Ibistro Persistant Link!
1 year ago
•What do you think about social media in libraries?
I think social media in libraries is vital for libraries! Social media is the new way of sharing information and it doesn't look like it's slowing down at all. If librarians are trying to keep in the spirit of freedom of access to information to all, then they must be able to properly communicate information to the general public.
•What do you wish FPL was (or wasn’t) doing?
I can't wait for FPL to have a twitter. I also look forward to the day where we are sharing pictures on picasa and videos on youtube (which will be soon!).
•Have you learned anything from the program?
Yes!
•If so, what?
I learned more about delicious and have been using it to bookmark sites. I also learned about social media I haven't utilized yet like linked-in. I look forward to browsing all the different kinds of social media posted on the Thing 23 entry of our library wide training blog. I also learned about a couple of features on google docs I haven't utilized before.
•If not, what could we do better?
You did great! Thanks! :)
By the way, I filled out the 23 Things Training Survey as well!
I discovered a great little button for wordpress blog entries. Wordpress Online is sometimes difficult for me to work with (it's not always very user friendly and slow at times), but it's pretty sleek and reliable and it offers a lot of options if you know how to utilize them.
Anyways, I've been looking for a way to implement a share button into Un-Shushed! entries, and I discovered one that uses AddToAny.
I love this little button. It was so easy to install in my "favorites" or bookmarks in my browser, and when I do a blog post all I have to do is click the button in my favorites and it pops it right in. I also love it because it makes each and every blog post "shareable" on myriad social media sites! This is a great way to make our blog more web 2.0 and social media friendly.
I am currently using this one on the wordpress blog Un-Shushed! Although, I created a smaller version of the button and so before I install the bookmarklet, I change the button using the one here.
Please check out Un-Shushed! and try the little button on one of the blog posts for yourself! You will heart it.
Wikis are fairly easy to understand, and they strike me as a dynamic ever changing forum of sharing information.
Here is the wiki page I edited.
I absolutely loved browsing the Sunnyvale Public Library's podcasts. I think a library can do great things with RSS and audio technology. Libraries already provide programs and services for children and adults. Why not have a recorder on during a lecture or workshop? Why not have a recorder on during a book talk?
However, I currently don't have an interest in subscribing to them, because I'm still getting used to the idea of having a blog reader to compile all of my rss feeds in one place. I still need to consolodate my web entertainment, resources, etc. into one place.
We already do the hard part. Why not just document what we already do so patrons can come back to the information again if they attended the event, or make it available to patrons who weren't able to attend the program in person?
I heart Hulu so much. I do because it has all sorts of shows. Old shows. New shows. And even movies!
I belong to a group of people who have said "good bye" to cable. And I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. In fact, since I got married over 3 years ago, our household has never purchased cable! We watch netflix, hulu, youtube, and utilize many other online entertainment sites.
You don't have to watch very many commercials. And in fact, some television shows on Hulu will air uninterrupted once it starts. You can choose to watch a longer commercial or movie trailer before starting the latest episode of LOST. Some sponsors will even sponsor entire episodes without putting you through a 30 second commercial.
Another thing that is GREAT about Hulu is that you can share movies, shows, clips, etc. with your friends on Facebook! I have done this before and it easy and fun.
The internet is a beautiful thing. Why would I waste money on cable? No thank you to the hours of mindless commercials. No thank you to having to watch shows at a certain time or being concerned about recording them. I can view what I want, when I want it.
Thanks to the internet! Woot.
Libraries need to take note, and consider how such trends and developments will impact collection development of dvds and tv shows. However, dvds remain a really popular check out item in libraries today. Maybe one day we could show movies via online movie streaming in the teen room? Who knows?
Youtube is my friend. I visit it when I want to learn some guitar chords, and my husband checks it out when he wants to learn about permaculture gardening. And when I want my two year old to enjoy some fun edutainment, I am sure to pull up They Might Be Giant's vids for kids (see above).
Want to see how sea horses give birth? Why read about it when watching it is so much more enlightening?!
I really think our library could utilize such a cool resource such as youtube. Providing a youtube channel for patrons where they would be able to participate, view, and see what the library offers are just one of many reasons why we should get a youtube account! I liked how the Allen County Public Library made a channel. It really shows the people behind the service patrons receive.
