Ex Libris 2.0

Thing 47: and furthermore

2009-06-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to put my finger on why this round of Things was less rewarding. I think it just couldn't be as exciting to learn "more" as it was to enter a whole new world. In addition, I had already learned some of the techniques, and explored some of the software, in this year's exercises.

The library world has changed a great deal since "23 Things on a Stick." Life is more grim, both at work and at home. Sub hours have been nearly eliminated, so my connection to library life is very tenuous. When I did "23 Things," I had hopes of using some of the tools in work. With sub work disappearing and hiring frozen (in my system), the odds of me using these tools are considerably lessened.

Thank you for considering substitutes to be part of the library community. I hope that we still will be the next time we do "Things." If things continue to be this slow, I would understand if that changed.

There was something new for me in every task. I appreciate the range of choices in the tasks. I also appreciate the honor system which lets us go deeply into Things we're particularly interested in, or to skim the Things that hold no thrill. Even in the tasks I felt completely competent in, there was a new article to read, or an alternate site.

TV and video? got it under control.

But wait, what's that Joost thing?

Oh, Cool!

I wrote in my previous evaluation post that I'd like to tackle a smaller group of tasks that I don't feel fully competent in, or that I didn't fully explore. Perhaps we could have "Lazy On a Stick" or "Self-Paced on a Stick," in which we could revisit either group of Things. It would involve less work on the administrative end, and still be very useful. We could either totally self-direct the learning, agreeing only to tackle a certain number of Things, or you could design a menu based on blog comments indicating "needs improvement." The Top 5 most awkward Things.

My other idea is about developing community. There was a large cohort that did 23 Things the first time it was offered. In my system, I think the second cohort was smaller. At least, I didn't find too many people who were doing it.

How would it work to bundle about 20 participants in a group so we could support each other? If you figure for dropouts, that would leave a manageable number of blogs to read, and I think it would increase interaction. If you pick blogs to follow, you have an unrelated list. Generally for me, a list that is far ahead of me! If you had a group with interconnected nodes I think we'd hang around for each other even if some were slower.

I feel sheepish that despite the extended deadline, I ended up cramming it all in at the last minute, but I rather expected it to work out that way. Life is always full of immediate deadlines, and as the saying goes, "urgency drives out importance" It wasn't until this project was urgent that I could make the time to finish it. It's time had come!

I can't thank you enough for offering this opportunity. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

Thing 47: Evaluation

2009-06-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Image by Nils Noack via Flickr

I ended both Thing sets with feelings of regret. In spite of all I learned and all I did, there was so much left to explore. It's just hard to carve out the time I'd like to spend on these Things! I wish we didn't have a deadline, but conversely, I wouldn't have gotten any of it done without one!

My imaginary next Thing set (not swing set) would consist of me exploring 5 Things in greater depth. For starters, podcasts, screencasts, and mashups!

That's all for now, but I will try to add more tomorrow.

And again, thanks very much!

Thing46: WebJunction Minnesota (WJMN)

2009-06-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

WebJunction Minnesota is acting up tonight. Perhaps it doesn't like humidity. I like to think there are other More Thing-ers prowling the pages of WJMN tonight, this penultimate night of the "More Things" challenge!

I ws drawn to the courses offered by some of the affiliated library schools in core competencies for various aspects of librarianship. I'm vamping a little bit here because I can't get back to that page. It provided some ideas for further study, things that I could add to my resume.

I talked to Mary Wagner of St. Kate's last fall at the MLA conference, and asked her about any refresher or keeping up courses, but they didn't have any plans for that sort of course. So the offerings here interested me.

I saw a lot of "stub" profiles, probably people like me who created a profile but then didn't return to participate in the community. Things looked pretty quiet on the "Early Career Librarians" discussion, and I couldn't get to the proper screen for the MN Destiny group -- I kept getting re-directed to "101 Tech Tips in 30 Days," which interested me--until I realized it was more technical than I ever get!

One of the things I've taken away from the Things, More Things, and my own wikis ( a library substitute wiki now dormant because subs in our system are getting so few hours, and a family wiki created for an all-family celebration last Christmas) is that it really takes a core group of dedicated, involved individuals to create a sense of online community. At a certain size it becomes more likely to survive, but it's not a sure thing that a sense of community will develop.

Thing 45: Cloud Computing

2009-06-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

Image by akakumo via Flickr

I'm a big fan of cloud computing. As a substitute librarian, I want to be able to access my bookmarks, social web, documents, RSS feeds, etc., from any location. Just one example: I keep several prepared storytimes on Google Docs. Several times I've been called at the last minute for a shift that includes a story time. If there's time, I'll create something fresh, but it's great to have those storytimes available, either to use as is or to use as a template.

Gmail is my primary e-mail, and Google Reader my RSS feed. Google homepage is my custom h ome page. I like the idea of a custom desktop, so I will further investigate some of the virtual desktops described in the instructions for this Thing.

Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the web : Kelly talks about the need to give up privacy in ordere to fully participate in cloud computing/ web 3.0/the One machine. I'm not ready to jump into that as fully as he is. I predict too that there will be a generational drive, with the Boomers clinging to our vestiges of privacy and younger generations being more fearless, for better or worse.

I enjoyed Kelly's presentation, but I'm less enchanted with predictions than I once was. I think the overall shape of his predictions make sense, the way that everything will become increasingly connected, that devices will be a "window into the One," but we've lived throuogh a year that few predicted, and I'm more skeptical now, knowing the power of "Black Swan" events.

Thing 44: The Economy

2009-06-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

Lots of good links here! Thanks!

I found out my car's mileage* and carbon footprint (FuelEconomy.gov), identified the pest that's been chewing up my plants (U of M Extension), tried very hard to connect with my bank on Mint.com, and found a great t-shirt on a click-through from Frugal Dad to Dress Me: a picture of William Shatner with the caption, "Shat happens." He sure does.

I looked at WhatBills.com and might go back to set up an account. I only have two bills that I don't pay with automatic online banking; but with so few, they often slip my mind until it's too close to the due date for comfort.

I was kind of baffled by the cell phone plan comparison tool. I didn't see the option I currently have, so it was like comparing apples to oranges. Nevertheless, I did pick up a few facts about other cell plans.

I investigated Deals and Coupons on WiseBread.com, including a few articles confirming some of my beliefs about the value of spending extended time poring over the Sunday coupon circulars (low value; speed through and only grab coupons for significant discounts for things you regularly purchase), grocery flyers (the sale prices are often only a few cents from the regular prices; best deals are on fresh produce), and coupon indexers.

I've used Freecycle in the past so I checked out Craig's list, just poking around. My experience with Freecycle was that it was great for giving things away--it was fun to meet people who were eager to get daylilies or our foosball table--but when we were looking for items they were pretty junky. Also, it's pretty competitive. Some people must check constantly. Since I was more casual about it, I was too late for most things I was interested in.

I tried the Yard Sale treasure map, but found that I'm not interested in baby clothes or furniture. I might be past my primo garage sale years. This year I'm going to have a garage sale of my own, and I'm not interested in seeking acquisitions as I try to empty my house.

I liked the Savvy Shopper's Guide to this year's deal finders, and RetailMeNot. I added the Firefox extension for RetailMeNot. No more missed online deals for me!

I like the extremely frugal Hillbilly Housewife--low-cost, home cooking from scratch. She has lots of recipes for dried mixes (e.g. seasoned rice mixes) and a competent, straightforward style.

My latest cheap thrill is the realization that the bags which line cereal and cracker boxes make excellent freezer bags and lunch bags. I already drove my kids crazy by rewashing purchased zip-lock bags, now there is another set of bags drying on the counter. Someday they'll thank me. Someday, after the years of therapy and related bills, which will beggar them, leading them to economies like re-using plastic bags. It's beautiful isn't it? The circle of life. . .

My other favorite tip, which I don't use but which I hold in reserve for truly desperate days, is to tape the light switch on the refrigerator so it doesn't go on when the door opens. That's frugal!

*EPA Est. mileage 19 mpg city, 26 highway, 22 combined. Sounds about right.

Thing 43: Online TV and Video

2009-06-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

This was certainly "easy to love!" I've been watching shows online for a little while know. I watch the Craig Ferguson Show, because I can't stay up so late! And between the first would-be conversion date for digital TV and the recent actual conversion, we couldn't get Channel 5. I'm a big fan of the George Stephanopolous show, which is on Channel 5, so I've been watching it from the network website. It was a real treat t be able to continue to watch it when my normal access method didn't work.

When I explored Joost (I'd been using Hulu before) I watched the pilot for "Nurse Jackie," Showtime's new show starring Edie Falco. Again, this was great, since we don't have cable! When I was watching "The Sopranos," I had to wait a year for the DVD's to come out.

Despite these opportunities, though, I don't watch too much TV on the computer because usually when I watch TV, I'm going through e-mail, Facebook, Reader, etc., and I don't have the processing power to do both at the same time! Or the screen space.

We do use the laptop for TV and videos in social situations, though, both in the context of our family, when we all sit down together to watch a movie, and when friends visit and want to show us a TV show or video they like. We can hook up the TV and laptop and watch on the bigger TV screen. We still have Netflix, and we also get movies out of the video store about once a month or less (but when we do, Jarrett takes out the maximum amount.)

Free on-demand access to TV and movies has changed our viewing habits. I often wonder how often our local video store will survive. And I wonder how the entertainment industry will replace those revenue streams. It seems unsustainable. I was going to write, "There will always be an audience for cable TV," but I checked myself -- is that true in the CEE, the current economic environment?

One effect we see already is the popularity of reality TV. Since it's cheaper to produce, it's fortunate for the TV industry that people seem to love it so much. I have a limited taste for seeing people humiliated, so I don't watch much. In fact, I don't usually watch American Idol, but I got caught up with Susan Boyle's story and followed "Britain's Got Talent" online. For a while I was checking in every night! I really enjoyed it. I think it's the pop diva "warble" of false emotion that turns me off to American Idol.

A "Cloud computing" aside: I usually use my litle netbook to work on the Things, but I'm borrowing my son's laptop tonight to use the full-size keyboard. I can access my blog, and the Things list, and most everything I do, but I use Firefox on the netbook and I'm using Safari on the Mac. On Firefox I use the nifty "Zemanta" extension, which provides additional blog fodder in the form of pictures and articles related to the blog text. I bet Zemanta would have an article for me about the financial future of the entertainment industry. Let me check.

OK, Hulu has ads. I forgot about that. So some money is being made.

I didn't want to monkey around importing Firefox to Evan's computer, so I saved and closed the post, then re-opened it on the netbook with Firefox and used Zemanta to look for articles.

