Week 9, Thing 23

Whew! I did think at one point that I might not make it this far!
I learned something from each of the exercises, but I personally won't use some of them. Social networking "for me" is accomplished face-to-face with people in the same room. I know that is an old-fashioned point of view, but I never have liked the idea of sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end. However,I know that today's teens and young people are different, and libraries need to know how they relate and how they communicate, in order to be relevant to them.

There were times in the process of working through the 23 things when the thought flitted across my mind that other staff people must have a lot more time to play on the Internet that I do. I found it hard to set aside time to work on this with so many other pressing duties, and customers to wait on. It's difficult at a branch location to manage an uninterrupted time to work on any project, including this one.(I can't speak to the challenges at ML since I've never worked there.)
If you do something like this again, I would allocate more time to the staff to work on it. Some of the exercises were definitely more challenging for me. I caught myself thinking, "I don't have time for this!!" However, I am glad to have done it. Now I know a little bit about each of the 23 things. I do like learning new things, but this program sort of forced me to learn things I normally wouldn't have taken time for. I hate to sound mercenary, but having a decent incentive, and being able to do a lot of the exercises on work time were big motivators. Just in case you missed my choice of incentives, it's the MP3 player!
I'm surprised with some things I found and like--Wikis, Web-based productivity tools, LibraryThing, Flickr. I can see that I would use these. Other things, like Podcasts and RSS, and even blogs have potential for library uses.
All in all, I think this was a great way to get staff to try some new things. I wish I had had more time to play with some of the applications. I'd like to have time to get more comfortable with the ones I've listed above, and perhaps I will at some point. I think this was a great concept, and I'm thankful to the O! What a Geek team for setting these lessons up. It was a worthwhile project! Thanks.

Week 9, Thing 22

I chose myLibraryDV to play with. I've been using OverDrive for about 3 years, and I love it. I hadn't tried the MyLibraryDV yet because I generally don't have time for movies, and I don't like watching them on a computer if I do. However, I found it very easy to download the needed software and to play the first part of the movie. I think the audiobooks are fantastic things for a library to offer. I'm not so sure about MyLibraryDV. Netflicks offers so much more and it seems as if people prefer to subscribe to it, or go to their grocery store to get a movie. I don't know what our stats are like, or what the cost of the service is, but I think our offerings are just too slim to even bother with. (Is that a faux pas?)I think the materials are easy to use and I am comfortable assisting patrons in using these formats.

Week 9, Thing 21

I checked out the Wikipedia article on Podcasts, and then I looked at both PodcastDirectory.com and Podcastalley.com. I didn't like the format of PodcastDirectory at all. I kept getting hung up. The particular links I kept trying didn't work well at all. I had much better luck with podcastalley. It seemed much easier to navigate. I added the Dave Ramsey daily show RSS feed to my bloglines account. I really don't want to be a Podcaster at this point, but I think there are a number of possibilities for the library. We have some unique storytimes at the library, and I think it could be handy to have podcasts of those storytimes or some of them as a way of inviting people in to the buildings for live storytimes. Perhaps the first of a series of PrimeTime could be Podcast, again with the intention of calling attention to what is going on at the library, and giving a preview. We could podcast special programs as well. Perhaps you could do a series of lively book discussions, if some of the groups are willing to be filmed.

Week 9, Thing 20

The hardest part of this lesson was creating an account with YouTube. I kept getting a message that I was ineligible to create an account. I finally figured out that is was basing my information on the zip code and birthdate I had used to create my google gmail account that I've been using for these exercises. What an exercise in frustration! I did keep after it and after that it was easy (after reading the instructions) to embed this video. I chose it because it never fails to make me laugh. In the words of Proverbs 17:22, ""22": A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Week 8, Thing 19

I looked at the Family History Wiki Project - Example Family. I like the whole idea of this particular Wiki. I got interested in Family History when my mother died, and I realized that I didn't know much about our families, and she left very little in the way of information. I started compiling the information I had, but that was when I had only one grandchild, and now I have 7, so it has sort of gone by the wayside. I see this application as a way to get back to searching our my roots via the Internet and rather than supplying info by letters and phone calls, I can solicit help via the Wiki. I might just get inspired.

