J Wiles' 23 Things Times 2 Blog

Thing 47 - Evaluation

2009-04-17T15:52:00.004-05:00

Yay, I'm done! Well, just about.

The Things I didn't much dig: I'm still not sure what the whole life networking thing does for me. I signed up for lifestream and really haven't looked at it since I signed up. It hasn't exactly made life easier for me by combining all the sites I go to into one. I suppose it should, but I'm just not quite following it just yet.
RSS is also something I still haven't much gotten into. I get the idea on this one. I just don't use it to keep up with things.
The whole Online TV thing too ... I guess I prefer commercials too much. I know people like it because they can watch what they want when they want then, but I'm not a late nighter and I don't like being on the computer watching things for long. I'll take the good ole TV any day.

The Things I'm coming around on: Twitter is top of the list. I still don't know how it's really important to me. I use it, I sort of like it, and I can follow Neil Gaiman way easier this way, but I'm still working out the whole "How does this help me at the library" part considering my library doesn't have enough going on to utilize it and the director just looks at me and goes "Huh?" whenever I mention the word "Twitter."
Delicious though, I'm starting to understand better. I'm actually kind of using it and it is actually really useful for bookmarking all those sites I'm learning about here as I use them and think they're cool. Since I don't have the sites elsewhere, It's really great to have them there.
Screencasting is another. It's great to know about and even use when I have something that I can actually think to use it for, but I don't have much I want to do with it for now.

The Things I love: Pandora.fm. I love it because I can sign in and it'll post my loved songs to Twitter. Plus, I just needed a new radio station to listen to, so it's great to have Pandora combined with Lastfm who'll keep track of it all for me, and then have it go to Twitter. So, there, I combined multiple things right there. Go me.
Toondoo is another thing I love. I just don't have much time to use it lately, but I like how easy it is to use and post on the site. It's also got a lot of customizing that goes along with it, so I don't feel short of options.
Webjunction is the final thing I'm loving. Another thing I really need to use more too, but that'll be when I get time. It's great to have a site where I can talk to other librarians not just from MN but from anywhere really. The added bonus of the courses really raised this one in terms of my favorites.

Overall:
I enjoyed round 2 of 23 Things on a Stick. There were a lot of things I didn't know about this time around and when I did know about something, it seemed like I was expanding on it instead of learning about it all over again. There are also a lot of things that I can use both personally and for my work life. I feel like my knowledge of the Web 2.0 has increased at least twofold and I suppose that's the purpose of the exercise. So well done and I am happy to be done with another round.

~J Wiles

Thing 44 - The Economy

2009-04-17T15:26:00.009-05:00

This is certainly a timely thing to be doing. I really liked the life/spending tip sites because they are something that we can all stand to do. One of the things that I'm already doing is walking/biking to work as much as possible, and it certainly helps save money when gas prices are high. The banking sites were nice enough, but having had a dad who worked in the industry for most of my informative years, I learned first hand the importance of not overspending or overtaxing my budget. Now that I'm in the stage of having to repay college loans, it's helped to get a jump start on paying back those along with building a little bit of savings, which, after talking to a lot of my fellow college grads, is something they haven't really been able to do. While I'm still just a part-timer in both my jobs and don't have benefits, I've been able to get some money in the bank and keep it there for the future thanks to those wonderful skills my dad told me about years ago.

I'm enjoying Wise Bread for all its little tips and whatnot. Some of it isn't really helpful at the moment, but down the line, it'll be nice to have a resource like that for when things come up because the economy is always in flux and it could get worse (could get better, but right now, that's really uncertain in my opinion) so i might have to be extra thrifty. Having resources like Wise Bread can definitely help because they cover so many topics. The savvy shopper's guide is another source. Since I'm looking at getting a new bicycle in the not so distant future, I thought I'd look and see what info they had and it led me to the Bicycle Tutor which has just about everything I could ever want to know about fixing things. Since my last bike lasted 10 years, that could help get me through 15 with the new one.

I thought the self-sustainability and coupon stuff was nice too. Unfortunately, the grocery store I shop at doesn't take online coupons or it would be even better, but occasionally I've been able to find sites where I can sign up to get coupons sent to me in the mail so I use them then. Self-sustainability is one of those things, too, that can be really helpful to know about in times like this. Sure it might cost something up front, but after that it seems to always pay for itself plus more. My mother has had a garden every year and it's really helped cut on our produce spending, particularly with tomatoes and peppers. When you use a lot of those during the summer, it's nice to have your own so that you're not purchasing them every week. It's definitely one of those things that I'll remember when I move out of the house (yeah, I do still live at home - another way I save on the bills).

Overall, I thought this was a great Thing to go through. I'm finding some tips that I hadn't even thought of before and others that I'd heard about and am learning more about. And some of it is just a reminder of things that I really should be doing and have been thinking about doing and now probably will do.

Thing 46 - WJMN

2009-04-11T11:19:00.004-05:00

I like Webjunction because it's a great networking site for librarians, specifically librarians in the state. I like that I can find people who have similar interests and goals and can discuss things with them and get ideas from them.

I've looked at some of the courses and will probably do a few in the future. After creating a new website for the library I work at, I need ideas of how to keep it fresh and exciting and there's a course for that so I'm planning on looking into that in the future when I have more time. It's nice to have resources like Webjunction provides so that I don't have to pay for things I'm interested that also help me developmentally in my librarianship.

I think it's a smart idea to have a place where librarians can get together on the web and discuss things and bounce ideas off each other. Social networking online is such a huge thing that it just makes sense and that is, perhaps, the best thing about Webjunction. Add on the fact that courses are available for free if you're affiliated through the state and it gets even better. A lot of what's offered is stuff that, down the line, I know I'll probably use in some way or another. It certainly helps to know that I can walk myself through the courses and learn what I want to learn instead of sitting in a classroom week after week doing assignments that may or may not be helpful in the long run. It's just a great resource for learning what I want to learn about and giving me more background in the things that I know I'll use.

And if you're wondering, my profile name is wiilyr.

Thing 45 - Cloud Computing

2009-04-11T10:38:00.005-05:00

I hadn't heard of cloud computing before this and it took me several articles to get it, but I can see the usefulness of it with all the things people keep on the computer. Paper files have pretty much gone by the wayside so keeping files online makes sense. I haven't signed up for anything but I might take a closer look at http://g.ho.st which actually let me get a look at it and not just a walkthrough or demo video. I've looked at google docs before but haven't really used it though i can see how it could be helpful.

I can see using this further down the line in my career but at the moment I don't really have much use for it which is mildly ironic given that I don't actually have a work computer of my own, but a lot of what I do doesn't require backing up files or anything like that. The most I use the computer is for doing the 23 things so I suppose it could be helpful in keeping track of some of that stuff but otherwise I just don't have a lot of things that would require me to use the cloud computing idea.

But I'll definitely be keeping track of it from now on for when I might be using it because having everything right there and stored somewhere else is great especially if something happens and I were to lose the computer i had everything stored on.

The one big issue is, of course, privacy. If I have work stuff on there I probably won't mind as much but all the personal stuff would make me want to be sure that what I was using was fully protected. It seems like there are so many ways around things these days and I'd rather not have to worry about people breaking into my life just because I've stored stuff online. But then again, networks like facebook already have a lot of stuff out there about my life. Pretty much I'd be leery to put something on there that I wouldn't put on facebook.

Thing 43 - Online TV/Video

2009-04-01T17:30:00.003-05:00

As usual, my computer is not happy with lots of stuff going on, so this post may be a bit more of a rant/evaluation than a look at the sources, which is still good since I'm evaluating I suppose. While I like the idea of internet video (and Youtube is proof that people love/use it), I still like my regular old tv. If I want to view something online, then it's usually because I was busy and forgot to tape what it was I wanted to watch or I was on vacation or something and just want to catch up. Or I didn't know when it was on b/c the network changed the date/time.

