Summary

#23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning...

The best thing about the 23 Things exercise was discovering that PBCLS admin is embracing Library 2.0. I look forward to using myspace, flickr, blogs, wikis, etc. to connect with patrons, with fellow PBCLS staff and with librarians outside the system for a multitude of reasons. In the past I would have assumed my proposals to use web 2.0 technology/methodology would have been shot down. Only time will tell if PBCLS is ready to embrace the philosophy, not just the technology, behind Web 2.0.

Yes, if another exercise like this was made available I would definitely love to participate.

Overdrive

One of the best uses for downloadable audiobooks is learning languages, in my opinion. In the past I have downloaded audiobooks from our library to learn the basics of new languages and brush up on the ones I already know. Unlike the CDs you can check them out over and over (whereas if there are holds on your CDs you must return them).

Podcasts

I went to the NPR directory of podcasts and found some about poetry, religion and other topics of interest. When I listen to podcasts at home I find them via itunes. I have never put a podcast on my ipod, however--I am too much of a music fan. I have friends who religiously listen to podcasts and learn a lot about new technology that way.

Youtube

Here is a video I made of my dog. She is obsessed with apples! She doesn't act this way with stuff like cheese or meat, but if you eat an apple she is your best friend.



I chose this video because, uh, I made it.

My favorite youtube video of all time is the sneezing panda!



Uses for youtube embedded videos on the library page . . . hmm. Maybe commercials? I would be hesitant to post videos of people at programs because of the whole privacy thing but if we got permission forms, that could be a good way to market programs and services.

Powerpoint is your friend

Annmarie and I have had great luck using Powerpoint presentations to jazz up our teen programs. We have done several movies a la Rocky Horror, using powerpoint to indicate when attendees should do something (wave a prop, sing something, make a gesture, etc.). We also discovered last night that teens love trivia games! We created a game based on the Worst-Case Scenario books and had them work in teams of four to come up with a multiple-choice answer as a group. We had 32 total and the room was buzzing with discussion during the game. We will definitely use this format again for other trivia games.

Web 2.0 winners

First, I was sad that Goodreads didn't win for books. I love Goodreads!

I tried Mango Languages. I love learning languages and plan to learn Japanese on my own since taking an actual course and working the schedule I have will probably never happen. I liked that you could see the text and the pronunciation and everything had a little key if you moused over it. A lot of people come to the library to learn languages so this would definitely be a useful tool. It would probably be most useful if we had a "language lab" or something where people could speak the answers aloud. But it would also be good as a useful weblink so people could access it from home.

Zoho

I wanted something like this a long time ago. This is helpful as a writer since you can access all your documents from any computer. I think a backup is also useful. This is also obviously good for collaborative works. I have attended one workshop where the presenters created a suite of Google docs for attendees to read after the discussion. This was useful.

I already use google docs so I won't use this Zoho account any more.

PBCLS Wiki

I added my blog and mentioned a couple of my favorite books.

This is a good practice wiki but a real one would be much more organized and would have a specific purpose in mind.

My favorite wiki that is not wikipedia is Lostpedia. Even though the bloom is gone from the rose as far as I'm concerned. I used to refer to it all the time, however.

Wikis

The best part of wikis is the collaborative element and the ability to make changes on the fly.

I think libraries could use wikis behind the scenes to coordinate efforts. This would come in handy and require fewer meetings when planning large system-wide events such as the library's 35th anniversary celebration or a library grand opening or re-opening. It would be handy to keep track of the expansion projects as well.

Web 2.0 perspectives

I find it depressing and hilarious that the Library 2.0 wikipedia page has been marked as lacking sources. This actually fits the textbook definition of irony!

To me, Library 2.0 is more about perspective and communication than it is about technology. The technology is an important part of it but it should be a given at this point. You can learn about web 2.0 tools until the cows come home but until you're ready to actually implement them in your real day-to-day practices they don't mean a lot. We are all playing with these tools now but what are we going to do with them after this project is done? Will we still receive support from administration encouraging us to explore and use these ideas and tools or will it once more become "goofing off on the internet"? Will we be allowed to use creative ideas such as blogs, wikis and del.icio.us links to benefit our patrons or will our proposals be shot down because we are not trusted to be self-directed, and our patrons are not trusted to have so much unfettered input into library processes and practices? Only time will tell if this exercise was meant to be theoretical or practical.

Technorati

Evidently the Mousing Around tutorial is very popular nationwide, not just with PBCLS patrons! Cool to see that one of us created such an obviously useful tool.

Web 2.0 tags--I like the little graph that shows you how many times web 2.0 has been mentioned over the last month. Looks like the buzz has died down recently, maybe because bloggers would rather write about upcoming vacations than about web 2.0?

Del.ico.us

I have never used del.ico.us before but I have friends who use it religiously. I do love the portability aspect of this sort of thing, and tagging is definitely a good way to remember stuff for later. Imho the internet is already full of time-wasters and creating/using a del.ico.us account would just add to my tendencies to waste time instead of writing or doing homework.

This site is a great way for librarians to create a master list of good websites to recommend to patrons. Our old "useful weblinks" page is pretty static and many old links are no longer valid. A del.ico.us page could be updated easily by multiple people on an ongoing basis.