Thing 23: In summary.....

My journey through the 23 Things has been an eventful and enjoyable one. I have learned much more than I expected to, and I hope that, by having kept my blog and some other notes, I will be able to revisit sites that I found most useful. Also, I have to keep in mind that just because a site doesn't seem useful to me now, doesn't mean it won't be useful to me at some point in the future.

Of course, the main thing I have learned is that the library world (as well as the world in general) is changing fast, and a program such as 23 Things is one way to keep in touch with these changes. The more I learn, the more it makes me aware of all the Things I don't know, so I can definitely see the need for being a "lifelong learner".

Thing 22: Audiobooks

While I have friends who download and listen to ebooks on an almost daily basis (during long commutes), and I find the technology behind that to be quite amazing, I still prefer reading as opposed to listening when it comes to books. I have read and heard about Project Gutenberg, and looking through the website was fascinating. If I were in the position of having a long commute, or other circumstances where I would have more use for audiobooks, then I imagine I would be an active downl0ader. For many people, I can see the great value in downloading ebooks , with Project Gutenberg and similar resources providing almost effortless accessibility.

Thing 21: Useful tools for locating podcasts

Knowing little or nothing about podcasts before today, I have come away knowing more about them, and liking them more than I expected to. The podcast-finding tools were intriguing and easy to use, especially podcast.net. The categories were helpful and specific, and I was able to easily search and find some podcasts of old radio programs by humorist Jean Shepherd (think: "A Christmas Story"). Compared to something like YouTube, these podcast-finding tools helped me make my way to what I wanted without feeling overwhelmed by vastness.

Thing 20: YouTube and other video sites

Looking over YouTube and Google Videos, I realized that what I thought was going to be a short tour had the potential to be a endless, world-wide voyage! I'm struck by the sheer enormity of these sites, and also by the sheer enormity of users who are constantly viewing and posting videos. While there is the possibility of endless amounts of entertainment, social networking, and self-promotion, because these sites are so vast and somewhat uncontrolled, I find it would be easy to get lost here, and never really accomplish anything! I viewed a couple of the suggested "library dominoes" videos, as well as some of the old television commercial videos. To use these sites, I feel that I would need to be looking for something very specific, and even then, without a true controlled vocabulary, what I'm looking for could easily be missed. If specific videos are mentioned, I will revisit theses sites to view those videos, but I doubt I would use these sites again without a specific objective. Entertaining and useful, yes, but maybe just too massive for me.

Thing 19: Web 2.0 award winners

The list of Web 2.0 award winners is a list that's very good to be aware of. I was impressed at how many sites/tools we've visited as a result of participating in 23 Things, but I was surprised by how many interesting sites/tools are on the list. There are some on the list that I plan to explore at a later date, but for this exercise, I chose to explore "Donors Choose.org". This site provides users with the chance to identify local teachers' classroom needs, and make contributions accordingly. I thought this site provided a lot of useful philanthropic information that isn't readily available all in one place, especially sorted out by state/city. The fact that the site requires teachers to write a "proposal" concerning their classroom needs, seems to make it more reliable- if a user wants to donate to a local classroom, they can contribute to a specific proposal that they like, or contribute where the need seems the greatest. While the content of this site was unique and useful, navigating around the site seemed a little awkward to me. The tabs were not as clear or prominent as they could be. In spite of that flaw, I could see librarians recommending this site to customers looking for ways to make financial contributions that would benefit their own communities and schools.

Thing 18: Online productivity tools

I chose to set up an account in Google Docs, and found it surprisingly straightforward and simple to use (although I wasn't trying to do something all that complicated). I created a document, edited it, saved it, and retrieved it again, all without a problem. On the surface at least, Google Docs does seem like a product that could take the place of Microsoft Office or other software-based productivity tools, especially since with Google Docs the user would not have to be concerned about different versions of software when using different PCs. Google Docs appears to be a tool which is flexible and universal in its uses.

