CRBrarian

Reflection

2008-08-09T12:33:00.001-07:00

This experience had a few surprises for me, I came away liking and using 2 technologies on a regular basis. Facebook has become a fixture in my daily life; it keeps me in touch with old friends, co-workers, children’s friends, and new friends. Interestingly the word friend is a constant with this technology. I have always had trouble keeping in touch with friends, who can remember to email or telephone on a regular basis so Facebook has been a welcome technology

I would recommend other librarians give Facebook a try. Many librarians are introverts and I am suspicious that social networking is a problem for many of them. Facebook is an easy to do what does not come easy, which is the point of all technology, making the users life easier and more fulfilling.

The second technology I began to use regularly is YouTube; I check it on a regular basis for videos to send to my friends. I haven’t posted a video but I like finding them and watching them; I could imagine using it to document library programs.

Several of the technologies I liked but I haven’t been able to apply them to my daily life. Pandora and our video technology were and are still interesting to me but I tend to forget about them in the rush of daily. I liked playing with DoppelMe; I have a few personas that I can use on Facebook depending on my mood. One of my avatars looks exactly like me and many people of commented on the likeness. I am not sure that I looking like a computer image.

I would like to see the library system to do this type of project every 2 years or so, it will keep the staff in entire system on the lookout for new technology and will make all of use each new technology, if even for a little while. We must make sure that we keep up with our customers/patrons, also if we don’t understand and use new technology how will IT know what new technology, system-wide. Everything keeps changing and unlike some I think that it is up to us to change and not the patron. They don’t need to wait for us to get on the bus or debate whether we should even get on the bus. If they are there, then we should be too.

Gaming

2008-07-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Gaming is the biggest time waster in my life at this moment. I tend to choose solitary games, like solitare, but I am being courted by fellow facebook fanatics to join in the fun. So far I have been invited to play packrat, and scrabble, but I am afraid that once I give in to this temptation it will be like my solitary Suduko, JigZone, FreeCell gaming I will be lost forever in a gaming universe, not speaking to others just playing games. Kind of like an eternal childhood. Do I think that there for online gaming at the library, of course? Some can be social, others could be instructive like databases scavenger hunts. There could also be social gaming events for the staff at the library, giving us a chance to enjoy the technology that our patrons enjoy. I have tried RockBand but I am not very good. I think my problem with much of the gaming, is that I never started with Playstation and games like the Sims, Civilization, and NFL computer games. I guess there should be Gaming 101 classes for those of us who need the basics, kind of like places to practice mousing instead there should be gaming practice sites. I think I should check this out there may already be such a thing on the Internet...

Goggle Earth/Mapping

2008-07-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

I have used Google Earth in the past and was disappointed to see that my house appears exactly the same as it did 3 years ago, including the white car sitting in my driveway. People should know that they are not real-time images but saved data from previous scans, which obviously can be taken several years apart. I do admit that the Goggle Earth ability to find a previously used trail or natural site seems intriguing but for the average person it seems to be a very interesting piece of technology that only is valuable for very specific people and activities.

Avatars

2008-07-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is by far the most fun I have had with a technology since facebook. I have designed four different presonalities and will be using them on my facebook site. I consider avatars to be an art form, allowing you to create yourself in many different ways. For all of my fun with avatoars I didn't find Second Life as intriguing but not because it doesn't look like another fun way to recreate. Instead I considered the time issue of using the technology and keeping it up-to-date. I might still look into it as an art form after we finish this project but for now it has to put aside for a later date.

Online Documents

2008-06-26T16:03:00.001-07:00

While I like ZOHO, I don’t see any reason to use it instead of Google Documents; it does appear to be more similar to Word and does have a database program offering but Google Documents will be easier to find. The online document resource is a great for libraries and people who cannot afford other document programs. With the ability to keep the documents online there is no limit to the storage space. Also being able to share documents with others in a group or class is more versatile and useful than other programs, which are located on individual computers. I would like to introduce this to a social service agency I volunteer at that provides computer literacy classes and tutoring. Many of my students have managed to obtain a computer through agency resources but then do not have money to purchase expensive software programs. I have been able to find free security programs but have not found a free easy to use word processing program, plus many of the computers my student obtained do not have sufficient memory for most of today’s programs. Online documents would solve many of the problems that my students encounter. Now if I could only find free internet access for those that qualify for food stamps and other government programs

Search Engines

2008-06-16T18:17:00.001-07:00

I have mixed feelings about developing a search engine for myself with rollyo. My interests are to broad to be limited to one specific search engine that I could create. I looked at the Berkely site and while I liked the information on the top search engines it wasn't exactly something I couldn't find elsewhere. As for all the nonsense about truncation, boolean, and limiters give me a break. That is librarianese that no one else cares about it but librarians. Give me a good keyword search and I do not need to remember all that junk.

The best way to limit your results is to use the search engine, Mamma. A few good keywords and a good relevancy algorithm are all you need to retrieve relevant results (and if you don't ,try other keywords). PLEASE no one cares about truncation, limiters, and boolean, our patrons don't use them and we shouldn't either. Just let it go.

