Blogger has been highlighting their new Blog List feature for some time; I've only just now gotten around to checking it out. I'm playing with it partially for the experience, partially to make it really easy to find the blogs I've chosen to list, and partially just because I can. Find my blog, find my co-workers'.
If the State Law Library had a blog, I suspect we could list other blogs we thought patrons might find useful. What those would be, I have no idea, but I bet there are some good ones out there somewhere.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thing 6: Online Image Generators
I will resist the urge to name this post Flickr III, but playing around with the online image generators was a lot like playing around with the Flickr toys. But this time I'm getting glimmers of ideas of ways that we could use these at work. For example, the State Law Library hosts the occasional series of lunchtime showcases. It may be possible to use some of these images when we advertise these.
As requested, one trading card:
I don't think I'm going to get very far with Toon Doo. I clicked on the link and managed to look at their page for all of about ten seconds before the chaotic layout drove me away. I thought Image Chef was more fun (more navigable, anyway), and came up with these images:
:)
As requested, one trading card:
I don't think I'm going to get very far with Toon Doo. I clicked on the link and managed to look at their page for all of about ten seconds before the chaotic layout drove me away. I thought Image Chef was more fun (more navigable, anyway), and came up with these images:
(from our motto First Rung on the Ladder of Justice)
We're a library. These are books. It had to be done.
:)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Thing 5: Flickr (II)
Yes, the Flickr toys were fun to play with. I think I may be able to find a use for Palette Generator (from Big Huge Labs). Palette Generator analyzes a photo and then generates color swatches from that photo. If I could just get an accurate-ish color printout of those swatches, I could hie off to a yarn store and see if I really could make a sweater using the colors of a gorgeous landscape. I can't figure out how to put a sample picture and its swatches into this blog, but I'll toss in a jigsaw puzzle instead (also fun; even fewer ideas for how to use it practically).
But I digress.
I'm not bubbling over with job-related applications for these toys. It's the nature of our library, in part. Most of our patrons don't come to us for entertainment or even casual learning. For those in the Judiciary, their visits are probably work-related; for the general public, I'm guessing a mood of desperation is more likely. We do host the occasional library event; perhaps by the time the next one rolls around, I'll have played more with Flickr and its accessories and may have ideas of how to incorporate something.
But I digress.
I'm not bubbling over with job-related applications for these toys. It's the nature of our library, in part. Most of our patrons don't come to us for entertainment or even casual learning. For those in the Judiciary, their visits are probably work-related; for the general public, I'm guessing a mood of desperation is more likely. We do host the occasional library event; perhaps by the time the next one rolls around, I'll have played more with Flickr and its accessories and may have ideas of how to incorporate something.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Thing 4: Flickr (I)
It is not that I am completely ignorant of the features of Web 2.0. In some cases, I have played around with them and found them not to my taste. Flickr would be one of these cases, hence the delay in tackling Thing 4.
One of the "Things" I play with in the Web 2.0 world is Ravelry, a sort of LibraryThing for knitters and crocheters. Ravelry doesn't have a photos feature of its own; it piggybacks off of Flickr. So that's mainly why I have a Flickr account: it holds the photos themselves, and then I describe and tag and comment on those photos through Ravelry, which is much better suited to that purpose.
I haven't figured out what else I would do with Flickr personally. I suppose I could put vacation photos up (note to self: must take a vacation sometime). This would probably be the socially acceptable way to show vacation photos: interested friends could go look, while the uninterested wouldn't have to tell me to my face that they didn't want to--they could just not look. Hmm. Okay, okay, that has possibilities. But I'm still not convinced I'm a Flickr devotee!
That said, how to use Flickr in a library context? Some time ago, a former coworker of mine had the idea of putting together a tour for our library using Flickr, which we did. For the sake of this exercise, a current coworker who's doing the 23 Things as well had the idea of freshening up that tour. So, a new photo here, a revised comment there, and our refashioned tour is ready for visitors.
One of the "Things" I play with in the Web 2.0 world is Ravelry, a sort of LibraryThing for knitters and crocheters. Ravelry doesn't have a photos feature of its own; it piggybacks off of Flickr. So that's mainly why I have a Flickr account: it holds the photos themselves, and then I describe and tag and comment on those photos through Ravelry, which is much better suited to that purpose.
I haven't figured out what else I would do with Flickr personally. I suppose I could put vacation photos up (note to self: must take a vacation sometime). This would probably be the socially acceptable way to show vacation photos: interested friends could go look, while the uninterested wouldn't have to tell me to my face that they didn't want to--they could just not look. Hmm. Okay, okay, that has possibilities. But I'm still not convinced I'm a Flickr devotee!
That said, how to use Flickr in a library context? Some time ago, a former coworker of mine had the idea of putting together a tour for our library using Flickr, which we did. For the sake of this exercise, a current coworker who's doing the 23 Things as well had the idea of freshening up that tour. So, a new photo here, a revised comment there, and our refashioned tour is ready for visitors.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
in-between thing: facebook
Make that 23 Things Not Necessarily in Any Particular Order on a Stick. Well before Thing 20 appeared on the horizon, I joined Facebook. Blame peer pressure for this one. One minute, it looked like I could ignore Facebook indefinitely and not miss a thing by doing so. Then within the space of a week, I learned that several members of a mailing list I'm on had joined, that a close friend had just joined, that another close friend had been a member for months...finally curiosity won out.
Does it live up to the hype? I'm not sure yet. Getting constant updates on the status of people I'm not all that close to feels pretty unnecessary. But then, those same updates on my friends' statuses let me feel a little closer. Some of the applications amuse me--many seem like complete wastes of time and of my profile page space. It's probably good that I signed on early. By the time Thing 20 rolls around, I may have a much better sense of how Facebook and I will relate.
