Thing 4: RSS Feed

I was a bit non-plussed at the start of the assignment for this thing. I really didn't find it all that time-consuming to check the sites that I read everyday. That may be a bit misleading though, because I really don't get to check them everyday. See, I have dial-up at home - it's shocking and almost inhumane - I know, but I kinda live out in the country and can't get DSL yet. One of my coworkers however, who lives just 2 miles down the road from me can AND has a wireless network set up in her house! Jealous? You bet I am! *Ahem* That was a bit off subject. The point is though, that because I don't get to check a lot of the blogs and sites that I read everyday, there's usually some sort of update when I finally do get around to reading them. So I never thought I was really wasting time going to all the different sites. Besides, I am a visual person and really like the graphics on the websites I visit.

That being said, I am a bit more impressed with Google Reader and the whole RSS thing than I had originally thought I would. It is rather handy to have all the updates there in one spot. I have decided that maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to have BBC News on the feed. I have about 150 updates on my reading list from that site alone, and it's a bit daunting to scan through. The plus side is that maybe I see interesting headlines that I wouldn't have normally read if I were left to surf the site on my own. Humans are creatures of habit, and I certainly have mine. When I go to BBC I look at the Day In Pictures, Entertainment, Health, and Science sections, maybe glance at some football scores, and peruse the front page - that's it. Those things are certainly what catch my eye first, but now I look at some of the others, and will hopefully be more informed about the goings-on of the world.

My next step is to see about setting up one of those RSS icons on this blog and my other. Blogger does have a cool feature where you can follow blogs and have updates sent to your dashboard, but you have to be signed up for one of their accounts to use it.

Thing 3 - Blog Search!

I have to admit - I only gave this thing the feeblest of tries. Normally, the blogs I read are for enjoyment only, and I find them from following links on other blogs. I've written (and am currently writing) other blogs, to which I have added trackers - and believe me, the searches that people do that lead them to my blogs are astounding. Seemingly innocent words in posts, when connected form some interesting search terms.

So I decided to do an experiment. I did the same search using Google blog search, Technorati, and Ice Rocket. My first general search "animation", did not yield any results worth reading. So I decided to do "library", and oddly enough the first hits weren't for any actually libraries like I thought. So - to try to be more specific, I searched "neflin library". Google was the only one that came up with Neflin's 23 things blog - probably because Blogger is a Google tool. Ice Rocket came up with BlahBlahBlah, but as I looked farther, the 23 things didn't even show up on the second search page. But what I did notice, especially when I did a later search of "Obama", is that Google seems to come up with more news-type blogs than the other two.

Not really a tool I see using much. Maybe I need to play around with it more.

Thing 2 AKA Web/Library 2.0

So this whole 23 things bit is a part of exploring Library 2.0/Web 2.0 - a new era of technology and networking, and making the library more accessible to patrons. After reading a few of the articles linked at Neflin's 23 things blog, I am inspired.

Though really, it's been something that's been on my mind for awhile - ever since my library's staff development day last year. Brad Ward came and did a presentation on pop culture, and hit on the subject of libraries using sites like Second Life to reach out and provide a service to patrons. My coworker Jan had already been on the site a number of times, and throughout the year it's something we've talked about. I've even created an avatar for the site and done some limited exploring (limited by the memory on my laptop, that is). In fact, since reading the article and me starting this post, we've even decided to start talking to libraries already established in that world to see what they offer and the kind of traffic they get.

Of course there are some more basic things we need to address at our library too. We just added 9 more computers for public usage - though unfortunately we didn't add any more bandwidth, and so when all of the computers are full, everything crawls to a halt. At this time, the only thing on our public computers is Internet Explorer (we have separate and ancient word processors), which really wouldn't be too much of a problem (what with all of Google's online applications), except that most of our patrons are not really computer savvy. No CD-ROMs, disks, flash drives are able to be used in our computers, which is a shame, because I think flash drives are an important part of Web 2.0 - that whole portability/accessibility thing. Also, more and more businesses are going web-based - we have numerous patrons coming in trying to fill out online applications for jobs, food stamps, unemployment, and student loans.

One solution to this would be to offer computer classes. The local community college offers some, and there's also a local computer lab, but they've started charging for their services. We could do basics like signing up for an email address, all the way to trickin' out a Myspace page. I also like the idea of embedding an IM to the desktop for patrons to use. Heck, I'd like one for the staff to use. It could really help when there's a problem patron or something - it would be a discreet way to get a message to someone to come help without having to pick up the phone and describe the situation or leave to try to track someone down.

One of the articles mentioned trust. Trust is what we need to make these technologies available. Trust that if we let our patrons use flash drives, they won't crash our system with a trojan. Or, trust that if that happens, we have the technology and ability to fix it. Trust that if we put up blogs and social networking sites, our patrons won't leave profane comments. Library 2.0 is, I think, about taking chances and trusting that they'll work, or trusting that if they don't , the library will be ok.

Thing 1

An odd title for a blog post, no? Though somewhat appropriate for a library worker, since it makes me think of The Cat in the Hat. So why the title?


Well, I was informed that I would be participating in NEFLIN'S 23 Things project that they are doing. NEFLIN stands for Northeast Florida Library Information Network - in case there are any people who happen to stumble upon this and go "Wtf, mate?" (because of course you will all be Australian) or in case you are one of my poor friends that I force to read this blog. The project is to get librarians more informed about new technologies and how to use them for the library.

Can you guess what thing 1 is? It's this blog! I am already well-versed on blog writing (and some of the other upcoming things as well), but what the hey! I like writing blogs, and need an excuse to get back into the habit of writing. Besides, it's an excuse to shamelessly show off my awesome YA displays and techno-skills. Plus, I get to work on this while at work, so it's not really going to eat into my personal time - unless I want it to.

Hmmm - but maybe you'd like to get to know me a bit, eh? I am a library assistant 2, and pretty much do a little of everything at my little public library. Reference, ILL, circulation, children's programs - you name it, I do it - even cataloging (well, in theory - I've had some training, no actual practice yet). My biggest hope right now is to get a position doing children's full-time, and am currently holding my breath waiting for a call about an interview. In my free time I do community theater, sing, paint, and run the youth group at my church. I have a BFA in art and the library I work at lets me use my talent a bit. That's enough for now I suppose - stay tuned for an upcoming blog on Thing 2.