Polly Mae and I tried to explore the world of podcasts. We were trying to figure out the benefits of using podcasts over YouTube. For instructional purposes, it seems that videos would be much more helpful for patrons. I guess the fact that podcasts use RSS feeds is part of why they are so popular, but I'm not sure how many of our patrons would subscribe to our feed if we even had one.
We searched for sports stuff and library stuff on most of the search engines:
Podcast.net
We found a series about the library and listened to part of an episode called "Understanding The Libraries Brand: The OCLC Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources Report" The search engine seems simple enough to use and I like the way the display the results of the episodes.
Podcastalley.com
I did not like the search features of this one at all. I tried to search by genre at least and the results were a huge list of titles; I think it would be much more helpful if it at least displayed a description of each podcast or the tags used by it. Also, when I tried to play one it told me I have to download the "Podcast Aggregator" I thought we didn't have to download anything through these sites...
Yahoo Podcasts
Now this one I liked! I found ILL student Kot Hordynski on it! By the way, he was on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman this morning if you guys want to check it out. Also, here is the link to the podcast I found for him while he as at the 2006 ACLU Conference:http://www.aclu.org/multimedia/2006conference/oct16_kot.mp3
I checked out the "Library Channel" from Arizona State University and found out about their downtown campus library.
Library Success - A Best Practices Wiki: Podcasts
I peeped some of the public library podcasts and they had things like the teen poetry slam, guests talks with authors, book club stuff, etc. Let me tell you though, Washington State University is using podcasts the way that I can picture us using them. Listen to some of these titles of episodes: Help Searching: Choosing Search Terms; Narrowing your search using the AND command; Expanding your search; How to Use Databases....etc. While I still think that videos would be more helpful, I can see us using podcasts as a tool for our patrons like WSU does.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Thing #19: You Tube
I've never really dabbled in YouTube. I've seen a few videos my brother or friends have emailed me, but I've never really sat down and searched for anything. I feel like I should....I feel like I'm missing out on this cultural phenomenon. I searched for UCSC and I found some stuff on Practical Activism, the "police brutality" video, some biking videos, and the naked run. I think YouTube would be a good tool---tours of the library, how to do basic searches.....and maybe (someday) how to use our self-check machines? I remember watching the SJSU Second Life presentation on a YouTube video too. I think this tool has potential, but again it is up to us to use it and make it available to our patrons.
Thing #18: Firefox Add-ons and Extensions
I really like Firefox and the nifty extensions it offers. I've been using LibX for months now and I can't live without it. It drives me nuts when I'm working on a computer that doesn't have it. It was especially helpful before we could search by ISSN/ISBN in Cruzcat. Incidentally, if you click "New Search" from cruzcat, or if you are navigating within search results, the ISSN/ISBN search criterion is not there (When the URL root is http://cruzcat.ucsc.edu/search/......)
I think the Cruzcat search engine was extremely easy to install and I'm sure our patrons can find it useful. Personally, I'll probably us LibX more especially for the right-click, xisbn, and UC-eLinks features. However for simple searching I think the search engine is perfect for patrons.
I think we should have some type of link to download both Libx and the Cruzcat search engine on the library homepage. The only way I knew about LibX was by word of mouth and the Cruzcat search engine from this exercise. These are awesome tools and we should make them more available to our patrons.
I think the Cruzcat search engine was extremely easy to install and I'm sure our patrons can find it useful. Personally, I'll probably us LibX more especially for the right-click, xisbn, and UC-eLinks features. However for simple searching I think the search engine is perfect for patrons.
I think we should have some type of link to download both Libx and the Cruzcat search engine on the library homepage. The only way I knew about LibX was by word of mouth and the Cruzcat search engine from this exercise. These are awesome tools and we should make them more available to our patrons.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
I'm so cool.
By the way, did anyone notice that a famous guy commented on my blog?
I know you all check your bloglines on the hour to see if I've updated my page and all, but serioulsy, one of the guys who wrote an article on Thing 14 commented on my blog.
Do I get extra credit for that??
I know you all check your bloglines on the hour to see if I've updated my page and all, but serioulsy, one of the guys who wrote an article on Thing 14 commented on my blog.
Do I get extra credit for that??
Thing #17: Online Applications & Tools
I really like the idea of online documents. ILL uses libsnap to store the majority of our important documents which works ok, but what if it ever crashes? (oh lord, just had to go knock on wood) Or if someone accidentally saves an excel sheet incorrectly it will make a copy instead of rewriting the original document. Also, I cannot access some of my process maps from the computer at the desk since I used a more recent version of Visio to create them.
Sarah and I have already been working on a shared Google spreadsheet--the ILL timeline. I just created another document and I am now sharing it with Sarah and Polly Mae. I really like that we can all edit it online and then save it in many different formats (pdf, text, rtf, html etc)
I think Access Services could use Google docs to better organize things we have on libsnap. (Stats, shipping sheet, process maps, etc.)
Sarah and I have already been working on a shared Google spreadsheet--the ILL timeline. I just created another document and I am now sharing it with Sarah and Polly Mae. I really like that we can all edit it online and then save it in many different formats (pdf, text, rtf, html etc)
I think Access Services could use Google docs to better organize things we have on libsnap. (Stats, shipping sheet, process maps, etc.)
Thing #16: Library 2.0
Away from Icebergs
Iceberg #1: I don't think I know enough about libraries and collection planning to form an opinion about this. All I know is that it scares me to think of a library that has more of a digital collection than print collection...but at the same time I can see his argument that it is wasteful to collect items that are never used. Hmmmm...
