What was the most important thing that you learned? Why?
As far as what tools are available on the web, I learned a lot. I knew these things existed, but learning how they work and using them in an everyday context was really helpful. I've been using some of them regularly since I discovered their capabilities.
What was the most challenging exercise? Why?
I thought Flickr was pretty involved. It took me a while to find my way around it, only because there was so much to look through and so many options. I also thought Podcasts were tough because sometimes the sound clips didn't work or took a long time to load, or were basically a waste of time. I also didn't find a lot of podcasts for things I was interested in. Or maybe I just like reading articles more than listening to them.
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises?
My favorite discovery was definitely the RSS feeds! They've changed the way I get news and other information. I've been sharing articles with friends and family, and they've also picked up on RSS feeds and love it. I especially find it useful because I used to look at a lot of different eco/art/gardening/silly cat pictures/design/music/diy sites and had to go to each page individually. Now I get all the feeds in one convenient place. Also, I think I'm going to be keeping this blog going...
How can the Arcadia Public Library use these technologies to deliver or improve library services?
I've made a lot of suggestions about letting the public know about these web tools. I think it would be great if the library could create a program to teach patrons about Web 2.0. Every two weeks or so during the summer maybe, we could hold seminars regarding each tool. As far as getting younger patrons more involved, YouTube or Flickr contests would be a safe bet (and also something fun to do during the summer?).
How successful was the “self-directed” learning model? Is this a useful way of encouraging staff development?
I loved being able to go home and do this on my own time and learning as I go along, and then going to work and talking about the tools with coworkers and learning even more. No pressure, all...pleasure? Yes.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I would separate the YouTube and Podcast experiments into two different weeks. Also, I think review sites like Yelp should be incorporated. I think Yelp is useful for finding suggestions of local restaurants, shops, museums, etc. as well as for making your own suggestions. Patrons could benefit from it too.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again choose to participate?
I would, and not only in the hopes of winning something! I really enjoyed this 2.0 thing and I love giving feedback on what could be different or what could be added to improve the library. This was a lot of fun! Let's do this again soon, okay? I miss it already! *sniff* Thanks to everyone involved in this challenge!
Showing posts with label library challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library challenge. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Week Eleven: LibraryThing
Hi. I originally wanted to do a review of Yelp but I'm kind of running out of time. So here we go...my library thing is posted to the side...
What are some of the features you particularly liked?
I liked the book suggesting tool a lot. I typed in a title and received a lot of different suggestions, sorted by popularity, by what other people have in their library, by obscurity...etc. It was pretty helpful. I wish there was a place on LibraryThing where I could list books I WANT or would like to read next...
Did you find it difficult to use?
I just thought it was a little time consuming to type in book titles. Granted, it's helpful if you want to keep a record of your books, but what if someone has a huge collection? Crazyy. Also, some of the books I typed in didn't show up on their list. But that's okay.
What LibraryThing features would work well in the library's catalog?
I think the Book Suggester would be a useful tool in the library and for patrons too. Also reviews and tags.
Are there other ways the library could use LibraryThing?
The LibraryThing Local feature helps find events around your area related to books. The library could use that feature to suggest events to patrons and post those events on the blog or something.
What are some of the features you particularly liked?
I liked the book suggesting tool a lot. I typed in a title and received a lot of different suggestions, sorted by popularity, by what other people have in their library, by obscurity...etc. It was pretty helpful. I wish there was a place on LibraryThing where I could list books I WANT or would like to read next...
Did you find it difficult to use?
I just thought it was a little time consuming to type in book titles. Granted, it's helpful if you want to keep a record of your books, but what if someone has a huge collection? Crazyy. Also, some of the books I typed in didn't show up on their list. But that's okay.
What LibraryThing features would work well in the library's catalog?
I think the Book Suggester would be a useful tool in the library and for patrons too. Also reviews and tags.
Are there other ways the library could use LibraryThing?
