Monday, April 14, 2008

Thing #23 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* Go back to your thoughts/ideas about Library 2.0. Has anything changed as a result of this experience? Now I know what they are talking about. Before Library 2.0 was kind of vague in my mind.
* What were your favorite Things and discoveries? I have a blog! I like the flikr account. A lot of it was fun if I had the time.
* How did you connect with others doing the 23 Things On a Stick? Not really until the end.
* Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I did not have any expectations so it was all unexpected.
* What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content? I think it should have been over a whole year. Like 1 thing per week. That would have been easier for me.
* If we offered a 23 More Things On a Stick program like this in the future would you participate? Yes!
* How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things On a Stick learning activities to others? It was free, it was fun and now I know what Library 2.0 is!

Thing #22 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* Blog about how you plan to keep up with the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools. I am glad they are planning to keep the 23 Things on a Stick website up until the end of the year. I would like to go back and play with some things when I have more time. I like to learn new things and keep up with the times.I learned the more you "play" with things the easier it gets. It took me a lot less time to do the last 1/2 of this program than it did the first half. It started making more sense the more I did. (Although I still have tons to learn!!)
* Recommend a way to keep up that you have found useful.I am making it a goal to spend at least 20 minutes, twice a week to learn new things, or more about the tools I used for 23 Things on a Stick. I also now know a few others who finished the 23 Things, so if I have questions I do have a "Live" person to ask. I also hope to keep up my blog and improve it. Thanks for doing this program!!

Thing #21 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* Are you a member of any online communities? Yes, I have been a member of Webjunction for a while. Also I signed up for NING at the beginning of 23 Things on a Stick. I made the mistake and thought that was the right blog. It took me a while to figure that out.
* Are any of these social networks appealing to you? WebJunction is great. It was all sort of useful stuff on it.
* What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later? I really want to take some classes from WebJunction. It is on my "to do" list.

Thing #20 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* FACE BOOK - I had signed up for Face Book a long time ago at the urging of my son. I had not done anything with it for a LONG time. I was surprised I even remembered my password. I updated my profile and added a picture of myself. I added 2 friends that were asking me to join them. (One was my son!---won't he be surprised)Which groups did you join and why? I joined the Libraries using FaceBook pages because it looked like a good group to join. I wrote a wall on that site.Reflect on why Facebook may be the fastest growing social network. Is that reputation deserved? It has a lot of "tools" all in one package. It is very popular. My son is a Junior in college.. he has said for a few years it is a lot better than My Space. FaceBook is popular with all of the college kids. My son has tons of friends on his site from colleges all over the country. I'd have to play with it some more before I decide if the reputation is deserved.
MYSPACE - * How are libraries using MySpace? Looks like they are especially using MySpace to attract teen to the library and to communicate with them in a way they really seem to like.
* Did you find anything on a library's MySpace page that would be useful for your library? A good way to promote book lists and events
* If you created your own MySpace page, how do you plan to use it? I don't know. Right now I would say for the purposes of my bookclub. We could promote books we would like to read. Have lists of what we already read, our calendar, links to discussion question sites of the books we are reading, etc.

Thing #19 of the 23 Things on a Stick

1. Which podcast(s) did you listen to? MPR: Libraries in transitionminnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/09/07/midmorning1/ - 2007-09-07, I also listened to one from PBS about library filtering from 2003. It was pretty interesting. I tried to upload that one, but I believe it was copyrighted.
2. Which of the directories did you find easiest to use? I liked the Yahoo directory.
3. Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to it regularly? I sure don't have time to do this myself. I like the MPR site and may go there to listen to podcasts that I am interested that I missed live on the radio.