Thing40: Mashup your life

2009-06-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

I hit a winner right away with "Wheel of Food." Thanks -- it's fun! Here are some Northeast Minneapolis lunch spots, if you're interested.

I tried "Let Me Google that for you" and thought it was odd. Well, that's too harsh. But it's my job to Google things for people, and I don't get requests to Google for people in other contexts. However, the answers that came up led me to a program I hadn't heard of before, called Muckety. It maps relationships. For instance, one relationship map showed Sonia Sotomayor's key professional and political connections. Neat! You can click on the picture, above, to enlarge it.

I also explored Visual Headlines and Interestingness.

For new mashups, I found GotFreeShipping? which searches Amazon and E-bay for items with free shipping.

Another new mashup is Geographical Media, "a news monitoring tool designed to make it easy to follow news and find statistics about the people, places and other things you are most interested in. We read thousands of news articles a day from news sources from all around the world and identify who, what and where they are about.

"Who are the most talked about people in the world? What about in Africa? What are people in Russia saying about Barack Obama? These are some of the questions we hope to answer by statistically exploring the world's news."

I tried to do a mashup using autism statistics from Fighting Autism, using Dapp Factory, but I didn't succeed. I think the data was not amenable to being selected as fields. These were charts of autism prevalence and rates in the 50 US states, but I couldn't select just the states as a field, or just the prevalence, or just the rates. I should have tried something simpler.

This is the Thing I dreaded most. I've been turning over different ideas for mashups, but most of them already exist! Maybe I need more information neediness.

Here's one I was going to invent is on Programmable Web--it's called CodexMap, and it "lets you find, and place, books graphically on a map. Whether the book was added to the system by our harvester, or by you or another user, you can interact with a map to find books.

APIs: Amazon EC2 + GeoNames + Google Maps + LibraryThing."

Ironically, the same info is available for fiction on NoveList, though without the map (last time I checked!)

So, I turned to the user-friendly BigHugeLabs and Hockneyized a photo. OK! Done!

Thing 42: Music 2,0--Everything's amazing, nobody's happy

2009-06-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

I was grousing that Pandora wasn't all I wanted it to be, and my son called me on it, saying, "Everything's amazing, nobody's happy." He was quoting comedian Louis CK, shown here on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, riffing on rotary phones vs. cell phones, wireless internet on planes, and flight delays.

I tried Pandora. Somehow I had gotten the idea that you could input multiple songs, and Pandora would find common characteristics. So I was disappointed to find that wasn't so. I had posted "Taylor, the Latte Boy," to Facebook, and it came up in Pandora when I logged on, so I started a channel from that. I like musicals, but not THAT much, so I wanted to enter another song, but on the same channel, to add some more data to the Genome Project -- but it was not to be.

I listened to an "All 80's" station which had the added interest of being from the U.K. Definitely out of my regular listening routine. I was surprised at how many of the songs I didn't know! A different set of hits!

I was one of the many heartbroken "Morning Program" fans who migrated to Heartland Radio when the Morning Program went off the air. It's not the same, though. He's clearly broadcasting to a smaller audience, which seems like a club I'm not part of.

I enjoyed this Thing and look forward to listening more.

Web 2.0 aps remaining from first web 2.0 collage

2009-05-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Image by Mmmonica via Flickr

Web companies from the original web 2.0 logo collage which are still going

Meg Pickard, who created this image, wasn't trying to "call fail" on web 2.0, but to update an outdated imge. Her blog post, Game Web 2.Over? has additional images and thoughtful commentary.

Thing 39: Digital Storytelling

2009-05-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

This was great fun! I used Scrapblog, which was very easy to use. It was only time-consuming because I played around with it so much!

Thing 37, reprise

2009-05-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

This is more like it! Alth0ugh I must say, for all my exploring and playing around, the outcome isn't much different from the PictureTrail slide show I did in 23 Things. Hmm . . .

I wasn't sure how literally to take "tell a story." This is the story of spring in my yard, I guess!

Mother's Day 2009 Yard and Garden

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

This went well, just some network hangups on this end. Although as usual the frames were oriented to 13-year-old girls and their BFFs, and are cartoonish rather than subtle or sophisticated. Oh well.

Thing 37: Photo Tales

2009-05-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I probably spent more time with less result on this Thing than any other. You've heard it before: I have a new computer. The old one is in a sad corner of the spare room, and I didn't trust my technology (or want the time-consuming bother) of putting the iMac back together, transferring the pictures onto my memory card that has been uncooperative lately, and uploading them bla bla bla. So I puttered around trying to copy my Flickr photos onto some of the other aps. N o can do. Tried with my PictureTrail photos. Looked again for the memory card and adapter and after a lot of fiddling, was unable to find any photos on the card!

So I took my new camera out of the box (Did I mention that the old camera broke? And that I didn't want to futz around setting up the new camera? And did I mention that I took advantage of Mother's Day camera sales so I'd have one for this Thing? And did I mention that I thank you for the excuse?) and futzed around setting it up. It went more smoothly than I had dared to hope, and I went out into the garden and snapped a c0uple dozen shots.

I was able to upload them to FLickr fairly painlessly, too. I'm getting better at this! Some of it, anyway.

I wasn't happy with any of the sites I tried. The mosaic site had a server error and didn't work. I've forgotten what the problem was with the second mosaic site. I wanted to caption all of the photos, but the photo captioning was one picture at a time, and I didn't have the patience for that.

Tiltshift, Comeeko, and Bubblr were all boring with flower pictures. I did use Flickrslidr to create code for an embedded slice show, seen above.

All that remains is to try some of the other slideshow software. Wish me luck.

Thing 41: Mash up your life

2009-05-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

I set up Friendfeed and then never got around to checking it. When I finally did, it was great! Particularly for tne people I follow on twitter like mashable and Robert Scoble. I also like seeing all my social ap content on my Facebook page!

It is a timesaver. I have a Firefox tool that pops up my Twitter and Facebook feeds, but when I'm trying to get work done it can be fatal to follow some of those intriguing links. I like the formaat on FriendFeed better than on Twitter. It's easier to follow up on those leads, especially from prolific posters like -- well, mashable and Scoble. I subscribe to Jay Rosen, and I wish he was on Friendfeed.

I also have some personal/professional friends. librarians I don't see often, so it's fun to see both their personal and professional posts. Right now only one is a frequent user. I'm afraid others have set up Friendfeed as part of More Things, so it will be interesting to see if they continue once they complete the Things.

I like this more than I thought I would. The more active your professional community,the more useful this would be.

Thing 38: Screencasting

2009-05-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

Free online screencasting tool

I skipped Thing 37 for now and went to screencasting. I chose ScreenToaster so I wouldn't have to download any software to my little netbook. It was pretty fun. You were saved from a very boring "How to use Gmail" screencast at the last minute when I got the Tweet about Mark Twain Motivational Posters.

It took me several tries to get it right. If you open ScreenToaster in one tab and your content in another, there is no indicator that you are recording. The first time through I got hung up and coludn't stop the recording. One nice feature is that you don't save the screencast until you have the one you want. You can record, view, and then just re-record, without having to name files and then delete them.

A feature that would be good would be the ability to change the shape and position of the recording area rectangle. My final screen wasn't placed quite where I wanted it to be.

A library could amass a collection of these to explain using the library web site, getting a hotmail or yahoo e-mail account, or navigating a subject area, say, the job search section of the web site. This would be great!

Personally? I don't know, I can't think of an application. I did consider stringing together some of my favorite design, art, and picture sites; but I'm not sure who would view it. I've been trying to persuade my sister to sign up on Facebook. Maybe I should send her a "how-to" screencast!

The Google Killer - Page 1 - The Daily Beast

2009-05-08T21:37:00.001-07:00

The Google Killer - Page 1 - The Daily Beast

Posted using ShareThis

Thing 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

I had to laugh when I did a keyword search for "library" cartoons on Toondoo. Recent postings . . . by Minnesota librarians . . . who were new to the site and only had one cartoon . . . sounds like "Thing 36" to me!

#1 favorite:

Favorite #2

And here's mine:

I borrowed the punch line from a friend's nephew, a real hellion and a seething mass of unstoppable energy, not too interested in reading -- or coloring! BTW, since he's from Texas, it's pronounced, "CRAY-oh-las." "Don't be givin' me no CRAYolas, cuz I ain't gonna color!" It's a preference one is wise to heed!

I've wanted to try Worldle for a long time. Fun! Here is a wordle based on a blog post I wrote entitled "Credo," which means "I believe."

***
This will be down to the wire just as the last Things were for me. Without the deadlines I would never ever do these Things!
***
I feel more than a bit wimpy choosing easy rather than useful generators. That's the down side of a deadline. I'm going to have to do one Thing a day, so I'm streamlining.

I think I remember hearing that one could spend hours on each thing or "as little as one hour." How could that be?

Though the generators I chose are just pretty pictures, I know from using the 23 Things blog and More Things wiki that the images you use really liven things up, and highlight important messages in a fun and memorable way. These would liven up any library communication, in-house or outside.

I love Emily Lloyd's "Shelf Check" srip. She's incredibily creative and perceptive. It would be fun to work in a library that used comics to communicate. My librarysystem is pretty formal -- I can'tvisualize comics being used here.

I found the ToonDoo site very clumsy to use. It wouldn't retain my search list of library cartoons. I would click on a cartoon, then not be able to go back to my list of search results. I had to redo the search over and over again. I ave to think it might have been me, but I looked diligently for the "proper" way to do this and didn't find it.

RE: ANSWER SITE

It's 12:18 a.m. and my son just asked me "What would happen if two black holes meet? Would they merge, implode, or devour each other?" We batted around a few ideas for a story he's writing, and used up my knowledge of physics in a nanosecond or two. "Oh, well," he said, "There's always wiki -ask.com."

24/7 availability! Answer below.
They used the coolest phrase to describe a black hole: "God divided by zero."

Nice.

Here's the answer:

Word on the street is that if two black holes collided, there'd be a bigger black hole. The ripples in space-time would be big enough to surf. Energy released in the event would be almost beyond calculation. This is an event you would not wanna see from the front row. Or maybe even the back row. It may not even be safe from the cheap seats.

First answer by Quirkyquantummechanic. Last edit by Quirkyquantummechanic. Contributor trust: 1131 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 5 [recommend question]

Further reading yields more detailed answers, plus links to science news RE: black hole research.

