Shoes!
But, the video I'm going to share with you today is a favorite of mine, and was a bit of a cult-hit.
Shoes!
SEOmoz's Web 2.0 Awards and Online Productivity.
This week, (even though I'm a few weeks behind,) we learned about online productivity tools like GoogleDocs and various websites featured on this SEOmoz Web 2.0 Awards list. We were told to go to this Zoho writer thingie, but I wasn't a fan of it. I'm not sure why we were sent there when Google has a perfectly good application available. Perhaps it didn't work well on the network or something. But, then again, the Zoho thing crashed on me a couple times as well.
I suppose it will remain a mystery. Didn't learn anything new there, but it was interesting enough.
The second part of this week's activities did make me think a little! We were told to go to this Web 2.0 Awards website, but the site was down. Most people would have given up, but I thought that since this is such an active website, google surely has a copy backed up! So, I searched for it on google, and found the cached copy, which worked well enough. They had a whole list of all sorts of categories, but the only one that caught my eye was an online desktop. Not really knowing what that was, I figured I'd explore that. Turns out it's a fancy virtual desktop. The browser window opens up to a full screen and simulates the look and feel of a desktop. One can type things, do a spreadsheet, play games, message, and email all within this web application. I did try to browse within the browser, (getting a little complicated here,) but the filter kicked in and said it was an anonymizer. I disabled it for a little while, but it still didn't work well. Alas. It was in alpha, to it's defense.
But, another website I came across, not on the list I think, was this website called drop.io . One can upload documents, call into the server and leave mp3 messages, and all sorts of file storing/sharing/sending things, all without making an account! The best thing of all, however, is that one may fax something anywhere in the US for FREE!
So go check it out. drop.io
I suppose it will remain a mystery. Didn't learn anything new there, but it was interesting enough.
The second part of this week's activities did make me think a little! We were told to go to this Web 2.0 Awards website, but the site was down. Most people would have given up, but I thought that since this is such an active website, google surely has a copy backed up! So, I searched for it on google, and found the cached copy, which worked well enough. They had a whole list of all sorts of categories, but the only one that caught my eye was an online desktop. Not really knowing what that was, I figured I'd explore that. Turns out it's a fancy virtual desktop. The browser window opens up to a full screen and simulates the look and feel of a desktop. One can type things, do a spreadsheet, play games, message, and email all within this web application. I did try to browse within the browser, (getting a little complicated here,) but the filter kicked in and said it was an anonymizer. I disabled it for a little while, but it still didn't work well. Alas. It was in alpha, to it's defense.
But, another website I came across, not on the list I think, was this website called drop.io . One can upload documents, call into the server and leave mp3 messages, and all sorts of file storing/sharing/sending things, all without making an account! The best thing of all, however, is that one may fax something anywhere in the US for FREE!
So go check it out. drop.io
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wikis
So this week we learned about Wikis. I've often used Wikipedia as a starting point in researching something I know absolutely nothing about, but I've never really thought of them as a resource for anything else. I see now that I was wrong!
The website that I found most interesting was the best practices Wiki. It's interesting to see what these people like and recommend versus what my experience has been in the three systems I've worked in, at least to my knowledge. Right now I'm looking at the article regarding OPACs, which seem to interest me.
I suppose the event wikis are also of value, if only because it's probably easier to set them up with the wiki template than coding a brand new website each time, plus we have the added benefit of a familiar user interface.
Adding something to the PBCLS wiki wasn't particularly exciting. I added a link to my blog here, no big deal there.
The website that I found most interesting was the best practices Wiki. It's interesting to see what these people like and recommend versus what my experience has been in the three systems I've worked in, at least to my knowledge. Right now I'm looking at the article regarding OPACs, which seem to interest me.
I suppose the event wikis are also of value, if only because it's probably easier to set them up with the wiki template than coding a brand new website each time, plus we have the added benefit of a familiar user interface.
Adding something to the PBCLS wiki wasn't particularly exciting. I added a link to my blog here, no big deal there.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Library 2.0
This 23 things concept has not been received well by many staff members. Some have given up entirely, some are woefully behind, and some are just plain lost. When I first heard that administration was starting this, I was rather excited. The staff could use the skills which are being taught in an effort to become a more "2.0" place. I wish more of them could read, and also understand, the concepts discussed in the articles presented this week. I've been attempting to justify why we should be learning these things by simply saying that the skills are useful unto themselves, while knowing myself that these skills are essential to a more "2.0" library experience.
But, change is slow, and I hope our system catches up someday.
As you might have guessed, I read those articles, and it is stuff like this that makes me excited about librarianship. I'm not particularly thrilled about learning about legacy librarianship skills, like recalling which particular book will answer a type of question, but more how to handle future scenarios like those discussed in these articles. How to provide service better, how to shape our metadata, how to anticipate future needs, how to focus the collection. These are all interesting and though provoking questions that I look forward to answering, (given the opportunity,) in my soon to be illustrious career.
One could go on and on about the Library 2.0 concept and what it means to them, but the specific idea that I particularly like is the idea of a collection that thrusts itself into the daily habits of the populace. I'm thinking small collections in retail situations, much like a Starbucks has an outpost in a Super-Target, why not have a small in-demand collection next door? Bring the library to the populace, instead of making them come to us, as one article discussed. I hope to see this concept in place sooner or later, I know some systems already have experimented with it.
Other than Library 2.0, this week we discussed Del.icio.us, which is a useful site if one bookmarks scads of pages. I don't. What might be useful is if the library system created one for staff, or even patron, usage, instead of maintaining a static html sytle list, (not even Xhtml, please!)
Also discussed was Technorati. I'd heard of it before, but was never particularly interested since I had thought one had to somehow "prove" oneself to a particular audience to gain Technorati status. I thought it was some sort of pseudo-club. Seems I'm wrong! I suppose it's good for people really into blogging. Again, I'm not.
Good week, if only for those articles. I wish all the articles on Web/Library 2.0 were as succinct.
But, change is slow, and I hope our system catches up someday.
As you might have guessed, I read those articles, and it is stuff like this that makes me excited about librarianship. I'm not particularly thrilled about learning about legacy librarianship skills, like recalling which particular book will answer a type of question, but more how to handle future scenarios like those discussed in these articles. How to provide service better, how to shape our metadata, how to anticipate future needs, how to focus the collection. These are all interesting and though provoking questions that I look forward to answering, (given the opportunity,) in my soon to be illustrious career.
One could go on and on about the Library 2.0 concept and what it means to them, but the specific idea that I particularly like is the idea of a collection that thrusts itself into the daily habits of the populace. I'm thinking small collections in retail situations, much like a Starbucks has an outpost in a Super-Target, why not have a small in-demand collection next door? Bring the library to the populace, instead of making them come to us, as one article discussed. I hope to see this concept in place sooner or later, I know some systems already have experimented with it.
Other than Library 2.0, this week we discussed Del.icio.us, which is a useful site if one bookmarks scads of pages. I don't. What might be useful is if the library system created one for staff, or even patron, usage, instead of maintaining a static html sytle list, (not even Xhtml, please!)
Also discussed was Technorati. I'd heard of it before, but was never particularly interested since I had thought one had to somehow "prove" oneself to a particular audience to gain Technorati status. I thought it was some sort of pseudo-club. Seems I'm wrong! I suppose it's good for people really into blogging. Again, I'm not.
Good week, if only for those articles. I wish all the articles on Web/Library 2.0 were as succinct.
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