#18: Web-based Applications

Was very easy to set-up a Zoho account. Seems to work just like MS Word -- very easy to use. I like the special characters table and the fact that when you save the document it automatically gives you a word and character count. Had a little bit of a problem trying to rename my file -- it really doesn't like it if you accidently delete the whole name -- had to force a logoff and login again. Wow -- just emailed myself one of the documents I wrote using Zoho Writer -- now that was pretty cool! Could not figure out how to post to my blog ...

#16: Wikis

The "Library Success: A Best Practice Wiki" was the most interesting site. I looked under the category "Cataloging" and there were some nice links to interesting projects, articles, websites, and blogs. I did not know that there was a Catalogablog or a FRBR blog, for example. It was really nice to have links to items of interest to catalogers on one convenient site. I found the article "Cataloging the blogosphere" particularly intriguing!

We tried to use a Wiki last January as part of the Unicorn GL3.1 Java Client upgrade as a way for catalogers system-wide to share functionality they discovered or questions they had within a collaborative web environment space. There was some traffic on the wiki but really not as much as we had anticipated. The PCC also tried to introduce Wikis this year as a means for groups to utilize this online tool for sharing information -- replacing the more traditional email listservs and websites. There was quite a bit of resistance and practically no buy-in because people saw this as just "another place to have to check for information."

I can see how useful this tool could be for conference/meeting planning, the collaborative editing of documents, links to other informational sites, etc. Particularly nice for those of us who never mastered HTML.

#15: Library 2.0

The various perspectives on Library 2.0 were very interesting. As I was reading about this topic, I couldn't help but try to put this within the context of what these changes mean for those of us who work in technical services operations. Questions I wrote down to ponder at a later date included the following:

• How will the changes on the public side continue to directly impact the way technical services operations perform their work in the future?
• How can we reinvent the services we provide to meet our stakeholders/partners in their space as opposed to ours?
• How can we make our services more user-centric and inviting?
• How can we evoke Web 2.0 principles to develop newer services that are more simplistic, customer-friendly, and more self-service?
• How can we improve the way we work with our stakeholders so that they are truly participants, co-creators, builders, and consultants?

I particularly enjoyed reading Michael Stephens' thoughts on how to be a "Librarian 2.0." How do we not only embrace constant change, but also make " ... good, yet fast decisions"? How do we find the time in the workday to watch trends, play and learn about new technologies, etc.?

Two interesting quotes from the Wikipedia entry on Library 2.0 were particularly interesting

"Beta is forever."

"Rigidity breeds
failure."

I see that more pondering is in order ...

#14: Technorati

A search of the term "learning 2.0" netted 14,477 results -- not terribly useful. Investigated the top searches (Georgina Bloomberg and Anna Anisimova top two at present), top blogs, and top videos. So now I know who Anna Anisimova is (the "Russian Paris Hilton)" I know that at one point Barbara Walters only had two friends in MySpace, and that Google has a new "My Location" beta mobile service that does not require GPS. Okay, I'll admit, I did get a kick out of viewing the "Is Europe a country?" top video and found the tags to be quite interesting ("are, you, smarter, than").

Still did not find Technorati that great despite the fact that it is considered the best blog search tool currently available. I think the problem is that there just aren't any things in the "blogosphere" that are of interest to me.

#13: Del.icio.us

I set-up a Del.icio.us account and have bookmarked several websites of interest. Three of them are about how libraries are using blogs -- which I found on the IUL 2.0 account site. This is a very helpful tool and one that I think I will be using quite a bit.

#12: Rollyo Search Roll

The Public Domain e-Books Search was really interesting. Explored Rollyo and created an account. The search roll I created is entitled "Civil War quilts." Despite numerous attempts, I was not able to figure out how to add my searchroll to my blog using the "Create a Searchbox" tool. This was another fun tool to use -- didn't not know that this search engine tool existed. Yes, I can see lots of potential use for tools like this for both work and play.

#11: LibraryThing

Successfully created an account in LibraryThing and cataloged my entire collection on time management and have started on more categories.

My library is located at: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Mechael

Finally, something that I enjoyed doing!!! My goal is to catalog my entire personal library in LibraryThing by the end of December. I'm curious as to how many books I actually own (hopefully less than 200!). I did violate bibliographic control practices by adding a book with a later imprint date than the one I actually own. Okay, I'll admit it -- I really wanted that cover picture in my library and there wasn't one for the older edition ...

