23 things #23!

I'm done! Woo Hoo! There were many times in the last month or so that I didn't think I was going to make it. I really enjoyed this project. It forced me to challenge myself, to step out of the non-technological zone that I'd stumbled into sometime in the last 10 years. While I am by no means an expert in any of this, I feel like I can now hold my own. Or I can at least recognize the service without responding to the customers with a blank smile. (You want to know about what?)

I thought that the hands one approach to this project was really helpful to me. If I had just read about this, I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much out of it. The exercises were just enough to give you an introduction and were not too overwhelming.

I found, to my surprise, that I actually kind of like the whole blog process. I have started another one which details a personal reader's advisory project I'm working on. It's called "Fallston and Abingdon's Adventures in Reading". You can check it out if you like at: http://fallstonreads.blogspot.com/.

I also happy to say that a cousin of mine was so impressed with what we were learning that it inspired her to try to learn some of it as well.

So, anyway, I guess this is the end for now. I hope to continue investigating web 2.0 technologies in an effort to keep myself more up-to-date. Thanks so much for giving us this opportunity to play and learn!

23 Things #22

I am familiar with downloadable audiobooks from helping customers access them in the library. Since the library no longer subscribes to Netlibrary, I investigated Overdrive. I logged in and looked for and found a number of titles.

I'm always listening to audiobooks, but as yet, do not have an MP3 player. But wait, I only have one more thing to go and then I'll have one. I will try downloading once I get my MP3 player!

23 things #21

I looked at a number of podcast directories and added a link to the Denver Public Library Podcast to my bloglines pages. This podcast has staff members reading children's books. I thought that my kids might like it. I will admit that I wasn't very intersted in this topic. Like with bloglines in gereal, I don't feel like I need to have information sent me me everyday. I check for it when I can. And now I'll feel kind of obligated to look at the account for one more thing I don't really need.

23 things #20

I'm pretty familiar with YouTube, so the great challenge was figuring out how to embed the videos into my blog. Thanks Annette for the help!

The first one is a timelaspe video of my cousin, Ken, tattooing his wife's leg. Ken is a professional tattoo artist who was featured in the December 2004 issue of National Geographic magazine. Tawnia's tattoo is of the well known ice mummy baby featured on the cover of the magazine.




The second one is Led Zeppelin performing Dazed and Confused (how could I resist). Most of the clips of this song were really long, so I chose the shortest one I could find.

23 things # 19

Glancing down the list of winners, I was pleased to see how many of them I now recognized (as opposed to hardly knowing any at the Tech Fair a mere 3 months ago). Obviously this project is working to broaden my awareness of these new technologies.

For this exercise, I looked at Zillow - 1st place winner for the Real Estate Category. I have a neighbor who will soon be relocating to Texas due to a work transfer. This site is perfect to help them on both the selling and buying ends. It gives an estimated market value for your home as well as other info including assessed values, property taxes, and historical trends for the house and the area. It also helps see other houses for sale in the area and comperable listings.

This site could definitely be used in the library. We often have customers researching potential areas for relocation.

23 things #18

I set up a Zoho writer account and created a few test documents. I found it easy to use. The layout and toolbars were very similar to MS Word, so it was an almost effortless transition to make use of them.

I really like the idea of these tools. Especially the fact that they are stored in a web environment and are therefore accessible from any machine with web access. I've been trying to get some work done at home and am forever trying to load the documents to my USB drive at 1 minute to 5 (always, it seems, on a weekend when we are closing) . I never seem to have all the documents I need. If they were done with Zoho writer, I'd have everything right there in front of me.

This is definitely worth investigating further.

23 things #17

I created an account and added a small list of my kids' favorite songs. I've been trying to add the link to my blog to the Favorites List, for quite some time, but someone else is working on this task, as well. That means that I'm locked out and cannot complete at this time. Hmmm, one of the drawbacks, I see. No simultaneous editing. That makes sense, but can be frustrating when it happens to you.

I'll update this post when I have a change to complete the exercise . . . Well, the page had been idle for over 30 minutes so I stole the editing privileges. Hope I didn't mess anyone up. So now my blog is on the page.

23 things #16

Wikis, wikis everywhere. I think that one of the best applications for a wiki is the collaborative project aspect. Committees and work teams always have assignments that would benefit from easier sharing and communication. Not to mention having access to the actual material for collaborative editing, etc. The branch managers have discussed using a wiki to update our handbook and I think that is a really good project to choose to experiment with using wikis.

23 things #15

Now I feel like I'm back in library school. While I love working in this profession, and feel that I am fairly progressive in accepting the changes it is experiencing, I'm much more interested in the hands on than in the theory. I think that this has been a great experience so far because it has forced us to actually do the things as opposed to just reading about them.

