Week 11- Things 23

So, I made it to the end. It has been an up and down journey. At times I was grumbling at my computer saying things like, "I don't know how to get this to work!" Or "Who needs this anyway?!" At other times I was saying things like, "Wow! Cool! I can see how I this would work great in such and such a situation."

Overall, I am glad I did the course. I am also glad that it was done online at my convenience. I seemed to keep up for a while and then hit the holidays and got hopelessly behind. So it was nice to be able to come back to it and finish it up. However, sometimes, having it be all online was frustrating because when I got stuck, I would have no one to ask questions of except me , myself and my computer screen. Posting comments didn't seem to help any with this. But in the end, I bumbled through the things I wasn't sure of and am glad of the exposure to this if not the mastery of it.

Some of the things like Facebook and MySpace were not things I would use or that I can see our library using, but I was glad to have had exposure to them. Now I at least know what all those kids are spending hours doing on the computers when they are busy "talking" to their "friends."

Other things, like "online productivity tools" were things that I can see will be helpful as our library board tries to hash out polices or write grants while not always having time to meet in person to do this.

Overall, I am glad for the exposure too all this. I now know more of what is out there and have kept a copy of all the lessons so I can refer back to them if I want to go back and delve further into any one thing. I would be interested in another one of these discovery online courses again in the future. Perhaps even pick one or two "Things" that most people said were most useful to libraries and focus on those in a more in-depth way. Thank you for this opportunity.

Week 11- Thing 22

Wow, I have heard my kids talk about podcasts and how they would listen to their favorite NPR shows on their computer, at their convenience but now I know how to do that and am excited for the possibilities. I am not sure how the library would use this particular "thing" as far as downloading podcasts--other than telling/teaching patrons about how this works and what a great resource it is. In our town, highspeed internet is not available to all (including me except at work) so downloading anything is a bother. But for those who have it at home or want to come to the library to download podcasts, it has lots of potential.

I can't really see our small library creating a podcast--though some kind of "read-a-loud" one would be fun. Or maybe an "oral histories of town citizens" one. But I don't think we have the time or resources for it at this point in time.

Week 11- Thing 21

Here is the link to the video I chose off of YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA It is not exactly a library video, but I love it. It is a video clip that came up when I searched for "libraries" under YouTube. Though I found others, I came back to this one because I LOVE cookie monster!

Prior to this lesson, I knew about YouTube because my kids had shown me a video clip or two on it. But I was under the impression that it was mostly something that kids posted their videos on. I was very pleased to see that I could find things of historical interest, such as Martin Luther King's "I Have Dream" speech.

I liked the idea of having a YouTube video contest entitled "Why I love Peacham Library," or something of the sort. I think using this as a way to get kids into the library to talk about what we have here and to shoot the video or whatever is a good idea.

Other ideas would be videoing events that we have and putting them online for people who missed them.---Though I guess that would make for a video that is too long.

Week 10- Thing 20

After having looked through several of the categories and sites in the Web 2.0 Award nominee list, I came back to one that I had looked at a while ago in a previous Vermont's 23 Things lesson. That site is Library Thing. Though I cannot imagine ever having the time to actually log my personal collection into the site, I think there is much there of interest. Author chats, book talks, early reviewers, discussions by genre etc. As one person commented, " ... I love the reviews and recommendation service on Amazon, but it's even better on library thing... I think that it could be really useful even if I never use it to catalog my own books."

I could also see directing patrons who are avid readers to the site---especially those who like a particular genre and who perhaps do not have people to share or discuss books in this genre in our very small town.

Week 10- Thing 19

Week 10- Thing 19

I am trying to figure out if I really am brave enough to try to post my blog post to my blog by using the publish feature. We shall see if it works in a moment.

I can see that there are many uses for this sort of thing---especially when working with, say, a committee of people who are all in various places. No need to email documents back and forth and have various versions kept track of while sending them via email. At a time when gas prices are rising (and falling and rising again) this would be a great way to share work with a committee while not having to actually meet in person for all the steps of a process of working on a grant or a project.

I like the fact that the word processing features are mostly familiar to me so that I don't have to learn a new system in order to tap into these online productivity tools.

Week 9- Thing 18

Ok- That was interesting. I had more success checking out wikis and learning about all the zillions of ones there are out there to access, than I had with adding to them. But I did manage to add to the favorite books on the PBWiki site. And I added my blog there too. I seem to be able to do the basic things, but if I need to really do something complicated, I feel like I need a course in how to navigate that. :-)

Week 9- Thing 17- Wikis

Well, I am very intrigued with this weeks "thing." I knew about wikipedia and have used it now and then. I knew how it worked basically, but not much more. But I had no idea that wikis had so many applications. I can see many uses for this. Whether it be lists of books library patrons recommend, or lists of books recommended for a book discussion group, all are a way to have people share in an interactive and ever-evolving site on a given topic. I really enjoyed the Book Lovers Wiki and Nancy Pearl's Book Lust wiki. I can see myself tapping into those for ideas on books to order for our library.

