Thing #23: Wrapping Up

Parrr-tay!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, the last thing! Facetiously, thing #23 is my favorite thing! Because it's the last thing!

Seriously, my favorite thing was the photo-editing software. I'd really like to go back and play with that some more and explore its further capabilities. My least favorite thing was ListenNJ. I deeply and passionately hate ListenNJ. I know a lot of people love it, but quite frankly, I think they are insane.

I'm not going to suggest which things I think OCL should utilize more frequently (altho I did mention some things in certain posts), because the implementation is so daunting. Which things? How? Who's going to be responsible for creating, maintaining, updating, using the things? Whew!

Web 3.0? Is going to be able to take pictures without your input or help, send them to whereever you think they need to go, and update themselves. Web 3.0 will run your house, your finances, your electronics, and your life. You won't need to do a thing. At all. Ever. Even think. Scary, eh?

This is one of the things Wikipedia says about Web 3.0:
"An evolutionary path to artificial intelligence Web 3.0 has also been used to describe an evolutionary path for the Web that leads to artificial intelligence that can reason about the Web in a quasi-human fashion. Some skeptics regard this as an unobtainable vision. However, companies such as IBM and Google are implementing new technologies that are yielding surprising information such as making predictions of hit songs from mining information on college music Web sites. There is also debate over whether the driving force behind Web 3.0 will be intelligent systems, or whether intelligence will emerge in a more organic fashion, from systems of intelligent people, such as via collaborative filtering services like del.icio.us, Flickr and Digg that extract meaning and order from the existing Web and how people interact with it.[5]"

And on that note, so long, farewell, auf wedersehn, adieu, sayonara, aloha!

Thing #22: ListenNJ

Well, here I am at ListenNJ, using the advanced search feature to find something to download, and keep coming up empty. I tried NJ History, New Jersey History, History of New Jersey, Hodgell PC, Montgomery LM - of which there were some, but I've already read them. So then I tried New Arrivals, most of which that I want to read, I've already read. But I did see a Stephen King I thought I'd give a try - but when I tried to download it, it said 0 copies available.

So I finally just added anything that said add to cart now. Then I had to log in. Then I had to download some software. Then I had to install it, and it wasn't a quick, easy install. In fact, it refused to install. Waaaaaaaaaaay more trouble than it's worth, especially since I prefer to READ books and not LISTEN to them. I think I hate this thing more than any other thing I've done so far.

ETA: I still hate this THING more than any other thing. The download time is horribly slow. I checked out Aesop's Fables and Alex And The Ironic Gentleman. I do like the fact that at the end of their expiration date, they "check" themselves back in. One less thing I have to think about. I think ListenNJ is a waste of time. If you like it, fine. I think it would be easier to borrow the CD from the library, save it to Windows Media Player, and then sync it to your device.

Thing #21: Finding and Listening to Podcasts

Podcasts can be interesting, funny, for learning, or for play. They could be useful in a library application to talk people through some of OCL's website functions, ie -placing holds or searching the catalog. Vodcasts would be even more valuable, and could also incorporate computer classes - the tutorials, signing up for email, and email basics. Cool!!!

I played around a little with both podcast and odeo, but since I have NO intention of subscribing to any podcasts (I'm online 18 hours a day as it is. Give me a break), I didn't actually subscribe. I do occasionally listen to some knitting podcasts, usually of radio interviews, but I specifically go looking for those, and I do mean only occasionally. But if you'd like, you should be able to listen to the Yarn Harlot here:



EDITED TO ADD: Same linking problem as in the previous post. Maybe a blogger glitch this afternoon. But if you search for Yarn Harlot on podcasts.com a few with the Yarn Harlot will show up.

Thing #20: YouTube and You

I often use YouTube to search for a how-to on a particular knitting technique. That's so helpful late at night when I'm trying to do something, and there's no one around to ask! While trying to find a video for this post, I stumbled across this:





WOW!! But I think I'll stick to knitting by hand.

EDITED TO ADD: I don't know why the YouTube linking isn't appearing in the post. The code is there under edit posts, but invisible when you look at my blog. But if you go to YouTube, and search for Lego Knitting Machine, you should be able to find the video.

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards

I found this quote interesting "Today, embracing the principles of Web 2.0 - UGC, blogging, mashups, portable technologies - are essential to the long-term success of websites. We've yet to see our first major "abandonment" of Web 2.0 principles by major players on the web (though I suspect that next year, I'll be writing that someone has). Instead, companies large and small are racing to embrace Web 2.0 - and for good reason. The power of these ideas to spread content, spread branding and enable greater engagement from people is extraordinarily powerful, not only from a cultural perspective, but for the bottom line, too."

I can't even FIND "Content Aggregation and Management", never mind explain it. And that's a large part of my problem with Web 2.0 it is too amorphous.

