Solar Cell vs. Coal Power Plant (Mac Ad)

Here's my favorite video on YouTube: my nephew Harry (as the Solar Cell). What a genius! I found YouTube to be an interesting site, and was thrilled to figure out how to upload videos of the programs at Berlin Library (great way to advertise) as well as how to post videos on my blog. As for use in the library, right away I can liken it to a podcast, only better. I like the idea of patrons being able to attend a lecture or program without actually coming into the branch. I can see potential use by the home-bound or folks in rural areas, or even around the world.

The End?

Oh, no! "23Things" can't be over! I can't think of a traditional class in which I have learned as much as I have using the internet and web 2.0. I particularly enjoyed making and posting to my blog, and wrote about half of my August Question Authority column using Zoho. I can't believe how easy it all was. My absolute favorite sites were on the Web 2.0 Awards winners lists. The music sites were terrific. And manipulating photos is a hobby I enjoy; it was great to be able to post photos and videos of the Berlin Branch summer activities, sharing is so easy!
I think what I have learned these past weeks will be put to good use in my work at the library. I feel more comfortable with information services moving at a faster rate than I ever imagined. I was afraid, when I started, that I would be swept away (or drown) in the new technology, but was pleasantly surprised by the ease of use and the phenomenal opportunities out there. I hope that my library system will able to employ some of the features of web 2.0, especially podcasts, video uploads on YouTube and even creating a wiki to reach our patrons. I also think offering ebooks and downloadable audio would enhance our customer service and increase our patronage.
I enjoyed my experience exploring the "23 Things" and would readily take another such program if one were offered. The pace was just right for me, allowing me to explore some sites quickly and others (less familiar ones) in a leisurely way. Some I know I am going to use on a regular basis, and some I'd like to explore a little more. I feel I am "in the loop" and have stepped into the twenty-first century!

Downloaded Audio Books

I was surpised at how easy it was to download a book from NetLibrary, and how easy it was to play it on my computer. I used the "radio quality" option, because it downloaded faster and takes up less space, but the sound was fine. I was interested to see that I have a license to play the book for the next three weeks; after that time I wonder if I just won't be able to access it, or will it be completely removed from my computer? Or maybe I will just have to renew the license. What if I'm a regular patron and I just want to renew my books? Hmm. My "23Things" will be over by then, but I am making a note to go back and check. Either way, I think downloading audio books is a cool way to use the library, and I thank Caroline County for being there for me to learn!
I have recommended Project Gutenberg to patrons in the past. One patron in particular, a blind lady whose computer is equiped with software that reads text to her, really found a good thing in Project Gutenberg, but I am going to start exploring and recommending others -- expecially those sites affliated with public libraries. Really, a tremendous service.

Podcasts

OK, I like how you can listen to a podcast of a library program. I like the potential of reaching out. I like how FeedBurner played every podcast I asked it to. I really dislike having to download Apple Quicktime; it doesn't work awfully well, and my computer refused to use it no matter how I tried. I generally don't like Windows Media Player either, but FeedBurner uses it and it worked every time. I found it interesting that in order to hear the podcast on WMP via Feed Burner I had to click on the RSS feed button, and once I did I had graphics as well as audio (The WMP "skins" make me dizzy though). Not only that, but the podcasts were way more up to date! The casts listed on Podcast.net were so old I didn't think they were worth trying, but when I clicked on the RSS feed I got a better list of options. I didn't choose too well, however; I didn't get much out of the podcasts I listened to: one was a budget hearing press release from Ohio -- very interesting if you are in Ohio and care about you library's budget, but I'm not. Just for fun I tried several Harry Potter podcasts, too. They were fun, but I found I didn't really know what was going on. Sort of like coming to class 1/2 hour late! I can see why you'd want to access it regularly, just to stay on track.
That being said, years ago (1999, I believe) I listened to a concert posted on an internet site that was experimenting with broadcasting over the radio (before the days of satellite radio -- am I dating myself or what?). It wasn't called a "podcast", because in the old days we didn't have that word, but that's what it was. I was so excited about listening to a concert broadcast over the radio in New York and having it show up on my little IBM at home that I hooked up the computer to my stereo and taped it. How much easier it is to download what ever I want now!

