Week 6

My favorite trait of Flickr is the organizational capacity that it has. If I had a lot of pictures I could make use of the ability to create sets and tags so that I can find the pictures quickly; I could also use the photostream option so I can see my pictures in order of uploading to get more of a chronological view. Not only is tagging important to your own searches but it helps to create a community of pictures on a particular topic- of course if you make your pictures private then it won't show up on searches. Tagging is important especially if you have a lot of photos and want to do a quick gathering of all the photos on a particular subject.

The Flickr mashups are so funny. My favorites were the LOL Cats and the Motivator. I tried making a motivation poster, but I couldn't think of a very clever phrase. I did upload from Flickr onto my blog a retro ad that encourages gaining weight because it's funny and reflective of how the ideal body type changes through the decades.

The most interesting thing I learned was how many organizations and people that I am familiar with already have Flickr accounts. Arcadia Public Library already uploads pictures onto Flickr on a very regular basis. Pictures are really important in websites and are almost critical to blogs in my opinion. People love to see pictures in blogs and the library should post more pictures and advertise the Flickr more.

Don't waste your money...

because I know the secret and it's called BACON. You're welcome.

Week Five

Wikis are a resource that would really work in libraries if they are implemented well. My first exposure like many with a wiki was wikipedia, then I used wikis during my master's program to share information with classmates and our teacher for different classes, and in a past job we had an internal wiki that was very useful.

The issue of wikis having reliable and valuable information has so many variables that it's hard to answer. How many people who actively be contributing, is there a restriction on who can make changes, how often and for what purpose the wiki will be used for, what is the subject of the wiki. For the library, I think the key to the wiki being reliable is for there are moderators who look through the changes for spam/graffiti and who are knowledgeable about the subject so that they can correct mistakes. This question bring on another question that plagues the internet in general: Is it better to have no information or the incorrect/unreliable information?

I worked at a library that had an internal wiki and it was very useful. Because it had a search tool, there was easy access to policy information and troubleshooting including tips on the computers and printing that would take much longer to find if one had to go through the desktop documents. The library could have an internal current events page that staff can change regularly and with ease to give information about things like canceled events or seasonal frequently asked questions.

For the wiki exercise this week I added information to favorite music and favorite movie and it was very simple.

We're such jokesters!

Patron: Why can't I check out a book?

Circ Desk: Well, you have a $300 fine. Didn't the collection agency get in touch with you?

Patron: Yeah, but I thought you guys were kidding...

(As told to be by Andre)

RSS Feeds

After learning more about RSS feeds this past week I can better appreciate the perks that it offers busy people that want to keep in touch with the latest news or information available that interests them. Personally, although I have found that it saves me a lot of web surfing time, I also miss the fun of browsing; there is something to be said about going to a site (maybe the Arcadia Library) looking for certain information (children's storytime sign up date) and while navigating there finding something else that catches your interest (a non-fiction adult book club) that you wouldn't have found otherwise if you had a specific RSS feed.

I subscribed to the NY Times Most Popular page and the LA Times Weekend Events because they change pretty frequently; I also subscribed to the Library Journal News and the Library Journal Intellectual Freedom pages because I mean to go to the site regularly, but always forget to. Also, since I have a wedding to plan, but I am dragging my feet with all the decision making involved, I subscribed to six different wedding blogs that I hope will inspire me with all the pretty colors and ideas including www.theunbride.com which looks particularly interesting to follow.

Using Google Reader and clicking on Add subscription was the best method and the most intuitive for me. I think that I will continue to use the Google Reader, but maybe not very frequently because the feeds were in a screen within a screen so it felt too squished to do all my reading there everyday; maybe if I had less blogs it would feel more manageable. The library can use RSS feeds to inform the public of programs, changes in the library, new exhibits, and changes in library hours including holiday schedules. I think that the library should consider looking at popular RSS feeds from the community and whether it would be possible to add entries now and then about the library in order to expand the number of people exposed to information about the library rather than targeting the regulars that check the page the library's page all the time and have an RSS feed to the blog already.

Quotes

I've decided to begin doing a Quote of the Day in my blog where I will note a particularly interesting, funny, or clever quote or conversation I heard in the library that particular day. I'll start with an oldie, but a goody from the Children's Room:

"I'm looking for a book, and uhhh.... I think it has a fish on the front..."
"Do you remember the title at all or the author or the subject?"
"No, just that it had a fish on the front that was colorful."

I was stumped, but Miss Laura saved the day by miraculously knowing the exact book that the girl was looking for called "Rainbow Fish."

Weeks One and Two!

Although I am not part of the official Arcadia Public Library staff, I feel lucky to be able to participate in this Library 2.0 Challenge. In a previous library that I worked in, they had a program very similar to this one, but restricted it to supervisors and people in administration so it's great that everyone is getting involved here. I browsed the topics for this 11-week challenge and I have some experience with most of the programs and sites, but I hope that this challenge will allow me to learn about more of their features and to be more effective. I especially think that it's great that we are introduced to these tools in relation to how they can and should be used to make our library better.

I thought it was very simple to make a blog especially since I have created blogs in the past (only to stop writing in them a couple months later). Picking a name is difficult especially since people don't delete blogs that they have abandoned like Pam suggested we do. Although I have failed at coming up with novel blog ideas in the past, I think that if I had a real purpose and audience (again, from today's lecture) I could become a regular blogger. Obviously a library blog is a perfect example.

I am not as familiar with the patrons of Arcadia Public Library, but if I were to suggest a way to make the library blog a resource that people use more I would think that frequent posts coupled with fun features such as surveys, pictures, and library riddles or jokes is a good start.

See you around the library and in cyberland!