Final Thoughts on 23 Things

I enjoyed my travels through 23 Things. I have learned a great deal. After completing the 23 Things I realized I wanted to learn more about the web 2.0 so I checked out the book “ How to do everything with your web 2.0 blog” by Todd Stauffer. I feel that all the tools and information I learned with not only enhance my web experience but I will be able to teach and help patrons when they are exploring the web. I feel that learning and playing with Zoho and other online word processors will be very beneficial when helping patrons with computer help. Further I plan on having a delicious account set up for our reference team to use to have a quick referral to online source. Even though at first glance 23 Things looked like it was going to be a lot of work it was well worth it. Each exercise was fun and very informative. I will definitely be using the skills that I learned everyday for personal and work use.

#17 Sandbox

I added by blog url to the sandbox site. I have to say that it was a little confusing on how to do it but I finally figured it out. My url address was listed but the next day when I went to the site again my address was not listed anymore. I am not sure what happened. I know I did it right because it was listed and now it is gone. This exercise did not turn out well.

#10 Generator

I enjoyed this exercise. I had no idea how many generators are available. I had already created an avatar for my personal email but I did not know the technology was called a generator. The generator blog site was great. I had so many generators to choose from. I could not resist “the create your own headlines” for my post. The FD Toys site was great too. I loved the idea of making a jigsaw puzzle from your personal pictures. Further, the site gave you links to order an actual jigsaw picture puzzle. This is a great gift idea. Overall, I felt this exercise was informative and fun. Enjoy my headlines.

#21 Podcast

This exercise was fun and informative. I did a search on both podcast.net and podcastalley.com for quilt podcast (quilts again, I know I am addicted). The same podcast were listed on both sites under my search. I added two to my bloglines account. Further, I found two library podcast that were informative. The first is called “The library survival guide” by Emory University, which provides “tips, shortcuts, and techniques for library research. The second library podcast was the Salt Lake County Library podcast. This podcast provides its viewers with clips and information on programs the library had, are going to have, and do have for patrons. I think the use of podcast and their purposes from both of these libraries are fantastic.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/LibrarySurvivalGuide

http://saltlakecountylibrary.podshow.com/feed.xml

#20 YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTasT5h0LEg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz9UXHZCFp4

I enjoyed this exercise. It was fun looking at different videos from the humorous to the serious. There are so many videos available to watch from those that are watched for a good laugh and those that are informational. The two videos I choose to post was a funny cats video and an Awareness video for World Aids Day. I choose these two videos to show the diversity of the videos available on YouTube. I think it is a great source for creativity and sending out information to the public in a different format. There are many possibilities for YouTube videos to be used by the library. The library could post tutorial videos on how to use the library’s resources, videos on book clubs, come see our library videos, and library program segment videos. These videos would be another way for the library to bring more patrons and to show the communty all of the programs and possibilities the library has to offer.

#19 Web 2.0 Awards List

The site I selected to review listed on the Web 2.0 Awards List was Yahoo! Answers. The site offers its users to post a question for the public to answer. These questions can range from a homework question to a question about a contestant on American Idol. Further, the site offers its users the ability to search for questions asked on a certain topic by providing a general search option and a list of categories to choose from. I did a general search on quilt history. Several questions were posted which had been answered. However, I felt that only one of the answers posted was reliable. The person provided a list of books for the seeker to read and find the information they were looking for. The other answers did not provide any information on where they got their information. This site was interested and fun to play around with. I would not use it to find answer to a question I had. I would worry too much on were the information came from and if it was reliable or not. I would recommend my patrons to use Ask A Librarian.

Zoho Writer

I posted my #18 blog by using the publishing option from my Zoho Writer account. It was easy and it worked.

#18 Zoho Writer

This is a really neat tool. I did not know that it existed. I will definitely recommended this site to patrons. Many patrons want to save the documents they are working on and can't because they did not bring a disc or flash drive. I tell the patrons they can email the document to themselves but this would be more convenient. This would allow them to work on the same document either at school, at the library, or at work. This site will go on my resource list.

