I have enjoyed the explorations of 23 Learning 2.o Things. I have discovered some new technologies, revisited some old friends and gained some organizational and time saving tools along the way. Google reader, Zotero and Delicious are the top three discoveries I have incorporated into my daily routine. I also think that this exercise should be used outside of just Library Science studies. I think students of all kinds and faculty could benefit from exposure to these various web 2.o tools. Incorporating these exercises into information literacy classes could be one way to get the word out to students that there are useful tools to keep them organized and up to date. A more proactive approach to teaching web 2.0 will better serve students about to embark on their college career or assist people in their daily lives.
My experience with this list demonstrates to me just how much technology there is available and how important it is to find a way to wade through so much possibility and embrace what works best for each individual. The idea of just how "bombarded" we are with technology really hit home now that I have completed this list. I think that it can be a serious stumbling block for a lot of people not born into the digital age. It can be intimidating and overwhelming when we begin to experience the vast expanse of technology. Librarians are gateways to all types of knowledge and technology should be included. User friendly introductions can go all long way to a positive relationship with our brave new world.

And the award goes to..............

The Web 2.0 winner and Ami award winner for social media mainstay is Twitter! I have been using Twitter for a few years now and I am utterly ADDICTED. I use it by far more than any other social network and that's because it has it all! Hard news, cultural news and events, opinion, music information, art updates AND I can conduct witty banter with all my friends. What more can you ask for in a social media network? As far as libraries, it's a great way to get out your message. Tweet about library services, upcoming events and maybe even feature various materials in your library. You can add pictures or your location to subtly get information to people. Tweeting from the Central Branch of BECPL can subliminally plant ideas in your followers and they will find themselves compelled to visit the library. Organizations can tweet updates and information(SPARC), technology websites tweet the latest and greatest in technology(Mashable) and media outlets can tweet the latest headlines(NPR.)
OK now go on start your Tweeting and follow me at ami70 if you dare.................

Library 2.0

I don't like black and white thinking. I think the answer is almost always a shade of gray. And I think the Library 2.0 is no exception. The idea of forsaking everything for technology is not a good idea in my opinion. But we must keep up with user needs, what patrons need and want from their library is key to staying relevant. I think it is a fine line that libraries walk in these digital days. I liked what librarian blooger Michael Stephens had to say about the new world of librarianship, “the Library is human” because it makes the library a social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience." I think the library as a social place is a very important theme and we should not forget that the library is a fellow member of the community that people look to for support and experience. We must not forsake our library community for cybraries that merely give patrons access to hardware and software. Libraries should help patrons move along and get along in the world using the latest technology tools but should do so in a human and engaging environment. Librarians should be inherently aware of the need for moderation between technology and humanity. In this time of transition, as libraries try to find their place in our digital world we should work hard to ensure that we remain an organic part of the community.

Another great discovery, Zotero!

I had seen Zotero on library computers, watched other people use Zotero but had never tried it myself. Until today. Now I can count on Zotero for the rest of my days as a graduate student! The usefulness of this tool is endless. No more will I clutter up my email or my desktop with random notes of article citations or links to books I need. I now have a great web 2.0 tool to keep my research organized and help me collect good articles as I discover them. There are a lot of features to Zotero and I have probably only looked at half of them but just the basics are really helpful. The ability to label the item you want to bookmark is nice so you know at a glance if the citation is a book, article or website. You can also add notes to each item so you remember exactly what it is you liked about the material. Using the groups, you can keep things together according to topics or courses. I think that all library computers should have Zotero access and librarians should be promoting it in information literacy classes. Students should be exposed to this tool early in their college career so they can reap the benefits in every paper they write. When I write my next paper it is a good bet I will be using Zotero to keep me organized and on top of things! Take a look at a few things I posted into my new Zotero account.........
http://www.zotero.org/amilake/items

Rollyo

I had not even heard of Rollyo before this exploration so this was a brand new discovery. I searched around and looked at some searchrolls on various topics and decided to create my own searchroll with some librarian technology type blogs. It was a very easy process to create a search and really easy to register for an account. The user friendly interface and simple set up would make this great for anyone to use. A library could set up a search for book recommendations or a librarian could set up a search of citation sites or research sources pages for an information literacy class. I can see a lot uses for a tool like this in a library or even in a classroom. Check out my search here....
http://rollyo.com/amil/library_techno_blogs/

LibraryThing is kinda my thing

I am a bit surprised I did not know about LibraryThing before my introduction through this exploration. It is just the kind of tool I would use to discover new books to read and share good reads with my friends. I really enjoyed discovering LibraryThing and learning the features and capabilities. I added some of my favorite books and looked for some interesting things to read during the holiday break. I read many of the recommendations made for me and I enjoyed reading many reviews. LibraryThing was a very useful and enjoyable exploration! Check out my profile
http://www.librarything.com/home/amiL

