Thing 25 Bloggers Toolkit

I read through all of the material on thing 25, bloggers toolkit. The only thing I added to my Blog was a weather gadget. This gadget is something that I will actually use and I wanted to try adding another gadget since I had forgotten how to add them. I am only doing a blog so I can help patrons set up a blog. Since I am not trying to increase traffic to my blog and most of the widgets and tools had to deal with social networking features, sitemeters, quizzes, etc, I chose not to add any of these features. If I didn't have a Mac at home I probably would have added and edited more photos on my blog. All of my photos are on my Mac at home and I am currently working on editing the photos so I can create more digital and traditional scrapbooks.

Thing 36. Comic Relief-Generate Some Fun

I had a horrible time with this Thing. I did go to ToonDoo and found a couple of library-related comics. You are right, they aren't that funny! I tried to share the comic on my blog, but not all of the frames appeared. I tried it a couple of times with the same results. I did look at a couple of the other generators but I didn't find anything that I like. Since I have never, ever liked comics I am done with comics and will not post anymore.

Thing 43. Online TV & video.

I checked out Hulu. I watched an episode of Bones that I had missed on network TV. Although I prefer a regular television it was a good way of keeping up with the series. I also created a login and selected a couple episodes of Monk to view at a later date. Since this could be addicting and I am very busy at work and at home, I am going to watch these episodes at a much later date! I also recommended a video to a Friend.

Thing 34. Is it competition? Online Answer sites.

I read all of the articles. Librarian 2.0--Interviews of the future of librarians was my favorite article. Jenna Freedmans interview spoke to my heart and head. I agree with her that librarians and libraries need to prioritize service to patrons and learn to value public service as much as shiny new tech toys! I also agree with the conclusion reached by Stephen Abram, the author of "Evolution to Revolution in Chaos". We(librarians) should start working today on a new world balance of personal service-virtual, in-person, and computer mediated. I also looked at the Mahalo and AskMetafilter answer sites. I can now understand why the public likes these sites. The answers to the questions I looked at were spot on. I also checked out the Slam the Boards wiki. I think that it is a good idea. Hopefully, the slam the Boards wiki will make the general public more aware of the tradition of public service provided by librarians.

Thing 27. Twitter

I visited Twitter and signed up for a free account. I chose to keep my tweets private. I did try a few tweets to see what it was like to send them. I did look at the Youtube videos for How to Use Twitter and How to Use Twitter for Business. If I was interested in marketing and had 4-5 hours to spend on Twitter I could see where Twitter could be useful. I did enjoy looking at the Hibbing and Luria Library Twitter sites. Current library programs, info on tax help, new library hours and recommended books all on 1 page. For people living in these areas I could see where these sites would be helpful. I am following two sites, an Obama site and a co-worker site. I doubt that I will look at these much since I prefer to IM work colleagues and I like sites with a lot more information but I will probably check out the Obama site every couple of weeks. Basically, I don't really want to know what celebrities or friends are doing every minute of the day and I have other ways of finding out important information but at least I know how to Twitter. I also don't have hours to check out these sites or keep mine updated!

Thing 26. Join the 23 things on a stick Ning

I joined the 23 things on a stick Ning. I also joined the Ramsey county Librarians working on Things on a stick and added a comment to the comment wall. I also added two friends. I posted a Ning badge to my Facebook Page. Ning isn't something that I will use in the future since I prefer to imail my Ramsey county colelagues and I don't have time to check other NING groups or to chat and leave comments.

Thing 24. Refresh your blog

After a hectic few months I finally found some time to refresh my blog and by blog so I can work on more things. I rearranged and updated some of my my blog postings. After a few attempts I added a new gadget and added new information to my profile. I also deleted my old avatar and created a new avatar complete with a spring/summer background. I am not at all into avatars, gadgets and blogging but I am trying to learn more about blogging and everything that you can add to your blog.

