Week 9 - Thing 23!!!!

Well, I actually did it! I completed all 23 things for this Learning program. It may have taken me a bit longer than most, but I did start when I was 8 months pregnant with baby #3. Now, our son is over 3 months old, but boy is his mom a techno-savvy librarian!!!!

I found this program to be a great tool for all of us public servants here at the library. Our customers are going to be more and more savvy about the resources that are available out there in cyberspace and we need to stay current.

My favorite exercises were the one where The Library Thing was introduced and also learning about bloglines. I love the idea of creating my own digital library and having the summaries of the blogs. Very cool!

I considered myself to be technically capable but came to realize through this program that I am falling way behind. This was a real wake up call for me and I hope to be able to continue to grow and learn in addition to keeping my library skills sharp. Currently, I work on a very part-time basis (due to 3 small children) but some day hope to return to more regular hours. I need to keep abreast of all the new technologies and resources available to best assist patrons. This program was a great start! If there are other opportunities, I will certainly participate!

23 Things...graduation day!!!! Yeah!!!!

Week 9 - Thing 22

I surfed over to Overdrive through BCPL's website and checked out what was available to download. My husband has always been interested in the free audiobooks since he can listen in his car and when he is traveling. I am a bit of a skeptic since I want to always have an actual book in hand when reading!

However, in the midst of my surfing, I did find a book that I want to read (and has actually been piled on my nightstand for a few weeks). So, I downloaded it to our iPod and will listen while I walk on the treadmill! Yeah! I may be a e-book convert! The Overdrive site is easy to use and I liked how the catalog displayed a description of the book.

Week 9 - Thing 21

I checked out the site Podcast.net for this exercise and found a cool podcast to add to my blog. It is called Book Voyages and seems pretty cool.

Here is the description: Book Voyages is a podcast about children's literature from the point of view of a school library/media specialist. It features reviews of books as well as inteviews with students and author.

Also, here is the link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BookVoyages

I did add it to my bloglines account so I will be able to check it out regularly!

I think podcasts are great and an excellent way to share information and have a great use as a learning tool. I really liked all the podcasts associated with the 23 things project. It seems to be an excellent tool and one that can easily be learned and accessed.

Week 9 - Thing 20

You Tube....it is awesome and silly all at the same time. Just ask my husband, you can spend hours surfing around finding weird and wacky videos.

I enjoyed spending some time sifting through the hundred of thousands of postings to find something I found interesting.

After checking out clips of cats talking and other fun postings, I decided to choose one that showed a random person's photos from a trip to Austria and Germany. We lived in Vienna for three years and it was neat to see many of the places that I used to see all the time. It was a nice video, set to music and lots of good photos but what really was the kicker was the owner took a shot of my favorite sign in all of the city. It is a picture of a stick person underneath a wind blown tree. The Viennese are totally fearful of the wind to the extent that they post signs to warn about it. Yet, it really is not that windy. Too funny!!

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4HgsLfv6Bg&feature=related

I can see that this might have some use for the library. It is an excellent source of photos and videos but it all has to be taken with some degree of scrutiny since it is open to the public. Still, a fun site!

Week 8 - Thing 19

Since I love to look through real estate ads, both online and in the newspaper. I decided to browse through the website, Zillow, which received the award for real estate. It was very easy to create a free account and pretty self-explanatory on how to navigate around the site. It seems pretty useful, if you are in the market to buy or sell a house by providing information on local real estate. I liked seeing the ariel maps of my street and knowing what was for sale in the area.

I don't really see the use for libraries but maybe to answer questions about local sales or house prices in an area.

A cool site!

Week 8 - Thing 18

I checked out Google Docs because I love all things Google! I would love to work there if only it was located here in Maryland!

I found it easy to use and another extremely beneficial tool. This training has really opened my eyes to the many new technologies that are available. I thought I was tech savvy but I am really behind the times! At least, I am ready and willing to learn new things. That is half the battle sometimes....

Anyway, back to Google Docs...

I tried it. I liked it... to quote the gabba gabba friends on Noggin. (Yes I have young children!)

I think I even managed to publish my document.

Yeah!

Matt's Reading List

Crashing Through – Robert Kurson (B MAY K) The Eight: A Novel – Katherine Neville (F NEV) The Entitled – Frank Deford (F DEF)

FDR – Jean Edward Smith (B ROOSEVELT S)

Game of Shadows – Mark Fainaru-Wada (362.29F) A Long Way Gone – Ishmael Beah (B BEAH)

The Navigator – Clive Cussler (F CUS)

The Prince of Darkness – Robert D. Novak (070.92N)

Stealing Lincoln’s Body – Thomas J. Craughwell (973.7092C)

Supreme Conflict – Jan Crawford Greenburg (347.7326G)

War of the Rats -- David L. Robbins

Vengeance – George Jonas (956.04J)

Charlie Wilson’s War – George Crile (958.1045C)

Week 7 - Thing 17

I managed to play in the sandbox and it was very easy once I got the hang of it. I added my blog to the list and even was daring enough to enter a posting about my favorite book. I am starting to enjoy and get the hang of this whole technology thing!

Week 7 - Thing 16

Wiki's are very useful and I enjoyed looking through the few samples. I have previously used wikipedia frequently both at home and at work. So, it was good to see other examples and checke out some pathfinders. I think there will be good use of wiki's for many aspects of library service. The ALA conference wiki was great and I also thought the book lovers one would work well for all public libraries.

Week 6 - Thing 15

I definitely think libraries need to keep going forward with all the technology changes and updates. We need staff that is technically savvy and able to work with customers remotely and in person. Libraries no longer need to be the holder and controller of print information and instead need to be sources of information gathering and assist patrons in best accessing all forms of information. I believe libraries will always need to be operating and open to all people. Patrons will always want books to read and we can provide that, however, I do agree that we do not need to collect based on the "just in case" practice.

The web articles were all very interesting and definitely made me contemplate my future role as a librarian and the overall role of libraries. I strongly agree with the article by Dr. Wendy Schultz about the library as community. This is what drew me into the field of library science and I know it is what will keep me trying to learn all these new technologies, tools and web sources so I can help patrons to the best of my ability.

So much to mull over...

It makes me want to grab a good cup of coffee, a brand new book and relax in my local library!

Week 6 - Thing 14

Technorati is a company which tracks fifty million blogs and has new and improved indexing. This site is a good way to get out there in the world of blogging and communicate with lots of other people. The top favorite blogs are Youtube, My Space, and Facebook.

Another cool site...so much to explore!

Week 6 - Thing 13

I created a del.icio.us account and have been making use of the bookmarking tool. I like it and really like the idea of accessing bookmarks from afar.

That is what is great about this program...I am always learning something new!