Thing 15 - Library 2.0

The concept of Library 2.0 is very interesting. Yes, all the technology that is purported to become the new "library"could be a good thing, however, technology costs money. Funding limits and customer demands will be putting added stress on libraries and their staffs especially in small town systems like ours. With the "new" WEB, our patrons will expect access to everything and expect the staff to train them in the use of the technology. Our patrons here in Highlands are older so I don't see us becoming a virtual library in the very near future. But we will have to change with the times once the new technology becomes the norm. As for me, I love going into a library and looking through the stacks for just the right book. And I enjoy talking to the staff about what's new and hearing their opinions. With everything digitized, there will be no personal touch. I can't imagine sitting at a computer for hours reading a "virtual" book or magazine.

Thing 14 - Google Books

Oh my, I love Google Books!!! What a great research tool; I can see it replacing our use of ILL which sometimes can be a bust as requested materials are not always sent. Searching Google Books was so easy and I love how the search terms are highlighted in the book. If Google Books only shows a snippet of the book, a link to WorldCat is provided that will give a listing of libraries where the book can be found (it even gave the milage from Highlands to the libraries, amazing!). Browsing through the full-text books was so easy and also doing a word search within the book was easily done. Google Books will be a great resource for our patrons looking for books that might be older or not carried in our system. Now, if they would only include Journal articles!

Thing 13 - Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is an interesting site. I do stained glass so I looked at some links that were of interest but I didn't find anything that people had linked as new information. I also viewed some recipe sites which I found could be very useful and fun to have at my disposal. It is a nice feature being able to access links from any computer. I did not chose to register on Delicious as I already use "my favorites" and don't feel that I need to have another account. As for using Del.icio.us as a research tool, I'm not sure I would trust the information found. Its organization of information seems to be by popularity rather than reliability.

Thing 12

I've been reading about the Apple iPhone a lot in the business section of the newspaper so I decided it would be interesting to learn about this "new" technology. From my understanding, the iPhone is being touted as a "revolutionary mobile phone". It can play music, makes phone calls, plays movies and text messages, edits photos, and can even access the WEB. Sounds pretty amazing that something so small, can do so much. If it works as well as Apple is saying, it will eliminate the need for all those other devices. The iPhone is not new technology, Apple has just found a better way of doing things. As the 4GB iPhone costs about $499 and a two year service plan commitment, I don't guess I'll be getting one anytime soon. My two year old cell phone without text messaging or camera will do me just fine.

The incentative I am choosing is an MP3 player. I have wanted to buy one for a while for my husband. Not only is 23 things teaching me new ways of doing things, I'll get a gift for my husband as well.

Thing 11 - DIGG

Ok, I've toured Digg and my goodness, there is a lot of stuff. Maybe its just my age, but I'm having a really hard time understanding why people are so hooked on sites like this. I read books, newspapers, see the news on TV, etc. so why would I need to use Digg to get the latest news? I'm totally baffled by the amount of time some people spend surfing the net to find these sites and/or stuff! I guess I'm off a different generation and don't find sitting and looking at a computer screen for hours all that interesting. One item that caught my attention, "Cannibalism Is Healthy", turned out to be photos of food that was made to look like creatures. http://fabulously40.com/article/2293/Cannibolism-Is-Healthy/ Ok, this was cute but not something I can't do without in my life. Some of this technology seems to be a waste of our time.

Thing 10 - Good Reads

I love Goodreads!! Finally something in 23 Things that I think could be of use to the patrons at Hudson Library. Our patrons are an older group so most of the technology that we are learning about will not be of interest to them. Goodreads is an easy way to keep a book journal and could be a great resource; it's so easy to use. Our patrons are always asking us what they have read and of course, we don't have that information stored. I kept a handwritten book journal for two years and then lost it; I have started a new one and I will be using Goodreads as my backup journal.

Exploring the groups was interesting. Some book groups are more relevant that others and could be useful. One group that I reviewed wrote dribble and I never did find a comment that related to a book or to the book group. Reading what other people have read and their reviews is a great way of being introducted to new authors. Widget was really easy to use! I wish I could figure out how to position it on my blog where I want it. Looks like I have more things to learn!!!

Thing 9 - Online Image Generator

Wow, this is so neat!!! My first attempt at creating a jigsaw puzzle was nerve wracking; I did all the steps and then I couldn't find the picture I uploaded. I tried again and couldn't remember the picture I had originally upload so I had to find a different one which I actually like better. Finally, success!!!! The process is fairly easy; I just think that today my brain is working at half its capacity. I would love to use image generator to make a calendar, which would make a great gift, but I have yet to teach myself how to upload the pictures from my camera to my home computer. Its not that I don't think I could do it, I'm just too busy reading books to take the time to read the instructions that came with my camera.

THING 8 - MASHUPS

I've really had a good time learning about mashups; there is so much content and fairly easy to navigate. The only problems I have had is finding enough time to look at all that is available. I did find two sites that I had fun playing around with. My husband was in the Navy for 20 years and we've moved around a lot so I had a lot of fun at www.EarthAlbum.com. I searched all the places we've lived and it was like going down memory lane. I wish I could take pictures like that!!! Another fun site that I spent a good amount of time visiting was www.FlickrSoduko.com . I've been an avid Soduko player for a long time so it was a nice surprise finding this site. A player can choose from different levels of difficulty so anyone can play with little prior experience. One down side is the layout because of the pictures used as puzzle numbers. I enjoyed playing several games and will probably go this site in the future.

Thing 7 - Flickr

Wow! This is my first uploaded picture from Flickr. It was fun searching around; I love dogs and my son has played soccer since he was five years old so I decided it would be fun to see if I could combine the two. I searched "everyone's uploads" and put in soccer as the search term. Of course it gave me a zillion hits; what a bonanza!! I upload the picture to my computer and then posted it to my blog. It was so easy but I'm not sure if its a legal picture for uploading. This is a part of Flickr I'm having trouble with, knowing what's in the public domain and what's not. After looking at the explore page,I discovered photostream and learned about tags and then found that my chosen photo is in the public domain. Interestingness is a wonderful addition to Flickr. I've never seen so many fascinating photo's in one place, this could be very useful for doing posters and flyers. Flickr has so much information and things one can do with it, that I will continue to explore.

Things 5 & 6 RSS

Ok, so now I'm officially signed up with Google Reader. I read the suggested tutorials twice for understanding, but I found that creating a Google Reader account was a pretty simple task to complete and fairly easy to navigate. I looked at several feeds that could be of interest to me and added them to my account; however I am not one that spends a great deal of time at home searching the Internet so I doubt that having access to feeds will become that important to me down the road. I do think it is important to have some knowledge about such technology as it could be used to help educate patrons and a useful tool for finding book reviews as a reader advisory.

I played around with Bloglines.com and set up an account. I found Bloglines to be easy to use and found several sites of interest that are related to my work at the library and added them to my account. I also checked out Technorati and found it to be rather busy looking and not that user friendly. I noticed that we will be covering it in Week 6 so I'll spend more time with it then and perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised at its ease of use and/or usefulness.

Even though I might not feel the need to use Google Reader and feeds in the future, I have certainly enjoyed exploring the technology.

7 1/2 HABITS

The hardest habit for me would be using and learning technology. I didn't grow up with computers so I don't always understand the terminology. I've always been a fast learner and have confidence in myself that with enough effort and some support from co-workers, I'll be successful completing the 23 Things. I'm looking forward to the challenge!! I may not ever blog again, but I will at least have some comprehension of what our young patrons are talking about.