Podcasting

2008-06-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

I like this format better than I did Overdrive, no signing up and no expiration, it does have the same issue that Overdrive has which is you need to watch videos on your computer. That being said I found several yoga podcasts many more than I found in Overdrive. I was able to look at active teachers and classes. I would be able to participating in the classes, The podcast site I liked the best was yogaamazing, which had a specific yoga session for runners. I was very excited to find this option for watching yoga videos cheaply!!!
As for the audio version of podcasting I am sure it is valuable for those that are learn auditorially. I hate and can't learn from audio tapes, I have listened to many audio tapes for Spanish and have practiced religiously while they were playing, but I can't remember a thing when I turn of the player. I would need video practice so I can see the person speak and then I can remember what I have learned. Maybe I should look for a podcast like that.

Overdrive

2008-06-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Overdrive will continue to grow in usage and offerings, but it does have its problems. The main one is its lack of compatibility with the iPod. The problem of course is the number of items that cannot be downloaded, especially videos. Who wants to watch a video on your laptop? I would prefer to see Overdrive not offering items from authors and artists who refuse to allow you to burn the item. There is technology to prevent the duplication of any cd/dvd, just like there is technology to disable the burned cd/dvds. Authors and artists will be able to choose whether they want to distribute their items through the media, but they will also lose the chance to move their creations into the next century.

There were items offered for my favorite fiction authors but there were no items offered from my favorite non-fiction authors. However, there were items of specific subject like yoga, meditation, and language. It did surprise me that there were videos offered for yoga and meditation but had to watch them on my laptop.

Image Generator

2008-06-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Image generators are fun to play with but I am not sure it is very useful for library employees. The one practical use I see is the ability to add watermarks to images, images than stay the property of the owner (unless you don’t mind words written across a picture). It would be very useful activity for teen’s social networking with the teen librarians and library web sites. I had a little difficulty uploading my image and I am still not sure it will work at all, but when it does it will be an enjoyable picture for me for a long time

Del.ici.ous

2008-05-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't found a personal use for del.ici.ous I have created my own site, http://del.icio.us/cee_bee, for learning purposes but I don't use it very often. However there are many uses for it in a library setting. The Sno-Isle teen del.ici.ous site is a good example of centralizing Internet knowledge (keeping found things found). Favorites from each teen librarian throughout the system can be located in one area making it easier for librarians and patrons to use. I would like to see a link to the site on the main page of the teen site. Most teens know what del.ici.ous is and would see it immediately, rather than having it find it behind Links, which I think would increase its use. Also, I would like to see a direct box to the catalog on the main page.

Wikis

2008-05-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

The thing I find the most interesting about Wikis is the collaboration aspect of the social networking. The ability to work with others to develop presentations, policies, new procedures, new policies, committee work, suggestions, etc. The use in a work situation could be endless. In a library I think the ability to allow other committee and group members to communicate easily, to cut down on scheduling meetings at different locations, thereby cutting down on travel expenses and productivity lost from that travel.

Streaming video

2008-05-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

YouTube is great and I can see libraries using this to document programs, new building layouts, etc.;the list for the use of video's is endless. We will just need a few creative and budding filmmakers to start the process. I look for mean cats on YouTube and my friends send me video links when they find new ones. I'm not sure why I like to see cats go crazy but I find it very entertaining. Maybe it is because my own cat will attack my laptop when I listen to the videos.
Hulu had an extensive list of TV shows, and I was surprised how many were from the past. Since I like Star Trek the original series and can no longer find it on any station I will love this site. I certainly would try to use my TV as a monitor instead of my laptop screen, but I will figure that out later. For libraries I think sites like Hulu will allow teen programs to investigate TV from the past as well as the present. Movies could be easily obtained for program uses, I am not sure that the this media could be offered as media through are website, but we may be able to catalog what is available on the site for people to explore themselves. All of the above is speculation until the usage rights have been verified.
Fancast was more limited in its offerings in both the movie and the TV offerings because of the profile checklist, I would rather look at all the movies and TV offerings and pick the ones I like than Fancast can create a profile based on my selection. I think this profile direction problem would hinder library usage, there might be a TV show or movie that the library would like to use but would be unaware it exists.

My favorite video is below

Facebook

2008-04-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Social Networking has been one web technology that I have been unwilling to become involved with. I have real privacy issues and I am not sure that I want to be found. My children point out that I am not that important and that I have nothing to hide. "After all you are a librarian", but still. I also think that I like to keep my life simple, nice chats with family and close friends, an easy house to take care of and a good job are all I need. I definitely do not want to be bombarded with too much information or superficial contacts with too many people. I do see that it could get my out of my shell with work and career associations. I do want to get out in the world and this may be away to do it even if it is virtually, so I am going to give Facebook a try for a while and see if I can use it in my daily life.

