Thing #15

"What are libraries? Libraries are not just collections of documents and books, they are conversations, they are convocations of people, ideas, and artifacts in dynamic exchange. Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities: they preserve and promote community memories; they provide mentors not only for the exploration of stored memory, but also for the creation of new artifacts of memory."
Taken from To a temporary place in time... by Dr. Wendy Schultz

Libraries and technology, technology and libraries. It is an ongoing discussion. Are libraries doing enough with technology to make them viable for the future? Do libraries really need to focus on technology, or just do what they do best?

Schultz wonders if Library 4.0 will be a technology-free space, where people can go to relax and get away from technology. That does sound nice to me, back to a place of quiet retreat, but is it really feasible in our society?

Michael Stephens in Into a new world of librarianship argues that some of the most important parts of new technology is that it can help librarian provide better service. He says that the librarian should embrace the technology and learn to detect the new trends and stay on top of it.

So which way is right? Which way will the library go? Perhaps both, is my thought. Libraries need to remember that there are all kinds of communities that we should support, the people who use and love technology and the people who love the quiet peace they can find in a library (and all those people in between). So, why not both I ask?

Thing #14

The most popular blog in the world right now is Boing Boing, a site that discusses cultural events and technology advances. I got this information from the site Technorati. Technorati is the premiere search engine for the blogosphere. Anyone who has a blog can register with Technorati and add Technorati tags to their blogs, making searching very handy.
Technorati certainly makes searching for blogs easy, but not all blogs are registered with Technorati, just something to remember. And both Google and Yahoo also search blogs but Technorati takes it one step further, they list the most popular blogs, rising stars, and top headlines. It is definitely something to be aware of and should come in handy when looking for blogs.

Thing #13

I struggled a little bit with del.icio.us I have to admit. I knew that it would be helpful. I have often been using a computer different than my home computer (at school, at work) and wished that I had my bookmarked sites handy. So creating a del.icio.us account has been on my "To Do List" for a while now. I think I need more practice. Which I will get--the library where I am doing my practicum has me creating a del.icio.us account for them so I will learn quick! I just found myself unable to sort out the layout, what exactly I was doing, etc.

I can see this being helpful too, when looking for similar sites. I have a few blogs that I like to check on, see if I am missing anything in the teen and children's literature world. Here's my site http://delicious.com/Katies23 where I put a few of the blogs I regularly check. Now I can see how many other users bookmarked the same site and see what other things they also read which will introduce me to new things!

On to experience more in the 2.0 world...back soon!

An update to Thing #13:
I have finished creating my del.icio.us site for Oshkosh Public Library. If you are interested in weddings or planning a wedding, check it out! http://delicious.com/OshkoshWeddingPlanning

Thing #12

O Rollyo, Rollyo, wherefore art thou Rollyo?

Rollyo is this nifty site where you can create your own search engine. If you find yourself doing a searches on a few select websites, here you can combine them and only have to do one search. For example, when I'm trying to decide if I want to read a new teen book I have been hearing about, I sometimes check a few different sites (like Barnes and Noble, Teens Read Too, and Teen Reads) to see what other readers/reviewers have had to say about it. Now instead of going from site to site searching, I only have to go to one spot, my Rollyo account. I have put a link to it in my sidebar, give it a try! (A book I recommend: Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie)

Thing #11: LibraryThing

So today I'm playing at LibraryThing, cataloging some of my favorite books and adding them to my LibraryThing library. It really is incredibly simple, type in the ISBN and there you are. I will play around with this more. I would like to figure out how they work with libraries, adding tag clouds, etc. But I'm really impressed with LibraryThing. I like the ease of searching and that tags can be whatever you want them to be. Check out my sidebar, I added a LibraryThing widget and you can see what' I'm cataloging!

Thing # 10

Ha! This is my cat Shadowfax. How did I get his picture to look like this? Well, it is because of Thing 10 and using image generators to make fun things like this! I found this from The Generator Blog which has tons and tons of neat things to play around with. This was under the heading "Collage" and it is found on this site: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/hockney.php. I'm going back to play with more now. I'll see you on Thing 11!

Thing #9

So, I am sure you are wondering: how do you find those pesky feeds and add them to your bloglines account? Well, apparently they are everywhere and I have been completely unaware of them! Do you see the lovely little orange symbol in my Thing #8 post? Well, that is how you find if blogs or organizations or other sites have RSS capabilities.
There are a few sites to go to search for feeds, also. Here are my thoughts on those: Bloglines and Topix were two that I was not impressed with at all. My searches came up with things completely not related. Let me stress---COMPLETELY not related. I won't say more. I could not get Feedster to work, Syndic8 seemed unprofessional to me. But, I was impressed with Technorati. So I would recommend them for your RSS needs. They have an appealing layout, nice color selections and just a friendly looking site. Search away!

Thing #8

Look! Subscribe to me!



I understood what RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds were, I just did not know how they could help me out. Now I know! Instead of having to check all my favorite blogs every couple of days, RSS will keep track of changes for me, when things are updated and what I have missed. Before I give my final verdict I am going to give it a few days. Try it out and see how I like it. I will keep you posted!
Also in the right column you will find "My Bloglines" under the category "Learning Links." Click there to see what I'm following!