Week #8 Thing #16

I took the easy way out here. I looked at an application specifically designed for libraries. I looked at Villanova's implementation of VuFind. Slick, clean, elegant, open source catalog. Easy to use, easy to text info, send email, grab a citation (though that has an amusing warning message).
Great "more like this" features. Interesting date range e.g. "era" information.

I wonder what the staff side is like. Santa, I want this for Christmas. Please, I've been a good girl.

Week #8 Thing #15

This "week's" assignments are several hours worth really. Need to balance the workload here... I couldn't possibly spend 45 minutes on just one video.

Anyway I explored some of the tools at some length, over an hour or so. Google Docs is great. Would be good for working on committee work with librarians from other institutions. No need to use it for work or home as Office is already there. And wouldn't be permitted to put confidential stuff I work with there anyway.

Basecamp s*cks. I use it for a project I'm working on now. Don't go there.

I do have concerns about what happens to the content of the docs that are loaded to some of these sites. For now I trust Google to not be evil, but I don't know who these other people are.

And as for trusting recommendations, it is nice to get ideas from LifeHacker, but I don't BELIEVE. I get recommendations from people I know and trust. I think it is pretty naive of people to do ANYTHING because it is popular.

Back to work...

Week #7 Thing #14: Using pbwiki

I found the pbwiki software very counter-intuitive. I had trouble figuring out how to edit pages. Perhaps because I'm used to dokuwiki or whatever our software is called?? Perhaps. But there is something to be said for big EDIT buttons ;-)

Week #7 Thing #13: Wikis

Wikis are a useful tool. We have a departmental wiki for manuals and instructions and check-lists which is a huge improvement over having a variety of documents in a variety of versions in a variety of file directories. They are also useful as public information sites. I liked the book review wiki at one public library I "visited." Concerns with documentation is that staff remember that the wiki is public and do not post proprietary information. Concern with all is the work involved in keeping it up to date. Great that you don't need lots of HTML knowledge, but you DO need to learn the particular wiki's syntax.

Week #6: Thing 12: Library 2.0

I read lots of the suggestions and viewed some YouTube videos. What the heck is Library 2.0? I think it is just an attempt by some librarians to kick-start, push, light a fire under, and otherwise energize an otherwise dying profession.

We have relegated the design of our tools (software mostly) to people in other professions. We don't understand how the tools work anymore. We are helpless when they break. We are becoming a retail "store" for information because that's the only part we still know how to do.

Libraries have always been user-centered. To say Library 2.0 is about THAT is bogus, IMHO. We've got some librarians 2.0, but we'll never have libraries 2.0 till all librarians get the skills they need. We understand what users want, but are helpless to help them. We buy crappy systems rather than push back at the vendors. We certainly can't (most of us) build them ourselves.

We start with redesigning library school curricula to make them relevant. Might have a chance to save the sinking ship.

Week #6: Thing 11: Technorati

I spent a bit of time exploring Technorati using the Discovery Exercise questions. The tags used by most people are too broad to be of use as a finding aid, e.g. politics, and there are too many synonyms. Search for "libraries" as a tag brought up lots of programmers blogs.

I did find the advanced search useful when I searched for very specific phrases in posts (I got 40 hits with WorldCat Local and found one interesting blog on the second screen of hits).

So I'd suggest the keyword searches are more useful if you can be specific AND there aren't many other uses for your word or phrase.

Week #6: Thing 10 Part 2: Delicious is delicious

Now here is a tool I will definitely use for work! So hard to keep track of web pages I find for my two separate subject areas, plus eresource stuff, plus... Well designed, intuitive to use. And not tied to my workstation.

I don't expect I'll use much of the social aspect. Too many synonyms in English. Too many poor spellers (perhaps including me ;-). I deliberately misspelled several tags and got lots of "hits." Might try searches if I'm striking out looking for a topic though.