The LibraryThing Local feature helps find events around your area related to books. The library could use that feature to suggest events to patrons and post those events on the blog or something.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Week Nine and Ten - YouTube and Podcasts
YOUTUBE
Here's the Youtube account I created for the challenge.
I really like YouTube. I've found it really useful both for getting information and being entertained. When I want visual instruction on how to play a song on guitar, I can search for someone (anyone) who posted themselves playing on YouTube and figure it out form there. A lot of people also post TV performances and interviews I can watch if I missed them when they originally aired. YouTube is probably popular because it's so user-friendly.
I favorite'd a couple of videos. This one is a Japanese game show set in a library. I found a few library-related videos, but this was my favorite. I hope this isn't a real library though...
Speaking of Japanese game shows, try searching for the "Can't Laugh" ones. Also, the most amazingly silly "game show" I've ever witnessed.
I tried Google videos too and that was helpful in searching for videos on the web as a whole, but I found that most of the videos that showed up in the Google videos search were linked to YouTube anyway.
Most interesting thing for me to learn was that NBC and YouTube aren't friends. I tried searching for clips of NBC shows and all of them were removed from YouTube.
I think the library can use YouTube to reach the younger crowd. Maybe there could be a contest during the summer with Middle to High Schoolers making videos about the library or doing book reviews or book reenactments and we could post them on the library website and people can rate them and the best one could get a prize.
PODCASTS
I found three podcasts that interested me. First, was KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast. This is a music show that airs on KCRW and features a lot of fresh music and live in-studio performances and interviews. I added this podcast to my Google Reader account because I don't listen to the radio anymore. I also listened to a "learn Spanish" podcast because I've been trying to learn. Lastly, I had a good time listening to MuggleCast which is almost obsolete now that the series is over (the Harry Potter series, that is). But they still talk about specific chapters and they have a couple of J.K. Rowling interviews.
I found libraries using podcasts for how to do better research in the library and updating on news and events. I think our library can use podcasts to make event announcements or talk about book reviews. Also, I think it would be cute to have a podcast every Sunday (recorded in advance...or Saturday evening) posted on the site that acts like a Story time for kids so parents can listen to them with their kids at home. You can include sound effects and different people doing the voices, etc. Maybe this would be good with fairytales.
That's my two cents. Or, seeing how long this week took, my fifty cents (in dimes).
Here's the Youtube account I created for the challenge.
I really like YouTube. I've found it really useful both for getting information and being entertained. When I want visual instruction on how to play a song on guitar, I can search for someone (anyone) who posted themselves playing on YouTube and figure it out form there. A lot of people also post TV performances and interviews I can watch if I missed them when they originally aired. YouTube is probably popular because it's so user-friendly.
I favorite'd a couple of videos. This one is a Japanese game show set in a library. I found a few library-related videos, but this was my favorite. I hope this isn't a real library though...
Speaking of Japanese game shows, try searching for the "Can't Laugh" ones. Also, the most amazingly silly "game show" I've ever witnessed.
I tried Google videos too and that was helpful in searching for videos on the web as a whole, but I found that most of the videos that showed up in the Google videos search were linked to YouTube anyway.
Most interesting thing for me to learn was that NBC and YouTube aren't friends. I tried searching for clips of NBC shows and all of them were removed from YouTube.
I think the library can use YouTube to reach the younger crowd. Maybe there could be a contest during the summer with Middle to High Schoolers making videos about the library or doing book reviews or book reenactments and we could post them on the library website and people can rate them and the best one could get a prize.
PODCASTS
I found three podcasts that interested me. First, was KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast. This is a music show that airs on KCRW and features a lot of fresh music and live in-studio performances and interviews. I added this podcast to my Google Reader account because I don't listen to the radio anymore. I also listened to a "learn Spanish" podcast because I've been trying to learn. Lastly, I had a good time listening to MuggleCast which is almost obsolete now that the series is over (the Harry Potter series, that is). But they still talk about specific chapters and they have a couple of J.K. Rowling interviews.
