The End

I have one suggestion for an additional topic. I love the concept of online lists. They can take different forms. Check out the following:

Meosphere: This is like a giant To Do list of life-long goals. Keep track of places you've been, things you've seen, and connect with people who've done the same.

Backpack: This site is a more active version of the To Do list. This is a place to keep track of goals, projects, and to make plans. You can be as descriptive as you want, add pictures, share the information with others and, of course, take part in another online community.

I'll find it helpful to use these sites and others like them that offer additional opportunities to plan, organize and control our often chaotic lives.

I'm Telling ...

I thought this was a great program. First, it created a dialogue between staff members about the library and the future and our place in both. I think it created excitement and interest among staff members who perhaps were reluctant to explore some aspects of the rapidly changing web. I know that it hooked me into some new technologies and web-related offerings that I was ignorant of. I feel like I'm more conversant in the technology and better prepared to answer questions and help patrons who are using these tools.

I've always been a believer in life-long learning, but sometimes things are happening so fast at the library that I haven't applied this belief to my work. My days tend to be really busy, so even when people were asking for information about MySpace or others, I didn't have time to spend researching and learning. This program created an at-work opportunity to explore and learn.

I enjoyed many of the exercises and discoveries that we were encouraged to do. It's hard to come up with favorites, because I was intrigued by so much, but I'm now a regular user of flickr, rss and Library Thing. The things I think I'll be using shortly are the online software, a personal blog and just lots more exploration. One thing this program taught me is how fast innovation happens on the web and how lightly we have scraped the surface. I want to see more!

I would love to see KCLS provide more learning opportunities like this one. As a staff member without a professional degree, I really enjoyed exploring the business of libraries at a completely different level than I do in my day-to-day work. I would definitely recommend this program to all staff. I'd certainly do it again!

Video

YouTube is addictive ... I am fascinated by the creativity of some people and what others think might interest us (but doesn't). I love the potential for use this has in the library system for connecting with our users, with non-traditional users, and with other library systems. I chose a short video to post here. It's just a cute little thing that kind of goes with our cluster's fascination with Cute Overload.

Well, I'm not sure where I went wrong with this ... No YouTube video is appearing. I'm going to keep working on this one. But, I did add an RSS to my Bloglines account for the Los Angeles Public Library. They have lots of author forums and interesting things going on, so I think I'll keep tabs on what they're up to. Check it out at KCET Podcast: ALOUD at the Central Library.

My Own Adventure!

I used the Web 2.0 Awards link and browsed around. I found a few that I'd like to share.

Under the category Visual Arts, I tried Color Blender. I'm always looking at colors as I need to paint at home. This was pretty cool! I liked the way I could select a color and this app would automatically select a family of colors to go with the color I selected.

Next was the Organize category. I looked at Backpack. If you're a list-maker, like I (sometimes) am, this would be an ideal way to take your list with you wherever you go. I could see using this site in a million different ways!

That category led me to the next one down, Philanthropy. Here I chose Be Green. Use this site to calculate how large your 'carbon footprint' is and discover ways to offset it. Love it!

I don't think any of these sites would necessarily be of any use to KCLS, but they sure could be of use to me (and my co-workers, too).

Google Labs

Well, this was fun. I tried a bunch of applications, some still in beta and some that are grads. These are pretty nifty. I did like Google Trends - not sure how I would use it, but very intriguing to see. Google Voice Local Search looks very interesting. I can see using this from my cell phone - looks like it could save me money, too. Google music trends was fun to look at. I tried out Google transit to see what my options were for commuting to work via public transit. According to Google, my best option is to leave the house at 7:30 in order to get to work by 9:00. I think I'll stick with the 10 minute drive.

Online Software

I feel like I'm just ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything, but I think I'll definitely use one of these or something similar. My laptop is languishing because I've been reluctant to spend hundreds of dollars on basic software for it. Solution! I'll use online applications to create documents, spreadsheets, and more! Love it!

Library 2.0

I'm gettin' it, I'm gettin' it. I read through the series of articles and I can see how Library 2.0 intersects with this program and some of the directions KCLS is taking. As a former formal student of technology I'm familiar with how rapidly change occurs in the online world. This holds true for the library as well as we are drawn toward Web 2.0 and beyond. No more resting on our laurels or other assets. Full speed ahead! The future calls ...

