Well it's the end of the road, folks. I've enjoyed parts of this course more than others, which is not surprising I guess. It was kind of hard to get started, and as a part time worker it has been difficult to get it all completed in the allotted time at work. I found myself spending more time than was originally suggested to get through the course. Obviously some modules took alot longer than others to get through, and some of the technologies appealed to me more than others did.
I did have previous hands on experience with some of these things, such as Facebook, and others I had dabbled in, like Youtube. I had never blogged, never been on Twitter, and some things like Library Thing, I had never heard of at all. So it was a learning experience for me, and I would say I am more aware now of some of the wide range of Web 2.0 technologies that are out there waiting for us. Certainly I felt some were more appealing to me than others, but they all obviously had merit in one way or another.
Actually I'm not sure that you can make a profit from Geocaching, but I do know people who have done it and tell me it can be alot of fun. I am an SES volunteer, and I must say our training searches using GPS can be a bit hit and miss, so it would be interesting to see how hard it would be to fnd the 'Cache. Looking around on the Geocaching Australia site it seems to be a very popular activity. Some caches have puzzles to solve before you get the details, and other just give the co-ordinates.
I can't see Geocaching being used at our library anytime soon (funding & staffing), but I could imagine it would be possible to make use of it. For example you could have a Local History heritage trail using Geocaching to lead you from one point of interest to the next.
Hopkinton Library Puzzler requires you to use the library to solve the puzzle which will give you the Geocache co-ordinates. Clever!
I think Podcasts can be a great tool, but like much of the resources available on the internet, you need a pretty good connection to take advantage of it. Since my home connection could best be described as "dodgy" (sorry Virgin Broadband, but you know it's true) I have never really got into Podcasts at all.
I had a look around on the Library Success Wiki and didn't find much Australian content on there at all. I looked at Lincoln City Libraries, and they have a program called 'Casting About which are satff book reviews done as an interview and presented as an audio file. That seemed to be a pretty good idea to me, assuming your staff are happy to do it.
The library could use Podcasting to present book reviews, it could also record talks and events that occur here and make them available. Podcasting could be used for staff training, and also to "spread the word" from the CEO or other management.
I had a look around the web for some Podcasts that I might like to listen/sunscribe to. Lonely Planet the travel company do Podcasts on various travel topics that are quite interesting. The ABC website http://www.abc.net.au/services/podcasting/ has heaps of current information, and would be a great way to keep up with current affairs and topics you might otherwise miss.
You Tube is very popular here at the library. Many patrons spend time every day on the free internet terminals watching YouTube videos (Facebooking is popular also). I enjoy YouTube also, it is a huge collection of videos, with a massive variety, educational, informative, hilarious - you name it.
YouTube could be used here at the library to provide educational videos/slideshows, for instance on how the self check unit works. It could also possibly be used to post video of library events (with patron consent of course) such as the annual senior's trip. I found a great library video, which I think many public library staff will relate to.
I also had to put in a video simply because I really like it. This is what Wikipedia said about the Budweiser Clydesdales Superbowl ads.
Television advertising featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales had been a longstanding Super Bowl tradition. However, in 2010, the new parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced that there would not be a Clydesdales ad aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. However, the company reversed its position after asking fans to vote on Facebook whether to include the horses in an ad, compared against two other potential spots. As a result, the company aired a Clydesdale-focused ad during the fourth quarter,[7] one of nine ads aired by the company during the game.[8]
The power of the internet!
Their ads are great if you have a soft spot for Clydesdales (which I do)!
Of course I'd heard about Twitter in the news, usually with celebrities telling people what they had for breakfast, and I always thought "what a load of cr*p, and why would anyone care?" So now I have my own Twitter account @lisajs68 and so far I am unconvinced. I'm trying to find some interesting people to follow, so I can get the feeling of why Twitter could be a good thing. So far I'm seeing alot of links to follow, some are interesting, some not so much. More to follow......
I've had a bit of a conversation on there, and retweeted something, and I think maybe I'm starting to see how it works. The information seems to move very quickly, so it seems best suited for people who will be connected all the time. That's not really me at the moment, but I can see how some people would love it. As a tool for work, Cockburn Library are on twitter and show how it can be used to send out quick messages about upcoming events, new resources, current affairs etc. Certainly it could be of use to a portion of the clientele, as another means of keeping people informed.
I have a personal Facebook account, but I am not massively active on it, although I tend to at least log in everyday. It is a easy way of keeping in touch with people in a broad kind of a way, and also can be fun with people posting links, pictures etc. I recently went to a High School reunion that was organised mostly via Facebook, and it was a great way to get in touch with a lot of people.
In a work context Facebook can be used to keep patrons up to date with functions and changes at the library. Ellenbrook Library have a Facebook page that seems to be fairly well used, and kept well up to date. The important thing would be for staff to have a commitment to keeping the page up to date and relevant, and also promoting it to the customers.
