I feel like I have been so behind the times! As part of this project to just explore some more Web2.0 tools, in the last few weeks I have been using Google Docs and Google Sites for the first time!
I really like/love Google Docs. Here's what I did: I set up a document so that each one of my family members could post what they wanted for christmas. This was perfect because this year we are doing a secret santa exchange, but my sisters were complaining that they couldn't ask for what they wanted. The only way to get someone something they wanted was to discreetly ask them...so, Google Docs was perfect because everyone could just write what they wanted, and update if something was already purchased. Maybe this wasn't completely in the spirit of Christmas or a secret santa, but everyone was thrilled! I set it up around Thanksgiving (sorry, just blogging about it now).
Also, with Google Docs, a group in another class did a powerpoint, but the other members were long distance so I set up a google presentation. What an awesome collaboration tool!! We could all update and add slides needing to email each other slides, or go through extra steps. It was so perfect. Seriously, I can't believe I hadn't tried this before November!
I played with Google Sites a few weeks back and was very impressed. The templates they have to use are awesome, and it's super easy to add good looking content to your website. Google has done an awesome job at making building websites a super easy process (wish we could have done it that way for our Website in 506 :)...) Anyway, Google Sites is definitely going to stay in the back of my head for the future, especially to build a site for a presentation or project for school or something. It looks so professional, I really like it!
From the list on the Learning 2.0 site, I also use Craigslist all the time. This is great, but it has a ton of scam artists so you have to be really careful. I mostly use it to check job listings or apartment listings for some of the people I help get jobs or places to live in the community....
Thats all for now!
Natalie
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Library 2.0
To me library 2.0 is the new library. Or maybe not new, but the library that is now, and will be the library of the future. I read an article from Michael Stephens (and bookmarked it to Diigo) and it was really interesting about what the librarian 2.0 needs to be.
I think that libraries that I am used to, the ones I grew up with have changed drastically with Web 2.0 and will continue to change. Stephens says, "The librarian understand that the future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume and create content" I fully agree with this; if patrons are using Web 2.0 materials like Facebook, twitter, diigo, etc, then libraries are obligated to do so as well.
My goal is to become as fluent in Web 2.0 tools as I can be, though I'm not a huge fan of being overly 'connected', I still haven't even gotten a Facebook! My goal in learning these tools, though, is that I firmly believe that librarians NEED to have every tool possible to reach out to their patrons. I am kind go overwhelmed with all the web 2.0 stuff out there; hopefully I can keep up! I do agree, however, with the thoughts that web 2.0 doesn't really change the goals or definition of a library; the library has always been there for a community to use, and change. Its just bringing the library community to the web that's different.
Check out this Michael Stephens article:
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm
I think that libraries that I am used to, the ones I grew up with have changed drastically with Web 2.0 and will continue to change. Stephens says, "The librarian understand that the future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume and create content" I fully agree with this; if patrons are using Web 2.0 materials like Facebook, twitter, diigo, etc, then libraries are obligated to do so as well.
My goal is to become as fluent in Web 2.0 tools as I can be, though I'm not a huge fan of being overly 'connected', I still haven't even gotten a Facebook! My goal in learning these tools, though, is that I firmly believe that librarians NEED to have every tool possible to reach out to their patrons. I am kind go overwhelmed with all the web 2.0 stuff out there; hopefully I can keep up! I do agree, however, with the thoughts that web 2.0 doesn't really change the goals or definition of a library; the library has always been there for a community to use, and change. Its just bringing the library community to the web that's different.
Check out this Michael Stephens article:
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm
Zotero
I just finished setting up my Zotero account. I'm still pretty confused and overwhelmed by it. I think that I would like to experiment with this more when I'm writing another big paper, but for not I just set it up and got the basics down...I found a couple cool articles about digital libraries and linked them in. I know the citation will come up, but unless you have a subscription to ERIC you probably can't access the article. Anyway, check it out if you want:
Tagging and folksonomy
So I am new to tagging and all that, but i did watch the video on del.icio.us and thought that it was cool. Awhile ago, I signed up for the Diigo account that Marie had recommended to us, but through the semester I never had much of a chance to look through it. I did more today. ( I didn't end up setting up the del.iciou.us account because i don't want too many bookmarking sites for myself...hope thats cool)
I love this tool! I think it is extremely useful! As I was browsing around the internet, killing time, it was so easy to mark cool or interesting sites and articles using Diigo. I installed the little button in my tool bar: Diigolet, and when I click it a little thing asked me if I want to highlight, book mark, etc. Then, when I was all done I could just go to my Diigo account's Library and voila! There were all the sites that interested me throughout the morning.
