Discover
Firstly, the video Social Networking in Plain English sums it up quite nicely - I'd heard of MySpace and Facebook and perhaps Bebo; however, I hadn't heard of some of the ones on the LeMonde map (eg Hi5, Skyblog) but I did find it interesting that Australia is a big user of MySpace (no surprise but I thought that I'd heard "young people use MySpace and old people use Facebook" - where I think "young" means attending a 'school') whereas New Zealand is a big user of Bebo. Perhaps I'm naive in that I would've thought Australia and New Zealand would've been similar in the popularity of social networking services...
Explore
I thought the article Seb Chan highlighted the importance and relevance of museums (and perhaps libraries as some libraries are 'amalgamated with museum services') in utilising social networking. Our library recently conducted a customer satisfaction survey and this survey was also available online on the Council's website. The online survey was available to all and this was one way that the library could reach its online customers - great! However, how many more customers could have been reached if the library utilised social networking options - although I believe customers would need to be aware of your 'space' on the social network to become part of the 'community' - that is where your marketing and promotion enters the equation.
In more traditional ways, in varying degrees, libraries are already embracing the Research, Marketing, Support, Development aspects through their website; however, an opportunity exists for libraries to make the leap to the next chapter - social networking.
I enjoyed exploring the different examples of social networking and the first one I clicked was the NZ library (as NZ libraries always seem to do fantastic things!) and it certainly had the wow factor - interesting to note in their slideshow of the faces of the customers (couldn't do that in Australia).
In summary, I can see the benefits and the opportunities for social networking in libraries - and as with all new technologies, somebody has to be responsible for it - I wonder if that is where it will fall down - the staffing resources?
Second Life
I'd heard about Second Life when I first joined our Emerging Technologies team at my library - and not long after, I'd heard the news story about a person caught stealing in Second Life but was arrested in 'this life' and I recall the breakfast radio announcer asking the question "were they arrested with virtual handcuffs or real handcuffs?"
Also, people can study university degrees - including library science - in Second Life.
At this point in time, I couldn't imagine our library joining Second Life; however, as Librarians are 'slamming the boards' to answer enquiries - I'm certain some libraries and librarians will be in the Second Life.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Week 11 - Online applications and tools
"Google Docs Rocks!"
I particularly find this one very interesting as our library charge a small fee ($2 per half hour or part thereof) for customers using Word Processing, Excel, Powerpoint or Email/Chat services - and here is Google Docs offering the free word processing facilities....although customers may already know of Google Docs - and possibly are already using it "free at our library".
Explore
Slideshare demonstrated on the 53 slides a number of 'fab freebies for productivity' - and some appear to brilliant! Must explore these further - especially slideshare and omnidrive!!!
But I will also explore Thumbstacks further too - I have created a few powerpoint slideshows over the years and they take up a huge amount of space as an attachment to an email - for future reference, the link for
thumbstacks
I am so glad that I have been continually learning new things even though I'm getting close to finishing this course!!!!
I'm going to investigate what Google Docs can do....and this video summed it up quite nicely...Google docs in Plain English
I've created a document in Google Docs and have shared it using the nswpln@gmail.com email and invited nswpln as a contributor.
Although Google Docs does not have every function of Word, for example, it would be sufficient for a person wishing to create a document and share with others - particularly for collaborating with others - as per the example in the video above. How often have staff sent a document for feedback and you could have several 'updates' floating between several people and one is never sure which is the most recent and accurate version.
As stated above, I could see customers in the future using Google Docs rather than paying us $2 per half-hour to create a basic document and print it out.
I particularly find this one very interesting as our library charge a small fee ($2 per half hour or part thereof) for customers using Word Processing, Excel, Powerpoint or Email/Chat services - and here is Google Docs offering the free word processing facilities....although customers may already know of Google Docs - and possibly are already using it "free at our library".
Explore
Slideshare demonstrated on the 53 slides a number of 'fab freebies for productivity' - and some appear to brilliant! Must explore these further - especially slideshare and omnidrive!!!
But I will also explore Thumbstacks further too - I have created a few powerpoint slideshows over the years and they take up a huge amount of space as an attachment to an email - for future reference, the link for
thumbstacks
I am so glad that I have been continually learning new things even though I'm getting close to finishing this course!!!!
I'm going to investigate what Google Docs can do....and this video summed it up quite nicely...Google docs in Plain English
I've created a document in Google Docs and have shared it using the nswpln@gmail.com email and invited nswpln as a contributor.
Although Google Docs does not have every function of Word, for example, it would be sufficient for a person wishing to create a document and share with others - particularly for collaborating with others - as per the example in the video above. How often have staff sent a document for feedback and you could have several 'updates' floating between several people and one is never sure which is the most recent and accurate version.
As stated above, I could see customers in the future using Google Docs rather than paying us $2 per half-hour to create a basic document and print it out.
Week 10 Mashups - Big Huge Labs
I managed to create a mashup of some of my photos from flickr and registered with fd's Flickr Toys to upload the mashup to my flickr account - this enabled me to then "Blog This" and hopefully it will all display!
Week 10 - Mashups
Wow - I enjoyed the challenge and I could see not only libraries using Mashups but also members of the public for their personal use.
How could a library use mashups?
I could imagine a Local Studies Library using mashups to demonstrate the changing view of the local community.
