"The End Has Come . . .

. . . and found us here, with our 23 Things scattered all around us here". (With apologizes to Glen Campbell. Although his song does go on to mention a playground, to which perhaps our entire 23 Things journey could serve as analogy.)



This series of exercises has assisted my lifelong learning goals by providing me with brief introductions to many emerging technologies that I would never have explored without this nudge. Some I found more valuable than others. Rollyo's worth I'm still trying to figure out. I still plan to look at other's blogs on that topic to see if perhaps I'm missing something; did others see value where I saw none? Which serves as an excellent segue to the topic of which were my favorite/non-favorite exercises. You've already seen my reaction to Rollyo. I enjoyed Library Thing, not so much for the opportunity to set up my own library shelf, but for the suggestion element, which is useful for readers' advisory and for finding other titles that may be of interest to me as a reader. I also enjoyed learning about the productivity tools, although I will probably not make any great use of them. Social networking is just not for me. So, while I appreciate the opportunity to learn about sites like Del.icio.us, I will not be using them.

I wouldn't call the outcome unexpected, but I did have my eyes opened to a great variety of sites that I had no idea existed. At the very least, I won't have that deer in the headlights look if a customer uses the names of some of these sites in asking for assistance.

One of things that I found most annoying (and so did many others, if casual conversation is any indicator) was the need to create accounts all over the place. I realize that these sites are not in any way related to the compilers of 23 Things and that each one exists independently of the others but if there were any way that could be devised to cut down on these many accounts, that would improve the program.

Given the difficulty of accessing a computer, for those of us in the branches, more time could have been given for completing the program in order to be eligible for system premiums. On a related topic, the issue of how few staff computers exist in the branches is something that needs to be addressed by system administration. This 23 Things program is proof positive that more and more work is being done and shared via electronic means. Having to stand in line for a computer in order to accomplish work is both inefficient and frustrating.

If another discovery program were offered in the future would I participate? Cop-out answer is "it depends". It depends on how long was allotted for completion and my projected workload at the time. This would be my primary consideration, with interest in the overall topic and relevancy to my work a close second.

To sum it up in a few words/phrases - new, different, learning together, wheat and chaff, overview.

Audiobooks

This has been a most instructive "thing". Last year I received an MP3 player from my spouse and had every intention of using it right away. But I was intimidated by the many steps necessary to download audiobooks and have not used it - shame on me. Having taken the time to go through the steps with Overdrive systematically, I am now more confident that I can successfully download audiobooks to my MP3.

Although the selection isn't large, I expect that it will grow. Even with a fairly small selection, I saw several audiobooks that I'd like to download: titles by Laura Lippman, titles by Michael Connelly, and one that's been on my "to be read" list for many years - "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.

#21 - Podcasting

I looked at all three of the podcast directories/finding tools and did find an interesting Nancy Pearl podcast. One thing that I tried very hard to find and couldn't was a podcast from any of my county officials. There have been some changes in my county relative to trash collection and recycling. Informational postcards have been sent to residents but the information they have conveyed is very basic. While I have no quarrel with the changes, it would be interesting to know more about the decision-making that went into the changes. I know that a county official did appear on a local cable television station to talk about the new procedures. Had he created a podcast, I could have viewed his comments "on demand".

The most useful thing about podcasts is the ability to see and listen to people who may be at a distance or who may charge copious quantities of money for delivering speeches in person. The second most useful thing is that they are available 24/7. I can see many local benefits as well, one of which I mentioned in my first paragraph. Once the local hospital administrator has had his say in the news about new services provided by the hospital, it's over. I missed it, or perhaps I saw it and don't remember all of it. But, if he creates a podcast, I can receive the information when I need or want it.

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0HcI7aRrUM



C-5 Galaxy landing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. I was honored to have worked around this type of aircraft for 20 years. It's on the top of my list of favorite military aircraft. (The other contemporary favorite is the B-52.)



