Week 9 Thing 23

Thank goodness! I have finally completed 23 Things! I am glad that I was given this opportunity to learn so much about new technology - even though I whined and worried the entire time I was completing the exercises. The technology I thought most useful were blogs, RSS, online word processing and spreadsheets, podcasts and Overdrive.
One of the best things about 23 Things was how it brought our branch staff together. I have always thought that we worked well together, but this was amazing! Whenever anyone said “This just doesn’t work!”, someone else would say “Let’s see what you are doing...” and off they would go to figure out what the problem was. This didn’t happen just once, but continually throughout the entire 23 Things program. I guess we gave each other the great service we try to give customers each day. Along the way, we learned a lot about each other’s strengths and abilities and what great people we work with.

Week 6 Thing 15

I read all the articles on Libraries 2.0 and I just hope I like the library of the future as much as I do our present library. I hope we do not become so busy with technology that we forget to take care of our present customers - many of whom show no interest what so ever in technology. I hope we always have room for actual books, maybe not the “just in case collection” Rick Anderson discussed in the “Tip of the Iceberg,” but books that customers can checkout and actually hold in their hands, in addition to all the electronic resources available for our customer’s use.
That said, I think we should develop a webpage interface that customers can bring up on their cell phones and other mobile devices so our library services will be available wherever our customers happen to be.

Week 7 Thing 17

I added my blog to the Favorite Blogs page all by myself! Congratulation to me!

Week 6 Thing 16

I enjoyed Princeton Public Library’s Book Lover’s Wiki. It was a part of the 2006 Summer Reading Program for Adults and had 207 reviews posted into 17 different categories. Customers could add their review directly to the wiki, email it to the Library or hand deliver the review to the Welcome Desk. The Library staff entered the reviews emailed or hand delivered to the Library onto the wiki. This was an interesting way to introduce new technology to the reading public.

Week 3 Thing 7

I like Online Banking because it simplifies my life SO MUCH! No writing checks, trips to USPS to buy stamps and mail the payment! I think our customers would appreciate paying their fines by debit or credit card as it would make their lives simplier too.

Week 4 Thing 8

I think the Library should use RSS feed to publicize Library news, upcoming events, and alerts about new fiction, nonfiction, DVDs , music CDs and books on CDs. Maybe we could alert customers about overdue items and fines by RSS - maybe we could even alert them before the items are due.

Week 9 Thing 20

Sesame Street - At the Library




I chose this clip for my blog as I think we could all use a little humor in our lives.

Week 8 Thing 18

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

This is my test of Zoho Writer. I like the fact that the icons are very similar to Microsoft Word. I see the icon for special characters is right on the toolbar too. I always takes me time to find the special characters on Word when a customer needs them.

When I transfered this from Zoho to my blog, it only moved my first paragraph! OK, this is what I said in the second paragraph:

The online productivity tools wll be a big help to our customers who use many different PCs for their documents. Instead of remembering their discs or USB flash drives, they will only need their username and password. Ok, that will be a challenge...

Week 9 Thing 21

I really enjoyed this lesson on podcasts! I have listened to the song “I am a Book Baby” and heard several children’s stories from the Denver Public Library, enjoyed a conversation with Susan Monk Kidd from the Kankakee Public Library (and then downloaded the audio of her book The Secret Life of Bees from Overdrive!) and learned current Library News from LibVibe.

How could we use this technology in the library? Songs and stories from Storytime would be a good start.

Week 9 Thing 22

I first tried the downloadable audio books when the Library had a contract with Recorded Books. I had just bought my first MP3 player and it took me all weekend to transfer the title to my player because I would not admit to my children that I needed help. Now there are video tutorials and a much simplified sign in procedure. There are so many titles on Overdrive to choose from – the classics, different fiction genres along with nonfiction works - no wonder the statistics are up for Overdrive’s audiobooks. I think these statistics will increase in proportion to number of our customers who have access to high speed internet. We should remember to tell students who are reluctant readers that there are many Reading List books on Overdrive which might help them get through their projects.

The titles on Overdrive match my listening interests more than titles on Project Gutenburg or World eBook Fair

Week 9 Thing 19

Healia (http://www.healia.com/healia/) is a search engine designed to help consumers find high quality and personalized health information on the Web by using algorithms to assess quality and to categorize documents from sources such as MedlinePlus, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov. When you do a search on a specific disease, your results are displayed under TABs for All, Prevention, Causes/Risks, Symptoms, Diagnosis/Tests, and Treatments. You can refine your search by gender, age –kids, teens or seniors, heritage, reading level and more. Suggestions are given for more specific terms (as well as more general terms) to search. Healia also has a blog (www.blog.healia.com/)

Week 6 Thing 14

If a customer needs help finding a blog on a specific topic, Technorati would be the search engine to use. I would use Technorati's advanced search page as its simplicity is more to my liking than their busy, cluttered homepage.

Week Six Thing Thirteen

Of all the technology we have tried out, Del.icio.us is my least favorite. I set up an account and tagged several of my favorite craft sites, but I like my folders in Favorites better. I do not like the fact that other people can view my list of tagged sites - its too much sharing for this introvert.

Week 5 Thing 12

Using Rollyo I created a search tool for health and medical questions. My search for information on a brand name drug resulted in 62 hits, but approximately 30 percent of these hits were from commercial sites not included in my preselected sources.

On the positive side, this seems like federated searching for free websites. It was great entering the search term once and receiving results from multiple websites. The search was fast too.

Week 3 Things 6 and 7

The ID CARD at the bottom of my blog is an example of my flickr fun. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then my blog entry must be complete. Just Kidding!

Did you see there is Flickr Soduku? Try it at http://www.beckysweb.co.uk/sudoku/flickrsudoku.asp

I thought Flickr Color Pickr was impressive. I need a tool like that for home decorating and my quilting projects.

I want to try Mosaic Maker soon.

Week 5 Thing 10

My Avatar is meant to keep you guessing as it does not look anything like me. I did, however, live near the "City of Brotherly Love" before moving to Southern Maryland.

Week Three Thing Five

Dogwood blossoms
Originally uploaded by qmchenry

Sometines the simplest things are the most beautiful.

Week Three Thing Five

Magnolia Blossoms in Goodale Park
Originally uploaded by A. Runyon

Another sign of spring..

Week Three Thing Five

Cherry Blossoms
Originally uploaded by jcolman

Cherry blossoms remind me of spring - my favorite season.

First time blogger!

Hello! I watched the 7 1/2 Habits last night and today I created my first blog! I am now on my way to becoming part of the twenty-first century!