I hate to go and leave this pretty sight.....
So after a few weeks it seems we've come to the end of our grand adventure together. I hope you've enjoyed my dull blog posts...I'm sorry I'm not wittier as so of our other creative bloggers have been. :)
I've enjoyed these mini-lessons. And I think they've been really helpful. It's always important to keep update with technology and in a world where we sadly have to continuously prove that the library is still relevant. There were several activities I'd already been using almost daily in my life, such as Facebook and Flicker. But I'd never written a blog before or followed an RSS feed. So that was kinda fun to learn. It's never bad to learn new skills, especially when it comes to technology and the way our jobs are changing. I feel like I'd fail at being useful if I can't understand and converse about the new ways people communicate.
I think as new things change and get updated it would be important to do another round of 23 things. Kinda like lifelong learning. And if patron's were ever willing to sign up for these I think they's get a lot out of it. Basic skills such as how to use the online catalog and how to use their online accounts would be a big step forward. I can't count how many times a patron has come to the desk with a HUGE list of things they'd like to put on order when we have a huge line and only two of us. Simple things such as that would be helpful if covered in a a couple week program similar to 23 things.
I have to always remind myself that it isn't just librarians who are racing to catch up with new technologies, everyone is struggling with the same things!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Yummy GoodReads
I recommended a title by Garth Nix called Sabriel. It's the first part of an amazing trilogy called the Abhorsen series. I naturally went towards books with strong female characters when I was growing up and I was really pleased when I discovered Garth Nix. Always a source for books with strong female roles, the Abhorsen series could be loved by guys and gals alike. It's got action, adventure, suspense, and there's nothing like a story where a little girl has to face the realm of death and magic in order to keep death in its place.
Nix also has another series, the Sally Lockhart trilogy which I love as well. That series was how I originally found Nix. The Lockhart trilogy is historical fiction and very well written. Sadly, most copies have disappeared from bookstore shelves, all the kids these days want are sparkling vampires. Yuck.
About the library newsletters....I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer or anything, but I wasn't really impressed with the choices for children's lit in the two newletters patrons could join. I work in a bookstore as well and am constantly seeing all the new stuff that comes in and the ones listed on the site aren't that new. Also, there are LOTS of better choices for kids picture books right now. One of my FAVORITES that has come out in the past couple months is "Children Make Terrible Pets". It's about a bear who finds a 'pet' boy in the woods brings him home where her mom tells her that she can't keep the boy because children make terrible pets. The bear pleads with her mother and is allowed to keep the boy only to have it destroy the house. In the end the boy runs away and the bear crying tries to follow it back into the woods where she finds the boy with the rest of his family and she knows that she has to let to boy back into the 'wild'. My other disappointment was with the other list of 'children's chapter books'. Chapter books conjure up images of Junie B. Jones and Captain Underpants. Not the teen books that are listed on the website. It seems like some of the items aren't for children, they are a lot older. So I'm honestly not sure I would be able to recommend those to any one, I don't really feel like they fulfill their goals.
Novelist on the other hand is fantastic. I LOVE Novelist. I have found hundreds of good books through them. It's a fantastic site that has helped me with so many patrons I have lost count. Almost no where else can you find so many good recommendations in one place. I love that you can pick by similar items or genres or subjects, it's great. I've always had a hard time finding historical fiction that interested me, but with Novelist it's quick and very easy. This is a great thing that I always tell every patron about who asks for recommendations.
Nix also has another series, the Sally Lockhart trilogy which I love as well. That series was how I originally found Nix. The Lockhart trilogy is historical fiction and very well written. Sadly, most copies have disappeared from bookstore shelves, all the kids these days want are sparkling vampires. Yuck.
About the library newsletters....I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer or anything, but I wasn't really impressed with the choices for children's lit in the two newletters patrons could join. I work in a bookstore as well and am constantly seeing all the new stuff that comes in and the ones listed on the site aren't that new. Also, there are LOTS of better choices for kids picture books right now. One of my FAVORITES that has come out in the past couple months is "Children Make Terrible Pets". It's about a bear who finds a 'pet' boy in the woods brings him home where her mom tells her that she can't keep the boy because children make terrible pets. The bear pleads with her mother and is allowed to keep the boy only to have it destroy the house. In the end the boy runs away and the bear crying tries to follow it back into the woods where she finds the boy with the rest of his family and she knows that she has to let to boy back into the 'wild'. My other disappointment was with the other list of 'children's chapter books'. Chapter books conjure up images of Junie B. Jones and Captain Underpants. Not the teen books that are listed on the website. It seems like some of the items aren't for children, they are a lot older. So I'm honestly not sure I would be able to recommend those to any one, I don't really feel like they fulfill their goals.
