Reflection

Congratulations!!! You got us through this program!!! I just have to say that Elizabeth and Adam did an excellent job introducing us to the 23 things. It was a good way to get familiar with new technology. I will probably be using Flickr, Hulu and Google Maps a lot more. I think FPL should offer reference through texts. This will keep our library ahead of the game. Other than that I think for the most part we are keeping up with technology.

Texting

This week I decided to see how libraries use texting or SMS (short messaging service) to provide reference services. I love texting my friends or family when I just need a quick response and I don't have time for a long conversation. The same way I think patrons would appreciate if we offer this service. Sometimes there is not enough time to get to the library to make sure if they have a specific item or maybe just to know if there is a storytime that day. I tried the service from the Colony Public Library and I loved it! I definitely think we should implement this service to make our library even more appealing to teens. Nowadays teens love texting! This service will be very helpful if they have a quick question about a homework or research and they don't have access to a computer but they own a cell phone.

Wikis (Thing 21)

Creating a wiki to review the restaurants in the city of Frisco sounds like a great project. We should seriously think about offering something like that to our patrons. Or if this sounds like a big project to undertake right now, it will still be fun if the staff continues making comments about area restaurants on this wiki. I can see wikis being very helpful to update policies and procedures too. The big problem with wikis is the fact that anyone can esit them and this makes them less reliable.

Podcasting

I listened to a few podcasts...But I didn't feel it! I guess I'm not a radio listener. However, the one that I liked the most was the Education Podcast Network. "Who Are You Really?" was the title of the podcast I listened to. Even though I wasn't able to listen to the whole podcast I found it interesting because it relates to becoming a better person.

I might listen to educational podcasts but I think I would prefer to download them on my I-Pod and listen to them in my car. I'm not sure that I would like to use this in our library. I think I would prefer videos and that is because I'm more visual. However, I think it might be helpful if the podcast is geared to fulfill the needs of our patrons. Maybe having teen podcast reviews for other teens could be fun. The Orange County Library System in Florida has my favorite page when it come to podcasting. And the reason I love it is because it also includes videos. I think this is something we should definitely use to promote programs such as storytelling, teens' programs, and to let patrons see what we do at our library.

Hulu

An interesting concept!!! I've never used Hulu before. I tried to watch something but then I felt guilty of wasting my time at work watching it. I think I will try to watch some episodes at home using Hulu now that I know how it works. However, I think it will be a while for everyone to want to completely move to watching episodes in the computer. I think people still likes big screens. Otherwise why are the TV screens getting bigger and bigger. A lot of people have a home theater and entertainment system. Yes, it is helpful to watch missed episodes but not the whole season. Then, I think we will have to order DVDs for a while yet. They might become smaller but people still enjoys watching movies in big screens.

Drinking at the New York Public Library - You Tube

This was a video I watched on You Tube...The New York public library having a cocktail party! I guess this is a great way to know what other libraries are up to! I like to watch videos on You Tube but I don't use it often. I think creating a channel for our library will be a great way to promote our programs and services. It will be nice to have some puppet shows and story times available for those patrons that can't make it to our library sometimes. Or how about having some available in different languages?

Pandora and Slacker

Thing number 17, music streaming and sharing, was fun! I had the chance to listen to Pandora's selections for a surprise party we had for my sister-in law. Since she is from Pakistan we tuned Pandora for a good variety of Indian and Pakistani music. The crowd attending the party was greatly surprised when we told them that the music playing was from Pandora. I also had the chance to listen to Slacker in the Teen room, since David gracefully offered to show me how it works. Now every time I'm in the Teen room I listen to Slacker.

This new trend will definitely change how we do collection development in the future. CDs might become a thing of the past, and downloading will become part of our future.

Google Docs

Love it! I think I'm going to write one of my papers for school using Google Docs. I have used Google sites to make websites and I find it very easy to use. I will let you know more in detail what happens when I use it for my next project in Library School.

Well, I did use Google docs to work on a paper. It worked great! Everyone was able to change their parts and edit the document. I think I will be using Google Docs in the future and teaching patrons how to use it.

Google Maps

Google maps is a great tool to find directions...but what I like the most about it is that you can see the traffic and it also gives you alternate routes. I've always wanted to go to the Library of Congress so I plugged it in and it would take me 21 hours to get there... Fun! Here is the link:
http://tinyurl.com/yh4wrwq.