I could imagine a library using a mashup (such as that on big huge labs) to create images of school holiday activities, storytimes, regular activities (minus faces of children!)
I could also see libraries using mashups for customers to elect to print themselves (eg calendars and 'toys') using images from the library.
As per Libraries411.com (Find Public Libraries near you), I could see the benefits of libraries in Australia putting themselves on the map (so to speak) for visitors to the local area. Actually not just visitors, but also residents in the community unaware of the location of their local library.
With mashups, the options would be endless.....just hope IT departments can see the benefits of a library using such technology.
How could a library use mashups?
I could imagine a Local Studies Library using mashups to demonstrate the changing view of the local community.
I could imagine a library using a mashup (such as that on big huge labs) to create images of school holiday activities, storytimes, regular activities (minus faces of children!)
I could also see libraries using mashups for customers to elect to print themselves (eg calendars and 'toys') using images from the library.
As per Libraries411.com (Find Public Libraries near you), I could see the benefits of libraries in Australia putting themselves on the map (so to speak) for visitors to the local area. Actually not just visitors, but also residents in the community unaware of the location of their local library.
With mashups, the options would be endless.....just hope IT departments can see the benefits of a library using such technology.
Week 9 - Podcasts & Audio
Oh the joys of IT restrictions.....
or that of dial-up.........
I did manage to listen to a podcast from the British Library - I elected to listen to a shorter podcast due to download time and I listened to Steve Cleary, Curator of Drama and Literature, introduces the new British Library CD. 'The Spoken Word: Evelyn Waugh', with an exclusive clip from the CD of Waugh reading from his own work 'Half in Love with Easeful Death'.
Recorded on 17 March 2008.
Unfortunately, when I went to investigate ABC, I discovered that I did not have the software (and I wasn't able to download) required to listen to the podcasts...I found the subject options and tried a couple of different options, but to no avail as you need to copy the URL into your podcast program (such as Juice Receiver or iTunes)
Explore
I listened to Worthington Libraries rhyme "This is the way the ladies ride" podcast which is obviously aimed at a Born to Read/Lapsit program - although it would be great for a parent to learn such rhymes etc to perform with their baby, it certainly is not a substitute for the face-to-face contact of storytimes etc. Young children (and even older children) need to see the facial expressions and actions in reading stories etc - not just listen to a story on a podcast. Having said that, this may be a useful resource for a library to access different rhymes, songs etc to use in their programs conducted in the library. Anyhow, the link for Worthington's podcasts for children is available at Worthington Libraries - Programs2Go
I also investigated Booktalks Quick and Simple and discovered
Audiobook clips from Listening Library which highlights the popularity of audiobook collections in libraries - with the growing number of audiobooks becoming available in MP3 format as opposed to CD format - as many new cars for example, have MP3 & CD compatible players - the demand for MP3 format is increasing....
Podcasts for clients and staff - I could see the benefits of using Podcasts for staff sharing ideas, resources etc in a situation where geographically, the branch libraries are literally hundreds of kms apart.
This also raises the need for clients in such areas having access to podcasts (for example, storytimes) - even though I value the face-to-face aspect of storytimes, I believe it is of greater importance for children in remote areas to not miss out.
How could a metropolitan or regional library use Podcasts? Perhaps for oral histories within the Local Studies collection? For special guest talks?
Although podcasts could be useful in libraries for clients and staff, I do believe people would much rather 'watch' the person they are listening to rather than simply 'listening' - otherwise you wonder if they are in fact 'listening' or concentrating on something else/other tasks etc. People often say they like Audiobooks because they can listen whilst they work, do the housework, drive long distances etc - there are just so many other distractions - I wonder if people actually absorb all that they hear? Which begs the question, are YouTube and Google Videos the better option for Oral Histories and Special Guest talks?
or that of dial-up.........
I did manage to listen to a podcast from the British Library - I elected to listen to a shorter podcast due to download time and I listened to Steve Cleary, Curator of Drama and Literature, introduces the new British Library CD. 'The Spoken Word: Evelyn Waugh', with an exclusive clip from the CD of Waugh reading from his own work 'Half in Love with Easeful Death'.
Recorded on 17 March 2008.
Unfortunately, when I went to investigate ABC, I discovered that I did not have the software (and I wasn't able to download) required to listen to the podcasts...I found the subject options and tried a couple of different options, but to no avail as you need to copy the URL into your podcast program (such as Juice Receiver or iTunes)
Explore
I listened to Worthington Libraries rhyme "This is the way the ladies ride" podcast which is obviously aimed at a Born to Read/Lapsit program - although it would be great for a parent to learn such rhymes etc to perform with their baby, it certainly is not a substitute for the face-to-face contact of storytimes etc. Young children (and even older children) need to see the facial expressions and actions in reading stories etc - not just listen to a story on a podcast. Having said that, this may be a useful resource for a library to access different rhymes, songs etc to use in their programs conducted in the library. Anyhow, the link for Worthington's podcasts for children is available at Worthington Libraries - Programs2Go
I also investigated Booktalks Quick and Simple and discovered
Audiobook clips from Listening Library which highlights the popularity of audiobook collections in libraries - with the growing number of audiobooks becoming available in MP3 format as opposed to CD format - as many new cars for example, have MP3 & CD compatible players - the demand for MP3 format is increasing....
Podcasts for clients and staff - I could see the benefits of using Podcasts for staff sharing ideas, resources etc in a situation where geographically, the branch libraries are literally hundreds of kms apart.
