Friday, September 21, 2007

Summarizing My thoughts about Web 2.0 23 Things challenge

First of all I have to say I learned lots!! Second thing I would like to say is that it took me lots and lots of time to finish the challenge.

I had so much fun making my library map on Google Maps. When it showed up and worked I was thrilled. Making this blog has at times been challenging, but now I feel like I can make one for my branch using many of the features that I learned from this challenge.

Flickr is fun and I am looking forward to organizing all my pictures on it. I want to work more with LibraryThing now that I will have more time after completing this. Twitter seems like a time waster, but it is interesting what you can do with technology. I would like to play around more with image generators. The problem I found is that some of the programs give very little instructions on how to use them.

After all is said and done I would have to say that Del.icio.us was my favorite Web 2.0 program. A simple, easy program, but what a help it is. No matter what computer I am on, I can get all my favorites.

Thanks, for the challenge. It was a great adventure!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Our Library


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The Class I took for my Challenge

Thanks for signing up at Infopeople.You have registered for the following 1 class: Web 2.0: A Hands-On Introduction for Library
StaffStudent: Karen Emerson
Buena Park Library DistrictMon, Aug 6 2007 9:00 AM
Instructor: Michele MizejewskiStatus:
ConfirmedFee: $0.00Please arrive 1/2 hour before the class for check-in.
Date: Mon, Aug 6 2007
Check-in: 8:30 am to 9:00 am
Instruction: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm

My 23 Things Challenge

Our 23 Web 2.0 Things Challenge

1. Set up your own blog on Blogger.com & add your first post.

http://kle-mywebchallenge.blogspot.com/

3. Register your blog by sending an email to infopeeps@gmail.com with your blog's URL and begin your Web 2.0 journey. We will then add your blog to our blogroll that you see on the sidebar of this blog so everyone can see what progress you are making.
Done 7/26/07 and again on 9/12/07 (you lost me)

4. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image-hosting site. Set up an account and join some groups! And remember, blog about what you learn!
http://www.flickr.com/

Klelib29
5. Have more Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & third party sites.
Yahoo
Klelib
http://www.jumpcut.com/
Yahoo! ID: klelib (use this to sign in)
Jumpcut screen name: klelib
Jumpcut email address: klelib@yahoo.com
Your public page on Jumpcut is: http://www.jumpcut.com/klelib

6. Look at some of these library websites that are using Web 2.0 to enhance their offerings and create a blog post about anything Web 2.0-related that you think would be useful in your library.
Done 7/28/07

7. Learn about RSS feeds and set up your own Bloglines newsreader account.
Bloglines is reader for RSS feeds.
Klelib29@gmail.com

8. Locate a few useful library related blogs and/or news feeds and add them to your Bloglines account.
Done 8/11/07

9. Sign up for a Twitter account. Track your activities using Twitter for a few days. Think about how Twitter might be useful linked on a library website and blog about your Twitter experience.
klelib
Done 8/12/07

10. Play around with an online image generator. Blog about your experience(s).
Done 8/11/07

11. Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books.
Karenctk
8/20/07

12. Roll your own search tool with Rollyo.
Karenctk
8/20/07

13. Learn about social bookmarking then create a Del.icio.us account and add and tag some Web 2.0 sites.
Done 8/25/07

14. Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts.
Done 8/25/07

15. Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries and blog your thoughts.
9/12/07

16. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
Done 8/25/07

17. Add an entry to Infopeople's Our 23 Web 2.0 Things wiki.
klelib
Library29
9/12/07

18. Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.
Done 8/25/07

19. Explore My Maps on Google Maps and create a map for your library and add a picture of it to the map.
Done 9/12/07 Posted on Blogger

20. Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.
Done 8/25/07

21. Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts.
Done 9/21/07

22. Teach someone else how to use one of the technologies described above and blog about your experience!
Done 8/12/07

23. Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.
Done 9/21/07

Reading a few perspectives

It does not matter whether Web 2.0 is a new concept or if it has been around for awhile. What really matters is how our libraries use it to help serve our library users. Michael Stephens feels that every library should use all the tools that Web 2.0 has to offer. He fees that “social networking” can bring the library everywhere. Yes, that can be true, as long as library users are looking for it on the web and not in their neighborhoods. We still need the library building. The place where library users can come in and enjoy a program, read a book, and browse the bookshelves. A place where they can “social network.”

Casey Bisson is presenting Web 2.0 as an evolution of all library services that can meet the needs of library users. Both Bisson and Stephens are so excited about this concept of Web 2.0 they have not taken a good look at what they can’t do for our libraries. Yes, having our own blogs & Wikis can be helpful and putting our programs on YouTube, tagging sites to help library users to find the information that they want. Map making and keeping up to date with RSS feeds is a good thing, but with all this new technology we can not forget that what is the most important in our libraries is the personal touch. We are one of the few institutions left that still offers individual attention.

Teaching Del.icio.us

I think that del.icio.us is one of my favorite Web 2.0 challenges. I have showed two people so far how to use it. My husband wondered why he would need it, but once I explained that he could get his favorites from any computer, the light bulb went off, and he wanted to know more how he could do this. He is starting to get the idea of tags and how to use them to retrieve his favorite sites.

I showed one of our Library Assistants how to use del.icio.us and she caught on right away and is tagging her websites. I think she does a better job then I do tagging each site.