WEEK 10 SUMMARY

Library 2.0 Model for modernized library service delivery

HCPL keeps evolving and reaching new library users. Ebranch; wireless access in the branches; the emedia collection are all representative of the changes in service delivery. These changes have had a positive impact on reaching new library users as well as enabling the library to enhance services for existing customers.

I think the changes that HCPL has made and will continue to make regarding Library 2.0 will only enhance the library's role in the community. It is very important to stay abreast of changes and continue to be relevant to members of the community. Systemwide the branches have annual growth in library usage which bodes very well for our place in the present as well as the future.

Week 8 #18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your home

I think I covered my thoughts on social networking in my last blog.


Week 8 #19 Web-based Apps

I found Zoho writer to be very impressive. I like the online organizer-plan, organize, share. I can see where this would be invaluable to small businesses as well as individuals. Access to word processing and the spreadsheets is very practical, especially in these tight economic times.

Week 9 #20 Discover You-Tube

I was having a lot of trouble combatting my wavy hair. I bought a new hair dryer with a diffuser, now I had the problem of how to use. I searched You Tube and found quite a few videos on the very subject! Some of the demonstrations were a scream, people in their bathrooms sharing tips on products, techniques, etc. Personally I would never appear on you tube, but I did get a few ideas for dealing with my hair.

Week 9 #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts (or shall we say smutcasts)

Of the three directories that are linked to the IHCPL tutorial, only one was accessable, that being podcastalley.com. I looked through trying to locate an RSS feed and was surprised by the selection available. Pretty scummy, smutty, and vile, no thanks.

Week 9 #22 Downloadable Media

I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of titles available to download onto PC or Mac. I thought the catalog features were good. I found the descriptions to be helpful in determining if I would find a title interesting or not. I appreciated the "If you like this title, you might like..." I downloaded both audio and visual. Last winter I was stranded in the hospital for two weeks while my mother was having surgery. I wish I would have known about this as it would have been truly appreciated. I think it would be great for travel as well, ... planes, trains and automobiles.

WEEK 7 Blog about technology

Is it actually possible to drive without speaking on your cell phone? I certainly see no evidence to the contrary. It seems like people are interacting with one another but not face to face rather with technology. As I observe our patrons in the library, the men are usually on "dating" sites and the others, adults and children are emailing one another. Rarely do I see patrons even having a casual chat with the people they are sitting beside. In Ann Landers recently, a man wrote in that he had assumed another identity online, a younger, hunkier and with more hair version, and now he was afraid to physically meet the people he had been corresponding with. Ann said, no problem as they have probably altered their identities as well. I find this bizarre. I say speak to the person in the carrell next to you, hang up the phone and drive, and just be yourself!

WEEK 7 WIKI

I browsed the iHCPL Sandbox and found lists of peoples favorite restaurants, tv shows, holiday travels, etc. Some of it was interesting, but I doubt I'd ever use it. Next I went to SJCPL I found it to be practical and useful. Princeton's Book Lovers Wiki was dated and disappointing. Library Success was just that! A success. Ithought it had good, specific information, although several links lead to "sorry, page not found". ALA Annual Conference Wiki : very practical and easy to use.

I next accessed IHCPL Wiki and created a log in account. I then added a favorite holiday comment to the favorite vacations wiki.

Week 6

Technorati

Explored the site and did a few searches. Personally don't see the point.

Week 6
I watched the video on tagging. I then tried to view the tutorial on Del.icio.us, but unfortunately I could not get it to work. I did explore Del.icio.us using the HCPL account. I looked at Us.ef.ul as well as "The wildly successful del.icio.us users". I explored several options one being Quamut-the go to how to. I had a very positive experience and found it practical and easy to use.
I was a bit leary of something called delicious - but I can see that it can be a great resource and save a lot of time.