Iceberg#2:What IS our patron to staff ratio?? ....I think this "iceberg" is a very real concern for our library. I don't really see how this is a NEW concern though... if anything new technology is making it easier to connect with our patrons.
Iceberg#3: Wow. I totally agree with this. I think Anderson put it well when he wrote we need to be humble. Before UCSC I did not have access to a decent library. In fact, the 'library' at my high school was on the San Diego news for having a ridiculously outdated collection. (Yeah, we still had books calling for the Berlin wall to be torn down.) I couldn't imagine anyone NOT wanting to come to a library...I sometimes mistake patron's attitude of "I want it now" for taking the library for granted; I have to remember that in today's research world, patrons are used to getting things instantly delivered TO them. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Why shouldn't we adapt to this need?
To better bibliographic services
Man. Sometimes it has been difficult for me to think of library uses for all this new technology I'm using. I like the idea of tagging-- like in the LibraryThing. I also like the author's idea of using RSS feeds to help streamline bibliographic data. Some of this stuff is over my head though...but I'm glad someone is thinking
To a temporary place in time
This article was quite interesting. From the previous SL lesson, it seems like the author's visions of Library 2.0 and 3.0 are happening simultaneously in some cases. I think it will take some time fore most libriaries to move into the 2.0 phase....simply doing these 23 things does not make me a Library 2.0 expert. I am just more aware of these tools. The idea of a virtual librarian appearing to help you when you log on to Amazon seems cool, but I don't know if people will start collecting them. It's also strange to think of librarians competing over user reviews....maybe I'm just thinking of my crazy aunt in Texas who obsesses over her ebay stars. I'm not sure I understood all of 4.0 either....
My thoughts on Library 2.0...
I like this vision of a new and technologically integrated library. I kinda wish that these 23 things were mandatory for libstaff; I think we all need to be aware of the new tools technology brings us and how we can use them to provide better service to our patrons.
Iceberg #1: I don't think I know enough about libraries and collection planning to form an opinion about this. All I know is that it scares me to think of a library that has more of a digital collection than print collection...but at the same time I can see his argument that it is wasteful to collect items that are never used. Hmmmm...
Iceberg#2:What IS our patron to staff ratio?? ....I think this "iceberg" is a very real concern for our library. I don't really see how this is a NEW concern though... if anything new technology is making it easier to connect with our patrons.
Iceberg#3: Wow. I totally agree with this. I think Anderson put it well when he wrote we need to be humble. Before UCSC I did not have access to a decent library. In fact, the 'library' at my high school was on the San Diego news for having a ridiculously outdated collection. (Yeah, we still had books calling for the Berlin wall to be torn down.) I couldn't imagine anyone NOT wanting to come to a library...I sometimes mistake patron's attitude of "I want it now" for taking the library for granted; I have to remember that in today's research world, patrons are used to getting things instantly delivered TO them. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Why shouldn't we adapt to this need?
To better bibliographic services
Man. Sometimes it has been difficult for me to think of library uses for all this new technology I'm using. I like the idea of tagging-- like in the LibraryThing. I also like the author's idea of using RSS feeds to help streamline bibliographic data. Some of this stuff is over my head though...but I'm glad someone is thinking
To a temporary place in time
This article was quite interesting. From the previous SL lesson, it seems like the author's visions of Library 2.0 and 3.0 are happening simultaneously in some cases. I think it will take some time fore most libriaries to move into the 2.0 phase....simply doing these 23 things does not make me a Library 2.0 expert. I am just more aware of these tools. The idea of a virtual librarian appearing to help you when you log on to Amazon seems cool, but I don't know if people will start collecting them. It's also strange to think of librarians competing over user reviews....maybe I'm just thinking of my crazy aunt in Texas who obsesses over her ebay stars. I'm not sure I understood all of 4.0 either....
My thoughts on Library 2.0...
I like this vision of a new and technologically integrated library. I kinda wish that these 23 things were mandatory for libstaff; I think we all need to be aware of the new tools technology brings us and how we can use them to provide better service to our patrons.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thing #15: CSE's...Google!
I tried first messing with my iGoogle page. (Which sounds reminds me of iMacs and iPods.) Many of the features I can add remind me of what is on my Google Desktop-which by the way, everyone should get. It'll change your life.
I'm trying to create a CSE through Google.... I want to have a search that will only go through the ucsc.edu pages....but I know there are the www2 and the www ones... do I use it as a whole site or is it a domain? I don't know the difference....and what about sites like http://kresge.ucsc.edu would that be included if under the plain old www one? Well I did www.ucsc.edu/*, www2.ucsc.edu/*, and ucsc.edu/*
I do like that they have a preview feature before you finish making your CSE......success! I've added it to my iGoogle homepage but I'm not sure it worked; I did a search for library and the first few sites were ucsc related but a bunch came up that were not.....did these come up because on some page that ends in ucsc.edu there is a link to these other pages? The same thing happened when I typed in "Interlibrary Loan" When I typed in "College Ten" all the results were UCSC related.
Personally, I can't think of any other custom sites I would like to search. While I agree that results on the second or third pages may be more relevant to whatever my current search may be, I look for so many random things everyday I can't think of a group of sites I would want to specifically search on a regular basis and I'm too lazy to look on the second and third pages.
However I can see the potential to search library pages; I know I've seen such Google CSE choices on other organization's homepages. You can choose "search the web" or "search ucsc" I think it's awesome...now I only have to figure out what to use it for.
