Week 7: #17 About Technology

What do I think about technology? In the library, I regard it in a strictly utilitarian way; that is, what can it do to help me deliver the information the customer needs in a way that is meaningful to them? I do not hold the idea of technology sacred. It is only as useful as it is useful. I do not use technology for the sake of using technology. I liken it to driving: I like that the car gets me there but I am not a mechanic.

Although technology is wonderful and can be useful, we must remember we have customers who are unable to afford the devices that would allow them access to some of our services: home oomputers on which to avail themselves of services such as live reference; portable digital devices that would allow them to download music or books; cd players that would allow them to listen to audiobooks or music.

In the Deep Heart's Core said that the foundation of librarianship will remain --"the desire to connect the customer with the information requested in the best and most reliable fashion." Sometimes the best delivery is augmented by technology and sometimes it depends on lower tech solutions. In reaching to advance our profession, let's not leave out those who do not have access to technology's latest tools.

Week 7: #16

Regarding wikis, I liked Library Success and added it to my Delicious account. It had some helpful information. I would use wikis if I trusted the source or if I were looking more for editorial content rather than factual information. Having said that, I will admit I have used Wikipedia on occasion.

I think customers could use wikis here at the library to offer advice to each other about homework assignments or how to find particular information needed by specific community groups, such as the historical society or local genealogists.

Week 6: #15

What Library 2.0 is to me: I see libraries and librarians on a developmental continuum that has continued through the ages and will continue into the future. The Library 2.0 concept seems to be the current "it" idea.

I read and enjoyed many of the linked sites. My favorite was Dr. Wendy Schultz' vision of the library's growth into the future and, in this day of merchandizing everything, I liked her vision of the library of the future as "retreat from technohustle."

Week 6: #14

This exercise was done on Technorati. The first part was doing a search using the keywords "Learning 2.0." I noted that my favorite way to search was by using the Blog Directory. I think the user interface is much more attractive than the results of either the advanced search or the tags search. It was also fairly easy to pick out the interesting library-related blogs from the directory.

The second part, viewing the popular searches, was eye-opening. It is astounding to me what some people find interesting. The most curious popular item was "bikini." I had to find out why so many people were searching it. Even more interesting was looking at names of the related tags. This suggested a certain demographic of viewer.

Week 6: #13

Tagging on Delicious

Delicious is a handy tool for keeping up with interesting sites. I use it when I come across something interesting I want to revisit. I haven't explored the inbox feature yet. I will explore it more as I have available time.

Week 5: #12

I tried Library Elf and was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it simple to set up, but I really like the way my due dates and holds are arranged; it is formatted in a similar fashion to the calendar I use regularly. It helps me better conceptualize what to return next and also what holds I have to look forward to first.

Great idea!

Week 5: #11

LibraryThing is interesting. It has many features I will enjoy exploring.

Week 5: #10

The image generator in Yahoo was sorta fun. It was interesting to try on an altar ego and see all the embellishments you can add. I'm not sure how or where my avatar appears in Yahoo, though.

Week 4: Post 9

This blog finding is addictive. I tried Syndic8; don't like it. Feedster -- not. Topix - not of interest. Technorati -- yes, this one is great. I used quotes around my search terms to get the best results. Then I tried a Google search using my search term plus the word "blogs." I got numerous returns. I'll try some of the other search engines later.

Week 4: Post 8

This exercise was an eye-opener for me. I enjoy using Bloglines more than Flickr; I much prefer reading to viewing photographs.

Too many feeds, too little time. What can a readaholic say?

Week3: Post 7

Here is my edited picture:

I used pixer's saturation feature to improve the tones in this picture.

Week 3: Post 6

I chose colorpicker to explore because I enjoy color. The most helpful use I found of this mashup was its links to sites such as Better Homes and Gardens.

Week 3: Post 5

book thirteen moons, originally uploaded by almck20.

Week #3, post #5

Here is a photo uploaded from Blogger.