I found libraries using podcasts for how to do better research in the library and updating on news and events. I think our library can use podcasts to make event announcements or talk about book reviews. Also, I think it would be cute to have a podcast every Sunday (recorded in advance...or Saturday evening) posted on the site that acts like a Story time for kids so parents can listen to them with their kids at home. You can include sound effects and different people doing the voices, etc. Maybe this would be good with fairytales.
That's my two cents. Or, seeing how long this week took, my fifty cents (in dimes).
Monday, March 17, 2008
Week Eight - Oh, Myspace, how you torture and teach...
I AM my Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/briosapl
Basically everything on there is true.
The pros of Myspace:
- You're able to keep in touch with friends and relatives whom you can't see regularly otherwise.
- You can stay connected with musicians, stores, authors, and specific groups and get the latest news about them (Upcoming concerts, sales, books talks, art exhibits).
- You can reach out to others who have similar interests as you and make new friends.
- It's fun to spy on people through Myspace. I'm only half kidding.
The cons of Myspace:
- Strangers attempt to add you.
- You lose real, physical contact with friends by depending on Myspace too much.
- It's incredibly addicting. You can be on Myspace forever, grow pale from lack of sun, lose all human interaction skills, increase eye size and become near sighted, your lower limbs will shrivel from disuse...and so on.
- It can get annoying and creepy.
- It's not fun when people spy on you through Myspace. haha.
Social networking sites are popular because it's easy to keep in touch with people, it's easy to reach out to people, and it's easy to meet new people on the internet than it is in person sometimes. There are a lot of "serial adders" who add people just to accumulate names on their friends lists. Sad.
I've recently stopped using Myspace. It just got a little too much. What's the point of adding people when you don't even talk to them ever? You get too comfortable with the fact that since you are friends with these people on Myspace, you don't have to contact them personally. When I do check my account, it's to find news about bands I like and if they have up coming shows. And look at pictures too.
I think the library could use Myspace to reach out to the younger patrons. It's another way to advertise our services and programs and recruit volunteers. Other than that, I'm not sure how useful Myspace could be.
Basically everything on there is true.
The pros of Myspace:
- You're able to keep in touch with friends and relatives whom you can't see regularly otherwise.
- You can stay connected with musicians, stores, authors, and specific groups and get the latest news about them (Upcoming concerts, sales, books talks, art exhibits).
- You can reach out to others who have similar interests as you and make new friends.
- It's fun to spy on people through Myspace. I'm only half kidding.
The cons of Myspace:
- Strangers attempt to add you.
- You lose real, physical contact with friends by depending on Myspace too much.
- It's incredibly addicting. You can be on Myspace forever, grow pale from lack of sun, lose all human interaction skills, increase eye size and become near sighted, your lower limbs will shrivel from disuse...and so on.
- It can get annoying and creepy.
- It's not fun when people spy on you through Myspace. haha.
Social networking sites are popular because it's easy to keep in touch with people, it's easy to reach out to people, and it's easy to meet new people on the internet than it is in person sometimes. There are a lot of "serial adders" who add people just to accumulate names on their friends lists. Sad.
I've recently stopped using Myspace. It just got a little too much. What's the point of adding people when you don't even talk to them ever? You get too comfortable with the fact that since you are friends with these people on Myspace, you don't have to contact them personally. When I do check my account, it's to find news about bands I like and if they have up coming shows. And look at pictures too.
I think the library could use Myspace to reach out to the younger patrons. It's another way to advertise our services and programs and recruit volunteers. Other than that, I'm not sure how useful Myspace could be.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Week Seven - Google Docs will rule the Milky Way galaxy one day.
Mmmm Milky Way....
Here's what I published:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddqcgwsb_0f6wvr7c5
It was very easy to set up and use Google Docs. It's pretty much the same thing as opening a Word document and typing away.
I would use this regularly if I had a definite need for it. I could see potential in using it for work (spreadsheets, meetings), school (group research projects), games (cheating and tip trading), and hobbies (friends starting and circulating their own "zine").
