Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Explore any site from the Web 2.0 Awards list - Play with it and write a blog post

What fun!
I chose from the short list of winners and further narrowed down to The Visual Arts.
There were three sites listed and I enjoyed them all!
Welcome to ColorBlender – your free online tool for color matching and palette design! Very nice site! It creates color combinations that work together. Simply adjust the first color to what you want it to be and subsequent colors are added that match with your selected color. Lots of different combinations and tools to customize your color choice.
Could it be applied to a library setting - Yes. We have lots of books on selecting color in interior decoration and this site would enhance the experience by showing what colors would work well together in the new room design.

Swivel I chose the Graphs section of this site. This one is absolutely applicable to a library setting! From football statistics to when sharks are likely to attack this site is chock full of graphs, stats and data!

The third site I looked at was The Broth I chose the Collaborative Art "live art that's fun" section of this site and found very interesting pictures. Again, applicable to a library setting - Absolutely! There is a Graffiti section that allows a user to join in the interactive collaborative art rooms. Choose graffiti or mosaic art and have fun! I could see this as a popular site for Teens to create original art work in a collaborative atmosphere -- I would love to see the final product!






Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts

This was an interesting exercise! As a cataloger I am interested in the organization of information so that it is retrievable. Technorati is certainly a search tool that offers searchability and more importantly findability to the millions of blogs that they track.

Tagging plays a key role in making the information retrievable. Like traditional subject access that catalogers have used for centuries, tags offer the concept of likeness, or collocation. Tags bring related information to the forefront by providing relevant access points.

The search tool itself offers the possibility of ranking the information it retrieves by offering the choice of authority for the articles "any ; little ; some ; a lot" and even sorts it by language preference.

While the format is different than traditional cataloging and the subject access is not in controlled vocabulary terms the basic concepts of cataloging are still behind the function of Technorati -- make the information relevant by providing searchable terms (tags), rank the information (via the authority rating) and make it retrievable.

Technorati and other search tools like it may be taking the place of traditional catalogers in libraries, but the basic functions of cataloging are at the heart of what makes Technorati so useful. Both cataloging and Technorati answer the questions: What is it? What is it about? How can I find it? Are there anymore like it? Long live Cataloging!!

I liked the several search options available. You can view the most popular, view those with a theme or even search at the specific tag level. The one thing I didn't like was new blogs with little chance to develop a following because of their newness weren't including in the basic search unless you changed the authority level from "some" to "any" authority. That is also a good thing though, because people who write frequently and well on a topic will get the expert level ranking and more people will add them to their favorites.

I did go back and tag all my posts! So I should be searchable for anyone looking for "any" authority on cataloging, Library 2.0 and the topics we have addressed in our Learning 2.0 experience!




Monday, December 17, 2007

Tagging Folksonomy Del.icio.us

I enjoyed the YouTube videos! The first:Tagging & Folksonomy -- little catalogers in the making, organizing and establishing relationships in their world! The second: Bookmarking in Plain English -- short, sweet & to the point, very helpful!

The longer OPAL presentation, "Make Your Library del.icio.us Social Bookmarking in the Stacks" by Jason Griffey offered food for thought. As a cataloger I see the need to establish relationships and collocation so that all related items are found. The idea of a hierarchy and faceted classification brings structure that is important. The Town Center building is made possible through intricate structural elements that allow the building to exist. In much the same way as a building needs the inner structure to exist I see cataloging as the intricate structural element that allows information to be found.

From Cindy's podcast: "as more and more people add content to the web they want to organize it ... and share it". A piece of information by itself, floating in a sea of information is useless unless it can be ranked, made relevant and revealed to the person seeking it. That is what cataloging does!

So what about Tagging and Folksonomies?? Are they useless? NO!! Bring them on! They are yet other tools in the toolbox useful in finding the information people are searching for.

Fiction subject access is a perfect example of how readers could benefit from using both structured access such as:

  • Library of Congress (LC)Subject headings
  • Guidelines on Subject Access to Individual Works of Fiction, Drama, Etc. (GSAFD)genre terms
  • Reader's Advisory appeal characteristics

and the unstructured access of: tags and folksonomies created by other readers.

Structured access can create the "what-who-where-when" very easily by creating access to:

  • Genre type: Mystery - Romance - Christian Fiction - Science Fiction - Horror etc.
  • Who: Professions - Continuing characters - Gender - Age
  • Where: Geographic locations - Cities, rural areas, etc.
  • When: Historical fiction - 21st century - 1960's, etc.
  • Other books by the author
  • Other books in the series
  • Other books with similar genre types ; themes ; characters
  • I would also like to see terms created in the catalog that associate appeal characteristics to the books in our collection. This could be a collaborative effort between Reader's Advisory Staff and Catalogers to add access to a discreet number of appeal characteristics: gentle read, mild language, Southern Fiction, etc.

