#24 The End? Or Just The Beginning?

Whew! It's taken me a really, really long time to finish my 24 Things, but I made it on the very last day of my deadline. I'm such a procrastinator, but I'm proud of myself for sticking with it and accomplishing something that only a few other coworkers finished. I am one of the least computer savvy people here so almost everything was new to me. Of course, I had heard of blogs and YouTube, but didn't have a clue what an RSS feed was or what tagging was all about. My favorite things were Flickr and the online generators and Library Thing. Oh, my, gosh, I love Library Thing! It is the one thing that I continually use. And I think wikis are definitely the way to go. So how has it assisted my lifelong learning goals? Immensely. I've learned so much and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to do so. Thank you Jerianne. I am so glad I did this and would definitely do it again.

#23 Podcasts, smodcasts!

The best description I heard for podcasts was TiVo for the radio. I love being able to listen to my favorite radio shows so I added feeds forNPR's "Splendid Table" and "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" through Podcast Alley. Since we were asked to look for something library related I went to Learn Out Loud and added "Booktalks Quick and Simple" by Nancy Keane.

#22 Downloading audios and videos

I don't listen to audiobooks so I probably won't download anything from R.E.A.D.S.;however, I did search for and found "The curious case of Benjamin Button" which is popular now because of the movie. I think it's a great service and I have a story to tell about introducing a patron to it. He had been listening to books on our Playaways and asked if we had any new ones. We didn't, so I told him about R.E.A.D.S. His wife helped him download a couple of things and he was hooked. The last time I saw him he showed me what he was listening to so it makes me feel good to know that I was able to introduce a patron to a program that he absolutely loves.

I watched a travel video from MyLibraryDV earlier in our 24 Things when we were exploring online resources. This is not the place to find current hit movies, but it does offer some popular series such as Antiques Roadshow, Globe Trekker, and Michael Chiarello's Napa and a smattering of foreign films from Film Movement. I think it's a service worth having and you can't beat the cost.

#21 You too can YouTube

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This is called "Faith the two-legged wonder dog" and is something I read about just the other day so I decided to check it out. Faith was born with two deformed front legs and has learned to walk upright like a human.



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#20 Discovering other Web 2.0 tools

Okay, I'm in a hurry to finish my goal so I'll admit I cheated. I picked something I'm already familiar with -- WorldCat. I use it to search for records when I'm cataloging zines. All you do is search for a title (or author) and if you get a hit then you select the library that holds that item. I don't find a lot of titles but when I do it's nice to be able to look at them in a marc format. Not all libraries offer marc records and some others have skimpy records, but it's still a great source and definitely worth using.

#19 Social networking

I like the blogs that Bangor Public Library uses : I think it's a great way to promote the library so why not use it? I checked out Bookspoke and read a review that made me sort of nostalgic for the Mary Stewart books I read a long time ago. I also looked up someone I knew on MySpace and was amazed at the things people write about themselves. I guess it's fun if you have the time to devote to it. I didn't create an account so I couldn't look at Facebook, but maybe I will go back to it.

#18 Web-Based Apps

I tried Google Docs and set up an account but couldn't seem to get it verified. It did allow me to continue working so I used the spreadsheet to create a volunteer list for a work event. I did the same thing with Zoho Writer and also created a document for a work manual but couldn't publish the document to my blog. Even though I hit a couple of snags, I can see how either one would be great for collaborative projects.

#17 Creating the LPLS Staff Wiki

http://http://lpls.pbwiki.com/Money+counting+procedure+Linebaugh

I created a how to section for money counting at Linebaugh. I had a little help, but it didn't seem too difficult. I was already working on this part of the wiki so all I had to do was copy and paste. It doesn't look as pretty as some of the other parts but maybe it can be edited later. I also edited a couple of other articles to correct spelling and that was easy. I just need to keep in mind that once I save something in the sandbox it becomes a part of the wiki. We are starting a cataloging manual that will eventually be added to the wiki: I think it's a good idea to use a wiki for collaborative projects and planning. Maybe we could post our grant projects on a wiki.

