Saturday, 28 August 2010
This is the end...
I can't quite believe I reached the final thoughts stage - I didn't think I would for a while there! I feel 23 things has been really useful for me, as I have had to properly reflect on how technologies could be used for library work. I think this is something that will I try to continue - partly because thinking about how and why things are done is a good way to possibly see how things could be improved, and also because I imagine the world of Web 2.0 will keep expanding and I'd like to keep up-to-date as much as possible. I did find the weekly pace quite hard to keep up with (I've only just properly caught up in the last few days!) and I think seeing people's reflections as you go along rather than before I'd even got to that thing would have been good. If I had to go back and do it again I would make sure I kept up initially to take advantage of the many interesting opinions and reflections weekly rather than in big chunks!
So having explored all the lovely shiny things that have been introduced - my final summary:
Getting the worst out of the way first: the thing I really didn't like
There was actually only one thing that I did not get on with at all and really couldn't see the point of, and that's iGoogle. I know many people do use it regularly but I have never looked at my iGoogle page since the first few weeks of Cam 23 and it actively annoyed me when I was using it. I much prefer Google to be the clean and un-distracting search box it now is on my homepage. I like being able to decide what I want to look at when I log onto the internet, rather than passively viewing whatever pops up on iGoogle.
Things I will keep an eye on and possibly use again, 'but':
Google calendar: Does exactly what it says on the tin, but I currently have no need to use it. I will file it away into 'things I might need one day'.
(Ditto Slideshare, LinkedIn and Google docs).
Blogging: I've loved having the opportunity to read the other Cam23 blogs, and will continue to read some, but now the programme is over I don't think I will be blogging anymore. I like the reflective writing side, but I don't like the sharing my thoughts so publicly. It doesn't fit in with the sharing/ communicating/ linking side of Web 2.0 but I would consider writing reflectively blog style posts for myself in the future, but won't be posting them to the internet!
Things I liked and would use again:
RSS feeds: useful to keep up with sites I'm interested in as well as having a lot of potential for library users to use as a way of keeping up-to-date with their subject area.
Doodle: Simple way of organising meetings/making group decisions. Love the fact it doesn't need a password as well.
Tagging: Although I used sites where tagging was an option, I'd never really used them myself before. I find them helpful when trying to find information though so will continue using them.
Flickr/Creative Commons: I had used Flickr before starting 23 things, but the Creative Commons section was new to me and is a fantastic source of free images.
Delicious: I have already started saving my links in Delicious, and there are lots of ways links could be organised by librarians using the site to provide useful resources for users.
LibraryThing: Not sure whether I will actually manage to find a helpful or relevant way to use this, but I like the community aspect of discussing books, and being able to nose around people's reading habits. Also I think the catalogue display is rather good!
Podcasting/YouTube: Trying to get information across in an entertaining way is always a good idea!
Wikis: Brilliant way to create and edit shared resources. And I think more useful as a distinct internet resource than Google Docs - which is more like traditional computer programmes with some features for collaboration tagged on.
The top three
Twitter and Facebook: OK I admit it I liked these before I started 23 things, but doing the programme has allowed me to think about their use in libraries more. The marketing possibilities of Facebook were interesting to explore. Facebook's popularity means a lot of people want to exploit this online user base, but how you do that is trickier than just setting up a page to 'like'. I have also started using Twitter a lot more for library related news than when I initially started Tweeting, which is mainly thanks to #cam23 hash tag. I now follow lots of librarians which is fantastic for keeping me up-to-date with news stories about libraries, different conferences that are going on as well as seeing what people are doing in their working lives.
Zotero: Useful for me both as I start my LIS Masters and also as an excellent tool librarians can tell students about.
So having explored all the lovely shiny things that have been introduced - my final summary:
Getting the worst out of the way first: the thing I really didn't like
There was actually only one thing that I did not get on with at all and really couldn't see the point of, and that's iGoogle. I know many people do use it regularly but I have never looked at my iGoogle page since the first few weeks of Cam 23 and it actively annoyed me when I was using it. I much prefer Google to be the clean and un-distracting search box it now is on my homepage. I like being able to decide what I want to look at when I log onto the internet, rather than passively viewing whatever pops up on iGoogle.
