Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

***this picture has nothing to do with this post, just thought it was pretty…it’s what I did last Monday 🙂

I read most of the articles on Library and Web 2.0 and my first thought was that 2.0 is a lot more overwhelming to read about than it has been to explore some of these 2.0 technologies.  Some of the articles just got a little too technical for me.  Reading some of these perspectives, however, reminded me that Library 2.0 is more than just the web or technology, which is probably how I tend to think of it.  And I am glad for that.   I think the key phrase I got out of all of this is that Library 2.0 is user-focused.  Previously when I heard the term Library 2.0 I thought of technology and it doesn’t have to be that…although I think the discussion does tend to focus more on technology sometimes than user-focused.

I think my philosophy on Web/Library 2.0 goes along best with the Michael Stephens article.  I loved what he said about technolust and that Librarian 2.0 does not buy technology for the sake of technology.  I think this is critical as the library evolves…lots of technology ends up just being a passing fad and it takes a higher level of thinking to identify if certain technology will truly improve service. 

What I think is most important for Library 2.0 is that we do not leave people behind.  I see a lot of people who have been left behind at my location.  I see this also with my family and friends and that scares me sometimes.  How can we meet these customers needs?  How are we helping the person who has never needed to fill out an online job application before, but now needs to in order to get a job at McDonalds or Family Dollar.  I don’t feel I ever have enough time to really work with folks on things like this…and they don’t always want to come to a scheduled class.  Another thing I notice, and maybe I just hang out with people from the stone age, but the majority of my college educated friends (the ones who don’t work in libraries) who are in their mid twenties to early thirties do not have flickr accounts or blogs.  Most don’t even read blogs.  They don’t twitter or have a facebook page.  How will Library 2.0 meet these people if they aren’t in these places I keep hearing they supposedly already are?  This is why I think it is important to go beyond technology when we discuss Library 2.0.  It is important for us as a profession to be familiar with these tools, and many people are using them, however there are still a lot of people who are not using them and have no need to use them.  And I am not saying here that we shouldn’t be moving forward like we are, we most definitely should, however, I hope as we move forward we are not turning a blind eye to what is right in front of us and that we are truly focusing on what our users want and need.

Delicious

I am pretty behind on Learn & Play, so I’ll try and catch up.  I played around with delicious over a few days (well weeks actually, like I sad I am behind).  I liked it okay and definitely see a use for it.  It is definitely handy to be able to save your links no matter what computer you might be on.  Only thing is I don’t save a lot of links.  I seem to always be able to relocate a link I need with a google search.  But I did save a few links and tagged them.  Now, we’ll see if I use it again 🙂

A Cat in the sink and Twitter

Here is my latest cat photograph.  Don’t you wish you could curl up for a nap in the sink?  Perhaps not 🙂  Anyways, twitter…

I created a twitter account yesterday.  I’d been putting it off until I discovered one of my favorite blogs has a twitter version.  I thought that seemed kinda neat, it gave me a point of interest anyway.  So I signed up.   I am still feeling a bit skeptical about it and I simply cannot figure out how to ‘tweet’ from my cell phone.  I texted a code to some number, but it didn’t work.  I do think I would use it more if I could text my tweets from my phone.  I can see myself right now: “At the grocery store, buying pineapple.” or if it had worked yesterday, “headed to the Nordstom Cafe for Crab Bisque.” I had an unstoppable craving for it yesterday, wouldn’t you have loved to get a ‘tweet’ about that?   I thought so.  If you would like to follow me…I can be found here.

Library Thing

I like Library Thing alright.  I’ve been using it for about 6 months or so.  I use it to keep track of books to use in programming.  I list picture books I find when going through new books that I think would be good in storytime…I also listed some tried and true faves and I also try and list the books our Teen Book Group has read using Library Thing.  It is pretty handy actually.  I also have a GoodReads account, but I don’t use it so much.  I think it seems better for the social networking aspect than Library Thing.  I was going to try and figure out how to put my Library Thing in my sidebar, but wordpress had foiled me again!  I don’t have time to google how to figure this out today, so it is just going in this post.  Click here to visit my Library Thing.

Image Generator

I made a READ Poster using a picture of my husband from last year.  Hope he doesn’t mind 🙂  I didn’t have many useable pictures of myself in my flickr account! 

