Friday, November 16, 2007

Things 21, 22, and 23

Thing 23!

The project was fun - just as was advertised. I hit a snag mid way (as did the majority of my friends), because of the busy summer schedule. The only complaint that kept coming up was the constant requests for ‘sign-ups’ to many of the “Things” that participants wanted to attempt. Even for those that registered, keeping up with the many Usernames and Passwords was a pain. Otherwise, this was an exciting project with a clever 'hook' to introduce new technologies to library staff.

Thing 22

The overdrive downloadables are fun. The audio CDs will allow busy people to listen to their favorite books and music collections in their cars, exercise rooms, etc. Also, the downloading instructions seem easy follow.

Thing 21

Podcasting rocks! I visited some of the sites offering tips on the equipment and strategies to increase listeners.

Things 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20

Thing 20

Yes, YouTube is the place to be! The site is user friendly and loaded with lots of fun videos from all over the world. It’s amazing what YouTube has done to the internet!

Thing 19

My pick from the Web 2.0 Award list is Findory.com. I found the concept of compiling your own news page along side your favorite blogs fascinating.

Thing 18

The new online documents management methods are really cool. They kind of work like Wikis – in that they allow users to follow the changes. But, they also offer features like document templates and samples.

Things 16 and 17

I like Wikis, and I find them quick and easy to use! For me, the most impressive feature in Wikis is the tracking tool to allow people to easily keep up on what has been changed and by whom

Thing 15

The library 2.0 discussion was interesting. Rick Anderson’s three “icebergs” theory; The “just in case” collection, Reliance on user education, and The “come to us” correctly explain the problem with the current models of customer service in many libraries, and also offers easy common sense solutions libraries need to embrace. For example, regarding ‘Reliance on user education’, Mr. Anderson, advises that “we need to focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need, so they can spend as little time as possible wrestling with lousy search interfaces and as much time as possible actually reading and learning”.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Thing 11, 12, 13 and 14

Things 13 and 14

Tagging is by far the most useful tool out there. Wikipedia users are familiar with the tagging concept better that most of us. One major subject could have as many as 100 tags. Besides linking to news stories, blogs and other major sources, the tags can also be categorized and linked to other tags!

Thing 12

The Rollyo tool; I think can be useful for those ‘hard to nail’ searches that cause many of us to scratch our heads from time to time

Thing 11

I think 'Library thing' is a great help for disorganized souls like me! I can see the potential of building your own library at home, and actually cataloging the Books in your Selection. Also, the sharing aspect – allowing other people to see what’s in your collection is great!