PodCasts - LIS News

Here I've been in tune with some of the latest technology along, and didn't ever really think about it. I've been reading Library and Information Science News postings for over a year, and when they added podcasting I just accepted it as an expanded version of the postings. It's like a little radio news program on what's going on in libraries, and interviews with some very interesting people that I can listen to in my office while I'm working on something else. But again, like websites, blogs, etc. I'm finding I have to be more discriminating about what I sign up for and view or read. There's just not enough time to do it all, get my job done and keep up with my family.

You tube

What can one say about Youtube that hasn't been said before, and in a thousand different ways? We all have our personal uses for it, and knowing the creative inventiveness of the human mind, it's going to develop in ways we can't even conceive of at this moment.
I love watching the old clips from the Ed Sullivan show, things I saw when I was a little girl. Does anyone remember Topo Gigio? "Eddieeee, kiss me goodnite." And the Muppet clips before there was ever a Muppet show, or Sesame Street? And then there's the Weird Al Yankovic videos - White & Nerdy, or It's all about the Pentiums, Baby. And, I confess, every now and then I'll watch Shania Twain dance on a table top with Billy Currington. Hey, I can have my shallow moments, too.
Of course, there are lots of sites that are following the trend: Flickr and Google to name just two. Go into the Google Search Engine and enter Upload Videos and 'et voila!' you have scores of places to choose from.
I've watched videos on how to cook, or make things. And then there's a special one just produced lately, where Mr. Schwaab tells us about his 10 Random Things. And for those who need a little fame, it's a great, or at least remarkable place for them to have their 15 minutes. It's a great tool to use as an interactive process between the Library and it's customers, and it's a great archive itself of humanity. What will the space aliens ever think of us?

CML ToolBar

Do I have one loaded on my home laptop? What a question, of course I do! I swear, I'm searching around the CML catalog as much at home as I do at work. Probably more. ('They' don't let me out of my office much) We search around in our own catalog so much, I think we take it for granted what a great website and catalog we've got. Yes, there's room for improvement, but we've got the talented and creative people who are improving it. I've been using Firefox for quite a few years, but my husband prefers Opera. Also, if you want to try a new type of browser try SpaceTime. It's sort of a 3-D type of thing, where you can arrange and sort your search results.

Web Award tools

I hadn't really meant to leave my L&P until the last minute, and I really wanted to get the fullest exploration of each activity. But as usual, reality intervened and took over my life, and again I'm playing catch-up. However, everything in its time and place, I guess. One of the Web Awards suggested is for Geni.com, which provides a free, private forum to construct a family tree and a family history. Family members can log on and update it, and add to it, and add pictures and videos. This means that we don't have to email or snail mail this stuff back and forth, and if your family is spread over the continent as mine is, we can actually have something we can work on together. My mother is incredibly interested in having a family tree correctly built. I guess a cousin of hers put one together many years ago, and several facts were wrong. From the telephone conversations we've been having (my mother and I) lately, I have a strong feeling we'll be doing a lot of genealogy posting over the Christmas holidays...just to get everyone started. How fortuitous that I was pointed in the direction of this website just at this time.

Google Docs

This is what happens when you have your nose to the grindstone (read office desktop) and don't have the opportunity to Learn & Play like we have had in the past few months. I have worked on several projects in the past few months where having Google Docs up and running for same would have been such a boon. (love that word) And that fact that you can email documents to the account for uploading and work is just way cool. Many projects are winding down now because of the end of the year, and those fateful performance appraisals, but I'm looking forward to using Google Docs in 2009. The simplest advantage will be not having to create a document, then email it out to everyone for comment or changes, and then have them email it back and incorporate those changes. We also won't have to come from all over the county for a group work meeting - saving time and gas. We set up our phones for a conference call, put them all on speaker, and then we all log in and we can complete in an afternoon, what used to take a week or more. Does this mean I'll actually be more productive at work? Don't let Admin. know.

Adding to Learn & Play wikis

It's fun to add stuff; favorite titles, movies, music, etc. After all we all like to talk about ourselves. But really I find it much more interesting to read what everyone else has written. Agree or disagree, it's one of the reasons I've always liked working in the public library - there is just such a variety of opinions, all of them well thought out - or not.

Wiki, wiki

Doesn't the word even sound fun? Wiki, wiki, wiki... I think this is a great concept, and really like what someother libraries are doing with it. And I am really looking forward to our own CML Reader's Advisory Wiki. Because of my job responsibilties I don't have time to do the reading I used to, and I'm really hoping that the building of this RA wiki will point me towards the stuff I really, really want to read, and hope that this same wiki will be accessible by our customers. I see us reaching beyond simple online training for our customers, and showing them how to access wikis that we may have developed ourselves, or with community partners.