Thing 17: Maryland Libraries Sandbox

The "sandbox" name was appropriate, as playing with this was a lot of fun. In addition to adding my blog to the Favorite Blogs page, it was great to look at the list of all other Maryland Library participants and check out some of their blogs. I stumbled upon the blogs of some librarian friends from other counties, and it was fascinating to read their experiences with 23 Things.

Thing 16: Wikis and libraries

Until today, the only wiki I was familiar with was Wikipedia, but through the readings and exploration, I can see that wikis could be used by libraries and librarians in a multitude of ways. Wikis, as used by Princeton Public Library and SJCPL, would replace the static, old fashioned, print versions of pathfinders or recommended readings lists. It would seem that the flexible, super-current wikis would be an ideal replacement for the printed lists used in libraries, that become outdated almost as soon as they are printed. An added benefit would be the networking facet- information can be contributed easily by a variety of participants, thus enhancing the scope and completeness of the wiki.

Thing 13, Thing 14, and Thing 15: Del.icio.us, Technorati, and The Future of Libraries

Del.icio.us was not hard to use, but I found it to be a little too uncontrolled for my liking. I did get in and tag a few sites, and I did some searches as well, but the fact that users are tagging without a controlled list of tags, made me wonder about the usefulness of this type of site. The fact was mentioned that most users found the value of Del.icio.us to be its social networking aspect, and I imagine that this is true. Del.icio.us may just be more about social networking that about classifying and finding information.

Searching on Technorati was interesting. Keyword searching of "Library 2.0" in blog posts resulted in 4,384 hits, while searching tags resulted in 701 hits, and searching the blog directory resulted in 698 hits. Keyword searching for the topic anywhere in the post resulted in many more hits because it was so broad. Searching just the tags or the blog directory yielded a much lower number of hits because the search was much narrower. I was relying on the phrase "Library 2.0" to have been assigned (as in a tag) rather than to have that phrase appearing randomly somewhere in the blog post. Exploring the top favorited blogs, top searches, and top blogs surprised me by their variety. All aspects of popular culture were well-represented (new cars, youtube videos, celebrity antics), but I found that political, philosophical, and educational topics were present as well.

The readings I did on Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 were thought-provoking. I was struck by the need for librarians to be aware of new trends (which is what 23 things is all about), and by the fact that library customers will be increasingly active and informed in their search for information. The readings, for the most part, did indicate that there will still be a need for libraries and librarians, just that they will need to "change with the times", to continue to make themselves relevant.

Thing 12: Rollyo

When I was reading the information about Rollyo, my attention was immediately caught by the questions: "Do you have a group of websites that are your favorites?" and "Do you have a set of online resources that are similar, and that you frequently use to answer homework or reference questions?". These statements caught my attention because I DO have a list of eight favorite websites that I search at least monthly, looking for new, different, and original cookie recipes. Since I had my list ready, I went right into Rollyo and set up my account, and then created my search roll. I've since used my search roll several times, and I'm pleased with the results as well as the efficiency of searching.

I could see many potential uses for a tool such as Rollyo search rolls, especially if users already have a well-defined search, and have identified a number of websites that consistently meet the user's needs. However, if the user has not yet identified a group of websites that they are happy with, I could anticipate that there may be a good bit of wandering through the "website jungle" to find the best websites for that user. Rollyo does offer easy access to other users' search rolls, though, so that might be a satisfactory option for Rollyo users who have not yet set up any search rolls.

As for myself, I am happy with my one search roll, and expect to continue to use it regularly.

Thing 11: Library Thing

Library Thing is my favorite "Thing" so far. Easy to use, and I could see lots of uses for it. Creating an account, and starting to build my "library" was a fun exercise. The idea that each book you add connects you with other people who've added the same book is very interesting to me- how tools like Library Thing connect people and make the world so much smaller. I could also see small libraries finding Library Thing to be a great resource for their cataloging information.

