Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Summarize my thoughts on Learning 2.0

This program as I have stated before in my blog was an enabler for me.

The goal of the program was to "help members of the Virginia Beach Public Library learn and improve their technology skills relating to Web 2.0". I met that goal as well as my own goal of learning how these technologies could be implemented in the Library 2.0 environment. Additionally, I had fun along the way!

When I started this training program I promised myself
  • I would not quit.
  • I would not allow privacy issues and "identity theft" issues to prevent me from experiencing and fully participating in each exercise.
  • I would register [divulge my name and email - shock!] whenever a site required registration for participation. *This made the training was so much more valuable to me because I actually participated in the creation portions of the exercise, not simply reading about them. It was hands on experience!
  • If I messed up or didn't get it - I would try until I did
  • I would finish the course -- and I did!!

I kept all those promises to myself and gained a world of knowledge and experience that I would never have taken the time to learn on my own.

One of the most valuable components in the training was the ability to devote time to it. Workloads are demanding. No matter what agency you work at, it is almost impossible to devote time to continuing education. Continuing education is something that is done haphazardly at home, or if you are enrolled in a library science or information science degree program, something that you do as part of the assignments. The managers bought into the idea that work time would be devoted to the completion of this training. This was the enabling factor that made the training doable -- it could be done at work and it was not perceived as frivolous or extraneous to "the real work" that needed to be accomplished.

Learning 2.0 is training that encompasses learning about Web 2.0 technologies and encorporating them into the Library 2.0 environment.

My take-away from this experience is that libraries must value the Web 2.0 technologies and apply them successfully in the Library 2.0 environment -- if we don't libraries will become irrelevant in today's information marketplace and we will lose our customers to sites and information brokers that can function in this new world of information. Libraries must also value training such as this, that enables our staff to develop the technological skills necessary to meet our customers information needs in the 21st century.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?

I think making it an instructor led classroom training may be of benefit. The class could meet in the ASLAB for a determined class period and timeframe. It could even be mandatory training for new hires, so they come into the library system ready to create programs and projects that capitalize on 21st century technologies.

Would I again participate in another discovery program like this in the future?
Absolutely without a doubt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sign me up!!

Good job Cindy and Nancy for providing this wonderful training opportunity - Thank-you!





Blog about my Learning 2.0 experience

I enjoyed so many of the learning segments it is hard to pick favorites. Everything I did was a first time learning experience!

Favorites for staff workflow and productivity:

  • Blogging and Wikis were essential basics. I could see so many ways to incorporate these into my workflow and into VBPL in general that these two are probably at the top of my favorites list [and tagging, folksonomy and Technorati to organize the blog!!]

  • RSS feeds / newsreaders and Del.icio.us come in a close second. One of Ranganathan's basic principles was "save the time of the reader" if we update that principle to "save the time of the searcher" these two items rank high in saving time!

Favorites for appealing to Web 2.0 customers and the FUN involved in learning about them:

  • Social networking is also a favorite because it deals with the much broader concept of libraries being relevant to Web 2.0 technology users. MySpace opened a whole new world I didn't know was out there!
  • Creating appealing sites be it MySpace, Wikis or Blogs requires a knowledgeable use of technology to showcase the site to its best advantage. Flickr, podcasts, YouTube, widgets, avatars, and image generators invite customers to look at what we have to offer -- they draw the customers into our content rich environment.

How has this program assisted or affected my lifelong learning goals?

  • It is all too easy to get caught-up in the trenches of library work. A continuous flow of customers coming in to use our basic services, cataloging backlogs, being short-staffed, all affect the amount of time individual staff members can devote to lifelong learning. Web 2.0 takes a back seat to immediate customer service - get the book cataloged, get the items checked out, "next please" in the long customer lines - there is never enough time to get it all done and it starts over the next day.

  • I was keeping up with the new developments in cataloging, and honing my skills as a cataloger but I knew I was slipping behind in learning about all the other developments out there. I didn't know where to start or how to build on the knowledge to incorporate it into the new Library 2.0 environment.

  • This program was the enabler that I needed to start the process! I now have the basics under my belt, and have a world of ideas swirling around in my head on how to implement them into our library system!

In preparation for the second part of this segment "Check out and comment on at least three Learning 2.0 participants blogs" I created a favorites list of blogs that appealed to me -- including my own! The list is near the top of the page, check it out!

