I'm slowly progressing with the InfoPeople's "Our 23 Things" challenge.
Today I'll share my experiences with Items 6, 7, and 8 :
Number 6: We are asked to visit a number of library websites that employ Web 2.0 tools.
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County
This busy library site offers a variety of innovative services including Library by Mail for $5.00 per book, and it is free to homebound patrons. Registration and requests are available online. Library card registration as well as paying of fees and fines is also available online. A note about a few other features of their site: A nice "Find it Fast" drop-down menu feature allows visitors to move quickly to a number of options such as book renewal, volunteer application, suggest a purchase, view employment opportunities, search databases, and other options.
Other drop down menus are used to locate their library locations by zipcode or by name, and allow you to set a particular library as your home location. The website also lists its many programs by category and by location, and you can subscribe to an RSS feed of any of the lists.
The library is building a group of services to offer in Teen Second Life, a 3-D online virtual world.
Ann Arbor District Library
InfoPeople described this website as one that has been built around a blog. I enjoyed its attractive, clean look. It is easy to navigate with tabs across the top and down the left column of each page. In addition to their main blog-site, they also have an audio blog, books, blog and video blog. They also highlight the new or hot items in the collection by fiction, non-fiction or media type. RSS feeds are offered for each of these lists. The visual appeal is quite nice, although it could be enhanced by adding the library's full name, Ann Arbor District Library, in the header.
Denver Public Library Podcasts
From the Denver Public Library's home page, select the link on the left entitled "DPL Downloads" to view the variety of audio-visual downloads and special applications.
They describe their podcasting feature as follows: Podcasting allows a sound file, such as an MP3 file, to be played using your web browser or by using an RSS feed to subscribe to the podcast which will automatically download the sound files to a software player like iTunes. You can then hear the podcast whenever you want from your computer or move it easily to a portable media player.
Seattle Public Library
An interesting feature of the Seattle Public Library is the option to sign up online for an hour library visit and tour, or to take an online tour. This is another library offering online library card registration. It also has an extensive calendar of events and classes; you can subscribe to the calendar. You can also sign up for a newsletter by e-mail. And, under the website's "Collections" tab you can select "Podcasts" and subscribe to podcasts of author readings and other library events.
Summary: I find the Ann Arbor District Library's integrated blog/website very nice. While our library has an I/T Department that manages the website, I expect that blogs, RSS feeds and podcasts will be implemented sometime in the future.
Numbers 7 and 8:
I have a Bloglines account and some of the feeds I have subscribed to include quite a number about words and quotes: Quotes of the Day, Word of the Day, Wordsmith, and World Wide Words newsletter. I also subscribe to The Shifted Librarian, BBC News, the Guardian Unlimited, The Official Google Blog, Reuters, Slashdot, Scientific American, and Positive News Network. Washington Post Book Reviews, Dilbert, Comedy Central Videos, Wired Top Stories... among others. And no, I rarely have time to read them! Having a page of feeds, like Bloglines, is good. Having access to the feeds on your blog webpage as a blogroll (list of blog links) or by link to my Bloglines account I think would be most convenient.
OO/Gwen
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Pace Picks Up!
The Library is one busy place this summer! And we have some new faces in our workplace.
A community college student is in the midst of her internship with the library. Having started in reference two weeks ago, she is now working in the circulation department and then will spend some time working in youth services. The purpose of the internship is to provide her a variety of library work experiences and an opportunity to explore librarianship as a career.
Our new reference librarian, began this week. We are grateful to have her join us. And she arrived just in time to help us during a very busy month. One day this week we had over 1,200 visitors! And one day last week we broke 1,000 in visitor count too. The Summer Reading Program is in full swing and undoubtedly has much to do with our increased activity.
Web 2.0 Journey:
I've been so busy that I've taken a week's break from my "23-Things" education.
But now I'm ready to report regarding Steps 4 and 5:
I set up a Flickr account and explored a number of their mashups:
I went to "Retrievr" (considered one of the top five Flickr mashups)and played with the color sketch pad. Choosing different colors led to images I rather expected; but there were some surprises too. It is a relaxing new way to doodle, a fun stress reliever. I dubbed it "Retrievr, stress relievr." ("Do I have time to do this?" I ask myself.)
