Thing 22: Staying Current

I am so excited that I completed the Neflin 23 things. It has been an interesting and productive journey. The time went by very fast and I had fun learning so many new technology features. I have learned some many useful tools to apply to my work environment as well as my personal life. I plan to keep up with Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 by adding more of the web sites that Neflin provided to my RSS aggregator and checking my blog frequently. I like how the RSS keeps updating automatically and I don't have to go in and update settings. Overall this has been a tremendous learning experience and I can't wait to increase my knowledge of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0!!!!!

Thing 21 Student 2.0 Tools

I was very impressed with the Assignment calculator and the Research Project Calculator. I wish I would have known about these tools to assist me in my graduate studies and to keep me on schedule with projects. The assignment calculator is a great tool for students to keep them on track, and with the email reminders they should be able to stay on schedule and not have to resort to doing research the last minute!! I will suggest these tools to my student patrons. I can also use these tools for work for our summer program and for completing tasks, such as participation in our local community parade.

Thing 20 Books 2.0

I feel Book 2.0 tools enhance a reader's experience. I have several books downloaded to my ipod and it is much easier and convenient to have just my ipod instead of an audio book with multiple cd's. I do still enjoy holding a book and reading it. I don't think I will ever get away from doing that. I know Amazon.com offers the Kindle which is a digital version of books that you can download to the device. It's like reading a book, but in a digital format. I find that very interesting and it is on my list to possible purchase in the future.

Thing 19 Other Social Networks

I have had exerperience with WebJunction through my work. I have taken online classes with WebJunction and found them to be very informative. I am a member of Facebook. I looked at the Wikipedia List of social network sites and found so many that I would like to take a look at in the near future.

Thing 18 Facebook and MySpace

I have been a member of Facebook for over a year. I use Facebook to keep up with high school classmates and also the Vera Bradley Fan page. I joined the American Library Association Members Facebook page. I was reading through the various discussions and am amazed at all the help that is given to various library subjects. I read a discussion on best books for middle school boys and Ethnic programming. I can use these various ideas at the library where I am employed. On the "wall", I posted a simple greeting.

I visited the Alachua County Library District and Jacksonville Public Library MySpace Pages. Both were laid out very attractively and provided an abundant amount of information. I can see a usage for my library to create a MySpace page and involve local tweens and teens in the process.

Thing 17 Podcasts

The podcasts I listened to were on children and young adult books. I chose the YA Literature Review podcast from podcast.com to receive a daily RSS feed. I viewed the following resource directories: Podcast.com, Yahoo Podcasts, and Educational Podcast Directory. Podcast.com was easy to navigate and subscribe to podcasts. I had trouble with Yahoo podcasts, I kept getting podcasts where I would have to pay a small fee to listen to. Educational Podcast Directory was easy to use, just the interface was very cluttered. After viewing the different podcasts, I will invest in some podcasts to be delivered to my Mp3 player.

http://podcast.com/show/79417/YA-Literature-Review/

Thing 16 You Tube

I have had experience using You Tube for pleasure and for work (Neflin's 23 Things). My friends/family send me funny videos for me to watch, as well as New Music Videos that are just released. I have also used You Tube to trouble shoot my cell phone and to watch new releases of cell phones. There is a lot of good on You Tube, but with a lot of things, the bad comes along with it also. We have had problems at the library where I work with patrons watching inappropriate materials on You Tube. I have had to tell patrons to close out of a You Tube site for watching things they should not be watching.

I chose the following videos because I find them very entertaining.

The first one is Seasame Street's No Cookies in the Library, which is funny to me because of my experience with odd questions asked at the reference desk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA





The second video I chose was a spoof of music artist Beyonce's video "Single Ladies" by an Obama impersonator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PqI12R8YNU

Thing 15 Rollyo

I created a list of my favorite sites and added them to my Rollyo account. I did the challenge portion of Thing 15 and added a search roll to my blog. Potential uses for Rollyo in my library are for favorite author websites, homework sites, online dictionary/thesaurus, and book sites. Rollyo was very user friendly and easy to navigate.

