Homecoming! I'm Out of Here Soon!

Just a note - my son returns to NC from Iraq tomorrow!!!!!! I am so happy! Will be taking some time off soon. Can't wait to see his face. See everyone at staff day.

Item #23 - Wrap Up!

I'm done! I actually got all the way through. This has been a good experience, and has taught me quite a lot. It has been so much information, that I am not quite sure I have absorbed it all at once. I will go back and look at everything again. For me, concepts are much easier the second time around. I am thankful that I recently took Web Publishing because knowing some html was a big help. Of all the exercises, I think I like the online word processing, etc. the best. YouTube is really fun to look at, and Flicker is also interesting. As for reading blogs, I'm not inclined to do so across the board. I have one I follow, but other than that, no. I am truly amazed that some have so much time to accomplish so much online. Where do they find the time? Technology is a given. It is here, and will continue to expand and zero in at the same time. I do think, though, as human beings that in person communication is the most important. I know someone whose "SecondLife" has led to the loss of their first and real life. Technology is a wonderful tool, and as long as we remember this, we're OK. A professor at Kent said in a lecture, that many highly qualified people graduate with an MLIS, but as an HR person, this prof said they would always hire the applicant with people/customer service skills in a heartbeat. Technology can always be taught. So, I guess that's what Library 2.0 is about. At my leisure I will look at the items after #23, but for now, THE END.

Item #22 - NetLibrary & Overdrive

I'm almost there! I have registered with NetLibrary. A co-worker advised me to do this at work as it does not work properly from home. Reading through other blogs, this seems to be the case, so did do this exercise at work. NetLibrary is literary, & not for popular fiction. It is a good source if a patron needs to read something for school, & there are no hard copies available. I would not want to read an e-book. I'm old school enough to want that paper copy in my hand. I worked at another library system in the past, & they tried providing e-book readers to be checked out. It was a total flop. Today, that may not be the case, but I'm not sure. I think when push comes to shove, most people would not want to stare at a computer, or device screen long enough to read a book. Audio, on the other hand, is a whole different matter. When I get the MP3 player, I will definitely attempt to download titles from Overdrive/YPL to listen to. My home computer still does not have highspeed, so that may be an issue. I will delve into the technical aspects then. I looked, & it seems that there are a number of titles that allow burning, but only during the check out period. So-o-o-o, you will then have a burned copy right? Does it miraculously self destruct when the book is due? Only kidding, I think. I still have a lot of questions about this item, but they will probably be answered with more thorough self experimentation. On to the wrap up!!! Yea!

Item #21 - Podcast

I have to say I had more luck finding podcasts using Google. Yahoo Podcast kept saying, "Sorry, we're shutting down the site on 10/31". Am I the only one who saw this? Maybe I was looking in the wrong area. I suppose this would be a really good tool, if you had the device necessary and the inclination. I see how it could be used to reach patrons also. At this point, I won't be pursuing podcasts, but that might change if I finish this exercise. I have posted a podcast from Simon & Schuster on my blog.

Item #20- YouTube Again!

OK, it must have been that the computers were too busy. Today I was able to post a video, and it plays. Neat! I will look more at YouTube in the future. It's a lot of fun, but I don't want to put post any videos of my own. It do think that this could be a way to grab the interest of the elusive teen patron. I think TeenXtreme is going to do a Myspace account. So-o-o maybe some amusing videos tagged with Youngstown, or whatever, might get the attention of some teens. Just rambling - - .
I'm done with #20 - only two more items to go! Yea!

diva practice

Maybe we need one of these drill teams here at YPL!!

Item #20 - YouTube

Well, I've joined YouTube, added my blog to my membership, & posted a video to my blog. All seemed to work pretty smoothly till I tried to open the video and I continually got "done but with errors". Hmmm??? It would not open, so I deleted it. Not sure what the problem is. I am also not able to open videos in YouTube because they say this computer needs to download a more up to date player. Well - could do it yesterday, so not sure what's up. Videos posted in other YPL blogs that I looked at on the same computer yesterday also will not open. I did see that there is a notation in 2.0, Item #20, that we should do this exercise at low computer time. That is not the case right now. Am also waiting for e-mail confirmation from YouTube, so maybe that has something to do with it too. Will try again tomorrow.