In an instant, we can possess the knowledge of the ages. Just a click and you can know anything about any subject. And now you are telling us that we can CREATE the information on the World Wide Web?!?!?! Fabulous ... Let's do it!
Wikis are wonderful tools that have great potental. The fact that we can place any information that we need to get to the population at large. So why the picture of a graveyard? This makes me wonder if the ease of wikis will do away with some of the other forms of communication we have. Will we stop using the phone for conference calls? Will emails stop clogging up our inboxes?
I do see a really use for wikis in many places. And I do believe that the library and the library patrons could benefit from them. (Just as long as they can be set so that the patrons could not CHANGE the information provided on them.) We should all try the world of wikis and see if we can connect more easily.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Method 5 -- testing
Just wanted to test to see if we could blog a picture that I did not personally add to the blog.
Method 9 -- Chat and IM
Today is my birthday and I have already "Chatted" with quite a few of my friends from all over the world this morning. I was able to get on Facebook and chat with my friends all morning; each one wishing me a great birthday and an even bettter Friday. I even had friends from Guam and the Virgin Islands IM me on my way to work to tell me to have a wonderful day. (The following video/podcast is from my husband who thinks that Def Leppard is the greatest band on the planet and it is only way he can express Happy Birthday to me...My name is NOT Sharon though.)
Chat and IM have been around for a long time. I first used them when you still had to be part of AOL to use them. I remember having to go to a chat room, then find who wanted to talk with and begin to chat. With Instant Messages, you and your friend could have a more private chat. I remember at the time thinking how wonderful it was to be able to "talk" to my friends at any hour without having to hear the phone ring.
Now chatting and IM'ing has moved from the computer to the smart phones. I can now have a chat on my phone with out talking and in real time. This means that there are definite pros and definite cons to this technology. We do not at this time have this feature on our website at the library but to be honest, I have been at work and have had friends IM me on my phone with reference questions to help them at work. And the questions always start off as very work related (i.e. What is the form that I would need to use for Power of Attorney? Is there a grace period for a payment for this...? ), but then I get the really reference questions such as: How many home runs did the Astros hit in the 2007-2008 season? If someone is married in one state to one person, then crosses the state line and marries someone else, does that make them a bigamist? I do believe that this is a great way to communticate with patrons who may not want to come in and ask the questions that they really need answers for. But then the cons, do we as librarians answer ALL questions that come through? Do we have to answer questions that make us believe that the person on the other end wishes to cause harm to themselves or others?
You know, just some questions to ponder while we answer the public's reference questions. I can honestly say that this portion of the course was one of the most fun to "play" with.
Chat and IM have been around for a long time. I first used them when you still had to be part of AOL to use them. I remember having to go to a chat room, then find who wanted to talk with and begin to chat. With Instant Messages, you and your friend could have a more private chat. I remember at the time thinking how wonderful it was to be able to "talk" to my friends at any hour without having to hear the phone ring.
Now chatting and IM'ing has moved from the computer to the smart phones. I can now have a chat on my phone with out talking and in real time. This means that there are definite pros and definite cons to this technology. We do not at this time have this feature on our website at the library but to be honest, I have been at work and have had friends IM me on my phone with reference questions to help them at work. And the questions always start off as very work related (i.e. What is the form that I would need to use for Power of Attorney? Is there a grace period for a payment for this...? ), but then I get the really reference questions such as: How many home runs did the Astros hit in the 2007-2008 season? If someone is married in one state to one person, then crosses the state line and marries someone else, does that make them a bigamist? I do believe that this is a great way to communticate with patrons who may not want to come in and ask the questions that they really need answers for. But then the cons, do we as librarians answer ALL questions that come through? Do we have to answer questions that make us believe that the person on the other end wishes to cause harm to themselves or others?
You know, just some questions to ponder while we answer the public's reference questions. I can honestly say that this portion of the course was one of the most fun to "play" with.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Method 8 -- Social Networking
Do you remember being "social" when you were younger? Of course you do...it meant that you talked to people and hung out either at someone's house or in some public place together. But now that has all changed, social networking has created a public place on the Internet for all of your social "get-togethers." 
