DCTC on a Stick

Thing #47: Evaluation

2009-06-08T19:59:00.002-05:00

Once again, it's been great! I'm glad you extended the deadline, because for some reason, this seemed to take me longer than the 23 Things did. Don't know if it was my busy schedule or if there was more packed into the "More" Things.

As I said in my evaluation, I'm definitely making use of what I've learned in both my personal and work lives. We have so many online students at our college -- meaning fewer students actually coming into the library -- that we're looking for ways to reach them and teach them via their computers. The Things give us a lot to work with.

One thing I really like about the Things program is the community aspect of it. So I hope you'll come up with further learning opportunities for us. Oh, and I enjoyed how this had "fun" stuff as well as work. The music, video and travel "things" were great to learn about.

Thanks for a terrific program!

Thing #46: WebJunction Minnesota

2009-06-07T20:42:00.003-05:00

How could this have escaped me? I know I'd heard the name WebJunction, but I guess I never knew what it was!

I found the calendar feature useful and also the list of courses, which are apparently available to us for free (up to two at a time.) Nice resource.

Let's see... what sort of Minnesota resources would I like to see? Maybe some sort of a comprehensive directory of libraries in Minnesota? More discussion threads would be nice, too.

Nice finding out about WebJunction!

Thing #45: Cloud Computing

2009-06-05T15:25:00.003-05:00

I've been using a My Yahoo page for a few years now, so I guess that would count as a Web OS. I started using that when our family retired our AOL account. It took me a short while to get used to, but I find I love having my information portable now. Disadvantages? I suppose someone could potentially get into my personal information -- for example, if I forgot to sign off at a public computer.

I don't do GoogleDocs or Zoho. I guess my computing in the cloud is, so far, rather limited. I am planning to try out a Wiki for putting together subject resources for classes, so I guess that would be using the cloud. Seems that will allow much more flexibility than what we've been doing, plus allow for input by others. Also -- I'm not sure whether this counts as "the cloud" or not, but I use TurboTax for my taxes, and that information is available from any computer I sign into. So, even though this is a paid service, perhaps it counts as "the cloud"?

Thing #44: The Economy

2009-06-04T15:42:00.004-05:00

I clicked on most of the links provided, so I did look at least briefly at most of these sites. I'd say my favorite is Craigslist. In fact, it's thanks to Craigslist that I have the apartment I'm living in! Seems Craigslist has gone from being a little-known, "alternative" classifieds site to the mainstream. In the Jobs section, I even spotted an opening from Minnesota Public Radio. I also know people who have sold furniture via Craigslist.

I thought Mint.com looked really useful, though I didn't go so far as to register. I'm sure there are safeguards built in or else you wouldn't have had a link to the site and it wouldn't have won awards from PC Magazine and Money Magazine, but I do feel a bit nervous at the idea of inputting my accounts into the "cloud." Also, my finances are pretty simple, so I don't need too much help managing my budget.

The garage sale sites were fascinating. I myself don't shop at garage sales because I already have too much stuff :), but if I did, I would find those mash-ups like Weekend Treasures very useful, for sure!

My own tips for economizing?... Get books from the library rather than buying them. If I am tempted to buy a book, I put it on my Amazon wish list and hold it there for a while rather than do an impulse purchase. On the 1st of each month, I allow myself a $25 purchase (which qualifies for free shipping) from my wish list. In the realm of eating, I try to use what's in my cupboards and fridge before buying more food. And when I eat out, if it's a big portion (which is usually the case in restaurants) I try not to pig out and instead ask for a container and bring half home for the next day's lunch. (But OK, OK, sometimes I do pig out :) )

Thing #43: Online TV & Video

2009-06-02T18:58:00.003-05:00

I took this opportunity to sign up for Hulu, which I've been hearing about from a coworker and from friends. It sounded too good to be true, and you know... it sort of *is* -- all these things for free! Amazing.

I watched the beginning of the show that was highlighted, and that was Conan O'Brien's first night as host of the Tonight Show. That was fun, as I'd missed it on broadcast TV. Then I put some featured, popular shows in my queue: a couple of highlights of Conan's previous shows -- and then I did some searching and found some old favorites, like the original Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore shows. Wonderful! So a few of those went in the queue, as well.

I explored the Time-Based Search, which was very cool. You can search a time period and find the shows that were on then.

It's good to know this is there, but I don't know that it will change my viewing habits too much. For one thing, I try not to watch too much TV, period. And when I do watch movies or TV shows in series, I tend to get them in DVD format. I don't have a way to connect my computer to my TV at this point, so I wouldn't be able to watch the Hulu shows on the big screen.

It is interesting to speculate on what this might mean for traditional broadcast and cable TV. I don't feel I know the ins and outs of it enough to comment, but it will certainly keep the dominant formats from being the monopoly in the future.

Thing #42: Music 2.0

2009-06-01T21:34:00.003-05:00

Voila! There is my Last.fm widget over in the left column, down beneath my Shelfari bookshelf.

I'm a music lover, so this may be my favorite Thing so far. Don't know that we'd use it in the Library, but I sure had fun with it.

I already had a Last.fm account. Once again, I have to credit my children for this. My daughter had me sign up a couple of years ago, but I really haven't used it. She just wanted to see what I was listening to! Doing this Thing got me to explore it a bit further. I loved seeing how, whatever plays from my iTunes, you get a photo of the artist, biographical info about them, reviews, and everything. Very cool indeed. (I also checked out what my daughter is listening to these days. :)

I explored the Radio section of my iTunes. I hadn't done much with this before. Didn't really know what it was. What a goldmine! I didn't know where to start... or stop! I clicked on the International classification and was listening to Radio Alsace, then Persian radio, Italy, and more. Then I checked other categories and listened to an '80s station.

