Oh No! Not finished already - I was just getting used to learning all this new hi-tech stuff! It has been great fun knowing MORE than my teenager and FLAUNTING IT, BABY! Ha! Why not? This has been a one-of-a-kind opportunity to catch up with the rest of the techno-savvy world. How else could you discover all these sites in one hit instead of just maybe discovering one or two by accident whilst surfing the net? What's not to like?!! I now feel fairly confident in being able to not only access and use these services but also to explain their uses to others.
Whilst I must admit the initial horror of having to squeeze in yet ANOTHER thing in my working day, the decision to take the work home and do it in my own time seems to have been one taken by most of the others doing this course at our library. I'm quite sure I would still be working on Week 1 of the course if I was trying to do it at work, seriously. I guess though that this is a reflection on the work loads (and commitment!) of staff at the Mandurah library as opposed to any reflection on the course itself.
I would have to say that I found all parts of the course useful, only being fully savvy with Youtube and Facebook at commencement. I learned all about the different sites covered by the course in great detail, really liked the Lee Lefever vids (great choice) and the links provided were all current and relevant.
I would encourage our library to use quite a few of the services we have discovered, for the reasons given in previous blogs, namely Podcasting, RSS feeds, Geocaching, Flick'r, Wikis and Delicious (we already use Library Thing).
I think the only thing I wasn't overly impressed with was Twitter but that is probably more on a personal level. I find it a bit unnecessary really despite it's huge popularity. I still kinda believe it's a great way for celebrities (and wannabe celebrities!) to announce their daily activities to the world in general but I still don't think anyone would want to know mine, I mean, really??!!! LOL! To add weight to this theory of mine, I did find Lloyd Cole's (!) recent tweets interesting regarding his current performance experiences whilst on the other hand, I do not believe anyone found my tweet about my impending visits to Perth libraries the least bit scintillating!
Overall though this has been an extremely worthwhile exercise: helping myself and others to not only discover these popular services but empowering us to provide better customer service to our patrons by gaining this working knowledge of them. Thank you!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
... was amazed!! Geocaching??!! WOW!
I have never in my wildest dreams thought something like geocaching existed! What a revelation - all around me are hidden caches to hunt down (yes I checked my postcode and there are LOTS out there! ) Unbelievable and a great idea for a fun day out with family and friends. Although I do not have any GPS devices myself, I know that my 15 year old son does have this facility on his mobile phone which got me to thinking: if he does, maybe quite a few other young adults do too, in which case, what a great way to promote the library and local facilities to them?
Using the local high schools for promotion of the geocaching programme, we could place caches in various spots around Mandurah which are in some way relevant to our youth, eg our Billy Dower youth centre, our skate park, aquatic centre, recreation centres and even sites which at some time during the year host youth programmes. Inside each of the caches we could place not only a log book but also a supply of small business cards (to be taken away) containing info relevant to that particular site, eg details of the low-cost after-school gym programme for teens only, available at the recreation centres. Perhaps after collecting all the cards, there could be a prize for the first to present them at the library?
I think this would be an exciting, healthy, social activity for our teens which would spark more knowledge and interest in their surroundings and all that is available for them in Mandurah - including the library of course!!
Using the local high schools for promotion of the geocaching programme, we could place caches in various spots around Mandurah which are in some way relevant to our youth, eg our Billy Dower youth centre, our skate park, aquatic centre, recreation centres and even sites which at some time during the year host youth programmes. Inside each of the caches we could place not only a log book but also a supply of small business cards (to be taken away) containing info relevant to that particular site, eg details of the low-cost after-school gym programme for teens only, available at the recreation centres. Perhaps after collecting all the cards, there could be a prize for the first to present them at the library?
I think this would be an exciting, healthy, social activity for our teens which would spark more knowledge and interest in their surroundings and all that is available for them in Mandurah - including the library of course!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
... discovered Podcasts....YAY!
