Tuesday, January 27, 2009

pb wiki

This was also fun. I really wanted to tell all the funny things that happen on our vacations including the fact that when we are south it is usually the coldest winter they have had. Or that Alaska had the coldest summer when we were there. I guess I am just made to play around on a computer. I am taking a laptop along with me so I can finish this class on my trip.

wiki, wiki, wiki

Gosh, this was another of those fun ones. I really enjoyed the SCJCPL. wiki page. I enjoyed it so much, I actually bookmarked it along with the Book Lovers wiki on delicious because I found several things I would use. I don't know that I would ever add to them but I enjoyed them. I found it interesting that one of the sites had been vandalized.

I had a huge problem with Wikipedia for a while. When Wikipedia first became fairly well known, one of the teachers assigned a short paper and a lot of the students came in and used Wikipedia and some of them had incorrect info. Even though we tried to tell the students that not all the information may be correct, they argued, it was an encyclopedia, ergo it was correct. Of course, the teacher was upset that their information was wrong. The teacher did not know of Wikipedia and he gave me a good tongue lashing. You can imagine what my response was. (He only started letting his students use Internet resources a few years ago----that is what tenure does). (HE IS A COMPLETE TOTAL IDIOT).

I can see lots of uses for wikis in a larger library. I would have to give some thought as to whether a library as small as ours could use it.

Thing 16 - Library 2.0

Library 2.0 - It is and will continue to be unending, I think. It is sometimes overwhelming, especially for those of us in small towns with very, very limited budgets. And yes, I no longer buy three sets of encyclopedias or lots of other references, but technology ain't cheap either and the knowledge that you need to purchase, operate and teach is not either.

I am always in favor of technology and trying new things and will continue to be, but I do worry about the older generation. Granted there are many like me, who are more than willing to give almost any form of technology a try, but I know more that don't want to for many different reasons. There are also many younger people, young adults and children who do not have the money for the products. What about them? The library or school will be the only place they will have access to these products. And that will be even more true now than it has been.

Now on the brighter side. I do feel that libraries will continue to lead the way. I do know that we have. When we got a computer in the library, we were the first "business" in town, except for the bank, the school and the hardware store to have a computer.

Downloading books to an MP3 player, ordering a book or an article through ILL while the patron is standing there or just finding information for someone who is computer illiterate continues to awe some people and they spread the word. And the fact that we can give them a great deal more information than they can find in an encyclopedia or a book makes them so happy.

There are so many ways all the technology can be used and we have learned so many of these during this class. I will not be using them for the library, of course, as I will be leaving. But I am glad I know about them and I will be using them in my private life and maybe I will be using them at the places where I will be volunteering....who knows.

In some ways all this makes life easier and in others more difficult, but I'm glas we have it. It certainly made being a librarian a lot more fun. Especially cataloging. I really did not like typing catalog cards.

Monday, January 26, 2009

thing 15

I had all kinds of trouble with this one and did not get it completed. I gave up entirely. I did view some slide shows including some from the Nebraska Library Commission and one on blogging and one on Slide Show itself, but I absolutely could not figure out how to make NebraskAccess a contact and as it is after hours and noone was on line I had noone to ask. I thought the blogging slide show was pretty good, but it was short and really was not very informational for someone who did not know a lot about blogging, but more or less a teaser.

Many of the ones I looked at --they were supposed to be creative or diy--were rather silly. About half and half I would say.

This would be really cool if I had a power point presentation ready. It would be cool to show and have online for anyone who needed to know certain info provided it was good solid info.

delicious - yummy

I had a great time with this one. I will certainly enjoy using this on my computers at home and on the road. It is a real timesaver.

Twitter

I really don't know what to say about this one. I usually welcome new technology, BUT, I have a little problem with this one. I guess I see too many young people texting and twittering instead of talking face to face. And why would you want to share every little detail about your daily life? I just can't stand them doing it in a movie and when they are at ball games and all other times of the day and night.

I did read the articles and I'm sure there are areas in which they would be useful, but I don't know if it would be useful for us.

library thing

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jgroppe
This is my catalog. I added some of the books our library discussion grroup, PageTurners, read between April 2001 and April 2003. I could not find a couple of the books which I found strange.
This is a cool way to keep track of the books, because I look for books when I travel and I can never remember what we have read.

technology

Now finishing my technology thing 11
Scribner has always been ready, willing and able to do technology "stuff". We were among the first of the small libraries to have a computer, to have an automated catalog, to be a part of OCLC. It really impresses our patrons when we order their book while they are standing there.

