Overall, I have very much enjoyed participating in this programme, and it has lived up to my expectations.
I signed up for it as I knew my understanding and experience of web 2.0 was a bit patchy.
I was hoping to learn more and improve my "online confidence" and to look at ways we can incorporate the social web into a library environment.
I admit to being somewhat sceptical and reluctant to give in to the pressure to use web 2.0 both personally and professionally, but this programme had made me re-assess my views.
I now feel much more knowledgeable , far less intimidated by all that is "out there" these days, and positively enthusiastic about using some of it inside and outside my workplace.
As a sociable person , I can now see the benefits of online socialising along with those of face to face encounters and friendships.(much as digitised books and journals can be used in addition to the paper copies !)
Some highlights of the programme for me were:
Learning in a group environment and reading other people's blogs (for "sociable" read "nosy" !)
Editing the Sackler Library entry on Wikipedia
Finding out how easy it is to create and edit
wikis and blogs and use gadgets and widgets to improve their usefulness and appearance.
using igoogle and "reader" to create a central point of access to lots of useful online information in one place.
Thursday 8 April 2010
fidgety widgets and gadgetywhatsits...
As with many of the things we have looked at in this programme, I am very impressed by how simple it is to use both gadgets and widgets, once you are in the right online place to find them and link them to another online space.
In my various online "travels" I have often been impressed by the layouts of the homepages of seasoned bloggers , wiki writers , and institutional websites that are full of these clever devices that take you between pages and applications. I always imagined it required very advanced web skills to create these links.
Now I see it is pretty straightforward ,and am inspired to do more with this blog and incorporate some gadgets and widgets into any future use of web 2.0 in my working life.
In my various online "travels" I have often been impressed by the layouts of the homepages of seasoned bloggers , wiki writers , and institutional websites that are full of these clever devices that take you between pages and applications. I always imagined it required very advanced web skills to create these links.
Now I see it is pretty straightforward ,and am inspired to do more with this blog and incorporate some gadgets and widgets into any future use of web 2.0 in my working life.
Thursday 1 April 2010
Things 19 and 20 Office 2.0 googledocs and Thinkfree
During the course of my online "education" over the time I have worked in libraries, I have seen alot of changes in the way we work and share information.
I remember when we got our own server with shared drive , meaning we could log in and access files and folders from any terminal in the building.This was then extended to the library service as a whole, so I can now log in at a PC in any library to consult a particuluar item.
The office 2.0 applications appear to be a further big step forward,with only a Google account required to access and share documents online from anywhere in the world.Call me old-fashioned, but this amazes me as much as the other aspects of 21st century communication I am rapidly learning to live with and love!
I found google docs very easy to use with clear screens and straightforward instructions,and had no trouble sharing a short document and creating a form.
Thinkfree was a little less straightforward ,but with time to learn its ways, I can see it has equal potential.
I remember when we got our own server with shared drive , meaning we could log in and access files and folders from any terminal in the building.This was then extended to the library service as a whole, so I can now log in at a PC in any library to consult a particuluar item.
The office 2.0 applications appear to be a further big step forward,with only a Google account required to access and share documents online from anywhere in the world.Call me old-fashioned, but this amazes me as much as the other aspects of 21st century communication I am rapidly learning to live with and love!
I found google docs very easy to use with clear screens and straightforward instructions,and had no trouble sharing a short document and creating a form.
Thinkfree was a little less straightforward ,but with time to learn its ways, I can see it has equal potential.
Wednesday 24 March 2010
the wonderful world of Wikis
Wikis are a part of web 2.0 that I am relatively familiar with, having joined several Oxford library ones and viewed others.I even created a wiki for the Sackler some time ago, but didn't do much with it, so this inspires me to re-visit it and see if we can develop something that will aid communication among a large number of staff working at different times at our issue desk.
I also use wikipedia quite frequently to find all sorts of information, and I have noticed that Wikipedia entries are usually among the first few hits on any google search.
This time, I looked at the entry for Sackler Library, and was pleased to see it is accurate, and even more pleased that I was able to edit the page myself, adding a few bits of information such as number of staff and size of holdings as well as changing the website URL to reflect the Bodleian Libraries name change.
