Thing 23_And She Was Not Really Done...

As I mentioned in my prior post, this is not at all the end of my technology journey. I chose to partake in this particular exercise as a way to explore and document my knowledge about web 2.0 and technology. I'm glad that I did it, despite the pressure of time that has been an element throughout.

The fall semester at St. Kate begins September 3rd and I will be taking 2 courses: Library & Information Center Mgmt and Knowledge Management, while continue to work full time. I'm excited because I expect both of these courses to be informative and have some opportunities to explore new technology.

Overall, I believe this program is a wonderful opportunity both for students and current practioners. I do believe that libraries can find great possibilities within technology but only if it is applied thoughtfully by people with a sense of the options, flaws and possibilities. And so librarians have a great opportunity to serve as guides in this new realm. To carry forward the light for all who have not yet taken a swim in web 2.0....

Let's dive in and learn even more!

Thing 22_What Did I Learn Today?

As a future systems/tech librarian, I had already committed to self-study in the technology field. My initial goals included:

• Maintaining my Google Reader with a plethora of technology and library related feeds, which I read at least twice a week. This is a goal that I find very easy to maintain but the next step is definitely to do additional study and research in the areas that interest me and possibly blog about it.
• To expand just a little, my favorite feeds include: Lifehacker, The Shifted Librarian, Librarian in Black, iLibrarian, Matt's Cuppa and many more. If you'd like more information or the URLs, please comment.
• Reading Library Hi Tech Journal at least 4 times a year.... this is an area where I've slacked. I need to commit to a Saturday in the library at least once a month to clear through these hefty journals.
• Attending at least one library/information related conference each year which includes a segment on technology

As to all of the neat tools I tried here, a majority of them are already part of my daily life and those that were new, while cool and fun - most of them are time draws that I don't have time for while also in school.

Thing 21_Beyond MySpace, Other Social Networks

I got excited about this particular thing and dashed to 43 things, which I immediately joined, created 12 things to complete, cheered a fellow librarian, made a comment on her goal to become a librarian and today, I received cheers back from her. The 43 Things social network was such an amazing opportunity for me, because I am reconsidering the priorities of my life. This site inspired me to start thinking about this vast goal and break into individual points of light.

With all of this enthusiasm within me, I start thinking about how great it would be for librarians to use sites like 43 Things and the 23 Things Ning to get inspired and also to create portals that will connect library patrons to these opportunities. Web 2.0 gives librarians a whole new realm of information for which they can provide guidance and just like the right book, the right site may be life changing.

Of course, another great aspect to site like these is helping connect people with similar goals or ideas. While browsing the 23 Things Nings, I saw many posts asking for guidance on which Things might be applicable in their particular type of institution.

I've seen this happen within my job too. One of the web applications that I oversee for my company had a networking conference and there was a great demand for this amazing group of people to be able to connect all year round, so I suggested creating a Ning and even offered to get it started. The web app took my suggestion seriously and created a beautiful, extremely useful Ning within a month of the conference.

Similarily, I'm leading knowledge management efforts at my company and have helped create several sites on Sharepoint, which are providing a similar way of connection for projects that are managed by diverse members of our company (who are spread out nationally). Connecting is just so amazing! I just see so many possibilities in this area, going far beyond Facebook or MySpace.

Thing 20_Libraries & Social Networks

Despite being a member of Gen X, I avoided the major social networking sites until I was directly asked to join by two close friends who chose to use it their primary vehicle for communicating/keeping up to date when they (a couple) moved abroad long-term. MySpace worked amazingly well for this purpose, my friends blogged, posted pictures, posted comments and maintained a connection with all of their friends throughout the world. And in the past, they were not always so quick to reply to e-mail but the community in MySpace and the many other draws - quizzes, games, etc. helped make it attractive.

Eventually, the draw wore off as I dealt with spam e-mails and friend requests. Only recently, I created a Facebook account too. The couple mentioned above also navigated to Facebook, so that worked out well too and three years later, with them now in a new location abroad, I continue to feel connected to them thanks to their active presence on the site.