This also raises the need for clients in such areas having access to podcasts (for example, storytimes) - even though I value the face-to-face aspect of storytimes, I believe it is of greater importance for children in remote areas to not miss out.
How could a metropolitan or regional library use Podcasts? Perhaps for oral histories within the Local Studies collection? For special guest talks?
Although podcasts could be useful in libraries for clients and staff, I do believe people would much rather 'watch' the person they are listening to rather than simply 'listening' - otherwise you wonder if they are in fact 'listening' or concentrating on something else/other tasks etc. People often say they like Audiobooks because they can listen whilst they work, do the housework, drive long distances etc - there are just so many other distractions - I wonder if people actually absorb all that they hear? Which begs the question, are YouTube and Google Videos the better option for Oral Histories and Special Guest talks?
Week 8 - Adventure
Answering questions on Yahoo!7 Answers.
I logged in using my Yahoo ID and had the option of electing a different UserID for this exercise - I decided to use the same UserID as my wikipedia ID and I answered 5 questions - very basic questions. I also checked out the Travel category and narrowed it to Canada as I'll be there in a few days (not long now!) - I could see people getting carried away with just answering questions all day (even Yahoo!7 encourages it by the comment "You're on a roll, how about...") or words to that effect....I'm not sure whether librarians could 'slam' this service as some of the questions aren't necessarily searching for facts, but rather for opinions - but it's still a great social networking tool!!!!
I logged in using my Yahoo ID and had the option of electing a different UserID for this exercise - I decided to use the same UserID as my wikipedia ID and I answered 5 questions - very basic questions. I also checked out the Travel category and narrowed it to Canada as I'll be there in a few days (not long now!) - I could see people getting carried away with just answering questions all day (even Yahoo!7 encourages it by the comment "You're on a roll, how about...") or words to that effect....I'm not sure whether librarians could 'slam' this service as some of the questions aren't necessarily searching for facts, but rather for opinions - but it's still a great social networking tool!!!!
Week 8 - Answer Boards & Social Searching - Discover & Explore
What an interesting way to get librarians back in the community - have many libraries noticed their usage, particularly on a Saturday, decrease over the years with more and more users accessing their informational needs by other means - are library buildings becoming more of a recreational place to visit rather than the information place? Think about how many staff were required on a weekend shift and the changing habits of customers - have your staffing resources decreased? I think it's great librarians (and I noticed there were 2 librarians from Australia on the Answer Librarians Wiki 'slamming the boards') are reaching to customers who may have not even thought about the library resources as being able to answer their query - is it becoming a society of it's easier to sit in front of the PC at your leisure and type a question and see if you get any responses and whether the responses are useful or not? Take the online service of AskNow - I'm sure there are some students who will type their homework question in the hope that they'll get the answer straight away.
My library has an online library enquiry email that is sent directly to the Reference desk. My library also participates in AskNow shifts. In a small way, we are reaching the outside community, although it is people contacting our library website and consequently the enquiry email and with AskNow, the patron logs in to post their question. Both of these options, are not technically 'slamming the boards' - but it's a brilliant idea!!!
With regards to rating, reviews etc, our customers can use our library management system to Add a review to an item in the catalogue. They must log in with their library card and PIN number to lodge their review - the review is forwarded to a moderator before it is able to be viewed by others. Our system will display the first name, any middle name initials, and suburb. I thought it would be beneficial for customers to see when a review is submitted by a library staff member - I created a library account for this purpose so should a customer see an item has a review, they will see that the review was submitted by Library Staff - sometimes, in the eyes of the customers, the library staff know best - especially with regards to RA.
My library has an online library enquiry email that is sent directly to the Reference desk. My library also participates in AskNow shifts. In a small way, we are reaching the outside community, although it is people contacting our library website and consequently the enquiry email and with AskNow, the patron logs in to post their question. Both of these options, are not technically 'slamming the boards' - but it's a brilliant idea!!!
With regards to rating, reviews etc, our customers can use our library management system to Add a review to an item in the catalogue. They must log in with their library card and PIN number to lodge their review - the review is forwarded to a moderator before it is able to be viewed by others. Our system will display the first name, any middle name initials, and suburb. I thought it would be beneficial for customers to see when a review is submitted by a library staff member - I created a library account for this purpose so should a customer see an item has a review, they will see that the review was submitted by Library Staff - sometimes, in the eyes of the customers, the library staff know best - especially with regards to RA.
Week 7 - LibraryThing
Imagine my surprise when I logged in to LibraryThing and found that it hadn't been deleted - Jo had been a member of LibraryThing for quite a while and I originally joined in January when my library was starting to investigate Emerging Technologies - and even my books that I'd added were still there - what a surprise!
I have added my series of Harry Potter (although I don't have number 7) and I'm going to try to add a widget....
Log in to LibraryThing
Under Tools
Click on link Make a standard blog widget
Choose style etc (eg Book covers, tag cloud)
Copy and paste the HTML code
and voila...
There was also an option (link) Make a search widget
Choose the options and copy and paste the Widget HTML
and voila....
I have added my series of Harry Potter (although I don't have number 7) and I'm going to try to add a widget....
Log in to LibraryThing
Under Tools
Click on link Make a standard blog widget
Choose style etc (eg Book covers, tag cloud)
Copy and paste the HTML code
and voila...
