Thing #16: Playing around with wikis

Waiting to be granted access to the sandbox...

Thing #15: So what’s in a wiki?

I was familiar with the notion of a wiki and have used Wikipedia numerous times myself, but found the links to various wikis informative and they helped expand my understanding of just what these things are all about...

In an age where people want information FAST, a wiki seems like a great source, that is after all the reason I've referenced it in a pinch. If it is open to everyone and accessible from anywhere, this could be a great tool for our library patrons to update community information, book/movie/music reviews, and a collective place for people to keep one another updated on various issues. I think this could also be a great source for library staff members - as it was mentioned in one article, sometimes the vast amount of emails that come through can be overwhelming to keep track of, but having one place to look to share and/or edit information sounds kind of ideal. It also seems like it would be much easier to access while on the job.

#14 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0…

As Tom Storey states in his article "Where will the next generation Web take libraries?" Web 2.0 brings us into a new realm in which embracing the current technologies available have cultivated a new lifestyle. This poses an exciting and yet ambitious challenge to our lot at the library. How do we incorporate this technological phenomenon and yet not alienate some of our regular patrons? The challenge is some of our patrons may not be comfortable operating a computer or never have touched one. This seems like it will require a crafty balance to appeal to each individual patron's needs. The Columbus Metropolitan library has done a great job of opening up the lines of communication and held community meetings to hear what our patrons would like to see in their future library and this is a great start. We also need to incorporate Web 2.0 services gradually into the library system so we can sail our little boat around the icebergs up ahead.

#13 Tagging, folksomonies & social bookmarking in del.icio.us

While scouting around the del.icio.us site I came across its sister/brother: lib.rario.us which is also social networking in regards to one's entire media catalog (including books, dvds, music & games) all in one spot. So while I've been learning & playing around I'm finding all kinds of possibilities out there. I typed in the word "librarian" in del.icio.us and it brought up a whole slew of links & tags, one leading to a librarian's site with many helpful resources which the creator describes as: "a collection of links to the best of the Internet's FREE resources for those with big brains and small pocketbooks!" Sounds great to me! Back to feeding the brain.

#12 Twitter

Tweet tweet tweet - I would like to turn off these peeps. The chirping is just not for me. I think the library could use it in effective ways to let patrons know through a mobile phone about when a reserve arrives, things of that nature if they'd prefer, but it feels like too much work to keep up with for myself. One more thing to keep updated with info I'm not keen on having to share...

#11 LibraryThing

I'm a fan of lists. In the past I have just started running tallies in good ol' Microsoft Word and in fact have been made fun of for this apparently *bizarre* behavior, but LibraryThing makes my tracking a whole lot easier, more sane and fun too!! Being a visual person, the ability to display the book cover easily with a few simple clicks is fantastic and adds some visual appeal to my blog. So don't worry, I am not advocating judging a book by its cover, but don't be opposed to allowing something catch your eye now.

#10 Image Generator

The Generator Blog
led me to this:

http://www.oreillymaker.com/ where you can create your own Book Cover
which produced the image above and in full easier to read format in the link below:
Technology Transforms