Thing 35: Books 2.0

2009-05-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

I found that I am content with the Book 2.0 tools I currently have, especially Shelfari. Perhaps if I had more time to partake in the community aspect of books 2.0 it would become more important to me, but my time is limited. I'm most interested in book reviews and recommendations, and I subscribe to BookBrowse, Harper First Alert, The New York times book section e-mail, and the Hennepin County Library weekly e-mails of "Forthcoming Fiction" and "Forthcoming Non-Fiction" lists, as well as HCL's weekly update of what's new on the NYT best-seller lists. That provides me with all I can read and more. And there are bo0klists galore on HCL's Book Space!

I feel like a curmudgeon on this round of "Things." Perhaps because I'm not working in a library right now (budget cuts). Perhaps because I go online after work, errands, housekeeping, dinner-making and dishes, laundry . . . oh, heck, and sometimes I skip all that virtuous stuff and just READ for a while. I want to spend more time reading, not talking about reading.

But when I hear myself say that, I also realize that I've often wanted to discuss a book with someone who has recently read it. I think the problem is that relationship-building takes time, so one can't just skid into a 2.0 site for a minute or two and expect literally instant community.

I'm currently speed-reading through LifeHacks, which has many pages devoted to tips and tricks to keep from getting side-tracked on the way by these very 2.0 aps, which can suck up so much time, and then one finds oneself at the end of the day with nothing done but checking Facebook, twitter, e-mail, and possibly RSS feeds. In fact, this is exactly what happens to me when I sit down to work on More Things!

Many "voracious reader" library patrons I meet come in with a list of books in hand, and just need help finding them or putting them on hold, but I still like to be prepared for Readers' Advisory:

I really like the idea of ReadingTrails, but in practice they just seemed like old-fashioned book lists. Disappointing.

Similarly, I was intrigued with Book Lamp, but the dimensions they used didn't represent the things I look for in books. Somewhat useful, but it I think the job is done just as well with "reads like" suggestions available elsewhere.

I like Overbooked; I've used that before and it's a great resource.

Book Glutton's simultaneous reading plan seemed cumbersome and random.

Living Social -- I have the ap on Facebook but I don't know anyone who is active on it.

BookBrowse: I already subscribe to their e-mail.Very good!

I thought the International Children's Digital Library sounded great but found the interface too clumsy. The book page was either too small or too big. I have an extra-small screen (Netbook) but it was just ridiculous. It took a long time to load, and there were about 8 pages of material before I ever got to story text. It just wasn't worth the hassle. Maybe someday on a faster machine with a bigger screen.

I like the Vintage Children's books and Old Childrn's Books on flickr! Thanks!

Maryanne Wolf's Proust and the Squid; the story and science of the reading brain escribes the important difference between scanning electronic text for meaning and prolonged engagement with printed text, and the different brain activities associated with each. Fascinating stuff! And we have to keep reading books, not just quick-scanning, in order to continue to create modifications to our evolving and maleable mind!

OTHER TOOLS:
I subscribe to and value "Shelf Awareness." It has some book industry news, some reviews, but what I especially value is the list of authors on the media circuit. It's perfect for the patron who comes in and says, "There was this guy on "Good Morning America. . . "

Here's an excerpt from Shelf Awareness. It's not a 2.0 tool, but it's a good tool.

* * *

Media and Movies

Media Heat: Chris Cleave, Author of Little Bee

This morning on Good Morning America: Whoopi Goldberg, author of Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Toeshoe Trouble (Hyperion, $4.99, 9780786852611/0786852615).

---

Today on Fresh Air: Ayelet Waldman, author of Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace (Doubleday, $24.95, 9780385527934/0385527934).

---

Tomorrow morning on the Early Show: Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee (Simon & Schuster, $24, 9781416589631/1416589635).

---

Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Michael J. Fox, author of Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (Hyperion, $25.99, 9781401303389/1401303382).

---

Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Adam Perry Lang, author of Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste, and Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking (Hyperion, $35, 9781401323066/1401323065).

---

Tomorrow morning on NPR's Morning Edition: Steve Miller, author of The Turnaround Kid: What I Learned Rescuing America's Most Troubled Companies (Collins Business, $25.95, 9780061251276/0061251275).

---

Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Joshua Cooper Ramo, author of The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It (Little, Brown, $25.99, 9780316118088/0316118087).

---

Tomorrow on NPR's On Point: Ruth Reichl, author of Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way (Penguin Press, $19.95, 9781594202162/1594202168).

---

Tomorrow night on the Colbert Report: Laurie Garrett, author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance (Penguin, $20, 9780140250916/0140250913).

* * *

Movies: The Pale Horseman

Kevin Grevioux, co-creator of the Underworld movie franchise, will direct the adaptation of his graphic novel, The Pale Horsemen. Variety reported that "Grevioux and Len Wiseman wrote the original screenplay for the first Underworld pic, which bowed in 2003 and spawned two additional installments. . . . The film rights to several of Grevioux’s other graphic novels have also recently been picked up, including ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction, optioned by Benderspink, and I, Frankenstein, at Death Ray Films."

Books & Authors

Attainment: New Titles Out Next Week

Selected new books appearing next Tuesday, May 12:

Road Dogs: A Novel by Elmore Leonard (Morrow, $26.99, 9780061733147/0061733148) revisits characters from three of the author's previous novels.

Wicked Prey by John Sandford (Putnam, $27.95, 9780399155673/0399155678) is the 19th novel featuring Lucas Davenport, a security expert who has the task of guarding the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Terror on the Seas: True Tales of Modern-Day Pirates by Daniel Sekulich (Thomas Dunne Books, $24.95, 9780312375829/0312375824) explores the scourge of modern piracy.

Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central, $26.99, 9780446580298/0446580295) is the ninth mystery featuring FBI special agent Aloysius Pendergast.

Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance by Wendy Leigh (Simon Spotlight, $24.99, 9781439149973/1439149976) is a bio of the actor, who is suffering from pancreatic cancer.

The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books, $24.95, 9780312359324/0312359322) follows a 12-year-old boy searching for his missing twin sister.

How to Really Stink at Work: A Guide to Making Yourself Fire-Proof While Having the Most Fun Possible by Jeff Foxworthy and Brian Hartt (Villard, $16, 9780345502803/0345502809) is a comedic guide to professional misbehavior.

Down Home with the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook by Patrick Neely, Gina Neely, and Paula Disbrowe (Knopf, $27.95, 9780307269942/0307269949) compiles Southern cooking recipes from the hosts of the Food Network's Down Home with the Neelys.

The Stalin Epigram: A Novel by Robert Littell (Simon & Schuster, $26, 9781416598640/1416598642) follows a Russian poet who speaks out against Stalin and experiences the worst of Soviet brutality.

Now in paperback:

An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions, $19.99, 9781416560449/1416560440).

Whispered Lies by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love (Pocket, $15, 9781416597421/1416597425).

Inaugural NAIBA Notable: Booksellers Find Wanting

The first NAIBA Notable title is Wanting: A Novel by Richard Flanagan (Grove Atlantic, $24, 9780802119001/080211900X), which is on the shortlist for Australia's prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award. Publisher Morgan Entrekin said that Wanting has "similar rhythms and tropes as his masterpiece Gould's Book of Fish, yet may be more approachable for many readers."

On behalf of NAIBA, Lucy Kogler, Talking Leaves, Buffalo, N.Y., wrote in part that "the word wanting is not only the title but is one of the characters in this incredible novel. Having never before read Richard Flanagan I was utterly taken with his imagination, sense of politics and incredible ability to make me think about the title throughout the book."

Under this new New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association program, one book with "a large fan base of booksellers in the region" is chosen a month and promoted to other booksellers, store staff and customers. The NAIBA Notable titles are not necessarily regional "but an outstanding piece of work that booksellers want to sell." NAIBA is emphasizing that "independent bookstores in this region outnumber any other single retailer, and our collective efforts to support fine pieces of writing will be recognized. These great books need our attention."

NAIBA is asking all members to display the books and promote them online and in print. "Each book will come with its own features, some with author appearances, autographed stock, special coop promotions, etc."

Book Review: Seven Pleasures

Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness by Willard Spiegelman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $23, 9780374239305/0374239304, April 28, 2009)

"Most folks," Abraham Lincoln observed, "are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." By that standard Willard Spiegelman, a professor of English at Southern Methodist University, is an extraordinarily happy man. And we should be equally pleased he's chosen to discourse on the reasons for his happiness in this erudite and spritely collection of essays.

Spiegelman has chosen seven "ordinary pleasures"--reading, walking, looking, dancing, listening, swimming and writing--to illustrate how simple activities serve to bring joy and fulfillment to his life. It's impossible to read this collection without pausing often to reflect on the similar pleasures each of us could add to or substitute on Spiegelman's short list, whether it's cooking, gardening or golfing. And whatever pleasures our catalogue may contain, he suggests, we should turn to them often to "increase a general sense of well-being," confident as he is that "happiness may come through grace or birth, but it may also come through training."

It would be misleading to suggest that Spiegelman's slim book should be consigned to the overcrowded category of slick, self-help tomes. Inspired by eminent muses like Emerson, Wallace Stevens and Auden, he brings to his task an impressive scope of learning, enriched by broad reading and extensive travel and reflecting a deep appreciation of the visual arts and a love of music. He's uniformly at ease discoursing on the delights (and inevitability) of getting lost strolling the alleyways of Venice, deconstructing an Edward Hopper painting or recalling the joys of browsing the aisles of a dusty used bookstore in his home town of Philadelphia. Firmly at home in the relaxed, occasionally discursive tradition of the personal essay, Spiegelman demonstrates an agreeable facility for summoning up an apt quotation or allusion that invests a seemingly modest insight with nuance.

Intermingled with his unabashedly intellectual pursuits, Spiegelman doesn't hesitate to celebrate our physical existence. He's passionate about dancing's contribution to mental health ("Put on your pumps, toss out your Prozac.") and there's wry humor as he describes how he almost squandered the joy he experiences in the swimming pool when he took lessons, striving to perfect his technique.

Willard Spiegelman is frank to acknowledge he's a lucky man--physically and mentally sound at age 65 with many friends and a stimulating profession--although he takes pains not to flaunt those blessings. In Seven Pleasures, he's graciously endeavored to help each of us understand how fortunate we, too, can be if we simply allow ourselves to savor our good fortune. That's the inspiriting message of this elegant, delightful work.--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: A scholar's delightful discourse on the simple activities that enrich his life and on the joy we can experience if we seek out the corresponding pleasures in our own.

