Week 13 - #20 Here's Looking at You(Tube) Kid

A scene from "Casablanca" is my chosen YouTube download. This is a wonderful film and I never tire of watching it. Another reason why it was chosen was because back in 1992, a friend of mine who worked at Apple showed me a short film clip on his computer from "Casablanca". This was the first time ever I had seen anything like this at all displayed on a computer. This was still the era of "dummy" computers mind you. Though the clip was small in size on the screen the preview was embedded in my memory. I was fortunate as a sample of what the future in computer technology would bring.

Of all the gin joints in all the world...I so love You Tube. Browse and look for clips pertaining to events in recent filmed history, old commercials, film clips, videos you saw on MTV, etc. I am one who enjoys looking for various topics to see if it has been posted to YouTube. It is surprising how many clips are transferred from home video tapes and are archived. Reminisce watching Jim McKay at the Olympics or Miss Monroe singing happy birthday to President Kennedy. Recently, I watched home movies of a group of Santa Cruzans who did knee-boarding during the 1960's. It was great watching. Many people download from their cell phone cameras so we get personal views of incidents like for instance the fires in southern from October (see my blog on Malibu fires).

Week 11 - #19

Pandora - found at http://www.pandora.com/- is a personal disc jockey tool. By selecting a type of music or artist, Pandora will then select artists that match or are similar to your original choice. This is a fun way to learn about musicians and music you are not familiar with. Also, you can select from the choices and save for future listening. As a listener of music, I am always open to discover new artists and music I have never heard of and appreciate the ability to broaden my music-listening horizons.

For a library environment, this would serve a helpful learning tool for a selection librarian who orders music. The librarian can use Pandora to learn about music the community requests/borrows at the library that they themselves may be unfamiliar with. It can be a learning tool for students to discover all types of music and may encourage them to learn more about the subject.

Week 11 - #18 web-based applications & Zoho

I like the idea that people can do so much more with the Internet. Zoho and Google Doc are just two examples of online applications compatibile with any PC. People can become like "Computer gypsies". Accessing their documents saved on Zoho or any online documant application from an Internet Cafe in Paris, France to their local library Internet computer. This may be the answer to people who do not want to invest in a computer but still want the ability to use one. All you need is your username, password, jump drive (optional) and there you are. It enables the user's ability to create, collect, and share information online.

Weeks 9& 10 Wiki: a community meeting place

Three of the sites I would like to talk about for exercise #16: Booklover's wiki, the Bull Run Library wiki and SJCPL Subject Guide. One major observation each site had in common was incorporating their library services and resources and had recommended outside links. Each wiki highlighted their collection and provided a link to the online catalog, provided a discussion tab for wiki users, displayed link to reference assistance,displayed recommended titles in the collection and listed new items. I did find some areas that did not appear to be updated for a year which I found to be a concern.

Bull Run was informative but I found their layout with bullets a bit too much when browsing. Simplify is the key word for browsing in my opinion. Booklovers Wiki contained titles by subject complete with a critque. They offered outside links on books and reading.

The wiki is a great way to connect the library with its users. I like the idea of critiquing book titles that are in the collection. This is a way for the community to share their ideas and offering a chat site can bring people together. An online chat group is another way for the community to work with its local library. I think book reviews by the younger crowd entices the young reader to express themselves through what they have read. They could even do a personal favorites list for public viewing.

The downside of wiki is that in order for it to be successful for the library community, the librarian(s) must understand that monitoring is a key rule. I noticed some of the wiki sites had not been update for quite some time and that I consider a turn-off for a browser. To me it shows the wiki page has either been abandoned and is not in use or that it is a page that is not popular thus not worth using. Updating and monitoring is what makes the library wiki useful and popular. It must be monitored by the library so to keep the friendly atmosphere and eliminate any inappropriate contributions(if any. This must be considered when building a library wiki to ensure a safe, online community meeting place for all. If you do not have the time to commit to creating and being a co-collaborator, then it is not the right tool for you.

23 Things : week #12

The tool I selected to review is "Google Docs". This is a wonderful tool you can use to create a document or spreadsheet, store your work, and have multi-user access to. It is all done in one place called Google Docs. Google Docs allows you to give permission to select outside users to view or edit your work.

