Oh my! I clicked on the Exploration link for the 2007 Web 2.0 Awards, and found that the 2008 Awards have been announced. Scrolling down that list, I paused at the winner in the "News and Blog Guides" category. Google Blog Search. I searched for a few of the blogs created for this exercise, and there they were in all their glory. My own blog was about a week behind in posts, but it had today's Tweet. Chocochai had a post from 5 hours ago that I hadn't seen before. Our participant who was brave enough to use his own name provided several blog matches. So, I went back to my Blogger settings and disabled the option for "let search engines find your blog." Happier Blue is the title of a favorite song that was running through my head when this blog was born, and anyone who does a search on this term is most likely in search of blogs about songwriter Chris Smither. It was interesting to see the currency of the blog search results, though, and now I know how various strangers happen to be following me on Twitter.
Anyway, to sum things up... After doing the original 23 Things, I can appreciate how streamlined and on target the current Exploration project is. It's very well presented and easy to follow. I spent way more time than was estimated, but that's just my Librarian Overboard tendencies. For those who stick to the basic requirements, it shouldn't be too overwhelming. And for those who would like to explore further, the current exercises are a great springboard. Just look at all the creative things that participants have already done way beyond the call of duty, such as our awesome colleagues at MAY demonstrating Animoto and creating their branch wiki.
For me the most enjoyable part of this project has been reading everyone else's blogs and finding out a little more about my co-workers. Now that there are 20+ blogs to keep track of, I've finally recognized the appeal of RSS feeds. It's so much easier to subscribe to the blogs rather than checking each one separately for updates. And I'm intrigued by the Wordpress and Vox sites that some adventurous participants are using. Even though the posting on my own blog has come to an end, I'm going to continue reading the new blogs and commenting and learning from everyone else. Might even post a new tweet or two!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Exploration 8: Del.icio.us
It's easy to understand the appeal of creating an account on del.icio.us, saving web pages that catch your fancy, and using your own tags to describe them. The pages are all in one accessible place. You know that you can retrieve them there because you're the person who put them there, along with your own helpful memory jogs.
Personal contribution is a key advantage. In this Exploration and the 23 Things exercise, I had fun looking at the various library systems that use del.icio.us, but for library purposes I don't think it's as useful to access an account that someone else set up. I found lots of really cool things through random browsing, but unless I already knew that the link was there, I wouldn't choose this as the first way to find information. I spent a lot of time scrolling through each library's selected web pages listed in no apparent order, scrolling through long lists of tags in alphabetical order (or choosing the tag cloud option for a non-linear burst of possibilities), and putting various terms in the search box to see if I got any results. I could grasp the one library's Dewey Decimal organization of bookmarks, but I have to admit that I was amused by this approach, because who but a librarian would find this helpful? The real advantage of del.icio.us and other bookmarking/tagging sites is that you don't have to think like a librarian to access information.
When it comes to staff uses in our library system... Our Recommended Sites list is well organized, but sometimes it's difficult to recall the exact site you're looking for or even what category it's under. Maybe we could make a del.icio.us or equivalent site for staff members to create their own tags to help with their own retrieval. Not to replace the existing arrangement, mind you, but to supplement it with a homegrown index of sorts.
And I'll share this from my random browsing of the library sites. One of the libraries had a tag for "Barbara", which I clicked on out of curiosity because it was too vague for my mind. That led to the intriguing Batgirl was a Librarian site. Why? Because Batgirl's first name was Barbara. The Batgirl site in turn had a link to www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.html, with a map of libraries that have resident felines. Someone in our library system is on the ball, because WST's resident cat of a few decades ago is listed on this map. Cool!
Personal contribution is a key advantage. In this Exploration and the 23 Things exercise, I had fun looking at the various library systems that use del.icio.us, but for library purposes I don't think it's as useful to access an account that someone else set up. I found lots of really cool things through random browsing, but unless I already knew that the link was there, I wouldn't choose this as the first way to find information. I spent a lot of time scrolling through each library's selected web pages listed in no apparent order, scrolling through long lists of tags in alphabetical order (or choosing the tag cloud option for a non-linear burst of possibilities), and putting various terms in the search box to see if I got any results. I could grasp the one library's Dewey Decimal organization of bookmarks, but I have to admit that I was amused by this approach, because who but a librarian would find this helpful? The real advantage of del.icio.us and other bookmarking/tagging sites is that you don't have to think like a librarian to access information.