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Thing 34: online answer sites

2009-04-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

The anonymity of an on line answer site is very appealing. Despite our best efforts, library patrons are often shy and hesitate to "bother" librarians. Even though (or maybe because) I'm a librarian, I hate to approach the reference desk and ask a question. It goes against the grain in a way I'm at a loss to explain. I get tongue-tied, blush, and stammer! I feel I shouldn't need to ask for help, that my question, even if complex or esoteric, and especially if simple, is intrusive and will be unwelcome.

And if I feel this way, how much more so the average patron?

Online, you pose a question and if someone wants to, and has an expertise, they answer! Marvelous! Because the answer is volunteered, there is a relief that you really aren't bothering someone. It's important, then, to be able to assess the quality of the source for your information. Are they an expert?

I looked at sites for questions that interested me - a home repair question and recommendaions about a good, inexpensive digital camera. I looked at several sites for the home repair question, and found good consistency. I need to repair ceiling cracks in a "popcorn" ceiling, and first remove the popcorn texture. It was enough of a "niche" question that my home-repair books didn't cover it. I was happy to find the info and felt it was reliable and consistent between sites.

The digital camera reviews didn't seem as reliable. Sometimes there was a lone voice advocating for a camera, with few corroborating reviews, "stars," or ratings.

The camera question would have been effectively answered at a library by reviewing Consumer Reports. I think the "popcorn ceiling" question was answered well online, and I don't know of any databases that would have provided a better answer. This kind of low-tech, low-risk repair DIY question needs hands-on expertise, not necessarily an academic answer.

People use these sites because we like to go online. IM reference has the same immediacy. I want a quick and dirty answer. In the case of the camera, I suspect there are only subtle differences in inexp4nsive cameras stocked by familiar stores like K-Mart, Wal-Mart, or Best Buy. You choose the features you want. If you aren't looking for high-end merchandise, you may choose not to research this question at all.

In the case of the ceiling repair, I was looking for a general idea, to know how complicated the task would be and get some idea of the time required. I won't be doing this until summer, and I can look ino it more as the project comes closer.

It's this kind of casual, low-stakes inquiry that you hate to ask a librarian about. You don't necessarily want to unleash that awesome dogged searching power. You don't want to wait your turn at the ref desk. You don't want to sit through a lengthy phone menu and then wait on hold for a librarian, specially if you suspect they will just look up your question on Google.

You just want a direction, a hint, a first cut. I wonder if this sort of casual, low-risk inquiry, which answer boards handle well, would have made it into the library even if the answer boards didn't exist. These are classic "ask around" questions, for friends and brothers-in-law. The web community, or web 2.0, is great for informal inquiry.

Questions for which a higher level of answer specifity is required, more high-stakes questions, demand experts. Then it goes back to information literacy, people's ability to discern the quality of the information they are getting.

Notes to self, from readings for Thing 34:

Link to Jessamyn West, and a somewhat contrarian (or more realistic) view of technology in rural libraries.

Ecerpt from Jenny Levine--Future of Librarians Interviews, on 2.0 aps in libraries

Obviously we're no longer gatekeepers of information, but our role is shifting to that of the guide, the trusted expert. Which we've always been, but you had to come to us to physically get the information, which is what has changed most dramatically. Expertise is another issue, as we move into an era of networked collective intelligence, but there is simply no substitute for the knowledge and guidance a librarian can provide. Those services will become ever more important as information overload grows and hits even more of our population.

In addition, there are numerous other options available to us if we want to take them, most of which revolve around training. For example, to help folks deal with information overload, we could teach them to use RSS aggregators and even help start them off with localized or customized OPML files of feeds. Some libraries have already begun offering a next generation of computer classes that help explain and navigate the new tools and information landscape. The Princeton Public Library has a "tech garage" where class participants can play with new devices in a hands-on way with guidance from expert librarians.

We can be a lot more proactive about information literacy, as well, elevating our efforts to fill the gap that is widening in regards to media literacies. We can help parents better understand things like gaming, help teach our youth how to be safe online, teach everyone how to manage their online identities, and in general help elevate the level of political discourse and democracy in our country. Pretty noble and lofty goals, but we could do it, and I actually believe libraries are the only institutions that can do this.

Artwork: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, The Librarian

Thing 33: Travel 2.0

2009-04-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Image by Joan Thewlis via Flickr

I would love to travel, but can't afford to, so this Thing was sweet torture.

I have a friend who travels to Paris regularly and stays at the Welcome Hotel. I looked it up on some of the review sites and it was described as my friend describes it: a very good value, good location, good service. That reinforces my belief in the accuracy of the forums. It didn't seem skewed by a few negative responses.

However, if a hotel wanted to hire some pay-per-blog admirers, they could influence the ratings. It's supposed to say in the blog that it is a paid post, but depending on the format and placement of the notice, it could be overlooked or discounted.

In addition, if someone copies the post to use in another forum, that information could be lost. This is of more concern in a competitive environment than in a social networking site.

I was interested in Green Routes, but at this time, they only have Minnesota information. I'm looking for ideas for healthy and interesting food between here and Chicago, and hope they add Wisconsin information soon! My only travel is to and from Chicago, where my son goes to college.

These would make great augmentation for the travel guides, especially since budget cuts mean fewer copies of, and less access to, current print guides. We would have to stress "Caveat emptor"--a good time to slip in a little information literacy education.

Thing 32: Google Maps

2009-04-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

This was fun! And though I can't say I became an expert, I made a map of the driving routes I used to take to my kids' schools. I added Matt's Bar from the "Search Nearby" ap, as well as some pictures of the schools and a marker for Powderhorn Park.

This brought back memories of a lot of miles and a few Juicy Lucy's!The photo doesn't make it look very appealing, but if you want an All-American greasy burger, try the Juicy Lucy!

One library possibility is to do a map mashup so people could see all the locations which have a desired book. Right now you can click on link to a map for each site, but a map showing all sites would help people decide which one to go to.

You could do maps showing most popular books at a library, or variations across the system.

View Driving Tour of Schools in a larger map

Thing 31: twitter

2009-04-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

I've had a great deal of difficulty mustering up enthusiasm for twitter. It interests me theoretically, and I enjoy sharing links for new sites I'm enthusiastic about, but I confess I don't have a social networking plan. I don't take many photos, or look for new music, and I'm between jobs, so I don't have a lot of breaking news to report.

I find that my focus on 2.0 aps winds into a narrower and narrower focus on the immediate and trendy. It's fun, but it comes at the expense of reading, which both uses and creates slower, deeper thoughts. Maryanne Wolf's book, "Proust and the Squid," is about this difference in the way our quick reading of screen content affects brain development, compared to the way reading longer texts affects us.

I like the ability to post to Library Thing from Twitter. I tried to add the twitter Facebook ap but there was some sort of glitch--"try again later."

It was good to read the "What is the point of twitter" article. The author made a good case for twitter.

I guess I'm in stage two, presence. I'm in, I'm game, but I haven't it my stride.

Thing 30: RSS Feeds and Delicious

2009-04-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

map by xkcd

This has been a Delicious time-waster! Actually, more of an RSS time-waster. One thing leads to another, and another.

It's dangerous to work around those RSS feeds! Because of course one wants to read them. They are, in fact, the very things one has decided are important to read and know!

So there's a little playing around with RSS feeds, a lot of reading of RSS feeds, a lot of drifting off to the blog links in RSS fed blogs, and my goodness, it's way past bedtime, and another day gone! Lost to a learning experience, just not the one planned.

A recent example: While working with FeedRinse, I read an interestsng post in The Shifted Librarian, which had a link to a great cartoon map on online communities. I decided to follow "xkcd," the artist, and stumbled around for awhile trying to find on opml file or RSS feed. No joy. Instead, s/he is part of LiveJournal, which I had to join. So I joined with my newly coined open id, which took a little while because they didn't want the ID, they wanted the URL, and I had to remember which blog, email, or community was my OpenID provider, and said url. I chased a few wrong turns, but found it, and now it is bookmarked on Delicious.

I'm now a pround member of LiveJournal, with one friend, Mr/s. xkcd. I will have to see if I can RSS feed liveJournal output into one of my proliferating readers (you know I had to try a couple!) because I will NEVER remember to check LiveJournal.

That being said, I love the RSS feed aggregators, rinses, and channels. PageRank is my favorite so far, but I'm monkeying around with pulling the washed feeds from PageRank into Bloglines.

This is completely worth the time its taken. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of posts on The Shifted Librarian, Librarian in Black, LifeHacker, Wired (in aggregate, and some individually) that I simply marked them as read so that the "# unread" didn't torment me. It will be far better to read a few "great" and "best" posts than to lose them all.

I like John Welsh's suggestion to subscribe to the Google "Shared Items" of industry leaders. O also found the "More Things"-recommended article "Seven Tips for Making the Most of Your RSS Feeds" useful.

INTERMISSION

2009-04-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

What a long strange trip it's been!

I got a long term sub position in December which was supposed to run until May, but regular employees got laid off and in the ensuing shuffle I lost my job after only six weeks. I was able to jump into another short term job, scoring reading and writing tests, which lasted three weeks. Now it's my first week of no-work. I have a job again in May, and will look for librarian shifts in April. The stress of change on change, and the scramble to find work, have drained my enthusiasm for this project.

I've gone through technology changes, too. I bought an ASUS EeePC Netbook, which I love! I bought a wireless mouse for it, which I can't get to function (still hoping), so I took the mouse from my 10year old Grande Dame iMac. I went to the library to get a good wireless connection and somewhere along the way, lost the USB plug-in for that one. Next I resurrected the emergency, I-hoped-I-'d-put-this-mouse-away-forever mouse, which works intermittenty, with much shaking and cussisng.

In the meantime, I've gotten better at using the touch pad, but the keyboard is about 3/4 of the standard keyboard size, so touch typing has been difficult. The netbook is built for surfing the net, not for exended writing. I could touch type with one hand, but the other didn't fit, so I would hunt and peck with the other hand. Then I would go back and laboriously correct all the typo's that still occurred.

Meanwhile, we updated to wireless internet (hurrah!), and in that transition, something went awry with my old DSL hookup. All of this led to much procrastination in blogging!

Today was do-or-die day, and I am now using the iMac keyboard plugged into the netbook. Despite this awesome technology/generation gap, nothing exploded. (A second hurrah!) The most serious consequence is that I had to move off the comfy sofa. I'm now using the dining room table for its obvious purpose--desk and office. The sofa was getting too cluttered with books and papers anyway.

Cleared for lift-off. Hurrah!

Thing 29 -- Google Tools

2009-03-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Again, these are tools I am familiar with. I already use gmail and Google calendar, so I'll concentrate here on the search tools.

