Hagar

Grand finale

2008-05-10T03:58:00.000-07:00

What a journey. Thanks to the team at SLNSW for Learning 2.0. It's been great!!!

Zoho

2008-05-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Google docs is very fuctional, but Zoho has the "bells and whistles". Zoho just covers so many existing applications and with more "finesse" than Google docs.

Mashups

2008-05-05T03:37:00.000-07:00

Personalised jigsaw puzzles for presents next Christmas???

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

Whilst it was enjoyable to "map" places visited, it is really only showing the "big picture". More definition is needed. See Australia as an example, where there are no state boundaries.

- The world is such a huge place!!! So many places that I would like to visit.

Podcasts

2008-05-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

I suppose it is just an indication of the size of the US market that they can sustain a fortnightly podcast such as Libvibe. I was, however, surprised when I listened to the May 1st entry which was about a person who was raped when she went to return items items through the after hours chute! Somehow that doesn't seem a worthwhile use of a podcast, unless it was also used as a safety warning?...

On the other hand, the previous entry with its reference to an ALA report illustrated the universality of issues in the library world. For example, decreased funding, and the use of "gaming" to attract teenage clients, are issues that I am sure have been considered by most public libraries when considering future options.

Listened to the podcast from Parkrose High School High School with its invitation for students to submit book reviews & possibly win a prize. It really is meeting students in the current technology...

And how could public libraries in Australia be using podcasts?
Well yes, we could be podcasting stories as evidenced by numerous examples on the internet, but my preference would be for children and their carers to attend storytime sessions and experience the social interaction that occurs for both adults and childrens at these sessions.
That sounds rather negative, but I do see other useful applications for podcasts by public libraries, for example: author talks, HSC lectures etc.

Questions & answers

2008-05-04T00:39:00.000-07:00

Will libraries make significant use of answer boards? Already reference staff respond to on-line queries, but answer boards provide the opportunity for others to benefit from the answers provided. It also opens up the question for anyone to answer or to "improve" on the answer provided. After all, reference staff should be expert in searching techniques, but this does not mean that they are subject experts.

"Slamming the boards" provides limitless opportunities for librarians to showcase their expertise as well as promote library services and resources.

I am sure that customers would welcome the chance to publicly share their rating or reviews of library resources and services.

What's cooking?

2008-04-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Week 7 has been very enlightening. del.icio.us is a great tool on both a personal and professional level. I will certainly be tidying up my favourites at home & using del.icio.us to manage them, as well as extend them through social networking.

It will also be useful to have access to bookmarks when away from home.

For members of the public del.icio.us is very empowering in that it allows them to create user friendly tags that are accessible to others. The networking possibilities are endless!

Technorati, WOW, what can I say. I'm excited. Am looking forward to using it on a recreational level to follow people cruising the world - something that I would like to think that I might do in coming years.

Am puzzled about the difference in search results, but will follow that up at work.

Love LibraryThing. It has HUGE potential use. I will, however, have to get over the feeling that I am snooping when I am looking at which books other contributors have in their library. It's a bit like having access to your own worldwide bookclub. I'm wondering if I can my mother using it? She's technically savvy enough..

Video buzzzzzz...

2008-04-28T04:59:00.000-07:00

Have had a few weeks break due to other commitments, so it was interesting to catch up with the rss feeds that I had subscribed to. What a great way to manage & process information. The number of entries from some feeds, however, shows that it pays to be selective in what you sign up to!

Wiki fever

2008-03-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the effficiencies that a wiki provides. Why haven't we at a local level been making more use of them? In our library network a wiki would be a great tool for maximising input across the network. A great tool also for the meeting phobic in our midst! A wiki that staff could nominate availability for events would save heaps of time.
A wiki targetted at Readers Advisory would be beneficial with contributions from staff, book club members and the general public. A wiki could also be used to replace the traditional comments/feedback book.

Moving on..

2008-03-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Great to have updates available so easily. Hopefully means that I will read them in a timely fashion! Professionally there are lots out there that I can subscribe to. Will obviously have to be fairly selective in my selection to avoid information overload. I have subscribed to a couple of ALIA rss feeds, Manly Library Novel ideas, ABC news AFL updates and the blog of sailing friends Ron & Dolores. By looking at other library sites have become more aware of the severe limitations of our site and how antiquated it is in its presentation and in the way we communicate with the public electronically. - No rss, but planning happening. Will be great for Reader's Advisory, special interest groups etc. On a personal level I am disappointed that there is no rss available for the Australian yachting sites that I visit or for some of the more esoteric musical groups that I like to listen to.

Not all "smooth" sailing.

2008-03-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

I was initially unsuccessful in uploading a photo from Flickr despite numerous attempts. I resorted to uploading a couple of personal shots instead.
Sailing is obviously a personal hobby and it has been a pleasure browsing Flickr for a photo to include in my blog.

After some assistance I succeeded in uploading a photo from Flickr! This is a comparative photo taken at sunset. One of the yachts shown could almost be ours... This photo also has a geotag.

Browsing through Flickr it is very quickly apparent that some photos have very comprehensive tags and it is interesting to be able to follow through related photos in the same set - Some contributers are better "cataloguers" than others!

The beginning...

2008-03-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

Am excited to be part of Web 2.0. Looking foward to developing my on-line skills and hoping to make this blog look much more interesting by the end of the program.