But seriously, it's only as useful as the content it hosts. Some, like Hulu, host a lot of stuff, but if you have odd tastes like me, it's not so helpful. (I admit to being an avid BBC fan of which none of those shows are hosted). And if I'm not watching BBC, then it's usually Sci-Fi channel stuff (of which they can only host 10 eps of Stargate Atlantis and I think as many of Battlestar Galactica). So, since I've already seen those shows and it's not the episodes I'm interested in, it doesn't help a whole lot.

Other shows I can usually find on the network sites if I miss a week because, really, I'm not going to wait three months to watch and episode of Heroes I missed last week. I'll watch it this week so I know what's going on for the next episode. Certainly there are people that are less picky or are just looking for distraction and they find what they want.

It's not that I don't see the usefulness, I just don't have much use for it myself. If I want to watch The Colbert Report, I head over to the Colbert Nation home page and link to Comedy Central through that. That's about the only way online video has changed my viewing habits. I know that if I miss a certain show, I can find it online and watch it when I have time. Other than that, I don't go out of my way to watch something.

The one problem I have with internet viewing is that it skews the ratings. Several shows have been cancelled due to lack of viewership from the original broadcast. (Both Stargate series were victim to this.) But it's not that the viewership has decreased, it's just switched from television to internet. I know several people who don't bother to get cable or even a tv because they can watch it online. If anything, the switch to the internet has made finding and viewing things easier given that they're available. It's like DVR in that it's there when you want it.

Thing 41 - Mashup your Life

2009-03-28T10:49:00.004-05:00

I am finding almost zero practical use in Lifestream at the moment. I'm trying it, but I find it a bit creepy that it'll pull up stuff that i put up on Facebook in 2005. I can see why some people would like it for keeping up with their friends and stuff, but seeing as I communicate with most of my friends by phone or email anyway, this isn't overly helpful. I'm not really feeling this thing all that much. It's just sort of there. I did sign up for Lifestream and I'm using it, but I look at it and go "Why am I using this again?" Maybe I just need friends.

Anyway, I suppose if I had a very large online presence and needed to keep track of everything and everyone I know online this would be a good way to go. But I don't. For work purposes it really hasn't helped me at all and I'm struggling to find a good use for it in the library.

I'm looking at Tabup a little closer since, at the outset, it intrigued me. I did sign up for an account there, but I'm still not entirely sure how to use it since I've not put a lot of time into it. The feature I do like is that it organizes things by categories and the main page is customizable along with the various tabs you can add. I like it as an alternative to other online communities since you can put stuff from other sources on there as well as create new content pretty easily.

I still am not quite sure how to feel about lifestream, but maybe it'll grow on me like Twitter is slowly doing. But really, I'm still not a fan of putting all that stuff together when I still have to go to the other sites individually to do what i want to do anyway.

Thing 42 - Music 2.0

2009-03-27T17:07:00.003-05:00

Thank you More 23 Things for introducing me to Pandora. A few things back I set up a Last.FM account and a Pandora account and put them together for Pandorafm. And I am loving both. It's nice to be able to customize to some degree. Occasionally songs come on that I don't like and I skip them, but normally (with my eclectic music tastes) I don't have any complaint. Like I mentioned before, I was a big fan of Yahoo's Launchcast service, so with that now defunct, I needed a replacement. One of the features of Pandora that I really enjoy is the "Why was this song selected?" option so I can see exactly what I must have liked about similar songs. It really helps in terms of breaking down the elements of what I'm listening to and what i like about it or don't like.

Can't say I had any difficulties really other than the fact the link to WWIB's (Western Wisconsin Inspirational Broadcasting - my fave station to listen to when I'm at home and my radio's on) livestream apparently doesn't work (unless it's a computer issue and not a site problem). As far as internet radio replacing broadcast radio, I just don't see it happening anytime soon, especially with the number of people who still listen to broadcast radio in their cars and don't subscribe to satellite services. I know broadcast stations have asked for money to keep going, but in my area there's actually been an increase in available broadcast stations over the last few years rather than an increase which means there's still a pretty strong interest in broadcast radio.

I put a Last.Fm widget on my blog (top left corner, hard to miss) because I liked it so much and am more than happy to share my station. My favorite part is that it's connected to Pandora through Pandorafm so I can track the stuff I liked, the stuff I didn't like and what I listened to.

Sidetrack - Read Meme

2009-03-27T16:45:00.003-05:00

From the 23 Things Ning:

1.Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
Probably Martin's Mice by Dick King-Smith. I can't seem to get rid of it even though I've had it since I was probably 7 or 8.

2.What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?
Current: The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes; Last: Princess Mia by Meg Cabot; Next: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson

3.What book did everyone like and you hated?
Twilight

4.Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
Pride and Prejudice. I actually discovered I owned two copies.

5.Which book are you saving for “retirement?”
I'm not thinking 40 years ahead

6.Last page: read it first or wait til the end?
Wait! I hate spoilers.

7. Acknowledgments: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
Waste of ink

8.Which book character would you switch places with?
Adam in Good Omens

9.Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Running with Scissors. One of my friends gave it to me to read while I was abroad

10.Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
Fahrenheit 451. Someone got it from the Big Read then passed it on to me.

11.Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
Dairy Queen by Murdock. The cow on the cover made me think of my best friend

12.Which book has been with you to the most places?
Good Omens. It goes everywhere I go

13.Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
Hamlet

14.What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?
Oh so many ... but the gum was by far the grossest

15.Used or brand new?
Used if it's in good condition

16.Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Opiate

17.Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
A few, but I can't think of any off hand

18.Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Princess Diaries. Ruined it

19.Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
Rob Reid's. He hasn't been wrong yet.

Thing 40 - Mashup the Web

2009-03-25T18:39:00.015-05:00

After losing Yahoo's Launchcast Service (which, if I read correctly, is now part of CBS radio), I was thrilled to find Pandora. Though I now have to rebuild all my information from the ground up, I do like the rating system and the ease in which I can use it. It's also nice to have it connected to a Last.FM account because then I can really keep track of what I've been listening to and whether I liked it or not.

I was also excited to rediscover BigHugeLabs and all the fun things I can create with that. For example, my magazine cover here. I can definitely see using it for things like the website or for contests amongst the teens or even just as promotional materials.

Unfortunately, I was having trouble with some of the other suggested things to try out as they didn't want to work on the computer I have access too. I did get a laugh out of the wheel of food mashup though. It was like Wheel of Fortune but with where I should eat instead of money. I thought of my dad b/c he likes Wheel so much, but I don't think I could necessarily get him to use it. I may have just been mesmerized with the spinning colors too. And I will more than likely be referring to Libworm sometime in the future for things. I just have to have the patience to sort through the sheer amount of stuff listed through it, but as a librarian, I definitely can see the usefulness behind it.

Mashups are definitely useful for certain things. I'm not sure what I'd really use them for at the library other than perhaps organizing things since that's what librarians do a lot of. It seems like picture related mashups are really popular, or ones that are related to music or videos that organize or otherwise bookmark them in some way. The one that cracked me up the most was www.letmegooglethatforyou.com just because you basically have to google it yourself to have it google something for you. Though, I could see putting that up on the library website as an example of how to search google for people that aren't very websavvy. I'm putting my mashup search in: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=useful+mashups in which I have thus far found little that's thrilled me to any degree. Watch this space for when I really do find something that intrigues me so much that I will edit this post and put it right here.

Thing 39 - Digital Storytelling

2009-03-20T17:13:00.003-05:00

Well, I looked at Scrapblog (used it, set up an account) and I looked at Smilebox (didn't use it, annoyed me that I couldn't permanently shut the music off). I created a short four-page scrapbook with Scrapblog and posted it. Now I'm trying to figure out uses for the library. I can see why people like it given the popularity of scrapbooking (I do have one from my semester abroad that's rather thick and not so fun to drag around to show people). So, this is really a nice way to do it especially with the popularity of photosharing online. I found Scrapblog easy to use, but again, that may just be because of familiarity with other programs.