In considering these tools for libraries, I think it's important that libraries maintain a presence on these sites because for many Gen Y'ers Facebook and Myspace encompass much of the known universe and libraries create legitimacy by being hip to it. In checking out the Denver and Hennepin Library sites, I was amused by the Hennepin County widget that displayed an upcoming event, but I noted that no one had ever commented on the post... or the post after it. Are people looking but not talking? Or does the site have minimal traffic? I also wonder who at the library deals with the spam e-mails, random friend requests and other mundane issues that happen.

Honestly, I prefer Facebook and think it'd be a better place for libraries. Thus far, I've found there's less spam and annoyances on Facebook and it also allows for nuanced privacy settings and a plethora of neat gadgets. For example, this post will feed right into my Facebook profile as a note this evening... pretty cool trick.

Thing 19_Podcasts

As a dedicated follower of This American Life (TAL), my devotion begins each week with listening to the podcasts. I also regularily listen to podcasts throughout my work day. My favorites include TAL, Speaking of Faith, The Splendid Table, The Sunday Puzzle and Radio Lab. However, in beginning my exploration of the world of podcasts I realized that all of my favorites have some common features - paid expert staff, radio equipment and very carefully developed scripts or pieces.

And so as I started poking through podcast.com and podcast.net, I felt as though I was poking around YouTube again, trying to find a few gems amongst the mounds of information. I finally watched 2 episodes of a video podcast called Zen for Life. Immediately, a friend watching with me pointed out several issues with their explanation of Buddhism and some of the basic assumptions being made. The video was really quite decent quality and I appreciated what they were trying to convey.

Next, I decided to head to iTunes U in search of some better scripted substance. I'd previously listened to a philosophy course from Stanford so this was not a new concept to me, but I hadn't poked around the site in over a year so I was excited to see how many new options were available.

Continuing on the Buddhist theme, I watched a video Podcast from an Intro to Religion course at Open University about Becoming a Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka. Again, surprisingly good video quality and this was a very interesting and brief video.

Overall, I prefer the professional and education podcasts for the quality of the production. Though I definitely support semi-professional podcasters - I have a few acquaintances who produce regular podcasts and provide quaility material on topics of special interest. Based on my leaning, my preferred directories would be iTunes, American Public Media and other sites that list only professional podcasts.

I might consider putting together a podcast, especially for a special project but overall, I'm not inspired to get my voice out there unless it's well produced and edited. However, with that said - I think there's a plethora of opportunities for using podcasts in libraries, for tours, basic guides, providing instruction, etc.

Thing 18_YouTube & Other Video Sites

The upside and the downside of YouTube and other video sites are the plethora of videos available, which can be educational or mind-numbing, interesting or annoying and entertaining or worthless. And so, yes - I searched YouTube briefly and found a neat library video from the St. Joseph Public Library... as they explain it:

This video was created for library staff in service day at the St. Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana by Dale kerkman, Bob lewandowski, Michael Stephens and Adam Tarwacki. Set to Madonna's "Ray of Light," and inspired by the video of the song, this video details a day in the life of a thriving public library system, highlighting the faces and places that make the library the library.



I chose this video because it provided a new glimpse at a day in the life of a library and since I don't currently work at a library, it gave me an interesting sense of what occurs at a public library. Of course, I also appreciated the music. Music is such a key element... I could see libraries using YouTube to provide tours of resources, tours of the library adn even short instruction videos.

Thing 17_ELM Productivity Tools

I'm in between classes and projects at this moment and so I had some difficulty finding worthwhiled searches... which are a key element to making use of this amazing resource. I already shared the site address with a college grad who is searching for some good databases to do personal research.

Recently, I actually created an instruction plan for using RSS Feeds and creating feeds from Ebsco database searches. I chose that area because I see that being useful to a huge cross section of the population - students, faculty, and every day people who want to perform regular database searches.