Things I will keep an eye on and possibly use again, 'but':
Google calendar: Does exactly what it says on the tin, but I currently have no need to use it. I will file it away into 'things I might need one day'.
(Ditto Slideshare, LinkedIn and Google docs).
Blogging: I've loved having the opportunity to read the other Cam23 blogs, and will continue to read some, but now the programme is over I don't think I will be blogging anymore. I like the reflective writing side, but I don't like the sharing my thoughts so publicly. It doesn't fit in with the sharing/ communicating/ linking side of Web 2.0 but I would consider writing reflectively blog style posts for myself in the future, but won't be posting them to the internet!
Things I liked and would use again:
RSS feeds: useful to keep up with sites I'm interested in as well as having a lot of potential for library users to use as a way of keeping up-to-date with their subject area.
Doodle: Simple way of organising meetings/making group decisions. Love the fact it doesn't need a password as well.
Tagging: Although I used sites where tagging was an option, I'd never really used them myself before. I find them helpful when trying to find information though so will continue using them.
Flickr/Creative Commons: I had used Flickr before starting 23 things, but the Creative Commons section was new to me and is a fantastic source of free images.
Delicious: I have already started saving my links in Delicious, and there are lots of ways links could be organised by librarians using the site to provide useful resources for users.
LibraryThing: Not sure whether I will actually manage to find a helpful or relevant way to use this, but I like the community aspect of discussing books, and being able to nose around people's reading habits. Also I think the catalogue display is rather good!
Podcasting/YouTube: Trying to get information across in an entertaining way is always a good idea!
Wikis: Brilliant way to create and edit shared resources. And I think more useful as a distinct internet resource than Google Docs - which is more like traditional computer programmes with some features for collaboration tagged on.
The top three
Twitter and Facebook: OK I admit it I liked these before I started 23 things, but doing the programme has allowed me to think about their use in libraries more. The marketing possibilities of Facebook were interesting to explore. Facebook's popularity means a lot of people want to exploit this online user base, but how you do that is trickier than just setting up a page to 'like'. I have also started using Twitter a lot more for library related news than when I initially started Tweeting, which is mainly thanks to #cam23 hash tag. I now follow lots of librarians which is fantastic for keeping me up-to-date with news stories about libraries, different conferences that are going on as well as seeing what people are doing in their working lives.
Zotero: Useful for me both as I start my LIS Masters and also as an excellent tool librarians can tell students about.
So all that's left to do is to wave goodbye!
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| With thanks to striatic |
Friday, 27 August 2010
Wiki world
I have to confess I think Wikipedia is amazing. I am aware of the problems, I know it is unreliable or at worst downright inaccurate; it will never replace proper research. But it is also gives a list of past Neighbours characters, with biographies, which in my book means it can't be all bad. It is also so ubiquitous that I have to say I've ignored the possibilities of other types of wikis, although I have used them successfully for work. The graduate trainees have a wiki on CamTools to manage the Catalog website, this works well: we keep an up-to-date rota and list of changes that need to be made, and a list of who's done what each week.
I was excited to read about the Library Routes Project on this week's Cam23 blog as I hadn't heard about it before. Reading about other librarians' career histories is really interesting for me as someone about to start working towards my library school qualification. I will definitely be exploring this in more detail! Also the wiki format seems part of its success; people provide their own information, hearing the many different voices is what makes it so interesting.
Also the different things wikis could be used for had never really occurred to me before. I really like intranets: I think it is often useful for staff to be able to access more detailed information that wouldn't be put on a library's main site, and a wiki could so easily be set up for this purpose and could be kept up to date easily. I can see a lot of potential for using wikis when you want to create long running, constantly changing and collaborative resources and projects.
I was excited to read about the Library Routes Project on this week's Cam23 blog as I hadn't heard about it before. Reading about other librarians' career histories is really interesting for me as someone about to start working towards my library school qualification. I will definitely be exploring this in more detail! Also the wiki format seems part of its success; people provide their own information, hearing the many different voices is what makes it so interesting.