Novelist on the other hand is fantastic. I LOVE Novelist. I have found hundreds of good books through them. It's a fantastic site that has helped me with so many patrons I have lost count. Almost no where else can you find so many good recommendations in one place. I love that you can pick by similar items or genres or subjects, it's great. I've always had a hard time finding historical fiction that interested me, but with Novelist it's quick and very easy. This is a great thing that I always tell every patron about who asks for recommendations.
I'm in love with Ira Glass
I was first introduced to YouTube when I was shown a video that was called ScareTactics: Rat Monster. It was a Tv show that used to air a long time ago where friends would set each other up in fake situations to scare the daylights out of them. If you are not familiar with this particular video I was strongly suggest you go watch it. I laughed so hard I almost started crying. Unless laughing isn't your thing, and then don't bother.
As someone who does storytimes I'm constantly trolling around on YouTube to find videos of other teachers and librarians performing storytimes. I think it has given me some great ideas over the past few months and it exposes me to a wider range of experienced professionals than I get in just one city. I've watched authors, experienced librarians all over the country in several library systems, and teachers of almost all grade levels performs great storytimes. It has helped take the few hours I have as a part time library employee and make the most of them!
The video I'm posting is one of my favorites. I'm a BIG Mercer Mayer fan and I found this clip of him performing his story There's and Alligator Under my Bed a couple weeks ago. I always enjoyed reading his tales, but being able to match them with his face and expressions was a wonderful discovery.
So I have never been a big fan of audio books. I can understand their appeal, they are handy you can drive, you can walk the dog, you can sit in the bathtub and listen to a book. But every time I try to listen to any audio book I fall right to sleep. Something about the close similarities between audio books and lectures that just make me scream COFFEE every time one starts.
But my dad LOVES them. And when I was first hired at the library the very first thing I did when I got off work after my first day was to tell my father about how he could download audio books from NetLibrary. He's downloaded all sorts of things, and he really loves the service.
One title that I found on NetLibrary while looking around was Little Women. I love Louisa May Alcott, what little girl didn't grow up loving Jo and wanting to be strong like her? It's super long though, over 19 hours (another reason I can't get into audio books) but I'm sure it along with any other audio book would make any car trip seem shorter.
A couple of years ago This American Life did a live broadcast to several movie theatre across the country. This was the first moment that I was one hundred percent sure that I was going to find Ira Glass and marry him. It doesn't matter that he's already married, he's mine. And all because of This American Life, a podcast I'm absolutely hooked on and count down the minutes till it will be downloaded and updated into my iTunes library. Oh yes Ira, you will be mine.
I'm fairly addicted to podcasts. Having been a terrible sleeper for years, I took to listening to podcasts at night while I was trying to fall asleep. So while I may not get a full seven to eight hours of REM a night, I sure do know a lot about random things. I listen to a lot of Stuff You Should Know podcasts (Stuff Mom Never Told You, Stuff You Missed in Histoy Class, Stuff of Genius) that include bits of history, random gender related facts, and awesome trivia. The hosts for each show is hilarious. I've learned how WD-40 was made, why drinking water may not be that great for you, why more men have tattoos than women, and all about the lives of many famous historical figures.
I love the podcast about NASA's infrared technology and have seen some amazing photographs of galaxies far, far away. And have listened to the quick witted gabs of several of the contestants on Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me! Another classic by NPR. Really there is no end to podcast love of which I feel.
As someone who does storytimes I'm constantly trolling around on YouTube to find videos of other teachers and librarians performing storytimes. I think it has given me some great ideas over the past few months and it exposes me to a wider range of experienced professionals than I get in just one city. I've watched authors, experienced librarians all over the country in several library systems, and teachers of almost all grade levels performs great storytimes. It has helped take the few hours I have as a part time library employee and make the most of them!
The video I'm posting is one of my favorites. I'm a BIG Mercer Mayer fan and I found this clip of him performing his story There's and Alligator Under my Bed a couple weeks ago. I always enjoyed reading his tales, but being able to match them with his face and expressions was a wonderful discovery.
So I have never been a big fan of audio books. I can understand their appeal, they are handy you can drive, you can walk the dog, you can sit in the bathtub and listen to a book. But every time I try to listen to any audio book I fall right to sleep. Something about the close similarities between audio books and lectures that just make me scream COFFEE every time one starts.
But my dad LOVES them. And when I was first hired at the library the very first thing I did when I got off work after my first day was to tell my father about how he could download audio books from NetLibrary. He's downloaded all sorts of things, and he really loves the service.
