Thing 23: The End

Well, I am finally done and I must say that I had a grrrreat time learning all of the new things and brushing up on my knowledge of things that I already use. I think that this was a most wonderful experience and I would love to do it again and learn about more of the things that the internet has to offer. I know that new things come about everyday and I will try to keep up on what the new trends may be and what our patrons are most interested in. I know that at our library, we are trying to see what the patrons want and get more knowledge so that we in turn, can teach classes or help them out with any questions that we may have.
I had a patron tell me yesterday that its only a matter of time before libraries don't exist anymore. I simply answered him by saying that libraries will always be here, they just may look different and offer different services. I think that libraries are an integral part of a society, we house information and technology that people use in their everyday lives. We are a meeting place, a place to learn, and a place to discover. We, as librarians, must also learn and discover and I think that the 23 things exercise has been a great way to open our minds to new things and to give us the momentum to go out and discover new things that are unfamiliar to us. 23 things gave us the encouragement to try and just play around. Thumbs up!

Thing 22: What did I learn today?

I learned many new and fun things through 23 things. I really plan to continue using Facebook, LibraryThing, the calender features, and the list reminders. I think that all of these will really come in handy in the future and make life just a little bit easier. Especially for planning my wedding which will be quite the feat. I am not sure how much I will blog but I will try to keep it going.
I am also very much looking forward to going back to school (eventually) and using all of the research tools that I learned about. I think that del.i.ico.us and the databases will offer tons of support and information to ease the writing and research of graduate school.
I am glad to have learned about all these different things and eventhough I may not use all of them in my daily life, I think that it is good to know about them and to keep up with what the library patrons are into and use in their daily lives.

Thing 21: Other Social Networks

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Before doing this thing, I was only a member of Facebook but while doing this, I became a member of Playlist. I thought that it was quite neat, although I didn't really pick anything for my playlist that I didn't already have on another playlist on my ipod. I thought that it was pretty cool that you could listen to the music before you created a playlist and that you could browse other people's playlists and know what the most popular music being put on the playlists were.
I wasn't much of a fan of Gather, Web Junction or Ning. I think that this may be because I am so used to the features of Facebook and previously, MySpace that I found it a bit difficult to navigate around these sites.
I looked around on the What's on my Bookshelf and Fuzzster and they seemed like pretty decent sites and interesting ways for people to connect. I don't think that I will ever use them because I don't spend much time on the internet. I think that for now, I will just stick to what I currently use and see if there is need in the future.
I don't know how most of these sites would benefit the library (other than of course Web Junction) but I do see how they are useful to be have some knowledge about them to help our customers and to better understand what they use and are looking for in their library.

Thing 20: Facebook

I chose to do the Facebook application on this thing. Although I have had both a MySpace and a Facebook in the past. I now only have the Facebook account. I closed my MySpace account almost two years ago. It was getting to be something that I did not what to be associated with and I canceled it. I think that people these days are getting a more negative attitude towards MySpace. It is perceived as more of something for teenagers not for adults.
I started on Facebook when I was in college when it was only open to college students. I didn't mind that they made it open to everyone but I must admit that it took a little bit of the appeal out of it. Personally, I mainly use the network to get back in touch with friends from high school and college that I have not seen in a long time. After reading some of the articles on Facebook provided in the 23 things blog, I changed my site a bit. I am not sure if any employer has searched my site but I never had anything on there to worry about. But that is not to say that an employer in the future would not look at my site. I cleaned it up a bit and got rid of unused and unwanted items. I could see the potential for an employer to search for someone on one of these social networking sites, they give more of an inside as to a person's personal life. You should only put out there what you wouldn't mind anyone (friends, employers, parents, etc.) taking a look at.
That aside, I am all for these networking systems, I can definitely see why Facebook is becoming the fastest growing of these networks. I have convinced 2 people to join just to use the Scrabulous application feature on Facebook. I think that Facebook deserves any grow that it may get, it is a great resource.