As for finding award-winners in a specific category, I chose books, of course! I was familiar with, used, or at least heard of the top 3! I hadn't heard of the runners up, so took a look at those. Reader2 was interesting, very similar to LibraryThing, but touts itself as completely free, which I think, if more people beging to use it, will put it far ahead of LibraryThing. BlueRectangle wasn't so helpful for someone looking to BUY books, since I didn't see a link to purchase. A few links to sell, and video reviews of real books by real people. I didn't bother watching one, since the only book review opinion I'm interested in is my own. ; )

I would like to go through everyone of the award winners and fool around with those websites; it really looks like fun. Dross among the gold, of course, but still.

Thing #18: Web Apps

It's interesting that Google Doc is a quick easy way to do what I had thought a Wiki might be valuable for. And while Web 2.0 is great, and having a variety of options for different tasks is great, there may be too much variety. However, Google Docs may be useful for the OCL BookPage. Hmmmmm.

Thing #17: Playing in the Sandbox

Some people call it a sling blade, but I call it a kaiser blade, mmm hmmmm.

This would be VERY useful for committee work, especially in a situation where multiple people are working on an idea or document. Otherwise? Eh, not so much.

Thing #16: Wikis

Generally, I don't care for Wikis because any idiot can change the content. It also seems to be reinventing the wheel. I can see how it could be fun (I guess) or useful (potentially). We shall see.

I did like the idea behind the Library Success Wiki. I didn't see anything new or ground-breaking, however.

OCL's entry in Wikipedia was interesting. It needs to mention the award that we just received. You know, that award that we won for the thing that Elaine went to Washington to collect from that lady, with Elias and ummmm, Eleanor, I think. Yeah, that award.

Thing #15: Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

There are many current features of Web 2.0 and potential future features of Web 2.0 than can improve library services to their patrons. Offering information in a format more intuitive to patrons, in the way that they need it, can be marvelously helpful and innovative. Utilizing the social features, too, can help make libraries the "heart" of the community, without the user ever stepping foot in the building! But I think it's important to remember quality control, if the user-driven information is inaccurate or far too broad it won't be terribly helpful to our patrons. I read the entire OCLC article, and there is a great deal of food for thought.

Thing #14: Technorati

I "claimed" a blog with Technorati, and did a few things with it. Not this blog, which is set to private, but another blog I frequently use. Technorati had some loading glitches, which it made it difficult to navigate. I didn't actually see/figure out the HTML coding for adding the html tags. Huh?

Thing #13: Del.icio.us

I signed up for a Del.icio.us account. I'm not sure how helpful this will be at work, where all computers I use are shared computers, but we shall see. I can see where the clouds of tags would be helpful to people looking for information on a particular topic. I like the way TCNJ used their cloud AFTER the breakdown of specific subject links, so that those looking for further information can follow the tags, or explore on their own. Tagging seems a very fluid manner of seeking information, not concrete or lineal, which is perhaps how my brain works or how I have been trained. If someone contacts reference with a specific question, I would prefer to know where I can immediately find the answer, and not chase after tags. Stafford did a great job with their summer reading links and tags, makes much more sense to me, and seems a more viable way of information seeking and providing behavior.

Trying to use Del.icio.us isn't really intuitive for me (old dog, new tricks?). But when I searched Del.icio.us for topics of interest to me, knitting pulled up nearly 60k links, and genealogy 45k. That's a LOT of links! But an interesting feature is that it shows you how many people have saved that link/bookmark/favorite. When you click on that particular link, it opens a page that shows you a cloud tag of related terms, user notes, and posting history. You can follow these links for further information, both about the poster and the topic.

Successful National Library Week For One Librarian

Librarians Like To Feel Needed

What ARE they up to?

Thing #10: Technology

I have a love/hate relationship with technology. When it works, I love it. When it doesn't, I hate it. For instance, I had written, and posted, this entire blog. It disappeared completely from blogger. So, at the moment, I hate technology. And no, I'm not re-writing the whole blog. So, this is it. Done.

Thing #12: NetLibrary and WorldCat

NetLibrary
1) Sign up for NetLibrary account. Done.
2) Look around NetLibrary. Perform a search. Done.
3) I don't find it terribly easy to use, but it's certainly simple to sign up for an account. Most patrons who use it, found the title they are looking for thru OCL's catalog, and sign up for a NetLibrary account in order to access the information. I don't think in most cases, this is their preferred method of obtaining information, but they will use it. Yes, I know how to use it, and yes, I know how to help patrons use it. Done.

I'm already familiar with Bartleby.com , Respectfully Quoted, and Project Gutenberg. Maybe 'cause I'm a librarian. I dunno. I'm sure there's more I could learn about them, but eh.

WorldCat
1) I searched for a particular book by John Stillwell. No one has it, near or far. I did, however, find an index to that particular book. Burlington County Library had a copy of the index. Done.
2) Click on the little tabs and find the secret, hidden information. Done.
3) WorldCat didn't have any of the things I was looking for. Granted, they were obscure. Most patrons love WorldCat, and come in with all the information to order something from a particular place. I have to explain that we won't necessarily be borrowing from that place, but possibly somewhere else, and we will try to get it for them. While it's nice to have the publication information, staff still has to try to find more information to fill their ILL requests. Done.

Note about the optional Exercise: Great minds think alike, I was searching for John E Stillwell's Wills of Monmouth County (or Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, Vol VI.). I didn't find it, altho I found the index.