Book Cart Drill Teams

Doesn't this look like fun

Thing #18 of the 23 Things on a Stick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF03v3oxkJ0
It took me a while to figure it out, but I did it!! Now that I watch the video it is not very good quality, but I thought the book cart drill team looked like a fun idea. I think it would be a lot of fun to do, but you have to have lots of matching carts.
* What did you like or dislike about the sites you explored? You Tube is a lot of fun, but it can also be a big time waster. Most people put videos on there for fun.
* Why did you choose the video that you did? I thought it would be fun.
* Can you see any ways to use video--YouTube or other sites--on your library Web site? My son introduced me to a new use of You Tube about a month ago. It can be used as a type of "Consumer Reports". I needed a new cell phone, and my son thought it was time I moved "up" and added additional features to my phone. Like a blackberry. He showed me several different phones that had short You Tube videos on them. It was really quite helpful. I am a very visual/auditory learner. The video showed the phone, pros and cons of the different features and each video only took a few minutes. I found this a very easy laid back way to learn about the different phones I was considering purchasing.
As for library sites. I think it is a good way to explain the library rules, or how to use a certain electronic tool we have. Some people prefer this way of learning. It could save staff time from repeating the same thing over and over again and also it would be available 24/7.

Thing #17 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* How can these tools be applied to your everyday work? Now we are talking! We finally have something I am very familiar with. I use these tools almost daily. I actually had additional ELM training last Thursday and we went over all of these tools then.
* How can these tools facilitate collaboration with your colleagues? It is easier to share information. I have not had a chance to do a webinar yet. It is on my "to do" list. Maybe I will have time once the 23 things is done!
* How can these tools benefit your patrons/students? I use these tools every day to answer reference questions or show patron how to use these tools. Also how they can access these tools from home or work. Or do the research at the library and e-mail it to themselves or others.

Thing #16 of the 23 Things on a Stick

* How might the RPC and the Teacher Guide help you help students plan and manage research projects? In my role as a public librarian I would suggest the use of this tool and show them where to find it. We actually have one of these on the reference page of our website.
* Can you think of any uses for library projects—could you use it to help manage a timeline for a project of your own? It probably would be a good idea for me. I tend to be a last minute person. I don't know..maybe it is too late to change. I could give it a try though. I will have to consider it on the next big project that I have coming up.

Thing #15 of the 23 Things on a Stick

If you chose Second Life, write a blog post about your findings and thoughts on Second Life. I am not a gaming person, and never have been. I chose Second Life to look at. I watched the video and then signed up for an account and downloaded it. They have been down since 5:00 p.m. and it is now 7:00 p.m. The note on their website said they should not be down too long. So, I looked at the video from Ohio University. It was kind of interested. I see it mostly as an adverting tool from them. Maybe it also can enhance the college experience for some. I don't think it would for me.
O.k. I tried again and the site was up. I chose a "body" and tried walking around. That was awkward for me. I learned a few things about how to use certain keys, etc. It was more fun than I thought. I bet my son would have fun with this.
Is there a role for Second Life in libraries? I'm not sure. At this point I can't really visualize how it would be useful to libraries. I will have to see if any of my regular patron use this game.

Thing #14 of the 23 Things on a Stick

I took the tour for the Library Thing, and signed up for an account. I also edited my profile, added books to my account and then added a blog widget.

3. Blog about your use of LibraryThing. (see above) Be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog on your blog. How popular were your books? I don't think my books are very popular. They were hard to find when I bought them. They are from Healing Touch a course of study I have been taking classes on the last few years. Did you find any discussions about your favorites? No, I did not, I suppose I could start one?

* How can you use LibraryThing for your library? I think ECRL should think about using this type of tool on our website. Our website could use some updating.
* How else do you share book lists, etc. with library patrons? I have a big 3 ring binder I have developed, but it gets outdated quickly. We also have some book sites bookmarked on our homepage, but this type of thing would probably be better. The problem is the staff time to keep it up.Would LibraryThing offer an alternative? possibly