[An unnamed metro-area library] uses Google alert to find mentions of **L in the news, blogosphere, and other components of the comprehensive search. How do I know this? I mentioned them by name in my other blog, and I was severely reprimanded. I should have realized it was a no-no, but it was a positive post and I didn't think twice about it. I solved the problem, but it was a sobering experience.
f
I created a Google alert for this library just to see what things might show up. I also created one for Paul Krugman, Nobel-prize winning (economics) New York Times columnist.

This will be less useful to me, because I already look him up at the NYT nearly every time I log on.

I had a similar lack of interest in Google's Search Wiki. It is very unusual for me to replicate a Google search. If there is a web site I'm interested in, I set up a feed on Google Reader, or if unavailable, bookmark the site on Del.icio.us. I just haven't run into a search I do over and over. The same thing applies for keeping track of my Web History. That would be great when working on research for a school report, or any new topic. I am not doing any intensive research, so it doesn't sing to me right now. IT would, however, be a great application to put on the homework page of the library web site, and to remember to mention to customers doing that sort of work.

BTW, the picture on Paul Krugman is courtesy of the Firefox ap "Zemanta." As you blog, it presents you with related material. You can click on any thumbnail and add it to your blog. Zemanta also provides a clickable list of tags, and presents a list of links from which to choose. Just this once, I chose "apply all." In this casse, overkill. Still, an ap I will use often on my other blog. Very cool.

I can't get it to plug in more than one picture, and I think it should be able to, but that's a project for another day.

Thing 28 -- Customized Home Page

2009-03-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

I had already set up a Google home page. We use Google calendar to coordinate joint custody of two kids and their schedules--It works wonderfully for this! And I have seven tons of blog feeds in Google Reader, and gmail.

It was easy to set up. I added local weather, phase of the moon, a Chuck Norris quote generator, and some social link aps that have icons for all the social aps I use, for quick acess. These include ning, digg, facebook, twitter, blogger, and YouTube.

I use Shepard Fairey's Studio One artist theme, which I love, and selected before his Obama graphic made him a household name.

I pimped my home page and went a little nuts adding tabs and subjects. This can be a very useful page but as with all these aps, requires a considerable time investment to get beyond the bash and thrash investigation phase. Time which I have not had lately, so I'll let it rest for now in all its untamed glory.

DIGITAL DIVIDE: after much angst, I have upgraded from my ten year old iMac with an ASUS Eee PC series netbook. I hated to leave the Apple world, but I have used PCs at work for years, so it isn't too much of a stretch. The hardest part is typing on the significantly smaller keyboard! I'm getting better but still hit a lot of wrong keys. I also miss the 10-keynumbers pad. On the ASUS the numbers are available only on the row above "qwertyuiop."

In addition, we're shifting to wireless access from USI, the Minneapolis wireless network. A tech is coming on Saturday with the modem. I hope this will also increase page-loading speed.
'

Thing 27: Twitter

2009-02-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

The reading I did convinced me that Twitter is a good tool in many situations, but it didn't convince me that it's a good tool for me. Instead, it left me feeling that I need to get a much more exciting life!

"What I'm doing now," is usually not that exciting! Most of the time it would be, "Messing around on the computer." OK, so that's too literal, but at work, I don't get much desk time, and at home, I have a terribly old slow computer, so when I'm on the computer at all, it's usually because I've made a point of staying after work to -- wait for it -- mess around on the computer!

Helene Blowers' depiction of the new digital divide (see previous post, "From Players to Guides") surprised me! I feel like I'm chasing after the new social media as fast as most people I know (Clue #1: do I mostly know people my own age, the Wrong Generation?), but I am nowhere near the "right" side of her digital divide. I'm still struggling way back at the starting post with being able to afford a newer, faster computer, which I could use at home, and on which I could play, as Helene would have us do.

OK, I think I've ranted that same rant already, sorry, but it's a big issue. The old digital divide still exists!

To return to Twitter: there is a great difference in Tweet value in the people I decided to follow! Many of them I will promptly un-follow. I'm curious to know what my fellow Thingers found valuable.

From Players to Guides

2009-02-28T11:35:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Helene Blowers. I'm following her on Twitter, and she sent us to this deck today.

Be sure to visit slides 8, 12, and 20!

Slide 8: The New Digital Divide (it's a big one, and a lot of us are on the wrong side)

Slide 12: using published knowledge as a path to exactly the right source(s) that can create new knowledge tailored to a new situation, in real time

Slide 20: Only subscribe to five blogs:
Librarian in Black.net, Lifehacker, LibraryStream, Wired, Learning 2.1

From Players to Guides

View more presentations from hblowers. (tags: ice excellent)

Thing 26: Ning

2009-02-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

I joined the 23 Things On A Stick ning in the first round, but as you commented, it was toward the end of the list, and I was completing the list toward the end of the time allotted! So I didn't use it much. One friend, who is always ahead of me on these Things, already friended me for this round, and we exchanged comments.

I was decluttering my Thing blog recently and got rid of the Ning badge. It's back now. The widgets didn't appeal to me, since I don't have a music or YouTube collection. That goes on the Maybe Someday list.

I started a group for Hennepin County Library Thing-ers, but I didn't have an e-mail address to invite my friend. It didn't work to just put in her ning name. I also couldn't upload a new picture to replace the cruddy one I accidentally uploaded.

I hope this WILL be more social this time. I think we all have a better idea of using social networks since last time -- there's a whole lot of Facebook going on, for one thing, and it's a great way to keep in touch with friends at other branches.

None of the other groups seemed appropriate. I was trying to think of a group that would span across library systems, like "Librarians who depend too much on caffeine." Still working on it. "Librarians who Shhh!"--too confessional. Still looking for an idea for this. . .

I added a video of Marian the Librarian. Love that Shirley Jones!

I have been part of two nings, this ning from Round 1, and the Midwestern Tech Conference ning from last winter. Both were disappointing; if there was much social activity going on, I didn't find it. I did use the Midwestern Tech Conference ning for the content posted there. Maybe that is how we will use our 46 Things Ning.

Thing 25: Widgets and Gadgets

2009-02-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

This was surprisingly frustrating. So many of the most useful widgets are about publicizing hits and visits to your blog. Not that many people come to my blog, so I don't feel great about publicizing it! Also, I didn't have good luck finding Blogger widgets that corresponded with the Word Press widgets in the "20 usability tips for your blog" article.

I set up the widget that will allow me to post by e-mail to my blog. I'm not sure how much functionality it really added, though.

I added a "Winston Churchill quotes, a YouTube gallery, "Interesting Photos on Flickr,"and had earlier added a countdown to the More Things deadline. It happens I also used Picture Trail widget, from the first 23 Things, in my Paper Baubles blog today. Widget-minded, I guess. I didn't like the ads on the Churchill widget.

None of the playful widgets, like the art, or quotations, etc., seemed like something I'd go out of my way to put on my blog. They seemed commercial and "cold," not unique or interesting.

I spent some time looking for pictures on some of the picture sites, but ended up going to Google images and amazon.com because all of the pictures I selected had apparently opted out of Big Huge Labs. Then I switched to a PictureTrail flick, but I just stayed with the pictures I was confident of, since by then my hours on this Thing were piling up.

I enjoyed the "Typealyzer!" My blog type is just about opposite from the Myers-Briggs type that has remained consistent for me for over 30 years! That's good, though, because I was going for a particular style, one that fits well with the Type the Typealyzer analyzed! (Say that three times fast!)

I played around with the tag cloud too, but was ambivalent about the results.

My big goal, after doing this Thing, is to shape up my primary blog, "Paper Baubles," per the "20 Usability Tips for your blog," not a Thing 25-related goal, but the article was just what I needed to refocus my blog.

I might add some sound to my blog, and I definitely want to pursue backing up my blog. That is really useful -- I've been wondering if there was a way to back up, but hadn't gotten that far on my "explore how to" list.

I'm trying to keep pace with the Things this time and not have to do them in a rush at the end. So why am I doing them in a rush now? I don't know, it just works out that way! Today is the day I assigned myself to start Thing 26, so I'm declaring myself done for now. I;ve spent 4-6 hours on this, not completely excessive, but enough for me for now.

Once again, and I suppose this is an acceptable outcome, I'm left with a lot of things I'd like to continue to explore.

More Things! Thing 24: Pimp My Blog

2009-02-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

Now I remember how much time you can spend playing around with the Things. I just spent half an hour looking for a new free Blogger template, but ended up with the one I'd already chosen from Blogger's limited repertoire.

I changed the number of posts to show only one at a time, and added an Archive gadget.

BLOG PROMPTS: How much have you blogged since you finished the 23 Things On a Stick?
What do you like about blogging? Have you found other blogs to read? Do you comment on others' blogs?

My blogging has slowed down. I closed down Ex Libris 2.0 with a link to the Substitute Librarian Blog, but I haven't been blogging much there because hours for subs have been so few, it didn't seem worth it.

I continue to post on "Paper Baubles," my books and reading blog.

I blog about my interests and enthusiasms. In the daily rush you don't get much of a chance to hold forth on a subject, or to think something through. On my blog I can do that, and edit too! I find out what I think by writing.

Thanks to the 23 Things, I have tons of blogs I follow. So many, in fact, that I'm not sure I can say I follow them! I subscribe to 60, which even as I write it sounds ludicrous. Time to prune some more. I have a handful of "web 2.0" blogs I follow, a handful of book reviews and book news blogs, a lot of general library blogs, and some arts and crafts blogs just for fun. I can't keep up with anyone who posts a lot, so I have gradually eliminated them from my list. They tend to be the more technical ones, and while I like to keep up, I'm not THAT interested!

I comment on a few blogs, but mostly just to say I like the post.

With my home computer hopelessly slow on the Internet, and very few hours at my desk during work, I'm going online at the public computers (at my favorite libraries that extend your time if there is no queue)for any and all things online. "More Things" is a higher priority than reading blogs, unfortunately.

Moving--see you at Subs 2.0!

2008-10-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm going to stop posting to Ex Libris 2.0 and move to Sub 2.0.

Ex Libris 2.0 was dedicated to "23 Things on a Stick," and that is finished.

Sub 2.0, for Substitute Librarians, is also an appropriate venue for all things Library 2.0.

I'll reactivate this if we do Things 24 and Beyond!

See Subs 2.0 for a fun Literature Map!

Ex Libris 2.0

2008-09-14T09:14:00.001-07:00

Ex Libris 2.0

2008-09-14T09:06:00.001-07:00

Dazzling!

2008-09-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

Hallelulia!

2008-09-14T07:24:00.001-07:00

Thing 23: Final Thoughts

2008-09-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

23 Things On A Stick,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach
But maybe not as transcendently as Elizabeth Barrett Browning loved Robert Browning.

