Wiki wiki

Wiki. The word has a nice feel to it, don't you think? Quick and snappy--it vaults off the tongue. The wiki concept embodies that snappiness as well. Adaptable, flexible, updated and added to with relative ease, wikis are handy tools for libraries' internal or external use.

Among the different ways libraries are using wikis, my favorite is a library-based community wiki. This is an excellent way to provide service to a library's community and users and to put the library at a community's core. I like the collaboration and interaction apparent in the community wikis I viewed. I also like the one-stop-shopping feel found in the combination of useful information about a community and links to library resources. Community wikis that include subject guides seemed particularly useful.

At my workplace we have created a employee manual wiki. One of its best features is the ease with which changes or additions may be made.

Ah, wondrous wikis. Conferences, subject guides, project information--the possibilities presented are nearly endless, but my time for reflection, sadly, is not. One last comment. Ohio University's lit wiki impressed me with its overall appearance as well as its information and organization.

Library 2.0

We should always be looking for ways to improve, and to me the driving force behind Library 2.0 is enhancement of library services and operations. Libraries should use their mission statement as a guide and find strategic ways to use the tech available.

In some of the readings and comments I noticed anxiety about libraries incorporating web 2.0 technology and subsequently losing the personal touch of more traditional services. I don't see it as an either/or choice. Personal service should remain important, and web 2.0 simply provides additional ways to keep in touch and interact with patrons. Just as a patron with no tech experience may not look at a library's wiki or Flikr collection, another patron may prefer to interact and do initial research online.

Library 2.0 emphasizes connections between libraries and their users, and through that interaction, libraries can gain a greater grasp on what users need. I see libraries and museums as places to provide and provoke learning opportunities and exchange of ideas. Library 2.0 supports those goals.

SlideShare

I had to try SlideShare for a couple of days before the search function would work for me but found the browse function useful in the meantime. Found an interesting slideshow on social media at http://www.slideshare.net/tactica_inc/the-conversation-an-introduction-to-social-media-presentation/ and plenty of others discussing education, web 2.0, and lifelong learning. Great resource.

Delicious bookmarks and social tagging

Delicious is just what I've needed for a long, long time. I have a habit of bookmarking websites in my browser, telling myself I'll organize the bookmarks in folders later, creating one dautingly long list of favorites I can't face scrolling through, and then repeating the same searches rather than using my favorites. Tagging is an easy way to organize sites almost instantly, and I will never have to go through the drugery of putting my favorites in folders again. Thanks Nebraska Learns 2.0!

As the activity suggested, I looked at some of the tags others were using for NebraskaAccess. It's interesting to see the similarites and differences in tags, which seemed to vary in part from what resources researchers were most interested in and how they were using them. For example, I noticed lesson_plans and genealogy among the tags. To me the tag "resources" seemed too broad to be useful, but in that tagger's scheme, "resources" may have a different, more specific conotation.

I expect sharing bookmarks and browsing tags to enhance my online research.

Twitter

I signed up for my Twitter account today and have taken a look at the NLC News and a few others posting on Twitter. If I had a lot of tech-savvy friends, there'd be great potential for communication with them. Most of my friends are two meager steps beyond chiseling messages on rocks, unfortunately. I guess I'll have to make some new friends on Twitter.

Twitter is a good way for libraries to connect with patrons to keep them updated on library events and collections and provide current information on inclement weather closings or other incidents as they develop. I also like the idea of fielding reference questions and posting recommendations to Twitter.

A thing about LibraryThing

Signed up on LibraryThing, added a few books, and took a look around. Liked the recommendation feature, although I'll need to add more books before it's useful. Also liked the unsuggester--great way to expand horizons and seek some books I wouldn't otherwise read.

Let's talk tech

I was an undergraduate when I first jumped into the world wide web with the free America Online disk that arrived in my mail. My roomates and I hovered around the computer for days--trying out chat rooms, joining groups, and just seeing what was out there. To me, that's the best part of technology--its ability to stimulate our curiosity and allow us to explore. I grew up in a small town I didn't often get to leave and spent my childhood traveling through books. I use technology much the same way--to make the wide world a little smaller and expand my experiences within it. There's so much I have yet to learn and see and do. Nebraska Learns 2.0 has shown me a sea of possibilities, and damn, I'm just dying to swim.

Fun with image generators

Over the weekend I stayed out of the cold and spent some time playing with image generators, most of which I found on http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/. I spent way too much time playing with http://makemebabies.com/ the useful results being: 1) much laughter and 2)visual proof I should never have a baby with Tom Cruise (as if I needed another reason). I also enjoyed constructing a tale on a tapestry at http://www.adgame-wonderland.de/type/bayeux.php but couldn't get the gallery to work to bring up my final product. Plenty of creative tools to put to use. My biggest challenge would be finding genuinely useful purposes for the generators--although I believe the right person could do so easily.

More Flickr Fun

Wow! I think I could play with Flickr applications all day. Slideshows like the Flickr Cover Flow would be great tools to highlight digital collections or show images from library events. I also thought Hive Mind was a good way to take a look at other libraries, and the Pictobrowser photogalleries could be useful, too.

Discover Flickr

I found some great images from Italy on Flickr. Here's one of my favorites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/willcor/2865311853/ I tried to use the blogger photo upload tool to display the image but couldn't get it to work. Guess I'll have to play around with it a bit more. Also want to create a Flickr account, but that'll have to wait.

Finding feeds

Of the search tools I tried, I liked Syndic8 and Google blog search the best. I felt a little overwhelmed by the search tools that had cluttered displays with lots of columns. Signed up for some feeds on ancient history--now I just have to remember to check them and find the time to do a little reading. This is fun, though.

RSS and me

I had only a vague idea about RSS before today so I've certainly learned a thing or two. I subscribed to a few RSS feeds (including some of my fellow Nebraska 2.0 bloggers) and wish I had more time to read their posts and explore bloglines right now. Time is my nemesis.

IM

Still working on Nebraska Learns 2.0. This week's assignment: instant messaging. I tried out Meebo. Didn't have a lot of time to work with it but plan to go back and play with it more later.

Lifelong Learning

As a participant in Nebraska Learns 2.0, I've been introduced to the 7.5 habits of lifelong learning and asked to think about which would be most difficult and easiest for me. The most difficult would be a combination of setting a specific goal and beginning with an end in mind. For me learning is a dessert buffet, where I can sample tasty tidbits, whet my appetite, and move on to the next treat. I often don't have a goal for any outcome beyond satisfying my curiosity. Maybe that's enough.

I think it will be easiest for me to see problems as challenges. I enjoy facing challenges.

The Beginning

This empty space is strangely intimidating, like leaning over a precipice and looking down . . . down . . . down. I'll drop a word or two and see how they land.