Social Networking

I have heard about MySpace and Facebook but really didn't know what it was all about. It is another way we can connect with people anywhere with similar interests and ideas. It could be used within our library service to connect people through our library. I can imagine the youth of the area embracing this, but young mum's isolated by distance and responsibilities of small children would enjoy the interaction through this social networking format. Books and libraries being the common thread it could also be used by the local history buffs and other interest groups. Perhaps a group of shire library services could develop a Facebook site to connect staff to exchange ideas, successes, and difficulties within their libraries. We would all have something to give and something to learn from each other.

Week 11

The amazing number of useful and free online applications and software is fantastic. I had no idea that these were available and that they would be so easy to use.

Google Docs has great potential as a way of communicating between our branch staff to organise holidays, staff meetings and help create a combined newsletter from all four centres.

I also thought Doodle could be helpful for scheduling things like meetings and leave. Personally I thought Tada might help me with my lack of memory and too many things to think about. The biggest advantage of these online applications is the ability to access your documents etc. wherever you are without the worry of failed drives etc. You are dependent on a reliable internet connection. Unfortunately in country areas this isnt a given.

Week 10 Mash-ups

I can see so much potential for Mash ups. It took a while for me to complete this week as my internet connection is dodgey to say the least. However I thought the street game was wonderful and could be used to educate us on so many things in a novel and fun way.

The uses in the library would be vast. Great for doing publicity, an interesting way to present local history, I can see uses for teens' and childrens' programs. The use of a digital camera and a program such as big huge labs gives you so much scope. I have made a poster for our library week promotion. Also shows off our new library facility.

Podcasts and Audio

I have been trying to download itunes and juice but to no avail. I have managed to listen to an audio from the British Library collection and also heard a literary lunch recorded on Nightlife, ABC radio several weeks ago. It was Geraldine Brooks and I saved it to a CD which was handy so I could listen to it wherever I wanted. I can see potential for the use of podcasts in our library service, particularly because we are using Navigators for the vision impaired. These navigators are like MP3 players for the elderly and we could download podcasts to them so the clients would have current material to listen to. Also these clients use their navigators for hours a day and they are needing them reloaded so quickly. a constant source of new material is fantastic.

Week 9 - The Illusive Podcast

Having a bit of trouble this week getting things to work. Love the selection of podcasts to listen to on the ABC website but had difficulty getting the url's to be accepted into the itunes software. Dont know what I am doing wrong. Very frustrating.

Week 8

Last week took me ages but I am happy with 'library thing'. It is a fun site. I especially love the suggestions and can see how this could relate to our customers. So easy to sign up and easy to use.
I had a play around with my blog and changed the RSS news feed to see if I could remmeber. I have also gone with a new layout which I like.
The unit on Answer boards is interesting and shows what clever researchers and information gatherers librarians really are. such a diverse range of topics. This quality resource should be advertised to our customers. Ask your librarian answer boards sound like fun but also time consuming.

Week 7

Del-icio-us is an interesting way of allowing quick access to favourite sites. Obviously an advantage when you are using different computers and can still access these sites easily. sharing these lists has potential too. I couldnt download the toolbar buttons as my computer system did not like them. I am happy that I understand social bookmarking but its not for me.

Week 6

The range of video clips that can be found on Youtube & Video google amazes me. I could have spent a long time on this unit. I particularly loved the author visits from Mosman library and could of been there for hours. Perhaps it is my internet speed but the videos were not of particularly good quality-not that it was a big problem and I imagine lots of the videos are not professionally made. This is also appealling as we get a broader spectrum of material then the very professional product. I thought lots of the lego clips were clever and it is good to see what our imagination and time can create on a low budget.
There are several possibilities for using this resource in our library service. I can see the value of recording local history interviews and special library & community events. The idea of using it forinformation type videos such as 'how to use the library' and 'what the library has to offer you' would be best directed to our younger clients. I can see potential in creating these in our 'techno teen' sessions. Teenagers could make the videos to appeal to this age group. The kids often love doing this sort of activity and it would be a great resource for the library to promote its use by the youth of our community. The video could then be embeded in the library blog for easy access.

The World of wikis

Wikis were a whole new concept for me. I had a vague notion about wikipedia but thought of it as a very unreliable source of information. I was extremely surprised to read of the accuracy of the German version of this wiki. I can see how it is a much more current source of information and is a good way to share knowledge.
I loved looking through the wikis and spent some time checking these out. There is a great range of uses. I was intrigued with the idea of using them for procedure manuals and information about the library. They have great potential. Particularly in areas where geographically our libraries are isolated. Library staff from regional centres could use a wiki to cordinate an upcoming event, formulate meeting agendas and discuss roles & aims for regional library services. Library members could use wikis to create 'good read' lists, requests for purchases(never ending) and particular needs of their community.
I imagine gathering local history information could be done well through a wiki. Many local historians are using technology more and more and I think this format would provide an excellent method of sharing knowledge.

Week 4

I have been concerned how we could access all these amazing blogs that are created and can now see how bloglines work and how useful they are.
While I was searching for blogs I was impressed to find such a variety on all different topics. The RSS feeds are very handy. I can see them being ideal for blogs that are constantly being updated e.g. 'Quote of the Day' & 'Image of the day'. (the powerhouse museum images are fantastic- I was intrigued to see a previous image subject taken relatively close to home -"The Lockhart Bluebird Cafe" - it has the old booth style seating and is a real classic)
I liked the concept of choosing subject areas of News that interests you- This is a clever way of staying current about a particular topic.
I can see that the most important thing with all that we are learning is to just give it a go and spend time checking it out.
I ( or anyone I know)dont have much time to spare, however I have enjoyed these activities and know I'm learning something useful. Blog searches and bloglines are helpful tools to get better and quicker results.

Here it is- on the side!

Now I've got it! I just cant move it to the right orientation. You can see Bonnie and Dehlia, which is an improvement.

I think I'll move on.

My Second Attempt

I have successfully loaded an image from my files to Flickr. Now i am trying to post it on my blog but i fear i have made the same mistake again. It is going to be a link only!!

Uploading a Photo

This photo interested me as tomorrow will be Autumn and the photo gives us a reminder of the season.

I hope I downloaded this okay. It is all so new to me and I cannot see the image yet. I'm hoping it will appear when I save this post. Does anyone else think it is a bit tricky doing this?

I just checked this post and can see I have made a link to the photo I actually wanted the image on the page. I'll try again later.

My First Post

This is my first attempt at blogging and I am pleasantly surprised how easy the blog is to create. I can see lots of potential in using blogs within a library context. It would give our library service a wonderful avenue to inform our clients of happenings within our service.

We are located in regional NSW and therefore many of our clients live some distance from our libraries. Blogs could help overcome the distance barrier by publicising resources, events, new items in our collections, book reviews, etc. The interactive ability of the blog would be fantastic as we could have feedback from our customers.

Being from a rural community with a large older population we would have to remember many of our clientelle have not embraced the technological era with the same enthusiasm as our teenagers. This gives rise to the thought that our staff, once we have completed this short course, may feel confident to pass on our knowledge to this sector of our community.
It opens up a new world.