Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Minnesota Quilters 2008 Holiday Brunch Slideshow

Welcome to my blog! I'm Karen O'Brien, and "Library Ratatouille" is a blog that I started to help me learn new ways of being a librarian. If you are here just to see the MQ pictures please don't be confused by all of the "23 Things" talk going on. Just see the slideshow at the top of my blog. I'm using something called "Zoho Show" to present my pictures to you. Just hit the "play" button, or I find it pretty easy just to click through the 47 pictures one at a time. Some of the pictures may take a few seconds to load (please be patient).
We had a great time at the brunch, and I wanted to share these pictures. I'm hoping that there can be a link from the MQ website (http://www.mnquilt.org/) to this blog--in any case, I'm thrilled that you are here! Come back again, please!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Moving On from "23 Things on a Stick"

Well, I finished the "23 Things" twenty-four hours before deadline (phew!!) and had a great time doing it. Now, I want to continue the blog, going onward and forward to try to stay current and "invigorated."

I'm making some layout changes to the blog, so I'm moving the list of "23 Things" to this blog post, for posterity's sake (so I can remember how slowly the process went, at times).

What Are the "23 Things"?

01 Set up blog, post an entry, add an avatar - DONE!
02 Read/watch, then discuss Web 2.0 - Fini!
03 Learn about RSS - Done!
04 Explore Flickr - fait accompli
05 More fun with Flickr - Done!
06 Play with online image generator - Done.
07 Try communication tools - Done!
08 Share slide decks, photos, or presentation slides - Done.
09 Learn about collaboration tools - Completed; but would like to try editing with Zoho.
10 Learn about wikis. Add an entry to the "23 Things" wiki - Done!
11 Learn about tagging and del.icio.us - Done; but would like to have del.icio.us working correctly under IE 7.0.
12 Explore social media sites -- Dugg!
13 Try out an online productivity tool - Done!
14 Play with LibraryThing -- Done.
15 Explore some online games -- Done.
16 Learn about Assignment Calculator and the Research Project Calculator -- Done.
17 Use ELM productivity tools -- Done; would like to get NetLibrary to work better.
18 Explore YouTube and other video sites -- Done.
19 Learn about podcasts -- Done.
20 Explore Facebook and MySpace -- Done!
21 Learn about other social networks -- Done with the Ning Thing.
22 How can I keep learning about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0.? - Done.
23 Online evaluation and blog entry about the "23 Things" experience! DONE!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Thing 23 - Final Thoughts



I am mentally and physically tired at the end of a long day of finishing up my 23 Things on a Stick (yup, I let the later Things languish a little too long). (Ooh, nice alliteration! Now I know I'm tired!) But I am also invigorated by considering what I have learned, and the infrastructure I have established. I set up a blog, and have kept it fresh and vital (I hope I will continue to keep it active). I gained familiarity with Flickr and Facebook, encountered old friends and met new ones. I expanded on my use of RSS and Library Thing. I had a little fun break at YouTube, and envisioned what could be done in my library. I wondered at podcasts and Webinars, IM, and SMS. I visited other 23 Thing-ers' blogs, and learned from their creativity. I've become very "sociable" in social networks and on wikis.

I think I learned a little bit about maintaining a careful critiquing view of the "latest and greatest" tools. My time is valuable, and so I need to determine which tools will be most helpful to me in my personal life and as I strive to be the best librarian that I can be.

If I could choose one word to sum up the experience, it would "invigoration." I see so many possibilities in Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. I am very thankful for this experience, and I would definitely participate in "23 More Things on a Stick"!

Thing 22 - Ways to Keep Learning

Well, now I'm getting sad that the 23 Things is almost over! The thing is, it isn't. I plan to just turn right around and review and refresh my take on the 23 Things. I'll tidy up loose ends (like my del.ici.ous not working correctly with my IE 7.0). I'll look at the "Challenge" activities, and maybe try some of them out.

My RSS reader will be a great help. I've conscientiously added feeds throughout the project, and I think that this will be very helpful to me in the long run.

I will attempt to spend at least 15 minutes a day to maintain my blog, use the tools that I have learned, keep up with new tools, and apply those tools to my work in the library whenever I have the opportunity. These months working on the Things have reinforced my curiosity and ability to use new tools. I'll continue the process, and use my blog to tell myself (and the world), "This is what I learned today!"

Thing 21 - Other Social Networks

I had joined the 23 Things group at Ning a while ago, so my work for this Thing was made a little easier.

1. I read the articles ("Can Gather.com Get Book Lovers Online?" and "Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library"). I found the second article especially appropriate for this project. The author provided three steps to establish a social network in a library: (1) education of staff; (2) the stimulating of imagination of the staff; and (3) integrate the new network into the existing library structures. Sounds simple, but that's a lot to accomplish.

