Interacting with our Library: the 2.0 Concept

Until we started this 23 Things I didn't even know what the 2.0 concept meant. Now we're trying to get our heads around whether the library should be more interactive in an electronic sense (the website and catalog, I'm thinking). Rick Anderson says in "Away from Icebergs" that his library circ stats are down,presumably because the information is available elsewhere and people don't need the "just in case" collection. We have not seen that here, and he overlooks the satisfaction many people get from browsing the collection and finding that unexpected item. But his next point is well taken: people should not need to be taught how to use our system to find information. We are at a point with technology that we should be able to provide a system that is easy and intuitive. Our catalog can't find what Amazon does in its sleep. And I think it would be cool to let patrons write, rate, and comment on the books they find in our catalog, as well as keep lists of what they've read and want to read. So I definitely think that our catalog has a long way to go to reach, even 1.1 status, let alone 2.0. But that's a Sirsi issue I think -- THEY are the ones holding us back, and I'm not sure there is any better software out there for libraries or we'd be first in line for it.

Technorati - BlogWorld Headquarters

Well, now I know where the Bloggers live! I always wondered where they hung out and what they did there. You can be assured that I will NOT live there, although I might visit there once in awhile. It really is another world, another planet, another universe even. I want to go back and spend a little more time there (when I'll manage it is anyone's guess). But all these blogs! All these people with opinions and why do we care? ....as I'm blogging... of course I don't know why anyone cares about what I think of Technorati either.

Airing our Favorites: Del.icio.us

You know, it's funny. I went to the del.icio.us site a couple of years ago because I heard it was a great thing, but at the time I didn't get it. (I tried to figure out RSS feeds at the same time and also failed.) I looked at it and thought, "Why do I want everyone else to know what I've bookmarked? Isn't that kinda personal?" What is it with our obsession to make public our every thought (blogs, myspace, and now bookmarks)? Who cares what I bookmark and why would I care what others do?

However, after reading more about it I can see some advantages. Like being able to access your bookmarks from any location or computer. Or using it to find great websites that someone else has already gone to the trouble to find. And the "flat" organizational piece with tags is a good thing. But I still wonder. For instance, can I bookmark the PPLD intranet on del.icio.us? Is the intranet protected somehow? Or do I have to mark it as private and what if I don't? I experimented and bookmarked it and when I clicked on it in del.icio.us it came up without a problem. Is that because I'm logged in right now or would it work from anywhere? I do not know.

Still, I'm very glad to make my acquaintance with del.icio.us, and I believe I will try to begin using it. I'll add it to my list of Things-I-Learned that I want to really use and remember. And thank you, 23 Things, for re-introducing us. I have the feeling it is one of those things that the more you use it the better you'll like it. So I'm open to this relationship. We'll see where it goes!

A Thing called Ning

Ok it's been busy around my house. In addition to mere working, we've had dance and volleyball practices, track meets, history projects, university visits, dog parks and PROM! And yes, I finally got to host the infamous "primping party" for Devon and her friends: 4 hours of nails and hair and giggling prior to the big date. It was a hoot.


Soooooo.... I got kinda saturated with Things. I've lost my momentum. I don't think the "catch up week" was good for me, because I haven't really gotten going again. I was already sort of familiar with Facebook and MySpace, and then there is Ning. How is Ning different from Facebook, exactly? They are both social networking sites, are they not? Ning lets you have groups... Is Ning a "myspace" for grownups? I can see it might make a good team collaboration site, but isn't that what we said we could do with the wiki? So then I started feeling all full of Things, and muddled about what we've already learned and all the Things we've signed up for and which was which and what was what???? So I went back and reviewed the Things we've done so far, which is backwards progress instead of forward. But what good is it to do all these Things if we never look at them again and forget about them as fast as we learned them? I picked out the ones that are most meaningful to me: wiki's, blogs, rss feeds, librarything, and maybe, ning. I'm not sure about it yet. You'd have to make a commitment to Ning, just as folks do for Facebook that you are going to visit the site often and keep it updated and chat with people. I don't honestly think I'm ready for that commitment. It's like a flippin' relationship with a website! It's too much too fast. I'm sorry but I'm not ready to get that serious. Yet. I'm still surfing the field! And speaking of that, I'd better move forward!

MySpace and Facebook...and Bebo

OMG! It's been 18 days since my last blog entry! Now I'm getting RSS feeds from my co-workers' blogs and I don't even know what they're talking about! I gotta hop to it! I spent some time poking around on MySpace.... I've done this before. I'm always interested to know which of my daughter's friends protect their sites and which don't. And from the ones that don't you can read their messages and see who they are in communication with... which often gives you info on your own kids and their friends even when you can't get to their restricted sites directly.... That's how I find out who's going to the concert with whom, for instance! Or Prom. Or AfterProm. Also, you can listen to our own Deborah Worthey's Nathan's music, which is awesome. A talented guy.

I wasn't so impressed with the PPLD teen site. It didn't seem like any teens I know would spend any time there. Mostly publishers are using it for an advertising venue for their new books it seems. Then I registered with Facebook and went all the way. I was inspired to see my co-workers on the PPLD site so I went ahead and did a "quickie" profile and just by listing my high schools and college I have 153 "friends" I could look up! Whoa.

Oh, and BEBO is another social networking site that my younger daughter and her friends use. Just so you know. There are tons of them out there. It's a big world and the kids are hanging out there all over the place. Not great in my opinion, but you can't fight a tsunami.

Thumbs down to Rollyo

I guess I don't really get this one. I'm a google-girl. I didn't even bother to make an account, sorry to say. Why would you want a limited search engine?

I (heart) Library Thing!

Ooooh! I'm liking Library Thing! I have this old, decrepit word document that I created when our book group started a dozen years ago that lists all the books we've read. It's really sad, but it is better than nothing so I've used it all these years to keep the list. WELL! Don't you know my list is going to get a lot snazzier very soon! I'm making a bookgroup shelf that is going to be amazing! Of course, I'll need to do this on my on time so don't hold your breath.... But I think everyone in my group will be pleased. This is a good Thing!

p.s. This is the book we're reading this month....