Bruce Hutton at the Berlin Library

Bruce's Diddly Bow, demonstrated at the Berlin Library.

Bruce Hutton

The talented Bruce Hutton plays the Berlin Library!

Bo Diddly, Diddly Bo?

With such beautiful weather, our guest Bruce Hutton decided to entertain us outside the library today. He gathered us all on the lawn under the locust tree and proceeded to instruct us all on the history and use of folk music, jug band, and instruments such as the diddly bow, guitar, dulcimer, washtub, spoons, and banjo. Check out the videos!

Meanwhile, here are some photos:

A wonderful day and a wonderful time!

Web 2.0 Awards

OK, I wrote the last post on GoogleDocs, but posted it using Zoho, so this time I'll write it using Zoho. Right away I see many more tools/features to explore. So: I chose to explore Picasa, but was put off by the fact you have to download everything. If I want the use a photo application that is actually on my computer I'll use Photoshop. I liked PicNik much better: it uploads your photos and works with Picasa, Flickr and Facebook, so it seems much more versatile. However, as far as manipulating photos, it's pretty dry. Crop, rotate, fix red-eye, just the basics that any software that comes with your camera will do.

I had a huge amount of fun playing with music sites such as Pandora and LastFm. They are both sort of a Reader's Advisory for music. Just for fun I asked Pandora to find me songs in the same style as Barenaked Ladies; it found dozens and will play all of them all the way through (no thirty-second samples there!). I asked LastFm to find artists similar to Kula Shaker, and it also found just what I was looking for.

I'm not sure yet as to what use we can put these sites in the library, unless people are looking to play as I did. I think the potential is there though, any minute now.

webapps

I am creating a document for my "23Things" class by using the online wordprocessor, "Google Docs". It seems that using the online app will facilitate sharing and publishing to my blog. I can't help but think how handy it would be to be able to write my Question Authority column and send it directly via email to the Daily Times, rather than save it in Word and then copy and paste it to my Yahoo email. So far, I like it. I like how it will send an copy to me automatically, and also the fact that I can send a document as a pdf file is really convenient! The only drawback I see is that if the internet connection is slow or I run into traffic, it can take a long time to send.

Nevertheless, I think I will write at least part of my next column on Google docs and see how it goes.

And if I play my cards right, I can use Zoho to publish the above document to my blog. If you see it on Mickey's World you'll know it worked!

Wikis - Hmmm

Having been drilled to the point where "Don't trust wiki sites!" acts like an automatic shield, it will take me awhile to conquer that ideology and update my view. However, exploring some suggested wikis such as SJCPL's Subject Guides and Meredith Farkas' WhatILearnedandWhatI'mDoingWithIt wiki has started to turn me around. I can see right away that wikis are easier to change and expand than a traditional web page; they can be used to link to sublistings in a catalog (I loved SJCPL's Harry Potter Page, having just pulled an all-nighter reading the last book). I also see a similarity between wikis, blogs and bulletin boards (discussions/forums), though in purusing various wikis I see one really cool difference; that of being able to link to sites offering more information about the topic(s) featured on each wiki page. It's better than surfing, or hit-and-miss searching, because the links are posted by people following the same lines of interest.
But, just when I get rolling, a visit to the MarylandLibrariesSandbox shows the true problem with wikis; the first thing I see is: "Here's the BAD news... someone edited the HOME page for our wiki and deleted all the labels that linked to all the pages that belong to other folks."
My understanding of wikis is just what happened there: anyone can visit and change it. Anyone can post information. Unless the owners of the wiki are vigilant, there is a potential for a great deal of damage. So, Wikis seem to be a good way to share information, but still, hmmm.

Animals, and People Too!

ZOO TO YOU!