As a student, I see these resources as Ebsco providing a way for librarians to create annotated searches and search lists, for students and their peers. For schools that provide research assistance, this would be a quick and easy way for librarians to give access to the recommended results in a database search.

However, with all of that excitement - I had technical issues with several of the features. Proquest gave back an error when trying to send the message and Ebsco repeatedly requested that I change a setting in IE, but never worked even after the change was made. It could be my computer... but I'm always concerned about features that are still buggy.

Thing 16_Student 2.0 Tools

While reviewing these tools, my first thought was very self-involved. "Wow, I wish that I'd had or known about these tools during my undergraduate studies." Now, to the why - I love the step based layout and the timeline approach (and yes I realize that many a last minute procastinating student would laugh at me), but this is a fantastic way to remind students that it might be better to start a little sooner AND give them an idea of what they might be able to do if they start the project a few days ahead.

So... outside my self-involved rant - I see a lot of possibilities with this tool. It provides a number of dimensions - there's the tool as a whole, all of the individual worksheets and the steps. Each of these could be used individually for a student who is stuck on a particular area or for a student looking for a way to begin, the entire package may be presented.

In looking at the Teacher's Guide, I thought the worksheets about creating projects that reduce the probability for plagarism was a refreshingly different idea. I love bringing in personalization and creativity for student projects.

A few notes, I had random trouble with some of the links and couldn't find any of the customization, at least in my subject areas... which may just not get as much attention, as some of the other major areas.

A very cool opportunity - I'm going to be pointing this out to people and students who I meet.

Thing 15_Online Games & Libraries

This is not an area where I have much interaction but when I heard about Puzzle Pirates from another 23 Thing adventurer, I had to try it and take a break from my class (side note - I just completed an intensive summer grad school course on Reference & Online Services, which is why I took a hiatus from this project/blog).

Puzzle Pirates is a time-wasting bonanza - yes it's fun, yes there's opportunities for social interaction, but at this point in my life, I prefer to meet friends in real-life and I didn't see much opportunity for creating those sort of relationships. I'm a prefectionist so I was immediately drawn into succeeding on the games, which meant that I managed to waste 2-3 hours working on it. I'm not someone who plays computer/online/tv games in general, so I don't expect that I'll try it again.

Second Life... I've heard so much about it, but I'm not ready to take the plunge. I'm curious but at this point in my life, I don't have the time necessary to create an avatar/profile and explore as much as I imagine would be necessary. I knew a friend who used it as a way to create objects for his architecture profile, which I'd love to see for myself.

I see a place for gaming in libraries, especially in creating positive opportunities for game-lovers to interact with the library and to create fun learning for all. It's not an area that I'm devoting much thought to personally, because as I mentioned, I'm not attracted to that area.

Thing 14_Library Thing & Goodreads

Once again, this is an opportunity for me to state that I am a tech-leaning geek. I'd previously tried out Library Thing and at this point in my life, don't feel the draw to attempt and catalog my books or the books I've read there.

I will confess, Library Thing is nifty and it's a great tool for readers, libraries and book groups. First off, it provides another tool to provide information about books, including readers advisory related data. The site is slick, moves quickly and is easy to navigate. I met a librarian at a city library that used it and they were quite delighted with the results. When I started adding books though, I found that most of my favorites hadn't been in many discussions and the reviews were often shallower than I hoped... I'm sure I didn't dig as deeply as I could have.

And now to Goodreads, where it just so happens that I have the status of "librarian." In my spare time or as I come across them, I fix and combine book entries to remove duplicate and update incorrect data. I also have a few friends on the site, so it's a community opportunity that I first discovered via Facebook. I liked Goodreads when I first tried it, but I haven't devoted much time to it. Today in my brief overview, I found the discussions far more interesting and I had great fun seeing what my friends have read.

Finally, I noticed one signficant difference - Goodreads does not offer tagging so for those who love to search and use multiple tags, Library Thing is definitely the winner. As far as library community use, tagging is a definite need to have feature, because it gives a very simple, easy search option.