I then had a look at a couple of other entires, one for a favourite TV show and another a politically sensitive issue, and was impressed with the quality of the discussions between contributors about accuracy, content and so on.
I warm to the whole idea of this very democratic means of sharing information but still have some doubts about how reliable any given entry will be,but for a quick and easy first search on a topic it is very useful.
I also use wikipedia quite frequently to find all sorts of information, and I have noticed that Wikipedia entries are usually among the first few hits on any google search.
This time, I looked at the entry for Sackler Library, and was pleased to see it is accurate, and even more pleased that I was able to edit the page myself, adding a few bits of information such as number of staff and size of holdings as well as changing the website URL to reflect the Bodleian Libraries name change.
I then had a look at a couple of other entires, one for a favourite TV show and another a politically sensitive issue, and was impressed with the quality of the discussions between contributors about accuracy, content and so on.
I warm to the whole idea of this very democratic means of sharing information but still have some doubts about how reliable any given entry will be,but for a quick and easy first search on a topic it is very useful.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
T-Wit T-Web2.0 Things 15 and 16 Twitter
Well, I have got a bit behind on 23 things again, but now have time to post about my experience of twitter.
I have to admit that my preconceived idea of twitter was that is one of the more "lightweight" and trivial areas of the web 2.0 world, probably fuelled by media stories of celebs and politicians tweeting their every change of outfit to the waiting world.
However, after signing up and giving it a try, I now see it does have a more meaningful side and is yet another method we can use to keep in touch with colleagues and our customers.
One of the first things I searched was "Sackler Library" and I was astonished to find someone had very recently tweeted a photo of the blossom peeking up over the wall opposite the library entrance in St John Street.There were also mentions of our namesake library in the US.
I soon realised there is a more seroius side to twitter and signed up to follow the BL, Bodleian and penguin books as well as some favourite authors, actors and comedians.
As ever, there remains the question of finding time to log in and read their latest tweets,but I am becoming a fan...though it remains quite disconcerting that total strangers have signed up to "follow" me on the basis of a single "tweet" !
I have to admit that my preconceived idea of twitter was that is one of the more "lightweight" and trivial areas of the web 2.0 world, probably fuelled by media stories of celebs and politicians tweeting their every change of outfit to the waiting world.
However, after signing up and giving it a try, I now see it does have a more meaningful side and is yet another method we can use to keep in touch with colleagues and our customers.
One of the first things I searched was "Sackler Library" and I was astonished to find someone had very recently tweeted a photo of the blossom peeking up over the wall opposite the library entrance in St John Street.There were also mentions of our namesake library in the US.
I soon realised there is a more seroius side to twitter and signed up to follow the BL, Bodleian and penguin books as well as some favourite authors, actors and comedians.
As ever, there remains the question of finding time to log in and read their latest tweets,but I am becoming a fan...though it remains quite disconcerting that total strangers have signed up to "follow" me on the basis of a single "tweet" !
Friday 12 March 2010
Thing 14 LinkedIn
I first heard of Linkedin when it sent me an automated e-mail asking me to join the network of one of our readers,so I had put a short profile on already.I also knew that if anyone googled my name, the linkedin profile was one of the hits.
So, it was bit of a surprise when LinkedIn didn't recognise my previous membership and I had to create a new profile.
Overall, I am not that enthusiastic about the site.There were very few professional networks for librarians, and most of them were US-based,or had very few members.
I can see some advantages for sharing professional information, and perhaps finding people working in the same field but it doesn't strike me as a very useful web 2 application compared with the others we have looked into so far.
So, it was bit of a surprise when LinkedIn didn't recognise my previous membership and I had to create a new profile.
Overall, I am not that enthusiastic about the site.There were very few professional networks for librarians, and most of them were US-based,or had very few members.
I can see some advantages for sharing professional information, and perhaps finding people working in the same field but it doesn't strike me as a very useful web 2 application compared with the others we have looked into so far.
Saturday 6 March 2010
Library space versus "my" space:Does Facebook have a place in an academic library?
I joined Facebook several years ago, having set aside my reservations about privacy and given in to the urge to find out what friends and colleagues are up to at any given time, as well as sharing my own thoughts, photos and so on. I now login most days to keep track of people, and have been surprised by messages from old school friends who I haven't seen in several decades (that's what you get for having a memorable surname...very few Bruders in this neck of the woods...)
