Week 9: Conclusion

So this is it. My final 23 Things activity. I'm glad I participated. It was fun and interesting to see all the different Web 2.0 websites around.

Should PBCLS offer something like this again, I would not hesitate to participate in it. Even though I have been using the tools we learned these past few months frequently before the activity, refreshing my knowledge was helpful. I had read many a blogs but never blogged before. I had seen many a picture on Flikr but had never uploaded an image before. I have added a bunch of RSS feeds on my Firefox and Yahoo pages but did not know a website like Bloglines existed. I have bookmarked Zoho writer for future use and love the Im Cooked website I found in last weeks exercises.

Week 9: Overdrive Audio Books

Some books I recommend. They are very funny in written form but the audio versions are just as good:

Book 1: America by Jon Stewart

"Jon Stewart, host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show, and his coterie of patriots, deliver a hilarious look at American government.

American-style democracy is the world's most beloved form of government, which explains why so many other nations are eager for us to impose it on them. But what is American democracy? In America (The Book), Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff offer their insights into our unique system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and exploring the reasons why concepts like one man, one vote, government by the people, and every vote counts have become such popular urban myths. Topics include: Ancient Rome: The First Republicans; The Founding Fathers: Young, Gifted, and White; The Media: Can it Be Stopped?; and more!"

Book 2: I Am America and So Can You by Stephen Colbert

"What The Daily Show is to evening news, The Colbert Report is to personality-driven pundit shows. Colbert brings his sarcastic charm to a half-hour report, tackling the important issues of the day and telling his guests why their opinions are just plain wrong. Stephen stands for truthiness and his American right to copyright that word and claim ownership of it. Stephen Colbert describes his audiobook as a simple audiobook from a simple mind--Stephen Colbert. It is one man's attempt to wedge his brain between hardback covers---in this case CD jackets. In plain conversational language, not to mention the occasional grunt and/or whistle, Stephen explains his take on the most pressing concerns of our culture: Faith, Family...Hygene. Why now? Stephen fears America has lost its balls and he hopes to re-ballify us. Even the ladies. Ladies can have balls--lady-balls too. Stephen likes to call those "Thatchers." Stephen will show how he got his mammoth swinging sack, with tales of courage and vital documents from his own life: the Mother's Day card he made at age six, disputed credit card bills, putt-putt score cards--all the major milestones."

Week 9: Podcasting

Podcasts are only as good as the people making them. Some are great and very entertaining and/or informational while others are a waste of time. Some of the podcasts I'm subscribed to are CNN, BBC, and the Leaky Cauldron to keep up with any Harry Potter news that might be happening. I've listened to much more that what I'm subscribed to. I find keeping up with new podcasts is easy using Itunes. They have a while podcasting section in their store. It's very easy to listen to one podcast or subscribe to the whole "publication." Some websites have podcasts that you do not need Itunes to listen. Usually they just use Windows Player or Quicktime.

Week 9: YouTube

Before this exercise, I was very familiar with this website. Even if I have not had the pleasure of utilizing it's features, being a children's librarian, I have seen this site many many times. Our young patrons adore it. They've watched everything from soccer matches to movie trailers to anime cartoons and Family Guy. I really enjoy this website. It helps me keep up with programs and features I might have missed. What I really like best is the subscription feature. You can have Youtube link up videos that fit a certain criteria. It is similar to Google Alerts. Tell Youtube what to look for & it does all of the work.

If this works, below is one of my favorite dances from last years So You Think You Can Dance finale.

Week 8: IM Cooked

This week we were supposed to go check out some award winning Web2.0 sites. The one I selected was IM Cooked. It is described as a video recipe web community. I then looked at the different "channels". The videos were broken up by categories like Vegetarian, beverages, cakes & pies, casseroles, desserts, etc. The site is sort of like a do it your own Food Network. Although I'm not sure the Food Network would ever show somebody baking a chocolate cake serenaded by a Kelly Clarkson song. I really like this site and will bookmark it for the future. I didn't really choose an activity that has any practical library uses. I guess patrons can come in and view the videos and take notes on recipes.

After watching a video, I now know how to make myself a homemade Twinkie (should I be so inclined).

Week 8: Blog about Zoho

So this is Zoho.  Very interesting. This would be very beneficial for all of our on the go word processing needs. Should we ever have on the go word processing needs.....

I think I am going to bookmark this site for all of my future endeavors. You never know when you might need it.  The spellcheck seems easy enough. The adding images seems easy.

week 7: PBCLS Exploring Web 2.0 wiki

I had fun looking at everybody's favorites. Unfortunately when I was looking at it, not a lot of people filled in what their favorites were. I will probably go back in a week and see what others have added. I added in my favorite animal, favorite movie, and favorite tv-show.