Both of these sites are well worth a look... and even if someone doesn't join, there's always good fun to be had in learning about books that may be a good read.

Thing 13_Online Productivity Tools

For several periods during 2008, my prior laptop lived at Best Buys service center where people looked at it with pity... while it waited for yet another new part. Why the sob story? Because it meant I was without the bedrock of my life - Outlook's calendar and tasks. Thus began the search for web applications to help keep my life in order.

First, I tried out Google Calendar, which worked fantastically. I upgraded to the beta version of Google Talk which provides pop-up reminders on whatever computer you've downloaded it to. It also allows you to click and instantly pull up the calendar. Other amazing features: getting directions, sharing the calendar or selective appointments and setting reoccuring appointments. The daily option for e-mail reminders or cell phone text messages is cool too. This is a good application and I can see libraries that want to get away from the Microsoft Suite model using this.

Next, I tried Remember the Milk because I wanted a more developed task/project management web app. It may have been my patience for those few days or just a fluke, but I found it too complicated and not very rewarding for the work. It never integrated into my life.

Now that I have a new laptop, I've also tried Rainlendar which is a lovely, minimal calendar & to-do list gadget that stays on the desktop. It's been a bit buggy but I really love having it right on my desktop. I found this one through LifeHacker, by the way. This is not something I can picture a library using especially because it doesn't network or share, but it's a great personal tool and would be nice on a multi-use desk computer, if it included people's shifts. It can be set to make a soft chiming sound or simple a desktop pop-up reminder. There's even a snooze button!

And finally, I am also using Fruitful Time Task Manager (the free version). So far, I've used this program to plan and execute moving to a new apartment and fundraising and traing for a bike tour. I should really spring for the paid version but I'm goin to keep hunting for a really intuitive, free project mgmt application or web-app. For a library that needs project mgmt. software, this may be a good invesment. As someone who hates Micrsoft's Project Mgmt software... I would say, spend less money and use something more intuitive like Fruitful.

So Lifehacker... aka the blog that has far too many posts each day. This is definitely an RSS Feed worthy blog. I quickly scan through the posts, stopping only at the ones that picque my interest based on the relevant program (iPhone... meh). I'd suggest having one or two people in a library browse these posts, rather than having everyone get bogged down reading about iPhones and Firefox extensions.

In conclusion, I already use and have tried quite a few of these programs, sites and applications. I think that their usability within a library setting will definitely depend on the type of library, their audience and their needs.

Thing 12_Do You Digg

Why yes, yes I do digg, as of today. This was yet another area of web 2.0 that was within my awareness, on the horizon within my vision but that I'd not bothered to tinker with it. I have an account on Digg. Honestly, "digging" news is not something that really excites me and when I started sifting through what other people had dugg within the news, I was rather saddened by all the hard, sad news stories. And thus, I have chosen to digg one of my new favorite blogs - Zen Habits. This particular piece provides a detailed look at how to re-evaluate ones use of time so that it can be re-focused on goals of meaning or simply relax more!

I can definitely see libraries introducing their patrons to this... possibly having a Digg account where the librarians and staff would spend time digging library related stories and other news of interest. If they had a blog as well, they could use it to blog these items... which is time savings and a fun way to shake up the usual blog post. For colleges, I could see subject specialist librarians and staff using this as a way to point students toward current news stories of interest.

My favorite site for new related posting continues to be Plastic.com however I don't spend much time there and can't say its current situation. It's definitely not as flexible as digg, mixx, etc. However, Plastic provides more of a sense of community within the site and it's primary focus is having members of the community create write-ups that are a summation of the news stories available on a topic, with hyperlinks to their sources. Then members of the community who have risen to the rank of moderators vote on whether those stories will be posted to the front pages. Comments are also ranked for purposes of moderation.

Finally another site that is one my mind is Babbledog, which is also more single community intense. Overall - there is a fascinating world that is culling through the online news.

read more | digg story

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