One title that I found on NetLibrary while looking around was Little Women. I love Louisa May Alcott, what little girl didn't grow up loving Jo and wanting to be strong like her? It's super long though, over 19 hours (another reason I can't get into audio books) but I'm sure it along with any other audio book would make any car trip seem shorter.
A couple of years ago This American Life did a live broadcast to several movie theatre across the country. This was the first moment that I was one hundred percent sure that I was going to find Ira Glass and marry him. It doesn't matter that he's already married, he's mine. And all because of This American Life, a podcast I'm absolutely hooked on and count down the minutes till it will be downloaded and updated into my iTunes library. Oh yes Ira, you will be mine.
I'm fairly addicted to podcasts. Having been a terrible sleeper for years, I took to listening to podcasts at night while I was trying to fall asleep. So while I may not get a full seven to eight hours of REM a night, I sure do know a lot about random things. I listen to a lot of Stuff You Should Know podcasts (Stuff Mom Never Told You, Stuff You Missed in Histoy Class, Stuff of Genius) that include bits of history, random gender related facts, and awesome trivia. The hosts for each show is hilarious. I've learned how WD-40 was made, why drinking water may not be that great for you, why more men have tattoos than women, and all about the lives of many famous historical figures.
I love the podcast about NASA's infrared technology and have seen some amazing photographs of galaxies far, far away. And have listened to the quick witted gabs of several of the contestants on Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me! Another classic by NPR. Really there is no end to podcast love of which I feel.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wiki Wiki
First, it was very cool to learn where the word Wiki comes from. I had no idea, and it's always neat to learn where the terms we use everyday originated from.
I added to the vacation spots wiki and the favorite restaurants wiki. There are so many good places to eat in Louisville! It's one of the things I love most about this city. We have some GREAT local places that no one else has! Also, I love to travel so I've been really fortunate to have gone to some of the most amazing places all over the world. I just got back from Spain two days ago and it was so amazing. To be able to walk admits buildings that are hundreds of years old is an experience you can't compare to much else. I was also able to go to a little town called Segovia where the Roman aqueducts are still standing. Feel cool to touch something made by Romans. There are so many places in the States that I haven't been to though, so it was neat to hear what other people suggested. I'm always planning my next trip.
Wiki's are pretty fun to work with. I think it's neat that so many people can add their thoughts. I've always heard that groups are smarter than individuals and I guess Wiki's build off that idea. When you can combine so many different thoughts everything turns out a hundred percent better than just one person's point of view.
But I feel like they can be overwhelming too. If you have a million people adding so many things all at once, reading it all because very daunting. For one of my online classes their is a class Wiki where we can add things that might help other classmates. With a class of 45 so many things get added to the Wiki that often if something is posted that would help me out, it's hard to find. Wikipedia has it done nicely where you can search for a topic, but otherwise it would get unmanageable very quickly.
All-in-all I think Wiki's are awesome. There are so many ways that they can help libraries as well. Think of an awesome way to reference where some one can post their question to a library Wiki and lots of librarians have the chance to review and help the patron. It doesn't just fall to the person at the reference desk at the time of the question. So you have access to the whole of library staff knowledge. Think of how amazing that would be!
I added to the vacation spots wiki and the favorite restaurants wiki. There are so many good places to eat in Louisville! It's one of the things I love most about this city. We have some GREAT local places that no one else has! Also, I love to travel so I've been really fortunate to have gone to some of the most amazing places all over the world. I just got back from Spain two days ago and it was so amazing. To be able to walk admits buildings that are hundreds of years old is an experience you can't compare to much else. I was also able to go to a little town called Segovia where the Roman aqueducts are still standing. Feel cool to touch something made by Romans. There are so many places in the States that I haven't been to though, so it was neat to hear what other people suggested. I'm always planning my next trip.
Wiki's are pretty fun to work with. I think it's neat that so many people can add their thoughts. I've always heard that groups are smarter than individuals and I guess Wiki's build off that idea. When you can combine so many different thoughts everything turns out a hundred percent better than just one person's point of view.
But I feel like they can be overwhelming too. If you have a million people adding so many things all at once, reading it all because very daunting. For one of my online classes their is a class Wiki where we can add things that might help other classmates. With a class of 45 so many things get added to the Wiki that often if something is posted that would help me out, it's hard to find. Wikipedia has it done nicely where you can search for a topic, but otherwise it would get unmanageable very quickly.
All-in-all I think Wiki's are awesome. There are so many ways that they can help libraries as well. Think of an awesome way to reference where some one can post their question to a library Wiki and lots of librarians have the chance to review and help the patron. It doesn't just fall to the person at the reference desk at the time of the question. So you have access to the whole of library staff knowledge. Think of how amazing that would be!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The old spice guy is dating Kathy Griffin?!?!?