2. As I said, I had joined Ning already, and I had responded to a message from another "23 Thinger," Minnemom. To reinforce this part of Thing 21, I sent Minnemom another message. I also joined another Ning group, Ramsey County Library, which I found at Ning. I knew that there were other RCL people doing the Things, but it was great to get "sociable" with them. I posted to the wall of that group. I tried to find a "Ning badge" to put on my blog, but I have no idea what that is or how to add it. So, instead, I published some photos of the Textile Center Library to the "23 Things" group.

3. My final activity was to find another social network that might interest me. I find myself drawn to Library Thing, and I plan to explore the social aspect of that site.

I was very excited to find another Ning group to join! (the Ramsey County group). I can see how joining a social network helps to create a feeling of community.

Thing 20 - Social Networking and Libraries

For this thing, I set up an account on Facebook. Despite long (!) wait times to accomplish the updates, I completed my profile, sent a bunch of invitations to my family and friends to "friend" me (nobody has, yet, boohoo), and joined a bunch of groups. I found a "23 Things on a Stick" group, the ALA Members, the MLA group, the Library 2.0 Interest Group, and one whose name just cracks me up - "Don't Mess With Me, I Worked in a Public Library." The intent of the group is to commiserate about the joys and sorrows of working in the public library environment; well, I can certainly relate to that.

I posted to the wall of 23 Things on a Stick.

Personally, I found family and friends that I did expect to be on Facebook, and quite a few that I was surprised to see. I guess one should never judge about technical inclination! I'm hoping to reconnect with some that I haven't talked to in a while.

I chose Facebook, rather than MySpace for this Thing, because it seemed a little more secure, a little more private. I know that the intent of online social networks is to be. . .sociable, but I like the fact that Facebook won't show your profile to an unregistered user.

The tool was easy enough to figure out, but as I mentioned, it seemed a little slow. I guess one wouldn't update their profile every day, but time crawled when I would wait for a simple change to be saved.

So, I will wait for my friends to befriend me, check my Facebook account regularly, and see where it leads. I can see a lot of advantage to using Facebook, both personally and for libraries.

Thing 19 - Podcasting

Podcasts are a wonderful way to broadcast information and opinion. I had some exposure to podcasts from library school, but with this Thing, I feel just overwhelmed by how many podcasts are out there!

I played around in a few podcast directories--the MPR podcast site (in fact, I added the site to my "23 Things" bookmarks, because the site seems to have quite a few podcasts for news and music). I listened, just for the heck of it, to a podcast about Jimi Hendrix on the "Facemelter" set at the MPR site. The hosts were very funny and the music sounded great, even on my little laptop speakers.

Then, I moved to Podcast.com, and even established an account there. I don't know if I'll use my Podcast account much, but I did add a few podcasts to my Bloglines account - "Book Lust" with Nancy Pearl, and "The Marketplace of Ideas," which I found by searching for "literature." I found "Book Lust" by simply specifying the title; I've always enjoyed reading Nancy Pearl's essays, and now I can listen to them! I have no idea what to expect with "The Marketplace of Ideas," but it looked promising.

Here is a link to the "Book Lust" podcast that I listened to, and which I would highly recommend. I'm looking forward to listening to more Nancy Pearl podcasts.

http://video.seattle.gov:8080/podcasts/BookLust/JustinaChenHeadley.mp3

I think it would be so much fun to make podcasts and put them out there; even more fun if people would listen to them. I did find myself trying to multi-task while I was listening, like I wasn't doing enough! I found it a little disconcerting to not have printed words in front of me, to be just listening, but I think I could adjust.

Libraries could really utilize podcasting! For book reviews and author interviews (like "Book Lust"), or for training purposes (how to use the library, even in its "1.0" format). The possibilities are endless!

Thing 18 - Explore YouTube and other video sites

I just love YouTube! It's such a great forum to get messages (and entertainment) to people, to share in a social environment. Video-sharing is definitely a Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 thing to do.

Here's the video that I selected for my blog: it's one of the videos that the ALA made in honor of National Library Week. I think it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.





I looked for other videos with the tag of "library card" and found a cute one from the television show "Arthur" ("Having fun isn't hard...When you've got a library card!").

I really enjoyed all of the videos in this Thing. I'd seen most of them before, but some were new to me, like the hilarious "Library Musical." Part of the beauty of the musical video was seeing the reactions of the library patrons to the "prank," both during and after--very sweet.

The "Web 2.0 Directory: Econsultant" site ( http://web2.econsultant.com/ ) is terrific - I added it to my "Interesting Links" on this blog, and I also grabbed the RSS feed for my Bloglines account.

I really think video is important to a library website, and can convey so much of the values, mission, intelligence, and sense of humor of a library and its personnel. Video is a real common denominator in our society; it's a medium that most individuals can utilize (even the visually-impaired can enjoy the audio component). Services like YouTube make it seem fairly easy to incorporate video, and I think that the opportunity should be taken.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

ELM really has a lot of powerful tools, but I finished this Thing with a bad experience with NetLibrary--while logged in, at the end of my search, looking at my eContent book, I kept getting booted to a Log In screen. A few times I managed to look at pages within the book, but I was never able to add notes. So, I give a "thumbs down" to NetLibrary. Which is really too bad, because it looks very helpful.

