week 8 - mashups

This week we were looking at mashups. I found some interesting mashups on the search site, my favorite being bkkeepr. This ste allows you to use twitter and keep a reading list of your favorite books by ISBN. this could e useful as a way to list new titles in your library or to recommend titles.
I have used rollyo in the past, so I was aware of it already. The lists of privacy issues was very interesting and could be used as a great source for information. This site would be a great tool for sharing online searches with libary patrons.

There doesnt appear to be a shortage of what can be mashed up.

Week 7 - Podcasting and Online Hosted Video

This week we looked at podcasts and online videos. I can see plenty of used for each within our health libraries. I can see the use of podcasts to explain simple library procedures, such as listing our hours, how to locate us, how to obtain a pasdsword for Ovid, etc. It could also be used to walk someone through a sample search in one of our databases or how to search the online catalog.

I like the idea of using videos to provide a brief tour of the libraries and general 'how-to' things, such as how to locate a book on the shelf. I think videos are really good to use for promotion as well. Videotaping events and then sharing them online are a great way to get your library and system known. I think we will consider using podcasts and online videos, but not YouTube since that site is blocked within our health system.

Here is the video I liked the most - it's foreign but subtitled. It's tech support for books!!!

Week 6: Online Photo Sharing

This week we had to create an account on Flikr, post some photos, and then share them on our facebook page. I posted pics of my cute puppy Mollie and added the Dogbook application to my Facebook page and posted her pics.

This was a great exercise in learning about photosharing. I didnt realize how much you can post and how much others post on their pages and blogs. This would be a really useful application here in the library for when the library is present at a certain event, we can take pictures and then post them on our library blog. It could also be used to take photos of certain areas of the library or certain special collections so staff and the public can get to know our services and collection better. I can also see it used internally for staff who travel, they can share pics of things they saw when they were touring around.

Week 5: Web Office Tools

This week we were looking at a vareity of online document management services, including Google Docs. I think its a very interesting application since it makes it much easier to collaborate on projects with a group and to share information with others.

I am not convinced this is the future of all software unless we seriously have our entire lives and homes wired for the internet - I am not convinced that will happen anytime soon and at a price everyone could afford. I think once businesses, airports, shopping malls, schools, and civic centers offer free wi-fi access to the general public without it being monitored or filtered, software may be an online thing. My local public library has stopped purchasing licenses for Microsoft products and moved their staff over to using Gmail and Google Docs. This could be a great cost-savings measure for smaller organizations, but if this happens en masse, will they start charging?!?

Week 5 - Google Docs presentation

Isn't that a purdy presentation?

Week 4 posting - social bookmarking

I enjoyed learning more about del.icio.us. I had an account from a while back, but never quite figured out how to use it - now I have! :)

I imported all of my bookmarks from my favorites and now I have them with me all the time. I really like the fact that if I am travelling around and need to refer to something from my favorites or add something I need to look at when I get back , its easy to do and all in one place. I also like the fact you can see what other people are saving and it will give you great sit4es to add to your own list.

As far as a research assistant tool, I can see plenty of application of that in my world. I can see creating lists for patrons on specific conditions or sharing my links with staff who need additional help in locating online information. Del.icio.us is a great tool!

Week 3 post

This week I discovered how to use and navigate within Facebook and LinkedIn. Both are very very cool!

I think social networking is a great way to talk about events and happenings within a specific group or company. It is like having your own personal discussion forum. I would consider creating a Facebook page for our library. The one issue we have is these sorts of applications are blocked within our system. I think if it was not blocked, we could use it to reach out to our staff members and the community to help provide the information they are needing. The general public can inquire about our services or send in an information request via one of our pages, and staff would be able to easily connect to our online subscritions and other databases that we subscribe to.

The one thing I didnt care for in facebook or MySpace is the fact that almost anyone can post to your page and I would prefe a bit more filtering.

I think I will be investigating these applications much more thoroughly!! :)