There was also an option (link) Make a search widget
Choose the options and copy and paste the Widget HTML
and voila....
Week 7 - Technorati
I had a quick search for this blog using the search term 'how many things' and found there were nearly 4000 results....of course, my blog may not actually be one of those results so I tried a couple of searches using keywords from my blog and did not find it - perhaps it's not actually on technorati...but back to the task.
Bookmobile
Search for "Bookmobile" - I did a basic search for Blogs - and found 16 Blogs about Bookmobiles.
I then did an Advanced Search (Show posts that contain the EXACT phrase) and search in All Blogs: "Bookmobile" - and found it did not work the first time (perhaps as I had used "") and when I removed the "", I received 1 184 results Search in entire post of blogs with any authority in English
Out of curiousity, I returned to the original search result of 16 Blogs and clicked on the Posts tab and received 64 Posts tagged "Bookmobile" - Search in tags only of blogs with any authority in English
I also clicked the Photos and Videos tabs - it didn't actually give the number of results for Photos or Videos (there was one page of Videos) but I discovered there are 90 pages of Photos for "Bookmobile"
NSWPLN
I did an Advanced Search for nswpln2008 and found:
Posts - 9 results for "nswpln2008" Search in entire post of blogs with any authority in English.
Blogs - no blogs
Photos - there are 21 pages of photos about nswpln2008
Videos - There are no videos about "nswpln2008". To contribute to this page, go to YouTube and tag some videos.
The only difference I found with this particular search was the number of results for Posts - there were 6 Posts tagged "nswpln2008" Search in tags only of blogs with any authority in English
My Flickr images were there (even on the first page) searching for nswpln2008.
Bookmobile
Search for "Bookmobile" - I did a basic search for Blogs - and found 16 Blogs about Bookmobiles.
I then did an Advanced Search (Show posts that contain the EXACT phrase) and search in All Blogs: "Bookmobile" - and found it did not work the first time (perhaps as I had used "") and when I removed the "", I received 1 184 results Search in entire post of blogs with any authority in English
Out of curiousity, I returned to the original search result of 16 Blogs and clicked on the Posts tab and received 64 Posts tagged "Bookmobile" - Search in tags only of blogs with any authority in English
I also clicked the Photos and Videos tabs - it didn't actually give the number of results for Photos or Videos (there was one page of Videos) but I discovered there are 90 pages of Photos for "Bookmobile"
NSWPLN
I did an Advanced Search for nswpln2008 and found:
Posts - 9 results for "nswpln2008" Search in entire post of blogs with any authority in English.
Blogs - no blogs
Photos - there are 21 pages of photos about nswpln2008
Videos - There are no videos about "nswpln2008". To contribute to this page, go to YouTube and tag some videos.
The only difference I found with this particular search was the number of results for Posts - there were 6 Posts tagged "nswpln2008" Search in tags only of blogs with any authority in English
My Flickr images were there (even on the first page) searching for nswpln2008.
Week 7 - Del.icio.us - Discover and Explore
Firstly, when I viewed Lorcan Dempsey's Weblog and saw the link to Ask Now's del.icio.us webpage, I thought, Brilliant - I'll have to include the link for when I return from holidays and am next logged in on an AskNow shift - the AskNow Cloud.
Investigating the SLNSW Del.icio.us site was also interesting to note the variable number of people that have also saved a particular site. For example, 4 other people have saved Doctor DaDa and 16 788 other people have saved LibraryThing. I must admit I prefer the look of the tag cloud to the traditional list and by rolling your mouse over the cloud tag, you're automatically alerted how many posts exist for that particular tag; however, I can see that some people may prefer the list view for pure alphabetical ease of finding the tag they're looking for. All in all, a brilliant idea to have the option to keep everybody happy!
I really like the look of the del.icio.us accounts - and when I first explored Sutherland's tag cloud, it demonstrated how dated our Weblinks looks in comparison. Our Weblinks was fantastic, great etc when it was first launched (several years ago now) and even whilst I was working in another library service, a couple of us had used the Weblinks for our university studies and thought it was great. Although our Weblinks still serves a fantastic purpose, I wonder how many users look at it and think ho-hum - imagine how much could be improved if it was to be transferred to del.icio.us - and for users who do like the traditional list - that option is still there!
Which brings me to Cleveland's tags - you're are greeted with the traditional list, click on the hyperlink and voila - a more sassy-looking del.icio.us account, complete with tag cloud.
Thus, I can see the use for such a tool in libraries - and Sutherland is just one library that has grasped these type of technologies and run with it - and of course, I was nodding my head whilst reading Lorcan's blog regarding AskNow service and lately have found whilst looking for websites to assist AskNow customers, have found some sites 'blocked' by the IT department which of course, makes it somewhat difficult to ascertain whether it will be useful for the customer. Mind you, I think some customers have also been unable to view some sites recommended by AskNow librarians (perhaps due to IT administrators etc).
I can also see the benefits of having access to 'Your Favourites', Bookmarks etc from any PC - how often in a work situation could you be away from your own PC etc - such a tool would be of benefit to many people.
Also, as the Social Bookmarking in Plain English video states, the collaborative benefits of social bookmarking saves many people time and effort in finding relevant websites - the example of Math teachers were used - we could quite easily transfer that to Librarians!
