I feel like this has been more of a crash course for me rather than a journey. Only being with the library for two months, I was rather late in starting this web challenge. I feel thankful and lucky that I am of a generation that was exposed to and grew up with the beginnings of the Internet. But even though I've been living through it, it has definitely passed me by. Even if learning new technologies was your entire life, it would be extremely difficult to keep up with things. So for most people, who have to work, take care a family or friends, among a million other things, we can very easily be left behind. I'm thankful for the opportunity to play a bit of catch up throughout these exercises. I've managed to make my way through new aspects such as blogging, but I had no idea about the more technical side of things such as Google Docs, Wikis or RSS feeds. If nothing else, at least these challenges have given us an exposure to some of the new vocabulary that floods our technological world.
And as I started, I must end with the mention of my grandfather. He believed that we could make things better by working towards new technologies as long as we held true to teaching the basics of reading. With that as our primal tool, the goals we can accomplish are boundless. As a precursor to the digital age, my grandfather made use of the tools he had around him. Long before the Internet and hypertext he had a way of sharing what points he found important or needed further research. He attained this with the simple markings of a red pencil and a straight edge.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thing #10 - Technology
I think technology is the great catch 22 of the library system. There seems to be so many benefits, but at the same time, when the technology fails, we are left rather helpless. I can see both sides of the argument for raising the staff's awareness of these new experiences and features on the web, but I also wonder if it will drive us apart rather than bringing us together in the long run. We've been learning about all these features that allow us to work with others without leaving our desk, or things that allow patrons to do more from home. If one of the goals of the library is to bring the community together and serve as a focal point, are we setting ourselves up for a more dissonant community by making it easier for them to function is a solely virtual world? This is a concern of mine for the world at large, not simple for the library system. The library will always have a place and a purpose, and we can work to make these new resources bring about a positive outcome.
Thing #22 - ListenNJ
I found this to be a great service provided by the Ocean County Library. This allows you to download free material in the form of an audio book. Although not all titles or authors are available, you would have a hard time not finding something that you would enjoy. I was able to download two classic titles and one language tutorial. I have never been big on audio books, but I did find them entertaining during a few long road trip up to Maine. The process for logging in was extremely simple, and only required you to enter your library bar code. I think this is also a great service for people who may not be able to make it out to the library, and who might go through material before the home bound services can provide them with new.
Thing #18 - Web Apps
Google Docs is set up with tools that are very similar to Microsoft Word, which made using it feel like a familiar task. The possibilities for what or how this could be used are again endless, but an example I came up with was about the upcoming onslaught of summer reading suggestions. Whether it is a child looking for a title as part of the summer program at the library or if he or she is needing something for school, having a detailed list of titles would be useful. Not only would it be good to have titles, but people throughout the branches could add information or descriptions about the books. This way, we could take the child's interests and try to match him/her up with something that would really hold his/her attention. Just one of the many ideas out there that might address something we will be dealing with during the next several months.
Thing # 17 - Playing in the Sandbox
That was kind of fun. Quite a few references to chocolate. I've had experience publishing comments or blogs on MySpace, but I've never done anything as a collaborative effect. It was also kind of neat to create a link to my site. I never knew doing something like that could be so easy.
I think that a pbwiki would be useful in any situation where you were looking for the input of others who might not be at the same location as you. It could be something as simple as a poster advertising an event. Maybe someone would have an idea that would make the catch words really pop. Or maybe someone would find a more sensitive way to phrase something in a letter that addressed a difficult subject. The possibilities are endless when you can have so many minds working together on something where they can see the actual results.
I think that a pbwiki would be useful in any situation where you were looking for the input of others who might not be at the same location as you. It could be something as simple as a poster advertising an event. Maybe someone would have an idea that would make the catch words really pop. Or maybe someone would find a more sensitive way to phrase something in a letter that addressed a difficult subject. The possibilities are endless when you can have so many minds working together on something where they can see the actual results.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thing #21 - Podcasts
My first exposure to podcasts was when I got into the television show Lost. I found a few things to listen to on Podcast.com on the same subject, but I didn't enjoy them as much as I did the official podcasts from ABC. I found these bits rather entertaining for several reasons. The show Lost is a giant puzzle or mystery to solve, and each podcast gave the listener a few extra bits of information to piece together. The writers are there speaking as they would to a group of friends in a very familiar way. This brings the viewers and the writers of the show together in a way that may have never been experienced before. You can start to understand their senses of humor and see how the writing is influenced by their personalities. And yet with all of this new technology, it did bring the group of us listening together as the old radio shows would have. Everyone sat around the computer listening and laughing. Podcasts are another great example of how the world becomes smaller as we all play our part in creating entertainment that is accessible to anyone.
