Thing 23: Summary.

Yahoo, I'm done! The weeks just flew by what with all the fun I was having. I discovered that I am a motivated self-starter who can stay on task and that I can find time to learn new things. I learned about a number of new tools such as Zoho and rediscovered some tools, such as technorati. I learned that Blogger's grown up quite a bit since I last used it - I can even post easily in Japanese, as in my post below! Moreover, thanks to the program, I got to know more about a lot of people in the organization, too through messages on my blog and posting messages to other blogs. I'm now feeling inspired to blog again. I would definitely participate in a similar program and enjoyed this opportunity. I'm happy that the organization gave us the time and supported this endeavor.

One annoyance was all the different log-ins and accounts involved. Also, many people at my branch started the exercises but didn't get a chance to finish. Perhaps more time can be allocated for the beginning exercises, or less 'things' can be required, or more exercises that simply getting used to Blogger may be added.

Also, I wrote about this in earlier posts, but one frustration I had with both de.licio.us and technorati at my work computer is that I can't download the browser tools that make it truly easy to use both services. Perhaps IT can be persuaded to allow these tools to be downloaded if such exercises are ever repeated.

I hope we all keep blogging and having fun with the 2.0 technologies. I remember when I first got involved with the Web, I had to learn Unix file structures, ssh and sftp, vi or emacs (I chose vi) - all just to get a "hello world" page online. It's wonderful that it's so much easier these days to get content on the Web, and hopefully will keep getting easier.

日本語でもブログできます。

ごく簡単に日本語でもブログできます。これなら誰にも理解できないコンテント作成が可能かしら。。。

Thing 22: EBooks.

I often refer people to our EBooks collection, and I've even taught a few classes for patrons on how to search for and access EBooks. No, I don't think that a digital book will never replace the experience of handling a paper copy of a book! However, I do think that the searchability of the text really does help for certain types of materials, such as reference and legal books. And the fast time to market (paper books take forever to move from the author through various publishing phases) means that EBooks will often contain the most current information available. I often encourage patrons who are looking for technology-related titles to use the Safari Tech EBooks collection for that reason. I do appreciate the redesigned search interface for SJPL's EBooks collection; it's much easier to find titles and get to content now.

Thing 21: Podcasts.

I love the combination of RSS with podcasts! I set up a number of KPFA podcasts on my bloglines account. KPFA airs a booktalk/author interview program every weekday from 3 to 3:30 PM entitled "Cover to Cover". I love the engaging author interviews and insights into world literature that this show offers.

I also tried searching for a number of library-related podcasts. Although some won't play on my work computer, I can see adding these to my itunes podcasts lists at home!

Thing 20: YouTube.

YouTube is an amazing site, and one can spend hours surfing various videos. My friend G likes to search for "laughing babies" now and then just to keep herself sane. I use YouTube to view Japanese comedy bits and TV shows; it's cheap, fast, and you can search for content in Japanese too!

I was at CLA this year and saw the Library Cheer. I was happy to find it on YouTube so that everyone can learn it!

Thing 19: LibraryThing.

I heart LibraryThing! I've been using it for about half a year now to keep track of books I've read. I also try to work on annotations and reviews by writing short reviews, but I haven't had time. I'd love it if there could be a closer link with SJPL's catalog - how nice would it be if I specify my library system, and then whenever I click on a book from someone else's bookshelf, I could see if SJPL owns a copy and then request it? I also love the recommendation feature; it's been more effective and reflective of my own reading interests than Amazon. It's interesting to note what kinds of books are popular in the community and which aren't. For example, I thought that the Glamour book of "Dos and Don'ts" would have more of a following but only 5 other members have added this title. Maybe the more 'serious' books have more entries.

My catalog is at this link: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=mana_tominaga, but you can see a selection of random books from my library on my sidebar with covers!

Thing 18: Online productivity tools.

I set up a Zoho account and I tried out Zoho Writer and used my existing Google account to play with Google Docs. (Keeping track of all my various logins and usernames and passwords are getting to be painful!) Surprisingly, I had less problems with Zoho actually, in terms of getting my documents on this blog.

