3M vs. Envisionware

Here's a short little article I found on Marshall Breeding's Guide Posts about 3m filing a law suit against Envisionware.

#23 Evaluation

After months of procrastination I am officially at the end of the 23 things. When it comes to new technology, however, there is really no end. One of the most important things I learned with this process is to keep up with learning. Sure I was familiar with many of the "things," but some of them I had not actually experienced or looked at in depth. The "things" that were new to me were mostly beneficial. I was interested in reading everyone's opinions, pros and cons and experiences with the the different "things."

My favorite was Thing #15 Podcasting. It was something that always sounded interesting, but I never made time to look at it. I actually was inspired to take a Podcasting course this past summer and found it not only fun, but easy to create your own podcast by using a free software called Audacity.

Improvements? Perhaps more collaborating between staff or pairing up people at different technology skill levels to work together maybe helpful. Other than that I thought it was a good learning experience and liked that I could go at my own pace, even though I was a tad bit slow.

I will try to maintain my blog so this is not the end. More to come...

#22 Keep On Learning...

Web 2.0/Library 2.0 is ever changing and it appears that new technologies and tools pop up daily. Even though I was already aware of many of the "things" we looked at throughout these exercises, I still learned a lot and am more aware of these as well. I have my RSS feed set up and am going to try to make use of this tool and keep up with information.
My current goal for this blog is to use it to post technology related things I learn whether on my own or through my SLIS classes. I am taking a Consumer Health Informatics course this semester, so I am hoping this will be a catalyst for new posts.
Already through my class I have learned about Prezi, a zooming presentation editor. Think of it as Power Point with a kick. Basic use is free, but there are pay plans for more advanced use. The presentations I have seen with these are very interesting to view and I myself have not actually tried it out to see how easy/difficult it is to use. When I actually use it, I will post about it.
I hope to keep up with my blog and post at least once a month. I think I will just have to make a habit of it.

#21 Aggregators

I checked out the various Web 2.0 aggregators and found Spokeo most disturbing. It made promises of being able to dig up all the dirt and darkest secrets of people you know. That seemed a bit too much for me.

I decided to check out Profilactic and Friendfeed. I felt that Profilactic was easier to use, organize and edit.

Like many things, I think I would make use of an aggregator for a few days and then forget about it. It's just another thing added to the list to look at. Even though the aggregators purpose is to organize all my web sites/social networking and combine them into one viewing spot it seems like I would never stick to this. I compare it to buying a planner at the beginning of the school year in August and by the end of the year noticing I stopped using it in September. I like the concept, but it probably won't work for me. Privacy seems to be an issue as well. I'm not sure I like putting all my accounts together in one place. For now, I think I'll use RSS and keep everything separated!

#20 Gaming

Although, I'm not a big gamer myself, I think gaming in libraries is fine and it should be thought of just like any other program that we offer to the community. I know there is a lot of controversy on this topic, but I think its another way to reach out to patrons and get them involved and keep them informed about what the library has to offer. Reach out to teens with game tournaments or events, and they may come back looking for information for school or to check out books. Gaming also does not just mean playing video games, but this encompasses board games as well. Games build social skills, and learning skills and in the library provide a safe and organized environment. Why not get adults involved in gaming as well and develop those intergenerational relationships.

The St. Joseph County Public Library has a gaming program and called Save Point. They also have video games for check out. They do charge $1.00 for a 5 days. I'm not sure if we would want to delve into renting video games, but I think it would be interesting to see what our community thinks about gaming at the library.

#19 Drupal and CMS

Being a member of the Lint committee, I have had the opportunity to explore what Drupal can do and create pages, etc. Being a member of the committee has helped me realize how much work goes into creating a a new Lint. I think the benefits of using a CMS are worth the work. One great benefit is content can be posted and edited easily from anywhere. I do not have any experience with Contribute (what we currently use) but I think this software has to be installed on the computer being used. Depending on the settings, all users can create pages and leave comments. The creates more communication and collaboration. I think the new Lint will be kept up-to-date and edited more frequently because it's easy and users do not need to know any computer language or codes to post an item.

The new Lint is much easier to use than the previous. For starters it has drop down menus which help condense information, yet provide a fast way to main pages, regardless of which page you are on. Also, everyone can edit their own contact information and post their own picture for their profile. Overall, I think the new Lint has a cleaner look and I am hoping that the department blogs will be used to build better communication between different library departments. In circulation, I think a blog is needed. We will be able to discuss topics and issues that come up in between our department meetings.

