30-For real...I'm done?

So this is it, the race is over. I'm glad, now I can just play as I have time. I have gained a good deal more information from this experience mostly about how library's are grappling with Web 2.0 issues and how or if to incorporate them...the answer is yes. I've also encountered some fun new toys to play with. It's been encouraging and enlightening to read articles from people who aren't afraid of new technology. I guess all technology was new at some point. I've enjoyed seeing how others have used and implemented some of the tools, software and such for WEB 2.0 either personally or in a job related way. Nothing unexpected happened. I expected to learn about some new stuff and I did. This was a huge undertaking for a first of it's kind training like this. It was done and executed as well as it could've been I believe but as with all new endeavors there is room for improvement. Sometimes the instructions on how to do something didn't include every step...that is frustrating. Not being able to get to all the resources from every computer was frustrating. Needing more than 30 minutes for a "thing" was frustrating. I consider myself to be a competent techy person someone who is above average in my knowledge but not extremely tech savvy. My level of techiness is different from others so maybe if there were fewer "things" but with varying levels of tech skill required those who already have the basics don't get bored but the newbies don't get overwhelmed and the people like me can stay superficial or really dive into something they find interesting. I know a lot of people who just gave up becuase they were overwhelmed and frustrated. I really enjoyed this training and hopefully will begin to put it to good use in my work life and not just my personal life. I would certainly take another training like this again. It can only get better right?

29-My Learning 2.0 Experience

I guess what I found to be the most fun was using the Flickr spell tool and also finding the other fun tools that bighugelab offers as well as seeing what sites won the Web 2.0 awards. As for how this experience has assisted or affected my life-long learning? I'm not sure but it has opened my eyes to what other libraries out there are doing and it has gotten my brain churning with ideas about how to use some of this cool stuff personally and in my job. Additionally, I think I will be someone who is a somewhat distant observer of the techy world, never being on the cutting edge but following with what becomes mainstream. I like techy stuff but on a very superficial level. I noticed in looking at other co-workers blogs that they've really taken to this stuff some even have the 30things as just a side line in their blog. Good, that means there will always be someone to go to when I have a techy question.

28-Rollyo...me no likey

I guess I'm not the target audience for Rollyo. I did not find that it was anything I am interested in doing and I don't see how it would help me. I like my delicious and that's about it. Maybe because I don't do a lot of searching on one particular subject. That seems to be the appeal of Rollyo. If I'm searching for something I suppose I could go to Rollyo and see if there is someone who's already done the work for me. As for what we could use it in the library for, I suppose if we had reference questions that came up frequently we could create a search roll with useful sites that could be added to and that way there'd be a start for the next person who gets that reference question. Anyway, that's the first thing that comes to mind.

26-Image Generators

All this stuff is so much fun to play with. I loved all the choices on the bighugelab site. Who comes up with all this stuff?

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Subscribe to Time Magazine at an 86% discount!

25-Podcasts surmized

My thoughts on podcasting...um, well I think they are a wonderful and unique tool of the techno age. That said, I see over-saturation in their future.

As for the library sites that are using podcasts to reach out to their customers? I think the Denver Public Library's site is way too cool. They seem very connected to their community and I love the interview with Harry and the Potters.

24-Podcasts

Ok, so I happened to know a little bit about podcasting before I started this exercise because my husband hosts one of his own. So, I am very familiar with having to tip-toe around the house while recording is going on. It is so easy to put your voice out there these days. He literally started with his laptop, a computer mic and a ton of free software. Everything that someone would need is all out there online and it's all free. I used Podcastalley to search and found so many podcasts it's crazy. With all the blogs, podcasts and wikis out there you'd be hard pressed not to find someone out there talking about whatever it is you're interested in and if by some miracle there isn't anything out there it'd be so easy to start talking about it yourself and connect to those peopel who have been dying to talk with someone about their love of Chewels chewing gum. In one way I guess it's good that we can so easily connect with people who share common interests and find new things that interest us as well but I wonder about having so many voices out there...when's the saturation point?

23-Videos

This is too easy, I love it. I chose this video because I did a search on "books" and this came up and I love Robert Sabuda books!

22-Flickr tools...the fun never ends

Spell flickr is fun, albeit I did need advice on how to paste the code in so it would show up on the blog. I have no idea how any of this stuff works but I'm learning and isn't that the point really?

21-Flickr Power

Ok, after readnig the two posts by Micael Stevens my mind is all-a-twitter. I can see the importance of protecting children by alowing the filtering; however,it has been my experince that the library community does tend to go for the worst case scenario first when deciding about whether or not to use new technology. Bad instances will happen but those will probably be few and far between and we can't prevent all bad things from happening. Some people are going to circum-navigate filters, rules and protocol for their own means. The bad tends to leave a stronger more lasting impression unfortunately. Why can't we have our cake and eat it too? If we can turn off the filtering for children with parental supervison and afults why can't we advertise that customers can access these sites with that caveat. I know that people in my library system, myslef included, are finding the new filtering is saving us from having to replace so many computer chairs, if you know what I mean. I think because of this nice change of events there has been a reluctance to tell people that the filtering can be turned off for adults or those children with parental supervision. Maybe I don't know enough about the law and there is some part of it that says we can't "advertise" that the filters can be turned off. But if there is nothing preventing that then we should use it to our advantage with some careful signage/advertising that will attract teens and adults who would like to use social networking sites like flikcr and others-IMHO. As for tagging, yes it is important for the site and many others in finding things and even people you may or may not be looking for.