This tool is perfect for school group projects or for use as a central work area for group collaboration. It gives you the convenience of group collaboration by virtual use. This tool is accessible on any computer so you can work on your document, spreadsheets, presentations at your convenience and at any time. Google Doc has virtual chat site for you to work on your projects, discuss, and edit your contents with fellow collaborators all at the same time. Your work is stored in files in Google Docs. Presentations can be created and accessed from your Google Docs too. I also like the idea that a draft of your work is automatically saved.

The Google Docs tool would be very useful on the SCPL Home site as part of the homework page for students. We offer electronic resources and links to assist with school assignments so why not add this useful tool? I think this would be a good addition and would be used on a regular basis for papers, group assignments, etc.

Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

I read the first two articles: Michael Stephens "Into a new world of librarianship" and Rick Anderson's "Away from the 'icebergs'" from the OCLC New Space newsletter. I agree with Stephens that it Web 2.0 is a new age for librarians and information institutions and time to upgrade your train of thought, retrain employees, basically do what you can to continue serving quality service to users in accessing information.

Changes within the library profession have happened before and this should be considered no different. I think libraries will be busy for the next few years in upgrading library equipment, and public areas, training staff, to name a few. Our profession will include constant upkeep in the latest computer technology and how to apply it to our job. The role of the library and its function has been going under a transformation. It will be more of a place where the librarian collaborates with the client as per Stephens in creating online tools custom crafted for the individual user.

Felled victim to the Malibu fire

Fire
Originally uploaded by rcmurphy

On Labor Day, my first day of vacation and Catalina my final destination, I was stuck for two hours on PCH. Traffic was insane. Bumper to bumper. You could see hoards of people on the beaches. It was like the famous Weegee photo of a crowded Coney Island beach. The castle was pointed out to me and I wished a camera was at hand so I could take a photo. It was a truly fascinating structure standing on top of the hill. A multi-level castle complete with turrets and walls of stone standing out among the other houses in the area. Something you would not ordinarily think of nestled in the Malibu hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Then came the Santa Ana winds and the fire. It burned down two days ago.

Malibu Fire October 2007

Malibu Fire 2007
Originally uploaded by whoshotya

The fire is trailing down to PCH and Carbon Canyon on Sunday, Oct. 21. Pretty amazing shot.

Technorati

Using advanced search will vary your results byoffering a choice to narrow or broaden your results by posts or by subject relevancy within the blogs. With Blog Directory Search there are three search settings to choose from : relevance results in 431 blogs, authority gives 454 blogs, and freshness results in 452. If I use tag search my results come out to be zilch.
Keyword search results let you also choose the level of authority you want to access. For the highest authority level library 2.0 found 1.030 results and the lowest (any) authority level found 7,503 pertaining to library 2.0. Tags with highest authority found 107 results, and lowest found 2,056.
Technorati lets you manipulate your search results and this I find to be very helpful. Sometimes you want to find blogs on a topic that will have relevance to them. Listing authority levels helps your decision-making.

More thoughts on Rollyo

I am having a fun time working with Rollyo and learning how to use it. There are some instructions I find rather difficult to comprehend and have yet to discover a "help" feature but with perseverance, I will figure it out. One thing I truly appreciate is the "dashboard" feature. I am the kind of person who goes back and will edit or rework something until I am satisfied with the results. A perfectionist. My Rollyo searchrolls have undergone changes since my last blog post and sites have been added and deleted. For now, it is just quicker to do it that way for now until another idea of rearranging and categorizing crops in my mind. My main goal here is to gather useful search tools that can be applied for my professional librarian use.

I have yet to read through any of the set sites provided by Rollyo mainly because I think they may be too "commercial" than what I am looking for as a professional librarian. I shall though browse through them and see if anything catches my eye and may be of use to me.

Week #5 & #6 -Rollyo own

Here is something I can really sink my teeth (& bookmarks) into. How can you get all of the reliable online resources at your fingertips?

You can make your own search engine or searchroll with Rollyo. Rollyo has starter kits of sites by subject category or you can manually add your own choice of sites from the Internet. All you need to do is select sites for your searchroll. You can create as many searchrolls as you want. I have created two searchrolls so far.

