Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thing #15 - Online Games and Libraries
I watched the video of Info Island/Second Life. I actually thought it was slightly creepy... I have never played a lot of video games and I would not be a fan of a decision to include them in the library. People can play these things at home. I actually think we all should do more things outside (biking, softball, bowling, swimming, walking, play an instrument, shop, visit neighbors, tennis, read books), and work on things that give a feeling of accomplishment instead of staring at the computer all the time. Online games have their place, of course, but I wish people would spend more time in their "First Life", instead of choosing to retreat into a "Second Life" so often. I think we would all be healthier for it. (Just my 2 cents, please don't throw virtual tomatos at me...)
Thing #14 - LibraryThing
How can you use LibraryThing for your library?
It would be fun to use the blog widget that comes with this tool to display new books on our library website. It might be a good idea to use the LibraryThing forum to ask how it has worked for others before doing so. I see it is $15 a year to add up to 5 thousand books for an institution. Good stuff here for a discussion.
It would be fun to use the blog widget that comes with this tool to display new books on our library website. It might be a good idea to use the LibraryThing forum to ask how it has worked for others before doing so. I see it is $15 a year to add up to 5 thousand books for an institution. Good stuff here for a discussion.
Thing # 13 - Online Productivity Tools
Which start page did you choose?
I chose My Yahoo, as I already have a Yahoo account. I think I will make it my permanent home page at home, since I access it a lot for the hobby listservs I am on.
Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home?
Yes, I am especially interested in Cute PDF &/or Zamzar. They would help me to send photos to other people I know via the Web.
Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?
I would recommend either of the PDF sites or Zamzar. Also 30 Boxes would be a unique way to remember birthdays (I have a hard time w/these sometimes).
How can online calendars be useful to you?
If you are already spending a lot of time with your computer because of work and recreation, this would be a very efficient way to check out schedules, meetings, and other events you need to be aware of.
What about the to-do lists
I would not use these. It would be easier and quicker for me to grab a piece of paper or 3M sticky and put it in my pocket or on the memo boards at home or work.
Did you try out Backpack? No
Did you try any of the other tools on the list? Any good ones we should all try?
My Stickies would be a cool tool to use if I was still in library school. There were so many papers that I needed to revise, these colored digital bookmarks would be an awesome way to mark the places I need to change.
Ta Da List would be helpful for if you needed to keep track of agendas for meetings, things to pack for a trip, things you don't want to forget in general, things to do around the house, grocery lists, things to pack for a trip, etc. etc. The only thing is, for some of these I would need to print it out, so why not just make a paper list?
By the way, the Spell Check on the Edit Html page of this Blogger is very cool and efficient tool. I use it a lot for the 23 Things as I tend to write fast and rather messy :-(
I chose My Yahoo, as I already have a Yahoo account. I think I will make it my permanent home page at home, since I access it a lot for the hobby listservs I am on.
Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home?
Yes, I am especially interested in Cute PDF &/or Zamzar. They would help me to send photos to other people I know via the Web.
Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?
I would recommend either of the PDF sites or Zamzar. Also 30 Boxes would be a unique way to remember birthdays (I have a hard time w/these sometimes).
How can online calendars be useful to you?
If you are already spending a lot of time with your computer because of work and recreation, this would be a very efficient way to check out schedules, meetings, and other events you need to be aware of.
What about the to-do lists
I would not use these. It would be easier and quicker for me to grab a piece of paper or 3M sticky and put it in my pocket or on the memo boards at home or work.
Did you try out Backpack? No
Did you try any of the other tools on the list? Any good ones we should all try?
My Stickies would be a cool tool to use if I was still in library school. There were so many papers that I needed to revise, these colored digital bookmarks would be an awesome way to mark the places I need to change.
Ta Da List would be helpful for if you needed to keep track of agendas for meetings, things to pack for a trip, things you don't want to forget in general, things to do around the house, grocery lists, things to pack for a trip, etc. etc. The only thing is, for some of these I would need to print it out, so why not just make a paper list?
By the way, the Spell Check on the Edit Html page of this Blogger is very cool and efficient tool. I use it a lot for the 23 Things as I tend to write fast and rather messy :-(
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thing #12 - Do you DIGG?
How do you think you can use these tools in your library or home:
At both places it would be an alternative way of getting your daily news. It could be used to start a discussion in a school library setting.
Do they seem to be a productivity enhancer or detractor?
Well, that would depend on the person viewing them and their habits. I am not sure what is meant by "productivity" in the question, I guess... I can discipline myself to look at these and still get my work done, but someone else may not be able to. I'm not sure reading these tools would make me more productive, but it might be a catalyst for some interesting discussions with my fellow librarians. And if you tend to get "lost" in reading things on the Internet and lose track of time, then it could potentially be a "productivity detractor" for you.
Have you ever read a story or item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites?
No, I have never used any of these, but I have read many many stories on MSN and Yahoo.com
At both places it would be an alternative way of getting your daily news. It could be used to start a discussion in a school library setting.
Do they seem to be a productivity enhancer or detractor?
Well, that would depend on the person viewing them and their habits. I am not sure what is meant by "productivity" in the question, I guess... I can discipline myself to look at these and still get my work done, but someone else may not be able to. I'm not sure reading these tools would make me more productive, but it might be a catalyst for some interesting discussions with my fellow librarians. And if you tend to get "lost" in reading things on the Internet and lose track of time, then it could potentially be a "productivity detractor" for you.
