23 Thing Number 23

Overall, I am glad that I completed this project. It gave me the oppurtunity (ok, it forced me) to learn about these new applications. Though I am not convinced that all of them are feasible or practical in a library setting, they do play a role in helping us understand our users. And some of them are absolutely useful for what we do. I think collaborative tools like Google Docs and Wikis are the future of academia and thus essential to academic librarians. Podcasts and RSS feeds have obvious benefits for libraries. I think YouTube is now part of our culture and should be utilized as a tool. I think tagging is here to stay as well despite how uncomfortable it makes some librarians. Some of these applications will probably go the way of the dodo (like Twitter I hope) but many will continue to alter the way people interact with and respond to information. In other words, the information world that is our profession has quintessentially changed. We have to keep up.

Library Thing Number 22

Since we work mostly with college age students at my library, I think it is incredibly important for us to keep up with these new web applications. Only one other person at my library did this project and most of our librarians have worked here for many years (in other words, they are middle aged or so). Thus, I think many of our librarians would benefit from learning about these new applications. Our Reference librarian has the most one on one contact with students and she is pretty up on Web 2.0, so that's good. I would like our other librarians to at least play around with some of the major applications. Specifically, I think Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, and YouTube are important for understanding students' needs. I think most of them would enjoy Library Thing and LibWorm. I think that Google Docs, Wikis, and podcasts are going to become increasingly relevant to academia. Some of the other applications like Ning and Twitter are not quite so important in my opinion.

23 Things Number 21

I watched some of the podcasts from other libraries and thought they did a really good job. For our patrons (college students), I think podcasts of how to locate books and articles, how to use the databases, and maybe a tour would be most useful. Public libraries probably have a bit more leeway in terms of making purely entertaining podcasts but I don't know if that would fly at a university library. You know, academia and all that. Podcasts of lectures, either by visiting lecturers or faculty, would also be cool to include somewhere on the library webpage. I'm not quite sure of the departmental politics of that, however. Podcasts, like Wikis and Google Docs, seem to me to have some very practical applications for libraries.

23 Thing Number 20

Of course, like everyone else, I have perused funny videos on YouTube (sneezing panda anyone?) and even a few heartwarming ones (hugging guy). I hadn't really thought about YouTube could be used in libraries until just now though. I typed in "texas libraries" and got more hits than I was expecting. Apparently, UT Austin has videos about finding books and articles in their library. I think that's pretty smart actually. The college students who need this information certainly use YouTube. While I'm not sure that all of the Web 2.0 applications we've discussed will stand the test of time, YouTube seems to be here to stay. It is also incredibly popular with young people. Thus, I think libraries should find ways to utilize this application, both in terms of outreach and instruction.

23 Things Number 19

I just tried Google Docs for the first time. I rambled off a response to an article I read in New York Times magazine about how many people no longer prepare their own food. This is a fascinating subject to me because I love to cook and I'm frightened of preservatives. Then, I emailed it to myself. I am still waiting to hear back. This is another really practical application, not just for libraries but for most fields. It allows people to exchange information and collaborate on projects even if they are geographically remote from one another. I did a short Word document and a small spreadsheet (a budget for an upcoming trip). The word document was very similar to Word. The spreadsheet was a little more simplistic than Excel--a little more utilitarian. My husband is an accountant, though, and I'm not sure he would like. He relies heavily on Excel and thus needs a bit more sophistication than I do. Overall, however, I like this application and think it is really practical.

Library Thing Number 18

I just completed my portion of the Wiki. I added three pages (Research Interests, Yoga, and Books I Love) in addition to my main page. Wikis are one application that I think will be really vital to academia. Since I want to stay in academic libraries, I am honestly glad that participating in 23 Things forced me to play around with a Wiki. I had never created one (only visited them) and I think this knowledge will be essential. It was also really easy adding to the Wiki. I can think of lots of uses for this application in both public and academic libraries.

23 Things Number 17

I played around on Libworm and see how it could be useful to librarians and library science students. I'm not sure anyone else would be interested but maybe that's okay. As information specialists, we need to keep up to date with the news and events that affect our discipline. When I typed in the name of my library, most of the hits were related to the Law School library, not the historical campus where I work. A new director was recently named there and that was the first and second hit. Other than that, we were mostly mentioned when all of the surrounding university libraries were discussed. In other words, we are not exactly news making. But, again, that's just fine.

