Week 6 Web 2.0, Library 2.0

The del.icio.us site makes bookmarking and tagging sites so easy. I had a look at the education and reference sites and their related tags, the "clouds" made selection of popular sites so simple. Had fun looking at the TV Guide and reading the celebrity blogs!!

Now to the articles!
Yes the face of our public library system is changing, and like all services in the public sector we must keep abreast of current innovations and developments in technology and the Web.
I can remember when I started my university degree in Teacher Librarianship (back in 1981) and how terrified we were to hear that computers would be 'taking over' in a manner of speaking!! Coming from the generation of typed catalogue cards, it was quite alarming! Little did we know that this new technology would be a blessing in disguise, and we would not be out of a job! Like the innovations of yesteryear, Web 2.0 will only improve on the services and knowledge already provided by our libraries. We owe it to our patrons to have a good grasp of these Web sites, in order to impart this knowledge onto others.

Rick Anderson in his article "Away from the icebergs" sees our print collections being reduced as patrons become more educated in finding answers on the Web. Rather than us building collections of books we think our patrons might need, they can instead access virtually everything via the Web. So as librarians our skills then need to encompass how to best use the sites available to us.
He says that unlike school libraries, we will not have the time to teach these skills, due to the low numbers of staff in each library. So we need to work out a way of "eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need". Rather than the library being the main source of information we have to work out how we can best provide information to our patrons.
(I read all of the articles, great stuff!!)

LibraryThing and Rollyo

Loved LibraryThing, what an awesome site, so many different options and so easy to use. Terrific how books connected, and could give you the best recommendations. Loved how it could analyse your catalogue and come up with 100 or so books you might also like to read, what a great tool for the library!

Rollyo was equally as brilliant. Had fun searching news, travel and reference sites, again an excellent tool for patrons to know about, especially useful for students of any age.

Week 5 Play Week

Had fun with the online image generators. Looked at the comic strip generator, and logo generator, and chose some at random from the list of 942 generator sites. Found it relatively easy to use, and thought the Poster making site was quite good. www.ronyasoft.com/product/poster-forge/index.html

In this site you can make motivational posters, movie posters and old west 'Wanted Posters', it is an easy way of creating a professional looking poster, which could be put up in libraries or schools.

RSS

The sky is the limit, so much information from so many different sources. The problem will be having to select a limited number of relevant sites to satisfy your hunger for knowledge in your chosen areas! But what fun trying!! Again a wonderful resource probably more suited to upper primary, secondary and University students, as well as the general public, due to the nature of the information and the level of reading skill required.
It would be an excellent resource for Secondary students researching current affairs and issues, and would also be an invaluable tool for debaters.
I look forward to getting broad band at home, so I can dive into this world of information!

Technology

I am just blown away by the sheer amount of information and images available to us from around the world, on the internet. I am very much a visual person and think Flickr is a brilliant site. Many of the captured images display so much creativity and imagination.
It is exciting to think about how we may apply these resources into our Public Libraries, and how we may inspire others to use them

DoggySnaps.com: Kennels: Snowdrop the Maltese: Snowdrop the Maltese

DoggySnaps.com: Kennels: Snowdrop the Maltese: Snowdrop the Maltese

Flicker is a great resource, which could be used in introducing new fiction, authors, and non-fiction subjects especially for students. It could be a way of enhancing pages and generating posters etc.

I chose this picture as the dog looks very much like my Maltese, Jenny.

Blogging Week One

Introduction to learning 2.0 appears to be an interesting and maybe challenging program, which will take us into the new world of information online. It will enble us as librarians to instill a greater love of learning and the role of technology in it, and will enrich our skills and knowledge.

I'm excited, this my first blog. Hello world!