Bicycling Librarian

Relax and Reflect

2008-07-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a fun journey (again). Even after having done the original 23 things, it was still worthwhile to go back and do these 20, both to reacquaint myself with things that I'd forgotten and to hit a few new things.

Some of my favorites: Pandora, Overdrive downloadable music (either it is underutilized or I just have different taste from the average SIL user), and RSS (I use it every day for library related feeds). My Facebook account is still intriguing to me, although I haven't put much time into it, I keep finding requests to become people's friends.

I think one of the most important things that we can draw from this model is that new technology is not (and should not be) scary. We're not going to break the computer (probably not even going to crash it).

I'll now be blogging for MAR on a semi-regular basis too, less scary after starting this admittedly boring blog.

I think one of the most difficult things about this program from a scheduling point of view is addressing substitutes. Supervisors should probably get together to talk about what worked best in ensuring that each person had time for this (as not every one works one day a week at their home branch).

Would I participate in this type of training again? Yes, as long as it was something that was enhanced by this type of set-up. I think some things are still best in-person for more instant response to questions. Other newish web technologies though are ideal for this type of training.

Fun With Games

2008-07-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten how much I like some of the fast games (I don't like to get sucked into games that take up hours and hours). My sister introduced me to Sudoku on her Nintendo DS, so I had to play it to help keep the brain active. Also, I've long had a passion for computer Mahjongg - another game that takes up your attention.

As far as implications for the workforce goes, maybe we could try to make scheduling more like a game (it already resembles Sudoku) - also use games more often in training.

Google Earth

2008-07-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

What a fun toy - I looked at a few Sno-Isle libraries as well as my own home. I thought it was interesting that it shows to take the ferry from my house to Clinton, but only gave driving directions to Gig Harbor (taking the ferry to Southworth and driving the rest of the way takes about the same amount of time, but it is much more pleasant).

I'm wishing I knew about the Places feature during my "Staycation" (I could have looked at lovely pictures of the Eiffel Tower - no, that would have just been depressing, but they are beautiful pictures.

Search Engines

2008-07-02T09:33:00.001-07:00

I had already played around a bit with Rollyo to create a tool that would look up kid's crafts from the sites that I've looked at time and time again. Not a bad tool, but probably not something I'll use on a regular basis.

After looking at Mamma and Dogpile, I had mixed feelings - I'll probably try them out again. Mamma especially seemed to have the craft sites that I put into my Rollyo tool. I was surprised that on Dogpile so many of the first hits were taken from Google ads. Also surprised to see a Camano retreat come up in both places (though perhaps I shouldn't have been). Of Mamma and Dogpile, I preferred the display of Mamma.

Avatars and Second Life

2008-07-02T08:54:00.001-07:00

So here is my avatar, which does not look much like me at all (certainly not as much as some of the teen librarians do!) Making it reminded me of creating a Mii for the Wii. A virtual self feels safer than posting real photos and allows a person to either show an idealized version or just a fun fantasy nothing like reality.

I don't live in Second Life and don't care to (with my commute, I have enough difficulty finding time to live in my First Life!), but I do know several people that find a virtual reality a comfortable addition to their real lives (I've got lots of gaming friends and relatives).

I did find it interesting that most of the videos that I saw about Second Life show a pristine, solitary environment - maybe that's just what I chose to view or maybe it says something about how we feel about the increasing density of our cities.

Overdrive

2008-05-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

So the last time I used Overdrive, I commented in my blog that downloading the media console was the most annoying part (but that I'd only need to do it the once) - unfortunately, I still needed to install, as I did not have the most recent version.

Other than that, if I were an audiobook listener, I would love this service. I think that having the "Always Available" section, makes it a little less disheartening when you see a long list of items that you need to place a hold on. Last time, I downloaded a Ramona book - this time an old Sara Paretsky (many of the books by my other favorite authors were already in use though).

I think that it's great that some of the titles can be burned to CD and eagerly await the day when this service will be compatible with the IPod (although my MP3 player works just fine).

This is extremely popular - my mother-in-law (who lives in Eastern Washington) got a library card, just to check out this service. I had another phone call who lives in the same home town from someone whose Seattle friend had told her about how wonderful SIL is. The only complaint I get is the download limit and that you are not allowed to turn things in early (one woman stated she listens to one per day).

