Thing 23...whew

Throughout this endeavor, I have struggled not to be the wary, middle aged librarian, suspicious of new technology and holding on to my tried and true ways. There are many examples of new devices I have embraced after initial hesitancy - cell phone text messaging, AIM, Tivo, online calendar - so I imagine there will come a time when I use even my least favorite of these "23 Things." I have enjoyed many aspects of this process, but there have also been obstacles.

First, the positives. I have very much enjoyed blogging. This form of journaling is obviously easier than the conventional method, as typing is faster than writing, and I plan to continue with my blog. (It would be even better if I had laptop though.) I was definitely glad to have had the opportunity to learn about these technologies we can be sure patrons are using. Keeping up with popular culture is obviously a key to maintaining a place in the future of information services. The online instructions were not always clear to me, as they often used terminology I did not understand, and taking additional time to decipher the directions was frustrating. I found so many coworkers who were willing to help, both in person (my favorite) and online, that this "problem" became a good thing. I also enjoyed reading other participants' blogs to learn of aspects to consider when I found some of the "things" pointless.

I will definitely revisit Wiki's (despite my initial exasperation, I see possibilities there), LibraryThing, Flickr, online productivity tools and of course, Overdrive. While I don't have a Facebook account, both my children do, so I am glad to be informed about it as well as tagging and some other types of social networking. The things I found least interesting or applicable to my life were Technorati, Del.icio.us and Rollyo, but I'm glad to have been exposed.

So... there were many good things about completing this program. The obstacles, however, were significant. The timing was unfortunate for those of us involved with SRP in a busy branch. For many I talked with, the time to work on this was a major issue and some did not participate because of that. While completion was not required, it was heavily promoted and definitely encouraged. For some, the playing field was just not level. In addition, the amount of time I had to spend doing this at home was negatively effected by my dial-up connection - much could not be done there.

All this said, I certainly feel good for having completed this and am happy to have become aware of and even familiar with these new technologies. I see value in libraries utilizing them for training, communication with patrons and staff, in organizing information and in just being familiar with what patrons are doing. As for any subsequent online training... I'm heading out to my deck with a book to rest first.

Thing 20 Part 2

As I was unable to complete the YouTube exercise at home, I added it at the end of my blog - pretty difficult to miss it. I was able to figure out how to send it to my blog without too much trouble, but I doubt I will revisit the site other than when there is a video in the news.

Here's some Total Momsense

Thing 22

Finally, I have reached the pinnacle of this journey and the "thing" which has been the motivation for keeping with it. I have looked at NetLibrary, to which we no longer subscribe, Project Gutenburg, on which I saw nothing appealing at first glance, and OverDrive, on which I am counting! I do not think eBooks will be something I use, but I regularly listen to audiobooks on CD on my drive to and from work and am very anxious to listen to books sans the discs on my passenger seat. I have a long list of titles "to read" and I am certain I will find many to download. I would like to develop stronger readers' advisory skills for middle school readers by listening to Y books on my commute, and there is a ready source of suggestions for my own personal enjoyment on LibraryThing! The first task on my "to do" list at work next week is to create my Overdrive account.

Thing 21

Ok, I think I get that podcasts are customized broadcasts. iTunes is surely important to every teenager I know. I had noticed but never pursued, podcasts on my son's college's website, so I pulled up a podcast of an event Tom Brokaw attended. My computer at home was not able to support viewing this, so I was once again left frustrated. I can at least imagine watching it and it could be something I would enjoy. I browsed Podcast.net, and could not find much that interested me. I chose subjects of interest and found nothing I recognized. Who are these people? Found a few TV related items, but again, was not able to view them. One podcast I found gave a very understandable explanation of podcasting which I printed to keep for future reference. My dilemma is that I cannot always accomplish these technological exercises on my home computer and have NO time to do it at work.

Thing 20

Took some time to explore YouTube. There have been recent news incidents I have viewed, and I browsed some of the multitudinous other subjects available. I also enjoyed an email from a coworker which included a YouTube video. I cannot relate to the need to exhibit my own experiences to the public in terms of posting videos, but I will certainly visit this site when I hear of something of interest in the news. Ironically, at this moment, as I am posting from home, I have CNN on TV and can hear them talking to "Dancing Matt" about his YouTube videos (which I have no interest in viewing!)