I'm currently working on a teen film contest, and I really hope we can share the teen videos that get submitted on a channel we create on youtube. What better way to showcase the creativity of our teens then broadcasting it on youtube?!
It is possible to get good quality and authoritative videos. Just like books, we need to see who are the authors and producers of the content. For example, doing a school project on gorillas? Why not check out national geographic's channel on youtube?
BTW- I have no idea why I have animals on the brain.
I really enjoyed doing this thing because I became aware of all sorts of music streaming sites I hadn't heard of before like musicovery and last.fm.
One way libraries can take advantage of music streaming sites is allowing patrons to enjoy them as well! So one thing we started doing in the teen room is play music off of slacker, or last.fm out of the sound system.
It has worked great! I had two different teens say they liked the music that was playing when I had slacker on the other day.
I have a feeling that as librarians, we should become aware of the way young people listen to music. CDs are certainly moving in the direction of becoming obsolete, especially with mp3 players on online radios stronger than ever.
Ok so after reading the FPL 23 Thing blogpost regarding google docs, I have spent about 30 minutes playing with this cloud computing application. I created three different types of files, one was a document, the other a presentation, and the other a spreadsheet.
This was good practice for me because my only exposure to google docs before was when I uploaded documents that I had already created using an application that was installed on my desktop. I have been weighing the pros and cons of just creating documents from scratch using cloud computing software such as google docs and zoho. I really would have to learn how to use these applications because they are somewhat different to the traditional Microsoft Office Suite.
This was good practice for me because my only exposure to google docs before was when I uploaded documents that I had already created using an application that was installed on my desktop. I have been weighing the pros and cons of just creating documents from scratch using cloud computing software such as google docs and zoho. I really would have to learn how to use these applications because they are somewhat different to the traditional Microsoft Office Suite.
This is a great way to collaborate on projects. Another thing I like about this is that if you save your important documents on google docs or zoho, if your hard drive fails, it doesn't affect these documents because IT'S ON THE INTERNET!
Information professionals could definitely take advantage of this useful, easy-to-use, but best of all free internet service. How? By collaborating with colleagues on presentations and documents. A library professional could create a document on google docs, approve a list of collaborators and email them a link so they could all edit the same document!
And voila! Works like magic.
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These are directions to the Georgetown Public Library. Google maps is very useful and I have used it to find directions to places I have never been. It is also fun to explore faraway locations. Librarians can provide quick and easy answers to reference questions using google maps (when it comes to questions regarding the location of a business or place). Also, clicking and dragging to create alternate routes is simple. There are also directions for bikers and pedestrians, depending on what option you select.
Here is the tiny URL I created with TinyURL.com:
http://tinyurl.com/y4gy76c
I also uploaded and sent a file to Kelly via YouSendIt. And it worked!
Thoughts on TinyURL:
TinyURL is great! The fact that you can cut a giant url into a "tiny" url makes twitter a breeze when it comes to sharing links AND providing a brief description of what you are sharing. I actually would prefer to use Ow.ly however because it provides even shorter urls.
Thoughts on YouSendIt:
This is a great thing to use if you have trouble sending large files via email. I really like how YouSendIt emails you a receipt containing a persistent link to the download. I thought that was wonderful considering I could then forward that link to a bunch of other poeple so they could download the same file, and I don't have to waste time uploading it again!
It seems like a lot of the pages I follow don't do a lot of "humanizing." Although NPR updates its page with links to news articles on a regular basis, it hasn't posted an event since last August. But really I think that's ok because, really, I'm interested mainly in their news articles anyways. Every one else doesn't seem to update their pages all that much. But that's ok. I am a fan of them because I am a fan of them (how many updates can I get from the True Blood fan page anyways and still be interested?!) and not because I need an update regularly.
Something I noticed about our facebook page is that people tend to "like" things that show that we, librarians and staff, are human. A little while back I posted a couple of pics of two of our librarians taking advantage of the snow in Frisco (while they were on a break of course). That currently has the most "likes" of any of the notes on the library's facebook page to date (4!!! and that doesn't include staff!). I really think we should do more of these kinds of quick, easy, and most of all, HUMAN posts.