I really enjoyed learning more about podcasts... I've come across them before when I signed up for one for my son - it was an author he enjoyed, Tommy Donbavand. However, after the first podcast, the future podcasts (whilst still advertised on the website) were no longer being sent out, so it was a bit disappointing.
However, I learned lots on the '60 second science' podcasts - what a clever idea, just enough time to get the interesting facts out but they end before the yawns and zzzzzzzzzz start! (Science was never my thang!)
I thought the podcasts of seminars were also excellent - you can now hear all the info from a speaker at a seminar without being in the same room/city/state/country, great idea with lots of uses.
If our library was to use podcasting and more importantly, REGULARLY UPDATE the podcasts, I think the members of the public would become used to them, expect them, rely on them and so we could utilise them for promoting the library's services or upcoming events, eg we could provide a podcast with background information and excerpts from the books of upcoming visiting authors.
Overall, pretty impressed with the usefulness of podcasting, slightly more than Twitter (!)
However, I learned lots on the '60 second science' podcasts - what a clever idea, just enough time to get the interesting facts out but they end before the yawns and zzzzzzzzzz start! (Science was never my thang!)
I thought the podcasts of seminars were also excellent - you can now hear all the info from a speaker at a seminar without being in the same room/city/state/country, great idea with lots of uses.
If our library was to use podcasting and more importantly, REGULARLY UPDATE the podcasts, I think the members of the public would become used to them, expect them, rely on them and so we could utilise them for promoting the library's services or upcoming events, eg we could provide a podcast with background information and excerpts from the books of upcoming visiting authors.
Overall, pretty impressed with the usefulness of podcasting, slightly more than Twitter (!)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
... had fun with online video, You Tube
Watched some interesting and useful youtube videos which makes a change from the ones I normally receive in emails... interesting? yes! useful? err, NO! I liked the Library of the future in plain english video, it sounds exactly like the model for the future of the public library where I work.
Library of the future in plain English
I checked out the Curtin Uni youtube site and although I thought their vids were good, it was interesting to look at the 'viewed' figures for each one. I would have thought Uni students were of the generation who would utilise youtube so maybe it isn't a great method of the Uni getting information 'out there' after all? Considering the age range of the patrons of our library, I wouldn't have thought it would have a huge benefit then? If you look at the type of content on the most watched youtube vids, I guess youtube is mostly used for entertainment so a library vid would be well at the bottom of the viewing list of many?!! Who knows?!
I chose the following youtube vid as it is entertaining (!) rather than useful. It is part of a successful ad campaign in the UK for 'Compare the market' car insurance involving meerkats. After several popular ads, they brought out an ad containing the previous ads' bloopers! .... if you're unsure what a meerkat has to do with car insurance, check this out:
Library of the future in plain English
I checked out the Curtin Uni youtube site and although I thought their vids were good, it was interesting to look at the 'viewed' figures for each one. I would have thought Uni students were of the generation who would utilise youtube so maybe it isn't a great method of the Uni getting information 'out there' after all? Considering the age range of the patrons of our library, I wouldn't have thought it would have a huge benefit then? If you look at the type of content on the most watched youtube vids, I guess youtube is mostly used for entertainment so a library vid would be well at the bottom of the viewing list of many?!! Who knows?!
I chose the following youtube vid as it is entertaining (!) rather than useful. It is part of a successful ad campaign in the UK for 'Compare the market' car insurance involving meerkats. After several popular ads, they brought out an ad containing the previous ads' bloopers! .... if you're unsure what a meerkat has to do with car insurance, check this out:
Monday, January 17, 2011
... reluctantly found Twitter
Can think of a coupla names for Twitter, one is Twitty but won't mention the other. I can't quite get the gist of it.... why does it exist? I get it, but I don't GET IT if you know what I mean.... it seems to be just another method of this lcd screen sucking me in for hours at a time and achieving... well, what? Sorry, tad cynical this morning, not a technologically minded mood this morning obv!
My twitter name is KyliePep so if anyone would like to follow me, feel free. I cannot guarantee a fun-filled uproariously funny journey, but hey, c'est la vie! I do have an odd follower already, called Kid Kasio. Maybe Twitter would be more exciting if I had a few followers?
