Thing 20 YouTube

Until I experimented with YouTube for this project, I had not bothered with ever looking at a video. Now I know why; it could become addictive. I found it easy to search by using the search box. I don't plan to use it much so this will be sufficient. I noticed that tags are used so searching should always be easy.

My first search was for Garrison Keillor. I enjoyed the results very much and included a video on this blog of a nostalgic song for me. I did this before writing this post so it is listed separately.

I also looked for a few author interviews and enjoyed the interview with Bill Bryson about his newest book very much. Perhaps author interviews from YouTube and also library generated (local authors) could be used on library websites.

A Prairie Home Companion - My Minnesota Home

Thing 18 Online Productivity

I created an account in Google Docs and found the site to be quite useful. I uploaded two Story Time Plans for this October and then accessed them from home where I could edit them.
I had sent them to my Yahoo account and also shared them with a collaborator. It seems that it could be used as an easier form than a wiki for sharing a small project.

I will definitely use Google Docs again. It could work for my family memory sharing that I organize through lots of email replies to "all." I then edit everyone's shared memories mostly by copying and pasting, but Google Docs would make it easier.

While reading Sun columnist Mike Himowitz's column this week I was pleased that I knew what he was talking about. The subject was free sources for Word, Excel etc. Google Docs was one of the 3 he discussed. He found its main advantages to be portability and collaboration.

Thing 19 Award winning sites

There are many sites listed on the 2.0 site which I would like to explore as the year goes on. Among these are Craigslist, which I often hear mentioned and both my daughters use. Also etsy, a jewelry selling site which my niece uses to sell her handmade jewelry. I had ignored her email about it since I had never heard of it, but now will try to find her stuff on it.

For this exercise I explored Google Maps which I had previously used only to find directions. I have found both my daughters' houses (one in CA which I rarely get to) at the closest zoom level on the hybrid map. It was fascinating to see the houses and the trees in their neighborhoods.
I also really like looking in the satellite view at various addresses where ancestors used to live.

I watched the video on adding content and other tools. Someday I may want to do this, but what I can use right now is the ability to search for businesses near an address. My daughter is moving soon so I checked out the convenience stores near her new address and found one less than a mile away.

When time allows I will go back to the list of 2.0 sites and explore more fun and useful sites.

Thing 17 Sandbox Wiki

As directed I created a login account on Maryland Libraries Sandbox and added my entry to the Favorite Blogs page. Also made an entry of Favorite Books from my childhood. It was a bit difficult to find where to add the blog, despite the directions. With a little help, I succeeded. I don't think I'll play in this sandbox.

Thing 15 Future of Libraries

When I'm traveling, I like to visit small towns and their classic book and wooden shelf libraries. They represent my ideal library. "Libraries of the future"
sound like technology hubs to me. I wonder how we at HCPL would feel if our circulation dropped dramatically like Rick Anderson's library did when the patrons began to use all the technology, databases etc. that was offered. I think he did conclude with a good blend of the old and new.

The high school library in the Ripple Effect newsletter was a good example of incorporating the new into the basic library. This innovative use of new technology starting in the early 1990's was of great benefit to this small school. I really liked the emphasis on using ILL. I get books from all over the country when I want them. HCPL has a great ILL service.

Thing 16 wikis

My only acquaintance with wikis had been Wikipedia. It can be interesting and seems to cover every subject imaginable, but I would not trust it for research. Looking at library wikis was a new experience. I like the subject guide on the St. Joseph Library wiki. It organizes all types of material on a subject in one place. For example the subject gardening includes, new books (with the covers), magazines, local Farmers' Markets.

The Library Success wiki included a Library Programs database. This could be very useful when looking for basic ideas for programs. I did check for some programs that interest me such as the American Girls. The ideas given were very sketchy. The value all depends on what is added by the participants. I did get a good booklist on libraries on the library tour program site.

Things 13 and 14 Tags and Technorati

I read about and looked at the information on tagging, but feel that I personally don't need to use it. I prefer to simply bookmark sites and then put them into folders in favorites.

Technorati boasts that it tracks about 51 million blogs now and that number will soon go up to 100 million. I am not interested in blogs; I'd rather read something with more authority behind it. When I looked at the "Favorited" etc. categories, I found that they principally had to do with pop culture, politics, and the world of computers and the internet. I don't expect to use it but have heard the term in use and now know what it is.

Thing 12 Rollyo

I had a hard time thinking how and why I would use this tool. Then I thought, what searches do I regularly make for myself for which I could combine websites in one place? I realized that genealogy would be a good candidate for my personal use of this. I set up a Rollo account and made a searchroll called Genealogy. It includes some of the common sites I use.
http://www.rollyo.com/minnmary/ I did not make it public.

This tool would be useful for someone writing a research paper or someone who wants to keep up on what's happening in a certain field such as brain research. The sites could all be academic or medical to restrict it to credible information.

Thing 10 Image generator

I don't have time or inclination (I'd rather be reading or as K. F. puts it so well-- I'd rather be knitting) to play around on the computer. I may use something like this birthday cake if I need to help someone celebrate. This one will be useful for my grandson's birthday. Now that I've found out about image generators, I may then be able to apply this to my work also.

Thing 11 Librarything

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/MinnMary

I may want to catalog the books I have been writing down in a blank book for about 15 years. Then I'd be able to categorize them by tags and also see the book cover. I would prefer to talk about books and make and take recommendations in person rather than using this online community. I can see that a small library could use this very simple way of cataloging books.