Something I really like that we do with our page is that we have the notes publish from the Un-Shushed RSS feed automatically. In a way, it is a great, easy way to keep our page look fresh and updated. I think we are headed in the right direction when it comes to facebook.
We can do something similar when we start utilizing twitter. There is a facebook app that updates your status automatically using the twitter feed. And updating our facebook status regularly would be a great way to make us more human as well.
I found this comic comparing and contrasting three social media tools, so I decided to share it here before I delved into Thing 11: Linkedin!
I actually enjoyed creating an account on Linkedin. Unlike many other social networking sites, Linkedin's primary focus, seems to be to "connect" with others, particularly in the professional or business realm. Linked-in also features a tool to show the degrees of separation between you and your "connections."
A great feature of linked-in was that it lets you upload your resume, and it imports most of the information from your resume on to your profile, so I was able to have a fairly complete profile within minutes of creating an account. (Although there were some things that didn't transfer over the way I would have liked so I still need to tweak my profile some.)
This would be a great site to recommend to patrons seeking jobs. This would also be a great way for librarians to connect with others within the field of library and information sciences. Listing the professional organizations one belongs to is another way of "connecting" with others and finding professional contacts.
Overall, I really thought it was quick, easy, and I think I will definitely keep my account. Which you can check out here.
A great feature of linked-in was that it lets you upload your resume, and it imports most of the information from your resume on to your profile, so I was able to have a fairly complete profile within minutes of creating an account. (Although there were some things that didn't transfer over the way I would have liked so I still need to tweak my profile some.)
This would be a great site to recommend to patrons seeking jobs. This would also be a great way for librarians to connect with others within the field of library and information sciences. Listing the professional organizations one belongs to is another way of "connecting" with others and finding professional contacts.
Overall, I really thought it was quick, easy, and I think I will definitely keep my account. Which you can check out here.
Here are some books from my personal collection. This widget is powered by Library Thing. This book-lover social networking site is currently used by our own library to display reviews in the catalog. I feel as though I should utilize this site a little more. Libraries can also utilize library thing by posting book reviews on a library thing account, and sharing a link to the library profile with all of its reviews with their patrons.
I created a Delicious account using my yahoo username. I really like how with Delicious, one can download a handy toolbar to go in the browser. This makes bookmarking sites easier than ever. Unlike the typical bookmarking options one has in internet browsers, Delicious bookmarks can be accessed from anywhere. This is especially useful if one uses multiple computers.
Another handy thing about Delicious is that it is a social networking tool. This means that I would be able to save my bookmarks and share them with friends. Something even more helpful to me is that I would be able to see my friends bookmarks, and add them to my own personal list of bookmarks if I like them as well.
Delicious also allows you to categorize or "tag" your bookmarks. Which, from a librarian's point of view, is very very useful. Patrons would benefit if they could see what their librarian has selected as valid and legitimate websites for school or work.
I started bookmarking professional development sites in my field of librarianship so I can easily access websites that would be useful to me as a librarian. As I expand my bookmarks however, I can branch out the categories currently on my delicious. I have enjoyed using it thus far, and I know I will enjoy it later on as well after creating my very own web library using my delicious account.
Here is a little something I made using Wordle. Basically, it has made a nifty little tag cloud out of this blog's RSS feed. Apart from being something pretty, tagging can make searching and finding easier on the internet, in catalogs, etc.
I have been using tagging on this blog so I can easily access any of my blog entries. It is in a widget on the right side of my blog.
Tagging can be used in library catalogs to aid patrons in searching. Tagging is also a "looser" way of organizing, making consulting a rigid control vocabulary unnecessary. In a way, tagging could be used to better reach patrons, as they have opportunities to try multiple search terms that may or may not be "official" and still pull up records because they have been tagged by a librarian that has put him or herself in the patron's shoes for a few moments, and imagined different search terms that they might use to find the record.
Tagging is also very useful in a library blog rss. I have started incorporated more tags (which is different from categories) on the Un-Shushed! RSS feed to make it more searchable and easier to archive on search engines and on the blog itself.
