bookwoman

Happy Endings

2008-07-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

WooHoo, I'm at thing 23!!!!!!!!!
Okay, now what was my favorite discovery? I'm not sure I have a total favorite. I was very pleased at how simple it was to set up a blog and personalize it. I was not as creative as some, but enjoyed the process.

I have always been a huge fan of lifelong learning so this was an enjoyable and broadening experience with the 23 things. Like Woody Allen's shark that must keep swimming forward or it will die -- if you ever quit learning your will dry up like a raisin in the noonday sun.

What surprises were there. One was how much I hated RSS feeds and Digg. Who would have thought that there could be too much information for me, but there is waaayyyy too much with those tools. For the same reason I thought I would not enjoy GoodReads, but I did. In fact GoodReads could be addicting. The other surprise what how much I enjoyed Flickr and mash ups. I could play with those a lot if I owned a digital camera better than the one on my cell phone.

I really enjoyed the Library2.0 section as it made me realized how I came into the digital revolution early on in my library career and am now migrating and growing as libraries go forward into the next generations of useful and useable technology. The exercises in the 23 things go a long way to educating those of us who were slipping behind just due to the excesses of everyday routines. I have used Wikis more for personal research from an early stage, and now use podcasts on a fairly regular basis so these are already good friends. I had paid little attention to YouTube until the 23 Things and spent way too much time enjoying it when I started searching around. Netlibrary is a great way for those who enjoy audiobooks to obtain titles for free and without cluttering up with more cassette tapes or cds. I personally was underwhelmed, but that is my problem. I would recommend it to others.

I cannot express how much I have enjoyed this process, but I have to admit that at times it has be time consuming. I got behind and had to complete several things in large bites rather than taking my time. For that reason, I would be somewhat reluctant to engage in another extended learning experience any time soon, but after we get the new library built or if I find some way to more effectively manage my time I would consider it. The has been a valuable process for all who have participated. Thanks to all, but mostly thank you, Sarah.

Netlibrary muse

2008-07-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

The whole concept of eaudiobooks is an idea whose time has come, except I, personally, do not care for audiobooks in any format. However, many folks love them, especially when traveling. NCLive supports Netlibrary for FRL users, however if one owns an Ipod or Zune they are out of luck since Netlibrary titles are in .wma format and are under Digital Rights Management (DRM) thus disenfrancising the Apple and Zune users. Those of us who own Creative products are assured of having access as Netlibrary has tested those product.

One can browse by title or more effectively by subject. When a title is selected it can be downloaded to a listening devise using among others Windows Mediaplayer. Titles cannot be burned to CD. A user is limited to ten checkouts at a time for a period of 21 days with the option to renew at the end of the 21 days for another 3 weeks. That is longer than it is for hard copy items in our library system. If one sets up an account it is very wise to write down the information because (despite instuctions to the contrary) it is nie onto impossible to retrieve the forgotten information. I now ostensively have 3 accounts under the same name now, but have only written down the info. for the most current incarnation. This is clunky and poor service, not counting that it keeps allowing me to sign up with practically the information.

I have to admit that I was not particularly excited about the title selections I viewed, but know that NetLibrary is a grand resource for those who enjoy listening to audiobooks.

Musing morning

2008-07-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

I actually use podcasts more than I would like, because every time I miss a Rotary Club meeting I make it up by listening to the podcast of that meeting. Really is a lifesaver. I added the RSS for the NPR program "Speaking of Faith" since I only hear parts of the programs when I am in the car and always want to hear all of it. A program this week featured the late Joe Carter discussing and singing African-American spirituals with Krista Tippett. I missed some at the begining and at the end of the broadcast so now I can listen whenever I want. Podcasts as well as UTuube have great potential as training tools for both staff and patrons.

I admit that the RSS feeds are more than I want to deal with on a regular basis, but they can also ensure that I complete a task for pleasure or for an obligation.

I hated podcast pickle, but podcast.com subject lists seem to be both diverse and easily searchable so I am going to add that site to my favorites.

Playing with YouTube

2008-07-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit until today, I have not spent much time viewing YouTube, but today I viewed a number of videos and enjoyed them all. For those of you who look forward to spring just so you can have Peeps--check Peeps on the Runway. I am a big fan of the Who so watched a brief video that included Pete Townsand. Another group I enjoy is Trans Siberian Orchestra. My very first exposure to YouTube was to watch some of the Christmas lights videos to their music so today I chose one of just the orchestra. The music and the clips used in the video were wonderful. I am not sure if it is just my laptop, but sometimes the video quality is not great, but the sound is.

While all I watched today was for nostalgia or entertainment value, YouTube could be used for instructional videos or previews of places to which one might travel or for school assignments. It is a great way to archive small clips of important video material which can be retrieved at will.

Right now I do not feel gutsy enough to try to embed one of the clips on my blog, but have no doubt that it would be great. Imagine blogging your way around the world and embedding clips from all your travels to be shared by friends and family. Library uses could be as a tool for bibliographic instuction, library tours, or entertaining ways to teach the Dewey Decimal System on the library's web site.