My favorite feature was probably the "share it with others" option. But I also like that it is user-friendly and it gives you the option of republishing whenever changes are made to the document. Having documents connected to email and given such choices as being able to share and publish it on the internet opens up a lot of possibilities for what you can use it for. Google Docs can take the place of Word, Excel, and wikis, and adds group editing, easy internet publishing and sharing. And the fact that it's all connected to an email account (or a few) makes it really easily accessible.
I think the worst part of Google Docs and I guess Gmail as a whole is that they open up too many windows. If I use Firefox it's okay, but I usually use Explorer. When I log in to Gmail to check mail, let's say, that's one window. Clicking on Google Docs opens up another window, then another if I open a specific document. Visually messy, but maybe necessary? Who knows.
Google Docs can work the same way as a Wiki can, but I think Google Docs would be a better tool for Internal Library Junk (I think that's an official term :P) than a Wiki would only because it's more streamlined and simple. The public could learn about Google Docs through the library and learn how to incorporate it into their own lives accordingly. Like I said before, the variety of options it gives you allows for many usage possibilities.
Here's what I published:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddqcgwsb_0f6wvr7c5
It was very easy to set up and use Google Docs. It's pretty much the same thing as opening a Word document and typing away.
I would use this regularly if I had a definite need for it. I could see potential in using it for work (spreadsheets, meetings), school (group research projects), games (cheating and tip trading), and hobbies (friends starting and circulating their own "zine").
My favorite feature was probably the "share it with others" option. But I also like that it is user-friendly and it gives you the option of republishing whenever changes are made to the document. Having documents connected to email and given such choices as being able to share and publish it on the internet opens up a lot of possibilities for what you can use it for. Google Docs can take the place of Word, Excel, and wikis, and adds group editing, easy internet publishing and sharing. And the fact that it's all connected to an email account (or a few) makes it really easily accessible.
I think the worst part of Google Docs and I guess Gmail as a whole is that they open up too many windows. If I use Firefox it's okay, but I usually use Explorer. When I log in to Gmail to check mail, let's say, that's one window. Clicking on Google Docs opens up another window, then another if I open a specific document. Visually messy, but maybe necessary? Who knows.
Google Docs can work the same way as a Wiki can, but I think Google Docs would be a better tool for Internal Library Junk (I think that's an official term :P) than a Wiki would only because it's more streamlined and simple. The public could learn about Google Docs through the library and learn how to incorporate it into their own lives accordingly. Like I said before, the variety of options it gives you allows for many usage possibilities.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Week Six
What was your favorite feature on Flickr?
I liked the tags. I clicked on a tag for "succulents" and found out about photo clusters and ended up joining a group where people post really cool pictures of plants. Shooting in macro is amazing...
You have uploaded a photo from Flickr to your blog. Why did you choose that photo?
I uploaded a picture of one of my echeverias (it's off to the side) from my flickr account. I added it because I like it, but it doesn't look as good when it's shrunken down. The other pictures on my blog I uploaded straight from my computer. I think it's easier that way.
Why is tagging so important?
Tagging is important because it makes it easier to browse photos on flickr.
Did you explore any Flickr mashups? If so, which, and how did it work?
I tried the badge maker. You basically are able to make a personalized badge using a picture you choose and adding some information about yourself. It was fun. Maybe I'll put mine up on the blog. The color pickr was interesting, but I didn't get the hang of it.
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
Well, I thought you had to pay to join flickr, but I guess it's free. That was good to know. I really like the fact that flickr has a community feel to it. It's not just about saving your photos, you can join groups with common pictures and interests, and connect with others around the world. So it also acts as a social networking site but through photos.
What are some of the ways in which the Arcadia Public Library might use Flickr?
I think the library is doing a good job using flickr already. They can look at other libraries' photos and maybe get ideas from each them and vice versa. I noticed a comment or two on a couple of Arcadia's pictures from another library. It's nice to be able to share ideas visually.
