I really liked this class and would highly recommend it to others. I took the MLA class on Web 2.0 technologies last May and thought that taking this class would reinforce my knowledge on the subject. This class did that, but it also introduced me to new programs. I also believe this class helped me learn new features in programs that I thought I already knew.
I would have to say that the YouTube portion of the class was my favorite. I have never embedded a YouTube video in a web site or blog before. Actually, I've never been able to figure out how to embed anything before, including photos from Flickr. Now I would like to figure out how to embed video in my Facebook account. I know there has to be a way to do that.
The caveat of some Web 2.0 technologies is that many hospitals block access to such programs. Most of my work on this class had to be done at home. Strangely enough, when I took the MLA 2.0 class in May, I was able to access "delicious" and create bookmarks of my favorite web sites. When trying to access delicious for this class, I learned that my IT department has blocked it. I'm not sure why. We were never able to access YouTube. We do have access to Google Accounts, blogs and readers--but who knows how long that will last?
I would love to learn more about Second Life and how librarians are using this online world to reach out to their users. I've heard and read about it a lot--I've even created my own avatar in Second Life--but am totally clueless as to how people connect on that thing. I know for absolute certain that my IT department will not allow me to use Second Life at work--so this would have to be a home learning experience. Even though I will not be able to use this at work, I think knowing more about this online community is important. I want to keep up on the latest ways to connect with our customers and who knows what elements of Second Life are going to start showing up in other technologies? Maybe one of these technologies will someday be acceptable to our IT security. When that happens, I want to be ready!
I would definitely participate in another Web 2.0 discovery class if offered--keep'em coming. I crave learning about these tools and can't wait to learn more!
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Future is Now: Web 2.0
Envision the future library...
I participated in a journal club in 2005. Our scope was to read about what the library of the future would look like. We read articles from 1907 that predicted the future as well as current (at the time) articles. Not one of these articles talked about Web 2.0 online tools--this was 3 years ago. Wow. How fast things can change. It can make your head spin and at times, make you feel overwhelmed. This is why I take new technology classes whenever they're offered. I'm just trying to keep up. My solution to the feeling of being buried under by technology is to use the online tools I learn about in these classes in my personal life--not just professional. The tools just make more sense to me if I use them for my personal interests. Once I understand their function and merit, I can then see the possibilities of using them in libraries.
I read several of the Web 2.0 articles, i.e. "Why Are They Tagging, and Why Do We Want Them To?", "Citeulike: A Researcher's Social Bookmarking Service", etc. They were all interesting and gave me a lot of insight into this brave new world we live in. The resource I found to be the most helpful happened to be the most simple, "Greenhill, Kathryn. Five Social Software Sites that Libraries Shouldn’t Ignore. Hot Topic session at "Beyond the Hype: Web 2.0″ Brisbane. Symposium. 31 Jan - 1 Feb.2008 http://www.slideshare.net/sirexkat/five-social-software-sites-that-libraries-shouldn
The highlights of the presentation are:
We (librarians) connect people with information.
Tools to do this are evolving.
Libraries must evolve with tools.
Use it in your job.
The content is there.
Convenience often trumps quality.
Improve our online presence.
Build a community online.
Capitalize on the knowledge of others.
Social elements, not controlled vocabulary.
Privacy issues abound.
Professional vs Personal
Its not about what suits us, but what suits our users.
I liked this resource because of it's simplicity... Librarians connect users with information and the tools to do this are evolving--which is why it's important for librarians to keep up on these tools.
In my journal club in 2005, one of our readings was "A Brief History of the Future of Libraries-an annotated bibliography by Greg Sapp. This was written in 1907. This reading focused on three themes:
1. The qualities, expertise, and training of the future librarian
2. What the Library of the Future will physically look like.
3. What new technologies will be available to aid the information seeker in his/her quest for knowledge—the psychology of information seeking involved in human-machine interaction.
4. The role of the library/librarian in future society.
Here is my comment on this reading back in 2005:
I was amazed how in 1907, John Cotton Dana (p.xvii), was already trying the idea (intentional irony or not) of creating technology that would succeed in simplifying the information seeking/gathering process. The “Who, What, and Why Machine” where you can push a well-labeled button for routine questions and get all of the information you need—I think this fantasy machine is still what our customers seek today.