Also the different things wikis could be used for had never really occurred to me before. I really like intranets: I think it is often useful for staff to be able to access more detailed information that wouldn't be put on a library's main site, and a wiki could so easily be set up for this purpose and could be kept up to date easily. I can see a lot of potential for using wikis when you want to create long running, constantly changing and collaborative resources and projects.
Trying not to get distracted on YouTube
I have been so looking forward to these things as I am a big fan of both podcasts and YouTube - although strictly in the distraction/time wasting/laughing until I have a stitch sense. rather than with my 'might be useful for libraries' hat on!
I used to have a long commute and the podcasts of various comedians - Jon Richardson, Adam and Joe and David Mitchell - which were a brilliant distraction as well as an excellent way to see the strange looks you get on trains if you giggle randomly in public places.
I have also been interested in the potential of pre-downloadable podcast guides to museums or places - although I have to say I've never actually been organised enough to download one to my ipod before visiting! The British Library has something like this for their collections. I can see how a podcast guide to a library could be useful - say if someone misses a tour they could walk round the library whilst listening to the audio guide. Although I'm not sure how organised users would be about actually downloading them. It is just another way of getting information across which might appeal to people more than other methods, and as such is worth experimenting with.
I think YouTube could have more potential for libraries simply because it is more engaging than podcasts - also YouTube is more thoroughly web-based, whereas I think podcasts are often downloaded (although of course you can listen online too) - this means a library guide video, for example, could be accessed anywhere with an internet connection - in the library on joining, in a user education session, or from home. And when done well library videos can be both entertaining and informative. Like this one:
I used to have a long commute and the podcasts of various comedians - Jon Richardson, Adam and Joe and David Mitchell - which were a brilliant distraction as well as an excellent way to see the strange looks you get on trains if you giggle randomly in public places.
I have also been interested in the potential of pre-downloadable podcast guides to museums or places - although I have to say I've never actually been organised enough to download one to my ipod before visiting! The British Library has something like this for their collections. I can see how a podcast guide to a library could be useful - say if someone misses a tour they could walk round the library whilst listening to the audio guide. Although I'm not sure how organised users would be about actually downloading them. It is just another way of getting information across which might appeal to people more than other methods, and as such is worth experimenting with.
I think YouTube could have more potential for libraries simply because it is more engaging than podcasts - also YouTube is more thoroughly web-based, whereas I think podcasts are often downloaded (although of course you can listen online too) - this means a library guide video, for example, could be accessed anywhere with an internet connection - in the library on joining, in a user education session, or from home. And when done well library videos can be both entertaining and informative. Like this one:
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Googling docs
I was quite interested in the potential of Google Docs as friends have been finishing dissertations in the last few months that I've read through, so I was interested in something to make the sending/ editing/ resaving/ resending process via Word and email easier. Overall I was fairly impressed with the functions provided - especially in tracking the changes made to a document. There is also the advantage that the files are stored remotely so in the event of a hard drive explosion your documents are safe. I can only see the collaborative aspects working better than Microsoft Office when there are more than two people working on a document. So, in a similar way to Doodle, Google Docs is a brilliant way of solving a very specific problem - that of allowing a large number of librarians to work together. I don't think the software is as good as Microsoft Office to use though, so for working with just one other person (proof reading a friend's dissertation) I'll be sticking to Word!
Marketing men
When people think of marketing they associate it with advertising more than as an essential part of the work of the a librarian. Which is a good excuse for a picture of Don Draper from Mad Men.
Now I've got that out of my system I can talk about libraries! For me the modern librarian has to 'market' the service in the broadest possible sense - if marketing is providing the right services and making people aware that we are providing these services - which is surely part of what librarians should be doing every day.
Web 2.0 can help with marketing simply because it provides so many new outlets for contact with users, or potential users. A significant number of the things we've looked at so far can be used in this way. Facebook and Twitter are brilliant ways to keep in contact with people and tell them about new services, or remind them or services they may have forgotten about - surely marketing by another name.
The opportunities to connect with other librarians that Twitter and professional social networking like LinkedIn are also useful to see what other people are doing: sharing ideas and getting inspiration.
