Thing 17-Wiki
The uses for wiki seem endless. Maybe this is what we need for communication in our CASTL group. (Or maybe Jenni P is already on this!)
I thought it was interesting that one of the wikis in the discovery exercise has had a problem with vandalism. That was one of the first things that came to mind when I considered the downside of wikis. It's too bad that people feel the need to ruin something for others.
I was surprised to learn that WIKI came from a Hawaiian word--I always thought it stood for WHAT I KNOW IS...

Library 2.0 is still a myth in Wilber. We have tried to gradually ease patrons into making use of technology, but in this community change is not welcome to most people. Over the years we have convinced some die-hards to try to learn how to use a computer, and have succeeded in getting a few to actually become computer-literate. Of course, the kids love the computers and use all the "cool" things available--but it's only for entertainment. Trying to get them to use computer resources for schoolwork does not work. We have tried to cooperate with our school system by informing them of resources available at the library, but our efforts are mostly in vain. Most assignments limit them to ONE online source. We'll keep trying. We do not have a website for various reasons. A handful of our patrons have selected their preferred method of notification as email. This has been great for requesting ILLs, renewals, and reminders that books are overdue. If we could just convince more patrons that email is more convenient and cost-saving than long-distance phone calls and leaving messages that get deleted...

Thing #15: Presentations...This was so much fun! I could spend all day watching slideshows but maybe I'll try to find something constructive to use at the library, too.
http://www.slideshare.net/nanvac

Some fun pics about animals

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: pics pictures)

Thing #14: Delicious. I created a Delicious account at the last Training Extravaganza and I really liked it, but kinda forgot about it. Had to reset my password because I can't find my training packet with that info. I looked at other Delicious user's tags for NebraskAccess (boy, do I have trouble typing that!) I think the tag I will use is "databases". I could add all kinds of tags for nearly every database, but I prefer being concise. I don't like "Nebraska" because the site isn't really about Nebraska. "NebraskAccess" is OK but people outside the state wouldn't have a clue what that is, and probably can't get into it anyway

Thing #13: Twitter. I joined Twitter, don't know why. Seems to be just another one of those techno wastes of time. I tried to follow Allana--she's protected; Michael is very busy; NLC Reference is interesting.

This is my Library Thing catalog: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/nanvac
I like this Thing. I have a young friend who wants me to make her a list of the juvenile and young adult fiction that I have read and recommend. This will be much easier than typing up a list. I can think of ways to use this in the library, too. Reading lists for Summer Reading Program, author spotlights, etc.

Thing #11-Technology Since we have just received the WiFi Connectivity Grant my new favorite thing is WiFi and the laptop computer. We have put the word out that the library now has WiFi, but haven't had any "takers" yet. We get calls occasionally asking if we have WiFi (mostly from people visiting in Wilber) so now we can tell them "YES". We didn't know exactly how to make the laptop public access--we really don't want to encourage school kids messing around with it. We have enough trouble with them abusing the public access computers. Then a college student came in to take an online exam. Instead of having him use the public access computers, we put him in a small quiet room with the laptop. He was very appreciative of the peace and quiet as he completed his exam. Our next opportunity came with a staff writer for our local newspaper. She uses the microfilm reader in our Heritage Room to write her articles. We set her up with the laptop and she typed her article and emailed it to the publisher. Worked great.

Thing #10

Thing #9 My question is: Where do people get all the time that they must spend doing this FLICKR stuff???? I don't see anything that would be useful in the library and I certainly won't spend my free time peering into people's lives.

Thing #8--this is my second try at posting. Something didn't go right the first time. I found pictures on Flickr of San Francisco that were taken at the same sites where I took pictures last year. The first one was of the painted ladies Victorian houses across from Alamo Square. The photographer also had a shot of the Tanner house from "Full House". Both shots are from the opening scenes of "Full House" which my daughter loved watching as a child. As a young adult she wanted to see those places. We had the address of the Tanner house and when we arrived, the owner was backing out of the driveway. She invited us to sit on the steps and take all the pictures we wanted. What a thrill!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chenwillie/1331020959/comment72157607107117122/

Thing #7 Finding Feeds. My favorite search tool for feeds is Technorati. It was easy to use and I found several feeds that interest me. I liked the structure of Topix.net--you could subscribe to the topic or to the blog about the topic. I didn't have much luck on Syndic8.com. I found a feed I liked and subscribed to it, but I had trouble getting several links to connect. Just couldn't navigate the site very well. I'm still trying to find a feed that will give me weather updates across the United States, or for selected cities. I'll keep trying!

Thing #6 I am over my head on this one. The blog thing was bad enough but RSS is anything but easy for me. I did OK with the lessons until I got to the one where we add participant feeds. When I tried to copy the URL copy was not an option. After a lot of messing around I right clicked on the blog title and there was "copy shortcut" and that worked for me. I would have appreciated having that instruction instead of "this is as easy as putting the blog URL into the subscribe field in Bloglines". I can see the value of using RSS, especially for my personal use. But when something is more trouble than it's worth, I lose interest.

Thing #5 IM

I managed to have my first IM conversation with Susan. I set up a Windows Messenger account. I also intend to look into Meebo. I like the Me Widget idea but our library does not have a website. I will now use IM to keep in touch with my daughter who is a college student and has been IMing since high school. I think our patrons would like using IM for reference, renewals, and other library info. They would get an instant response during library hours which is preferable to emails, which sometimes get lost in the shuffle. One issue would be the security of personal information, but isn't that always an issue with the Internet?

In reading the 7 1/2 Habits, I would like to choose number 7 1/2 as the easiest, but that's not really fair, is it. So I will choose #2 " accept responsibility for your own learning " as the easiest and #7 "teach/mentor others" as the hardest because I just don't feel comfortable teaching.

I've also decided that I'm not a fan of blogging. I set up a blog yesterday and created a post, but today I could not get back into the account. I finally gave up trying every combination I could come up with, and opened a new account.