23 Thoughts

I enjoyed this program because it introduced me to a lot of technology that I was unaware of previously. The most helpful tools I learned about were the online applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and slide presentations. I will definitely be using these in the future. I also enjoyed learning about Wikis and YouTube. I enjoyed learning about the digital audiobook collection on our web site, which I had never took the time to explore before now. It is a very useful and helpful tool for our patrons, and I am glad I can now talk about it with them.

The online applications will be very useful in the future when I go back to college and thus will definitely help me with some of my goals. I was suprised by some of the more difficult exercises. Like the tagging, the RSS feeds, and Technorati. All these were new to me and were slightly difficult to understand so I was suprised that we were exposed to them here. Though they were interesting nonetheless and they provided useful knowledge into the many diffferent uses of the internet.

The program's concept was a very good idea. It helps us keep up to date with the internet and its many uses and allows for us to see how the library can be incorporated in many other areas as well. The format was well layed out yet sometimes it seemed there was a lot to do one week and not as much the next. However every exercise per week usually related to each other, which was helpful. I would participate again in another discovery program such as this.

Digital Audiobooks

I listened to the excerpt from"When You Are Engulfed in Flames" titled It's Catching. The book was written and read by David Sedaris. Our library's Digital Media Library Collection is a great resource! It is very helpful for people who can't make it to the library or don't want to make CD copies. Here is the description of the book I listened to:

"Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In this remarkable new volume, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life--having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds--to the most deeply resonant human truths. Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris's sixth collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from "a writer worth treasuring" (Seattle Times)."

Podcasts

I searched NPR's podcasts and found The Environment Report Podcast and added it to my bloglines account. It gives up to date environmental news about animals and conservation issues. The Library of Congress has podcasts featuring popular and literary authors and highlights the 2007 Book Festival. These two sites were very informative and have many interesting podcasts to listen to.

YouTube video

I like to surf youtube to find music videos and shows. I searched library videos and found this one. I thought this video was very unique.

Last

I explored the music site Last.fm. For any artist you find there are tracks to listen to, the bands/artists videos, their biography, discography, photos and much more! You can buy and download the music as well. I really enjoyed this site and cannot wait to explore it more at home. I don't see exactly how this could be used for the library, however offering it through the library website will probably make teenagers and young adults very happy!

Zoho Writer

    As I continue along on these weekly exercises in 23 things, I learn more and more. For example I had NO idea that there were free word processing software on the internet that could be accessed from any computer. This is a great idea and one I REALLY wish I knew when I was in college. And who knew about the spreadsheets and slide presentations on Google Docs? I sure didn't! There were so many times in college when I forgot my zip drive or had to use my email to get my documents from one computer to the next. I had no printer the last year I was in college thus was constantly in the computer lab printing and I never failed to have problems with the transfer. But if I knew about this software on the internet all I would have had to do was just type the paper (spreadsheet/presentation) here or upload it here and just get it on the next computer with internet access. Zoho Writer has all the features of Microsoft Word thus it is not that different and easy to use and figure out. I guess the only potential problem with this is internet connection. If it goes out and you don't have a back-up copy that could be a problem. But of course that is always something that has been necessary...always have a back-up!  Now to try and post to blog.....

The PBCLS wiki

I enjoyed playing around with the PBCLS wiki. It really showed me how wikis work. I posted in the Favorite Movies and Books. And posted my blog here on blogger on the Favorite Blogs. I also enjoyed reading what other people added to these Favorites and looking a the blogs they posted.

Wikis

Wikis could be very helpful in the organization and dispersion of information on libraries for employees and patrons alike. For example the "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki" wiki is easy to follow and allows for a lot of information to be accessed by all interested. There is information on the library collection, programs for adults and children, discussion groups, reference services, training for librarians and technology. All of this useful to many different people. And you can edit the information by just joining their community.

Icebergs

the "Away From The 'Icebergs'" article by Rick Anderson was very informative in the affect of Web 2.0 on libraries. His description of the "icebergs" slowing down libraries ability to change with the times very practically. These three "icebergs" are very important to the integrity of what libraries were, but as libraries become involved in the information era they have to change these ways. The web allows for less collecting, less printed material and less take up less space. Patrons can get this information on the web and libraries will need to learn how this can be advantagous. It also allows patrons to learn more on the web then to try and get information from librarians who are usually helping many people at the same time. Ultimately the internet is now more easily accessible to more people than physical libraries. Its easier (if one has a computer) to just go on the internet and do research than to go to a library and hope the librarian can help you. Anderson says that if libraries ignore these changes than libraries will not be able to exist with this new tecnology, but if libraries acknowledge these changes and work to change with them then they can continue to play important roles in the future.

Technorati tagging

Technorati is a really cool tool for searching through blogs in order to find relevant and interesting blogs. Just by searching pbclibrary.org, technorati found and displayed tags to all the web 2.0 and 23 things blog that we have been using, including some of the blogs we have posted. This is a very useful site that I will continue to use in the future.

Del.icio.us tools

This is a great way to gather information. Especially when gathering papers, websites and other information for research. Not only for individuals but by sharing the information on the web other people researching the same subjects (using the tags) can also find your sites and information helpful. I am no longer in college but this could be very helpful for college students. The library's account is very interesting as well.

RSS feeds

I like the bloglines and the rss feeds because it allows you to gather a lot of information together in one place. For examply I subscribed to National Geographic News, Scientific America, Quotes of the Day, my favorite comics: Garfield and Mutts, and to a birding news feed. So when I log onto bloglines I can get my everyday comic fix, a nice quote, birding news, new information on animals and whats happening in the scientific communtity all in one place. I don't have to go to five different web pages in order to get all of this information, it's all in one spot, like one-stop shopping! That is what I like most about RSS feeds and bloglines.

Technology bug

The other day I came across an article about a pen that takes a copy of what you are writing. The article featured three of these pens all of differing prices, but all with little differences. I thought this is a great invention. Say I write down notes during a class or meeting and then need or want to make a typed copy or say I write my first draft of an essay on paper and then need to type it up? Then I can use this pen and have a copy of the notes/paper on it and then transfer it to the computer. However as I thought about this and read the article more I realized I couldn't find any information on the type of transfer. Is it a photocopy? Thus when you transfer it to the computer it would just be a copy of your writing and not a typed copy and thus not be useful at all! But if it tranfers it as a typed copy then it is the greatest technological advancement I've seen! Well at least for students and maybe even lifelong learners :)

Blogging for Libraries

Blogging can be very useful to libraries as a means of spreading information. Information including library news and research for employees as well as patrons. Blogs can also be places where employees and patrons can make comments, complaints, and ask questions.

Thoughts on Lifelong Learning

The 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners are useful tips on how to stay actively learning throughout one's life. I find some of them to be helpful, some to be obvious, many necessary and yet some hard to carry out. For me the hardest habit to control would be the first one determining my goal(s). Sure I have many goals in life, but to write even one out and describe what I hope to accomplish is a lot harder than it sounds. Though my future is important to me as everyone's else future is to them, making goals and keeping them is very difficult and I don't like to be disappointed, especially due to my own mistakes. :[ However this is a very important habit to make as it will help set the pace for learning and knowing what I want.