Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Wikis

Over the years I have googled topics I wasn't familiar with and one of the first URLs to come up was Wikipedia. I thought "Wow, what an awesome resource." It was several months after my first exposure that I found out that it was a compilation of opinions and expertise and that anyone could add or make changes to it.

After that, I stopped relying on it too much as I wasn't sure whether or not the information I was receiving was correct.

For this exercise (23 Things), I searched the term "Cloud Computing." The first thing that came up was a box with a large orange exclamation mark....which is basically a warning. It said:

  • This article has multiple issues.
    • It contains too much jargon and may need simplification or further explanation. Tagged since January 2011.
    • It reads like a personal reflection or essay. Tagged since April 2011.
    • It is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Tagged since April 2011
  • In some paragraphs, after certain statements there were the words "Citation Needed". When I clicked on that it took me to the discussion page which contained the following: "To ensure that all Wikipedia content is verifiable, anyone may question an uncited claim by inserting a {{Citation needed}} tag."
It also advised the reader to "exercise caution before relying upon unsourced claims."

When I clicked on the header "View Source" a box with a lock came up stating:

"This page is currently semi-protected and can be edited only by established registered users. "
This doesn't mean that the registered users have any more expertise than anyone else., they just have to create an account, which is free. Wikipedia is trusting that the people contributing to a topic have some knowledge of the subject matter. They also rely on other experts to review posts and make comments or changes where necessary.

So I guess if you read Wikipedia keeping these things in mind it can be a valuable resource. But as with any type of research or quest for information for your own personal enlightenment, it's always best to check out more than one source for your information.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Blog Reader

Having played with the RSS feed as well, I think I prefer it to the Blog Reader. I prefer to have items come to me (in my Outlook) rather than me go to them, even if they are all in one place.

It is however useful if you don't have access to your email.

I found it very easy to set up, and another good feature is that you have all the posts from one place so if you don't get to read them for a few days you can read them all at once.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Reflection

I've always considered myself to be somewhat technologically challenged, but after going through the 23 things and building on the knowledge I already had, I feel much more comfortable with it.

I definitely see some applications that would help the adult services team, especially the programming committee. For instance, a Wiki would be great when creating programming schedules, or even just agenda items for meetings. Would eliminate alot of emails flying back and forth among the team.

We're also starting to expand out Computer Class offerings to include things like navigating digital downloads and the Web 101 which is awesome, as our patrons are very interested in learning new things.

I regret not starting the 23 things sooner, but I know myself and I work best under pressure. I hope to expand on what I've learned so far and put some of these ideas into practice and implement some new tools.

My Choice

For my choice, I've chosen to review LuLu.com. This is a website designed to help people "publish, create, buy  and sell their digital content on demand". They also sell other books as well, but their hope is to " have 1 million users that sell 10 books instead of 10 authors that sell 1 million books"

They are headquartered in North Carolina, but also have offices in the UK and Canada.

The site is pretty cool. You can publish everything from regular books, to eBooks, Wedding Books, Yearbooks and even Cookbooks. You can even do calendars. They have the templates and walk you through the process from start to finish. For instance, for a cookbook, you:
  1. Choose your binding (Hardcover or Paperback)
  2. Type in your recipes
  3. Add photos
  4. Publish
For authors they also offer the following packages:
  • Pre-publishing service packages
  • Marketing Packages
  • Distribution packages
This month at the library we had a session entitled "Is there a book inside you?" If we decided to follow on with this theme and offer classes in "getting started on your book" we could also provide a list of valuable resources of which this is one.

Podcasting

I'm running out of time to get this finished and am having difficulty finding podcasts that are short and easy to access.

I did however come across one called "The Library Minute" podcast by the Arizona State Library. It's an entire ongoing series, but the one I found was called The Library Minute: The Social Connection. It focused on "wanting to be YOUR library" inviting patrons to connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or in person to tell them what they (the patrons) want.

I decided to use TinyURL to create the following URL so that you too can check it out. http://tinyurl.com/3ofs65l
Podcasts seem like a great way to make an impact, but may be a little too time consuming to set up in order to do a good enough job to keep it interesting.

Hulu

This past Christmas I received a BluRay DVD player from my brother and his kids. Until then I very rarely even watched movies at home. But all that has changed. I signed up for HuluPlus and the rest is history!

I work most nights of the week at the library so I'm hardly ever home to watch some of my favorite shows (Bones, Glee, and Private Practice). Nopw with my new suscription to HuluPlus it's no longer a problem. I'm able to catch up on all my shows at my leisure either on my TV or my computer. It's made me a very happy camper.

But these perks all come at a price. A subscription to HuluPlus is $8.99/month, so not everyone can afford it. Although there are alsodiscount places like NetFlix and RedBox to get movies, I think there will always be people relying on libraries to supply this service. Right now we seem to be having some difficulty in keeping up with the latest and greatest, however that's a supplier issue which should soon be resolved. I also heard we're getting some Blu Ray DVDs, so we're moving forward.

Who knows, you may eventually see streaming allowed through places like Hulu in libraries down the road.

YouTube

In the past, I've watched a few of the more popular videos promoted through the news, talk shows etc., but had never really spent much time on the YouTube site. I was amazed at all the different videos available. While searching under the heading "Library" I found everything from Library Virtual tours,and instructional videos on how to renew your items online to hip hop dance routines with library carts at a TLA function to a Mr. Bean at the Library episode....quite the broad spectrum.

At our own library I know that we have used YouTube to allow teens to submit their entries for the StoryTelling Festival, and I also found videos on our 2010 Year in Review and How to Download our Digital material.

I think YouTube is a great resource, but we really need to educate our patrons as to what's available and they can best use it. One step towards doing this is a "5 Things" session that Adult Services is going to be holding during the Summer Reading Program this year. I'm not sure if they've decided on which 5 they are going to feature, but I think it's the first step in a continuing program that will help our patrons get used to technology and how they can use it in their daily lives.