I have been purposely avoiding podcasts for a long time because I was afraid that once I started, I’d become addicted – there are so many neat things to listen to! However, for the sake of this challenge, I took the plunge – I downloaded the weekly podcast by the writers of the show Grey’s Anatomy. I have an ipod and itunes installed on my computer, but decided to do this “outside” of the ipod environment. I expect that in the future I’ll probably use my itunes account/software to manage my podcast subscriptions. It was easy – and after listening to one episode of the “behind the scenes” information about the show – I’m hooked. So then, of course, I had to look at all the various knitting podcasts that are out there. I decided to start with KnitCast, which is one of the more established knitting podcasts – you can often hear authors and knit designers being interviewed about their latest books. And again, I became hooked. Am I going to listen to podcasts in the future? Oh yeah….. .
As with most of the other technologies we’ve looked at, there are lots of ways that RCPL could use podcasting – news, events and recordings of programs, for example – but what I’d really like to see is a weekly or monthly podcast from the Youth Services staff. I’m sure there would be copyright issues, and I don’t know how difficult that would be to overcome, but I really love the idea of being able to go to the website every week and download a new podcast of a staff member reading a children’s book. If the copyright issues were too much to deal with, then a weekly podcast of a staff member TELLING a story would be neat too (we already have something similar on the website, but it doesn't change). I think it would be a new way of providing the old "dial a story" option that my library did when I was a kid.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Tech Challenge - Week Seven
The whole process was a bit more confusing that I’d expected – and I was pretty clear on how to do it. Once I’d downloaded the “Horrible Harry” book, it took a while to get it to start because I had to acquire the license - and that took a few tries. Additionally, on my computer it wanted to play on RealPlayer and not on Windows Media Player – so that was confusing too. But once I got everything to work (and it really wasn’t that bad), it was pretty neat. I wonder how much more confusing it could have/would have been if I’d tried to transfer either file to a portable device. There was a long thread on the Horizon-L listserv about how most devices are still not really designed very well - no way to bookmark your place or see where you are. The point was made that most devices are still designed for listening to music and not listening to books. I could see that as an issue.
Downloading something from Overdrive was actually much less confusing, even though I had the extra step of downloading the software first. The whole process was much more intuitive than Netlibrary. I couldn’t download any music as it was all checked out, but I downloaded the first part of the children’s book Corduroy and watched the video. It was much easier to use Overdrive’s software to download and play the file.
I can’t really see myself using this very much, but that’s mostly because I prefer the written word over the spoken word – I don’t really listen to books on cd/tape, either. I might download more juvenile videos for my daughter, thought. My husband, however, has used this service and really likes it. I could see myself listening to books on long drives once in a while, but even then, I’d probably prefer cassette tapes over anything else so that I don’t lose my place. Also, I have an ipod and the format-issues mean that there isn’t any material I can access through the library that will play on the ipod.
The obvious advantage to having this kind of service is having multiple formats of any one item – more options for patrons to use materials. And as more and more people are buying mp3 players, I think the demand for this will be high. But I do see lots of disadvantages too. The main one, as far as I’m concerned, is that all the (necessary) copyright protection will continue to make the process of downloading a book onto a portable device technologically confusing for patrons. Additionally, since every patron’s computer is different, it’s very difficult to trouble-shoot problems – and that only makes patrons more frustrated at us.
Friday, January 19, 2007
RCPL Tech Challenge 6
I have to say that the tag cloud is what drew me in to Flickr so quickly on the 4th challlenge. It was so neat to be able to type in a keyword for a knitting pattern (for example, a search for "Shetland Triangle") brings up a bunch of pictures of that pattern - a pattern I'm currently working on. I hadn't looked at Flickr's tag cloud, so I had to go do that -Japan is still popular - and so is Wedding. Not a surprise. When I clicked on Japan, the first thing I saw was a picture of Minnie Mouse! I also tried more knitting searches for "Misty Garden" and "Kate the Kitten" both patterns I've knitted, and the searches did bring up knitting.
