23 Things - A Wrap-Up

I was really fortunate to be able to participate in 23 things. Before participating, I felt like I had heard about all the different tools and resources we explored, and I knew *basically* what they did, but I didn't really know how to go about exploring them. I love how this program provided tutorials as well as exercises that forced you to use the tools and thus really see how they work. I hope that the Frederick Participants program blog will stay up because it would be a really good reference to go back to in the future if I need to refresh myself on how to use some of the tools. I can also see how tools like wikis and Rollyo could be helpful to libraries. I was amazed how all of these tools are so multifunctional, in that they can be most effectively used in social and professional sphere.

I am really excited to be able to incorporate these tools into my professional and personal life and I thank you for the opportunity!

Audiobooks via Overdrive

I looked at Audiobooks through Overdrive through FCPL. When I first started working at the library, I was trained on ebooks and audiobooks available through NetLibrary and Overdrive, so I felt like I sort of knew what to expect. However, the last time I visited the site, I don't remember seeing any indication of whether the audiobook could be burned to CD or not. If you wanted to find this information, I feel like you had to pull up the record for each individual title. If this is a new feature, I think it's great! I saw that Pendragon Book 1: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale is available as an audiobook through Overdrive AND it is possible to burn this to a CD.

I am a huge fan of audiobooks, and I can't imagine life without them! I'm glad that there are services available that make additional copies of popular audiobooks available to patrons. I also briefly glanced over the audiobooks available on Project Gutenberg, and I was floored to see that there is a pretty good selection of audiobook resources available. I was impressed that this site offered audiobooks in different languages. It is important to know about this site because they have a lot of the classics on audiobooks, and this would be useful to recommend to patrons (perhaps students) who need access to the classics for schoolwork. This is especially useful in the public library setting if a lot of high school students in the county are assigned to read the same title, and all of the circulating copies are unavailable. Having the knowledge to be able to turn patrons to the resources of Overdrive and Project Gutenberg will help us really target and meet user needs.

Podcasts

I have been curious about subscribing to a certain podcast, but I didn't use any of the pre-supplied podcast directories to find it. Instead, I used the ALA homepage to search for the YALSA podcast, and from there I was able to link to the site where I could download these podcasts http://www.pod-serve.com/podcasts/show/yalsa-podcasts

I really had no idea how useful these podcasts could be for learning tips about the library field. I started listening to some of the YALSA podcasts, and they were not what I thought they would be at all. I'm glad I was able to add the feed to my Bloglines account. I was surprised because at first, I thought maybe they would be completely dedicated to advertising ALA programs, etc., but they're not. They provide practical advice and tips, as well as information about YALSA in general.

When I was looking at Yahoo Podcasts to see if I could also access the YALSA podcasts that way, I couldn't figure out how to get from the Yahoo Podcasts site to the YALSA podcast homepage and I found that a little discouraging. I think this is a great communication tool and I am eager to download some YALSA podcasts to my iPod. I think they will be a nice alternative to listening to music and they will help increase my awareness of issues in the young adult services field.

YouTube...and Jack Rabbit Bauer!

Is anyone else a fan of the show 24? I certainly am, and thus I was delighted to find this fun video available on YouTube. I was nervous about this video at first because I didn't see a disclaimer indicating that animals were NOT harmed in the making of this film...nor was there any indication that Jack Rabbit Bauer would emerge from his adventure unscathed. But hey- I took a chance and I think it's really a fun video to watch - so enjoy! :)




I think this site could definitely be useful for libraries. Thinking back a few posts about Library 2.0 and Rick Anderson's thoughts on "icebergs", I think we could use YouTube to educate patrons. We could create trainings on collection (or library) specific resources, or on how to go about using a certain tool or database. Also, I think we could use YouTube to publicize library-sponsored events, or events in which the library would participate. This could give patrons a taste of what they could experience when attending a program or event - kind of like a commercial.

I know this is kind of a stretch, but maybe even non-profit community groups like the Literacy council could create a short video using this technology to encourage volunteers to participate in the community outreach activities. I think this tool could provide a nice interactive dimension to libraries' communications with their patrons and interactions with their communities.

