New Discoveries

So as part of me getting into the technology mode for work I was forced to discover bloglines...whoa who knew there was something to make my life so much easier! I could check all my favorite blogs daily and all in one place. Well then I progressed and found Google Reader, which was even better but also led me to iGoogle, oh my! So now I have iGoogle on my computer and on one page I can see my calendar, the traffic, the weather, I have a wikipedia search box, Google Reader, spell checker and gas price monitor. It is versatile web page that I am a huge fan of.

Second life...well I am trying. I have created my avatar (although she still has a bald spot on the back of her head I cant get rid of) I am still exploring the first little island. It just takes up so much time and patience! I will keep trying though.

Crocheting, finally I am learning how to do it. I enrolled in a two week class and am making a purse. I will post pictures when it is done. Right now I need to finish the homework part of the class. You see the first session teaches you how to do it and gets you started, then you have to make your small creation become a 16 inch long piece then the second session makes these 16 inches into an actual purse...we will see what happens.

Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks

Hmmmm...an interesting article, relevant today I think.


Beverly Hanly 03.29.07 | 2:00 AM

When the IT director at North Carolina's Charlotte & Mecklenburg County public library began training staff in the latest web technologies, she lured reluctant participants with bribes -- a free MP3 player and the chance to win a laptop.

Six months later, the program they developed is the real prize. Learning 2.0, developed by public services technology director Helene Blowers, has become a surprise grassroots hit, available for free on the web and adopted by dozens of other libraries around the globe.

"The last thing we want is for people to come into our libraries and ask about Flickr or Second Life and be met with a blank look," said Christine MacKensie, director of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne, Australia, which just finished a four-month version of Learning 2.0. "And they certainly won't now."

Google and Microsoft are racing into libraries to digitize the world's books, but the success of Learning 2.0 shows that the human problem of retraining workers is often being tackled from the ground up.

Recognizing that librarians need to know how to participate in the new media mix if libraries are to remain relevant, Blowers challenged her 550 staffers to become more web savvy. Using free web tools, she designed the program and gave staff members three months to do 23 things.

They created blogs and podcasts, tried out Flickr, set up RSS feeds, learned about wikis, uploaded video to YouTube, played with image generators and Rollyo, and explored Technorati, tagging and folksonomies.

"Librarian avatars were popping up all over the blogs," said Blowers.

Although her original goals for Learning 2.0 were touchy-feely "E's" -- exposing staff to new tools, encouraging play, empowering individuals, expanding the knowledge toolbox, eliminating fear -- the effects were both practical and financial.

"We don't have to wait for some training company to come along and say, 'For $20,000 we'll show you how this stuff works,'" said Michael Stephens, who wrote Web 2.0 and Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software. "Helene put it on the web so anyone can use that program."

Libraries all over the world are doing just that -- moving the entire Learning 2.0 program to their own websites. The program has been duplicated by university and community library systems in Sweden, Australia, Canada and Denmark. In the United States, programs are underway in South Carolina, Florida, Maryland and California. Even the Combined Arms Research Library, a military repository, is trying it.

Now Blowers' program is spreading beyond libraries (even virtual ones, like the teen library in Second Life teen library in Second Life): A public relations firm wants to set up a Learning 2.0 program for its staff, and several universities and an elementary school want to use the system to educate teachers, she said.

Michael Casey, division director of technology services for the Gwinnett County Public Library in Georgia, calls this movement Library 2.0.

"For libraries, the service aspect makes it as akin to Business 2.0 as to Web 2.0," said Casey, who writes LibraryCrunch. "The 2.0 technology makes it possible to offer a lot without all the licensing and maintenance. It's all free, it's browser-based -- it's a technician's dream."

Cameras

So today I finally joined the masses and bought a digital camera. Its a Casio EX-Z60 6.0 MP. I am excited because while I have used other people's digital camera's this one is mine. I just have to wait for it to come in since they didnt have one for me to bring home today. Now I will be able to take my own pictures and post the results.

As for reading my latest was the last release in the 1-800-Where R You Series- Sanctuary by Meg Cabot. It continues the story of Jessica Mastriani aka "Lightning Girl" who has secret psychic abilities which she is trying to hide from the government while attending high school and trying to convince her love interest to show some interest in her. The story beings at Thanksgiving Dinner when the new neighbor knocks on the door to ask if anyone has seen his son who left a few hours ago but should have been back. The boy's body is found later in a corn field with a mysterious mark on his chest. This leads the ever inquisitive Jess to try and learn what the mark means as well as who did it. Soon however the local synagogue is burned down and a local Jewish boy has now disappeared. The investigation leads Jess and Rob to a local white supremacist militia that is holding the young boy hostage and has some interesting ideas they want to enforce. It is a good continuation of the series although the battle between the bikers and the militia gets a little unbelievable while still being entertaining. I cant wait for the final book in the series to come out in January.