#9 Chat and Instant Messaging

My first thought on chat and instant messaging was negative because personally, I don't want to be THAT connected. I don't want people to know when I'm online because that's usually when I'm writing, and I don't have time for impromptu chats interrupting my chain of thought (multi-tasking went down the drain years ago; I can't walk and chew gum anymore). And that's what bothered me about MySpace with the little neon sign proclaiming to the world that I was ONLINE NOW!! I'd prefer to be a lurker observing from a safe, private distance. Why do folks need the world to know the very moment they're brushing their teeth or when they're depressed or that they're living virtually in some farm or aquarium and trying to get everyone else to move there with them?

But from a librarian's point of view, especially in the role as a reference librarian, this is an awesome idea-- providing real-time help for virtual patrons. One of the major weaknesses I have observed among library users (and experienced personally in graduate school research) is the struggle with discovering and using the best search terms. Some catalogs and programs are user friendly in that they are more forgiving if the searcher doesn't spell the words correctly or get the title exactly right. The results will spit out anything remotely resembling the search terms. Unfortunately, my library catalog is very unforgiving-- if the spelling isn't perfect or the title exactly right, the search results usually register zilch, nada, nothing. And if we librarians don't catch and assist the "no search results" patrons, they walk away empty handed. Online users are even further removed from our help, but tools like Meebome widget can connect us virtually to patrons who need help searching.

The assignment said to initiate a chat from our Yahoo or Hotmail accounts, but I'd have to sign up for that service, and I'd prefer to be hidden on my personal email accounts. Our school does have that capability through its email account, and I have tried it, but the problem was since I'm the only one here in my library, I missed instant messages while I helped students, taught lessons, and shelved books. But I can see how a reference librarian who spent much of her time at her computer would find this tool extremely useful in helping virtual patrons find what they are seeking.

I did use the MeeboMebox while it said TSLACDL was online-- very easy to use; but somebody must've been away from the computer because no one responded during the time I was working on this blog. Love the technology, though. What an improvement over the automated phone messages where you never really get to talk to a human being.

Art from Feathers, written by Donna Van Cleve and illustrated by Vanessa Roeder; available spring 2010. http://www.donnavancleve.com/ and http://www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com/

#8 Social Networking

I have had a MySpace page (growing cobwebs from lack of use) for several years and more recently a Facebook page (to see what my kids were up to-- with a positive intent-- not hovering, spying, or with the purpose of blackmailing), but I hadn't thought about using Social Network pages for the library. The examples I saw were outstanding-- especially with the slide shows of pictures and embedded training videos. They definitely got the cogs to turning in my mind.

The MySpace pages that I viewed have a better look about them (really impressed with the Library of Congress's page), but the Facebook pages seem to be more user friendly. I would love to create an interactive social page for our library where students can leave reviews, recommendations, and ratings for books along with how-to's related to searching for information-- in the library and on the Net. I think the hardest part would be to get beyond the fear of letting students loose with technology, but we might as well train them here where we can monitor and teach them rather than leaving it up to them to learn on their own-- usually the wrong way. Talk about teachable moments!! Everyone's getting on board; our libraries need to be there to virtually greet them and show them the best way to use this technology.

My Web site:  http://www.donnavancleve.com/

My blogs: http://www.blog.donnavancleve.com/

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/donnavancleve

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/help/#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1222644456

Art work by Nessa Dee - http://www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com/ Used with permission. See also http://www.etsy.com/shop/nessadee

#7 Tagging, folksonomies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

Thanks to the Dozen Ways to Two-Step training, I have discovered a wonderful tool called Delicious. It is a social bookmarking site that allows us to collect, tag, and access our favorite Web sites and blogs from any online computer. We can also share our favorites with our peers.

We swim in a huge ocean of information, and librarians' jobs are evolving from organizers and keepers of quality print information (and the DD treasure code) to finders and organizers and disseminators of quality electronic/virtual/online information. The Delicious tool is one more way that we can avoid reinventing the wheel by sharing good information with each other. No one individually has the time to wade through millions of Web sites and blogs, but collectively we can glean the best information out there. Wonderful idea!

Artwork by Nessa Dee at www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com; Used with permission. Also available at http://www.etsy.com/shop/nessadee

Method 6: You, too, can You-Tube

I checked out the McCracken County Public Library, who posted this video on Youtube. and they use quite a few of the Web resources that we've been learning about through A Dozen Ways to Two-Step, for example, the Flickr Web site to store their library activity photos.

McCracken County Public Library Web site: http://www.mclib.net/staff.html. Used with permission.

Youtube video found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu-TijjVs_g&feature=related

Method 5: Photos and Images

These two pictures of my son happened to be on Flickr on the Texas Governor's Flickr account. These were taken in Baghdad when my son was guarding Governor Perry.

Flickr versus Picasa: I guess I prefer Picasa because I'm more familiar with it, but I have used both.

Method 4: Make life “really simple” with RSS and newsreaders

RSS and newsreaders sounds great if I had an iPhone, which I hope to have some day. I can see how this would be a tremendous time saver on personal communication devices. Right now it's easy to access my favorite Web sites/blogs from the computers I use most often. I'm not there yet, but I see how this could be very useful in helping us sort the overwhelming amount of information we have to wade through daily.

Clutter by Vanessa Roeder. www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com. Used with permission.

Method 3: Computing in the Clouds

Cloud-based Computing - "enables users and developers to utilize services without knowledge of, expertise with, nor control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. Utility computing, conversely, provides on-demand infrastructure with the ability to control, scale, and configure that infrastructure."1

Doug Johnson asks the question Could you live in the clouds? referring to cloud-based computing in his Blue Skunk Blog at http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/3/15/could-you-live-in-the-cloud.html. 2 My answer: yes and no. I love the idea of being able to work on some of my projects from any computer. I tend to email myself projects so I can access them anywhere I can find an Internet computer, but I'm out of luck if I sent the wrong file or forgot to send it altogether. I would definitely not depend on the cloud for my only storage, but I love the idea of having my computer files available from anywhere.

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On Michael Stephens’ Tame the Web blog post, 4 he advocates the use of cell phones and allowing unfettered Internet access in the libraries, which would pose risks on several levels in public school libraries. Public and academic libraries are different environments and would be more conducive to working wide-open with the cloud and personal and public information and communication devices.

1 Danielson, Krissi. Distinguising Cloud Computing from Utility Computing. http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/saasweek/2008/03/distinguishing_cloud_computing/

2 Johnson, Doug. Could you live in the clouds? http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/3/15/could-you-live-in-the-cloud.html#comments

3 Roeder, Vanessa. Drifting. http://nessadeeart.blogspot.com/search/label/Illustration%20Friday Used with permission.

4 Stephens, Michael. How can libraries use the cloud? Taming the Web blog, http://tametheweb.com/2008/08/04/how-can-libraries-use-the-cloud/.

Method 1 & 2: Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

I love that the library is ever-changing, always evolving, and technology's merging of print and plastic is introducing more ways of allowing people to access information and reading sources.

A Dozen Ways to Two-Step, Texas State Library & Archives Commission's shortened version of Helene Blowers' work, 23 Things Program, will help me learn more about "emerging technologies on the web that are changing the way people, society, and libraries access information and communicate with each other."1

This blog was created for the purpose of demonstrating and reflecting on what was learned from the Web-based training.

1 - A Dozen Ways to Two-Step. http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/12things/?page_id=116

Library Elves by Vanessa Roeder www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com Used with permission