The unstructured access offered by the tagging of actual readers would add an immense value: by offering the reading experience itself - what was the book like? Of course the following would depend on whether or not individual URLs are available for titles so that a reader could add tagging

  • too preachy
  • too wordy
  • too much cussing
  • it made me cry
  • Sad
  • characters seemed plastic, not real
  • great adventure story
  • Reminds me of....

World Cat is following through with a project to make this feasible!! Stay tuned!

World Cat Link:

The value of individual tagging is in the emergant order" it creates. As large numbers of people add the same or similar tagging it will automatically create lists of "What do I read next" as others find value in the reading experience of those who took the time to create the tags.

I believe tagging and folksonomies can be very useful reader tools that unlock the reading experience for other readers. We can't read every title purchased by the library, but we can give it multiple access points to help customers choose what they want to read. The meat of the story and the heart of it can be revealed by those who actually have read and tagged the title and either came away with a MUST READ or STAY AWAY FROM IT reading experience.

Question #2: Is it an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere -- absolutely!! This is also a valuable way for staff to have at their fingertips the very sites that will allow them to connect readers to books they will enjoy and information they need to find.

I plan on creating a Del.icio.us account and experiment with tagging and bookmarks -- hopefully I can use it to create an informal "read-alike" list. If not, we have plenty of other tools we have learned about including Blogs, Wikis, and MySpace to make it happen!








Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Social Networking -- MySpace

Well, it did it!! I joined MySpace!!
Setting up the profile was fun and now I am waiting for my invitations to be a friend to be accepted! (Oh no!! What if Tom remains my only friend & he's too busy to talk to??!!) I can see why people enjoy this format for interacting with friends. I even added music to my page: John Fogerty!!! (oldies!!)

I still have some misgivings about privacy, my settings are set for probably more privacy than most people. Meeting people online and having fun is great, however some of the articles we read warned of predators, scam, pfishing, porn, identity theft, cyberbullying and impersonators -- all scary thoughts! I'm probably the only one who can get through my privacy wall!!

I wasn't going to sign up for a MySpace profile, but in the end I did. This whole learning experience is about change and growth. In Cindy's podcast she mentioned learning digital media skills, teaching & modeling safe practices and becoming relevant by being where the next generation of our customers are. It is incumbant on me as a librarian to constantly upgrade my skills. In the past my continuing education has been related to cataloging practices, but Learning 2.0 is my chance to experience and learn about new ways of communicating and new ways to provide information. I don't know if I will keep up with the blogs, MySpace, or even create the Wiki for Cataloging that I hope to create soon -- but I do know it was time for me to get into the 21st century way of doing things and now I can talk intelligently about all of our Learning 2.0 "Things" and say I have tried them all!



Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Social networking

Whew! I knew absolutely nothing about social networking sites, so I read all of the articles to catchup on what I have been missing!
The question: Should VBPL use a social networking site to connect with teens for me has the resounding answer of yes!
I viewed the MySpace sites of the Hennepin County Library and the Denver Public Library and I thought they were creative and seem to be in keeping with the themes that teens are interested in. Our teen councils, teen read week, teen music, sorting through local news stories and putting up only the articles that have impact on teens, even something as simple as We IM do you use us? so many things we do could be sharing with our teens in a way they would enjoy! I definitely feel that MySpace is an excellent venue to reach the teens in Virginia Beach!

Social networking sites are really about...
*teens expressing themselves and socializing (and adults too in some ways!)
After reading all the articles I can see where MySpace and Facebook are popular with the tweens, teens, and 20-somethings but I also read of all the warnings on cyberbullying and cyber predators, so it is not all fun and games either. Even realizing that police, and school authorities can be viewing the information should urge caution for teenagers.

*Educating teens on the safe use of the MySpace accounts is certainly a key. But in the end it also involves personal responsibility, as the Cornell University article so vividly pointed out! Think twice about what you about yourself online - it can be used against you later.

*Privacy is a concern of mine. One of the articles mentioned if you wouldn't post it on a sign in your yard - think twice about posting it online.

*the good and the bad I think the cyberbullying is probably the saddest part of the MySpace experience that I read in the articles. Teens go to the site to fit in and feel part of the incrowd only to be bullied online. Like so much of life, books, the internet and even MySpace have good parts and bad parts that you have to learn to deal with as one teen said in the articles the good outweighs the bad for them.

Now, the next Thing is actually having the courage to sign up for a MySpace profile -- will I be brave and do it or just blog about what I see others do?? Stay tuned for the next post!!



Friday, December 7, 2007

Is Cataloging Relevant in Library 2.0?

A Brief History of Cataloging Distribution Methods:
Cataloging is the process of describing an entity, analyzing its contents, and assigning it a classification number. The process includes collocation which brings together related items and access points which provide searchable access to that entity. The basic process can be boiled down to: What is it? What is it about? How can I find it? Are there anymore like it? Catalogers create extensive bibliographic records that answer those questions and more. Unfortunately catalogers have been limited in the way the information we created could be accessed, displayed and delivered to our customers. Below is a brief history of the methods available for the distribution of the information catalogers create.