There are a LOT of what I consider to be huge wastes of time on this site. Do I really want to watch someone getting falling down drunk? Or someone stepping in dog excrement? Uh, NO! Comment all you wish, but it sure seems like an awful lot of people posting to YouTube have quite an exaggerated opinion of themselves and their activities.



Where I can see a possibility for library website use is to advertise programs, especially ongoing or recurring ones such as the summer reading program. Did Sneaks make a particularly memorable visit to your library? Post the video to YouTube and add it to the library's website as well. Highlight portions of your collection. Is there an appropriate YouTube video of backyard mechanics? Add that to your library's website with a banner that advertises your car repair resources.



Looking over the most watched videos illustrates for me the phenomenon of information, in this case a video, moving at breakneck speed across the world and becoming fodder for the water cooler. Here we have the electronic equivalent of the water cooler.

Web 2.0 Awards

Nothing like getting paid to play games at work, is there! I liked the variety of games on Arcaplay - much larger than Yahoo has. I also liked that the list had a large number of sites and that they were grouped by topic. I used Zillow and was gratified that the house the spouse, the bank, and I own has appreciated quite nicely since we bought it, if this site can be believed. (I've heard that the figures are inflated on this site.) It was also fun to see the aerial view of the neighborhoods at which I looked. I browsed Etsy and saw some interesting things for sale. I also looked at some travel sites that gave me an idea of what airline tickets might cost. This site also let me know exactly which flights go where I want to go.

What I didn't like is that there weren't more sites! I could play with this list for a very long time!

I could see using this in a library setting as a referral tool. Almost like a "read-alike" site - as in, "I really liked this site. Are there others like it?" It could also function as a starting point for those interested in pursuing a particular topic but unsure of which websites might be helpful, but who are put off by the hundreds of thousands of hits that a Google search might return.

Zoho Writer

OK, I created a document. Thoughts on this - while I can see that being able to access documents from anywhere I can snag a computer is worthwhile, I have a real concern about security. Yes, you ARE noticing a theme running through my ruminations! Perhaps that is due to my military background, where security is of paramount importance, especially of the written word which is so easily compromised. I can see the usefulness of this site for a group project, so that other team members can log on from wherever they might be and contribute. This would have been valuable in college and library school where students came from a large geographic area and plans had to constantly be made to meet and hand off work or to get together and discuss. There are also applications for telecommunicating, as documents can be saved in various formats. (How about it, boss, may I stay home on Monday?) :)

Sand between my toes

Now - what did I say in my last post about wikis regarding the potential for "hacking"? The first thing I see when I go to the Sandbox Wiki is this "Here's the BAD news... someone edited the HOME page for our wiki and deleted all the labels that linked to all the pages that belong to other folks. Here's what has to happen to bring them back..." See what I mean? OK, off my soapbox.

Well, I managed not to make a bunch of stuff disappear. I duly logged my blog address and added to a couple of wikis. I think I'm ready to leave wiki world behind for a while now.

Wiki World

Having spent more than half my life validating information, I have an innate distrust of wikis. Their very appeal and ease of use and contribution makes them vulnerable to what we might call "hacking" if the same material were on some other kind of website. What's to stop me from adding my name to a wiki list of great mystery authors? Sure, others may see my name and, recognizing it for that of a reader, but not author, of mysteries, delete it. They may even possibly have a few choice words to say about my self-inclusion. In the meantime though, some poor souls will be out there seeking my wonderful (and non-existent) mysterious utterings.

The value of this section for me was seeing what some libraries are doing in the area of wikis. In addition to the ones mentioned in the 23 Things article, the current issue of "American Libraries" includes the Biz Wiki, developed by an Ohio University business librarian. www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki This same article addresses one of my own concerns about inaccurate content being added to wikis by mentioning that wikis can be restricted to a select group of contributors. I think these people might have grown up validating information . . .

