Beyond Method 12

Fist of all, let me say that I have never taken a more interesting course as this one and the Two-Steppin' course that proceeded it. My eyes are open to Web 2.0 like never before. Everything in Beyond Two Steppin', was a revolation to me and I loved it all, especially Smilebox, Prezi, Goodreads and Google Maps.
I think all this new knowledge will help me make better choices for our patrons. I would like to make them aware of some of the resources covered. Using Prezi would be a fun alternative to Powerpoint for the students. Some of our jobseeker patrons are aware of the Texas Workforce Sites but not the Goodwill site and I'm sure none of them are aware of Visual CV Resumes. We have many patrons who would love Goodreads or Library Thing. This would be useful for a library bookclub for those who cannot get to the library for the meetings. I would like to make our website reflect all this new knowledge, maybe using Netvibes, screencasting or maybe a podcast. We could use Google Maps to show where we are which would improve our visibility and online surveys to improve our programming.
The unexpected take-away was that while watching several youtube videos I discovered many other related videos describing other free websites that our patrons would enjoy. For the young children, Storybird.com provides an easy venue for children to create their own stories. This could lead to a contest at the library for best, or most imaginative story or we could have a contest for young adults using Smilebox.
The web is always changing. I feel that this is an ongoing learning experience and I would definitely take any course on this subject that you would offer. I like the formatting of the course and can offer no improvement for it.

Beyond Method 11

I used Polldaddy.com and found it very easy to use. Typically, we have polled our patrons using the paper and pencil method but I think the time has come to poll them digitally on our website. I believe that the people who do our surveys feel that it is easier to just give someone a piece of paper when they come in but when we do this we are only getting the response of tried and true library patrons who are there practically every day,not the greater population of library users who more and more are using our website to see if books are available and putting them on hold as opposed to coming to the library and browsing our shelves. That is probably why we are decreasing our book stacks by half.
I can't see using Polleverywhere in our library because what seems to make it different from tools like Polldaddy is that you can text in your response on your mobile devise. That kind of technology hasn't become cheap enough for most of our patrons in our small town.

Beyond Method 10

I have participated in Webinars but have not used any of the tools listed to set one up for anyone. The ones that I have participated in usually had their own challanges in the set up. I have to contact IT for every webinar as there always seem to be something that has to be disabled. The last webinar I participated in was learning to use BIB II, a website by Brodart. I used the telephone for the audio. The program was either Go to Meeting or something similar. We have had remote tech support for city employees for some time and the tech folks find that it saves a lot of time running around to various city agencies to fix minor computer problems.
Libraries like Seattle Public and New York Public have so many tools available to them such as Facebook and other social media. We have social media, youtube, etc. blocked, not on our patron computers, but on our staff computers. This takes all of the joy out of creating a library Facebook page with staff not being able to see it or participate. Looking at what these larger libraries are doing with Facebook or other social media is inspiring especially the Senior and Readers Advisory webinars. The ageless project is a wonderful tool to keep Seniors from all walks of life connected. Living history blogs could be created by seniors and enjoyed by everyone. Youth could participate as well. Maybe even a adopt a grandparent program could be set up. Coming from a small library with a large senior population, I would like to think that someday we will be using these tools.
Skype seems to be something that we could use now. Many of our patrons have military and relatives in other countries who would appreciate being able to connect computer to computer without charge.
I love the idea of conferencing or book clubbing with authors. This is something that we will have to look into to see what interest we have amongst our patrons and what authors are willing to participate. At the present time we do not have any audio or visual hardware that would make this possible but I'm sure that we could get the money to buy what we need if the possible conferencing were investigated.
So we have a lot of challanges to overcome but as we are to be the "Technology Library" when we re-open in January, I think we will be able to make a case for the use of these tools sometime soon.

Beyond Method 9

Photo slideshow made with Smilebox

I used the Scapebooking technique to tell a little story with Smilebox. I thought that this would be something that I could use easily to create something about the library when it reopens. The little story, told from the animals perspective, is about the wildlife that can be seen in one or two days in Victoria, Australia. I took some of the pictures but I also took some from the web (the blurry ones.) This took me some time as I was unfamiliar with how to transfer the pictures into Smilebox but I finally did it.

