23rd Thing: Looking far ahead...

I didn't think that I would finally reach this point, but I'm done!

I'm really proud of myself that I actually completed this program, albeit a little later than planned. ;-) I must say that doing this program in league with my coworkers really helped propel me to reach the finish line and stay on target. Being able to reassure myself of how I was doing by taking a peak at other individual's blogs was a great boost as well. I'm looking forward to going back and reading everyone's blog now that the program has ended.

I've always felt as though my knowledge of technology falls comfortably between novice and hypergeek, and that while I'm naive about some more advanced forms of technology, I've always been able to get a handle on situations that arise at home and at work. And thanks to 23 Things, I feel confident that my knowledge has been brought forward to the present. Web 2.0 technologies are incredibly exciting, and I look forward to seeing them increasingly applied in the library world. Plus, doing this program collectively means that our entire system is aware of these technologies as well, so that should make it easier to bring about change.

I hope to keep posting, so stay tuned...

Overdrive and NetLibrary

I've never checked out an e-book or digital audiobook until today, and, well...frankly I don't see myself doing so in the near future.

It's a shame that these programs are not compatible with iPods, for if they were I'm sure that I would be more interested in them. But who wants to listen to an audiobook from their computer? Hopefully both of these databases will make nice with Apple someday and we will be able to listen to free audiobooks and rejoice. Merrily. With enthusiasm.

As for my overall reactions, I must say that Overdrive's interface is a lot more user-friendly than NetLibrary. I couldn't even figure out how to just browse NetLibrary's collection...maybe I missed something.

On a side note, I have only rarely suggested audiobooks to patrons and in return have usually encountered the same response: frustration and confusion. Overdrive and NetLibrary are clunky applications that could learn a lot from iTunes. And I think that our patrons feel the same way.

Podcasting

First, I have to say that my ALL-TIME favorite podcast is the Ricky Gervais Show...you can check it out on iTunes, or go to www.rickygervais.com for more info. Go check it out! Seriously. You will laugh for hours!

Phew! Got that out of the way!

I really enjoy listening to podcasts. It's like NPR 24/7 on your computer. And searching for podcasts under the keyword 'library' via Podcast.net was really interesting. I listened to a mother goose storytime that was posted by Sunnyvale Public Library, and a discussion on boy book clubs by a teen volunteer from the Hennepin County Library. Listening to podcasts produced by other librarians is a great way to get a feel of what other systems are doing.

I love the layout of the Denver Public Library Podcasts. No one has commented to any of the posts, however, so I wonder if the public has had much response to this digital service.

P.S. James Kelly, Julie Tobiason and myself did a wicked cool podcast at the MLA Conference in May. I cannot find it for the life of me....will post it if it is ever discovered.

A Day in the Life of a Library

Check out this awesome video!! It's 24 hours of activity at a library condensed in a couple minutes! AND it's set to a Madonna song...awesome!!

I would love to do something like this at our library. This video (at the time of this posting) has already had nearly 35,000 views and 45 comments. Just think of the great marketing opportunity this would be for FCPL. Not to mention that it looks like a lot of fun and a great morale booster!

And the winners are...Web 2.0 Awards

I can't wait to explore these Web 2.0 sites. It's interesting to note that some of the sites that I already use are actually 2nd or 3rd place in the rankings; it will be fun to check out those first place winners!

I checked out iContact, which allows businesses, non-profit organizations, and associations to easily create, publish, and track email newsletters, surveys, blogs, autoresponders, and RSS feeds. I thought that it would be a great idea to send Bookends out to our patrons as an email newsletter. Programs requiring registration could be hyperlinked to Evanced. You can also email surveys to contacts and easily illustrate the results as a graph. Cool!

This might also be a great way to alert our patrons about program cancellations. I know that a few moms would appreciate that!

GoogleDocs

I really love the idea of Google documents---I'm always wishing that I had access to my files on my work computer from home. And it's great to be able to access something you're working on from any computer.

One question I have is regarding privacy: If you allow someone else to work collaboratively with you on an online document (such as GoogleDocs), do they need access to your password? Maybe someone has some insight to that dilemma...

Playing in the SandboxWiki

How neat to have access to blogs of librarians across the state!

Love it!