Item 23 - summary of thoughts

I have to say that this experience has been more enjoyable than I thought it may be. The steps were put together in a way that allowed me to focus on one new technology at a time - which lessens confusion in my already cluttered mind! Most of the steps were easy to follow, which meant success was easily attained, which of course led to increased confidence and a greater willingness to try the next new thing! Frequent bouts of frustration will eventually discourage me from wanting to try something new - so I am pleased that frustrations were few and far between - which states how well this program was put together.

I think this program is a great learning tool. It would be great to have new "modules" made as more newer technology becomes available - that way we could do just that module and stay updated without becoming overwhelmed.

What I have learned:

That the electronic world is here to stay, and ways we can use that technology in both our personal and professional lives will continue to increase. The more comfortable we are (and as librarians, we must become so) the more tools we will have at our fingertips.
I have also learned that I should not be afraid of new tools and technology. Unlike the old days when, as a programmer, I learned to be really careful and sure that I want to press the "Enter" key, now experimenting can be fun without worrying about destroying entire databases and files (most of the time! at least on Web 2.0 applications!).
I have also learned about a lot of the new tools out on the web available to me. I am certain that when creative opportunities come my way, both here at work and personally, I will think about what is out there that may either simplify, and/or enhance how I go about doing what I need to do.
Mostly, I learned that this new 2.o technology is not all that difficult to learn to use, and I should not hesitate to get out there and be adventurous!

Week 9 Audiobooks

I really like the tutorial for Overdrive and Netlibrary - something like each of these would be great to have on the Overdrive/Netlibrary page of the HCPL website.

I have downloaded ebooks from Overdrive in the past, and that is pretty easy to do. I have just downloaded an audiobook from Overdrive, and that is a little more complicated. One big thing to remember is that when you download Overdrive Media, click on Save, not Run.

However, now that I have everything working, it's really fun to listen to the book I checked out being read. I have played with some of the tools, and find the bookmarker works quite well.
I am looking forward to downloading books on an MP3 Player to see how all that works, as well.

I am finding this all quite exciting as I am realizing that all kinds of doors are opening up for me regarding the many different formats books are now available. I think I still prefer the written word in front of me, as I am a visual person, but it is fun to be read to - the narrator for the book I have checked out has a nice British accent, and as the book takes place in England, it's fun to hear the words pronounced as the writer meant them to be

Week 9 Podcasts

I had fun exploring podcasts - I found things there I wouldn't have imagined...like old broadcasts of the radio program "Lone Ranger". I sent that link to my father, as he often talked about how much fun it was listening to those radio shows. It made me think that links to podcasts of this kind would be great to have on our website - certainly there are others who would get a kick of listening to old broadcasts for free! I also found some public domain books being read aloud as podcasts - things like Huck Finn, Anne of Green Gables, and Pride and Prejudice - ah, another source for those students looking for the talking books for some of the classics!

Of course, it is obvious that podcasts would be great to create for the library - for educating our users on services we offer, as well as educating staff. Once again, here is another resource that we, as librarians, need to remember is out there for ourselves and our patrons.

Week 9 YouTube

Since anyone can put videos on these public sites like YouTube, there will always be some trash to be found, but there are so many good videos out there. I found one showing the sweetness of pigs, which was put together as a response to somthing which must have been anti-pig. The one I found can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNexpa9HdU - watch this (see sidebar) and you'll think twice before eating bacon! This reminded me that a site like YouTube can be used to promote ideas, to share fun videos, to educate (I saw one video on how to use a library's catalog), and these videos are accessible to everyone. This would be a good place for teachers to at least explore to find short videos on topics they are covering. Certainly there are some opportunities here for libraries such as creating videos for training, for connecting with other libraries both within and out of the county. Imagine creating a video showing various library services and telling schools, media specialists, etc. the URL, or putting that URL on our webpage!

Week 8 Exploring Web 2.0

First, I have to say that my initial reaction to all these Web 2.0 sites was amazement at how many there are out there! While looking over the awards list of the sites, I was surprised to see some sites, like Craigslist, which I have been hearing about for years, is actually a Web 2.0 site - being so interactive!

I enjoyed looking at Biblio.com - a site where you can sell and buy rare or out of print books. That's definitely a site we librarians need to be aware of.

