Thing Twenty-Three

All done!

Thing Twenty-two

At the beginning of 23 Things, I remember thinking that it was long time until mid-April and the end of this adventure. Well, we're almost there, and it's been really fun and really useful. Time well spent.

I've been able to keep up with the assignments by simply adding the next "thing" to my list (yes, a piece of paper, not electronic!) of things to do for the day. That way I don't forget or let something else take its place. Now that I won't have a specific assignment or a due date, I'll have to stay more self-motivated to keep up with Library 2.0 tools. Friday afternoons seem like a good time for this because I'm winding down for the week and ready for something different. I plan on making a notation on Friday afternoons on my calendar (again, paper) that says "Library 2.0" and then use that time to explore. Then I'll want to actually do hands-on stuff because that's how I learn.

I admit that it may be challenging to do this. Currently I don't work in public services, so the knowledge is really for me, not to use with patrons. But, who knows where my next stop will be career-wise, so I gotta stay sharp!

Thing Twenty-one

As I've mentioned in previous blog entries, I love lists. So, the Assignment Calculator and Research Project Calculator were very appealing to me. Number one: easy, easy, easy to use. No long instructions, etc. Love that. Number two: very applicable. I think these tools would be particularly useful for students working on a group project, which as we all know, is the norm these days. This lists would help divide up the assignments to the group members. One thing I liked in the Teacher Guide was how the RPC pointed the teacher in the direction of the media specialist, who was labeled as a "partner." There was even an instructional planning guide for the media specialist.

I can see library staff telling individual students about these tools, but I think staff would have better luck selling it directly to teachers and media specialists. Teachers could introduce it to their classes at the onset of an assignment like a project or research paper. I'm just thinking if a whole class is told about RPC at one time, the students would be inclined to give it a try.

These tools lend themselves to being used for project management at the library also. Often divisions and departments have major programs to implement that involve staff, vendors, etc. This kind of tool could be beneficial; definitely worth trying.

Thing Twenty

I visited Twitterlit. When I laughed out loud at one of the first lines of a book, a coworker came in my office asking what was so funny. If it cracks me up, I like it. Next I visited BookStumpers because as a former children's librarian, I often received this kind of inquiry from adult patrons. "I remember this book from when I was a kid in the '70s. It had a red cover, and the little boy in it had a blue tricycle...." This site could help when a librarian can't. TheBookCalendar also has some merit by introducing members to a new book each day via RSS or email. It might be worth checking out to see if I'm interested in the titles introduced.

Personally, I'm not interested in joining a book club because I like to read for my personal enjoyment or education. There are really few books I want to dissect with a bunch of other people. I read something, enjoy it, and move on to the next one. Anyway, I looked at BookGlutton and Bookmarked. I thought LitLovers was pretty cool. The free literature courses could be worthwhile and I thought the link to Book Club menus was a great idea. I do hear book clubs have good food!

Although the One Minute Critic reviewed somewhat esoteric titles (at least the ones I saw) that didn't appeal to me, the clips I listened to were good. Kinda casual presentation, yet good. I think the site is an interesting concept. BookSwim was very interesting -- didn't know those kind of sites existed. I investigated the college textbook rental section, and thought it would be worth checking into if I were a student (which thank goodness I'm not anymore!). I still think the public library is a better bet for other stuff. But I realize lots of people want what they want now, so they might not want to wait for the library's copy of the newest best seller. I also looked at Visual Bookshelf which a coworker swears by, and SwapTree, which sounds incredibly fun. That one is worth spending more time looking into.

I had no idea all these sites existed, so this thing was incredibly educational.

Thing Nineteen

I had a blast looking at some of these recommended sites. I actually had to force myself to stop and get back to work. I'm very familiar with WebJunction thanks to NEFLIN, but all the others were brand new to me. If the site had me register before I even knew anything about it, I moved on to another one. Not that I have a problem registering for something I'm interested in; I just want to know more about it before I commit. I love love loved BakeSpace.com!! (OK, that's the one I had to quit looking at to get to a meeting on time.) I plan on registering, but I was able to find all kinds of neat things without even doing so. I got a killer recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cake. What's not to love about a site that gives you that?! Can't wait to share BakeSpace with my teenage daughter, a Mario Batali groupie. I also visited OpenSourceFood, which has changed its name to a hipper Nibbledish. It was fine, but not as easy or fun as the BakeSpace. Still worth visiting again. And, because I work in a library, I felt compelled to visit GoodReads. It stressed me out (not really) seeing how many books I want to read and haven't yet. I liked the quotes that kept popping up on the homepage, too.