When it comes to staff uses in our library system... Our Recommended Sites list is well organized, but sometimes it's difficult to recall the exact site you're looking for or even what category it's under. Maybe we could make a del.icio.us or equivalent site for staff members to create their own tags to help with their own retrieval. Not to replace the existing arrangement, mind you, but to supplement it with a homegrown index of sorts.
And I'll share this from my random browsing of the library sites. One of the libraries had a tag for "Barbara", which I clicked on out of curiosity because it was too vague for my mind. That led to the intriguing Batgirl was a Librarian site. Why? Because Batgirl's first name was Barbara. The Batgirl site in turn had a link to www.ironfrog.com/catsmap.html, with a map of libraries that have resident felines. Someone in our library system is on the ball, because WST's resident cat of a few decades ago is listed on this map. Cool!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Exploration 7: Wikis
Wikis in Plain English gave the example of participants listing "what we have" and "what we need" to coordinate a camping trip.
So here are two list-based ideas:
We could use this approach on a branch basis when coordinating in-house events (volunteer appreciation, going away parties, etc) or on an area-wide basis for the PTH recognition event.
Or how about a craft supply wiki, where branches can list items they need help in accumulating. Right now we solicit supplies in a variety of ways (faxes, programming blog, etc) and one branch doesn't always know what another branch is sending, which can result in some poor crafters being totally inundated with, say, paper towel rolls, until they send out another desperate message that says "Thanks, we have enough." Branches could also list any excess supplies that are up for grabs, perhaps saving another branch a trip to the craft store. A wiki would make it easier to have a central point of communication, although because this application isn't centered around a specific project, the trick would be to remember to check it routinely.
And another idea:
The collaborative aspect of wikis might also be useful for our branch staff meeting minutes. At the moment we take turns being the recorder and we scribble down notes while different staff members talk about their areas of concern. Did the recorder catch everything? Is there something that the speaker would like to clarify after the fact? The wiki approach would make the document very easy for more than one person to edit. We'd just have to decide at what point we were finished editing, and remind everyone to read the final version.
So here are two list-based ideas:
We could use this approach on a branch basis when coordinating in-house events (volunteer appreciation, going away parties, etc) or on an area-wide basis for the PTH recognition event.
Or how about a craft supply wiki, where branches can list items they need help in accumulating. Right now we solicit supplies in a variety of ways (faxes, programming blog, etc) and one branch doesn't always know what another branch is sending, which can result in some poor crafters being totally inundated with, say, paper towel rolls, until they send out another desperate message that says "Thanks, we have enough." Branches could also list any excess supplies that are up for grabs, perhaps saving another branch a trip to the craft store. A wiki would make it easier to have a central point of communication, although because this application isn't centered around a specific project, the trick would be to remember to check it routinely.
And another idea:
The collaborative aspect of wikis might also be useful for our branch staff meeting minutes. At the moment we take turns being the recorder and we scribble down notes while different staff members talk about their areas of concern. Did the recorder catch everything? Is there something that the speaker would like to clarify after the fact? The wiki approach would make the document very easy for more than one person to edit. We'd just have to decide at what point we were finished editing, and remind everyone to read the final version.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Importing from Zoho
Happier Blue
June 19, 2008
Scary Polymer Clay Cat!
Here are some of the blog names I considered:
- Happy Enchilada
- Cow Pattern Clothes
- Two Bananas and a New York Times
- Sociable Amoeba
- What Was I Thinking??
Here's a table of the books I've read this summer:
| Young Adult | Mystery | Non-Fiction |
13 Reasons Why Jay Asher | Fearless Fourteen Janet Evanovich | Quiet, Please Scott Douglas |
Skulduggery Pleasant Derek Landy | Dirty Secrets Club Meg Gardiner | Free for All Don Borchert |
Raising Cain Derek Landy | Book Stops Here Ian Sansom | Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying |
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Exploration 6: Zoho Writer
I decided to save time by using the Zoho account that I set up for 23 Things...and there it was waiting for me, right where I left it last August. All the documents that I created back then were neatly listed. However, before I could access any of them, I got one of those pesky "Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close" messages. Then I got the same message again.
I thought the problem might be with this old account, so I created an entirely new account and did the entire Exploration exercise as outlined. Justified left, justified right, added a cute photo, made a list, used different fonts, created a table. Everything was very easy to do. But when I closed out of Zoho and went back later, I got the same error message and was unceremoniously thrown out of the program.
So, for a product whose main advantage is access, this is disconcerting. I'd hate to recommend these web tools to patrons and then witness their anguish if they can't work with their files. Just for the record, I did try again later on another computer and didn't have any problem, but I'm still a little leery. Has anyone else had any difficulty? I'm hoping my experience was just a fluke.