I'm trying to create a CSE through Google.... I want to have a search that will only go through the ucsc.edu pages....but I know there are the www2 and the www ones... do I use it as a whole site or is it a domain? I don't know the difference....and what about sites like http://kresge.ucsc.edu would that be included if under the plain old www one? Well I did www.ucsc.edu/*, www2.ucsc.edu/*, and ucsc.edu/*
I do like that they have a preview feature before you finish making your CSE......success! I've added it to my iGoogle homepage but I'm not sure it worked; I did a search for library and the first few sites were ucsc related but a bunch came up that were not.....did these come up because on some page that ends in ucsc.edu there is a link to these other pages? The same thing happened when I typed in "Interlibrary Loan" When I typed in "College Ten" all the results were UCSC related.
Personally, I can't think of any other custom sites I would like to search. While I agree that results on the second or third pages may be more relevant to whatever my current search may be, I look for so many random things everyday I can't think of a group of sites I would want to specifically search on a regular basis and I'm too lazy to look on the second and third pages.
However I can see the potential to search library pages; I know I've seen such Google CSE choices on other organization's homepages. You can choose "search the web" or "search ucsc" I think it's awesome...now I only have to figure out what to use it for.
Thing #14: Instant Messaging and VoIP
RU READY FOR IM?
Props to author Jesse Wilkins for using "boon" in an article. I liked the four phases of organizational use of IM; I know ILL has used in in the past to communicate internally while on conference calls but I didn't think organizations would be willing to mandate it as a form of communication.
Libraries using MeeboMe for Embedded Chat
I had no idea that UCB and Stanford used IM as one of their "Ask a Librarian" tools. I've IM'ed with PG&E about my electric bill before and that was pretty cool. I think patrons (and people in general--including myself) love instant results and IMing with a research librarian would be quite helpful. Although, I'm sure there are a large number of undergrads who are working on papers late at night and of course we wouldn't be able to IM then.
YackPack Tour
I think that it is pretty cool you can install it on your own webpage. For the group chats I agree with the YackPack claim "it is important to capture your tone of voice".....but what keeps everyone from talking all at once? I recently 'iChatted' with my brother while I was visiting with my sister (we were on her computer) and I could tell there was a few seconds delay. We mostly interrupted each other and talked over each other....but of course we are siblings and we weren't in a professional setting. I also heard that IBM now conducts all conference calls via Second Life....did I mention that before?
YackPack Live Voice
Ummm....I'm on the desk so I can't really run this video right now....maybe later.
I left the 23 Things 2.0 Team an offline message. Jeez, where are you guys it's Sunday afternoon, shouldn't you be waiting by the computer to see if anyone is doing their 23 things?
I think that if used properly, IMing has a lot of potential in the library. I know I use it sometimes to communicate with Polly Mae....since it's SOOOOOOOO far to walk downstairs to ask her a question. It also helps when I have a quick question and I don't want to tie up either the ILL or alternate Circ phone line. Also, when I was an undergraduate one of my TA's gave us his 3 IM handles (AIM, Yahoo!, and ICQ). At first I thought it was a little weird, but it worked out: I had a question about the reading one night, he was online and we chatted and I got my question answered. I don't IM too often but when I do I feel self-conscious about my writing. I usually only type to friends and I don't care about punctuation or grammar. However, if I was in a large chat room instead of a conference call, I would feel the need to be more proper. I also feel a little uncomfortable using all those abbreviations. I'm down with the occasional "lol", but only if I really am "lol". Those "rotflmao" and such are a little too much for me. Ever since I first IM'ed in high school I wanted to write a book on IM etiquette. Your style of typing and response time are crucial. If you wait too long to write back to someone you really should apologize....of course now I would include SL etiquette as well. I once sent a message to a friend over IM and I accidentally had the capslock on. Without even thinking about it I sent her a secondary message that read "sorry for yelling".
I think if we had this service available to patrons it would be very helpful. I think that many patrons would be willing to use it--especially when the reference desk is busy during midterms/finals.
Props to author Jesse Wilkins for using "boon" in an article. I liked the four phases of organizational use of IM; I know ILL has used in in the past to communicate internally while on conference calls but I didn't think organizations would be willing to mandate it as a form of communication.
Libraries using MeeboMe for Embedded Chat
I had no idea that UCB and Stanford used IM as one of their "Ask a Librarian" tools. I've IM'ed with PG&E about my electric bill before and that was pretty cool. I think patrons (and people in general--including myself) love instant results and IMing with a research librarian would be quite helpful. Although, I'm sure there are a large number of undergrads who are working on papers late at night and of course we wouldn't be able to IM then.
YackPack Tour
I think that it is pretty cool you can install it on your own webpage. For the group chats I agree with the YackPack claim "it is important to capture your tone of voice".....but what keeps everyone from talking all at once? I recently 'iChatted' with my brother while I was visiting with my sister (we were on her computer) and I could tell there was a few seconds delay. We mostly interrupted each other and talked over each other....but of course we are siblings and we weren't in a professional setting. I also heard that IBM now conducts all conference calls via Second Life....did I mention that before?
YackPack Live Voice
Ummm....I'm on the desk so I can't really run this video right now....maybe later.
I left the 23 Things 2.0 Team an offline message. Jeez, where are you guys it's Sunday afternoon, shouldn't you be waiting by the computer to see if anyone is doing their 23 things?