I can't say whether Internet radio will take over or not, since I don't know the ins and outs of everything. But it sure looks good. It's free, it opens up a world of music and news you couldn't access, otherwise. What's not to like? Oh, and since the Morning Show was mentioned in the Thing post... I do occasionally listen to Dale Connelly on Radio Heartland via the Internet. It is awfully nice. Maybe this will indeed become the way to listen to radio.

Thing #41: Mashup Your Life

2009-05-31T21:46:00.003-05:00

I signed up for a Lifestream.fm account and added some of my services: Facebook, Twitter, last.fm and delicious. It was cool but also kind of spooky to see a whole stream of everything I've posted in all these different places suddenly appear in my Lifestream feed.

I could see possibly using this for institutional purposes once we get more Web 2.0 stuff up and running and really used in the Library. Not sure about that yet. As for personal use, I don't think I'll use it. I've got things set up the way I like with my personal 2.0 accounts, so I don't feel I need to rock the boat by changing how I get my news. Also, it feels like overload to me. I don't need to know what all my friends have bookmarked, etc. in a continual stream. Still, these are powerful tools, and it's fun to try them out and know they exist.

Thing #40: Mashup the Web

2009-05-31T21:11:00.002-05:00

I had fun exploring this. I looked at a few mash-ups in all the categories. I enjoyed looking with BookTour, Lunchbox, CrimeReports, and Walkable, in particular. I already knew the restaurants listed on Lunchbox, but it was fun to see them on a map. And I found out that my neighborhood is indeed as walkable as I already knew it was. :)

I could imagine using the Lunchbox mash-up to find good eats in an unfamiliar place.

Here I tried BubblR to put a caption with a photo. I was attracted to this kitty, who looks just like my long-haired guy at home! This was easy and fun.

Thing #39: Digital Storytelling

2009-05-06T11:59:00.004-05:00

I used VoiceThread for yet another version of my DCTC Library virtual tour. I found VoiceThread really easy to use. I could see polishing this up, adding voice (which I didn't this time as I'm at a public desk with no microphone) and more links. It also meshed really well with my Flickr account.

Thing #38: Screencasting

2009-05-05T10:37:00.006-05:00

For this Thing, I used Jing. I was eager to try this Thing, because we do want to produce some screencasts for our Web page and for our distance learners. I'd heard Jing was really easy and worked well, so that's the one I chose.

I found it a little tricky, but that may just be me and my clunky tech skills. For example, it took me a while to figure out how to use the arrow, because I was trying to "drag" it. I never did figure out how to get the Text feature to work. I'm sure it's something simple that I'm neglecting to do.

It looks like you can't edit screens once you save them, which is unfortunate, but oh, well.

I produced this two-screen image capture demonstrating 1) the way to find the DCTC Library page from the main DCTC page, and 2) where to find the useful links (MnPALS catalog, Ebsco for articles, chat screen.)

It's a start! I wanted to start off simply, with images. But in the future I'm going to try a video.

P.S. Uh-oh -- in viewing my published post, I see the screens are too big. I'm sure there's a way to resize them, and at some point, I'll figure out how to do that. But I've spent a long time on this Thing and must move along.

Thing #37: Photo Tales

2009-04-27T09:56:00.008-05:00

DCTC Library Tour, using Flckr, Picnik and FlickrSLiDR:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

In Flickr and Picnik, I wrote captions for these photos that would function as the verbal accompaniment to this "tour." But they didn't show up on the FlckrSldr slideshow. Not sure if there's a way to make that happen. Picnik was fun and worked smoothly with Flickr. I'll have to investigate it further.

I can definitely see uses for this on our Library page, and it would be fun for home use, as well.

Thing #36: Comic Relief

2009-04-23T12:10:00.009-05:00

As a college librarian, this one really speaks to me!

From Stripgenerator, by mupfather

And on the loneliness of reference desks, now that everyone is Googling instead:

From Stripgenerator, by mupfather

And now my very first comic strip...

Not hilarious, but who knew I could be a comic strip author?? What a feeling of empowerment! This has possibilities.

For this Thing, I also explored ToonDo and Comeeko. ToonDo looks really nice, and I liked the colors, which I don't think Stripgenerator has. But the day I actually set out to do this Thing, the site kept hanging up, so I went to Stripgenerator instead. (Today I see ToonDo is working.) Comeeko would be fun in that it works with your photos. So you could create comics with photos of actual library staff saying things. Ah, the creative possibilities.

I got a kick out of the Obamaconme and Warholizing sites. I've seen these in people's profiles but never knew how they did it.

Yes, I could imagine a use for a library comic strip. As with the other tools we've learned, it's one more thing to throw in the toolbox and good to know it's there.

Thing #35: Books 2.0

2009-04-21T12:36:00.004-05:00

I'm observing that students seem to go to the Internet first for research -- usually to Google, unless they've had a library orientation. But when they want books, it's hard-copy books they're looking for. We have a collection of e-books through NetLibrary, and we tout them as being great for 24/7 access from home. But students are usually reluctant to use them.

I think the Books 2.0 tools generally enhance the reading experience. In fact, the new version of our catalog, MnPals Plus, is a 2.0 product, allowing for reviews and comments. I think they allow for a social experience and also allow people to find other suggested reading they probably wouldn't have run across otherwise.