I can see the downfalls of wikis when it comes to things such as wikipedia where topics are supposed to be factual. There is a potential for real misinformation. But for sites where the info is mostly opinion---such as good book ideas etc, I think it has great potential.

Thing 16- Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

This is a very interesting topic. It is one that is somewhat overwhelming and a bit scary for a small rural library. I read the first 7 articles from "Web 2.0- Where Will it Take Libraries" on down. All were clearly advocating us to get with the program so to speak when it comes to Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 trends. While I can see the need for it and can see that it has huge potential to offer amazing access to info for patrons, I see many problems and obstacles: lack of time, lack of funding, lack of technical skill on the part of the part-time librarians, lack of technical skill on the part of patrons etc.

Just on the topic of lack off skill with patrons: Already many of our patrons are having a hard time keeping up with the pace of change. Older patrons especially (and by this I mean anyone over about 40) seem to be overwhelmed with all the navigating on the web. I spend a lot of time helping people figure out even simple things like how to set up an account with Google, or how to navigate a website. I am seeing symptoms of what I would call future shock in my patrons already.

So how to find time and resources for all this? When I read "Advocacy: A Ripple Effect" I was both inspired and discouraged. I had to chuckle at at the thought that this school was rural and small. It seems quite large by the standards of our small rural town.

In sum, this gives me so much to think about and and certainly shows that we are in for some exciting and challenging times.

Thing 15- Technorati

This was kind of interesting. I have to say that the capabilities to pull in news items was more interesting to me than the possibility of pulling in blogs on a topic. Perhaps that is because I don't like having to weed through someone's personal blog to see if there is any valid info in it. Though if it were a blog on sharing insights or interests on a topic, that would be a different thing.

I played with the search and advanced search options and found them useful. Anything that allows me to narrow down a search, and therefore narrow down the time it takes to find what I want, is good thing. This seems to be a recurrent theme on my blog and on my mind. There just is not enough time to take advantage of all these things. And when I do find them useful, I find they take a long time to use. Perhaps that is because our library is run on only 24 hours of paid time a week.----Simply not enough time to keep the library running and to take advantage of all these opportunities on the web.

However, I have already told one patron about Technorati because I could see it would be useful to them. So even if I, as a librarian, don't have the time to use all this, just knowing about it and being able to suggest it to patrons is a good thing.

Week 8- Thing 14- Delicious

I can see that this is another useful one. I searched for "children's literature" both through delicious and through Google. There was a lot of crossover, but they were not entirely the same. I played around with looking at tags and found some neat sites. I espcially like the fact that I can access this from any computer. I am on a variety of computers both at home and at work and am always thinking, "Oh darn, that is on my other computer. What IS that website?" So this will help with that problem.

I also think this is something that I can share with the many patrons who come in and use our computers because they do not have thier own computer or because their internet connections is too slow.

Week 7- Thing 13- Library Thing

Here is the link for my Library Thing site. http://www.librarything.com/home/PLloggerC

I enjoyed this site and can think of many, many people whom I know, both librarians and non-librarians, who would enjoy this site. A great way to share books as well as to check out what others are reading.

Week 7- Thing 12

OK- I am still totally confused as to what generators are and what they are used for. I am stuck on this one and realized that I have stopped progressing in the course because of it. So I am going to jump over it and try to move on. Maybe I can come back to it when I see examples of what other people have done.

Week 4- Thing 11

Well, I set up a Facebook account, though it is minimal at best. I do not own a digital camera, so I do not have a picture that I want to post. I searched for "friends" and found my daughter at college, so sent her a message to her wall. I looked around at the other options and explored them but did not feel compelled to do those things. I suspect that I will take myself off of Facebook once this course is over, if you can do that. I am not all that comfortable with it.

I am glad that I went through the process. It makes me understand a bit more of what kids are talking about when they talk about things like "posting to the wall" or "friending someone." Still, once again, if I have free time I would rather spend time with friends the old fashion way or go outside or read a book. So I suspect I would not use a site such as this much, if at all.

Week 5- Thing 10- Exercise 2 and 3

I can see the fascination for kids to use the Internet as a way to keep in touch with each other. My limited experience with it, however, makes me worry a bit that kids are spending so much time on the Internet. Face to face interaction seems to have taken a back seat to Internet interaction.

That said, since it seems that these social networking sites are here to stay for a while, I suppose it could be a good thing if libraries tried to tap into youth through these sites. However, I wonder if the kids will use the sites. Will the library use valuable time to set up these sites only to have them used by very few kids? I don't know the answer to that and would be curious to hear if these sites are in fact useful to libraries for connection with youth.

Week 4- Things 8- Exercise 4- RSS Feeds

OK- I have finally set up a Google Reader account and subscribed to 5 blogs. It took me way longer than expected because many of the blogs that I found did not have direct links to RSS feeds so that I could subscribe to them. As far as I can tell, I could not then subscribe to these sites other than to subscribe to and receive the blogs directly, which if I understand it correctly is not the same as receiving updates. (?)