I think that if used properly, IMing has a lot of potential in the library. I know I use it sometimes to communicate with Polly Mae....since it's SOOOOOOOO far to walk downstairs to ask her a question. It also helps when I have a quick question and I don't want to tie up either the ILL or alternate Circ phone line. Also, when I was an undergraduate one of my TA's gave us his 3 IM handles (AIM, Yahoo!, and ICQ). At first I thought it was a little weird, but it worked out: I had a question about the reading one night, he was online and we chatted and I got my question answered. I don't IM too often but when I do I feel self-conscious about my writing. I usually only type to friends and I don't care about punctuation or grammar. However, if I was in a large chat room instead of a conference call, I would feel the need to be more proper. I also feel a little uncomfortable using all those abbreviations. I'm down with the occasional "lol", but only if I really am "lol". Those "rotflmao" and such are a little too much for me. Ever since I first IM'ed in high school I wanted to write a book on IM etiquette. Your style of typing and response time are crucial. If you wait too long to write back to someone you really should apologize....of course now I would include SL etiquette as well. I once sent a message to a friend over IM and I accidentally had the capslock on. Without even thinking about it I sent her a secondary message that read "sorry for yelling".
I think if we had this service available to patrons it would be very helpful. I think that many patrons would be willing to use it--especially when the reference desk is busy during midterms/finals.
Thing #13: Wikis 2
Wow. I contributed to a wiki. That was completely painless. I've never actually tried that before. I'm a little confused, in the pb&j intro it stated if you were the wiki creator/manager you could simply share your password with people you wanted to allow to modify your wiki. (Which is probably the case with the wikis I tried to edit in the previous step that wouldn't let me.); but this wiki and the ALA 06 one allowed me to edit without entering anything. I know it sounds strange but I like the idea of anyone being able to add content....but the fact that anyone can delete is a little scary.
Well, I added the second paragraph under "Interlibrary Loan" . It's a brief overview of our best practices. Many thanks to Kerry Scott, Jennifer Walker (Laredo), Gina Tiramisou (not her real last name), Sarah Troy, Lisa Landsberg, and Kim Levy for establishing these best practices and making us a team based unit.
Well, I added the second paragraph under "Interlibrary Loan" . It's a brief overview of our best practices. Many thanks to Kerry Scott, Jennifer Walker (Laredo), Gina Tiramisou (not her real last name), Sarah Troy, Lisa Landsberg, and Kim Levy for establishing these best practices and making us a team based unit.
Thing #12: Wikis 1
So yeah. I've been getting Wikis confused with widgets....those handy little things that sometimes pop up when I'm working on a Mac. Oh by the way, did you know that some college on the east coast had to write in their regulations that quoting Wikipedia in research papers was not allowed. I love looking things up in wikipedia, but honestly, as a source for collegiate papers?? Come on now people! I can't believe they actually had to make it part of their rules.....don't people know better than to use Wikipedia like that? I mean if you want to find out what year the Avett Brothers released their first underground track, then fine....but using it for real research??? Anywho, let's see what librarians are using wikis for....
The Mansfield Library Social Sciences Wiki Page
This wiki looks like it took a lot of hard work for the librarian who created it. I noticed that in order to add content to the wiki page you have to have a password. I thought one of the benefits of wikis was that anyone could add info without having to subscribe to something. I can see how this page connects one to Social Science related links & journals, but how is this better than our own "Research" tab? I couldn't imagine anyone but the research librarians adding content to this wiki so why not just have an internal page like ours? I do like the link on the bottom to create your own wiki though.
Book Lovers Wiki
I like the idea of a wiki solely dedicated to book reviews. Also, when you click on any of the book titles it links you to the Princeton Public Library catalog results. I feel a little uneasy about only having one genre for 'non-fiction' and no subset subject categories. Although I suppose a public library can do that without worrying too much. Again, I tried to add content and a sandwich popped up asking me to subscribe $ ... I thought wikis were free. I'm confused.
Library Success: A best practices wiki
I LOVE this idea. Sharing best practices internationally is awesome! Not just reading about guiding principles but learning about staff training, grant writing, services for specific groups...etc is extremely beneficial. I want to know why I have not heard about this service before. I think that changing and improving processes is an important part of providing quality patron service and sharing great ideas and best practices in an easily accessible media is awesome!
ALA 2006 New Orleans wiki
Let me just state that attending an ALA conference is a dream of mine. So if anyone wants to contribute to Sheri's ALA '08 Fund, I accept M.O., cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and PayPal. However, now with this New Orleans 06 Wiki, I can pretend like I was there! Oh and did anyone notice the link to the pictures on Flickr?? Also with this wiki and the one listed above, ANYONE can add information!
I've been having problems with thinking up of library uses for a couple of the 23 things....but wikis, no way! Now here's a way we can share information and improve our practices easily and instantly!
The Mansfield Library Social Sciences Wiki Page
This wiki looks like it took a lot of hard work for the librarian who created it. I noticed that in order to add content to the wiki page you have to have a password. I thought one of the benefits of wikis was that anyone could add info without having to subscribe to something. I can see how this page connects one to Social Science related links & journals, but how is this better than our own "Research" tab? I couldn't imagine anyone but the research librarians adding content to this wiki so why not just have an internal page like ours? I do like the link on the bottom to create your own wiki though.
Book Lovers Wiki
I like the idea of a wiki solely dedicated to book reviews. Also, when you click on any of the book titles it links you to the Princeton Public Library catalog results. I feel a little uneasy about only having one genre for 'non-fiction' and no subset subject categories. Although I suppose a public library can do that without worrying too much. Again, I tried to add content and a sandwich popped up asking me to subscribe $ ... I thought wikis were free. I'm confused.
