chicklitgirl

Week 12: Wrap up; social networks and catch up

2008-04-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Well this is the one area where in which i was more familiar with. I am addicted to social networking such as Messenger and Facebook. I'm on there alot to catch up with my friends and family. It is such a handy way and can be done in real time. I had heard of Second Life but i don't think i want to get addicted to that also!!! My husband is addicted to the online game World of Warcraft.

It was interesting to see that some libraries have promoted themselves through MySpace etc. I think this would appeal to the Young adult audience and may attract more interested members.

I feel there is alot of information to take in from the 2.0 training. Some areas i feel i will use more than others but is great to know what is available to use at home and in the workplace

Week 11: Online applications and tools

2008-04-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Well i was totally amazed by the amount of free applications we can make use of just from using the web!Google doc is great for sharing and collaborating information. I can see that it is something that libraries could really make use of. It is effective because you can invite certain people to edit, or just view information. I used it to make a slideshow of my family. I found it was easy enough to use.
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=ddjvfk9b_0cxq2jmgr

I also did look at Zoho. I logged in to create a planner. It had tools such as to do lists, appointments, reminders etc. Zoho did seem to offer a greater variety of programs.

Week 10: Mashups

2008-04-03T21:54:00.001-07:00

I found this week to be very interesting. So many possibilites with Mashups. I had never really heard of them before. I had seen Google Maps but had not seen anything like Voicethread whereby it allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place. I really like the Big Huge Labs. It has so many things you can do on there such as making calendars, CD covers, Jigswaws etc.

I wasn't too sure how libraries would make use of mashups. There was one example where they had made use of google maps for showing where the public libraries are available. Perhaps libraries could use google maps to create a an interal map of where things are located within the library

Week 9: Podcasts

2008-04-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

This week it was interesting to learn about Podcasts. They come in video or radio format. I checked out a range of prodcasts as suggested in the Training.

Firstly one i chose from British Library was a bit difficult to hear. So i think it needs to be more audible to be effective. The one from Denver Library had some children's stories that could be listened too. However i think most kids would benefit more having the book in front of them. Maybe it is good idea for sight impaired kids or children who can't read.
http://libvibe.blogspot.com/ Was interesting in that it had news articles about libraries ie crimes in libraries!http://www.abc.net.au/services/podcasting/ had a huge variety of podcasts to access.

I liked the idea of the http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/skip-the-tuition:-100-free-podcasts-from-the-best-colleges-in-the-world It offered a range of online courses!

Through viewing all of these various podcasts i got the idea that the concept could be handy for libraries. For example the library could offer podcasts that give tutorials on using the libraries, library services that are available as well as putting talks that have been held at the library on as well.

Week 8: Answer boards and social searching

2008-03-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

I had been aware of some social searching such as Amazon and Yahoo answers. However, Slamming the Boards was new to me. It is designed to get reference librarians to provide answers on popular answer boards. I can see that this feature would be useful to our library. I'm sure customers would be also be keen to rate new books that come into the collection like in the Amazon website.

The modern Library

2008-03-19T00:53:00.000-07:00

Week 7: del.icio.us & Library Thing

2008-03-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

I found setting up a an account with del.icio.us was easy enough to do. It really helped having the notes that were prepared by Sharon Morris to follow though. I can see that it would be a concept the library could really make use of. I had a look at other libraries that had made use of them and they had created a whole range of subject headings that the public could easily access which linked them to great sites. Having the tags and been able to arrange them into groups is great.

I found Library Thing to be an easy to use tool for keeping all your books listed as a catalogue. It is also interesting to see how many book related groups are available as well as information on your particular book you may have listed.

Week 6: videos online

2008-03-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

This weeks training was interesting. I have watched a number of videos from YouTube before. However i looked at the ones given as examples in the training session and viewed them through google video. I thought the lego video i watched was cool because it had the lego characters animated. When i looked up a Liverpool Plains video i was expecting it to be pretty boring. However, there was a great music soundtrack to go with the video that made it appealing. There was no actual dialogue to the video. I then proceded to look up the other examples. 'We love our Nj libraries' had a bit of a background rap to it which i thought was cool. The QandANJ was also great. It was promoting online help from libraries but it advertised it being accessible like a Maccas drivethrough! Mosman Library had a array of videos of authors etc giving talks. So it was great this week to see how differently the videos could be made to appeal to the public. Also that libraries could make use of them!

Week 5: Wikis

2008-03-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

When i first learnt about Wikis i thought anyone could add information to them. I have since seen alot whereby you need to be a member within the group to add or edit. Looking at 3 of the Wikis on the training site site i also noticed this. In the 'Booklovers' one by Princeton public library you needed to be part of the Summer reading program to add a book review. I enjoyed this Wiki as I liked the idea of the book reviews. I can see it is a good idea for libraries. The 'Full Library Success Wiki meant anyone with a library background could add ideas to the different headings within libraries. Again you still need to register and there are guidelines which i feel are a very guide. For those who are really keen you can add a profile of yourself within this site! The last Wiki i looked at was the St. Joseph County Public Library's Subject Guides. Again to add or edit information you needed to be a specific member, in this case a librarian. As well as the subject guides there were many links leading back to the library.

Week 4: RSS

2008-03-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Well i managed okay with week 4. RSS is something new to me. I don't think it is something i would really use. I added a few news sites and a book site. I can see that it could be handy for some people so they can view it from the one site without having to refresh their favourites all the time. I guess a Library could make use of RSS for events that are coming up and new books that have come in etc.

Newcastle flood

2008-02-29T16:06:00.001-08:00

Newcastle flood
Originally uploaded by jvx2

This photo brings back memories of the 2007 flooding in Newcastle. I remember the day well. I was on maternity leave with my then 6 week old daughter. My husband was home too since he couldn't work in the rain (he has a Jim's mowing Business). I thought it was just a normal storm coming and i decided i wanted to go to the shops to get out of the house for a bit. I left my baby and husband at home. I went in to Kmart and was looking around and water started leaking through the roof into the shop. Staff came running. I had finished shopping and went out to the car. It was pouring with rain. Driving home i started to realise whilst i had been shopping their had been a huge downpour causing flooding!!!!!!! I didn't know till part of the way home when i saw cars driving so slowly and traffic being redirected. I managed to get home. I saw my husband outside checking out the situation with water upto his ankle or calfmuscle.! Fortunatley the water slowly subsided. We could have been a lot worse off. To think we had been trying to organise improving our drainage around the house a few weeks earlier. At least it is done now. Newcastle had more flooding just the other day

ChickLit

2008-02-29T00:31:00.001-08:00

ChickLit
Originally uploaded by kiltedlibrarian

Well it is good to see that other people are interested in Chicklit too. This looks like a little display was created at a library. I think i like chicklit because it is easy to read and usually happy. It is a modern day setting so i guess i can relate to it. I finally loaded up a photo from Flickr. Will have to try another one i think for practice

Week 1: Learning to Blog

2008-02-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

Well this is my first blog i have created. I have used the Information Services Blog before to find out what is going on in the library and it is a good way of communicating between the different branches about events within a library, new procedures, research tips etc. I am a frequent user of Facebook so am familiar with that aspect of Web 2.o. I use facebook to stay in contact with friends and we can communicate to each other what we have been up to. I am also a frequent user of messenger.