Facebook, Second Post, Week #10

How can individuals and libraries benefit from using social networking services? Create a blog post to share your thoughts and ideas about the social networking service you explored.

It's a little bit scary to see all of that information out there. It's not something I would use, except in the context of publicizing library services to students.


Remember to answer all the questions and include a link to your profile address.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2247569506#/profile.php?id=1008726929&ref=profile

Facebook, First Posting, Week #10

Search for and examine some of the libraries that have a presence in Facebook or MySpace. Browse around and see what else you can find. Create a blog post to share what you liked or disliked about the library pages you discovered.

I was able to find the UAM Voice on fabebook. The library pages were a little confusing, but I can see where advertising in the place where students are hanging out is a good idea.

Podcasts, Week #9

How can libraries utilize podcasts to improve library services? Create a post to share your thoughts and ideas on your blog. Don’t forget to include the link to the podcast you located.

I tried to learn more about OPAL, which is Online Programming for All Libraries. This is the vehicle whereby the Government Printing Office provides user training. I definitely want to learn more about it!

http://www.opal-online.org/about.html

Browser Tools, Week #8

Download and install one browser add-on or check out one of the online productivity applications.

I had some difficulty downloading Snap Shots, so I downloaded "Stumble Upon." It is an application which finds websites on the internet which might be of interest.

Tell us about your exploration on your blog.

It did find some interesting websites, especially the ones with cute little dogs!

Twitter, Week #7

Do you think Twitter is fascinating or a complete waste of time?

I can see how Twitter could be useful, as we are often sitting at our computers and could keep up with each other that way.

How would implementing Twitter improve library services?

Would twitter be the software to use for virtual reference?

What are some additional ways in which Twitter might be useful?

The student newspaper is using Twitter as a calendar.

Wikis, Week #6

So, what is your impression of wikis?

It might be a way to work on group projects for students.

Why do you think librarians do not recommend using Wikipedia as a research resource?

Anyone may update the wiki. It is hard to know if the information is authoratative. A researcher might use it as a place to start, but he or she had better double check the facts!

Did you find a delicious recipe?

Kay and Paula always have great recipes!

Using Flickr in a Library Setting

Did you discover some innovative ways libraries can incorporate Flickr to improve library services?

I saw that some libraries post images of their past exhibits on their site using Flickr. Since we have images of many of our past exhibits, we might wish to do this.

Will you use Flickr to share your personal photographs?

My family shares lots of baby photographs via this method. I may do so in the future.

Favorite Photo on Flickr

My favorite photo is available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179131683/

It is a 1944 image of home canned food from the Library of Congress. This reminds me of one of the ways in which the people in the United States supported the war effort.

More about Using Social Bookmarking

• So, what is your impression about social bookmarking?

As we progress through this class, there is always another new website and account information of which to keep track. I had bookmarked the sites on my own pc, but could not access them at the reference desk. Using the social bookmarking services, it will be possible to work on the activities from any computer without the necessity of memorizing an ever increasing list of websites.

• Do you think you will continue to use traditional browser bookmarks or make the switch?

I will probably use both. However, it will be quite handy to be able to access my bookmarks from any computer with internet access.

• Describe how you would incorporate this tool in your personal or professional life.

I would use this tool to make working on the reference desk and at the circulation desk more productive. I will no longer need to depend on my memory, but be able to have a wide range of authoratative and/or useful web sources at my fingertips.

Using Social Bookmarking in a Library Setting

• Search for those tags on Delicious. Did you discover a site that interests you?

I found the following sites on Delicious which were of personal and professional interest. It occurred to me that one could use this search to find more relevant websites. It would be more focused that Google because someone has already selected it as interesting or important for them.

-U.S. GenWeb Arkansas Archives: http://usgwarchives.org/ar/arfiles.htm

-University of Michigan Documents Center: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/

-Judaism 101: http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm

Using RSS Feeds in a Library Setting

I am so excited about learning about RSS feeds! The Government Printing Office is utlizing this technology to keep up with the depository community, so I am sure that it will be beneficial to become more proficient in its usage.



Our questions for this week:

• How can libraries utilize RSS feeds to improve library services?

Subscribing to RSS feeds from content providers connects the library faculty and staff to library vendors and other agencies. The staff will be apprised of new information on their websites. Providing an RSS feed on this library's website would encourage faculty, staff and students to look at the site when items are updated and probably bring them to the site more often.

• How would implementing RSS feeds on your personal site improve communication with your readers?

When the information is pushed to your readers, they are more likely to keep up with the blog and post comments. I am glad we are taking the time to learn these technologies.

Using Blogs in a Library Setting

I think blogs could be used to publicize new government documents, new displays, new books, upcoming events and celebrations, and other information. I wonder if a blog would be more effective than sending out an e-mail in some cases? Perhaps both methods would prove fruitful.

Week of September 1

It has already been a busy week! The remnants of Hurricane Gustav has caused flooding, wind damage and school closings in the area.

This post is the beginning of an employee training session on using Web 2.0 capabilities.