Library Success: A best practices wiki
I LOVE this idea. Sharing best practices internationally is awesome! Not just reading about guiding principles but learning about staff training, grant writing, services for specific groups...etc is extremely beneficial. I want to know why I have not heard about this service before. I think that changing and improving processes is an important part of providing quality patron service and sharing great ideas and best practices in an easily accessible media is awesome!
ALA 2006 New Orleans wiki
Let me just state that attending an ALA conference is a dream of mine. So if anyone wants to contribute to Sheri's ALA '08 Fund, I accept M.O., cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and PayPal. However, now with this New Orleans 06 Wiki, I can pretend like I was there! Oh and did anyone notice the link to the pictures on Flickr?? Also with this wiki and the one listed above, ANYONE can add information!
I've been having problems with thinking up of library uses for a couple of the 23 things....but wikis, no way! Now here's a way we can share information and improve our practices easily and instantly!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thing #11: Folksonomies, LibraryThing
First, let me begin by saying "The love child of Melvyl, Dewey, and Web 2.0" is my favorite quote of the month. I love it.
LibraryThing is amazing! Polly Mae and I are truly having fun searching it. I love everything about it that I have explored so far. I looked up one of my favorite books, The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud, and I was greeted with a cloud (?) of tags used to describe it, a list of recommended books, reviews, links to chats about the book, ratings, links to bookstores I could purchase it at, pictures of different covers, probably all of the different ISBNs for it, and (my favorite) WIKIPEDIA LINKS relating to the book. WOW.
I've read many of the books on the recommended reading list, but some I haven't heard of. After learning more about them, there is no question as to why they are associated with The Interpretation of Dreams. I really like that the recommended books aren't just a list of other works by Freud, nor are they reviews of the original book. I think the tags for this are awesome! Are they created by the members who own this book, or does LibraryThing have a set of basic ones that are tagged on purpose?
I really liked looking at the Danbury Public catalog. I would love it if Cruzcat would link to LibraryThing. It seems like our patrons would get so much more out of just one simple search! The only LC subject headings for my book were "psychoanalysis", "dreams", and sometimes the author's name. It would be much more helpful if the dozen tags related to the subject popped up along with the recommended reading list. I vote for it. Do we have to have a bake sale to get it?
ps Mon rocks.
LibraryThing is amazing! Polly Mae and I are truly having fun searching it. I love everything about it that I have explored so far. I looked up one of my favorite books, The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud, and I was greeted with a cloud (?) of tags used to describe it, a list of recommended books, reviews, links to chats about the book, ratings, links to bookstores I could purchase it at, pictures of different covers, probably all of the different ISBNs for it, and (my favorite) WIKIPEDIA LINKS relating to the book. WOW.
I've read many of the books on the recommended reading list, but some I haven't heard of. After learning more about them, there is no question as to why they are associated with The Interpretation of Dreams. I really like that the recommended books aren't just a list of other works by Freud, nor are they reviews of the original book. I think the tags for this are awesome! Are they created by the members who own this book, or does LibraryThing have a set of basic ones that are tagged on purpose?
I really liked looking at the Danbury Public catalog. I would love it if Cruzcat would link to LibraryThing. It seems like our patrons would get so much more out of just one simple search! The only LC subject headings for my book were "psychoanalysis", "dreams", and sometimes the author's name. It would be much more helpful if the dozen tags related to the subject popped up along with the recommended reading list. I vote for it. Do we have to have a bake sale to get it?
ps Mon rocks.
Thing #10: Technocrati, Tagging and Pinging
I must admit, I like saying the word "ping". That's about it. I felt a little weird pinging the world and letting them know I updated my blog. I don't think anybody would really care too much. I went back to see if any of the blog search engines could find my blog.....I used very specific keywords from previous entries that only my blog, or someone else doing UCSC Lib 2.0 would have. Of the 9 search engines I tried, only two (Technocrati and Ice Rocket) "found" me. (Weblogs, Feedburner, Feedster, Blogdigger, Yahoo!, WeBlogALot, PubSub could not).
I'm not sure if the search engines 'look' only at my most recent blog or if they search keywords throughout any blog that has pinged them. I tried keywords from both my most recent and the earlier blogs and again only the two search engines worked.
I'm trying to move away from the idea that blogs are just social networking tools used by high schoolers to update the world on what they wore to class. I can see that we are all obviously using these blogs to learn more about how new technology can help us better serve our patrons but I'm not sure how pinging would come in to play when it comes to helping with academic research. If I was a student looking up research tools I wouldn't think to search a blog engine for information. Even if I knew a "research blog" existed, I'd probably just go to it instead of searching. Of course, that is just my humble opinion and maybe people who are more blog savvy and look at them in a different light would disagree. Also, I can see the benefits in using it to communicate internally about events and changes in the library.
I'm not sure if the search engines 'look' only at my most recent blog or if they search keywords throughout any blog that has pinged them. I tried keywords from both my most recent and the earlier blogs and again only the two search engines worked.