Web 2.0 awards explorations

I chose to look at a site from the category of "City Guides and Reviews". I am already familiar with Yelp.com, so I decided to look at Judy's Book, http://www.judysbook.com. This site provides users with access to information about sales both online and from local retailers. To get local retail information, users enter their city and state or their zip code.

I entered the terms "Frederick, MD", and got 7,905 results. Under the "Types" feature, you can sort your deals by type, and I sorted mine by "in-store deals". What I didn't realize when I first went to the site was that most of the deals were from major (or at least bigger) chain retailers. I thought maybe there would be some information about actual local, non-chain retailers, who maybe do not have a web presence. You can also filter the results by store, and by tag. I found the tags sorting feature to be more useful than sorting by store, because stores like Target have a lot of different departments and a variety of products, unlike stores like The Camera Shop. By looking at the tags, I could see which deals were related specifically to things like "back to school" stuff.

I was a little disappointed that a lot of the deals were really for online shopping. I thought that the advertised "local" component was even a little more misleading because of this. I still would (and plan to) use this site though. I especially like how this site has a listing of store deals, as WELL as coupon codes. Some of the coupon sites I go to have not been very useful, but this site seems to be very legitimate and I think that coupon codes from here would be current too.

I think this particular resource may not be as useful for libraries as would a review site, such as Yelp. On the listing of Web 2.0 awards, I feel that Judy's Book may have been more aptly placed under the category "Shopping" as opposed to "City Guides & Reviews".

Test document _23 things

This is just a test document. I'm experimenting with fonts® and symbols. It's cool that you can insert emoticons in these documents as well! I can't do that in Microsoft Office. I just inserted a picture of a fish that came with computer, but I can't figure out how to get the cursor to move below the image.

 

Oh here we go. It was easier after I shrank the image.

I like that I can insert a table into the document as in Microsoft Word. I really enjoy the table drawing feature where you can click on the number of columns and rows you want for the table, instead of having to type in the numbers.

Deleting columns and rows is pretty easy too.

Zoho Writer and Google Docs

In my spring '07 semester of school, I used Google Docs as a collaborative tool with other classmates with whom I was working on a project. We were all enrolled in an online course for which we needed to submit a paper, so Google Docs was invaluable in allowing us to complete this assignment with ease. This was my first experience with Google Docs, so I really enjoyed the experience AFTER I learned how to navigate and use it. Since I've used Google Docs before, I decided to try something new now and to explore Zoho Writer.

Overall, Zoho Writer was really easy to use, and I posted (hopefully successfully) my test document to my blog, so reference that if you want to see some of my thoughts on the tool!

Maryland Libraries Sandbox

I just added my blog to the Sandbox and then added two posts to two of the Favorite's pages. I added the "Uglies" by Scott Westerfield entry to the "Favorite Books" page and the "Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy" by Lynley Dodd entry to the "Favorite Children's Books" page.

I'm already familiar with the pbwiki.com blogs because we set one up in my last class for students to use to collocate notes from lectures, write-ups of presentations, etc. It was pretty useful. I really liked all of the "Favorites" pages that you could edit on the Maryland wiki though. It really gave me a visual of how many different people from different libraries were participating in this across Maryland. There was a "Pets" page, and it was cool to see that other people in the same profession love their dogs as much as I do and want to post their pictures! It really DID foster and create a sense of community and shared experiences for me.

Wikis

I looked at two wikis: the BookLovers wiki (from the Princeton Public Library) and the SJCPL Subject Guides wiki (from the St Joseph's County Public Library system).

BookLovers Wiki

What a great idea to use a wiki for patrons to post book reviews! I initially was curious as to how libraries could use wikis, because they wouldn't be able to control the information posted. For example, if they were advertising a class, anyone could create and post information that said that the class had been cancelled, even if that wasn't true. After I read that some places can restrict content, I began to see how libraries could use this tool to post information about classes, library news etc. For example, on the BookLovers wiki, there is information about other "events" held at the library (i.e., "NoveList and Other Cool Tools for finding HOT Summer Reads" class). While the proprietors of the wiki may not permit patrons access information to updating class information, they seem to be really open to any and all book reviews patrons want to post. Of course they reserve the right not to post anything with offensive language, but it seems like they are posting anything they get, which really helps create a sense of community sharing in their summer reading program, as enhanced by this wiki.