Keep expanding service - it's been exciting to see the number of titles added since we started a few years ago.

del.icio.us

2008-05-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Once again, I could see oodles of time being spent using this tool. I tried both del.icio.us (what a pain to type out - next time I'll have to copy and paste) and Google to look at information about roving reference.

With del.icio.us, I had far fewer to sort through and was able to find other related tag names to explore (as well as seeing the number of other users that had tagged the sites). I was a wee bit surprised to find items about spinning wool interspersed with library related things.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was very useful to have access to the old bookmarks from the Sno-Isle site - our new website is much cleaner, but we definitely have some favorite old bookmarks that it was useful to be able to access.

Streaming Video

2008-05-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Whoo hoo for streaming video. I've had some experience with YouTube (mostly for fun - see the following posts for some of the ways I've been entertained).
http://bicyclinglibrarian2007.blogspot.com/2007/06/you-tube-fun.html
http://bicyclinglibrarian2007.blogspot.com/2007/08/you-tube-revisited.html

I've been having a little trouble viewing choppy YouTube videos, but I did look through some library related ones. I was happy to see that Sno-Isle was represented.

As for Hulu and Fancast, I think I would use them both myself (though I was disappointed to see that some of my favorite shows that I've been missing since getting rid of cable (e.g. Project Runway) have listings that entice me, only to find out that they don't really have any recent content). They've invoked some pleasant nostalgia for 90s tv good and bad (Doogie Howser anyone?)

As far as using them in a library setting, I think that it might fill a need for people looking for older television shows that we don't currently collect at Sno-Isle. Now that we'll have headphones for each terminal, they'll even be able to watch them here at the library.

Social Networking

2008-05-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wow - I can certainly see that social networking could be addictive. I recently was invited to join LinkedIn and did so, but still haven't had a chance to enter in all of the extra profile information. I'm still not exactly sure what I would use it for (but maybe that's because so far I'm only in touch with people that I already see on a fairly regular basis).

Also just signed up for Facebook. I've heard a lot about it, but have had privacy concerns. I love that you can search for people based on schools or email addresses. I think it is so popular because we get so busy that we have a hard time keeping in regular touch with people. I've heard that lots of times people reconnect with people initially when signing on, but dwindle as time passes.

It was also a good way for my family (minus me, since I hadn't signed up yet) to keep in touch when my brother was in Australia for several months (although his post about what he was doing, i.e. skydiving and bungee jumping on the same day, really freaked out my mother).

Pandora and More!

2008-04-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

I had already tried and loved Pandora (and our very own Sno-Isle streaming music) before this week's "thing", but I was interested to explore some of the other online music options. I think of the other options, Finetune is the only other one that I'll use with any regularity. I like that you can listen to more than one song in a row by your favorite artists. I also like that you can use it without creating an account (I'm getting tired of all of this account management!)

I wonder if this is one of the reasons that so many patrons are looking for headphones?

I (still) love Bloglines

2008-04-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

I have been using Bloglines since trying it out when going over the origianal 23 things and I am a believer!

It is very useful for keeping up with library related topics (like the library vending machine in San Francisco - how great would it be for us to have kiosks in the malls or transit centers?). Before we started getting weekly email reminders of updates of the Sno-Isle 20 for 2.0 site, I added it to Bloglines so that I could check only when there was something new to see. I've also added the Collection Development blog (and won a nifty advanced reader's copy for commenting on their blog).

I think that libraries can encourage staff to use this as one more way to keep up with the profession. We can also offer feeds for customers (I subscribe to Seattle Public Libraries podcasts and, as of this moment, our very own Hear a Story Podcasts).

As far as personal use, it can be used to keep track of your other blogging friends or personal interests (cooking, health, etc).

This is one of the "things" that I use almost daily.

