Here at last!

I have looked forward to researching social networks because so many patrons (and my own teenage son) seem to be obsessed with keeping in touch with their "friends" both old and new. Bebo and Facebook are probably the most-used websites in our library, where once email was the most popular.

I think we have to utilise these sites for our benefit so we are not looked upon as out of touch and boring. Instead of (or as well as?) a library website, we could use Bebo or Facebook etc to share ideas with other libraries, clients, new friends. I particularly liked Rotorua Public Library's Bebo page, it looked colourful and inviting. With a similar set-up, we could inspire one another, share information, solve problems, discuss events. We could market our facilities, promote our services and use it as a publicity tool. I don't think we can have too much self-promotion. Using social-networking to expand our clientele, promote our services and raise our profile is excellent marketing.

Some focusses of our library include Book Groups and genealogy enthusiasts. Patrons could use the site to discuss their book reviews, share thoughts and information with other patrons and groups from other libraries. I can see the younger patrons having a great time doing their own reviews and chatting to other keen library users. These sites give people a "voice" and if they are talking to us or about us or just being with us in a technical way then it would be a great improvement which would keep us up-to-date and COOL which I think would greatly improve our image.

Well, that's it from me and my thoughts but the journey is not over. My thanks to all the Team for your support and encouragement. I hope to re-trace my steps and look into every week's info again so it all really sinks in. It has been mostly fun and definitely enlightening. I really do think I could be a techo hero after all, albeit still a little reluctantly...

Week 11 - Heaven!

Only one more week to go! I am very pumped to get this finished by the deadline. Well, I love a challenge. Week 11 was really interesting. I never realised there were so many free software applications available. I would never have known what to do with them anyway! Now I do and it is a great feeling, that "knowledge is power" thing....

What could we do with Google Docs etc at our library? Well, I think it would be useful for our newsletters for example. We sometimes send an email around asking for items for the coming month's issue or if we see each other we ask face to face. That is the trouble, we all work varying times/days and it would be great to create a Google doc to share our input and edit/update etc. I can see that it would also be good for adding suggestions to our staff meeting agenda. This one's a goer!

Mashups Work For Me!

I could not quite believe I had been successful doing mashups because it did not seem too difficult to create the map. It is probably because of my relunctance, or more likely, lack of confidence that made me doubt that I had done the right thing.

With determination, I set out to do what I had initially intended and that was to create a jigsaw puzzle from a photo on my desktop. I then saved the jigsaw to the desktop and uploaded on to my blog from there. I must have started it with a clear head and no stress because it worked for me this time! Woo-hoo, I am so chuffed at this moment!!!

I have never had the skills before to create some really good designs for displays but I am feeling very confident that I will be able to contribute in a new way in the future.

Searching My Oyster

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

I am not sure I have completed what is called a mashup; it did not seem to be as difficult as I expected. I went in to the map site at BigHugeLabs.com and ticked off all the places in the world where I have been and voila there it was and it was easy to upload it on to my blog. I was not convinced I had done the right thing so I tried to turn a photo on my desktop into a jigsaw puzzle but it would not let me retrieve the picture from my desktop, saying it was not there! (YES it WAS there, I was just looking at it, fume!!!!)

Podcast Possibilities (OR If I had more time...)

In our ideal library world the possiblities for using this kind of technology are many. For example, podcasting could be useful for recording our Book Group discussions - our patrons hate missing them and would enjoy catching up if they were available as a podcast. I can see our keener library patrons (probably our techno-savvy younger/teen readers) doing book-reviews. I could also see us recording special events, recording monthly newsletters, creating training podcasts . I wonder how easy it is to do. It looks like it should be fairly straight forward...

Relief at week 8!

