Thing 15

I have to admit I've never spent much time checking out podcasts, so this was a good thing for me to do. I looked around at the podcast directories, but didn't find anything that really appealed to me. I decided to look for library podcasts, specifically book reviews because we've knocked around the idea of doing that in our RA meetings. I decided upon Pierce County Public Library in Tacoma, Washington. They offer a wide range of podcasts- lots of book reviews, as well as plugs for various services and ones that focus on teens. First I listened to a review of the book We Are the Cat which is a book I read and liked. The librarian talked first about his own cats, then gave some information about the author and then reviewed the title. He finished up by referring listeners to their public blog on their website. I enjoyed it. Then I listened to a podcast about their reference resources. It was set up as a question/answer type interview between two people discussing life as a reference librarian and the resources that the library offers. It was pretty good too and I think it would be great for someone unfamiliar with these types of services. After listening to the podcasts I wanted to check out this library's website, so I did. It was a great website and they really focus on appealing to all ages in their community. They are also really focused on the future and what their patrons want- all the way to 2030! So I think their podcasts did a good job of presenting the library in a positive light and getting the listener interested in what else they offer. It also kind of made me want to do podcasts, especially book reviews because I found it so appealing. They used this medium well.

Thing 14

See, this video is proof of the vicious nature of pitbulls!!!! This pit's name is Sharky and apparently he and the chicks lived happily ever after because there are follow up videos and they appear to be living in peace and harmony! YouTube is fun and a great way to get lost for hours watching ridiculous videos. Why did I choose this video? I just thought it was cute. And it looked like Spring, which can't come fast enough! So early happy Easter. I didn't know you could embed a video into your blog. I'm not real sure why I would want to, except to be goofy. But it's easy to do and now I know.

I like YouTube better than the other video sites, but I think that's because I'm familiar with it and I have used it enough that it's easy for me to navigate around in. I think the only reason we might use one of these sites for the library is for promotional reasons. It's free, so that's good. We could promote the library and our services, programs, etc. Younger people spend lots of time on these site, so it could be an easy way to reach them.

Thing 13

LibraryThing is fun. It also sucks me in and could cause me to waste lots of time goofing around with all the gadgets and stuff to read. Since it's all about books, what's not to like? I got a little overwhelmed when I started looking at the groups area. There are so many groups that it's difficult to sort through them all. I thought it was interesting that there was a huge range of popularity to the books I chose. LibraryThing can be useful for RA, once you are familiar with navigating it. I also think the Author Chat area is cool. Lots of people would be interested in using that area, either to chat with an author or to promote their own stuff if they are accepted to host a chat. I also liked the "local" section, which lists all things book within a certain distance of your location. If we promoted LibraryThing, or introduced our patrons to it I believe it would be a big hit with a number of our patrons. It's also an easy way to keep track of what you've read and get ideas for future reads based on titles others have enjoyed.

One of the issues with all of the stuff we use on the web is remembering what's out there and when to use it. I would have to get in the habit of consulting LibraryThing for RA transactions. Right now I would probably think of it when I am at a loss as to what to suggest someone and my usual resources aren't helping me. As I use it more for myself I think it will be easier and more likely for me to use with patrons. I also need to remember to introduce it to some of our regular patrons who would probably like it.

Thing 12

I think these tools could be used to quickly locate information about a news item a patron asks about that I am unfamiliar with. It is also a quick way to keep up with what's going on that is of interest to a majority of people. There also seem to be lots of items concerning technology and what is the latest tweak, update, tool That is a good way to quickly keep track of technology changes. However, I know that I could easily become distracted and start reading everything. I know this could become a big time waster for me because I would start looking at all kinds of stuff, especially odd sounding items like "Samurai Archery, Sport from the 12th Century, Still Thrives." Do I really need to know about this? Probably not, but it just sounds so fun.

Thing 11

I have had a delicious account for awhile. I have to admit I don't use it much. I think if I were doing research and needed to mark specific sites I would probably make use of it a lot more. When I blog on my personal blog and the RA blog I usually label my postings. It just makes it easier to find specific topics when you're trying to remember something, and I think it looks cool- like I'm a really awsome blogger. I also like to be goofy with them on my personal blog. I don't know why, but I think certain lables are funny, like "pink cow."

We could use social bookmarking in the library to point out useful sites to patrons or to each other. In Adult Services we could definitely use them to inform each other of good sites we have found. However, as with most of the things we have looked at on 23 Things, it can get a bit overwhelming. I found the Manasha site overwhelming and I always feel the same way when dealing with tag clouds, so I avoid them. If I spent some more time using them I would probably get more comfortable.

Thing 10

I think Wikis can be useful because so many different people can add info to them. It can bring different perspectives to a topic that would not otherwise be there if only one person were developing the site. It is also an easy way to put information on the web without having to know a markup language, although there are many free sites now where you can put up a website without using HTML or the like. As with all thing Internet, a wiki is only as useful as you make it. It can either be helpful or a time waster depending on how it's used.

The most interesting thing I found in the readings about wikis is how the name came about. I always wondered where the word "wiki" came from. I don't think banning wikis as a source is a good idea, but I would be perhaps not allow them to be used as an "authoritative" resource. I think they can be good for gathering different ideas and leading people to other sources.I have edited wikis before and it is no problem- very easy. I just went into the wiki sandbox and messed around. I edited the first page.

Thing 9

All the changes I made to the Google doc are in purple. It was very easy, very similar to Word, which is handy since most everyone is familiar with Word. Zoho I wasn't as crazy about. It was a bit more difficult to manuever around in, and I think it was "junked up." By that I mean the toolbar was messy and had too much stuff. It was confusing to me and took me a little more time to get used to. I added a pic (of Ruby, of course) and made a text change in purple and size. I'm fairly certain the founding fathers would highly approve of Ruby being added to the document. It really brings it to life and speaks to the American people! I just liked Google better because it was simpler for me. Google is kind of like the Wal-Mart of the Internet- one stop shopping. You can do/find everything there- you never need to leave!

I think these tools would be very useful when you are working on a document with other people. I also think they would be helpful to allow someone to edit your document easily. You could also make use of them when you are working on something with someone who is not local. Also, it would have saved me lots of time from having to actually meet with groups when I was in SLIS!