This challenge was fun because I've always wanted to explore LibraryThing, but just hadn't had a chance to do so. I'd love to open an account and tag all the books in my library -but don't see how I'd ever have the time. I've had an ipod for almost a year and still haven't finished adding all my CD's to it, so I can't see ever having my library on LibraryThing. However, I must say that I didn't know that I could enter books by searching - I thought I'd have to enter all the information for each book. I added two books to my library, Pawn of Prophecy an old fantasy novel that I've read thousands of times, and A Little Princess , a children's book that's one of my all-time favorites. LibraryThing doesn't seem as intuitive to use as Flickr does -I had to search around to figure out how to find the tag cloud. But, then I had a lot of fun searching for different titles and clicking on different tags.
I think tagging is definitely a valuable tool for web users, even though there's the issue of authority control. Tagging is a good way to find related items (be they pictures, books, blog posts, whatever) and learn about new things. I think the Book Suggester at LibraryThing is a great tool for Readers Advisory - kind of a "if you like X, you might like Y" type of tool. I already use tagging in my personal life - all my blog entries are tagged, and all the items in my Flickr account are tagged as well (by the name of the pattern, and as knitting). As far as tagging in general, and it's relevance to RCPL, well, tagging is really no different than assigning subject headings to an item, which is part of what we do already - it's just a different format.
This challenge was fun because I've always wanted to explore LibraryThing, but just hadn't had a chance to do so. I'd love to open an account and tag all the books in my library -but don't see how I'd ever have the time. I've had an ipod for almost a year and still haven't finished adding all my CD's to it, so I can't see ever having my library on LibraryThing. However, I must say that I didn't know that I could enter books by searching - I thought I'd have to enter all the information for each book. I added two books to my library, Pawn of Prophecy an old fantasy novel that I've read thousands of times, and A Little Princess , a children's book that's one of my all-time favorites. LibraryThing doesn't seem as intuitive to use as Flickr does -I had to search around to figure out how to find the tag cloud. But, then I had a lot of fun searching for different titles and clicking on different tags.
I think tagging is definitely a valuable tool for web users, even though there's the issue of authority control. Tagging is a good way to find related items (be they pictures, books, blog posts, whatever) and learn about new things. I think the Book Suggester at LibraryThing is a great tool for Readers Advisory - kind of a "if you like X, you might like Y" type of tool. I already use tagging in my personal life - all my blog entries are tagged, and all the items in my Flickr account are tagged as well (by the name of the pattern, and as knitting). As far as tagging in general, and it's relevance to RCPL, well, tagging is really no different than assigning subject headings to an item, which is part of what we do already - it's just a different format.
RCPL Tech Challenge Five
Hennepin is the leader in all things Web, in my opinion, (just take a look at what they've done with their Horizon Web catalog and how they've customized it.). What they've done with their My Space profile is no exception. It seems that these days, whenever you talk about some library 2.0 idea, Hennepin is already right there doing it.
I would like to see RCPL do the same thing - twoe of the main ideas of the library 2.0 movement ares to go where your patrons are, not wait for them to come to you, and to provide the services that your patrons want and need, not what YOU think they want and need. So in that light, having a myspace profile would be a great thing - a direct link into the catalog and my account, perhaps the 1431 New Arrivals list, and the "on order" list from Book Buzz, and a forum for people to ask questions. It could be very helpful. However, I also think that Meredith Wolfwater raises a very, very good point when she says "don't do it just to do it". That's a serious pitfall - if RCPL is going to do a myspace profile, let's be sure it's something our patrons want and need, and let's make sure we are going to provide the resources to do it right. I think every library should be forced to read this editorial before testing the waters of any "library 2.0" technology, whether it be wikis, blogs, My Space, etc.
As far as personal use, I have to say that this is the first technology-related thing where I kind of say "eh." I don't really see myself using My Space. I already read blogs, message boards, etc. and I don't really need to create an account there. That said, I did join the State Library's community. I do see myself using these types of sites in a professional capacity. Just not so much in a personal one.
I would like to see RCPL do the same thing - twoe of the main ideas of the library 2.0 movement ares to go where your patrons are, not wait for them to come to you, and to provide the services that your patrons want and need, not what YOU think they want and need. So in that light, having a myspace profile would be a great thing - a direct link into the catalog and my account, perhaps the 1431 New Arrivals list, and the "on order" list from Book Buzz, and a forum for people to ask questions. It could be very helpful. However, I also think that Meredith Wolfwater raises a very, very good point when she says "don't do it just to do it". That's a serious pitfall - if RCPL is going to do a myspace profile, let's be sure it's something our patrons want and need, and let's make sure we are going to provide the resources to do it right. I think every library should be forced to read this editorial before testing the waters of any "library 2.0" technology, whether it be wikis, blogs, My Space, etc.
