Libraries vs. Modern Technology

I recently took a trip to New York with my oldest son who's in his 20's. We drove to Brooklyn to get my 6 year old grandson from his summer visit. During the course of our 1000 mile road trip we got to talk about a lot of interesting things. One of the topics to come up libraries and modern technology. Well, my son, believes that because of the internet and it "partners"(google, wicked-pedia,etc), that soon libraries will be simply literary museums. I tried with no luck to point out that contrary to what we might believe about the internet, it is not quite as reliable as the "hype" suggests.
Well quite by accident my point was proven with a simple instrument of modern technology called a "GPS enabled cell-phone". My son decided he would demonstrate how effective/reliable modern technology is. He entered an address for our destination in Brooklyn and waited for the GPS to give directions to avoid the afternoon Washington,DC traffic. We waited... and waited... venturing farther into jams. Ignoring signs and good sense, I decided to allow my son's "toy" to lead us where it would. Well, about 30 miles off course my son happened to notice a small message
"GPS Failed". From that point he had no problem following the "primitive" signs.

Summer Library Has Ended

With the start of school you could hear a "collective exhale". I am happy to say we all survived. I'm ordering the t-shirts tomorrow!

Summer Library 3

I have found something that helps me relax;FISHING! I went to a lake yesterday after work. I didn't get a single bite. Not even a mosquito bite. But the relaxing feeling from watching the movement of the water was well worth it. Try it!

Summer @ The Library 2

It's only the second week of "Summer Library" and I'm already tired. Know I think I know why school isn't in session all year: It's to give the teachers a break, not the students!

Summer @ The Library

It the second day of "Summer Library".
School's out and the kids are all here!

Thing 24

"...Let's do it again!"

Thing 23

"...Now it's time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin."

I must admit it has been a learning experience.

Thanks for the ride!

Thing 22: Staying Current

To stay current I'm setting up RSS feeds from the following:

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/rss.xml

http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

http://librarybytes.com/

However, with the advances in technology is it really possible to stay "current"?

Thing 21: Student 2.0

I have one question; where these 30 years ago. This would have been great when I had to sit at the kitchen table and pour through all 20 volumes of the encyclopedia and get up the next morning to retrieve something I had accidently thrown away the night before. I really feel like a DINOSAUR.

Thing 20: Book 2.0

I think the "book" is going through various transformations. Whether we read from paper or a digital device we are still reading what someone chose to share by writing. The offerings today are available in almost every format imaginable.
There is however the matter of cost. Libraries provide digital media for checkout. This includes "E-books and DABs. These are pretty much maintanance-free when compared to printed materials. Other digital information services are also readily available at your library. So, while these other formats are in place, the prices of these items (Kindle, I-phones,etc.) will keep some of us going to the library.

Thing 19: Social Networking/Others

I looked at some of the others and found them to be larger versions of Yahoo Groups.
Some I would have an ocassion to use and others I wouldn't go through the registration process
when the info is readily available elsewhere.
I think any of the sites could be used to promote library services and inter-library networking. There should be a way to combine them into one.

Thing 18:Social Networking/ Facebook and MySpace

I am relatively new to Facebook. I have had a Myspace page for some time now. I ventured into Myspace after attending a workshop presented by the local Police Depatment. The presenting officer said if you really wanted to know kids are doing get a page on Myspace.
He was not wrong!
I now have Facebook "wall". While I'm still not sure what it's all about, it is fun. I've been contacted by people I've not seen nor heard from in years.

I am however concerned about some of the postings. I don't think one should post the names of children.

I do think Social Networking is here to stay. Just look at the amount of ads!

Thing 17 Podcasts

Podcasts can be useful but can also be abused. As it stands, there are no regulations as to what can be "cast". Unlike TV and Radio, there is absolutely no control. However, it seems to be a popular way of communicating. Here are some uses for podcasting:

Wikinews -New briefs

Assistive Media -Readings of short-format magazine articles for visually impaired readers
http://podcast.assistivemedia.org/

Chicago Police Department- " Crime watch" http://www.blogtalkradio.com/search/chicago-police-department/

AA Just For Today - Self-rehabilitation from alcoholism http://aajustfortoday/

Thing 16: YouTube

I, like many others, have received emails containing "Youtube" videos. Some were funny and some were really disgusting. With the freedom the internet allows, there will always be abuses.
However, I think it has it's place in "Society 2.0"

Here's an interesting video from Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81SViX2VIg

Thing 15: Rollyo

I did a search using ROLLYO. I actually got information without having to beat off the ads. Other search engines are usually cluttered with ads and other "keyword" stuff that has little, if anything to do with your search. This provided what I was looking for without having to "fish it out". It was good to not the have the other "stuff". This could be a much used library tool!

Thing 14: Online Productivity Tools

I actually used several of the tools before they became popular.
These are some I almost daily:

Google Calendar

Google Reader

Google Startpage

Pandora

Last.fm
There are several others that I will be using soon. These tools are quite like the microwave oven and cell phone; nobody will ever remember not having them.

Thing 13 : Library Thing

By George, I think I've got it!

Thing 12 - WIKIS

I am behind, but I am attempting to complete this. Interestingly enough, I've discovered that a lot of the "23 Things" I now use more than I thought I would. These "wiki" things are popping everywhere. I find it interesting that there are so many people that "seem" to know so much about anything. There are city wikis that actually tell whats on sell and where. There are wikis about wikis. I was also curious as to where the word came from. It is a Hawaian word that means "quick" or "fast". With that said, I'll "wiki-ly" move on!

Thing 11

Call me old school, old cool or even old fool, but there's something about a newspaper or magazine that the inet can't compete with.(maybe because it's hard to get a desktop pc into the bathroom)
Here are some quotes about some "Social Media" sites:(Along with my opinion)

...You won’t find editors at Digg .(By George, we need editors).