I can see the benefit in these RSS feed subscriptions because I do not have to take the time to look at my favorite sites to see if there are any updates. Instead I will just receive the updates, which is great. Time is in short supply both in my job and in my personal life. So anything that saves time is high on my list.

Still, I wonder, do you end up getting all these "updates" and then don't have time to read through it all? Do people then clutter up their computer with it or just delete things because there is not time to actually read all the updates. I guess I will see with time. But I most certainly was excited to see the wide array of blogs out there about books in their many shapes and forms. It really gives one the feel of being a part of a huge community of book lovers!!

Week 3- Thing 7

Being a brand new librarian (I have been at my new part-time job for about 5 weeks now) I am running into technology related issues that I haven't had to deal with in my personal life in the past. This can be anything from patrons wanting help setting up a hotmail account (which I had never done until that point in time, but seemed to muddle through it OK), to patrons coming to me when the computer, printer or photocopiers jam. Though in other areas of library use I seem to be learning fast and handling patron questions, in this area I feel very inept. Sure, I know how to email, word process, do Internet searches etc. And I even know how to deal with my home printer and computer when it malfunctions sometimes, but I don't know how to deal with all these things at work.

As I tackle each of these things, I have begun to learn the quirks of our machines, and how to deal with paper jams etc. However, when the computers in particular do not behave, I really feel at a loss. Luckily my co-director is VERY knowledgeable about technology issues. She can troubleshoot and fix these things. But she is most often not here when I am here. So when a patron needs the computer or printer to work NOW, and I am the only one there, I am put on the spot and often feel quite stupid.

I just read an article in American Libraries magazine about this very issue. Part of the article talks about how patrons seem to feel that if the library provides computers for patron use, then the librarians are also there to help and should know how to deal with all technology issues or problems.

Clearly, I need to learn more. However, there is so much to know. And it is way beyond the hours that I am paid for or even my personal interest to know. I worry a little bit that taking this 23 Things course will expose me to these new things, but not give me enough knowledge to really deal with them. I guess we shall see at the end of this if I still feel the same way.

Week 3- Things 6- Mashups

Well, I just spent a lot of time exploring the various links to the mashups listed on the 23 Things site. Some of them seem pretty fun. I can see how someone who was really info flickr and internet possiblities would enjoy this. I suspect that it is nothing I would personally use much. But I could possibly forsee using some of the mashup sites to creat posters for events at the library. I especially think it could be fun to use the Spell with Flickr and the Flickr Color Pickr to make posters for children's programs at the library. On the other had, the cost in ink, especially colored ink, to print out the posters that might be created would be kind of expensive.

As always, there are endless possibliites but there is not endless amounts of TIME to use this stuff!!!

I just used Spell with Flickr to write out STORY HOUR but, after much time and frustration, I could not figure out how to get that imgae moved here to my blog. On the one hand, I like being able to do this course in my own time, but on the other hand, when I hit a wall and can't figure out how to do things, here I sit alone with no one to help me. This is the problem with online courses sometime. There is no teacher to ask. And asking a question online is hard to do since there are so many "click here" kind of steps that are better shown in person.

Still I am happy to have been exposed to the possiblities, and perhaps I can mess around with them in the presence of someone who could help me use them.

Week 3- Thing 5- Exercise a

I tried to download an image from flickr but had trouble. My son suggested that it may be because of copyright rules. He suggested that I try searching Google Image for a photo, so I did that.

This photo is of Stiges, Spain. My brother lives there and my oldest son is about to go there for 3 months. Looks pretty nice! I may have to have him set up a flickr account and send me photos from Sitges. :-)

Week 1- Thing 2-Exercise 2 (71/2 Habits)

After reading the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, I was struck by how much it reminded me of many homeschoolers philosophies. I homeschooled all three of my kids from K-12. The last one just went off to college, so this is fresh on my mind. These habits read like a list of basic philosophies for our homeschooling, which makes sense since many homeschoolers view learning and education as an ongoing process, not something that happens only during "school hours" or during your K-12 or college years of life.

That said, I would say that the easiest habit for me is #1--Begin with the end in mind. I am a very goal-oriented person, so I am always setting goals and working toward carrying them out, while continually checking in to see if I have moved toward my goal.

I would say that the hardest one for me would be Habit # 6- Use technology to your advantage. Though I am somewhat computer literate, I do not naturally move toward doing things on a computer. I prefer writing on paper, list making on paper, letter writing etc. all on paper. So I have to make myself use the computer in certain cases. I need to learn more about technology so I can make a better decision as to when it is appropriate to use it and when it is not. Hence, I am taking this course toward that aim.

Confusion

This is the first post to my blog. I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants and am not sure if I am doing this correctly or not. I guess I will see if this ends up working when I push the button.