podcasts...meh

I get it...I just lack patience for looking for the right ones and I lack the time to keep up with them once I find them.

One key takeaway from searching podcast directories is this: DO NOT start one if you don't want to keep doing it. It looks really bad to have a "weekly" podcast that hasn't had a new episode since July. It's a commitment to set up...but I saw a library that had adult/youth/teen podcasts...they just didn't look current. It'd be a cool thing to do if they could be kept up to date!

YouTube and guilty pleasures

I haven't spent much time with youtube...and had some difficulty figuring out how to search effectively for the good stuff. My sad, secret (now not-so) shame is that I enjoyANTM...and since we've lost the CW network on Time Warner I have been unable to get my fix. On Sunday I spent a couple of hours getting caught up. Hey every once in a while I need a break from being all intellectual and stuff!

Here's what I watched, so that I can test posting the embed code into my blog.



I think the really nice piece for libraries is that it makes it easy to share videos on more easily navigable websites (hopefully, any library webpage will fall into this category). As ever one of the things libraries are good at is getting people to the best information for them in this overwhelming morass of inormation that is out there. Same goes for youtube...we librarians need to play to our strengths!

Power Tools Page & Stumbleupon

Well, looking at the Power Tools Page from the CML website, it seems to me that there should be more stuff there and/or we should just send folks to The Web 2.0 Award site. It's a lot to keep current on...and maybe the awards site will be more current and more complete. Our power tools page reads more like a list of random things that our librarians have stumbled upon. That said, the stumbleupon concept is quite nice...and I did take the opportunity to look around a bit using it. A good place to go if one actually NEEDS more web sites to visit regularly!!!

face book: almost more addictive than twitter!

Perhaps the reason I've gotten so, erm, behind on L&P things is thing 18! I've found Facebook...and it's something I've spent minimal time on at work, and exorbitant amounts of time on at home! In a fit of utter madness, I created a facebook profile for my dog. If you don't believe me, click here! I've added a widget to my blog that links to my facebook profile or click here, friend me if you want. I've even set it up so that my tweets go straight to my facebook status. That said, there are people on facebook, my husband amongst them, who think my status updates come to frequently when doing it that way. Tough, I say, because otherwise my facebook status wouldn't get updated 'cause I USE TWITTER! So there.

google docs

My previous post was posted directly to the blog from google docs. A small group of 4 co-wrote the document using google docs back in August. Thought I'd see what posting it to my blog would look like. Please not that the text of this post is identical to that of my very first blog post...which shows how much I've learned about using Web 2.0 tools to make things easier for myself! While I'm not uber impressed with how the formatting came through, it's fairly handy to be able to post straight to a blog. More importantly, though, is how fabulous an experience it was co-authoring a document using google docs. While there were times when several people were logged in and editing at once that were frustrating...generally speaking, it is a very slick thing made even better by the fact that it is free!

The Future

Library Leadership 2008 Vision Statement

 

 

We are your library, open to all. 

 

We defend your right to read, hear, and see what you choose. We are guardians of the right to privacy and to access information freely. 

We are the destination of choice for those who wish to transform their lives through learning. We inspire our users to be thoughtful and productive citizens, whatever their age or background.

We provide welcoming, environmentally sustainable facilities where our customers can pursue their interests in safety and comfort. Our locations serve as a “Third Place:” a central community gathering place and a hub of civic involvement.

 

We provide exceptional customer service in response to the unique needs of our community. We deftly respond to those changing needs by actively engaging in our mission to promote literacy, technology, and lifelong learning, both in our buildings and beyond our walls. 

 

We are responsible stewards of public funds.  We continuously evaluate and adapt our services and programs to ensure their most meaningful and effective use.

We are diverse and reflect the communities that we serve. We challenge staff to grow professionally and as individuals.

We are a dynamic, vibrant institution committed to a culture of innovation. We provide the tools our users need to challenge worldviews, expand minds, and break down barriers, so that they can position themselves for success in the global marketplace.

As library leaders of the future, we offer this vision to our stakeholders.

They place their trust in us, and we are honored.  We promise to advocate for them, our libraries and communities.

We pledge to do great things.

 

 

 

 

Playing with Wikis

It took me a while to figure out what I was doing...but once I got the permissions I needed, I jumped right in and and edited the CML Learn&Play Wiki.

There are definitely applications here for hhc purposes...we could keep lists of local free tutor services updated, ESOL resources, etc. Of course, the verdict is still out, someone pointed out that something as simple as google docs might work just as well!

Cluetrain Manifesto, Web 2.0, and Library 2.0

Within the past couple of months, The Cluetrain Manifesto has been recommended to me twice. It's important to note that this book was published in 2000...and the Manifesto itself made news in 1999. It floored me that a book about the Internet written this long ago would still be relevant...but it SO is. Whether the authors were eerily prescient or just had so much insight into the technology that they knew, or could guess with a reasonable amount of accuracy, where things were heading makes no difference.

To me, the Manifesto hits on key elements of what both Web and Library 2.0 are...the other articles almost feel like a regurgitation of the same stuff. Really, the key point is that the types of conversations and communication that the Internet facilitates are/have changed the world. Library 2.0 is simply the need for libraries to join the conversation...we know we've got stuff to add to the discussion!

The Cluetrain Manifesto, it its original 1999 form can be found here.