This post will conclude my blogging adventure (for now), so I want to take a second to talk about what I'd do differently given the chance.
First and foremost, I'd decide how I was going to title my posts and stick with it. I didn't care how I titled my posts in the beginning, but now I do - and I'm stuck with some funny-looking titles.
If I were really going to write a blog, I'd decide what I wanted my blog to be and I'd work like crazy to make it look and work just that way - I wouldn't throw up a video here, a LibraryThing link there, a Rollyo search roll here and there. I'd also make sure I was linking to online content whenever possible, and in a consistent way (e.g., why was there ever a URL typed out and not made into a hyperlink? hmmm?). I'd also decide on a tone and do my best to stick with it - professional and perfectionist? Emperor's-New-Clothes with the appropriate note of snarkiness? No matter the tone, I'd work on my writing, because, wow, my writing has been pretty inconsistent in these two dozen posts!
I think this program has really helped me catch up, even just a little bit. It's given me license to go and play in the social web, and in turn that has helped me prioritize which ones I want to work on during my own time. I'm not really surprised by what I'll take away from the 23 Things, but I'm glad it ended up feeling as productive as it does.
The program's format is fine, and I'd participate if there were another program presented in this way. The "lifelong learning" aspect was obviously essential, but I think many staff members felt patronized by the learning plan assignment. I don't think that was an encouraging tone with which to start out a 9-week program. I'd also like to suggest that if IUL takes on another organization's format, that they replace the items we can't use with items we CAN use.
All in all, a success, I'd say!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Audiobooks - Thing #22
I couldn't complete the exercise as it was originally intended, but...
If you don't mind, I'd like to point you all toward Librivox.org, a website which provides free audiobooks from the public domain. They have an ever-increasing catalog, and the recordings are generally of great quality. Everything is recorded by volunteers, so don't be surprised if the first one you listen to sounds just like a regular guy reading clearly into a microphone. Do you feel like listening to Little Women and your library copy is checked out? Try this!
If you don't mind, I'd like to point you all toward Librivox.org, a website which provides free audiobooks from the public domain. They have an ever-increasing catalog, and the recordings are generally of great quality. Everything is recorded by volunteers, so don't be surprised if the first one you listen to sounds just like a regular guy reading clearly into a microphone. Do you feel like listening to Little Women and your library copy is checked out? Try this!
Podcasts - Thing #21
I think I'm having a classic "what? keyword searching on Google won't find everything I need?" moment. These podcast sites offer pretty good subject-based browsing (by "genre"!), and I really should have known I was missing something.
I can definitely find podcasts that interest me (see Thing # 19 for my weakness...), but I can also find podcasts that would really help a librarian get up to date on subjects they aren't so familiar with. Anyone up for a listen to Wednesday's Haul, a podcast about new comic books?
I already subscribe to several RSS feeds for podcasts, including one for learning Italian, an Indie-music show with women artists, and even one that I also found listed on Podcast.net, All You Can Eat. The RSS feeds for audio programs are fantastic because listening to them is a commitment of time, and it takes a bit of planning to make sure I will actually be able to set aside the time to listen to them. Not being tethered to a radio station's timetable is quite a blessing!
I know the important thing about podcasts is that you're supposed to be able to download them and put them on a portable device. For a while, users like me who don't have a portable device would have to download them to our machines to listen to them. I much prefer the flexibility of being able to choose when I want to listen to the streaming program or download it. This also brings up the point that not all audio programs are podcasts - some of them are only available for streaming, and still have really useful information in them.
And finally, I get a chance to say this in public! Has anyone else noticed that blogs, websites, YouTube, and podcasts have made the end of Pump Up the Volume look like child's play?? You can see the movie trailer here. Take note of the clips of pirate radio stations around the 6 minute mark in the trailer - teenagers able to broadcasts about what's really on their minds? Sound like the internet yet!?
I can definitely find podcasts that interest me (see Thing # 19 for my weakness...), but I can also find podcasts that would really help a librarian get up to date on subjects they aren't so familiar with. Anyone up for a listen to Wednesday's Haul, a podcast about new comic books?
I already subscribe to several RSS feeds for podcasts, including one for learning Italian, an Indie-music show with women artists, and even one that I also found listed on Podcast.net, All You Can Eat. The RSS feeds for audio programs are fantastic because listening to them is a commitment of time, and it takes a bit of planning to make sure I will actually be able to set aside the time to listen to them. Not being tethered to a radio station's timetable is quite a blessing!