Thing 19: Podcasts

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/tools/podcasts/grammar_grater.xml

I found this podcast on the Minnesota Public Radio website and I think that everyone should take a listen to it. It gave very thorough and interesting information while being extremely entertaining.
The directory of podcasts on the MPR website was very easy to navigate. With descriptions that were straight to the point yet still tantalizing, it was not hard to find a podcast that piqued my interest.
When I first got my ipod a few years ago, I was a subscriber to a few podcasts but over time I have not really kept up with them. Doing this thing made me want to subscribe to some new ones especially the Grammar Grater. Podcasts are a good way to learn while doing another activity or just listening. They give you concise and easy to retain information straight into your ear. I like hearing little snippets of information every now and then because you don't always have the time to go into great detail on a topic.
I enjoyed this thing a lot and I plan on doing more with podcasts in the future.

Thing 18: YouTube

Thing 17: ELM Productivity

Almost everyday at the library I use the databases to help customers with their inquiries. I find them to be very useful and wonderful in that information is well organized and readily available. For this thing I chose to do the NetLibrary option. I think that this is a great resource other than the fact that the eaudiobooks cannot be listened to from an ipod. But nonetheless, I have helped customers with other mp3 players get onto this database and they love it. I do like the options of saving it to a favorites and the ability to make a note with the file. A lot of times just flagging the item would not trigger your memory at a later date of where you were in the file and what you were using it for. Also the option of having a shared favorites list or reading list is also a good way to keep in contact for projects or reading groups or basically any situation in which sharing book or audiobook related information would be useful.

Thing 16: Student 2.0

All I have to say is that man, I wish that I had had these tools while I was going to school. I think that these both would have been EXTREMELY helpful tools in keeping things in line and getting projects done on time. Even today, it would be helpful to plan and execute work projects and other things around the library. Both of the programs would also benefit non-profit organizations or group working together to get a project done. With the steps on narrowing your topic and the links and hints to various resources, they give you a nudge in the right direction so you are not lost in what to do next. I really thought that the email prompts in the RPC would be really beneficial in reminding you to keep on track. I also was really impressed with the teacher guide in RPC and thought that those worksheets would have been very helpful. While reading over all of this information, I got the urge to go through the process and research and write a paper just so that I could use all these wonderful resources available. I think that I would be amazed at how easy the process would be if you are organized and aware of the tasks that are ahead.

Thing 15: Games

For this thing, I chose to check out Pirate Puzzle. I must say that this is a great resource to waste time. I got caught up in the games a little bit but it was fun and something I would go back to if I am bored at home. I didn't get much of an opportunity to chat or to interact with other players. I was a little confused as to whether I was communicating with the computer or with actual people. I tried to do somethings but it wouldn't allow me without a subscription. I was able to play some games though and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
I checked out the video for SecondLife and some other videos about it too and I have to say that I am a little disappointed in not being able to put it on my computer and play around with it. I have seen somethings on it briefly before but I was not aware of the libraries and overall depth of information found on it. I thought that one of the most interesting things is the ability to engage in Harvard classes and have discussions on various topics. I think that this is a great tool and can definitely see the appeal. I have played the SIMs before and from what I have seen, SecondLife is somewhat similar only more interactive. I have heard of people becoming addicted to the game but just like everything else in life, it is a great time when done in moderation. I might try to get it on my computer at home to see what all the hype is about.
I have some experience with other MMOPRGs. My boyfriend is a big fan and player of World of Warcraft. Firsthand, I see the appeal of being connected and playing an interactive game with people from all over the globe and from every age group. As a librarian, I think that it is important to be informed and aware of what interests patrons and what they would like out of their library. I found this thing to be educational and very interesting.

