Thing 23 - I'm finished!!!

Finally!!! Completing the 23 Things program while working on the desk has been an experience. I enjoyed the "fun" components the most. The online image generators and the music websites were a lot of fun to explore. I think the program has given me the opportunity (and direction) to explore sites that I probably wouldn't have found on my own. One of the ideas that I'm taking away from this program is that there are still so many ways that the library can use technology to provide new/better services to our patrons.

The pod casts at the beginning of some of the "things" weren't really useful because it's difficult to have the sound turned on or the volume level very loud when you're on a public desk (the only time many of us had to work on the program). I think if the program incorporated more fun things (where participants can play while they learn) people would be more likely to do it and maybe less intimidated by all the technology.

I would probably participate in another discovery program like this if one was offered in the future. I'd be more likely to participate if there was a specific incentive or prize that you knew about in advance for completing the program.

Thing 22 - downloadable books

I had to look at several of these sites for LATI earlier this year. Our library links to Overdrive, so that's the site where I set up my account. I understand the appeal of downloadable books. You can find titles that your system might not carry and you may be able to get a new title faster than you could going through the normal holds lists at the library. Some titles allow you to burn the file to Cd's, making the experience similar to checking out an audio book at the library. I like the fact that you can see how many people would be in line ahead of you before you place a hold on an item that's already checked out. I searched for several different titles and was able to find them all in one format or another. It would be nice if they carried Young Adult books as well. This might be a good way to introduce teens to the audio book format.

I didn't find any titles that I really wanted to try to download. As with traditional audio books, I think I'd have a hard time focusing on listening to a book while I was driving or working on something. I don't think I'd want to read a book off my computer screen either. I end up staring at a computer screen for a large part of my day already. It's not what I want to do for hours at home just to read a book.

Thing 21 - podcasts

For this "thing", I explored Podcast.net and Yahoo! podcasts. I had a hard time finding a podcast series that I actually wanted to add to my bloglines account. I could find individual episodes about subjects that interested me, but not an entire series. I ended up with a commentary series about the Baltimore Orioles. I understand the value of having podcasts but they aren't all that appealing to me. I tend to get distracted or start doing or thinking about something else and miss parts of the podcasts. I also don't really have any desire to create my own podcast any time soon.

Thing 20 - YouTube

I've used YouTube before. People post videos there for just about anything. More recently, I've started using it to find music videos from artists or groups that I like. I wasn't sure how licensing worked with posting a video to my blog and I found out quickly that just because they let you post the video, doesn't mean they'll let you play it on your blog. The first video I posted gave me a message that said due to licensing agreements (or something), I would need to visit YouTube to view the video. So, I tried another of my favorite artists and his video plays just fine. I chose Jason Aldean's video for Amarillo Sky because I thought I'd add some of my personal interests to the blog, even though I've kept it mostly work-related so far.

Integrating a video feature into the library's website could allow us to share programs with others via the Internet. We could also post book talks done by staff members. If we were to share videos created by other people/organizations, we'd probably have to be careful about licensing agreements and copyright infringement.

Jason Aldean- Amarillo Sky

OK, so I tried to post a video from Sugarland but they wouldn't let me play it from the blog, just post it. So, I'm trying again with a song from Jason Aldean.

Thing 19 - my own personal radio station

I love music (country music mostly) so I decided to check out the Web 2.0 awards music category. I chose to explore the category winner www.pandora.com, a site that creates a "radio station" just for you based on an initial song or artist input and any feedback that you supply on subsequent songs. You may not hear the initial song or artist you entered right away. I thought the site was really cool because it tried to focus in on the specific type of songs I was looking for, not just a general genre. The only drawback I found was that it only lets you skip so many songs per hour. So you can't see what else is next on the play list for your station. I think patrons could use this site if they wanted to listen to music while using library computers. I don't think it's very useful for library staff members while they're helping the public but it does provide an option for listening to music at your desk (if you have one).