Thing #13 of the 23 Things on a Stick

  • Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page? The My Yahoo. We signed up for this a while ago. The reason this one appeals to me, is this is what I would find patrons at my work use most often. So, this would be a good choice, because if they need help I would be more likely to help them, because I have an account myself. I like the TV listings, since our Sunday paper no longer has a TV show guide.
  • Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?
  • How can the online calendars be useful to you?
  • What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…?
  • Did you try out Backpack? What did you think?
  • Did you try any of the other tools in the list? Any good ones we should all try?
  • py and paste the HTML CODE* below into your blog, website, or profile.
    I tried the MSN calendar. It seems a lot like Microsoft Outlook, which I have on my computer, but really have not had a chance to us. It seems pretty easy to us.
  • I also tried the TaDa list. It seemed very easy to use. I liked that you can e-mail yourself a copy of the list. Then you could print it out if you want to, or e-mail the list to others. Remember the Milk looks like it has a lot more features..like sharing tasks and using it with Google.
  • Backpack looks like it would work well in the business setting for working with fellow employees.
  • I also tried the StickyNote.net and thought that was fun, and something I might use.
  • I also already have a PDF converter program that my son helped me get a few months ago and I have used a few times.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Thing #12 of the 23 Things on a Stick

  • How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home?I think these tools could be used in a variety of ways for home or work. If you are really into a sports team, or a certain actor, or really into a hobby. It would be a way for you to gain up to the minute information about what is happening..globally if you want to. Work: I suppose it could be a useful reference tool, especially if you just worked the reference desk. An easy way to find the information that people really care about.
  • Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor? I suppose for some it could be a productivity enhancer, but for most I fear it would be a productivity detractor. I know for me it probably would. I really don't need to know a lot of that stuff, and if it prevents me from taking a walk in the woods, or spending time with my family that would not be a good thing.
  • Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites? I'm sure I have, but I did not know it at the time. Someone probably forwarded something from one of these sites via e-mail.
I recommended a story form the New York Times and posted it on Newsvine. I also commented on someone else's story.

Thing #11 of the 23 Things on a Stick

  • Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Yes, if I was working on a research project. I am not currently doing that.Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere? Yes! We should have done this thing right away, then I could have worked on the 23 things at home or work. I ended up doing it all at home, because that is where I had everything bookmarked and had the passwords.
  • How can your library or media center take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us? I think it would probably be a good reference tool. I will have to check out some more of the ones on the Del.cio.us account you set up for us. When I have more time...I think many of them look quite interesting.
  • Look at the sites in the Resource list above to see how libraries are using Del.icio.us.

Thing #10of the 23 Things on a Stick

Oh Boy! I can tell my kids in college that I contributed to a Wiki! They will be so proud!I

like the video of planning the camping trip by using a Wiki. I go to the Boundary Waters every summer with a group of 6 women, and I think using a wiki could possibly make it simpler for us. I added an entry in the 23 Things On a Stick that looks just like above. I also did change a few typos. This was an easy one!

Thing #9 of the 23 Things on a Stick

I like the online collaboration idea because I feel like it can enhance the document and help in the editing process. Having the input of multiple people can make a document better not only in terms of making it more readable, but also making the intent more obvious.
In terms of use in a library, something like Google Docs or Zoho could be useful for creating policies and guidelines. All the people could have access to the documents and could provide input in the process by making the relevant changes.
From what I got to look at Google Docs seems simpler to use, but Zoho has more tools to work with.

I don't think the Founding Father's would have appreciated our help!

Thing #8 of the 23 Things on a Stick

I signed up for free accounts with Zoho and Slide Share. Slide Share I was unable to upload very much. It wouldn't seem to accept photos, it had to be PPT or PDF's. I was able to upload a PDF I happened to have on my desktop. I have done one PowerPoint in my lifetime so far about the Princeton Area Library that I presented to the Chamber of Commerce. I had trouble loading that on either of these websites, probably because the size of the file was too large, and they both seemed to have limits on size. I have been waiting for it to load on Zoho and it has been loading for 10 minutes and is not done. I think the size is too large also.
Now I just signed up for a free account with Thumbstacks. It said I have to wait a few minutes and then check my e-mail for further instructions. Right now I am very frustrated. I feel jealous of the individuals who had the time to the 23 things at work and had support from fellow employees. I have not had the personal time to devote to this, unless it is after 9:00 at night, and then it seems to be harder to focus on learning something new. Meanwhile the Zoho thing says it is still loading. I guess it is just not going to work for me.

I finally did get the Picture Trail to work.