Yes, I can already see how useful this tool can be for a librarian! I think it would be such a help to be able to access your personal search list from any computer. Easy access can lead to quicker search results.

How about a searchroll set up for library users to access. I can see how this could be incorporated as a homework tool for students to use along with electronic resources we already provide.

Week #5&6-ST:TNG(enerator)!

Examing the generators under The Generator Blog, I found some not worth using because they ask for you to sign in. I do not feel comfortable doing that so opted out in playing with those.

Perusing through FD Toys, I found Hockneyizer and since I am an art lover, I had to try it out. The image is of the artist, David Hockney. Yep, Hockney got Hockneyed by the Hockneyizer. You can select to reshuffle the polaroids, enter in a background color, download to Flickr if you chose, and edit the image. Pretty fun.

Another art-related generator I found was under The Generator Blog. It is a Warhol generator. You can download an image and it getsl morphed into a "Warhol" painting. Now THAT is something Mr. Warhol would have used in a split second! He would have loved it.

Next Gen blog: who knows?

Week #4 RSS part deux

Using the search settings for feeds on bloglines was easy and the drop down window. The only part I have a gripe about is after selecting a particular feed, I am not sent back to the previous page but to the MY Feed page. I use the backspace key to get back to the previous page. So far I have not found an easier way to return to my last page. Anyone know a better way?

There is so much to choose from and I decided to select for now reliable feeds from sources I am familiar with and know will have useful information for librarians: Library Journal news & features, LJ book reviews, RUSA blog, School Library Journal gadgets news (since I am working in YP for now),LII, and Library jobs listings. I may add Office of Intellectual Freedom or the IF from ALA because it is informative to know the challenges other libraries are facing and how they deal with these issues. There is so much at your fingertips and you can spend a lot of time deciding what to select. Unfortunately, there was no RSS subscription to a complete journal like I discovered with Library Journal and School Library Journal. You have to select by different by categories within the journal.

I tried out the 200 recommended feeds by Bloglines, used keywords for various library-related topics and many blogs are from libraries or personal blogs by librarians. Discovered the advanced search with parameters so you can search for particular blogs.

News-wise I selected BBC world news because they will give a more balanced view of what the US is doing in Iraq. JMHO. CNN because I should get an American POV too.

ttfn!

RSS-it's alive!!

nospmis remoh
Originally uploaded by limowreck666

DOH! Now I know the links on my Google homepage are RSS feeds! I wondered what the B button that sat atop DOCS and Gmail settings was under my Google account page. "B" for Blogger. Doh! Simply addictive this! I've created a monster. So far there are eight feeds on my blogline account. Eight? Doh! I'll name this monster Homer.

Doh!

Merry Maidens

Merry Maidens
Originally uploaded by the earthling

Week #3-
This blog is supposed to talk about something technology related. Well...my first thought was find a photo of an English countryside and this one caught my eye. Just a pleasing photo to look at; no necessary connection to the subject matter at hand. Ancient stones in England have always interested me. Come to think of it...this photo DOES have a connection to technology.
Ponder this. The Merry Maidens could have represented a technology from the ancient era. There is some computation to them I'm sure. An early type of blog possibly? Were the Merry Maidens a stone log (journal) in fact ...a "stog"? Did they tell of the star patterns for each season? From stog to blog. We have come a long way...or have we?

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

-my friend...flickr

Week #3

It has been a time for discovery, patience and a bit of frustration but fun when it works out. I find downloading a photo to flickr easy yet diffy downloading the photo from flickr to my blog. (where's the coffee?)-sigh- I know once I get it right it'll seem so easy but so far I am still arranging things in my head into some sort of logic. I am excited to learn something new.For me, I find reading about flickr can be approached either by wanting to know simple and easy steps and directions or can be approached by wanting to learn more about the mystery of html. Basically, there is something for every level of computer-user. I browsed through the API, and areas where you can customize using html. Wow. Pretty cool.

This is my 'lil fella Babybird!

no coffee for me

how i lived through the day without my coffee...i'll never know.