It's a wrap!

What have I learned in the last 10+ weeks?

I already had a blog, but it was fun to have one where I didn't have to worry about what I said appearing front-and-center on our library's homepage. It was also fun to see what other library staff did with their blogs. Some were really spectacular!

RSS: valuable information and it could be very useful. I would like to see SDLN develop this for the OPAC so patrons could sign up to be notified when new books come in. It does add to the amount of stuff to look at but I can ignore it just like I do some of the listservs I'm on.

Flickr could be useful for publicizing programs and events at the library, although you'd have to be careful about showing faces of minors.

I enjoy the couple of podcasts I signed up for and using RSS, still come. I need to look for more content for library use. Most of what I looked at was for personal interest. If we had the technology and expertise, creating a few podcasts/videocasts would be useful in training the public to use databases or just for library promotion.

Office 2.0 kind of works. Although we got it to work with our SDLN accounts once, the next time we tried it, it required gmail accounts. We couldn't seem to discover what we had done differently. Makes it unhandy to have to create contacts in several different email accounts. Once in, it works OK, although we've been doing something similar on our network for years - using a Word document that everyone can open and edit. We'll still try Google docs for awhile.

Facebook is/was fun. I became friends with library staff, my daughter's friends (because they asked me! As one said, "It's groovy to be friends with your mom, Sara". I think she thought I would understand the word groovy.) and with nieces from various points in the country. The library also developed a facebook page and we've added some content. The challenge will be to keep it fresh.

Delicious was interesting to search and find relevant topics. I haven't developed my own account yet. It could be handy for often asked questions, repeat school assignments, etc.

We're thinking about making public information available on a wiki (one that selected personnel only can edit). Info such as policies, programs, etc. might lend itself to that format. It would make it easier to edit than a standard web page.

I have a Library Thing account already. I may hit my limit one of these days and I'm too cheap to pay for the service, but it's nice to have a list of my favorites. I haven't used the social networking part of it much. I just spent a pleasant 15 minutes with it and it could be additive.

All in all, this has been a great exercise for me to do and it was good that other staff members were doing it, too. That way we motivated each other. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have kept it up because of the time commitment.

Let's talk about time a little. 2.0 is a lot like peanut M&Ms--I can't stop. I look at delicious and go from interesting site to interesting site and suddenly discover I've spent 30 minutes without accomplishing anything. Yes, I've read some interesting things, but it doesn't get the strategic plan written or board meeting info prepared. I've decided I need an egg timer (I'm sure there's a free one on the Web somewhere) that I can set and when my 15 minutes are up, I exit. Otherwise, my productivity will decrease even more than it has with lists, email, googling, etc.

I like the idea of reminding myself: What have I learned today? And will try to keep that attitude.

Wow, is this a long post! So much for 15 minutes :)

Thanks, State Library, for getting us into 2.0.

Wikis whee!

Wikis are very informative, even if you may to verify the info elswewhere. I found valuable information from the Library Success wiki and will return to it for more. We might be able to use this to edit our Strat. Planning document (since we struggled with Google Docs access). I could see this being valuable as a website tool if you locked it down some. The Bull Run one looked good and had valuable info for the public.

The one question that wasn't answered is how to start a wiki. I know you need some software but that wasn't talked about as part of the SDChallenge. I know! I'll look at the wiki info on Library Success and find out.

Learning, learning even at my age.

Delicious etc

Delicious is interesting and useful. I searched "print management" because we're investigating that and found a number of useful hits. Some were vendors which is OK. Some were articles or blogs. I'll definitely use that info.

I haven't set up my own account yet. I might if I get time. (LOL) It could be useful at a reference desk to group frequent asked questions. One of my problems is I don't always remember what I tagged with what or where. I'm waiting for the software that will read my mind. Now, nobody say it will come up blank. :)

Fun on Facebook

I'm astonding even myself. Never thought I'd have a facebook account and actually enjoy using it. Within minutes (well, maybe hours) of asking my daughter in AZ to be my friend, I got friend requests from two nieces in Kansas. Friends of friends of friends. Cool!

Other library staff have developed a page for the library which we'll all contribute to (maybe, if properly motivated). Having a page for the library keeps us out in cyberspace where the action obviously is.

All this learning inspires me to quote poetry:

O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world
That has such people in’t!
--Shakespeare's Tempest

Google docs

Now this is useful! I sent a report to a bunch of staff so they could keep up with what's happening. I can see this used for our upcoming goal/objective setting sessions for our strategic plan, for sharing spreadsheets for budget stuff. Just thought of another document that I've been putting off that we can use this for.
It would be useful for blogging longer documents.

Now this I'm excited about!

Same video, just wanted to practice embedding!

youTube fun

What can I say? A person could spend hours watching youTube.


My favorite library youTube is the library zombie where the library saves a couple from an attack by a crowd of zombies.


youTube could be a good instructional tool. It could also be used to give the library a lighter image.


My personal favorite is one that I received right before the November election. Politics aside, this is a great musical piece. Set to a song from the broadway show Les Miserables, it shows the night before the election in the Obama headquarters. It helps to have seen the play, but still great music. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ijYVyhnn0


And of course, all the many figure skating programs. Whee!

Podcasts 'r us

I successfully searched podcastalley and mediafly and found some very interesting stuff. I subscribed to a mystery authors podcast feed and listened to Michael Connelly being interviewed about his new Harry Bosch book.

I also subscribed to the Lincoln Libraries podcasts which looked interesting, but haven't listened yet. The Lincoln Libraries is a good example of how I think a library could use podcasting - for information about the library of a general nature and about specific book titles.

I looked at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library's "dial-a-story" service, but we subscribe to a better service for on-line books so wasn't particularly interested.

Library Geeks looked good also.

Then on a personal side I added an MPR Classical Music feed and found a wonderful Christmas CD that I'm definitely going to buy. (John Rutter - A Christmas Festival)

Enough on podcasts. I'm off to youTube. Actually have been on it quite a bit, but I'll put that in a separate blog.

Enjoy listening.

More on Flickr

I've had a good time looking at some of the special things you can do with Flickr. I particularly liked the bubblr where you can add dialogue (in bubbles like cartoons have) to pictures. And I also enjoyed flickrleach.

I learned a new word - bokeh - "a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field. (Wikipedia) This is an example (also Wikipedia).

Interesting stuff. Value?