Plainthoughts

Last assignment is finished

2008-12-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Sadly I will not be doing an altered ebook. While I believe there could be such a thing, on further investigation it was not what I was thinking. To avoid embarrassment I will not be creating one for Staff Day.
Much was learned, have a new version of mozilla installed (with some help from my resident sysadmin) . Overall I consider the whole experience a positive.

Delicious was a lot of fun, just like all the cool 2.0 things . I read the blog and created my own account. Now I get the social network aspect. It is warming to know that other people found certain recipes that I use. That 48 other people have entered BPL.

The most usable feature of delicious was the ability to sneak surf at work, enter the bookmarks in delicious and tag them with what I liked about each one.

Probably the end,

Kathleen

Will attempt to use GoogleDocs for an altered book

2008-11-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

After looking through all the choices given in the doc templates I had a brainstorm about attempting an altered book with a flip book template. My current os will not support googledocs so that may be a glitch but I will attempt anyway. Downloading the new version of Mozilla is something I have wanted anyway.
we will see,
Kathleen

Joined the crowd with Goodreads

2008-11-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

Because I wanted to one of the in crowd I joined Goodreads. Jon S. had the cutest picture for his avatar; his inner sock puppet.
I did go through the blog on Library Thing and while more advanced it has the most potential. They were speaking about a Catalog Flash -Mob at a church library that sounded like a lot of fun. The possibilities are endless.
Library thing seems a victim of its own success, too much stuff, too many groups.
The ideal group would be one who chooses books by the cover.
Kathleen

Downloadable audio

2008-11-24T16:49:00.000-08:00

Overdrive has come a long way from the first iteration at BPL. Back in the day one would beat your head against Windows Media Player and wonder how people used it.
Now, a wizard makes the process of burning and downloading very easy. At least burning is easy. Any hesitation I had about promoting Overdrive is gone.

I was reading the Facilities Study today and it mentioned that in the future more and more will be downloadable. Not just books but film. It is hard to wrap one's head around but true.

Kathleen

Webvideo

2008-11-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

Now I know why our patrons spend hours zoned out on YouTube. The thing is addictive. Catchy tunes and everything in the world you would ever want and more. However, there is a lot of dreck among the gold.
The application for libraries is clear. One could make appealing little instruction and orientation videos and plant them liberally on the library web site.
I found this really fun video of everything to do wrong when you teach a class. Enjoy,
Kathleen

Podcasting for Dummies

2008-11-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

This exercise made me feel like a grandma and Laura was very kind about it. She very kindly told me that pod casting is just sound, not visual. I was trying to download all this listening software and beating my head against it and thinking I hope Terzah can help me with this and why is it so hard.
It turned out to be way easier than I though. Copy and paste into bloglines.
Warning!!!
When you chose a podcast be very careful. Because I am recently back from vacation I chose a category under the travel subject on podcastalley.com. The title was something like "This ain't Iowa" and it sure wasn't. There is porn on podcasts, even the titles on the podcasts made me quickly log out let alone listen.
Now I have a lovely safe library site, a woman reading "Anne of Green Gables". Something my mother would approve.
Kathleen

Rss feed comments

2008-11-20T06:40:00.001-08:00

This is the component that has been the most challenging so far. And it has given me confidence to try things and if they don't work try something else.
What is good about feeds is that you don't have to reply to them.
What I would like to do with them is not what I have accomplished yet, these beginning exercises are only getting my feet wet. Daily interaction will bring understanding.

To fine tune this and it is probably already out there is something that would alert when certain keywords are triggered in articles or feeds. The ability to make different folders within Blogline for different interests or categories.

Anyone have any experience with this?

http://www.bloglines.com/public/KathleenC

Wiki stuff

2008-11-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Moving on with the third part of this assignment...
To answer the spirit of the questions posed in BPL 2.0: I am already sold on wikis. When the reference department began with it's original wiki the value was immediately apparent and follows through with the current wiki. That anyone can wiki, that the wiki can reflects more than anyone person's opinion and the democritization of this information sharing process are what make wikis invaluable.
When I saw the first wiki I immediately thought of the utility for a non-profit I am involved with, Altona Grange. We had no web presence and depended on our ability to rent the building to make much needed repairs. PBwiki is what we use and it looks basic, nonsophisticated but for the cost is an incredible value.
I used tags to help others find Altona in google, added a calendar so people could check availablity for rentals and used a photosharing site recommended by PBwiki to post pictures of our events.
What I can't do is get people to collaborate, make the wiki look the same over different broswers and troubleshoot when other get stuck adding to the wiki. Members of Altona are my age and older and are not forced and encouraged to keep up with curernt technology. It is interesting to be treated liked a webmaster when wikiing is so easy.
Evaluating the best free wiki to use is always a challenge.
My next goal should be an ILL wiki.

Kathleen

p.s. here is the url, http://altonagrange.pbwiki.com/

Comments on 2.0

2008-11-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Although it has been a while I really enjoyed what Terzah called the more business model explanation web 2.0 written by O'Reilly. Practical working models illuminate what the terms really mean better than dry explanation. Tim is a good writer and having techo speak in smaller doses thoughout the article maade it easier to chew.
The Librairian's manifesto was aslo excellent. Again, it recognizes the challenges oen faces on the ground with change and innovation. Would be worth reading every day like a good shampoo.

Back from vacation

2008-11-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

While on vacation I saw a performance of "The Importance of Being Ernest". A big theme of this is changing identity, being Jack in the city and Ernest in the country. That is how I feel returning to work; I am one person when out of Colorado and quite another when enclosed by the walls of Boulder Public Library. Nothing wrong with either but navigating the halls of BPL is much more challenging.