#16 What's in a wiki?

Apparently, there are quite a few things in wikis. Wikis certainly fit right in with L2 and seem tailor-made for libraries, especially when we are trying to find more ways to reach patrons. I enjoyed browsing through SJCPL subject guides: they really have a nice layout that links books to the library catalog and then, of course, you can check the availability, place holds, etc. Sterling Municipal Library gives their patrons the option of keeping a reading history which I think is one of the best ideas I found. I liked the community links and think that would be nice for our library since patrons frequently ask about programs and services outside the library so it's just one more reference tool we could add to our website. I even found a nice, inexpensive, pet friendly apt. for rent through RocWiki. Too bad it's in Rochester, N.Y. Oh, well. Here's what else I found: a couple of titles to add to my Library Thing from BookLovers Wiki and the coolest art projects through Library Success. I think I'm going to borrow one of their ideas for a display here.

#15 On Libray 2.0

I read all the perspectives and all the additional articles -- even the Sirsi/Dynix one. It seems that relevance, technology, users, and service(s) are common to all. We all have different ideas about what is relevant. In the debate about L2 someone commented that "a library stocked with popular fiction at a mall does much more to make the library more relevant to people than any kind of technology." In a time when we are looking for money to build more branches, that makes sense. On the other hand, Rick Anderson ("icebergs") thinks "the time has come to look skeptically at the very idea of a library 'collection'." I realize that he is probably thinking mainly about reference material, but still .... I hope he's wrong about that. One of the joys of working in the library is the access to a wonderful collection of books -- print items. If you haven't seen the current Newbery winner, then let me tell you that it's amazing and worthy of the award. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a story told in words and pictures. You have to hold it in your hands to read and appreciate it.

I understand that L2 is all about changing the way services are delivered to users and inviting the patrons to be interactive in shaping the library. It seems that we already offer some of the things that are considered part of L2, e.g. WiFi, R.E.A.D.S., emails, and RSS feeds and thanks to the 24 things we now have a wiki and several of us are blogging. We have come a long way toward embracing technology to suppliment the way we are reaching out to patrons; however, we can't ignore those patrons who don't use the internet. The key is to enhance the traditional library to attract and reach out to both types of users.

There is so much more to write about -- FRBR, World Cat, non-authoritative content, and avatars, but I don't have the time here. Oh, and I found it interesting that in all the articles and discussions I read, everyone said user and not patron.

I have always been a big reader. I love browsing the stacks and seeing all the new books that come in. Meeting Dr. Wendy Schultz in her Library 4.0 and curling up in a comfortable chair with a good book sounds wonderful.

#14 Technorati

I checked out all the discovery resources and then did my searches. I got different results each time -- from 20,705 to 17,961 for blog posts, 348 to 500 for a tag search, and 383 to 380 for a blog directory search. Oh, I just did another tag search which resulted in 1, 77 hits. So, surprising results? I would say so. I noticed that Ron Paul was a top search as was Youtube and the library: it gives you a link to local public libraries which is nice, and there are even several library videos. We still want to know what's going on with Britney Spears but Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are also tags from what's rising so at least we're interested in politics. It looks like you can search for whatever you want but expect to get different results each time.

#13 Tagging and Del.icio.us

It took me a while to warm up to del.icio.us, but I can understand it's popularity as a social bookmarking site and see how it could be addictive. It's fun to follow the tag trail and see where it leads - if you have the time. I can see the advantage of having a shared reading list: I think it would be helpful for reference to have a ready-made list for students who are doing research and HR could use it to link other users who are doing family history research. It's sort of like letting someone else do the work and reaping the benefits; but, of course you can share your own finds.

I didn't really care for the Otter Group video but that was mainly because of the narrator's voice: I did enjoy the one from Common Craft. I looked at the LPLS del.icio.us bookmark list and looked at a few tags under Learning 2.0. I noticed that library is near the bottom of the list in terms of size but at least it is in the tag cloud of most popular tags.