1. Create a Search Alert. This activity was easy to do, now that the bugs had been worked out in the process of capturing the RSS feed. Thank you to all of you early finishers! I created an EBSCO search on (okay, this may sound boring)...the Old Testament, choosing only peer-reviewed journals that were available in full-text. I also wanted only English articles, so I limited it to keyword=English (I couldn't figure out any other way to do it). I successfully added my search alert to my Bloglines account.

2. EBSCO Page Composer. This was kind of fun. I can see a use for this (as I stated in my web page) as a place to keep notes and links about searching in EBSCO, for sharing or just for record-keeping.

I read in the comments for this Thing that it really isn't necessary to "save the webpage." The page is assigned space inside my account. So I didn't attempt that. I did confirm that the webpage stuck around, did not vanish into thin air.

3. ProQuest - Create a web page. This was easy; I emailed the html file to myself and my husband (since I'm working these Things on my own). I also downloaded the file to my computer. There was a handy help function on the screen that helped me a lot.

I can see a real use for this product in helping develop a reading list for a research project. It could be very handy for students and other patrons.

I, too, had a terrible time trying to look at the videos. I'm still clocking on one of them! Well, I guess I kept hitting the link, trying to bring it up. I only attempted the first video.

4. NetLibrary. Grrr! I followed the instructions to the letter (I think) but still kept getting the Log In screen (even though my name appeared at the top of the screen as being logged in, and NetLibrary knew what book I was looking at. Maybe they were doing maintenance to the thing at the time I was trying to work? (it was kind of late at night). I might add a note to follow up on this Thing after the 23 Things on a Stick is done.

Yikes! Six Things left to do!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Thing 16 -- Student 2.0 Tools

The Assignment Calculator and Research Project Calculator (RPC) are very cool! I wish they'd been around when I was in high school, or that I had known about them in my college years.

I browsed through them both (although the RPC seems to have a lot more to offer, in terms of support materials and links). The Assignment Calculator provides a lot of great practical hints for the U of M student. It is geared to a research paper format, providing a 12-step research guide and timeline for the project. It recommends resources and strategies for completion of the paper.

The RPC offers guidelines for two other project types -- slideshow, and video. I don't know how often those types of projects are done in the secondary environment, but the availability allows for "compare and contrast" activity. The RPC site had some great support materials. The Glossary of Terms would be helpful to a student struggling with concepts, and the teacher or librarian trying to assist her. The MEMO Standards for Information and Technology Literacy are linked to, as well as the Metronet Information Literacy Initiative (MILI) "dribbling exercises."

I added links on my blog to many of these things -- they are so valuable! I've always thought that information literacy is of utmost importance to the student, the school, and the library, and there is so much here that is helpful.

I would love to have a chance to show the RPC to a secondary student. I think that they would appreciate the automation idea, the way that the tool helps them organize and to plan their time to accomplish the goal. The RPC is really easy to use -- I entered a "calculation" for the remainder of Things that I need to complete for this project, and emailed the overview to myself.

In the same way that I linked to these tools on my blog, I think that libraries could link to them on their webpages, on the first page of a separate youth page, or even on the main page. So much great work has been done already, and the library (school or public) should take advantage of it.

It would be great to have school and public libraries work together when research projects are assigned, focusing on these tools. Kids often come to the public library, looking for books on a topic, but if the librarian had a "heads up" on the assignment, the end result would be better. If the teacher, the school library, and the public library were all using the same tools, no doubt, the student would benefit.

Thing 15 - Online Games and Libraries

This Thing has brought me into contact with my prejudices and biases toward online gaming. Intellectually, I can see that video gaming could be fun, socially engaging, and mentally stimulating. But I find it hard to understand how a person could spend hours involved in a world that is make-believe. I am shocked by the amount of time that gaming seems to consume.

But...I am of the generation that grew up watching television for hours each day. And frequently not the "good" stuff on public TV (that's all we had back then; no cable TV, so no Discovery or History Channel or Learning Channel). I and my cohort watched sit-coms, and lots of them, literally for hours every day. Now, there's a waste of time.

I found the article by Henry Jenkins, "Eight Myths about Video Games Debunked," very enlightening. The author refutes these eight myths: (1) The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence; (2) Scientific evidence links violent game play with youth aggression; (3) Children are the primary target for video gamers (over 60% of the market consists of adults 18 years of age or older); (4) Almost no girls play computer games; (5) Because games are used to train soldiers to kill, they have the same impact on the kids who play them; (6) Vido games are not a meaningful form of expression; (7) Video games play is socially isolating; and (8) Video game play is desensitizing.

I find especially promising the idea that gaming can be a leveler, a socially- and politically-neutral way for teens of both genders to meet, get to know each other, and even work together.

