Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Results of the last poll are in. Amazingly, the comfort food with the most votes was graham crackers dipped in milk. I promise, I only voted once! Next was freshly baked cookies, followed by macaroni & cheese. Sadly, popcorn and homemade soup ended the week with no votes. I guess that makes graham crackers dipped in milk the minority leader of this poll. It's possible the other comfort foods will form a coalition and overthrow the crackers & milk. Time will tell...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Have added what is likely my last (sniff, sniff) polling question. Another important issue to collect your opinions on. I'll admit, I consider every one of these options to be comfort food, so it was hard to narrow it down to one favourite. Those who know me well though, will know which answer was mine. (Not necessarily the first vote cast!) I only wish there was a way to allow a write in option on the poll as I'm sure that there are many other possibilities and it would be fun to hear what others consider comfort food. Feel free to add a comment if your favourite is not listed.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Assignment 10
Had some trouble getting to the podcast sites. I tried a few times during the week but was unable to get to podcast.net or yahoo podcasts. No trouble with podcastalley though. Lots to see on that site. Could see the benefit of having some library related podcasts. Thinking back to earlier weeks of this course and the podcasts we looked at. It was a useful way to pass along information. I envision podcasts on subjects like 'using iBistro', 'using Novelistplus', 'downloading audio books'. Patrons could access these podcasts and be instructed in these topics.
YouTube. I love YouTube! My family has fun looking up videos here. As my kids tell me, 'you can find anything on YouTube'. Was hard to decide what video to share. Narrowed it down to two. First one is funny. If you are a mom, or know a mom, or have a mom, you might enjoy this. It's called 'The Mom Song'.
This next one is inspiring. It's called 'Yes, we can'. A musician from the Black Eyed Peas took a speach made by President Elect Obama following the New Hampshire primary, put it to music and added video. Very powerful. Wonder what I'd be capable of if I watched this video every morning and took the message to heart. Something to think about.
YouTube. I love YouTube! My family has fun looking up videos here. As my kids tell me, 'you can find anything on YouTube'. Was hard to decide what video to share. Narrowed it down to two. First one is funny. If you are a mom, or know a mom, or have a mom, you might enjoy this. It's called 'The Mom Song'.
This next one is inspiring. It's called 'Yes, we can'. A musician from the Black Eyed Peas took a speach made by President Elect Obama following the New Hampshire primary, put it to music and added video. Very powerful. Wonder what I'd be capable of if I watched this video every morning and took the message to heart. Something to think about.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
assignment # 9
Well, here we are in Zoho. My standard username & password were accepted. Hurray! Seems pretty simple, type here, save it online, post to my blog if i want to, end of story.
My parents just bought a new computer. Their old one was too old and slow for internet connection and the family finally convinced them that getting online would be a good thing. So, first step, getting the components arranged (thanks, Howi) and connected properly. I sat down with dad one morning this week and gave him a very basic tutorial on Microsoft Word. They had been using Wordperfect and their computer was so old that they still had to use the function keys to do things! So, learning how to maneuvere a mouse and getting used to the icons will take a bit of practice. He did quite well and I'm hoping he'll soon see that this new way is easier.
At work these past couple of weeks, I have spent some time with patrons on the public computers, helping them navigate and find their way around. We have upgraded the public computers and some things have changed.
My point is that we need to keep these most beginner computer users in mind when we change things and make improvements. Even something as simple as changing the resolution can throw some users for a loop because it 'looks different'. The way we print from the public machines has changed. It is not hard to find the new way and it is logical but it 'looks different'. More experienced computer users have the confidence to explore and fiddle around to find what they need but for a beginner, that is too much to expect.
I think Zoho is a great tool. Patrons can work on things at home or a library computer. If it is saved online, it is accessible from both places. No need for a memory stick or a floppy disc. (Yes, a floppy disc. We still have patrons who keep their files on these!) Not all of our patrons embrace new technology. They want to use what is familiar to them. I will encourage the use of sites like Zoho but it means learning something new.
Wow. Very easy to post this on my blog. In fact, it was so easy, I was surprised to actually see it here when I checked! I enjoyed my introduction to Zoho. Looking forward to using it again and I will also recommend it to people.
