Thing 23

I decided to post my own video to YouTube and share it here:


I also found this cute video...



I love You Tube - you can find anything on it. That may also be a drawback...there is so much there.

I can see how it would be useful to share info about the libray and programs with customers. When we were renovating it would have been nice to use this to have a virtual tour of the new features of our new library. You could do a short book talk to publicize a storytime or program. I think teens would find it especially fun.

Thing 22

I finally figured out what a mashup is - I think!

I explored some of the cool toys you can use with Flickr and created a trading card for my cat!

Thing 21

I've spent the past few days exploring Flickr. Since I have never used or were even aware of any photo sharing sites, I have no idea how Flick is different from others.

As far as using Flick as a resource or a tool, I can see where tagging is very helpful. You can look at other library's buildings to learn how other arrange collections and market their collections. So you can gain alot of ideas using Flickr.

As far as teen groups go, teens love to share pictures and see what teens in other places are doing. Flickr provides an easy way to do that. It is one way teens can develop a sense of community and share with other teens.

Thing 20

View from Syline Drive
Originally uploaded by Beachmeezer

Sending this from Flickr....a picture from my vacation.

Flickr resolves alot of issues I have with photos and how to share those. I've got boxes of photos and files of photos on my PC. So that I don't have to bog down friends and family's email accounts with pictures - I can share them this way.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thing 19

I decided to explore Flickr. I had heard alot about Flickr from co-workers. Also, since most of my pictures are now digital I was finding it difficult to share pictures with family. Also, with the abundance of email we all get I've not been sending as many pictures via email. Flickr solved all my digial pix issues. It can be very private, you can invite others to view and expire inviations.

I think Flickr is a great tool for teen programming. Or for any group that meets regularly. Pictures from events can be posted for the participants to view.

Thing 18

I found Technorati easy to use and like the navigation tools and lay out. I tried the two different searches and actually found my own Learning 2.0 blog as well as those of several VBPL staff members using the Blog Directory search. I found more information as opposed to personal Learning 2.0 experiences by searching blog posts.

Practicing Technorati Tagging

practice practice

Thing 17

Social book marking easily resolves a frustrating research issue: No matter what workstation I am on at my branch I can access my bookmarks. Also, we can create a research account that all the staff can access and add content.

I did sign up for a del icio us account and found it easy to use. I recommend that we have an agency account for the purposes of sharing research and reference bookmarks.

Thing 16

I already had a My Space account. I've done nothing with it so far. I find the entire My Space thing "too junky" though I can see why it appeals to young people. I found it hard to navigate, hard to figure out how to add things to the page and the entire page looks a mess - everyone's page looks a mess to me!

I did go ahead and sign up for a Face Book account as something new to try. Less junky but kind of boring until I figure out how to jazz it up. If it can be jazzed up.

Thing 15

Social networking via whatever is hot with teens is important for libraries. Alot of our teens are online but they are not seeing the emails we are sending out about programs and community service opportunities. I feel we would reach more of them via My Space.

However, it is also important to change as trends change and stay up-to-date in regards to the most current places teens like to hang out on the Net.

Things 13 and 14

It was very easy to post an entry into the Staff Picks section of the Reader's Advisory wiki. We have a similar wiki for WW staff. Wikis are helpful because they can be updated by anyone and at anytime. It is a more efficient way to share work.

At WW, we have "impulse checkout" books on display at the front desk. The staff use the WW Staff Wiki to post what moves and what doesn't move. While not a very scientific measurement of collection activity, it does provide some feedback about what customers might readily pick up. Plus, it gave staff a chance to practice posting to a wiki.

Wiki's can be used by groups developing booklists, training materials, etc. Multiple people can work on the same document with multiple people able to view the progress of the work.

IM Service

IM offers yet another way for the customer to connect to us and for us to connect to them.

With IM service, they do not have to wait for a reply to email or have a phone to make contact. They can IM us from the school lab, while they are online working on a paper, etc.

All young people today are familiar with IM and in the case of my library agency, they are our target audience

Thing 10

I prefer using Google Reader because I am most familiar with Google resources.
I used the all items search button. I have used Google Alerts for years and actually prefer that method of keeping up with topics of interest. I have found that process for keeping abreast of alerts on a topic of interest much easier to set up, make adjustments and keep up with the reading.