Closing thoughts

Okay, closing thoughts, on the next to the last day.

Let's see, what was my favorite thing that I learned through this project? I think RSS turned out to be the most useful, though I was skeptical about it at the time. In use, it turned out to be pretty interesting.

What would I have thought to do differently? I think I would have liked to have done the E-book first, because it had a direct impact on something the library uses, then launch from there, looking at more unfamiliar technologies, then ended back where we began, with an MP3 player that could download our first assignment.

What future projects could be handled this way? Maybe lessons on how to use library software, databases and catalogs, would work well. And if there's a prize, well, that's not such a bad idea either.

And, to answer the last question, if I could travel back in time and tell myself to complete this project or skip it, I think I would tell myself to go ahead, but to not stress so much over lesson # 19.

One more 2.0 topic I would like to learn? Something along the line of gaming. So many patrons come in with problems connecting to gaming, it would be nice to have some idea what they're talking about. Gaming has changed so much since the gopher days when we gamed without any graphics, just text.

Podcasts

Well, podcasts were interesting. The first podcast I was able to get to work was the King County Law Library. I expected boring, but it starts with some pretty jazzy music. Don't get me wrong, it does get boring after that. Then I tried a few other podcasts. Some worked, a couple didn't. All in all, pretty cool, though not for front desk use. (Dancing to jazzy music makes the patrons wonder about you).

Okay, I'm ready for my MP3 player so I can download an audiobook.

Google Labs

Okay, I stand in awe. For years, I've tried to figure out how to get from my house to my main branch without taking three or four different buses. But even Metro's site couldn't figure that out. I tried the Google transit trip planner, and it found a way that I only need one transfer. Metro always had me going north, then transferring south, whereas Google has me starting out going south. (What a shocking idea. I want to go south, so it starts off by heading me south).

The printing was a problem (but, since it's under development, I guess we can give them some slack). When you print a trip, it prints the wrong trip.

I also tried the ride finder. I can tell you the location of every Yellow Cab in Seattle at this moment. This'll shock you... Most of them are around the airport or downtown. But there was one on the same street as the Kent library.

I also looked at some of the award winners, but I don't want to type forever, and bore my loyal readers (reader?)?

for the 27 things, the previous blog is also part of this, concerning the spreadsheets and such.

test of e-mail

just a test to see if the e-mail works for the blog

Google docs and Zoho

Okay, my first real attempt at creating a document in Google Docs is now complete. Assuming I did this right, this document will appear in my blog. Yes, I created this blog entry in Google Docs. Ooooooo. Aaaaa. I did notice it saved my document for me often. That's nice. I did discover that if you are typing a document, and then click on one of the tabs, such as Collaborate, if you then click Back, you do not arrive at your document, but at a blank document. You need to click on the Edit tab to get back to the document. Very interesting. Okay, on to part 2.

The format at Zoho is a little better, from my eye. It looks easier to follow and organize. However, I think if I decided to store my documents online, I would choose the largest company which might be the least likely to merge or go away. In first glance, Zoho looks more user friendly. I would have to try them for a while before making up my mind.

Okay, now that it published, I have a couple of comments. It worked pretty well. However, you have to make sure to use Beta version, even though Blogger2 isn't beta anymore. Second, Google continues to say it isn't published to your blog, even after it has been published. Other than that (and the fact you have to give your password to publish, which only makes sense), it works very well.

Library 2.0

Okay, I like the Google one better. What am I talking about, you ask? Good question! I shouldn't make every blog as if the person reading it is in on the 2.0 learning (though I doubt anyone else would want to read my blog, unless they were being paid to do so). Okay, back to what I was talking about. I compared Rollyo with Google custom Search Engine. Despite the fact that it's faster to type Rollyo, I liked Google Custom Search Engine better. Paid ads don't come up in the middle of the list on Google. The screen is less cluttered, and my eye follows the information easier. Rollyo displayed all of KCLS sites, then followed with all of the Sno-isle sites, whereas Google interspersed them (kcls - sno - kcls - sno), giving the searcher a more complete look at available info across a wider range of sites. All in all, I found Google more useful. And making one of my own was easy as well.

As for the articles on library 2.0 (or 1.0 through 4.0), that'll take a bit of time for me to absorb. Gotta think about it for a bit. I kinda feel like the granpa on the front porch contemplating the big city.