Well, what an easy way to pass (waste?) some time. The temptation is strong to JUST KEEP ADDING BOOKS. It's so satisfying to seem them all listed there with the cover pages and all. I have an urge to wander around my house with my laptop, and add in all the books I can find, just to see them all listed nicely! My Library Thing page is here if you would like to take a look. I am planning to add a Library Thing widget to the blog, but so far I'm not having much luck. I followed the instructions (well, I tried to) but no joy, so I'll try asking someone for help next. So time will tell whether a widget will appear on here or not!
I really like the way you can click through to see who else has the same books, then see what else they have, and just keep going and going. A couple of quick clicks took me to the virtual libraries of people in Edmonton, Canada and in Johannesburg, South Africa, who share at least some of my literary tastes. Exploring other peoples libraries is interesting, and usually ends up with me seeing titles I think I'd like to track down and read myself.
I quite enjoyed playing with Delicious.I made my own Delicious account here. I added a few varied bookmarks, added some users to my network, and just played around a little. It seemed to be a good way of finding different websites relevant to my interests.
I can see that it could be quite a good way of sharing good websites with friends, colleagues, whatever. As long as you know someone's user name you can see their bookmarks, and therefore access their favourite websites. This could be fun in a social sense, letting you link in to websites your friends and family find interesting. Obviously if you have interests in common with people, then you might also value those websites.
In a work sense it could also be quite useful. As long as you know the user names, you can see which websites your colleagues are finding useful, or there could be a work account that allows access to vital web addresses from any computer. It can be a real pain when you move between different terminals and so cannot access all your own favourites.
Well, I had a week off last week, not doing anything in particular, just hanging out. However my real estate guy found me a house, so I did a couple of visits, put in an offer, and had it accepted !! So the furkids and I won't be living in the Commodore after all! Our new house has a new kitchen, the entire stove works, and I'm fairly sure there are no King's skinks living in the roof space, under the floor, and occasionally (and unfortunately) in the house.
If you have never seen a King's skink then have a look here. Alternatively you could go to Penguin Island, as they have a healthy population in the picnic area there. Whether the Penguin Island population is as healthy as the Carmel one - who knows?
I didn't even bother looking at the Twilight Wiki, but did waste a bit of time wandering around in the Wookiepedia - what a great name.
Antioch University's Staff Training and Support Wiki is very good I thought. The Front Desk Training and Policy Pages are full of detailed, useful information, everything from working the telephone system to watering the potplants. It seemed that information was easy to find, something that is not always true of the policies and procedures at my workplace. Of course the ease of use depends on someone having ultimate control of the wiki to ensure the information is correct and up to date.
The Montana History Wiki had alot of links to information held elsewhere. It seemed to help people locate and access information rather than actually holding the information on the wiki site. No point in re-inventing the wheel.
I could imagine that we could use wikis here at the library to allow access to policies and procedures, also to discuss upcoming events such as the Seniors Trip without a million phone calls/emails between the staff involved. However any Wiki would need to be well controlled to prevent it degenerating into a confusing maze of pages, threads etc with no order to them. I have just added some comments to the WA Public Libraries Web 2.0 Basics Home wiki, and I must say it seems to be a fairly random assortment of comments and pages. It is just a training page to show the basics of how to edit a wiki, but it already shows how disorganised a wiki could become without adequate supervision.
I got home on Sunday and found a baby bird fluttering around the paving outside my house. Luckily for the bird I spotted it BEFORE I let the dogs out, otherwise I'm pretty sure it would have made a tiny, crunchy mouthful for killer dog Rolli. So I carefully catch and hold the baby bird, find a shoe box and pop it in, then get organised for another trip to Kanyana.
The carer at Kanyana thought it was a baby brown honeyeater, and definately too small to be out on it's own. While I was there I asked about the bobtail I had taken in the Sunday before (I hadn't rung up because I expected bad news). I was pleasantly surprised to hear that X-rays had revealed one broken rib, no skull fractures, he has put on some weight and his prognosis is good. So Yay for the bobtail!
Bobtail is the common name for Tiliqua rugosa, also know as the shingleback. For information and photographs click here.
Kanyana is a wonderful facility, and I'm hoping to not have to go there for quite a while.
So, my house is sold, just have to wait (and hope) for settlement to go through without a hitch. that's due to happen in February while I'm on holidays, which will make it interesting in terms of moving. My next task is to find a new house which a) I can afford, and b) I want to live in! Luckily I have a little time up my sleeve.