The Card Catalog Card

Information was handwritten in Library Script and progressed to typed information on the cards.
  • Information limited to what could fit on a card, with an occasional “2nd” card tied to the first.
  • Cards were typed in sets [main entry, title, series, Subjects]
  • Each card of the set was then filed in the appropriate alphabetized card catalog drawers
  • Each library had to type its own cards, or pay for sets from the Library of Congress
  • The MARC BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

    • Revolutionary concept!
    • Computerized information that was searchable
    • Shared cataloging – one library created the catalog record – other libraries could use it
    • Information not limited to 3x5 catalog cards which then permitted longer contents notes & more access points
    • Keyword searchable which enabled all of the information in the MARC record to be an access point
    • Eventually provided linkable fields to get to information on web sites.
    • Impact on individual libraries:
    • No more typing of card catalog cards! No more filing!
    • The ability to provide LOTS MORE access! Less time spent on rote typing meant more time to spent on analysis and adding more access points
    • Unfortunately information was still limited to MARC record format restraints and confined to text

    LIBRARY 2.0 -- The MARC Record and Beyond!

    • Catalogers are now free to use exciting new technologies to add access to information!
    • Web sites
    • Blogs & Wikis
    • IM & RSS
    • Online Images & Maps & Satellite Images
    • Podcast & Vodcasts

    In the future information will continue to explode and revolutionary new technology will be devised to make that information available in an ever widening array of delivery methods. Through it all information seekers will continue to ask the questions: What is it? What is it about? How can I find it? Are there anymore like it? And, catalogers will continue to provide the information access points that will rank, collate and provide relevancy to the information they find.

    The best part of the information explosion and technological advancements is that catalogers will have exciting new delivery methods to provide customers with the full array of the information access we provide! Linda Dolence 12/07/07




    Monday, December 3, 2007

    Add an entry to the VBPL Reader's Advisory wiki

    I like the concept of the site, but it was hard to navigate through. I went to the Adult book list and couldn't get past the "Fiction" "Nonfiction" page -- it had no links to move beyond it.
    I then went to the Staff Picks and added two titles, but evidently only saved one. The fiction title I added definitely showed up. I thought that was really cool to add a favorite title so that others can read it too! I then tried to add comments to the entry and got totally lost - I wanted to add the taglines there like I see one person had done and got nowhere. I think the tags will be important to build reading lists so maybe I will try again tomorrow with a fresh brain!

    I think reading groups, the Summer Reading program, and other Reader's advisory groups can use Wikis effectively. A staff member who doesn't read in a particular genre can use a wiki to find current lists of the books in VBPL that appeal to that type of genre reader -- the customers can also use that list and contribute their own titles -- that opens the shelves to our customers!

    I see wikis and Reader's Advisory as a perfect match!

    Wikis in the Library

    Interesting things about Wikis…

    • I enjoyed looking at the various Wikis – they were really good examples of what can be done with Wikis in the Library. The various looks of Wikis are also amazing -- From the familiar Wikipedia encyclopedic look which the Library Success: a best practices wiki shares to an eye-catching appearance like the Bull Run Library wiki the possibilities are virtually endless as to the content and style you choose to create for the Wiki.

    What types of applications within libraries might work well with a wiki?

    • For CS definitely I can envision our P&P Manual set up as a wiki. The collaborative editing of documents feature would enable us to instantly update the manual without going back and forth with emails and waiting for the information to get updated in the manual. Because it is specific to CS practices as an internal document, the wiki could be set up so that only CS staff members could edit and view the wiki.
    • The Library P&P manuals could also be a wiki, with editing rights limited to the P&P committee, but the manual itself viewable to all library staff who would have the ability to comment on but not edit the policies and procedures.
    • The Periodicals catalog which lists holdings could be a wiki, with editing rights for the staff who are responsible for the periodicals in each agency – instant updates!
    • The Reader’s Advisory function is a perfect candidate for a wiki – readers telling other readers what they liked and didn’t like about the books they have been reading – that’s like pearls and cameos – a perfect match!!
    • I could also see a wiki designed to solicit feedback from public service staff to CS about subjects and other access that would make life easier working with the public
    • Training guides could also be created as a wiki with the help screens guiding the customer through the topic such as: self-checkout, how to renew a book, how to access the various online resources we have, etc.
    • We tried a wiki for online collaboration on one of the committees I was on, but the process seemed cumbersome for that particular committee. Maybe because none of us were too familiar with wikis at the time! I would definitely try to create a wiki for future committee work. Having the collaborative editing ability for committee documents and being able to brainstorm new ideas I believe will work better than email for our future committees.

    Given another year I think I will be amazed at the wikis created at VBPL to streamline work and interact with the customers!!



    My Journey from Libary 1.0 thinking to Library 2.0 action!

    This will be a new beginning as I explore with you the concepts of Library 2.0 and how it can and should impact the way resources are cataloged!




    Cataloging is...
    Access to information
    The structure that makes things findable
    The keyring that holds all the keys together
    The right tool for finding information