Visit My Photos - 5 Pics




My Album







Saturday, March 15, 2008

23 Things of a Stick #7 Web 2.0 Communication Tools

1)Productivity Hints. This was good basic information--some of which I already follow. I do like the idea of a Mail Template. I will have to check into that for some of the things I do via e-mail. One of the things that comes to mind is when we get a request via e-mail for obit records. I always e-mail them information about our local museum, and end up typing up all the information about hours, phone numbers, etc. every time. This would save me time!
INSTANT MESSAGING
2a)Video. This was interesting. I think this would work very well for a college setting. Virtually all college students use IM so it is a great way to communicate with them in a way they are comfortable with. I have used IM several times before--talking to my kids. chatting to fellow classmates in a course of studies I am studying. I'm not sure how it work at my individual library at this time. We do not have the staff time to deal with it, and I'm don't think we have a high number of IM patrons to warrant staff using this as a communication tool with them. I could possibly see it as a tool to use with librarians from other neighboring libraries or back up reference at our headquarters library.
2b)Journal article. I like the definition of IM as "sped up e-mail transaction". That is exactly what it is. I will try to remember that definition when I am explaining it to patrons who have questions about it. Sometimes I think e-mail is just fine--it is usually fast enough.
I do think it could enhance reference services between our headquarter library and the branches.
2c) I installed MSN IM because that is the e-mail I use the most. I do not have anyone else in my building who is doing 23 Things or would want to IM me, so I tried in with my son in college.
3a)video. I liked the visual demonstration--it "clicks" with me. I am an auditory learner 1st, and a visual learner second, so it works for me. I could see how it might work for a patron.
3b) I realize to best serve our population libraries have to adapt to the needs and desires of our patrons. I never thought about patrons getting their library notices via text message from their cell phone. Librarian's do have some creative, wonderful ideas sometimes. It sounds like this has worked well in the U.K. Will that be the way of the future in the U.S.? I can see it really working well for college students. We will have to see if is something that will work for the public libraries. Being in a rural library system we usually "follow" what the cities libraries do eventually (if it is a good idea). They have more staff time and money for resources.
3c) I do not have a colleague to text message, so I tried the phone number on the u-tube video. It did not take too long to get a response. Interesting

23 Things of a Stick #6 ImageChef

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more

Had to try one more! Looks like you can send these as greeting cards too. That would me fun!

23 Things of a Stick #6 ImageChef

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more

23 Things of a Stick #6

Trying an online image generator was fun, and easy. Here is my Trading Card. If I do another one I would change it some, now that I know what it looks like. I think it might be fun to generate one that I could use instead of a business card. It would have more impact, and you could have the same type of information on it.
One of my concerns as I was going through this exercise was how am I going to find this tool later, when I might want to use it? So, I bookmarked the site. I decided I will make a folder on my bookmarks and put all of the tools from the 23 Things on a Stick in there so I will be able to find them later. Right now it is easy to use the prompters on the 23 Things on a Stick website, but who knows how long the website will be there after this program is done.

Friday, March 14, 2008

23 Things of a Stick #5

There sure is a lot of stuff out there! I did play with most of the mashers shown and did down load a graphic of my name from the spelling one. Some of the ones I played with I did not fully understand how they worked or why you would want to use them.

A couple of the ones I though could be potentially useful if I had more time to "play" at work would be the trading cards, or the calendar. We usually put some kind of calendar together for the summer reading program. I would be fun to add pictures from last years program, or even graphics from this years program. It also might be fun to make a calendar for my personal use of pictures of my family, or trips I have been on. Or even possibly to give as a gift to Grandma and Grandpa. I'm not big on games, so those would not interest me, but they would possibly interest library kids. I wish we had more computers at our library.

spell flickr

castiron R o Beggin I N

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Thing #4 of the 23 Things on a Stick

O.k. I just finished signing up for a Flickr account. It was really easy. I put a few pictures on the account, and then posted one to my Blog.