Having said that, I think that Away from the "Icebergs" was especially relevant. We need to be responsive to the changing expectations of the customers we serve. This is something, I think, that libraries have always strived to accomplish. I remember, a number of years ago, when the library system I worked for re-cataloged all of the Samuel Clemens' books to Mark Twain. Why? Because that's were the customers look for them. They also stopped spelling out all the names of the initial authors (C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, T.S. Eliot, etc.). Library 2.0 demonstrates the same thing on a new level. If we continue to stick to the old adages of the profession we risk losing our relevance in the world.

23 things #14

I just investigated Technorati. It's fun to be able to (sometimes) find my own blogs on the site. Sometimes they come up easily and other times they're hard to find. I have not claimed my blog or done anything to bring it to the sites attention. It seems to me that there's something a little dishonest (no that's not quite the right word, but I can't think of another one) about having to bring it to their attention before it gets easier to find.

Anyway, I searched for Learning 2.0 in a variety of ways, but had much more relevant results when I searched for 23 things. I got lots of library related hits with that tag.

The 100 top blogs list was intersting to glance at. Although nothing really made me want to quick click and look at them. How do you such awareness of your blog to get to be the top one? (Other than bringing it to the sites attention). I guess word of mouth, advertising, etc.

Okay, I think that's it for this thing.

23 Things #13

Okay, I seem to have taken a long, long break from this project. Some little things like collection work, vacations, and impending transfers got in the way. Now I have to get back on track so I can finish on time.

I took a look at del.icio.us today. It took me awhile to understand the concept. I don't seem to bookmark too terribly many sites, so I'm not sure how applicable this would be to my daily workings. I think that the research applications would be endless. To be able to springboard from concepts you felt were important to see what others had found, would be extremely helpful. I may have to look at this one again when I have a little more time to see if becomes more relevant to me.

23 things #12

Rollyo - hmmm - interesting concept. I can see the application for a number of reference related activities such as homework, government info, genealogy, etc. I see less use for it on the personal interests level. Sites come and go and if you only limit yourself to what you've found already, you may miss a lot of stuff. I don't see myself using this tool too often.

Nonetheless, I created an account and added a search roll for some of the places we like to take the kids in and around Baltimore, Harford County, and Pennsylvania. Here's the link:

http://www.rollyo.com/lpm0502/jzn_favorite_places/

23 things #11

I'm just getting back to my 23 things after a week or so of being occupied with other stuff. I looked at the LibraryThing info a couple of days ago and just had a chance to create an account. I thought I'd start off adding titles from my collection of signed books. I'm not sure I'd ever have the time or desire to add everything and maintain it, but it is a little fun to see them all lined up. Now if I could keep them all lined up perfectly like that in real life - the majority of them are children's books, so I'm constantly reordering them after my childrens' little hands have been into them. That's okay, though. That's what books are for, right? To be enjoyed.

Here's the link to my collection:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lpm0502

23 things #10

I've spent some time exploring a variety of image generators and all I can say is wow! You can go just about anything with them. I liked the YourGen text genrator (www.yourgen.com). It generates all sorts of unique fonts. I used it to change the font on my blog title. I also created an avitar on Meez (www.meez.com). I posted it at the top of my blog. Now if only I could superimpose 3 kids hanging on to my legs, it would be perfect. I'm sure there's an image generator that would do it, but my fiction collection is calling my name.

23 things #9

I explored the Merlin site and added the feed to my bloglines account. My account has just been activated, so I haven't yet logged in.

I also looked at the a number of the search tools. Technorati was easy to use and brought back tons of information. I did a search on Reader's Advisory and found the blog I just created (about 2 hours ago) for a personal project. Wow, that's fast! I'm sure that you can find something on just about anything out there. I searched for "underwater basket weaving" - a term from maybe middle school when a teacher used that expressison (his own, I think) whenever someone wasn't paying attention or was doing something wrong. Technorati retrieved 2 blogs with those words.

I don't have much more to say today, so I'll be back after I finish the next thing.

23 things #8

I created my bloglines account and subscribed to a number of feeds. I think that I'll reserve judgement on usefullness of this one, for me personally, for the time being. There really isn't any site that I feel like I have to check regularly. It's more like I check them if I have a moment and if I miss something it isn't devastating. So now, I will be checking a bloglines account and due to the nature of some of the sites I subscribed to, there will be numerous updates. So will I be spending more time scrolling through them? Only time will tell.

I love the idea of being able to subscribe to a specific blog. I subscribed to the system's Innovation Blog. That is one that I keep meaning to check but never seem to. So now I'll know if something new has been added!

Well, I seem to have gotten through thing 8, and if that's the hardest one, I guess I'm doing better that I thought.

23 things #7

I saw 2 articles in my professional reading this week that I felt were very applicable to this 23 things project. I copied the articles and am routing them to my staff.