The Amazing Adventures of Google

As much as I use Google on a daily basis, there are a few products I haven't used or explored. So this exercise was the perfect opportunity to check out something new in the Google realm. I somewhat reluctantly decided to check out Google Books. I am not fully sold on the idea of digital books. I believe they can be a useful addition to print books but by no means do I believe that only digital versions should exist. I think the lack of true ownership as well as the tactile experience of the physical book are key missing elements in digital forms. But that being said, I do think that digitalized forms of books, magazines and documents are an important research tool and can be a valuable asset in the library. I started exploring Google Books and was very quickly hooked. The back issues of magazines have clear color pictures and the text is clear and easy to read. The books have color cover images and story summaries and links to various sites to purchase. It is definitely an application I will use again.
I also decided to explore Google Earth. This is a very fascinating and addictive tool for looking at cities, buildings and maps of anywhere! You can check out your own city or street or look at a city across the globe. This is great to show kids in a school library or to show anyone in a public library. This is a tool that can help people explore places they would never be able to see otherwise. I will be spending a lot more time with Google Earth!

Google Docs

As I have stated before in this blog, I am a big fan of almost all of the Google tools and I have also used Google Docs in my previous library experience with very good results. We shared meeting notes, desk schedules and detailed "how to's" for the Circulation desk. As another collaborative tool it was invaluable for sharing information. The connection to Gmail and Google calendar was also extremely helpful for keeping organized and informed about everything happening in the library.

Woohoo for Wikis!

I have had some previous experience with wikis and find them to be quite useful in a library setting. The examples we looked at for this exploration are of course really great ways to use a wiki, I especially liked the public library page with lists of their classes and helpful hints for the public trying to get a grasp on all of the web 2.o tools out there. I also like the simple set up and design of the page. I think for the variety of people using a public library a simple, easy to follow design would be the most user friendly. The collaboration aspects of a wiki are also very intriguing. Collaborative tools benefit not only public libraries with shrinking budgets for staff but also in an academic setting where librarians work together on reference questions, teaching plans and a variety of projects. It seems there are a lot of pragmatic uses for wikis including conference information. It's really the perfect way to disseminate information about presentations, locations of interesting exhibits, vendors can share information and participants can share restaurant discoveries and impromptu gatherings. So far through the list of 23 Things I find wikis to be one with the most potential for regular and steady use.

Three cheers for Technorati

The number of blogs on the web is astonishing. Seems everyone has something to say. And you want to know how to find useful, intelligence, knowledgeable and entertaining blogs to read?? Well look no further, Technorati is your answer. You will need some time to sit and meander through the vast landscape of available reads but I assure you something will definitely pique your interest. Every subject on Earth is covered in a blog and they very nicely catalog them at Technorati. I started with a search of learning 2.0 and found a great blog called Mashable. They blog about and report on all of the latest web 2.0 technologies. I also searched for some entertainment blogs to keep current on all the latest gossip! I found LaineyGossip to inform of the latest celeb news. You can find blogs on fashion, international news, books and reading, feminism, art, even parenting. This site seems so useful for librarians. If you are public librarian you could help patrons connect to so many other voices and if you are in the academic realm you can help faculty and students connect to academic association blogs as well as fellow members of their academic community. I think Technorati is a very valuable tool for any information professional.

Delic

After exploring the bookmarking site Delicious for this assignment as well as using it for other classes, I find I have mixed feelings on the site. I think as a bookmarking site that I can access from any computer it is a great tool. To easily find bookmarked pages at my work computer, home computer or at a library computer is very convienient and a useful time saver. I would definetly use this site for that purpose on a regular basis. As far as the use of tags, I have conflicted ideas. In theory it seems to be a great idea and a way to take social networking to a very useful level. But, I know I do not use tagging in any regular or meaningful way in my daily work on the web. For me and many others I have questioned, using tagging is just not a part of their daily research activities. In many ways it seems like just one more thing to add to the already overwhelming variety of web 2.0 tools and offerings. I imagine so many different ways tagging could be used in an academic library setting specifically in regards to reference but I really feel it is a tool that is not used by the majority specifically the average undergrad or grad in a university setting. For example a reference librarian I know was very excited to use tagging in an effort to help student with their researching needs. She felt it would be a great tool to lead them to valuable and relevant sources but the students didn't use it and she never saw the hopeful results she anticipated.

Finding the feed

What to follow, what to follow and where do I begin??
Tried Syndic8, not a fan. Unclear interface, confusing ways to search, categories to broad. Not getting me where I needed to go.
Topix.net wasn't for me either, too narrow, don't like how it intuits where you are and chooses possibilities for you. Not a helpful interface, almost too simple. It too did not get me where I needed to go.
Moved on to Technorati. Liked it. Good categories, found a variety of things to follow. Everything from gossip sites to librarian blogs to sports blogs. Informative, easy to use with good choices.
I found searching Google Reader to be most helpful for finding items to subscribe. I typed in a topic of interest and received good results, in some ways the most efficient method I tried.
I now have plenty of hot topics to catch up on!

