Twitter is for the birds

I could not bear to open a Twitter account. You have GOT to be kidding. Do I need to know who's overslept? Or about their cough? Or when they're going to bed? OK, someone's life must be pretty empty if that's all they have to say. The minute by minute minutiae of someone's daily life is not the stuff of great reading-- or even barely interesting reading.



And how could this be used in a library setting? Please, someone give me some ideas!

Other libraries are having fun with Web 2.0

However, it is very evident how important it is to keep content up-to-date and to have many links so that a site is easily navigable. "Save the time of the reader" applies to a library's website. I'd sure like to add more photos to my library's website. And using the blog format means that I could have more control over my site rather than going through OCPL IT. However, it also adds more responsibility about keeping the site updated.

Is the tortoise any slower?

So far, in the past THREE months, I've uploaded two photos to Flickr and looked at others. I've looked at the 10 favorite mashups, most of which are nothing more than a game and not all of which would work on my computer (like FlckrTag). I did enjoy Flickr Sudoko and admire the person who made the leap from numbers to images to create this game. Work related? Not really. We used the Captioner to create a flyer for one of our library displays, but the caption wouldn't print nor could we save it anywhere. So, back to using Publisher to do the same thing Captioner does.

I like to play solitaire online as a way of zoning out. Some of these Flickr games will do the same thing.

InfoPeople's 23 things to learn

OK, so I've signed up to learn 23 new things. AND, I want my staff to learn these as well. CLA will be hosting a program on the Charlotte Mecklenberg program at the annual conference, but now we don't have to wait to get started. Yay!

Week 3

It's been awhile since I've posted. Work! Girl Scouts! January starts slow and builds up speed as fast as a NASCAR racer. Add to that being short staffed, preparing for a major event (Literary Orange--a success!!), and all the other end of year projects and activities.

On to week 3.

What do I think of the Flickr sites:

Kansas—like that the photos are numbered and you can control when the images change and which one to view. Also, more info available when you click on the photo. Good way to advertise events. Looks very professional on the website.

Colorado—The gallery is OK. How would someone find it? Is there a link from their own website? Looks like it’s just used for “warm & fuzzy” things.

Hennepin—Same as Colorado. PR for people to show they read? Useful or just warm & fuzzy stuff?

Westmont—This seems a bit more professional, at least the photo is of some content (new books).

PodCasts and VideoCasts

I wasn't able to view all the videos but did listen to the Podcasts. In some cases, I think the libraries are doing it just to show they can and that they are "with it". The audio on the Sunnyvale site was not as clear as on others. I enjoyed the first few minutes of the video on how to remodel a basement--I could see that being very useful and an alternative to buying or checking out a video. I liked the YA book reviews and interviews used at one library. Fun for teens!

How would I use this at our library? One idea came to mind. The children's librarians are thinking of creating a video/DVD on how to read to your child as part of a "take home story time" kit. I could see offering it online.

I recently received an ad for a new evideo service. The company advertises downloadable video/DVDs for libraries to offer to patrons to check out. We already offer downloadable eaudiobooks and that has become very popular. One aspect I don't like with these services is that we can only lease an item and we have to pay up every year.

IM on Google

I already have Yahoo and AIM IM, so I'm trying Google Talk. My username is:


jillkpatterson

However, I couldn't get it to work when I tried it--it kept giving me an error message. Probably because I continually have issues with my home computer which we haven't been able to figure out.

My Own Wiki

My Wiki is pretty empty, but I've started it and just have to think of a way to use it. It's:
http://libraryjill.pbwiki.com

Actually, I think I'll see if my Girl Scout troop will use it to help create our camping list!

Library Wikis

Wikis: Our library system has started its own wiki about our event: Literary Orange. Most of the library wikis on this list only allow staff input. Ours will allow outside input (Google "Literary Orange" and there's an icon for the wiki somewhere on the site). Actually, I may be wrong...I've been able to post a comment, but I haven't figured out how to change information already there.

I understand that the wiki is a collaborative effort, but it's interesting that one can limit the participation. Sounds like a way to get around having to ask the IT department any time you need to update or change an online page.

Library Blogs

I'm not a blog reader, so this is new to me. I liked the content of the Lansing Teen blog (http://lansinglibraryteen.blogspot.com/), but I thought the links to the library main page was not prominent. There's an RSS feed AND when I was on, the "I'm online send me a message" icon was up. Cool! Too bad my computer wouldn't let me do so.

Couldn't get into libraryforlife with the given link--had to go into libraryforlife.org and then click on the game blog. Well! They're serious about their gaming! Once you're in though, how do you get out to go back to the library page? Back arrow, back arrow, back arrow.

I like the aadl blog (http://www.aadl.org/catalog/books) because I discovered a new author and that he (before he died!) was married to KK Beck--who I don't think has written anything for the past several years. However, the navigation isn't that great--once you leave the book blog (say, to find out which library this is), there was no link to go back other than the back arrow.

Now, the Waterboro blog (www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm) is nice in that it has the info to get into the NY Times and Chicago Tribune without having to register yourself. It has a nice navigation bar along the side, but I like Ann Arundel's top navigation bar as being more visible.

The Western Springs (http://www.westernspringshistory.org/street/grand/) site is cool--we're trying to create an online photo-history file for Orange County that will allow the same type of interactivety.