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.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
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.
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.
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.
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
Monday, August 6, 2007
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.
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! :)
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