#23 My experiences and thoughts about the 23 Things Challenge

I really love that Infopeople did this -

We were discussing how we could set this up for our system, on our own, and like many libraries we were confronting shortages in time and staffing. When Infopeople announced their challenge it was a great way to get more staff involved and participating in learning new things. Some of our branches were starting to look at doing something at a branch level, and with Infopeople providing the structure, it became really easy to get things going.

I don't know how many of our staff have participated, but I do know that there is a greater familiarity and comfort with all these new things out in the field now. Thank you for helping us out - and we are looking at how we can take your framework and implement it on an ongoing basis, with local incentives, to get even more staff members up on 23 Things.

#22 Teaching people about Web 2.0

I've actually been doing this more or less ever since the original 23 Things came out of Charlotte Mecklenburg County. I've talked about Wikis, set Wikis up, trained people in how to use Wiki's, etc.

I've taught people how to set up Bloglines. I've talked about Flickr and what we can do with Flickr. I admit that teaching is one of my challenges - I can be a bit impatient and so I may not be the best of instructors. But I can definitely turn people onto the possibilities of new technologies. I am proud of the fact that more and more of our branches are setting up their own Wikis, to share information about their branch practices and information. I'm pleased that more and more staff members are tracking new trends and bringing new tools and new technologies up in the meetings. I like to think I had a little to do with this, as I've been talking about and introducing a lot of this stuff to staff and colleagues. And I think I've done a pretty good job spreading the word as an Administrator - I rarely get the chance to go out and deal directly with the public anymore.

#21 Podcasts and podcast search tools

Okay, it is something of a bummer that Yahoo is closing down their Podcast site.

I like the listings they have here and I like seeing what is "most popular". There are lots of podcasts out there. Radio has definitely figured out that podcasts are a great way to get their stories out there. And then there are all the other interesting subject podcasts -

For the library, I can see all sorts of fun applications. You can have podcasts on how to research a particular subject that you could set up as a loop on a computer - imagine a podcast on how to find information on a CA Mission during the Mission assignment rush! You could do mini audio trainings on the catalog, the Internet, particular programs, etc.

Next we just need to do little Webcasts - with both sound and pictures. :-)

#20 YouTube

I adore YouTube.

I keep finding fun things on it. You can post slideshows, find weird Librarian videos, and generally waste lots of time on YouTube. A good friend of mine entertains her 2 small children with YouTube. There are so many fun things.

From a Library perspective, it is a great way to get images of your library out there. You can publicize events, do great PR pieces (like the Denver Library reading cat video). It makes me want to go out and buy a video camera...

#19 Google Maps and My Maps

I really love Google Maps, and I like that I can create a customized map for people. I really like the customization feature because Google Maps and all the other GPS systems all get the location of my house WRONG! Our address always shows up in the middle of the street when we are actually at the end of the street. It is rather annoying.

But with customization, I can let everyone know that the satellites are all screwed up. :-)

Well, I just tried a really silly quiz off that I heard about through another blog - it isn't exactly 23 Things, but I HAD to find out which Sesame Street Character I am.

Looks like I'm Big Bird -

Which Sesame Street Character Are You?
	You are Big Bird. You are something of an eccentric, and not everyone always gives you credit for your inventiveness and intelligence. You may not always know everything, but people turn to you for your sound, unique logic. Plus, you have a big heart. Really big.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

#18 Online Productivity Tools

We started tracking Google writer and Zoho almost a year ago - our staff developed a comparison/cheat sheet on the products, so staff would know what they could do and what they couldn't.

I think it is fascinating that Zoho keeps adding applications - not only can you do word processing, spreadsheets, etc. but now you can ALSO use Zoho Project for project planning and management, Zoho CRM, Zoho Wiki for easy Wiki development and much more.

In our libraries, this is a good resource for those people that don't have a PC at home and are working on something over time, and they don't have access to an external drive or storage device. Using one of these online applications allows them to work on a novel, a large report or assignment and save it. Granted if something happens to the application provider, you could lose data. But it is definitely useful, gives you easy access and is better than not having anything.

#17 Editing the 23 Things Wiki

I have to say that I enjoy the ease of editing in most Wikis - it makes it very easy to add your thoughts and ideas.

I added a blurb on YouTube to the 23 Things Wiki because I LOVE YouTube. I was visiting friends in Austin, TX this past weekend and we found ourselves looking at various silly things on YouTube at one point.

I showed the dark music video "I want to be a Librarian" where the 2 gorgeous young librarians basically lure a young man into the stacks and smash in the compact shelving. Then we also looked at code monkey and a few other really silly vids. It was great fun.

But YouTube is both fun and practical - you can get the word out on programs, parties, movie nights and other things at the Library. You can film short "how to" videos for people and post them on YouTube. So a fun tool is also practical. I like that combo. :-)

#16 Wikis

I actually have a good friend who has done a lot of work on Wikipedia and so I've known about the power of the Wiki for awhile.

In terms of its application in a library, I'm seeing all sorts of innovative uses. We've started exploring Wikis for both staff and the public. We used the Wetpaint Wiki site (the same used by Nancy Pearl) to start a Wiki on our Inaugural Literary Orange event last April. It was fun to post information on our authors, our event, etc.