Thing 14 Online Productivity Tools

I placed two Countdown widgets on my blog. One for the end of Neflin's 23 Things and one for the completion of my Master's Degree in Library Science. I explored the website of Remember the Milk that makes customized lists. This is very productive for me because I am always making To Do Lists for work and for home. I can use Remember the Milk and sync it with my phone for daily to do lists.

I also took a look at Backpack, which has multiple productive tools, such as calenders, lists, messaging, etc. I took a tour of the site and found that it could be used at work. The calender feature lets users input meetings, vacations, doctor's appointments, conferences, etc. and they are all color coordinated by individual users. This could be very useful in scheduling staff work days.

Thing 13 Library Thing

Well I added several books to my Library Thing account. I have so many favorite books, it was hard to narrow down what to put in my account. I also added a Library Thing widget to my blog. Library Thing was user friendly and I like how easy it was to add book to an account. Library Thing could be use for my library to keep track of favorite authors at our library or books that are popular with the community. Library Thing can also be used to showcase library staff favorite books.

I share books with patrons through various websites, such as Fantastic Fiction. This website has bibliographies for more than 22,000 authors. They also keep it updated with new releases.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

Thing 12 Wikis

The ability to update information easily and effortlessly on wikis is what I find interesting about the Wiki concept. I enjoyed the Common Craft video which showed how easy it is to organize information on a wiki. In the Neflin 23 things Wiki, I edit the Edit Me-Wiki Test Page. I commented on how easy it is to edit/add information to Wikis and how Teachers "ban" wikipedia as a source. I must admit, when patrons need biography information and they need it fast, I use wikipedia.

I searched the Albany County Public Library Staff wiki. I was impressed with all the training and rule procedures they have on their wiki, especially the Circ Assistant Training Plan. That is a great tool to use for training new staff and for existing staff to keep up with new policies.

http://albystaff.pbwiki.com/CircAsstTrainingPlan
http://albystaff.pbwiki.com/

Thing 11 Social Media

Social Media tools would be useful in a home setting. These tools could be used to save time by viewing news, entertainment, health, etc. on one website. Libraries can use Facebook and MySpace to promote programs and events at the library. Some of the social media tools I explored for Thing 11 seemed like a productivity detractor because of the web layout. Some of the sites had so much information on the home page, it was hard to focus on one story. This was my first time visiting the Digg and Mixx sites and I read several stories from those two sites.

Thing 10 Tagging and Delicious

Well I have heard of tagging and delicious before through work and through school, but I did not set up an account until now. I am enjoying delicious. It is easy to use and navigate. This is great if a person purchases a new computer or need to access their bookmarks at a public computer. Instead of having to go to each site to retrieve bookmark favorites, a person can just use delicious and access all their favorite websites. I didn't get the hang of tagging yet, but I am gonna go back through to fully understand tagging.

Thing 9 Sharing - slides, photos, databases

My photo sharing for Thing 9 is at the top of my blog page. I used Picture Trail to create a slide show of displays and bulletin boars that staff members have created at the library. Picture Trail was easy to navigate and customize how I wanted to display my pictures. Layouts and pictures were easy to choose and upload. Picture Trail and other sharing tools can be used on our library website to promote library services that are offered, such as children's programming and new book displays.

Thing 8 Communication Web 2.0 Style

Email has improved productivity in my work environment. I use Email to communicate with colleagues and send monthly correspondence over to my Administration office. Email also helps the library save money on Telephone usage and billing. Instead of dialing long distance to ask a question to other colleagues, all I have to do is type a simple email and receive a response back.

I participated in Neflin's OPAL service and watched web conference "Gaming in Libraries". The web conference discussed having a library game lab and starting a gaming program. I would like to start a gaming program for our youth and this web conference give me some great ideas. I have also participated in other web conferences offered by Neflin and feel they are very valuable to enhance my job skills.