However, I am also aware of the ongoing debate as to whether libraries should get involved in what is essentially a social space for our readers.Initially I thought not, but am now coming round to the idea of facebook as a good way to keep any of them that care to sign up as "fans" informed of changes, new resources and so on.The only downside I can think of is the need to login regularly to maintain the page/group and the risk of negative feedback and disappointing numbers of "fans" ! I won't let this put me off and plan to ask for permission to set up a Sackler Facebook page shortly.
I have been reading other 23 things blogs on the topic and was very surprised to learn (from James at O.I.L. posting an interesting item on the demographics of social networking sites) that my own age group (ie mid 30's to mid 40's) are the biggest users of sites like Facebook. I had been labouring under the illusion that over 40's were in a minority and that social networking was the preserve of "digital natives" ..what an eye -opener.
I also found a link to the "Alexa" ratings for the world's most popular websites
http://www.alexa.com/topsites
and as you can see, Facebook is second only to google in the rankings,with other networking sites very close behind.
However, I am also aware of the ongoing debate as to whether libraries should get involved in what is essentially a social space for our readers.Initially I thought not, but am now coming round to the idea of facebook as a good way to keep any of them that care to sign up as "fans" informed of changes, new resources and so on.The only downside I can think of is the need to login regularly to maintain the page/group and the risk of negative feedback and disappointing numbers of "fans" ! I won't let this put me off and plan to ask for permission to set up a Sackler Facebook page shortly.
I have been reading other 23 things blogs on the topic and was very surprised to learn (from James at O.I.L. posting an interesting item on the demographics of social networking sites) that my own age group (ie mid 30's to mid 40's) are the biggest users of sites like Facebook. I had been labouring under the illusion that over 40's were in a minority and that social networking was the preserve of "digital natives" ..what an eye -opener.
I also found a link to the "Alexa" ratings for the world's most popular websites
http://www.alexa.com/topsites
and as you can see, Facebook is second only to google in the rankings,with other networking sites very close behind.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
i-pod, you- tube, we can all find something out there
This post is a little overdue ..partly becasue it is very easy to lose a chunk of time browsing those pods and tubes...
I have been aware of both podcasts and you tube for some time , but had yet to download anything or subscribe to a site.
I used the suggested sites to search for podcasts and was amazed at the sheer numbers of hits matching my search terms in both podcast alley and podcast.com. I was unable to resist "the dancing frenchman" which is no more or less than what the title suggests :) but also found some interesting uses of podcasts by libraries around the world,including "the library minute" from University of Arizona, giving regular updates to library users in the form of a short video.
I have listened to BBC podcasts via iplayer but not subscribed to anything up to now.
It was amazingly simple to add subscriptions to google reader using the relevant icon on the BBC site.
Finally, I browsed Oxford University podcasts and listened to part of a lecture by one of our readers in the classics faculty.
I am now inspired to download some podcasts to the mp3 player on my phone and can absolutely see their potential as a means of disseminating information to readers that they can listen to (and hopefully remember!) at whatever time suits them.
I have been using you tube on and off for a while,and as others have said in their blogs, it is all too easy to while away the time looking at nostalgic videos of childhood TV programmes and long-forgotten tunes.However, in the interest and spirit of "23 things" , i did search for "library" and found various items posted from around the world...virtual tours of library buildings being a good example.
I can't resist posting a link to one of my favourite you-tube library -related videos here:
Mr bean consults a rare book....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOrp6Q7kCE
Overall, the search process for podcasts and you tube postings could be compared to a giant virtual car boot sale...sifting among all the sellers for "gems" to take away.
I have enjoyed this process very much and can defintiely see how both can be added to a "portfolio" of means of communicating with library users.
I have been aware of both podcasts and you tube for some time , but had yet to download anything or subscribe to a site.
I used the suggested sites to search for podcasts and was amazed at the sheer numbers of hits matching my search terms in both podcast alley and podcast.com. I was unable to resist "the dancing frenchman" which is no more or less than what the title suggests :) but also found some interesting uses of podcasts by libraries around the world,including "the library minute" from University of Arizona, giving regular updates to library users in the form of a short video.