I am totally going to be using this in the future as a research tool. I can't believe I didn't this semester, I guess I was just too overwhelmed with the amount of Web 2.0 tools out there. Regrettable. But whatever, this is going to be my new way of researching for sure. Or not even researching for a paper, but of cool library things. I've joined a few groups on the site, and could definitely see joining more as I find more interesting things, especially in the library profession. I'm pretty much in love with Diigo right now :) I love that there's a feature for "read later" and ways to organize all the information you save. I honestly can't say enough about what a great tool this is going to be for me later on...
An extra cool thing that I found: (which may be a bit of a "duh" for anyone whose been doing this type of stuff before)
-Once you tag a cool website, it goes into your "library"
-From there you can click on any of the tags and see what else has been tagged with that same word
-This led me to a ton of awesome sites, some that I had heard of or looked at before, but it really draws connections between information for me!
I love this tool! I think it is extremely useful! As I was browsing around the internet, killing time, it was so easy to mark cool or interesting sites and articles using Diigo. I installed the little button in my tool bar: Diigolet, and when I click it a little thing asked me if I want to highlight, book mark, etc. Then, when I was all done I could just go to my Diigo account's Library and voila! There were all the sites that interested me throughout the morning.
I am totally going to be using this in the future as a research tool. I can't believe I didn't this semester, I guess I was just too overwhelmed with the amount of Web 2.0 tools out there. Regrettable. But whatever, this is going to be my new way of researching for sure. Or not even researching for a paper, but of cool library things. I've joined a few groups on the site, and could definitely see joining more as I find more interesting things, especially in the library profession. I'm pretty much in love with Diigo right now :) I love that there's a feature for "read later" and ways to organize all the information you save. I honestly can't say enough about what a great tool this is going to be for me later on...
An extra cool thing that I found: (which may be a bit of a "duh" for anyone whose been doing this type of stuff before)
-Once you tag a cool website, it goes into your "library"
-From there you can click on any of the tags and see what else has been tagged with that same word
-This led me to a ton of awesome sites, some that I had heard of or looked at before, but it really draws connections between information for me!
RSS feeds and Newsreaders
At the beginning of the semester I started subscribing to RSS feeds to my Google account. Anytime Joan or any other professor would mention an important resource, I would get hooked up with the RSS feed of that person.
I love getting RSS feeds. It makes it so much easier to gather news or read new posts from my favorite blogs. I literally could spend hours going through all the news that comes in through my Google reader.
That brings me to an important point: RSS feeds are incredibly overwhelming! Every time I log in and check (at least once a day) I have over 1000 new things I could look at. Where to start? I end up having to weed through the information and just pull topics from things I like. My favorite librarian one is librarian.net. It has a ton of cool articles about whats going on in the library world, and it has some really interesting posts. I like the way that all of the RSS feeds link to the website, and my favorite thing to do is read everyone's comments to the thing that's been posted.
But seriously. I've spent HOURS sifting through RSS feeds. I guess that could be because not all of my feeds are library-related...some are just humor...
Google Reader makes organizing your RSS feeds super easy, and there's ways to star the things your really liked, etc. All in all, I'm kind of a RSS addict at this point...thank goodness my job lets me sit in front of a computer most of the day...
I love getting RSS feeds. It makes it so much easier to gather news or read new posts from my favorite blogs. I literally could spend hours going through all the news that comes in through my Google reader.
That brings me to an important point: RSS feeds are incredibly overwhelming! Every time I log in and check (at least once a day) I have over 1000 new things I could look at. Where to start? I end up having to weed through the information and just pull topics from things I like. My favorite librarian one is librarian.net. It has a ton of cool articles about whats going on in the library world, and it has some really interesting posts. I like the way that all of the RSS feeds link to the website, and my favorite thing to do is read everyone's comments to the thing that's been posted.
But seriously. I've spent HOURS sifting through RSS feeds. I guess that could be because not all of my feeds are library-related...some are just humor...
Google Reader makes organizing your RSS feeds super easy, and there's ways to star the things your really liked, etc. All in all, I'm kind of a RSS addict at this point...thank goodness my job lets me sit in front of a computer most of the day...
Wikis
So, I've been looking into wikis lately. I really looked over the Princeton book lovers wiki. I thought ida s a really cool concept to get the community involved. This wiki focuses on summer reading lists. It's pretty easy to get around. In order to edit it or add to the content on the page you have to be a member, achieved by emailing the Princeton public library- seems like a lot of steps to get the public involved :/
My favorite wiki that I looked at was the Library Success wiki.
