Q and A

«?», Robert Stadler’s question mark installation in Paris
Originally uploaded by Dom Dada

Being a librarian is less something you do, and more something you are. Thanks SLNSW for the opportunity to do the web 2.0 programme and discover that for every Q there is always a very interesting A.

Second life and libraries

Just a few thoughts on SL. I know this will probably make me sound like a complete phobe, but second life gives me the creeps. I have used virtual environments for training and I think that is something that could really be extended, but I imagine many of us have enough trouble negotiating the real world without introducing a second one. Having said that, if we are to have SL, at least we can go to the library, many in fact. SL highlights something about the online life that bothers me, that is, the balance between what is acceptable in real life and what is acceptable in life online. For example, at my library you can ask for us to purchase books, and we regularly purchase items as borrower requests. In real life, a borrower will come to the desk with a few requests, 2 or 3 at most. Online, the record is 24 items, by one person in one session. No one would come to the desk and ask for that many items, they self regulate. That regulation seems to be missing, or at least blurred online. There seems to be a sense of invisibility, or immunity that sitting at a computer gives. I wonder if a better online presense by my library will make a difference. If developing a social presense and an interactive rather than a one way communication will reconnect us with our online borrowers. Hope so, and definitely worth aiming for.

Social networking and libraries

I was particularly interested in the Rotorua site. It looked clean, yet friendly and easy to navigate. I think it must be great for the staff to see those comments from their friends. As a marketing tool, a presence on facebook or myspace seems a no-brainer for a public library. At the moment, all the web interaction in my library is one way. A borrower uses the online opac and reserves a book, or uses the online request form to ask for something we don't hold. I don't think they see that there are people at the other end at all. There is a growing band of library users who search for items on the net, request them over the net and our interaction with them is limited to the very small time they spend in the library collecting their items. If there is a self-checkout unit, you may never see them at all. I think we can do better. It they are on the net, then so should we. Not just the catalogue but something that shows who we are. Something that allows for communication other than 'click to reserve'. A social presence can combine podcasts of author talks, photos of displays, and feedback, feedback, feedback. We need to get conversations going with our users, and our friends can converse with each other. We all talk about making the library the community hub. We need to think about the online community as well.

Online Applications

I can't believe the sheer amount of FREE online applications. I have just learned so much from this programme. The video explanation for google docs reminded me of the wiki video. Similar goals in online sharing and editing.
My workplace however would require much more control over their documents. While google docs ensure that everyone is looking at the same version, I couldn't tell if past versions were kept in history, or if there was tracking for who made what variation to a document. I also don't think this sort of application would suit the forms required for legal purposes. FOI for example, where's the papertrail? We live in a highly regulated world, particularly if you work in any level of government - and that includes most libraries. I think these applications are great, especially for informal use, but I don't see them working in places that have legal requirements for document tracking and security.

Mashups

Fantastic! I love the London: a life in Google maps, just brilliant. I can see a great use for this sort of application in the library. My library has a fantastic number of local history photos in our collection. We could create web tours using the photos and google maps. We could podcast from our oral collection to compliment the experience. It could be done online or visitors to the area could take a tour using this information in a portable format. Mashups look like a way of pulling the best information or images from the best sources and putting them together in an accessable format...sounds like librarianship to me : >

Podcasts

Podcasts would be a great way to access oral histories, Many libraries have terrific OH collections that rarely see the light of day. Creating podcasts to link from the home page would be a great way for the collection to be used. I use podcasts myself to hear radio programmes that are on while I am at work. There are some really good book related programmes on radio and television that could be link from a library homepage, especially ones that discuss some of our book club titles. A great way to enrich a discussion!

Slam The Boards

I have seen Slam the Boards referenced in library journals, so it was really interesting to get to the wiki and read the posts. I went to Yahoo7.answers, but since I haven't been to the Bakersfield Convention Centre, or felt it was my place to provide opinion on modern NFL running backs or scrotum discolouration, I gave it a miss. I did however help a borrower at the desk with an answer, so the afternoon wasn't a complete loss. : > As a way to reach non-library users however, this is great marketing. I will go back and have a look at other answer boards later. We do have an online query centre - Ask A Librarian - link on our website that is used by the public , but unlike the open boards, you do need to be thinking 'Library' to use it in the first place. Looking at some of the [poor] answers offered on the open boards did make me realize how much information we library staff have at our fingertips and how we need to get that expertise out there.