I can see using it for the library as a way of spicing up photo displays. Maybe do a scrapbook of the various programs and post it on the website or even have contests in conjunction with other programs like summer reading. Suggestions welcome. I was thinking of doing a digital scrapbook contest for our teens since they can access their online photos through the services and then they could vote on the winner.

Thing 38 - Screencasting

2009-03-18T18:58:00.002-05:00

Capture your screen in seconds

Well, seeing as a lot of the screencasting tools require a download, I was unable to use them. Screencaster wasn't too bad though as far as things go. I need to fiddle around more since I only had time at the moment to do the one embedded in this post. But otherwise it wasn't really a bad experience. I can see how it would be useful for libraries even when it comes to using basic things like doing an internet search or using one of the databases. I'm considering putting up a few posts on how to search the library catalog and MnLink and how to online requesting since those are things we get asked about a lot.
Personally, though, I probably wouldn't use it unless there was something I really thought people should know about, and even then it would probably be shared only with friends.

Thing 37 - Photo Tales

2009-03-16T17:58:00.007-05:00

Just thought I'd share this one that I rigged in Picnik. Took it while I was in England sometime back. Click to get the larger image.
And then the England slideshow (only a smidgen of the pictures I actually took.)

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Okay, and now for some eval. I didn't have any trouble at all with Animoto and found it pretty user friendly, especially in terms of retrieving my photos. I wasn't overpleased with the song selection, but then, for a free 30 second clip, I guess i can't complain too much. Picnik was pretty fun too and worked for me in a similar way to a lot of the photo editing software I've used in the past so I didn't have much trouble picking up how to use it. I can see using both for library purposes. Putting together slideshows with Animoto for the website and using activity pictures or something like that. And Picnik would work pretty well for making advertisement things a little splashier. I didn't have good results with mosaicker to be honest. The low res final product looked nothing like the base image (maybe because I didn't use enough photos) but it didn't impress me that much so I don't plan on going back to it anytime soon, especially since the image picker didn't like me terribly much and i had to keep going back into my sets just to get to the one or two images i wanted. Slideoo didn't work for me at all (maybe I should try a different cpu?) since i put in my Flickr username and then came up with nothing after that.
I did quite enjoy Animoto and will probably use it again for other things, along with Picnik (especially if I don't have time to fire up The Gimp or Photoshop).

Thing 36 - Comic Relief Generators

2009-03-14T13:04:00.024-05:00

A Few ToonDoos:

Library Life by GailMartin
--- This one happens to me all the time ... except I never know the answer

And now mine:

I'm enjoying these a little more than I probably should be, but perhaps it's because they get away from the mundane. I actually fiddled around with the tag could generator enough to make it useful for my poetry blog. which is elsewhere, but functional nonetheless. i should have thought of it sooner.

I tended to gravitate to some of the sillier sites (A Monty Python Silly Walks Generator? I'm so down with that), but I do like the pdf converters as I had to occasionally do that when I was in college and it was a pain to find them when I needed them.

I would also have used the Cornell notetaking sheets had I known about it since I tended to lose my things or misplace them quite often (which always astounded me since I had a specific notebook for each class. I just could never keep track of the ones I needed when I needed them. Go figure.) Ooh, citation generators. Yeah, in other words, how to be lazy and not figure it out yourself. I can see the use, but I'm just so used to doing them on my own that I don't really need to think about it or need much help. But I can see the use for those really difficult/long ones from journal sources.

And, finally, my Dewey number:

wiilyr's Dewey Decimal Section:

657 Accounting

wiilyr = 399258 = 399+258 = 657

Class:
600 Technology

Contains:
Health, agriculture, management, public relations, buildings.

What it says about you:
You are creative and inspired to make the world a better place. You can work hard on something when it catches your interest. Your friends have unique interests in common with you.

Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com

Okay, well, this was sort of an ugly looking post. Um, the ones I liked the best were really easy to use and didn't require me to sign up for something. I have enough stuff as is, but I was happy to sign up for ToonDoo since it was fun and relatively simple to put together once I figured out where things were. There may be more in the "Robobrarians" series when I have time to come up with ideas. (Okay, so maybe not hilarious, but perhaps cynical or, um, sarcastic, at the very least.) I did skip around the other sites a little here and there, but I mostly liked the ones listed in Thing 36. A few of them I could see using for things and it's nice to know about for when I want to change things on the library website or just need something new for activities. I can definitely see using ToonDoo and sharing it with my Teen Board since it's easy to use, has a lot of options, and encourages creativity.

Thing 35 - Books 2.0

2009-03-14T12:10:00.003-05:00

The overall impression that I got from looking at the various sites was that books and book discussions and building libraries of books online is quite popular. People are reading and people want to share what they are reading. Having already had a Librarything account (username: Arixphi57) I was familiar with the whole organising/building an online library. I did sign up for lib.rario.us (username: wiilyr) just because it's simple to use and I like that I can also add movies/music/video games being a fan of all three. Basically, though, these sites tell me that people just like to collect stuff and share what they collect.

I browsed a lot of sites. The readers advisory sites are helpful to know about just because they are easy to link to and can be a quick guide for making suggestions when patrons want something but don't know exactly what. I liked the "What Should I Read Next" site just because it had a pretty long list of things suggested and it automatically corrected you if you didn't have the exact title/author. I also liked that it actually gave me a good list of suggestions for the Twilight set to read. I did also sign up for Twitterlit with my Twitter account (username: wiilyr)and I'm enjoying that quite a bit just because it's exposure to things i wouldn't otherwise look at. I browsed the book communities a little, but honestly didn't spend much time on it. Wasn't much that really drew me in right away, but then, I may just not be wanting to sign up for more at the moment.
The book swaps were intriguing to me, but I don't plan on doing any, which I probably should do one given the amount of stuff I tend ot accumulate in a given year, but it takes time and I have other things I'd rather be doing.
I did like BookBrowse though for the reviews. I actually discovered another sequel that was coming out for one of my favorite books because of that site, so it probably went up in my estimation. Plus, the basic rating system was easy to follow and understand, which was a big plus.
I didn't spend much time with the children's sites or the audio, but the ones I did look at I didn't take to either, perhaps because they weren't exactly what i was hoping for or I was just getting tired of staring at the computer by then.
I do like the idea of the book rental sites, mainly because I had the opportunity to actually rent most of my textbooks in college, but I found the reasoning not to go to the library a little flimsy on both sides, plus it's almost $10 a month (so approx. $120 a year). Selling points were: no late fees, the ability to search whenever - that's why Catalogs are online, location, selection - system sharing anyone?, and waiting lists. Still have to wait to get it in the mail!
I did add a bookshelf thingy of some kind on my Facebook account, but I don't know how long it'll last there since I had one in the past and got rid of it because I got tired of it.

As for reading itself, the articles about how reading has changed and the perception of it were quite interesting. Is the internet reading or not? To some degree, I feel that use of the internet requires reading, but really, how much is it helping the reading skills necessary for the "real world" as it may be. People are learning to read differently through txt and other things, but I don't know that it's a positive use of language. If anything, the written word is getting worse because what younger generations are reading is so grammatically incorrect.