I know the important thing about podcasts is that you're supposed to be able to download them and put them on a portable device. For a while, users like me who don't have a portable device would have to download them to our machines to listen to them. I much prefer the flexibility of being able to choose when I want to listen to the streaming program or download it. This also brings up the point that not all audio programs are podcasts - some of them are only available for streaming, and still have really useful information in them.
And finally, I get a chance to say this in public! Has anyone else noticed that blogs, websites, YouTube, and podcasts have made the end of Pump Up the Volume look like child's play?? You can see the movie trailer here. Take note of the clips of pirate radio stations around the 6 minute mark in the trailer - teenagers able to broadcasts about what's really on their minds? Sound like the internet yet!?
YouTube - Thing #20
I've watched lots of YouTube clips, but generally I rely on the kindness of coworkers and friends to point me toward the good ones. Since I've never gone looking for anything myself, I'm finding the search, browse, and "related videos" aspects of YouTube most interesting.
I searched YouTube for "baking" because... well... I have a weakness I need not go into here. :)
My search was excessively simple and really not very helpful, because what I really wanted was bread baking, not cake baking, which was in abundance in my search results. Nevertheless, somewhere around tenth in the results list was a video called "baking bread from scratch - how to" (it's the one that should be embedded below, if all goes well). I like the fact that my rather poor search is assisted by category links to the right side of the listing in the search results, namely "more in: how to & style." This link re-runs my search in a category, and the results are a whole lot more effective than my amateurish search on the main page. After I've watched the video, I see a whole lot of suggestions for what to watch next listed on the right, as well - and the "related" videos just get more and more interesting as I follow the trail. No wonder people lose weeks of their lives to watching YouTube!
The assignment asks if I see any features or components of the site that might be useful for library websites. I would really like to see this kind of simple link to a subset of my search results in all OPACs. I'd also like to see more inter-linking of records - with clickable links by subject, author, year, any anything else that might apply. I'm sure most OPACs are going in this direction, but could they go faster if we left behind some of the library jargon? just a thought.
Here's the video:
I searched YouTube for "baking" because... well... I have a weakness I need not go into here. :)
My search was excessively simple and really not very helpful, because what I really wanted was bread baking, not cake baking, which was in abundance in my search results. Nevertheless, somewhere around tenth in the results list was a video called "baking bread from scratch - how to" (it's the one that should be embedded below, if all goes well). I like the fact that my rather poor search is assisted by category links to the right side of the listing in the search results, namely "more in: how to & style." This link re-runs my search in a category, and the results are a whole lot more effective than my amateurish search on the main page. After I've watched the video, I see a whole lot of suggestions for what to watch next listed on the right, as well - and the "related" videos just get more and more interesting as I follow the trail. No wonder people lose weeks of their lives to watching YouTube!
The assignment asks if I see any features or components of the site that might be useful for library websites. I would really like to see this kind of simple link to a subset of my search results in all OPACs. I'd also like to see more inter-linking of records - with clickable links by subject, author, year, any anything else that might apply. I'm sure most OPACs are going in this direction, but could they go faster if we left behind some of the library jargon? just a thought.
Here's the video:
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Web 2.0 tools,Yelp! - Thing # 19
I chose to look at the first place winner in the "city guides and reviews" category, Yelp. At first I was disappointed to see only big cities listed, but that's just the main page - apparently Bloomington, Indiana is represented after all. (and apparently, I really need to go to Le Petit Cafe!)
I like this tool becuse it seems particularly thoroughly developed (at least from a user's point of view). Yelp seems to have included most, if not all, of the angles that review sites could use. In particular, the mapping tools, ranges like "within walking distance" or even "within 4 blocks" seem very useful for librarians. Imagine the dreaded restaurant-recommendation question right at dinner time, when your stomach is growling... I think perhaps Yelp can help. :)
I like this tool becuse it seems particularly thoroughly developed (at least from a user's point of view). Yelp seems to have included most, if not all, of the angles that review sites could use. In particular, the mapping tools, ranges like "within walking distance" or even "within 4 blocks" seem very useful for librarians. Imagine the dreaded restaurant-recommendation question right at dinner time, when your stomach is growling... I think perhaps Yelp can help. :)
Zoho Writer - Thing # 18
I'm testing Zoho writer by writing my blog post in a document first, then I'm going to export it to Blogger. wish me luck. :)
I used Google Docs for the first time two months ago, and really was impressed by the portability concept. (Isn't that surprising, that portability aparently is my biggest concern, and yet I'm practically a luddite...? Can you imagine how important portability is to people who actually USE personal electronics to keep track of their lives??) Anyway, portability between home and work has become really important to me because I don't have a printer at home, or a flash drive. If I need to print something out at a public computer, I can always email it to myself, but the new Outlook web access is really clunky and moves really slowly on some computers. What I need is an easily accessible central place to put a document so I can sneak in and print, quick as the wind, and then go on my merry way. Could Zoho Writer and Google Docs be the answer?? maybe.
