Well, how cool is this?!

Saw this recent article. Not all librarians were bun-wearers. See:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-wildwestlibrarian,0,4428005.story

Tagging

Here are my questions and thoughts on Delicious.
1) What’s up with the dots in this name. I understand the .us and that it may be a US site, but I note that people use this from around the world.
2) Why are some tags LARGE and others small? I don’t understand how they’re organized.
3) Library Journal article states, “Though often decried (gee, I wonder why!?), tags that are designed for a specific purpose or audience – can be especially useful.” Tag bundles, grouping tags under a topic heading, sound like a good idea. But, I couldn’t see how better organized the links were.
4) Library Journal also has said, “But why is social bookmarking tools better than traditional pathfinders and subject guides? It lowers barriers for participation, both for library patrons and staff”. But, it doesn’t lower the barrier if someone (like me!) doesn’t understand how they work. I’m sure younger people do because they are “into” this stuff, but what about middle agers – we still have many years left to discover resources in our libraries.
5) Should we offer a class on “how to do” these things in our libraries? I think I need someone to walk me through it.
6) I’d be concerned about sites “going away” and then links are dead. We do have to keep up with this if we do lists of normal websites, etc. Who controls this out on the web?
7) Ah, yes, losing control. Is this good or bad? Will the PROFESSION of Library Science soon be a big bundled mess?
8) To me, “tagging” seems like one of those faddish things – what will be next, will it stay?
9) Seems like a good project for a survey – see how many libraries use tagging.
10) I'm asking more questions than answering. But, inquiring minds want to know?
11) I’m not convinced about “tagging” – talk me down, if you want!

LibraryThing

Okay, I read the info, created my account, and I put in the five books that I was supposed to for this assignment.
What I like:
Liked the idea that I could rate my books.
It was fun to see what other people had in their libraries and to see how many people had my listed book. If it's an unusual book, could be interesting.
I do like seeing the reviews from other people of books that are in my collection.
Gallery is fun - I like the pictures of the authors.
What I didn't like:
Your Library shows your personal library, not your area library. Took me a few minutes to figure that out! :) I couldn't find any libraries other than personal, was I supposed to? I clicked on all the tabs.
There's a click that will take you to Amazon - why do things always have to go to Amazon?!
People who share favorite authors, might be interesting but how does that help me?
There are too many blogs discussing merits or not of books - it's overwhelming!
What more do I need to do?
Think it would be fun to put more books into my library. Between my husband and me, we have about 800 books on our shelves. Hmm, maybe the lifetime amount would be good. Something to do on a wintry day.

Google Docs

I never knew that Google had such a thing. I really like it. I can see all sorts of applications - share presentations more easily with library co-workers. Have them collaborate on documents. We can also show our customers so they can use with their co-workers, people they work with on committees, their book groups! Possibilities are endless. I prepared a nifty (if I say so myself) "powerpoint" for customers who want to start a book group. Email me if you want to see it - seppalaetral@bouldercolorado.gov. I will send you view only (don't want you tinkering with my stuff, man!) Only problem with these docs is that I want to keep tinkering with them so they're "perfect". I will admit that sometimes what showed on the screen did not appear the same when I printed out a draft for review. A bit frustrating.

OverDrive

Yes, I know, it appears that I skipped a lesson. I did all the reading for the Google Docs lesson, but I need to be at work to do the actual document (I'm going to use some material I've already created and see if it will work in Google Docs). So, I will do a blog about that in a couple of days, once I return to work (I'm off now).
I can't believe I waited so long to use OverDrive! WOW! I'm a big fan, now. I thought it would take me too long to download the console onto my home computer. It was really very easy. What took me longest was trying to find something to download, there were so many good choices. I wanted to download some music and then burn it to a CD for an upcoming road trip. However, (I didn't check ALL music, just some of it), it appears that you cannot burn the music to a CD. I did download a lovely Palestrina Mass (Renaissance music is so soothing and has the best harmonies) and listened to it while I tried to find a downloadable book. I was even singing along, although I've never learned this particular music. I will try to remember to play it a few more times before it goes off my computer. (I don't have any other downloadable devices). Finding a book took a bit of time. The fiction books I wanted were not there - the fiction books appear to be lots of popular, lately-published stuff. I must have different tastes. I like literary mysteries and espionage novels. So, I turned to nonfiction, hoping to find something short that we could use on the road trip. Many of the books I wanted couldn't be burned to a CD, but there was still a good selection. I finally found "Plato in 90 Minutes", which should please my husband, and, hopefully, teach me something about Plato. Maybe I'll learn what all the fuss is about. (smile). And, let's not forget what a boon this is for our customers. Lots more stuff from which to select. I'll certainly encourage them to look at OverDrive, particularly if they can't find an audiobook on the shelf.