Del.icio.us

This has been an interesting week. I have read the terms tag cloud, and even seen them, but as with the rest of this program - the explanations finally made sense! I can see a real practical application for del.icio.us within the library. Just about every staff member has their favourite searches and sites bookmarked...on their own machine. It would be good to have these in one place. I am sure it would prevent that muttered curse "I've searched for this before, now where was that?"
I probably sound like a real librarian when I mention this, but we do have a tendency to use our own jargon, catalogue subject headings are a case in point. A term may be 'catalogically' correct, but our borrowers use real-speak. Tag clouds use real-speak. Am I speaking revolution to suggest that one day folksonomics will find its way onto the library catalogue? :)

You Tube

I loved the lego animations on Youtube. Following my travels in Wookieepedia, I watched a bunch on Star Wars Lego adventures - too cool : ). From a learning point of view, the Common Craft videos on You Tube used in this programme have been fabulous. Much easier to follow than a text. I also searched under public library, and found a large number of videos. The quality ranged from pretty good to pretty awful. I am not going to embed a video here in my blog, even though I thought the one in the week 6 lesson was good, because it would require registering to yet another service, and to be honest, I am a bit over that part of the training.

Wikis

I have just had a look at week 4- wikis, spending a great deal of time wandering around in Wookieepedia...is that a great name or what?
I can see wikis having great applications for libraries. My particular library system has 11 service points, so co-ordinating project teams has always been an issue. Setting up a wiki for a particular project would mean everyone gets all the information all the time. It would certainly save on travel and meeting times too. It was interesting to see a library system using wikis for their procedures. I imagine the editing would be restricted, but the instantaneous nature of the updates etc would mean everyone gets the information at the same time. Just the cost savings from photocopying and printing alone should encourage more libraries to consider a wiki as a procedure database.

Feeds Blogs and Observations

I have been doing a lot of exploring in the last week, and have a few observations. I have followed links to recommended blogs, only to find the most recent entry to be several months old. I have followed links to find that a blog has moved, and I need to follow another link, or sign up to another service to access the updated blog. I have signed up for a couple of RSS feeds and been bombarded with mail, and yet nothing at all from others. As with the rest of the web, blogs and feeds are a very mixed bag. If I sign up some feeds to my personal email, this isn't really such a big deal, but if I do that to the blog that represents my library service, then yeah, it actually is a bit of a deal. The process of blogging for your library, or in actual fact, your employer, is more than just chatting online and adding a couple of links. It can obviously be done as some libraries are doing it, I can only assume that they have flexible IT policies and some dedicated people doing the monitoring. My impressions this week haven't been purely negative, so I don't want to give that impression. What I have felt though, is that while popping up a blog for your library may be easy, it isn't simple.

A bit overwhelmed - RSS feeds.

Is it just because it is Friday afternoon? I have been looking at the RSS feed module this afternoon, and must admit to feeling a little overwhelmed. Not by the lesson as such, in fact as I progress through this learning program I have been surprised at how simple most of the elements have been. I am understanding terminology and context - great! What is overwhelming me a bit is the shear bulk of material on the internet. I don't want to call it information, because much of it isn't. It is opinion, thought, sound and vision. It is challenging my ideas about what is useful for libraries, but also, what is going to be accceptable in the corporate context. I don't actually have an answer for that, just lots of questions.
As a tool, RSS readers provide a way to knock out what you aren't interested in. That is, for example you can choose to connect to blogs about public libraries, but not university libraries. You can go large or go specific. Personally, apart from my library listings, I also get a feed from Dilbert, but that's a mental health necessity. I will explore some more over the weekend.

Exploring Flickr

I have just had a look for one of my favourite images - spiderwebs, and found that Flickr lists more than 63 thousand! How to choose? This link http://www.flickr.com/photos/alliec2007/2254461060/ is a fabulous closeup. My interest in spider webs does not extend to spiders themselves however, so I prefer pictures without the actual critters.
This one really appealed because it is such a great macro shot.

Mosmanlibrary @ Flickr

I just had a great time looking at all the photos posted by Mosman Library on Flickr. Firstly, I was extremely jealous of all the great visiting authors :), but I also thought it is a great way for Mosman to share their activities with others. Sometimes you just draw a blank when it comes to programming, but having photos by other libraries posted and shared, means that ideas are being shared as well. As a marketing tool it also shows the library to people who may not walk in the door. We have heaps of great photo albums at our library of displays, shows and great programmes, I am really keen now on getting them up onto a Flickr page.

First past the post

Actually, first post at all! Blogs aren't something I imagined I would get involved in, but this learning project is full of surprises. I am very happy to see the preview tab, and will be even happier if I can find a spell check button! My goal in taking up the Learning 2.0 challenge is to become more familiar with both the terminology and functions within the 2.0 world. I just think if I can do these things, then anyone can, and my experience will help others in my workplace. What I have discovered as I have looked at blogs is that they are extremely diverse. I think the challenge for blogs in the library is to make them relevant to the audience - be that within or without. Some professional blogs seem little more than advertising blurbs, but without the panache that good advertising has, while others are so full of personality that the message, or goal of the blog is lost. I am sure I will fall into all of those traps...so here goes.