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 ...