THE MAGIC NUMBER 23

I have finished !!! and without a very last minute panic :o) I think you guys have been generous to me here and there, but I fully intend to go back to the beginning, now I understand more, and quietly go through most of the places I've been and really 'get them'.
I have done most of the exercises by myself, but have had to call for help from colleagues a couple to times (and you!)- thanks. I have felt encouraged by your comments.
As time has gone by, I have felt miles more confident; I started ACL Learning 2.0 a bit grumpy. All due to ignorance, time constraints and pressure. I did a bit of work from home towards the end; my laptop is new, bought to keep in touch with my overseas' daughter (good old Windows Messenger!), and she sends photos via Ringo. I am pleased that thanks to Web 2.0 I will be able to make more use of this expensive new toy. Oh - ahem - and of course I will be able to put my bit in when podcasts, facebook, rollyo etc are mentioned wherever I am, and be able to hopefully help customers during my working day.

So, to sum up: this learning curve started oh-so-slowly, I found some exercises harder than others, naturally, but the penny started to drop, light began to dawn, owning an MP3 player began to look likely, smiles appeared ... Thanks for the opportunity.

A bouquet for all of us!

ebooks/netlibrary - # 22

LAST EXERCISE!
Well, I established an account and had a good look around the site. A few things made me think I was missing something, so went back and opened the introduction to net library, and was pleased to see where apparently one can download audio books :o). Back into netlibrary and added some titles to favourites. I would like to see a place where you could search by subject in a tighter way than using keywords, because you might want to do an online version of good old browsing the shelves in a particular dewey number.
But! - I could not see where ACL offers audio books from netlibrary. Am I missing something here?

A few customers have queries about our ebooks, so it is good to be more knowledgeable on this subject.

I had a wee look at Kindle, but it seems appropriate for North America.

Podcast - #21

I looked at podcast alley, clicked on genre, chose arts - and - was aghast at the silly podcast titles listed. They were not helpful in choosing which podcasts to choose, and when I looked in some of them, I was most unimpressed.
So - onto the yahoo choice and that was much easier to follow. I typed "public libraries" in the search box and up came some great video titles. Web Marshall blocked a few, but I looked at a couple of others and one of them I watched, which showed an American public library; people were chosen, seemingly at random, to say what their library meant to them, and then the library staff were interviewed and followed around their library.

Then I tried adding an RSS feed for a podcast to my bloglines account. I like the Saturday and Sunday morning programmmes from Radio New Zealand but can't lie in bed listening thaaaaat long! I was pleased to hear Chris Laidlaw say one could listen via a podcast from their website and thought aha! I can set that up as an exercise. I was a bit disconcerted to read on their website that you needed special software, but tried anyway. I had thought it had to be a special podcast feed, but no, it connects as an RSS feed, so have added that to my Blogline account successfully.

YouTube - #20

Hayao Miyazaki's movies are truly awesome! We have quite a few in our libraries; also the graphic novels and the beautiful book The Art of Howl's Moving Castle.

Anyway, my children use YouTube for all sorts of things - my daughter in Denmark keeps up with McLeod's Daughters this way.

YouTube is obviously HUGE and I look forward to getting into itunes :o)

Web 2.0 tools

Hey, this was a fun site! I first went into the music category and tried Pandora, but it wouldn't connect to li'l ole New Zealand. So I tried last.fm and really liked some of the features there, especially the ability to listen to musicians they suggested I might enjoy - similar to the artist I had chosen to listen to. This way I could discover musicians I was unaware of. Who knows; this site might be handy if I can just get all the exercises done in time to get that MP3 player!

I also enjoyed playing around in realtravel, where you could read people's input of their travels, and get information as to what to see, where to eat etc.

Lastly I was blown away by googlemaps. I tapped in Whangamomona and instantly the tiny settlement was pinpointed.

Use in the library? Yes to perhaps suggesting alternative singers to customers, and yes to finding places anywhere in the world, however tiny. Or just maps in general. And that is just in the few sites I went into. I will definitely explore more here.

PBWiki

Oops, I forgot to go and play in the Sandbox. I have added a favourite to the music favourites, but not sure I have done it correctly as my URL is not showing. The tutorial would not play, so couldn't go and get some clues.
Never mind, it's an hour after leaving work time, and I'm outta here ..

Later, at home. The tutorial will still not open and I have tried for ages to get my url to show alongside my comments in the music favourites. I have spent too long on this and cannot figure out something which is no doubt simple. Grrrr. Help please!