I plan to test the functionality that enables access to my collection via the cell phone -- truly a useful feature to have when I'm browsing in bookstores. I have, on occasion, purchased a copy of a book that I already own. :-(

#10: Image Generators

Playing around with different image generators was very entertaining. I found lots of interesting and fun generators on the Generator Blog. For example, to the right is my name created by a Chinese name generator.


Other fun things I found was this candy heart ("as if").


Then there was a Celtic cross-stitch name generator:

I also found a license plate generator at http://license.plates.txt2pic.com/

The best, however, was the Bob Dylan message generator -- now that was cool! http://www.dylanmessaging.com/create

#09: Finding Feeds

I found that Blogline's search tool, Topic.net, and Syndic8.com were the easiest for me to use in identifying additional feeds. I didn't care too much for Technorati. Feedster continues to be unavailable -- it is "changing" and will be "... back up soon with exciting news!"

I was delighted to read that work has started towards adopting a standard feed icon. Hurray!!! Standards, in my experience, are a great thing. :-)

#08: RSS Feeds

I created an online Bloglines account and subscribed to several newsfeeds. I followed the "Using Bloglines Tutorial" for what seemed like hours. I wasn't really up for the optional challenge to provide the URL to my public bloglines account ... However, I finally figured it out and here is the link: http://www.bloglines.com/public/Mechael. The website must have changed as the instructions for finding this information were not helpful. Also, Feedster continues to be unavailable so I could not complete that part of the "Using Bloglines Tutorial" assignment.

Our assignment was to blog about this exercise. I have plenty to "blog" about. There was a charming little "p.s." on this exercise that said, "Once you tackle this discovery exercise, you've tackled the most difficult one of the whole 23. :)." I hope they weren't kidding because this one almost did me in! I found this to be extremely difficult and frustrating despite all of the helpful (and not so helpful) discovery resources. I vote for mandatory standardization of RSS feed buttons!

Really and truly I didn't find much I liked about RSS and newsreaders. Okay, I eventually figured out how to add links, but like Library Leaper, I had more trouble actually finding feeds that were of interest to me. This will be useful for tracking library-related blogs but I doubt I will be using this technology in my personal life -- we'll see. Because I feel like I'm on the computer all day, I have no desire to be on the computer at night "for fun" and social networking. By the end of my day, I am tried of receiving information, responding to information, and dealing with information.

Sorry but I find the basic assumption asserted at the beginning of this particular exercise to have a major flaw ("technology makes life easier"). Technology is cool, but in my experience it makes life even more complicated!

#07: Blog about Technology

All the talk this week seems to be about "Kindle" -- Amazon's new wireless reading device -- essentially an iPod for books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. At $399 this little device is a steal! Per Jeff Bezos (founder, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of Amazon.com), this new product will "out book the book." Two immediate drawbacks to the Kindle: 1.) It can't handle color images or illustrations yet -- just text; and: 2.) if you want to order a Kindle today you are out of luck -- "Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out."

#06: More Flickr Fun

This family pic was created using dumpr's digital camera photographers hobbyists' toyshop -- "museumr." As the site promises, "In just one minute, you will be famous, and your photographs will be displayed in halls all around the globe. Eternal fame is just around the corner!"

#05: Flickr image

Mary Mehegan Hill1888
Originally uploaded by mcharbonn

On St. Patrick's Day this year, we toured the James J. Hill House at 240 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota. Hill (the "Empire Builder") was a pivotal force in the transformation of the Northwest as his railroad provided the backbone for American settlement, agricultural development, and commercial expansion. His secret to success -- "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work." But, it was his wife that I found intriguing ...

Born on July 1, 1846 in New York City, Mary Teresa Mehegan was a child of Irish immigrants who settled in the frontier town of St. Paul in 1850. She married Hill on August 19, 1867. Legend has it that Hill met and fell in love with Mary when she was a waitress working at the Merchants Hotel in St. Paul. They had 10 children. She died on November 22, 1921. This photograph was taken in 1888.

#03: Lifelong Learning Habits

Create an entry about the habits among the 7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits that is easiest and hardest for you & why.

Easiest: Habit 2 -- accepting responsibility for my own learning. Whether reading "how to" books, experimenting on my own, attending classes, or talking to others, I love to learn about new things and/or develop new skills!

Hardest: Habit 1 -- beginning with the end in mind. Although I may have a wonderful goal in mind when I begin any new learning process, time never seems to be on my side. Initial enthusiasm eventually dies out as I do not have large blocks of uninterrupted time to devote to acquiring new skills. The result -- many an unfinished project ...