The End?

I have reached the 23rd thing in our web 2.0 exploration. I have enjoyed working on my blog posts, and I loved playing with the image generator. I check my Bloglines account daily for a one-stop place to keep up on various blogs. We're using Zoho Writer in my department for planning an upcoming event.

These exercises have forced me to look at new technologies I otherwise would have ignored. This is a great way to have staff development without having to re-schedule library programs to attend classes. I was able to work on the exercises for brief periods at work and at home and at my convenience.

As far as unexpected outcomes or surprises, I feel a sense of accomplishment from figuring things out. Any frustrations I felt were worthwhile for the knowledge I gained. There are some things I've learned about that will help me do my job, such as best practices wikis and blogs and online productivity.

I think the program and format for these exercises worked well. There are podcasts for people who learn best by hearing information, and plenty of visual and hands on activities to suit other learning styles. The best part was not having to fit classes or lectures into a busy work schedule.

I would definitely participate in future discovery programs of this nature. I'm sure they will be necessary as technologies adapt and we find new "things" to discover.

Classics on Tape?

I have explored our digital media collection and searched for Jane Austen titles. I listened to an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice and expected to hear the familiar opening sentence, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Instead, I heard instructions for "Classics on Tape." It sounds like this version of the classic novel is a digitized form of an old cassette recording. My favorite advice from the excerpt regards troubleshooting tips for a cassette that won't play properly, "...give it a brisk slap against a hard surface." I guess this clash of technologies (cassette vs. downloadable audio) reminds us how far we've come in the audio book world. Remember when the books on tape cassettes would get too close to the security equipment and the audio would be erased?

Podcasts and Author Birthdays

I'm a Garrison Keillor fan, and if I'm fortunate enough to be in the car at 9:oo a.m. and driving in the north part of the county I am able to catch his "Writer's Almanac" on a NPR station out of St. Lucie County. This rarely happens. So imagine my delight when I not only discovered podcasts of the daily "Almanac" but was also able to add them to my Bloglines account.

Now no matter where I am in PBC, I will be able to keep up with authors' birthdays and interesting facts about their lives.

Brilliant Babies

This week we are exploring YouTube. I did a "storytime" search and located videos of librarians performing fingerplays and songs in story time programs. One library system in Ohio produced a very professional looking video promoting their story times for babies. I can see some value in using YouTube to promote library programs and services. After I found the "commercial" for the library system in Ohio, I visited their website to see what other programs they offer. I guess their "Baby Brilliant" video promotion did just what it was meant to do; it sent me to their website to learn more.

Zillow

For the latest exercise we were asked to explore one of the sites on the Web 2.0 awards list. I chose to explore Zillow. I am familiar with Realtor.com and this is a similar site, however it offers street, aerial and hybrid views of the properties listed. I had a feeling that Realtor.com has more listings than Zillow, so I did a quick comparison search. On both sites I did a search for properties with my zip code and price spans of $150K - $200K. Zillow had 157 results and Realtor.com had 240. I didn't take the time to see if any properties were listed on both sites. As for library applications for this, I guess if a patron was in the market for a new home, I would recommend searching both sites.

Zoho Blog

Learning About Zoho Writer

Today I'm learning about Zoho Writer and I must admit I like the "friendly toolbar."

It's easy to see how to change fonts and highlight,bold and italicize,underline and so on.

Using this tool to generate shared documents can eliminate the problems caused when various readers have different versions of word processing software. It's also a great way to format blog posts.

Our Favorite Things

I just successfully added my blog to our wiki. I was confused about giving the link text a name, but I figured it out. My favorite animals are already on the list of animal favorites, so I added a few words anyway.

Send In The Clowns

I just explored Wikis for the exercise this week. I visited Library Success: a best practices wiki and found a link to an EZ Program Search database. I decided to explore the database by searching for program ideas relating to my upcoming story times. One of the schools I'm visiting this summer has asked me to read stories about clowns (I know you either love them or hate them!) . This particular database search has drop down menus, I selected "clowns" for the topic, "preschool" for the audience, and "story hour" for the program type. My search yielded four results. I added this site as one of my favorites so that I may re-visit it later this summer as I put the finishing touches on my clown stories programs.

This Too, Shall Not Pass

I just browsed through five perspectives on Library 2.0, and one by Dr. Wendy Schultz caught my attention immediately, for hers opened with the words "This too shall pass." When we first began our 23 Things study, I must admit, I was reluctant to invest much time on it. After all, I believed anything related to new technologies is quickly replaced by newer technologies and made obsolete. What I often forget, however, is that technologies of today are the basis for those coming next. I can apply what I learn today to the next generations. Dr. Schultz stated that Library 4.0 will not replace 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0, it will absorb them. I'm at the 15th thing now, so I vow to soldier on until I reach the 23rd. I wonder how many "things" we'll need to learn about Library 3.0?!

Technorati Floppy Bear

This week I'm exploring Technorati. It seems the task of making the contents of millions of blogs accessible by keyword searching is an overwhelming task. I did a few quick searches for things such as "story times" "children's books" and "summer reading programs." Many of the blogs I found were not useful at all, however my "summer reading programs" search retrieved our PBCLS video for this year's summer reading programs. Indeed, the third video my search yielded features Floppy Bear and other PBCLS staff members.