In terms of my thoughts on Library 2.0

Having originally worked at HCPL from 1987-1997, I returned in late 2008 to something very familiar, yet completely different. I think the changes are for the better. At our branch our circulation figures are significantly higher, always a good thing. I see basic changes in the way our patrons use the library. It's a lot freer in the library, people bring in food and drink and think nothing of it. Ten years ago that was unheard of. Most of our "hard core" users do their search process from the comfort of their home or office, they place holds and use the databases. I think the regular users actually spend less time in the library now then before. I think our patrons would really appreciate a Drive-up window, check in check out from the comfort of your car, imagine!
This does not mean the library is empty however, the building is more populated than before, but with customers that probably would never have used a library in the past. We have patrons on every public access computer pretty much from opening to closing. They play video games, surf the internet, access their email accounts,look for jobs, watch movies, you name it. If they do check out material, it is usually DVDs.
Reference has changed as well. In the old days from 3 pm until closing we were inundated with students, needing hands on help from how to use Readers Guide to retrieving magazines. Searching through the stacks for answers to science fair projects questions, Native Americans, and explorers to name a few. We still provide reference service and we still have those same assisgnments, but now most of the students have searched our databases as well as the internet and only come in as a last resort. Now we more often field questions on "How can a print off the computer?", "How can I check my email?".
The library has always had a place in the community, but I think it has an ever greater role now. That was really obvious after Hurricane Ike last fall. We were filled every day with people needing the lifeline of the internet to settle insurance claims, stay in touch with friends and family via email, contact FEMA. They were here from opening to closing contending with no air conditioning and only partial light. What a great use of tax dollars. Hopefully citizens will continue to see the value libraries can have on their lives and continue to support us.

I realize I have been a bit disordered in terms of accomplishing my activities for weeks 3,4,&5. I had sooo much trouble with flickr that I skipped over it and did the other weekly activities first.

WEEK 3

To complete obligations per the 23 Things, Yesterday I finally accomplished getting into flickr, today I edited a photo on pixer. Frankly I didn't enjoy either of these activities. I am glad for the experience and having to get out of my comfort zone, but I don't plan on using ether site again. I would much rather have just explored these sites without having to register and create email accounts, etc.

WEEK 4

As I have blogged about earlier, I did explore RSS feeds and found it interesting, but again I doubt whether I will actively pursue gather data in this manner.

WEEK 5

I went to Meez and created my avatar, Drumnadrocit, she is posted on one of my earlier blogs. That was a lot of fun. Although all the cute hair, backgrounds and clothes cost points or money. I'm sure I'm a bit older the the regular user of these type sites. I explored Library Thing and actually might use that site!!! I think it will be real handy for keeping track of authors and series, etc As per instructed, I registered for Library Elf. I'm usually pretty good ablout keeping track of what I have out and when it's due, so I probably won't be relying on this.

I hope I don't sound too negative and set in my ways. Overall I think all these exercises are good to get me out of my comfort zone and into exploring new horizons. I'm really grateful that I have had to go through years of photos its brought back loads of memories.

After several attempts and at least a half hour later I have finally created a yahoo account so that I could then create a flickr account. Frankly I'm irritated. So far I have looked at all of the links re flickr, but unfortunately I didn't bring my datastick with photos on it, so I am not able to add anything at this time. I seem to be not doing my 23 things in order. It's because I had so much trouble creating the flickr account. Exploring the RSS feeds and creating the avatar were fun, sofar this part has been more difficult and very frustrating for me.

Earlier this week I explored several sites that offer avatars and created my avatar through Meez. It was a lot of fun. I especially appreciate learning new skills. Being over 50, I don't want to sit back and be complacent. I think it is important to continue to stretch your mind and learn new things. That is why I wanted to do the 23 Things, your mind is like your muscles, "use it or lose it"!!!

love my dog

I have spent a bit of time exploring RSS feeds and the links that were attached. I got frustrated and found the blogline search tool not that intuitive. Perhaps it was just me. I found the RSS feed for the Times of London, but after multiple attempts to add it to my feeds gave up. Obviously I need to spend more time. Although I can also just add it to favorites and look at it at will. I do see the appeal though of having feeds collected for me.

The attached picture has nothing to do with the RSS assignment, I just wanted to play around with adding a photo to my blog.

I've enjoyed reading about Flickr. I explored a few of the recommended sites and made a colorful flower kaleidoscope at KrazyDad games and activities. I think the photo sites will be interesting for me because I travel quite a bit and it will be nice to save the pictures in an organized manner. Also nice to be able to share with friends and relatives that do not live near.

Having lived in Europe for 8 years, we spent as much time as possible traveling the continent. I have loads of electronic pictures of many beautiful places. I associate so many happy memories with the images. Beiing able to keep them organized will be helpful. I'll just have to be careful not to bore friends and family to death . I don't want them dreading messages from me!

This is my first ever blog. What can I say on this auspicious occasion! As my URL indicates, I love reading. As my name indicates, I love my dog. In terms of reading, I prefer British police procedurals. Reginald Hill, Colin Dexter and PD James are tops in my books. For general reads I like Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg, and Mary Wesley to name a few.