WebVideo

Ah, movies on the web. I love movies! However, there can be so much dross among the really good finds. It's hard to find the good stuff. And, other people's ratings are very subjective - what they like, I might not. I looked mostly at YouTube. I did briefly look at Yahoo and Google, but didn't seem to like them as much. Maybe, I'm just used to YouTube. There are also the same problems with computer speed, and these "movies" take up so much memory. I can usually see them on my work computer a bit better than my home computer, which is older. On my home computer they will sometimes stop and start, or cause everything else to stop. I chose the video that I did because I do "Readers' Advisory" in my library, as part of my job. Advantages of using webvideos would include making our library's website more up-to-the-minute, and putting a personal face on "chats" that we would present to patrons. (Excuse, me, I really hate that word "patrons", I'm going to use customers from now on.) You would need a good camera and someone who could post these on the websites. But, you could do them and change frequently. Or have an archive that customers can refer back to.
I'm going to try to embed this video into this blog.


I think it worked! Tell me what you think. Now, another post would be why I am not sure I like this webvideo. I'll add that later.

Taking a Break

Okay, what's with "Anna Karenina"? I was supposed to read this for my book group. I could only get to page 80. One of my other group said she could only get to page 200. I definitely agree with the "rule" that if the book doesn't grab you by page 50, put it aside. Just like other people have said they don't like Hemingway or Updike (?), I don't get Tolstoy. I will admit that I read "War and Peace" when I was younger. I seemed to enjoy it then. Why can't I enjoy him now? Has my brain atropied? Is that why these new technologies are so "foreign" to me? Although I did go to Library School in my middle ages. Just give me the movie (which my book group will watch - Greta Garbo - sigh...)

What's with Podcasts?

Okay, I read the articles, and I subscribed to one of the podcasts. I feel that I know what a podcast is. How do you weed out the bad from the good? Who decides what's good? The problem I have with viewing the podcasts or videos or whatever you want to call them is that my computer is a tad older and things don't load very easily or quickly onto my computer. On one hand, I can see that podcasts could be great for patrons. We could have podcasts of upcoming events, and we could give "tours" around the library. But, if a computer connection is not perfect, it can create frustration for customers/patrons. Especially older ones. We can not only think of the younger ones - we'll still have the 50, 60, 70 and older somethings around for awhile and we have to think of them, too. I'm not totally enamoured with RSS yet. Talk me down!

RSS - Really Simple NOT!

RSS is still a bit confusing to me, but I can definitely see a couple of advantages. Trying to keep up with what's new in certain areas. Getting feeds every day can give you the headlines. You can scan through and see what's happening. You can click and read in more detail if you want. You can read only the article and not the comments. Although reading the comments can be amusing. I usually find that I keep reading comments and some can stray away from the topic. So far, I've only subscribed mainly to books and movie feeds (we are more than books at BPL!) That will keep me up-to-date on new releases of those. Using RSS for BPL patrons - patrons can subscribe and get up-to-date news on what's new in the library or about upcoming programs. In fact, using RSS in these ways was mentioned at the recent CAL conference I attended.

Wikis

When you first hear this word, you think what an odd word it is. What does it mean? Once you know the meaning (quick), it makes more sense. Right now our department (Reference) uses a wiki to disseminate information quickly to our group. (Of course, I have to remember to look at it. If you send out an email to look at the wiki, then it is double work for someone!) We all need to learn to look at the wiki at least once in our work day. We are in the process of updating a wiki for a subgroup of our group. Although would it make more sense, in a way, to add a page for that group to the main wiki, instead of making a whole new wiki? Using a wiki in a library for patrons - I can see some ways it would work. We can have a wiki to quickly add information about upcoming programs such as programs for that week - could add more info than what is normally on the website. Would it be possible to have a link from the website to the wiki saying, for example, "click here for this week's programs"? The calendar is on the website, but to change anything on it requires the webmaster and the scary html. I can also see the RA group using a wiki for patrons to comment about great books they have read. We would probably need a moderator for the posts but staff can take turns looking at it every day or so to see if objectionable content should be deleted. And I would think that wikis would be perfect for the teens in our library!

Web 2.0 - Random Thoughts

Web 2.0 has received lots of press and I wonder if it's just another "fad" that started with a bang and will go out with a whimper. When I look at those in my age group, I see people who don't even know how to do email. My plumber is snail mailing me a quote because his wife, who does the estimates, doesn't know how to attach a document to an email. How easy is that? Will we have a lag in 2.0 taking hold because my generation can't do certain things? Then, will it jump again when the younger generation (30s and under) become the prominent generation? I see people my son's age texting, etc. - they are very comfortable with technology. They have grown up with it literally from birth. The next 10 - 20 years should be interesting - I hope I'm around to see what happens!

Stopped Procrastinating

Well, I needed to do BPL 2.0 and I stopped procrastinating. I had every good intention when I started it months ago but "Stuff" got in the way. Now, I have to do it for my job. But, this is good. I'm a woman of a certain age and I need to learn new stuff. I think I already know some of this stuff, as I've learned it by talking to people, reading articles, attending workshops at conventions, etc. And I have a Facebook account. Should be good to learn more.