I'm now going to create my own Del.icio.us account....I've created my account, and having confirmed my email, I had a little exploration and saved some websites and added some tags and then to add my tag cloud to my blog, I did the following whilst logged in to Del.icio.us:
Click on Settings
Scroll down to Blogging
Click on tag rolls - this will display a cloud or list of your del.icio.us tags as part of your website - so I'm hoping that will be part of my blog.
Adjust your display options
Copy and paste the code
and this will be the test...
Investigating the SLNSW Del.icio.us site was also interesting to note the variable number of people that have also saved a particular site. For example, 4 other people have saved Doctor DaDa and 16 788 other people have saved LibraryThing. I must admit I prefer the look of the tag cloud to the traditional list and by rolling your mouse over the cloud tag, you're automatically alerted how many posts exist for that particular tag; however, I can see that some people may prefer the list view for pure alphabetical ease of finding the tag they're looking for. All in all, a brilliant idea to have the option to keep everybody happy!
I really like the look of the del.icio.us accounts - and when I first explored Sutherland's tag cloud, it demonstrated how dated our Weblinks looks in comparison. Our Weblinks was fantastic, great etc when it was first launched (several years ago now) and even whilst I was working in another library service, a couple of us had used the Weblinks for our university studies and thought it was great. Although our Weblinks still serves a fantastic purpose, I wonder how many users look at it and think ho-hum - imagine how much could be improved if it was to be transferred to del.icio.us - and for users who do like the traditional list - that option is still there!
Which brings me to Cleveland's tags - you're are greeted with the traditional list, click on the hyperlink and voila - a more sassy-looking del.icio.us account, complete with tag cloud.
Thus, I can see the use for such a tool in libraries - and Sutherland is just one library that has grasped these type of technologies and run with it - and of course, I was nodding my head whilst reading Lorcan's blog regarding AskNow service and lately have found whilst looking for websites to assist AskNow customers, have found some sites 'blocked' by the IT department which of course, makes it somewhat difficult to ascertain whether it will be useful for the customer. Mind you, I think some customers have also been unable to view some sites recommended by AskNow librarians (perhaps due to IT administrators etc).
I can also see the benefits of having access to 'Your Favourites', Bookmarks etc from any PC - how often in a work situation could you be away from your own PC etc - such a tool would be of benefit to many people.
Also, as the Social Bookmarking in Plain English video states, the collaborative benefits of social bookmarking saves many people time and effort in finding relevant websites - the example of Math teachers were used - we could quite easily transfer that to Librarians!
I'm now going to create my own Del.icio.us account....I've created my account, and having confirmed my email, I had a little exploration and saved some websites and added some tags and then to add my tag cloud to my blog, I did the following whilst logged in to Del.icio.us:
Click on Settings
Scroll down to Blogging
Click on tag rolls - this will display a cloud or list of your del.icio.us tags as part of your website - so I'm hoping that will be part of my blog.
Adjust your display options
Copy and paste the code
and this will be the test...
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Week 6 - Explore + Attempting the Adventure
Firstly, I did a search for "Mosman Library" in YouTube but didn't find any results as such, but then did the same search in Google Video and found 19 results! What a brilliant way to not only present the 'special guests' but also highlight the fact that these well-known identities have come to Mosman Library! Our Friends of the Library hold literary lunches for FOTL members and guests; yet if you aren't able to attend for whatever reason, you may recall that the particular author attended your local library, but it will become a distant memory. Now, if you could search for your local library in YouTube or Google Video and 'rediscover' the literary guest - wouldn't it create a great feeling (hopefully the guest was successful!). And it wouldn't just have to be a literary guest, it could be anything 'special' - even a launch of a new collection, new concept etc - the idea still reaches plenty of people, even years down the track.
I did notice in the James Valentine video, the option on the right hand side of Embed Video - I clicked on it and received coding (similar to HTML) and I've copied the tagging and I'm going to paste it and I will discover whether I have successfully embedded a video into my blog....
Fantastic! It works - so now I'm going to try to embed a You Tube video....I'll embed the longer video for AskWhyKY.org - I viewed the video, on the right hand side is the coding under Embed - I highlighted the coding and copied it and now it will be a straight paste into my post and tada!!!
Fantastic!
Some of my thoughts about libraries using You Tube and Google Video include:
Promoting the library - what it has to offer; if you have never been to this library - what would make you step inside; what would entice you to become a member - people are members of libraries for various reasons - but what would entice potential members - have an enticing video/promotion on You Tube and Google Video - voila! Reaching more people. Reach not only people in your local community but also visitors to the area - day visitors, travellers, backpackers.
A library could also do what Mosman has done - include special guests - the special guests are unlikely to disagree as it means that they too are being promoted.
You wouldn't have to limit it to special guests but use your resources - your staff (if they are willing) to highlight different aspects/activities etc your library has to offer.
I think it is Redcliffe Library in Queensland that has a Virtual tour on their website - perhaps the video tools such as You Tube and Google Video could offer a 'virtual tour' of your local library?
Just a couple of ideas to think about....
I did notice in the James Valentine video, the option on the right hand side of Embed Video - I clicked on it and received coding (similar to HTML) and I've copied the tagging and I'm going to paste it and I will discover whether I have successfully embedded a video into my blog....
Fantastic! It works - so now I'm going to try to embed a You Tube video....I'll embed the longer video for AskWhyKY.org - I viewed the video, on the right hand side is the coding under Embed - I highlighted the coding and copied it and now it will be a straight paste into my post and tada!!!