I'm trying to move away from the idea that blogs are just social networking tools used by high schoolers to update the world on what they wore to class. I can see that we are all obviously using these blogs to learn more about how new technology can help us better serve our patrons but I'm not sure how pinging would come in to play when it comes to helping with academic research. If I was a student looking up research tools I wouldn't think to search a blog engine for information. Even if I knew a "research blog" existed, I'd probably just go to it instead of searching. Of course, that is just my humble opinion and maybe people who are more blog savvy and look at them in a different light would disagree. Also, I can see the benefits in using it to communicate internally about events and changes in the library.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Thing #9: Del.icio.us
Dude. Del.icio.us---awesome! Between this and bloglines I'm never going to have to remember anything again. I've already added a bunch of sites and I'm excited to use them. This is going to be so helpful when working out at the Access Desk. Sure, we have a few sites bookmarked but now I will have EVERYTHING. As sad as it is, I've actually memorized the VDX site, http://ucill.cdlib.org:8082/vdx/index.html and that was my mental bookmark. AND I don't have to guess at the 23 things site anymore.... was it ucsc23learning...ucsclearning23....23learningucsc.....The only depressing part about this wonderful program is that the only sites I can think of to mark are work related..... This service has obvious potential as an academic research tool. Students and Faculty can bookmark helpful research pages and tools and access them from anywhere! I wish I knew about this a long time ago.
Back From Vacation
I hope nobody gave up on me: I have not lost interest in the 23 things, I've just been on vacation. Where did I go, you ask? I spent a few days in Washington (state, not DC) with my sister for our birthday--we were born on the same day, but 6 years apart... I had to bake a little longer. I then traveled to the beautiful, exotic land of Hesperia. Although it is only 30 miles away, Hesperia is considered the classier, nicer version of Barstow. They have THREE Del Tacos. Barstow only has a mere two. Although, Barstow can claim the very first DelTaco was built there & they have larger tacos. I recommend the #6: Quesadilla, two tacos and a soda. I LOVE Del Taco. I once drove to Watsonville quell my craving. No joke. Hesperia is also home to three other things I love: my best friend, her children, and of course Ma Dukes. The picture above, courtesy of Andy12-74 on Flickr, is a nice representation of the High Desert. You know you want to visit. Hit me up and we'll carpool.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Thing #8: Second Life
A little over a month ago, my brother sent me an article about Second Life. Apparently someone just made their first million dollars in (real) money. I didn't really realize what a big deal it was. I guess I'm out of the loop. I thought Myspace was the new hip thing. I know there's a lot of chatter about Second Life and to be honest I am wary of it. I like to think of myself as a (future) Social Psychologist.... it's scary to me to think of people interacting more in a virtual world than in the real world.
My brother and I are working on Third Life..... You create an avatar and it controls your Second Life avatar... which then controls you.
OK, Seriously though I CAN see the potential in SecondLife for libraries and academic research..... as a TOOL. Watching the SJSU video and reading about virtual museums, and *gasp* the possibility of only virtual books gives me the impression that people want to use these in place of their real-world counterparts. Students are going to go to Second Life class instead of going to a lecture hall. It's just scary to me, that's all. I think face-to-face interaction is very important. However, I can see virtual libraries as a helpful tool for undergrads and even grads studying. I am having issues thinking of ways it can benefit the larger community.... although I can see how faculty members would like to post recorded lectures or assignments... I just hope that high schools don't start using SecondLife. Not everyone has equal access to computers & the internet.
I told my brother about the uses of libraries in Second Life. He had this to say....
Bubba: "I want my iPhone to chat with my treo and then they can mate in second life to create a flip phone that will send emails to my camera.........
.......then they will transform. like the transformers.
take over the world!!
Decepticons UNITE!
Autobots Roll Out!"
My brother and I are working on Third Life..... You create an avatar and it controls your Second Life avatar... which then controls you.
OK, Seriously though I CAN see the potential in SecondLife for libraries and academic research..... as a TOOL. Watching the SJSU video and reading about virtual museums, and *gasp* the possibility of only virtual books gives me the impression that people want to use these in place of their real-world counterparts. Students are going to go to Second Life class instead of going to a lecture hall. It's just scary to me, that's all. I think face-to-face interaction is very important. However, I can see virtual libraries as a helpful tool for undergrads and even grads studying. I am having issues thinking of ways it can benefit the larger community.... although I can see how faculty members would like to post recorded lectures or assignments... I just hope that high schools don't start using SecondLife. Not everyone has equal access to computers & the internet.
I told my brother about the uses of libraries in Second Life. He had this to say....
Bubba: "I want my iPhone to chat with my treo and then they can mate in second life to create a flip phone that will send emails to my camera.........
.......then they will transform. like the transformers.
take over the world!!
Decepticons UNITE!
Autobots Roll Out!"
Thing #7 Social Networks 2
Yes. I have a Myspace page. To be honest, I had one already. I go through phases of using it. I'll get into it for about a month and then slack off.... then there will be to many messages to answer and comments to return. It's too much. I haven't logged in to my personal one since May I think. I can't log in until I answer all the messages...I don't want to be rude-even in fake life.
I do have a Interlibrary Lynn Myspace account though. Maybe I'll upload a picture or two. I was thinking about the library/academic uses for Myspace and I remembered that students have an option to list classes they are taking. They enter in their school and then the class code (Psych01) and it will link their profiles with everyone in the class (who also have a Myspace who also entered the class). A separate page is created with blogs you can create with subjects and what not. Forming study groups, help with homework or complaining about teaching styles can all be done on this page. Maybe if there was a way to automatically create a library link whenever a student enters 'UCSC' as their school. If we did have those special, nifty research pages for the class it could link to that as well.
I do have a Interlibrary Lynn Myspace account though. Maybe I'll upload a picture or two. I was thinking about the library/academic uses for Myspace and I remembered that students have an option to list classes they are taking. They enter in their school and then the class code (Psych01) and it will link their profiles with everyone in the class (who also have a Myspace who also entered the class). A separate page is created with blogs you can create with subjects and what not. Forming study groups, help with homework or complaining about teaching styles can all be done on this page. Maybe if there was a way to automatically create a library link whenever a student enters 'UCSC' as their school. If we did have those special, nifty research pages for the class it could link to that as well.