After week 7, I have been relieved to discover social searching etc at a much easier pace. I enjoyed these particular websites. I even found an answer to a question I was thinking of asking which someone had posted a couple of hours prior to my searching and it had been answered already. Amazing. I think "slamming the boards" is a great idea, one that will put librarians' knowledge to the test. I am not sure many patrons here would be inclined to participate in reviewing our services/rating our collection etc online as the vast majority of our computer users are more into Bebo but hey, perhaps it is something for the near future. Our problem, as always, is lack of time but also now we are very short-staffed. That is a wicked combo.....

I loved the Taste website and have registered and can't wait to browse more at home, yum!!

Del.icio.us, I'm hungry for more...

Deli.cio.us - large selection of bookmarked sites useful for doing research to be shared and searched by a larger audience - evaluated by professional librarians. Things bookmarked will then not be lost but can be shared and added to continually for research and accessible from anywhere. Wow.

Learning about this site put a few things into place for me! I always wondered how sites like YourTutor and AskNow could deliver answers to students in a short time (my teenage son uses AskNow and YourTutor for help with HSC Legal Studies etc.) and of course they find relevant websites and online resources quickly using the bookmarked sites. That is so useful to us in the library with a lot of the work already done for us. Example - AskNow's deli.cio.us webpage
http://del.icio.us/usefulresources
Okay, phew, what's next? (Is it me or is this the never-ending week?!!!)

The Thing is Library

I have spent what seems like hours looking into week 7's activities, adventures etc and the end of the day is not a good time to write a blog (doze...zzzzz) where was I? Oh yes. I'm in love with LibraryThing. I'm a social creature, especially on the net and I want more time in the day where I can focus on book groups, look for more interesting reads for the library Book Group, blog with like-minded people and see who likes the books I have (I could go on but I won't!). I think a lot of library patrons would benefit from this site as well as the staff.
What sums up what I think? Fun, informative, social, interesting. Love it!

Laurel and Hardy Gem

I was so thrilled at the success of my last embedded video that I thought I would prove it was not a fluke and do it again! This time I gave some thought to what I would really love to see and came up with the kings of comedy Laurel and Hardy. I fondly remember the Lonesome Pine song from my childhood (LONG after it was made I assure you) and I am delighted to have discovered a treasure trove of their work on video in YouTube.

If we were to video events that take place here at our lovely library, I think it would be fun to view for those who could not be present and thereafter, a learning tool to see how we could improve things for future events. We could also
do a virtual tour of the library, feature things of interest and it would be great to add to our website. Oh, the possibilities again....

Desparate Housewives cheer up Mondays!

="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0TaukV0lEk&hl=en">

Wiki Works

I find it hard to believe that I am not only blogging, receiving RSS feeds and have contributed to a wiki but I am actually enjoying the experience, absorbing the knowledge and contemplating the possiblities!
What's interesting?
I loved the full Library Success; A Best Practices Wiki. Librarians' world-wide community sharing experiences, information/details of successes, tips of anything useful - wonderful. It makes such sense to share information to help others achieve success in their profession (and it is also pretty selfless too - amazing). Now that I know it exists I will be tuning in myself.

I also loved Book Lovers Wiki - what a boon for all book lovers. It is like belonging to an online book group and no matter where you live you can be a part of it. There will be many remote people who can join in and read reviews and add their own. We have a burgeoning book group here at our country library and what many come for is to find new authors and get tips from others.

RSS

I love these - updates on a variety of subjects/interests without having to search for them. No extra work means time saved. I just wish I had more time to read up on them all but alas it is not possible at the moment. Now I have the knowledge to do it I think I could limit the feeds so that it would be possible to keep up with what is important and interesting to me both at work and at leisure. I can see how it would be useful to me in my work and I will look more closely at what I can access but as I have previously stated, more time would be great...

Silly moos at the library

20080305.JG.20
Originally uploaded by weescottie42

What has surprised the old moo at the counter? I can only suggest that the computers are playing up again, udder than that I can't say!
(Oh dear, can they get any worse?)

Photo courtesy of the Irrigator.

