Thing ELEVEN

Tagging and Del.icio.us were the themes of Thing Eleven. I found Del.icio.us to be another great tool for research compiling and organizing. It was fun to pick a relatively new Microsoft product, TAFITI, (2007) and see how many people have pulled information off the web and put it into Del.icio.us. There were only 297 hits on it, so it must not be a topic that is widely known. The reason Tafiti came into mind was because it is also about the concept of gathering information into one place. It is worth checking out. Here's how it is described on its homepage:

Tafiti, which means "do research" in Swahili, is an experimental search front-end from Microsoft, designed to help people use the Web for research projects that span multiple search queries and sessions by helping visualize, store, and share research results. Tafiti uses both Microsoft Silverlight and Live Search to explore the intersection of richer experiences on the Web and the increasing specialization of search. Another good tool for gathering and organizing.

Thing TEN

Thing TEN is all about Wikis. The wiki I chose to edit was the 23thingsonastick wiki. The concept is great - what a collaboration tool! I like the fact that you can edit a document or entry without any knowledge of HTML. It is definitely fulfilling its mission: finding a way to easily collaborate and share information. I especially liked the format of the PBwiki page. You already know it's going to be easy, with a logo like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They really make it sound simple - no IT needed. If they have it so you can either post public or private (with password protection) then it's a safe and fun way for students to enter their thoughts, or opinions. We have a "suggestion box" in our library. Nothing has ever been put in it. I would bet that if we had an online wiki, which encouraged students to be frank about things, we would have some real suggestions!

What a great resource for the library staff to pass on information to each other. And to add and edit what's being presented. Many times we learn a new way of doing things or go "wow I didn't know that feature was there" as well as hear from students that we are doing things wrong, or that there are errors on our webpage, or that the IT people just let one of us in on a new technique or way to solve a problem that we should share with the rest of the staff. Rather than call the staff together, it would be pretty practical to post it to the wiki. This is already a major teaching and learning tool in our MnPALS consortium.

Thing NINE

Thing Nine was a fun one. And there are many uses for an application like this. On many occasions we librarians, located at different campuses, have made changes on patron checkout procedural documents or our operations policy documents and have had to email or snail mail various documents back and forth to each other to make corrections or comments. We could so much easier publish the original document and each made the editing online without duplicating our efforts, or thoughts on a certain item or procedure. This is a time-saving application to its fullest!

The little document I have linked to my blog is an old, unbelievable-that-it-would-even-be-published piece that I hope people will comment on. It is a VERY SAD picture of a librarian!

The LINK is the Title: Thing NINE

Thing EIGHT

Thing SEVEN

Thing seven was informative and interesting and about Web 2.0 and how the different applications can help in the area of communication in the library. It had some hints on email productivity, but none that I don't already do. The communication tool for allowing students to talk real-time to one of our librarians, is already in place in our college. We have a link for students to find us by way of a chat line. I don't believe this is as popular as it was originally thought it would be. But it is the option that we have out there for a communication tool.

Among our staff, we have Groupwise Messenger, which is a very good instant messaging system. It lists who of the registered users is online right up to the minute they are logged in and out. It is good since you are pinged there if you have a message. You know that if someone is online, they will be responding to you real soon...

We also use our students' cell phone numbers to get in contact with them about things that are overdue, or to let them know that something is in and waiting to be picked up. I have been an avid believer in text messaging since my kids got text message option on their cell phones. It's a great way to get their attention when I need to get in contact with them.

The MINITEX webinar list of helpful, extremely relevant web sessions, has been just wonderful. I have participated in many this year already, the latest one being Macros for Beginners, which was presented in their usual easy-to-follow-and-understand format. It's the BEST thing to happen to librarians who live in outstate Minnesota! I had never heard of OPAL, and will be checking in on that in the future to see what's being presented there.

Thing SIX

This is Thing SIX - I LOVE Image Chef - cool application!

Thing FIVE

Thing five is this lovely mosaic of my son, John's Senior Year Spring, 2008. It was filled with good times - family, friends, track, prom and graduation. It was fun making this creation to remember the events. This could be a really neat way to post new books - with all of the color and intrigue of the wonderfully enticing book covers. Another post could be a way to introduce staff and faculty. It's just a neat way to portray pictures.

Thing FOUR

Thing four is all about Flickr. I found this to be a really fun place to collect and share pictures. I took some pictures of our library a few years ago, and decided to post them to my blog. I remember the place was all spiffed up for our open house. I would think this application would be useful for publishing pictures of publicity for the library, posting winners of the various contests that are held during the year, and of the programs and parties held. I like sharing photos as much as possible and have a number of photo albums out there on other sharing sites. It is really a big tool for the social networks. The pictures are really worth a thousand (and more) words!

Thing THREE

Thing Three is How to do Really Simple Syndication - or RSS FEEDS. I have chosen to do an RSS feed on the latest and greatest Google News - Google does everything well. This is an interesting application for libraries in that you can present a constant updated, information page for your patrons, or students right on your webpage. This is great for current events - or just NEWS.

Thing TWO

Wow - I like the concept of Library 2.0. We have been moving in this direction for a long time. I have a son who has been a gamer for at least four years now, so I have seen what keeps the attention of a teenager, and how we would have to compete with that format.

The ARLD Seminar a few years ago on gaming and the library really presented a new facet to libraries. It was really easy for me to relate to it as it applied to my situation. This really has all of the IM, Virtual, Socializing, Engaging, Hands-on learning experiences all rolled into one big happy avatar.

Our students are most engaged in the lab when they are socializing in the online environments through Facebook and Myspace - so we as librarians have a major challenge ahead of us to compete with this exciting medium.

Thing ONE

Thing One and I have the blog set up. Now that I have completed a few and dropped a few other projects, I should have more time to work on this endeavor. So far, so good.