I took a look at Puzzle Pirates, and it does look like a lot of fun. I hadn't heard about the game before. On the other hand, I had heard of Second Life, but had never visited the site or actually seen what it looked like. It was enlightening to see a little bit of what it's all about. I took a look through the Second Life site, took the Info Island tour, and visited the Teen Second Life resources that were listed in the Thing.

Although I probably won't pursue online gaming or Second Life for myself, I think that online game play might have a place in the library. Gaming won't overrun the library, but will only be an additional option. Offering games for checkout or at special stations won't harm anyone, and may bring in new patrons, as well as bringing a new form of entertainment to library users. Special event gaming, like tournaments, sound like a lot of fun, both for the participants, and for the librarians putting on the events.

The idea of gaming in libraries seems to me now like a breath of fresh air. Fresh air to clear out the cobwebs and dust, to bring a little life and laughter into the library.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

I love LibraryThing. I've been a member for a while now, and have about eighty books cataloged. Here is a link to my catalog -- http://www.librarything.com/catalog/klobrien2

For this Thing, since I was already pretty familiar with the product, I decided to add to and to refine my LibraryThing experience. I'm now watching the MLA LibraryThing, and I've joined the "Librarians who use LibraryThing" group. I added the LibraryThing Search widget to my blog. I added the LibraryThing blog to my Bloglines reader. I'll be able to keep more up-to-date on what's happening with LibraryThing.

I think LibraryThing has a lot to offer to a library. How cool would it be to have tag-based browsing and recommendations on the OPAC, based on the vast amount of information on LibraryThing?

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

This Thing was a lot of fun! However, I think that the productivity of these tools would come after a bit of time, after one has gotten used to using them.

I used iGoogle to set up my home page--well, I didn't make it my home page yet, but I may do so. I was really impressed with all of the gadgets available, and went a little crazy setting some up. Not only did I add a "Countdown" gadget, but also a weather forecast, Google Calendar, and Date and Time. I went with iGoogle for convenience sake--a lot of the work that we've done for 23 Things has been Google-based. I was also impressed by how well-designed and visually attractive the iGoogle site looked.

I think that the Google Calendar could be quite useful. I added a task for two days from now, and it was really easy to do. I think that the fact that the calendar is online makes it very useful in scheduling meetings (I'm assuming that it could be set up to allow others access to your personal calendar).

I set up an online list tool - Ta Da List. (I started a list of the Things that I have left to do in the 15 days left of this project--yikes!) I think that a tool like Ta Da List could be very useful personally. I am an inveterate list maker, and here's a way to make lists that aren't just on paper, but which can be saved, emailed, and printed. Again, a real advantage is the online nature of the tool--it can become a collaborative, dynamic thing when working with others.

I also downloaded Sticky-Notes.net (the "lite" version). I'm not very familiar with this tool yet, but I can see lots of applications personally for this product. I am sure that, with practice, this tool would become very useful (again, for the listmaker in all of us).

Friday, March 28, 2008

Thing 12 - Social Media Sites

I just successfully "dugg" an article to Digg! I feel so empowered! (she said, a little sarcastically)

After visiting all four of the social media sites listed in this Thing, I registered with Digg. I liked the looks of the Digg website; the site seemed well-designed, and visually appealing to me.

Once registered, I decided to give this "digging" a try. I read an article on the npr.org website called "Beyond Recycling: Getting to 'Zero Waste'". I chose the "share" icon provided on the site, and then, after providing some direction to Digg about how to present the article (and assuring them that this was a new article, and hadn't already been "dugg"), voila! The article was posted. I doubt the article will ever get more than my vote, but I consider that the exercise was a success.

As interesting as the exercise was, I just don't think that I'll use this much, either personally, or in the library. In the first place, it seems to me that variety in reading material is lost when you get this focused in on what you want to see. Would you ever read an article that challenged your thinking, or that gave you a new way to look at something if you rely on a social media site?

One of the "Blog Prompts" for this Thing was to decide if social media sites enhanced, or detracted from, productivity. I guess it would depend on your definition of productivity. On the one hand, from what I could tell, you would see articles from a variety of sources. Other people have done the selection, so that's one less thing for you to do. You could just read the most popular articles, and probably feel that you were increasing your knowledge of the world around you.

On the other hand, I think you'd lose the sense of self-discovery; there's almost a feeling of group-think going on here. I'm not sure who benefits from sites like Digg. I think that you could use up a lot of time messing around with it.

Thing 11 - Tagging and Del.icio.us

I think tagging is a great idea. I have been tagging my posts and photos all along, and I can really see the benefit of doing so, especially in a social setting, where the labels can help others understand what you think your post/photos/bookmarked sites are about, and why you think they are important.

I had been aware of del.icio.us for quite a while, and I always thought it was pretty cool as a place to save one's bookmarked sites--a really nifty little tool. It was great to learn more about the concept of using tagging to make it a powerful search tool, as well.