Here is a link to a list of podcasts found on ABC pertaining to the show Lost.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=podcast#t=3421
Here is a link to a list of podcasts found on ABC pertaining to the show Lost.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=podcast#t=3421
Thing #20 - YouTube
I have become one of the millions that can sit around and look through videos on YouTube. One evening when I was feeling a little sad about missing my own kitty, I came across this video and it brings a smile to my face every time I view it.
Thing #19 - Web 2.0 Awards
After looking at a few different categories, I got stuck on the top choice in music. www.Last.fm let's you find music that you might like based on bands or artists that may be similar. You can search based on genre or just start going through some of their suggestions. I liked that I was able to listen to full tracks by the artists as well. I have used MySpace and iTunes as a way of finding new bands, and I think I could see myself using this website as well. You can even share certain songs that you like with friends, which I haven't seen as a feature on the other two sources I usually use.
I also liked the food site www.imcooked.com. I'm always looking for new recipes online and it's nice to have someone else put together a collection without having to weed through so many advertisements.
I also liked the food site www.imcooked.com. I'm always looking for new recipes online and it's nice to have someone else put together a collection without having to weed through so many advertisements.
Thing #16 - Wikis
I don't think I realized the full potential of Wikis before starting this challenge. I knew from experience with Wikipedia that people could add and update information, but I never thought of using it for something as practical as a camping trip(which I plan often). The Library Success page is full of resources. As I'm just starting out at the library, a lot of the information doesn't pertain to my job, but hopefully it will one day. One thing I found that will be useful is the link to reader recommendations. I've been around books for a long time, and I'm familiar with popular titles, but lacking the time to really read what current, I find it difficult to make certain suggestions. This resource will really help me with that.
I looked around at the OCL entry on Wikipedia. I liked looking at the edits in the history. One thing that stuck out was a spelling correction. I can't stand it when I look at a website and find a spelling mistake. With the use of Wikis, people can fix these little errors that the creator might have overlooked. Just a small pet peeve made better, but it's something. As of now, I usually use MySpace as a way of coordinating our camping trips, but maybe I'll have to suggest trying to set up a Wiki of our own.
I looked around at the OCL entry on Wikipedia. I liked looking at the edits in the history. One thing that stuck out was a spelling correction. I can't stand it when I look at a website and find a spelling mistake. With the use of Wikis, people can fix these little errors that the creator might have overlooked. Just a small pet peeve made better, but it's something. As of now, I usually use MySpace as a way of coordinating our camping trips, but maybe I'll have to suggest trying to set up a Wiki of our own.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thing #15 - Library 2.0
The library has undergone such change in just the past ten years. Library systems began as a way of providing information to all the public, regardless of status, and the library continues to work at new ways of meeting the needs of all its patrons. I think this has been possible by the change in attitude of what a library can be for the community and what a librarian's role is in serving the community. People seem to be doing more, working later, and are always on the run. The library has worked at providing more access to its materials than simple during the hours of operation. People can search for books, place holds, renew material, sign up for programs, all from the comfort of their home computer. Patrons are able to return materials without stepping foot in the building. The library provides access to the Internet, which creates an endless amount of resources. All of these advances make the library more accessible to an even greater percentage of the community. The library works hard at keeping the website up to date with the most current information about upcoming events. It allows users to see advertisements of events that might be beyond their backyard. I don't think that any of the motivation behind better serving the public has changed throughout the history of the library system, but the practices of serving and the speed at which policies are changing is the heart of library 2.0.
Thing #14 - Technorati
More so than any other time in our history, the new developments in technology seem to be happening overnight. In order to stay in the playing field, regardless of what industry you are in, you are going to need continual training in software, social networking and even just the defining of language that goes along with all of these new practices.
Technorati is another site that takes some of the grunt work out of finding what we might be looking for. This site serves to link all personal or professional blogs that may contain information or opinions about specific subjects. What's rather amazing is how instantaneously everything becomes available. The site will let you know that something was published as recently as minutes ago. This allows you to find the most up to date changes on a site you may regularly follow.
I think that this will have a huge effect on this year's election, and all elections to come. There is a new trend to get information about the candidates offline, and when searching, these blogs will often come up. Although the information may not be as factual as what people have been exposed to previously through the media, the influence it can have on a person's vote is just as powerful. As it gets closer to election time, I might find myself reviewing these sites a bit more closely.
