Week #9 Thing #23

I have finally reached Thing # 23. At the beginning of Learning 2.0, I never thought I would reach this point . I was very challenged by this 9 week program and have learned a lot by completing the exercises. I was introduced to features on the Web that I never knew : flickr, technorati, wikis, zoho, image makers, LibraryThing, Rollyo, RSS feeds, bloglines. All of these little programs in cyberspace may change or even disappear in the future. (One thing that is consistent about the Internet is that it is constantly changing.) Still, these types of programs are tools that will continue to be used in one form or another by the global community to access, organize , create, publish and communicate information. As librarians, we need to know how to use these tools to bring our collections and services to customers. We need to learn how to use these tools to help customers navigate their way through cyberspace to reach reliable sources of information and knowledge. I hope to continue to explore in more depth all of the programs I have been introduced to through Learning 2.0. I realize now , more than ever, that I function in a world where "literacy" includes more than reading and writing the written word. A literate person in the 21st Century must also have the necessary computer skills to access and use information available on the World Wide Web. Still, I maintain, there are dangers in spending too much of one's life in cyberspace. The sun is shining today. I hear the birds chirping and the scent of cherry blossoms is wafting through the open window. Goodbye, cyberspace ! Time for the real world.

Week #9 Thing #22

eBooks : the e should stand for easy. And that is not the case for many potential users. I think the concept of electronic books audio ebooks is marvelous, and I am pleased that they are accessible on library catalogs and on Internet sites like the Gutenberg Project. But the complexities of downloading these digital wonders make them accessible only to those users who have the knowledge , skills and computer mindset to do so. I have tried on several occasions to download books from SJPL digital library and have encountered lots of frustration. I often wondered if some kind of video podcast could be developed, so customers could follow instructions online as they attempt to download an ebook or audio ebook. I think reading books online is a last resort for most library customers. A customer needs a book by tomorrow. The library has no print copies available, but there is access to an electronic book. The customer is desperate, and will go for the ebook option ( if they have access to the Internet at home...). I don't envision the digital book ever replacing the material book. Audio ebooks appear to have a larger following. With the wide use of MP3 players, audio books fit the needs and lifestyles of library customers . The long car commute becomes more bearable if you can download an audio book and listen to it as you drive. For those customers who are vision impaired an audio book is a necessity. And for those joggers and walkers who need something to listen to while they work out, audio books are sometimes the answer. If only the downloading part was more user friendly.....

Week #9 Thing #21

I looked at 3 podcast websites. The one I liked best was podcast.net. This was the easiest site to use because I didn't have to sign on, register, subscribe or download anything. I just clicked on whatever podcast I wanted and it came right up on the screen. Podcast.net has done an excellent job on subject categories. I selected a "How To" subject and all kinds of stuff came up. I listened to a podcast series called "How not to be dreadful" , You can listen to Bill and Amanda talk on and on about how not to be dreadful when you are clothes shopping or attending holiday parties or dining at a restaurant. Another podcast I listened to was "Fitness Attack". This is another series podcast and I listened to a 60 second recording of how to stay on your diet and still indulge in a Splenda Parfait. The simple recipe was given on the podcast. A very suspicious podcast entitled "Unorthodox Hacking : Hidden Windows Passwords" featured a video of a questionable looking character giving all kinds of instructions on how to get into the innards of a computer and fish out secret passwords, etc. My favorite podcast was "French for Beginners". This was a series of podcasts ( at least 20 lessons) that was better than Berlitz. Since I have an interest in brushing up on my French ,I found myself sitting at the computer listening, repeating and thinking that this was absolutely fantastic. I guess I will be visiting podcast.net very often from now on.

I did look at PodcastAlley.com , but as soon as I read that I had to subscribe and download a podcast aggregator (what is that?), I quickly left the site. Yahoo podcasts looked better. There was an interesting podcast series on childrens books. But then, they asked me to subscribe and fill out more log ins and passwords and I decided enough of that.

I think SJPL should have a video podcast to promote the Summer Reading Celebration.

Week #9 Thing #20

Week #8 Thing #19

I already loaded my LibraryThing catalog way back in Week #6 ( see post for that week ). I jumped ahead because I was very excited about LibraryThing. I think LibraryThing is probably my favorite part of Learning 2.0. My LibraryThing catalog is located at :

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/hawthorne

Untitled

Zoho Document


This is my Zoho Document. 

Week # 8 Thing # 18 Zoho

I created an account with Zoho and explored the site. I found it very simple to transfer my Microsoft Word word processing skills to Zoho . I felt confident as I created my document. The toolbar was similar to Microsoft and for some reason Zoho seems more user friendly than Word. What really impressed me was the number ( 58) of templates Zoho offers . Tickets, Invitations, Receipts, Flowsheets, Bills of Sale, Applications, and even a Student ID Card are available to the user. The "wiki" part of this site is that you can add a template to share with other Zoho users. Another advantage is that Zoho users can work on the same document from different locations. Zoho is a very useful resource; however, I would be reluctant to use it for any documents that contain sensitive information. Any document created on Zoho is out there in cyberspace and is vulnerable to hackers and spies. I will try now to post a Zoho document on my blog.