I set up my del.icio.us (by the way, I find the spelling of the name quite a little irritating) account and proceeded to mark and tag some of my currently bookmarked sites. I ran into a technical difficulty of some kind, maybe due to the enhanced security of IE 7.0 (which I recently started running). The glitch prevents me from simply tapping on the "tag" button to mark a site; all that happens when I do so is that a "zip" kind of sound is produced. The only way I found to bookmark a site was to check the "del.icio.us" button menu for "more about this page." In addition to getting the bookmarking history of that particular page, I'm offered the chance to bookmark it for myself. If no one has bookmarked the page, I'm out of luck--I can't bookmark it, either.

I tried adjusting my security settings, allowing pop-up windows from del.icio.us, etc., all to no avail. I read all of the help pages and FAQs at del.icio.us, and then finally sent their support people a note requesting advice. I just received a very nice automated response, and I am to hear back from them within 24 hours. I will post again when I do.

Despite my initial difficulties using the product, I am excited about really using it. On a personal level, it will allow even greater organization of my bookmarked sites as well as insight into other sites that might be useful to me.

I like what libraries are doing with del.icio.us. I think that the tagging ability can be very helpful to reference librarians and patrons alike. Once the initial learning takes place, del.icio.us seems to be an easy and quick way to locate sites that have been scrutinized for accuracy, authority, and applicability to the need of the user.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thing 10 - Wikis

I think that wikis could be an invaluable part of the sharing of knowledge in a library. And they're a lot of fun!

I went a little crazy at the 23 Things wiki. I added a response on the FrontPage regarding how to "market" books. Then I saw that there was a PLA 2008 page, so I added a comment there, since that conference is going on right now. Finally, I wanted to create a new page, so I started one for "Ramsey County," the system that I work for. I started the page because I have wondered if any of my compadres are participating in the program, but, once I started writing, I started thinking that a wiki would be an excellent tool for sharing information from different people, within and among the different branches of a system.

We receive emails from supervisors in the different branches, but the scenario is a lot like the Common Craft video - it's messy, emails flying in from all over. A wiki would provide a central place for that information to be kept. The information wouldn't be just top-down, but those on the front lines could communicate to each other, and also back to their supervisors. Finally, I think a wiki would support "best practices" kind of procedures. Wiki-ers could find out what their counterparts in other branches are doing, if they are doing anything differently, and what their thoughts are on the topic. It's a "win" for everyone, I think.

Thing 9 - Online Collaborative Tools

It was interesting (and frustrating) to use both of the collaborative tools - Google Docs and Zoho. I found Google Docs easy to use, with familiar-to-me options and toolbars. I could see where others had had success editing the document. This was some very entertaining editing!

I was able to use Google Docs right away. Zoho was another story - yikes! The only way I could figure out to edit the Zoho document was to sign up for a Zoho account, and then import in the URL that had been mailed to me. I have no idea if that is what I was supposed to do, or if my editing would be accessible to anyone else.

The Zoho edit screen is cluttered and much too busy. To be sure, there seem to be more options available for editing (I added an emoticon - an "Undecided" smiley face - to my version of the document), but I don't know how many of those options would be important in a shared context.

To my mind, ease of use is much more important. Perhaps once I gained more familiarity with the product, I would feel more certain that I could access the correct document, and share it with my collaborators after editing. There seems to be a large learning curve with use of Zoho.

My vote is for Google Docs!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Thing 8 - Share Your Creations

I really enjoyed Thing 8. This Web 2.0 knowledge that we're learning about is intellectually interesting, but unless we use it to disseminate information, it is little more than a cool gadget.

I enjoyed the slideshow and photo tools, but thought I'd try my hand at a database. I was able to use Lazybase to build a simple database of the branches of my library system, and I've included the "read only" link in the "Links of Interest" section of my blog.

Once I figured out the mechanics of Lazybase, it was easy to use. I like that Lazybase doesn't require a logon, or the setting up of an account, but lets the owner of the database control the editing access of the database by URL specification.

I can visualize TONS of uses for a database generator like Lazybase in the library environment. I'd recommend it to others, but I wish that the website had a little more introductory text to explain how the website works, how databases are designed, and any special functionality that can be used.

I was impressed also by the eFolio program and website. This looks like an amazing tool for creating an online portfolio. I'm thinking of generating an eFolio for myself.

The link to "50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story" also looked very helpful, chockful of helpful tools. I've got it bookmarked. I think I'll put that link in my link list as well.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Thing 7 - Online Communication Tools

This "thing" certainly had a lot of ground to cover! It introduced me to a few new tools, and a few new uses of old tools, for communication in Library 2.0.

Email. I have used email for a long time. I thought that the productivity hints in task 1 were very helpful: (1) shut off auto-check; (2) pick off the easy ones; (3) write less ("just smack it over the net"); (4) cheat (use templates); (5) be honest (just deal with the email). I wrote down these words of wisdom: "Stop letting your email poke you with a stick. It's just not worth it." Personally, I've been thrilled to discover a "quick read" feature in AOL that lets me get through list-serve emails a lot more rapidly than fully opening each email. The key thing is to make email serve you, and not the other way around.

Email for libraries? Yes! This format of communication is familiar to lots of people, and can be adopted easily.