23 Things Number 16

Viva la Library Thing! Now this is Web 2.0 I can get behind. I've actually been on Library Thing for a while (before I started 23 Things) and I really like it. Thus far, I have added 135 books. I had never really read the blogs, though, before this module. I had no idea that some libraries actually use Library Thing for professional purposes. I just assumed it was a place for book lovers. Period. So obviously, this application has real potential for libraries. I also think it is helpful for those of who are always looking for a new (good) book to read. I was glad that Library Thing was included in the 23 Things because it forced me to explore the site and learn more about the organization. I have also signed up for the early reviewing and hope to get a free book soon.

23 Things Number 15

I browsed Digg for about half an hour and found it pretty cool, actally. I read an article about the death of Les Paul (my father is a musician), one about the Large Hadron Collider (they're starting her back up), and one about mermaid in Haifa (such whimsical creatures, those Israelis). I also looked at some funny pictures, like one guy at a health care reform protest holding up a sign that read "Obama, Bring Back Arrested Development" (Amen, brother). I can see how this could be integrated into a library setting and how it could be useful to people. I think I will even return to the site. So apparently I am not completely Bah Humbug about Web 2.0.

23 Things Number 14

Delicious was one of our "Things" that I was really excited about. I set this up from home so that I could install the toolbar icon on my Mac. I have a dozen of my favorite sites. One thing I underestimated, however, was how much interesting stuff I would find looking at other people's bookmarks. I added a couple of those, too. This is a great application. So often we (and our patrons) find information on the web and then forget where we find it. This tool allows you to keep track of your information, whether it is for entertainment, for research, or for professional purposes. This is one of the applications I will actually continue to use after the project is completed.

23 Things Number 13

I did a paper on folksonomies in library school and think it is a really fascinating topic. It is also, at least in my experience, a really divisive topic for librarians. People tend to love tagging or hate it. I actually think there is a place for both tagging and traditional cataloging in libraries. I think there will always be a need for subject heading lists, thesauri, and professionally trained catalogers. However, if any Web 2.0 applications are to be integrated into libraries, I think that tagging will have to be part of that because tagging is such an important component of Web 2.0. What is great about the Internet is the democratization of information (it is also what is frightening and alarming in many ways but that's a different post) and I think that allowing people to label their own information, without the aid of professional tools like subject headings and thesauri, is part of that process. Will tagging usurp cataloging. I don't think so. But I do think that tagging and other web applications will change what we do in libraries, not just for catalogers but for all of us.

23 Things Number 12

Ok. I did it. I'm not happy about it but I did it. I signed up for Twitter. I will not say what I am doing, however. I refuse. A girl has to have her principles. I am standing up (all 4'10" of me) and putting my (size 51/2) foot down. In all seriousness, I am adverse to the concept of Twitter. Why does the world need to know what you had for breakfast? Let's face it. Most of us, we're not that interesting. Coast Guard rescue swimmers? Iranian revolutionaries? Bear Grylls? Okay, you got me (though I bet they have about the same things for breakfast the rest of us do). Does all of this play into a sort of cultural narcissism where we all think we are so important that everyone we know wants to hear what we're doing every moment of the day? I think it just might. That and I am offended that Twitter "suggested" Ashley Tisdale as someone I might want to follow.

23 Things Number 11

I signed up for Yahoo's instant messaging service (I already had an account so it was easy and I'm being lazy) and my username is alexisackel. I haven't actually IMed anyone yet. I do wonder if all this technology is more distracting than useful sometimes. Between Facebook, Twitter, IM, email, cell phones, etc. it seems like we are more and more expected to be available all the time. It is increasingly possible for someone to contact us every moment of our lives. In some way, this feels like a loss of freedom to me--a loss of anonymity. Perhaps this is simply because I am a rather solitary person but getting away from everyone I know is sometime liberating for me. But what happens when the people you know can always find you? However, unlike some of the other Web 2.0 applications, I do see how IMing could be succesfully integrated into a library setting. I know a lot of reference librarians already use this application so that distance users can IM reference questions.