Beyond Method 8

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXjnr0rTw

I unfortuately do not have a working microphone on my computer but I did do the exercise and had a good time doing it.  I was showing how to look up a DVD in our catalog as you can probably tell.  It's very easy to put their templete on top of the page that you are going to screencast about and everything is very clean cut for just a basic screencast.  I can see using this to provide instruction for just about anything, such as how to use the catalog and how to do basic computer functions for classes in computing.  Being so easy to use, I can see getting carried away and screencasting everything.  Of course, if we did this, we might be out of a job!

Beyond Method 7

Copy of Dan Brown Author on Prezi

I chose to use Prezi because it looked so radically different from Power Point.  I used Power Point in graduate school and found it very easy to use but there was a sameness to it no matter what subject you chose.  I love using Prezi.  It was fun.  Although I only added a few fields to my presentation, I felt that I learned the basics.  I really liked the simplicity of Prezi; one page to arrange your presentation on and multi use tools like the transformation zebra to change the text or graphics.  I can see when doing a presentation with a lot of information that you would have to be very careful in how you arrange your information and limit the number of zooms so that the audience doesn't get motion sickness.  Before this course, I was not aware of any of the other presentation tools except the one in Google Docs.  Google Docs is very effective for presentations dealing with charts and graphs as they can all be created in the google suite.
The other presentation tools presented, except Slideshare look like various versions of a super power point with the advantage of being in the cloud and accessible wherever there is Internet.
I can see using these tools especially Prezi and Sliderocket on the library website.  I feel that I could help someone coming into the library and looking for an alternative presentation tool.

Beyond Method 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4276
I had no idea that there were so many formats and accessibility issues with e-readers.  In helping out patrons (who are already asking about ebooks when we closed our library for renovation) there is a definite learning curve that we as librarians have to master as nothing is standardised.  As we know, e-readers like Kindle and Nook were not developed for libraries but for purchases off of Amazon and Barnes and Noble so standardization is probably not in the future.  I find Project Gutenberg very easy to use if you are going to download it to a computer, however, downloading to the various devises is something else.  Here, in this time of transition, librarians are needed to be media techs.  After our library re-opens in January, we will be purchasing several kinds of e-readers so that we can serve as teachers to our patrons especially those retirees that just received an e-reader from a younger relatives. After practicing, I'm sure we will be up to the task of helping them download from Project Gutenberg when the owner of Kindles, Nooks, and other devises come in asking for help.

Beyond Method 5

I loved Goodreads at first sight although I enjoyed reading some reviews in LibraryThing.  I would like to have a class for our older ladies and gentlemen who are avid readers on how to use Goodreads as I feel it is easier to use.  So many of our patrons read series fiction and finding the next book in the series is easy on Goodreads as well as finding like authors that the patrons will enjoy.  I think that patrons would like to review books on a virtual book club on our library website.  They could find friends from our library or the San Antonio Library who are reviewing on Goodreads.  Teens would enjoy this as well.  The tags are so much easier to create and use than library subject headings.   We have a fair amount of suggestions for purchase and Interlibrary Loans but I think that this would add to it as patrons would be continually finding books that they want to read.

Beyond Method 4

As many other libraries at this time, we have people coming in who have not used a computer and are being told by employers that they must apply online.  Our library does not have a computer training program so the websites that are available are a big help for us.  I was not aware of the Goodwill site and I feel that even someone who hasn't used a computer before would find it helpful.  The Texas Workforce site, twdl.org is also most helpful.  I hope they keep getting the funding for this site.  Looking at Visual CV, I wonder what company would be interested in receiving resumes with so much information in them when usually they want one page only.  I guess you could pack more information in a youtube video.  This kind of resume would work well for people interested in getting a job in advertising or sales and would help the person who hires in eliminating people based on their youtube presentation,  podcasts, or their charts and graphs.  I like Linkdin, in that it seems more professional than Facebook in networking for a job.  All these websites are going on the reference computer so that we can refer our patrons to them.  I'm sure it will help them learn computer skills, find jobs electronically and apply for those jobs.

Beyond Method 3

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

This link will take you to the general area, click my places, then Hunt Walking Tour.