Did you know that Kathy Griffin is dating the Old Spice guy? Or how to make a vegetarian spice brown rice veggie bowl? Well thanks to the RSS feeds that I found this week, I do now!
While the feeds suggested by the wonderful 23Things team sounded delightful and intellectually enlightening, really want I wanted was gossip and food. The staples in life.
To be totally honest, I've actually never looked into RSS feeds or really knew much about them. So this was pretty fun. I learned that we've got a movie in the library system called Dirt! and animated movie about...well...dirt. So even looking through the Library feed helped me find a lot of new things.
I've never had a smart phone, but I would think this would be awesome on one. Having all the feeds grouped together on Google means you can log in and scroll through lots of topics quickly.
It does make you think how much more we are prepetuating the generation of little patience. It's an old debate, but does all this access at our finger's make us less and less patient for other things in our lives?
While the feeds suggested by the wonderful 23Things team sounded delightful and intellectually enlightening, really want I wanted was gossip and food. The staples in life.
To be totally honest, I've actually never looked into RSS feeds or really knew much about them. So this was pretty fun. I learned that we've got a movie in the library system called Dirt! and animated movie about...well...dirt. So even looking through the Library feed helped me find a lot of new things.
I've never had a smart phone, but I would think this would be awesome on one. Having all the feeds grouped together on Google means you can log in and scroll through lots of topics quickly.
It does make you think how much more we are prepetuating the generation of little patience. It's an old debate, but does all this access at our finger's make us less and less patient for other things in our lives?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Falling a little off the wagon...
I'm racing to catch up after falling off the wagon for a week with some hectic times here at westport. But I'm ready to get neck and neck with the competition!
10b) In 2008 on March 16th, Betty Jean McMichal died. She was buried two days later, which I'm sure was a sad event for all four of the sons she left behind. You can read all about it in Courier Journal by searching Journals and Newspapers and then by using ProQuest.
I have to take a moment and say that I really don't have much respect for Ebsco. They beat out the market with crazy low prices on journal search engines but have so many embargos on articles and subscriptions that many times full text references are not available till long after the article has been published. But because they are so low cost, more and more libraries are switching to them as cost saving measures and loosing their ability to access several full text items. The are a very user friendly search engine, with lots of options, but they also have lots of stipulations on when you could get that full article you might need.
10c) For Telos, Academic Search Premier lists several articles that are out there floating around. But sadly, we don't have access to them. No full text for us. :( The British Journal for the History of Philosphy was a fun, interesting journal that I enjoyed exploring in it's full glory thanks to the full text options we have for all 12 calendar months! Same goes for the Clinical Medicine and Research Journal. Thanks Academic Search Premier!
11a) Earning a respectable grade of a B, Duane F. Kelly manages a four star rated Vanguard investment. I found this by looking through the Morningstar investment research center database.
11b) I love using the Consumer Reports Database to look up all sorts of handy details about the products in our lives. You can find lots of articles on LCD Tv's available in full text.
11c) Considering I make big detours to go to Starbucks, and worked in a Starbucks, as did both of my older sisters, I really should have guessed that they were in the lead for number of locations. It got a little confusing though because while there are far more Starbucks than anything else, Dunkin Donuts (which is my drug of choice) takes in a lot more money than Starbucks'. I think it has to be the donuts aspect of it. If you go to Starbucks you go there for the coffee. If you go to a Dunkin Donuts, you go there for the donuts. I can't count the number of times I've gone in for one donut and somehow left with a dozen. The DEA should check their ingrediants list.
12) Because I was an English major in undergrad, the search engines like JStor and Academic Search Premier helped me the most. Finding articles for homework and research papers is one of my strengths. What has been interesting and challenging has been learning to use the several other subject databases that we own, such as Business Resource Center. The Biography Research Center has been amazing as well. Often I'll find things in our database that my school's subscription doesn't cover, or vice versa so it's been neat to compare. It's helping me get a better understanding of just how much it takes to run a library. It isn't just about the book costs. It's about what digital subscriptions we take, what may be sacrificed because of that subscription, but what other things may be gained. People think the public library is free, but really it's anything but!
10b) In 2008 on March 16th, Betty Jean McMichal died. She was buried two days later, which I'm sure was a sad event for all four of the sons she left behind. You can read all about it in Courier Journal by searching Journals and Newspapers and then by using ProQuest.