Additionally, just by browsing the flickr posts that Michael Stevens listed I found my mind racing with a lot of new ideas for programs and acitivities just by seeing what other libraries are doing. I believe that is one of the many benefits social networking sites can provide to all..idea-generating/sharing.

27-Library Thingy

I have been using Library Thing ever since I read about it on the RA Gourmet blog. I have found it very useful in helping me keep track of all the books I will read some day. I also like being able to write a blurb about the books I've read and see what other people are reading and saying about the books I've read or want to read. There is a lot I don't do with this site maybe in another life when I have more time.

20-Flickr is Grrrrrreat!

Mason 1yr
Originally uploaded by micki.pyn2000

Here is one of the cutest faces I know and I also know that this picture is safe on the web whether I want it to be public or private. It's here for me, I don't have to worry about losing my one and only copy of this precious moment. Flickr is like my back-up. To me that is what makes flickr so great on top of all the cool stuff you can do with your pics. It's easy to use and connects you to people and helps keep you organized, once you get your pics uploaded.

19-Web 2.0 Awards

This was the best exercise yet. I loved seeing all the winning sites with all their different tools and things. Some I was, happily, very familiar with. I looked at others and they may as well have been written in a foreign lanuage for all I understood. I messed around with the "yourminis" site and will probably continue to play around with their stuff, which I came to find out is actually part of the Goowy stuff. Seeing all of this makes me want to learn more and figure out how to use it:)

18-Technorati

I am not a big fan of blogging already so this site does not tempt me to spend endless hours looking at other people's blogs or looking for my own and "claiming" it. I looked up Library 2.0 in all the various ways and places but didn't see much of interest.

17-D-licious

I love the delicious site. I have been using it for about a year and half. I love being able to be at any computer and access my favorites. Especially since, working in the libraries you are constantly switching computers. What a hassle to have to make sure you have every single one of your favorites on every single machine you use or may use. I also like that you can see how many people have listed it as one of their favorites and you can find more sites through that. The tagging thing is something I am still getting the hang of. In the beginning it was easy just to tag something without much thought and now I have all these random tags. I like the grouping, that makes up for some of my tagging mistakes. I need to think about my tags more so that I can have a bit more order. I introduced delicious to some of my co-workers and they loved it. I think it is very useful in the workplace, especially in an information driven workplace like the library. We can share our favorites with anyone anywhere there's a computer with access to the web.

16-MySpace

I set up a MySpace account soon after I had my son. I don't know why, maybe because there was so much about MySpace in the news and I wanted to see what all the hub-ub was about or maybe it was that I was curious to see if any of my old friends had set up an account. I had googled many of my school friends name's already but hadn't come up with much and MySpace was a new way to look for them and see how they were doing. Also, I was on leave from work and up at all hours with the baby so there was time available to browse. I haven't done much with my layout but I'd like to. Now that work has resumed and I have a one year old time is not so ready available. I found setting up the account as easy as setting up any other online account. It's fairly user friendly but I don't like having to use the back button so much. MySpace has really taken off but I've heard that sites like Facebook and others are setup better just not as well known. I am not going t0 setup an acct on another SN sight unless it's just the be all end all. No time! Here's my current page if you want to check it out but I warn you it's very plain, no fancy html stuff like most. http://www.myspace.com/mickipyn

15-Social Networking...sounds sophisticated

Should the library use social networking like MySpace or Facebook to connect with teens? Yes. Teens spend a lot of time online and so in order to reach them where they are we need to have a strong presence online. I like the idea of all the social networking. It reminds me of how I felt about email when I first learned about it. The idea of being more easily connected with people, family and friends is very appealing to me. It's been fun connecting with friends from long ago and others.

14-VBPL RA Wiki

I have not made up my mind about the VBPL RA Wiki. I like the RA Gourmet blog but the wiki seems like a lot of work for not a lot of return. I put in a staff pick. It's a long list and thankfully it is alphabetized but if that's all it ends up being is a long list w/o any better way to navigate through it then I don't see much benefit. I guess my real problem is, I like it when I know how to find out how things operate. All this do it and then we'll learn that later business doesn't set well with me. But, at the same time it makes you go beyond your comfort zone and that's a good thing. Personally, I am not a big fan of the wiki thing since anyone can edit the format and it can change the uniformity. So, overall it's going to take time for me to see a lot of good in the wiki...any wiki. I'm certainly glad I don't have a wiki I have to manage. It's funny, technology provides a lot of convenience in our lives but with every new bit of technology there is something else to manage. There is alway some kind of upkeep. Finding out the ways it works, personalizing it, adding current pics or info. No wonder we feel like we don't have any time!

