Monday, February 12, 2007

RCPL Tech Challenge - Podcasting

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Goodbye Cricket

Well, I had intended to post about my last-minute speed knitting today (I managed to make Norberta and two Back to School washcloths* and a Mason-Dixon felted box in about two weeks - a record for me) but woke up this morning to find that my 16 year old cat, Cricket, passed away last night. Getting her was the very first thing I did after I signed the lease on my first apartment after college. She'd been with me in Boston, Milwaukee and now Columbia, through 3 jobs, grad school, two more cats, a dog, a husband and a daughter. 16 years from just post-college to closing in on middle age. I will miss her very much.

*one in blue with an orange"Go" and one in orange with a blue "Gator" for a Gator fan.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Second Challenge

I already use Bloglines - I signed up for an account about six months ago. I have my account divided into folders - one for knitting blogs, one for house renovation blogs, one for beauty blogs (I'm addicted to Sephora), and one for library blogs. I can't imagine NOT using an aggregator - it takes much less time to catch up because I don't have to visit each separate blog to see if there's something new. I think that an aggragator is sort of like the TiVo of blogland - it takes care of capturing everyhing I want and I can then catch up at my leisure. Lately, I've become really intrigued with netvibes, which is sort of an RSS feed/portal page. I've set up one for my husband that has all his sports feeds, techie feeds, news feeds - as well as access to his gmail and ebay accounts current weather, etc. This is really cool.

I think that there will be lots of ways for us to use RSS feeds at the library - I would like to see the calendar available as an RSS feed, as well as the news/info. on the home page and the teen and "regular" newsletters as well. I don't see how this could even be possible right now, but wouldn't it be neat if HIP's "my account" info. could be an RSS feed - then you could have your account information (overdues, holds, etc.) served up where you wanted it - perhaps on your own personal portal page.

I actually read or skimmed through all the articles in Suggested Reading because I know I need to become very familiar with RSS - and how to create RSS feeds. I really liked Roy Tennants' (Feed Your Head: Keeping Up with Using RSS) idea for using RSS to create a New Books list. I also enjoyed Stephen Cohen's RSS for Non-Techie Librarians and Using RSS: an Explanation and Guide. I heard Cohen speak at the Internet Librarian conference and enjoyed his presentation about new innovations in social software (that's where I heard about netvibes). He also talked about some different aggregators. At some point, I'm going to try something other than Bloglines - just out of curiosity. Wusteman's RSS: The Latest Feed provides some interesting ideas for RSS in libraries - good food for thought. I was not aware that there were RSS feeds for newsgroups - I frankly wasn't aware that Usenet newsgroups were still heavily used in this era of web-based message boards. Now I need to start reading the articles about how to create feeds...

Thursday, December 14, 2006

The New Knitty!

OK, so I finallly went to see the new Knitty - there's some good stuff there! I really like Eiffel (though my time with Picovoli taught me that I probably don't have the stamina for a full sweater -plus I have Gauge Issues) and Sheldon and Rolling Thunder and Monkey - but I really, really, really like Norberta - I went and ordered the yarn immediately and can't wait to try this one (if I can finish it in time it will be a Christmas present for my dragon-collecting mother). And Twinkletoes will probably be the next pattern. My two-year-old likes to pretend she's a ballerina and these would be perfect. One thing I'm not happy about - it used to be that at the top of every pattern were the links to every other pattern. That's gone now and it takes extra clicks to just browse through from pattern to pattern. Or am I missing something?

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Newfound respect for other knitbloggers..

OK, I just spend more time than I'm willing to admit to to take pictures of my FO's and my current projects - and the pictures just aren't that good. How do people take such good pictures of their knitting? And how do they still have time to do anything else afterwards? Wow. Right now I'm working on the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style (using Knitpicks Shine Sport that was supposed to be my Picovoli before we broke up - we just couldn't get along).

I'm also one skein into the Basket Weave scarf from Interweave Knits (Knitpicks Andean Silk in hollyberry, I think). I'm modifying it to include Annie Modesitt's slipped-stitch edging found in her patterns Alison's Scarf and Backyard Leaves.

Pretty terrible pictures, eh? But, at least I have a record now!

Finished Objects 2006

I'm not sure I even remember everything I knitted... a hat and scarf for my daughter, multi-directional scarf, Clapotis, Kate, Backyard Leaves and Misty Moonlight from Scarf Style, 1/2 of a Pomotomus sock, Jaywalkers, 1 plain sock w/a cable running down the side (not sure I'll finish that pair - I love the yarn but it doesn't wear very well), Not-Quite-Straight Scarf (pdf), a felted ipod case (not so happy with that one), the large spiral bag from One Skein, 2 ball-band washclothes and 2 Mason-Dixon washclothes from Mason-Dixon Knitting and probably something else that I've forgotten. I'm not even counting the things I started and never finished -I had a brief love affair with Picovoli, which ended in tears, started a plain drop-stitch scarf which I will never finish

Monday, December 11, 2006

First Challenge

How to use blogs in my personal life? I'm not entirely sure yet. I subscribe to a number of blogs and I love reading the knitblogs and seeing what other people are working on. I've always thought that a knitting blog would be a good idea - for no other reason than to have a record of what I knit. I keep thinking I'll remember, but we all know how that works. I've always hesitated to actually start a knit blog, though, because I know I won't have much time to keep up with it. I tried blogging once before and it died because I never had any time to keep up with it (Life With Our Poppet). Still, the thought of having a pictorial and text record of what I've made and what I'm making is just too tempting. Now to find the digital camera and try to remember everything I've made so far this year...

How to use blogs in the library? Now that's an easy one. I was lucky enough to attend the Internet Librarian conference this year and came back full of ideas for incorporating social networking software into the library's website. The most obvious place would be the home page. We already use a home-made ColdFusion application so that PR can update the home page with news and announcements, but a "real" blog would allow us more flexibility and more posting options and could integrate better with the page design. There are lots of other ways we could use blogs as well - for example department-specific blogs would be an immediate way to tell patrons about (for example) new periodicals, new databases or new audio-visual items. Additionally, any blog on our website would also be a great way to open a dialog with our patrons, as long as the comments are turned on.