Zoho

So far getting into Zoho has taken a looooooong time and I am not impressed so far, though I liked the sound of it ♥. I am hoping I will be able to use Vista at home

(me in the flower garden - hehe, I wish!)

and then pick up on the work here at work and edit or print through XP .

Wikis for libraries

Just time to blog about this before taking my bloggy brain to bed late on a Sunday night.

It is with caution that I write about wikis in libraries in general. I see great advantages but also potential for disasters. I mean any place that gives space to anyone to comment on anything and change others' input is alarming. I can see where a librarian's workload could be increased hugely and lots of time spent at a computer. I can see oddballs and eccentrics and bods with a lot of time to spare having a ball. Talkback radio is appalling a lot of the time (well I can't help but hear some when trapped in someone's car on the way to work - brrrr ) and it seems wiki - ing could be like that.
but - I do use Amazon to view synopses and reviews, so ...

For libraries? - good things: community information which the appropriate organizations would input into, sharing of conference news and papers, input from informed readers on books read (as with Amazon), and without thinking too much about how it would work - a fitch-like place for libraries such as ACL to share knowledge found on how to help each other when students flood the desk with that year's particular study eg calicivirus. But I might be being too simplistic with that comment; will look into that idea another time.
Time for that hottie and a wee read before midnight. Yawn ..

The future of libraries ..

"No profession can survive if it throws its core principles and values overboard in response to every shift in the zeitgeist. However, it can be equally disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves."

So concludes Rick Anderson, director of resource acquisition, University of Nevada, Reno libraries. I was most interested to read his thoughts as he ponders on how to treasure the existing library material and yet provide all his customers' needs. In other words, be everything - teachers as well. He is not all Ra Ra!! web 2.0, but adds a sensible note of caution.

To heck with it, I don't really want to minimise his work, so will try for a link to the article and hope you have time to read it. I liked it. Web 2.0 - Where will it take libraries - and click on Rick Anderson if the link is not specific enough.
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm

Technorati searching

I did as suggested and played around in Technorati using the key words Learning 2.0. I found the Blog Posts overwhelming with its 12,771 entries and was happier looking in Tags. I liked the fact that you could look into previous posts of bloggers whose entries I found intriguing.
But Blog Directory interested me most. I clicked on 'books' in the directory list and chose an author whose books I enjoy and looked further into that. I think I will find that a place I would use again and can see where it might help library customers (especially readers of fiction).

I have not included a link to any of these pages, but you can tell I have actually been there, done that!

Exploring Del.icio.us

I found this blog through Library 2.0, in Library Journal.com. I was intrigued by the blog and the resulting comments, as I am not a qualified librarian and very much respect the qualifications of my colleagues. I hum and ha when filling in forms requiring me to fill in 'occupation', but usually put librarian, silently paying tribute to those who have really earned the title.
I was intially drawn to read further after seeing there was a book titled Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks and Gangsta's in the Public Library. Now I think they mean the staff, but first of all I thought of the - um- interesting public who live in our library!
I have included the link to the page, but will leave the text here as well and after I see if the link works correctly, I may just keep the link.
Norman Oder
Is a Library Worker a Librarian? What If He's an Author? November 20, 2007USA Today just published an entertaining interview with Don Borchert, author of Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library.
The headline: This librarian's life isn't by the book at 'All'. I liked the book (my LJ review) and found Borchert an engaging interviewee. However, I was careful not to call him a librarian, given that he never earned a library degree and works with those who have done so.That doesn't make a difference to the mainstream press--anyone who works in a library can be described as a librarian. I know we at LJ value paraprofessionals--we give an annual award--and I know that some people who run libraries, especially in smaller jurisdictions, don't have library degrees. (And some people who run very big libraries, like the Library of Congress, don't have them either.)So, does it make a difference? Should Borchert be called a 'librarian'? Does his lack of formal training deny him the title? Or does his charming book about library life earn him an honorary degree?
Posted by Norman Oder on November 20, 2007 Comments (4)
Industries: Managing Libraries, News & Features, Salaries
November 22, 2007In response to: Is a Library Worker a Librarian? What If He's an Author?Donb commented:
Although Ive worked in a library for more than a dozen years, I did not go to graduate school for an advanced degree, and have no desire to foist myself off as a true professional. As my daughter just graduated from UCLA in Library Science, I admire the dedication it takes to do this. I LOOK like a real librarian, but its just a trick of the light.
November 24, 2007In response to: Is a Library Worker a Librarian? What If He's an Author?Sean commented:
It sounds like he is an author who works in a library. What is his job title? That's probably what he should be called, in addition to an author. Seems simple.
November 25, 2007In response to: Is a Library Worker a Librarian? What If He's an Author?the zak commented:
There are library workers who are better at it than accredited certified degreed librarians. There are library workers who are better for library users/customers/consumers to go to than so called librarians. For example in Massachusetts at our Cambridge and Boston public libraries there are library workers whose enthusiasm and expertise surpasses the so called professionals. Our cities' public libraries should be recast as teaching libraries much like the medical centers that are teaching hospitals. Teaching libraries where academic work can be studied on site for credit.
November 26, 2007In response to: Is a Library Worker a Librarian? What If He's an Author?Wilda Williams commented:
Norman, what about the librarians of the past? Are they to be disqualified because library schools didn't exist in ancient Alexandria or medieval Europe? Is Casanova any less a librarian because he didn't hold an MLS? Frankly, I think Borchert, given his experience, is just as much a librarian as those with special degrees.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1010000101/post/640017664.html

