Is this really the end? Or just the beginning?

I made it with only one day to spare! I really enjoyed this project, even though it came right in the middle of opening the new Hagen Ranch Road Branch. I didn't have as much time to spend on it as I would have liked, but I plan to go back and look into a few of the technologies further. I enjoyed learning how to blog and found it a lot easier than I had thought. Even though I had looked at several of the technologies before the project, I hadn't thought about them in the context of using them in libraries. I plan to continue using many of the Web 2.0 tools that I have discovered, both at work and at home, and will try to keep up with new emerging Web 2.0 (or 3.0) technologies.

Overdrive

Although I've known that we have offered the Overdrive service to patrons for quite some time, this is the first time I've actually looked at it in any depth. I haven't yet downloaded the software to my computer since I don't have an MP3 player (I'm waiting for the ipod version) and I listen to audiobooks only in my car. I was a bit disappointed by the selections and wasn't able to find most of the books I searched for. It seemed a bit difficult to browse since the categories were rather large. I did like the "recently returned," "recent arrivals," and "most popular" sections. Once I get a computer that is a bit faster and more reliable at downloading, I will try to actually download a book. I think this service is good for patrons wanting to download books from home and I think this might be the way we will receive audiobooks and movies in the future, but for now, just checking out the physical book on CD at the library works best for me.

Podcasts

I added the Nancy Pearl Book Review podcast from the NPR podcast directory to my bloglines account. Basically, it was a very easy process. I haven't listened to many podcasts in the past, but now that I am more aware of the process, I will try to look into this further.

YouTube

YouTube has so many possibilties for libraries! The video I found on YouTube was actually one I helped make to promote the PBCLS' Adult Summer Reading Program. It was a lot of fun to make the video, but even more fun to see it online! This illustrates how YouTube can be used to promote programs/services and to train and inform staff. Especially when the staff is as large as that of the PBCLS; YouTube makes it much easier to reach all staff.


My son uses YouTube to get tips on skateboard tricks. He uploads videos of his skateboard tricks and asks other users to help him improve. He also watches the videos of others and offers them his advice.

Other uses for YouTube in the library is to show videos of programs or events, such as the Grand Opening of the Hagen Ranch Road Branch; staff training, such as with the Web 2.0 project; and maybe even offering story times on the web.

Web 2.0 Award Winners

I found too many interesting sites on the Web 2.0 Awards and will be investigating many of the sites in depth. For this project I focused mainly on the start pages since I could use a little more organization in this area. I tried NetVibes and PageFlakes but was disappointed because neither worked on my home computer (really old, really slow!), so I tried iGoogle instead. This is pretty neat because I now have the weather information, news sites, a "to do" list, cooking sites and PacMan all on my home page. I would like to place some links to specific sites I frequent, but haven't yet figured out how. This has some interesting implications for libraries, since perhaps the library could offer customizable pages for patrons with perhaps bestselling titles, upcoming programs, library news, YouTube story times, etc.

My other favorite site which I've mentioned in my blog before is Pandora. This is a very addictive music site that you can customize to play music based on other music you like. I have discovered so many new artists this way!

Zoho Writer

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I am trying out Zoho Writer and so far it looks pretty cool. I read through the Welcome page and am excited about the tagging option for saving - I am always losing my files because I can't remember which folder they are in; this way I can use several different tags for my files. I also like the portability feature, since I do a lot of work at home. People are always sending me files in WordPerfect, which I do not have on my home computer. This would solve that problem, but I would still have to convince people to use it. I also like that it can be posted to a blog and it's sharing features. As far as I can see, it is pretty comparable to the standard software. This is a keeper!

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Wow, I just posted this from Zoho Writer and it was so easy!

PBCLS Exploring Web 2.0 Wiki

I added my favorite movies to the PBCLS wiki and found the experience to be quite simple. I can see that wikis are a very user friendly way for anyone to add content to a site. Basic computing experience is really all that's needed; the rest is very self-explanatory. I would like to try setting up my own wiki just to see what is involved in the process. I also enjoyed reading other's "favorites" and think that this is a great tool with a lot of possibilities.

Wikis

Wow, there are so many cool ways to use a wiki! My favorite is allowing patrons to annotate the catalog and write their own reviews. This really gives ownership of the library to patrons and allows them to share their own experiences with books and materials.

I also really like the community wikis which allow users to add and share their experiences in their own local communities. The Ann Arbor wiki allows users to share their favorite things to do, places to eat, things that are free and just general information that only insiders know about a community.

Other neat ways to wiki that could benefit the library are creating subject guides, staff intranets, and training courses. I will definitely be exploring the wiki world to find more uses as I have time!

Web 2.0 in the Library

Web 2.0 allows the librarian to bring the library to the user. The Library is no longer just contained within a building and is not limited to walls and a roof. Instead Web 2.0 allows the librarian to focus more on the services that the library provides and will allow many of these services to be customized to meet the user's needs.

Technorati

Technorati was just what I was looking for! I thought there had to be a way to search all of the blogs that are being published, but I just didn't know where to look. This site can be a bit addictive, since there are just so many directions you can go! You can search for just about anything and come up with something relevant. I will start tagging my blog posts so that they can be searched.

del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is just that, delicious! It is a great tool to organize and save your favorite websites. I set up my own account and will start saving my favorite links to this site instead of bookmarking them through the browser. I was never able to find anything that I saved in the browser based "favorites" and I am really interested to see how the tagging will work for me. I like the fact that I am in control of how I tag my sites and can use any terminology I want. This should help me to remember where I categorized the sites!