Thing #11: LibraryThing

1) Take the tour and create the account. Done.
2) Add at least 5 books to your library. Done. I added 200. I would have added MORE than 200, but I would have had to sign up for a paid account. While a paid account is not expensive ($10 annually, or $25 lifetime), I didn't want to/feel like it. So I didn't, and stopped at 200. They should mention in the tour that there is a limit to 200 items in the free account.
3) Blog about the experience. Done. How popular were some of your books? One, The Beekeepers Apprentice, was shared over 1000 times, with 36 reviews, and 24 discussions. Others, like This Old Monmouth of Ours, by Horner, was owned only by myself, had no reviews and no discussions. But I really enjoyed seeing who shared my love for certain favorites, and being able to talk about them.

My librarything

Thing#9: More RSS Feeds

Bloglines is at 35, and rising. I finally got it recognize the Asbury Park Press. I do like that you can also monitor your favorite Podcasts. Now, if I can only find some Podcasts I want to listen to, I can check when there is something new to listen to. Et voila!

Most of them the blogs I follow are knitting blogs, but it is convenient to see when something new has been posted, rather than to keep checking their websites.

Thing #8: RSS

Of course, as someone who blogs, I already subscribe to Bloglines, as well as a few other readers. Bloglines is the one I use the most frequently. It's very handy, but I still find myself visiting my favorite sites the old-fashioned way: click and view.

I see when I logged in to Bloglines, I hadn't logged in for quite some time. I can delete some of those blogs; I don't read them anymore. Oh, well, I'll worry about that later. For now, I'll fulfill the requirements of Thing #8.
1) Add oclwebthings to my blogroll. Check.
2) Add Asbury Park Press feed. Not so check. Bloglines refused to recognise that the Press has an RSS feed. I tried every tip and trick offered by both Bloglines and the Press. I was able to successfully and easily add the RSS to MyYahoo. Evidently I could get it fed to my cell phone, as well. Half a check, I suppose. Since I don't care for the Press, I'm not terribly upset about this.
3) While magazines like Newsweek, Time, Woman’s Day, People and Entertainment Weekly may provide feeds, since I refuse to read them, I don't care. Check.
4) OCL events feed. The Sub to Bloglines favorite I added successfully captured the feed. Check.
5) Unshelved also successfully added to Bloglines through the Sub to Bloglines favorite. Check.

Next time: Searching for more feeds to add.

Thing #7: Scanning and Photo Editing

Using the library's HP scanner (since my home scanner isn't scanning for some strange reason), I scanned two images. One, another picture of my great-grandmother, and the other, and image from a book. I played with the images using Fotoflexer and Picnik. Using Fotoflexer to adjust the images was simple. Trying to save it to either my flickr or Photobucket accounts, not so much. I found Picnik even easier to use, and even managed to get it to look the pictures to Flickr, where I found I could edit all of my images. Photobucket uses Fotoflexer within its website to edit images, which is pretty nifty. You can see from the images the original scan, and then the edited images. You can see in the original book image, that the scan came out sideways. Using the editing software, I rotated the image, and then sharpened it a little. I also made the image smaller. For the next picture, you can see I didn't even bother to take the photo of my great-grandmother from its frame. The edited image was cropped and sharpened. The quality would no doubt be better if I had taken it from its frame.

Thing # 6: More Photo Fun

This picture was taken in Lacey Library's meeting room, at the knitting group meeting. The model is knitter and library staff member Tim. It was taken w/ my Canon digital camera. You don't transfer photo's with the USB port, you use a memory stick. I had to do this at home, since the library computers, even PC+, don't have the memory stick port. I do have a USB converter for the memory stick, which I didn't bring. Easy and convenient. It was uploaded to my flickr account, and then uploaded to blogger. This version of blogger is the older version, and I'm finding it difficult to maneuver the images within the post.

Thing #5: Photo Blogging

Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa are websites that allow you to upload pictures into your account, and "save" them. You can share the pictures within those websites (except Picasa), or upload them to use in other websites. Handy-dandy! I have accounts with both Flickr and Photobucket, for other purposes than to share here. I use Flickr for my ravelry account since they tie in automatically. I use Photobucket for private pictures for my friends and family. The picture above is a picture from my photobucket account. It's a picture of my great-grandparents, taken February 21, 1921, on their wedding day. I uploaded it using the blogger photo upload tool from the Photobucket URL. Quick and easy.

Thing #2: Lifelong Learning

Of the 7 habits, the easiest for me will be the technology, and the hardest will be teaching/mentoring. The most difficult part of fulfilling the contract will be remembering to check for the new challenges!

Things #1, 3, and 4: User-Driven Websites

User-Driven content of websites have increased the value of those websites exponentially. Sites like Library Thing or Ravelry are excellent examples of this. Ravelry is a knitting/crocheting related website where the user can catalog their projects, yarn, needles, books, favorite designers, ideas, etc., as well as numerous forums. If it weren't for the user adding the design, yarn, pattern, book or what-have-you, there would be a dearth of content. Wikis also utilize this feature. The applications across the internet are endless, so jump in and have your say!