The End

I close the Library 2.0 book and feel the story has inspired in me a gamut of emotions.

- I've been frustrated because of time (and computer access) issues
- I've been both overwhelmed and amazed to discover what this Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 stuff is all about
- I've been inspired by a colleague 20 years my senior who blew through this program and helped the rest of us along the way

If I'm honest, I know I really did Learning 2.0 Light. But I'm committed to going back and exploring all the activities I skimmed or skipped. I also look forward to thinking about how we can use these tools right here and now.

Web 2.0 Lists

Played around with the mapping features. Sorta mash-ups in very cool ways.

HousingMaps: find an apartment in a sorta visual craigslist way. I could see the library using one of these to locate libraries in a system and when you click on it programs could come up.

Frappr: track your friends and others. A teen program with a geocaching aspect. Hide and seek? Incorporate IM?

Wayfarer: Good use of tag organizaton and a mapquest-type feature.

Man, it's all amazing. When internet first came along for mass consumption, everyone wondered where it would go. I don't think anyone had the imagination to foresee this magical Web 2.0.

Fun & Games

I played in the Sandbox! That was easy. Added a favorite book (Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell).

I'm struck by just how easy it is to add content.

Library Wikis

I thought the www.libsuccess.org wikipedia was a great example of using a wiki in a library setting for librarians. When I've a bit more time I'd like to add a piece to the children's programming success stories.

On a different note, we just all discussed creating our own staff wiki to keep track of our own best practices. (Itsy Bitsy Wiki I think we finally decided to call it.)

What's it all about?

What it is...

I launched my research from squidoo.com, and read-read-read. Maybe this should have been one of the first exercises? Then we could have been thinking more about how we might use this "social software" in our own world. Of particular note to me with regard to L2.0:

+ Libriary 2.0 will breakdown barriers of time, space and outdated policy
+ "Long Tail" marketing - develop resources to reach out to the numbers that don't think of the library as a resource. (I want to think about this in terms of our relationship with teachers.)
+ Accept that you can't do everything for everyone. Focus on who you do reach and really figure out what they want/need.

Tag your it...

Del.ic.ious is pretty much the only place I spent time in. Although I get it - Library Thing uses tags, Technocrati, YouTube, Flickr to name a few. It's just a wicked helpful way to organize your product and share it. Quickly, I might add, since there is a plethora of stuff in the webuniverse. And, as I just learned on my RSS feed from LJ today (brownie points?!), EBAY! Now we know tagging has arrived.

Technocrati

Tags - just another way to organize blogs (and videos, etc.). This site was overwhelming, as was YouTube. There's so much going on! If you couldn't shortcut getting the info you actually were looking for by tags, you'd be lost. I was "bad" and for this exercise watched a trailer of the new Borat movie. Hilarious - can't wait to see it. But as I said, I used the tags to navigate around a couple of subjects - politics, deval patrick to name a few.

Again, no library stuff. Jeez. Hope it doesn't count against me. Promise I'll go back when possible.

Podcast Stuff

Quickly, as I enter the home stretch and test the patience of colleauges this busy Sunday afternoon, I tour and summarize:
Odeo is another site I'll explore further as the year progresses. It's awesome that you can create your own podcast and get it published! Maybe someday...Meanwhile, I chose to listen to a discussion between Arianna Huffington & Nora Ephron on "What Drives Women Today?" Key to becoming your best woman is to identify your inner critic and "get rid of this bad roommate". Inspiring and funny. (I know, not library, but hey.)

The podcast search tools are all quite different in their layout and organization. And searching features. Picked to explore:
KCET Podcast: ALOUD at the Central Library at Podcast.net, Listened to the discussion of "The Coming Reformation of Islam" between Reza Aslan and Jack Miles.
Open Stacks at Podcast Alley. I ended up only subscribing to the RSS feed as this search tool required me to download softward on the public computer I was using, which I coudn't do. Another later exploration.
NPR: Books atYahoo! Podcasts. I like the forwarding feature. Wasn't interested in some of the reviews. PS - nice ads. :-
I think each will prove valuable going forward.

YouTube

I am down to the wire here, so only visited YouTube (GoTube?!).

Overwhelming. I'm glad they organize the site into categories. I'm looking forward to exploring this further in the future. For this exercise: A couple of us in the department are bonkers for the movie Grey Gardens. I just had to subscribe (using the tags "grey gardens")! Great mixes to different scenes in the movie. Also like the "Quick List" feature - makes life easy since I'm in a hurry.

Library Thaaang

Very hot. (Yeah, wannabe here.) The instructions were to add a few titles, and I really had to control myself. I was giddy about typing in a title and hey-presto, there was an icon and general cataloging info on MY book! And the different view buttons (LOC subject #'s?! What?!) were cool, too.

I like the groups idea - I plan to return often and participate.

Net Library

What?! No way to search for children's books?! Did anyone catch that?!