A Timely Lesson

This week we're exploring Del.icio.us and I can easily see the value of it for both research assistance and especially for creating bookmarks that can be accessed anywhere. The computer I use at work is about to be re-built for a third time this year. Each time my computer has gone in for service, my "favorites" have gone away with it. I'm eager to set up a Del.icio.us account so that I can access the most useful sites from any computer while mine is back in the shop.

An article in the April 2008 issue of American Libraries describes the ways some libraries have used Del.icio.us in order to keep site links up to date. One library even organized the tags into various subject areas in order to make searching easier for their patrons.

A co-worker and I were discussing Del.icio.us and one concern we have regards the lack of uniform subject tracings. If I want to find sites pertaining to gardening, I need to search for "garden" "gardens" "gardening" etc. There is no standard that dictates use of tags. Overall, I do think this is still a great way to take my favorites with me from computer to computer.

WebFeat

As part of our exploration of Webfeat we were asked to search for articles about our home towns. My town is very small and not very newsworthy, but I found an article from the Miami Daily Business Review regarding one of the preschool sites. The 5,000 square foot building on a 1/2 acre lot was sold for $1.2 million in 2003. I had no idea preschool real estate could be that lucrative.

Duck Thing

I just set up a Library Thing account and wondered what books to add. I realized this could be a good way to keep track of books I've used in successful story time programs. Last month, I offered a series of "Duck Tales" programs my young patrons enjoyed, so I thought that was a good topic: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/StaceB .
The Library Thing tags will help me locate books that may be used in programs on various topics. For example, some duck stories are also counting books, alphabet books, or books that feature shapes or colors. Someday soon, I plan to add some more books to my Library Thing, but for now I'm afraid it's simply a Duck Thing.

Deep Valley Public Library Forever

Here it is, the limited edition, highly collectible Deep Valley Public Library Forever Stamp!

This is the library building the author Maud Hart Lovelace frequented as a child. The bad news is, this is no longer a library. The good news is, this old Carnegie building is still standing and is used as an art center today.

With the help of an image generator, http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ I was able to turn this photograph into a lovely commemorative stamp.

A is for Alligator, B is for Bloglines

I've just had my first experience with Bloglines, and I can appreciate this service. It's good to know that when I encounter a new blog or RSS feed I'd like to read from time to time I can add it to Bloglines and have a one-stop site to visit.

Libraries can use this technology to broadcast the latest library happenings. Hennepin County Library in Minnesota has an RSS feed for this purpose. The ALSC blog post today features ideas for alligator themed story times. A blog I discovered just yesterday has a post on creating alphabet books with children.

A is for Alligator and Aardvark, B is for Bloglines and Book Arts!

When the Bell Rings

As part of the 23 Things Project we have explored blogs and Flickr. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I enjoy reading blogs by librarians who post program ideas. On Flickr I unexpectedly discovered some new storytime craft projects. My concern about these "things" is the incredible amount of time that can be spent (wasted?) in these pursuits.

I believe that these technologies can be beneficial as long as I watch the clock and set time limits when I begin to explore. An article in the May issue of School Library Journal recommends devoting only fifteen minutes a day to these new tools. So, when I begin to explore the next "thing," I will set my egg timer for fifteen minutes and when the bell rings I will stop and log out of whatever I am into. If my next blog post stops with no apparent conclusion, you will know what happened...the bell rang!

Recycled Butterflies

I messed around on Flickr two weeks ago and searched for photos of butterflies. I saw what I expected to see, photographs of live butterflies on various plants, but I also found something unexpected: pictures of butterfly crafts.

I never considered Flickr as a source of ideas for storytime craft projects, but there they were! I saw pictures of children of all ages working on butterfly craft projects using various materials. My favorite craft was created by an adult:

"Weekend Creative: Punch Collage" http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliedwards/2250158125

This is a clever way to use that butterfly paper punch that hasn't seen the light of day since I bought two years ago and threw it in a drawer of craft supplies. This fall, I am planning a recycled books project and this craft idea offers a great way to re-use magazine and newspaper pages.

Blogs 'n Books

Blogs provide great avenues for librarians to share program ideas and book recommendations. I have recently begun attempting to keep up with posts by librarian bloggers who offer storytime suggestions. The ALSC division of the ALA has a blog on which librarians post titles of books they have used in recent programs as well a professional books they recommend and discuss. If only there were more hours in the work day to keep up with this vast sharing of information! I'd love to find the time to post my storytime favorites, especially on days when my programs have been big hits with my young audiences.

Seven and 1/2 Habits

The Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners slide show offers a great introduction to Web 2.0 studies. Learning new things can be intimidating, especially when those new things involve technology. This 14 minute program provides a game plan in the form of a learning contract that anyone can use as he or she begins to study something new. I love the emphasis on "play" as a means of learning.

I feel the most difficult part of the Web 2.0 exercises for me will be finding time to work without constant interruptions.