It was both harder and easier than I thought; harder because it was so time-consuming, easier in that most of the Things were pretty easy. It was often a slog to read each article and check out each link, listen to multiple webinars and podcasts, etc. when sometimes they didn't add that much to what I already knew. On the other hand, it was sometimes overwhelming, and I felt lit up and excited or overloaded and burned out by all the new information and ideas.

Bit by bit I've built a comprehensive beginner's knowledge of the possibilities inherent in web 2.0, an intimation of how much more there is to learn, and a feeling of deep satisfaction at finishing the most sustained intellectual work I've done since graduate school. Or at least the most sustained late-night work since leaving school!

I am now freed from the jealousy and curiosity I'd feel when looking at someone's blog: how did they get that cool book display (Library Thing, Shelfari.) Where did all those cool images on the 23 on a stick page come from? (Big Huge Labs, ImageChef) What's the big deal about Facebook? (The power of fun should never be underestimated!) The organization of the "Things" helped me build a framework of understanding, a place to sort the pieces of knowledge I already had, and see where they fit into the whole.

Thing 7 was a killer in that it took so much time. I thought of quitting. It turned out the rest weren't that monumental, but I was worried they would be.

Should you give us more time next time? I'll leave that for others to say. I think no matter when the deadline, I would be staying up late to do these.

The e-mail posts from "The Group of 23" were helpful, but for those of us who were behind, not timely. They did give a good indication of where you should be in the process, but maybe that could be more explicit. An assignment schedule calculator for 23T?

Also it was lonely at the end, when all the posting had been done on a topic and it felt that topic was "closed." I didn't know if you would still be looking at those for new questions or posts. And, me being me, I would have welcomed a communication just for social comfort.

Y'all rock, that's for sure. Thanks. For. Doing. This!!

Joy

2008-09-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

Thing 22: What did I learn today?

2008-09-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

Whew, boy, 23 Things and about 150 subscriptions later, I'm closing in on the end! I divided my subscriptions into folders on Google Reader:

2.0 Blogs (Information Wants to be Free, etc., some of the leaders in the field)
23 Things blogs (colleagues completing the program)
Book reviews
Job Search
Librarian Blogs, personal (e. g. I Love the Liberry, Oranges and Peaches)
Web 2.0 (feeds that aren't blogs)

and a few others, those are the key folders.

Obviously, some of those subscriptions are going to have to go! But I'll figure that out as I go along. I have accumulated these gradually since May, and have kept up pretty well, but I've added them at a faster rate toward the end!

I have a lot of things posted to my del.icio.us site with the tag "Keeping Up." I like RSS feeds better though because they come to you. I now subscribe to some of the things I had bookmarked, and I think that will work better. Now that I understand RS feeds, I am going to review those posts and see if I can subscribe to the web site.

Also, instead of just tagging with 23Things, I have tags Thing1, Thing2, etc. I know I'll forget which thing is which but if I know I'm thinking about a certain Thing, I can find it quickly.

Shades of Cat in the Hat! (Thing 1 and Thing 2)

del.icio.us/apearson12/KeepingUp

Here's a link to several software tools that will "RSS-ify" a web site; creating a feed for a web site that doesn't have one. This has changed rapidly, though, so there aren't as many web sites that don't have a feed.

One trick I use is to force certain tags to the top of my del.icio.us list by adding a prefix that will sort it higher in the list. My most-used web sites are tagged AATop. I also use AAKeepingUp, AAWatch, and ABTimeSensitive. In Outlook and Word, you can also use symbols such as +, -, *, and &, which will force a folder to the top of a list. I haven't tried symbols yet in del.icio.us.

One of the things that would be useful would be to go through my 1,460 del.icio.us bookmarks and see which are still valid. Or at least go through Keeping Up, Web 2.0, and other tags related to 23 Things on a Stick which have proliferated during this project!

I'd be interested to know the tagging styles people have found most useful. Tagging with an outline in mind, with only the highest 1-2 levels, or tagging every tag that can be used?

For instance, I have blogs, librarianblogs, and libraryblogs . . . that works for me but I wonder if there is a more efficient or effective technique. I'd like to learn more about the art/science of taagging. Am I veering into controlled vocabulary territory? I guess another project will be to keep up with taxonomies, folksonomies, etc.

I'm interested in pursuing Learning 2.1.

And, I'd like to learn more about Cascading Style Sheets and HTML., take some webinars, read all my iGoogle feeds, run for president, and bring about world peace. Just a few simple things.

Kidding aside, I do want to take advantage of this learning adventure!

Thing 21: Other Social Networks

2008-09-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

If I ever do this again, I'm going to call my blog "23 Gadgets." My blog feels like gadget heaven!

I looked at Gather.com, WebJunction, and several of the suggested Nings, but nothing really caught my eye. Gather.com was too unfocused, even the MPR areas. WebJunction is interesting, but I wasn't interested in any of the groups.

I was already a member of the Midwest Library Technology Conference Ning (see **gadget**), but the last posts were from the end of June.

Some of the nings and groups are inactive. I think there has to be a core group that actively participates or things fade out, especially when the membership is large and impersonal. One of the many bloggers I subscribe to posted that opinion recently, and I agree. I didn't "star" the post, and can't find it now.

I joined Shelfari and the New Releases group, put the shelf on two of my blogs.

The Library 2.0 ning, the last I looked at, seems like a good possibility, so I joined that too.

I think the New Releases group on Shelfari and the Library 2.0 ning will be good fits, with some good chances to connect with others.

Thing 20: Facebook and MySpace

2008-09-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

O. M. G., this is so much fun!

I already have a neglected profile on MySpace, (Andrea Pearson) and have friended Hennepin County Library, so I created a profile on Facebook. BTW, I didn't find a blog widget for MySpace, so added the link, above.

I found two friends, one from college and one from about 20 years ago, and my brother and brother-in-law. . . too much detail, maybe, but WOW I can sure see how the kids like this. Us big kids, too, I guess!

I wrote on my friend Lisa's wall, and joined all the library groups mentioned: MLA, FacebookAppsforLibraries, Librarians on Facebook, Library 2.0 Interest Group, and 23 Things on a Stick. Some of them look dormant, but I hope there will be activity.

I joined them to network with other librarians and particularly those interested in Library 2.0.

The key difference between MySpace and Facebook is that in MySpace you can connect to someone without permission, while in Facebook you need to be acknowledged and permitted to be a friend. In addition, MySpace is visually busy and unattractive. There are a lot more ads, it's harder to see your own content, and I found it more difficult to use. Ugh. I can see the need for an "Amp Your MySpace Page" manual.

I'd like to investigate some of the Facebook apps. I checked "Amp Your MySpace Page" out of the library but decided I want to focus on Facebook. I'm going to look for something similar for Facebook. It showed ways to change the look of the page with changes to HTML and CSS.

I'm sure you read a lot of late night posts, and this is one of them. If it seems a bit perfunctory, know this: I spent my whole night on Facebook! For better or worse!

Thing19: Podcasts

2008-09-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

I listened to two Nancy Pearl book reviews from radio broadcasts. I also subscribed to her author interviews, and to Garrison Keillor's "This week in Lake Wobegon" monologues. I dutifully downloaded them to my RSS reader (GReader) per instructions so that I can listen to them from a computer, but I also downloaded them to my iPod and I will probably listen to them there.

I didn't find a lot of difference in the directories. I did have trouble finding content I wanted, but I looked at some of the other 23 Things/Stick blogs and borrowed some of their search terms.

I used to co-host a radio program with Nanci Olesen, who now works at MPR. I really liked being on the air, and yes, I may set up a podcast.

Maybe we have to have a 2nd course of 23 Things for those of us who need a deadline to help us focus! (which would include doing a podcast)

Said from the viewpoint of one who is not administering it. But I'd volunteer!

Thing 18: Video, part 2

2008-09-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

And just for balance, a look at the old Round Reading Room at the British Museum.

I chose the Chrome video because Chrome is new and I'm interested in learning more about it. It also has worth for anyone reading my blog. (Hello 23ThingsOnaStick faithful reader!) I threw in the British Museum footage just for a sentimental journey. Despite all the lovely techy things we have available today, books still charm and draw us.

The sites were easy to use and appealing. The only issue I had was that I watched the videos at work because my home computer is s-o s-l-o-w. I feel bad about that, but truly, it was a S-L-O-W day!

Thing 18:You Tube and other online videos

2008-09-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here are highlights' of Google's new Chrome browser!

Ten Features of Google Chrome

Thing 17: ELM Productivity Tools

2008-09-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

I struggled to get an RSS feed to Google Reader but did not succeed. I couldn't figure out how to edit the text of the subscription to remove the proxy feeder info. Are you supposed to edit it before you add it? Once it was added I couldn't find a way to change it. I was stumped.

I downloaded RSSOwl and was able to edit the feed text and successfully survive. Now there's a Freudian slip! I meant "successfully subscribe!"

There's a lot of time and poking around represented in those six sentences!

I'm pleased to discover this tool! I try to keep up with the research on Asperger's Syndrome (a high-functioning form of autism) but there's a lot to keep up with! The ability to get a weekly or even monthly feed from Academic Search Premier is fantastic.

I did the challenge of creating a web page, and how cool is that?!

With the ability to save searches, could a library set up some standard searches for people to use? I don't know if the folder access would be a problem.

When I'm on the reference desk and meet people with an ongoing interest in a subject, I'm going to tell them about setting up a feed. I also want to see if there are topics that should be added to our Library Substitutes wiki, either as saved searches or feeds.

I repeat: how cool is that!

Thing 16. Student 2.0 Tools

2008-09-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

I have recommended the Assignment Calculator to many students, and am pleased that now I know about the Research Project Calculator. The main feature that both thrills and startles students is the timeline. "I should have done what? By when? But it's due tomorrow!"

And that's the unfortunate truth, that in the public libraries, we usually see people who have an assignment due the next day. It's exciting when someone comes in far in advance of their due date, because then we can lay all of our wonderful resources before them!

One nice feature of the Assignment Calculator for college students is the emphasis on asking and answering thesis questions. Though it's not a major shift, I ran into it for the first time in grad school and floundered a bit.

Most students do their online research at home -- or at least without ever consulting me or anyone I've sat next to! So if we want to offer handouts, it should be on the Teen Space page, the Homework page -- something online they can fill out online or print at the time they need it.