In the future, I would like to try making my own website using Drupal...if I ever have time. :)

#17 Ning

Well, I thought I would be done with the 23 things by the deadline but work, classes and procrastination got the best of me. I signed up for Ning and had no idea how to post the badge to my blog so I have a link instead. The only other social network I belong to is LinkedIn which I joined and never really got around to doing anything with. I never stopped to think how many social networks there are.
I really have to limit what I get involved with as I am superb at procrastinating, so if I ever want to join another network it should probably be the 43 things for getting things done. I can see social networks as a place where a group of people can work towards some sort of goal or discuss a certain topic. For now I think I will refrain from joining anything else that will help me waste more time unless it seems useful.

#16 Social Networks

I've used both Myspace and Facebook before doing the 23 things. Of the two, I prefer Facebook for it's organized layout and for it's ease of use. I find that it tends to load up much faster and not appear as busy as Myspace. I think this is why Facebook tends to appeal to more people, especially those in the over 25 age group.

Myspace to me, was just a way to stay connected to friends that were out of town or find lost friends. I rarely use it and I think I am about to pull the plug on it. The only thing about Myspace I use now is for looking up music pages. Useful when trying to find more information on a band. It feels like more people I know use Facebook and I use it to stay connected with family, friends and even old co-workers. I did find the "Why You Should Be Aware of Facebook" article interesting and have since observed that all the advertisements next to my profile reflect my interests. Clever. I also found it ironic that I could share that article using Facebook :)

The libraries I viewed using Myspace (Denver and Hennepin) seemed orientated to teen's which are probably the most significant population of Myspace users. The good thing about these pages were blogs about book lists and programs at the library. They also incorporated into their page, links to research databases and even a search box for the libraries catalog. Although it seems like a great way to reach out to teens, I am curious to see how many teens use this.

I enjoyed the article by Meredith Farkas, especially where she said "I think there is a big difference between “being where our patrons are” and “being USEFUL to our patrons where they are." Like any of the Library 2.0 features, they require patron interaction to be effective. Incorporating Facebook or Myspace may help build a connection with our teen patrons.

#15 Podcasting=Awesome

I understand what a podcast is but have never listened to one and am not knowledgeable on the subject, which is why I signed up for workshop this summer at IU. This "thing" will be a good preparation so I don't go into the class completely ignorant :)

I looked at both Pod Cast Alley and podcast.com and must say I preferred podcast.com. Podcast.com seemed to be more organized and I like the fact it had a player right on the page so I didn't have to download something, I could just listen. I decided to search for language learning podcasts. I found some simple a series of One Minute Language learning podcasts and found I could learn basic Japanese, Mandarin, Polish or even Luxembourgish (who knew). I found there were a ton of language learning resources and really a podcast for every interest.

After doing this "thing" I am definitely interested in learning more about podcasts and perhaps in the future if I ever have anything interesting to share perhaps I'll make my own. I'm really looking forward to my class.

You Tube and online videos...#14

I admit, when Youtube first came out I thought it was a bit ridiculous. Didn't people have better things to do with their time? Then I checked it out and there are some seriously ridiculous videos that I really didn't want to watch, but after searching for some videos of interest I had a change of heart. I don't spend all day watching videos or anything, but it's fun to look up old music videos/concerts, old commercials, clips from documentaries, and Japanese game shows. I was also surprised to find a ton of DIY/informational videos which have come in handy on numerous occasions or when looking for information on a particular topic. I recently discovered that my cat Smokey enjoys watching Youtube. Any video with birds or other animals and he stares so intently that his Youtube viewing time has been limited.

Hulu is awesome since I don't have my TV hooked up to cable. I rely on it for my weekly intake of The Office, Heroes and I just found you can even watch Doogie Howser M.D. and SNL commercial clips. They also have a selection of movies and usually play important events such as this years Presidential Inauguration.

Overall, I enjoy the online video capabilities of Youtube and other sites. I can view news stories, tutorials or it can simply be a source of entertainment. It's another way to find information and especially useful if you need a visual aid. I found a short video about Japanese Wagashi or sweets. They are a topic of interest for me and in Japan it seems like most cities are famous for a different type of wagashi. They are truly edible works of art.