I looked at most of the links that were posted with this Thing. In our library, we use LibraryThing to highlight certain subject areas that we feature on our home page. It makes a nice attractive rotating display. We've also just put up a Facebook page. There are a lot of good Books applications for Facebook, as listed in this Thing. It took us a while to locate a good Books application that would work with a Page rather than a personal profile. By asking another library, I located one called Bookshare. Hoping to generate some visits to the library and some discussion with it!

Thing #34: Online Answer Sites

2009-04-15T14:47:00.003-05:00

I can totally see why these online answer sites are appealing. People can get quick answers in an unintimidating way, without having to leave home. Also, lots of people use forums and various types of social networking. These sites have a similar feel, so they'd be comfortable for people.

The questions I saw ran the gamut: Some were academic, like "I need to know about WWI and WWII for a history assignment." Many were from people seeking answers for practical questions regarding needs in their lives: "How do I refinish a table?" And then some were opinion questions from people looking to start -- or provoke -- a conversation: "Is anyone else tired of hearing about Barack Obama?" and "Am I considered a racist if I don't like Barack Obama?"

The academic questions -- like the first one mentioned -- especially broad, open-ended questions like that one -- would best be asked by asking a librarian for help. The practical sort of questions, like the one re: wood finishing, would also be a good library question but could also be answered by other folks who have knowledge of the field. So that one could go either way, the caveat being that if you ask the question of the general public, you can either get excellent or very poor answers. As for the final question, those people are just looking for a chat group!

Some of these folks on the answer sites may be aware of the library but may be thinking of it primarily as a place to pick up books, CDs and DVDs. Sadly, I'm not sure how many people know what a reference librarian is these days or would think to ask one. They also probably don't know that you can reach your librarian via email or chat. So they go with what they know and what's easiest.

The Slam the Boards events sound like a good idea for getting the word out about librarians. I checked out their wiki, but I don't think I would participate, mainly for lack of time. For the same reason, I didn't answer any questions -- mainly because it would have involved signing in and, I presume, creating a profile, etc. Maybe someday!

Thing #33: Travel 2.0

2009-04-14T10:35:00.003-05:00

As I'm a fan of travel, these were fun to look at. In fact, I clicked on every one of the links, if only to give it a quick look. And I added "My Kugehopf" to my personal Delicious list because it is... well, delicious :)

These are really useful sites, though in my case, probably more for personal use than professional. I could see where these would be terrific resources in public libraries, where you get questions from people who are planning trips. We get the occasional question from someone planning a trip or doing an expository paper on a country. And since many of our travel books are dated (that not being a big area of collection for us), these sites are good to know about.

I enjoyed some of the travel "journals," like the aforementioned "My Kugelhopf" and also "The Lost Girls." Also poked around Tripadvisor and enjoyed that.

Thing #32: Google Maps & Mash-Ups

2009-04-13T11:18:00.004-05:00

I created a Google map/mash-up of one of my favorite areas: Lake Calhoun. I put markers at a couple of spots: the Tin Fish, the lakeside seafood restaurant that's open seasonally, and the Bakken Museum.

I didn't find it as easy to use as the tutorial promised, but then this is all new to me. If I had time, I'd really enjoy trying out the different mash-ups that are available. I'm not sure I see a use for this in our library right now, but maybe I'll come up with something at some point. As with so many of these things, it's good to know they're there and to have them in the "toolbox," so to speak. This is a fun one.

Now, let's see if I can embed the site:

View Lake Calhoun area in a larger map

Hmm, I tried to zoom it in better, but it defaulted to this more far-away few. I'll post for now, but it's something to tinker with later...

Thing #31: More Twitter

2009-03-31T11:56:00.003-05:00

We're really just getting off the ground with Twitter. I'm following several different news sources (some of which surprisingly found and friended us out of the blue (like the Minnesota Daily -- wonder how they found us? It's a nice little boost!)

At first I had the profile under my own name with my photo. But as my colleague and I talked about it more and how we could both post Tweets, it seemed we should change that. So I took my name off it and posted a photo of the Library. We're talking about getting updates to our Library blog posted automatically to our Twitter feed. Under this Thing, it looks like TwitterFeed might be the way to do that. The instructions look pretty easy.

I might also start a personal Twitter account just for fun and my own personal use. I have to say, I was skeptical at first, but I'm enjoying looking at the news updates. I like the brevity of the messages with the option to click on the link for the whole story.

I'd say I'm at the Twitter stage of trying it out and considering how we might use it beyond just reading other people's feeds.

Thing #30: More Ways to Use RSS & Delicious

2009-03-26T10:29:00.004-05:00

I understand the principle of RSS and how very useful it might be for some people, but I haven't incorporated it into my own life. (Come to think of it, maybe I subconsciously am by using My Yahoo as my personal home page. I continually get updates from various news sources by means of the widgets I've chosen. Not sure if that counts as RSS, but it does follow the same principle.)

Here have been my stumbling blocks: I subscribed to several feeds via Bloglines, but the number of posts got overwhelming. Plus, it meant remembering to go to Bloglines to check them. As it is, I have an established rhythm of checking a few sources regularly, and adding the Bloglines routine felt overwhelming: too much info.

That said, I could subscribe to or just read selected feeds. But I ran into an email problem. My feeds were automatically going to my email inbox at work, and it was way too much of a good thing. My inbox was getting bombarded and filling to capacity. Finally, I turned off that function. Now I can't figure out how to turn it back on in Outlook, though I've followed the directions. (SIGH) Oh well, getting off topic...