Thing 34 - Answer Sites

2009-03-12T14:06:00.002-05:00

I've been on Yahoo!Answers for over a year now and occasionally scour the boards for questions I feel I can answer. I usually spend a lot of time in the Arts sections because that's where I'm most comfortable having been a Creative Writing major in college. And, with an interest/focus area in YA services, I often find myself drawn to the "I don't know what to read!" type questions. (Suggest Twilight and you either get your head ripped off or an almost automatic Best Answer which continues to baffle me considering the person just said they were a fan of Twilight but wanted something else to read. Go figure.) When I do answer those questions, I almost always indicate that I am, in fact, a librarian and usually direct people toward book lists like those put together by YALSA (something that makes them look things up themselves, but I rarely think they do since they want others to do the work for them). Now, it never really helps me get a best answer, but I do feel it carries some weight with some of the other answerers because I've gotten a few who've stated later they agree with my points/suggestions or thank me personally for what I do. (Which is, honestly, a bit reassuring to say the least).

The appeal is really that a lot of people don't want to spend the time themselves digging for an answer that may or may not be obvious. People are lazy plain and simple. It seems too, that a lot of the people who use the site are trying to get other people to do homework assignments for them. Quite often I discover a question that is probaby verbatim what a teacher wants to know for something (usually rhyme scheme in poetry, what does "x" mean as a symbol in author "y"s book "z" type of thing). To some degree it might be that people don't know about the library as a resource, but more than anything, it's an easy way to do it from home without having to leave the couch.
The anonymity part of it certainly factors in as well since a lot of questions trend toward personal stuff that people don't particularly want to approach their librarian about. I know on a few occasions I've had patrons want information on something (we've all experienced this) that is sensitive to them. I have no problem being nonjudgemental about it and directing them toward the material they are looking for, but I can tell that they would really have liked to do the research hunting themselves as opposed to needing someone else to get them started. So, on that front, the internet once again let's people ask the embarrassing stuff without the direct contact. And other times it's just about some reassurance/self-affirmation or general advice about a certain situation that the library can't really give.

I like the Slam the Boards idea and will hopefully remember to participate in the future. It is certainly a good way to direct people to library resources or at least let them know that librarians are helpful people and can answer questions on a variety of subjects while providing better research than what a lot of people put into it.

Whew, and if that wasn't a lot to discuss ... I just feel I have to mention that I couldn't help thinking about the movie Desk Set which one of my college profs suggested I watch. In a way the premise has happened where computers are taking over Reference, but the difference is that librarians have adapted to the technology so as to use it instead of letting it take over and do everything.

Thing 33 - Travel 2.0

2009-03-11T19:43:00.003-05:00

I'm spitting this out in a hurry, so I may have to edit later. Anyway, being a bit of a travel nut, this sounded like a category right up my alley. I had fun reading the blogs and just seeing what people were talking/blogging about in terms of travel. Some I found more interesting than others. The articles were helpful in just explaining the basics of it and getting an understanding of what Travel 2.0 really means. The Cranky Flier really caught me attention because he seems to know a lot about the topic and is enough of a nerd to be excited about things while also explaining them in ways that the uninitiated can easily grasp. I also like that Travelocity has a blog to keep people updated since they are such a big site in terms of booking travel.
TripAdvisor and Virtual Tourist were two other sites I browsed. I basically went in looking for information on Winchester, England where I'd studied for a semester. I wanted to see what they had. Virtual Tourist is much more a work in progress than TripAdvisor, but that's to be expected. TripAdvisor actually made me miss England and that was just browsing what they had posted and not even really reading stuff. I think it just made me feel nostalgic. Vcarious and My Life of Travel are two other interesting sites because they really are user generated. Searching is a little more hit or miss with the first one, but the second one felt really like looking at someone travelogue. I liked it and my consider it in the future when I can actually travel again.
In the last category I really appreciated the London Tube guide after having traversed it on occasion myself. It was kind of fun to relive some of that experience in the form of an online entity. The map still confuses me to no end, but it was fun just to think back to the times when I did use it.
The only thing I'm not sure about is how it all fits in with libraries exactly. It's nice to know about these things in case people come in with travel questions or need help with travel related things, but past a reference standpoint, I'm not really sure how much use it really is to me or my library at the moment. Personally, it just helps to satisify my wanderlust a little, or make me want to go somewhere even more. The exact affect is still undetermined

Thing 31 - More Twitter

2009-03-11T18:28:00.003-05:00

Okay, attempt #2 on this post as I seem to have lost the first one.

I look at Twitter as a supplement to my social network. I mainly use it follow some of my favorite authors and musicians and a select few other people that i actually know. Personally, I think it does reflect my personality a bit as my sense of humour tends to peek out now and then through my updates as well as some of the things I'm into. I am, however, strictly a web poster when it comes to Twitter because i don't use the internet enough at home to justify installing something I would hardly use, and I don't have my own computer at work; plus, I'm often away from the computer when I am at work. I do like Twitter as a way to keep up with things in real time as opposed to reading later in a blog post or something.

I don't really fit into any of the 5 Twitter stages, but I would say I'm probably somewhere between Presence and Dumping when I do think to update. I do thend to look it over whenever i sign in too. I'm not really sure what Twitter is, but based on what i've been hearing on tv, I'd say it's the new "In" thing to do whether that's good or bad. Perhaps it is a black hole of people's thoughts or something too. I don't really know.

Really, for now, I just use Twitter to find out about some of my favorite celebrity types and see what they are posting about. Other than that, I don't do much with it in terms of socializing or anything. I did find some of the tools kind of fun like the status generator and the "How much am I worth/What's my rank?" I also like Twitstamp which I found very easy to use and even found a fun little Mario image (me being a fan of the original and all) that I posted at the bottom of my blog that has my latest Twitter update on it.

Thing 32 - Google Maps and Mashups

2009-03-11T18:20:00.001-05:00

My mashup is just a basic one detailing the car trip from home to college that I used to make, pretty basic. A map detailing how to get to the library or other things in town can be really helpful. Or, if you wanted to show someone your trip data for some reason, this would be a helpful tool. I didn't spend a whole lot of time looking at everything, but I got the gist of it and I can see where it'd be a nice way to supply people with directions to places.
As far as the various map sites go, they all seem to work pretty much the same way in terms of basic functions like finding directions. I don't really have a preference one way or another. My only complaint is that sometimes they don't have the street names that I'm looking for in certain areas as I've found this to be the case from time to time when just searching stuff around my hometown.
The mashups might be a good way to help students learn about the world so in that way they could be of use in the library. Also, if someone wanted to do a demonstration that required maps they would be able to put them into their power points or other tools to help with the presentation.

View Larger Map

Thing 30 - More RSS/Delicious

2009-02-25T18:35:00.001-06:00

I have to admit, I'm not big on the RSS or Delicious thing yet. I still see the use, but personally, I don't particularly like them or even use them. I did set up a delicious account though since it seems i didn't (or just forgot all the info from the first time around), but I really haven't put in a lot of time nor have the desire to do so to really use Delicious to its full extent. Perhaps because I'm still just floating around with it, I feel a bit like Ishmael adrift at sea while trying to figure it out. The networking is nice, but being new, again, I don't really know anybody so I just have to wing it and hope for the best.

The RSS feed is nice, too, but again, the things I do pay attention to the most are sites I just pop over to all the time anyway. I have subscribed to a few things here or there and the things I have on my RSS are split into the categories of "For Work" and "Entertainment" since those are the main categories they fall under. Most things, though I just have plain old bookmarked, which, I guess, I should send to my Delicious account, and that would probably help things over there a bit.

What it comes down to though, is that I don't really have much use for these things at the moment, but I don't mind learning about them. I plan to play around with them a bit more in the future and maybe then I'll actually use them better.

Thing 29 - Google Tools

2009-02-02T17:23:00.002-06:00

Thus proof that Google is indeed trying to take over the world. Is all we use as librarians Google? I'm just curious. Seems that way sometimes.

Anyway, I looked at Google Sites and realized I could pretty simply create a new webpage for our library here without too much hassle, which is nice because the old one is immensely outdated and just needs to go. By putting control in the hands of me and the other staff here we can create and edit things fairly easily by using Google Sites. Before I actually make the decision to go with Google sites for that project, I'm going to look into the other options just so I get the one I feel is the easiest for me and other people to use and access.