Are Web 2.0 technologies the answer to what our customers seek in regards to answering their information needs? Or do they make the information seeking process more complex? I will be interested in what the next 3 years will bring in our ongoing quest to help our users connect to the information they need. One thing I do know--they're going to need librarians--whether they know it or not...
I participated in a journal club in 2005. Our scope was to read about what the library of the future would look like. We read articles from 1907 that predicted the future as well as current (at the time) articles. Not one of these articles talked about Web 2.0 online tools--this was 3 years ago. Wow. How fast things can change. It can make your head spin and at times, make you feel overwhelmed. This is why I take new technology classes whenever they're offered. I'm just trying to keep up. My solution to the feeling of being buried under by technology is to use the online tools I learn about in these classes in my personal life--not just professional. The tools just make more sense to me if I use them for my personal interests. Once I understand their function and merit, I can then see the possibilities of using them in libraries.
I read several of the Web 2.0 articles, i.e. "Why Are They Tagging, and Why Do We Want Them To?", "Citeulike: A Researcher's Social Bookmarking Service", etc. They were all interesting and gave me a lot of insight into this brave new world we live in. The resource I found to be the most helpful happened to be the most simple, "Greenhill, Kathryn. Five Social Software Sites that Libraries Shouldn’t Ignore. Hot Topic session at "Beyond the Hype: Web 2.0″ Brisbane. Symposium. 31 Jan - 1 Feb.2008 http://www.slideshare.net/sirexkat/five-social-software-sites-that-libraries-shouldn
The highlights of the presentation are:
We (librarians) connect people with information.
Tools to do this are evolving.
Libraries must evolve with tools.
Use it in your job.
The content is there.
Convenience often trumps quality.
Improve our online presence.
Build a community online.
Capitalize on the knowledge of others.
Social elements, not controlled vocabulary.
Privacy issues abound.
Professional vs Personal
Its not about what suits us, but what suits our users.
I liked this resource because of it's simplicity... Librarians connect users with information and the tools to do this are evolving--which is why it's important for librarians to keep up on these tools.
In my journal club in 2005, one of our readings was "A Brief History of the Future of Libraries-an annotated bibliography by Greg Sapp. This was written in 1907. This reading focused on three themes:
1. The qualities, expertise, and training of the future librarian
2. What the Library of the Future will physically look like.
3. What new technologies will be available to aid the information seeker in his/her quest for knowledge—the psychology of information seeking involved in human-machine interaction.
4. The role of the library/librarian in future society.
Here is my comment on this reading back in 2005:
I was amazed how in 1907, John Cotton Dana (p.xvii), was already trying the idea (intentional irony or not) of creating technology that would succeed in simplifying the information seeking/gathering process. The “Who, What, and Why Machine” where you can push a well-labeled button for routine questions and get all of the information you need—I think this fantasy machine is still what our customers seek today.
Are Web 2.0 technologies the answer to what our customers seek in regards to answering their information needs? Or do they make the information seeking process more complex? I will be interested in what the next 3 years will bring in our ongoing quest to help our users connect to the information they need. One thing I do know--they're going to need librarians--whether they know it or not...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Podcasts
I'm a big fan of Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac. I listen to him reading poems on the radio every morning on my commute to work. After doing this exercise, I have now discovered that I can subscribe to Writer's Almanac podcasts using my Google Reader via RSS feed--Yay! Now I'll never have to miss my daily poem.
I searched for "library" and "medical library" in all of the podcast directories listed. I think the easiest one to use is iTunes. This may be due to the fact that I have an Ipod and am familiar with how to search for music and videos. I typed medical library in iTunes and found a free podcast from MedlinePlus. This was a nice discovery. It's a good example of something we might be able to produce at our library. I thought Podfeed.net was the most difficult directory to search.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
Subscribe to The Writer's Almanac RSS feed.
I searched for "library" and "medical library" in all of the podcast directories listed. I think the easiest one to use is iTunes. This may be due to the fact that I have an Ipod and am familiar with how to search for music and videos. I typed medical library in iTunes and found a free podcast from MedlinePlus. This was a nice discovery. It's a good example of something we might be able to produce at our library. I thought Podfeed.net was the most difficult directory to search.