EDIT: Though I laugh at lolcats, I think the concept is sort of degrading for the feline species. So...down with making cats use bad grammar in silly captioned pictures! Grammatical justice for kitties! *fisted paw of solidarity in the air*
I liked the tags. I clicked on a tag for "succulents" and found out about photo clusters and ended up joining a group where people post really cool pictures of plants. Shooting in macro is amazing...
You have uploaded a photo from Flickr to your blog. Why did you choose that photo?
I uploaded a picture of one of my echeverias (it's off to the side) from my flickr account. I added it because I like it, but it doesn't look as good when it's shrunken down. The other pictures on my blog I uploaded straight from my computer. I think it's easier that way.
Why is tagging so important?
Tagging is important because it makes it easier to browse photos on flickr.
Did you explore any Flickr mashups? If so, which, and how did it work?
I tried the badge maker. You basically are able to make a personalized badge using a picture you choose and adding some information about yourself. It was fun. Maybe I'll put mine up on the blog. The color pickr was interesting, but I didn't get the hang of it.
What was the most interesting thing you learned?
Well, I thought you had to pay to join flickr, but I guess it's free. That was good to know. I really like the fact that flickr has a community feel to it. It's not just about saving your photos, you can join groups with common pictures and interests, and connect with others around the world. So it also acts as a social networking site but through photos.
What are some of the ways in which the Arcadia Public Library might use Flickr?
I think the library is doing a good job using flickr already. They can look at other libraries' photos and maybe get ideas from each them and vice versa. I noticed a comment or two on a couple of Arcadia's pictures from another library. It's nice to be able to share ideas visually.
EDIT: Though I laugh at lolcats, I think the concept is sort of degrading for the feline species. So...down with making cats use bad grammar in silly captioned pictures! Grammatical justice for kitties! *fisted paw of solidarity in the air*
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wiki-Wiki Week Fiiiiive
I've used wikipedia, and I've used a wiki. The wiki I used was for this online game called Urban Dead which is about a zombie apocalypse. Yes.
I think wikis are reliable and valuable. It depends on the situation. For school, wikis wouldn't be the best choice for getting information - general information is okay, but I wouldn't use wikis or wikipedia to write a paper about heteronormativity in American culture. Or whatever.
But for games, wikis are great. The Urban Dead wiki I used was helpful for players because any player could update the status of a given suburb (this one's full of zombies and therefore dangerous for humans, etc.) People can also add where to get help, post where to find support and revive points if you get turned into a zombie, zombie meeting points, maps....you get the idea. I also noticed that wikis are good for keeping up with TV shows, books, bands, movies and other entertainment.
I added to the favorite foods (green tea and oreos), movies (Amelie, Royal Tenenbaums, the Harry Potter movies), music (Beatles, Radiohead, blues), restaurants (GIn Sushi, Hurry Curry, In-N-Out, Sam Woo, SOuplantation, Zankou Chicken), and TV shows (Project Runway, Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks). It was pretty easy. Just click and type.
For the library, wikis could be useful for keeping employees updated on certain regulations maybe. Since we all don't work at the same time, a wiki would be a good place to "get things straight". For example, as a shelver, sometimes I see fiction titles that start with numbers shelved two different ways - a book called "23rd Precinct" could go before the A titles as a numeral or under the T for twenty-third. A wiki could be a place where everyone can check to see they're doing things the same way. It could also help supervisors to not have to reiterate changes in the library with part time staff as they come in every few hours.
For the public, library wikis can be set up for reading groups, especially during the summer for adults and kids.
I think wikis are reliable and valuable. It depends on the situation. For school, wikis wouldn't be the best choice for getting information - general information is okay, but I wouldn't use wikis or wikipedia to write a paper about heteronormativity in American culture. Or whatever.
