Thingy 23: Final Thoughts

I have learned many new Library 2.0 applications as a result of the 23 Things experience. And I feel more empowered to actually use the ones I only vaguely knew about before, like Flickr, wikis, blogging, and RSS feeds. It was great to have an excuse to look at YouTube and listen to podcasts on work time. I was happy to rediscover Library Thing and now have a way to catalog my personal book collection and keep track of my book group books. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do an online component for a book group--a blog? a wiki? a MySpace page? Library Thing account?--but I certainly have some new ideas. An unexpected happy outcome of the program was feeling connected to other librarians out there (thank you for your encouragement, you know who you all are) and even learning new aspects of my own co-worker's lives (Lynette had a gorgeous honeymoon location!). In a sometimes unsettling way 23 Things blurred the distinction between my work and home life. I know I will use many of the Things at home even more than at work. I think I would have had a hard time completing the 23 Things if I didn't have high speed Internet access at home but I don't really like bringing "work" home. To improve upon the program's format or content, I'd recommend making the Things more consistent: some had many different steps and required a lot of reading/viewing/listening while others could be completed in much less time. Maybe add high bandwith and low bandwith options? As far as content is concerned, consider adding more information about electronic books and book readers like Kindle, e-text and audio, e.g., Overdrive, and music. 23 Things has helped me to keep current with new library technology and actually use some of the applications I had only heard about and read about before. I'm looking forward to the next 23 Things!

Thingy 22: What did I learn today?

...that there seems to be no end to the number of library blogs I can add to my Bloglines feeds! I do resolve to keep current by spending at least 15 minutes a day to check Bloglines and learn about Web 2.0 library applications. Well, most days anyway.

Stick Thingy 21: Beyond MySpace

If only I had more time on my hands I could see myself really getting into the Minnesota Readers group on Gather and becoming a real mouse potato! I liked the Ning site too. Facebook and MySpace have some appeal and some of the other 23Thingers have mentioned Live Journal which also sounds interesting. But so far the only networks my family and friends have invited me to join are Plaxo (which the PC Magazine writer compared to a yuppie bar--you wake up the next morning with a hangover and a handful of business cards from your new best friends whom you never want to see again) and the even more obscure WAYN ("where are you now" which seems to be off the professional radar). As a music librarian, I was intrigued by last.fm but am not really sure I want everyone to know what I'm listening too. My tastes can be painfully eclectic and I end up listening to a lot of things I don't want to listen to because of patron's recommendations and complaints. You should see the kind of things Amazon recommends for me based on my recent searches! But that is another post. I am interested in social networking as a way to create communities of readers, or listeners, or friends. We have Senior (citizen) Techies classes and workshops at our library--it would be great for them to have their own network to share photos and tips. But getting support from administration and then finding someone with the time and expertise to maintain it aren't so easy. I am looking forward to attending the Minitex Interlibrary Loan Conference in May to hear the keynote speaker on "forecasting the future of social computing."

I keep forgetting to mention that I haved added over 200 books to my Library Thing library and am now a lifetime member! Maybe LT will be my social network, though at this time it is more a catalog of the books that I own and/or want to read or have read.

Thingy 20: Social networks

I took a look at MySpace because I really don't want to register for a social network at this time. I started by doing some searching and am not sure whether or not to be surprised that I didn't find anyone with my last name there. I did find a few libraries and was amazed to learn that my library is female and a Capricorn! Library bloggers seem to spend a lot of time agonizing over the pros and cons of using social networking sites to promote their libraries and worrying about invading patrons'/students' space. But why not? These sites give patrons and students a way (ok, another way) to interact with us, a voice in what is really their space--the library.

Thingy 19: Podcasts

I used Podcast.com to search for some music and book-related podcasts. I ended up listening to quite a few segments on NPR and MPR. As time allows I hope to check out these sites in the future to keep up with new books and new music. As with online video there are any number of library applications for podcasts including point-of-use instruction. Having trouble using the online catalog? Listen to this...

Thingy 18: Online video

I enjoyed exploring YouTube and Google Video. The links to related videos and user comments were helpful. Librarians can use video in a number of ways for library instruction, training, and progamming. My only concern is with the heavy use of bandwidth causing our computers to slow way down.

Thingy 17: ELM

I use the ELM databases all the time at work and at home so I was pleasantly suprised to learn about a few new tools and applications. I had previously set up an account in Ebsco for journal alerts but didn't realize that Ebsco and Proquest also allow you to set up websites for your research topics. It's also great to be able to add notes to your NetLibrary books and search book contents electronically. I hope that students and teachers are aware of these helpful features.