I am a big fan and active user of text messaging. I enjoy texting. Texting actually help me save money on my cell phone bill. I pay a flat fee to have unlimited texting while having low monthly minutes.

Thing 7.1-Online Image Generators

I saw a variation of this on a fellow SRRL blogger's site and I had to steal it :)

http://www.imagechef.com/

Thing 7-Online Image Generators

For Thing 7, I created a Badge using Big Huge Labs Badge Maker. I can use these badges at school and community events to generate interest for programs and activities at the Library. Also, I think using Online Image Generators for a Summer Tween/Teen program would be a big success because it is something "different" we can offer the tween/teen crowd. Many Teens spend countless hours on the computer. Tweens/Teens could use these badge to update their MySpace and Facebook accounts as well as their personal webpages. It was fun playing around with all the different options to make badges.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/badge.php

Thing 6-Flickr Mashups

For my Flickr Mashup, I used Spell with Flickr to spell out my name. These tools could be used for a tween/teen program to generate interest in a library. Along with books, these tools can be used to showcase technology services libraries provide. I enjoy photo sharing, but I am very careful with the photos I share. Personal photos are kept private, while work/Library photos are public.

Thing 5-Flickr

It was very easy to navigate Flickr. I have had experience before using Flickr. Although I don't have an account, I can see its valuable usage to the library where I work. Pictures of our library displays, programs, and youth storytimes would be beneficial to our patrons. The picture that I uploaded to my blog is of our new President and his family. I used the following keywords, Obama, Sasha and Malia, and President Obama.

Photograph credit: mbgrigby

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbgrigby/3008014961/

Thing 4-RSS

Adding RSS and Newsreaders to my blog has become an addiction. I just spent two hours this morning adding several different RSS feeds to my blog as well as a playlist. Check out my playlist at the bottom of the page. This is so much fun! I like how RSS and newsreads conveniently places content in one place. I created a Bloglines account which was a little complicated at first, but after searching the site and using different features, I was able to add many different feeds to my Bloglines account.

Using RSS in my personal and work life will help me save valuable time. Instead of spending time going to different websites, they are now all in one space. I always notice the RSS symbol on websites and wonder what it is used for, now I know!

Thing 3 Blog Search Tools

Blog Search Tools

On Technorati site, I searched for Library and filtered the results by "Search Blog". 9,749 results were returned for this search. Looking at the first page of results that were returned, library blogs from all over the nation were listed. I found the Library of Congress Blog, www.loc.gov/blog, which is very interesting to me. Topics discussed on the blog are the Inauguration and the Lincoln Inaugural Bible.

About.com Blog Search Engines

This site has a list of Blog Search Engines that users can use to search for different blogs. I chose Sphere to do a search. http://sphere.com/ This site is where you can place a widget on your blog. A widget refers to objects on a computer screen that the user interact withs. So my project for now is to try and place a widget on my blog.

Technorati site is very fun to play around with. I am astounding there are 1 million blog posts a day, and my blog is in the 1 million. Very cool! :)

Thing 2 What is Web 2.0

I am participating in 23 things @ Neflin, so I can learn about new technologies to better serve the patrons that I serve and to keep on top of emergining technologies. Our library director has given participating staff permission to complete Neflin's 23 things on work time, which is a great advantage for me. I attend graduate school for my master's degree in library science and with the abundant amount of readings and homework I have to do for that, I don't have much time for anything else.

Thing 1 Set up a blog and register

Hello, my name is April. I work in the Suwannee River Regional Library System, which covers the Florida counties of Madison, Hamilton, and Suwannee County. I am participating in the 23 things @ NEFLIN. I feel this will be a great opportunity for me to enhance my skills and present them to fellow staff members and to our patrons.

For Thing 1, I had to set up a blog and make a post. The blog was easy to set up and I was able to choose how my blog is presented from several different formats. I am excited to begin the 23 things @ NEFLIN and learn all the Web 2.0 information.