20th Thing: The Final Thing

Today is a red letter library day for me! Earlier this afternoon I completed my six month evaluation and my probation period came to an end. And tonight, I am finishing my 20 Things! Woo-hoo!

I feel very satisfied to be at the end of my 20 Things. I must admit, at times it was quite daunting--learning to set up my blog, pasting RSSs, importing pictures with flicker, tagging, and entering the wierd world of second life--all of these were new and sometimes challenging to me. And yet, as I look back over my posts on my blog, I realize that I have really learned a lot about the expanding world of technology.

I enjoyed using Rollyo to find a number of websites pertaining to a single topic. I feel certain that I will visit this site again in the future. The 14th Thing: Web 2.0, was my favorite. It was interesting reading about ways that the library will most likely evolve in the future utilizing greater patron input and technology. I also enjoyed reading about the habits of an effective librarian. The ideas made good sense to me. I plan to be around long enough to get more at ease with the technology so I can be of greater help to the patrons. That is one of the great things about working in the library- one has ample opportunities for stretching the brain and learning new things. And isn't that where the 20 things began--with learning the habits of a lifelong learner? I guess I've come full circle

Recently while watching an episode of 30 Rock, I heard a character mention Wikipedia and I exclaimed, "Hey, I know what that is!" I guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks after all!

19th Thing: Have a Whale of a Time with Podcasts

For this activity, I visited U Tube and entered "library videos." I saw a wonderful video entitled "Welcome Home" presented by the staff and patrons of the Providence Public Library. In it, the library is referred to as a meeting ground for the community where informative programs, activities and resources are available to all. There is a strong emphasis on bilingual services at the Providence Library. I also viewed a funny and entertaining welcoming video for Harper College. Iit was very college-friendly.

I think it would be great if the Pamunkey Library could create a welcome video for the patrons Although it would probably be too costly for each branch to create its own video, an overview video could provide general information on all the branches as well as highlight weekly programs that occur at the branches and special activities that occur periodically at the individual branches. A link could be established on the library home page. I think it would be a fun project!

18th Thing: Web 2.0 Tools Are Like the Energizer Bunny

Wow--what a plethora of sites! I chose to select the tag "E-Learning" and explore two safe, fun kids' activity sites. The first, Kidzon, is a terrific site. It contains lessons in math, science, geography, reading, creative arts and much more for children in preschool through the fifth grade. It also contains free coloring pages, jigsaw puzzles and freebies. It is also a helpful site for parents and teachers as there are literally hundreds of pages of printable worksheets for children. I plan to share it with my Godchild.

I also visited Kidthing. There children can read and hear what other children have to say about our new president, play a Great Nation contration game and even learn about the Read Across America program. They may also order coloring pages of scenes from Dr. Seuss' books. The site contains Read Across America helps for teachers as well.

I am amazed at all the sites that I have never heard about before. The tag feature is very helpful in directing a person to a particular topic of interest.

17th Thing: On the Road Again with Online Productivity Tools

I can see where Google Docs could be extremely helpful if one wishes to share tables, presentations, files, forms and folders online. Using a snowflake template, I created a ficticious MAD (movie and a dinner) invitation for one of our movie night gatherings we hold from time to time with our friends. Were it an actual invitation, I could send it out online to our friends and they could open the invitation and/or save it to their computer for future reference. I also explored the spreadsheet window and the presentation window, both of which would be very helpful to the business sector. Like in Wikipedia, the ability to change words and figures would be very helpful in forwarding up-to-date information to persons involved in a group project.

16th Thing: It's a Wiki, Wiki, Wiki, Wiki World

It was great learning about Wikis. I listened to a podcast by Meredith Farcus, a distance learning librarian at a college in Vermont. She explained that Wikis are wonderful for gathering information from a diverse group of people who may or may not know each other. She stated that Wikis are easy to use and are limited only by the participants' imagination. Unlike a blog, no one person owns the content--it is owned by the community of participants. It is a constant work in progress.

After attending her first ALA conference and feeling totally overwhelmed, Ms. Farcus decided to enter the WIKI world by creating a WIKI about Chicago, the site of the next year's ALA conference. She enjoyed learning about Chicago and it attractions, restaurants, etc. from natives and from librarians who had attended previous trainings in Chicago. The WIKI was hugely popular and very helpful to the attendees.

Looking at the library WIKIs provided in the 16th Thing, I can see how patrons might enjoy giving feedback on books, music, dvds and other resources and services. A WIKI could be helpful in communicating to library stafff working on a library project. It would cut down on emails and the time required to read them. It would also be helpful when updating the policy manual.

I have a feeling that we will be utilizing WIKIs a lot more in the future.

15th Thing: Second Life

Wow--where do I begin? Words fail me. I am trying to keep an open mind about the exciting world of technology but Second Life definitely stretched me far beyond my comfort level. In a word, it makes me sad. Sad that for some people, real life is so pointless and meaningless that they must turn to a computer to create a virtual life rather than finding ways to enrich the life they live in the real world. I watched a virtual life where an incredibly obese man created a second life to hook up with the girl of his dreams. He sings a song about how he really should go out in the real world and meet some friends and maybe go to a show. However, the song ends with his lamenting that when the sun comes up, he will "right back here again." (at his computer) What a waste of a life. How very, very sad.

I can see that there could be some benefit in the business and academic world. As far as for the library, the whole concept is so foreign to me that I cannot conceive of a use for our patrons at present.

14th Thing: Library 2.0

Thisexercise was one of the more interesting for me. I enjoyed reading about the ever-changing library world and the employment of technology to plan and meet patrons needs. In the future, it appears that libraries will look to their increased participation from their patrons in helping to create and utilize a greater variety of services, particularly those found on the web. I love a quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption in which Tim Robbins says, "Geat busy livin' or get busy dyin'." This seems to sum up the attitude of the bloggers whose blogs were posted on the 14th thing. Though change is tough, it seems that libraries must change and adopt technologies that will benefit their patrons in locating and utilizing a variety resources found in the library and beyond. As for this library aide, I hope I am up to the task. I don't plan on dyin' anytime soon!