Internally, staff have developed branch wikis, to meet the needs at our branches. We've also started a system-wide staff Wiki, to share policy, procedures, pathfinders, etc. And this Wiki is really starting to take off - we are using it to share documents as we work on the development of policies; to help us organize other resources and tools that all of us use. We have been cautious, but a number of interested staff (thanks to 23 Things and various other programs and trainings that have been available) are starting to really explore the potential of the Wiki software.

I'm looking forward to further developments - I do think the Wiki software encourages cooperation and communication, all of which benefits our staff and system.

#15 - Web 2.0, Library 2.0, etc.

I've been reading lots and lots of stuff on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 -

As more and more of us in system are doing the 23 Things Challenge, I'm hearing more and more stories. I love the question that came up "Web 2.0? What was Web 1.0? Did I miss something?"

It is simply a fact of life anymore that if you blink you will miss something. I have subscribed to the trendwatching blog TechCrunch and I have to admit there are days when I am just OVERWHELMED by the new tools, programs, services, etc. that are coming out on the web. It keeps reminding me of how little I really know, but also motivates me not to get too lazy or comfortable. And you never know when one of the many NEW things will jump out at you and solve a problem or enhance services.

Doing little things - trying a blog, adding a comment to someone else's conversation online, looking at pictures from Friends on Flickr, etc. It is all part of 2.0 and it is all part of talking to each other. And if we learn how our customers are talking to each other, we can better talk to them and help them.

I really appreciate all the things that the State Library and Infopeople are doing to help us all keep up and stay connected to Library 2.0.

Oops... I meant #13 with Del.icio.us

Oops. I lost count and jumped ahead. I'm looking at Technorati now, and setting things up. Tracking different blogs is interesting. I'm still not sure how I will use this myself, but hey, I'm trying.

Tags, tags, and more tags - Challenge # 14

I've set up my Del.icio.us account and I'm tagging all sorts of sites now -

I'm finding it particularly handy to collect information for our web site design committee and for administration as we look at things like online library card registration. I can quickly collect library websites that have online registration and pull them all together with tags. The tags aren't wildly interesting, but it is fun and gets you thinking about things in a different way.

Rollyo Search engines - # 12

Okay, this is pretty cool - you can pull all your favorite websites together and search them at once. I created a college football search engine, which will come in VERY handy during football season, as I have been known to travel for football.

I also tested Debra Messing's shopping engine and liked some of the results, but definitely feel that the list needs to be augmented - there just aren't enough shopping sites in it! (Can you tell what my 2 favorite things are? Football and shopping. :-) Yes, I know I am weird.)

I can see how this could be handy at the reference desk - we could have customized search engines for homework assignments. It would make pulling results together very easy for something like this.

#11 Library Thing

I love Library Thing - My Dad has been cataloging all of his baseball books in Library Thing, and he is completely addicted, so I knew it was going to be a fun and interesting site.

I started cataloging some of my favorite books, including some of my newer cookbooks. I posted a Library Thing widget to my blog here - also a cool feature. I love the tools and the discussions on books that come out of Library Thing. At least one Library, the Danbury Library in CONN is using the Library Thing for Libraries.

Library Thing is social networking for bibliophiles.

#10 Image generator play

So I played with some image generators - kind of fun. Not something I ever thought I'd do - I don't think of myself as the creative type, so I've never been one to play with images. I recognize good work when I see it and appreciate it, but never thought I could do it. The Image generators change that for sure.

Here are the 2 things I created - a Tarot card for the Empress and a graffiti'd Mona Lisa. The possibilities are endless and these programs can certainly make it easier to add fun images to the web.

Finally got around to #5 - mashups with Flickr

I played around a bit with Captioner, to see what I could do with the bubbles over people's heads. I like the software a lot - it is easy and allows you to have a little bit of fun with some images. I can see using it for pictures on the web site, to create a more interesting slideshow on Flickr, with a kind of commentary.

The other mashups look interesting and fun too - it I was doing more direct design or live web production, I could see using these programs.

For creative types (i.e. not me) these would be great!

Well, I've signed on with Twitter...#9

I've signed up for Twitter and loaded a picture so I will now show up in public timelines on the site. I am comtemplating sending my friend in Austin an invite, and then we can play with Twitter and do some catch up.

The Twitter sign up is easy and simple. I'm not exactly sure how useful it will be for people to know what I'm doing, but hey, I'm willing to try it out.

#8 on the list of 23 things - useful Library Blogs

I have added numerous blogs to my bloglines account now, so I can regularly track things. I'm already subscribed to the Shifted Librarian, I've added Helene Blowers LibraryBytes, Michael Porter's Library Man blog and the open source for libraries blog oss4lib.org.

All are good for keeping up with new trends, services, etc. as libraries explore Web 2.0. I love the YouTube things that keep coming across via these blogs. Like the most recent video on the Transformation Lab at the Danish Aarhus Library. This was VERY interesting!

At least with bloglines I have a chance of keeping current with all this stuff.