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Thing 23. Final Thoughts

First I wish to thank everyone who put together the 23 Things on a Stick Program. Next, I wish to thank all of my co-workers who kindly offered me assistance. Without their help I would never have finished. I especially want to thank Carol, Heidi, and Adele. Although I did learn about new technological advances all in all this was a very frustrating experience that took up way too much of my time. I will continue to Blog but I will pick and choose what I work on and when. Thanks again.

Thinig 21. Part 2

I read the articles on Gather and Web Junction. I am not convinced that Gather will become the new MySpace for books but I will keep checking it out in the future. As a result of reading these two articles I do plan on looking at social sites for genealogy and crafts. I also joined NING and uploaded two videos. I really like the video "The First Help Desk ", about a befuddled monk who needs a co-worker to help him understand the "new technology" of a book, as opposed to a scroll. Sometimes I feel like the monk. It took a long time to finally get a NING badge to upload on my Blog. After I copied and pasted the URL it would look okay on the preview but refuse to load because the tag wasn't closed. After repeated attempts and I finally clicked on the button that says don't show this message again and somehow it worked! Very Very frustrating for myself and my coworkers.!

Thing 22. Staying Current

I resolve to spend at least 30 minutes a week keeping up with new technology tools and trying to apply these tools at work and home. I plan on using Web Junction-Minnesota and Webinars from Minitex to help me reach my goal. I will blog once a week about my new tools and insights.

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

I registered for Facebook and added two friends. Currently I have five friends. I completed a profile and joined the Librarian and Librarians group. I also visited MySpace and checked out the Denver Public Library and Hennepin County Library MySpace pages but chose not to create my own. It is good to know about Facebook and MySpace but I spend most of my working hours in front of a computer and prefer to spend my non-working hours exercising, reading, playing games, crafting or actually talking or meeting with friends.

Thing 19. Podcasts

I watched the On the Road with MINITEX Podcast with Beth Kelly, the former director of the Duluth Public Library. I found the interview fascinating, especially her discussion of working in a newly integrated library facility. Since I was born in Duluth I enjoyed her brief history of the Duluth Public Library, particularly the part about the library being a women's supported library (after originally being a subscription library for men). She also spoke about current topics in the library world today, such as the library being a place of civility where respectful discussions and self directed learning can take place, the importance of readers advisory, the cooperative nature of libraries, and who will libraries be serving in the next few years when senior citizens outnumber young children in our communities. Trying to add a RSS feed for this podcast was challenging but with the assistance of my colleague Karen we were able to add the RSS feed to my Google Reader. More detailed istructions would have been helpful. I do plan on listening to the other On the Road MINITEX podcasts.

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

I watched the 1970's TV commerial, Conan the Librarian,and Grand March of the Librarians. I don't enjoy watching videos on computer screens and I needed to turn the sound down and watch the videos at a time when it would be the least distracting to my co-workers. Watching YouTube is at the bottom of my list of things I like to do. I chose to post a Beijing Opening Ceremonies Video so one of my friends can watch it on my blog while she is waiting for me to drop off my VHS copy. After I located the embed HTML box (which was not highlighted) it didn't take long to post the video.

Thing 13. Online productivity tools

I added a google gadget, a Youtube video on the Beijing 2008 olympics, to my blog. My first two attemps at adding a gadget in July failed. Thanks to a new interface that allowed for easy integration into my layout the third attempt worked like a charm. Earlier in the summer I also tried adding a calendar but I couldn't get that to work either. After I finish the 23 things I will go back and see if I can add the calendar too.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

I am familiar with ELM Productivity tools because I use them on a daily basis at work, either showing patrons how to do searches or doing searches myself. I have also helped patrons set up e-book accounts and I do have one myself. Personally, I don't like using e-books but if you need the information right now I could see where students would welcome the chance to read a book online. Setting up a RSS Search Alert was a nightmare. After many futile attemps my colleague Adele helped me set up my alert. I now have a RSS search alert from EBSCO for Irish Dance. I don't think that I will ever need to or want to set up another search alert but I may have to help patrons setting up RSS alerts.