I have listened to BBC podcasts via iplayer but not subscribed to anything up to now.
It was amazingly simple to add subscriptions to google reader using the relevant icon on the BBC site.
Finally, I browsed Oxford University podcasts and listened to part of a lecture by one of our readers in the classics faculty.
I am now inspired to download some podcasts to the mp3 player on my phone and can absolutely see their potential as a means of disseminating information to readers that they can listen to (and hopefully remember!) at whatever time suits them.
I have been using you tube on and off for a while,and as others have said in their blogs, it is all too easy to while away the time looking at nostalgic videos of childhood TV programmes and long-forgotten tunes.However, in the interest and spirit of "23 things" , i did search for "library" and found various items posted from around the world...virtual tours of library buildings being a good example.
I can't resist posting a link to one of my favourite you-tube library -related videos here:
Mr bean consults a rare book....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOrp6Q7kCE
Overall, the search process for podcasts and you tube postings could be compared to a giant virtual car boot sale...sifting among all the sellers for "gems" to take away.
I have enjoyed this process very much and can defintiely see how both can be added to a "portfolio" of means of communicating with library users.
Monday 22 February 2010
getting a bit De-lost along the way....
I'm catching up on things 9 and 10 today with mixed feelings.
I had a delicious account already and had begun to use it to bookmark frequently-used webpages. However, I did revert to using just internet" favourites" and the links toolbar instead.
On a personal level, I can see the use of having all your favourite and most useful sites in one profile that you can see just by logging on to Delicious wherever you happen to be.
I can also see , from other libraries websites that is could be an extremely helpful way to group together subject-related sites to save readers searching all the time to find them.
Given enough time I think I oculd compile a suitable list for our subjects and keep adding to it.
I am not anti-Delicious, but I have to admit to finding it quite hard to navigate the site and to carry out the various more advanced tasks suggested by things 9 and 10,though I did get there in the end ,and hope my chosen recipient did get the URL for the photos of cats with dodgy "moustaches" ??
I had a delicious account already and had begun to use it to bookmark frequently-used webpages. However, I did revert to using just internet" favourites" and the links toolbar instead.
On a personal level, I can see the use of having all your favourite and most useful sites in one profile that you can see just by logging on to Delicious wherever you happen to be.
I can also see , from other libraries websites that is could be an extremely helpful way to group together subject-related sites to save readers searching all the time to find them.
Given enough time I think I oculd compile a suitable list for our subjects and keep adding to it.
I am not anti-Delicious, but I have to admit to finding it quite hard to navigate the site and to carry out the various more advanced tasks suggested by things 9 and 10,though I did get there in the end ,and hope my chosen recipient did get the URL for the photos of cats with dodgy "moustaches" ??
Thursday 11 February 2010
Picnik Unpacked
Today, I found my way to the Picnik website and retrieved my Flickr photos for editing
(and soon realised that if I'd read the instructions on the packet properly yesterday, I would have known I could edit any photo ,including the rotating necessary to put right the images uploaded to Flickr upside down by that LOL cat !)
So...I did the rotating first, and then had a play with some of the more advanced functions such as changing colour saturation and making up a slideshow of my photos.
I can see the use of Picnik to prepare images for printing and for making them look even better online, perhaps for adding to library websites and using in powerpoint presentations, so I'm insired to put something together and make use of some of the great photos people have taken of the Sackler over the years.
In the mean time, I'm publishing (above) the result of a "colour and saturation" experiment...anyone for psychedlic ratatouille??
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Week 4 A Flickr Account to call my own
I'm a bit behind this week after a couple of days off sick, but now have time to start on this week's "things"
So, creating the Flickr account was quite easy (the hardest part was deciphering the characters in the password generated by yahoo !) and uploading photos was also quite straightforward, though it took me a while to locate the ones I wanted ..that will teach me not to give names to individual photos and folders on my camera :)
I realised after uploading that I should have rotated a few images, and was unable to find a way to do this for individual photos on Flickr..it only had the option to rotate all in a group, so if anyone reads this and knows how to manipulate a single image after uploading it, let me know.
I also had a browse of other photos uploaded by 23 things group members , and soon discovered I am not the only one who goes on "busman/woman's holiday" trips to other libraries as part of their holiday itinerary.
