#16 Student 2.0 Tools

#16 Thing: Frankly, at this stage of my life/career, I do not think I would use the timeline for a library project. I feel I already know the basics anyway.

One thing I found of particular interest was the Recommended Standards for Information & Technology Literacy. The standards were broken down by grade level. When I skimmed the info, I realized that elementary students know more than I do about various computer applications. I wish I could sit in on some computer lab sessions in my local public school in order to upgrade my skills.

At least I am now aware that these helping aids exist and can recommend them to students or teachers.

#14 Librarythingtour

#14 Thing: http://www.librarything.com/home/dotmashley. I thoroughly enjoyed this website!! This tool will help me keep my reading lists organized. I am going to recommend this site to the ladies who catalog my church's library.

Except for the children's librarians, it seems our library system has gotten away from the printed booklist. Librarything is another avenue for generating lists. Librarians always need additional readers advisory paths. I did like the recommended reading feature.

# 13 Productivity Tools

#13 Online Productivity Tools: I chose yahoo for my "start page." Since I already had a yahoo account, yahoo was easier to use. It will be my permanent home page.

I tried looking at Kiko but it would not open. I did not want to sign up for MSN.com to look at their calendar. I did take a brief look at Backpack. If I had a life that was busier, I could see the need for a tool that would help keep me organized.

The tool that I did like was the Ta-da list. Because I am a "list" person, this kind of website is good for someone who is super organized like I am.

#12 Social Media Tools

#12 Do you Digg? (Social Media Tools): Of the four that I looked at, only Newsvine appealed to me. I did register with Newsvine.

I would never use these websites at the library--too few controls. Since there are so many other options out there, I would never use these sites. It is most definitely a productivity detractor for library staff.

Isn't there more to life than spending one's day going to these websites? (End of sermon!)

#11 Delicious

#11 Delicious: I set up an account with Delicious. I hate to repeat the obvious, but the ability to get to your bookmarks from any computer is extremely convenient. Particularly in our library system where staff can work in more than one building, it is helpful to get to a bookmark easily.

When I looked at examples of how other library systems are using Delicious, it looks like popular research topics have been bookmarked. Obviously, staff does not have to reinvent the wheel for popular topics.

The directions for tagging were not helpful. It took two of us to figure out how to do the tagging.

#21 There Are Other Networks

#21 There Are Other Networks: I joined the 23 Ning and posted a comment. I also uploaded a picture to my profile. Again, I can see the benefit of social networking. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of free time to be on the computer.

#20 Libraries and Social Networks

#20 Thing Libraries and Social Networks: I had already signed up for Facebook; wanted to see a picture of my daughter holding one of our pets. My daughter and son are two of my "friends." I could not find an easy way to browse the group selections, so I picked the first one on the list.

#10 Wikis

#10 Thing Wikis: I did make a small change to the 23onastick wiki. I also made a change to the sandbox. Until I did this assignment, I was unaware that anyone could change a wiki. I am ambivalent about how easy it is to make the changes. Not only should students be wary of a wiki entry, but so should librarians. I have relied on Wikipedia too often.

#9 Online Collaboration Tools

#9 Thing Online Collaboration Tools: I signed up for a Google Accounts. Visually it was more appealing to me than Zoho. So far, I have not had to collaborate with anyone, but I can see how this tool could be helpful for individuals who need to work with others.

It was fun seeing the changes to the Declaration of Independence.

#3 Bloglines

#3 THING Bloglines: I registered with blogline. I finally figured out how to get a news (cnn) feed. I could see how the rss feed can save time for members of the public who would like to get an automatic update. This way they don't always have to go to specific websites to seek out the latest info. Libraries could provide updated info using this vehicle. I signed up for some library feeds (Minitex).

#2 Perspectives on 2.0

#2 THING Perspectives on 2.0: In my opinion, if 2.0 is so important, why are library staff expected to train ourselves (23 things)? Many library employees are visual learners and are not able to teach themselves.

Also, if libraries will need to hire more computer people rather than reference librarians, the IT employees cannot expect to be unavailable to the public. In our library system, computer staff do not want to have direct contact with the public. They somehow think that the frontline staff will always be able to meet the IT needs of the public. If libraries reduce the frontline staff (reference librarians) to reflect the change in how services are delivered, computer departments cannot expect to keep the status quo (no direct contact with the public).