Thing 18

The post below is an online document that I create with Google Docs and published to my blog. I have contributed to an online document created by someone else before and viewed documents from other people through Google. This was my first experience creating my own document in Google Docs. It's pretty easy and if you're going to be sharing a document frequently, it's definitely easier than having to attach files to email and download a new version each time someone sends you an update.

I'm creating my first document in Google Docs for 23 Things. The program seems easy to use, though it lacks a fair number of font options that typically show up in Word. One of the major benefits is that you can just share your document online so you don't have to worry about file sizes for email attachments.

Thing 17 - Playing in the Sandbox

So, after exploring the wiki for a little while, I decided to go ahead and add my blog to the list. It was really easy to add anything I wanted to the wiki pages. Conversely, I could have really messed the site up (at least temporarily) if I had accidentally deleted stuff. I did stumble across blogs from a few people I went through LATI with while I was "in the sandbox", which was cool. I still don't know if I'll be posting on too many wikis any time soon. Maybe if I find one that actually seems interesting...

Thing 16 - Wikis...

I use Wikipedia to find answers to trivia questions. If you need a credible source, it's probably not the best site since anyone can add or delete information. You can find just about anything on wikis, they can be create for any subject. I wiki is just a way for multiple people to collaborate/have input on one site. One thing I don't like about a lot of wikis is that they're really busy looking. Sometimes they are 3 different columns of text and it's a lot of information to digest at once.

While exploring, I saw several potential applications for wikis within libraries. The library could set up an internal wiki (not viewable to the public) where staff could share ideas and insights about library operations or information sources. Another potential application coudl be either internal or public. Much like the Book Lover's wiki at the Princeton Public Library, a wiki could act as a reader's advisory tool. Staff (and maybe public too, though adding public would require a great deal more monitoring of posts) could post reviews of books that they read. This would allow other staff members to provide better readers advisory in unfamiliar genres and possibly provide an answer to the "What did you think of this book?" question. (if someone else has read it and posted a review).

I haven't actually posted anything to a wiki yet, I think that's the next "thing".

Release day for "Eclipse"! oh yeah, and Thing 15...

Stephenie Meyer's book "Eclipse" came out today. I've been waiting all summer for this book.

While I'm waiting for my copy to arrive, I'll share my thoughts on Library 2.0. I think there is a very real need for libraries to embrace some new technologies in order to better serve their patrons. One of the articles mentioned seeing a drop in circulation within the author's library system. I'm not sure that we're to that point yet in our system, but it's pretty obvious that our computer labs are a big draw to our patrons. I also hear from a lot of patrons who use the Internet to montior their library accounts and place holds. We already use sources from the Internet for a lot of our reference work. I think we're going to have to make more use of web-based technology in the future to improve our customer service. Some examples to consider might be teen-specific blogs/websites or even RSS feeds from the library webpage so patrons wouldn't have to pull up our page to find out about the latest programs.

I think the demand for actual books will continue to bring people into the library since many people people don't want to or unable to download books to their personal computers. However, if libraries are to continue to stay competitive in the literary and information markets they must embrace technological change.

Thing 14 - Technorati

I didn't really know what to expect from Technorati going into this "thing". After exploring the site for a while, I don't think I'll be using it very often. I think it falls into the "too much of a good thing" trap. More often then not, when I searched for a specific subject I got hundreds or thousands of results. I don't have time to sift through that many blogs and posts. I guess if blogging took up a big part of your day the site would be great. I don't so it doesn't seem like anything special in my opinion.

Searching for "learning 2.0" under blog posts brings up every blog post that contains that phrase somewhere in its text (well over 3,000). Doing the same search as a tag search brings up blogs tagged as "learning 2.0", as well as photos and videos containing that tag. A blog directory search appears to only include entire blogs that are tagged (I assume) with "learning 2.0". Most have that phrase somewhere in their titles or page descriptions.

A lot of the top "favorited" blogs and top blogs are the same. Many of the highest ranked ones are somehow related to technology. Based on those results, you'd think the top searches would be technology-related as well. However, most of the top searches were music-related (typically a specific artist) or social networking searches (MySpace, Facebook, etc.)

While the site compiles a lot of information, the volume of search results doesn't seem to make it practical for library reference purposes.