Face Book

I have created a Face Book account instead of a My Space account. I must say that the only reason I creaded the account was for Learning 2.0. I think these sites such as My Space and Face Book are popular because it lets people stay in touch with ewach other in so many ways. You can see who your friends are talking to. You can see pictures and play the find of music someone likes. They are very social sites. My Face Book account is still in the infancy stages. I will add some more things over the next few weeks.

Social Networking

I work with teens in the library and I think it is high time for a VBPL teen page on My Space. I do thing that VBPL would need someone dedicated to keeping the page up-to-date. I have been to other libraries teen pages that are not kept current and they are a real turn off. Nothing would discourage a teen more then opening up a library My Space account that was last updated 4 months ago. I think that VBPL should have a YA librarian and that person could be in charge of the My space page. My Space would be a great way to connect teens to the library and inform them of all of the cool events that the library has for teens. Think about all the teens that would be excited about the gaming equipment.

Reader's Advisory Wiki

It's done. I have added my entry to the Virginia Beach Public Library's Reader's Advisory wiki. My entry was the title by Eleanor Updale. I found it very easy to add my book to the list. I could see the use of Wiki's in the library for readers advisory and it would be a way for the staff and the public to interact. I could also see the use of Wiki's as a way for interaction on library programs. It could be a way for the patrons to comment on library program and recommend a program they liked to others.

Library Wikis

It was interesting to learn about Wiki's this week. Wiki's seem easy to use and very user friendly. I think that it is great that you can edit from anywhere and you do not need much computer experience to participate in a Wiki. Of the sites that we were asked to explore, I liked the Princeton Library Wiki very much and it appears to be well used by the public. I found a Wiki that listed library blogs called the "Blogging Libraries Wiki" that I have earmarked for future use. I also found several library Wiki's that I did not enjoy - Pierce County Library System and East Bonner County Library. Both of these wikis are not user not kept up to date and do not seem to be well used. I think that the best use of a Wiki in a library setting would be for readers advisory with input from the public and from the library staff.

IM and Libraries: A Good Combination

I am a big fan of libraries using IM as a way of connecting with patrons. I have witnessed several IM interactions at the Virginia Beach Public Library. On each occasion the library staff member was able to eventually answer the patrons questions. The customers who asked the library an IM question received good service from the library in my opinion. It is another way for the library to serve customers. Some customers want instant results and IM is the service for them.

IM and Libraries

I think it is a good thing for libraries to offer IM service. It is another way for the library to reach out to the customers and draw them in with library service. I have used other libraries IM service in the past to see what it was all about and each time I walked away very satisfied with the service and the answer to my question. IM lets library customers get a rapid response to a question without having to jump into their car or pick up the telephone. Younger people in particular are more likely to use IM and those are the people that are the toughest to draw into the library, so IM is a way to serve those that grouping of customers. I know that VBPL has been offering an IM service for several months now and I think that is an excellent service to offer to our customers.

RSS Feeds that interst me

It has been fun adding RSS feeds that interest me. I noticed that the Weather Channel has an RSS feed and I could see that feed as being very useful with weather updates. I also noticed that the Library of Congress has an RSS feed and that could be very useful in a library setting. Whenever I go to a new website now, one of the first things that I do is to see if there is an RSS feed available. Feedster was not working when I tried to access it. I thought that Google Reader was a straightforward way to find RSS feeds of interest to me and that would probably be what I would use in the future when I was searching for an RSS feed. I also liked Syndic8.com because it was easy to find what you were looking for on that site. I did not like Topix.net or Technorati, because with these too sites I felt I was in an information overload. I will keep trying Feedster because I would like to see what I think about it.

My thoughts on RSS

I have seen those RSS tags on various websites in the past but I have always ignored them, until now that is. RSS can be a good way to get information on topics that interest you or a great way to get information that you need for your job. With RSS you can get lots of information with minimal effort. I could RSS being used by the library to keep patrons informed about programs. It could even be used to inform patrons about new items in the library. It would only go to patron that subscribed to the RSS feed as well, so the library would be delivering information to the customers that wanted it and the customers that did not want the information would not be bothered. I do see a couple of disadvantages to RSS however. I could see it as being an information overload. Is there such a thing as too much information on a screen? The computer screen becomes very "busy" with RSS, almost too busy. I also do not see RSS being compatible with dial-up modem service.

2.0 - Web and Library

Library 2.0 is all new to me. I have heard of blogs and wikis before and have even created a blog before this library project started, but the use of these features to shape library service is all new to me. I think Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 are great but I do worry that it could leave behind the library customers that do not have computer technology skills. Will the library be focussing too much energy and resources on 2.0 at the expense of the customers that do not embrace 2.0? That being said, I think 2.o would be embraced by plenty of library customers and it would enhance their library experience.

Thing 7 Learning 2.0

The 7-and-a-half habits of highly successful lifelong learning was interesting. For me habit three of viewing problems as challenges is the hardest. It is all too easy to view a problem as a road block and then throw in the towel. Viewing problems as a challenge is an intersting approach though and it will be fun to confront a problem in the future in this way and see what happens.

Habit number 7.5 is the easiest habit for me. How can play time be hard? I believe it is always important to make time in your day for play or just leisure time. Everyone needs a little down time in their day otherwise life just gets too stressed out.

First Post

Wow my first blog for Web 2.0. How exciting! Be back with more later.