For small libraries and campuses without a robust shared-server system, I can see these tools helping students and staff thrive, and really expand the possibilities for people who don't have laptops or ftp software installed. (I guess the "free!" aspect is a really close second to the "portable!" aspect.)
I do have some concerns (which I'm sure Zoho Writer and Google Docs wish to dismiss) about privacy, stability of their servers, and continued availability of a free service. It would be awfully unfortunate to build a project in this attractive, robust environment and then lose it!
Overall, I'm positive this will come in handy in the future, and if I were on a reference desk in a public library, I would encourage people to try it. It's surprising what counts as 2.0!
I used Google Docs for the first time two months ago, and really was impressed by the portability concept. (Isn't that surprising, that portability aparently is my biggest concern, and yet I'm practically a luddite...? Can you imagine how important portability is to people who actually USE personal electronics to keep track of their lives??) Anyway, portability between home and work has become really important to me because I don't have a printer at home, or a flash drive. If I need to print something out at a public computer, I can always email it to myself, but the new Outlook web access is really clunky and moves really slowly on some computers. What I need is an easily accessible central place to put a document so I can sneak in and print, quick as the wind, and then go on my merry way. Could Zoho Writer and Google Docs be the answer?? maybe.
For small libraries and campuses without a robust shared-server system, I can see these tools helping students and staff thrive, and really expand the possibilities for people who don't have laptops or ftp software installed. (I guess the "free!" aspect is a really close second to the "portable!" aspect.)
I do have some concerns (which I'm sure Zoho Writer and Google Docs wish to dismiss) about privacy, stability of their servers, and continued availability of a free service. It would be awfully unfortunate to build a project in this attractive, robust environment and then lose it!
Overall, I'm positive this will come in handy in the future, and if I were on a reference desk in a public library, I would encourage people to try it. It's surprising what counts as 2.0!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wiki'd out - Thing # 16
I think I've finally got a picture in my head for a wiki - a three-ring binder at the reference desk. Or perhaps, just the reference desk itself, covered in sticky notes? I guess I'm just "wiki'd out" because this was an awful lot of information to absorb, and I thought i was already familiar with wikis!
I'm not sure I have much that is new and interesting to add to the commentary. I'm leaning along the same lines as Mechael in her post on thing #16, because I too can see that this would be useful for group planning and cooperative editing. I think wikis are particularly well-suited for really well-defined projects, where a new "binder" would have been created in the offline world anyway. On the other hand, maybe the scope of the project isn't the key, it's the "core of users" that Angela mentions. A critical mass of buy-in is essential. All of the examples linked in this exercise seemed to have reached that critical mass, and more power to them!
I think wikis may be one of those many many avenues we need to be open to, experiment with, and withdraw from if needed. If it works, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't. openmindedness is the key!
I'm not sure I have much that is new and interesting to add to the commentary. I'm leaning along the same lines as Mechael in her post on thing #16, because I too can see that this would be useful for group planning and cooperative editing. I think wikis are particularly well-suited for really well-defined projects, where a new "binder" would have been created in the offline world anyway. On the other hand, maybe the scope of the project isn't the key, it's the "core of users" that Angela mentions. A critical mass of buy-in is essential. All of the examples linked in this exercise seemed to have reached that critical mass, and more power to them!
I think wikis may be one of those many many avenues we need to be open to, experiment with, and withdraw from if needed. If it works, it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't. openmindedness is the key!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Welcome to Our Lady of Perpetual Beta - Thing #15
I read all the articles, trying to find the one that resonated with me. As a result, I don't have a cohesive response to the whole group. In short, these articles made me say, yet again, that we need to remember that our users are not monolithic. Our resources are not monolithic. And, thankfully, the future is also not monolithic. We can take multiple paths, backtrack if we have to, and see what the future holds.
Some quotations I think bear repeating from these articles:
"...it no longer makes sense to collect information products as if they were hard to get." Rick Anderson
I agree, at first. Lots of our materials are not at all difficult to get, and we should simply be aiding access to these materials, rather than storing them up in our own special silos. We should not forget, however, that not all information products are easy to get. Embracing the fact that many of our materials are easy to get should free us up to be able to get our hands on those materials that are hard to get.