Web 2.0 & Libraries 2.0

That the web is evolving and that libraries evolve as a corollary activity is a given for those of us in the field. If you are reading this in a library building, look around. How many people do you see at computers? How many people are reading something in a print format? My own count: 3 people reading, and all 23 of our public computers in use. Customers routinely use the phrase "can you look in your computer and find out . . . ". Strictly speaking, if I looked into my computer, I would find circuits, boards, and other tangible objects. I will not find information. For that I need to USE the computer. I need to avail myself of the software written by others much more technologically savvy than myself. Using the computer, taking advantage of the many technological advances about which we have been learning, I can play (love that bookworm game), find out something I need to know (what time does the Howard County Pow-wow start on Saturday?), or just explore (hmm, what's this?). As what is available expands, so will my horizons.

One of the commentaries I read said ". . . our patrons will expect access to everything – digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts, etc.". That same commentary also indicated that print collections need to be stringently evaluated to determine if they are cost-effective. Does this migration to electronic methods of receiving information herald the death knell for libraries? As another commentary said ". . . libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly and welcoming." As long as that continues, and I expect it to be a long time, libraries will be relevant. If our customers had the technology at home, they'd probably be there. At least 23 of my customers don't have access to a computer elsewhere that suits their needs. Since I started writing this blog post, I've helped 8 people find the right path to get where they wanted to go using a computer. Web 2.0/Library 2.0, here we go.

Technorati

Looking at the Blog Directory, I randomly chose a page (page 5) and there was our own John Krivak's blog!



In Blog Posts I was suprised to see "hits" in languages other than English. I didn't know how global this learning experience had become.



I was interrupted several times while looking at the blogs that had "Learning 2.0" in them. As I would rerun the search, I noticed that a few new "hits" appeared. Maybe my colleagues all over the place are hitting the same assignment in this Learning 2.0 venture.



As an aside, I was searching Amazon.com for a title and noticed that that site gives you the opportunity to tag titles you're looking at.



While exploring tags has been interesting, librarians are used to more of a "controlled environment" (at least those of us who have been around for a while are used to it!). Users who hope to find all on a topic using taps will need to keep a thesaurus close at hand!

Thing 13 - Tagging/Delicious

The most interesting thing about this exercise was to see who else had saved the same bookmaks as I did, and then to look at THEIR bookmarks. I searched for information about the C-5, a military cargo aircraft. Not a terribly popular topic, at least for Delicious users, as there were only a handful of users who had also saved bookmarks that pointed to information on the C-5. But this little journey led me to more websites on a topic of interest.

#12 - Rollyo

Discovery exercises, #3 - "Create a post in your blog about your experience and link to your search roll. Can you see a potential use for tools like this?"

I did a search roll called "Adopt Us". I put in websites of adoption "agencies" for cats and dogs, mostly in Maryland. I have no idea how to link to it - if you, dear reader, can figure it out, kindly enlighten me. I logged in as c5mxmgr and I already told you the name of my roll.

Can I see a potential use for tools like this - NO! Except for a few that I know, I used Goggle to get other sites to add. Why bother? Why not go ahead and just use Google in the first place? In addition, when I tried to seach my own roll, I put in "german", since I had specifically included Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue (MAGSR). The first site I got, which I had NOT included in my roll, was a Tampa German Shepherd rescue organization. While I am pleased that Tampa has such a rescue, I didn't have it in my roll. MAGSR came up, but only on page two. Shouldn't it have been the first website returned, since it was in my roll?

Total waste of time, in my opinion.

#11 - Library Thing

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/akc5c17

I can't really get into this. That's the link of my created library, if YOU want to get into this. I think it comes down to - I have no desire to be part of some global discussion group. I'm far more apt to discuss a book I've read with friends or colleagues than I am to post about it on a blog. I can easily use Novelist to find other titles with the same themes of books I've read. So, while this may be a lark for those interested in blogging or engaging in an email discussion about a book, it's not for me.

Badge Generator

This is my creation from the Badge Generator. It was fun to do. It comes from the reminiscences of my friend Lanie Warren. She was at an Alan Jackson concert at the MCI Center with her son and his friend. The inconsiderates in front of her were passing a "cigarette" back and forth and constantly standing, blocking Lanie's view and those of her charges. Lanie leaned forward and quietly said, "You shouldn't be doing that. I'm a cop." The smokers mysteriously found seats elsewhere.