Does it live up to the hype? I'm not sure yet. Getting constant updates on the status of people I'm not all that close to feels pretty unnecessary. But then, those same updates on my friends' statuses let me feel a little closer. Some of the applications amuse me--many seem like complete wastes of time and of my profile page space. It's probably good that I signed on early. By the time Thing 20 rolls around, I may have a much better sense of how Facebook and I will relate.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Thing 3: RSS
Finally: something 2.0-ish that I was already familiar with. My first foray into the world of RSS was with Sage, a Firefox add-on. I suppose it worked decently enough--I used it for months and I still haven't uninstalled it--but I never really was all that fond of it either. Sage mostly just gives you the text of whatever it is you've linked to, and after a while I missed the bells and whistles of people's sites. And it wasn't much use at all for keeping up with a webcomic!
A number of months ago, I created a Google Reader account. The problem here was that even though I have a link to Google Reader in Firefox's Bookmarks toolbar, which is about as much in my face as you can get, I never get around to actually clicking on the link.
Lately, I've been doing RSS through my various email programs. Both Outlook and Thunderbird can handle RSS feeds. This is proving to be the most satisfactory solution yet. Every time I go online I check my email, and both programs just check RSS feeds automatically while looking for new mail. And once I see that there's something new to read, I'm usually curious enough to go and read it.
I mostly just happen upon RSS feeds that I want to pursue. Funny: in the end, there just aren't that many sites I need to be constantly on top of.
A number of months ago, I created a Google Reader account. The problem here was that even though I have a link to Google Reader in Firefox's Bookmarks toolbar, which is about as much in my face as you can get, I never get around to actually clicking on the link.
Lately, I've been doing RSS through my various email programs. Both Outlook and Thunderbird can handle RSS feeds. This is proving to be the most satisfactory solution yet. Every time I go online I check my email, and both programs just check RSS feeds automatically while looking for new mail. And once I see that there's something new to read, I'm usually curious enough to go and read it.
I mostly just happen upon RSS feeds that I want to pursue. Funny: in the end, there just aren't that many sites I need to be constantly on top of.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thing 2: Perspectives on Library 2.0
Okay, Library 2.0 sounds fun. I mean, this entry has been delayed because when I figured out that all I'd be doing for Thing 2 was reading articles and blogs and watching a video, my motivation just drained away. I wanted to be actively doing things, not just sitting around reading. And there are so many things one can be doing: creating content, sharing content, forming community online...it's going to be a wonderful time to be a user.
I don't know how I'm supposed to fit into the brave new world as a librarian.
Once upon a time, librarians helped patrons navigate the arcana of call numbers and subject headings to find books. They guided patrons through indexes to get them half-hidden journal articles. If a patron had enjoyed all the books of Author A and wanted to read more, a librarian could suggest Author B as a good next read. Through all of this, for the most part, the patrons had questions and the librarians either had answers or had an idea of how to find answers.
We were helping the patrons learn. Well, they (we) have. Now what? Patrons with questions are becoming users who can create their own answers. It seems to me that the commentators were more focused on explaining Library 2.0 than really speculating on the nitty-gritty details of how Libraries 2.0 will really function on a day-to-day basis. It's understandable: so far we're all just speculating on what will happen. But I find myself thinking that there are probably far fewer bank tellers nowadays than before ATMs became ubiquitous and that maybe that's what's going to happen to librarians. People who can do their own banking are probably more than ready to do their own librarianship. Yes, there are still bank tellers--there are still things best done in person at your local bank. There will still be librarians--there will still be things that need the personal touch at libraries. It simply sounds like there won't be as many of those librarians.
You did catch the part at the beginning of this post where I said Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 sound like fun, right? But I would've liked it if some of those commentators had speculated for a moment or two on what roles are left for tech services staff who have fewer books and serials to process, reference librarians who won't be seeing as much of patrons who can now look up their answers from their own computers, and circ staff who can be replaced by self-service check-out machines. But at the same time, I've checked out my own materials without serious injury, researched issues on the Internet and felt proud for finding answers, and have been happy not to have needed to lug home books for my papers--I don't want to go back to the way things were!
I don't know how I'm supposed to fit into the brave new world as a librarian.
Once upon a time, librarians helped patrons navigate the arcana of call numbers and subject headings to find books. They guided patrons through indexes to get them half-hidden journal articles. If a patron had enjoyed all the books of Author A and wanted to read more, a librarian could suggest Author B as a good next read. Through all of this, for the most part, the patrons had questions and the librarians either had answers or had an idea of how to find answers.
We were helping the patrons learn. Well, they (we) have. Now what? Patrons with questions are becoming users who can create their own answers. It seems to me that the commentators were more focused on explaining Library 2.0 than really speculating on the nitty-gritty details of how Libraries 2.0 will really function on a day-to-day basis. It's understandable: so far we're all just speculating on what will happen. But I find myself thinking that there are probably far fewer bank tellers nowadays than before ATMs became ubiquitous and that maybe that's what's going to happen to librarians. People who can do their own banking are probably more than ready to do their own librarianship. Yes, there are still bank tellers--there are still things best done in person at your local bank. There will still be librarians--there will still be things that need the personal touch at libraries. It simply sounds like there won't be as many of those librarians.
You did catch the part at the beginning of this post where I said Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 sound like fun, right? But I would've liked it if some of those commentators had speculated for a moment or two on what roles are left for tech services staff who have fewer books and serials to process, reference librarians who won't be seeing as much of patrons who can now look up their answers from their own computers, and circ staff who can be replaced by self-service check-out machines. But at the same time, I've checked out my own materials without serious injury, researched issues on the Internet and felt proud for finding answers, and have been happy not to have needed to lug home books for my papers--I don't want to go back to the way things were!
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