  • The blogs I chose showed a vast amount of creativity as well as an organized flow of ideas and an overall continuity of the various segments
  • They were visually appealing drawing me into the site as a welcomed guest and then offering a variety of interesting posts and discovery elements
  • They were positive, upbeat and displayed a knowledgeable use of Web 2.0 technologies. I felt that the creator of each of these blogs spent time creating an inviting space while also considering in depth the implications all these technologies have in the Library 2.0 world
  • Congratulations to all who created blogs -- Good job!

I will post a comment on three of those blogs that show the blog creator what I liked about their site in particular and in some cases a learning experience or discovery that we shared, although I chose blogs that in some cases were entirely different from my own, so a shared experience may not be possible!

Friday, January 11, 2008

Explore Rollyo

Interesting.

I reviewed the searchrolls and they seem very busy to me, I didn't expect to see all the stuff that appeared when I did a search. I'm not sure how this will save time in finding something.

I created my account, created a search roll for movies called: DVDs & Movies, added the searchroll to my blog via the "create a searchbox", and also added the search link in my Links folder. So I am all set!

I chose the movies theme for my searchroll because as the DVD cataloger I constantly have to search for academy award winners, actors, actresses and information on the movies themselves. The two sites I added to my searchroll are Cuadra's Movie-STAR database [quick search for academy awards] and the IMDb for everything movies! I'm hoping that a search of these two using Rollyo will be quicker than calling the individual sites up from either the start menu, or the favorites. It certainly seems convenient at this point. I did try a search of my searchroll and one of the generic ones: Books & authors: Sharyn McCrumb (of course!) and I liked the search results. I also liked the fact that the search sites for the roll show up on the left, so that you know where the results came from. If you want to add/delete sites from an established searchroll you can. You then give it a name and the new combination of sites in the searchroll become a new roll that you created, similiar to, but not the same as the original one.

Anything that saves the time of staff I am all for! I see the potential use as an efficiency tool that lets you search multiple, trusted sites for specific information. As a novice user of Rollyo I will give it a trial run over the next couple of weeks, see if there are more search rolls that I can create and search for ones that may prove time savers.




LibraryThing

Am I a cataloger at heart -- you betcha!!

I truly believe LibraryThing is an excellent tool for people who have small personal libraries they want to organize, corporations and companies who have corporate collections they want to organize and for sure church libraries who want to organize a library. Author, title, subject, DDC call number, tags, ISBN, publication information can all be added as well as sorted by. You can even add a book manually if you want! I would definitely recommend this tool for anyone who wants to organize their library collection.

A drawback: there is no circulation module! This would be a definite concern for church libraries, or small corporate libraries who had to keep track of circulating copies. Of course they could put the person who has the title in the comments or private comments column [and remember to delete their name when they brought it back!]

A positive: you don't need to know how to catalog and you only need to add or display the information you will need or want to use. The detailed MARC record that satisfies the needs of the public library does not have to be used in a personal collection, and LibraryThing's catalog record provides vital fields for bibliographic description. If more detailed information is desired, the title can be entered manually.

I cataloged 13 titles from my personal home collection. It was easy and fun to do, I may end up cataloging my whole personal collection with my own account!! I put my LibraryThing, LibraryThing search widget and the LibraryThing chicklets on the blog for all to see!


I wonder if LibraryThing could be used for the periodicals catalog until the serials module is fully functioning?

I definitely give this product a thumbs up!


Fun with Image Generators

I accomplished the goal - I really had fun with this one!! The image generators I played with:

Warholizer - I took my library trading card image and warholized it - I actually liked the look!

Hair mixer - who could resist changing the hairstyles of Hillary? -- what a hoot!

The text generators were also fun. I added two to my Blog:

The Ninja Text Generator - thanks to the Ninja my Blog now has Cattitude!!

Image Chef's Wave generator - forever written and rewritten: Cataloging stands the test of time.


The image, text and loads of other generators add life and punch to everything that gets published on the internet. Knowing how to create and find the images is important.

This could be a fun assignment for our Teen Councils: either actually create images and widgets for our VBPL internet documents, or design the layout of them using already created images and text -- good for their resumes and good for VBPL!