Technorati is another site that takes some of the grunt work out of finding what we might be looking for. This site serves to link all personal or professional blogs that may contain information or opinions about specific subjects. What's rather amazing is how instantaneously everything becomes available. The site will let you know that something was published as recently as minutes ago. This allows you to find the most up to date changes on a site you may regularly follow.
I think that this will have a huge effect on this year's election, and all elections to come. There is a new trend to get information about the candidates offline, and when searching, these blogs will often come up. Although the information may not be as factual as what people have been exposed to previously through the media, the influence it can have on a person's vote is just as powerful. As it gets closer to election time, I might find myself reviewing these sites a bit more closely.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thing #13 - Tagging
This web challenge exposed me to the site del.icio.us for the first time. I am a big user of my favorites tool bar. The first video brings up a rather good point. Having a favorites saved on a computer is great if you are at home, but what happens when you might need to retrieve something while you are away? If you have a del.icio.us account, it makes it possible to get your saved sites regardless of you location.
I can see this being really useful if you were working as part of a team, or in a situation where you had several staff members utilizing the same online resources. Again this would be a great tool for a school system. Not only does it allow you to share great resources, but it also lets you comment on what makes that site special or unique. If I was writing a paper, I think tagging would be useful in organizing information. Often times you come across something that might not be related to what you are working on, but that might be useful for another project or paper. Using a site like this would make keeping all of the sorting a much easier task. It makes it so that you can take your favorites folders from your computer and bring them wherever you please.
I can see this being really useful if you were working as part of a team, or in a situation where you had several staff members utilizing the same online resources. Again this would be a great tool for a school system. Not only does it allow you to share great resources, but it also lets you comment on what makes that site special or unique. If I was writing a paper, I think tagging would be useful in organizing information. Often times you come across something that might not be related to what you are working on, but that might be useful for another project or paper. Using a site like this would make keeping all of the sorting a much easier task. It makes it so that you can take your favorites folders from your computer and bring them wherever you please.
Thing #12 - NetLibrary & WorldCat
Being completely unfamiliar with ebooks, NetLibrary was very easy to sign up for. I did a few different types of searches, some for authors and some subject. I liked the recent search feature, which allowed you to go back to a previous search if you had better results the first time. The related topics also gives you suggestions for words that might bring about better results. I think I would be able to show a patron how to find common titles or titles on a specific subject matter.
The first thing I thought of when I was searching NetLibrary was how useful it could be for high school or college students. If a high school student left a book in his or her locker that he or she was reading for English class, the student might be able to complete the reading assignment by finding the material online. It's also a great resource for a college student who might be trying to save money by not purchasing all of the required reading. There are also several resources that could be used when writing a paper that you could access even if the library was closed.
I did a search on WorldCat for the title Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The closest library that contained this title was the OCL. The search features make it rather easy to find the actual title even if you don't know all of the information accurately. It also has a short summary feature that gives you an idea of what the book is about. I think this would be useful in helping recommend new material or helping a patron find a title if they are able to give you a tad bit of what the book is about. Almost all of the information needed for a request for material form is located on WorldCat, along with being able to find out if a reciprocating library owns that specific title.
The first thing I thought of when I was searching NetLibrary was how useful it could be for high school or college students. If a high school student left a book in his or her locker that he or she was reading for English class, the student might be able to complete the reading assignment by finding the material online. It's also a great resource for a college student who might be trying to save money by not purchasing all of the required reading. There are also several resources that could be used when writing a paper that you could access even if the library was closed.
I did a search on WorldCat for the title Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The closest library that contained this title was the OCL. The search features make it rather easy to find the actual title even if you don't know all of the information accurately. It also has a short summary feature that gives you an idea of what the book is about. I think this would be useful in helping recommend new material or helping a patron find a title if they are able to give you a tad bit of what the book is about. Almost all of the information needed for a request for material form is located on WorldCat, along with being able to find out if a reciprocating library owns that specific title.
Thing #11 - Library Thing
By far the most amazing thing I've come across so far during this web challenge. After working at a bookstore, and being an English major, I have accumulated quite a collection of books. I love the idea of being able to organize them and keep track of titles, but gathering all of the information is quite a task. This site allows you to keep a record with such ease.
I haven't had a chance to become a part of any kind of discussion group, but I have read a few reviews of books in my collection. It's nice to be able to read something that honest. It's rare to find a review of material that isn't by someone trying to sell you the book, and also isn't by someone who is using the ability to post as a way to vent for a regretful purchase. These are written by people who truly have a love of books.
