Thing 17: Play in the Sandbox

This was one of the easiest things we have done. It was so simple to add to the wiki and I didn't have to think very hard to come up with lots of favorites. I had fun playing with fonts and colors and background colors. The first time I added my link to my blog I added the url to the blogger web site-not my specific blog. But as soon as I realized my mistake I logged in to blogger and did a copy and paste to my blog. No problems.

Thing 16: Learn about Wikis

I like the idea of being able to organize a group of people using a shared web site-boy would that have been handy organizing boy scout camping trips. The Library Sucess wiki had lots of great ideas and was well organized. The Readers Advisory section had some great lists and links to websites/blogs. I also liked the book discussion resources. I can see the value of a wiki for sharing ideas, but am still a little uncomfortable with a site like wikipedia that is providing information. If anyone can edit an article how is the credibility of the source verified?

Thing 15-Library 2.0

Away From the Icebergs

A few years ago my cousin told her sister not to go to school for her MLS, since libraries would soon be obsolete. As a book fanatic I was apalled. However, I now understand her point. The old style of libraries is obsolete. Going through this web challenge I see how libraries have been changing and need to continue to change and the huge role technology has in this process. I can understand Rick Anderson's point about needing to provide web based resources in easily used formats. I have witnessed many technology changes in the library since I started work at OCL-the online catalogue & access to your account, all the new link to a topic type of resources, Listen NJ, etc. etc. I am sure we cannot even begin to guess what the next 5 years will bring in terms of changes.

Thing 14-Technorati

Again Technorati is fairly easy to use, but I do find the sheer number of all these blogs overwhelming. I did of course link to the popularbooks. Unfortunately this causes my reading list to increase even further. I will have to retire so I can make a dent in the all the books I want to read.

Thing 13-del.icio.us

This is a great idea. It will be so convenient to have a list of favorite web sites that are not limited to a single computer. I can see this being very useful for reference work. I had no problem seeing the comments and tags that others used for the bookmarks. I was able to follow along to see what web sites other people had in their del.icio.us accounts. This would be an easy way to find new sites on a particular subject.

Thing 12-Net Library & WorldCat

I already knew a little about Net Library so I spent some time searching. It was straightforward to use and I could show a patron how to use it. I have already used World Cat to search for items to fill out request for materials forms. Again its easy to use.

Thing 11-Library Thing

I love library thing. I like to read a wide variety of fiction and get easily bored with a single author, so the recommendations are wonderful for me. I can see using library thing when a patron comes in and says "Can you recommend a book?". If you ask them to give you a title of a book they liked you can easily give them a list. Very cool.

I was surprised that my least popular book was a Luane Rice book. But of course my most popular was part of the Harry Potter series.


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

Thing 10-Technology

I always thought I was slow to learn & adopt new technology. For example I cannot figure out which remote to use for the TV (this isn't as stupid as it sounds because there has to be 8 different remotes in my house). When I first got my ipod I was lost trying to figure out how to manage the music. Then I realized my problem was having 2 teenagers. I made the fatal error of asking them to show me how to do things. Of course they click and drag at the speed of light and I get totally lost. Finally it dawned on me to sit down and figure it out for myself. I've learned alot through trial and error. The best part was when my daughters ipod had problems I was the one to show her how to resolve it!!

Thing 9-Finding Feeds

Boy you can sure get caught up when you start searching for feeds. I found Syndic8 to be the easiest search tool. Some of the other search tools seemed to return way too many hits and it was alot of material to wade through. I think I would have been better off being more specific in my search parameters.

Thing 8-RSS

Setting up the bloglines account was quite easy. I just copied and pasted the URLs to add my feeds. My problem was deciding which feeds to add since I don't visit very many websites on a regular basis and really don't read any blogs. I also had trouble adding the events calendar for Manchester for some reason. When I copied the URL the upcoming events for Manchester were not among the feed choices.

I really like the idea of a newsreader and all the web sites being in one place. It makes it quite convenient!!!