I thought the problem might be with this old account, so I created an entirely new account and did the entire Exploration exercise as outlined. Justified left, justified right, added a cute photo, made a list, used different fonts, created a table. Everything was very easy to do. But when I closed out of Zoho and went back later, I got the same error message and was unceremoniously thrown out of the program.
So, for a product whose main advantage is access, this is disconcerting. I'd hate to recommend these web tools to patrons and then witness their anguish if they can't work with their files. Just for the record, I did try again later on another computer and didn't have any problem, but I'm still a little leery. Has anyone else had any difficulty? I'm hoping my experience was just a fluke.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Optional exploration: Social Networking Sites
When I think of "social networking sites", I think primarily of MySpace and Facebook. The PC World article was enlightening because it put the term in a much broader context. For instance, it highlights Pandora as a social networking site. I love Pandora and use it frequently as a personalized online radio station, but I never thought about the social aspect. You can indeed find people with similar tastes in music, and get recommendations by scanning their lists of favorite artists, but that hasn't been my current purpose.
However, I would have absolutely loved this possibility back in my teen days. Music was my main passion (still is, for that matter) and I was always thrilled when I connected with someone who listened to my favorite under-the-radar artists. In the 70's I sent my name to the pen pal columns of music magazines and checked the bulletin boards at local music stores. In the 80's I went to a lot of concerts and chatted with people during intermission. In the 90's I joined many performer-related listservs and received messages via email. I still belong to those listservs, even though this newer social networking phenomenon makes them seem so, like, yesterday.
And I think this is a prime appeal of the social networking sites--to find people who share your passion, whatever that passion might be. It's also interesting that it's not necessarily a solitary pursuit, a lone person sitting at home staring at a computer screen. Our library teens love to look at MySpace in large noisy groups, showing off their creativity in person and laughing hysterically at various photos, until we politely remind them of proper library behavior and they go away.
At the Info Desk we get a fair number of questions from patrons trying to track down long-lost friends and relatives, and I wonder if the social network sites will become routine places to look. The nice part about having photos is that you can say "yes, that's her!", as opposed to finding name matches on Switchboard and not knowing if you have the right person. So far I haven't had any success searching for specific people on Facebook...but with 60 million users, that's a powerful database.
However, I would have absolutely loved this possibility back in my teen days. Music was my main passion (still is, for that matter) and I was always thrilled when I connected with someone who listened to my favorite under-the-radar artists. In the 70's I sent my name to the pen pal columns of music magazines and checked the bulletin boards at local music stores. In the 80's I went to a lot of concerts and chatted with people during intermission. In the 90's I joined many performer-related listservs and received messages via email. I still belong to those listservs, even though this newer social networking phenomenon makes them seem so, like, yesterday.
And I think this is a prime appeal of the social networking sites--to find people who share your passion, whatever that passion might be. It's also interesting that it's not necessarily a solitary pursuit, a lone person sitting at home staring at a computer screen. Our library teens love to look at MySpace in large noisy groups, showing off their creativity in person and laughing hysterically at various photos, until we politely remind them of proper library behavior and they go away.
At the Info Desk we get a fair number of questions from patrons trying to track down long-lost friends and relatives, and I wonder if the social network sites will become routine places to look. The nice part about having photos is that you can say "yes, that's her!", as opposed to finding name matches on Switchboard and not knowing if you have the right person. So far I haven't had any success searching for specific people on Facebook...but with 60 million users, that's a powerful database.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Optional Exploration: Twitter
Just by coincidence I tried to register with Twitter on the same day that CNN ran a story about someone using sending a tweet from a jail in Egypt, thus alerting his friends that he needed help. I kept getting a message that said "Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets." I figured this overload was due to the extra publicity that day, but I've gotten the same message several times since. Finally I was able to register, and I signed up to follow two of our fellow bloggers who are already happily twittering away. I was thwarted once again, however, when I tried to add a picture to my Twitter profile. I got another "too busy, try again later" message. I'm glad I wasn't in jail in Egypt at the time.
Obviously this is a hugely successful service, but I can't think of many applications for our present day library responsibilities except to facilitate one-on-one communication between particular staff members. And that could be fun, like the tweeter exchanges that are currently going on.
And hmmm... If the vehicle for Shared Collection communication was tweets instead of a blog, I could send out updates every hour (too many cookbooks! take some!) and be as annoying as a gnat. :)
Obviously this is a hugely successful service, but I can't think of many applications for our present day library responsibilities except to facilitate one-on-one communication between particular staff members. And that could be fun, like the tweeter exchanges that are currently going on.