I am using my blog's home page, though, to check on updates of a few of my favorite blogs by means of the blogroll. I like how it puts the most recently updated blog at the top and lets you know when it was updated.

Now, delicious I've been using and loving for more than a year. We have a Library account to which we add useful bookmarks that we and our users will find valuable. I also have a personal delicious account. I love being able to find my bookmarks on any computer, and I love how easy it is to add sites by means of the toolbar. I also like how you're able to find the most popular sites for particular tags.

Right now on our Library home page we have a link to our delicious account, where viewers can peruse our sites with most recently added at the top. But what I'd like to do is take advantage of the tagging to use them for subject guides.

Oh -- and I added the Library's delicious links to my blog, with the tag cloud displayed. Pretty cool to see!

Thing #29: Google Tools

2009-03-03T11:16:00.003-06:00

Great tools here, for sure! They're fun and powerful.

The first one I tried was Google News. I hadn't realized you could get headlines and stories aggregated in Google from so many places. I tried the archives search and was really impressed. Hadn't realized all this stuff was available outside of paid databases. I recently read All Quiet on the Western Front for a class I'm taking in WWI literature. So I typed "Erich Maria Remarque" in the News Archives search box. I got some really interesting results back to the time the book was published. Also an old New York Times article from when Remarque and Paulette Goddard were married.

Then I tried GMail. Or maybe I should say I retried GMail. At the urging of my son, I opened an account back in 2005 when it was brand new and only a select number of "invitations" were given out to join, and my son got me invited. But I didn't really use it -- not because I disliked it but because I was used to my Yahoo account and satisfied enough that I didn't see the need to change.

It was fun to sign back on and see that my old account was still there. I was impressed by GMail's spam-blocking power and also impressed by the various features that can be added.

I went back to the iGoogle page I created recently and had fun with that. I chose "Theme for a Day," which means each day you get a random new theme and had a pretty pattern by designer Anna Sui. In fact, Google has lots of designer themes. With the attractiveness and the useful options and the way all the features work together, I could see switching to iGoogle as my personal home page.

Thing #28: Customized Home Pages

2009-02-25T10:41:00.004-06:00

I've been using Yahoo as my personal home page for years, because Yahoo is my primary personal e-mail provider, so it seemed easiest. I didn't realize the world of options out there till doing this Thing.

After reading the linked articles comparing the various home page providers, I tried Netvibes, since it seemed to get the most accolades. It is attractive and has lots of handy and fun widgets. I eliminated the default widgets that didn't interest me much, but that left me with a lot of blank column space. All my faves seemed to be over in the left column. I'm sure there's a way to rearrange that, but I wasn't finding it and didn't have the time to go into it too deeply.

Then I tried iGoogle. I already have a Google account, and its features are familiar to me, so I thought I'd compare. That page I was able to set up easily and quickly. I like the various theme choices -- fun, fun. (There's a really beautiful Japanese cherry blossom one that I may use in April. For now I'm on the default spring green hopping frogs theme. Thinking hopefully for Minnesota...) On iGoogle I was able to set up some good widgets easily -- ToDo List, maps, etc. Not sure if there's a Yahoo mail widget available, as that may be a competitor, but it would sure be handy for me.

Not sure that I'll use this for work use in the immediate future, as we already have a good library home page. But I'll tuck it away in my mind for future ideas or for my personal page.

Thing #27: Twitter

2009-02-11T11:32:00.005-06:00

I signed us up with the username DCTCLibrary, added a profile pic and am now "following" mnmorethings. It was satisfying to get that all set up. I'm intrigued, although I'm not yet completely a-twitter about Twitter for our purposes... yet. Need to think more about possible uses.

I looked at the public library Twitter links that were posted, like the Hibbing PL. That looked really good. But our library doesn't have events or frequent changes of hours, so I'm not sure it would be effective for us at this time. We've recently added a blog to our library home page, and that's where we post New Books, highlighted Web sites, etc.

Really, I'm of two minds about Twitter. I can really see the fun and usefulness of it. On the other hand, it feels like there's so much information coming in to us via blogs, RSS, IMs, etc. that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'm finding that the trick is to be very selective in what I subscribe to, so that it's information I really want and not just "static."

I'd be open to trying Twitter in the near future to publish short updates about new books, etc. Seems like a good way to get info out in an even quicker and more informal manner than blogging.

Twitter Badge

2009-02-11T11:16:00.001-06:00

Thing #26: Join the 23 Things Ning

2009-02-04T09:58:00.005-06:00

I joined the 23 Things Ning during Round 1 last spring. To be honest, I haven't really used it... yet. I like knowing it's there, I like seeing all the friendly faces from the Minnesota library world, all of us learning the same new things. For now, I'm trying out all of these tools and figure, as time goes on, that I'll learn which ones are most useful and effective for me.

I just saw a new group for MnSCU libraries and joined that. I could see using the Ning to trade ideas and to share videos, etc., thereby avoiding reinventing the wheel, and also to look at photos of other people's libraries and events, for ideas and just for fun.

The two new things I did with Ning: I added the large Ning badge to my blog and added a comment to the Ning group blog.

Thing #25: Bloggers' Toolkit

2009-01-28T10:32:00.003-06:00

These are the gadgets/widgets that I added: Snow Effect (just for wintry fun), a blogroll, a link list and a video bar. (I have some additional widgets that I added in previous go-round, on 23 Things.)

Widgets I rejected for the time being -- but may add later -- are the poll (because I don't feel I have enough traffic yet and am not sure what I'd poll people on) and the slideshow (this is a good one, but I don't have enough photos yet of the library.)