"But if our services can’t be used without training, then it’s the services that need to be fixed—not our patrons." Rick Anderson
I think Rick Anderson's comment on this aspect of Library 2.0 has two prongs: he seems to be commenting on sources as well as services. When I first read this, I definitely read it to mean "sources" because I blurted out, "Yes, but we are not always faced with 'fixable' sources!" He says that users shouldn't need to be trained to use awful search interfaces, but what about the awful search interfaces that aren't under the control of the librarians? Is this another case of fixing the things we have the most control over so they free up our time to deal with training users on the sources we can't fix?
"At a minimum, this means placing library services and content in the user’s preferred environment (i.e., the Web); even better, it means integrating our services into their daily patterns of work, study and play."
Yet again, I feel the need to point out that not every single person in the world wants to live online. Our users may have a preferred environment that is 3-D, and cannot be replicated by Second Life. We need to respect that too, just as we need to respect the users who want us to be savvy online just like them.
Collect user intelligence - Another key lesson that O’Reilly emphasizes is the notion that “users add value.” Chip Nilges
I like this one! treating your catalog or your website or any other online service as an ongoing focus group sounds fantastic. Let people help. tag this, review that - help us put the library in context."Perpetual beta" Michael Stephens
This is my favorite, hands down. Ok, maybe a quick second is his whole paragraph that says "Librarian 2.0 controls technolust." :) We are always experimenting. We are agile. This is a good thing!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Technorati for the Ignorati - Thing #14
At first I stared at Technorati for about 20 minutes, with NOTHING sinking in. That's embarrassing to admit, but I'm admitting it anyway.
The Technorati Tour page linked as a discovery resource says that they're trying to make Technorati useful to the non-expert, but all I see is a search engine with a lot of ads. Is it just me, am I using it wrong? I'm definitely one of those non-experts they're talking about, but I see a big gulf between me and Technorati.
Maybe I could just consider Technorati a blogs-only search engine? Google can search blogs, but Technorati can search blogs "about" something. (Now that's an interesting thing libraries are good at thinking about... rather than keywords, what is it this blog *about*?) So if it's just a search engine, then I really really don't enjoy looking at all those ads! I also really am distracted by the fact that there is always a line of ads right at the bottom of the screen, suggesting that my search only came up with two results... I know there's a line above the search screen saying "2,583 posts tagged learning 2.0," but visually, my brain is registering only two search results. This does not feel good!
To answer question #1, yes the results are different for posts and blogs... that makes sense to me. In fact, a lot of technorati makes sense. After all, it's meant to "make sense" of the written world of blogs, right?
As for question #2, the "popular" blogs, searches and tags sets are neat - if what you want is a snapshot, and are essentially just browsing. I think I want Technorati to be more of a tool, and I'm having trouble getting a handle on it.
Yes, I think that's just about it. I'm having trouble finding an angle where Technorati serves me. Even so, I still think I'm not quite up for the challenge of setting up a Technorati profile and claiming my blogs. I just don't feel like it would serve me right now. maybe that will change?
The Technorati Tour page linked as a discovery resource says that they're trying to make Technorati useful to the non-expert, but all I see is a search engine with a lot of ads. Is it just me, am I using it wrong? I'm definitely one of those non-experts they're talking about, but I see a big gulf between me and Technorati.
Maybe I could just consider Technorati a blogs-only search engine? Google can search blogs, but Technorati can search blogs "about" something. (Now that's an interesting thing libraries are good at thinking about... rather than keywords, what is it this blog *about*?) So if it's just a search engine, then I really really don't enjoy looking at all those ads! I also really am distracted by the fact that there is always a line of ads right at the bottom of the screen, suggesting that my search only came up with two results... I know there's a line above the search screen saying "2,583 posts tagged learning 2.0," but visually, my brain is registering only two search results. This does not feel good!
To answer question #1, yes the results are different for posts and blogs... that makes sense to me. In fact, a lot of technorati makes sense. After all, it's meant to "make sense" of the written world of blogs, right?
As for question #2, the "popular" blogs, searches and tags sets are neat - if what you want is a snapshot, and are essentially just browsing. I think I want Technorati to be more of a tool, and I'm having trouble getting a handle on it.
Yes, I think that's just about it. I'm having trouble finding an angle where Technorati serves me. Even so, I still think I'm not quite up for the challenge of setting up a Technorati profile and claiming my blogs. I just don't feel like it would serve me right now. maybe that will change?
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