From this Thing I learned there are lots of fun and helpful social networking sites out there. I also learned that this paperwork on my desk isn't going to take care of itself on its own!!

Thing Eighteen

I'm very familiar with Facebook because both of my children have accounts. My oldest created his once he got to college, and my youngest asked if she could have one last year in ninth grade. I was concerned about privacy and security issues, so before agreeing to her request, her dad and I discussed it. We finally said yes, but set up some strict guidelines for her to follow. I even discussed some of these with my son, but because he's an adult, he can basically do what he wants! Yet, he listened and actually agreed with several of them. I'm not naive when I say I have good kids, so I trust them. So far, when they've pulled up their accounts and shown me photos they have posted, I've not seen anything outrageous or inappropriate.

I chose not to create a Facebook profile myself only because I'm not interested in maintaining one. I have to admit that my son's opinion of the site and its audience also affected my decision not to participate. He is incensed that so many adults are involved with Facebook. He does have a point; the site originated for kids in college. His actual quote when an adult family member and mother of his friend wanted him to friend them was "What's this world coming to?!" I told him to reject them if he didn't want them as friends. After further discussion, I came to realize his beef is adults wanting to be his friends, not that adults are using Facebook. I explained how some coworkers use it professionally and that made sense to him. Just don't ask to be his friend!! My daughter is of similar mind, but sometimes feels pressure to accept friend requests from older family members and friends. I think we older adults need to be mindful of what's on our teens' sites, but at the same time, respect their privacy by not making them friend us. I'm not their Facebook friend, so why should their aunt or a family friend be one? If we as adults have an account, I think we should be friends with other adults and professional colleagues unless we have a teen who is begging us to be their friend. I have a good friend and colleague who told me that she never asks anyone younger than her to friend her. But if a younger person initiates it, she'll accept. I like that.

I spent time looking into MySpace because I hadn't really done that before. I know my library system has a page, which I looked at for the first time in awhile. I even found a picture of myself on it! OK, well it was the back of my head, but still! We have some neat video and audio clips on it, which were fun. The publicity was about a month behind, but it's probably one more thing for someone to keep updated. The audience was all ages. I then went to JPL's MySpace page which targeted teens only. I really liked that about it. They also promoted the use of Library Thing, which, thanks to 23 Things, I knew all about. Then I looked into some college pages, but one was geared strictly for the college students in a particular program at the school. The page was all black and white, which at first was kinda cool, but then it was boring. A search for Colby College MySpace just led me to a place for job postings, which I think is a great way to use this site. Lastly I investigated an Ellen Degeneres site, but it wasn't created by her show, but by a fan. Still interesting.

MySpace is a great tool for libraries to use, and I think Facebook can be used for groups that you have something in common with (committees, projects, librarians). I liked how JPL targeted a particular age group with their MySpace page -- perfect for teens. We need to use any available avenue to reach patrons, and social network sites are another opportunity.

Thing Seventeen

I used Podcast.com and YahooPodcasts to look for interesting health-related/running podcasts. The hits I got were really broad, so instead I just thought about websites I visited regularly, radio programs I like, etc to determine a podcast I wanted to add to my blog reader account. Every morning driving into work, I listen to the Bob and Sheri Show out of Charlotte, NC. I know they do the podcast thing, so I went to their site and added a RSS feed directly to my iGoogle page. Somehow I added it 3 times (still don't know how that happened!), but it was simple to remove the extra 2. I didn't link it to my blog, though. I took a look at Gcast mainly because I liked their slogan "it's so easy, your grandma can do it." Personally I'm not interested in podcasting, but I appreciate all the ways this format can be and is used.