Rolli dog has had an interesting couple of weeks. we had the French Bulldog Awareness Group Picnic in the Park recently. Rolli & Kasha are pretty much the elder statesmen in the group, but they don't really look or act it! it was nice to see all the dogs & humans enjoying the outing. Rolli has also had a one inch long grass seed removed from his ear. He got the good drugs for that one, so it all went well and he is fine now. I can't say the same for the latest bobtail victim, which was amazingly still alive when I managed to get Rolli to drop it. I delivered it to Kanyana Wildlife hospital with crossed fingers and a donation. They do great things there, and the new facility is wonderful.
Well it's been a busy ten days or so! My work has been painted, we've moved loads of shelves & books around & it's looking really good now. We just need the carpets replaced to finish off the new look. Hopefully we will now settle back to normal, and get some more of this Web 2.0 course done!
My house is sold - 3 private inspections & 1 home open. I'm amazed it went so fast, and so is the real estate agent I think. I'm glad, I was getting bored of the whole thing already, tidying up, removing the dogs etc etc. Kasha of course will miss the visits by the real estate agent, who joined her fan club very quickly, as most people do. All she has to do is roll over in front of someone, and they become putty in her paws!
The dogs had a visit this evening from their Uncle Phil, otherwise known as the local mobile vet. He has known them both all their lives, and they are always pleased to see him. A needle in the scruff of the neck is easily offset by the petting & treats! I'm glad to report that they are both in good health, and doing very well.
My house is now on the market. There is a For Sale sign at the bottom of my driveway - cunningly placed so as to avoid anyone else reversing into the ditch (it didn't take very long to get the Real Estate agents car out). I'll be having my first home open this Sunday, which has led to a flurry of cleaning windows, vacuuming up precious piles of French Bulldog fur etc etc
The agent rang on Tuesday afternoon, he had some people who wanted a look around the property. It was short notice, but I said "OK, I'm home at the moment, it'll be fine." Of course after wandering around the block, they had to come inside the house, which meant I had to corral the dogs, as they are very enthusiastic about visitors. Unfortunately Rolli believes having his harness on = going out, but it was too hot for walking*. So we stood in the shade near the fishpond and waited, and Rolli bounced up & down on the spot, and screeched weird, banshee like screeches, so we all knew he was NOT PLEASED! Luckily it didn't take too long for the inspection, as Rolli is an old dog, and he needed a little lie down after all that excitement.
* The charming flat face of the French Bulldog means that they can overheat very easily, so we have to be very careful in warm weather. Too hot for walking is not really hot at all.
So the task this week was to explore the world of RSS feeds. What a good way of filling in time, searching for websites that are interesting and that I want to subscribe to. Really, I could have spent all day poking about on the net, hopping in and out of sites, searching for various topics.
I subscribed to a variety of sites, ones that appealed to me for different reasons.
I have a couple of library related sites there (I find Unshelved to be very true to life!), Andrew and Alan's site is by a friend of mine travelling by Harley Davidson around most of Australia. FBRNetwork is an American French Bulldog rescue site, it's great to read the stories of happy endings for maltreated dogs. Geekologie looks interesting and quirky, and should be fun to follow. I dream of an African trip one day, so that one is fairly obvious. Finally, the Powerhouse Museum Photo of the Day project looks really interesting also.
The Libraries Interact site has a list of Aussie Library Blogs, some of which are informative, some are fun and quirky, and some are really out of date! I'm not really sure how RSS feeds could be used in the library, although I'm sure the tech-heads among us could come up with something. Perhaps a blog for staff to share ideas/news etc without sending emails. Maybe a site for customers to sunscribe to, with news of upcoming events and changes, new books etc. It is an area for growth, that's for sure.
It's quite common for customers at the library to ask about a book they had read previously by describing the size and colour. This picture shows how beautiful it would be if we did, in fact, shelve by size and colour!
I also think a library pug could be good for morale!
This blog is part of a training course at work called Learning 2.0 Basics. The first task was to create a blog, supposedly to discuss our experience of the course. I felt completely lacking in enthusiasm for that, but finally decided I could discuss my dogs, and maybe work my way up!
So I have created a blog, made a couple of entries, and added a couple of pictures. That took a while to sort out, but I got them there in the end.
Mind you, Kasha would prefer me to PUT DOWN THE LAPTOP, and pet her some more.
This is Rolli. He is 12 years old now - doesn't the time fly? Seems like only yesterday he was chewing everything in sight on the car journey home from his breeder. He enjoys food, walks, sleeping, and chewing things up. Unfortunately he also enjoys killing innocent creatures, such as bobtail lizards. Although he is old, he is still faster than they are. He is a geriatric serial killer.
KASHA
This is Kasha. She is 10 years old, the baby of the family. The day after I brought her home we flew to Hobart. She was tiny, and I think she slept all the way.
Kasha believes everybody is a new best friend, including the vet.
She enjoys eating, playing soccer with her tennis ball and sleeping on my lap while I watch TV.