Experiments in IM

2008-04-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

So... long, long ago, I used ICQ. At first it was fun looking up friends and family members to chat with, but somehow I quit just a few months after beginning (maybe because I was in the dorms and most of my friends were a room away and it was more fun to get together in person). I never did get into any abbreviations, but I am familiar with some of the more common ones (had a hard time getting the acronym definitions from the link up and running, so I may never learn the more esoteric ones :(

As for my chat experiences for 20 for 2.0, it was fairly easy and intuitive - no big surprises (other than how hard it was to set up a time to actually chat with someone else!)

How do I feel about IM as a mode of communication? I don't think it will ever be my first choice for keeping in touch with people (mainly because most of my computer time is at work and extensive IMing would not be appropriate), but I am intrigued by some of the library possibilities. What if all of the reference librarians working on a given day were logged in and the person stationed at the desk would be able to call for back-up with a few keystrokes only? We could create codes or our own acronyms to make things even faster. Hmmm...

Sno-Isle 20 for 2.0

2008-03-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

I love how easy and painless this process is - like others, I've been enjoying reading the blogs of others (and trying to identify them - some are more obvious just by user names than others). And what a happy surprise to find actual comments on my blog - makes it much more interesting to read (though I'll have to get rid of the spamlike contents of some of the comments).

Now onto IM - I haven't done anything like it since ICQ back in my early college dorm years.

Hello again blog!

2008-03-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

I think the hardest thing about blogging, is finding time to blog! I'm glad that we're going through the 20 things to get me back into posting slightly more regularly (but I appreciate the headstart that MAR staff have had...)

Congratulations to me! The 23rd Thing.

2007-08-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've finally finished all of the 23 things (well, I suppose I didn't register my blog with PLCMC since I'm not actually working with them - but I will be sending on this link to Maggie, so I think that counts). I went back and looked over my learning contract where my goal was to become more familiar with new information technologies by September 1st. And here I am with a few days to spare! Having something structured like this was very useful. I don't think I would have gone over all of these things without a list that I could check off one by one (I love crossing off items on a to do list). Also, being able to schedule time at work was also helpful. When I get home, I've spent so much time in front of the computer, it's hard to make myself do one more thing.

My favorite tools were LibraryThing, RSS feeds (I think I've become addicted to checking for the latest library news each day) and the music sites that I located from the Web 2.0 awards. I feel far more saavy than when I began this journey and I think the biggest thing I've taken away from this is not being afraid to play with technology.

Hooray, hooray!!!

AudioBooks

2007-08-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Another "thing" that I get to modify a bit. I did play around with NetLibrary when we still provided access to more than the one or two Cliff's Notes that still remain. Now we've moved more to the Gale Virtual Reference Library (which has proved useful in searches for obscure animals in the Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia) and audio EBooks through Overdrive. What a great service - with some titles that even allow you to burn to CD. I tested out the "new release" Ramona the Pest, read by Stockard Channing. Fun, fun, fun. I'm still not thrilled with having to download the Overdrive Media Console, but it is just a one-time deal. I actually did such a good job talking this service up, that my mother-in-law (who lives in Eastern Washington and loves audio books) decided to get a card with us so that she could access the titles.

Searching Podcasts

2007-08-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

To me, one of the interesting things about going through this process so long after PLCMC began it is how already it is slightly out-of-date. For example, whilst looking at Podcast.net, it turns out that it does in fact require downloading of software.

Podcasting can be a fabulous source information. I just subscribed to SPL's podcasting feed, featuring their many author chats. I'm glad that our system is looking into taking advantage of the medium as well. I wonder if future contracts with visiting authors will expressly mention allowing the library to broadcast portions of their speeches/presentations.

One of the features that I'd like to see utilized is fast-forward. Many of the non-library podcasts that I listened to had quite lengthy (and boring) introductions. The first "MuggleCast" that I listened to had such a lengthy intro, I began to wonder if there was any actual content.

You Tube Revisited

2007-08-24T15:23:00.001-07:00

As I have already blogged about a couple of videos that have appeared on YouTube, I'm going to revise the question - I really appreciate the election section (http://www.youtube.com/youchoose) containing both introductions and interviews/speeches on particular topics. Handy one-stop shopping.

As Blowers mentioned on her podcast though, YouTube does have a lot of junk to wade through. When I looked through the most popular subscriptions, many of them seemed to be risque, rather than humorous or informative.