"Twitter is an interactive tool and as such the more you use it, the more you will understand it" according to Swan Libraries, I think this must be true as am struggling a wee bit with its relevance to life in general at the mo.
I did a search for 'library' and did find the following interesting snippet:
Empty library!
I cannot see much use for Twitter within our library. We do have alot of older patrons and whilst we are actively trying to attract the younger generation, not sure how Twitter would help with this. It seems to me that there is so much going on in Twitter that library tweets would just get swallowed up and lost.
I think that wikis would work well in our library - we could provide info on events in the library and our patrons could respond and suggest further ideas.
My twitter name is KyliePep so if anyone would like to follow me, feel free. I cannot guarantee a fun-filled uproariously funny journey, but hey, c'est la vie! I do have an odd follower already, called Kid Kasio. Maybe Twitter would be more exciting if I had a few followers?
"Twitter is an interactive tool and as such the more you use it, the more you will understand it" according to Swan Libraries, I think this must be true as am struggling a wee bit with its relevance to life in general at the mo.
I did a search for 'library' and did find the following interesting snippet:
Empty library!
I cannot see much use for Twitter within our library. We do have alot of older patrons and whilst we are actively trying to attract the younger generation, not sure how Twitter would help with this. It seems to me that there is so much going on in Twitter that library tweets would just get swallowed up and lost.
I think that wikis would work well in our library - we could provide info on events in the library and our patrons could respond and suggest further ideas.
... rediscovered Facebook
Yes, we are covering Facebook in this course. I've had a Facebook account for a few years now but only rarely use it. I mainly use it at home to discover what my 15 y.o. son is up to as verbal communciation seems to elude him most of the time. When he removes me as a friend it's time to ask the BIG QUESTIONS! I also find it useful for uploading video which is too big to email for my parents in the UK to watch.
Library use? It's hard to envisage the way most people use their private Facebook in a work context. This is probably because I only have friends and their crazy antics on mine! Definitely not work related...! So, if we had a library Facebook page, what could we do that we cannot currently do with the website and library notice boards??? Having trouble thinking of an advantage but then it is still Monday morning.... I will dwell on this further...!
Library use? It's hard to envisage the way most people use their private Facebook in a work context. This is probably because I only have friends and their crazy antics on mine! Definitely not work related...! So, if we had a library Facebook page, what could we do that we cannot currently do with the website and library notice boards??? Having trouble thinking of an advantage but then it is still Monday morning.... I will dwell on this further...!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
... played with LibraryThing
And I must say, we played very well together, no fights, hissyfits, nuffink. OK, so I've made a start (albeit very small) on adding books to LibraryThing, very easy to join, ditto adding books. Not sure what tags to put on so have just left most of them blank for now. Here's the link to my catalogue:
Kylie's LibraryThing
Doesn't make for very interesting reading but I will work on it, one day....!
I've currently got this really rubbish MS Word doc listing all the books I've read especially my fave authors with brief reviews ('great!' 'crap!' etc etc) and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO unsophisticated compared to what I can do with LT.
Managed to add the LT widget too so more pwitty pictures on my blog now, sweeeet!
So, that's week 6 in the bag, wonder what I'll discover about Facebook that I don't already know? REALLY hoping to find something I can amaze Ben (15 y.o.) with...
Just finishing up with another pic of Lloyd Cole for no reason other that I can as I know how now...
Kylie's LibraryThing
Doesn't make for very interesting reading but I will work on it, one day....!
I've currently got this really rubbish MS Word doc listing all the books I've read especially my fave authors with brief reviews ('great!' 'crap!' etc etc) and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO unsophisticated compared to what I can do with LT.
Managed to add the LT widget too so more pwitty pictures on my blog now, sweeeet!
So, that's week 6 in the bag, wonder what I'll discover about Facebook that I don't already know? REALLY hoping to find something I can amaze Ben (15 y.o.) with...
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