As far as personal use, I have to say that this is the first technology-related thing where I kind of say "eh." I don't really see myself using My Space. I already read blogs, message boards, etc. and I don't really need to create an account there. That said, I did join the State Library's community. I do see myself using these types of sites in a professional capacity. Just not so much in a personal one.
Monday, January 8, 2007
RCPL Tech Challenge Four
Flickr
I had used Flickr before, but never really played with it - now I'm hooked! Searching RCPL found a couple of pictures of the escalators, and searching Richland County Public Library found a few more pictures of the architecture. I also found a lot of pictures from the other RCPL. A search on South Carolina Public Libraries brought up lots of pictures from all over the state (thanks to Curtis!). Then I tried my own searches - there's lots of knitting to be found on Flickr. What a great resource to use if you're thinking about a certain pattern and want to see how it turned out for others. I got so involved in searching for pictures of various patterns that it ate up much of my Friday night. Because then, of course, I had to open my own account and upload all of my knitting pictures. I love having a place to "file" and keep track of everything I've knitted and I wish I'd done it sooner. I created sets, added tags, uploaded tags, and then found a way to add a cool Flickr badge to my blog. I fully expect to keep up with the Flickr account even if I run out of time to keep the blog up.
As far as how the library might use Flickr -well, there are obvious PR implications here. A search of what's out there now indicates that there's interest in our architecture. I'd like to see an RCPL account - we could create a photoset that just includes pictures of the building and then we could also create a photoset of people - staff, pictures taken at programs, etc. (when PR takes pictures of programs, they are already getting permission to publish from the subjects, so that shouldn't be a problem). Then we could also create photosets of special programs, like Tisket or ABD. This could even replace the current Photo Gallery on the library website - keeping these pictures on Flickr would be much easier.
YouTube
I have used YouTube quite a bit -it's a great place to find old music videos and commercials as well as user-created files. I've used it to find (and re-watch) a great SNL sketch called "Lazy Sunday", and I've also used it to find knitting-related videos (there was a greatknitting-related cartoon that I saw not too long ago) a search on "knitting" brings up over 2000 results! Not too long ago I had a strange compulsion to see if there had ever been a video for an old Tracy Ullman song (They Don't Know) that was big inthe 80's. There was, and I watched it on YouTube. I can see another Friday night trickling away. Even a search on public libraries brings up almost 500 results.
As with Flickr, there are some definite PR possibilities for using YouTube for RCPL. For example, a video tour of the library, or a weekly/monthly/quarterly (whatever) Readers' Advisory vidoe ("what we're reading" or something like that). We could also film programs and post those too (Like the Pigskin Poets program that's so popular), or important events like the parking of the bookmobile. All of those would be great to upload. Of course, the one issue with YouTube is that it requires a bit more equipment - not only a video camera (which I'm sure we've got) but the software to convert and upload the material (though perhaps we've already got that too).
I had used Flickr before, but never really played with it - now I'm hooked! Searching RCPL found a couple of pictures of the escalators, and searching Richland County Public Library found a few more pictures of the architecture. I also found a lot of pictures from the other RCPL. A search on South Carolina Public Libraries brought up lots of pictures from all over the state (thanks to Curtis!). Then I tried my own searches - there's lots of knitting to be found on Flickr. What a great resource to use if you're thinking about a certain pattern and want to see how it turned out for others. I got so involved in searching for pictures of various patterns that it ate up much of my Friday night. Because then, of course, I had to open my own account and upload all of my knitting pictures. I love having a place to "file" and keep track of everything I've knitted and I wish I'd done it sooner. I created sets, added tags, uploaded tags, and then found a way to add a cool Flickr badge to my blog. I fully expect to keep up with the Flickr account even if I run out of time to keep the blog up.
As far as how the library might use Flickr -well, there are obvious PR implications here. A search of what's out there now indicates that there's interest in our architecture. I'd like to see an RCPL account - we could create a photoset that just includes pictures of the building and then we could also create a photoset of people - staff, pictures taken at programs, etc. (when PR takes pictures of programs, they are already getting permission to publish from the subjects, so that shouldn't be a problem). Then we could also create photosets of special programs, like Tisket or ABD. This could even replace the current Photo Gallery on the library website - keeping these pictures on Flickr would be much easier.