I love Google Maps.  They have done a lot with it in the last few years with street views and satellite views.  However, I find  creating a map full of problems.  When I wanted to put in a description, the increase/decrease bar was in the way and could not be moved so I didn't put in as many descriptions as I wanted to.  I have no idea how I managed to put in the ones I did.  Whenever I was able to use the line tool (very difficult) it would change the positioning of my map after I tyed in the box for the heading and I would have to go back and reposition the map.  If I clicked too close to a landmark on my Richmond map, it would pop up a google description box of that landmark so I gave up on that one.  Too many extranious boxes where popping up every time I clicked.  There should be some way of disabling the description boxes when you are trying to create a map.  

Beyond Method 2

Netvibes versus iGoogle
I have used iGoogle before and like it's clean lines but it can't be used on our 18 public computers.  Netvibes on the other hand seems to have everything and it shows in it's cluttered appearance.  iGoogle would work as a staff page but we would need Netvibes for the public computers.  I like the idea of everything on the opening page but it should be designed so that people are not confused by the clutter.  There are multiple tabs that can be used with Netvibes but I feel that is defeating the purpose of a single opening page.  Netvibes could be used as a sort of super webpage including the things that we know our patron access on their own.  Newspapers, Texas Workforce, games, news, and entertainment, library activities, and maybe a youtube video imported for a new book that we have just received are just a few of the things that could be included.

Method 1 "Beyond Two Steppin'"

 I'm about to start the course "Beyond Two Steppin.'"  I hope to get a little more creative on this part of the blog for this course.

Method 12 Reflections

I can see a fully technological library in the near future using all of these Web 2.0 technologies.  I was surprised to see that so many libraries are using Delicious and are tagging their collections.  The technologies that I can see adapting for our small library are Flickr, Delicious, Wiki's and Podcasting.   It will be a long time before Youtube is even considered mainly because it's just too entertaining and staff would be tempted to abuse it.  Google Docs is a great place for patrons to compose and store their reports and resumes.  So many of them don't bring storage devises with them, the computer automatically shuts down and all is lost, but not with Google Docs.  Storing documents in the "cloud" is the wave of the future despite the privacy issues.   I enjoyed this course so much I may have rushed through some of the sections but I got the general idea.  I want to have enough time to complete "Beyond Two Steppin'" before August 31st

Method 11 Podcasts

I can see many uses for a weekly library podcast.  The content could include: what new at the library, library events or even booktalks for new books.  It could be just like a newletter.  Libraries could interview city officials on certain city related topics such as library funding.  Teens could broadcast their own library podcast with books and music of interest to them.  It would be a great broadcasting experience.

Method 10 Wiki's

I found this exercise rather challenging. I added to the Favorite Vacations wiki but unfortunately, I ended up adding it twice.  I cannot figure out how to eliminate one of them.  When I try to edit, nothing appears in the edit area.  I have a feeling that I need to practice adding to wiki's to avoid this in the future.  Wiki's can be used anywhere in the library and the library community to share information and ideas.  The list of uses would be endless.  In a system with library branches, it could be the one area that youth librarians could share ideas for programs.  It could be a book club for teens or adults.   Everyone is so busy these days, a discussion could be had on the Wiki. 

Method 9 Chat and Instant Messaging

I have used the chat function on my Facebook account and find it very easy to use.  However, just because someone is on Facebook at the time doesn't mean that they want to chat.  I think people feel obligated to chat when someone starts the conversation even though they may be engrossed in other pursuits.  Chat is immediate, but now with smart phones, email can be immediate as well.  I can email a friend using my gmail account on my smart phone at no charge but have to buy a texting plan or spend $.25 for each text sent.  Email or chat, if the person isn't there to receive the message it really doesn't matter. The edges are being blurred between email and chat now that the smartphone has become so prevalent.   As for chat for libraries, I don't think that it is essential but can be an additional form of communication.  Many libraries including my own would not consider it as they see it as affecting productivity or a tool to be misused.  Social media is looked on in the same way as the Library is part of other city systems with all employees use the same computer system.  For difficult questions at the reference desk, the patron would still have to wait for an answer thus making chat irrelevant.  They might as well have emailed.  For the shy person, IM would be great but most people phone with their reference questions, others email.  Libraries can't staff 24/7.  I went to the UNC Chapel Hill chat site on Facebook and found that the reference librarian was not available and to leave an email. 