Also the possibilities of things like Delicious, RSS feeds and Zotero to help students are - in the right situation - an excellent opportunity to show how good library services are. Someone who is struggling with referencing, for example could be pointed in the direction of Zotero (or, in an ideal world, given training) by a librarian, and given a positive experience of the support librarians can provide.
Finally the Creative Commons on Flickr seem to me to offer a brilliant way to improve more traditional forms of marketing (posters etc.) as wonderful images can be found and used easily and for free. This is more interesting and professional looking which again hopefully gives a better impression of the library.
Web 2.0 can help with marketing simply because it provides so many new outlets for contact with users, or potential users. A significant number of the things we've looked at so far can be used in this way. Facebook and Twitter are brilliant ways to keep in contact with people and tell them about new services, or remind them or services they may have forgotten about - surely marketing by another name.
The opportunities to connect with other librarians that Twitter and professional social networking like LinkedIn are also useful to see what other people are doing: sharing ideas and getting inspiration.
Also the possibilities of things like Delicious, RSS feeds and Zotero to help students are - in the right situation - an excellent opportunity to show how good library services are. Someone who is struggling with referencing, for example could be pointed in the direction of Zotero (or, in an ideal world, given training) by a librarian, and given a positive experience of the support librarians can provide.
Finally the Creative Commons on Flickr seem to me to offer a brilliant way to improve more traditional forms of marketing (posters etc.) as wonderful images can be found and used easily and for free. This is more interesting and professional looking which again hopefully gives a better impression of the library.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Referencing made easy!
Oh my word - I fear I'm a little bit in love with Zotero! I haven't had much experience of referencing software in the past. I had a play with Endnote towards the end of uni, but as I had already made reference notes for my dissertation by the time I'd discovered it, I never did more than having a quick look and think 'what a good idea' and then promptly went off and graduated and left the world of essay writing behind me.
I do, though, remember the sometimes feverishly last minute referencing sessions (it always seemed to take longer than I thought it would) at essay deadline time - something I hope not to repeat at library school. So basically, Zotero to the rescue! I did have to download Firefox specifically so I could run Zotero which is frustrating - as many people have pointed out, plug-ins for other browsers would be handy. The fact that I can see immediate applications for Zotero in my own studies suggests it could be useful for other students and therefore is useful for librarians to be aware of when supporting students.
Browsing and then saving references on the one screen is brilliant - no need to flick from window to window. Obviously it means you have to have Zotero installed on the computer you are using. This is the only really annoying feature of Zotero - you can't log into the website and then manually add a reference to your list. I can see this being frustrating if working from a computer elsewhere - you have to make notes of the reference to add to Zotero later. Delicious could be used for links in the meantime though.
Transferring references to Word works well, although you do have to check the referencing, but simply copying the references still saves so much time in comparison with entering them manually. I also looked at Mendeley in comparison to Zotero and in many ways it works in similar ways although trying to link it to Word created a few problems. It felt a lot less straightforward than Zotero because of this, Zotero was download and go, which is all part of the reason I'm slightly in love!
Browsing and then saving references on the one screen is brilliant - no need to flick from window to window. Obviously it means you have to have Zotero installed on the computer you are using. This is the only really annoying feature of Zotero - you can't log into the website and then manually add a reference to your list. I can see this being frustrating if working from a computer elsewhere - you have to make notes of the reference to add to Zotero later. Delicious could be used for links in the meantime though.
Transferring references to Word works well, although you do have to check the referencing, but simply copying the references still saves so much time in comparison with entering them manually. I also looked at Mendeley in comparison to Zotero and in many ways it works in similar ways although trying to link it to Word created a few problems. It felt a lot less straightforward than Zotero because of this, Zotero was download and go, which is all part of the reason I'm slightly in love!
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
LinkedIn sounds like an interesting idea - professional social networking is surely something to be explored when personal social networking like Facebook is so popular. It was all fairly easy to set up although it seems quite difficult to initially start networking as it covers all industries. The people LinkedIn suggested I should link to weren't that relevant either, as they were people I know personally, and their industries range from health care to volunteering management - so not hugely library related! This might be because I've only recently started working in the profession so don't have a large contact base to start from.
