Week 9, Thing 23

The end

Well, it is few days before the final deadline and I am only finishing up now. But it is good to be done. I know that I have learned a lot. I knew about some Web 2.0 tools before this started but I have learned about more.

My use of some has been sporadic over time. I can see the potential for using delicious more and I still use it to bookmark rather than using IE but I haven't spent much time setting it up and organizing it more which I think would make it more useful.

I let my RSS feeds build up to levels where they were ridiculously high. This week I discovered a tool that will help even more with RSS feeds: Tabbloid. This service allows you to receive blog posts in a newsletter format. I signed up with a Friday morning delivery so I got my first full issue this morning.

I love it. I signed up with some cataloging blogs that I have been meaning to keep up with and I got a 12 page pdf. I was able to read through it online or I could print out to read offline. While reading online I found that I could click on an "article" or a blog post and be taken directly to that blog for more information or to read the whole post (I might need to check a setting).

And it is really easy to set up. You enter the URLs of the blogs you want to follow. You enter your email and when you want your summary delivered. You get an sample posting and then you get them. It is easy to drop the blogs you don't want to follow. This seems like it will allow me to keep up with the blogs better. So I can go to Bloglines now and unsubscribe there to the ones that were clogging it up because I never checked it.

So try Tabbloid at www.tabloid.com for yourself.

So from this I know that I will continue to learn and continue to find new things to use and try out. I hope that I can find good ways to share them with others.

Another aspect of the program, one that I did not expect, was in reading the blogs of others how they really love their jobs. We have a lot of dedicated people working here and sometimes we forgot it. It has been enjoyable to read through the blog entries (yes, someone has :)) and to learn about others, what they have learned and more about what they do.

Week 9, Thing 22

Downloadables


Okay, I know Overdrive. I have trained others on using Overdrive. I like Overdrive well enough. Some may know how I love picture books on Overdrive. So I thought I should take a look at TumbleBooks.

They are easy to use. I like the ease of use. I don't really like the part where it reads to you, but I can see how some might. And I am not sure about animating static things, as if books in print form are somehow lacking. But I can see how teachers could use Tumble Books easily.

The games are fun. And they provide different ways to interact with words and the books.

But I prefer Overdrive overall. Overdrive ebooks and audiobooks are part of our collection. They are just stored differently, in an electronic form. The Tumble Books are a separate site you visit and have less control over what is in it or how it is presented.

However, I think most patrons won't really care about those difference. They both offer different ways to interact with books -- through computers and sound and are great to explore. They are likely both examples of how things are going to be in the future too.

I look forward to the day when we no longer have physical discs for audiobooks, music CDs and DVDs and it is all donwloadable. They will be much easier to process and circulate. We wouldn't have to worry about theft and labels.

We'd just have to deal with download problems -- but that is the concern of public service staff not us support staff. :)

Week 9, Thing 21

Podcasts



I am not a big one for podcasts. They seem like a neat idea -- listen to things on your own time but it is another thing to have to keep up with. I did explore the directories and found some library related stuff -- it is interesting that the Open Stacks blog is also available as a podcast.


I tried to add NPR to my Bloglines account but it didn't work. Okay they show up but there is nothing in them. And I did this back in October. Oh boy, just crashed Bloglines because I hadn't looked at things for a while. Oops.


I did also go ahead and setup an iTunes account and even subscribed to some free shows (Splendid Table as 1 pm on Saturday is not a good time for me) but I have yet to download or listen to an episode. It just is another thing to listen on the MP3 player. Generally, I would rather listen to either the current radio or a book. I am hoping with my new player I can do the latter a lot more easily.


I am pretty lazy when it comes to what I listen to. I like listening to radio well enough and NPR generally fits my mood. I can't listen when I am working.

But this is a tool that others find appealing and seems to be something libraries should explore ways to use. And go beyond the radio broadcast or lecture replay into something different. Not sure what but there have to be other things we could do. Oral history projects. Get people talking about why the love OPL. That might be fun. Record what you like about the library. Hmm. Might have to suggest that one.

Week 9, Thing 20

YouTube.

True confessions time. For the longest time I heard about this site and presumed it was Utube. After all, isn't everything on the web, particularly web 2.0 with abbreviations? Duh.

But I soon learned the error of my ways. Utube is probably taken anyhow.

I have used YouTube on and off over the past few years. Usually as a way to play. It is fun. It is a great tool for that.

I searched for, what else? poppy seeds. I found a poppy seed bread video produced for Taste of Home by Associate Foods. I wouldn't make it (only 1 1/2 tbs of poppy seeds between two loaves, who are you kidding?) but it was short and too the point and they even provide a full recipe. Seems like a good marketing tool. And being able to watch what someone is doing is great when looking at cooking.

Oooh, King Arthur Flour YouTube posts. I love it. Particulary useful for bread making.

So what can we do with @ the library? Of course we can use it, and we do, to promote programs. Lots of SRC stuff I see. The Spanish class made a video! But I do wonder what else we could do.

Perhaps we'll come up with some innnovative ideas.

20 down and 4 more to girl -- the end is in sight. Thank goodness as I have less than week to go.