Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Thing #4, Flickr

Having just returned from my Iowa family history tour, I decided to search Flickr for cemetery photographs taken in Iowa. Came across a photo titled "Babyland" by BethAnne (purpleurple-41). The photo is of the sign that indicates where the infants are buried in a Batavia, IA cemetery. The photographer calls it "cute, morbid and sad ." It has a strange beauty. I didn't want to upload the image without the photographer's permission - copyright indeed!

I can see that this would be a very fun thing to do with personal photographs. (Note to self - guess that gives me another reason for ponying up for that digital camera.) I am very aware of the need to get people's permission if you post their photos publically - just like the professionals have to do. It would have to become a new habit with friends but also somewhat bizarre.

Our library website committee has been discussing logos, images and photos for our new, improved website, and our college is using Flickr for its photo gallery. Unfortunately, the powers that be continue to forget that our school has 2 campuses, and one has almost no visual presence on the college website. Perhaps this would be a way to bring equity to the situation???

Monday, June 30, 2008

Thing #3

Goggle Reader set-up - check, RSS feeds flowing - check.

I signed up for a few feeds through the Goggle news feed bundles and quickly deleted some of them after seeing how many hits they had in just a few minutes - this could quickly become overwhelming! I also subscribed to a librarian blog feed, and the NYTimes movie reviews (got to have those!) When I logged into my account today, I saw recommendations for more feeds based on the ones I've subscribed to - shades of Netflix.

Ran across an interesting post from the Shifted Librarian about Google Gears. It allows you to load up your feeds, go offline and read them. A nice feature for laptop users but you have to google Google to find it. The FAQs say it's not for general use???

Friday, June 27, 2008

Thing #2

Dear Diary:

It's been months since my last posting. So, ok, here we are again trying to work through the 23 Things. I'm finding it a challenge to find the time to explore all of the new Library 2.0 tools that are out there plus the processing and analysis that should accompany any experiential learning experience. What works, what doesn't work for me personally and professionally? Beyond the 23 Things, I've started playing with clicker technology (which my student workers love) for my BIs and Wink to create online tutorials. I'm finding it's like falling into a black hole; it may be hours before I re-emerge because I've found some tangent along the way to pique my interest. So excuse me, Stephen Abram, if it takes more than 15 minutes of my day to learn something new.

Library 2.0 isn't a new concept for me - I've been following the trends, attending workshops, reading books and articles by some of the Library 2.0 gurus. One of the things that I haven't heard or read about is the relationship of Library 2.0 to the digital divide. How do you participate in this social phenomenon if you don't have a digital camera, broadband access or even a computer?

There is an interesting report from UMN's Institute on Race & Poverty called "Digital Justice: Progress Towards Digital Inclusion in Minnesota" (Dec. 2006). The report describes the connection between technology and access to things like jobs and education. Here's a quote from one section that bears directly on libraries:

"As more libraries in Minnesota receive physical makeovers, it is critical that library leaders find ways to integrate technology into the facility’s approach to information delivery. Patrons expect, demand and deserve high-tech library facilities where they can do far more than check out a book. Libraries can be the lifeline to immigrants’ family members in other countries, a safe environment to become more conversational in English, the place where dislocated workers submit online applications for promising jobs, and a place where young people can become “digital natives” who will thrive in tomorrow’s economy. "

Hmmm... more processing is in order.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Avatars everywhere!

Ok, this is scary. My blog avatar has automatically shown up in my personal Yahoo email account. If that doesn't scare you, watch the YouTube video, "Ordering pizza in the future."

Friday, February 15, 2008

Thing #1 Set up your blog

Well, it's Feb. 15 and I'm going to get this up and running just under the wire. I've already used some of the 23 Things in my professional and personal life but a structured program is what I need to finally get around to tagging all of those reference tools that are in my "Favorites" - the list is out of control!

This is actually the second blog I've created. My first was in WordPress and it was more intuitive to use than Blogger. However, Blogger seems to have more functionality. We'll see how they match up as time goes on.

I'm not crazy about the selections for our avatars but it does represent things I like: polling place (for politics), character shoes (for dance), sheet music (for singing), and jewelry (for my creative and aesthetic indulgences).

Tap on!