#12 Social Media

After looking at Digg, Mixx, Newsvine and Reddit, I decided to register for Newsvine because I didn't know anything about it and haven't really heard much about it. Also I decided on it, because I found the format easier to find news in. On the front page, I found liked that I was able to add or get rid of different modules depending on my interest. I was able to put up my local weather and news, which I tend to look for first. The one thing I enjoy about the social media sites in general, is that they allow regular people to bring news stories to our attention, that might have been overlooked by big media or deemed unimportant. Of course, after reading certain stories, some of them could have been left hidden.

I can see the library using a social media site to post stories about the library or to keep updated on hot topics. Although a significant way to find out whats happening, I don't see these being used so much. When I began looking at Newsvine, I find story after story and it can become overwhelming. I will either use the general categories to search by topic of my interest or search for a topic. Otherwise, this can be a big time waster/procrastination attempt for me. There are so many sources of news media these days, that we are bombarded with them constantly. I like to keep current on what is happening around the world, but I will probably stick to scanning the online newspapers I usually look at.

Survey says...#18

Surveys are everywhere. From reader polls on online newspapers to online stores for customer service follow-up, surveys are an easy way to get some quick info. Certain stores even put them on their receipts. I usually don't mind participating in random surveys, except when they get too long and redundant.

I never created my own survey before using any of the online applications, but I have taken surveys that have used Survey Monkey (we use this in Circ. ) and Zoomerang. The Singer Group sent a library wide survey a while back using Zoomerang. Survey Monkey and Poll Daddy seem like a good applications for basic surveys although the free accounts have limitations on the number of questions and responses. Question Pro and Zoomerang seemed to have more options to analyze results and they seem like applications for a more professional approach.

In circulation, a survey is useful in getting a quick information or an opinion from everyone on a topic. Everyone typically has a moment in the day to check e-mail and take a quick survey. We could use small surveys to get patron feedback on things such as our website, if they use self-check, or whatever questions come up that we would like a fast answer to. In-house we could use Survey Monkey for feedback on things such as Staff Day programs etc.

I used Survey Monkey to create a survey. It was fairly simple to use however, there were a few options I had to play with to get the questions set up correctly. You can edit questions and preview them until you get your survey set up how you would like it. The most difficult part was thinking of the questions. Take a quick survey here. Click Here to take survey

Library Thing! #13

LibraryThing was one of the easier things I've signed up for online, they don't lie about that. Since I can only add 200 books with the free site, I might have to splurge and sign up for the lifetime membership. LibraryThing is a great way to keep track of the books you've read, review them, sort them and get recommendations. Books can be searched for using many different terms. I thought it was also interesting that you could search from Amazon.com, Library of Congress and foreign language sources. The fact you can customize your profile is great and I was excited that I could edit the book cover image to the book edition I read. After adding so many books to your list, it's nice that a search function is available. LibraryThing is also an opportunity to practice tagging and provides a way to categorize your library. It's a great way to discover new books to read and get insight from other people about different titles. You can get a whole new perspective on a book this. The preset for the widget was easy to add to my blog and different display choices were offered. Also very addictive and fun!

How can MCPL use LT?

• create a list of books that have been read and reviewed for the public to see.
• a way keep track of all the One Book nominations and winners (use tagging).
• tell patrons about LibraryThing to help them keep track of the books they have read.
  
• patrons could pull up their book list as a resource for a librarian to recommend a title.
• another way for patron's to participate and interact with the library.

Tagging #11...

I've had a Del.icio.us account for awhile now. Besides having fun exploring other popular bookmarks, I liked the idea of being able to access my list of important websites from anywhere. Del.icio.us was where I actually first learned about tagging items. I haphazardly did this for awhile so I'm glad you can edit them! Since then, I have attempted to be a little more systematic with my tags in order for them to actually be useful. My biggest problem with Del.icio.us is I tend to forget about it's usefulness at important times. Last semester, I was working on a project that involved finding a lot of resources. I inefficiently e-mailed myself a list of links to have on hand. Del.icio.us would have been a much easier way to organize these and have immediate access, no matter where I was working. This is the one downside of having so many different Lib. 2.0 technologies to use. Sometimes, if we don't use them often enough we forget about them.

Tagging can get a little messy. Sometimes I get carried away with tagging or realize later that I could have used more logical terms. This can present problems, because different people tend to think of different ways to describe something. Sometimes I look at how other users have bookmarked a particular site to see a predominant description. That is the coolness of social bookmarking; we can collaborate and learn from each other.