#16 Wikis

I am a big fan of wikipedia. I don’t use it for an official resource for patrons but I do sometimes use it as a starting point to put me in the right direction. I think having a wiki for the local library is a great idea. I liked the quote by Meredith Farkas “the resulting website would reflect the imagination and good ideas of the entire organization, not just a select few with the requisite “tech-savvy.” I think libraries would benefit by having both a community wiki and an internal wike. It would reflect the thoughts, ideas, and interest of the library and the library’s community. I think having a subject wiki is a super idea. I have been wondering how to share and continue to use all the great online resources I have discovered during LATI and having a subject wiki just might be the way to go.

#15 Future of Libraries

I do not think libraries will become obsolete. I agree with Dr. Wendy Schultz statement “libraries are communities”. Libraries have been and still are an important institution in our community. The library not only provides reading material and informational sources to the public but it also serves as a gathering place for meetings, social functions and safe havens for kids. Most importantly, the library does not discriminate or segregate anyone from the resources it provides. I do agree with Rick Anderson, in his article “Away from Icebergs”, that it is important for library systems and staff to be open and willing to continue to look at and keep up the advancements of technology. Further, I agree with Mr. Anderson’s opinion on the importance of how the library should be looked upon as a learning source for the growing information technology field. As long as libraries continue to evolve with the changes and advancements in society, I feel that the “library” will always and continue to be a community in our society

#14 Technorati and Tags

The most popular searches I found on the technorati site were searches on political figures and Hollywood figures. The most popular blog listed was the Boing Boing blog, which is about cultural curiosities and interesting technology. This blog was listed as the most popular blog in the world. I have to say that statement got my curiosity and I had to go check it out. I enjoyed looking at the most popular sites and blogs to see what everyone else is looking at and interested in. The following are the results I got from searching, learning 2.0, using different search tools.

Tag Search: 1529 Post

Blog Directory: 1018 blogs about learning 2.0

General Search: 21,957 learning and 2.0

2,597 “learning 2.0”

#13 Delicious

I did two bookmark searches on Delicious using the term quilts and library resources. I received 4737 hits for the quilt search. It was nice to see some of my favorite sites listed. I enjoyed reading the comments by those that have book marked these sites on their account. I think delicious would be helpful to have just like the rollyo. It provides a place to keep all of your favorite online resources in one place without having to try to remember them all.

#12 Rollyo

I think all librarians should use rollyo or something similar. There are so many great online resources to keep up with and this technology allows you to keep a list of your favorites and have them at arms length when helping patrons. I know that many of my co-workers have their site up and ready to use when on the desk.

http://www.rollyo.com/latibc/

#11 Library Thing

I really enjoyed library thing. I did a general search on quilts. The search came up with 8,867 results. I could have spent hours looking at all the books listed. Further, I thought that all the groups available to join was a great feature. It allows the user to discuss, ask questions, and learn new information from others with the same genre interest. I will continue to use my library thing account.

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

#9 Merlin

I enjoyed exploring Merlin. I was excited that they offer online courses. It is a great source to keep up with the evolving and increasing resources available for librarians and library associates. I plan on logging into Merlin to stay updated and connected with other library associates.

I explored all of the search links for finding new RSS feeds. I feel that the bloglines search was the easiest to use. I was unable to connect to feedster. I have really enjoyed having my bloglines account.

#7 Anything Technology Related

I recently was given an ipod for my birthday. I really love it. I never knew what the big deal was about them and why no one could leave their home without it. Well, now I understand. Besides having my favorite music on my ipod I can put audio books on it. It is so nice not to have to switch disc while driving. I have become one of them. I don't leave the house without it.

#6 Flickr mashups and 3rd party sites

The FD Toys site was great. I loved the idea of making a jigsaw puzzle from your personal pictures. Further, the site gave links to order actual jigsaw picture puzzles. This is a great gift idea. Overall, I felt this exercise was informative and fun.

SouthWest Wedding Ring Quilt

SouthWest Wedding Ring Quilt
Originally uploaded by urlati

#5

Since I am teaching quilting at the library I thought everyone would like to see a quilt that I made.

Enjoy