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.

Item #19 - Web 2.0 Awards List

I looked at a few of these. The one that interested me most was Zillow, category Real Estate. Unfortunately you had to download an updated version of something, so since I was at work, that was a no go. The next site I looked at was Etsy under Retail. It was the #2 pick. Since the #1 pick had to do exclusively with t-shirts, I bypassed it. Etsy is a lot of fun, & I admit that I had been told about it before by a friend. I was pleased to see it on the awards list. It is a good place to find a one of a kind gift, and / or sell some of your own handmade treasures ???!!! That's all for today.

Item #18 - Online Productivity

Now I think this is a really great idea. I registered at Zoho Writer, did a really quick document, saved it as html, & exported it to my blog. How very cool. I do see how this concept will replace desktop software and rightly so. Of all the Library 2.0 topics, I think this is the most useful.

Items #16 & #17 - Wikis

Just some thoughts on the wiki section - I have been a part of a wiki before at Kent State. They are fun, & somewhat like a listserve in that you get e-mail notification of new postings. I checked out some of the library related ones. The subject heading wiki is pretty interesting, & I may return there to look deeper. As for our wiki, or rather the Library 2.0 wiki, I have registered, and made two entries. One entry in favorite web sites, and another for favorite books. I see the end in sight!!! I will tackle #18 soon.

Item #15 - Web 2.0, Library 2.0 & the Future

I read the discussion on the above. The "icebergs" were interesting. Things are changing rapidly, & this was a major topic in library school. How can libraries stay relevant? Do we keep print "just in case"? Are we ready for "user education"? And - "Coming to us" may be a thing of the past. Well - - - I am going to look at this from the public library viewpoint, & the viewpoint of a branch rather than the "Main" library. Large amounts of "just in case" print materials may be an area that could be decreased. Print reference material in a branch does not seem to be widely used. This might be an area to downsize as more and more reference databases come online. However, I have been scolded many times (in a friendly way - usually) that we do not have enough copies of certain novels (think little old ladies and bookclubs). I am of the mind that print fiction is not going away. The "Harry Potter" phenomena is a classic example of this - as is every new (& I use the word new lightly) novel by Danielle Steel. I am also of the opinion that the library should have classic literature as well. So, keep the fiction and browsable non-fiction in the branches, & the heavier reference material online & at the main branch. As for, "user education", we fall down here I think. This 2.0 exercise is good for us just for this reason. However, the "user education" I see needed most in our system is basic computer classes. The public continually requests such classes. Our area is an aging population. NE Ohio has lost a lot of the younger residents because of the area job market. As a community library, we should remember this and temper our "technolust". Access is another issue that I do believe we are dealing with. We have reached out to the community with our web page, SearchOh, 24/7, electronic books, wifi (I think it's working or will be soon), etc. A small thing that would meet our population's needs is to do away with the PIN. It is a barrier to the older patron, and thus to access. But, I am rambling - - - I think we need balance. The new technology is great, and a wonderful tool (but count me out of the "SecondLife" crowd - my 1st life is enough). As professionals we should know how to use it, and be willing to educate those that don't. It is our job. When you come right down to it - the main ingredient in our jobs is customer service - no matter the customer. Gee! I feel like I'm back in school. Enough, I have to move on to Item #16 - Thanks for listening.

Item #14 - Technorati & Tags

Again, it has been awhile! I just can't get a long period of time to knock this out. I thought a Fall color would be nice for the text. OK - so to Technorati. I looked it over for some time. I searched the posts, the tags, & the directory for "Learning 2.0". The different results (in quantity) were huge. As librarians, this is nothing we have not seen before in a different arena. Then I tried searching the keyword "Iraq". Ugh!!! There are some really nasty people out there. When you have someone in the military, opposition is one thing, ugliness is another. So I went smaller. I zeroed in on specific areas in Iraq, and then actually found some factual and enlightening blogs. Actual information is a good thing. Then, I tried my son's military title & actually found a blog post by an embedded reporter about him. It was heartening - no raving, no name-calling. As for claiming my own blog, I decided against it. I really don't think I have written anything the cyber world wants to read. I see how tags are added. You can add the html code through your own post, or do it through Technorati. I have to say, that this topic alone could be explored for a very long time. I may come back to this - maybe not. One puzzling thing, when I did a search for "PLYMC 2.0", some of our library postings were there, others not. None were really current that I could see. I'm not sure why these show - that would take more thought and exploration than I want to do right now. If anyone reads this & knows why, let me know! Thanks!