Subject Guides Wiki
I really liked how this wiki is used as a supplement to the library's catalog. For each topic, there is an area that is devoted to "Our collection", and collection specific resources. There are also community links and information under the "Arts & Entertainment" link. I also think that like so many other public library-sponsored websites, this wiki has a lot of information that could be useful to researchers or users of information in general. For example, under the "Biography & Memoir" section, there is information that serves to define the differences between biographies, autobiographies, memoirs and journals / diaries. This information could be useful to anyone, one of the only problems would be is finding access to this information. For example, a patron in Frederick County, may not even be aware that there is a such a public library system as Saint Joseph's, and thus would not even know that this useful information is collocated in one place. However, I think public library systems in general could benefit from looking at other systems' wikis and seeing the type of information that is available. It would be neat to establish a nationwide public library system wiki to link all of these useful pieces of information. I wonder if that will ever be a possibility in the future?

I think these two wikis demonstrated how wikis can be used for specific things, like for promoting or providing a different dimension to a reading program, or for a supplement to a library catalog, or even the library's homepage. With the information about access to not only books in the collection, but also community resources and database links, I felt that the St. Joseph's wiki almost seemed like a pseudo main homepage for a library.

Thoughts on "Away from Icebergs"

I read the perspective on "Away from Icebergs" by Rick Anderson. Anderson feels that there are 3 "icebergs" in the paths of even the most well-intentioned librarians, that could prevent us from most effectively serving our patrons in the future.

The first iceberg is "The just in case collection". Anderson believes that trying to stock a library with print resources that anticipate a patrons every whim and need is a futile task. He points out that patrons are going to (if they already don't) expect electronic and online access to everything. It sounds like Anderson feels that since they're (patrons) are going to expect unfettered access, we should forget print and instead focus on providing unfettered access to electronic resources. Personally, I am on the fence about this. As a student, I cannot express how grateful I am to be able to access scholarly resources online, even in the middle of the night. However, for some information resources, even though I have online access to them, I definitely prefer looking at the print resource component because it is easier for me not to lose my place when I'm looking in a book. I can flip back and forth more easily between pages, and I think that even in the future, some patrons may still want this flexibility.

The second iceberg Anderson talks about is "reliance on user education". I was a little confused by this point because Anderson says that "We need to focus our efforts not on teaching research skills, but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information that they need." Anderson gives the example of teaching them how to navigate "lousy search interfaces" as an example of a "barrier". However, I fail to see how a search interface can be considered a "barrier" if we are supposing that most of the collection is going to be available electronically. If we were talking about a print collection, maybe a barrier would be not having a way to physically access the library. When we're talking about an online collection though, a search interface (and lousy ones at that) don't seem to be as much of a barrier, as a research skill. In library school they teach us about aspects of search engines in general and how to look for and exploit them in the research process. Thus, learning how to approach different interfaces becomes part of the research process. I just think its important that we identify navigating search engines as a research skill that we need to teach to patrons because as we increasingly rely on electronic resources, it is going to be this "skill" of navigating different interfaces that helps them with the research process.

The third and final iceberg Anderson identifies is, "The 'come to us' model of library service". I think Anderson is right on target with this notion. In terms of libraries of the future, if people have unfettered access to everything they need right at home, then why come to the library? Virtual branches of libraries may provide electronic access to books, magazine subscriptions, etc., and thus people may not need to physically set foot in the library to access these resources. However, I still think the library will exist as a "place" where people can go to find a peaceful environment where they can do their work, etc. Sometimes people need to get away from the distractions of home or work to get things accomplished and I think the library has been, and will continue to be a necessary place in that respect.