I also looked at the SearchWiki and, though fun to rearrange all of Google's results, I didn't much care for it in terms of my personal use. I can see maybe in the library setting for certain things that we get asked about (like tax forms, project information, etc.) it might be okay, but really, I don't feel like I'd use it much with how much I tend to bookmark sites to begin with. Bookmarking, for me, seems much quicker than doing the search and browsing the things I placed highest in the list. Didn't much like the Searchwiki, but I can see how some people might like it.

Thing 28 - Customized Home Pages

2009-01-31T12:47:00.002-06:00

I've been using MyYahoo! since I was in high school, so I wasn't much on changing from it. I did look at some of the other pages, but I didn't switch to any of them. I can see how some of the ones that allow a little more flexibility would be nice, but at the same time, for how much I even use MyYahoo! (which I've had, again, since High School) I didn't see the point in changing. Pretty much all of the things I do use the site for I have right on the front page in an easy to access spot.

Now, as far as set-up goes, iGoogle was pretty simple: just make a few clicks, throw in a few extra things here or there, and you're good to go. Over the years, Yahoo has been doing something similar to compete and usually I have to reorient myself to the changes they've made. I like to stick to one them normally and don't change much with that page so I kind of don't like putting new or taking off old because I have what I want so why would I change it?

I did notice, though, that I could add some book review sites to MyYahoo! page so I did that, but otherwise I left it as was. I don't use it for networking or socialising so those aspects of some of the other sites don't appeal to me.

Thing 27 : Twi-Twi-Twi-Twitter

2009-01-31T11:53:00.004-06:00

I'd heard of it, never used it before and didn't take much interest other than knowing that it was for keeping people updated. We'll see if I remember to use it when I'm online in the future. But overall, I kind of like it for keeping things short and to the point about what is going on. I can see how it would be helpful for librarians for communicating with each other and for keeping people updated as to what is going on at a library.

As far as the idea of micro blogging goes, I like it for the reasons listed in the above paragraph. I'm kind of in neutral as to whether or not it is useful for me though at the moment because I'm, well, really bad at keeping things updated normally. There's obviously a lot you can use Twitter for and I think, time pending, I could come up with several practical uses, but right now I'm find it's just hard to keep up with things when I'm so busy.

That said, Twitter is nice for the quick update and not the sprawling blog post. Username is wiilyr.

Thing 26 - Ning

2009-01-30T15:53:00.002-06:00

I joined the 23 things Ning the first time around and then I pretty much forgot about it. Mostly because there are not many people I know on it for one thing, and secondly because I belong to Facebook so I'm more likely to stop there for my social networking.

I have not joined a group. I probably won't for the time being. One of the things I do like about it though is that you can focus it on a specific subject or keep it pretty broad.

Getting my teen board interested in Ning would be useful in terms of creating something that would allow them to communicate with each other and would allow them to get their friends interested and updated with what is going on in the library. Otherwise I can't think of many other applications for Ning at our library.

Thing 25 - Blogging Tools

2009-01-29T13:53:00.002-06:00

Well, after about a half hour of browsing and fiddling, I finally added a links gadget and a little visitors map to my blog. It's nice to have some other options other than the usual blog hit counters which either give you too many hits or too few from experience.

I didn't really look much at the picture options since I don't want too much clutter on this blog, but I did consider a poll until I realized I don't really want a poll nor would necessarily use one on this blog. It might, however, be useful for some of my other blogs. I do like knowing about these things though for when we get our Library blog up sometime in the future. The speech gadgets were intriguing, but again, I don't know what I'd use them for, so I kind of skipped over them.

There are things like the search box and badges and stuff that I plan to look into later, but for the time I had I think I found some things I liked and some that I'm not really sure would be helpful at the moment. I admit though, that I do like adding little things now and then and changing them around from time to time just for varieties sake.

Thing 24 - Refreshment

2009-01-28T19:48:00.002-06:00

Quick post here as I'm nearly out of time before I have to go home to my crummy dial-up connection.

Thing 24 was nice, a little reminder if you will that I needed to update a bit, new year-new look type of thing. So, yeah, pretty happy about that so far. I'll fiddle more when I have a little more time.

As for how often I was blogging in the past year, well, I was good through about July on my poetry/rant and rave randomness blog, but after that things kind of went south and I ran out of inspiration and got busy. Then NaNoWriMo hit in November and with a 2000+ word count a day average for 25 days for that I pretty much burned out.

But, this is excellent because we've been talking about adding a blog for our library here and I'll be doing this which will force me to blog more if I want to finish my 23 more things for a perfect record once again.

And, as you might tell from looking on the side, I do regularly read Neil Gaiman's blog. He's my hero, after all, especially after the Newbery win. I was, of course, beyond thrilled. So, yes, I've at least taken to reading others' blogs a bit more even if I haven't been blogging myself so much.

Thing 23 - Final Thoughts

2008-04-01T00:12:00.002-05:00

Well, this is it, the last "Thing." Can't say I'm really going to miss this, I'll be honest, but, I did learn some things, had some frustrations, and also some refreshers so it all worked out. One of the "Things" that I actually am kinda liking is Ning to be honest. Growing up in the Facebook/MySpace generation has kind of made me realize how much networking has become a feature of society so I had little qualms about joining the 23 Things Ning. I also rather enjoyed the various image sites highlighted as they all offer something different and can be utilized for different projects.
I still find myself frustrated with Flickr and will need, once again, to spend more time fiddling with my account and organizing my pictures again, but I did like seeing what else it has to offer. Perhaps not the most flexible of sites, but still useful for uploading and tagging photos.
I guess the one thing that kind of nagged me throughout the process was the fact that I felt like a lot of the "Things" were geared more toward libraries bigger than the one I work at and the size libraries I plan to work at in the future as well. While a lot of the tools are useful, getting some of them set up takes time and may not even benefit my library in the long run. Perhaps my age again also adds to the slight frustration I had from time to time of knowing quite a bit about several of the "Things" as well. Not that they weren't worth my time, but I felt like I did not really put a lot of effort into some of what I was doing as a result of being familiar with things like ELM, blogging (at times), and social networking sites. I do see how these are important for librarians to know about though and found that I was challenged a bit in my thinking about them and that I had to change my approach to some of those "Things" from time to time.
So, I guess to wrap up, I would consider participating in a program such as this as it has expanded my repertoire(sp) of internet tools and sites.
And, to sum up my learning experience: Occasionally grueling, but well worth the self-educative effort (and yes, I may have just made up a word for describing the experience).

~J Wiles, signing out on Thing 23 with a prodigious sigh of relief

Thing Twenty-Two - What Did I Learn Today?

2008-03-31T23:45:00.002-05:00

Well, I learned I didn't know about a lot of neat internet resources like Digg, LibraryThing, Imagechef, and Picturetrail. I also learned that I like playing around with a lot of this stuff just so I can use it better, but also because it's fun and sometimes surprising what the result is. Perhaps more importantly, I actually discovered I could complete this without actually needing someone to constantly nag me to update my blog. I may actually have to update my LiveJournal now and then after doing this ... but then I may just get lazy and forget about it. Something else I learned is that games can be fun and can make the library more interesting, even if they are just on the computer (I still prefer board games to computer games now and then though which would be a good reason to sponser a game night at the library I suppose). Furthermore, there are great resources available to librarians that are also available to the public for promotions as well as just keeping up with the community and peoples' interests.
I suppose the best way to keep up with 2.0 is to keep visiting the sites and trying things out even if I only have a few minutes now and then to do so. Lunch breaks are always a good time to fiddle with things. (Who needs naps anyhow?) And as for keeping up with the blog in general and learning the 23 things, my method was to not just go straight through. If I knew I was crunched for time or would have to do it while being busy with something else, I would try something I already knew a bit about. But if I had more time to spend, I would try to find something more challenging or that I did not know about. There are mertis to going through them in order (like not having to keep track of what I'd done/not done), but I don't think I would have lasted very long with that method. Sometimes I just wanted to learn more about Flickr or play with an image site and others times I wanted to catch up with what people were talking about and what was in the news. So, in the end, I guess the best way for me to keep up with 2.0 is to go with what I'm interested in on any given day and remember that it is important to be active in the community and not just get completely wrapped up in work while forgetting there's a whole world on the internet.