I've recently joined the newly launched LIS New Professionals Network, which is also designed for professional networking - but is focused entirely on new professionals within the information and library field in the UK. It shares many similar features with LinkedIn - discussion groups and networking for example, although it has less emphasis on the CV/profile element. I think for me at the moment LISNPN is more helpful because it is more specific and relevant, although I will probably try and keep my LinkedIn profile up-to-date and explore it more in the future.
I've recently joined the newly launched LIS New Professionals Network, which is also designed for professional networking - but is focused entirely on new professionals within the information and library field in the UK. It shares many similar features with LinkedIn - discussion groups and networking for example, although it has less emphasis on the CV/profile element. I think for me at the moment LISNPN is more helpful because it is more specific and relevant, although I will probably try and keep my LinkedIn profile up-to-date and explore it more in the future.
I'm Face-bookin'
Aah so I've finally reached Facebook - which I'm a keen user of. I know all the arguments against Facebook: the privacy concerns, the copyright issues, the general confusion of my parents about why anyone would want to put so much information on any type of website.
I am still, however, a fan, I probably log into Facebook more than any other website. This is partly because, aside from my mobile, Facebook is the main way I keep in contact with people - sharing photos, organising events and sending messages.
That I conduct and organise my social life through Facebook is a bit lazy - although at least I can be comforted with the fact that, as Facebook's popularity grows and grows, I'm definitely not the only lazy person in the world! Facebook's popularity is of course what makes it a useful tool for libraries - it is the easiest way to connect to students via the web simply because so many students use Facebook.
The library I work at recently set up a Facebook page which has been quite successful fairly quickly - after one email saying we had a library Facebook page, about 60 people 'liked' us.
I am still, however, a fan, I probably log into Facebook more than any other website. This is partly because, aside from my mobile, Facebook is the main way I keep in contact with people - sharing photos, organising events and sending messages.
That I conduct and organise my social life through Facebook is a bit lazy - although at least I can be comforted with the fact that, as Facebook's popularity grows and grows, I'm definitely not the only lazy person in the world! Facebook's popularity is of course what makes it a useful tool for libraries - it is the easiest way to connect to students via the web simply because so many students use Facebook.
The library I work at recently set up a Facebook page which has been quite successful fairly quickly - after one email saying we had a library Facebook page, about 60 people 'liked' us.
This page is now used to let people know about small pieces of library news. It's an advantage that the followers of the page have opted themselves in, so although we don't want to pester them, they are obviously happy to receive a bit more information about the library than they get from emails. It's also probably easier for them to get news about the library this way, especially, if like me, they log into Facebook frequently. Facebook would never become the main way a library contacts users: a lot of people wouldn't 'like' the library and therefore wouldn't see the updates. And despite its popularity there are still a lot of people who don't use Facebook. For those who do though, it is a handy way to provide more information about the library, if they would like it, in an informal way, and on a site they are familiar with.
Monday, 23 August 2010
Library Thing-ing
I love the idea of LibraryThing - lots of people sharing what they love to read in a giant community is a brilliant way of creating connections between books, highlighting trends in reading habits as well as being an excellent illustration of what people are actually read. I have used the site before as I started to catalogue my own books a while back to stop myself buying multiple copies of things - although I clearly don't have the commitment as I only managed to add a bookshelf or so last time.
Things like the 'tbr' (to be read) tag reveal surprises about current reading habits - Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrelll is the top book waiting to be read on LibraryThing - beating War and Peace by a long way which surprised me (although actually I've given up on both). This could of course be because LibraryThing is based on books owned more than books read - so people list unread books on their shelves rather than all time ambitious tbr books. As a borrower from libraries I was relieved to find you can list books as 'read but unowned'. The whole point of creating a list of books for me would be to show your personal reading habits and history, rather than just a history of my impulse buys in Waterstones 3 for 2!
Using LibraryThing within libraries is of course a completely different matter. LibraryThing is not designed to be a library catalogue for institutions, the focus is more on personal libraries - although the advantages of such a low cost, easy access cataloguing system for small libraries who can't afford other software are obvious.
