Thing #14 the future of libraries and Web 2.0 2008 December 1

wow. those are some loaded questions i posed for this exercise, eh? to me, library 2.0 is seamless integration of the web into the library, plain and simple. whatever tools it takes to get there is what we need to do. if libraries don’t try to go where their customers are on the web, they’re going to leave us behind. we need to be out there with them. we need to allow customers to create content on our web sites and give them an exciting and engaging library experience.

web 2.0 and library 2.0 are not just about knowing what is out there. it’s knowing what is out there, it’s understanding and interpreting the way people are using that technology and then, translating that into how it would apply to a library’s web site, given the size, circulation and needs of its users. knowing what your users want is a crucial step in trying to figure out what to give them. if you don’t know what they want or what online tools they are using, then you might as well stop trying. i think the more interactive our web sites are, the better able we are to talk to customers, listen to customers, and then give them the library web site they helped create.

Thing #13 delicious tagging! 2008 December 1

oh, i love delicious! i’ve been using delicious for a few years now. i used to use it to keep track of new web 2.0 technologies that other libraries were implementing. most recently, i’ve used it to keep track of all the learn & play sites and tools we are doing and all my CONTENTdm web sites. i can be in a meeting and someone will ask a question about a particular site and, instead of trying to find the specific page on google, i can go to my delicious bookmarks and find the exact page i need. i love the delicious toolbar add-on in firefox and use it a lot. i like how my most-recent bookmarks will appear up in my toolbar so there’s no need to even go to the delicious web site to retrieve them. it’s like delicious made itself even more useful that it already was when it created the delicious toolbar!

Thing #12 Twitter! 2008 December 1

okay, really… i think we ALL know i know how to use twitter… if you have any doubts, look me up here, one of my TWO twitter accounts!

Thing #11 LibraryThing… by way of Shelfari 2008 December 1

yes, yes, i’m breaking all my own rules, aren’t i? i’m not using LibraryThing. the reason why i’m not, is because i’ve already used it, so i’m going to use a different tool. i’m going to use Shelfari because some of my friends are on it, and i’ve been playing around with it this past year or so. i can’t say i like it any better or worse than LibraryThing, i just like it because it’s clear and easy to understand and, well, because i’m already established with it.

honestly, if i hadn’t been using either LibraryThing or Shelfari, i can’t say that i’d be able to pick one over the other. they both accomplish the same ends, so i think they are both equally good! i added more than five books to my shelf and it was super easy to do. i love the community aspect of both tools the best, i think. where else can i find out who is reading the same books as me?

Thing #10 image generator 2008 December 1

oh, this one was fun! i’ve been looking forward to doing this Thing ever since i had to research the image generators we’d be using for it. so, i did a motivational poster, since my 25-lb cat is so good at motivating me!

mookitty!

Thing #9 finding feeds 2008 December 1

since i’ve switched to Google Reader now and need to build up my feeds, i started my searching on technorati. i’ve used technorati before and prefer it, so there. so i did a search for “columbus metropolitan library” to start things off and found some things from when i was at the Internet Librarian conference last month and about our recent number-one-ranking, so that was pretty cool. i’ll be honest, though, putting in “library” or “libraries” just gives you an unmanageable list of matches, so i think you really have to narrow it down a little. to me, the best way to find the library blogs i want to read are by attending conferences, reading professional literature, and talking to my colleagues. searching via technorati is good for mining data related to a specific library or issue, but if i’m looking for general blogs for my own development, i don’t know if i’m really going to do it this way. just sayin’, is all…

Thing #8 RSS feeds 2008 December 1

having written and prepared most of the “things” for the Learn & Play and having watched as CML staff have completed them, gives me an interesting perspective. i noticed that most people really said how they liked Google Reader over Bloglines. so even though the exercise was to use Bloglines, and since I’ve used Bloglines for several years now, for this exercise, i’m going to use Google Reader!

first, it’s similar to Bloglines in the way that you can search for feeds and it’s super easy to subscribe to them. i like how at least i can be in my gmail account (which i am every day anyways), and easily see my subscriptions just by clicking on the “reader” link at the top. in fact, i might switch over to Greader since i use so many other Google products. i like how i did a search for a blog and it displayed not only the recent entries but gave me the option to subscribe right away.

so, as much as i <3 Bloglines, i think it’s time to move on to newer things. i’m going to switch over to Google Reader now!

Thing #7 blog about technology 2008 December 1

blog about technology??? super! i love technology! yes, there are always the instances when technology doesn’t work or i’m just clueless, but, for the most part, technology rocks. i’m going to talk about my blackberry, since it’s my newest piece of technology that i have right now. here’s what’s so great about it: it’s always on and i’m always connected. i don’t have to be at my house, in my room, sitting at my desktop computer anymore. when i go see my sister this month, i will be taking my technology with me. i won’t need to worry about whether or not i can use her computer or whether or not her internet is working, because i’m bringing it with me. being wireless and portable is what it’s all about. i love being out on a walk and seeing something that catches my eye, so i take a picture of it. then, i want my sister to see it, so i immediately upload it to flickr. i’ve done all this and i’m still on my walk, in fact, the dogs aren’t even warmed up yet and want to keep going, yet i’ve made a connection with only a few simple pushes of some buttons.

now, the technology has to work, of course. i can’t stand getting a new device and not being able to figure out intuitively how it works. if it requires me to be trained on how to use it, chances are i’m not going to want to use it all that much. when i bought my new blackberry, i was able to leave the store and figure out most of it by the second day. i synced my gmail account and calendar and started downloading applications after that. when i got to work, i set up a rule in groupwise that sends all appointments to my gmail account and then when i accept them in gmail, it adds that appointment to my gmail calendar, so that my GW appointments are the same on the blackberry. i wish it would sync with GW, but that’s not possible at this time. so this workaround works pretty well!

i love technology and i love this new device and i get giddy when i think of what new things will be coming next!

Thing #6 more flickr! 2008 December 1

i created a flickr badge to give a shout out to the old skool flickr users and i also used the montagr tool to create an awesome photo mosaic. i love how people come up with these photo tools! remember when we thought it was cool just to get your photos arranged in an album? now we can do anything with them. most of the time, i never even make hard copies of my photos; they all exist digitally!

Friday Walk 2008 December 1

Friday Walk

Originally uploaded by mookitty

well, most folks know my love affair with flickr, so if you don’t know, i’ll tell you that i’ve loved it for many years now. i’ve been an old-skool member since around when flickr began and they just keep making it better and better.

this picture was taken this past friday, november 28, while i was out walking in my neighborhood. i pass these three houses all the time and i’ve been meaning to take a picture of them before now, so i’m glad i had my camera on me the day i took this one. i love how they’re all similar in size and style, all in a row and all three are lovely shades of pastel