Podcasts and video summary

Podcasting library websites I visited:



  • The Library Channel at Arizona State University had a variety of podcasts. All had clear, crisp audio. In an interview with a Chinese visiting professor the audio was hard to understand because of his accent, I saw that as a drawback to the use of the interview as a podcast - perhaps a vodcast with captions would have been better. I liked the "Faculty and librarians team-up for Student Sucess" podcast. I thought the podcasts worked well for the university setting. They also had streaming video productions and I thought they were extremely helpful -- the 5 min. "Finding books video" on how to use the ASU catalog was very informative -- we could do that here at VBPL.
  • Denver Public Library - a sheer delight! The children's stories were wonderful to listen to. It would be fun to have a children's story hour podcast that kids could sign on and experience, it would be a fun way to show them safely fun ways to experience the library through their computer.
  • Sheridan Libraries at John Hopkins University had podcasts that met the specific needs of students & faculty but, like the ASU podcasts I think they work with universities and may not work as well with public libraries.

I like podcasts but I think vodcasts carry a bigger punch. Customers prefer certain narrators for audio books and I am wondering how they would react to voices in our podcasts.

I could see podcasts used at VBPL for short, simple directions or information on our website: library hours, holiday closings, etc.; on IBistro: how to renew your library card, change a pin, etc. Short snipets that inform. Also, they could be used as part of a regional LIBRARY TALK SHOW that showcased library issues in the region, interviewed city administrators, local politicians, promoted our Friends, etc.

Like all the Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 technologies I think we should use podcasts and vodcasts to inform our customers and market our services. Before we just started putting podcasts up though a thoughtful examination of the who, what, where, when and why should be examined and a policy created to establish the guidelines.





Thursday, January 10, 2008

Search Tools for locating podcasts

Frustration!! It was very frustrating to have Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com BLOCKED -- I viewed both of these at home and they are rich in content! Virginia Beach Public Library is waking up to the fact that 21st technologies need to be an everyday part of our customer service strategies and yet access to this technology is blocked. No wonder our library system is behind the power curve in providing access to services our customers want and need.

Also, I read an article that stated that Yahoo closed their Podcast directory on Oct. 31st. Of the three top podcast directories listed in Thing 24 - two were blocked and one was defunct.

I reviewed Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com at home. I liked the look and feel of PodcastAlley.com so I searched for podcasts on that directory. Then back at work I opened and listened to two podcasts:
1. Open Stacks along with Uncontrolled Vocabulary “A live interactive discussion of current events in the world of libraries and librarians”
This was a live chat program, talk show format, about current issues in the library world. Some fluff, some substance. I don't like talk radio, so I really didn't care for this format type, however, I can ABSOLUTELY see the value of these podcasts. Librarians sharing their opinions about current issues that impact libraries and librarians today is a wonderful use of podcasts.

2. LibVibe: the library news podcast. “A check of headline news from the library world”
This was a newscast format. An announcer read headlines and articles in brief newscasting format about happenings in the library world. Each podcast is usually under 10 min. and just gives a brief overview of events & issues. I could see playing this in the background while working on other tasks, it would be an easy, quick way to keep current on library news.

I also listened to podcasts of librarians who work with teens, graphic novels and teens, and browsed other podcast titles that I want to follow up on a later date.

Some of the podcasts have poor quality sound, others are professional all the way. I would like to see VBPL create a live chat show featuring the regional library directors, library managers and library workers discussing library issues that affect all of Hampton Roads.

Did I find anything useful here? You bet I did! Podcasts can be used to: keep library staff current on library issues; provide short tutorials for staff and customers on how to use services, etc.
Some interesting uses of podcasts by VBPL would be:
  • have some of the LCDT answers as podcasts
  • welcoming messages to new hires from the director, or library managers
  • Good job! podcasts that could highlight some of the achievements of staff

Lots of useful possibilities for podcasts!

Postscript: I created my very first PODCAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I signed on to gabcast.com, went through all the steps and voila! it is on my blog. Just click on play and listen! Gabcast has the feature of podcasting using a telephone rather than a microphone and it really makes it easy, easy to do!

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Discover YouTube

I decided to search "library cats" to see what would come up. I liked the Baker & Taylor cats and wondered if any others were out there. Up popped "Browser the Library Cat" a spitting image of my cat Missy - so site chosen!

more on Browser I think a VBPL mascot would be a fun way to connect with children and even adults in the community. Create a YouTube video series featuring the mascot and put it up on our website.

It could be a fun way to introduce a new library program or a summer reading club.



I also envision YouTube being used for training topics , library locations, and merchandising/marketing our collection -- there are lots of ways we could provide useful and fun YouTube videos!

I thought the cataloging video is an example of how we could use YouTube for training projects -- however the quality of the screen shots was poor. We would have to do better!! A video of this type could be created for Library Orientation to introduce new hires to the work of Support Services.

