Week 8 Mashups and API

Write about the Mashup you found on your blog. I chose Flictionary http://imagine-it.org/flickr/flicktionary.htm as the Mashup I tried and enjoyed. It is a game that uses the photos in Flickr to illustrate a compound word that you have to guess. Fun once you get the hang of it. It is quite a creative way to make use of all the photos in Flickr for a challenging game.

Browse the results of a search for "privacy" in LibrarianBlogs in ROLLYO and write something about what these bloggers said about privacy in your blog. I chose a blog by Librarian in Black that was talking about Google being ranked worse on privacy. That is a concern that I sometimes have, since Google offers so much ease of use in so many areas that I ignore my normal concern about what information I am putting on the internet. The resulting benefit makes me think that it is worth the risk. I sure hope it is!

The Rollyo custom searchroll that I created is called My Family Search and searches several different genealogical databases. Here is the link if you want to try it: http://rollyo.com/infopro58/my_family_search/

Week 7 Podcasting and Online Hosted Video

Assignment: Write a blog entry discussing how you felt about the experience of using YouTube and what you think about this service.
YouTube is fun! The short videos can be found on just about any topic. It is only natural that libraries would want to be involved in this as well. The problem is that YouTube is almost too much fun--it is very easy to get sidetracked and keep looking at another recommended video and another until soon too much time has gone by. I think it may be easy to try too hard to get attention for the library with YouTube. One possible example of this is this video I found about following rules in a Medical Library

Do you see any potential uses for Podcasting in the library? If so what and why? I think there are potential uses for podcasting in the library. I thought the University of Tennessee use of podcasting for library orientation and instruction was a good way to answer common questions (FAQs) so the library staff has more time for the less common questions.

Week 6 Online Photo Sharing and Uploading

Assignment--Blog about the process on your personal blog for this course and share how this concept might be used in your library.

I have had a personal photo album on Google for quite a while and use it to share photos with family and friends. I've really enjoyed the availability of these services, though, when my daughters use a photo sharing service so I can view the pictures they have taken of their activities at college. It is a good way to be aware of their lives without obviously hovering! As far as using this concept in the library, though, it would be nice to have a virtual tour of the library with photos or maybe photos highlighting staff or services. Pictures add interest and people love to "tag" themselves in photos, so maybe just taking random pictures of library users would get them coming to the Library web site to see if they can find themselves. Maybe they would discover some type of info while they were there!

Week 5 Web Office Tools

Question of the Week--Is this the future of all software products? What do you think?

I believe Web Office Tools are the future of all software products. It seems that more and more we are on the go all the time and want to be connected all the time. Mobile phones, blackberries, PDA's, laptops, GPS, OnStar--most people want to be able to access whatever information they need wherever they are and whenever they want. Web Office Tools is ideal for this. In my work experience, I would have loved to have this available when several librarians in several states were trying to work on the same document. Emails with revised drafts were flying fast and it was not always easy to make sure we were working with the latest version. If we had been able to use Web Office Tools, it wuold have been so much easier. Unfortunately, at this time in the VA, these sites are filtered so we cannot access them. My understanding, though, is that this may change, and I certainly hope it will.

I have been excited about the web tools I've learned about each week, but this week is probably the one I can put to immediate use easily--in fact I already have. I am on the internet constantly both at home and at work and often I am in one place wishing I had access to the bookmarks/favorites on another computer. Now that is possible and I have already started using De.licio.us for bookmarks I am finding. I haven't begun transferring bookmarks I already had, but I am sure I will as I use them.

Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance?
I can see potential for this as a tool for research assistance. Currently when I do web research for someone, I copy and paste the web links into an email message and send it to them when I am finished. This gives me another way to accomplish this and allows me to continue to have access to the bookmarks as well. Also, if it is a long term project and the requestor also uses the de.licio.us site, then we could make sure we are not duplicating work.

Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?
I have to admit I like this feature as well--mostly for my personal research in genealogy. I work in various places on my research over a long period of time and this will make it much easier to access the web pages I need and, again, make sure I don't repeat work already done.

Week 3--Social Networking

Since I have 2 daughters in college, I have had a MySpace account for a while and recently created a Facebook account. I hadn't done much with the Facebook account prior to this week. I was not familiar with LinkedIn before this class.

How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members?
I was very excited to find so many Librarians, Libraries and Librarians Groups on Facebook! One reason I had not done much with it before was that I felt most of the members were young adults or younger and I felt odd asking them to "be my friend". I think it is a good way to "get to know" other people with a similar interest. I love to browse pages and see what else people are interested in. It makes me feel more like I know them. Librarians are generally a generous group, willing to share information with others, but networking with others even virtually through Facebook and MySpace, draws everyone closer together.
Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?
I would love to have a Facebook page for my Library, but with the filters put in place through the VA, I don't anticipate it being possible anytime soon. I do think it would be another way to reach potential users, though.
Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites.
There are always privacy concerns to be aware of. Even going into a store and using a credit card is a privacy concern. The important thing is to be aware of the concerns and think before you post.
What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the possibilities of Facebook and MySpace. I enjoy spending time exploring on my computer anyway, and this opens up a whole new world! I'm not so sure about LinkedIn, but maybe more experience with it will change that.

Week 2--Wikis

The question is What is the difference between a blog and a wiki? If I create a blog, it is to share my thoughts with others. They are allowed to comment, but the main emphasis is on what I think. A wiki, on the other hand, is a collaboration--kind of like "stone soup". Everyone brings the knowledge they have to the wiki and the end result is greater than any of the pieces! A blog would be useful in my library for sharing new resources, information I have come across, hints, tips, etc. A wiki is better suited to everyone sharing their knowledge and expertise and allowing everyone to teach and learn.

Week 1 Blogging & RSS

This will be so helpful! I have been wanting to set up a blog for my library to allow people to learn quickly about new materials in the library, services we offer, and new websites and information I find and want to share with others. With the current security restrictions at my facility, this has not been an option so I created a fake blog that has a similar purpose--but people cannot leave comments. I much prefer this interactive blog!!
Knowing about the RSS feature will be really helpful also. I now have an alternate route to suggest to library users for tracking tables of contents and search updates that they are interested in. I'm anxious to explore ways to make these features work for my customers!