Flickr

2008-04-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have used Flickr in the past and have my dog's and cat's photos on my page, but so far I have been unwilling to place photos of people on any public website. I do like the option of backing up pictures on the Internet but that assumes that all your pictures are digital. I spent 6 months digitizing all my family's photos from the 1900's to the 1960's, it was quite a job and I haven't have the nerve to begin the 1970's to present set. I do know that I will need a high speed scanner if and when I decide to do it. I should do it before I lose anymore pictures, and I mean lose. Family members have used pictures in projects and they have disappeared, and most of these pictures are the ones you never wanted to lose. In the end, I think that Flickr and other photo sharing sites can be immensely helpful and I should seriously consider placing early family photos on Flickr for backup and letting distant family members access them.

Pandora

2008-04-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

For my own use I don't find Pandora that exciting, but for the library system I think that it has enormous promise. It would be a way for the library to provide music to our users, providing better genre coverage, and staying current on new songs and artists. I also think it would be less expensive buying individual songs rather than cd's. It would also will allow the library to introduce itself to an audience that might have never used the library or its services through social networking.

I like streaming music from favorite music stations, it has solved one problem in my home since everyone gets to listen to their own music while they work on their laptops in their laps. It doesn't help with intrapersonal communication but of course that is where IM becomes handy. Yes, I have im'd someone sitting in the same room as me, it is the quickest way to get someone's attention when the are in their own computer world.

RSS

2008-04-10T13:51:00.001-07:00

While I like RSS I have found it necessary to limit the number of feeds I receive and I have to different feed areas, one at Bloglines for work related feeds, and another at home on my IGoogle page for personal feeds. I can only keep up with 3 feeds on my home reader any more than that and I start marking all as read and not reading anything. It has taken several tries to find the best feeds for my personal use, I needed my collection development skills for deciding what to keep and what to weed. The Blogline reader has forced me to use folders to group together types of feeds because I need more that three feeds. It will remain to be seen if I can keep up with the incoming information from several feeds. In our library we could use feeds to do newsletters and develop intra-branch communication for a number of topics, rss feeds are very useful to receive information quickly but everyone will need to use it on a regular basis to be truly useful.

IM

2008-03-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Finally I can legally IM in a library, even if it is just for this project. I am very familiar with IM, I use it with family members for emergency purposes, checking when family members will be home, and nagging my children when they don't answer my phone calls. IM cuts down on cell phone bills and IMO increases productivity if used responsibily in the workplace. Yes, it could be used to waste time but so can most other technology, especially the Internet. LBH, it would be easier to talk to my boss or customer service without leaving the reference desk, or my office. I signed up for meebo to experience a way for all IM programs in one place: I encourage all who read this to send me a message. Just click on the underlined here below the Meebo text box to begin the process. TTYL

New Beginnings

2008-03-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I will begin again. As you can see me last posting was in May of 2007, maybe this program will get me into the habit of blogging. I am very interested in how many people can add this new technology to their daily lives. My favorite book about problems of adapation of technology is "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less" by Barry Schwartz. His theory is that people revert back to known things if they are given too many new things to absorb at once. The reviews of the book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005688 if your interested. This book changed me as a librarian, I try to be aware when the patron has lost my wonderful explainations and tips, then return to the points that I really want them to remember. I also try to write the information I want the patron to remember, hopefully I will be able to give them something that they can add to their lives rather than overloading them.

By the way, if anyone sees typos or missing thoughts, please comment on them so I can correct them.

Learning 2.0

2007-05-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

One of the ways to help people unfamiliar with the Internet is for me to become more familiar with its technology. Learning 2.0 is an exploration tutorial for Internet services, and one of the services to explore is flickr. I have posted and shared two photos of my dog on flickr, but I am not sure about posting photos of myself or friends. In the book, Generation My Space, the author, Candice Kelsey, discussed the issue of privacy and stated that is is only a problem with baby boomers (I'm a baby boomer) and earlier generations. Generation X and Millenials do not seem to have the same concerns. I have considered that since the government, financial institutions and public utilities now store and transfer information on web servers maybe nothing is really private. For a mere $50.00 I can retrieve addresses, unlisted phone numbers, social security numbers, birth dates, relatives, etc. from Intellius for just about anyone. I traced a lost family member with Intellius and appreciated the service, but I have to realize that my information is also available from the same service. The other side to this argument is that public information identifies me but it does not give any information about "me" -- Who I am, what I think, and what I do? -- That information is under my control and is the information I am uncomfortable sharing with the world.

"It seems to me, Golan, that the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy."
Janov Pelorat in Asimov's Foundation's Edge

New to Blogging

2007-04-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am not interested in telling you about me. I am interested in talking about libraries, technology, and information. I work with people who do not have computers, or the Internet. Those of us with the means to have a computer, and consider it an appliance to be replaced every three years, do not see the large number of Americans who barely have money for rent, medical expenses, etc. For these people computers are a luxury and burden, a constant reminder of how far behind they are, which is an unenviable place to be in our society. Until next time.

"Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road." Stewart Brand