Technorati

I'd never heard of Technorati before this. I did the search for "Learning 2.0" in the blog posts, tags and blog directory and I did find different results. The search for blog posts searched for my search terms within the blog posts. I had a little more trouble figuring out what the difference was between the tag search and the blog directory search, because even though different results were appearing, I wasn't sure how they were that different. Studying the search interface provided some clues, as the "tag" search searches "posts, photos and links" on the terms, and the "directory" just searches blogs on the topic. My understanding is that the blog directory search is different than the blog post search because the directory search seems to search predetermined categories of blogs.

Looking at the "Top Favorited Blogs", I thought it was funny that the Boing Boing blog was given a "top award at the 2006 Bloggies ceremony". Anyways, I thought it was interesting to see what types of things people were searcing for in blogs, and what people were "favoriting". I really thought the "Top Blogs" were the most interesting though, because of how they highlighted the use of the "Authority" feature, which gives you the number of blogs linking to a website. I thought that this could be a really useful tool, for example, if you wanted to become more informed of upcoming technology trends and you don't know where people are getting the information, you could use Technorati to see to which pages a lot of people are linking.

Del.icio.us

I really like Del.icio.us, and I can see how this would be useful for research purposes, especially collaborative research, or maybe for those who telecommute or participate in online learning. I know that some libraries have sections with links that cover resources patrons may find useful for a myriad of purposes (homework help, restaurant reviews, book clubs), and I can see where this would be really useful and an innovative way for libraries to reach patrons. Setting up an account with del.icio.us was easier than I thought it was going to be. I initially had some trouble figuring out what I was looking at when reviewing the PLCMCL2 account, but after I set up an account of my own, it was easier for me to understand what I was looking at. One of the girls in my last class used del.icio.us to organize the links she needed for doing her research paper, and I can see where this makes a lot of sense. My del.icio.us page is http://del.icio.us/MissMelissy

Rollyo

First of all, how is this pronounced? Is it pronounced as "Roll-yo" or as "Rolli-o"? Regardless, for some reason I have this overwhelming urge to continuously pronounce it "Rolli-olli", which makes me feel like I am talking about a new breed of pasta, but makes me smile nonetheless:)

Anyways, here is a genuine, Melissa-created search engine:

http://rollyo.com/mesnyder/exercise_dvd_reviews/

This task was surprisingly easier than I originally anticipated. It was quite easy to figure out the purpose of this tool, and I can see where I would turn to this site if I needed to do some targeted searching. However, I feel that the sheer volume of available search engines kind of mandate that you do some work beforehand and explore the different website combinations that form some of these engines. For example, if there are 15 search engines on topic x, there are bound to be repeat sites, but also some serious duds. If this was to be used in a professional setting, I think it would be helpful to come up with a list of reliable Rollyo search engines with two evaluation components: an evaluation of the independent sites that comprise the search engine, and an evaluation of the search engine as a whole.

Library Thing

So I just experimented with Library Thing and I like it. I think it will be really useful for when I'm browsing at the library or bookstore and I can't remember what books I already own. I really like how you can just add the books using a title, etc. This makes the tool more appealing to me because I don't have to be physically handling the book to enter it into my catalog. In some cases however (when an image of a particular cover was lacking), I had trouble figuring out which edition of the book I owned. The tool seems very forgiving and allows you to edit and delete with ease, features which also appeal to me. I can see where this tool would be helpful in fostering a sense of interconnectedness and specialized communication between people, regardless of their location, age or social status. What better way to do this than by connecting people through books and reading! :)

Avatar Fun!

I had so much fun with Avatar. I found this to be very easy and a lot of fun. I think I'm going to make one for my husband. I just wish they had a boxer dog as one of the pet options, but a bulldog is halfway there.

I think this is a great tool - especially for teens. This allows for many possibilities of self-expression. There are a wide variety of accessories, clothing options, facial options, etc. ( I only wish you were able to select your own shoes!)

As soon as I was done creating my image, I tried to figure out how to load it onto my blog. On the yahoo site, I couldn't find info on how to do that. I clicked on a given option to see more questions asked by other avatar users, and from these answers, it seemed that avatars can only be used through yahoo based tools and services. I then went over to Meez.com to try to create a similar image there, but I did not like the clothing options or facial options as much.