20080305-1.JG.18

20080305-1.JG.18
Originally uploaded by weescottie42

Isn't this a great photo of children enjoying themselves at storytime?
Glad this will work for me this time.
Incidently, I love Flickr, it makes the world a smaller place and brings so many wonderful places to me at the press of a few buttons. Scotland, Malta, my own backyard - there they are. What a great place to share memories etc. I am very impressed.

MOOS FLASH!!

If I can add the two images to this entry then you will see my brave boss in an act of mercy, sparing myself and my colleague from being in the local paper in a cow suit - and she looks great too! You can't hide talent, as they say! We don't really mind donning strange outfits and singing our little hearts out etc. for our appreciative young audience but a cow suit could lead to the kind of comments that might be hard to live down in a small town! So, good on our fearless leader! Mind you, funny thing is, she only did it the once and there were two more sessions the next day which the guest cow did not turn up to....but they do say that no moos is good moos - boom, boom!

Photos (should I ever get it/them to upload) courtesy of the Irrigator.

Well I can't seem to be able to download using the Blogger tool so I will try Flickr. Sigh, is it me or what? No wonder I am reluctant at this sort of thing, I am thwarted again!!!

spring chickens

spring chickens
Originally uploaded by ThreadsByHeather

I know over here it isn't Spring but I'm topsy turvy and feeling like a chicken in my approach to technology but I have every hope of being a hero by the end of it (go you optimistic young chook) so this picture is appropriate for me at the present time. I may have to find a photo of Wonder Woman by the end of the course - I hope. Okay, what's next on the agenda??

Reluctant hero

Well the reluctant hero strikes again! I struggled going round and round not knowing quite what to do to get a photo for my blog from flickr. I was almost there but was so frustrated by that time that I made an SOS call which saved me from tearing my hair out. Unfortunately I have now got two of the same photo and I don't know how to get rid of one. Perhaps that's a challenge for later. I am happy that I have come this far, reluctant as I am to tackle technology - not because I don't want to use it but because I fear failing and mucking everything up. There must be some phobia term for it!! I will try and find another photo on flickr just to prove I can do it again. Here goes........

Inside the Central Library on Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2007

Inside the Central Library on Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2007
Originally uploaded by edinburgh doors open day

I think older libraries are so atmospheric and the Central Library in Edinburgh is fantastic. It is a treasure trove of wonderful books and nooks and crannies to explore; such a pleasure to wander around at will. I used to work here many moons ago....

Inside the Central Library on Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2007

Inside the Central Library on Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2007
Originally uploaded by edinburgh doors open day

Storytime sensation - Silly moos!!

Well, last week was a huge one with regards to storytime! We had the most children outside of school holidays attend our Wednesday session - 40 preschoolders not counting the babies which at a guess might be around 8. That was a great turn-out in our new you-beaut library.
The theme for this month was "silly moos". No, nothing to do with the library staff but in fact was all about our bovine friends. The theme title was loved by John the editor/photographer of our local newspaper, thought up by me with my silly sense of humour, so what will be in the paper this week is anyone' s guess. Will it be the back of my head (very famous now) and focussing on the delighted faces of so many children as they listened so well to "the cow who laid an egg?" Or it might be the guest cow (someone bribed the library manager would you believe?!!) who crawled towards the children in the greatest cow costume - minus udder, shame -and who the children took such delight in giving her a pat and chuckling away as the cow shuddered! Ah, such memories are made at storytime which are priceless for both staff, children and parents, too. Is it any wonder that when it comes to going to "big school" the main thing the children say they will miss is going to storytime at the library. With so may parents telling us so (and it was the same for me with mine) then we know we are definitely doing things right. To think we get paid for having fun!!

Well, I must say I am glad to be writing this entry, I feel a great deal of achievement. I don't feel confident enough to know where I might be sending it to yet! The whole idea of learning 2.0 is fantastic; I want to be able to communicate in as many ways as possible.
So, here's to learning more and having fun while we do.