I have to take a moment and say that I really don't have much respect for Ebsco. They beat out the market with crazy low prices on journal search engines but have so many embargos on articles and subscriptions that many times full text references are not available till long after the article has been published. But because they are so low cost, more and more libraries are switching to them as cost saving measures and loosing their ability to access several full text items. The are a very user friendly search engine, with lots of options, but they also have lots of stipulations on when you could get that full article you might need.
10c) For Telos, Academic Search Premier lists several articles that are out there floating around. But sadly, we don't have access to them. No full text for us. :( The British Journal for the History of Philosphy was a fun, interesting journal that I enjoyed exploring in it's full glory thanks to the full text options we have for all 12 calendar months! Same goes for the Clinical Medicine and Research Journal. Thanks Academic Search Premier!
11a) Earning a respectable grade of a B, Duane F. Kelly manages a four star rated Vanguard investment. I found this by looking through the Morningstar investment research center database.
11b) I love using the Consumer Reports Database to look up all sorts of handy details about the products in our lives. You can find lots of articles on LCD Tv's available in full text.
11c) Considering I make big detours to go to Starbucks, and worked in a Starbucks, as did both of my older sisters, I really should have guessed that they were in the lead for number of locations. It got a little confusing though because while there are far more Starbucks than anything else, Dunkin Donuts (which is my drug of choice) takes in a lot more money than Starbucks'. I think it has to be the donuts aspect of it. If you go to Starbucks you go there for the coffee. If you go to a Dunkin Donuts, you go there for the donuts. I can't count the number of times I've gone in for one donut and somehow left with a dozen. The DEA should check their ingrediants list.
12) Because I was an English major in undergrad, the search engines like JStor and Academic Search Premier helped me the most. Finding articles for homework and research papers is one of my strengths. What has been interesting and challenging has been learning to use the several other subject databases that we own, such as Business Resource Center. The Biography Research Center has been amazing as well. Often I'll find things in our database that my school's subscription doesn't cover, or vice versa so it's been neat to compare. It's helping me get a better understanding of just how much it takes to run a library. It isn't just about the book costs. It's about what digital subscriptions we take, what may be sacrificed because of that subscription, but what other things may be gained. People think the public library is free, but really it's anything but!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Flickr
I love my Flickr account. I've had it for a little over a year now and it is very easy to use and fun to scroll through. It was a bit of a bummer when I realized for what I wanted to do I'd need to pay...but after that bump in the road I figured out how much fun it can/would be.
For research, the answer is pretty simply. With an ability to search hundreds of thousands of photos for all over the world, it provides a way to search photo content for posters, projects, papers, anything! Plus with Flickr's settings, almost anything is allowed use as long as you give credit to where it came from. I've noticed lately that Google image has cracked down a bit on copy/paste abilities, but with Flickr you can find amazing photographs of almost anywhere you can image.
Also, Flickr allows you to contact other users so if you want to be extra careful about copy right laws, you can always contact the person for permission.
Another great research tool would be the ability to search what some place looks like. Say your reading a novel set in a rural village in China. Most of us have never been lucky enough to have visited China and the descriptions may seem very...well...foreign. By searching posted pictures of real like action in places such as a rural village in China, we have an ability to gain better understanding of the subject someone is studying.
Flickr and other photo sharing sites are another way to connect and share our experiences. Friends who have gotten married have posted all their photos to a Flickr so that guests who weren't able to attend can still see all the great moments.
The world is getting smaller. Now, even though you may have never ridden on the back of an elephant, or swam in an African waterfall, or been up close an personal with deep sea creatures, photo sharing sites let you experience what other's have all over the world.
For research, the answer is pretty simply. With an ability to search hundreds of thousands of photos for all over the world, it provides a way to search photo content for posters, projects, papers, anything! Plus with Flickr's settings, almost anything is allowed use as long as you give credit to where it came from. I've noticed lately that Google image has cracked down a bit on copy/paste abilities, but with Flickr you can find amazing photographs of almost anywhere you can image.
Also, Flickr allows you to contact other users so if you want to be extra careful about copy right laws, you can always contact the person for permission.
Another great research tool would be the ability to search what some place looks like. Say your reading a novel set in a rural village in China. Most of us have never been lucky enough to have visited China and the descriptions may seem very...well...foreign. By searching posted pictures of real like action in places such as a rural village in China, we have an ability to gain better understanding of the subject someone is studying.
Flickr and other photo sharing sites are another way to connect and share our experiences. Friends who have gotten married have posted all their photos to a Flickr so that guests who weren't able to attend can still see all the great moments.
The world is getting smaller. Now, even though you may have never ridden on the back of an elephant, or swam in an African waterfall, or been up close an personal with deep sea creatures, photo sharing sites let you experience what other's have all over the world.
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