Web2.0

2008-07-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, this was fun. In reality, I had been using this tool for a long time in various guises. I had used Biblio.com for some time to locate out of print requests and also to occasionally guestimate the value of a particular volume. My best friend sold a car for us using Craigslist--she was getting calls the same day she posted the ad. I went to Oodle just for the fun of it and entered "boats" and our zip code. Go a gazillion hits. The only fly in the ointment is that it specified within 50 miles and Jonesborough, Tennessee is much further away than 50 miles so the listings needed to be perused carefully. The link for Cocktail Builder is broken from the awards site, but can be reached by hand entering the URL. Just visited, but did not add any favorite recipes. I dislike Google Maps as often the directions are flawed and if you follow them exactly, lost you will be. I LOVE Google Earth as truly amazing--I was able to find the house I lived in in the 4th grade in Tucson, Arizona. Cool!!!! Unfortunately, it does not work so easily on our heavily forested ridges.

All the above mentioned, plus more are fantastic tools for the library's use in reference and for patrons using public access internet. Some can be used to purchase obscure volumes, or find just about any needed information in an organized manner instead of just fishing. It takes out some of the challenge of finding something obscure, but has the reward of practically instant gratification.

Google doc

2008-07-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

What a neat way to safely save items with no fear of having them fall off the face of one's computer. I only uploaded one little item from my documents into Google and sent it to a few people, but the ramifications of this are huge. This is a great way to have backup copies of all kinds of data. For folks in using public internet in the library it allows them to save stuff that cannot be downloaded to the library work stations. This is a way to travel with and share files, especially large ones that might not be so easily shared.

Wiki rules

2008-07-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I had to get assistance to complete this task, but once done it is a blast. It is so easy, thank you Sarah for setting this up for us.

Wiki musing

2008-07-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

I personally love wikis. The day I discovered Wikipedia was truly a wonderful day. I know that many in academe do not like it since they fear that information provided, edited, or added to by the so called layperson must be suspect. While one needs to take care to verify facts with further resources, I have found that it is a great resource for esoteric information--example, look up "spikenard." While looking at the suggested wiki sites on our 23 things, I particularly enjoyed the open World Cat and the chance to browse by subject using everyday language. This is a great aid to the regular library patron who is rarely gifted with an intimate knowledge of Library of Congress Subject Headings. I also enjoyed the Booklover's wiki. As with all shared knowledge and opinion, wikis must be viewed with some caution, but as a whole they present a friendly and unique way to share information, search it, and update it. Go Wiki!

Musing in 2.0

2008-07-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I read the Library2.0 information will a wry smile on my face. I was lucky enough (?) to enter the profession at the beginning of online catalog usage and internet access with no (that's right --No) graphics. Indeed, one of the papers I wrote in library school was about angest of librarians afflicted with "technophobia" as libraries moved forward to embrace the latest technical trends of the time such as online catalogs where one waited for several minutes to see the results of their search, librarian/printer interfaces to access such databases as Medline, computer driven utilities to charge and discharge library materials and Marc format cataloging.

How the world has changed! Those of us who migrated to the internet age 20 years ago are now scrambling to catch up to Library 2.0. I mostly embrace the concept of the library integrating all their services into the patron's daily patterns of work, study, and play. I totally believe constant and conscious flexibility is the only way to continue to adapt and provide our patrons with the very best user centered services possible. However, the attitude that electronic data will totally replace the familiar bound paper book is ludicrious. It is still awkward to take a computer to bed with you or curl up with a MP3 player on a rainy afternoon (I would just go to sleep and run the battery down). While there is little doubt that technology can often supply more current facts than a bound volume, there are times when the old fashioned printed word is still a valuable sidekick to the constantly emerging technological trends.

It is not just the role of the librarian and the library to serve the patrons, but both must be flexible, prepared, and open to the ever shifting, evolving, and devolving trends in technology. People in dialog is the center of the very best library service. I personally do not care for most of the social networking sites, such as MySpace, but do by into the fact that we must build the communities we serve both on and offline.

Goodness what a soap box! I didn't know I was that passionate about technology, but since I have enjoyed seeing it go from the T-Model to the hybrid (technology -- not cars) I guess it follows that I would either love it or hate it.

Friday musing

2008-06-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Google Book Project is not as impressive as I thought it would be. I enjoyed finding a lengthy "snippet" of Jack Finney's "Time and Again." Since I had stated on Good Reads that this is my favorite time travel book ever so my visit to the snippet equaled a chance meeting with an old friend in a strange city. However, when I started searching for full text volumes in their entirity, the titles at best were very old, probably in public domain, and with the exception of "Rootabega Tales" most of the the titles attracted absolutely no attention from me. I had been extremely concerned when reading the media about the book project, but if most of what they are scanning is practically in public domain then I do not have much of a problem with the concept. If full text best sellers are scanned for the project then I am so not comfortable with the idea. The search was entertaining and I will surely repeat the journey, but I still maintain that it is much more fun (and comfortable) to curl up with a real book instead of a computer.....