South Park

Okay, I've never watched a whole episode, and didn't enjoy the partial episode that I looked at, but couldn't resist making myself a South Park Person. So, below is my result from the website http://www.sp-studio.de/

SP_Joe

Wiki

Hmmm, a wiki, if handled correctly, and used by enough staff, could be a useful tool for a library. I could see a reading list working well (though I still like LIbraryThing better for that. I like having the covers to see). A living resource, with topics staff have had trouble finding info, would be worthwhile. If students come in every November looking for the same information, it could be useful to have a ready-made resource list (more than books alone) to use, so that every staff member doesn't have to reinvent the same search pattern every time. But it would need to be kept updated (which could easily be once a year, just before that same report comes due again, one staff member updates the sources, so that all staff don't have to do it every time.

It could also be useful as a branch record. All staff in a branch adds to a single wiki, with several topics. (For example, building, where people can add such items as "When the doorknob sticks, push in the area around the keyhole and it will work fine again." Or to keep track of cleaning, keep a running list of who has done what).

LibraryThing

Okay, I did more than LibraryThing. I also did Delicious and other things, but they were all lost in the dust by LibraryThing. Sorry, but I really liked LibraryThing. Reading Lists complete with bookcovers (and you can choose your bookcover, if the automatic bookcover isn't the "best" one. LibraryThing will be one of the 2.0 benefits I'll take with me and keep using.

My Space Friend

I have on friend, and he's everyone's friend. How sad.

But, wait, I just asked KCLS to be my friend. Um, what if KCLS rejects me?

Still sad, I guess.

Anyway, I've completed the assignments this week and am proud of myself (that I took the time to do so, and still remembered to keep track of practice reference stats). So what's on for next week?

Tagging, Technocrati, Folksonomies, oh my. (Sorry, couldn't resist the Wizard reference.

My Space

Okay, I am now part of My Space (under an assumed name). It was a lot easier than RSS (I had quite a bit of trouble before I got it working) and it was even easier than Flickr. Of course, I have a friend named Tom and life looks pretty relaxed on My Space. Not sure how to use it yet. Not sure, exactly, how to see what my space looks like from outside my setup page.

I did, however, find some pretty cool MySpaces. The Isle of Man has a MySpace (Peel Castle is on the Isle of Man), the SCA has a MySpace (Society for Creative Anachronism) and even SPL has a teen site. Of course, so do we, but I expect us to be ahead of SPL.

And I played with the search, discovering only one person from my school graduated in my year and made a MySpace (but I'm pretty old, so maybe my old friends are still figuring out how to use a mouse).

That's all for today. Next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Bloglines

Okay, a new week, a new blog. This week, I tried RSS and added two library related feeds, The Library of Congress (but only the updated web-based items) and the London Library (it didn't say "Useful Library related). I also added NASA. Does the History Channel daily schedule count? Because I found that one, too (and it's useful).

Oh, wait, do these count as blog-RSS, or would those be something else? Questions, questions, always questions.

Peel Castle pictures

Since Peel Castle is my sign-in, I thought I would link to some pictures of Peel Castle (from the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea). If I do this right, you'll be able to link over to Flickr and see a list of pictures people have taken of Peel Castle. I believe I don't need to reference the photographers, since I didn't actually post copies of the pictures themselves (hope I'm right about that).

I wasn't sure if I was able to link to a search list, so thought I would do that before linking to just a single picture. (It'll be interesting to see if the link stays stagnate, or if the link changes content when new content is sent). Pictures

Here's a picture I found that has Creative Common Liscense (as long as it isn't used commercially and the photographer is credited) So the picture was taken by a flickr account named "aileen_thebanshee". (Thank you, Aileen. I hope I did this part right). You kind find other of Aileen's Peel pictures at Flickr. Aileen

Flickr

Flickr was fun (I took an imaginary trip to London and looked at the sites. Hmmm, so this is like "Uncle Jim and Aunt Gloria's vacation slides" without all the boring comentary and you can leave anytime you want to, without upsetting grandma).

The color pickr for flickr was much cooler. The hamster sudoku just plain worried me. (But it was a sudoku, so I had to try and play it anyway).

Week 2 of 2.0

Okay, here's a really great hint. Write down what you did when you did it. That way, when your brain shorts out, you can get back into your blog so you can leave a message. That way, you don't have to confess to forgetting your password AGAIN (just like last week). But, in my defence, I did have the right password last week. I had the wrong account name. THIS week, I had the wrong password.

The good news? There's nothing left to forget. I've forgotten everything I can, so now I can remember. (Try telling that to your philosophy teacher).

2nd try

See, still boring.

However, it did take me multiple times to log in. Gotta remember my password, I guess.

first try

This is my first attempt at a blog, so expect boring.