Week 10 What A Ride!

While it's always nice to come home again after a trip, I usually feel a little disappointed when the adventure is over. That's how I'm feeling today. The iHCPL 23 Things Training has been an eye-opening journey of discovery for me. I didn't know much about the internet, web resources, or current technology when I started this program (and I'm still amazed at all there is to know!). It was hard to know where to even begin to try and understand it all, or which direction to take. The 23 Things Training has been like a having a map and compass to chart my way through unknown and sometimes frightening territory.

We began by creating a blog to learn how to blog. LOVE that concept. I struggled with decisions as if I were packing for an expedition to Everest. Which template is best? If I forget something can I add it later? Do I really need a widget? Thank goodness there were coworkers who, like Tenzing Norgay, provided guidance, endurance, and led the way on to Flickr, RSS, and finding feeds. Week 5 was like reaching base camp in the Himalayas. I breathed a sigh of relief and recharged by playing with image generators. Those exercises were great fun and definately a favorite. Then it was onward to new challenges: technorati, tagging, library 2.0, and wikis. Discovering Del.icio.us and Zoho was like coming across an unexpected and resplendent vista...beautiful! I can't imagine not using these invaluable web applications. Then came my personal challenges....face your fear of podcasting and digital media. Yikes! I looked around for my faithful sherpa, err...coworkers, and there they were, so we forged ahead, pressing on until, finally, we achieved The Summit. Hooray! Tally-ho! Pip Pip!

Maybe the best thing for me about this training has been that it's given me a solid foundation to build on, and knowledge of some useful tools that I can use to continue learning. Thank you! I'm ready for another adventure and the next 23 things! When can we leave?

Downloadable Media

I really needed to get the lowdown on downloadable media. Not many patrons seem to take advantage of this service, or they do so from home without any help from me, so opportunities to field questions about about how to use ebooks etc. are infrequent. Maybe like me, people are still a little intimidated by the technology, and prefer to use the library in ways they are already familiar/comfortable with. Still, this is part of my job and I'm really glad we are addressing this topic in training.

I found the Overdrive tutorial a bit lengthy, and had to watch it at home because a.there was no time at work, and b.our computers reeeeeeeeeeally do not like to load video. I downloaded the Overdrive Media Console to my home computer and looked at the Harris County digital media catalog for awhile before choosing 101 Great Orchestral Classics vol. 4. Oh! It worked! The hauntingly beautiful Clair de Lune soon filled my headphones.

Now that I have taken the plunge, I am looking forward to exploring more digital library options. Come on in! The media's great!

Podcasting

Whoever said, "Nostalgia aint what it used to be" was right. Why is it that listening to a podcast reminds me of listening to the radio? In the "old days" before television, Mom, Dad, little Susie, and little Tommy would gather around after supper and listen with rapt attention to their favorite programs, like "Dragnet", or "Buck Rogers". Now, through the miracle of 21st century technology, we can......hey, wait a minute! I plunked down a whole boat-load of money for a computer, wireless connection, and pay a monthly cable bill in order to listen to "streaming audio"?

Yes, indeed I did. And once I got over the future-shock, and even later, found an actual site I was interested in subscribing to, I warmed up quite nicely to the whole concept. But a whole lot of aggravation occurred before the pleasant end result:

1. Podcast.net would not load.
2. Podcastalley.com wanted me to download an "aggregator" before subscribing to a feed. Having been told many times not to download anything on library computers, I found it scary to even contemplate completing this step.
3. Yahoo wanted money.
4. I went home and tried it all again from my home computer.
5. Nothing in particular struck me as very appealing, and I yawned alot.

Earlier, a coworker had suggested I look on the BBC site, because she knew they had podcasts there. I found that, and, oh happy day, they even had a link which enabled me to grab their RSS feed and subscribe to a podcast without having to deal with the whole [to my] mind-boggling aggregator issue. I subscribed to "Digital Planet", which addresses how digital technology affects our lives. (Note to self: download binary vocabulary and jargon comprehension aggregator to increase chances of actually understanding aforementioned podcasts.) I next started my quest for library-related audio. I googled The Philadelphia Free Library's webpage (why not start with THE first public library?), and found their podcast for an "Author Event Series", complete with another RSS link. I added that to my bloglines account as well. I selected a lecture by Dr. Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion". His talk was quite lengthy, over an hour, but since I was at home, I happily played mahjong online while listening to him read excerpts and field questions from the audience.

Audience participation is where podcasting has it all over little Susie's radio. Aggregate THAT.

George Harrison - Wah Wah

YouTube

YouTube seems to have joined the ranks of ubiquitous web phenomenon I am aware of and use, but I can't for the life of me remember the first time I encountered it. It has quickly become a favorite place of mine to visit. At my home computer, I added a YouTube button to my toolbar. And presto! I bring The Beatles into my living room several times a week. My daughter has been watching Jeff Dunham so frequently she should be the ventriloquist's understudy by now. YouTube has wonderfully entertaining video clips, as well as incredibly crude and tasteless ones, but fortunately the user maintains control over the content he/she chooses to view.

YouTube has its serious applications as well. One very interesting YouTube category focuses on news and politics. Here you can find reports filed by "citizen journalists" whose work is free from network control, censorship, and/or spin. Wow. Although professionals are quick to note that these reports may lack the appropriate objectivity, I am intrigued and even more interested by the novelty of a news venue where the power of reporting is truely in the hands of the people. The Emmy winning Current TV operates in a similar way, airing short broadcasts created by "users". Their documentaries are some of the most informative, fascinating, and disturbing I've ever seen.

There are so many ways YouTube could be utilized by libraries. It is already being used for training purposes. How about recording storytimes in Vietnamese or Spanish or even American Sign Language? Maybe these could then be posted on the "Kids Know It All" page. A virtual tour of the branch might be a helpful orientation for new patrons, or it could be shown in classrooms at local elementary schools. Teachers could use the video-tour as a jumping off point to teach students research skills needed to complete specific homework assignments. "How To" videos on topics such as how to use the self check machines, print from library computers, or how to purchase a print card, would empower patrons and enable staff to provide better customer service. YouTube could also be used as a marketing tool to promote library programs such as book clubs and special summer reading events.

There are endless possibilities with YouTube. Me, I'm off for an appointment with George.

Zoho

It took me a little while to understand Zoho. I think the actual server was having problems because at first it wouldn't save the documents I created. When I tried again later, I don't think I did anything different, but it worked. Like Del.icio.us, Zoho offers users the convenience of being able to retrieve saved work, wherever you have access to a computer with internet. I created a word-type document with a plain template for the lyrics to "The Logical Song", saved it on Zoho, and selected "publish" to post here.

The Logical Song - Supertramp

 

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
clinical, intellectual, cynical.

 

There are times when all the world's asleep,
The questions run too deep for such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am

 

Now watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical,
liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!

 

At night, when all the world's asleep,
The questions run so deep for such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am