Week #7 Thing #17

I entered and linked my blog to the Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki. I was struggling and needed help with this task. Fortunately a colleague at work showed me how to make an entry to the wiki. The linking was the most difficult part of this exercise. The instructions on the wiki page are not specific enough for me.

Week #7 Thing # 16

WIKIS

Well, now I know the origin of the term "wiki" : Hawaiian for "quick". And saying "wiki" just one time is not enough. It is one of those cute little words that you want to say over and over : "wiki wiki". And quickly, quickly is how wiki wikis are built. I think wikis are wonderful. They are the perfect answer to keep creative collaboration strong and vital within an organization. I am so pleased that SJPL Youth Services has established a wiki for staff use. Now we can enter our storytime plans, songs, crafts, booktalks, book reviews, and special programming ideas. This is what we have needed for a long, long time. YS librarians need a central location where they can pool and share ideas and our new wiki is the place to do this. Mid Hudson Library System in New York State has a great wiki site for programming ideas. I spent many years working in a library supported by the Mid Hudson Library System long before the time of wikis. Instead of a wiki we had a central location for programming materials that we could all share. Approximately 70 small public libraries in the Mid-Hudson System depended on these materials for programming. But a printed catalog of all the materials had to be constantly updated, and paper copies of programming ideas were exchanged and often lost over time. It was a cumbersome way of sharing ideas. Now, with the wiki, ideas can be added quickly to a central location . Mid-Hudson Library System's programming wiki is well worth looking at :

http://support.midhudson.org/ezprogram/ezprogram.htm

Hopefully SJPL will be able to create an equally valuable programming wiki for staff to use and contribute to.

Week #6 Thing #15

"Away from the Icebergs"

Public libraries certainly don't want to go down like the Titanic. Rick Anderson has highlighted 3 issues ( or icebergs ) that could pose potential disasters for public libraries if they do not chart their future direction correctly. I recall vividly the very first course I took when I began my MLS. It was an introductory course to "Information Science" and our class viewed the video "Goodbye Gutenberg". It was our professor's goal to alert us to the fact that because of technology "the times, they are a changin" . This was way back in the early 1980's when technology was just beginning to impact the way libraries operated. OCLC and Marc Records were the latest and greatest back then ,and everyone on the cutting edge wanted to learn database searching and become high paid information brokers. Then the Internet hit, and all of a sudden the information domain was no longer exclusive to libraries. Today anyone with a computer and a good dsl line can access more information than any one library can have in a collection. The Internet, not the library, is now the first choice for most people to go to search for their information needs. So, Rick Anderson makes a very valid point when he states that the "come to us" model of library service is one of those icebergs that could impede progress. The "come to us" model of library service is no longer relevant. We need to bring library services to our users wherever they are and whenever they need us. The only way to do this is through technology. I think SJPL has done an excellent job of bringing library service to our users 24 hours a day through our website. Every time I assist a customer I take the opportunity to point out access not only to our catalog but also to the web links to information and the databases that customers can use at home. I like to do this because I always receive a "WOW" reaction from customers. They are so pleased that they can do their library research from home or from a remote location via a laptop computer. Access to SJPL's eBook and digital audiobook collections via the website is a real convenience and another example of bringing our services to the customer rather than making them come to us. This is the way we want to navigate public library service, so that public libraries do not face the same demise that many of the earth's icebergs face today : complete meltdown .




Web 2.0

"Into a New World of Librarianship"

In 8 brief paragraphs Michael Stephens does an outstanding job of summarizing some aspects of the new world of librarianship. Librarians are still bringing information and people together, but in a whole new way. Libraries and librarians are no longer the "keepers" of knowledge. We are now the navigators of knowledge and architects of information constructions built with technology tools. We gather our knowledge using technology. We organize knowledge through technology. And we make all of this accessible to users through technology. Tools needed to achieve this work are found in Web 2.0. Libraries need to plan their services and futures based on this new world premise. Still, I maintain, that there are important aspects of librarianship and libraries that are not part of this new technological world. I hope in their zeal to embrace technology, that librarians and libraries will not lose sight of their very special cachet that much of the human world still longs for. Libraries cannot forget those users who still long for the quiet sanctuary of peace and contemplation that a quiet study room or reading room offers. Libraries cannot forget that they are still seen as the promoters of literacy among all age groups. And libraries should always have books.

Week 6 #14 Technorati

Technorati is the center of blogdom. Any kind of registered blog you want to read is residing in Technorati. If you are a lonely person, you can sit and commune with other people's blogs. Listen to their rants, their humor, their passions, make cyber friends, etc. etc. Then there are blogs that are serious. You can find those too. The nice thing about Technorati is that you can broaden or narrow your search. When I searched under the term "librarian" in blog posts with "any authority" in "all languages"I got 122,809 hits. As I refined and narrowed my search to "librarian" with " a lot of authority" in "all languages" I got 2,329 hits. Then when I narrowed the search to "librarian" with "a lot of authority" in "English", then I got 2,177 hits. So, you can filter out the junk and pick up some quality reading / information. Tags and Directory searches seem to be more specific. Tags are not as reliable as directory searches.