Have you ever read a story or item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites?
No, I have never used any of these, but I have read many many stories on MSN and Yahoo.com
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Thing #11 - Tagging and Del.icio.us
Wow, I can certainly see the potential of these two tools for research assistance. You could set this up on the reference computer as the year progresses and have a fine handle on where to find answers to the questions asked during the course of a school year. It would work equally well for public library or school media center questions. And in this day of laptops and the Internet on cell phones, anyone could have their questions answered at anytime. These tools also provide a very efficient way to create personal bookmarks and access them from anywhere there is Internet availability. The potential for efficiency is tremendous.
I applied labels to my blog of Thing #6. It went OK but I was only allowed to add labels one at a time, which was time consuming, and they did not display in the order in which I created them. Oh well.
How could our library take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us. At the reference desk, we could tag answers to questions that are often asked, so we could help patrons more quickly and efficiently. We could also tag our professional materials instead of circulating them within the department, so we could find a topic we are interested in more easily. We could also tag items such as Reference and Staff meeting minutes, or tag upcoming conferences/seminars/webinars/other professional development opportunities by area (i.e. ILL, Reference, Serials, Circulation, E-Books, etc.)
I applied labels to my blog of Thing #6. It went OK but I was only allowed to add labels one at a time, which was time consuming, and they did not display in the order in which I created them. Oh well.
How could our library take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us. At the reference desk, we could tag answers to questions that are often asked, so we could help patrons more quickly and efficiently. We could also tag our professional materials instead of circulating them within the department, so we could find a topic we are interested in more easily. We could also tag items such as Reference and Staff meeting minutes, or tag upcoming conferences/seminars/webinars/other professional development opportunities by area (i.e. ILL, Reference, Serials, Circulation, E-Books, etc.)
Thing #10 - Wikis
For the editing/adding part of this assignment, I added a link to the "23 Things On a Stick/Resources" page. I added a link to an article in Library Journal about Library 2.0. I hope the link works, it is a good article. It was easier than I thought it would be to do.
To me, the wiki concept is interesting and intriguing because it is so easy to use. Some types of applications within libraries and schools that might work well with a wiki:
Libraries:
1) Suggestions from patrons for books they would like to see in the library
2) Suggestions in general from patrons for the library
3) Wikis set up to deal with information/helps for various class assignments, for when students come into the library for help (this could be one general one or individual wikis if there is a lot of library work to be done for the class)
4) Wiki for the reference staff to help with problems, suggestions, information that comes up about the reference desk in general.
5) Wikis among the various working groups (cataloging, serials, ILL, e-resources, acquisitions, etc.). For us, this could be within the CLIC community, or a wider view in Minnesota
Schools:
1) Suggestions from students/teachers for books they would like to see in the library
2) Suggestions from students/teachers for the library in general (these may have to be heavily edited ;-)
3) Wikis between the media specialist and the teachers dealing with class assignments and things the library could do to help
4) Wikis among the library media professionals within the school district or wider the state or region, having to do with new items of interest, problem situations, etc.
5) Wikis set up for new library media professionals to talk with the more experienced librarians in their field to ask for help, mentor, etc.
A wiki could also be effectively used as a type of online reference tool (like virtual reference), I would think.
To me, the wiki concept is interesting and intriguing because it is so easy to use. Some types of applications within libraries and schools that might work well with a wiki:
Libraries:
1) Suggestions from patrons for books they would like to see in the library
2) Suggestions in general from patrons for the library
3) Wikis set up to deal with information/helps for various class assignments, for when students come into the library for help (this could be one general one or individual wikis if there is a lot of library work to be done for the class)
4) Wiki for the reference staff to help with problems, suggestions, information that comes up about the reference desk in general.
5) Wikis among the various working groups (cataloging, serials, ILL, e-resources, acquisitions, etc.). For us, this could be within the CLIC community, or a wider view in Minnesota
Schools:
1) Suggestions from students/teachers for books they would like to see in the library
2) Suggestions from students/teachers for the library in general (these may have to be heavily edited ;-)
3) Wikis between the media specialist and the teachers dealing with class assignments and things the library could do to help
4) Wikis among the library media professionals within the school district or wider the state or region, having to do with new items of interest, problem situations, etc.
5) Wikis set up for new library media professionals to talk with the more experienced librarians in their field to ask for help, mentor, etc.
A wiki could also be effectively used as a type of online reference tool (like virtual reference), I would think.
Thing #9 - Online Collaboration Tools
I used Google Doc to create the below document and illustration. I found a copy of the text of this familiar tale on the web and imported it into my Google Doc page. I changed the text color, font, size and alignment, then added a picture from the web and exported it to my blog. It sure got a lot larger than I thought - I didn't look before I moved it to my blog to see if there was an option to resize it - oops. I wish it could have been smaller.
I can see where this online collaboration tool would be very handy for a team of librarians to use. We recently created a new library mission/philosophy and this would be another way we could have teamed on the wording and editing together, without even leaving our desks, or even from our homes.
I can see where this online collaboration tool would be very handy for a team of librarians to use. We recently created a new library mission/philosophy and this would be another way we could have teamed on the wording and editing together, without even leaving our desks, or even from our homes.
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