YouTube
I have used YouTube quite a bit -it's a great place to find old music videos and commercials as well as user-created files. I've used it to find (and re-watch) a great SNL sketch called "Lazy Sunday", and I've also used it to find knitting-related videos (there was a greatknitting-related cartoon that I saw not too long ago) a search on "knitting" brings up over 2000 results! Not too long ago I had a strange compulsion to see if there had ever been a video for an old Tracy Ullman song (They Don't Know) that was big inthe 80's. There was, and I watched it on YouTube. I can see another Friday night trickling away. Even a search on public libraries brings up almost 500 results.
As with Flickr, there are some definite PR possibilities for using YouTube for RCPL. For example, a video tour of the library, or a weekly/monthly/quarterly (whatever) Readers' Advisory vidoe ("what we're reading" or something like that). We could also film programs and post those too (Like the Pigskin Poets program that's so popular), or important events like the parking of the bookmobile. All of those would be great to upload. Of course, the one issue with YouTube is that it requires a bit more equipment - not only a video camera (which I'm sure we've got) but the software to convert and upload the material (though perhaps we've already got that too).
Knitting Update
I originally dropped the Shetland Wrap and Basketweave Scarf for some frantic last-minute holiday knitting - and I managed to finish both a couple of Back to School washcloths and Norberta in about a week and a half. Norberta turned out rather well, I think - considering how quickly I had to knit! I still haven't gone back to Shetland Wrap and the Basketweave scarf because I'm now doing some baby-knitting. I managed to finish most of the Baby Bolero from One Skein I'm really unhappy with the way it turned out (all I need to do is sew in a sleeve and knit the ribbing), so I think I'll frog it and try again. In the meantime, I've started a log-cabin (from the Mason-Dixon book) baby blanket. I'm sure I'll get tired of that once the endless-garter-stitch-boredom sets in, but hopefully I'll get it finished before March.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Third Challenge
I've been using wikis for a while now, just for my own edification. After I saw Casino Royale, for example, I wanted to find out how the movie differed from the book. And a few weeks ago, I visited my Inner Geek and re-read an old fantasy series called the Belgariad, and while re-reading, wanted to find out about a character in the series. For both of these needs, wikis (specifically Wikipedia) were the best answer because I knew I could probably find extended entries with all the information I would need - faster than finding a bunch of different fan sites. That's the best thing about wikis, for me -the ability to quickly find a lot of information all in one place. It's amazing sometimes what's out there that isn't necessarily in a subscription database. Last year after I read "The Devil in the White City" I really wanted to know what happened AFTER the world's fair - and I found a lot of information about the fair and about Holmes in Wikipedia.
I expect I'll continue to use wikis in this way - though I'd still be a bit wary of using a Wiki to answer a patron question. That's still the controversial thing about this technology - the idea that anyone can edit it, and whether that ability makes it a more or less authoritative source. My answer to that? "It depends..." As far as how RCPL could use wikis, the obvious answers would be on an intranet for a sort of staff-only quick-FAQ about library policies, or for the policies/procedures manual. I thought that what the Bull Run Library did was interesting - using a wiki as their main web page - I like that idea (means, potentially, that all employees can be responsible for adding content, without investing in an expensive content-management system),but I don't know that we would go in that direction.
Trying to edit the sandbox wiki was a little confusing - I can see why some people might be leery of trying it. But I did add a line, and added the library URL to the sidebar.
I expect I'll continue to use wikis in this way - though I'd still be a bit wary of using a Wiki to answer a patron question. That's still the controversial thing about this technology - the idea that anyone can edit it, and whether that ability makes it a more or less authoritative source. My answer to that? "It depends..." As far as how RCPL could use wikis, the obvious answers would be on an intranet for a sort of staff-only quick-FAQ about library policies, or for the policies/procedures manual. I thought that what the Bull Run Library did was interesting - using a wiki as their main web page - I like that idea (means, potentially, that all employees can be responsible for adding content, without investing in an expensive content-management system),but I don't know that we would go in that direction.
Trying to edit the sandbox wiki was a little confusing - I can see why some people might be leery of trying it. But I did add a line, and added the library URL to the sidebar.
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