Fantastic!
Some of my thoughts about libraries using You Tube and Google Video include:
Promoting the library - what it has to offer; if you have never been to this library - what would make you step inside; what would entice you to become a member - people are members of libraries for various reasons - but what would entice potential members - have an enticing video/promotion on You Tube and Google Video - voila! Reaching more people. Reach not only people in your local community but also visitors to the area - day visitors, travellers, backpackers.
A library could also do what Mosman has done - include special guests - the special guests are unlikely to disagree as it means that they too are being promoted.
You wouldn't have to limit it to special guests but use your resources - your staff (if they are willing) to highlight different aspects/activities etc your library has to offer.
I think it is Redcliffe Library in Queensland that has a Virtual tour on their website - perhaps the video tools such as You Tube and Google Video could offer a 'virtual tour' of your local library?
Just a couple of ideas to think about....
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Week 6 - Discover
Lego - You Tube I did a search for "lego" in YouTube and found there were 70 100 videos containing the word lego (I presume all 70-odd-thousand have the word lego); however, I did view a couple of videos including Lego Donkey Kong and Ultimate Lego Rubberband Gun.
Google Video I did a search for "lego" in Google Video and found there were "about 103138" results; however, I selected the radio button "Videos hosted by Google" and the number of results decreased dramatically to "5160" - I scrolled forward through the results and found a video of 13 minutes "Thriller Lego Style" - I didn't watch the whole 13 minutes!
Liverpool Plains - You Tube - I did a search of "liverpool plains" and found 1 result - quite an interesting video when I started to watch it - but You Tube contained a hyperlink to see results for liverpool plains which gave 23 results - although scrolling through the results I noticed there were keywords of liverpool and plain - just demonstates the value of using quotation marks!
Liverpool Plains - Google Video I did a search for "liverpool plains" in Google video (videos hosted by Google) and did not retrieve any results. I removed the quotation marks and retrieved 1 result - 'Train to Belgium' ~ Liverpool City Council. Selecting the radio button for All Videos, retrieved the 'Liverpool Plains Harvest 2006' as per the YouTube result.
You Tube - Kogarah I did a search for "Kogarah" and found 78 results so I decided to add library to my search and found 1 video of 'yyz by rush cover by yr 12 students' - a performance at Kogarah Library for Yr 12 music.
Google Video - Kogarah I did a search for "Kogarah" searching Videos hosted by Google and retrieved 5 results (majority of them of Sydney News) - interesting to note that one of the results was the 'Train to Belgium' ~ Kogarah Municipal Council. Searching in Google Video for all videos retrieved 27 results.
I have just looked at the 2 library examples and I got the idea to search to see whether there is another video promoting a service such as Ask Now! - I found this short video and once I learn to embed into my posts, chances are, I may embed this one but for now, you could view this video at Parents - Try AskWhyKY.org! Librarians on AskWhyKY answer your questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - absolutely free. This particular video runs for approx 0:30 seconds; however, I've just found another one advertising the website which runs for approx 2:30 minutes - this one can be found at AskWhyKY.org
Google Video I did a search for "lego" in Google Video and found there were "about 103138" results; however, I selected the radio button "Videos hosted by Google" and the number of results decreased dramatically to "5160" - I scrolled forward through the results and found a video of 13 minutes "Thriller Lego Style" - I didn't watch the whole 13 minutes!
Liverpool Plains - You Tube - I did a search of "liverpool plains" and found 1 result - quite an interesting video when I started to watch it - but You Tube contained a hyperlink to see results for liverpool plains which gave 23 results - although scrolling through the results I noticed there were keywords of liverpool and plain - just demonstates the value of using quotation marks!
Liverpool Plains - Google Video I did a search for "liverpool plains" in Google video (videos hosted by Google) and did not retrieve any results. I removed the quotation marks and retrieved 1 result - 'Train to Belgium' ~ Liverpool City Council. Selecting the radio button for All Videos, retrieved the 'Liverpool Plains Harvest 2006' as per the YouTube result.
You Tube - Kogarah I did a search for "Kogarah" and found 78 results so I decided to add library to my search and found 1 video of 'yyz by rush cover by yr 12 students' - a performance at Kogarah Library for Yr 12 music.
Google Video - Kogarah I did a search for "Kogarah" searching Videos hosted by Google and retrieved 5 results (majority of them of Sydney News) - interesting to note that one of the results was the 'Train to Belgium' ~ Kogarah Municipal Council. Searching in Google Video for all videos retrieved 27 results.
I have just looked at the 2 library examples and I got the idea to search to see whether there is another video promoting a service such as Ask Now! - I found this short video and once I learn to embed into my posts, chances are, I may embed this one but for now, you could view this video at Parents - Try AskWhyKY.org! Librarians on AskWhyKY answer your questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - absolutely free. This particular video runs for approx 0:30 seconds; however, I've just found another one advertising the website which runs for approx 2:30 minutes - this one can be found at AskWhyKY.org
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Week 5 - Contribute to the wiki + Adventure!
Hi all,
It's been a little while since I've logged on but I have added to the NSW Learning 2.0 Wiki as well as doing searches of my local area in Wikipedia. I also contributed to Wikipedia by adding my library as a Place of Interest. Below is a copy of my contribution - I will keep a watch on the article to see whether it remains the same...