Libraries can definetly make use of this technology. Incorporating tags on their public website to help people find a certain topic or subject would be useful to patrons. These could be used internally as well for the organizations Intranet. The library could have a Del.icio.us bookmark of websites for patrons. It would be a great place to put frequently asked for information, websites pertaining to homework help, government resources and tax information, and community information. Especially nice for people who have a difficult time getting to the library. We also could even have one for staff with important professional links and links to our benefits.

#10 Wiki Wiki!

When it comes to wiki's, I've been more of reader and less of an editor. This will orce me to be a participant. Personally I use Wikipedia to find general information on a topic or to answer all the oddball questions that pop into my head. In a school setting most teachers don't allow them as a resource and I know that many Wikipedia pages are actually filled with great, updated information. I think it can be a good starting place for research. Sometimes links are provided to articles and websites, for more authoritative sources. I wouldn't cite it, but would use it as a stepping stone.

After looking at the Albany Public Library's staff wiki, I think wiki's would be a useful tool for the circulation department. Policies and procedures change and new things are always being added. A circulation procedures wiki could easily be updated at any time or added to. Of course we'd have to limit editing to managers/supervisors when it comes to procedure to maintain accuracy. However, if we ever had to work on an ideas as a department wiki's would be a great tool because it wouldn't require a scheduled meeting. Likewise wiki's might also be a good method for collaboration on committee work. Definitely easier than archiving a zillion e-mails about changes made to a project. I noticed many active committees already have these pages.

The downside to Wiki's is the fact that they might not be updated by users as frequently as they need to be. This happens with many website and blogs as well. Although they are subject to being vandalized, I don't see it as a problem for MCPL's internal wiki's.

I edited the 23 things wiki favorite book section and added a popular newspaper as well. The PB wiki was really easy to get access to. Once I received the e-mail to verify my account, the steps were easy to follow to set up the account. The View tab and Edit tab were easy to find and editing was similar to the blogger format so nothing new. I prefer the wiki approach to the Google Docs approach, although I can see the purpose in each one.

Sharing your creations...#8.

I can honestly say, I've never made a slide show before to post on the web. I've thought about it but never got around to it. I also never realized there were so many options to accomplish this task. I decided to try Picture Trail to create a slide show because I have never used it before. I found it easy to use and save pictures to. I was not quite sure if I should insert the code in my blog post or add it as a gadget. I decided to embed the code in my post and it worked fine. I would like to experiment with some of the other providers of this service to make comparisons. Myself I would use these tools more on a personal level. On the other hand, there may be occasions where these tools could be used at work. Certain presentations and meetings might find these sharing tools useful or they could be a way to advertise certain promotions or events on the library website or show pictures of past events. Enjoy pictures of my garden from this past summer.

Generating Images...#5.

Creating a trading card was a simple step by step process and fun. We could use these as a fun way to match names with the faces of our co-workers. This would be helpful to new hires and would be great to go on LINT. They could also be useful to advertise different library services, policy, for reminders and programs in a fun and creative way. There are more options besides just the trading card, so the possibilities are endless!

Meebo, Twitter....#7

When I think of Web 2.0. I think of it as a way to make things easier and as a way to simplify processes are a must. I don't have a problem with chat reference. I've used it a few times myself, including once when I was in the dark depths of the IU library searching for a book...I got on a computer and asked for directions. True story. I think implementing Meebo is a great idea due to it's ease of use. With earlier IM/chat programs, I found it frustrating trying to download the different programs (AIM, Yahoo, MSN etc.) in order to chat with different people. A way to unite all these chat programs was needed. I think Meebo would be of great use for reference, in particular for patrons with questions that are not so complex. However there are questions that we need to ask. How would staff be scheduled for this duty? Would we have special designated hours for chat reference or it be available all open hours? Would this be done off the public desk? Woudl are patrons use this service? For our patrons we could answer simple circulation related questions on Meebo as well, but someone would most likely have to combine this duty with doing another job in my dept. such as drive up. Using Meebo at MCPL might take some training and development of procedures, but if used appropriately it might be an option for the future.

I haven't done a lot with Twitter. At this point, I really don't have a need for the application. I can see how it could be useful in a library, most helpful when trying to figure out where a staff member is. We could let our department know when we are on lunch or at a committee meeting.

We have so many options when it comes to technology, it can be overwelming. When selecting them for use in MCPL, we should look at those that will work the best for us and our patrons. We should pick and choose technologies that can simplify a process or better the services we provide.