Custom Search Engines

I've tried out the custom search engines. Rollyo has a nice look, but I didn't like the way the ads were interspersed with the results. I'm a fan of Google, so I set up my own custom search engine in Google. Here it is:



I set up this search engine to search recipes on several of my favorite sites. It works great! Now, if I'm looking for a recipe, I can search several websites at once and limit to my favorites. Cool!

Wikis

I knew about wikis, but I never spent much time thinking about other applications for them. I went to 3 of the examples and I thought they were all great ways to use this tool. What's better than having the actual users of your site telling you what they want to see in it. The SJCPL Subject Guides wiki is a great example of this. I also thought Library Success and Book Lovers Wiki were more great examples of opportunities to share information and create community.

Library Thing

OMG, I am in heaven! Actually, I'm a little concerned. Library Thing is totally addictive, and I think I may have a problem.

I truly had a blast entering part of my cookbook collection into Library Thing. I joined a group of cookbook collectors and had fun looking at other people's libraries. Now I get the connection ... the social connection, that is. What fun! Now, if I only had more time ...

del.icio.us

This is another on of those items that makes me feel like we are all on information overload. I can certainly see its usefulness in a library situation. It enables staff to share relevant information with each other, providing quick access to all kinds of info. Also, I can see it as a great way to access bookmarks no matter where you are, from any computer ... cool! And I get the networking part of it, too. Here's another way to connect with other people who have similar interests. The world is getting bigger all the time ...

My Spacing

I can see I'll have to get help from my teenage daughters in "prettying up" my MySpace account. I also haven't decided how much info to enter into my profile. But, I think I'll play with this a little bit and see what happens ...

My Space #1

Okay, so when I first looked at this I thought "Why libraries?" I mean, doesn't that seem kind of wierd? Who's going to go on MySpace and look for a library. But when I read David Lee King's article about libraries on MySpace it started to seem like an interesting idea. He had some very good thoughts about connecting with teens through MySpace and ways to make the library's presence more relevant. I'm reserving judgment until I have a chance to check out a few sites.

and more RSS...

Made it through Lessond #8 ... am I blinding you with my speed? Signed up for some more RSS feeds. These are a feed about the weather on Kauai, a political feed, and 2 library feeds: Library Stuff and Thingology. This could get addicting ...

RSS Feeds

If this was the hardest exercise ... This was great! I've been hearing about RSS feeds for years(!) and never took the time to explore. I subscribed to some generally random things for this exercise: Dictionary.com Word of the Day, Quotes of the Day, Unshelved, KCLS27things, and some co-workers blogs.

I can see using RSS for so many things. When I sit down at my computer in the morning to check on all my regular websites, instead of browsing to each individual site, I'll be able to just go to Bloglines and view it all at once! For professional uses, it would be a great way to stay on top of emerging information. Wonderful! Everyone should be using RSS feeds!

Mashups

I explored the Flickr Mashups -- what fun! I loved the examples: Spell with Flickr, Montager, and Flickr Color Pickr. Also, the Flash app An Interesting 2005 was great. What amazing photos!

I think my favorite is Montager because there are multiple levels to this one. Enter a tag or image and it creates a photo montage that imitates the lead image displayed on the left. Changing the photo or tag creates a new montage with new photos. Interesting effect.

Flickr

Okay, so I've been a little behind in updating my blog. I'll be playing catch-up for a while. Here is a photo I uploaded into Flickr. Maddie had a trip to San Fran for a band concert and this is a photo she took. So much for Exercise #5 ... it's on to #6!

Check out the book I'm reading now

By now, most of you know that I'm reading the book "I'm Not the New Me" by Wendy McClure. It's a funny book about her Weight Watchers experience. But one of the funniest things are the vintage Weight Watchers recipe cards that I've been sharing.

Here's a link to the recipe cards: http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

And here's a link to Wendy's blog: http://www.poundy.com/

Learning 2.0

I'm excited about Learning 2.0 and the opportunity for learning and sharing with other staff. Setting up my blog was easy and fun.

I'm always eager to learn new things whether at work or elsewhere. Of course, working in a library is the ideal place to pick up information about just about everything. I love it!