I just found out that you can also use Google Maps to identify locations where books have been banned or challenged...Check it out!
http://tinyurl.com/yfnmax4

TinyURL and YouSendIt

I had the chance to use TinyURL when I was volunteering for the Internet Public Library. In order to suggest any link to IPL patrons it is required to use TinyURLs as well. Volunteers need to provide the original link and the TinyURL of the link when the link was too long. The volunteers explain to patrons that IPL provides a TinyURL for their convenience and just in case the link would be broken. I would like to share an article with you about a Canadian private school using Sony e-Readers as textbooks. Isn't this incredible? Would we switch to digital books one day? This article gives us hope though because they still will have a library with the real thing...real books! Here is the link to the article: http://tinyurl.com/yjxouh2

YouSendIt is a great resource too. Too bad is not free! I think it would be more useful for companies and individuals that need to transfer really large files. It could potentially be a great service to patrons that need to transfer multi-media; and it will definitely go into the category of exceeding our patron's expectations.

FACEBOOK

I love Facebook! I don't have too much time to spare on it but when I get a chance I enjoy it! My favorite part is to see pictures from my friend's kids because I see them grow up. I figure since this is my favorite part, showing how the library evolves will be a great thing to do in Facebook. I think our fans will definitely enjoy seeing weekly news from the Frisco Public Library. We have so much going on at all times that there should be a person in each department dedicated to update our page on Facebook.

LinkedIn

I signed up to LinkedIn and I think it is a very helpful resource for people that are trying to find a job. Networking is probably the easiest way to get a job. I searched for library jobs but I got no results as I try to type "librarian" as the keyword. I had to go into advanced search and choose Library under industry to be able to get a listing. As a librarian I would suggest this networking site to patrons when they would like to know more about a company or when they are job searching. I think we should add a link to LinkedIn in our website.

Library Thing and Good Reads

I have to be honest on this one: I prefer Good Reads over Library Thing. I find that Library Thing has too much information in one page, and it is not easy to follow. On the other hand, Good Reads is more user friendly. The layout is simple and uncluttered. Library thing however has really good features that allow patrons to feel more connected to their public library. Also, I happened to find an interesting group that will be good to discuss in my Intellectual freedom class. Definitely both social networking websites make book lovers life easier when it comes to decide what to read!

Tagging and Delicious

I already was a heavy user of delicious and I love it! After I learned a little more about tagging, I started tagging on my delicious account. Now every time I save a new bookmark I use tags to group my bookmarks, and I'm able to find them faster. I think in the library world using tags is very important because it reflects more of the subject headings that a patron would use. The subject headings used by the Library of Congress are not necessarily what a patron would use to look for a subject. For example, I typed feelings in our catalog to find books for story time, and I got about 3 books. I typed emotions and I found a greater amount of books related to this topic. As a patron however, I chose the word feelings first. I think tagging could be used to complement subject heading not to replace them. I have about 40 bookmarks in my delicious account already! Would you like to share?

Flicker, Digg, Twitter and IM

I have to be honest and tell you that I'm kind of behind with my 23 things. I decided I have to 'Digg' into Flicker as I signed up for twitter and IM my family about uploading the pictures to Flicker. How fun! I did it!

Now seriously, who has time to do all this at the same time? I find it amusing that we have all these technologies to help us keep in touch with the rest of the world and even though we are probably writing more (creating new words and acronyms too!), there is not enough time to have a face to face conversation. Although I love having these tools and they are very helpful in our library world, I think we are loosing the warmth of having a real conversation. Anyway, this is just to tell you that I know how to use technology but I miss talking to people. That is why I find it really hard to blog. It is almost like I'm talking to myself.

Since I love having a conversation, my favorite tool is IM. Nothing like a good conversation chatting with friends and family. Specially those who live far away like my family and friends. I love using emoticons!!! Sharing pictures with my family as I chat with them is great! But what I love the most is using the camera to see people through the computer and chat at the same time. Is great to see the reaction on someones face after they hear a joke or good news! I think it will be wonderful to be able to use IM to answer reference questions.

Flicker is great too because it lets you organize pictures and share them with anyone. I uploaded some pictures from my vacation to Colombia and shared them with my coworkers. In the library setting it will be great to be able to share what kind of programs we do with our patrons. We could even share story times with our patrons who could replay them for their kids at home.

I wasn't too sure about Digg. I tried it but I don't think I have much use for it since to me it doesn't seem like a reliable source. I think it might be helpful to keep up to date if you are interested in a particular subject.

Twitter seems like a great tool for those who have the time to keep up with one more thing. I opened an account in twitter to follow the band at my son's school. I loved the fact that the band director will use twitter to let parents know what time to pick up the kids from school. Some libraries are using it to remind patrons of the different programs being offered. And with this I think I'm finally caught up and will try my next adventure: Tagging.