So here ya go, Lanie - I made you legit!

MERLIN

I recall having an introductory training to MERLIN, perhaps 18 months or so ago. As a result of that training I felt I would use the site most to view the calendar of system-wide trainings. I see now that the site has more potential than simply the calendar, but for me, I still think this will be the most valuable - IF the calendar were actually being USED by Maryland libraries. I see very little in the way of trainings open to library staffs around the state.

One feature that I do like about MERLIN is the listing of online courses and web seminars, although I wish there were more on non-technology topics.

Technology-Related

I've long pooh-poohed MySpace as an indulgence of youngsters with far too much time on their hands. So I was intrigued when, at a Washington Glory game (Women's Fastpitch softball - they play at George Mason University - go see them!) an announcement was made that attendees were invited to visit their MySpace page. So I did. There is more information on the MySpace page about the individual players than on the Washington Glory's homepage (which, admittedly, is still under construction). I discovered that I would need to set up another account in order to post a message, so I didn't do that. In this case, an email to their general information email address, which is on their website but not their MySpace page, will do. I want more information about Glory, their mascot. (I SAID you should go to see the team in action - you'll love Glory!)

RSS feeds, etc. - Thing 8

Not that this has anything directly to do with creating the RSS feeds and such, but one of the annoying things about doing the 23 Things is that every time I turn around I am setting up another account. Google account. Yahoo account. What's next?!

My ten feeds are:
A Phrase a Week
About Literature: Contemporary
Joke of the Day
Librarian's Index to the Internet: New This Week
Library Journal - Audio Reviews
New Urban Legends
The Shifted Librarian
Unshelved
WJZ Baltimore Maryland News
Yahoo News: Top Stories

Some of these sites allow the user to subscribe in such a way that the information will be sent to an email account. For things I would be interested in being certain I saw every day, that would be my tendency. For silly things, such as the Joke of the Day, the blogline approach works better for me.

One thing I would love to see on PGCMLS's website is the availability of RSS feeds when new items are received in certain categories. For example, I enjoy Nevada Barr's books. If I could sign up to be notified via my RSS feed, when the library has received a new book by Barr, I could then immediately seek out that title. This would be very valuable to "regular" customers (rather than those of us in a PGCMLS branch five days a week!) and could potentially increase circulation.

Trip Planner using Yahoo

I explored this feature this morning. Perhaps because I was planning a trip to a lesser-visited site (Sitka, Alaska - why be mainstream?), there weren't a whole lot of links. Few of the hotels suggested had their own websites and there were few helpful reviews attached to the Yahoo listings. However, the beauty of using a lesser-visited locale was that I COULD get information in a on-stop shopping experience. "Things to do" led me to some websites on which I could find more information about my desired destinations. I was unaware of this feature on Yahoo and plan to use it for real-world trip planning (although I DO plan to go to Sitka, although it may not be on the dates I entered!).

Times Two

Times Two, originally uploaded by sashvh.

Just perfect! I think the original description had something about ballerinas. Does this mean we could title this "A Paws De Deux"?!

dancing.kitty

dancing.kitty, originally uploaded by Lara604.

What a great photo! This cat's name is Radar (I don't know him; I learned that from reading the original caption). Looks like he has an appreciative audience in the grey and white cat to the right.

7 1/2 Habits

Probably the easiest of the habits for me will be to view problems as challenges. That's how I grew up - being told to take a stab at things before asking for help. The most difficult? This whole "create your own learning toolbox" thing - it's not something I do in a formal way. I know pretty much who are good resources and I know how to find these people. I don't need to create another piece of paper with yet another list on it. I can't stand a lot of extraneous "stuff" around me!

First blog

OK, here goes. This is my first post to my first blog (which will probably remain my only blog), as part of my participation in the 23 Things computer technology training module for Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland. Not much to say yet, stay tuned.