Anyway, after checking out the number of titles available, I downloaded Ann Tyler's Patwork Planet and listened for a chapter. Very easy. BUT. Unlike the new Overdrive audiobook service we'll be getting, there was no way to bookmark (or simply note) where you were in the book so you could return to it. Not so good.

Zoho

LOVE IT. I've used it to write my discovery exercise notes for my blog write-ups. It's immensely helpful that the shortcut keys are the same as MS Word. And automatic save? Excellent. I dig the email feature, too.

Who would have thought, even as recently as two years ago, that Microsoft would have this competition? Linux should have been their big lesson. Ah well, at least Bill can retire with a some sense of financial security.

Library links

Library feeds I added to my bloglines account are Library Journal News, School Library Journal and the very interesting secondsitelibrary.blogspot.com. So much information! Just need more time. I like this feature and the up-to-dated-ness of it, but sheesh. I'm not sure I have the luxury of time to stay on top of reading it on a day-to-day basis. We'll see.

On-line Generators

Fun exercise. Who knew how many bajillion generators were out there? I was home with my sick nephew and we had a BLAST creating monkey names for our friends and family. I also really liked the "What-if-inator" (i.e. What if Socrates lived at the same time as George Washington?) Not a bad idea for dinner parties.

I know, I know! No library-related finds. As I go on...

Yo! Yes?

Yes, I'm a children's librarian...ripping off Chris Rashka's title.

Create your own search engine - good stuff. Had to pull together all my fav Foodie sites, of course. But I also created "My Learning 2.0" list of sites, too! I'll definitely keep using this tool day-to-day.

New Tech, New World: Library 2.0

You know, I put this off for last because I'm overwhelmed with all the new technology out there. Back in the day I worked for a PR firm that specialized in promoting technology companies. I was very much on top of what was new and hot. Fast forward to 1/2 dozen years later and I'm borderline clueless. So for this exercise I thought I would simply write about Library 2.0. I am amazed how far reaching, how much of a "movement" this concept is in the greater library world. What I had thought was a clever exercise to get our library system familiar with the latest technology turns out to be a universal push to continue to offer patrons new and improved services aligned with their needs. And in this day and age of blogs and YouTube, we've got to design services using technologies that your patrons use. I just read in LJ's Tech Blog that Talis is holding a Mash-Up contest to generate great new ideas to improve library services - I look forward to seeing what wins. And I look forward to see what we here at PLCMC will develop!

Link me

Technorati Profile

Feeding my habit..

When I first began exploring the activities for RSS feeds, I wasn't quite sure of the advantage of setting up that type of an account versus receiving email alerts. Well, color me addicted.
I can (with a touch of a button!) get up-to-the-minute news from faves like Cooking Light and Food Network. I'm bummed that RR doesn't have a feed yet, but I'll keep watching. I also found some cool new feeds like Cooking for Engineers. You know what I really love? That you can clip articles. VERY nice.

Armchair Travel

I was most intrigued with the Flickr/Yahoo Trip Planner app. What a great tool - this is armchair travel at its best!

Trip Planner would have been a great way to document the crazy night I spent in Paris. My roommate (and best friend) and I had decided spur of the moment to spend the weekend in the great City of Light. We were bunking in Canterbury, England, where we spending a semester abroad from our little midwestern liberal arts college. "Hey," I said, "it's only 30 minutes to the coast and an hour's ferry ride to Calais. We can catch a train to Paris and be there in an hour! We'll find a hostel when we get there." And off we went, bless our hearts.

Long story short, we arrived to find that there were no hotel rooms or hostel rooms available ANYWHERE. Our spur of the moment trip landed us in Paris during the single most busiest weekend of the year. So, we walked the City all night with random strangers joining us along the way. (Including one very drunk English fellow who had a room he would have gladly shared if only he could remember where he was staying.)

Trip Planner would have shown us intrepid nocturnal tourists stopping at the Eiffel Tower, cruising up the Champs Elyess and viewing the Arc de Triomphe, splurging on a boat ride down the Seine (ah, blessed relief for our feet), viewing the immensity that is Notre Dame and the frequent stops at les bistros to fortify our strength with, first, wine and then, espresso. Quite a trip to document, and quite a trip to remember. Vividly.

Killeen, Tx

Killeen, Tx,
originally uploaded by jeffk.

I was born in Killeen (an Army brat), and we only lived there for about 6 months. For my birthday some 30 odd years later, my Dad and I went back for a tour. Needless to say, I was ignorant of the huge changes that taken place, but Dad was floored! He still remembered having to drive across county lines to buy booze. :-)

My beloved Wallace, waiting for a handout. He's so dang cute, how can one resist him?!

Dinner party menu was a Tapas theme and featured Blue Cheese and Walnut Endive with Balsamic Dressing, Grilled Shrimp with a Spicy Guacamole, the ever Ubiquitous Mozzerella and Tomato Bruschetta, Ropa Viejo and LOTS of Sangria. Yum!