23 Things Number 10

I had never heard of Ning before this module. I think the idea of a social networking site that allows you to create niche social networks is a great idea. I found that the execution of that idea is sometimes lacking, however. Since I am a yoga teacher, I decided to type in "yoga" as my search term to explore Ning. Some of the social networks had really interesting ideas behind them like "Off the Mat, Into the World", others seemed like little more than marketing tools for yoga teachers and aspiring Rodney Yees (no offense Rodney). The commercialization of yoga is an issue close to my heart and some of these networks were really distasteful to me. However, my best friend is German and there were a suprising number of German, yoga-related social networks so I did tell her about it. They seemed to have generally fewer beautiful people twisted like pretzels. Hmm. What's that about?

23 Things Number 5

I had never used an image generator but it was pretty fun. I'm glad to know how to do this. This is the same picture I used before but with funny (I hope?) comments added. I particularly like Clifford's Bobby D impersonation.

23 Things Number 9

Speaking of Facebook friends, I accidentally confirmed someone as a friend who I really did not want to have contact with and that was a little traumatic (I have a yoga student with a very similar name and thought it was her). I have also had friend requests from various people I don't know or whom I barely know. I don't really understand "friending" someone you weren't ever friends with. I feel rather rude ignoring them, though, so it always leaves me in an awkward predicament. What is the web etiquette for that situation, exactly?

23 Things Number 8

I have had a Facebook account for a few months now but I rarely post. I check it a few times a week to see if anyone has any exciting news but beyond that it is not that useful or important to my daily life. The lack of anonymity is indeed frightening, at least to me. I don't post very much because, frankly, my life is not that interesting and I lack the talent to make it seem more interesting than it is. Some of this is writer's insecurity. I have several friends who are professional or semi-professional writers and I always worry what they will think about my posts. When I do post, it is generally about a good book or CD. I vow to never, ever be one of those people who posts about what I had for breakfast.

23 Things Number 7

With the immense amount of information available on the Web, we need tools that help us efficiently and effectively sort through that information so that we find what we need or want. RSS feeds are one such tool and have a number of practical applications in a library setting. My boss, the systems librarian here, uses RSS feeds in her work all the time. I think they would be helpful to many people, but especially to those who deal with large quantities of information like librarians and researchers.

23 Things Number 6

I am doing this a little out of order because I want to do Thing Number 5 from home where I have more photos at my disposal. I signed up for Google Reader and added the blogs of a few of my friends (in addition to the 23 Things blog). I didn't much care for Gmail when I tried it a few years ago and I don't really care for the Google reader. I guess I see the utility if you subscribe to like a million blogs but, for me, it is easier to bookmark the three or four I frequent. I am also having trouble loading "stuff". It is just a difficult to navigate system for me. Maybe I'll get used to it.

23 Things Number 4

Here is my Flickr mashup. I decided to do the David Hockney mashup. Pretty cool, actually.

23 Things Number 3

I finally added some photos to my Flickr account, all library related because that's what I have access to here at work. Flickr, like blogging, is suprisingly fun except that it makes me want to be a better photographer. I can see how this type of photosharing is useful for families and freinds trying to keep in touch. I do question its place in the library, though. How likely are users to log on the library's Flickr page? Can a library be that interesting to outside observers? And to use Flickr you need a digital camera and a jump drive so are low income users really going to use it at the library? They are the only users not likely to have home computers, right? Or am I missing something?

23 Things Numbers 1& 2

Since I was not sure if my any of my blog entries actually correlated to the 23 Things, I have decided to begin anew and label them properly. Clearly, I have been blogging for a while and I actually rather like it. I don't think I have much of an audience so it's kind of like talking to myself online but oh well. I took the oppurtunity to reread some of the Thing Number 2 articles in order to write this post. I, too, am a bit skeptical of "Library 2.0". The whole thing does seem the teensiest bit kitschy. However, I think that Mr. Blyberg is correct when he says that the advent of the Web and Google has quintessentially changed the nature of what we do and, if we are to survive and prosper, we must find ways to navigate this post-Google world. I question whether Library 2.0 is practical enough in it current incarnation but do believe that the basic, underlying concept is an important one.

Hello Yoga Students

Hi guys. To any of my yoga students who were reading this blog, I wanted you all to know that I have moved the yoga related content to a different blog. You can find it at www.trailingtathagata.blogspot.com. It just got too confusing for my tiny brain to have my 23 Things (library) stuff and my personal stuff (gotta love the uber specific "stuff") all in one place. Thus, if anyone would like to drop me a line about my yoga/Buddhism/loosely related content, please do it there. Maybe we could actually talk...and stuff.