My parents just bought a new computer. Their old one was too old and slow for internet connection and the family finally convinced them that getting online would be a good thing. So, first step, getting the components arranged (thanks, Howi) and connected properly. I sat down with dad one morning this week and gave him a very basic tutorial on Microsoft Word. They had been using Wordperfect and their computer was so old that they still had to use the function keys to do things! So, learning how to maneuvere a mouse and getting used to the icons will take a bit of practice. He did quite well and I'm hoping he'll soon see that this new way is easier.
At work these past couple of weeks, I have spent some time with patrons on the public computers, helping them navigate and find their way around. We have upgraded the public computers and some things have changed.
My point is that we need to keep these most beginner computer users in mind when we change things and make improvements. Even something as simple as changing the resolution can throw some users for a loop because it 'looks different'. The way we print from the public machines has changed. It is not hard to find the new way and it is logical but it 'looks different'. More experienced computer users have the confidence to explore and fiddle around to find what they need but for a beginner, that is too much to expect.
I think Zoho is a great tool. Patrons can work on things at home or a library computer. If it is saved online, it is accessible from both places. No need for a memory stick or a floppy disc. (Yes, a floppy disc. We still have patrons who keep their files on these!) Not all of our patrons embrace new technology. They want to use what is familiar to them. I will encourage the use of sites like Zoho but it means learning something new.
Wow. Very easy to post this on my blog. In fact, it was so easy, I was surprised to actually see it here when I checked! I enjoyed my introduction to Zoho. Looking forward to using it again and I will also recommend it to people.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Assignment # 8
The wonderful world of wikis. I have used Wikipedia a fair amount but had not really explored other wikis until this week. I think wikis are very useful. Wikipedia, for example, is a great tool. When looking for facts and information, Wikipedia is easy to find, easy to use and contains tons of information. There is a downside, of course, and it is huge. Since anyone can contribute information to a wiki, one cannot assume that what is there is completely accurate. I use Wikipedia as a starting place.
Explored the wiki links in this week's assignment. Played with the 'Mfagan wiki' (maps from Waterloo and area) for awhile. There was a UW map that shows the entire campus, plus a list of things you can select (visitor parking, accessible buildings) which are then transposed onto the map. In a few seconds you can have a map of the campus with all the visitor parking places marked clearly. A neat combination of useful online information, customized to meet a specific person's need. However, this site is a good example of how wikis can go wrong. Yes, there is a great collection of maps of the area but there is also lots of unrelated stuff that has nothing to do with mapping. There is an entire section named, 'Businesses, organizations, things to do, etc'. This wiki has morphed into more than it needs to be.
Found the 'Waterloo Way' wiki to be neat and organized. It highlights stories of entrepreneurship in the Waterloo Region. However, another way a wiki has gone wrong. I checked the 'history' tab and found that this site was last updated in May 2007. Yikes. Surely there have been entrepreneurial successes in our Region since then.
This week, I helped a young patron find information on John McCrae's poem, 'In Flanders Fields'. We started at Wikipedia, got some basic info (correct spelling of McCrae's name, date of the poem), then I showed him how to find other sources (websites, books, encyclopedias) to collect more in depth information. The entire interaction took about 5 minutes. He was able to collect the rest of the info by himself. Using Wikipedia to quickly get the most basic info, the search for more was quite easy.
Explored the wiki links in this week's assignment. Played with the 'Mfagan wiki' (maps from Waterloo and area) for awhile. There was a UW map that shows the entire campus, plus a list of things you can select (visitor parking, accessible buildings) which are then transposed onto the map. In a few seconds you can have a map of the campus with all the visitor parking places marked clearly. A neat combination of useful online information, customized to meet a specific person's need. However, this site is a good example of how wikis can go wrong. Yes, there is a great collection of maps of the area but there is also lots of unrelated stuff that has nothing to do with mapping. There is an entire section named, 'Businesses, organizations, things to do, etc'. This wiki has morphed into more than it needs to be.
Found the 'Waterloo Way' wiki to be neat and organized. It highlights stories of entrepreneurship in the Waterloo Region. However, another way a wiki has gone wrong. I checked the 'history' tab and found that this site was last updated in May 2007. Yikes. Surely there have been entrepreneurial successes in our Region since then.