I also liked Lulu, which is an online self-publishing site. Not only can you publish word documents, making them accessible to others for review and editing, as well as accessible to yourself from any computer that has the internet, but you can create things like calendars, etc. I can definitely see potential uses of such a site here at the library. For instance, these kind of sites could be used to create a library calendar (an idea thrown around more than once).

Week 8 Online applications - Google docs

I just spent a week in Carova, North Carolina at a house only accessible by 4 wheel drive by driving on the beach. While that in itself was an adventure, it was just as exciting to see the wild horses which live on that beach. It is believed that these horses ( http://www.mycurrituck.com/pictures/horses/CurrituckHorses04.jpg) arrived around 400 years ago with Spanish or Portugese explorers. They were either left there, or swam there after a ship wreck. Isolated on the Outer Banks barrier islands, they became wild and have lived there ever since.

The above is a document I created on Google docs (the image is from Google Images - http://www.mycurrituck.com/pictures/horses/CurrituckHorses04.jpg). It was very easy to do, and even easier to post it to my blog! I think these web-based productivity applications are great! They work very much like microsoft's programs, but they are free and they and the documents you create on them are then available on any computer which has internet access. You can send the documents to anyone without them having to download, and as long as that person has internet access, they can access the documents - for free! No more worrying about whether the recipients have the application on their computer in order to open the document! I love having access to this software for free, as most of the programs by Microsoft cost hundreds of dollar.

Week 7 Sandbox

I felt that the instructions for playing and adding information to the Sandbox were vague, but I felt ok trying on the Sandbox since that wiki is a play-place...I figured I couldn't do too much wrong. And I actually succeeded in adding a link to the wiki! But I feel less confident about creating and using a wiki than I do about some of the other things we have been learning about during this adventure.

However, as I blogged before, I think there are some great things one can do with a wiki here at the library, so someday in the future I may conquer my fears and create one.

Week 7, Wikis

I like the definition of a wiki as being a web site that is built through collaboration of the creators and the users.

I think HCPL could benefit from having wikis like the one developed by St. Joseph County Public Library http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page
This wiki links to websites and databases by subject, all in one easy place. It would be an easy way for newly found websites on a subject to be added.

I also like the use of the wiki format for book discussion groups. What a great place for patrons or librarians to do readers advisory. If patrons don't want to add their thoughts on a book to the wiki themselves, a librarian could certain do it for them. It might be a quick way to get patron reviews on their favorite books, or on books being read in book clubs.

Week 6 Library 2.0

Reading these articles really spelled out for me what Libraries 2.0 is. With the help of interactive technology, users can participate in the dissemination of information, in the format of their choice.

I especially enjoyed reading the articles from OCLC Next Space Newsletter – Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web it take libraries? In the past, I have struggled to see what the future of libraries is - a debate I began hearing about with the rise of AskUsNow! These articles discuss so many possibilities - from having fewing print collections as material is available electronically, to making this electronic information available by providing ipods and laptops to patrons for check out.

Once we finish Learning 2.0, I think it would be great to have a brainstorming session to come up with new ideas and ways (Innovation!) to use some of the Web2.0 technology within the library and on our website, as well as coming up with ways to make sure this information is available to everyone!

Week 6 Technorati

This site has so much on it - and some of those blogs have links to so much more - depending on what the focus of the blog is. Looking at Arianna Huffington's blog made me realize that when you get on a blog done by someone like her, the amount of information being made available on a topic is huge. So, I am realizing, blogs could be a good place to research topics - but as always with the web, the researcher needs to keep in mind who is providing the information, and how trustworthy is it. Having said that, I can see that going to a blog on a topic and seeing if they link to authoritative web sites could be a good approach at times.

I also like looking at the tags and seeing where they take you...a game I will need to be careful of as I can see myself spending a lot of time going deeper and deeper from the original starting point.

Week 6 del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is a very interesting concept, and I can see how this can be a very useful tool. I like the idea of being able to find my "Favorites" on a web site so that they can be accessed from any computer. The podcast talks about using this tool as a way of compiling a reading list, especially when one is doing research on a particular topic. I also think that the libraries which are using this tool on their websites to help patrons find helpful sites on much asked for topics is a great idea! Maybe something for the HCPL webpage in the future? This is definitely something I may experiment with later, although for now, I can't think of a great need I have for this tool at this time. I may have to create a need in order to experiment.

Week 5 Rollyo

I find that as I explore new technology and "get my feet wet" that I feel more and more confident trying new things.