Method 8 Social Networking

Social Networking Page Versus a Standard Library Webpage. 
A standard library webpage, such as most libraries have, is more solid than a social networking page which I see as being very fluid.  As more people become "connected" we could gage what we are doing right and perhaps what we are doing wrong in our library.  The site would give our patrons the opportunity to involve themselves in the library with blogs and tweets. Library users are usually very verbal about what they want their library to be and one person's comment could be the starting point of a debate on library policies.  The library could use the networking page to gear the popularity of programs while still in the planning stages thus avoiding programs that have no interest in the community.  It would be a more effective tool in advertising our summer reading program as I could upload video and photos of previous professional events with ease. Comments on the performers would help me with decisions about who to hire next summer.  It also provides an easy way for other friends of friends to see our posts.  The uses are endless on social media. 

Privacy
I do like to separate my personal and professional life, although I have had a Facebook page for awhile mainly to keep track of my friends and relatives who post quite often.   I keep my privacy settings so that only my "friends" can see my posts and have limited my personal information in the profile.  Many of my friends will not post a picture on Facebook because of privacy fears while other relatives have posted pictures of everything in their lives.  I believe any website can be hacked and personal information stolen.  On the whole I would not have a problem being involved with a Facebook Group page but I would not have an individual professional page as well.  I can see why an individual professional page would be important to a younger librarian for their professional development and networking or for a librarian of any age with a special project or ideology that they would like to share. 

Method 7 Delicious

I set up a Delicious Account at home for my personal email and only had minor problems.  It seems easy to use but I found that I could only use one word as a tag at a time which of course is the purpose of tagging but I think that sometimes two is necessary.  I was looking up car rental websites for a future trip and somehow the separate words car and rental just didn't seem enough.  I do like the fact that I can have my bookmarks on different computers, for as a librarian I am always using two computers, one in the office and one at the reference desk.  The librarians can share and add websites and tags. I see Delicious not replacing subject heading but as an addition tool.   When everyone can add tags, Delicious becomes more adaptable to new words than subject headings are.  I know that young people would enjoy this as their vocabulary is constantly changing.

Method 6 You Tube

The video clip that I chose came from Yahoo video.  I wanted to find something that would advertise a certain book for a certain event such as a book club.  The video clip I chose is entitled "SAPL's Big Read 2009 Fahrenheit 451" from San Antonio Public Library.  It is done with red letters on a black background which is very attention getting and uses fire which is mesmerizing.  It is short and demands your attention.   Hopefully in the future smaller libraries will see the value of these media sites to advertise their programs and libraries. 

A Dozen Ways to Two-Step Method 5

gordinier's photostream on Flickr.

I love flickr! I'm sure the library could use this as a tool to post the pictures of the renovation. We could also use it for publicity for summer reading once the permission slips are signed.

A Dozen Ways to Two-Step Method 4

http://www.bbc.com/
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/
http://online.wsj.com/home-page

I added links to the Google Reader about three years ago in a class.  It is a powerful tool if you use it but finding time to use it is the problem as well as having access to it.  I haven't used it since the class.  Most times I will go to Google news with the time that I have.  Also our city doesn't allow us to go into Google reader as it is under the umbrella of social networking.

A Dozen Ways to Two-Step Method 3

The security of cloud computing has been questioned from day one and now that Apple has gotten in game with the I-Cloud, security is in the news again.   How secure is our personal information anyway.  Computers in Banks can be hacked as Citibanks was.  Nothing is 100% sure.   Google Docs is a wonderful place to create documents and share them.  It allows us to create a document and not have to have a device to store it on, such as a thumb drive.  Many of our students at the library opt to use Microsoft Word, which we provide, and do not use google docs.  Sometimes they loose their work when their time is up and the computer shuts down. 

Thoughts on a new course

Our library is closed for renovation and when it opens it will be a new improved electronic library.  I want to extend my knowledge of social media past wickipedia and facebook so that I can bring something new to the library.  I feel that libraries are becoming global information access stations.  Librarians as usual will be needed to sort it all out.