Dapto Library
Dapto Library is located within (on Level 1) the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre on the Princes Hwy (near Dapto Mall and McDonalds). The easiest way to access the library is to enter via the main entrance on the Princes Hwy. There is parking available in the Moombara St car park. A second car park is available in Heininger Street.
The library is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 8pm; Wednesday 1pm to 8pm; Friday 10am to 6pm; and Saturday 9am to 12noon.
Library membership is free to residents of the Wollongong City Council area. Proof of current address is essential. Reciprocal membership (free) is also available to NSW residents able to provide proof of current address as well as membership of their local library. Persons under the age of 18 years require a parent or guarantor to be present to join the library.
Library membership entitles you to use the Internet services (for research and information) free of charge. PCs are also available for Email, Chat & Word Processing facilities for a nominal fee. Visitors to Dapto Library are also able to use these facilities (proof of home address is required).
You may borrow :
Books (Fiction and Non Fiction), Magazines, Comics, DVDs, CDROMs, HSC resources, Videos, Audiobooks, Literacy resources, Music CDs.
PS2 and Board Games are also available for use in the library.
Activities for Children
Regular activities are held for children. These include:
Born to Read - a literacy program specifically designed for babies aged 0 to 24 months. This 10-week program exposes baby to language, books and rhymes. Bookings are essential.
Preschool Storytime - a free FUN hour of stories, songs, rhymes and craft specifically for preschool children. Preschool Storytime is held every Friday at 10.30am during school term. Bookings are not essential.
After School Activities - a free FUN program held on the last Tuesday of each month (during school term) at 4pm. After School Activities are specifically aimed at four to ten year olds but come along and give it a try!
It's been a little while since I've logged on but I have added to the NSW Learning 2.0 Wiki as well as doing searches of my local area in Wikipedia. I also contributed to Wikipedia by adding my library as a Place of Interest. Below is a copy of my contribution - I will keep a watch on the article to see whether it remains the same...
Dapto Library
Dapto Library is located within (on Level 1) the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre on the Princes Hwy (near Dapto Mall and McDonalds). The easiest way to access the library is to enter via the main entrance on the Princes Hwy. There is parking available in the Moombara St car park. A second car park is available in Heininger Street.
The library is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 8pm; Wednesday 1pm to 8pm; Friday 10am to 6pm; and Saturday 9am to 12noon.
Library membership is free to residents of the Wollongong City Council area. Proof of current address is essential. Reciprocal membership (free) is also available to NSW residents able to provide proof of current address as well as membership of their local library. Persons under the age of 18 years require a parent or guarantor to be present to join the library.
Library membership entitles you to use the Internet services (for research and information) free of charge. PCs are also available for Email, Chat & Word Processing facilities for a nominal fee. Visitors to Dapto Library are also able to use these facilities (proof of home address is required).
You may borrow :
Books (Fiction and Non Fiction), Magazines, Comics, DVDs, CDROMs, HSC resources, Videos, Audiobooks, Literacy resources, Music CDs.
PS2 and Board Games are also available for use in the library.
Activities for Children
Regular activities are held for children. These include:
Born to Read - a literacy program specifically designed for babies aged 0 to 24 months. This 10-week program exposes baby to language, books and rhymes. Bookings are essential.
Preschool Storytime - a free FUN hour of stories, songs, rhymes and craft specifically for preschool children. Preschool Storytime is held every Friday at 10.30am during school term. Bookings are not essential.
After School Activities - a free FUN program held on the last Tuesday of each month (during school term) at 4pm. After School Activities are specifically aimed at four to ten year olds but come along and give it a try!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Week 5 Wikis - Explore - as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich
I know I can certainly make a peanut butter sandwich so to contribute to a PB Wiki should be rather pain-free! I have just sent an email requesting the invite key so that I can contribute to NSW learning 2.0 wiki - I was reading the wiki last night and found it extremely interesting perusing the various roles in libraries - I have worked in a Junior Library so found I was agreeing with most of the entries for Childrens (even the part about dressing up in costumes!) as well as the Library Officer, Library Assistant and Branch Librarians - I don't consider myself 'that old' as I'm nowhere near retiring age but I have worked in each of those roles during my time - I started when I was only 19. Anyway, I look forward to obtaining the invite key so that I can add my thoughts to the wiki. I will add the link to the NSW learning 2.0 wiki
Week 5 - Wikis - Discover and Learn
It has been another interesting learning experience - I am looking forward to contributing my own thoughts onto a wiki - but first I am going to report on how great the YouTube video Wikis in Plain English is - this guy does a fabulous job in explaining Learning 2.0 concepts extremely well - so well that I believe our library customers would benefit from viewing these 3-4 minute videos on Learning 2.0. Thus I believe it is not only library staff that would benefit but also our library customers - I'm sure there are a vast majority of library customers that have more knowledge about RSS, wikis etc than some of us library staff; however, there are probably many more customers that would love to know as they've heard about it, seen others using these 'technologies' but just don't know who, where, how, why...
I also looked at Library Success Wiki Overview and I kept clicking on the right arrow of 'Wiki Way' to interesting pages of How Libraries can Use and then of course How Librarians Can Use Wikis for Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration and upon clicking this, I immediately thought of the NSW RA Wiki - the knowledge sharing and collaboration for our service of RA!!!