Thing 12 - Do You Digg?

2008-03-31T23:12:00.004-05:00

I think I digg, though I see little use for this in a small library since we have no reference staff and the majority of our day seems to be used for little projects, assigned tasks, or helping patrons with computer issues/finding items. I had never heard of any of the featured sites until starting 23 Things. However, I can see how the rating/share features could be incredibly useful for libraries who actually have a reference staff. It certainly cuts down on the time looking for popular topics, especially something like election news which is so popular these days. Similar to some of the other items in the 23 things list though, this may be one of those items that is helpful once it's effectively set-up but until then may be a detractor.
As for sites that offer the share feature, it's something I've utilized in the past for classes or just sharing information with friends that I found interesting. I've also received information this way from friends/colleagues and it is incredibly helpful since I doubt I would go looking for a lot of the information specifically.
Looking at some of the sites, I felt like I was overloaded with information. Reddit in particular was a bit of a bombardment of text. I liked looking at Mixx because it spaced out the information a bit better and actually had blank space so I could process what I was looking at whereas with Reddit I lost interest from having to look at so much text.

Thing Eleven - Tagging

2008-03-28T22:29:00.003-05:00

After looking at Del.icio.us and how it works, I can see how it could be very useful, especially for people that use several computers for their work, or even just someone away from home wanting to check something quickly. As an avid user of 'Favorites' to bookmark sites I visit often, I would probably use this more if I was traveling, but it is nice to have quick and easy access through the use of tags as well. As a librarian, it's relatively orderly and I would know what my terms mean as far as keeping track of my tags.
For a library, this could be a very handy way for keeping track of research sites and quick linking to commonly used articles and sites that have up-to-date or useful information depending on the topics commonly asked about. I think larger libraries who actually have a Reference department would be more likely to find this useful than small libraries, but the small libraries could use tagging for school projects that occur every year and show patrons how to access the information quickly and easily without tying up the library staff for too long looking for something that may or may not actually be in the collection or readily available through the subscription databases.
I suppose libraries could also use tagging to draw attention to issues in the community and make people more aware of what is going on. The only thing is that setting up a comprehensive listing takes time and some people either don't have the patience to go through the set-up process or don't have the time, the latter most likely being the problem for smaller libraries with few staff members.
Overall I like the concept, but I am not sure it is something I would remember to use very often unless I spent the time to actually make a worthwhile listing for myself.

Thing 8 - Share Your Creations

2008-03-28T22:14:00.004-05:00

I have to admit, I found this one to be kind of fun ... another good source for creating promotions, but I think this one is probably more based for web promotions than some of the other sites I tried. I enjoyed playing around with the various options in picturetrail for creating flicks. They give enough options that I didn't feel like I was bieng hampered in any way and my creation looks pretty good in general without me doing much more than making a few clicks here or there. I had very little trouble even getting started with picturetrail. As soon as I set up my account I was able to upload my photos and put together a flick. I would completely recommend this to people, especially those who don't know a whole lot about putting together slide shows and other tools because I found it so easy to use.
One of the the things I liked most in learning about the slideshows and trying out the flicks was that it was quick and easy to make quality promotional material for websites. This is an excellent source for creating quality, professional looking material that is also attractive and easy to add to websites/blogs.

Thing 10 - Wikis

2008-03-19T18:36:00.000-05:00

The wiki concept, in some ways is kind of like the Google docs or Zoho concept for me in that you can post something and then have it changed. However, the main difference is that the wiki is really a collaborative effort for creating an amalgamation of information in one place. Having used Wikipedia for the ocassional base information on a subject I was familiar with the concept, but had never added to anything until I browsed the 23 thins Wiki and decided to add a few classics to the list.

The one thing I occasionally have issue with in regard to the wiki is that the information may or may not be correct and it is really not a good source for papers unless one needs a place to start. I completely agree with teachers who do not let students use wikis for a source because they tend to be more biased in the information provided and are not always correct. Wikipedia in particular has a tendancy to not be the most factual of sites at times simply because people post what they think is the truth without necessarily doing the research or knowing for sure that it is the truth.

Wikis could be good for libraries or schools in that a class or group of librarians could contribute to their own wiki on whatever subject they wanted. A class could utilize a wiki for a project where all the students have to provide information on a topic or variety of topics and then peer edit the wiki. For librarians, it could be good source of information on a variety of topics from readers advisory to policies and guidelines. The other advantage is that, when a variety of people are participating, the wiki tends to stay up to date with the information.

Thing Nine - Online Collaboration Tools

2008-03-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

I have to say, I think the idea behind this is nice. I recall a few professors at my university having us post things online so they could then comment in a similar manner to how this is changed. 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, somehing 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.
Furthermore, when thinking about these tools in relation to the tools in Thing Seven, Zoho and Google Docs is probably better for making changes in documents, but the two could be linked for feedback purposes. Whoever is in charge of writing up a draft of something could post it to the site and send the link to others to make changes. When all is said and done, I suppose these types of tools could help with productivity in that they can be used together as a means to an end.
While the edits to the Declaration of Independence were sometimes interesting, funny, or spot on, I don't think it would be entirely prudent to actually try to get such changes permanently added to something like that. I do believe that the founding fathers may be, as the saying goes, rolling in their graves, but then, they may have had such a sense of humour that they appreciate some of the changes made. John Locke is probably having a laugh at Thomas Jefferson if nothing else.

Thing 7 - Web Communication Tools

2008-03-18T17:46:00.000-05:00

Tools like email have improved library productivity in terms of communicating with other libraries. I have seen how it helps larger libraries communicate amongst each other, but in a small to mid-size library it does not really help unless someone needs to send some information on to another staff member quickly.
IM tools are nice for reference purposes, but I see little use for it in a small library because small libraries do not really have the staff to keep tabs on something like that. However, I do have MSN and have been using it for several years and I find it to be a useful tool for keeping in touch with friends now and then and keeping up. After reading the article about the uses of IM tools in the library, I liked the idea of using IM amongst staff to keep tabs on meetings and event times as well as quickly relaying messages between departments.
The SMS article was also interesting to read because of the suggestion of updating patrons about holds through their cell phones. If I did not work at the library, it is something I would be interested in since I would probably have a lot of requests. It is useful too because then patrons don't need be home to find out they have requests or need internet access to see the status of their items.
Overall, I think these things can help the right library but for a small library they do not really help too much.
It seems to me that the majority of the web tools would help a bigger library more than a smaller library, at least when it comes to communicating amongst the staff. However, the webinars seem to be beneficial to everyone, especially the webinars available from Minitex because they benefit the libraries who utilize the services.

Thing Six - Online Image Generators

2008-03-09T00:17:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking of this as the place to go for people who can't figure out Photoshop (though I do generally abhor it for not being overly learner friendly without a guide ... I'll stick to The Gimp, thank you cliches very much). Nonetheless, it certainly has its uses. Big Huge Labs has a lot to offer and certainly doesn't disappoint. I found it quite easy to use and the ability to customize everything was great. I had a lot of fun playing around with this one and definitely will bookmark it for later use.

I could see myself using this to make name tags for programs or creating posters to make people aware of library programming. I could see even using this in programming to encourage people to learn about technology and come up with their own ways of using things, or even creating games with the resources available on the sites.