But for games, wikis are great. The Urban Dead wiki I used was helpful for players because any player could update the status of a given suburb (this one's full of zombies and therefore dangerous for humans, etc.) People can also add where to get help, post where to find support and revive points if you get turned into a zombie, zombie meeting points, maps....you get the idea. I also noticed that wikis are good for keeping up with TV shows, books, bands, movies and other entertainment.
I added to the favorite foods (green tea and oreos), movies (Amelie, Royal Tenenbaums, the Harry Potter movies), music (Beatles, Radiohead, blues), restaurants (GIn Sushi, Hurry Curry, In-N-Out, Sam Woo, SOuplantation, Zankou Chicken), and TV shows (Project Runway, Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks). It was pretty easy. Just click and type.
For the library, wikis could be useful for keeping employees updated on certain regulations maybe. Since we all don't work at the same time, a wiki would be a good place to "get things straight". For example, as a shelver, sometimes I see fiction titles that start with numbers shelved two different ways - a book called "23rd Precinct" could go before the A titles as a numeral or under the T for twenty-third. A wiki could be a place where everyone can check to see they're doing things the same way. It could also help supervisors to not have to reiterate changes in the library with part time staff as they come in every few hours.
For the public, library wikis can be set up for reading groups, especially during the summer for adults and kids.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Week Four - Del.icio.us
If I knew of something like Del.icio.us when I was still in school, I would've used it. When I worked on projects and was using a school computer, I would copy and paste each URL I needed onto an email and send it to myself. It was a huge hassle and it got confusing. With social bookmarking, you can search directly from the site for relevent articles, tag them, make notes on it, put a label on it, and organize it all. It's so efficient. So it's definitely a great tool to use for research, especially when you're working on multiple projects at once.
Since I'm not in school anymore, yes, it's still useful as a bookmarking site. I pretty much go to the same websites all the time and memorize their URLs, but through tagging I can "favorite" specific pages or articles that are important. It makes your favorite sites easily accessible from everywhere and I like the convenience factor.
Public tags can be useful but it can also be time-consuming going through other people's tags and you never know when you'll find something useful. It might help when doing research. I'll try it again and see later.
I'll keep my del.icio.us account to keep random pages I want to remember. But I'm so used to just copy/pasting URLs onto emails and sending them to myself. Those buttons I installed onto the tool bar are pretty helpful though...
As for the library, I think it could use bookmarking sites somehow. I'm always thinking about how these tools can help connect the library with patrons...in this case, I'm not sure del.icio.us would be of much use for that. But I think the library should at least let patrons know about social bookmarking and its capabilities, especially students. Flyers would be good, or even better, there could be a little auditorium event to teach people about it. Or make a series of events that go through each Web 2.0 thing. I don't know if that's realistic or not though.
Since I'm not in school anymore, yes, it's still useful as a bookmarking site. I pretty much go to the same websites all the time and memorize their URLs, but through tagging I can "favorite" specific pages or articles that are important. It makes your favorite sites easily accessible from everywhere and I like the convenience factor.
Public tags can be useful but it can also be time-consuming going through other people's tags and you never know when you'll find something useful. It might help when doing research. I'll try it again and see later.
I'll keep my del.icio.us account to keep random pages I want to remember. But I'm so used to just copy/pasting URLs onto emails and sending them to myself. Those buttons I installed onto the tool bar are pretty helpful though...
As for the library, I think it could use bookmarking sites somehow. I'm always thinking about how these tools can help connect the library with patrons...in this case, I'm not sure del.icio.us would be of much use for that. But I think the library should at least let patrons know about social bookmarking and its capabilities, especially students. Flyers would be good, or even better, there could be a little auditorium event to teach people about it. Or make a series of events that go through each Web 2.0 thing. I don't know if that's realistic or not though.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Week Three - RSS feeds
Which five blogs did I subscribe to?
Ektopia
KPCC's Southern California News
LA Times Lakers News
NOTCOT.org
Economist
National Geographic
Which method of finding feeds did I find easiest to use?
I think Google Reader was the easiest. I like how they show how active each feed is, and how many other people subscribe to it.
