Thing 23

Wow.. I've reached the end of my '23 things' journey - what an amazing trip! :o) Thanks Jason for the wonderful program you put together for us. It was defintely worth the effort...

Now to the 'nitty grittty' of what I thought about the technologies... I will group them in to two categories - what I will continue to use personally and what is useful for the library & librarians to use professionally.

Personally - I love......
Blogger - might create my own personal blog in the future...
iGoogle
Google tools - maps, earth, sky, docs
RSS feeds - library & personal interest info
YouTube
Browser extensions
Image generators & Flickr


Professionally - It would be beneficial to use the following:
Library blog/s - Liaison areas and general promotional activities
Library wiki/s - for Subject links or LINs
Library podcasts/vodcasts - then add vodcasts to YouTube?
Delicious - organising bookmarks across campuses
Image generators for blog / wiki - to make it interesting and fun!
YouTube - use videos for classes?
RSS feeds - to use on online subject resource guide - i.e: updates of articles/information in databases on related subjects.
Flickr - to add promotional photos of library

In concluding this post, I would like to say that I really enjoyed the format of this training program. The fact that we could play around with different technologies at our own pace was a rewarding experience. I don't know how many times in the past I've bothered a colleague to help me with this type of stuff - now I can do it all by myself!! Yeah! Infact, if another program (similar to this) was developed I'd give it a go!! :o)

Over and out...... 5,4,3,2,1 Blast off!

Thing 22

Essentially, Library 2.0 to me is about making use of modern tools (i.e Web 2.0 technologies) to provide current, timely and accurate information to our clientele. It's also about constantly reviewing our skills and researching for new technologies to best meet the information needs of our clients. I believe librarians have always put the needs of their clients first, but I think technology allows for more interaction and feedback between both the client and information specialist.

I think 'Library 2.0' is just a snazzy term for meeting the information needs of our clientele in the modern era using various online technologies..... That's why it's important to get involved in professional development activities such as this one!!! :o)

Thing 21

iGoogle - I believe it's a wonderful portal which brings all my google tools together such as YouTube, Blogger, Maps, Docs & Reader. I only have to log in once and hey presto - it's all there in front of me! :o) I've also added the local time, weather, a currency converter and both Wikipedia and eBay search boxes to personalise it for me. The theme I have chosen for my account is 'Solar System' by Google. Here it is:



I'm definelty going to use this tool from now on!

Things 18, 19 & 20

You just gotta love Google…. :o)

Google maps – I’ve been using Google maps for some time now… It's a great navigation tool… I think our organisation should jump on board with this service and add some details/photos about our campuses to it! I must say, Google Earth and Google Sky are fantastic products too!

Google docs – What a clever program… I created a test document and spreadsheet to obtain greater understanding of its value. Now that I’m aware of this product, I’m sure I will use it a lot more in the future.. As for the competition between Google and Microsoft – I think it’s great! As they continue to ‘up the ante’ and create superior products we win out, don’t we?

Google Book Search - I like the fact you can peruse so many books but I can understand authors concerns over possible copyright infringements. I don't know if I will use it very often....

Thing 17

Hmmmm.... Social networking sites - been there, done that... Personally, I don't like them but for professional use - the library could take advantage of these tools to provide services and information to the 15-19 yr old demographic.

Thing 16

I just cannot get enough of YouTube... I love it - especially for retro ads and music! Eventhough there is a lot of questionable stuff on YouTube, there is also plenty of great footage too. Here is a clip that I found interesting.... It's called 'NASA - IBEX : Exploring The Edge Of Our Solar System'. Added: June 06, 2008 by NASAexplorer.



I think our library could use YouTube for library promotions, Information Literacy sessions and more...

Thing 15

I just love Flickr.... you can spend hours on this site going through photos.....

Here's a link to a photo that I think is great.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelastname/323005921/

It's called 'Star trails' and it was uploaded by 'thelastname' on December 15, 2006. It was taken in Western Victoria, Australia.

I think our library could use Flickr to post promotional photos of our campus libraries and services.

Things 13 & 14

Greetings earthlings…

On my '23 things' journey again… after a short pit stop to refuel the mind and shuttle! While Delicious was an interesting place to explore, I only had a short stay in Technorati land.

I think Delicious is a great bookmarking service that can be used to share bookmarks with my liaison buddies across campuses.

As for Technorati, it's a valuable tool if you want your blog to be seriously ‘out there’… It could be useful if we decide to have a library blog!

Over and out…