I just came back from Hawaii and between my husband and myself we took almost 800 digital photos. My husband just spend a lot of time last weekend sorting thru the pictures and figuring out which ones to print, then we had to go out and find a photo album that would work, and then he spent HOURS putting them in the album. And then, like the short video clip I watched on Flickr suggested the photo album just sits on the shelf. This Flickr account would work great for the Hawaii photos. You could easily organize them by the tag you used, such as surfers, sunsets, valcanoes. Also many of our family members live out of state, so by using the Flickr account we could easily share photos by the computer. All of our family has computers and Internet access. Plus think of all of the money and time we would save! I also really like the idea of the photos being saved on the web. My husband tends to just store the pictures he takes on the computer.Like the video said you are more likely to have a virus or something than have your house burn. They are probably safer on the web, or at least that would be another place they would be located, so you wouldn't lose them.
I just got a digital camera for Christmas, so I know I will be taking lots more photos. This will be a great tool to have. I also like the idea of the other photos on their by other people. It might be a good place to get a photo you might need for a publicity idea.

I looked at the displays they had on the web at St. Ben's. What a "user friendly" way to browse for books at home. I would like it as a patron. Wouldn't it take a lot of staff time to keep up on something like that?

By the Light of the Moon Bookclub

Here we are a few years ago, promoting the new book club kits

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Thing #3 of 23 Things on a Stick

I have heard a little bit about RSS and newsreaders in the past, but I didn't quite understand how it worked. But now that I signed up for the Google Reader and added some subscriptions I understand how it works. It is nice, because they are all in one place. I do not have to bookmark or remember websites. If I don't want to read some of the entries, or do not have time, I can just mark them all read. I will also be able to keep up with easier with some friends that are also doing the 23 things on a stick.

This was a good exercise for me, because there were a few websites I wanted to check out any way, like Librarian Unplugged. And this gave me a good opportunity to do so. If I do find that I am using this more regularly, I think I might make two accounts, one for work, and one for personal.

I liked that there was a searching tool available. I did try doing a search for Healing Touch which is something I am studying. I did not find any good sites. so I did not add one, but when I have some more time I would like to spend some more time searching for other RSS's that I might be interested in. That is all for now. It is 11:33! Time for bed. Robin

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Thing #2 of 23 things on a stick

I watched the video and read the articles. I can understand both sides. I personally enjoy learning new things--that is one of the things I like about my job. Every day I learn something new. I also don't like to look dumb. So, I like to try to keep up with the new technology as much as I can. I at least want to try to keep ahead of most of my patrons so I can try to help them, and so I don't look dumb!
Our job is to try to meet the needs and desires of our patrons, which are constantly changing. Technology is becoming a bigger part of their needs and desires every day. We need to try to keep up with it. Like one of the articles stated the young people that are very techy are our future taxpayers and voters. We want to keep them happy. When I first started at the Princeton Area Library over 21 years ago, we did not have that many teenagers coming into our library. Today we do. The library is now a "cool" place for them to be. We want them to feel comfortable there, and they do.
I am glad they have offered the 23 Things on a Stick. It has been challenging for me to try to keep up, especially since I just had a 2 week vacation in Hawaii during part of our time. (notice my Avatar reflects my trip. But it is also great incentive to do this. There is a prize at the end, and other people in the library field are doing it with me!
The label "Library 2.0" is confusing to some, what does it mean, who coined the term? Well, now I know after doing the readings. I guess it was just a catchy phrase. Well, time for bed.. Sorry about the misspellings...
Yahoo! Avatars

#1 Thing on a Stick

O.k. I think I finally am using the right Blogger. Now if I only felt more confident about HOW to use it, and make sure I am posting to the right thing. Earlier thought I already had created a blog, but I something did not seem right ( I was signed up with NING), so I went back and read the directions and signed up for a Google Blogger. I talked to Patricia Post a few days later and she explained that this was correct. She also said there was an area on the Mother Blog to ask for help. I have not located that yet. I think I know which one is the Mother Blog. I also did make an Avatar on Yahoo, but I did not figure out how to transfer it to my Blog. Can anyone tell me how to do that?Anything else I should know? I feel pretty stupid about this. I thought I would have an easier time. I can understand why some of our patrons get so frustrated at times. Robin.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thing #1

I think I finally got the right blogger. I hope this one is registered. Now I have to see if I can upload the Avatar I created.

Friday, February 15, 2008