Thing 19

I browsed several award-winning sites from the Web 2.0 awards list. Of those I am most likely to use, I chose Google Maps. I generally have used Mapquest for directions, but now that I have had some experience with Google Maps, I think I will consult it instead (Mapquest wasn't even on the Shortlist.) I did some of the basic searches I had done on Mapquest, had fun with satellite views and compared the route I take to work vs. the route recommended just for fun. The site is easy to use and I will definitely take time to investigate its many possibilities later, as time permits. Did not download GoogleEarth, but am definitely intrigued and will investigate soon.

Thing 18

My Zoho document is below. In trying to edit it, I lost the image, so now that I have retrieved it, I am not going to attempt another edit. Therefore, here is my blog about online productivity. Basically, I like it. There are many options which will require a lot of experimentation, but this is one of the 23 things I am most likely to use again. Of course I like that these tools are free and using Zoho as an editor for blog posts is definitely a feature I will use. The possibilities are endless ...and the names are cute, too - Zoho Show - haha! This was fun and LateBloom feels better now.

Who plants a seed...

Who plants a seed

Beneath the sod

And waits to see

Believes in God

Things 16 and 17

Wikis sounded interesting and I had a brief experience in LATI. I have visited Wikipedia and have cautiously considered its content. I looked at St. Joseph County's subject guide and was very impressed. The varied information provided, including community resources, appeared to be fairly comprehensive for the subjects I chose. The wedding planning entry, for example, looked to be an excellent (free!) planning tool - at least for preliminary information. I also appreciated the tutorials in the "Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day," although that title is a laugh. The Sandbox, however, has been a nightmare! I added an entry to an existing topic and visited several of interest, and created a "favorite," but adding my blog to the list is a challenge I have not yet mastered. Many library systems are listed, but HCPL is not to be found. I have sent out an SOS to a coworker and will revisit this post later. Today is Saturday and I am sacrificing my free time to work on this - LateBloom is not happy today!!

With help from a very patient coworker, and the re-appearance of the HCPL group on the Sandbox page, I was able to add my blog to the list. I was even able to help others in my department, which reinforced the process. So, I have finally completed this activity, but I would have to say this was not a favorite "thing."

Thing 15

The future of libraries - this is important to me! My LATI experience included a look at this topic, and working on my "23 Things" has provided an opportunity to revisit it. While I often cling to the old, I was interested in the "Away from Icebergs" article, and did agreed with a lot of what it stated. As a cerified pack rat, I lean toward saving "just in case," but do understand that updated information online can be superior to dated, print material. An acception, in my opinion, is illustrations which have a much different look and feel in hand. I particularly agreed with the point about eliminating barriers between patrons and the information. I think it is critical to make finding information through the library's resources user friendly. Placing library services in the users' preferred environment, which I presume means on their laptops, makes sense in many cases for reference purposes, but I hope children's services continue to serve the youngest patrons IN the library to encourage the joy of sharing books in person.

Things 13 and 14

I am grouping these 2 things together, because my feelings about them are similar. I have explored Technorati and Del.licio.us and read about tagging. For me, these methods of grouping or organizing online information are not useful, easy or necessary. I think I understand the value of them to people who spend MUCH more time online than I do, but my needs are met more than adequately with simpler methods of organization. I do not expect to use these any time soon.

Thing 10 final part

Actually, after several attempts and with the help of a coworker, I have deleted my too-big Meez and replaced her with this more petite version.

Thing 10 part 2

So, my original Meez could not be exported from my home computer. I was able to do it at the library, but apparently I chose too large a size! Well, there's no missing that I've created her now.

Thing 12

I took a look at Rollyo and created a searchroll for practice although I doubt I will use it. I understand the value of this, and see how it could work for frequent searching on a particular topic. but I have no such need at this point. I do think that a Rollyo created by an expert in a field (Fashion Sites rolled by Diane Von Furstenberg) would be interesting.

