jack-of-all-tradeslibrarian

Web 2.0 Exploration: Finish Line

2009-02-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

I've completed it all. My fear and skepticism are gone! I understand the jargon. I have skimmed the surface, but need more practice on some of these activities. Best of all, I was able to use a new tool a few times to help answer a patron's need.
There is so much out there on the Web, I'll probably need a similar exploration like a Web 3.0 again in a couple of years! Or sooner!

Library Smut, Read on!! Wikis, Tagging, Folksonomies: Oh My!

2008-12-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, having finished reading about wikis and folksonomies and tagging makes me feel like I want to be more creative with all of this, but I'm not sure where to go from here. It was interesting to see what other larger library systems have done to make use of these Library 2.0 tools. I liked the San Mateo use of Dewey numbers for tagging. I can envision our system doing something similar.

When I decided to explore some on "del.icio.us" I clicked the tag for "libraries" and one of the sites listed was entitled "Hot Library Smut". Far be it from me to pass up such an enticing title, and was I pleasantly surprised. Fabulous photos! Try it!!

Anyway, all of this has been fun and I can see how wikis and tagging can be useful. Our saystem has done some with very good wikis, but we can do more. Let's get a committee going on this!

Got to go. Info desk is calling!

Making Progress!

2008-11-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've completed the Explorations 5 and 6. These were fun and the activities I can see as being the most useful to us on the job.
I chose to stay with Goodreads and I do find that listing my titles, both read and to-read, is great for keeping my reading activities organized. I actually recommended this site to a patron last week who asked if the library keeps a list of all the tiltles she checked out!!
The online office tools exercise with Zoho was fun and very easy. I had problems with changing font, but everything else worked just fine . This was also a website, along with GoogleDocs, which I was able to recommend to a patron. Very satisfying!
Okay, now I need to signoff here so I can add to my Goodreads list! Enjoy Thanksgiving!!

I'm learning zoho

2008-11-25T09:21:00.001-08:00

View from the Alhambra, Granada, Spain

mizmuzikmama

11/22/2008

This is the first time I am using this website to create a document. On the surface it seems really cool. I tried creating a doc in GoogleDocs and it was harder to figure out how to make changes to a document. Maybe it's because I used one of their templates and it was created in Excel, of which I have very little experience.

Why I love Granada
Breathtaking view of the city from Alhambra
gorgeous mountain peaks
friendly people on the bus
spectacular gardens and roses and fountains

Meals	Rides	Favorites
Hotel	Bus	tapas in Albacin
restaurant	^_Car	Beans and pork

2008-11-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

rating: 4 of 5 stars.
I love historical fiction. This author has brought to life Juana, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Anyone interested in Spanish history will enjoy the details, the intrigue, and the struggles of this last queen of Castile.

Expanding My Horizons: Librarything or Goodreads

2008-11-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

My Web Exploration 5 :
I played around with Librarything and set up an account. Then I decided I liked the Goodreads site better so I set up an account there! I feel I can definitely benefit from the ease with which I can organize my own reading right on the website.
I also read the LJ article entitled "2.0 for Readers", and enjoyed the explanation of interactive Readers' Advisory capability on these sites. I particularly liked the way the article showcased the public libraries that use these sites as an integral part of their homepages.
Library patrons can definitely benefit from all the sharing that these sites afford. It really is fun and captivating to see the titles and covers of your particular favorite genre.

Oh so much to read and so little time!

RSS is great!!

2008-10-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

I finaly got the hang of adding some RSS feeds to my blog! Yea!
Once I get into the daily habit, I can see where this is going to be way easier to keep up with all the interesting stuff out there on the WWW. I now have a quick link to get to my favorite columnist and writer, Thomas Friedman. Read him from the NYTimes feed.
Can someone recommend a good feed for book reviews?

Flickr Foes

2008-09-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

I've spent some time looking over the Flickr site and perusing the photos from the LOC project. I have to admit I was amazed at the number of images uploaded from LOC and how many "tags" were applied to each. But could I make a contribution to their identification. I don't think so.

Also I am left confused by all the Flickr wanna be sites. My own family has used Picassa, Snapfish, Costco (which I know is not free, but it is cheap) as well as Flickr. So which one do I concentrate on? Is there a place that compares all of these sites and comes up with the easiest?

I did take a photo from my computer and upload it to Flickr, but I haven't shared it with anyone yet. But I can share it here: it includes some of my favorite little people!

New vocabulary

2008-08-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

I just learned from an NPR interview that I am a "digital immigrant" as opposed to a "digital native", because I am old enough not to have grown up with computers and the WWW and all our recent technology. To a "native" it's all second nature, but to me, the immigrant, it is learning a whole new language. Well, I was always good at languages!

Diving into Web 2.0

2008-08-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have swimming on the brain right now, but I finally created my blog. After 2 attempts to watch the "Machine is Us" on too slow library computers, I watched on my home laptop. Most important ideas from the recommended reading were concerning what we need to "rethink": Library 2.0, authenticity or authority of sources. Ultimately none of this will matter if the library doesn't have the hardware fast enough to support it.