Yay! the link worked :o). I am starting to get the hang of this Web 2.0, but I would like to add a general comment here. I would like to aim to finish this in time, but I would also like to understand more deeply than just rushing through exercises. I intend to go back once I have finished and take more time exploring all these options.
And sorry, but I haven't spent time in del.icio.us looking for ways to make research better but can already see where it would be useful. This is one of the areas I would like to spend more time in, and will do .... but not tonight. It is 10pm Sunday night after all, and I should watching Sunday Theatre !

Image Generator

I have playing around with Image Generator for long enough now - this is my last go at linking my image. The exercise produced the same effect as when using the Hockneyising in a previous exercise!

Here goes for another exercise done ..

I have just found out that ...

... I do not have to provide a link to everything I am doing in these excercises! I have been struggling with links, but now hear that as long as I explore the sites and then blog about what I have discovered, then that is enough. ?
If by some miracle I complete the Web 2.0 exercise in time, but have not written 50 words in each posting, will I still be eligible for the MP3 player? If not, will I be able to rewrite the blogs?

Rollyo

I have added stuff to a Rollyo account. Interesting exercise ... I have created two categories: one for road trips (Route 66 here I come ..!) and one for blues music (for when I am in the Cadillac) :o)

Library Thing

I have added a few of my favourite books to Library Thing, but at this point, can't see that it would be any use to me privately. I have never joined a book club, as I don't want to sit and discuss a book I have very much enjoyed with others with maybe opposing views and so spoil my innocent enjoyment of the story or content. Perhaps I have missed the point of Library Thing ...

library thing

Question re links

Would you please tell me how to correctly add a link to my blog? I copy the URL, then click the link icon, but ??? I was in bloglines yesterday and trying to include the link to my feeds' page, but the address showing as the URL was just bloglines.com/myblogs which of course isn't what I wanted to appear in my blog. I wanted to show the 10 feeds.

RSS feeds

I have added 10 sites to my RSS feeds. I had help to do this, which was stupendously great, as spare time to do these exercises is few and far between. I found websites I might be interested in, but hey! no RSS feeds available. I check up on the Morgan's travels through their website (worldbybike), for instance, but no RSS feed there.
It is an interesting exercise, but I doubt I will use this facility.

I am playing around with Flickr. I hope this image links correctly.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/frame.php

Having fun with photos

Being in the training room with uninterrupted time is good. I think I have loaded two photos in Flickr(here's the link) http://www.flickr.com/photos/16151076@N08/?saved=1 but have run out of time to check. Head hurts, time to go.

Social networking

I have now signed up with gmail, facebook and myspace. I do not think I will use facebook, but will look further into myspace, especially in the music option. I have been confused here and there over which email address to tap in when prompted and oh! I do not need to remember any more passwords. The number of times you need to sign in to get where you want to be is tiresome ..

Hallelujah!

By fair means or foul I have reached this point. Much blood spilt, many headaches. Already!! But I WILL WIN! I will show my children their mother is a genius afterall (I have seen where you get called a genius when you have completed something or other). I don't know whether Elgar people deem you are one, or if it automatically just happens. hmmmmmmm. Must stop blabbing on; I will carry on with the next exercise with not so much gnashing (lovely word!) of the teeth.