THING 23

I wasn't sure I'd get here. I got really behind trying to do the flickr and game things. I enjoyed making my avatar and Library Thing which I plan to use personally. I'm wondering if we can use the bookmarking sites here at work.

My one word to describe the experience of 23 Tings on a Stick:


CHALLENGING

THING 9

Zoho:

Took me awhile to figure out what to do (make an account) to be able to edit. Once I had done that it was easy. My edit:

unalienable rights. (with a comment to click on after it)


My change in Google Docs:

unalienable rights (I've always thought unalienable sounded like an incorrect word

Google is more like WORD and it's very clean. However, for someone not as familiar Zoho had the features right out there for you to see.

I'm not sure but I think Zoho might have had more and easier ways to share and communicate about documents.

THING 22

I pledge to keep up with changes in technology. I do and plan to continue to attend workshops, read the literature, take webinars and get information from various e-mail groups.

THING 21

I'm not an active member of an online community. I did look around for a football online community. The first one I found was for soccer:) However, I did eventually find http://www.sportsfanlive.com/ which might be fun to be a part of.

THING 20

I had joined Facebook for the Minitex ILL Conference so I already belonged to a group. Today I joined the 23 things on a stick group. I chose a group related to this project. I invited two people to be my friends (I had one already) and wrote on the 23 things' wall.

I know there are lots of people using Facebook. It's a way to connect virtually which is easier than trying to connect in person.

Libraries seem to be using MySpace to appeal to teens - to as they say be where they are. It's a kind of outreach. If they don't come to us we will go to them. I believe our library is currently looking at a facebook presence which would attract teens.

THING 15

I think it would be fun to recreate our library in Second Life. It would be fun to have all the staff represented by Avatars.

We have started game programing for YA and and are starting to circulate some of the software as well.

THING 14

I can see lots of ways I can use LibraryThing personally. It's extremely easy. You don't even have to put much information to add a book to your library. It's great. My books weren't extremely popular but it was fun to see reviews, see what they recommended I would like, and to see which other libraries were most like mine.



Our library shares online lists of books but mainly they are lists that connect directly to our catalog and show availability. However, I could see taking some of our bibliographies and putting them online using LibraryThing. They would be much more eye catching.

THING 13

I found PageFlakes a little boxy. However, I really liked the fact that it knew where I was and defaulted to a home page with lots of local information.

My Yahoo page was long - had to scroll - although if you deleted lots of stuff that probably wouldn't be a problem.

I chose iGoogle because - surprise - it was very comfortable. I would make it my home page on a home computer.

I really like some simple things like having top news/sports/politic stories on the homepage - also the local weather.

We have a really good calendar for staff so I wouldn't probably use any of the online calendars. I could see them being used for a families or friends. They could be useful in keeping track of a project.

I can always use more to do lists. The online version would be less likely to be lost than my notes. Again our work calendar gives us options for this but I'm not sure it has the ability to e-mail me a reminder. The reminder will be on the calendar but perhaps not in my face like an e-mail would be.

I looked at Backpack - it looked like it had a very integrated product.

I wondered if Zamzar would have any application for us. I'm checking with people more knowledgeable to find out.

Thing 5

My Presentation

Step 5 was a difficult one for me. Now that I've figured it out (with help) it looks like fun.

Certainly these tools could be used to add interest to websites and library promotional materials. They are especially useful because you don't need to study complicated software to use them.

Sharing photos is great as long as it is clear how photos can be used by those who didn't create them.

Thing 6

THING 12

These are fun - it's interesting and sometimes surprising to see what is popular. I liked Digg and Mixx a lot better than Newsvine and Reddit.

I was going to share the article on the Jets (Favre's) win today but I had to be a member. However, it seems very easy to do.

These could be a productivity detractor if one isn't selective. However, it could be useful to keep up with what's happening in areas one is responsible for.

STEP 11

This is an easy way of compiling a list of bookmarks. We have a list of bookmarks we recommend to patrons. I'm wondering if this might be a better way to organize them.



Also, we could use this to provide a list of URLS reference librarians use frequently that patrons don't necessarily care about.

I find the fact that you can search by who's bookmarking it and then by what they bookmark as useful.

I think tagging is great. However, while it can do some things that authorized subject headings can do it can't do everything they can.

STEP # 10

We use a Wiki for our staff intranet. It means more people can be involved because they don't have to know html.

I think everyone including most librarians use wikipedia. I do think that we have a need to teach the public the pros and cons of any resource. I don't really see the wikipedia as a "format". Many teachers require in addition to web resources hard copy sources. This can be a problem since so many of our print resources are now accessed online.

I edited the 23 things wiki. My edit was:More edits to the wiki in September.

STEP 8

http://lazybase.com/dbhome?a=502063899


The tool I used was quite easy. I could see it as an easy way to keep a list of all those books I read reviews on and want to read "someday."

I don't take digital photos so I don't have any to share with others. However, I love it when others share their photos with me.

I can see that libraries could and do use these tools to share with the public. I'm not sure if they are the best way to do so but they are a way.

THING 17

I set up an e-mail search alert with Gale a few years ago. It was very easy to do. I just set the same alert up in Ebsco and it was also easy to do.

Creating the Proquest webpage was easy. This is a useful way to send a patron an answer to a reference question. I can see it as especially useful in e-mail reference or any type of remote reference service.

Our patrons have been using netlibrary since Minitex had their first shared collections. I find searching for specific information within the full-text of a book very useful. Being able to keep notes in a shared resource is something we can't do with a print resource.

Step # 16

The RPC and the Assignment Calculator look like they could be helpful for students and teachers. We should be promoting these through our teen pages and
when we help students.

I'm not sure that it would be useful for library projects unless the project was one that involved research.

The quick study links did not work when I clicked on them.

Certainly some of the information in the Teacher Guide could be printed and used with the public not only with students.

Step # 19

Of the podcast directories listed:

Podcast.com was easy to use.
Podcast.net was a dead link.
Podcastalley.com seemed busy and when I clicked on any of the podcast titles I got an error message.
Yahoo Podcasts - I didn't find even in the advanced searching a way to leave out the music audio and limit only to spoken word.
Education Podcast Network was really a directory. I didn't see a way to search by keyword or subject.

I wasn't able to find a podcast that interested me or that was short enough. There were several music "podcasts" that I would enjoy but all the spoken word ones disappointed me. I'm sure if I had more time I could find something useful or interesting.

I would be interested in subscribing to some of the Minnesota Public Radio podcasts.

Step #18

I chose this because it's fall and the start of a new football season. Go Gophers!

When I clicked on the link to Eyespot I didn't appreciate the loud music which came immediately.

I like Google video - It's a really neat way to see the news. I like that you can choose most shared, most viewed etc. Also, can do by date.