Discover:
For this exercise, I clicked on the following:
SJCPL Subject Guides Wiki
This wiki looks slightly different to the other wikis that I've viewed thus far. I attempted to click on Random Page in the navigation panel on the left; however, the page did not display - I then selected 'Browse by Category' and then selected Hobbies which gave me several options that I investigated including Genealogy and Travel. Many of the pages offered hyperlinks to the library catalogue - one option for libraries to incorporate into their wikis...
Library Success: a best practices Wiki
I must say the format of this wiki looks familiar and I could see the benefits of utilising some of the information sharing tools of this wiki in my library - funnily enough I have been thinking of some marketing ideas for our library and immediately investigated 'Programs for Adults' Programs for Adults as well as investigating the Programs for Children. Although libraries have their programs in place, and many of them successful, it is always interesting to see what other libraries are doing - as their successful programs may also be successful in your library! Just look at how many libraries celebrated Library Lovers Day in their special way - and it seems all of them were successful. It is often suggested to share, collaborate rather than reinvent the wheel - I wonder if our education of copyright/plagiarism has anything to do with people being resistant to share???
I clicked on the Random Page and discovered Communications - Internal and External which enabled me to click Libraries with Blogs - Welcome to the Blogging Libraries Wiki (The purpose of this wiki is to collect links to library blogs).
Having done a variety of displays/promotions in our library, I also clicked on Promotions and discovered a link for the best public relations and marketing materials in libraries through the Best of Show competition Example of 2007 Best of Show Winners in Flickr.
Under the heading of Marketing, I noticed the link to IFLA Success Stories Database - this caught my eye as our library was added following our successful partnership with the local radio station - the record is at IFLA Record Detail
Another Marketing link which caught my eye was YouTube Book Trailers - a very novel idea!!!
There are just so so so many links to investigate.....note to self - come back to this wiki!!!
Next I visited Book Lovers Wiki - Princeton Library
I found this wiki self-explanatory and it is interesting to note in the thank you the team acknowledging their library administration for "...believing in the idea of using a wiki in this way and allowing us the opportunity to experiment and learn about new technologies with our community.
The library staff, dedicated volunteers and the brave summer reading club participants who took the time to learn about wikis and contributed reviews and other content to the wiki..." - it shows the enthusiasm of a group of people and the support of their management can enable fantastic ideas to become a reality!
I also clicked on Wookieepedia and discovered the Star Wars wiki - interesting to note there are 55 771 articles since 4 March 2005 - I could imagine another user quickly amending entries should they believe another contributor has made an error!
Anyway, I am going to begin exploring wikis now!!!!
I also looked at Library Success Wiki Overview and I kept clicking on the right arrow of 'Wiki Way' to interesting pages of How Libraries can Use and then of course How Librarians Can Use Wikis for Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration and upon clicking this, I immediately thought of the NSW RA Wiki - the knowledge sharing and collaboration for our service of RA!!!
Discover:
For this exercise, I clicked on the following:
SJCPL Subject Guides Wiki
This wiki looks slightly different to the other wikis that I've viewed thus far. I attempted to click on Random Page in the navigation panel on the left; however, the page did not display - I then selected 'Browse by Category' and then selected Hobbies which gave me several options that I investigated including Genealogy and Travel. Many of the pages offered hyperlinks to the library catalogue - one option for libraries to incorporate into their wikis...
Library Success: a best practices Wiki
I must say the format of this wiki looks familiar and I could see the benefits of utilising some of the information sharing tools of this wiki in my library - funnily enough I have been thinking of some marketing ideas for our library and immediately investigated 'Programs for Adults' Programs for Adults as well as investigating the Programs for Children. Although libraries have their programs in place, and many of them successful, it is always interesting to see what other libraries are doing - as their successful programs may also be successful in your library! Just look at how many libraries celebrated Library Lovers Day in their special way - and it seems all of them were successful. It is often suggested to share, collaborate rather than reinvent the wheel - I wonder if our education of copyright/plagiarism has anything to do with people being resistant to share???
I clicked on the Random Page and discovered Communications - Internal and External which enabled me to click Libraries with Blogs - Welcome to the Blogging Libraries Wiki (The purpose of this wiki is to collect links to library blogs).
Having done a variety of displays/promotions in our library, I also clicked on Promotions and discovered a link for the best public relations and marketing materials in libraries through the Best of Show competition Example of 2007 Best of Show Winners in Flickr.
Under the heading of Marketing, I noticed the link to IFLA Success Stories Database - this caught my eye as our library was added following our successful partnership with the local radio station - the record is at IFLA Record Detail
Another Marketing link which caught my eye was YouTube Book Trailers - a very novel idea!!!
There are just so so so many links to investigate.....note to self - come back to this wiki!!!
Next I visited Book Lovers Wiki - Princeton Library
I found this wiki self-explanatory and it is interesting to note in the thank you the team acknowledging their library administration for "...believing in the idea of using a wiki in this way and allowing us the opportunity to experiment and learn about new technologies with our community.
The library staff, dedicated volunteers and the brave summer reading club participants who took the time to learn about wikis and contributed reviews and other content to the wiki..." - it shows the enthusiasm of a group of people and the support of their management can enable fantastic ideas to become a reality!
I also clicked on Wookieepedia and discovered the Star Wars wiki - interesting to note there are 55 771 articles since 4 March 2005 - I could imagine another user quickly amending entries should they believe another contributor has made an error!
Anyway, I am going to begin exploring wikis now!!!!
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