In the "Spell with Flickr" mashup I tried my name, as well as the word "reference" and "get help" in various ways. I had a good time with it. I found myself wondering who are these people who have time to create these applications? They must stay up late creating new Internet past-times!
"Tagnautica" is another unusual gadget. It reminds me a bit of our library catalog's Aquabrowser, but is different in that the typed word is surrounded with other words inside images. The entire "bracelet" can be toyed with. I was reminded of those "worry beads" that people sometimes use to calm themselves.
Now "Flappr," I really liked. I searched "books" and discovered that it brings forth a collection of Flickr images that are grouped under that tag. Then you can select one of the images to enlarge. I found the results satisfying. Again, I discovered myself in a playful state. One thing I will say about these Flickr mashups is that they provide stress release.
I liked using "Colr Pickr" also. And "Flickr Logo Makr." While exploring Tickr for Flickr" I followed a link to another of the owner's creations called "Slide," which is not technically a Flickr mashup (if the r-ending spelling defines a Flickr mashup). However, if I ever need to build a slide show with fancy graphics and music I may spend some time with Slide.
I joined a Flickr group named "Carnegie Libraries Then and Now" and I shared pictures I found on the Internet of the Carnegie Library building in San Luis Obispo. I was unable to determine the date or photographer of these photos; one shows the original Carnegie building after its completion, and one shows the building in contemporary times -- after its recent restoration I believe.
gk
A community college student is in the midst of her internship with the library. Having started in reference two weeks ago, she is now working in the circulation department and then will spend some time working in youth services. The purpose of the internship is to provide her a variety of library work experiences and an opportunity to explore librarianship as a career.
Our new reference librarian, began this week. We are grateful to have her join us. And she arrived just in time to help us during a very busy month. One day this week we had over 1,200 visitors! And one day last week we broke 1,000 in visitor count too. The Summer Reading Program is in full swing and undoubtedly has much to do with our increased activity.
Web 2.0 Journey:
I've been so busy that I've taken a week's break from my "23-Things" education.
But now I'm ready to report regarding Steps 4 and 5:
I set up a Flickr account and explored a number of their mashups:
I went to "Retrievr" (considered one of the top five Flickr mashups)and played with the color sketch pad. Choosing different colors led to images I rather expected; but there were some surprises too. It is a relaxing new way to doodle, a fun stress reliever. I dubbed it "Retrievr, stress relievr." ("Do I have time to do this?" I ask myself.)
In the "Spell with Flickr" mashup I tried my name, as well as the word "reference" and "get help" in various ways. I had a good time with it. I found myself wondering who are these people who have time to create these applications? They must stay up late creating new Internet past-times!
"Tagnautica" is another unusual gadget. It reminds me a bit of our library catalog's Aquabrowser, but is different in that the typed word is surrounded with other words inside images. The entire "bracelet" can be toyed with. I was reminded of those "worry beads" that people sometimes use to calm themselves.
Now "Flappr," I really liked. I searched "books" and discovered that it brings forth a collection of Flickr images that are grouped under that tag. Then you can select one of the images to enlarge. I found the results satisfying. Again, I discovered myself in a playful state. One thing I will say about these Flickr mashups is that they provide stress release.
I liked using "Colr Pickr" also. And "Flickr Logo Makr." While exploring Tickr for Flickr" I followed a link to another of the owner's creations called "Slide," which is not technically a Flickr mashup (if the r-ending spelling defines a Flickr mashup). However, if I ever need to build a slide show with fancy graphics and music I may spend some time with Slide.
I joined a Flickr group named "Carnegie Libraries Then and Now" and I shared pictures I found on the Internet of the Carnegie Library building in San Luis Obispo. I was unable to determine the date or photographer of these photos; one shows the original Carnegie building after its completion, and one shows the building in contemporary times -- after its recent restoration I believe.
gk
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