Is this really the end?

Well, here it is, the 23rd thing. I have to say that I found this journey very interesting. Some times it was very exciting and other times a little boring. I have learned alot of new things that I know I will use in the future, such as, Flickr, bloglines and Lulu. I had fun blogging! I think the 23things program was set up really well. The only thing I had trouble with, was finding the time at work to do it. I had to do weeks 6-9 at home on my days off. If another discovery program was offered, I would participate again. This program has introduced me to alot of things I probably would never have found on my own.

Audiobooks and the Digital Collection

I have looked into our library's downloadable audiobook selection fairly recently. Unfortunately, I am an iPod owner. I have been considering getting another player to use for audiobooks. I did notice that some of my favorite authors do not have anything available in the collection and that alot of the latest bestsellers are not available either. Until the offerings get better I will be sticking with the books on CD, there is a much better selection. I listened to an excerpt from Harlan Coben's Hold Tight, it was very good and I look forward to hearing the rest.

Take a listen.http://excerpts.contentreserve.com/FormatType-25/0857-1/144858-HoldTight.wma

Finding Podcasts

For this exercise on podcasts, I settled on the NPR Podcast Directory. They have a Books Podcast that has book reviews, news and author interviews. It was very easy to add this podcast to my bloglines account. I've included the following link to the podcast about the new David Sedaris book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91814075

YouTube

I have used YouTube before, mainly looking at music videos. For this exercise I decided to look up what this site had to offer when I used "library" as my search word. Needless to say, there were an endless number of videos to pick from. There was an old Sesame Street skit that I think I actually saw when I was a kid. There was also a very funny skit from Mr. Bean. I picked the video below because it was funny and not too long. I hope you enjoy it!

I think educational videos from YouTube embedded in the PBCLS website would be helpful to patrons, just like the ones that have been in our 23things blog have helped us in our Web 2.0 exploration.

Web 2.0 Awards

Lulu logo
Originally uploaded by flickr_window

This assignment was to explore any website from the Web 2.0 awards list. I looked at several, but my favorite was Lulu.com. Lulu.com is a self publishing site. You can upload books, photo creations, or digital media, and then publish and sell them. They also offer services to help you publish and sell. This site is perfect for all the library people who have been heard saying " I could write something better than that! (come on, you know who you are) Here's your chance! I think a workshop about this site could make an interesting adult program for the library.

Zoho Writer

This week the first assignment is about web-based applications such as Zoho Writer.  I have had very limited experience with any word processing programs, so this is all new to me.  At first I had some trouble when I tried to change fonts and colors, but then I got the hang of it.  The light dawned, so to speak!  This was kind of fun but I hope not to have to use it that often. 

Playing in the Sandbox

This latest assignment was to play around in the PBCLS Exploring Web 2.0 wiki. It was fun to see what other peoples favorites are, and to add my own. I made entries in the favorite books and favorite animals sections, but browsed many of the others.

What's in a Wiki?

Well, what I found out is that a wiki allows anyone (not really anyone, some have restrictions) to add to, edit, or delete content of the wiki easily. This sounds good, but can lead to problems. I think that is why a few of the wikis I explored required you to be registered and give your e-mail address. If people are responsible users, they can be a good source of information, but not everything on a wiki will be accurate. Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it true! Applications I think would work well for libraries are: readers advisory, calendar of local events, library policy suggestions, and collection suggestions. Wiki, its as easy as "edit" and "save", and with the Universal Edit Button, you can quickly identify sites that can be edited.http://universaleditbutton.org/

Web 2.0 and the future of libraries

I read the five perspectives on Web 2.0 listed for Week 6. I found Away from Icebergs the most interesting. I do agree that as library users adapt to new technologies, so must libraries. I have already seen many changes in the library in the 8 years I have worked here. We've already shifted from VHS and books on tape, to DVDs and books on CD. Before long, these will also be obsolete. Many patrons are now taking advantage of downloadable audiobooks and e-books. Next, they will be looking for downloadable movies. Alot of the research being done for school projects is taking place on the internet. Having these research resources available to patrons wherever they may be is a must. Libraries, however, should not be all things to all people. The internet computers at our branch are usually monopolized by people using MySpace and the like, leading to a loud and often unruly environment. I think it is time for the counties or cities to build public computer centers to take some of this "pleasure use" out of the libraries. I'll get off my soapbox now!

Technorati

I took a look at Technorati, "the leading search tool and authority for blogs". I found it a little bit boring. My URL search for our library's website turned up 73 blog reactions. Many had to do with the online mouse tutorial. ( Congratulations to everyone who worked on it!) My tag search for web 2.0 turned up 39,804 posts. Some of the related tags were: ajax, techcrunch and internet. I must admit it took searching several different blogs before I finally found out that ajax stood for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, whatever that means. I did a tag search for several different subjects that interest me but I don't think this is a tool I will use.

Del.icio.us

I found Del.icio.us to be a useful tool. Having a way to access your bookmarks from any computer can be very helpful if you don't always have your own handy. I thought it was kind of weird that one of the websites on the Del.icio.us hotlist was Ian's Shoelace Site http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm. Who would have thought a website devoted to different ways to tie your shoelaces would be so popular!

Help! 23 Things and No Time!

Here I sit at my computer working on 23 Things on my day off. Summer is here and school is out which means two things, staff on vacation, and more patrons. Not a good combination when trying to work on this wonderful assignment. I will continue to try to get through this, because even though I am now 2 weeks behind, the end is in sight ( and I made the mistake of listing its completion as one of my goals for the year). My posts may be a little bit shorter, after all, there is a limit to how much of my off time I am willing to devote to this. Wish me luck!

WebFeat

npsupersearch
Originally uploaded by las.singaporelibrariesbulletin

What can I say about WebFeat? Not impressed. I looked up my hometown, and found out it is a very boring place. The only thing interesting (and I use that term loosely), was the article about a "Major Auto Parts Center" opening there back in September 1990. Pretty sad. I know the fact that my hometown has nothing going on, is not the fault of WebFeat, but I still don't like it. I would much rather look something up on Google. This site is not pretty enough for me!
Enough said. On to week 6!

LibraryThing

librarything
Originally uploaded by srharris

I found LibraryThing interesting. I liked being able to easily compile a list of the books I have read. This will come in handy when my memory starts to go. It is also nice to be connected to other people who share your taste in reading materials. I found it similar to Goodreads. I like the Local section where you can find out what interesting "book" events that are going on in your area. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/smithl

Image Generators

This week's "discovery excercise" on image generators was fun. I enjoyed turning myself into an M&M on http://www.becomeanmm.com/.
Then I took that image and turned it into a puzzle
on http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/jigsaw.php.
I was surprised to see how many different things are available out there.