Recently, we have utilized the gem that is instant messaging by installing Office Communicator on our computers. I like it's convenience because I have access to it through outlook. So if there is a green ball next to someone's name in an email I am reading, I can right click on it and send them a message through communicator.
Instances where I see the communicator as more beneficial over email would be when I want to ask someone a quick question, and I'm concerned about filling up their already full inbox with an unnecessary email. Also, I was able to share my screen with a couple different coworkers to show off features on Un-Shushed! Basically, the user on the other end of the communication had access to what I was seeing on my desktop, so as I browsed the web or as I clicked on different buttons, they could see what I was doing. Having a visual makes it a lot easier to explain things then just using words.
Instances where I see the communicator as more beneficial over email would be when I want to ask someone a quick question, and I'm concerned about filling up their already full inbox with an unnecessary email. Also, I was able to share my screen with a couple different coworkers to show off features on Un-Shushed! Basically, the user on the other end of the communication had access to what I was seeing on my desktop, so as I browsed the web or as I clicked on different buttons, they could see what I was doing. Having a visual makes it a lot easier to explain things then just using words.
Libraries can take advantage of instant messaging in a few different ways. One way was illustrated in the previous paragraph where I described how we at the library can communicate easily and efficiently with each other. Another way we could use instant messaging, something we don't do (yet anyways), is use it for reference questions. People accessing the internet from home could send us a reference question, and we could respond within a few minutes. I've used instant messaging or chat-like software to ask reference questions at other libraries before, and I've been pleased with my interactions because librarians have sent me links to resources that I could instantly click on at home.
Digg is a social networking site that allows people and web surfers to share websites, blog posts, and articles they find interesting, shocking, humorous, etc. Digg and public libraries are similar because they both organize information in ways that are easily accessible to the reader or web browser. Digg is also similar to public libraries in that it makes popular information easily accessible to users. Public libraries also strive to make popular best sellers or information resources available to the public, and don't just collect information indiscriminately of population's demographic wants and needs.
Digg is similar but has a much broader demographic and so it's sites appeal to more people than a local public library would.
Libraries can use Digg or similar sites by adding a button to their blog entries or website that allow web surfers to "Digg This!" This would add traffic to the blog or website as well because more people would be aware of its existence.
So for this thing, I was already a step ahead as I have already created a personal twitter account (which you can get a preview of in a widget on the right hand side of my blog page).
Libraries can take advantage of twitter by posting events, time changes, or new books on their twitter feeds. I also really liked David's playful suggestion of doing 140 character book reviews. That would be challenging, and fun to do! Although I could see myself wasting tons of time doing that out of sheer enjoyment.
Here are some libraries doing twitter. They might be a good place to look for ideas for our own library.
Houston Public Library
Phoenix Public Library
Salt Lake Public Library
Twitter ultimately is a short and sweet way of easy communication.
Online picture sharing is a great way for libraries to share library events and happenings with patrons, as well as professionals. Describing something with words can only do so much, especially with teens and visual people. For this "Thing," I took some pictures of the teen room and uploaded it to my PICASA account. Here is a slideshow I made which showcases the Teen Room!
After playing with RSS feeds on outlook, my blog reader, and other avenues, I feel that real simple syndication (RSS) is really simple to understand. I also think a lot of the nature of RSS feeds were covered in the last "thing," however I would like to say that the video posted here about understanding RSS feeds was very helpful and informative.
I really liked how it compared RSS to receiving Netflix in the mail. Although browsing the web isn't necessarily as time consuming as driving down to the video store, I thought it was a good comparison.
However, I must admit, I enjoy browsing websites even if I'm following them because I like to read any comments or links that might be attached to the entry. Yes it is more convenient to order Netflix in the mail, but sometimes when I'm browsing for a movie at the video store, I will find something I wasn't expecting to find that I want to watch right then that evening. I have no idea of what I said just made sense. And with that, I'm going to finish this post.
Me
Blogs
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Wrap-Up16 years ago
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Final Reminder16 years ago
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Last of 23 things....Now onto 57 Varieties16 years ago
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User Choice - Blip.tv (FPL 23 Things)16 years ago
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What do you geek?16 years ago
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