Week 6

Week 6 - video time! As you can see, I managed (finally!) to embed a favourite YouTube video - this beautiful cat Duslo reminds me of my beloved Mista Petie Schweets, another British Blue shorthair, who sadly died aged 16 in 2008. RIP my beloved boy.

I did find this adventure a little difficult. The challenge in embedding the video was that I couldn't get the entire address to copy to my blog entry - I eventually did it using a tip from one of the other students (ie via using the 'more share options' path). I also found that the layout template I originally selected for my blog meant that the size of the video screen, when embedded in my blog, only allowed part of the video to be seen (some was cut off). So I selected a new layout template, and also played around with new colours for my blog (text and background) at the same time!

As instructed, I also viewed a range of videos on YouTube and Google video, including the 'We love our NJ libraries' clip (excellent promotional material for a library). It is easy to see the many uses of video in the library environment eg oral history from members of the local community; documenting library buildings, layouts, and events; staff orientation and training; library user education; and marketing/promotion.

Week 5

Learning 2.0 week 5 and wikis! This seems to be an exciting and controversial area, perhaps because it challenges so many traditional concepts regarding information creation and publication.

I looked at a number of wikis, including the following:-

Book Lovers wiki (Princeton Public Library)

This is a library wiki centred on the Princeton Library's Summer Reading Club for adults. It seems a great idea for promoting reading - the wiki is an excellent medium for sharing book reviews and responding to others' reviews - the closest thing to a cyber book club! It is well-designed (naturally - being a library site!) eg with an index (by genre) to reviews.

Wookieepedia (the Star Wars wikipedia)

Wow! This is a world unto itself - very much a wiki for a specific community (of fans!) When I viewed the site (31/3/09) there were 65, 759 articles listed. It was easy to use, with options such as search, featured articles, and view recent edits.

It was also interesting to note a very real concern with quality issues eg a system of rating articles (by a panel of Wookieepedians known as the 'Inquisitorius'), as well as a category for articles that need to be expanded/require further work.

The Full Library Success: a best practices wiki

This wiki is good for sharing ideas re library best practice in a range of areas eg readers' advisory, reference, promotions, services to specific groups, and technology. It represents a great range of resources - I loved the 'Display' ideas (under 'Selling your library'), especially the 'Banned Books'! The site was very intuitive to use, navigate, locate help, etc.

Re the hands-on exercise for this week - contributing to a wiki - I added my thoughts on working as a branch librarian to the NSW Learning 2.0 wiki. Wouldn't have believed it could be that easy!

Week 4

Week 4 of the Learning 2.0 programe - and I'm pleased to say that subscribing to the RSS feeds was the most straightforward exercise I've undertaken so far!

I added the following 5 sites to the RSS reader:-

• Librarybytes (Helene Blowers' blog)
• ABC News: Entertainment
• Statistically Speaking (ABS for librarians)
• Faith and theology (Ben Myers' blog)
• Powerhouse Museum's photo of the day blog

I can certainly see the advantages of RSS, in terms of 'pushing' newly available information to you, rather than compelling you to waste time searching for it. I do note, however, the concerns of other participants in Learning 2.0 regarding the masses of information that can result (and our inability to process such a never-ending avalanche of new data). I suppose the best solution is to be as discriminating as possible in one's choice of sites to which to subscribe....

In the library environment, I can certainly see the advantages of using RSS to ensure timely access to the latest developments in the field (perhaps especially via library technology sites, due to the pace of technological change). There is also the option of assisting readers of a library blog to access updates by advising them to subscribe via RSS, and assisting them in doing so!

Week 3 (library cat!)

library cat, originally uploaded by Lumi*.

I couldn't resist including this image of a 'library cat', having just read Dewey: a small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron. I adore cats!

This third week of the Learning 2.0 course has been a revelation - I hadn't previously ventured into the world of photo sharing. I can envisage library uses such as sharing images of library layouts, display and promotional ideas/events, competitions, and of course local history image collections....among others!

I did experience problems when attempting to use the Blogger photo upload tool - whatever I did, I ended up with a blank page (no photo!). After a couple of frustrating attempts, I proceeded using Flickr's blogging tool (and I'm hoping it's going to work!).

I was interested to note the group tagging guidelines set forward by the Libraries and Librarians Flickr group, which included mandatory, conditional, and optional tags. I imagine that with our backgrounds in cataloguing and indexing, most library staff would be quite attentive to (and proficient in) tagging!

I was also interested to note the advent and development of Creative Commons - the concept of less restrictive copyright seems more in tune with the new ways of working, networking, and interacting that have been engendered by the online environment.

Week 1- 2 (my first ever blog entry!)

Hi all.



Here I am about to commence my first ever blog attempt, as I begin the Learning 2.0 program. As a library officer working in a public library, I am very much aware of my need to come to grips with the world of 2.0. Lifelong learning for librarians has clearly been mandated by the relentless pace of technological change, with all its implications for the flow of information and our customers' existing and emerging informational needs.



To date, I have a limited familiarity with blogs, mainly encountering them when surfing the net exploring topics of personal interest. For example, I am interested in theology, and yesterday discover a great blog, Faith and theology (faith-theology.blogspot.com), written by a theological scholar. The strengths of a good blog seem to me to be currency, richness of content, and the bonus of varied and continuously changing material.



In the context of my library, a staff member has set up a blog for one of the library's book clubs. Moves are also underway to start a more general library blog, pitched at an adult client group. If effectively promoted, it would seem to be an excellent vehicle for highlighting promotional events, new developments, best sellers/new materials, and various services and collections. And of course, blogs allow us to get feedback from, and interaction with, our customers!



I have called my blog techno-treasure hunt because a personal aim for me in undertaking Learning 2.0 is to discover the 'jewels' of this new technology - the uses and applications that I find most valuable in my own work and life