I was saving my yahoo avatar and by pure luck I saw the info on how to "export" it. I'm glad I did because I really like that I could include a dog in the picture with me:)

At long last...

Bloglines

Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Adding feeds is an addictive (yet very fun!) thing to do. I just experimented with Bloglines and before I knew it, I had subscribed to 25 feeds! I think what did it is the listing given when you register, that gives you the opportunity to sign up for a bundle of feeds based on your interests. Shopping? Sure! Dogs? Why not? Bookworms? That's me. And before I knew it, my first step when activating my Bloglines account was to clean out and trash some of the feeds. I wonder if this sheds any insight into why I find myself constantly waging an uphill battle against the clutter in my house... :)

As I sorted through some of these pre-bundled feeds, I realized that while this service may be convenient, upon further inspection, the feeds weren't exactly what I thought they would be. I appreciate efforts to make life easier by making these suggestions, but it may have been more helpful to include annotations of some kind with the feeds in the pre-bundled packages. At first, I also stumbled when trying to link the feeds that had the little orange box icon to Bloglines. I knew I needed to link them to my blog, and that I didn't want to organize them in the default Microsoft folder from my browser. It took me a few tries to figure this out, but now I am more confident and I'm gearing up to become a feed-subscribing fiend :)

Anyways, here is the link to my Bloglines account ( I hope this works!):
http://www.bloglines.com/public/mesnyder

My Digital Camera

I love my digital camera. My affinity is not just related to the tools provided by the Internet and technology, such as Flickr or Picasa. While these tools are great to share pictures taken, I love that a digital camera allows you to take essentially an unlimited amount of pictures. Of course there is the issue of running out of memory, but with a digital camera you can erase and re-take pictures. It gives you a lot of freedom, and it allows you to take pictures of things you may have passed on photographing before because of the capacity limitations of regular photo film. Digital cameras have not only made it easy to use Flickr and other tools, but they have encouraged people to take pictures of anything -even the most ordinary scenes, settings, and subjects-, and these ordinary subjects then have the potential to become some of the most thought-provoking objects of discussion as well.

Flickr's Retrievr

I experimented with the third party application entitled "retrievr". This application allows you to draw / sketch an image of what you are looking for, and as you add to the sketch, images that seem similar to your sketch are pulled up for you to view. I, apparently, am not a very skilled artist. I tried a couple of times to draw a dog, but the images that were pulled up were of birds, and even some completely weird cartoon alien-type image: Picasso, I am not :) Finally, my efforts did result in a few dog images (though again, they were also mostly cartoon-like in nature). I had a lot of fun experimenting with this. I think it would be helpful for finding images that have very basic shapes and forms, because I found the drawing utensils to not be especially strong in terms of their precision and ability to represent details.

Model Covered Bridge

Covered model bridge
Originally uploaded by MelissaS4282

This was an interesting process. I felt like I had to go through the Google/Flickr blog set-up process about 3 times before I actually got this to post. The instructions for how to set up everything were really easy to follow, and though the process was repetitive, I understood why I needed to go through all of the steps to get it set up. I love that I can post to my blog directly from Flickr. I think that is very encouraging for people who want to blog about photos.

So I'm doing this kind of backwards....

Ok, so here are my thoughts for week 2. After serious deliberation about the 7.5 habits, I have determined the following:

Easiest Habit
Begin with the end in mind

I think this is the easiest for me because once I set a goal, or set out to do something, I have no problem pushing myself to get it done, because I refuse to accept anything less than that for myself.



Most Difficult Habit
The confidence thang

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I want to do everything as thoroughly and perfectly as possible rather than just an "okay" job at something. It's something I'm still working on. I'm constantly reminding myself that when I do make a mistake, my course of action is to fix the problem to the best of my ability and just move on (i.e., Problem: I've managed to kill all of my potted plants two summers in a row. Solution: Fake plants now represent the majority of vegetation in my household.)

Introducing....

Walker: The BIC (Boxer-in-Charge)