I was able to post this below using Zoho's blog publishing tool:

This is a test document I'm creating using Zoho Writer as part of my review of various online productivity tools. I'm posting this using the Publish feature. I wish there were more font options. I do like the various export options, especially the PDF option. If only I could download the tools that allow you work off-line!

Thing 17: Wikis, again.

I just added my blog to the Favorite Blogs page for http://sjlibrarylearning2.pbwiki.com/. I thought the list used to be longer though - was there an accidental deletion of a few blog listings?

I think wikis are useful for sharing information quickly, and all staff can participate because you're using only a browser. Perhaps a staff wiki would be useful for each branch, even. You could also host training tutorials on wikis, and ask everyone to help contribute to it by reading and editing entries. You could also use wikis to document local histories - the library could even host a class on wikis and then invite community members to help create a library or community wiki.

Thing 16: Wikis.

This WebJunction article from 2005 is an excellent explanation of how wikis matter to libraries.

I think that wikis have the most potential for enabling really quick, fast, fact-sharing. The first area I considered wikis for was for other librarians, such as for "best practices" sites. With a wiki, everyone can participate in content-authoring, making it truly collaborative for team-based projects. I've often visited our own system's youth services wiki for storytime ideas and tips from colleauges. Albany County Public Library staff wiki, at http://albystaff.pbwiki.com/, is a good example of using wikis for internal training and support.

I also think wikis are useful as subject guides, as with the St. Joseph County Public Library's Subject Guides at http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page, an example of a controlled wiki, where only librarians can edit and post. This gives the site a high degree of credibility, and users can get a sense of the currency of the information with the "last updated" information. This site clearly demonstrates how librarians are still key for evaluating and selecting information.

As this article articulated, another hope for wikis is that they help foster a sense of community, and "create a community wiki that would be a one-stop-shop for community information". Frankly, anything like that will have to be as good and more imporantly, as well known as Craigslist! I think the other two possibilities for wikis have been more promising.

Thing 15: Libraries 2.0.

Reading the article "Away from the 'icebergs'" by Rick Anderson, at http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm, made me realize that our library system is actually quite ahead of the curve with regards to the library 2.0 pitfalls he warns about. By responding to patron demands for popular materials and media, our system has enjoyed increased circulation. We already offer a variety of other content, such as ebooks, with some limitations. We've made all levels of staff participate in training patrons, which I know helps to improve customer service. I do agree that we have to come up with creative solutions to offer virtual services, and "find new ways to bring our services to patrons rather than insisting that they come to us".

For me, one key aspect of Library 2.0 is the emphasis on user-centered web services, focusing on how users actually use our site and developing services around actual user needs. So for example, if our users are getting information using RSS feeds, our news and events page or our new books page should offer RSS feed options. Offering a myriad of online self-service features as our system does, however, is a great start; libraries have always been creative at using cutting-edge technology, after all!

Thing 14: Technorati.

It's really easy to spend a lot of time just surfing related blogs, blogs that link to specific blogs, and on and on. It's a great way to look at blog content in an organic way, I think. I also added a few watchlists to keep track of popular search terms. I think I'll keep using it!

(One frustrating thing I'm running into with both de.licio.us and technorati at my work computer is that I can't download the browser tools that make it truly easy to use both services. For example, you can just click on a "post to de.licio.us" widget to add an interesting site, or when you're on a page you can click on a "technorati this" widget to see who's linked to that page. I'm just very lucky that I have a computer at home and can download browser tools to my heart's content and also take full advantage of these 2.0 tools.)

Some thoughts on tags - I think that tags are an interesting way to categorize content. My mentor shared with me her frustration that tags are so flat - no hierarchy, no concept of contextualized categorization. There's also no concept of a controlled vocabulary - so you see all sorts of variants on a particular concept. For librarians, who are used to MARC records and controlled vocabulary for subject headings, it all can be a tad frustrating. But it does give some sort of order to the massive world of blogged content and moreover, anyone can add tags! It's all very messy but democratic, and I think it's all very exciting.