Another great feature is that I can access my del.icio.us account from any computer. I will be able to access my bookmarks from both home and work, saving myself a lot of time and effort.

I also think there are a lot of possibilities to be explored with the sharing option. I think it is a great tool for people to share information, especially at the reference desk or those working on projects.

WebFeat

WebFeat is a really great time-saving tool, which allows one to search across many different databases using one search. It also increases the validity of one's search, since it is only searching a set of specific databases.

I searched for my home town of Osceola, Wisconsin (a really, really small town!) and found only a few relevant articles. The most interesting was titled, "The Word Is Out! Osceola Student Wins Wisconsin State Championship in Nation's Premier Vocabulary Competition".PR Newswire 2007-03-20 NA (377 words). Unfortunately, I do not know the girl who won this competition, but it's good to know that someone in Osceola has great vocabulary!!

Library Thing

I've been using Library Thing for a while to create of list of books that I've read. I blogged about why I like Library Thing in a previous blog entry and have included a random mosaic of book covers from my Library Thing catalog in my blog. You can view my entire Library Thing catalog at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/aarthay

Image Generators

Here is a picture of my son with his pet duck. I used Mosaic Maker to create the special effects.

RSS Feeds - Week 4 Web 2.0 Exploration

Overall, RSS feeds make it easier to access information from the web that you access frequently. I subscribed to local news, the weather, and several professional sites. Now I just have to remember to check my Bloglines account! I am planning to recommend this to my husband since he is a news junkie and is constantly checking multiple news websites.

I think RSS can be used in libraries if the library has a blog that is updated on a regular basis. Patrons could subscribe to the library feeds and be alerted to news about library programming, book reviews and library happenings.

Favorite Web 2.0 Technology - Week 3 Web 2.0 Exploration

Here are some of my favorite Web 2.0 technologies:

Pandora Radio from the Music Genome Project (http://www.pandora.com/) : This awesome site allows you to create your own radio station. You just input all of your favorite music and it plays back music it thinks you will like. I have discovered so many groups that I didn't know existed! It also has detailed histories of artists and gives information about the albums and songs. Lots of fun and very addictive!

Library Thing (http://www.librarything.com/) : This sight allows you to catalog your own library. I am using it to create a list of the books I have read. It also allows you to tag your books, write comments and shows the book covers of most titles. You can also join in conversations with other members, view the libraries of other members with similar reading tastes and get reading recommendations.

YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/) : Although I haven't used this site much, I see a lot of potential uses, especially for training. My 13-year-old son uses it to share skateboarding videos with other skateboarders. He takes videos of himself and asks other YouTube users to critique his tricks and offer suggestions for improvement. He has gotten a lot of feedback from other skateboarders. This is one tool that I plan to explore further.

Charlotte (Flickr)

This is a picture of Charlotte, a spider that made my patio her home. Every night as soon as it would get dark she would spin her web. It was amazing to watch! Every morning the web would be gone and we wouldn't see her until evening. She did this every evening for two or three months. She is gone now and I'm hoping she just moved on to a better location, since I became rather attached to this fascinating spider!
DSC01720, originally uploaded by aarthay.

Blogging in Libraries - Week 2 Web 2.0 Exploration

As a librarian, I see many applications for blogs, especially in the public library setting. Here are a few of my ideas:

*Book reviews
*Book discussion forums
*Library news topics
*Library program announcements
*Community forum to discuss current topics
*Children's/teen blogs to discuss programs, books, homework topics

Blogs are an easy way to update the content of a library's website and the constantly changing information will keep patrons coming back to the website to check what is new.

Seven 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners - Week 2 Web 2.0 Exploration

As part of week one's "23 Things" assignment, I watched the online tutorial, "Seven 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners" from The Public Library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County. This tutorial stressed the importance of learning throughout your life and tips on how to make that happen.

Whether or not we are conscious of it, we are constantly learning every day. When we read a newspaper, check the weather, or learn how to use the latest gadget, we are learning. Some learning is just more structured and purposeful than others. It is sometimes important to set goals in order to accomplish what one sets out to learn, especially things that take a long time to learn. The tutorial stressed that learning goals need to be set and suggested using a "learning contract".

In addition to learning Web 2.0 in the work environment, I have a couple of personal things that I would like to learn. In the past, I have had trouble following through with my learning intentions. I really would love to be fluent in Spanish. I have bought CDs, books and computer programs. However, I have never gotten much beyond "hola"! I am also in the process of learning how to sail. I keep trying to read the books that my husband gives me, but I just never seem to have the time to get through them!

Time is the biggest obstacle that I run into when taking on a long time learning project. This will be especially true for the Web 2.0 project. I will be assisting in opening the Hagen Ranch Road Branch during the same time period as the Web 2.0 project. Setting goals and having a set time frame will definitely help me stay on track. Hopefully, after completing the Web 2.0 project, I will be able to transfer some of the skills I learned and finally get on my way to becoming a fluent Spanish speaker and a competent sailor!