RSS feeds are my friend

I am a fan of pretty much any Google device and the Google Reader does not disappoint. Easy to set up, easy to search for feeds, and easy to check on a daily basis(I pop right into the Reader after I check my Gmail.) I like the whole concept of RSS feeds in many ways. I don't have to remember to check all of my favorite sites everyday and with the feeder I can scroll through to pick and choose what I want to spend my time reading. In some ways it works for me like Twitter, which is invaluable to me on a daily basis. I get news, organizational information as well as personal updates, I rely on the feed to keep me aware of what is going on in the world and RSS feeds just enhance that even more.

It's easy to see how all types of libraries could use RSS feeds to inform patrons of everything going on in the library. The arrival of new books, events, hours, workshops the possibilities are endless. I hope the awareness of this service spreads even further into the mainstream.

Librivox

Open access is an idea I have a lot of interest in researching so this was an exploration I found informative. I admire the premise the Librivox. I appreciate the idea that anyone with internet access could have access to audiobooks. I did find the Librivoc catalog somewhat limited though. I understand it is a constantly evolving process but the selections available were not as broad as I would hope. Browsing with my personal taste as a guide, I probably would not use this site very often. But I will definitely check back to view the progress of the catalog

Podcastalley, I'm not a fan......

I am fully familiar with podcasts, I actually listen and subscribe to many, so I am not a novice. My preferred method of listening and looking for them is iTunes. Now, I am not an avid cheerleader for iTunes in general, I have spent wayyyy too much time trying to fix problems and learn how to maintain my music library to blindly declare my love for this software BUT as far as searching for, downloading and listening to podcasts, it is by far simpler and user friendly than Podcastalley. When I searched in Podcastalley I found so many outdated podcasts, not a great selection and unhelpful broad search categories. I spent too much time trying to find just one podcast that I found interesting. I glanced at the other suggested sites but wasn't happy with those either. It was a fairly frustrating exercise so searched for another directory on my own and discovered podcast.com. I found it immediately helpful and I loved the transparency of how to use the site. Not only is the interface easy to maneuver but you have the option of listening immediately without downloading or you can download and subscribe. I loved the choice of listening method and the choice pf podcasts. The searching categories were a bit narrower and made sense and the offerings were up to date. Ultimately I will continue to use iTunes for my personal podcast listening but I would use podcast.com as second choice. I will definitely not be using Podcastalley ever again.
I have included a link to an informative podcast that interviews librarians currently working in the field on a variety of current library topics. Great way to hear practical knowledge from those with first hand experience.

Depravity on YouTube

After meandering around YouTube for awhile observing dogs on treadmills, old music videos and tutorials on everything from how to french braid hair to use Microsoft Word I decided to look up a library hot topic of the moment. I searched Banned Books Week and found a few great videos. Some spoofed the idea of banning books, some listed book that have been banned but this one was my favorite. A retro video informing the viewer of the "depravity" taking over American news stands, the dissemination of filth!
In all seriousness though it is easy to see how YouTube could be a great technological tool for information literacy and connecting to patrons. Easily accessible, user friendly and open access mean the possibilities are endless. For patrons unfamiliar with how to use a library a YouTube video could be a non-threatening introduction to a whole new world.

Trading cards are fun!

I explored the world of creating your own trading cards and mashups. It was a fun project and I can definitely see how these programs could be used in a public library setting. Visuals to intrigue to public users of a library website are a great way to grab the patrons attention. These programs could also be fun to teach patrons taking computer classes in a public library setting. I made a trading card of my dog Otis, he liked it when I showed it to him!

Flickr Fun

So instead of capturing my library branch in Flickr, I have captured the place where I do my best work, Spot Coffee! I can set up shop and consume caffeine while tackling my mountains of school work! I find it the perfect place really, if I am hungry, there is food. If I need caffeine there is coffee, if I need a mental break, I always see a friend to chat with and I have a table all to myself! The library can be a quiet oasis for study but Spot Coffee is my productive palace!

Techno

So hello and welcome to my technical explorations. This is my first experience setting up my own blog and I have to say the set up was quite simple and fun. I have worked a lot in various Google tools and I find them all very intuitive and user friendly, perfect for those who have some technology experience but not a wide in depth knowledge. I look forward to tackling some new areas of technology in class. I have to admit I am a bit nervous to use Dreamweaver, it seems fairly complicated and my first experiences were not the best. I would actually like to explore the new open access templates for web building such as Drupal. I have read a bit about them and they seem to be the "new big thing."
Well I guess it's time for onward and upward..........