While some of the "Things" I've learned about in "23 Things" are interesting, I may never use them again, but as a librarian, cataloger, reader, and book-lover, I'm sure to revisit Library Thing, and here's the url for my fledgling "library":

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lifelongcataloger (catalog)

Thing 10: Play around with an online image generator

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Meez was great fun to play with, and I imagine that if more time were available, Meez could be endlessly entertaining! The options available were so numerous, that after a while, I felt that I had to just pick a few basic options and let it go at that. My image is looking at a map, and is a little lost, which is how I felt at times, especially when I tried to export my image into my blog! That was a bit of a struggle, but I consulted one of my more experienced co-workers (thank you Joan!) and my image was rescued at last!

Thing 8 and Thing 9: RSS feeds, and MERLIN

I successfully set up my Bloglines account, and then set about finding a few RSS feeds that I wanted to subscribe to. This experience was amazing- there is just so much information on SO many topics! If you have many interests, it strikes me that you could quickly be overwhelmed by TOO much information. In that respect, I found Feedster a very helpful tool in choosing a few feeds. I fear that I may have chosen too many, and then will be drowning in information, but I'll see how it goes. I can always go in to my Bloglines account and revise things if I find that I'm getting far too much information. One that looks especially cool is "Cookies in Motion"- a site/blog dedicated to baking cookies and exchanging relevant tips and recipes. I hope to share the "benefits" of this subscription with my willing co-workers.

Exploring MERLIN and a few other library-related blogs was interesting. I knew about MERLIN, but had not yet taken the time to look it over, so I'm glad that Thing 9 encouraged me to do that. MERLIN seems to have a lot of great information, all of it so relevant to us library people here in Maryland. I especially like the idea of getting information on library training and workshops in Maryland, as well as the opportunity to see what other Maryland libraries are doing. Blogs like MERLIN will truly make our world much smaller, and the chances for sharing information much greater!

Thing 6 and Thing 7: Flickr 3rd party sites & Mashups, and Anything Technology Related

I spent some time exploring Flickr 3rd party sites and mashups, and most enjoyed Trip Planner. It was so easy to use, and I found lots of practical information and possible touring schedules, as well as some fantastic photographs. Actually, the touring schedules looked like Trip Planner's best feature- and the information couldn't have been more up-to-date. One of the trips I was looking at had just been posted within the hour! I think I will be returning to Trip Planner before my next vacation.

As far as blogging about something technology-related, I would have to say how impressed I am at the technology of the MP3 player that we received as part of our 23 Things training. The size of the player (tiny) as well as the capacity (huge) are truly impressive. When I look at the player, all I can think of is how far technology has advanced in such a very short time. It also makes me wonder what technological advances are still to come, and I'm hoping I can keep up!

Thing 5: Explore Flickr

Flickr is quite fascinating, and it seems like it can be used in an endless variety of ways. I was amazed at the fact that you can search almost any topic, and you'll find that someone (or in some cases, MANY people) have posted photos related to that topic. An example of this can be seen in the photo below, which was found when I searched for: Belgian Sheepdog's eyes. Now that I know about it and have a Flickr account, I think it will be fun to explore the website in more detail, from my home computer.

Maddie's Eyes- Belgian Sheepdog

Maddie's Eyes- Belgian Sheepdog, originally uploaded by Aphelion Art.

Love these amazing eyes!

Thing 3 and Thing 4 : Create a Blog, and Register a Blog

I am surprised at how simple it was to create my very first blog! Playing with the layout and colors was fun, too. It is an interesting new way to share and communicate, and I think I will enjoy reading others' blogs to get a new perspective on our learning journeys.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 : Starting My Journey, and 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners

Regarding the 7 1/2 habits tutorial: I found it most interesting that there are so many ways we learn- many ways that are beyond the traditional confines of a classroom or a book. That is something I need to focus on a little more. I have never considered that we can learn just as much from playing, or socializing just as well as sitting in a classroom.

I am looking forward to moving on to the next of the 23 things, and seeing what learning experiences await me there!