The project started with the author using wikispaces which is a free space (up to a limit in the amount of storage space) If I fill up that space, I can then consider if I want to "buy" a larger space for a monthly fee. Wikispaces adds advertising to its free spaces, so I may not like that in the long run. However, It was very easy to set up 2 spaces (one for each of my parents' ancestors)and to edit the pages. Of course I haven't added much real content yet, but I did take the video tours, and I don't think this will be difficult to use at all.

Week 8, Thing 18

After a marvelous suggestion from a colleague, I am creating this document so that I can upload (or is it download) it to my blog.  After getting it here, I discovered that the operative word is Publish.
I am very excited by the possibilities of using google docs for collaboration.  I have often served on committees where everyone needed to have a way to share their information.  How perfect would it be to use the web-based applications?  Each person could contribute their part of the information to be shared, rather than have one person compile the information from all the different members.  What a timesaver that could be. It's a very cool idea.  I like also that you can set up who has access to the file, that it saves the older version and that it is all in one place.  (it's easy to get confused when you have multiple versions of documents all over the place) This is surely an idea whose time has come. You can also set it up as an RSS feed to notify others when changes are made to the document.   I noticed also that it has a continuous save feature for those of us who forget to save until we have finished a document. 

 

The other, very beneficial, side to these web-based apps. is that you don't have to buy the software!  Count me in!

 

Week 7, Thing 17

I got tripped up a little bit because the invite key (new term to me) was posted right on the page at PLCMC. I missed it at first. Too obvious! I was really surprised how easy it was to add my favorite animals and my favorite saying at PLCMC. It looked lots more difficult than it was. I usually do find that reading the instructions before I am actually at the right place tends to confuse me. I was chatting with a colleague in my building, and we were talking about how some of the exercises didn't work the way we thought they would, and she sort of scared me off adding my blog. It was so easy though, that I had to go back and double check that I actually managed it without much effort.

week 7, Thing 16

I like the premise behind wikis. I was particularly interested in the SCPL subject guides for St. Jo Country PLS. I loved being able to click on elections (at least I think that's what I clicked one) and it was neat to have access to local, state and national election information. I could envision something that could gather "election guides " from many different points of view and having them available from one access point. Sort of a one-stop shopping guide with info from bar associations, values-bases organizations, leagues of women voters, etc.
I thought the best practices wiki was a good one too. I was sad to see so little "weeding" information on it and it would be a good place to contribute. Maybe OPL could "share" some best practices--for example, does every staff member know about item group editor and using inventory to creae lists?
I think OPL could potentially use a wiki for problem items, among other things. You could organize your items and carry them in a wiki for much easier checking than happens with the email group. Right now, you can't see what someone else has on their problem shelf. I think you could in a wiki format.

Week 6, Thing 15 Library 2.0

Library 2.0 is a broad concept to think aobut. Lately, with the concentration on the 23 things, I was slipping into the notion that 2.0 is all about NEW, TECHNOLOGY, VIRTUAL. It is about that, but it's more a focus on user-centered services, collaboration, and communication. How we discover what our users want is still a difficult proposition, even with the ability for some of them to tell us online.

In spite of the notion that Storey mentions (that we are all always connected online), libraries still have the same old problem of access. Not everyone has it!

Even when people do have access, I often think that libraries in general have missed the boat that sailed with Google. I fear that we are putting our time and energy into something for which we are already too late. It seems as if we are always trying to play catch-up instead of being truly innovative. It's easy to appear critical and I certainly don't intend that, particularly since I don't have any solutions to contribute. I just have many years of observing.

I really think that innovation might come from folks like Michael Stephens, who, at least, seems to recognize some of the needed qualities to be a 2.0 Librarian. I particularly liked his notion of keeping technolust curbed, and ensuring that any given technology will actually enhance services and delivery.