Thing #6: Social Networks 1
Social Networks.....
MySpace.....
aaah. Myspace. I know it's very easy to get sucked in to Myspace. I have many friends who do most of their social interactions through their myspace profiles. The etiquette rules on myspace are what get me... so and so commented on your page and you took more than one day to respond....or you logged on and didn't send them a picture back.... too weird. It also creeps me out that people you've never met before find you and ask to be your friend. I guess it's a good thing.... but still kinda creepy. Oh, and the only protection on there for young people is changing your age to under 14....which makes your profile private. But that isn't enforced and it can be easily changed.
Facebook...
I've never really used Facebook, but it looks fun and I've heard good feedback on it. I do like that you can link pictures with everyone. Although I would be nervous about putting my name and face out there... I heard someone talking about Facebook in lecture a couple of years ago and she said "Yeah, I only use Facebook because it's more elitist. People who use Myspace aren't even in college." ......that alone turned me off to Facebook. Although I guess now it's open to everyone. I'm still not in to it.
Ning...
I like the fact that this is arranged for groups. I found a lotr group and there are all kinds of posts and comments AND RSS feeds! Very cool. Still probably not for me though.
.....Still trying to think of ways libraries can use these sites though. I mean I could see setting up library or academic research related pages, but will people really use them? If people are going to myspace to leave comment pictures of the fun time last night, are they really going to stop off to do research on their paper?
MySpace.....
aaah. Myspace. I know it's very easy to get sucked in to Myspace. I have many friends who do most of their social interactions through their myspace profiles. The etiquette rules on myspace are what get me... so and so commented on your page and you took more than one day to respond....or you logged on and didn't send them a picture back.... too weird. It also creeps me out that people you've never met before find you and ask to be your friend. I guess it's a good thing.... but still kinda creepy. Oh, and the only protection on there for young people is changing your age to under 14....which makes your profile private. But that isn't enforced and it can be easily changed.
Facebook...
I've never really used Facebook, but it looks fun and I've heard good feedback on it. I do like that you can link pictures with everyone. Although I would be nervous about putting my name and face out there... I heard someone talking about Facebook in lecture a couple of years ago and she said "Yeah, I only use Facebook because it's more elitist. People who use Myspace aren't even in college." ......that alone turned me off to Facebook. Although I guess now it's open to everyone. I'm still not in to it.
Ning...
I like the fact that this is arranged for groups. I found a lotr group and there are all kinds of posts and comments AND RSS feeds! Very cool. Still probably not for me though.
.....Still trying to think of ways libraries can use these sites though. I mean I could see setting up library or academic research related pages, but will people really use them? If people are going to myspace to leave comment pictures of the fun time last night, are they really going to stop off to do research on their paper?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Thing #5b: RSS & Newsreaders 2
Well I subscribed to a few more feeds. It's interesting to see how easy the RSS feed URL is to find on some sites. Some browsers prompt you to save the feed but I think it would only work for the computer you are working on at the time (unless it prompts you to sign in to Bloglines or similar site of course). I usually sign in to Bloglines, find the feed URL & copy paste it.
I had to hunt for the feed URL on both the American Psychological Association & American Sociological Association sites. It was not user friendly. The ASA feed is interesting too; when I look at it on Bloglines, I don't get the "forum" it promises. Instead, there is just the link that opens up a new window back in the ASA forum site. Weird. It's hard to tell sometimes if a site doesn't have an RSS feed, or if it is just hidden. Of course the LAKERS homepage had a quick easy link on the left-hand side of the screen in the menu bar. SO easy. Now I can keep up on my LAKERS!!!
I had to hunt for the feed URL on both the American Psychological Association & American Sociological Association sites. It was not user friendly. The ASA feed is interesting too; when I look at it on Bloglines, I don't get the "forum" it promises. Instead, there is just the link that opens up a new window back in the ASA forum site. Weird. It's hard to tell sometimes if a site doesn't have an RSS feed, or if it is just hidden. Of course the LAKERS homepage had a quick easy link on the left-hand side of the screen in the menu bar. SO easy. Now I can keep up on my LAKERS!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Thing #5a RSS & NewsReaders1
Wow. I feel so high-tech. I had no idea what the little orange icon on all of those websites was. Now I know. It's an RSS feed....or as PollyMae calls it the R.O.U.S. We both got help from Kerry today and I think I'm going to go to the check-ins from now on.
So I didn't really know what the rss things were... I knew they were cool and somehow related to podcasts but I had no idea how to use them. I set up subscriptions to other lib2.0 blogs and a few nerdy news sites, but I am definitely going to add more. Kerry was telling me there is a Firefox extension that allows you to have a running ticker instead of logging in to bloglines for new postings. At first that sounded like a good idea, but I think I would get too distracted while working. I would rather dedicate 10 minutes a day to logging in Bloglines and reading my news.
I know that after Lib 2.0 I'm going to be using bloglines. I can get all my news reports in one place! I think that libraries could get a lot of use out of RSS feeds; PollyMae & Kerry found the Santa Cruz Public Library RSS and it's very cool. There was a different feed for each genre or you could subscribe to 'all books' I wish UCSC had an RSS feed! You could use it for upcoming events or exhibits. You could probably even specialize it per department. Undergrads or grads could get updates on news from their departments, or new library resources.