You name it, we were going to try to do it. Our library may be a small building, but we were going to do it one way or another. Only once did we not have the blessing of our city council. The mayor was okay with it, but we had one city council member that was truly a pain you know where. We still went ahead and did it anyway.

My board of trustees always backed me when it came to technology and that was great.
It always amazes me how far we have come. We offer as many things as we can. I am a huge proponent of OverDrive. It gives us so many books that we could not get if we had to buy them individually. So what if we don't have dozens using it. It still is better and cheaper than buying lots of books on CD's

There is more and more talk about a new library and it will not be for a few years because they are talking new school first, but a do have a wish list and it does include a computer lab where we can actually teach computer classes without have to put up tables and set up laptops and take them all down and we could actually hold the classes duriing open hours instead of during the hours we are not open...not that the patrons care, but it would sure be nice.

My wish is that the new director will continue with what we have started and I am sure she will as she is far more versed on computers than I am.

Thing 10 - Image Generators

Well this was rather a flop. I was having fun making a puzzle of my granddaughter Harper with her full of bows (she finally got enough hair) and it froze. Now I not only cannot show you a picture puzzle, I cannot bring up the website again. It was on FD's Flickr Toys, but the website came up bighugelabs.com. For some reason I cannot get it to come up today. But I am going to try to have puzzles made of all my grandchildren, because they LOVE jigsaw puzzles.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Lesson 9

This one was fun. I like Montagr and Color Pickr and Spell with Flickr. I think these could all be used with the library. I just couldn't figure out how to get them downloaded so the public could see them. I looked at other fun things and I did find Flickr Cover Flow with evidently ties in iTunes with a slideshow for your Flickr photos. That should create interest for your patrons??? Also Flickr Photo Owner Findr to help find a particular photo. That would be of help. I already have to go through a few pages when I want to show a patron a particular photo on flickr. Then I found FlickrFling and that one just sounded like fun and of no use whatsoever for the library, but I am going to try it.
Jeanette

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Family fun - Quinn


Family fun - Quinn
Originally uploaded by jmygrop

I also had to blog a really cute phot of my youngest daughter on her birthday. I thought this was just about the cutest Halloween costume I had ever seen. She was just a little doll and she didn't care if she had on a hat an a tutu. She ran around in it most of the day.
Jeanette

NELearn 2.0 -Old shelves with duct tape


NELearn 2.0 -Old shelves with duct tape
Originally uploaded by jmygrop

These were old shelves that we purchased from the State many years ago and guess where they came from? The Nebraska Library Commission. We purchased all that was in surplus and the city used some in various places, but the library got most of it. But it got to the point that we had to hold them together with duct tape because they swayed from side to side. We got a grant for new shelving and it just came and we will only have two sets of shelves left from the commission after this.
Jeanette

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I'm skipping flickr today because I want to use my computer at home for that. Make that need to.

My husband wants to know why I am taking this when I am retiring. Now get this. His major many, many years ago...like 48 was computers. They used punch cards, etc. I told him I wanted to learn this "stuff" so I could keep up. It amazes me that I am more of a computer geek than he is...not that I am anywhere close to a computer geek, but I guess he is tired of computers. But he says he is sick and tired of them and trying to keep up especially with security since 9/11. Maybe that is because he is a banker and he has to not only keep up with the security, but also write all the policy and keep up with FDIC and all other regulations. It about drives him nuts.

I try to keep up, but I am always behind and I forget so much. Change also bugs me. I wish that computers wouldn't change so fast. More because of financial reasons than anything else. It is hard enough to keep your budgets in place without always having to update something every year. It would help the money situation if technology would slow down a little. I know that is good for Microsoft, Apple, etc. and it helps slow down s, etc. a teeny bit, but in this economy it will be VERY hard to justify to your mayor and city council why you need money again when you just updated this past year.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I am getting too many feeds. I liked Topix.net. It was rather fun because it had stories about NE right on top. I did not care for Syndic8. I thought it was TOO random. I like feeds for cooking, books, quilting. Current events isn't as big a deal as I read the paper every a.m., but I have always checked several times a day if I am near a computer. Oh, yes, I also liked Topix because they really had some weird stuff. FUNNY!! Woman accidentally kills her dog with a Wii remote?
O.K. I am ready to play catch up, I hope. This was rather fun, but if we would use it for the library, I am not sure. It would be better for us than IM. And I think we could do it. But that will not be my decision in a few months.
I thought Google was a little easier than Blogger, but neither one was very difficult after I caught the hang of it. Unfortunately, I think I would spend a lot of time, reading and not doing what I should be doing.