And hmmm... If the vehicle for Shared Collection communication was tweets instead of a blog, I could send out updates every hour (too many cookbooks! take some!) and be as annoying as a gnat. :)
Monday, June 16, 2008
Optional Exploration: You Tube and Podcasts
I experienced a first earlier this month. A teenager motioned me over to his computer and asked "Can you show me how to put something from YouTube on my MySpace page?" My initial thought was that this question HAD to be a ringer (is it DLDS unobtrusive survey time again? Or maybe the Web 2.0 Exploration committee doing a surreptious check of my skills?), but no, it was a real patron asking a real question with the real expectation that I would know how to do this.
Wow. This was the first time in my experience that a teenager chose to ask a librarian such a question rather than turning to one of his peers. And thanks to doing 23 Things last summer, I was able to help him without too much floundering around. I hadn't been to YouTube since August 2007, and I was pleased that it's even easier now to share files.
So far there aren't many aspects of the Web 2.0 training that transfer from the library world to my largely non-technology-based home life, but podcasts are the exception. I've enjoyed having access to various author and singer/songwriter interviews, a nice change from reading the transcripts. And my favorite Spanish instruction site now has podcasts available, an obvious advantage when learning a language.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Exploration 5: Library Thing
Here's a link to my Library Thing catalog:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/theothers23
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/theothers23
Years ago I kept a box of story time index cards. Every time I encountered an appealing JP with, say, a moose in it, I would dutifully note it on the index card for "moose." Then when I was ready to do a moose story time, I'd have my list of books. But, if the book had more than one potential theme, I'd have to write it on more than one card. I could do the same thing (way more efficiently) by the tags selected for my Library Thing entries. Very cool!
Also it's a great memory jog for other things...like what WAS that funny mystery I read about the biographer who lives in California. The tags you select are totally your own association with an item, making them easy to recall.
Exploration 4: RSS Feeds
Oh no! This assignment reminded me of the Bloglines account I had set up for 23 Things, which I hadn't looked at in, oh, 6 months or so. I had visions of thousands of updates to read in each of my subscriptions, but fortunately there were only a few hundred. :)
RSS Feeds are one of those innovations that I can appreciate in theory, but I don't use much in practice. There aren't any blogs that I visit regularly other than our library system blogs, and it would be great if they had an RSS feed, but I'm not sure how that would work with a private blog. Does anyone know if it's possible to set that up? I tried subscribing to them just as an experiment and got old messages, plus an "unauthorized" error message. I also went to several websites that I visit regularly for my own interests, and none of them had RSS feeds. But if they DID have RSS feeds, I can see that it would save me a lot of time to access them all in one place.
For patrons who are so inclined, this would be another great promotional tool for the library system. I like some of the services our neighboring library systems provide, such as notifying patrons of the new books available in various categories.
I subscribed to the Exploration blog and a few of the individual participant blogs. I'll subscribe to a few more as they become available.
RSS Feeds are one of those innovations that I can appreciate in theory, but I don't use much in practice. There aren't any blogs that I visit regularly other than our library system blogs, and it would be great if they had an RSS feed, but I'm not sure how that would work with a private blog. Does anyone know if it's possible to set that up? I tried subscribing to them just as an experiment and got old messages, plus an "unauthorized" error message. I also went to several websites that I visit regularly for my own interests, and none of them had RSS feeds. But if they DID have RSS feeds, I can see that it would save me a lot of time to access them all in one place.
For patrons who are so inclined, this would be another great promotional tool for the library system. I like some of the services our neighboring library systems provide, such as notifying patrons of the new books available in various categories.
I subscribed to the Exploration blog and a few of the individual participant blogs. I'll subscribe to a few more as they become available.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Exploration 3: Willie Bear Lost in Cyberspace
Whew!
I wasn't able to follow the "Posting to Your Blog from Flickr" instructions exactly as written, but I stumbled around and thought I was still on track. I got a confirmation message on Flickr that my post and photo had been sent successfully.
However, the post and photo never showed up. Poor Willie Bear, lost in cyberspace again.
Later I realized that the post and photo showed up in a DIFFERENT blog...a test blog that I had created prior to this one. I thought I had selected the proper blog from the list, but apparently not. I'm just relieved that Willie is accounted for and won't land, splat, on some random blog somewhere. I'd hate to create an international incident.
Exploration 3: Flickr
I enjoyed all of these exercises, although some of those librarian photos are pretty scary. :) The Library of Congress contribution to Flickr is incredible. That's a valuable resource to share with patrons doing all kinds of research.
