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?