1. Meredith Farkas, "The Evolving Library: Ten timeless tech tips," American Libraries, (June/July 2007): 50. I thought that several of the tips were extremely relevant to this library system and to the 23 things project in general: Tip 1. Develop a risk-tolerant environment - with our emphasis on innovation over the past year + we've already come a long way in tasking risks and accepting possible failure. Tip 2. Avoid technolust - It is always so easy to be caught up in the latest and greatest phase. We should always remember to critically look at the new technologies and determine which ones actually fill a need in our service. Tip 5. Play with technology - That's what this 23 things project is all about - exposing us to the new technologies so that we know what they are, can hopefully assist our customers with their needs (instead of having no ideas what they're talking about), and helping us be better equipped to do evaluate and incorporate the new technologies into out work (see tip 2 above).
2. David Lee King and Michael Porter, "Thirty-seven Sites in Two Thousand Words or Less," Public Libraries, (May/June 2007): 30 - 33. I loved this article. I was very fun to read and very non-threatening. They list (and give a short description of) many of the sites that we will be exploring during this 23 things project and many more that we can use to continue or 2.0 journey (if desired).

In addition to my professional reading, one other technological thing struck me this week. My daughter is taking swimming lessons and in packing her back pack (which is a new one - received at school for sucessful completon of a project) I noticed a rubbery hole on the side of the bag. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was basically an AV jack. I'm assuming that the cord of the MP3 player is inside the bag and the cord for the headphones goes through the hole. It was just a reminder to me of how fast technology advances and how young (my daughter just finished kindergarten) children are learning about it. I won't totally date myself here, but I didn't use a computer until high school. She started using computers in her 4 year old class and has to show her grandmother how to work the DVD player when she comes to our house. I'm sure as soon as she sees my MP3 player (that I'll receive for completing this project), she'll want one for herself. And in no time she'll probably be showing me all the cool little things I can do to enhance my blog.

23 things #6

I've been playing with some Flickr mashups and have found some interesting ones:

• Bubblr (http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/) - This application allows you to add a word "bubble" to your photos to create a comic strip or to simply add a caption. I though this would be great fun to use at home with photos of the family and kids. I always add captions to my photos and this would be a unique and creative twist to the way I usually do it (a sticker on the photo). I'm late to the world of digital photos (and am way backed up in my filing of the tons and tons of photos I have), so this would be perfect for those pic still in my camera. I'm a scrapbooker wannabe (want to do it, have lots of supplies, and lots of ideas, but no time to actually do anything) and with this I could just caption, print, and stick it in the book!


• Waholizer (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/warholizer.php#) - This one is just for fun. It turns your photos into an Andy Warhol-like print (inspired by the Marilyn Monroe painting). I tried a bunch of pictures, but none really looked great. At the beginning of this post, is a Warholized photo of the branch. Not identifiable at all - it kind of looks like a southwestern landscape to me. But if you could find the right picture, it would really be cool (and a nice addition to that "one day I'll actually get to it" scrapbook of mine).

23 things #5

(Photo caption: Flickr artist photosfromonhigh)

I've explored flickr and found that just about anything imaginable is out there. I even found a photo of myself from a library event.

As I was exploring I came across a number of photos of a rock quarry/sculpture garden located in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York. My dad used to take the family there when I was a child. The place is really cool. From the Opus 40 website, "The work is an immense composition of finely fitted stone, rising in ramps and swirling terraces around pools and trees and dfountains out of the rock bed of an abandoned bluestone quarry. It spreads out over more than six acres. It is the product of more [than] thirty-seven years of a man's life. His name was Harvey Fite. He worked alone, using his hands and traditional quarryman's tools, while building his masterpiece: Opus 40." Vistors can tour the site, enjoy an evening concert series, or even get married at Opus 40 (my cousin actually did - right in front of the monolith). For more information on Opus 40, visit the wesite at http://www.opus40.org/.

So what does this have to do with technology? Well, it demonstrates the power of one person to accomplish incredible feats if they put their mind to it and work at it. So, if Mr. Fite could create this incredible site, I should be able to complete this Library 2.0 project.

P.S. Thanks to Beth from beths place for helping me get the photo loaded!

23 things: 7.5 habits

I think the easiest thing for me is habit 2: to accept responsibility for my own learning. I have always been curious about all sorts of things and am highly motivated.

But this can be a double edged sword in the the hardest thing for me is habit 3: viewing problems as challenges. Instead of some sort of mistake or something on my part. I like to call myself a recovering perfectionist. I was always so motivated to succeed, to always be the best, that problems could become potentially crippling to what I was trying to learn. Getting older, and becoming a mom, have pretty helped me see that I'm not perfect.

So, let see if I can have some fun while I learn some stuff . . . and play, play, play!

23 things #3

Once upon a time, I really was pretty good at all this technolgy stuff. I was the technology trainer for my department and branch. I fully trained my staff and wrote the manual for them when we switched ILS systems. I was an expert at Pine e-mail (okay, that dates me a litte) and even used it to IM with friends. Fast forward, oh about 10 years, and 3 kids later and I've lost my edge. I play, all the time, just not in the technological sense. I'm hoping that completing this project will make me more comfotable with the web 2.0 technologies.