Thing 23 Summary

This has been a very interesting and informative exercise. It's good to know all of these things, and keep up some with the change in technology and all the tools on the internet. Like I said in my post on January 23 (Web 2.0 Library 2.0),

. . .with the explosion of the internet, the role of the library is changing even more, and more rapidly. Libraries must grapple with the changes in information technology in order to remain relevant in today's society.
There will always be a place for the Library as I have always known it - a repository of print materials, including historical documents and the like, and a quiet place for reading, research and reflection. However, each library must expand it's content and capabilities to keep up with today's environment - as any good establishment must.

This has been an example of keeping librarians informed of new technologies and so forth. It has been invaluable to me, both professionally and personally, and I look forward to more such exercises.

Thing 22 Overdrive/Project Gutenburg

I have spent the last few days looking at some of the titles in Overdrive, Project Gutenburg and NetLibrary. This was really interesting. There have been times when I wanted to listen to something while I was working, and couldn't find anything interesting. Now I know where to look! Music isn't always appropriate, and when I am working on mind-numbing type stuff (ie: house cleaning, ironing, etc) I really want something to make me think. Jane Eyre, Wythering Heights, or something like that would sometimes work. Also, you don't have to go the library to have access to these sites. I will definitely remember these resources, and recommend them to others.

Thing 21 Podcasts

It took me a little while, but I finally figured out how to subscribe to a podcast RSS feed (I hope I got the terminology right!) I can now watch and listen to pod- and video-casts about funny cats, without having to look them up again. Just the thing to pick up your day!
I can see where this would be a great thing for a student looking for new information for a paper or thesis, or just to keep up with things they are interested in. Or it can just be alot of fun!

Thing 20 - YouTube

Boy, that was fun! There are so many different videos that people have posted! Finding one that would be appropriate to post here was a challenge, though. And then figuring out how to post it - that wasn't easy! Figuring out how to use the embedded player was not as straight forward as it could be, or maybe I just didn't know what I was looking for. Now that I know how to do it, it shouldn't take that much to do. With all the different types of videos available, I can see how this could be valuable in the library - showing people how to use different services, etc. And the ability to upload your own videos would allow you to create your own training program, complete with on-line teacher, is a good thing.

Thing 19 - Web 2.0 awards list

This was really interesting. I am planning a visit to the Southern Branch of the Calvert County Libraries, so I checked out the different Mapping sites. I was surprised that I didn't see Map Quest on the list. Google Maps seems to be pretty efficient. The directions I got from that site look pretty good to me. The other two sites I looked at were social networking mapping sites, which wasn't indicated until I actually got into them - not something I'm interested in.
I also looked at the Classifieds and Directories sites listed as the top three. I had heard of Craigslist before, but never really understood what it was. There's a lot of information there! The areas that may have "controversial" content seem to be well labeled, giving you a chance to back out before you get there. That is really nice, especially if you've got young ones sitting with you as you do your search.
The Web 2.0 awards list could be a valuable tool for library patrons, if they don't have any idea where to look for whatever they need. It seems the categories are fairly well defined, and pretty inclusive. Then you can just click on the link, and it takes you right there.

Thing 18 - Online Productivity

I found ZohoWriter, and was actually able to figure out how to post a new document to my blog fairly quickly! I like that! Next time we get a new computer at home - probably not any time soon - I'll check into using the online tools before getting Microsoft office. It's free, and all the options that we would use at home seem to be available for free. I can see where the business world might want to keep using the commercial applications, for consistency and so forth, but for home use, these free apps seem to be more than adequate.

Post from ZohoWriter

Wow. It looks like this is almost the same as Word, and it's free! I wonder if my kids are aware of this set up. Andrew is always trying new things on his computer. . .

Now lets see if I can figure out how to post this to my blog . . .

Things 16 & 17 WIKIS and SandBox WIKI

We are in the process of creating a wiki for the processing department at SMRLA, so these two exercises were very interesting to me. I listened to a few of the audio podcasts, though, and got really confused about how to use and edit a wiki. As Dan and Larry set up the wiki for us, I will be watching closely to see what they do and how they do it. For example, if you wanted to use bold do you really have to use **bold**, or can you just use the key strokes like in WORD?

Thing 15 - Web 2.0, Library 2.0

The library has always been very important to me. As a kid, I had access to all the reading material I wanted - Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys among my favorites. As a family with six kids on a limited income, we couldn't afford to buy just anything, so access to free reading materials was precious.
As I changed and grew, my library needs changed and grew. The small town library was no longer adequate, and I had to travel to the University in Ames, Iowa, to do research for term papers, and find more diverse materials for pleasure reading. In college, I was able to use the college network of lending libraries to find materials for theses and papers.
Now, with the explosion of the internet, the role of the library is changing even more, and more rapidly. Libraries must grapple with the changes in information technology in order to remain relevant in today's society.
There will always be a place for the Library as I have always known it - a repository of print materials, including historical documents and the like, and a quiet place for reading, research and reflection. However, each library must expand it's content and capabilities to keep up with today's environment - as any good establishment must.
Libraries, more than most establishments, have the ability to cooperate with each other, as they generally don't see each other as direct competitors. Cooperation, at this point in time, is the only way libraries can keep up with the sheer numbers of changes occurring every day. Can you imagine what it would take for a single library to keep up-to-date and current, and meet the needs of all their patrons? Just the thought is enough to make one shiver!

Thing 14 - Technorati

Technorati was really interesting. When I have more time on my hands, I will probably use it. The current political season is a good time to us Technorati to look up what people are saying about the presidential candidates and all that.

Thing 13 - Del.icio.us

This seems like it would be a good tool for someone who does a lot of internet research. At this time, there are only a few places I ever go on the net, so it isn't something I see myself using. I do plan to take come classes on library science in the future, and I'm sure Del.icio.us would be useful then.

Thing 12 - Rollyo

I'm not sure how much of Rollyo I really understood. I tried creating a search tool, but since I don't do much with searching the internet, I'm not sure how much use this tool will be to me. I can see where people who search the net a lot would be able to use this ~ it could definitely eliminate a lot of unwanted hits.

Thing 11 - Library Thing

Wow! I just love LibraryThing! It is definitely something I will use personally. There have
been a number of times I wished I had this kind of program on my home computer. My kids also have talked about cataloging their personal collections. This will definitely be used!

Thing 10 - image generator

I just played around with an image generator - it was fun - me with Hilary Clinton's hair style! Better yet, Rosie O'Donnell! (I really am not a fan of either one, but it was kind of
fun.) I won't scare you with the images, but now I know what kind of hair styles I DON"T want~