Week 7: Wiki's

For this week's challenge, I reviewed the wiki called:Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. After clicking this or that, I started to read all the entries in the programming for teens entry. I focused on what they had on gaming. Last week I participated in a webcast all about the subject so it was still fresh on my mind. It was very interesting to see just how many libraries nationwide were starting to have gaming at the library. And there seemed to be a lot of libraries allowing teens to play video game systems such as Playstation and WII in actual branches. One page was a list of the branches and it looks like as more and more come online, they could add themselves to the list.

It looks like one of the most popular games out there for libraries is DDR. Our branch has had 2 programs already using story collections equipment. The teens did love it. Good to see we are keeping up with our "neighbors"

Week 6: Library 2.0

After reading some of the article on Web 2.0, I checked out the Wiki material on Library 2.0. I liked this quote:

The key principles of Library 2.0 are not just about access to books and information. It is about innovation, about people, and about community building, enabled through the participation that social computing brings.

In order for libraries to survive this century and the next and the next, they need to change and adapt. They have to be fluid enough to accommodate to the needs of the communities they serve. If the technology changes, so too do the libraries.

Week 6: Technorati

When I searched for www.pbclibrary.org I found 73 blog reactions. Many of them were discussing our branch's mouse tutorial. It seems to be very popular, LOL!! I noticed there was also some reactions once our system started access to the downloadable books program.

When I searched for the tag web 2.0 I found 41,119 posts tagged. Some of the related tag were

• technology,
• web,
• internet,
• tech,
• blogging,
• google,
• techcrunch

Techcrunch seemed interesting so I clicked on it http://www.techcrunch.com/. It is a blog that is "dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies"

Week 6: del.icio.us

I am very familiar with this website and have looked at it before. It is really helpful if you are looking for new web pages you've never seen before. I have used it successfully to find craft ideas for story times and other kid-friendly activities for specials. {not the ideas itself, but the websites}

LibraryThing.com-Week #5

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/sunshinem

Image Generators-Week #5

Week #5 is image and text generators. I played around with Bead Art. Here's my Jeep in circle beads. I think it looks cool.

To Kindle or Not To Kindle

So Amazon keeps flashing me this nifty little e-reader whenever I check the website. It is oh so taunting me.

Anybody have one and would like to comment? Yea or nea?

So You Think You Can Dance

I love this show! It really has been my favorite for summertime. People are just too talented to be believed. Don't get me started on Neil not winning last year. He was robbed! Sabra was cute but she wasn't Neil.

Blog Like An Egyptian.....

If you'd like to see my blogline feeds here they are:

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/sunshinem23things

I really like the RSS Feeds. They keep me up to date on everything I care about. I use them both in "My Yahoo" and on Firefox. The feeds are updated in real time. When breaking news happens, when politicians say the stupidest things, when blogs are updated, when authors change their websites, when Perez Hilton decides to insult another celebrity, I can click on their feeds and read everything.

I liked this exercise. I had no idea that a website like Bloglines was out there. Good to know! I will not be using it however after this exercise. It seemed way too fussy. I already use My Yahoo and Firefox as readers and I really see no reason to change.

May 22, 2008

Never put your IPOD in the wash

I've learned something. Never put your IPOD in the washing machine. When it comes out, even though it will be sparkly clean and shiny, the ruddy little thing will not work anymore.

Moral of the story--always check your pockets as you are sorting your laundry.

The View from My Chair

The View from My Chair
Originally uploaded by msunshne

This is the view from my chair in the Youth Service department. I love how tidy our desk looks. This photo was taken by me one day before the library opened. I think I was making sure my batteries worked before using the camera for a program.

How Libraries can use Blogs

Libraries will need to use blogs if they want to keep up with technology and other businesses and organizations. More and more people get their news and information off of the internet. We have to keep up! Libraries can post their programming schedules, new rules for the patrons, coming and goings of staff members, bibliographies, useful links, antedotes, and whatever cool fun stuff librarians can come up with. It can be a way for libraries to get information out of the public as well. Such as new material requests, programming ideas, and everyday comments and opinions.

1st Blog

Hello my fellow bloggers. This is my first post.

How I feel about the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning? Fine. Thanks for asking. I don't think any part of this learning exercise will be difficult for me to do. I have already used most of new tools we will be learning already (at least I think I have.....I hope I have!) I am looking forward to any new tips and tricks I might learn that I didn't know about beforehand.