Method 10 – Wiki World
It is true, the Plain English Tutorial series are just plain good. The length is just about right for a topic. My attention span, along with the rest of the world, has shrunk to about 3 minutes.
I really enjoyed the ALA wikis – I like Chicago – maybe next year!
The wiki posts in the Library Development wiki were interesting to view and pointed up some new sites to me. Good browsing on a rainy day.
One use I think might be valuable would be using a wiki with my faculty for Collection Development. Subject Guides might be helpful too. There are so many resources that it is helpful to have a spot where others might be able to make a contribution.
So out of this exercise I have an account with PBwiki; found some good blog sources and can see two ways a wiki could benefit me and my library patrons.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Method 9
Chat and Instant Messaging
I chatted with Naomi (our Continuing Education Two-Step mentor) using Meebo and it worked well. I have also used chat lines for an insurance company and an appliance parts department trying to troubleshoot my oven when it cratered. Both experiences went well and I found the immediate gratification…well, gratifying. Phone trees never seem to address the question that I have, so the chat experience was much more personal and immediate. I felt in control of my communication need at the time. The telephone approach does not provide me with that sense of personal control in meeting my needs. The minute a machine or person answers the phone, I know that I go into a queue that is not on my time.
My academic library is using Meebo for Ask a Librarian service. I staff the chat line once a week, just for fun. The service is used, but not heavily, during my two-hour watch. Last week, a question was asked but the writer did not hang around for the answer even though I tried to respond as fast as possible. Maybe “instant” is not fast enough for certain generations of users.
The library staff has made it easy to use even though there are many campuses. It seems that libraries will need to use as many ways to connect with patrons as possible. It does mean that we have to stay current with the various technologies almost as soon as they appear on the horizon.
Facebook chat is fun to use and sometimes I find a relative or friend online and a spontaneous chat occurs – a little like bumping into someone in the hallway. We are probably just beginning to learn the many applications of this technology.
I chatted with Naomi (our Continuing Education Two-Step mentor) using Meebo and it worked well. I have also used chat lines for an insurance company and an appliance parts department trying to troubleshoot my oven when it cratered. Both experiences went well and I found the immediate gratification…well, gratifying. Phone trees never seem to address the question that I have, so the chat experience was much more personal and immediate. I felt in control of my communication need at the time. The telephone approach does not provide me with that sense of personal control in meeting my needs. The minute a machine or person answers the phone, I know that I go into a queue that is not on my time.
My academic library is using Meebo for Ask a Librarian service. I staff the chat line once a week, just for fun. The service is used, but not heavily, during my two-hour watch. Last week, a question was asked but the writer did not hang around for the answer even though I tried to respond as fast as possible. Maybe “instant” is not fast enough for certain generations of users.
The library staff has made it easy to use even though there are many campuses. It seems that libraries will need to use as many ways to connect with patrons as possible. It does mean that we have to stay current with the various technologies almost as soon as they appear on the horizon.
Facebook chat is fun to use and sometimes I find a relative or friend online and a spontaneous chat occurs – a little like bumping into someone in the hallway. We are probably just beginning to learn the many applications of this technology.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Method 3.a
How about California - always cutting edge - recently saw a news story about CA moving to Cloud computing - cost cutting measure. http://www.coated.com/google-and-cloud-computing-scores-win-in-los-angeles/
Method 8
I do enjoy the Social Networking aspect of Facebook. I have had a FB account for a year or more at the invitation of my son and daughter-in-law and many of my young relatives who are off to college or building their families and careers in a scattering of cities across the country. It is a great way to keep up daily with those who are far away. When colleagues left the job and moved away FB became a favored way to keep up with several people at once. Many people "friended" on FB play a lot of games; Mafia Wars and Farmville seem popular. It is not for me because it seems too time-consuming but it seems like a fun way to stay connected with others.
I also explored the Group sites provided – North Texas Partners since that is my alma mater; I joined the Librarians and Facebook Group, as well as, explored the Librarians 2.0 Interest Group. The Library of Congress FB provided a good idea of how to keep a notice short and generate interest in an event. Texas Tech does a good job of spotlighting services, hours, and technologies provided by the library system while personalizing with quips about the football team or whatever is seasonal. These are great ways to get new ideas and explore how others use the technology.
Privacy does concern me however, I am not sure what to do about it, since I enjoy the participation experience more than being concerned! I do prefer to keep my personal life separate from professional life.
My community college has several FB groups set up – Alumni – Sports – various campuses. This could be an opportunity for my campus which has 6 libraries at various sites. It does seem like another venue for keeping connected with students and faculty on campus. Although, it seems like stopping someone at random on the campus saying “…did you know…”
I also explored the Group sites provided – North Texas Partners since that is my alma mater; I joined the Librarians and Facebook Group, as well as, explored the Librarians 2.0 Interest Group. The Library of Congress FB provided a good idea of how to keep a notice short and generate interest in an event. Texas Tech does a good job of spotlighting services, hours, and technologies provided by the library system while personalizing with quips about the football team or whatever is seasonal. These are great ways to get new ideas and explore how others use the technology.
Privacy does concern me however, I am not sure what to do about it, since I enjoy the participation experience more than being concerned! I do prefer to keep my personal life separate from professional life.
My community college has several FB groups set up – Alumni – Sports – various campuses. This could be an opportunity for my campus which has 6 libraries at various sites. It does seem like another venue for keeping connected with students and faculty on campus. Although, it seems like stopping someone at random on the campus saying “…did you know…”
Monday, November 2, 2009
Method 7
Method 7 – Social Bookmarking
1. Commoncraft YouTube instruction – You gotta love these simple, quick instructional videos!
2. Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - article – use of LibraryThing as a catalog substitute for small collections. (How about using this to catalog my son’s extensive baseball card collection or son in law’s personal book collection, many hundreds of books, both Information Technology and science fiction).
3. View the Otter Group 8 minute Delicious tutorial to get a good overview of its features. Did not load for me so I went to the YouTube tutorial
4. I set up a Delicious account with an existing Yahoo account.
5. http://www.allbusiness.com/management/change-management/3875646-1.html - found the web site for Several Habits of Wildly Successful Delicious Users – must have changed.
The bookmark mobility factor is the shinning star for me. I work on several machines and this keeps everything together.
1. Commoncraft YouTube instruction – You gotta love these simple, quick instructional videos!
2. Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us - article – use of LibraryThing as a catalog substitute for small collections. (How about using this to catalog my son’s extensive baseball card collection or son in law’s personal book collection, many hundreds of books, both Information Technology and science fiction).
3. View the Otter Group 8 minute Delicious tutorial to get a good overview of its features. Did not load for me so I went to the YouTube tutorial
4. I set up a Delicious account with an existing Yahoo account.
5. http://www.allbusiness.com/management/change-management/3875646-1.html - found the web site for Several Habits of Wildly Successful Delicious Users – must have changed.
The bookmark mobility factor is the shinning star for me. I work on several machines and this keeps everything together.
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