Not sure how much time I spent on this, as I did it in little bits while at the reference desk. I spent a fair amount of time reading about the blog tools and watching the tutorials, but it didn't take long at all to set up my widgets. Mainly, I used the ones that come with Blogger, and that made it really quick and easy.

Thing #24: Refresh Your Blog

2009-01-23T09:51:00.002-06:00

It's good to be back! In answer to the blog prompts... As you can see, I haven't blogged on this particular site since we left off with Thing 23. However, I have blogged elsewhere. I belong to a writing group, and we organized a group blog recently, where we take turns posting essays -- little "slice-of-life" pieces. Also, at our college, we were each given individual blog accounts via WordPress at the beginning of the academic year. My librarian colleague and I are posting together with a Library blog. We're using it to post New Books, research tips, recommended Web sites, and announcements. There's a widget for the blog on our Library home page.

I enjoy the ease of blogging; I like that it's a way to get your words out to the public in an attractive format, yet it's informal enough that you don't feel constrained by having to write perfectly (plus, you can always edit.) It's so much nicer to get library news and tidbits out via a blog than to bombard everyone's email boxes with a general mailing or use up resources by publishing paper newsletters.

I have been reading lots of blogs over the past year: news blogs, like Huffington Post during the election season, blogs put up by friends who are writers, and also some of the popular library blogs, which I've added to my blog-roll, like Information Wants to Be Free.

I occasionally comment on others' blogs, as time permits.

Thing #23: Final Thoughts

2008-04-01T10:55:00.003-05:00

Well! I have a great feeling of accomplishment from having completed the 23 Things on a Stick! It was very well paced, entertaining, useful and non-intimidating.

I want to thank you for having brought the 23 Things to Minnesota specifically. I had read about the 23 Things program before, and it was one of those things I kept meaning to do but never got around to. Having the "On a Stick" program was just the impetus I needed to get going. It was good having the camaraderie of others in the region and fun seeing what others are doing in other types of libraries. Usually we get caught up in our own little niche of the library world.

I was particularly excited to see all the free applications out there that also happen to be of high quality. I had always assumed you had to purchase tools at high prices, and our budget is small.

This dovetails with a project we're working on now to get more resources up for distance learners at our college. It's good to know there are so many tools available with which to be useful and creative. Now I just need to sit down and figure out which tools will be the best for the job to be done.

You know how once you have your mind on something, suddenly you see it everywhere around you? This happened to me yesterday. I was doing research on online tutorials that other colleges had done, and I found reference to (and high praise for) Googledocs and Zoho, as well as openoffice.org. It felt good to know what these were! I also learned about a free slidecasting program, which I think is called slidecast.net.

Thanks again, folks! I plan and hope to keep blogging, although if I repurpose this as our library blog for the college and our students to see, I think I'd wish to rename it. Not sure if we can do that, or whether I need to start a whole new blog...

Now that I think of it, I've long had this idea to do a monthly or quarterly library newsletter but wasn't sure I should use a bunch of paper for yet another flyer in people's mailboxes. A blog would very nicely fit that niche. I could use it to highlight great new books, useful reference sources, databases, random fun stuff, etc.

Looking forward to more Things in the future! ... Barbara

Thing #22: What Did I Learn Today?

2008-03-31T10:27:00.002-05:00

I like that idea... committing to 15 minutes a day to keep up with Library 2.0 tools. In truth, it may be 30 minutes one day and 0 minutes another, but this is a manageable goal.

I like how the 23 Things have been divided up and structured. It's nice and concrete, and we got to see results! It makes Library 2.0 seem less overwhelming and less mysterious.

I have added some blogs to both my deli.cio.us account and my Bloglines so that I can easily keep updated. I'll also keep reading Library Journal and American Libraries for ideas. I also will continue to go MnPALS conferences and sign up for MINITEX webinars that seem appropriate to my role and my goals.

Thing #21: Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

2008-03-27T12:38:00.003-05:00

I'm a member of a few different communities. Some I check regularly. Most I have sort of forgotten about or check only occasionally. I joined Gather at one point, and it looks really fascinating and intelligent, but I know it could be a huge time-suck for me, so mostly I stay away. It looks like a good model, though, for a smart, well-run online community. I also joined 43 Things at one point, and that's a good site, as well.

I tried repeatedly to add the 23 Things Ning badge, but despite my following instructions, the code did not work. It showed up beautifully in the preview, but when I tried to publish, I was told that a tag wasn't closed. Can't figure it out... :(

UPDATE: Correction to above: Thanks to fellow 23 Things blogger Paula, I learned how to fix the above problem by doing the /embed, and now I've got a Ning badge. Thanks to the 23 Things newsletter folks for posting her solution.

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Thing #20: Libraries and Social Networks

2008-03-26T16:23:00.002-05:00

Thanks to my son (as you'll notice in these blog posts, most of my techie knowledge is "thanks to my son" :) ), I have had a Facebook page for a while now. At first it was just a way to keep in touch with my kids. Then a group of my friends joined, including a long-lost friend from high school who "friended" me. And now with the 2008 election campaigns in full swing, I have joined groups supporting two of my favorite candidates. I learned about this concept on an MPR show in which they talked about how many people were "friending" Al Franken.

I really liked the blog post by Meredith Farkas. In this statement, she summarized just how I feel: "But at the same time, I’m really pragmatic about technology implementation in libraries. I hate the idea of implementing new things at libraries because they’re “cool” and not to serve a specific purpose."

