#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.