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/
Subscribe to The Writer's Almanac RSS feed.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
YouTube
I'll admit that I look at YouTube practically daily. Searching it and finding new video blogs and videos by my favorite music artists is a pastime of mine. There are also some very creative people out there who have a lot of technical skill and are able to put together some pretty amazing pieces of video. Some of the things I like about YouTube is that it's fairly easy to use--just type in a keyword and it brings up thousands of hits. I also like the social networking aspect of YouTube. Reading comments about videos and finding others out there who like the same things I do sometimes leads me to other videos, music or artists. One of the things I don't like is that some of these videos are either badly produced or can be maliciously labeled--so you have to be careful and do some work finding good videos.
I don't know how some of these features could be applied to a library web site... YouTube is very collaborative--it only works if people create, contribute, share and comment. There doesn't seem to be a lot of control over what gets posted... It would be nice for users of a library web site to be able to share with the librarians and others what databases work best for them or tricks they've learned. I see the potential of using embedded videos for teaching our library customers about how to use various online resources. We have a list of usernames and passwords that we send to authorized customers that gives them access to online journals and databases from home. The list we send out is very complicated--there are many different logins for our online resources. I think sending them a video demonstrating how to access the library from home would be easier for our patrons to understand.
I chose two videos I found on YouTube:
The first one is from Sesame Street. A shushing librarian loses it when Cookie Monster keeps asking for a box of cookies. I chose this video because after viewing it, I immediately wanted a box of cookies...in the library. And can someone please tell my why the librarian's nose is blue?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ZHPJT2Kp4
The second one is a homemade video of a 19 year old musician who covers songs by other a bands. It's just him and his guitar, sitting on his bedroom floor. I found him on YouTube because he made a comment on one of the musician video blogs I follow. I chose this video because I like this song and I think this guy may have the chops to make it big. So you can say you saw him here first!
I don't know how some of these features could be applied to a library web site... YouTube is very collaborative--it only works if people create, contribute, share and comment. There doesn't seem to be a lot of control over what gets posted... It would be nice for users of a library web site to be able to share with the librarians and others what databases work best for them or tricks they've learned. I see the potential of using embedded videos for teaching our library customers about how to use various online resources. We have a list of usernames and passwords that we send to authorized customers that gives them access to online journals and databases from home. The list we send out is very complicated--there are many different logins for our online resources. I think sending them a video demonstrating how to access the library from home would be easier for our patrons to understand.
I chose two videos I found on YouTube:
The first one is from Sesame Street. A shushing librarian loses it when Cookie Monster keeps asking for a box of cookies. I chose this video because after viewing it, I immediately wanted a box of cookies...in the library. And can someone please tell my why the librarian's nose is blue?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ZHPJT2Kp4
The second one is a homemade video of a 19 year old musician who covers songs by other a bands. It's just him and his guitar, sitting on his bedroom floor. I found him on YouTube because he made a comment on one of the musician video blogs I follow. I chose this video because I like this song and I think this guy may have the chops to make it big. So you can say you saw him here first!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Online Productivity Tools
The two online productivity tools I took a look at were Google Docs and Basecamp.
Here are my impressions:
Google Docs: I like Google Docs and have used it before in other classes-so I already had a free account set up. Recently, our web design director at work set us up with a paid account with Google Docs. We are now required to use Google Docs if we want to do things with our library web page like post a calendar, a power point presentation, documents, etc. So, if we create a power point presentation on let's say, how to search MESH headings in Medline, we can upload this presentation to Google Docs. Then, there is a way for Google Docs to create a link for this presentation so we can embed it on our library web page. Then, if we want to change the presentation, we go to our Google Docs account, make our changes, save them and these changes automatically appear on our web site. We have not tried this yet, but I like the possibilities Google Docs gives us. One of the concerns my institution has with this type of program is that it is not housed internally. So it could have the potential to go away, which would cause us to lose all of our created documents and presentations.
Basecamp: I took all of the guided tours for this tool and thought it was pretty cool. It was simple, looks easy to use, and I was already thinking to myself how nice it would have been to have used this tool when my co-workers and I were writing an article from JMLA. I think it would have made things much easier. I remember having multiple drafts of the article floating around in our e-mails and how confusing it got. Halfway through the guided tours of Basecamp, I was jotting down ways we could use it for future projects at work. I was thinking that maybe this tool would be easier to use for some projects than a wiki. After all of this excitement with the possibilities of using Basecamp, I then realized that it wasn't a free online tool. Darn!
