Thing 23 - On Line Evaluation

I just finished 23 Things on a Stick and found it to be one of the most amazing classes I've taken in a long time. I'd like our library staff to start recording books they've read in The LibraryThing to help us with readers advisory and think it would be fun to have our own blog that the public can contribute to: (Book Discussion Groups, Favorite Books, etc.) Now that I'm finished with the course I plan on going back and reviewing what I've learned and doing the challenge projects. My kids even congratulated me on joining them in the new century!

Thing 22 - What did I learn today?

I've added a few RSS links to my homepage from the list on 23Things
Lifehacker
43 folders
Go2Web
Web2List

But my favorite way of keeping up is to continue taking classes on:
WebJunction Minnesota
OPAL
Webinars from Minitex

Thing 21 - Social Networks

As a knitter I found 'Crafsters' Knitalong interesting. Lots of patterns, knitting challenges etc. I liked the looks of 'Bake Off' the page design was clean and easy to use.

Thing 20 - Libraries and Social Networking

I now have a FaceBook page under Margaret Stoffers but found that not a lot of people my age also have pages. This is the best kept secret of Teens.

I joined:
Libraries Using FaceBook Pages
Librarians and FaceBook

I'd like to learn more about how to use FaceBook in the library and was intrigued by the ideas Hennepin County has on their MySpace page.

I can see where this would be a great way to communicate with family and friends.

I like the glitz and possibilities available with MySpace. It looks like you could create a lot more interesting page for Teens.

Thing 19 - Podcasts

I listened to a Podcast on Children's Literature under 'Memoirs for School Library Media'. The one I thought was the easiest to use was 'Podcast Net'. I liked the way it was grouped by subject area (must be the librarian in me) it made it easier to find what I wanted. I don't think I'd be inspired to do my own podcast but I can see it would be great if I had and Ipod.

Things 18 - YouTube and Other Online Video

When I first heard the 'Yes, We Can' speak I was impressed with much he made me think of the speeches of Martin Luther King. In a time where people are losing their homes and jobs and the economy is having problems it gives you hope.

I think it may be better for 'YouTube' to be taken over by 'google' so they can clean up the site

Creating and posting a video on the library would be a great project for a teen group.

Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

I've taken a couple courses on using these databases but wasn't aware of creating the web page. It was so easy and I'm thinking we could use it to track updates on gaming in the library, helpful articles on hard to find information for student projects and readers advisory.

Things 16 - Student 2.0 Web Tools

We have a couple of projects underway we'll be promoting this:

"Search the GRRL Website" class in April for students

An in-service we'll be doing for teachers at the school district

I can also see it being helpful when planning the 'customer service' track for All Staff Day training.

We've been given information about both web sites but I like the idea of asking IT to add it to the Teen Zone area of our web site.

Thing 15 - Online Games and Libraries

I tried Second Life and now understand why my son was so wrapped up in the virtual world. You can be anyone and try anything. It takes a lot of skill to understand all aspects of the game and I give people a lot of credit for understanding it enough to work their way around.

I can see our 'Teen Group' at the library getting involved in Second Life and with any luck they could teach me more on how to use it.

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

I love LibraryThing! I've been tracking what I read for several years now but this is so much more convenient to use. With a spreadsheet your constantly trying to sort. With paper and pencil you can never find what you've read because there's no way of sorting and you never have your journal with you when you need it. This gives me access anytime, anywhere.

I can see creating a staff favorites LibraryThings that could be shared with the public. We recently added a 'staff favorites' cart by the front desk and although the books are popular we can't keep up with demand. This would allow patrons to see what everyone is reading and place holds.

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

We've been using the iGoogle homepage for quite awhile at home. I like all the options it gives you weather, date, time, to do list etc. I'll continue to use it as my permanent home page because all the information I need is in one place and I have access anywhere. I like the to-do list feature for long term goals and use sticky notes for issues I need to deal with quickly.

We've been using a yahoo calendar to track our community room schedule and sub dates for several years now, it works great.