This week, I helped a young patron find information on John McCrae's poem, 'In Flanders Fields'. We started at Wikipedia, got some basic info (correct spelling of McCrae's name, date of the poem), then I showed him how to find other sources (websites, books, encyclopedias) to collect more in depth information. The entire interaction took about 5 minutes. He was able to collect the rest of the info by himself. Using Wikipedia to quickly get the most basic info, the search for more was quite easy.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The results of my last poll are in. 5 people voted on the Milne character they most relate to. Tigger won with 2 votes. Pooh Bear, Eeyore & Owl all tied with 1. OK, not an overwhelming response but I can't have every poll about chocolate! My kids were disappointed that Piglet didn't appear on the list of choices. I am only allowed 4 choices and I thought I'd better include Owl because I'm doing this as part of a library group. My apologies to all the Piglet fans out there.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Assignment # 7
Lots of reading this week. Found the articles helpful. I had never been quite sure what Library 2.0 (or Web 2.0) really meant. Was there a Library 1.0 (or Web 1.0)?
I liked Meredith Farkas' approach. Her advice is to focus on our patrons' needs, not just the cool tools. The big question is, 'how do we assess our patrons' needs?'. How do we know what tools the patrons will use the most until we try them all? We also need staff time to implement these things. It would be great to be able to help patrons explore and learn these new tools but we really don't have the time to do that. She also cautioned that using these new tools to promote the library is only a positive change if the tools are updated regularly. I agree. There's nothing more frustrating than an out of date website.
'Away from the Iceberg', gave me lots to think about. Reduce our print collection? Eek! His point was that as patrons get used to the new technology (blogs, digital books), they will need books in traditional print form less. Made me think about the way I personally use the library. It is not often that I actually go to the shelf to browse for a title. I keep up to date on what is being published and place holds on the titles I want and wait for them to arrive, regularly checking my place in line, of course. Thank goodness not all patrons do that! He also mentioned that libraries used to have a monopoly on information. If you needed to find information, you went to the library and looked it up in a print source. We no longer have that monopoly. What can we do to acknowledge & adapt to that change?
'To better bibliographic services' by John Riemer, gave us some specific goals.
1) package & print metadata
2) broaden relevance ranking
3) adopt web features
4) expand delivery
5) streamline metadata creation (share info between institutions)
His challenge is that libraries should do more with the metadata they create.
In, 'To a temporary place in time', Dr. Wendy Schultz took me on a quick tour of Libraries 1.0-4.0.
1.0 = commodity; 2.0 = product; 3.0 = service; 4.0 = experience
Loved her description of the 4.0 neo library - 'a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light, coffee & single malt'. Hmmm... think of all the libraries you have been in and then narrow the list down to a few favourites. I'll bet they had most of these qualities (maybe not the single malt). I hope that no matter how much change there is in the way we exchange information from person to person, there will always be a room full of shelved books to do it in.
I liked Meredith Farkas' approach. Her advice is to focus on our patrons' needs, not just the cool tools. The big question is, 'how do we assess our patrons' needs?'. How do we know what tools the patrons will use the most until we try them all? We also need staff time to implement these things. It would be great to be able to help patrons explore and learn these new tools but we really don't have the time to do that. She also cautioned that using these new tools to promote the library is only a positive change if the tools are updated regularly. I agree. There's nothing more frustrating than an out of date website.
'Away from the Iceberg', gave me lots to think about. Reduce our print collection? Eek! His point was that as patrons get used to the new technology (blogs, digital books), they will need books in traditional print form less. Made me think about the way I personally use the library. It is not often that I actually go to the shelf to browse for a title. I keep up to date on what is being published and place holds on the titles I want and wait for them to arrive, regularly checking my place in line, of course. Thank goodness not all patrons do that! He also mentioned that libraries used to have a monopoly on information. If you needed to find information, you went to the library and looked it up in a print source. We no longer have that monopoly. What can we do to acknowledge & adapt to that change?
'To better bibliographic services' by John Riemer, gave us some specific goals.
1) package & print metadata
2) broaden relevance ranking
3) adopt web features
4) expand delivery
5) streamline metadata creation (share info between institutions)
His challenge is that libraries should do more with the metadata they create.
In, 'To a temporary place in time', Dr. Wendy Schultz took me on a quick tour of Libraries 1.0-4.0.
1.0 = commodity; 2.0 = product; 3.0 = service; 4.0 = experience
Loved her description of the 4.0 neo library - 'a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light, coffee & single malt'. Hmmm... think of all the libraries you have been in and then narrow the list down to a few favourites. I'll bet they had most of these qualities (maybe not the single malt). I hope that no matter how much change there is in the way we exchange information from person to person, there will always be a room full of shelved books to do it in.
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