Thing 10

I spent quite a lot of time playing with Meez online image generator. It is fun and very addictive. I enjoyed the creative aspect of this, but felt that I was basically wasting a lot of time, especially on my very slow computer at home. I did create a character, but when I tried to export it, I received a message that my browser configuration was not compatible. Will try from the library if I remember. Will this take me to it? http://www.meez.com/main.dm

Interesting note: Despite all the very youth-oriented outfits and accessories etc. I was amused to see the presidential candidate backgrounds!

Thing 7

I skipped Thing 7 because all the other technical "things" felt like enough for me at the time. Since then, however, a coworker introduced me to IGoogle, and I must admit it did "interest me." There are many options to place on this customized home page - so many that it seems all too possible to overload and clutter the page (much like my desk.) At this point, I choose to trust AOL to present me with pertinent news and information when I log on, but at some time I could imagine fashioning an IGoogle home page.

Thing 11 part 2

Actually, I would like to revise my opinion about LibraryThing. My first visit occurred while I was at work, hoping to make some headway on my 2.0 journey. It has been so difficult - almost impossible, to work on these 23 Things while I am at work. As I am determined to complete this program, I have succumbed to spending my free time at home to forge on. Here, I have been able to more fully explore LibraryThing, and would like to acknowledge that the recommendations machine and the conversations are aspects of LibraryThing I expect to enjoy. http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php

Thing 11

I listed some of the most recent books I have read on my new LibraryThing account. I suppose I might find this a useful place to keep this information and it does seem helpful to organize titles I've read by author, subject or genre. I do enjoy seeing others' reviews as well. However, I don't know that I will have time to enter the necessary information or sit and browse very often. I have been satisfied until now with a handwritten list of books read and the reviews and information I can access directly from Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites. I think it will be quite a while before I feel it is easier, not more difficult, to organize my life online!

Things 8 and 9

Setting up my Bloglines account was easy, and subscribing to several RSS feeds was smooth as well. I chose my library-related feeds and several news feeds I often visit. I also subscribed to my son's college RSS feed and my hometown newspaper. It is nice to have all these information sources in one place, however, I am not sure that I would use this means over just opening the one I am interested in at any given time. It seems sort of like having a stack of newspapers and magazines by the chair and browsing through them, and I don't often have time for that kind of browsing at my computer. Merlin is a nice source for library information and I hope to use it more, now that I have become acquainted.

Thing 6

Mash-ups! I explored the Flickr 3rd party sites and used the BeadArt converter to change the hydrangea from my previous post. Now it looks like something I could use as a needlepoint pattern - interesting.

Thing 5

I enjoyed exploring Flickr further and have, with significant assistance, uploaded this hydrangea. Annette has told me there are several ways to add a picture to a post, and I undoubtedly chose the most difficult. I do think I will enjoy using Flickr.

Things 3 and 4

Well, I forgot to blog about setting up my blog, but obviously, here I am. I enjoyed setting up the blog and changing fonts, colors, layout, etc. I have registered, and have begun tracking my journey.

Things 1 and 2

Being a Lifelong Learner is something LATI stressed, and reading the 7 1/2 Habits was a reminder of what I had learned there. All the habits make sense, although some are harder than others to accomplish. The easiest habit for me will be accepting responsibility for my own learning; the most difficult will be using technology. But then, that is why I am doing this - to learn how to use technology more effectively. Hopefully, by the end of this program (note the optimism here), it will not be difficult for me!

Entry from Annette's Wonderful Training Session

Here we are in Abingdon with Annette learning how to proceed with our 23 things. I have explored several things, but did not follow the procedure completely - oh noooo! Now I am learning exactly what is expected, so here I go....

Flickr

At last I have had a chance to move onto another exploration. I had experienced Flickr briefly during LATI, but this time was able to spend more time browsing. The tour gave a nice overview, and I hope to try uploading some photos soon. The organizing options are nice for keeping track of personal photographs... wish I had had this when my kids were younger. I found the tags, groups, clusters etc. a bit overwhelming when I was looking at others' photos.

First Post

Finally...my first post! Finding time to create this blog has been a challenge, but as my blog name indicates, I am doing so better late than not at all. My recent LATI activities have given me a taste of some of the "23 things", so I am eager to revisit them and experience new things as well. At last I am on my way...