I like backpack for planning a trip because you have all the information you need in one place. I also think it would be helpful for team meetings.

Thing 12 - Do You Digg

I didn't realize that something like this existed. It was interesting to explore but I don't think I'd read news articles based on popularity. I'm not sure if this would be useful for work.

I tried sharing an article from the New York Times on Reddit.

Thing 11 - Tagging and Del.icio.us

I would love this for planning trips, planning knitting projects and research for work. I love the idea of having access to link anywhere, anytime. There have been so many times when I've been working on programming at home and the links to my research are on my computer at work.

In the past we've bookmarked sites that we thought would be helpful to the public. Have tags would make those links much easier to find.

This is a VERY useful tool!

Thing 10 - Wikis

We created a Wiki for the staff at our branch as a way to communicate important information. Example:
New policies it's important you remember.
Problems with a patron account.
Where you put information for a patron that will be in to pick it up the next day.
We like the idea that you can limit access to just the staff at our facility.

I can see improving on our Wiki by adding favorite books we've read as a form of readers advisory. I loved the Hennepin County Wiki!

I edited the 23 Things Wiki

Thing 9 - Online Collaboration Tools

I can see where both would advantageous but I'd prefer Google Docs. No particular reason I just felt more comfortable with the format. I'm not sure how I'd use this is in my job but I can see personal applications for example a genealogy project with family.

Thing 8 - Share Your Creations

I can see showing candid shots taken during the summer projected on the big screen during the end of the 'Summer Reading Program' party. I can also see it being used for a Teen program. Let them take digital pictures throughout the community then using the library internet stations to design and show their work.

Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

As a member of the training team for GRRL we've discussed a lot of these techniques as money saving devices. Our region is spead out over such a large area that a big portion of the training budget is spent on mileage and travel time. We've taken advantage of WebJunction and Webinars but are still in discussion stages of Webcasting. I would love to see us going in that direction in the future. I like the ease of using Webinars, you can take the class anywhere at anytime.

I like the instant response time of e-mail and the ability to check for messages from home, vacation, office etc. I usually take the same approach to e-mail as I do to mail, touch it once; deal with it or delete it.

A fellow staff member took an online class on 'Serving Teens In the Library' and shared that I've we're going to keep up with teen service we have to look at text messaging as a form of communication

Thing 6 - Online Image Generators

You have created a monster! I love this. As you can see it's a great way to advertise the summer reading program for 2008 'Look What's Cookin' At Your Library'.

I love the idea of Carlton Colleges trading cards. Since our staff is spread throughout the region it would be a good way for us to get to know each other on 'All Staff Day'

Thing 5 - More Flickr Fun

I was trying to make this more complicated then it was! This would be great for making signs. I stumbled across a page with more letters than what show up on the first page of 'Spell With Flickr' but I'm not sure how to put the letters together - I'll have to play with this more tomorrow.

Thing 4 - Photosharing with Flickr

This is amazing! I've heard about this but had no idea what it was all about. This would have been a great way to promote the Adult Winter Reading program on the city web site. They could just click on the picture for more information on the program.

This picture by Iscan represents my interest in collecting vintage cracker jack prizes.

Thing 3 - RSS Account

I can see you need to closely monitor the feeds you subscribe to or it could get out of control. Just the few things I subscribed to had 58 feeds in a matter of minutes. I had trouble with the 'Readers Club' review so I'll work on that more later.

I can see using it at work to keep up to date on best sellers and helping the public with Readers Advisory. For my personal life I can learn about my interest in heirloom and lace knitting.

Thing 2 - What Is Library 2.0?

I decided to participate in '23 Things on a Stick' so I could learn more about new technology and the future of Library Service; todays lesson helped on both fronts.

I can see Library 2.0 in the use of collection development. With the addition of MnLink we now have access to collections of libraries throughout the state of Minnesota and no longer feel a need to have EVERYTHING on our shelves. With just a few clicks that information is at your fingertips.

Thing 1 - Setting Up A Blog

Wow! You could play with this for hours, there are so many options available.

23 Things On A Stick