I have been using Facebook now for a few months and it is a great way for me to keep up with old friends and relatives that have moved out of the area. I also see the benefits of using it as a way to get information out to the public about the libraries. With the infor
mation out on the Internet updated on a regular basis, patrons would be able see when events are scheduled, new books come in and when the DVD collection had been updated. This may not only increase attendance to events but it may also increase holds and circulation statistics.
mation out on the Internet updated on a regular basis, patrons would be able see when events are scheduled, new books come in and when the DVD collection had been updated. This may not only increase attendance to events but it may also increase holds and circulation statistics. I can really see that advantages of using Twitter. Some people have the updated sent straight to their phone, so don't even have to check their computer. With this feature, as soon as the library decides that the information needs to get out there, the patron would have it in hand.
I am not a fan of MySpace. I really think that it takes too much time to 
upkeep the site. I really think that if a library wants to become social and be out on the Internet going with Twitter or a Facebook Fan page is the best ideas.
upkeep the site. I really think that if a library wants to become social and be out on the Internet going with Twitter or a Facebook Fan page is the best ideas.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Method 7 -- Delicious
Yummy...I can't believe it is that easy. Bookmarking your favorite sites and being able to share them with everyone is a wonderful way to get a group project done without having to always be in the same place.
Delicious, the website, is a wonderfully easy tool that everyone should at least try to use at some point. The process by which you can add, tag and store websites is useful in so many ways. As librarians, we could help each other keep up with information by sharing pages with each other. But wouldn't it be even better if we could help our patrons with this information also. I mean with this website, we could bookmark tons of helpful websites that we know patrons would ask for. Then with the help of tags, we could sort these bookmarked sites by common names rather than standard subject headings. If a patron needed websites that covered French history of fashion rather than having to search through hundreds of sites that would not have what they are looking for, we could get on Delicious and find the one site that did. What a joyful expereince at the library for both them and you! And isn't that why we are here....to help people find the craziest things that we never thought anyone would want to look for? I really believe that this and other websites that allow for social sharing are great when used correctly and not abused by others.
Method 4 --- RSS Feeds redeux
I have to ask for forgiveness...I made a mistake and forgot to include the links of the three websites that I subscribed to in this exercise. So I am now going to include the links to the sites.
Librarian.net http://www.librarian.net/
The Shifted Librarian http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/
The Library Channel http://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/
And I added some to let off some steam when it is needed.
Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/
tru TV http://www.trutv.com/
I really hope that the Library Gods will forgive
my indiscretion.
Librarian.net http://www.librarian.net/
The Shifted Librarian http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/
The Library Channel http://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/
And I added some to let off some steam when it is needed.
Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/
tru TV http://www.trutv.com/
I really hope that the Library Gods will forgive
my indiscretion.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Method 6 --Youtube
We live in a world where we want to see things, know things and experience things NOW! Pictures are great, but do you know what is better? VIDEO! What a great way to be able to see and experience things vicariously from the comfort of our sofas. What a world we live in...
In reality, video sharing has both its pros and cons. A great big pro is having the ablity to instantly share videos with friends and family. It is a great way to introduce other people to yourself or your library. A negative thing about video sharing is video piracy on the internet. When is something actually yours to share and what makes it yours to share. We also have to look at privacy issues when we are filming in the library. Even if you accidently film someone, the minute you put that out on the internet for everyone to see, you have now violated someone's right to remain private.
With all of the advances in technology, we really need to do some research before we embark on the roller coaster of all that is Web 2.0. I have to admit that I love Youtube as much as the next person. I mean who does not love to see the sneezing panda or some scary music video from the 80's that I have not seen since MTV stopped playing music videos. It is a great way to see what new trailers are out there for new movies or to see what your friends in another state are doing for Halloween. The video I have chosen to place in my blog is the last trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. One of my little obsessions I guess...I love the books and the movies are not too bad. This movie comes to DVD December 8...just in time for Christmas.
In reality, video sharing has both its pros and cons. A great big pro is having the ablity to instantly share videos with friends and family. It is a great way to introduce other people to yourself or your library. A negative thing about video sharing is video piracy on the internet. When is something actually yours to share and what makes it yours to share. We also have to look at privacy issues when we are filming in the library. Even if you accidently film someone, the minute you put that out on the internet for everyone to see, you have now violated someone's right to remain private.
With all of the advances in technology, we really need to do some research before we embark on the roller coaster of all that is Web 2.0. I have to admit that I love Youtube as much as the next person. I mean who does not love to see the sneezing panda or some scary music video from the 80's that I have not seen since MTV stopped playing music videos. It is a great way to see what new trailers are out there for new movies or to see what your friends in another state are doing for Halloween. The video I have chosen to place in my blog is the last trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. One of my little obsessions I guess...I love the books and the movies are not too bad. This movie comes to DVD December 8...just in time for Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)