IM. I have used AOL AIM for a few years. I've found it personally useful when a friend is online, and we can chat a little more quickly than via email. I watched the task 2A video, and thought it was clever, but I really wonder if substantive information can be sent back and forth. The 2B article "IM Me" was interesting; I appreciated the idea that IM "aligns library services with the preferred technology of this target population of users." I think IM could be very useful for interoffice communications; my husband's work group has started using it internally. Here is a list of "Best Practices for IM" that I pulled from the article: (1) use a multi-network IM program (like Meeb0?); (2) send descriptive links rather than URLs; (3) employ away messages; (4) create a profile; (5) accept imperfection (!); (6) use abbreviations; (7) never panic; (8) try to use only online sources; and (9) load IM software on public PCs. They all seem like great suggestions for using IM in the library.

For task 2C, I had to find my own buddy to practice IM with, since I'm doing the Things on my own, on my own time. Luckily, my husband was willing to let me practice on him. I am glad to say that I'm a convert to the use of IM. I was able to converse intelligently with DH, and sent him pictures and documents very easily. As a library circulation worker, I think IM would be wonderful for dealing with the questions like "How late are you open tonight?" or "Can you renew my items for me?" I imagine that the reference folks would also find it useful. I find the written format of the communication helpful, and I know that IM would be a big benefit to hearing-impaired individuals.

Text Messaging. Text messaging, or SMS (Short Message Service), is a different story, to my mind. I understand the advantages: it can be done discreetly; don't have to be at your computer to use it; it's convenient for the deaf and hearing-impaired. However, I think that the disadvantages outweight the benefits: you have to pay for the service; it's not speedy (!); and you are limited to 160 characters, of text only.

I didn't understand the task 3A video. It looked like the test messagers were having fun, but I couldn't see any real information being distributed. The task 3B article was interesting; I can see that SMS for library notification of requested materials being in, or other messages of the type might be one potential use. For task 3C, we were to practice SMS with another person; here, I took a short cut and just texted myself! My first text messages! I would need a lot of work on this item. I couldn't figure out how to type a message, but managed to send myself, and then respond to myself, with a "Hi" message. Pretty lame.

Web Conferencing. I think that the tool of web conferencing definitely has some promise for the library. The little podcast on Opal was interesting and made a good point, that a web conference is a lot like a telephone conference on steroids! The task 4A article had some very useful information on the benefits and challenges of web conferencing, along with tips for putting them together. For my task 4B, I watched a Minitex Webinar (an archived one) called "Podcasting 1: What's All the Buzz About?" that was quite interesting. I didn't pick the webinar because the topic necessarily fit with this "thing," but it really seemed to fit. Podcasts would be a great communication tool for the library to use. I plan to get myself set up on a podcast reader and see what's out there. (Note: I see that Podcasts are covered in a later "thing"; so maybe I'll be in better shape to get that "thing" done)

Now, my time to summarize and analyze my thoughts about these web communication tools. Email is a proven and easily adopted tool for the library; a few of the branches where I work use email extensively, and it helps with communication between staff. Many of our patrons choose email notification for their requests. I think that IM has a strong potential, but maybe more for the "front lines" than the deep reference needs. I am still dragging my feet about SMS; it just seems too cumbersome, to me, but that could just be because of my unfamiliarity with it. I think that library use of web conferencing is great! So much information (author presentations, book reviews, book club meetings, board meetings) could be put archived webinars or podcasts. I participated in a live web conference at the U a year or so ago, and even though I was physically in the room at the U, the conference was being shared remotely across the country. The potential for communication and efficiency was terrific!

This was an interesting "thing," and I learned a lot.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Thing 6: Online Image Generators

Online Image Generators are pretty fun. I made a license plate at Image Chef in honor of PLA 2008, an event that is rapidly approaching. I generated a movie marquee for a trip my husband and I will be making in a few months. Very easy to do, and definitely fun.

I created a Trading Card, and tried to be a little clever with my "stats," but the words are really hard to read on the blog.

In the library setting, I can see these generators being used for publications and eye-catching signage. My quilting guild used the license plate image for its annual show logo one year, and it was very impressive and memorable.

I don't see this Thing as being as useful a tool for the library as other Things. The images are a lot of fun, though!

Library Ratatouille

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more

Library Ratatouille

ImageChef.com - Custom comment codes for MySpace, Hi5, Friendster and more

Monday, February 25, 2008

Thing Five: More Fun with Flickr

As you can see, I did have more fun with Flickr; or more specifically, with the Flickr mashups we played with for Thing 5.

I played with metaatem.net's speller, and pulled the html for the result of my spelling and placed it on my blog. As you can probably guess, I really like the speller mashup: I originally had a two-word sentiment spelled out - "Really cool!" As it is, the pictures take up a fair amount of space, and I may move them to the bottom of my blog but, right now, I really like them.

I used the jigsaw puzzle maker at bighugelabs.com (love that name) to make a puzzle out of one of my photos (see below).