Berlin Branch held another children's program today, as part of our summer Reading Roadtrip. Our special guests, brought by Megan of the world-reknown Salisbury Zoo, included a beautiful and shy screech owl,

a friendly (and quite sleepy) ferret,

and the most photogenic corn snake we'd ever seen!

Thanks, Megan and the Salisbury Zoo!

Really Cool Video I recommend

Ok, to see what we all should be doing with the information and resources on the web, take a look at this!

Web 2.0

I am blown away by the advantages and capacity of tagging using del.icio.us. I love the idea of being able to access my favorites from anywhere. And as many times as I hear "Oh, it's on my computer at home", when patrons want to access a site here at the library -- if they could bookmark or tag their favorites and know they could get them here, what a wonderful way to serve them! I see a great potential for increased customer satisfaction.
Also, in writing my weekly column, "Question Authority" for the Daily Times, I can see a wide use for del.icio.us and tags. I can access my account from anywhere rather than jotting things down and waiting until I get home to pursue ideas (and hope my computer starts!)

I visited technorati too, and was surprised to see some of the top tags being used and searched for the day. I expected to see "Harry Potter" at the top of the list, but he wasn't. No posts either about my new toy, a Zen Vision W (better than an iphone, which I never pursued). Guess I'll have to add one!

As far as Web 2.0 is concerned. Michael Wesch's "The Machine is Us/ing Us" at YouTube (here) is interesting. It reminded me of a new book by Steven Hall, "The Raw Shark Texts", in which a man who refused to die becomes part of our internet/computer systems and is able to access every piece of information there is. What a huge world we live in, and how easy it is to experience it all! It can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you consider the speeds at which we can access, process, and discard information. I think it will be easy to lose ourselves, and we'd better be careful. I thought the article by Wendy Schultz, on the OCLC newsletter was especially insightful. We must remember that no matter where or how information is to be accessed, the library is a facilitator and librarians must be able to navigate successfully and efficiently through tremendous amounts of information.

A visit from Tom Lilley and his sidekick, Beowulf T. Wonderbunny. Today's performance was magic tricks. Now everyone, remember that you're in a library - scream your heads off! See how many librarians will join you! And then it's off to the beach for aspirin an ice cream lunch! The famous disappearing blonde trick . . .

Uncle Pete's Rock and Roll Be-Bop Book Party

More Summer Reading! Tiny Berlin Branch has hosted four children's programs in the past week! I've already posted photos from our visit with the Delmarva Shorebirds and Gary Lloyd (Storyteller Extraordinaire); here are images from our raucus time with "Uncle Pete", who really brought summer in with a rock and roll show:

We even did the "Chicken Dance"! What FUN!

How low can YOU go?

Macarena!

What a good sport!

Thanks for coming and making our program a success!

Week 5 of 23 Things

Check out our Berlin Branch magazine cover! I can see spending a lot of time using image generators. It's fun, and I nearly got lost in it.



I'm afraid I don't see much point in the online book catalog or Rollyo, though I registered and used both. It seems to me that what these sites mainly do is allow you to visit other sites via links, exposing you to advertisements, etc. that would not be seen if you went directly where you wanted to go. However, since these resources are new to me, I will keep exploring them.

Gary Lloyd - American Tall Tale Teller

Story-teller extrordianaire GaryLloyd visited the Berlin Branch on Thursday, July 5. In keeping with the week's patriotic theme, he fascinated us with stories about Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Davy Crockett. Check out these happy faces!

Shorebirds Visit Berlin Branch

Shorebirds pitcher Bruce Galloway and his good buddy Sherman visited Berlin Library on July 3. And what a great time we had! Bruce answered numerous questions, even those posed to Sherman: "Why doesn't Sherman go to Curves?"

Sherman took a moment to toss some children around ....

Bruce read "Players in Pigtails" by Shana Corey. The children loved it, even if Sherman was reading his own book on the side.

Thanks guys! Another out-of-the-park program at Berlin Library!