Two things I would like to see in the Research Project Calculator:

1. An acknowledgment and a way to handle and document that you might go through the first steps of the assignment many times, as you try out and discard topics, run into dead ends or just find you're bored, find out what you thought was a controversy isn't one anymore, or find some tantalizing new angle to pursue.

2. Also, some form of graphic organizer for search terms. Maybe this is more appropriate for the college level, but when you are searching through databases, some key words yield more info than others. Another key word might be useful in a different database.

It would be useful to make a page for each database, a place to note what search terms you used, the articles you found using that search term/combination, and the bibliographical data, including date.

Thing 15: Gaming

2008-09-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

That was certainly humbling!

Through much trial, error, and stumbling, I did learn two different roles in Puzzle Pirates, bilging and carpentering.

This sort of thing is very hard to learn by reading about it. It's better to learn as the kids do, by watching someone play, then playing with a bunch of self-appointed coachers standing around back-seat driving for you.

I had trouble navigating around the game. My slow computer speed and old-fashioned mouse were other impediments. For carpentering, you could change the orientation of the pieces with the right click and center dial. I had to use c, x, and z, which was confusing.

The older gamers had to make do with keyboard letters for directions, so I know it's doable, but it wasn't much fun.

However, I may be addicted to bilging. The colors and patterns are mesmerizing. I played again and again . . . and again.

This was one of the hardest yet for me to complete!

Thing 14: LibraryThing

2008-08-31T20:50:00.001-07:00

I had a lot of fun with this and spent a lot of time on the site. I added some of my books, put LibraryThing on my blog, added a showoff thingie, added the combined RSS feed to my feed aggregator, joined Librarians who LibraryThing, and marveled at the helpful Haiku hints!

At Hennepin County Libraries, we have a social area called BookSpace where people can create and share booklists and discuss books. It would be great if you could add LibraryThing to your profile!

This would also be for interlibrary social sharing -- what are my colleagues reading?

You wouldn't have to limit yourself to books you own -- you could choose to list books you've read. This would be a more complete view of my reading habits. I buy very few books since I work at the library. Most of the books in my personal library are old, and/or second-hand, and/or quirky garage-sale, second-hand, or library sale books.javascript:void(0)

Thing 13: Productivity tools

2008-08-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

I've been using the iGoogle start page and Google calendar for about two years now. You can see my iGoogle page here Username is uu.andrea.23. I have temporarily changed the password to <23things>.

My family uses Google calendar and it is wonderful for us. My son J works retail and goes to school, and he posts his schedule. I post my substitute schedule with a phone number for each library so the kids can contact me in an emergency. (No cell phones on the reference desk, s'il vous plais. Evan has left for Loyola University in Chicago, but he recently sent a calendar link so we'd know when he's in class. Their dad, my Ex, adds his travel and meeting plans; and posted all the high school calendar items (band concerts, no-school days, graduation.)

This would be a wonderful tool for a work group but if people have opened their Outlook calendars to each other, it wouldn't be worth the extra effort.

In the past I also set up a Yahoo home page, but since our family calendar and my Blogger blogs are on Google, and I use GReader for my feeds, it doesn't make sense to use Yahoo.

I liked the local aspects of PageFlakes, the local news and pictures, but much of the page seemed geared for younger users, so I'll stick with iGoogle.

I posted earlier about GTD (Getting Things Done)aps, and I'm eager to develop a GTD package for myself. It sounds like it will be easier on Remember the Milk than on Backpack, so I didn't spend a lot of time on Backpack.

I've connected with LifeHacks before, but now I know how to add an RSS feed! and did!

I'm not sure that a top-down implementation of these tools would be pleasant, but if a critical mass of people sign up for LifeHacks, or start using Remember The Milk or Getting Things Done, these concepts and vocabulary (and in the case of GTD, attitudes; and overall, an overall of finding fun and peace of mind in productivity tools) they may spread virally, which would be fantastic!

Thing 13 : Productivity Tools; Getting Things Done

2008-08-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of GTD, or Getting Things Done. I added Remember The Milk to my iGoogle start page, and found this post in the blog: GTD on RTM! What could be finer!

Thing 13: Productivity tools

2008-08-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Cute! Irresistible! Perfect for release dates of highly anticipated books like the Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series! Or the next "Computer Basics" class? Maybe a little too hyped for that. This would have been perfect for Harry Potter releases!

It certainly heleps you focus on deadlines! Perhaps this will be useful when we get to the student productivity tools! The AP exam, Fall Break, term paper due . . .

Created by OnePlusYou

Thing 12: digg, reddit, etc.

2008-08-30T13:51:00.001-07:00

I've been following coldsnaplegal this afternoon on Twitter, posting about the RNC Welcoming Committee raids. Fascinating to have this blow-by-blow account and frequent updates!

I followed a link from an article on the StarTribune web page to reach the coldsnaplegal site. I don't know if I would have followed it if I weren't tuned in to social software right now!

I've investigated digg and reddit before and not found them very useful. They are too global, and a lot of the articles or links that are posted aren't very interesting to me. I do like StumbleUpon, just for some late-night surfing. I've found some fun things.

Newsvine allows you to select local articles, and that might be an option for a library web site. I'm open to further education about these tools, but I think they are too general to be useful for a library. RSS feeds and blog links would provide more focused content; I'm not impressed with the social media tools.

I googled "digg libraries" and found this at New Jack Librarian:

Digg + Local Library Purchases

Digg + Local Library Purchases: "So here’s my idea: take the engine that runs Digg, the “social news” website, and repurpose it as a web application that allows library patrons to collectively decide which books the library system should purchase. Patrons would “login” to “LibraryDigg” with their regular library card number and password, and then could enter books, DVDs, etc. that they want opened up for consideration." [Distant Librarian]What I really like about this idea is that this service would provide public feedback illustrating what the library community is interested in and what are their unmet desires. I'm positive that this sort of information would be of interest to more than librarians as in my library, one can always see users check out the responses on the library's complaints bulletin board . . . But I'm not sure that I would use the Digg engine. I check out Digg and Reddit frequently and its not exactly a secret that the system is constantly being gamed . . .
Digg's Design Dilemma - Bokardo : The result of all these factors is that Digg breaks the cardinal rule of voting: independence. As outlined in James Surowiecki’s book The Wisdom of Crowds, independence arises when a person makes a decision (votes, diggs) without the direct influence of others, on their own, by making up their own mind. . .
The voting on Digg is in contrast to a site like Del.icio.us, where voting (saving a bookmark) is done more independently, often without having any idea whether or not someone else even viewed it, let alone voted on it...

Thing 11: Tags and Del.icio.us

2008-08-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

I had already tagged some of my Ex Libris 2.0 posts, but I added more.

I've been using del.icio.us for about three years, and love it. I am a substitute librarian, and a temp worker, so I move around a LOT, and was actively looking for web-based bookmark storage. I thought I would have to create a web site, which wouldn't have been a bad idea, but del.icio.us is much more fun and easy.

I loved the availabililty of an ocean of bookmarks on 23Things del.icio.us site. I particularly appreciate the "new23"tag.

Despite my lengthy use of del.icio.us for my own bookmarks, I had never really explored looking for particular tags, or popular tags, or tracing through tags to see what other things that person had bookmarked. Useful features! I'm glad I know about them now.

This is one of the Things that brought on brain freeze -- just too many links too click, just one more thing to look at and one more . . . and it's 2:00 a.m!

Thing 7 Reprise: Webinar

2008-08-28T09:05:00.001-07:00

I was excited about the live OPAL webinar about Dashiel Hammett's Thin Man, but it was a bust. It was set up for online participation and also participation via Second Life. What ended up happening was that the Second Lifer's would text chat each other and the moderator, and then the moderator would come on and say, "We've been talking about. . . " He knew we couldn't communicate directly with them and said he would act as a conduit. Honestly, sometimes it was five minutes between his audible comments.

I sent in a note explaining that I wasn't getting much; wasn't seeing any chat, that I was getting long breaks in between, and was it supposed to be that way? I have a DSL line but an old iMac, so was wondering if that was causing delays or gaps, but in the end I don't think that was the problem.

I didn't get a reply to my note. I didn't find any kind of troubleshooting info on the site that referenced my problem. So, either it was a Mac problem (doubt it) or it was the Second Life participants that couldn't "cross over" into a place I could see their text or hear them.

I only saw my name and the teacher's name on the "In The Room" list. Again, don't know if this meant no one else was online or if I just couldn't see.

It was frustrating, but I did see the potential for the method. There is another event coming up: Friday, September 19, 2008 at , 1:00 Central: A Casual Conversation with Michael Stephens. If I'm working I won't be able to listen live, and will listen to the archived version, but I'm going to keep my eyes out for opportunites to participate "live" again.

This is a great training device. There are a lot of things that look useful and interesting!

Thing 10: WIKIs!

2008-08-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

I love the 23 Things. There is so much to learn and explore, I think my head is going to explode! In a good way, of course.

I edited the 23 Things wiki by adding a page for photos.

Thanks for finding all the cool wikis for us to look at. I have to keep reminding myself that there's no way I'll ever look at all the fascinating things on the web. It's like the "too many books" problem multiplied by infinity.

I created the Librarian Substitute 2.0 wiki earlier this year, and am having a lot of fun with it. It is for substitute librarians in the new expanded Hennepin County Library system, with Hennepin-specific information as well as general info.

I'm happy to say that others have joined me! The thing that I didn't anticipate, even though I know it is social software, is that creating the wiki did establish a sense of community. I am trying to nurture our wiki community and keep it growing and vital. Right now there are only seven of us, so it doesn't have a lot of momentum unless I add things -- though there is another wiki poster who really puts a lot into it, which is wonderful!

Thing 8: Share your creations

2008-08-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

One of the constant problems we experience at work is when people with no computer skills need to do something on-line. It really takes more staff time than we have to coach them through how to use a mouse, use e-mail, send attachments, etc.

It would be cool to set up an easy-to-access slide presentation with basic computer and internet use instruction. It wouldn't be the final answer, but it would be a start for people who are really struggling, and it would be more efficient and consistent than instruction depending on the time available to the library staff.

I know there are on-line instruction modules available that academic libraries produce, and that they may use more complex software, but even a set of screen shots might be very worthwhile.

The photo aps are fun, and would be an appealing marketing tool for the library.

I set up a Picture Trail "film strip" and it was amazingly easy. It was quick and worked the first time! I couldn't get it to post automatically to my blog, but the code was right there and the instructions were very clear. I'd recommend it to others, definitely!

I haven't gotten into digital photo sharing but I will do more now that I've used these tools.

eFolio

I was really pleased to see the eFolio. I had just been thinking about whether to try to create something like that for job applications. Cool! Now I can.

