Thing 8 - Sharing of the Creations

Books I want to read

I created a database of all of the books that I currently am itching to read. It is a work in progress. I have a spreadsheet that I started at home of all the books I want to read. I have to say that I am likely to use this tool. I find it a great way to list the books that I would like to read and maybe even start one for the books that I have read.

After a few tries, I was able to understand the database. I had difficulty at first understanding how to input my entries. But after a while it came relatively easy for me to input my data.

The database could be used in a library. One could use it as a database for the magazines that the library subscribes to, and it could also be used for making a list of the new books/movies that the library has added to their collection.

Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

Email is a great tool. We use it in our library as a communication tool between our different branches as well as with our patrons. It's a great tool for communication with the patrons, especially when you try to call them and their phone has been disconnected. Patron will also use it as a source to communicate on renewing their overdue items. The last thing we use it for is communicating with our different branches on if a book is missing from our collection and we cannot fill their patrons hold.

I am an active user of text messaging. I tend to only text my friends quick messages that would be a rather short phone call. I have never thought of it being used in the aspect of texting a librarian. I was at one time also an active user of IM too. As I got older, I stopped using it so much. I just didn't see the point in talking to the people I just talked to like an hour ago online again. It might just be me, but I don't see the point in the IMing of friends. It is a great idea in the aspect of having Librarians available through IM. I also use Facebook a lot. I like the way that it can keep me in touch with my friends that have moved away. I tend to use Facebook instead of sending an actual email. I will use the messaging that is available or post on someone's wall.

Thing 6 - Online Image Generators

1. Three Wee Kittens, 2. Kitten attack, 3. "Free Kittens", 4. Little kitten continued

How can one use Online Image Generators in their library or media center. That is a good question. Like the latest explanation for this Thing it was mentioned that Media Specialists could use the Trading Cards to help the Media Specialist and the children to get to know each other. It could also help co-workers get to know each other. Especially for new people. I know coming into a new job just recently. It took me a while to get to know some of my co-workers. It is probably do more to the fact that I am a shy person, than not having something like a trading card to get to know them. If I was going to actually use a trading card to exchange with my coworkers, I would use a different picture. This picture makes me look like I am some sort of a lush. It was the only picture that I had a available of myself. I used the Mosaic to show how someone could use it to aid them in a display. It could help a bring a little something extra to a display that is laking something. When we do our magazine displays during the Thanksgiving holiday/Christmas season. Using a mosaic would have been a neat idea.

Thing 5 - Flickr Fun

Sharing photos online is a great thing. It makes taking your photos and uploading them more fun. I know that I enjoy uploading my photos to my facebook account in order for my friends to see them. I know that if I ever did something like Flickr, I would probably not be so public with all of my pictures. I would upload my France photos and show those off to everyone, where as a night out with my friends, I would not make those public. That is a personal decision. Just because I find it creepy when people I have no idea who they are start to comment on my personal photos. Where as the scenery photos that I took while I was in France is a different thing. If someone wants to comment on my ability of taking these photos, I'm all up for it. :o) It would be fun to see our library start a Flickr account to share photos of events and other happenings that are going on in our library. I would find it interesting to see the different photos from the events. Especially the meet the Storybook character photos. The kids meeting their favorite characters would be very fun to see.

Thing 4 - Exploring Flickr

I chose the first option when it came to the flickr account. I chose not to set up a flickr account due to the fact that I use my facebook account to backup and share my photos.

I was intrigued that the Library of Congress has a flickr account. I searched through their account and ended up looking through the photos that they have of children. I love children and tend to go towards anything that has to do with them.


Flickr

Thing 3 - RSS

I have heard the term RSS several times, and have never fully understood what they were about until now. I feel a little smarter now that I now what this is exactly. An RSS makes sense. It allows you to go to one pages and read all of the updates of the different blogs, news sites and other things that you read.

I will start to use it more frequently in my private life. I have a couple of blogs that I go to that are related to my favorite tv shows. I also have a couple of blogs that my friends do. I feel that using my RSS would aid me by cutting down the time it takes to have to go from website to website. Especially when there hasn't been any updates since the last time you have visited it.

I tried the Google Blog Search to come up with some blog to add to my RSS. I had a difficult time with it. I would put in things to add and it would come up with blog enteries that may have just mentioned the word once. I did, however, go to cnn.com and used their RSS links to subscribe to some of the areas that I tend to read that most on their website.

Thing 2 - Web 2.0

In the video Stephen Abram suggests finding 10 to 15 minutes of time to do your 23 Things. I know that it should be possible for me to do this. When the library is quiet, I know that I can pull up the 23 Things website and get a look at what the next thing is.

I am personally participating in 23 Things, because I would like to understand more of some of the technology that has come around. I hope that 23 Things will help me understand some of the things that I come across in my daily life. As well as when a patron asks me a question pertaining to some of the new technology that is available.

I am not a big internet surfer. I will go online to check email, facebook, cnn.com, a few blogs that I read, and my bank account. I don't do much more than that on the internet in my personal time. As an Library Assistant the extent of my internet use is looking up an author/title on Amazon, using NovelList and checking my work email. That is all I do when it comes to using the internet at work.

I am looking forward to understanding more about what exactly some of the new web technology are. I am also looking forward to becoming more confident in my use of the new technologies that are coming my way.

Thing 1 - Setting up the blog

This is the blog I made for 23 Things on a stick. It didn't take me that long to make it. I enjoyed trying out the different colors and stuff for it. I had a difficult time coming up with a name for it. I finally decided to just use a nickname and add 23 Things. Not very original, but it worked for me.

My avatar, in my opinion, looks nothing like me. I have shown it to my co-workers, and they all said that it looks kind of like me. The only thing was that I don't have bangs, but the Yahoo Avatar doesn't have any bobs for the hairstyle. When I showed it to my co-workers, we all had a discussion on whether everyone had put themselves in the library stacks. As far as we knew, everyone did execpt for one person. Her arguement was that she is already at a library for 40 hours a week, why would she want her avatar to be there constantly?