She really clarified something I'd been bothered by but couldn't quite put my finger on. I've noticed some library blogs, and the ones I'd seen seemed kind of pointless and, as Farkas points out, they're often one-sided, not inviting participation. I wasn't really sure what reason there'd be for a library blog or Facebook or Myspace page other than to "look cool," which probably wouldn't actually come across as cool to teen and college users.

Thanks to her statement and her examples, I can see that Facebook or Myspace pages can actually be USEFUL, and that's the key -- providing links to the catalog, booklists, places for people to post their questions and create some discussion. I really liked the Hennepin Co. Public Library Myspace, and a couple of the college libraries Farkas linked to were good, as well.

Lots of food for thought here. I'm thinking this could be particularly good for our distance learners. I could also see setting up links for different course areas, maybe with booklists from LibraryThing and other useful links.

Thing #19: Podcasting

2008-03-25T17:35:00.003-05:00

I've been subscribing to podcasts for over a year, and it's been an exciting discovery. There are a couple that I subscribe to through Minnesota Public Radio: "Speaking of Faith" and "Musicheads." (How's that for varied interests?) At one point, I also downloaded a course from Stanford University through iTunes U.

What I love is that it allows me to listen to my favorite programs whenever and wherever I want -- while walking around Lake Calhoun is a favorite for me, or on the elliptical machine at the Y. And now I've got a car jack so that I can listen during long drives, as well.

For purposes of this Thing, I checked National Public Radio's web site and was amazed by all the podcasts you can download. I chose "Fresh Air" to subscribe to via Bloglines. Even though I've been listening to podcasts for a while, I didn't know anything about subscribing via RSS feed, so this was new.

I looked at Gcast. I'm not inclined to do any podcasting myself right away, but as with the other tools we've learned, "it's good to know it's there." I like knowing that, should I decide to try a podcast, I can do it freely and apparently easily.

Thing #18: YouTube & Other Online Video

2008-03-24T12:08:00.004-05:00

Here goes... my first attempt to post a YouTube video to my blog. This was the first hit for a search of "librarians," and it looked pretty cute.

(Very cool -- I just checked, and it worked! So *that's* how it's done!)

I've been viewing videos on YouTube for some time, thanks to my teenage son, who gives me a nudge into new technologies and also shares my sense of humor.

I could definitely see the uses of video for our purposes. On YouTube, doing a search of "libraries" and "librarians," I saw a good mix of videos -- everything from humorous introductions to very business-like tutorials for databases.

Thing #17: ELM Productivity Tools

2008-03-20T11:46:00.003-05:00

I've been using some of these tools already -- that is, the Ebsco databases and ProQuest, and to an extent, NetLibrary. I hadn't realized, however, that you could actually create a web page to collect sources in different formats and with different backgrounds, etc. That opens a whole world of possibilities. I could imagine working with instructors to pull together screens of information for particular courses.

I have to admit I didn't find these tools to be the most intuitive. I'm pretty technically proficient, and I still didn't master the creating of the Ebsco web page. Couldn't figure out how to save screen searches, and the image ones took a lot of jockeying around.

As for NetLibrary, I didn't know you could make notes, which is a useful feature. But this is another case where I had to spend a bit too much time figuring out how to get to the "add note" feature.

P.S. I'm another one who couldn't get the RSS feed for InfoTrac to add to Bloglines. All in all, Thing 17 was the one I had the most trouble with!

Thing #16: Student 2.0 Tools

2008-03-18T11:16:00.002-05:00

Just got done looking at the Assignment Calculator from the U of M, as well as the Research Project Calculator. Nice to know these things are out there!

I can definitely imagine using these tools for a project we've recently started. We're putting together a set of links and electronic hand-outs for online learners who may not be physically coming in to the library much, if at all. These could also be used for traditional "in-person" students, too, as reinforcement in research skills. I could see adapting some of these materials for that purpose.

Thing #15: Online Games & Libraries

2008-03-17T11:55:00.002-05:00

I've been an avid Sims player for a few years, and Second Life reminded me of it, so I chose that as my option to investigate. I have to admit, I had trouble navigating it and making my way to Info Island, and once I got there, had trouble finding what I wanted to find. Probably needed to look at a tutorial, but time is tight at the Reference Desk, so I didn't go about learning Second Life in a methodical way. Just sort of looked around.

I do understand the underlying principle, however, and I think it has exciting possibilities for libraries. It would be a good way of presenting our online resources in a visual way, and looks like it could be fun, as well.

Thing #14: LibraryThing

2008-03-06T10:27:00.005-06:00

I really enjoy LibraryThing and created a personal account a couple of years ago for my own collection. I've been looking for ways to publicize our great new books at DCTC, and we realized several months ago that we could use LibraryThing as a "virtual display case." My colleague created a widget that we placed on the Library home page. We feature a new subject area every month or so -- for example, for February we had Black History Month titles.

The way we do this is to add any books we want for our virtual display to our LibraryThing account, and for each featured subject area, I make sure to assign it that tag. Then my coworker puts all the entries for that particular tag into our display.

Here's a link to our home page, with our LibraryThing widget in the lower right.

http://dctclibrary.dctc.edu/

In answer to the blog prompt... Yes, I can imagine using LibraryThing to "push" book suggestions to a patron.

P.S. Just did an advanced option: added a widget to this blog. Hooray!

Thing #13: Online productivity tools

2008-03-05T11:37:00.002-06:00

The start page I chose was iGoogle. I have to say, I like it. The only thing stopping me, I think, from making it my personal home page is that I have been using My Yahoo forever -- I'm guessing five years -- and it's very familiar to me.