Zoho Writer and Google tools

2007-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm moving right along and finally getting close to finishing off the 23 Things (only 4 more to go after this!)

I played around a teensy bit with both Zoho Writer and Google. Definitely can see the appeal of being able to open multiple file formats in a library setting. Also not having to worry about taking a disc along with you to save documents when you travel. And of course, the most favorite feature: recovering prior versions of a document!!!

Web 2.0 Awards

2007-08-24T14:20:00.001-07:00

So I found it impossible to follow the advice to start with just one of the winners of the Web 2.0 awards. I've been intrigued by the music tools (Pandora and Last.fm) that play music for you based on artists that you like. Sort of like the Amazon feature that shows what people who purchased your item also bought.

The one that I took a look at though that would be fairly helpful in the library setting is Meebo. It doesn't happen so often anymore, but it used to be a regular occasion that a patron would complain of not being able to access IM on the library machines. As Meebo does not require downloads, it's a pretty handy fix for thsi problem. In fact, I vaguely remember coming across it earlier at the library (but not knowing anything about it wasn't too sure about the wisdom of giving all of your passwords to a third party site).

Oh yeah, and for those of us who love language and stories (and who at the library doesn't?), I got quite a kick out of www.onesentence.org, with such gems as: "Visiting Virginia, I thought the grocery clerk was calling my newborn son precious when in fact she was telling me in her southern drawl to "press yes" on the keypad."

SandBox Wiki

2007-08-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

It was interesting to see everyone's favorites - also to see the formatting errors that can be introduced when everyone is busy adding their favorites. I suppose I could have gone back and edited them myself, but laziness sets in for a wiki that so many people are updating. I think it goes back to the idea that sometimes shared responsibility means that no one takes responsibility...

I think that wikis are probably more useful either with fewer people making changes or with a little more direction, but then, I suppose that's the idea behind a sandbox - that we are just playing around.

Wiki Wildness

2007-08-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe not Wildness, but I liked the alliteration. This section in the 23 things complemented the information that I got in my Wiki Webinar earlier this summer.

I was intrigued by Princeton Public Library's Booklovers Wiki - it seems like something that we could do in place of the teen/adult book reviews that we do for summertime. Similar to the book reviews on our teen website, but better organized.

One complaint about Wikis that I've heard (that does seem to be justified) is that oftentimes they aren't maintained - that with shared responsibility sometimes comes no responsibility. One of the links to "other library wikis" that I looked at said that someone had set up the site, but not added anything to it.

I know that CAYAS is looking at developing a Children/Youth Services wiki and that SPL is (was?) using a wiki to update and maintain their booklists. Hmmm... might be an idea for us to try as well.

What Library 2.0 Means To Me

2007-08-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

This theme reminds me of the standard "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" of stereotypical school days. To me Library 2.0 should always be about building community, whether it is through our MySpace account or in another manner. While I personally prefer in-person communities, I recognize that many of our patrons prefer online forms of communication. That's one of the reasons that virtual reference (meeting the patron where they need information) is so important.

I can see us giving power to our patrons in more traditional ways as well, such as the library survey that will be going out soon to help us target our programs to new audiences.

Technorati

2007-07-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

So after a couple of weeks of going back and forth to thing #14, I have finally finished my initial examination of Technorati. It is convenient to see blogs tagged. It seems to me that the advanced search features are helpful (the search for Library 2.0 seemed to provide much better results when looking in the blog directory or tag search rather than the keyword only search).

And now that I've finished with Harry Potter, I was able to look at the HP spoilers online in blogs without any worries (including a video with some horrible guys yelling out spoilers over a loudspeaker to a store with fans lined up).

It also lets me know how I'm caught up only with certain aspects of pop culture (because I can't figure out why all of the top searches are on the list).

2007-07-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got around to looking over Del.icio.us. One of the applications I will probably use it for is keeping track of our library's old site links. It helps eliminate the frustration of taking a patron to the place on the website where the perfect link used-to-be.

No title for this posting, as that function does not appear to be working today for some random reason.

