Summary

Wow !! I can't believe that I was actually able to finish all of these tasks - okay, not in record time, for sure, but finish them I . When we first started out , and I looked at the list of tasks , I gulped and said to myself "Yeah, right". But here we are, and it's over. I think the most important thing that I learned throughout this process was that yes, all of these things that people talk about (like Flickr and Youtube) are things that I (the dinosaur librarian) can use, and yes, even enjoy. The hardest part for me was the frustration that I felt at not knowing little "tricks" or technical things (like creating a live link on my blog) that make things go oh so much more smoothly. But , these , I know, would come with time and more experience. But boy, did I feel smart when it worked !! I think that BPL can use the technology for making more of a presence for oursleves in the electronic world. Web 2.0 is all about "connecting" and isn't that what we all want to do ?? (The "connnecting" part of it all was the most exciting for me - seeing how many other people had read the books that I had read, or had gone to the same websites that I had been to.) People are more likely to find things out using the web than in books or even magazines or newspapers - so we should be there too.

I loved the self-directed learning model - you could work at your own pace (or not !) without anyone watching over your shoulder . But, if you wanted someone to watch over your shoulder, all you had to do was ask !! Very successful model, I think.

Moochos gracias to the LL !!

Facebook

library man
Originally uploaded by janekops

I found this photo on Facebook .... and who says that we , as librarians, can't use Facebook to good advantage ???!

I confess to having joined Facebook a while ago ... at the encouragement of my very cool (and much younger) friend who is in library school. I mean , it had to be a good thing if SHE suggested it, right ?? I joined the OBOB group right away, of course - and the discussion board has been interesting to watch. I've also joined some other groups "Libraries and Librarians" (For libraries, librarians and fans of both ! What's not to like ???) and "FacebookAppsforLibraries" (the name says it all!). I have enjoyed using Facebook - I get to see photos of my friends and sort of keep track of what they do (very "sort of" in the case of my kids). It can be annoying at times when you get invited to join yet another group , or add yet another application. But it's generally been a positive thing. I especially like the BooksiRead application, which is a bit like the Library Thing , although I think the Library Thing will be more useful for readers' advisory. I have used BooksiRead for book suggestions for personal reading, and the social aspect of it is great. (You can see what your friends are reading). So, yes, Facebook is a good thing for us - as long as we don't go overboard !!

My Library

Here's just some my many favorite books http://www.librarything.com/catalog/janekops

Okay, okay - I found this task very frustrating, but mostly because I am SO clueless when it comes to little tricks of the computer trade ! (Oh, and it also helps to have read the directions ... duh !). But, once I realized the capabilities of this "Library Thing" , I was hooked. I can list the books I've read in my "catalog" - and I can also see other books that other people have read (and tagged) that are similar. This would be amazing for readers' advisory work. (This from someone who has yet to use Novelist successfully ... having to rely on my increasingly feeble memory!).

Yes !!! I can use this tool - and will LOVE it . I am starting to add more books to my "catalog"

Tagging

Okay, that was kind of interesting. I added all of the "library" websites that I visit on a regular basis to my Del.icio.us account, and gave them all "tags". It was cool to see just how many other people had already "tagged" these sites (lots of people had tagged the Hennepin County Library website - and no wonder!). The "tagging suggestions" were interesting as well ... kind of like making up your own subject headings (which is usually strictly verboten). This could be very useful if you are looking for other websites that could be of use to you when doing research in any given field - finding out what other places you could look. And I really like the idea of being able to access your "favourites" from any computer. Pretty good fun all round.