And I'm actually using an older version of My Yahoo. They recently unrolled a new format with widgets. I tried it for a while, and I know it has big pluses, with feeds, updates, etc. But it somehow wasn't pleasant for me to look at -- not as easy on the eyes. Plus my home computer is on the older side, too, so I think it doesn't have the wherewithal to interface as easily as it could. So I changed back to the old "tried and true."

I set up an iGoogle calendar, which I found very easy to use. I tried out the Quick Add feature where you can just type "dinner with Jane at 6 pm today," and indeed the event popped onto the calendar in the right spot. Cool!

I tried Ta Da List, which was well timed because I have a ton of errands and chores to do today after work. I had written out a list earlier today on an actual Post-It note, which I have in my pocket. So I wrote down all these things on Ta Da list to try it out. It looks very nice, the layout, and gives peace of mind since it's so nice and orderly looking. I also used the option to e-mail it to myself. I like Ta Da List, although I may very well just use pen and paper (or Post-It.) Have to think about this.

All in all, I really like these tools. Even though I don't know how many of them I'll use (and at the moment I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of them), I like knowing they're "out there" on the free Web (something I did not know before!)

Thing #12: Do You Digg?

2008-03-04T12:37:00.003-06:00

I've been curious about Digg, because my son said he recently spent a whole evening, into the wee hours, arguing the case for Hillary Clinton on Digg. I'd heard of Digg but didn't really know what it was.

This is fascinating in that it's sort of a virtual "town square," with people discussing the news of the day. It's also cool that articles, sites, podcasts, whatever, can rise to prominence without an editorial gatekeeper.

I'm sure that has its pluses and its minuses. As an occasional freelance writer, I know how frustrating it is to produce something really good and not have an editor accept it, for whatever reason. This is a way to get "air-time" -- at least if the crowd likes you. It's also a way for news to get to people even if they don't subscribe to, say, the New York Times. Without an editor, I suppose there's also the opportunity for unreliable junk to rise to prominence.

So this takes me back to what's sort of my "golden rule" about all forms of media: use the best tool for whatever job is at hand. Everything has its place.

I think Digg, etc. could be either time wasters or timesavers -- depends on the person and how they're using it. I could easily imagine spending way too many hours combing these sites, reading the comments, and adding to them. But it could be a timesaver to check Digg or one of the other sites once or twice a day to catch up on what's happening.

Thing #11: Tagging and del.icio.us

2008-02-28T11:36:00.003-06:00

Our library has already made forays into the world of del.icio.us. A few months ago we created an account and pulled together some bookmarks. Some are for staff use re: Library 2.0, etc., and others are on subject areas of interest to students. We have the most recent bookmarks displayed on the Library's home page.

http://dctclibrary.dctc.edu/

I'm thinking it would be good to tag and pull together "bundles" on subjects where we get questions, like test prep and citation style. It would be more dynamic and flexible than our current links, and easier to add great new sites. (As it is now, we have to contact the college's webmaster to make changes.)

I can also see working with instructors to put up del.icio.us links that pertain to their particular courses. This could be particularly effective in the D2L (online) courses.

Oh -- in checking out the other libraries' accounts that you posted, I see they've been good about bundling the tags -- something I haven't done much of yet -- and one library even listed them by Dewey number! (good idea)

Oh, one other good use of del.icio.us: I'm going to be doing on a project in which some of the work can be done from home. It'll help a lot being able to access my bookmarks from either work or home.

Thing #10: Wikis

2008-02-27T11:56:00.003-06:00

I edited the practice Wiki, just adding a simple statement: "DCTC Library was here." It was fun -- always kind of a "power moment" to see one's words appear on one of these things for all to see!

I could see the wikis being useful in creating, maintaining and adding to our online subject guides. As it is now, it's sort of a ponderous process. If I see something I want to add to a subject guide, I have to go into the files and change the code, then it goes to the head librarian, who sends a batch of these up the college webmaster once we get enough sites we want to update.

We've also briefly discussed using a wiki for staff announcements and to keep track of everyone's schedules, which vary widely. The trick would be to get everyone accustomed to using it and checking it regularly.

As for the interesting question of instructors banning wikipedia as a source for papers... As a librarian, I cringe at the idea of "banning" any information form. But what I tell my students in library instruction sessions is, basically: There are SO many forms of truly reliable information out there on the 'net. And Google and Wikipedia have their place, and I personally use them a lot. But when I want something that I truly know will be reliable, something that's been vetted for accuracy, something an instructor would give you a decent grade for using, I go to lii.org or to one of the sources you find via CQ Researcher or SIRS. In a pinch, for some tough-to-find or very current issues, Wikipedia can give you good links and so can Google, but you have to be a bit skeptical and use your judgement. So that's my basic shpiel...

Thing #9: Online Collaboration Tools

2008-02-26T11:08:00.002-06:00

OK, I've just finished adding a few silly (and fun) edits to these documents of our Founding Fathers.

I found the sign-up process a bit confusing and nearly gave up on this step a few times. For the Google Docs, I thought I was doing everything right, putting in my Google username and password, etc., and still couldn't get in. Then finally realized I had to ask permission to edit. Makes sense, of course, but I wasn't clear on the process at first.

Both seem equally easy to use, although I only did minor edits, so it's hard to say. When I made my edits, it changed the text, and I didn't understand how the highlighted comments of others and the time stamp showed up in the Google Docs, when it didn't on mine. Or maybe it will show up now that I've logged out? Or maybe there's another feature I need to explore? I did this pretty quickly.