Rollyo is an interesting concept, and since I do a lot of virtual reference, it is a nice place to keep track of favorite web sites that I tend to use when doing online research for virtual patrons. So I have created an account with that usage in mind. I have even added the link to my sidebar here (using the same steps as listed below for adding LibraryThing to my sidebar).

However, other than that kind of usage, I am having a hard time thinking of why I would need such a tool. To me, it is easier to just use google (or other search engines) - there are so many sites out there, that I would never claim to know all the best ones, put them in my rollyo account and then search only my rollyo search engine! However, I am going to keep my rollyo search engine out there and I'll add to it - time will tell if I decide this is the best way to go.

Week 5 LibraryThing

I love the LibraryThing. I think it could be a great Reader's Advisory tool - a way to keep track of the books I have really enjoyed. I also like the idea of using this site to get recommendations for myself from other people who have enjoyed the same books I have.

Using this site was very easy - the hardest part was finding how to link my catalog to my blog - on the sidebar. First, I had to log in to my LibraryThing account and copy the URL from the address box of my browser. Then I needed to log in to my blog and clicked on Layout. On the next screen I clicked on "Add a page element". I clicked on "Link List" and put in the title "My Library Catalog" and then I pasted the link I had copied from LibaryThing into the "New Site URL box". I clicked Add Link and then Save Changes and when I viewed my blog the link was there on the sidebar as a live link.

The one thing I don't like about this site is that you seem to need to click on each book you want to put into your catalog. I have a few favorite authors and I've read most of their books, and I would have liked to have been able to move all their books into my catalog at one time.

How will I ever remember all these new sites I have joined since I began this adventure? :)

Week 5 Online Image Generators

I played with several of the image generators. There are so many generators out there with so many options that I find it overwhelming, and really have to ask, do people really have that much free time on their hands that they can experiment with all this?!
In the past I created an avatar with Meez.com. It was fun, but confusing. Today I played with the Yahoo avatar creator and made a lovely avatar - I found this program a little easier to use - especially when it comes to importing your avatar elsewhere. Here is my avatar:

Yea! it worked. I wasn't sure where to paste my link, so I just pasted it right here in the post area and when I viewed my blog, there it was! Hopefully this image won't disappear like the Flickr one, though since this one is my own creation from my own account, I think it will stay where I put it!

Week 4 RSS Newsreaders and Merlin

I enjoyed this week of exploring newsreaders. I have set up a bloglines account and think this is a great way to keep up with all the news, articles, etc. that interest me - and they can now all be found in one place! I plan on adding to my bloglines account as I find more sites that have articles of interest to me. Of the RSS search tools, I think I like Topix.net best - it is simple and to the point, and focuses on the newsitems of most interest to me.

I have visited the Maryland Merlin site briefly in the past, but after taking a more extensive tour of the site, I am amazed at how much information is there. My first thought while browsing the site and seeing how much of the site is dedicated to computer training was how techie librarians are getting and need to be to do our job. Part of me was overwhelmed with how much information and training is available on the site - I feel that I can't keep up! And then I got excited when I found some tutorials on subjects that I really need help with- like how to delete data from an old computer, and how to troubleshoot Microsoft XP! Under "Library Success" which is a Wiki, I love the Open Face Office suite - what a great resource - I wish I had known about it a year ago! Having said all that, as important as it is to be up-to-date on technology trends, both to stay up-to-date with current access to information and to help our patrons as well, I will always hope that books remain a vital part of our jobs. It seems that information found online is expected to be concise, to the point - to me, a quick source of information. But I will always enjoy the more leisurely approach to research...finding the information in a book, or books, and then spending time reading through the book.

Week 4 RSS Feeds and Newsreaders

I have enjoyed creating a Bloglines account and I have subscribed to several news sources. I am looking forward to logging on to this account and browsing these sites that are of interest to me. This was actually very easy to do. I can see using this account to keep track of sites that contain information of interest to me.

Week 3 Learning moment

Readers of this blog may notice that the picture I put on my blog from Flickr's public file (I have no Flickr account since I have no pictures to upload!) is gone! Apparently when you use a public picture and put it on your blog, if the owner of the picture removes it from Flickr, it is also removed from any site pointing to and using that picture. I guess I could put another picture on my blog, but I found this to be a very enlightening reminder that these links are connected through the web to the original posting. It was one of those "I get it!" moments.