So I didn't really know what the rss things were... I knew they were cool and somehow related to podcasts but I had no idea how to use them. I set up subscriptions to other lib2.0 blogs and a few nerdy news sites, but I am definitely going to add more. Kerry was telling me there is a Firefox extension that allows you to have a running ticker instead of logging in to bloglines for new postings. At first that sounded like a good idea, but I think I would get too distracted while working. I would rather dedicate 10 minutes a day to logging in Bloglines and reading my news.
I know that after Lib 2.0 I'm going to be using bloglines. I can get all my news reports in one place! I think that libraries could get a lot of use out of RSS feeds; PollyMae & Kerry found the Santa Cruz Public Library RSS and it's very cool. There was a different feed for each genre or you could subscribe to 'all books' I wish UCSC had an RSS feed! You could use it for upcoming events or exhibits. You could probably even specialize it per department. Undergrads or grads could get updates on news from their departments, or new library resources.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thing #4 ... Discovering Flickr
This is a picture of beautiful Hanauma Bay on the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i. My father grew up here and he used to swim in this bay everyday......yet somehow I was raised in Barstow.
I really like Flickr, it's pretty interesting. It is a little strange scrolling through the pictures and seeing random faces. I feel like I'm looking through a stranger's vacation album and I'm not supposed to. I do really like the creative commons link provided by Lib 2.0 but I wish it would be easier to find through the homepage. Sarah Troy had to help me find it. It helps when trying to figure out if you can post a picture or not. By the way I must give credit to christopherdale for taking this gorgeous picture.
I'm having some trouble thinking of good uses for libraries.... and that makes me feel lame. However, if I was a sociology major doing a research paper on Hurricane Katrina, I could find pictures and legally use them in my paper right?
Also I'm a little confused.... should I be thinking of library use of Flickr as a photo database alone or as an aid to a library blog?
hmmmm...
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
#3 Blogging 2 (week 2 task)
So, I explored the different blog search engines to see if I could find out what people thought of Self Check Machines. My personal topic of interest was to see if anyone was gossiping about either of my siblings (probably hard to catch since most people wouldn't use a first and last name in a blog). Here are my stream of consciousness thoughts on the search engines.....
Technorati.
Ha! Should be called Technocrappy. I couldn't find anything.
BlogScope:
I really like the "hot keywords" feature... it's interesting to see what other people are searching. At first I was impressed with the color-coded graphs.... but it started to feel a little overwhelming. If you're like most people you want instant results and you don't want to think about them. I know that sounds horrible, but come on you know it's true. If you're doing an in-depth search, these features may be helpful but the negative skews, popularity curves, time restrictions, etc. made me feel like I was back in Stats class.
Sphere
I really like this search engine. The first thing I noticed was the large search menu at the top of the screen with bold, large text. VERY user friendly. I also liked the fact you could sort your results by relevance or date and that you could choose a time range of posted blogs to search.
Blog.ask.com
I must admit, I've been a little wary of ask.com ever since they killed Jeeves. I really liked that guy. ... but after searching I was reintroduced to the best feature of ask.com: the binocular function. It is incredibly helpful to have a little preview of potential pages of interest--especially when looking for a blog. The other search engines did show the first few sentences of the blog results but the binocular feature allows you to read more than that to make sure the post is about your topic.
.....oh and no one has said anything bad about my brother or sister.
Technorati.
Ha! Should be called Technocrappy. I couldn't find anything.
BlogScope:
I really like the "hot keywords" feature... it's interesting to see what other people are searching. At first I was impressed with the color-coded graphs.... but it started to feel a little overwhelming. If you're like most people you want instant results and you don't want to think about them. I know that sounds horrible, but come on you know it's true. If you're doing an in-depth search, these features may be helpful but the negative skews, popularity curves, time restrictions, etc. made me feel like I was back in Stats class.
Sphere
I really like this search engine. The first thing I noticed was the large search menu at the top of the screen with bold, large text. VERY user friendly. I also liked the fact you could sort your results by relevance or date and that you could choose a time range of posted blogs to search.
Blog.ask.com
I must admit, I've been a little wary of ask.com ever since they killed Jeeves. I really liked that guy. ... but after searching I was reintroduced to the best feature of ask.com: the binocular function. It is incredibly helpful to have a little preview of potential pages of interest--especially when looking for a blog. The other search engines did show the first few sentences of the blog results but the binocular feature allows you to read more than that to make sure the post is about your topic.
.....oh and no one has said anything bad about my brother or sister.
ummm.....
ok so I just tried to look for library friends on this blogsite and the home page has YouTube videos and Fergalicious lyrics on it......oh and all the links are in Spanish. hmmmmmm.....
#2 Blogging 1 (Week 1 Task)
Hello Ms. Blog.
Polly Mae, Sarah Troy and Kerry Scott helped me set up this blog. I'm new to all of this so I hope I'm doing it right. Polly Mae says I am. It was actually very easy to create, I'm interested to see how I post & receive comments on these entries.
FYI I work in Interlibrary Loan and my first name is actually Sheri-Lynn....hence my extremely clever title.
haha
-Sheri
Polly Mae, Sarah Troy and Kerry Scott helped me set up this blog. I'm new to all of this so I hope I'm doing it right. Polly Mae says I am. It was actually very easy to create, I'm interested to see how I post & receive comments on these entries.
FYI I work in Interlibrary Loan and my first name is actually Sheri-Lynn....hence my extremely clever title.
haha
-Sheri
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