Anyway, very useful and interesting! If the Founding Fathers lived today, this is probably how they would have done it, and who knows what they would have come up with... a Declaration of Independence with emoticons? :)

Thing #8: Share Your Creations

2008-02-21T11:14:00.000-06:00

OK, now we're getting to the frontiers... all new territory for me. I'm about to paste in some Picture Trail code, and we are going to see what happens! Here goes...... YAY, it worked!

Now to answer some of the blog prompts. I found Picture Trail fairly easy to use, but that's partly because of experience with other applications, like Flickr. I have used Photobucket before, for personal use, to post images and avatars to bulletin boards. I've been thinking about creating a personal web page or blog and can image some very cool displays I could create with what I'm learning here.

As for the our library, we could do various sorts of nice displays: photos of staff members in action, or bookcovers of new acquisitions, for example. We're trying to come up with ideas that will be user-friendly for our distance learning students, and this presents some possibilities.

Thing #7: Web 2.0 Communication Tools

2008-02-20T12:10:00.000-06:00

In our college and library, e-mail is primarily used by staff contacting each other. We rarely get e-mail from students.

As for IMing, we put up a meebo widget a few months ago, and it appears on the Library home page in a box labeled "Ask a Librarian." At first, we weren't getting any hits. But I've been publicizing it in my bibliographic instruction sessions, and now we're starting to get modest use. No one's used it for in-depth reference yet. Usually it's a student wanting to activate his/her card in order to use the subscription databases from off-campus.

However, just yesterday, for the very first time, we got added to a student's buddy list -- a milestone!

We've been participating in webinars for some time here. As part of MnSCU, we have had much of our ALEPH training via webinar. And I've done MINITEX webinars, as well. It's a great tool, though sometimes challenging to find a space where it'll be quiet and you won't be disturbed.

I can't see us using texting because our building is basically a "bunker" (that's its affectionate nickname) and I've never heard of anyone getting cell phone reception in this building. I'm no stranger to texting, however, thanks to my son, who sends me messages. At first I was all thumbs and sent some really crazy messages, largely because the "predictive text" feature was turned on. But then I read the manual and saw that I could turn that off, and my messages got more readable!

Thing #6: Online Image Generators

2008-02-19T17:31:00.001-06:00

These online image generators are fun, and make me feel very powerful and creative. I have a friend who does these, and I always wondered how she did it! These could be excellent for putting on the Library web site or for a presentation. Lots to work with here...

My creation #2
Originally uploaded by barbarat2

A trading card!

Thing #6a: Online Image Generator, using Image Chef

2008-02-19T17:25:00.000-06:00

Thing #5: More Flikr Fun

2008-02-14T14:02:00.000-06:00

After a few false starts, here is my use of Spell with Flickr. Don't know how you would change sizing so it all fits on one line, but voila!

Thing #4: Flikr

2008-02-14T12:42:00.001-06:00

Libraryfor23Things 002
Originally uploaded by barbarat2

Here is my work companion, my plant. Does this look like Little Library of Horrors? :P

More Flikr

2008-02-14T12:41:00.001-06:00

Libraryfor23Things 001
Originally uploaded by barbarat2

The world as I see it....

At least my WORK world, from the DCTC reference desk.

Comments re: Flickr

2008-02-14T12:31:00.001-06:00

Thing #4: Flickr

Now, for some reason, this took me an inordinate amount of time to figure out. I almost gave up, but I FINALLY DID IT! (pats self on back)

I was not seeing the "Blog This" choice on my Flikr screen. Turns out I just wasn't at the right screen. I hadn't selected one photo at a time; I was looking at the page with all my Flikr photos, looking for the "Blog This" button above the individual photos. Turns out you have to select one of them first. DUH. But now I'll remember! -- and it's satisfying to see the photos up.

Thing #3: RSS feeds

2008-02-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

OK, I can definitely see the addictive nature of these (thankfully, low-calorie) feeds! Perfect for a news junkie like me. I've set up my Bloglines, and it's amazing to see how many new posts appeared overnight -- a bit overwhelming. But I do like how the news is brought to you rather than having to make the rounds of surfing a bunch of favorite sites.

I can see how these feeds would work really well with the curriculum of certain classes -- where students could have a section of their home page -- or instructors their D2L page -- have feeds coming in. What a way to make learning current and dynamic!

Not sure yet how we can incorporate this into our library learning, but I'll keep thinking about it. It's a good tool to have in the "toolbox," and I'll be interested in seeing how other libraries are making use of feeds.

Thing #2: Library 2.0

2008-02-04T11:57:00.000-06:00

Here we are asked to share our thoughts on Library 2.0 after having read the various articles. I'm finding this enlightening and thought-provoking. I get a little confused, since I don't really know yet what some of the programs are -- like Flikr. But I am looking forward to learning about them. Some other applications I have already used, such as chat. I've long been using IMing to talk with my kids, and here at our library we use Meebo (though it hasn't been getting too much use.) Personally speaking, I have a Facebook page, and I post on Internet discussion boards.

As we work our way through the new technologies that comprise Library 2.0 (and sometimes feel overwhelmed), I try to remember that what's paramount is the fulfillment of our main, and timeless, purpose. Whatever technologies and methods best fulfill that purpose in today's world -- and in our particular institutions -- are the ones we should use. (This will all become clearer to me as we go along!)

Thing #1: Blogging

2008-01-23T11:44:00.000-06:00

Here goes....first time blogging! So far, this is fun. I enjoyed choosing the template and creating the avatar (good instructions -- thanks!) Who knows? Maybe I'll change my avatar later to something with pink spiked hair :)