So, creating the Flickr account was quite easy (the hardest part was deciphering the characters in the password generated by yahoo !) and uploading photos was also quite straightforward, though it took me a while to locate the ones I wanted ..that will teach me not to give names to individual photos and folders on my camera :)
I realised after uploading that I should have rotated a few images, and was unable to find a way to do this for individual photos on Flickr..it only had the option to rotate all in a group, so if anyone reads this and knows how to manipulate a single image after uploading it, let me know.
I also had a browse of other photos uploaded by 23 things group members , and soon discovered I am not the only one who goes on "busman/woman's holiday" trips to other libraries as part of their holiday itinerary.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
the end of online anonimity!
I also decided to spend some time editing my blog layout,adding a photo of the library and one of myself to the blog homepage.(so..if anyone is reading this, now you know who I am and where I work!...as well as my star sign)
I am also flattered to find I now have a "follower" (thanks for that Rachael!)
I have very much enjoyed reading other people's blogs this past week and seeing the different things everyone has done with layouts, photos and so on. I am still pondering how we could use a blog in the library and looking at some of the ones already set up in OULS.
One of the arguments for using web2 has to be that so many of our readers are familiar with it and use Facebook and other sites as their primary means of communication.
However, I still feel we should offer choices and use various methods, mixing old and new to get the information across.
I am also flattered to find I now have a "follower" (thanks for that Rachael!)
I have very much enjoyed reading other people's blogs this past week and seeing the different things everyone has done with layouts, photos and so on. I am still pondering how we could use a blog in the library and looking at some of the ones already set up in OULS.
One of the arguments for using web2 has to be that so many of our readers are familiar with it and use Facebook and other sites as their primary means of communication.
However, I still feel we should offer choices and use various methods, mixing old and new to get the information across.
Week 3 .. Hungry for RSS feeds :)
Time to start using Google reader ...I realised I had already set up an account after a previous training session on web 2 but hadn't done much with it.
Therefore, when I logged back in there were hundreds of items awaiting my attention from a few feeds I had already signed up for.
I started looking for others using the "browse for stuff" option, and entering various search terms to do with my professional and personal interests.It was quite easy to add the subscriptions.
I then decided to be a bit more adventourous and go to websites of museums and galleries and a couple of charities I support to see whether they had any feeds set up.
Several of them did, and even had a google icon, making it extremely easy to add them to my list of feeds.If they didn't have a google icon , I just copied the URLs and pasted them into the "add subscription" box on the reader home page.
Now..I just need to find time to read them all!
Therefore, when I logged back in there were hundreds of items awaiting my attention from a few feeds I had already signed up for.
I started looking for others using the "browse for stuff" option, and entering various search terms to do with my professional and personal interests.It was quite easy to add the subscriptions.
I then decided to be a bit more adventourous and go to websites of museums and galleries and a couple of charities I support to see whether they had any feeds set up.
Several of them did, and even had a google icon, making it extremely easy to add them to my list of feeds.If they didn't have a google icon , I just copied the URLs and pasted them into the "add subscription" box on the reader home page.
Now..I just need to find time to read them all!
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Things 1 and 2
I had already signed up for an igoogle account and spent some time customsing my existing homepage and looking for gadgets that are relevant to my library's subject areas,as well as some of my own interests. I was surprised by the number of hits..some trivial (for those not sure what to call their new pet, you can always try "cat name generator" ...) others more serious and relevant to my search terms.
here's a picture of my current homepage ( green colour scheme will be no surprise to anyone who knows me!)
23 Things...here goes...
My first post is just to gve an idea of why I decided to sign up for the 23 Things programme and what I hope to gain from it.
I am not a "digital native" and feel the need to bring my web skills up to date :)
I have already seen examples of positive uses of web2.0 in libraries and would like to learn more about how to apply them in my own workplace.
To hear about how colleagues in Oxford an beyond are using web2.0 and pool our ideas
I am not a "digital native" and feel the need to bring my web skills up to date :)
I have already seen examples of positive uses of web2.0 in libraries and would like to learn more about how to apply them in my own workplace.
To hear about how colleagues in Oxford an beyond are using web2.0 and pool our ideas
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