Thing 9: Librarian and library-related blogs.

Here are some of my favorite librarian and library-related blogs:

http://www.librarian.net/: Jessamyn West.
http://www.walkingpaper.org/: Aaron Schmidt.
http://ddc.typepad.com/025431/: The Dewey Blog.
http://michaelgolrick.blogspot.com/index.html: Michael Golrick.
http://www.librarywebchic.net/wordpress/: Karen A. Coombs.

I dutifully tried out all of these RSS search engine tools. With Feedster you can save searches and subscribe to them with your RSS reader. I like Feedster's simple interface and clean results page. Topix reminds me of a news portal, and for searching larger news outfits, I think this search engine may be useful. Syndic8 is the most open about its processes and policies, and its results are usually very relevant when I've used it. I like Technorati, too, particularly its tag cloud for popular tags, and the advanced search interface, which is the easiest to understand.

There are a lot more different RSS search engines; I found this list at http://allrss.com/rsssearch.html.

Thing 8: Keeping up with blogs using Bloglines.

Here's the link to my public links:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/manatominaga.

Bloglines is a great way to keep track of all my RSS feeds, but I must admit I miss seeing the actual layout and design of each blog to some extent. I have so many feeds though, and Bloglines does make it faster to read and keep up with all the different feeds.
I think that libraries can use RSS feeds effectively to market events and keep patrons up to date with new titles. Wouldn't it be great if patrons could choose from various RSS feeds for new books based on genre? There could be a feed for new non-fiction books, new movies, new titles just for a specific branch, and so on.

Thing 7: My post about technology

Open Source Products I Use and Recommend

One application I consistently use and miss dearly in my work computing environment is the open source image editing product, the GIMP. (I know, the name sounds odd, but it stands for the GNU Image Manipulation Program.) It is a feature-rich image editor that competes with the commercial and quite expensive Adobe Photoshop, with its current MSRP of $649. I can use the GIMP for simple image editing tasks, but it also works for more complex image editing jobs for print. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, it doesn't take up a load of processing power like Photoshop always seems to, and there is a wealth of resources available on the Web for extending it or customizing its features. It is available for Windows and Mac platforms, as well as for Linux and other Unix based platforms.

A remarkable feature about this product is that it is free, as in free beer. You get to download it and use it for free, never having to pay a company or to register your user information for updates. Why? GIMP is an open source project, in which a dedicated distributed group of volunteer coders work on a project collaboratively, without direct financial benefit.

I also use an open source suite called OpenOffice.org, which means I don't have to pay and, most importantly, I don't have to use the rather frustrating and bloated Microsoft Office; Microsoft Office for the Mac retails for $349 whereas OpenOffice.org gives me bloat for free! If you're a Mac user, check out NeoOffice.org, an OpenOffice.org variant with a Mac look-and-feel.

OpenOffice.org includes replacements for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, as well as a drawing program, form template, and a formula editor. In my personal experience, OpenOffice.org handles multilingual documents more elegantly than Microsoft Office. OpenOffice.org also allows me to save my documents as PDF files, which is a very useful feature that is lacking in Microsoft Office. As with the GIMP, this product is also available for the Windows and Mac platforms, as well as for Linux and other Unix based platforms.

During library school, I wrote extensively about how the key concepts and values behind open source software. These include freedom to share, access, and social values, and are closely aligned to those of public libraries. Open source software also offers a myriad of financial and technological advantages. Existing open source projects for libraries enjoy vibrant development efforts, and successful implementations are promising, with significant ROI. To learn more, visit http://www.oss4lib.org.

I think that although in most large library organizations, IT decisions are quite centrally dictated (and with good reason to do so!!), librarians should be aware that other computing choices exist outside of Microsoft-land. We can also consider offering open source applications on existing Windows machines, or lending multi-platform open source applications as part of our collection.

The power of Flickr...

So, what can we do with flickr?? Also includes links to great tutorials.

My Librarian trading card.

Ah, a movie poster about my doggie!

Thing 6: A Flickr mosaic - Almaden Branch Library photos before we opened in May.

These photos of Almaden Branch Library shelves were taken the week before opening day, in May 2006.

Thing 5: A flickr photo of myself, on safari, in Tanzania.

DSC_1105.JPG
Originally uploaded by mtominaga.

It's very easy to post photos to your blog using Flickr!

Thing 3 and Thing 4

Set up and register my blog - done!
Blogger is great for getting up and running quickly with your blog, although I'd like to see categories added as a feature...

Thing 2: Lifelong learning.

One challenge for me is the second habit, to accept responsibility for my own learning. I seem to have an easier time learning in structured environments, such as a formal class; otherwise the experience feels less serious. Perhaps this is a reflection of my unwillingness to accept total responsibility for my own educational experiences. On reflection, though, I have learned all about using Linux, desktop publishing, and web design from actual practice. I should feel more confident about my learning abilities (4th habit) and engage others to reinforce my learning (7th habit).

In summary, the habits are:

1. Be goal-oriented.
2. Accept responsibility for your own learning.
3. Problems as challenges.
4. Have confidence.
5. Create your own learning toolbox.
6. Use tech to your advantage.
7. Teach and mentor others.
7.5 PLAY!

First post.

This blog is designed for me to complete the exercises outlined at http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/index.html.

My employer's initiative is a wonderful one, and I'm glad to see that the organization is so strongly committed to training. My immediate supervisor encouraged everyone in the branch to participate, and we even get a free USB drive for the course! The energy and enthusiasm the administration have for this project is exciting to see.