Podcast

I explored Podcast.net where there is an ocean of various podcasts. By entering the keyword "library or librarian", I was directed to some interesting podcasts. That is "Check It Out - Produced by the Sausalito Public Library - Show #101: Es Cuba with author Lea Aschkenas Podcast Date: Jul 6, 2006 14:20:28". It is an interesting interview with author Ms. Aschkenas who spent three years to write Es Cuba and half year to edit it. She talked a lot her experience of Cuba. I think if we can add this format to our book discussion group, I bet it will add a lot more fun. Our customers love to hear author talks.

I want to point it out that I did have to download QuickTime Player before I was able to listen the podcast. It also took some time for me to figure it out how to add this podcast to my RSS feed in my Blogline account. But I did it. And that accounts.

You Tube

You have to be dead not to know what You Tube is about. I have tried a couple of times in the past exploring the site, but it is just too much for me and I got discouraged. Unless you are uploading your video or you know what you are looking for, you could spend hours not geting much out of it. This time I did watch a few interesting videos, but still it is too time consuming and I am not into visual stuff. I also come across porno videos that don't belong there. I wish the site can be better controlled. Here is one of the video I watched.

Web 2.0 Tools

Craigslist is one of the familiar websites for me. I was told it first started in California, then spread over to many other locations. It is amazing that so much information can be posted on the site and shared by millions of online users. I like the site because it is easy to use and it is a great tool to get yourself familiar with a community, look for an apartment or a house, to sell or buy anything or everything. My husband and I sold a few things posted there. One thing you have to be very careful is that there are plenty of scams there. As for library, this is not a choice.

Google Docs is a life saver.

Google Doc is so straight forward and the only thing I can say at this point is that I wish I discover this tool early. I can think of many times in the past when my life could be much less hectic if I used Google Doc. Now if I work on a document at home, I can easily to see or edit it in the library or vice versa, so I don't have to carry around my flash drive all the times. I also like the sharing idea. That means different librarians can share spreadsheets of book orders to speed up our selection process. Who says Learning 2.0 is a waste of time! I think I actually start enjoying the exercises!

Top ten Facebook app for librarians

Although I have not signed up an account in facebbok, I do have some knowledge of this popular social network site through my teenage son. It is also a surprise to find out how much your employer can monitor your activities on Facebook. Apparently this is a much better choice of social network then MySpace as I was told.

Among the top ten Facebook app for librarians, I will definitely vote for del.icio.us and Book iRead. As a librarian, I will want to recommend Book iRead to my customers.

Wiki

A Wiki allows a group of people to collaboratively develop a website without any knowledge of HTML. How simple and convenient could that be?I have used many wiki sites for various purposes in the past and always find they are user friendly and very informative. My recent trip to east European countries relied on very much a travel website that posts articles, comments and tips contributed by travelers who shared their experiences. Some of them are not normally you would read from a travel book.
I enjoyed reading Library Success Wiki site very much. These are talks about what we do everyday. Some of the programming ideas are imformative. Unfortunately I did not see much under the catagory of gaming. Gaming is new at my library but already attracted a steady group of youngsters. And I think we can do more.

What does Library 2.0 mean to me?

According to "Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries" by Jack M. Mannes, "Web 2.0, essentially, is not a web of textual publication, but a web of multi-sensory communication. It is a matrix of dialogues, not a collection of monologues. It is a user-centered Web in ways it has not been thus far." Library 2.0 is defined as “the application of interactive, collaborative, and multi-media web-based technologies to web-based library services and collections,”. Library 2.0 is "user-centered, provides a multimedia experience, it is socially rich and commonly innovative." To my understanding, Web 2.0 has been penetrating into almost everybody's life no matter how much you are aware of it. And the fact is Library 2.0 has entered into the library community no matter how much we want to ignore it. Library 2.0 is a user-centered virtual community. The tranditional ways of providing public services have to be collaborated by the next generation of electronic library. What do all these mean to me? It means I need to keep updating my knowledge and skills in order to continue serving the community.