Sunday, December 30, 2007

Thing #16-Sandbox Wiki

Using wikis is a great way to see what librarians are doing in their library program. Because information can be added and updated quickly I can easily access the ideas shared by others. One exercise I have enjoyed thus far has been the image generators. While playing in the “sandbox” I was able to add an image that I had generator earlier, as well as see what other ideas people were posting.

Thing #15-Wikis

Wikis could be used to help strengthen the communication and collaboration among libraries and staff, students, and other members of the community. Information is organized and can quickly be updated. Upcoming professional development opportunities, policies and procedures, book reviews, and successful library practices are just a few applications that could benefit from the use of wikis. As Meredith Farkas stated in her article Using Wikis to Create Online Communities, “If you are looking to develop content that requires input from people outside of the library, a wiki is an ideal tool to solicit that content.” I personally enjoyed exploring the Texas School Librarians’ Wikispace because of its helpful content in various lessons and other resources.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Thing #14-Perspectives of Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

Technology is now a common staple in schools and most homes. There is an abundance of media in today’s society and our environment is completely saturated with it due to computers, TV, video games, etc. One must keep up with the times and therefore libraries are facing the challenge; trying to change the paradigm. Libraries are asking the question how it will deliver needed information? We are much more global than past years and are sharing with others online more frequently, and at a faster pace. I think the future of libraries will experience an increase in the instruction, implementation, and use of technology.

Thing #13-Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Librarians could definitely utilize del.icio.us to help with collaboration. Creating a social bookmark site would allow other members of your profession to share and learn different lessons, various storytelling techniques, and informative author/illustrator visits. It would also enable librarians to be more aware of new and upcoming literature, successful research ideas, and strong incentive reading programs. The simple organization of tagging your “favorites” makes it easy to acquire useful sites that can be shared with others.

Thing #12-Social Networks

Ning gives you the option to allow only selected members or interest groups to join and participate in your social network, which can be a helpful feature. Since it is not quite as public as Facebook and MySpace, I would feel a little more at ease using Ning. However, even after exploring certain social networks I feel a little uncomfortable putting myself out there for the entire world to see (especially with so many vigilant warnings about identity theft, spyware, etc., etc., etc.). I can understand why college students would use social networks to communicate with friends, but I find it difficult to believe that social networks could effectively be used in schools (especially with younger students) as part of their curriculum.

Thing #11-LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a neat way to share your favorite books, as well as take a peek at what others are reading and recommend. It is easily organized into its own library catalog and is very simple to join. With a wide range of search data from hundreds of libraries, even out of print materials are easy to locate. A great way to have an online book club and find other topics of literary interest is to create a “group” within LibraryThing. Other useful tools include the Book Information page(which gives high quality data about books you are curious about) and the Book Suggester and UnSuggester. I thought the UnSuggeter was a neat feature because it made recommendations of what not to read.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/VarsityReader

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Thing #10 Online Image Generators

I enjoyed playing around with most of the online image generators. I had difficulty with the Comic Strip Generator because every time I tried to upload a picture it would tell me the site was overloaded and to try back again later. I plan on using some of these image generators to enhance my library webpage. I think it could help to make the site look inviting and fun. Here are some creations.





Thing #9 Finding Feeds

I think the simplest feed search for me was Google Blog Search. I was easily able to search and find feeds on children's literature and I feel that much of the information that I found would be very useful in my library program. Technorati I found was a bit overpowering due to the massive amount of feeds that were listed. All in all I think using most of the blog search feeds is an easy way to find the information that you need.