I thought of a few library uses for these mashups. There are some mashup games that could be used to teach the concept of tagging. The speller could make some really cute signage or posters. And the site which shares the jigsaw puzzle mashup also can produce a real jigsaw puzzle from the photo. Hard to believe, but there are still those who like to put a jigsaw puzzle together. The St. Paul Winter Carnival holds a jigsaw puzzle contest every year, and there is a fair turnout. Do jigsaw puzzles have a place in the library? Maybe.

This was really a fun "Thing"!

It's puzzling...


It's puzzling...
Originally uploaded by Library Ratatouille

bighugelabs.com mashup created this fun jigsaw puzzle view of one of my photos.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Thing Four - Photosharing with Flickr

Flickr is another great tool for the librarian (and the camera-toting individual).

I borrowed a digital camera and took some shots of some of my favorite libraries (two of which I work at, for pay; one of them I volunteer at). I had a lot of fun during the photography, but I was nervous about taking pictures. I felt a little silly and amateurish, and somewhat nervous about if what I was doing was all right. Like I was violating the privacy of the buildings. Sheesh!

I found Flickr easy to use, with many useful help functions. The Common Craft video was a great introduction to the concept of photosharing. Once I had posted my photos to Flickr, I used the "Blog This" option to get my photos from Flickr to my blog -- it worked great.

I really appreciate the storage and safekeeping feature of Flickr. I like the sharing aspect as well. When I had uploaded my photos to Flickr, I immediately went looking for other "23 Things on a Stick" photos. I'm sure that I'll keep doing that; I love to see what other people are doing for this activity.

Libraries use Flickr to share photos of events and activities; it seems a real easy way to publicize what a library is doing. Flickr is a great place to store and organize photos, which are truly important information, especially for those who are more visually oriented.

I do feel a little twinge about the "public" label. I don't know if I would make my family photos "public"; and, if I had any really great, creative photos (yeah, right!), I would protect them with the licensing options that are offered.

As Martha would say, "Thing 4/Flickr is a good thing!"

Roseville Library


Roseville Library
Originally uploaded by Library Ratatouille

Roseville Library branch of the Ramsey County Library. My home library, and one that I work at quite regularly.

North St. Paul Library


North St. Paul Library
Originally uploaded by Library Ratatouille

The North St. Paul branch of the Ramsey County Library as a beautiful sitting area. Outside, a gorgeous (and warm, for mid-February) day.

Textile Center Library


Textile Center
Originally uploaded by Library Ratatouille

An artwork on display at the Textile Center Pat O'Connor Library.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thing 3 (RSS, Reflections on)

I adore RSS. What a great tool! I used it in my library school classes, but the ability to have information come to YOU is so efficient in all aspects of life. It really is an example of letting the computer do what it does best. It frees up the human to pick and choose what information is worth pursuing, or what can be ignored without a second thought.

So, I know that RSS can be a very useful tool for an individual. In much the same way, it can be beneficial to teachers and libraries. What a great way for libraries to get information out to patrons! Patrons don't have to always be checking the website to see what's up. They become aware of new programs and issues that they might not have been aware of otherwise.

Teachers and schools would find RSS useful for communication of information to students and parents. It allows everyone to be on the same page as to what is going on the school world.

I found it relatively easy to find feeds. I was fortunate because I had already established a reader account, and had some good familiarity with the concept. Bloglines "search" is a great tool--I'll be sure to use it again. Previously, I'd used Google to find websites in which I was interested, then looked for the RSS icon at the site itself. Bloglines "search" is a far better approach!

I'll keep looking through other "23 Things" blogs, looking for other interesting blogs to follow. Ooh, I just used the Bloglines "search" to find feeds for "23 things on a stick" and found a few more interesting blogs to watch. I had confined myself to Metronet before; now, I have at least one outstate blog to watch.

On to Thing 4: Flickr!

Thing Three - RSS

I've been using a Bloglines account for a while, and I keep up with reading it most of the time. I am already tracking several librarian blogs, some news and entertainment sources, and a few technology sites. I really enjoy how easy RSS makes it to find out what's new.

I've now added some "23 Things" blogs to my Bloglines reader. The hard part here was finding the valuable "23 Things" blogs (I know they're out there!)--so many of them seem to be empty (or nearly so), or not related to the project (or libraries at all), or the author seems to be not following directions. I was really itching for some kind of search engine. But I did find a few using a hit or miss method, and I will keep them in my reader and see how it goes.

I did organize my Bloglines account, creating "playlists," including one for 23 Things. I really like the new sense of organization!

Next I added some of the blogs that were listed in the instructions for Thing Three: the CMLE Info feed, WebJunction, and a few of the Minitex feeds. They also went in my 23 Things playlist.

Ooh! Now I've just used the Bloglines search facility to find a few more feeds. I picked them based on reading about things that they've been doing that are Library 2.0-compatible: the Ann Arbor Public Library, and our nearby Hennepin County Library. Not surprisingly, they both have RSS feeds established (Ramsey County and St. Paul do not, sadly). Hennepin County and Ann Arbor are now in my 23 Things playlist, as well.