Thing 5 - More Flickr Fun

2008-03-08T23:55:00.000-06:00

I have to say, some of these are pretty neat. I really liked the Jigsaw application. Using some of these could be great for making promotional materials that look original, but also clean cut and professional without having to put forth too much effort in the process. And, much to my surprise, they seemed to work somewhat effeciently even with a dial-up connection, so they were not overly time consuming.
As well as Jigsaw, I liked the different creations possible with Splashr. It was fun to see the different combinations possible. I think Splashr in particular is useful to librarians because of the range of possibilities offered in creating promotional material.

Thing 4 - Flickr

2008-03-08T22:48:00.000-06:00

Lake Winona and Mount Sugar Loaf in Winona, MN. Taken on a lovely spring day.

This is, once again, something which I'm at least a bit familiar with. However, I was a little unhappy to discover I'd overreached my limit on uploads especially since I can't view any of my older photos that I would much prefer to have access to than some of the more recent summer vacation ones that I just threw on there to get off my camera. So, much deleting later, I can bring you a random variety of pictures from my travels:

I drew this picture of a bear in the sand at Cedar Campus in the MI UP.

Probably the most beautiful part of the Badlands in South Dakota ... and I shot this from the car while my dad was driving through the park.

A polar bear being fed at the Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha, NE. Bear feeding time is about the best time to be there.

Moving on, I was a little annoyed at the fact my account had an upload limit that I'd exceeded, especially because I don't remember them saying anything to me about it being a temporary upgrade for switching from Yahoo!photos a long time ago. However, it is kind of neat when deleting photos watching them fade away... it is, on the other hand, not fun having to delete a bunch just to recover the older photos. I shall be saving them elsewhere from now on as well.

As far as use in the library it is a nice way to share photos with other people and make them accessible as well as allowing the public to access pictures taken at library events. Flickr could also be used as another tool in terms of readers advisory or even just showing people the library.

I'm not overly concerned about my photos being made available to the public. I suppose I should be a little more bothered by it than I am, but as long as no one's entering one of my photos in some art contest without my consent, it's not a huge deal for me. Although, I currently have almost all my photos private with the exception of a few that I just haven't bothered to change or label.

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

2008-03-02T23:19:00.000-06:00

I once had a virtual bookshelf on my Facebook page ... and then I got rid of it because it was one of too many applications I'd installed. However, I like the idea of LibraryThing because it's not on my Facebook page. I really liked that I didn't need to put in an email address either because that means no annoying spam (which I hate in any variety, canned or otherwise). Overall, I found Library Thing to be easy to navigate and even with a dial-up connection it was easy to use and easy to load. I like the simplicity of the site, but the fact that it really has a depth to it in terms of what it is capable of. Even the tools tab was really intersting because I could create stuff through Library Thing which I had not expected. So, I guess besides adding some of my odd favorites (like Simon Green's Shadows Fall) which a lot of people have either read or not read (Pratchett and Gaiman's Good Omens is a good example of the former) exploring what Library Thing has to offer has been fun for me.

Thinking about use of Library Thing in my library, I can see how it could be helpful to highlight either recent additions or possibly doing a Readers' Advisory and drawing attention to books in the collection so that people can see the array of things available. In terms of it being an alternative to other ways of sharing books (such as displays on the shelf) linking it to the catalog or main page could be helpful to patrons so they can see what is available from home as well as actually seeing the books in the library.

Thing (unlucky?) 13 - Online Productivity Tools

2008-03-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I already have MyYahoo! as a default home page and have been changing page one and page two of it for years, so it was definitely my preferred page. I suppose I'm a stickler for tradition in a way so I won't be switching to any of the other pages anytime soon. But, I do recall this one treating me well, even when I was in Econ in high school and had to follow a number of stocks for a month or so and I just had to sign on and check them every day on my personalized list. That feature has not made the cut in recent years as I've opted instead for sports scores and weather, but I do like the ability to move things around as well as add and edit the various widgets.
I can't say I'd personally use the online calendar but then, I have a tendancy to not write things down as much as I should so it would just be one more thing to keep track of. However, for people who like that sort of thing, I can see how it would be useful for keeping track of appointments and meetings as well as birthdays, events, and whatever else one needs to remember dates of. I feel similarily about the To-Do lists. It's not something I would necessarily use, but I can see how it can help other people stay organized. About the only time I can think that I would use it would be for making a list of possible things on vacations.
The idea behind Backpack is helpful. Again, not something I would really utilize to it's full extent, but for the busy person, I can see how it would certainly keep things organized and allow them to not have to think so much about what they need to do and when.
I do like the fact there are sites like Zamzar out there, something I would, again, liked to have known about while in college because it was not entirely uncommon that I would have something that I wanted in another format (especially power point slideshows that would print easier as a pdf).
Overall, I would say these productivity tools can be helpful if the right person uses them. Calendars and to-do lists are much less helpful to me than customized start pages, but that's because, when I sign online, I can customize them to show me exactly what I want to know, not what I necessarily need to know.

Thing Sixteen - Project Calculator

2008-03-02T22:25:00.000-06:00

Right now I'm really wishing I had known about RPC when I was working on one of my term papers last fall and only had a week or two to do all my research and writing of the paper. I find the prompts to be helpful for each period of time because the break everything down without making it look too difficult or time consuming and they certainly narrow one's thinking to a specific part that needs to be done to do the assignments well. Also, the timeline gives what appears to be an ample amount of time for each step in the process.

I do think this could be extremely helpful for students, especially those that have trouble budgeting their time (which, as I've found amounts to an equally large number of high school and university students). RPC also can help those who need more instruction on the research process because it essentially walks you through it. Every step looked familiar to me in relation to how I was taught to do research in college. I also liked how it had the video and slideshow options because those are other areas frequently used not just by students, but by many professionals.

While it is easier to see how RPC is more beneficial for schools, it could be used in the library for keeping on top of certain tasks that need to be done, especially when it comes to budgeting time spent on certain projects or in the event of having to have a certain report done in a specific amount of time or if the library is preparing for a program and only has a limited amount of time to get everything ready. The slide show option in particular I can see being beneficial to librarians, especially those that give talks to the community because it can give them a reasonable timeline for completing and preparing for those talks without making them feel overwhelmed about the rest of their (busy) schedule.

Thing Fifteen - Games and Libraries

2008-03-02T22:12:00.000-06:00

Well, as I'm waiting for my Java update so I can perhaps try out Puzzle Pirates, I guess I will write about Second Life. I have to admit, I had never heard of it when I watched an episode of CSI: NY several months back that heavily featured the online community. However, since then, I've learned a bit more about it and have realized that several people I am friends with either have an avatar in the game or know quite a bit about it for whatever reason. However, I still find myself not really wanting to take part in it. I can, however, say that I can see how it can be beneficial for a library to know about it and possibly even use. The island concept is nice because it allows people to find other people with similar interests as well as allows for interactiona nd info sharing in a way other than email or blogs.
In a way, Second Life really is a second life, an online life, which is something many people have. Despite my disinterest in joining such a community at the moment, having access to library sources in the game could be of interest for many people and can provide them with the opportunity to experience libraries in a new way from the comfort of their own home (or library as it may be). There is indeed a role for Second Life in a library should someone have the interest to pursue it. If a library were techno savvy and had interest enough it could even sponser events that take place within the game to attract patrons or even get the word out about the type of programming provided by libraries. Much like YouTube or Podcasts, using something like Second Life has the potential to bring in patrons that may never have put a foot in the library otherwise, even if it is only an online version of a library.

