Thing 14. LibraryThing

Sort of fun. Had a little problem establishing tags, but no doubt that would be easier with a bit more practice. Also liked the "Shared" feature, but found it a little depressing that apparently no one had heard about two of my choices. Who knows, perhaps someone might click in and give them a read. Anyway, as per instructions. you can see the two orphan book titles at:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/JimRentz

Actually was reasonably impressed with this ones capabilities

Thing 13. Online Productivity Tools

Calendar: Useful if you have a group working together either without calendar funtions in their internal email (ie GroupWise at RPL) or whose calendar functions do not communicate very well, if at all.

To Do Lists: Could be useful if you are all wired in. I always found a PDA quite useful but the synching capability could be a hassle at time. If a site such as Remember the Milk delivers, it could be quite effective since it would be accessible from numerous sources.

Backpack: Actually went to that to look at the calendar function first. See comments above for overall reaction.

Also tried the pdf converter with some success. However, the resulting product was less than inspiring.

Another paper mill bites the pulp

Thing 12. Do You Digg?

Afraid not. I will confess to only taking the "quick" tour so undoubtably did not get the full effect. Tried a search on Digg and came up with a very eclectic mix of things but did not really feel like going through all 217 pages (ca. 15 entries/page) and then try to read all the comments.

Have never voted on American Idol

Thing 11. Tagging and Del.icio.us

Watched the podcast. Did not try any tagging on Delicious. I could see how it might be useful for a specific project if you have the time to do the due diligence regarding the "middle ground" (I think that was the term). There does seem to be a bit of a privacy concern here, but if you are not worried about that I guess that's a non issue.

On a side note: as a cataloger, the idea of free form subject headings rather sends shivers up my spine. However, if it works for the del.icio.us user, that's the main thing.

Not recommended for a dial up user

Thing 10. Wikis

Tried adding something to the 23 Things Wiki. Not sure it is save or not, but will try to remember to check later.

Just in general, I have found the RPL Wiki to be pretty useful. Have used it several times for getting information easily while on the Reference Desk. Am also sure that there is more on it that would be more convenient to find than through other methods.

Woo-hoo, the second useful tool!

Thing 9. Online Collaboration Tools

It's been quite some time so not sure how this is going to turn out.

Had a bit of difficulty with this to start since it appears that you need to be invited to collaborate. Email was sent and am waiting on a reply.

Otherwise, it looks like a fairly useful tool as long as some quality control is established. I assume you could use this for widespread individuals to work up a single/final draft of a document. As long as the changes would be tracked as to authorship, I would imagine that a consensus could be eventually reached.

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Thing 7. Web 2.0 Communication Tools

Took a quick look at the various com tls (is that texting, IM, or neither?). Email, of course, is pretty old stuff. Extremely useful when used judiciously but a real pain in the bums when getting deluged. The various other methods (ie IM, texting, etc.) no doubt have their uses and appeal in certain circumstances, but [luddite time] I can think of a couple objections (at least)
1. Rather much like having to learn numerous foreign languages to no real effect (assuming the something like IM is not the only method of communication available)
2. Increased the number of areas a librarian would need to be hooked up to all the time.
3. Just reinforces that increasing "need" to have it all yesterday.
Anyway, on a practical level, I can see the point of having these "services" available at the library with enough training, specifically allocated staff/staff time, appropriate disclaimers regarding patron expectations.

Lets give smoke signals a try again.

Thing 5: More Flickr Fun

Very intriguing and could become addictive quite quickly. The mashups, particularly the ones with video/audio capabilities were worth the look, but, once again, looked like a full time job if you wanted to start using them in your library (at least at first). Tried one of the simpler features and I hope to be able to figure out how to get it on my blog somewhere.
[Try Medieval GPS]

Apologies to Albrecht

Thing 4: Photosharing with Flickr

Sort of fun to play around with on a dreary afternoon. Did like the Clemens/Alcuin presentation but imagine it must be a bear to maintain/update considering the touchiness I encountered in trying to put the picture up. Might be a nice way to supplement the travel collection, but the hind end view of the rousing Twister game was a bit much.





Anyway, it's 1 and a beautiful sunny day - I'm out of here

Thing 3: Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds

This was a fairly straight forward one as long as we did not have to use the specified aggregator software. I had been using a freeware RSS aggregator called SharpReader for some time. It has been handy in that you are not getting constantly deluged with information until you click your "Refresh" button and get all the new posts/files/etc. It was very helpful in doing in 1,000's of writers and performing artists (don't worry, this was just part of LC's new policy to add death dates to Name Authority records).

A downside is that while it is nice to control the flow of incoming information to a degree, it is a bit disconcerting to see dozens, or more, new posts coming in all at once. Also, it is often duplicate information already received from other sources.

However, the delete button if readily available.

Thing 2: What Is Library 2.0?

Well, after trying the links listed, and coming up blank as often as not, I'm still not real sure what Library 2.0 is. I'll assume it is essentially an up-to-date version of the post card, conference call and newspaper advertisement (among other things). I think the impact of technology is fairly obvious and will, no doubt, be expanding in the near, and far, future. While libraries may be wise to try to ride this wave, assuming they can get the resources and have the time, I keep thinking the road we have been going along is littered with discarded great ideas.

A quick question(s) is:
Do we know what brings someone to a blog? What keeps them coming back?

Another thought:
Does anyone remember the sinking feeling in the stomach when the slide projector emerged from the closet?

Thing 1: Set Up Your Blog

Despite an underwhelming enthusiam for thing 1, I think it is started. The blog itself was not too difficult, after getting quite frustrated with Google (almost enough to switch to Firefox [or is it Foxfire?]. The avatar, on the other hand, was a real pain. Ignoring the advice to read the instructions, I made numerous attempts to use a picture I had scanned - not a good idea. Thanks to a fellow department worker, I did find the instructions. Following these proved to work but also be close to as high-blood pressure creation as my first attempt. Yahoo Avatars website was extremely slow and sporatic as far as displaying the extremely numerous options. I eventually gave up and tried at home on my antiquated dial-up. Success at last!

[Only problem was there was not an option for a cigar]

Opening remarks

I really have no idea what is likely to happen at this point. Generally, having Luddite proclivities with regard to Web2, I am not real sure where to go with this. However, the fates have made my decision so:
Let the journey begin!