Thing 14: LibraryThing

I absolutely loved this thing. In fact I heard about it from others here at the library and I jumpstarted a bit on making an account. I think that this is an absolutely fabulous tool. Not only does it alphabetize all of your books (which saves a lot of time!) it also allows you to look at others libraries. It is very interesting to see what other books someone with similar books to my own also has. It broadens your horizon and makes you think of books or reads that you normally would not. Its also a very good tool to keep track of books that you borrow out to others or to see your friend's books and see which ones you would like to borrow of theirs.
In the library setting, it would be beneficial for the patrons to see what their local librarians are reading or own. It could be a good stepping point for any recommendations. Not only that but it allows the patrons to get to know their local librarian a bit and perhaps make the library a bit more inviting of a place.
For smaller libraries, all of the collections can be recorded and posted onto Library Thing, Its nice to see the covers and gives a little bit more information on the books than the catalog. In a way, it makes the catalog more user friendly, offering recommendations to similar books or authors.
I also added the Library Thing search tool onto my blog. This is a very very cool feature.
Some drawbacks of LibraryThing is the limitation to 200 books in the free account. As a booklover, I have well over this and I hate to have to pick and choose which books to include or to pay the fees for the unlimited account. Which brings me to another drawback, having a lot of books, it takes a lot of time to register them all in the tool. I guess that just comes with the territory and really isn't that bad. Another thing, I am not sure if I was just unable to find the place to do this, but I was able to organize my nonfiction collection by the dewey decimal system. I was really hoping that it automatically did this when you registered the book but perhaps I will just have to play around with it a bit more. That won't be too difficult.
Overall, I loved loved loved this thing and I definitely plan on using it a lot in the future!!
Hooray for organization!!

Thing 13: Productivity

I chose to use the iGoogle start page because I am most familiar with the Google name and I already had an account with them. Since I have used other products by Google, it was easier for me to navigate my way around the site. I got pretty excited creating my start page at work and was looking forward to going home to put it on my personal computer. I didn't get a chance to last night but definitely tonight. I think that it was very informative and easy to get the information that I am interested in without actually typing in a site or searching the internet.
I think that the start pages would be useful for a library, we could have the news readily available. I also looked into the list websites and I think that those would also be useful for the library. A list of tasks or various research questions could easily be found and completed and then checked off the list. The list feature could also be helpful for a reading list or a book club. I tried out the Remember the Milk and I found it to be easy and fresh. There were a lot of clever things that you can do with this application and I can't wait until I can use them in my personal life.
The online calender is already in use at our library and I think that it is a great tool. Here, we record and keep track of the meeting rooms and various groups needing to use them. I think that they would also be helpful for a family to record and color code all events and appointments that are going on. Personally, I kinda wish that I had an online calender type of application when I was in college. It would have been very helpful to keep track of when I had to start certain projects and when things were do. Right now, my schedule isn't too hectic and I can remember everything or I have it written down on a little planner that I keep in my purse. But I think that I will definitely put this application to use when the time comes. Come to think of it, the online calender and the Remember the Milk will come in very handy planning my upcoming wedding set for next summer. I just thought of that and now I am very excited to get home and get using these productivity tools to organize and make everything easier for myself and Kevin.

Thing 12: Do you Digg?

The tools used in this thing were I think a take it or leave it for me. I think that you if you regularly check the news online and go to various different sources to do so, then these are great time saving tools to use. I could also see how they would be of interest for use in a library to get the news that people are interested in and to be on top of the game. Although this is a reflection of what the people are interested in, it is only a reflection of a selection group of people. I think that if you were able to narrow the selections to area or region then it would be more effective. I looked at all the sites and I found all of them (Digg was down and so unable to check this one out) to be a bit confusing and not nearly as clear and concise as the news websites themselves. I see this as a negative and would really hinder my use of these tools. I think that these would be something that I would check out if I had some time to spare and could get lost in the stories that I was reading. I could see it as more of a detractor and less of an enhancer for productivity. As I was perusing the sites, I stumbled upon stories that I normally would not have read or known anything thing about but frankly, these were stories that I really did not need to read. I guess, personally, I get lost in odd stories and things that have really no relevance to anything. I don't think that I would use these tools in the future but they were fun to read and learn about. Although I do wish that I were able to check out Digg but unfortunately it was down while they are trying to make it better. Perhaps I will check it out after the improvements are complete and I will change my mind on these tools.