Thing Twenty-One - Other Networks

2008-02-27T19:31:00.000-06:00

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

I have to say, I had never heard of Ning before, but I have to say, it's pretty neat. I was aware of other sites out there similar but obviously not Facebook or Myspace, and, I do in fact belong to another one, but I had not really thought about it as similar to Facebook for some reason. Perhaps I just categorized it differently when signing up. Anyway,one of the things in particular I like about some of the social networks is that some of more specific than Facebook or Myspace. I currently belong to Jacketflap.com which is made up largely of librarians, writers, illustrators and teachers with a more specific interest in Children's and YA lit. Though I originally joined in hopes of networking with other authors, I've found it's just as good for the librarian field as well (especially since I'm going through a bit of burn-out after vigorously writing for my Creative Writing degree). I think the best part for me is knowing that there are people with similar interests that can supply me with support and ideas.

Thing 20 - Facebook/MySpace

2008-02-27T19:13:00.001-06:00

Well, being a longtime member of Facebook from my days in college, this was a pretty easy one for me. I joined the Libraries Using Facebook Pages, Librarians and Facebook, and the Library 2.0 interest groups. I suppose if I'd known about them earlier I would have joined before since the other groups I'm part of are mostly from school organizations I was part of.

One of the reasons I think Facebook is so popular is that it is an easy low-hassle way of connecting with a lot of people. I know that I have a lot of friends on Facebook that I knew in high school but have otherwise not kept in touch with. Despite the fact I still don't keep in touch with them other than befriending them on Facebook, it is nice to have a place where, if the circumstance arised, I could contact them easily. As far as it's quick growth, I think it is because of the ease in which people can post only the information they want to share as well as limit who sees their profiles. It is also relatively easy to utilize Facebook's applications and change information. As reluctant as I was about Facebook when I first began using it, I've found it is a useful way of connecting with people I've met whether they live next door or half the world away.

Thing 19 - Podcasts

2008-02-27T18:56:00.001-06:00

Podcast.com was relatively simple to use perhaps because of the simplicity of their front page. Podcast.net also was fairly easy to understand, but I felt more like I was on the Yahoo!Groups front page than I was anywhere else because of the breakdown of categories and subcategories. .net also seemed a little more cluttered, so I was less impressed by it upon further use than .com. Podcastalley was even less impressive because they featured pretty much everything that was recently posted as to opposed to what was being heard. Though the search was simple option was simple enough, the rest of the page was a bit misleading since a lot of what was new involved how bad viewers perceive a recent NBC show to be. I did like EPN for the fact that it focuses on educational podcasts. The breakdown on the side of grade level/focus area made it easier to sort through what they had as well as find interesting podcasts. The SHAKESPodosphEARE in particular was interesting because it not only provides the listener with readings from The Tempest and Julius Ceasar, but also introductions to phonetics and Beowulf.
After browsing the various podcast sites listed, I would say that Podcast.com was probably the easiest to use, but for an academic type person, EPN was more helpful. However, I do not think I will be podcasting anytime soon after this little exploration, though I may eventually look for a podcast to enjoy and listening to again.

Thing 18 - YouTube

2008-02-27T18:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I picked this video pretty much because it's got Stephen Colbert and it's about a book. Plus, the whole "tiff" that Colbert apparently got in with Hosseini is pretty funny, so it was an easy choice for me.

As for using YouTube, I have found it to be pretty easy. For the most part I've never had a problem with it unless I try to access it with a dial-up connection, which, for obvious reasons tends to go slow. I was a little miffed when, however, having logged in after a few months of inactivity, I failed to find my playlists in YouTube. As for Google video, I'm less a fan, but perhaps it's because it's Google and I tend to use it as little as possible at times.
Although, it is currently hosting one of the all time greatest Star Trek TNG Picard Fanvids:

Anyway, I like the idea behind sharing videos. Libraries can use it to inform patrons about the types of things available to them since many library users seem to be familiar with how to use YouTube and Google Video. Using them on the website could be useful to also explain how to use the resources available online without the patrons necessarily having to come in for lessons.

Thing 17 - ELM

2008-02-27T18:16:00.000-06:00

ELM is nice to have access to simply because it provides information from a variety of sources. For a public library, it is useful to patrons because they can look for information on a specific topic in which they are interested and provides them with relatively easy access. For librarians, especially those in reference, it gives them resources to help them find information for patrons, but even for the every day person, ELM is useful for finding articles and information on a wide range of issues that affect everyday life. As far as facilitating collaboration, it is easy to direct colleagues to useful sources and articles that they have access too with a minimum of effort required to get there. Even the laziest of researchers do not need to necessarily work hard to find what they want using the ELM resources because of the ability to refine searches and make them more relevant.
Though I am not a big fan of NetLibrary specifically for the reason that I do not much like reading off a computer screen for long, it is useful that you can take notes as you go along for easier recall later, a feature I would have enjoyed a lot more while I was still in college and having to occasionally use NetLibrary for my assigned reading.

Thing 3 - The FEED (of RSS variety)

2008-02-23T22:46:00.000-06:00

I'd heard about it ... just never knew much or anything about it. So, nice to know I can get updates without running around in circles all over the internet just to get them. It's especially nice because I can cater to my varied tastes from what's new from the Colbert Report to what's happening around the world courtesy of the BBC News. The added fact I can keep up with new blog posts related to the profession is also a plus so I can see what's going on without having to strain myself trying to figure out what is new and what's not.
As for setting up the RSS, I had zero problems figuring out Bloglines, I found it to be simple, straightforward, and not in the least bit time consuming. Overall, it was just about as time effecient as the actual idea behind the RSS feed.

Thing 2 - What is Library 2.0?

2008-02-23T22:03:00.000-06:00

I have to admit, I was a little unsure what to think of participating in 23 things at first, but looking over what is to come, I think I'll be glad to keep going. Some things I find myself familiar with and others I have little idea about. The idea of Library 2.0 is even a little unfamiliar to me, but coming fresh from my undergrad degree in Library Science, we certainly have discussed the issues facing libraries today. Having recent experience in a medium sized library for me internship has also brought the issues of competing with the likes of Google into mind. It was not uncommon for the library I was at to have to cancel a program last minute for lack of attendance. However, they have had a surprising amount of response to the addition of an art gallery on the second floor that has created a great deal of interest. The fact one can view some of the recent art online is a plus as well and has helped create interest outside the patron population.

However, thinking of the small library for which I now find myself working, I realize that it is still an important resource for teaching people the types of things they can do on the internet whether they are 5 or 50. Though I often find myself reluctant to spend too much time online as it takes me away from being around actual people, it has become a great resource for information sharing and cannot be ignored. However, I still find myself a little wary of becoming too unattached from real life as opposed to virtual life. The internet is certainly not a good replacement for human contact and the physical presence of a book, which is why I in part think libraries are still going to be needed years from now.

Looking ahead, I'm excited to learn more about Flickr as I have not spent a lot of time on my account since migrating my Yahoo!photos some time ago. I'm also quite interested in the ideas about the library and games since I enjoy games both of the computer/video type as well as board/card games. I've had some difficulty trying to figure out exactly how to put the two together and it'll be interesting to think of new approaches to being a librarian when thinking of gaming.

Thing One - The Blog Setup

2008-02-13T19:13:00.000-06:00

Having a livejournal account and other things made this part fairly simple. The hard part? Maintaining my blog. I'm not terribly thrilled about having to remember to post every time I try something, but I guess it's cool 'cause I have to and all. (Geez, I sound like I just finished reading the Perks of Being a Wallflower after that statement). Anyway, I did not have too much difficulty setting this up. I'm somewhat computer literate and have my nose in all over the place, so I don't think the actual blog part will be hard, just the remembering to post about things.

So, to sum up, I know what a blog is. I am not always very good at keeping up with them, but I do know how this works and will hopefully remember to post after I do a "thing" on the list. What else do I remember? Well, I do remember that we were supposed to follow a blog for a semester in college for one of my library science courses, but my instructor forgot, so I guess this will be informative in that I will actually have to keep up with it if I want to benefit from it.

Oh, and I did learn how to get my Yahoo! avatar over here. That was kind of neat ... now if only I could get half my facebook applications over here too.