Week 6, Thing 14

I didn't get excited about Technorati. I really really dislike popups and flashing advertising. It's far too distracting and hard on my eyes. The more time I spent there, the less I enjoyed it.
I did several searches in different parts and was surprised to get the same number of results. I thought the searches would be more selective.
I was surprised also by the use of the word "authority" thinking it was perhaps related to what I think of as traditional authority in library speak. It was related to the number of people who linked to the blog. ( I found that in FAQ's)

I guess I was truly surprised by what is popular in the blogosphere. For better or worse, it's a different world. It's good to have that information available and to know it's there.
I wasn't up for the challenge of claiming my blog. I actually would prefer to disclaim my blog! :)

Week 6, Thing 13

I looked at both of the resources suggested to get an overview of Delicious. I even created an account. I can see where this tool might be helpful if you were doing research on a topic. Some interesting url's on dementia turned up that I hadn't seen before, and they came up really fast. I didn't spend a lot of time looking at the sources that came up. I bookmarked them in my delicious account for future reference.

Week5,Thing 12

Not only did I get to create a search roll, I had opportunity to edit it. After I finished creating a short list, I thought about some other things to which I might want to have easy access. I went back to add to my original list and I changed the tags. I think I have linked to my list, but it's one of those instances where I can't really tell until I have posted the post. This whole business of not being able to see what's there until you make your post is a bit frustrating. I tried creating a draft in order to see what I had done, but I ended up having to start over since my draft wouldn't show up. Question to self: Do you want some cheese with your whine?

Select Search Engine...serenitySearch The Web

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Week 5 Thing 11

Well, using library thing to catalog some books was mystifyingly simple. I couldn't believe I had added books so easily, so I ended up adding the same one several times. However, because of that, I found out how easy it is to delete books as well. This is one application that, at some season of my life, I might actually use to find folks with similar interests.
The widget was fun and easy to use as well.

Week 5, Thing 10 again

Well, I had a little trouble saving my creation. After I created my Wordle, I thought I followed the directions, and I was expecting the image to show up in the blog. It didn't. I found that I had to save the post first before I could see my creation. That was a little frustrating. I think it might have something to do with that "technology thing" (where it's intuitive for younger folks, to catch on, but some of us who are older don't see it as easily:) )
I looked at a couple of other image generators. (Sarah Palin baby name? color illusion?-- not for me) I was tempted to play with liftmagic.com and weightmirror.com, but I didn't have a picture with me. It was probably a mercy I didn't have one since I was thinking of aging myself, and adding weight as a sort of reminder to continue to eat well and take care of myself.

Most of the generators I look at were sort of ho-hum. They weren't things on which I wanted to fritter away my play time. I know some people are really into image generators, and I am not. It was a good chance to be exposed to image generators, and look at them a little bit. I think I'd prefer to read.

Week 5 Thing 10

Saving my image from Wordle seems to require that I post this in my blog.

Week 4, Thing 9

I have to say that I really did not like trying to use Technorati. The first screen had flashing advertising. I think my older eyes really object to that type of content, and it is disorienting to me, so I didn't bother to explore it.
I did find a couple of feeds by using Bloglines Search tool. That was pretty direct to use keywords to find topics of interest. Syndic8.com was very -s-l-o-w-loading anything. On the third try, it brought up a list of feeds, most of which were awaiting approval to syndicate, so I didn't find any useful ones in my particular area of interest.

Week 4, thing 8

I did it! I created an account in bloglines, and subscribed to some RSS feeds. It took a good bit of practice, and a colleague's help to get the hang of adding feeds. Now that I know how to do it, I am amazed at how simple it is to do. I'm not sure I want so much information coming at me from the feeds to which I subscribed. We shall see! I think that perhaps using feeds to cull information that is important to you is a good idea. What bothers me about the idea, though, is that the information is being filtered for me, and the filters might "color" or "select" what I see, much as the news media does. That's certainly something I need to keep in mind.
There is great potential for libraries to judiciously post programming, to boost interest in materials, to inform the public about our library, and to solicit help from the community. Here I think the danger could be in pushing too much information, too often, so that people could turn a "deaf ear", or a "blind eye."