AFTER the rest of the 23 Things. Or as many as I can fit in.

I use a Word table to keep track of the books I read, for Readers' Advisory. I wonder if that can be imported to the database software? I may check on that later, too.

Thing 8; Picture Trail--Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie, and Gold Medal Park

2008-08-24T08:20:00.001-07:00

Thing 7

2008-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

That was a big "Thing!"

E-Mail: I don't think the library uses e-mail very productively in-house. We aren't even encouraged to set up folders, though perhaps full-time employees get that message.

For our customers: they can get e-mails for author alerts (new books by fave authors), holds ready, books due soon. I would love to get text messages, especially for "Holds Ready" -- if I'm out doing errands, I can just add that one, and furthermore, I'll have the names of the books in case I can't find them on the hold shelf.

I like gmail and Mac's Mail program. Mail has Smart Mailboxes that automatically sort incoming mail into folders, or, you can use "non-Smart" rules. They work slightly differently and sometimes you want one not the other.

I would love it if librarians started using Twitter for all those little messages that get passed around informally through a building or department. That would be great for subs! Just the short message, over and out.

I've watched other librarians use e-mail and IMing to respond to reference queries, but haven't had the opportunity to do it myself. Again, it's a sub thing; they just don't train us or schedule us to do it. Too bad, it would be an excellent task for subs, since it's not moored to a physical space.

I text my kids and it's fantastic. They are young adults and don't feel a need for extensive chat with Mom. Texting keeps it brief and to the point.

I plan to do an OPAL seminar this Wednesday, a book discussion of Thin Man, and will report on that.

Ditto the IMing; I want to set that up from home and haven't yet.

I am on Twitter but don't have many friends; I should check again on my 23Things buddies.

2.0 reference tools? Definitely! The more we get people to use texting or Twitter, the more often they will turn to us. However: I think with the new iPhone3, the day of mobile computing has finally come, and people can get their own "short answers." Still, there will be plenty of times people won't want to do a search but could remember that we're here.

It won't work for complex questions.

We may see a rise in requests for technical help on iPhones and other internet-connected phones, which would be a challenge.

I work in a public library. I think the best opportunities, at least at first, for customers to develop a habit of asking the library, is for college libraries to make those services available. With luck people will take that habit with them after they graduate.

Mindset List 2008

2008-08-20T17:31:00.001-07:00

It's almost fall, and the annual Beloit Mindset list is out. Beloit publishes this list to help college faculty and staff understand the world from the frosh perspective.

This year's list includes:

Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.

WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.

Click the clipmarks icon to read the whole funny and enlightening list.

And a shoutout to Evan, class of 2012!

clipped from www.beloit.edu

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

Guys in Las Vegas Never Enjoyed Reading, Until Now...

2008-08-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

Guys in Las Vegas Never Enjoyed Reading, Until Now...
Originally uploaded by Roadsidepictures

A steal from Flickr, as seen on Miss Shelved's blog. Thank you, Miss Shelved!

pic by Roadsidepictures

Thing 6

2008-08-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

I've spent a tremendous amount of time on Things 4, 5, and 6. They are way too addicting! I do feel as though I "get it" now, and have some idea of the range of image tools available. Wow!

It would be really fun to create bibliographic instruction using cartoons. . . let me work on that . . . Or, as your prompt suggests, to incorporate a custom graphic logo in material you create, or to use graphics in PowerPoint.

I think you'd really have to resist the temptation to put too much graphic bling on your PowerPoint slides; simpler is better.

Graphics like this can ease the sting of admonitory notices: Barcode up, please!
"Place one book at a time into the automatic book return." Again, there is a fine line between a light touch and annoyingly cutesy.

They would also make great nameplates for desks/cubes.

Thing 6: Dewey and LC Mix It Up

2008-08-01T14:07:00.001-07:00

Thing 6; Gratia's license plate

2008-08-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Thing 6, Ranganathan's License Plate

2008-08-01T14:01:00.001-07:00

Thing 6, a cartoon

2008-08-01T13:52:00.001-07:00

Thing 6: trading card of me

2008-08-01T11:12:00.001-07:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by kolo_green

These remind me of ATC's (Artist Trading Cards), which are very popular in mixed media and collage circles. These are more straightforward.

Gratia Trading Card

2008-08-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by kolo_green

My favorite of the trading cards I created.

Thing 6

2008-08-01T10:59:00.001-07:00

22 Books

2008-07-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

That's the name of this Flickr mashup.

THING 5; FLICKR Services and Mashups

2008-07-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've stalled on this one while I painted the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and entertained visitors from Germany for ten days. I've couldn't figure out how to upload the code from my favorite mashup, so I tried the Flickr Postcard Browser.

I uploaded the Flickr Postcard Browser to my blog, but I don't have Flash on my computer here at work, so I'll have to check it at home.

If you had a color printer you could have a lot of fun with this for posters, especially for youth services. It would be fun for a "find the letters" hunt, too; maybe you could play with the letters so they worked within a theme or color palette.

I like the idea of sharing photos of library events, photos of the library, or books/bookshelves online. For my own photos, I prefer them to be open only to family and friends.

Thing4: Flickr exploration

2008-07-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

I had fun with this one! I had some familiarity with Flickr before but now I know EVERYTHING. Maybe. I didn't know there was a Flickr blog!

I've used tags in the past to look for images on Flickr for customers.

I looked for bird eggs and found some nice photos. Nest also worked well. I uploaded the photos (see posts 6/25.)

I chose this "less interesting" option because my digital camera data card is full and I can't find my cord to upload to my computer.

I learned from some customers that there's a gadget that holds the data card at one end but has a USB plug on the other end. So when I can get the car back from my teenager, I'm going to find one!

I love the things I've seen where libraries use Flickr for publicizing (past) events. I love the custom "read" posters!

One idea would be to have a Flickr feed of your library's town (in my case, Minneapolis) on the front page. With an adult content filter!

Or to create a little portal to your town with RSS feeds from local paper and TV, a weather box, and a Flickr stream. I stole this idea, I think from the ALA Tech blog. I'll check and verify.

My creation

2008-06-28T13:56:00.001-07:00

My creation
Originally uploaded by kolo_green

I Warholized this photo of Dear Son and his Dear Dad. I love this!

American Robin-eggs

2008-06-28T13:41:00.001-07:00

American Robin-eggs
Originally uploaded by West Coast Birding

eggs of many colors

2008-06-28T13:38:00.001-07:00

eggs of many colors
Originally uploaded by woodleywonderworks

Scarlet Ibis

2008-06-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

Scarlet Ibis
Originally uploaded by bikeracer

Photo 2

Eggs

2008-06-28T13:34:00.001-07:00

Eggs
Originally uploaded by Teon.

Photo uploaded from Flickr.

Thing #3: RSS Feeds

2008-06-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have been using RSS feeds for a while and added a few feeds from "23 Things on a Stick." I also picked up some good recommendations from bookwormishnerd.

I have a question: a couple of the blogs I'm interested in don't have feeds that can go to my Google home page or reader. They show up under the feed icon in Internet Explorer. I only use Internet Explorer at work, so I'm not sure I'll remember to check them. Do I have any options like feeding from a feed?

Thing #2: Web 2.0

2008-06-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 social networking applications. As a substitute librarian, I have to wait for opportunities to lead storytimes or work with teens, but I can pile on my plate all the 2.0 I can handle, and it's fun to have professional growth opportunities whenever I want them.

I've been reading books about web 2.0; have been trying as many software aps as I can; I attended the Midwest Library Tech Conference, and of course have been reading online blogs and articles.

This is my "top priority" right now, along with the spring garden, my other "top priority," and up until last week, supporting my son through his senior spring (not emotional support, just driving him around and putting on a party) was my other top priority. And loafing, of course, always a top priority.

I have however put it ahead of recreational reading, as well as ahead of cooking supper.

I think Hennepin County Library writ large is at a good point in taking advantage of 2.0 opportunities; but as far as individual libraries, I'm not aware of initiatives. Certainly, as a sub, there may be local aps I'm just not aware of, but we don't yet have a "2.0 culture" with employees feeling free, or having the time, to develop social networking ideas.

In my own life, I created the shell of a librarian subs wiki, and have been joined by several others. It's in a very nascent stage, but it's a terrific amount of fun, and I'm learning things! It's exhilarating.

Have a look; it's http://librariansubs.wetpaint.com/. It's informal and personal, not like Wikipedia, but for our purposes, informal is good, since we're also using it to get to know people.

Anyone who knows me has heard about this wiki endlessly; apologies; I'm just that into it.

Thing #1: Blog and Avatar

2008-05-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

I created this blog last fall for 23 Things on a Stick, but I didn't get very far! This time I have registered and added the avatar -- already more progress than last time. I created the avatar previously but didn't understand how to export it. Now I do! Learned something new already. Feels good.

Posting, Posting . . .

2007-11-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard to break the ice with one's first post. My mind chatters to me all day long until it's time to put words together for public view.

Password Encryption

2007-01-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

I like KeePass myself - I use it a fair amount - not least because your master password can be pretty big and strong if you want it to be, and because it's a local program that I can control myself. Also, it's free and open-source, so I can trust its security a little more (because of the transparency of the code) and it's my own business what I do with it.

So what I think you should do is this:

1) Download and install KeePass on multiple computers, or download its portable version and keep it on a USB drive.

2) Store your passwords in a file on the desktop using KeePass.

3) Webmail (gmail or some such) that heavily encrypted file containing your passwords to yourself, and delete the file from the desktop.

4) Repeat this process whenever you change or add a password.

Now, you have a well-encrypted and readily available file with all of your passwords in it wherever you go.
posted by koeselitz at 12:50 PM on January 5 [1 favorite]

KeePass portable is the best way. Install it to your thumb drive, set a good master password on the database, and you'll have your passwords with you wherever you go, with vastly better security than you'd get by storing it in a Google document or Word document. You could also install Firefox portable on the thumb drive and use that instead of whatever browser is on the machine you're using so that your browser history doesn't end up littered across computers everywhere. You can also keep the KeePass database updated and available with Dropbox as described at the Lifehacker link above.
posted by sinfony at 12:57 PM on January 5

I use foxmark's password syncing feature. Passwords are encrypted before storing them on a server, so you need a master key to decrypt them. Works well for me
posted by phrakture at 12:58 PM on January 5

I like SuperGenPass for website passwords. It's a bookmarklet that generates a one way hash based on the password you enter and the domain of the site.
posted by crumbly at 6:14 PM on January 5

KeyPass + Dropbox is flawless.
posted by imagesafari at 9:06 PM on January 5