Reddit is a “source for what's new and popular on the web.(And what is Google?)

Newsvine lets “you...read stories from established media organizations…as well as individual contributors (So do newspapers and magazines; they're called "Letters to the Editor")

Mixx “is your link to the web content that really matters.(Who determines that?)


I say we take Newsvine and Reddit , Mixx 'em together,Digg a big 'ol hole and bury 'em!

10 Things About Thing 10

This is the final installment of " XX Things About Thing XX". The rest of the posts will be virtual. In other words, they will depend on your input.


Okay, Here we go;





1.The idea of online bookmarks started back in 1996 with "itList".


2. In 2003, del.icio.us (now called Delicious) started what is called "tagging".


3. One of the advantages of tag-based classification (such as web sites)is the that it is done by human beings, not software.

4. Social bookmarking can be useful as a way to access bookmarks from various computers, organize bookmarks, and share bookmarks.

5. There are however, disadvantages as well. E.g. no keyword standards, synonym/antonym confusion.

6. Tagging is also an excellent tool for spammers.

7. If one does not have a lot of bookmarks, "delicious" is not so tasty.

8. It seems a lot of these sites are just a means of advertising for the sponsors.

9. There are others ways of bookmarking that may even be safer.

10. Remember your "tag" expires on your birthday not the end of your birth month.

9 Things About Thing 9

Web conferencing has become a very useful tool. Listed below are some of the possible uses.

1. Already used by companies to hold meetings with links from across the country and around the world.
2. Used by colleges and universities for lectures.

3. Hospitals use it daily to view and learn surgical techniques.

Some other very interesting uses include:
4. A mother and father used web-conferencing to view the graduation of their two kids at two locations on the same day, hundreds of miles apart.

5. The funeral service of a soldier killed in war was viewed by his friends still on active duty.

6. Sunday Church services are available online as webcasts.

7. Courts uses conferencing for "1st Appearence" hearings

8. There is now available to any interested, virtual marriages(not legal or binding), and to go along with that, virtual divorces.

9. Web conferencing has spawned all kinds of ideas. Not all seem practical, but it's good to have these tools available.

8 Things About Thing 8

1. With so many Web 2.0 tools available, choosing becomes the issue.

What works for a smaller library may not work for a larger one.

A lot depends on what serviecs are being provided.

With the internet, some smaller libraries may not need to dpulicate what patrons could easily

get from another source.

2. What comes to mind instantly is email.

I'm told that email has been around longer than the internet. What did we do before

we had it?

Most of us(in Libraries) have as least 2 email accounts. It has now become the runner-up to


the telephone as most used communication tool.



3. Another popular tool is Instant Messaging(IM).

This is very popular with young people. So popular in fact that it has produced it's own



language(see link below).



http://www.city-net.com/~ched/help/lingo/chatslang.html



4. Messaging is now a very efficient tool in libraries.



5. Text Messaging is now so popular it is probably the leading cause of reptitive motion injuries
in young people.


6. Web-based groups are popular(Yahoo, Google most popular)

7. Large-file transfers(e.g.,bigupload.com, yousendit.com) are the "Fed-Ex/ UPS" of the inet.

8. All of the technology can (and probably will) be used in some version of "Library x.x".

7 Things About Thing 7

1. Most

2. Of

3. These

4. Seem

5. To

6. Be

7. Toys

6 Things about Thing 6

1. I viewed some of the services and found that most were not really useful to me.
Most of these are common to most photo sharing sites.
2. I did create a calendar however.
This is a very common service but is always fun.
3. The "jigsaw" feature was fun.

4. I find that "retrievr" could indeed become a useful tool as well as an online toy.

5. I tried using the "slideshow" and found it non as user-friendly as others I've used.

6. It amazes me that we have so much technology that the majority of it has become toys.

5 Things About Thing 5

1. Setting up a FLICKR account was pretty easy.
They did ask for a mini bio.
2.Uploading photos was also really simple.
I really like the ability to select multiple photos as opposed to uploading one at a time.
3. I like the "privacy" setting.
This is something I think people take for granted.
4. The "license" setting is very important.
This helps prevent unauthorized use.
5. I haven't found any use for the "map" setting, but I like the idea.

4 Things About Thing 4

1. I think I now understand how RSS works. (I accidently discovered a use for it!)
There seems to be some practical uses for feeds.
2. The setup is quite confusing.
I don't know what I did or if it was done correctly(see #1)
3. I wonder how long it will take before it becomes a "spam-way"?
4. I made a new phrase.
Spam-way is like the multi-product company, Amway, who would sell you something
by any means necessary.

3 Questions about Thing 3

1. What REAL useful purpose could a Blog search engine serve when so few find blogs to have any useful purpose?
2. How many Blog Search Engines are necessary if they are indexing each other?
3. Will blogging replace TV?

2 Things about Thing 2

1. WEB 2.0 is a term used to describe changes in the way the internet is now used
( I am just familiarizing myself with web 2.0 and I'm told we're already evolving to web 3.0)
2. Library 2.0 is a term used to describe how libraries now use all available resources,including patron/customer feedback to improve services. (Does this mean we're also getting to Library 3.0?)

I Made It Back

You are probably as surprised as I am. I must admit that this is not as hard as I initially thought it would be. Now that I'm getting the hang of this, I can move on to the rest of the "23 Things".
Wish me luck!

I Found Myself

I'm just getting back because I could not for the life of me find my blog. Thanks to my co-workers, I have found myself. I now attempt to do the other "22" things @ NEFLIN. So, if you don't hear from me for a few days, bear with me; "I'll be back!"

New Kid on the Blog

As the title suggests I am new at this. Hopefully, I will improve.