Wicked wikipedia of the west!

So, are librarians still outlawing Wikipedia, or are we over that yet?

I was just curious.

I really liked this quote from an article on Web Junction called "Using Wikis to Create Online Communities:"

In public libraries, where the technological skills of employees can range from high to non-existent, wikis can allow everyone the ability to develop the website. The resulting website would reflect the imagination and good ideas of the entire organization, not just a select few with the requisite “tech-savvy.”

I would really love to see FCPL use this approach as we explore revamping our website. We all use it everyday and know what we like and dislike about it, so why not pool all of our resources together on a wiki?

Knowledge Spa

Does the image on the right give you the creeps?

Yeah. Me too.

But I think that's the perception of 'the library' by many of our patrons and non-patrons. You know, those people that never walk in our doors.

Even some of our most "i (heart) the library" patrons feel this way: the library is not an access point to information, but more rather a barrier.

And many times we don't make it any easier as we relish in our librarylandtalk.

But that's why I believe Library 2.0 is so exciting. It gives us the tools to dissolve the barrier between our collection and our patrons. It transforms our services from being opaque and cumbersome into that which is transparent, easy, and streamlined.

The bottom line is that when we allow our patrons to collectively contribute to our services (as these Web 2.0 tools allow), our ability to help them increases ten-fold.

Oh, and I just want to throw out the new Library 4.0 label that Dr. Wendy Schultz suggested in her article:

knowledgespa

Now, who doesn't want to go there?????

technorati

I guess that because I'm not a big blog reader (yet) I feel a little lost using this tool. It's great to know that we can specifically search blogs...i'm a little ashamed to say that I believed a Google search could accomplish the same thing (aghast!)

Oh well...that's what this whole 23 Things is about...

Tag! You're It!

Del.icio.us is definitely delish!

I really believe that folksonomies and patron generated tagging will revolutionize the way that libraries serve their public. By releasing our collection from the restrictions of LOC subject headings and welcoming patron input on how to label our items, we remove all the rules, the jargon, the librarianese that ultimately keeps our patrons away from what they want.

I've always thought that it would be a great experiment to let teenagers tag our teen collection as a model for what tagging an entire collection might look like in the future.

And oh boy, would they be up for it!

Yo! You Rollyo? No!

Is it just me, or does Rollyo make locating what you want on the web even more frustrating?

Plus, I hate the search result layout. If I want sponsored links as my first 3 results..well, I can just use Google for that!

Not for me!

LibraryThing

WOW! This tool has inspired me to do something I never thought might be possible, or, at least didn't want to put in the effort to make it possible.

Drumroll please...

My new personal goal is to keep track of everything that I read. I never wanted to attempt this before because I'm not a big fan of clutter and hate collecting things around the apartment (like notebooks/3x5 cards, etc.) This is a perfectly streamlined and efficient system that will eliminate wasting paper, while at the same time encourage me to keep track of my reading.

You can now expect to measure my life in books! Check out my LibraryThing!

Too much of a good thing (OR) Fun with image generators

Check out this new addition to our children's collection!

If you would like to share in the fun, click here.

RSS feeds

Instead of setting up a Bloglines account I actually created a Google Reader account.

This is actually more convenient for me as I already have a Gmail account. Google Reader also uses an interface that is similar to Gmail, so it's nice to work with something that is familiar!

After setting up my account I set up a feed for School Library Journal, as well as for one of my favorite teen reader's advisory blogs, interactivereader.

I really love that Readers allow you to avoid annoying advertisements on new websites: CNN.com is practically a circus for sponsors.

If anyone finds a RSS feed for statewide/national library conferences, post a comment with a link!

Librarian's next love: mobile phones

Email via computers is so 90s. Text messaging is where it's at.

According to a CNN article, the number of teenage cellular subscribers has grown by nearly 26 percent in the last 2 years. The article notes that 47 percent of teenagers take photos with their mobile device - that's twice the industry average. Young adults also access social networks, share pics and videos and browse the mobile Web a lot more than their older, less tech-savvy counterparts.

Hmm...I have a feeling that we librarians fall into that category of "older, less tech-savvy counterparts."

But all hope is not lost! Check out Jyngle, a free voice and text messaging service that helps users easily share information with groups of people.

The possibilities of using this free service in libraries are endless! For instance, in addition to emailing patrons that their book on hold is available, we can now send a text message to their phone as well. Most of our patrons probably only check their email a few times a day, but many of them always have their cell phones on hand.

Looking toward the future, text messaging may become a main method of communication for libraries.

ttyl!

Book of a Different Color: Searching books by Color

Now that's a book of a different color!

Or...actually the same, when it comes to this unique photo mashup.

Check out Dave Pattern's blog on searching books by the color of their cover. Included is a prototype where you can search books by the hex value of the color you want (for hex values, go here), or by a random color the tool selects for you!

If you want to see this concept taken to the extreme, check out this photo of Huddersfield Public Library's Reading Area.