Thing #7 revisited

2007-06-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

So the one thing that I neglected to do in week 7 was to actually comment on someone else's blog. That has changed as of this morning, when I posted a comment to a coworker's poetry blog: http://blog.teenytiny.org/ . I love looking at this blog, which was originally started for National Poetry Month last year, when she tried to publish a poem a day.

It still has to be moderated, but I doubt she'll decide that it is too offensive for public viewing.

Rollyo Searching

2007-06-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

When I first looked over Rollyo, I don't think I understood the appeal, perhaps because there wasn't a search roll that just jumped out at me. After a closer examination, I can see it as a useful tool. I am constantly using the same sites for storytime crafts, so I created a tool (My Storytime Crafts) to search those sites only.

Unfortunately, as I tried to add a search box to this post, it doesn't seem to actually work!

However, now that I've actually made the roll "public" I can link to it, so here goes:
http://rollyo.com/bicyclinglibrarian/my_storytime_crafts/

LibraryThing, I love you!

2007-06-27T13:43:00.001-07:00

While not my first encounter with LibraryThing (I looked it up after an SLJ article, noted that I should show it to my book club and then promptly ignored it), this is the first that I've actually added books to my shelf. I'm intrigued to read some of the book suggestions made after cataloging only 5 books. You can view my books at: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/bicyclinglibrarian

As a good librarian, I do still need to add some tags (and something to my profile) but that will come later.

Online Image Generator

2007-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

So here is one of the pictures that I generated using the Online Warholizer (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/warholizer.php) from fd's flickr toys. The original is a picture of my sister's wedding shower.

I've enjoyed looking through these tools, though I have to admit that I am hesitant to try some of the "free trial sites". I've noticed that my spam level has increased exponentially since beginning this process, leading me to wonder who my information has been sold to.

You Tube fun

2007-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

So the other morning was the day of the great media count - I happened to mention it to someone on the way to work and by the time I got there, this link was waiting for me in my email:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su6HaAzpDt0

Another way technology ties into work...

Speaking of You Tube, at a recent gathering it was all the rage - rather than sitting around watching a movie, we sat around and watched You Tube (Introducing the Book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek) was a big hit. This technology is definitely in the mainstream now.

Flickr mashups

2007-06-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Whilst looking through the various Flickr Mashups, I have to admit that the trading card maker was my favorite as well. I just need to get a few more pictures on to my computer to make one up - maybe in my storytelling garb at the Elementary School Book Fair.

Also found the Color Pickr to be interesting.

Basically, I'm excited about a site that encourages a unity of creativity and technology.

Thing #9

2007-06-14T08:53:00.001-07:00

So I've been jumping around on the 23 Things and today it was time for #9 ("Locate a few useful library related blogs and/or news feeds). Let me tell you, it was a frustrating experience. Everything was so SLOW. Could just be a slow network morning. I can't seem to get syndic8.com to open up again at all. However, I finally located some library related blogs on Technorati. Topix.net attempts to cover MAR news, but does a much better job with Seattle (perhaps because there are more feeds covering a larger city - somehow I don't think that Mariner teens attacking someone has so much to do with Marysville). That being said, they do appear to be useful tools, just perhaps not as useful in finding hot library blogs as in finding news on more popular topics.

Georgia Gerber bronzes

2007-06-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

Georgia Gerber bronzes
Originally uploaded by kiltedlibrarian

Imagine my surprise while browsing through library art on Flickr when I came across statues from one of my home branches. This has much more of a friendly community feel than some of the more grandiose art work.

This is one of the two new statues that the Friends of the Library erected. The first storytime after it appeared, there was such joy on the faces of the children during crafttime when they peered out the window and saw the statues peering back at them.

7 1/2 Lifelong Learning Habits

2007-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the biggest challenge of these habits is #7 1/2 - Play!
Something I enjoy doing, but am finding harder and harder to find the time for. Perhaps now that it is an explicit expectation...

I can and do accept responsibility for my own learning (else how would I be the Guitar Queen of storytimes) and I've always thought to view problems as challenges (I've become much more efficient at fixing bike flats).

23 Things

2007-05-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

What an entertaining and novel journey this promises to be - at the press of the "publish post" button, I'll have completed step #3 in my 23 Learning 2.0 Things. Stay tuned for more of my adventures as a librarian of the 21st century...