I was surprised at how many libraries and library groups have a Flickr presence. After doing this exercise I realize that Flickr is much more than a photo resource, it's also a vehicle for publicity, promotion and communication. There's lots of info about Maryland library programs, for instance, and there's even a library group called "Teen Library Spaces" with photos showing a variety of possibilities. Check out the library whose teen space is basically a large soundproof booth!
I was surprised at how many libraries and library groups have a Flickr presence. After doing this exercise I realize that Flickr is much more than a photo resource, it's also a vehicle for publicity, promotion and communication. There's lots of info about Maryland library programs, for instance, and there's even a library group called "Teen Library Spaces" with photos showing a variety of possibilities. Check out the library whose teen space is basically a large soundproof booth!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Exploration 2: Librarian Overboard
No, I'm not jumping ship...I mean "overboard" in the sense of sometimes getting carried away. For instance, I did the entire 23 Things project last August on an informal basis. I'll borrow from that experience and share my reflections as I wrapped up the 23 Things project.
"This is an excellent program that I'd highly recommend to interested staff. The experience brought to mind our 'Clowning Around' Summer Reading Workshop in July, where teenagers learned skills that they most likely had never encountered before in their day-to-day lives. The clowning instructors knew their stuff and presented a careful sequence of activities designed to foster success. By the end of the program the surprised teens were juggling bean bags, balancing plates on their nose, and walking on stilts. Will they ever use these skills again? Maybe not. But there's some thrill in learning something totally new and different, partly just to say 'Hey, I did it.' And to have fun along the way.
So here I am with my own set of new skills to juggle. It will be hard to keep all these balls in the air when new balls are clamoring to join in all the time, and I know that a few will drop to the floor and roll away without much notice. But there are others that really caught my fancy and I want to keep them soaring.
I joined the library profession in the days of McBee cards and regiscopes. One of my first grad school papers was about this new-fangled thing called an online catalog. You could type in the title of a book and it would tell you whether or not you had that book on the shelf. Imagine! Wow, I thought, what an exciting and energizing time to be a librarian. And here it is almost 30 years later, and it's still an exciting and energizing time to be a librarian. The whole concept of Libraries 2.0 (and beyond) is a prime indication of that."
It's been several months since I wrote that post, and I have found that what I said for the most part is true: I discovered some Web 2.0 technologies that I have continued to use, and others that weren't as applicable to my day-to-day responsibilities. And things are changing as we speak. As Michael Stephens' article points out, it's a constant evolution. I like his phrase "perpetual beta."
Part of our assignment was to personalize our blog, so I'll include the Avatar that I created as part of 23 Things. Yes, I know the corgi is wearing a raincoat...but it was amazing enough to find a corgi among the choices, so I won't quibble about its fashion sense.
"This is an excellent program that I'd highly recommend to interested staff. The experience brought to mind our 'Clowning Around' Summer Reading Workshop in July, where teenagers learned skills that they most likely had never encountered before in their day-to-day lives. The clowning instructors knew their stuff and presented a careful sequence of activities designed to foster success. By the end of the program the surprised teens were juggling bean bags, balancing plates on their nose, and walking on stilts. Will they ever use these skills again? Maybe not. But there's some thrill in learning something totally new and different, partly just to say 'Hey, I did it.' And to have fun along the way.
So here I am with my own set of new skills to juggle. It will be hard to keep all these balls in the air when new balls are clamoring to join in all the time, and I know that a few will drop to the floor and roll away without much notice. But there are others that really caught my fancy and I want to keep them soaring.
I joined the library profession in the days of McBee cards and regiscopes. One of my first grad school papers was about this new-fangled thing called an online catalog. You could type in the title of a book and it would tell you whether or not you had that book on the shelf. Imagine! Wow, I thought, what an exciting and energizing time to be a librarian. And here it is almost 30 years later, and it's still an exciting and energizing time to be a librarian. The whole concept of Libraries 2.0 (and beyond) is a prime indication of that."
It's been several months since I wrote that post, and I have found that what I said for the most part is true: I discovered some Web 2.0 technologies that I have continued to use, and others that weren't as applicable to my day-to-day responsibilities. And things are changing as we speak. As Michael Stephens' article points out, it's a constant evolution. I like his phrase "perpetual beta."
Part of our assignment was to personalize our blog, so I'll include the Avatar that I created as part of 23 Things. Yes, I know the corgi is wearing a raincoat...but it was amazing enough to find a corgi among the choices, so I won't quibble about its fashion sense.
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