Going through the LA Times site was really cool because you're able to subscribe to certain sections of the paper.
Technorati and Syndic8.com were...weird. I thought I could find really specific feeds through these sites, but most of the results were barely active blogs...not worth subscribing to.
Do I think that I'll continue to use my Google Reader account to stay up to date with information or news?
I mentioned in the Week 1 post that maybe I'll find another internet thing to get addicted to, and I found it. Sooo that's a YES. I love RSS feeds now. I've subscribed to a million feeds and read each one. I can barely manage to leave the computer. . .
How could the library make use of RSS feeds?
I think the library should create its own feed so that patrons could subscribe to it and keep up to date on library events/news/planning. I don't know how the feeds work, but if there's a way to make the APL blog into a feed, that would get more people to read it more frequently. Also, the APL blog should put links up to RSS feeds that might interest readers, like book reviews. And then the library itself can subscribe to relevent library/book/magazine related feeds....
But the library should definitely post a blog about how to sign up for RSS feeds.
Ektopia
KPCC's Southern California News
LA Times Lakers News
NOTCOT.org
Economist
National Geographic
Which method of finding feeds did I find easiest to use?
I think Google Reader was the easiest. I like how they show how active each feed is, and how many other people subscribe to it.
Going through the LA Times site was really cool because you're able to subscribe to certain sections of the paper.
Technorati and Syndic8.com were...weird. I thought I could find really specific feeds through these sites, but most of the results were barely active blogs...not worth subscribing to.
Do I think that I'll continue to use my Google Reader account to stay up to date with information or news?
I mentioned in the Week 1 post that maybe I'll find another internet thing to get addicted to, and I found it. Sooo that's a YES. I love RSS feeds now. I've subscribed to a million feeds and read each one. I can barely manage to leave the computer. . .
How could the library make use of RSS feeds?
I think the library should create its own feed so that patrons could subscribe to it and keep up to date on library events/news/planning. I don't know how the feeds work, but if there's a way to make the APL blog into a feed, that would get more people to read it more frequently. Also, the APL blog should put links up to RSS feeds that might interest readers, like book reviews. And then the library itself can subscribe to relevent library/book/magazine related feeds....
But the library should definitely post a blog about how to sign up for RSS feeds.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Weeks One and Two
So. In all honesty, I initially wanted to participate because of the so-called "incentives."
BUT.
I do think that this challenge would be a good experience. It would be nice to share ideas with each other, especially concerning how to utilize internet capabilities within the library. I'd like to learn more about what the internet has to offer. I can peruse wikipedia and youtube endlessly...maybe I'm looking for the next big webthing to get addicted to.
Setting up the blog wasn't that hard, but I'd like to fiddle around with it more and make it look interesting. I see myself becoming a regular blogger only if I find something consistently worthwhile to blog about. Cats. Cactus. The history of my hair. You know. The important stuff. =)
I think the library can use its blog to keep the community updated with local news and events. Maybe suggest places to go during the weekends like museums or exhibits...there could be weekly book suggestions and reviews written by staff members (personally, I'm very curious about what other library employees read).
BUT.
I do think that this challenge would be a good experience. It would be nice to share ideas with each other, especially concerning how to utilize internet capabilities within the library. I'd like to learn more about what the internet has to offer. I can peruse wikipedia and youtube endlessly...maybe I'm looking for the next big webthing to get addicted to.
Setting up the blog wasn't that hard, but I'd like to fiddle around with it more and make it look interesting. I see myself becoming a regular blogger only if I find something consistently worthwhile to blog about. Cats. Cactus. The history of my hair. You know. The important stuff. =)
I think the library can use its blog to keep the community updated with local news and events. Maybe suggest places to go during the weekends like museums or exhibits...there could be weekly book suggestions and reviews written by staff members (personally, I'm very curious about what other library employees read).
After this challenge is over, if some of our blogs remain active, they should be linked to the main APL blog. That would encourage people to get more involved with the library maybe.
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