The "Browser" video was just plain fun! The "Cataloging" video is 1.0 revised to 2.0!! -- a "look at what used to be" parody that also shows what cataloging is today.

Additionally, I had provided a link to the "Librarian's Manifesto" to one of my earlier posts [that was all I knew how to do!] and now I updated that post with the embeddable player code which allows readers of my blog to actually play the "Librarian's Manifesto" -- I really am learning!!





Flickr Fun

This truly was fun!

Mappr: I had uploaded a picture to Flickr (the snake pic mentioned earlier)- I noticed that two other photos were tagged using my tags, so I got to see other pictures like mine! Then, I mapped this picture using the map feature in Flickr, so not only is the pic tagged it is also mapped!

Flickr Color Pickr: this was very interesting, I clicked on several different colors and found an array of various photos that shared that color -- an interesting way to sort photos, not by topic, but by the colors they share. It would make for an interesting poster!

Montagr: I explored my hometown, my college and some vacation spots I have visited. Tags really do bring a sense of community -- as I viewed these pictures I was fascinated by the sameness and the change that the photo mosaics captured.

And finally, I tried the Librarian Trading Card (I saved it on the CS site, sent it to my home), and uploaded it to Flickr -- and then chickened out when I made it private on Flickr.

Is anyone else in the Library 2.0 program still afraid of identifying yourself on the Internet? As cool as these things are I find I still have a sense of caution -- beware of what images of myself, or information I provide that may be used for identity theft or even internet stalking.

In any case even with the sense of caution I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise. I found many new ways to share photos, create photo mementos and imagine all kinds of possibilities for Flickr.



Flickr tags

Why is tagging important?
As a cataloger I have been responsible for "tagging" everything I have cataloged over the past 23 years. I have done this via the access points that are placed in the MARC records. These access points have included: names of: authors, illustrators, actors, co-authors; titles, series titles, subjects: topical, geographical, personal name subjects, chronology; genre terms as well as numeric access (ISBNs, ISSNs, music numbers, publisher numbers). They are all "terms", "access points" or "tags" that make an item findable.

It is easy to describe something you have in front of you - you are looking right at it and can readily identify any feature it has.

But months from now, when it is no longer in front of you and you want to go back and look at it again - how do you relocate it? What was the title? What was it about? Who was the author? What was the ISBN? Who were the actors in the film? Where was the picture taken & when? Was the photo b&w or color? Who was the narrator of the audio book?

If you provided meaningful "tags" or "access points" to the item when you had it in front of you -- you can easily find it again. If you did not -- good luck.

One of the basic functions of cataloging is to provide access points that will make the item retreivable at a future date. Whether it is customers looking for a book in a series or an audio book read by a favorite narrator, or Internet searchers who want to find a blog article or a photo on Flickr they all need a reference point -- a way of easily locating a specific item in a SEA of items. Tags do the trick.

Tags make stuff, lots of stuff, lots of unorganized stuff, lots of stuff in various places and on various sites -- findable. Tags also allow people to share their information with others by making it accessible. People can post something on the Internet but no one else knows it is there -- tags SHOUT -- Hey, look here!

Tags are MARC access points on steroids! MARC access points: authors, titles, subjects, genres, keywords, etc. are used in specific bibliographic records which are downloaded to specific library catalogs. They make the information searchable, and findable to anyone who can access the Library catalog and obtain the item. Tags do all that and more! They are sharable and searchable. They find the actual articles, photos, blog posts, maps, etc. in the sea of information on the Internet.

Community develops on Flickr via shared interests. Groups, private and public definitely promote a sense of community as they share photos with one another. But, beyond that, daring to put up photos, etc. for ALL to view, add comments, enjoy, and use is opening a world of experiences, ideas, and values to everyone.



Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Empty Shelves 3-12-07


Empty Shelves 3-12-07
Originally uploaded by vbplblogger
Wow, it really felt great to have the cataloging backlog all caught up! This is the picture I want to share with you all that I posted to Flickr that shows the empty shelves. I uploaded 3 photos to Flickr: 2 in a set labeled Cataloging and one individual one I took of a snake eating lunch on the shores of Lake Canandaigua NY! (the grandkids really enjoyed that experience!) The empty shelves picture was taken by Angella Butler in Cataloging. This was a really fun exercise, and I intend to share lots of photos with family and friends. I could see using Flickr for photo contests, and maybe creating a slideshow of library events over a year - I am not sure what else it could be used for in a library setting -- but I would love to hear what others think of ways we could use Flickr!


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