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.