Thing Two (What is Library 2.0)

This will be a l-o-n-g post, as I plan to present a sort of journal of the viewing and reading that we did for this Thing.

The video by Steven Abram, and the articles for this Thing make a good case for the new social aspect of the Web and for libraries that want to take advantage of the new tools.

Abram stressed the importance of not just jumping through the hoops, but spending time in reflection on what we're doing, and the consequences of what we do, both intended and unintended. He also suggested setting aside time every day to work on the "23 Things," a suggestion that I plan to take. I'm doing the Things on my own time; I hope to stay on track if I try to spend 15 minutes on the Things at the same time I check my emails at home (which I do at least daily).

Blyberg's note made a good point - the main reason that Library 2.0 exists and matters is that the library can use the tools to make the library experience relevant to the patron: the key word is "relevant."

The "The Ongoing Web Revolution" article made a case for Library 2.0 being not just a new version of the library, but a real revolution in what a library is and what a library does. The author (Michael Stephens?) says the next step will be "a mashup of all that has come before; the online social library."

I read through the entries in the OCLC Next Space Newsletter dealing with "Web 2.0: Where Will It Take Libraries?"

Rick Anderson warned about "icebergs" that threaten the execution of Library 2.0: (1) not rethinking the "just in case" collection; (2) relying on user education; (3) using a "come to us" model of library service.

Michael Stephens described the ideal Librarian 2.0, who: (1) plans for her user; (2) embraces Web 2.0 tools; (3) controls her "techno-lust"; (4) makes good, yet fast decisions; and (6) gets the concept of content under Web 2.0. Stephens seemed to run out of room at the end, and listed a few other things, but maybe the first six are most important and unique to Library 2.0.

Chip Nilges's note focused on using Web 2.0 to build new services for the patron. Some ideas I extracted from his essay were: touch the entire Web, collect user intelligence (users add value), release lightweight services, and build better data. He ends by stating that Library 2.0 can help libraries to "collaborate in new and powerful ways," and that seems like a very cool thing!

John Riemer explores the use of Web 2.0 to lead the library community to "better bibliographic services."

I appreciated Wendy Schultz's entry, not only because she was female (!) but because she presented kind of a timeline to the past, present, and future of the library: (1) Library 1.0 was about the commodity of the library; (2) Library 2.0 is about product; (3) Library 3.0 will use Web 3D to build Library 3D to provide expanded services to patrons; and (4) Library 4.0 will be something she names "the neo-library," providing a brand-new experience to the patron. She says that Web 2.0/Library 2.0 is simply a temporary place in time on the way to the library experience of the future. Fascinating to think about!

Finally, I read the Wikipedia entry for "Library 2.0." The main concept I took away from that reading was the concept of "radical trust" concerning external users; granting to the patron the notion that what they think and know is important, at least as important as what library workers think and know.

Now, what do I do with this knowledge...as a recent library school grad, I've heard a lot about Library 2.0. I've at least heard about most of these tools, and have played around with many of them. I think what I hope to gain from the 23 Things project is to become more methodical about them, to really dig in and use them (enough so that I would be able to introduce someone else to them). The Internet has been such a great tool for the practicalities of life; now maybe I can see how it can be used even more extensively, to improve the quality of life and the social experience.

I feel comfortable with the project, and with the tools we will be exploring. As far as my work environment, I believe that my library (Ramsey County) is at a very early point with Web 2.0. As a part-time clerk/page, I don't know what I can do to change that, except to participate in endeavors such as 23 Things! I am very much looking forward to the journey!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Thing One (Reflection)

After watching the Steven Abrams video for "Thing 2," I want to take a little time and reflect on my experience with "Thing 1" before continuing on. Mr. Abrams stressed that, not only is it important to DO the 23 Things, but also to reflect on the activities, and identify any consequences, intended or otherwise.

I found setting up the blog easy (with some playing around), and a lot of fun. I'm continuing to enjoy the blog, perhaps adding things that aren't strictly "23 Things" but which make the blog my unique contribution.

If I were helping someone establish their own blog for this project, here are some things that I would suggest to them:

1. Get your Google and Yahoo ids and passwords established. This is the most red-tape-ey of the tasks for this Thing.
2. Keep track of your blog name and URL.
3. Don't be afraid to play. I made mistakes, but there was nothing that couldn't be corrected.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

First Thing on a Stick

What a blast! This is not only my first "thing" for this project, but it is my first post on my first blog. I am so happy to come across this opportunity to learn together. I look forward to learning a lot, having a lot of fun, and meeting some fellow "cooks."


I called this blog "Library Ratatouille" because a good ratatouille is a combination of tasty, quality ingredients cooked up to create a wonderful, healthy stew. Mmm-mmm!

My Trading Card

My Trading Card

Metaatem.net mashup!

C O, blue coloured card disc letter o Bead Letter L Caution!