13-The wonderful world of wikis

Wikis are an interesting animal. Take for instance, Wikipedia that was the first time I ever heard of a wiki and I thought wow what a cool idea but wouldn't it be easy for misinformation to abound on a site like that. And, yes, that can and does happen. So, it's not like I can point someone to wikis to get completely reliable information. I'm sure the content is monitored but I doubt seriously if it is all fact checked, you know? Anyway, I get the impression that wikis are the beginning of something that hasn't found out what it is or its actual purpose or end state. In looking through some of the wikis from the discovery exercise I found that there are so many out there I was overwhelmed with the choices and the multitude of information available. Some of it I'm sure is very helpful but it's way too much to ask of myself to sift through all that. I will wait until a more streamlined, batched, organized tool exists, like a wiki info manager:)

12-IM Ur Librarian

How fun, I love that we are venturing into Virtual Reference. I have not tried IM-ing and asking a question yet but I will eventually. After looking at "Meebo" and the article about "email being dead" I have learned a lot of cool new things. The article was not so useful as the comments made below it about the future of email and where google and yahoo are taking it and other items of interest. It's all very exciting and I can't wait to see what the future holds I just hope the library keeps pushing itself to move beyond of its technological comfort zone.

11-IM in the library

I really like the idea of having IM for staff and customers. I copied some things I thought were interesting and relevant to the discussion from the articles I read on-line. They are below.

IM Me
Instant messaging may be controversial, but remember, we also debated telephone reference
By Aaron Schmidt & Michael Stephens -- Library Journal, 4/1/2005

Training, scheduling, and promotion are all key to implementing an IM reference service.

Instant messaging isn't going to replace other forms of communication. But it can make your reference services relevant to a whole new group of users, while serving existing users even better. Says Houghton, "IM results in patrons getting better service, while illustrating again the vital role librarians play in providing information that the search engines cannot fulfill."

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Best Practices for IM
Use a multinetwork IM program. There are competing IM networks for users, with AOL Instant MessengerSM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Instant Messenger the leaders. A user of one network can't communicate with someone on another network. Trillian for Windows (http://www.trillian.cc/) and Gaim (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/) for other operating systems let you operate on multiple networks simultaneously.

Send descriptive links instead of URLs. Most IM programs have an easy way to create a hyperlink. Instead of pasting a long URL into the conversation, create a link describing the content of the page you are recommending (e.g., "Demographic info of Berlin" or "Link to book review").

Employ away messages. It's poor service not to explain why there is no response.


Create a profile. It's a great way to convey information about the library and increase your online presence.


Accept imperfection. Notice a typo 30 characters back? Don't correct it. Most words are easily recognizable through context, and typos are accepted—if not expected—in this medium.
Use abbreviations. Most online users save keystrokes with acronyms. Get used to it. Many people know that "LOL" means "laugh out loud" but what about "FWIW"? Google it. Of course, YMMV.


Never panic. Speed is important, but don't feel rushed.


Try to use only online sources. But don't be afraid to tell people they'll need to come to the library. Also, be willing to scan a print document to PDF and send via email.


Load IM software on public PCs. Let users online in the library get help without having to go to the reference desk.

September 28, 2006
Instant Messaging Tools and Technology: A Mini-Guide
What is Instant Messaging?
Kolabora.com
posted by Robin Good on Thursday, September 28 2006

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The above web page article offers so many choices of programs to use, it’s wonderful and confusing all at the same time.


Library Technology Guides
Key resources in the field of Library Automation

Emphasis added by me.



While I observe a trend of instant messaging displacing e-mail for personal communications and a growing trend toward its use in the corporate realm, I see some sluggishness in organizations like libraries adopting it for internal business communications. I'm not suggesting that librarians start using IM for its own sake but that they become aware that other types of organizations find it an attractive medium for certain kinds of exchanges.


I wonder: If library workers used IM among themselves, would they be more comfortable with using chat-based VR to "talk" with patrons who have much more experience with IM?

My answer to the above question, yes. I think it would and would facilitate quick and easy communication amongst co-workers thoughout the system. Would it be used for personal use? Yes, I am sure it would be just as email and the telephone are. But, would it be abused to any further extent than the afore mentioned? No, not in my opionion and if an employee did abuse it action could be taken against them by a supervisor just as it would in any situation when an employee is spending too much time on personal things and not work.

Computers in Libraries [November / December 2003]
Instant messaging: it's not just for kids anymore
Breeding, Marshall.
Copyright (c) 2003 Information Today
http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=10779

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In all, I really hope we can get IM in regular practice throughout the system. I believe it would be beneficial for customers as well as employees.