Thing 9

This picture illustrates what I wish I could do right now!  But  I’m a human and not a cat and we just don’t get as many naps, what a shame!  I searched for some library blogs. I tried out the blog search tools, but I still prefer discovering blogs from other people’s links. Here are some I at least kinda liked.  Some of them I found in a round about way from the search tools…once I found a library blog, I checked out their links, which is how I arrived at at least one of these 🙂

The Shifted Librarian

Your Neighborhood Librarian

Pop Culture Librarian

I’m sure I could find many more, but it is time to move on and catch up!!!

Number 8

For #8 I set up a bloglines.  Don’t know why because Google Reader is a million times better.  I think bloglines kinda stinks.  I’ve been trying to convince my husband to make the gmail switch for years and I decided to use this as my opportunity.  It went okay, we’ll see if he uses it. He only reads 2 blogs actually and hates changes of any kind…and is extremely stubborn…he is certainly a man of routines, which is totally ok, but it is just one way we differ.  I subscribe to about 50 or so blogs in Reader…more than I can actually read, but I try and read the ones I really like daily, the others I read if I have time. Here are some of my current daily reads:

3191 -A photo blog from 2 women living 3191 miles apart.  The photos are all taken during the evening.

Angry chicken -Amy Karol’s blog, it’s a craft blog that transcends the genre, plus lots of food love!  Great food exploration ideas and sewing tutorials.  Her youtube sewing tutorials are a joy!

Wee wonderfuls -Hilary Lang’s blog, also a crafter, just love the stuff she makes

The Small Object -another inspiring artist/designer

I actually don’t read any library blogs…only craft and design blogs, so for 9 maybe I will try and find some library blogs…but I dunno…I love being a librarian, but I have never seemed to find a library blog that really speaks to me…and I have found most library blogs are entirely too long!!!!  If you have any good library blog recommendations, leave me a comment 😉  I do already subscribe to Helene’s blog, Library Bytes, but that’s it…

Thoughts on Technology

So I think my post on flickr groups technically counts as post about anything technology related, but I had a random technology thought so I thought I would it get it out of the way.

I sometimes get mistaken as a techy person.  I’m not.  I don’t really like gadgets at all and I can barely work my cable!  And techy people do not mistake me as one of them, usually it is people like my parents and friends.  But I think it does go back to lifelong learning.  I’ve noticed I am good with technology that is directly relevant to my interests.  An example of this is my Ipod, after a year, I still have to call my husband to load it up!  I like music, but I am not obsessed enough with it.  I did not even try to figure my Ipod out until I discoverd craft-related podcasts on Craft Sanity.  I still struggle with burning CDS (that is embarrassing to admit actually, but in my defense, I can burn CDS I just don’t like to)!!!  However, I have pretty easily learned to customize my craft blog using some html and manipulating the template a little.  I’ve taught myself a few things in photoshop too.  It all goes back to my interest though…I wanted to learn how to make my craft blog look a certain way and I was determined, so I taught myself.  I also think my library-style, google search skills helped me to find the information that allowed me to do this.   It led me to this fabulous site, which I highly recommend, if you too have an interest in customizing your blog (but it is for blogger only)!  So that is where I stand on technology…for me, it always goes back to being a lifelong learner.  I am good at technology that is relevant to something I am interested in.

Thing #6 Flickr Mashups

Here is my experiment with Flickr Mashups. I’ve played around with fds flickr toys a couple times, but not really had much use for it. I took some time to take a deeper look at some of them just now and tansformed a few photos.  I have always wanted to try Spell with Flickr though, so here it is!

Learn and Play Clickable Button!

Woo hoo!  I created my very own Clickable Learn and Play button (see it on the top left?) just like on CMLsi!  Not sure if this is technically allowed, since I stole the image from CMLsi, but I love buttons and thought it looked cool on CMLsi so I couldn’t help myself.  I was just playing on my lunch break when I thought of this.  If you want to make one too, it is soooooo easy!  Just do a “Save As” by right clicking on the Learn and Play button on the CMLsi.  Save it in “My Pictures” or wherever.  If you have a blogger blog then you can just go to your Layout and Add a Gadget.  Choose Picture, upload the Learn and Play button and add in the link!  Easy Peasy.  Word Press is a little more complicated of course (I’m finding everything seems to be a little more complicated in wordpress, anyone else?), but I found excellent instructions here.  Wouldn’t it be great though if CML provided the code for it somewhere on the Learn and Play blog, so we could easily just copy the code and paste in our own blogs?  Just like adding your shelfari or Librarything widgets? 

Again hopefully I’m not breaking the rules, if I am, I will happily remove it, but then again, I like to think of myself as a wild rule breaker type (lol)!!!