If you happen to be following my posts, I realized that I spelled Wii incorrectly in my last post, and I did practice playing a Wii game the last time I was at my daughter's house. It sure could become addicting. It's probably a good thing I don't have Wii at my house.

#7 Technology

I remember our family's first record player and the disappointment on my dad's face when our 45 rpm recording of Bing Crosby's White Christmas didn't sound like it did on the radio. I remember our first 13 inch black & white television set and the fact that we got 3 (count 'em 3) stations on our TV in New York--Uncle Miltie, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Ed Sulllivan! I remember party-line telephones too! How much things have changed!

I remember the first time I used the Internet, and e-mail. and it was at OPL in the 90's. Pine was a text-based system. I remember thinking that it was much easier to pick up the phone to call someone than to use Pine. It was much easier to search for information in books. How much things have changed!

I sometimes am frustrated and feel as if I am so far behind the new waves of technology that I won't ever be able to catch up with my grandkids. I think that the frustration comes simply because it takes time, and play, to become comfortable with a new technology.

My grandkids seem to have an intuition about technology because they don't really know a world without it as I do. I watch them play WI, and wonder how they know how to play the games. It's pretty bad that grandma is looking for the directions, and a 5 yr. old plays without needing them. So, Saturday night when I'm watching them, after they go to bed, I'm going to play WI to see if I can figure it out!

#6 Flickr

Serene
Originally uploaded by serenity3540

I created my own trading card! Not too fancy, but I did it. I liked playing with Mappr and Montagr, but i loved Color Pickr. I took some time to put a few of a purple hue into my favorites. I will be going back to that particular tool. I love just looking at the color wheels. I'm really into jewel tones. Something about them satisfies my inner spirit I guess.

#4 Register my blog

I remembered to register my blog and it did sucessfully make it to the lists of Geek blogs on the O! What a geek page. It's fascinating to look at the blog titles. What a creative group of colleagues we have at OPL!

Week 2 #3

I just noticed that I didn't label my lifelong learning test post with this exercise number. I also didn't mention how easy it was to create a blog. It's an amusing exercise I will admit. I almost wish I liked to write, so I could use a blog to journal. However, to keep with my theme of serenity, I'm not going to add one more thing to my plate for this season of my life. In the words of a dear friend, "I'm NOT doing that!"

#5 Exploring Flickr

IMG_0800
Originally uploaded by serenity3540

Flickr is pretty easy to use. I can see where it might be a good way to share photos with a particular group of people. In this instance, I could have shared my vacation photos with the "cousins" who aren't really my cousins. I'm an honorary cousin and we did share all our group photos from several years ago. ( but not with Flickr)

I had fun playing with the editing tools in Picnik. I didn/t edit this one as much as I did some of my other beach photos. It was fun to use the brighten to make the colors more vivid, but I wanted this one to be darker. This one shows me and one of the cousins doing some body surfing off Pawley's Island, SC. Here I am up to my shoulders in my favorite medium--saltwater- my favorite place of Serenity!

Week 1

I read about 2.0 in Wikipedia and looked through the Library Wiki. I'm excited about learning some of the technologies, and doing it in a semi-structured environment. I'm glad for the opportunity to use some work time and am inspired by the incentive (mp3 player). I have an mp3 now, but it doesn't have the bookmarking capability (What luxury!)

After looking at the lifelong learning presentation, I think the habit that comes easiest to me is to have a goal. The hardest thing for me to do is take time to play. That's why being encouraged to use some work time to explore 2.0 technologies is important to me. My presnet learning goal is to complete this program.

Lifelong Learning

Everyday some new experience or new bit of information or new perspective comes my way. Trying to incorporate the new into my life is what lifelong learning means to me.