I seem to keep coming back to my grandfather while I'm blogging for this web challenge. It's rather appropriate since he was always pushing me to start my master's in library science, and here I am finally working in a library. He was a great lover of books, and when he passed away, he left rooms full of books. My mother and my uncles have been trying to figure out a way to note his collection as a way of seeing if anyone would be interested in certain titles. The entire family is full of book lovers, and I think this is going to be our answer.
I haven't had a chance to become a part of any kind of discussion group, but I have read a few reviews of books in my collection. It's nice to be able to read something that honest. It's rare to find a review of material that isn't by someone trying to sell you the book, and also isn't by someone who is using the ability to post as a way to vent for a regretful purchase. These are written by people who truly have a love of books.
I seem to keep coming back to my grandfather while I'm blogging for this web challenge. It's rather appropriate since he was always pushing me to start my master's in library science, and here I am finally working in a library. He was a great lover of books, and when he passed away, he left rooms full of books. My mother and my uncles have been trying to figure out a way to note his collection as a way of seeing if anyone would be interested in certain titles. The entire family is full of book lovers, and I think this is going to be our answer.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thing #9 - Finding Feeds
While I was working on Thing #8, I was able to familiarize myself a bit with searching for RSS feeds. I found that the search feature on Bloglines was helpful in that it allowed you to separate your search into feeds or blogs. For my educational choices, I liked that it cut out lesser qualified sources which might appear in blogs, and allowed me to just search formal websites.
Topix.net had more of a generalized search feature, where Technorati allowed you to perform an advanced search that could be used to narrow down a search to a specific area of a topic. ...kind of like the Boolean keywords :)
Topix.net had more of a generalized search feature, where Technorati allowed you to perform an advanced search that could be used to narrow down a search to a specific area of a topic. ...kind of like the Boolean keywords :)
Thing # 6 - More Photo Fun
This is a picture of the pay phone, which is located down the hall from the circulation desk. At any random time, you may find it ringing. When I first got here, I couldn't figure out where this mysterious ring was coming from. Sometimes we answer it, and sometimes it just stops.
Thing #8 - RSS
RSS is something completely new to me. I can see it becoming a useful resource since my time for looking online is rather limited. It takes my favorites list and cuts out all of the extras so that I can get to what's useful.
I think that http://www.bloglines.com/ can become useful in the library in the same sense that OceanNet has become a part of our daily routine. OceanNet serves as an internal source of updates and information. With the help of Bloglines, the library staff could have a streamlined set up for finding external updates; whether it be a new release of material or a community event that may effect the library system.
I think that http://www.bloglines.com/ can become useful in the library in the same sense that OceanNet has become a part of our daily routine. OceanNet serves as an internal source of updates and information. With the help of Bloglines, the library staff could have a streamlined set up for finding external updates; whether it be a new release of material or a community event that may effect the library system.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thing #5 - Flickr
I have always been drawn to trees. There is a certain stability about them that I have always been drawn to due to a lack of such in my own life. There is also a grace and beauty about them that seems to silently teach these lessons to anyone in their presence.
I was drawn to this picture because it reminded me of a particular tree that I used to visit while I was in college. I found it within the first week of being in this new place, new state, surrounded by new people; and somehow it seemed like home. It must have had some traumatic event during its developmental years that caused it to branch out directly over the lake. Its strength seemed to tease gravity by holding it just about a foot above the water. I would take my notebook or book and climb out as far as I could. There at the end was a perfect nook to sit in. No matter what stress I may have been feeling, being there on that tree, I felt like I was a million miles away from everything and everyone.
Whenever I am in the area, I go back to visit that tree. I was even able to climb out on it this Thanksgiving, given our unseasonably warm weather. It seems the tree in this image may have experienced a similar beginning fate, and like my tree in Delaware, it continues to hold strong and remains an unusual speck of beauty in an unsuspecting place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/new-yorkled/533593187/
I was drawn to this picture because it reminded me of a particular tree that I used to visit while I was in college. I found it within the first week of being in this new place, new state, surrounded by new people; and somehow it seemed like home. It must have had some traumatic event during its developmental years that caused it to branch out directly over the lake. Its strength seemed to tease gravity by holding it just about a foot above the water. I would take my notebook or book and climb out as far as I could. There at the end was a perfect nook to sit in. No matter what stress I may have been feeling, being there on that tree, I felt like I was a million miles away from everything and everyone.
Whenever I am in the area, I go back to visit that tree. I was even able to climb out on it this Thanksgiving, given our unseasonably warm weather. It seems the tree in this image may have experienced a similar beginning fate, and like my tree in Delaware, it continues to hold strong and remains an unusual speck of beauty in an unsuspecting place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/new-yorkled/533593187/
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