2008-06-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

I just spent a goodly amount of time on Del.icio.us. This could be a good way to find very specific topics using tags. I set up an account and then looked for such esoteric topics as Turkish coffee tutorials, left handed knitting and crochet. I especially liked a site with videos demonstrating stitches for left handed people. I did not search for scholarly information, but information that is a little in left field but something anyone might want to seek. I book marked my favorites and will return to download them later to my personal computer. This process is fun, but again, unless you have very specific terms or tags you could go all over the universe searching. I do like creating my own tags as prompts, it works much as key word searching in any search engine, but being able to customize the information for personal retrieval is excellent.

Digg

2008-06-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

I am trying to do a lot in one day. Being a news junky, I thought I would just love Digg, but it is way too slow, and I find that I responded much as I did with the RSS--too much information!! I did read on it that Paul Newman has cancer which prompts me to plead "say it ain't so." At 83 he remains one of the sexiest men on earth. Joanne Woodward is one lucky woman! It is a shame but some of us are feeling our age today.

Something I enjoy in technology is actually on the list for a later week and that is podcasts. I am in the Rotary Club in Sylva and if I miss a meeting (they have to be made up) I can listen to a podcast of the missed meeting, let the club secretary know that I have done so and viola one make-up completed. Also, being a big fan of "All things considered" and "Speaking of Faith" on NPR I can listen to the programs at my leisure thanks to NPR's website. That means, if I can't be near the radio when either program is first presented I can listen to a missed program often with extended information at my leisure. Great resource.

On what incentive I would like--I would like an mp3 player. Actually, I already have one, but have ripped some of my own cd's to my pc at home and loaded them to the player. The music on that player is intended for meditation/relaxation and reflection so is already "purposed." I would like a second mp3 for more upbeat and lively music and to download books, ergo that is my choice.

Good Reads

2008-06-26T14:20:00.001-07:00

I have had an account with Good Reads, but never got around to adding any titles. Finally added about 8 today and well as inviting some friends. Thanks, Rand for asking me to be a friend. I plan to do more with this particular cyberspot as it is one I can enjoy any time.

2008-06-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ah, the child of the '60s just loves the warholizer!!! More getting buggy at the library. Is all of this learning experience this much fun?????????

Mash-ups

2008-06-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Again, what fun. I often think in images rather than word so I had great fun sketching and seeing what the related images might show up. It's amazing what stars can turn into. Send a post card to a friend using the term rainbow as a search, but did not send the traditional rainbow.. I like this because it pushes the edges a bit and intend to add this to my list of things to explore further. Great visual experience and mind expanding as well.

another musing

2008-06-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have not done anything on the 23 things for quite some time because we had a death in the family and by the time I was off for nearly two weeks -- I was so far behind! Well, now I am hoping I'm in a groove. I just played around in Flicker and it is great. Jane has taken so many pictures with her digital camera that have gone virtually unviewed. With a tool like Flicker we could store and organized some of them. Then we might be able to view, share and remember the time the picture was taken. While in the explore mode, I really enjoyed viewing some of the slideshows. One tag I used was "purple" my favorite color and found a wealth of great photography. I especially liked the case of purple and green artichokes. It has texture and depth. Who knew that exploration could be so satisfying to the mind and the eye! The shots were wonderful and evoked almost a zenlike experience. I am very taken with this cybertool as opposed to the RSS feeds which seem useful, but contain way to much information for someone with limited patience. I am going back to Flicker so I can get the name of the slide show I was watching.

Okay, I could not find the exact one, but entertained myself with some of the others. I imported a picture to my blog, scroll down. We did some occupational therapy at our weekly staff meeting; creating bugs or channeling our inner bugness.

2008-05-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, right now I am no fan of RSS. Too much stuff and not enough time. Maybe if I was younger or more willing to spend even more time on the internet, I would enjoy it more. There is some interesting stuff out there so I may revisit this at a later date, but for now it is like very rich brownies, it looks very good and interesting, but for now I'll just take a small bite. Looking forward to the next steps.

2008-05-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

I finally bit the bullet and worked on the RSS feed or #6. I had fun finding some sites to subscribe to, but will have to see if I really want all of this stuff invading my email. More later.

Musing 3

2008-04-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a great time yesterday enjoying the lifelong learning tour, setting up a blog and attempting to customize it. And finally, the total play of the day, creating an avatar on MEEZ.com. I am no where as young or supple in the knees as my cyber me, but I do have a strippy cat, and love black with brillant colors.

A chocolate bar is the reward if someone can tell me why I chose littlebrownbookwoman for an address... Okay, those of you who already know the answer are disqualified.

Today I looked over the RSS stuff, but think I need to peruse it a bit longer before completing this task. This is what I get for starting a week after everyone else! However, I am looking forward to plunging forward.

2nd musing

2008-04-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I am still working on the blog page. Yesterday I created an avatar on meez so now I need to figure out how to import it. In the 7 1/2 things I will be most prone to setting up obstacles for myself even though I know better. The queen of too much to do, that's me.

Musings

2008-04-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Heaven help us, I never thought I would start a blog. I don't even journal, let alone do it online for the whole universe to view. The totally unnatural might just happen and I will find that I have nothing to say! Right now I just want to see what this is going to look like.