# 7 RSS Feeds and Bloglines

I have a Bloglines account with about 10 RSS feeds that I'm now subscribed to - my favorites include Tame the Web, TechCrunch and Fast Company. I've added a few new ones over the past few days and need to grab the Library man blog to add to my list.

Bloglines makes it easy to track what's happening out there - and these blogs do keep you on your toes and bring new things to the forefront.

I've also looked at other aggregators - like SharpReader - to see how they compare to Bloglines. I think Bloglines is the cleanest and is incredibly easy to set up.

Looking at #6 on the 23 things list...

I puttered around on the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Library site and was very interested to see that they are recruiting Teens to help them develop Teen Services in Second Life. Very 2.0.

We have created an emerging technologies committee and they are going to be looking around Second Life, to see what we might be able to do or if any of our patrons might be interested in finding the Orange County Public Library on their travels through the virtual world.

I've visited the Ann Arbor Public Library before - we are starting the re-design of our website, so we are looking at how we can create an effective e-Library and AAPL always comes up as a good example. I really like the immediacy of their site - things are quickly and easily posted, and library patrons get to contribute to the site. They are definitely engaging their public in conversations about information and services.

Denver PL always has something interesting to offer - I really like the idea of Podcasts on a site. We could do so much with these - there could be short research guides, training sessions, homework assistance, all kinds of things seem ripe for podcasting. And I think podcasting would help us internally as well - We do a lot of staff training and are starting to look at how we can provide a blend of training options.

I kind of think it all boils down to bringing the services to our public - no matter where they are. So to do that effectively we have to look at everything - our traditional services and all the new ways of providing service in our wired world.

More on Infopeople's 23 things...

Well, it seems I've already got a bit of a headstart here -

I have a Flickr account and I do use it -we use it to keep in touch with best friends that live in Texas. We get to see current pictures of nieces and nephews thanks to Flickr. One of my friends loves to take pictures and she uses Flickr to keep her efforts organized, and shares them with us. I've been late to add pix, because we didn't have a good digital camera. But that has changed. I will bring in my Hawaii pictures and post them - and I'll play with some pictures for my libraries too.

#1 & #2 - Infopeople's 23 things

Well, I have already taken the online course Web 2.0: Developing a successful E-branch. And as a result, I've already created my blog. I also read the FAQ's on the 23 Things challenge and I am looking forward to filling in gaps in my knowledge of these new Web 2.0 tools and resources.

Flickr and other Multimedia

I was a bit late getting to the week 3 exercise (OCPL was sponsoring a Literary Festival, Literary Orange, on April 21. I was tied up with that, along with all the other usual things.)

I looked at some of the Libraries using Flickr - I liked what Westmont Public Library was doing, posting pictures of the new books of the month. I thought having pictures of every branch, like Hennepin County would be one way to help people find their branch and for our visual clientele, the pictures would be great.

I like the fact that all of the libraries recognize that it is good to be out there - Flickr is a social photo exchange and it is good to have a presence here, and gain more recognition. The fun pictures of events and things at the Library can also help people see what the library has to offer.

But you have to keep this up and change the pictures regularly - otherwise I could see the Flickr postings getting really stale, really fast.

I like the podcasting idea - having a stash of podcasts for people with information on things like how to put in flooring, etc. would be useful and I can see a role for the library in this. You could do library program podcasts - lots of possibilities.

IM Screen Name - Sparklnbev

Well, its Friday and I finally got around to the week 2 reading and exercises.

I was originally going to try Google Talk, just because I tend to use all things Google (though I am convinced they want to take over the world!). But I ran into a problem with downloading on my work PC. As fixing that would involve grabbing one of our IT guys for help, and since they are all out in the field swapping out computers (ALL of our public access computers are being replaced with new models - that is 32 branch locations), I thought it would be better for me to just opt for AIM.

I did try and access Meebo, to see about a quick chat, but Explorer was having problems too. (Maybe looking ahead to the weekend? Who knows?)

Wikis

I took a look around the various Wikis and I like many of the features that I saw.

We have been looking at and testing Mediawiki software for the development of tools like the ones these libraries have developed. The challenge for us is to find a wiki framework that is easy to use for all staff - and we have staff that range all over the map in terms of their technology skills. The University of Connecticut staff site has a nice "Create a Wiki Page" link at the top of their pages - that's probably something we would need to have. Some of my staff would take to this like ducks to water, while others would be completely baffled.

I do think the whole point should be to make something useful for staff, so that they can better help customers. So it needs to be easy to support and maintain. Most of the wikis I looked at have lots of good information, but I do think we would need to work on getting everyone comfortable with the software, to truly take advantage of the wiki format.

The First Posting

I just finished looking at the library blogs for our Infopeople class on Web 2.0 and EBranches.

I generally liked all of the blogs, though I think the Ann Arbor Public Library has done the best job of incorporating the blog into their web presence. I liked their use of visuals too - it is easy to get around, covers everything and has lots of navigation landmarks to help people get around. Of the other examples, I like the Lansing Teen News blog because Teens are actual contributors.

I was interested to note that most do allow comments, but you have to register first.

Those were the highlights of my quick review of these sites.