Here are my impressions:
Google Docs: I like Google Docs and have used it before in other classes-so I already had a free account set up. Recently, our web design director at work set us up with a paid account with Google Docs. We are now required to use Google Docs if we want to do things with our library web page like post a calendar, a power point presentation, documents, etc. So, if we create a power point presentation on let's say, how to search MESH headings in Medline, we can upload this presentation to Google Docs. Then, there is a way for Google Docs to create a link for this presentation so we can embed it on our library web page. Then, if we want to change the presentation, we go to our Google Docs account, make our changes, save them and these changes automatically appear on our web site. We have not tried this yet, but I like the possibilities Google Docs gives us. One of the concerns my institution has with this type of program is that it is not housed internally. So it could have the potential to go away, which would cause us to lose all of our created documents and presentations.
Basecamp: I took all of the guided tours for this tool and thought it was pretty cool. It was simple, looks easy to use, and I was already thinking to myself how nice it would have been to have used this tool when my co-workers and I were writing an article from JMLA. I think it would have made things much easier. I remember having multiple drafts of the article floating around in our e-mails and how confusing it got. Halfway through the guided tours of Basecamp, I was jotting down ways we could use it for future projects at work. I was thinking that maybe this tool would be easier to use for some projects than a wiki. After all of this excitement with the possibilities of using Basecamp, I then realized that it wasn't a free online tool. Darn!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wikis are the Way to Go!
I created a wiki for work. It was designed to track the progress of our Libraries' five year strategic plan. I found Wetpaint fairly easy to use. It was a little clunky at times, but it's free and my hospital doesn't block access, so I can't complain too much! Wikis are nice in that you can limit access to only the members you want to see and add to the wiki, as well as having the tool be available anywhere you have an internet connection. Connecting pages to other pages was a breeze and I like that it automatically sends an e-mail out to wiki members any time something on the wiki is updated. It's just a great collaborative online tool. One of the pitfalls of wikis is the learning curve involved as well as getting everyone to use the tool on a regular basis. If no one is going to the wiki and contributing to it, your wiki is not useful or successful.
I'm trying to think of other ways to use Wikis in the library setting. I really liked the Library Success Best Practices Wiki. It has a ton of information and is a great way for librarians to share what has worked for them on various issues, i.e. marketing, talking to hospital administration, teaching databases, etc.
The wiki I developed for this class is at: http://allthingslibrary.wetpaint.com/
Check it out! (;
I'm trying to think of other ways to use Wikis in the library setting. I really liked the Library Success Best Practices Wiki. It has a ton of information and is a great way for librarians to share what has worked for them on various issues, i.e. marketing, talking to hospital administration, teaching databases, etc.
The wiki I developed for this class is at: http://allthingslibrary.wetpaint.com/
Check it out! (;
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Flickr and Image Hosting
I’m interested in the inter-connectivity of a Flickr account with photos and an application in Facebook that pulls those photos to your account automatically. I am also very interested in the concept of a “creative commons” system of copyright. I think this idea is quite fascinating as others seem so willing to share their creative works or family photos. I’m not quite sure how this tool would be used in a library setting. I’ll have to think more about that.
The image I chose to blog about is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23082575@N05/2220516986
It is a picture of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Having visited this site myself, (my husband is Turkish), it brought back nice memories of my trip and the exotic nature of all of the sites we toured in Istanbul. This trip definitely took me out of my element. It was so exciting to see a place with such a rich historical background. Plus the people were extremely nice and the food was awesome! I hope to visit again very soon. It looks like this particular photo has won a few awards. I found it using the map of the world Explore option.
The image I chose to blog about is at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23082575@N05/2220516986
It is a picture of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Having visited this site myself, (my husband is Turkish), it brought back nice memories of my trip and the exotic nature of all of the sites we toured in Istanbul. This trip definitely took me out of my element. It was so exciting to see a place with such a rich historical background. Plus the people were extremely nice and the food was awesome! I hope to visit again very soon. It looks like this particular photo has won a few awards. I found it using the map of the world Explore option.
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