It was set up just like wikipedia, so I felt like I knew my way around. I really liked the concept behind Library Success- it's all about best practice in the library. Really cool. It needs more librarians to add things! I kind of think that wikis are cool, because it isn't owned by anyone, it's owned by the community of people editing it.
Wikis seem pretty great, although the amount of information can get confusing if the set up isn't really easy to get around. We used wikis I our 505 class when we were working on our group projects, and again when we were editing our papers. I really liked the set up because people's comments just kept coming and it was very easy to access.
I think that more libraries, especially school and public, should incorporate book list wikis where people can comment on what they are reading. I think that kids who are so used to texting would really latch on to this technology!
My favorite wiki that I looked at was the Library Success wiki.
It was set up just like wikipedia, so I felt like I knew my way around. I really liked the concept behind Library Success- it's all about best practice in the library. Really cool. It needs more librarians to add things! I kind of think that wikis are cool, because it isn't owned by anyone, it's owned by the community of people editing it.
Wikis seem pretty great, although the amount of information can get confusing if the set up isn't really easy to get around. We used wikis I our 505 class when we were working on our group projects, and again when we were editing our papers. I really liked the set up because people's comments just kept coming and it was very easy to access.
I think that more libraries, especially school and public, should incorporate book list wikis where people can comment on what they are reading. I think that kids who are so used to texting would really latch on to this technology!
Embedding video
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty into the David Lankes Atlas of New Librarianship. Here is a video that I found particularly wonderful from him- I think this was the first video I watch of his and he has influenced my professional development immensely.
Killing the User and Other Necessary Acts from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.
Podcasts!
Ok- I have been falling in love with podcasts :) My favorite is NPR's All Songs Considered- I've listened to another of "episodes" and I just think it's great. So many new bands. I'm an avid NPR listener for news during my morning drive to work, but I never catch the music. This podcast is great!
I had always heard about podcasts...but seriously it seemed so foreign to me. Like I would have to be super tech-savvy to be able to listen to a podcast. But it's soooo easy. I went in to the iTunes store and clicked on "Podcasts" and it took me right to an easy to use site full of interesting podcasts.
I found a number of book review podcasts and downloaded them. My favorites are "Book Lust with Nancy Pearl". It's great, the first one I downloaded was actually about my favorite author, Tamora Pierce from when I was little. She's local to Syracuse where I grew up.
The other book related podcast I downloaded was the NPR Books- which is more book reviews. I have it set now so that all my podcasts download new episodes automatically. I'm pretty excited! Yay podcasts!
I'm gonna keep looking- I really like David Lankes, I bet he has a podcast...
I had always heard about podcasts...but seriously it seemed so foreign to me. Like I would have to be super tech-savvy to be able to listen to a podcast. But it's soooo easy. I went in to the iTunes store and clicked on "Podcasts" and it took me right to an easy to use site full of interesting podcasts.
I found a number of book review podcasts and downloaded them. My favorites are "Book Lust with Nancy Pearl". It's great, the first one I downloaded was actually about my favorite author, Tamora Pierce from when I was little. She's local to Syracuse where I grew up.
The other book related podcast I downloaded was the NPR Books- which is more book reviews. I have it set now so that all my podcasts download new episodes automatically. I'm pretty excited! Yay podcasts!
I'm gonna keep looking- I really like David Lankes, I bet he has a podcast...
Here's a photo
Ok, I took some really cool black and white images of Lockwood Library. Here's of of them :) I've been learning a lot about web 2.0 tools, flickr is one of them. I don't really like flickr, and I don't like that my gmail information had to get posted to yahoo :( oh well...
Check out my flicker photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72409690@N08/
Check out my flicker photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72409690@N08/
Monday, December 12, 2011
Twitter in the Library
So lately I've been really trying to follow how Twitter is being used in the libraries. This didn't happen by chance, trust me. I am not a tweeter (or twit, as I like to call them) I was kind of forced in to this project in my Selection and Acquisition of Non Book Materials class. Anyway, here's my summary (after learning twitter in and out and following many many major libraries, etc)
1. Twitter is being used most effectively by PUBLIC libraries. They use it as a marketing tool, to get people into the library.
2. UB's tweets are boring and lame.
3. Did you know that Library of Congress is archiving every tweet?! That's more than 50 million tweets a day!
4. Twitter is really influential- moreso around the world than in the US.
That's it for now :) Happy day in Library Land...
1. Twitter is being used most effectively by PUBLIC libraries. They use it as a marketing tool, to get people into the library.
2. UB's tweets are boring and lame.
3. Did you know that Library of Congress is archiving every tweet?! That's more than 50 million tweets a day!
4. Twitter is really influential- moreso around the world than in the US.
That's it for now :) Happy day in Library Land...
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