Things like the 'tbr' (to be read) tag reveal surprises about current reading habits - Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrelll is the top book waiting to be read on LibraryThing - beating War and Peace by a long way which surprised me (although actually I've given up on both). This could of course be because LibraryThing is based on books owned more than books read - so people list unread books on their shelves rather than all time ambitious tbr books. As a borrower from libraries I was relieved to find you can list books as 'read but unowned'. The whole point of creating a list of books for me would be to show your personal reading habits and history, rather than just a history of my impulse buys in Waterstones 3 for 2!
I was very interested in looking at the features of LibraryThing for Libraries on the High Plains Library District catalogue. This offers some of the key Web 2.0 features of LibraryThing as an addition to a full library catalogue. I can really see the benefits of this for public libraries. The user created reviews, tags etc make it feel a lot more friendly and interesting. I'm not sure how useful it would be for academic libraries where users are often after specific books for specific research or subjects rather than browsing and reading for pleasure -although this obviously does happen in academic libraries too!
Thursday, 19 August 2010
A breather
And I have finally reached reached Thing 13! It feels like it has taken quite a while to get here - I don't seem to be able to do a thing for half an hour a week, it takes me much longer to try out and then write up each new bit of internet loveliness.
Looking back to the start of 23 Things I said that I wanted to see how Web 2.0 tools that I've already used could be applied to libraries - and to discover some new tricks. I have certainly done the latter - I love the Creative Commons section of Flickr, something I've never really come across before. Delicious also has the potential to become really useful as I start at library school - helping me keep a track of any interesting articles I read.
Hearing about people's different ideas on how tools could be used in libraries has been a really interesting part of the programme so far: as well as coming up with some ideas of my own!
I am hoping to discover some more new tools before the end of 23 things as so far I have been familiar with quite a few of the things (aside from Delicious and Slideshare).
Looking back to the start of 23 Things I said that I wanted to see how Web 2.0 tools that I've already used could be applied to libraries - and to discover some new tricks. I have certainly done the latter - I love the Creative Commons section of Flickr, something I've never really come across before. Delicious also has the potential to become really useful as I start at library school - helping me keep a track of any interesting articles I read.
Hearing about people's different ideas on how tools could be used in libraries has been a really interesting part of the programme so far: as well as coming up with some ideas of my own!
I am hoping to discover some more new tools before the end of 23 things as so far I have been familiar with quite a few of the things (aside from Delicious and Slideshare).
Monday, 2 August 2010
Mmm Delicious
Apart from the fact that whenever I see the word 'Delicious' I think of the Mexican town my housemate comes from (best place name ever: Delicias in the state of Chihuahua!)
I was also quite excited to explore Delicious as from what I'd heard I thought it could be very useful in libraries.
This is true to some extent - I love the ability to create lists of, and share, useful links, I can see Delicious being a really helpful resource when trying to get useful links out to library users. I liked the fact that you can update the list constantly - keeping links up to date without changing how users access the list of links. As more and more resources become web based Delicious could have an important role to play. I also liked being able to add descriptive tags to links.
However, I'm not so sure about the usefulness of social tagging on Delicious for libraries. Being able to create an authoritative list of resources seems to me to have the purpose of helping students avoid clicking the first hit on Google approach to research. The social tagging on Delicious is no doubt brilliant if you're trying to find out more information about subjects of interest but for academic research, like so much of Web 2.0, it is only as good as the people doing the tagging and should therefore be treated with slight caution because of this.
This is true to some extent - I love the ability to create lists of, and share, useful links, I can see Delicious being a really helpful resource when trying to get useful links out to library users. I liked the fact that you can update the list constantly - keeping links up to date without changing how users access the list of links. As more and more resources become web based Delicious could have an important role to play. I also liked being able to add descriptive tags to links.
However, I'm not so sure about the usefulness of social tagging on Delicious for libraries. Being able to create an authoritative list of resources seems to me to have the purpose of helping students avoid clicking the first hit on Google approach to research. The social tagging on Delicious is no doubt brilliant if you're trying to find out more information about subjects of interest but for academic research, like so much of Web 2.0, it is only as good as the people doing the tagging and should therefore be treated with slight caution because of this.
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