Ok. 23 Things on a Stick ends tomorrow. I have to finally admit that it's not happening. I'm not going to win any of their neat prizes.
How do people have time to blog anyway? It's a mystery to me.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thing 3: RSS
I am loving RSS! Keeping up with blogs would (obviously) be impossible without RSS. In fact, I sometimes find it a little overwhelming to keep up with my RSS!
I've set up RSS on Google, which is nice. I like the layout.
What I really like is the RSS reader in MS Outlook 2007. I like it because it's so convenient. I can have it open when I check my work email. I keep all my most essential blog RSS here.
My list of must read RSS feeds are (in alphabetical order):
I've set up RSS on Google, which is nice. I like the layout.
What I really like is the RSS reader in MS Outlook 2007. I like it because it's so convenient. I can have it open when I check my work email. I keep all my most essential blog RSS here.
My list of must read RSS feeds are (in alphabetical order):
- ACRL Insider
- ACRLog
- Brainstorm
- ELM Blog
- Grinnell College Libraries' News and Announcements
- iLibrarian
- librarian.net
- Library Journal
- Library Link of the Day
- Library Lowdown - GU/MSB Library blog
- LISNews
- MINTEX Digital Reference blog
- The Kept-Up Academic Librarian
There are so many great blogs out there. I also try to read Boing Boing and A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette. They're more for fun than for professional development.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Thing 2: Library 2.0?
Usually when I hear the phrase "library 2.0" I roll my eyes. It seems like a trendy phrase to throw around.
I do like the affect this phrase is having though. I'm glad librarians are thinking about libraries as collaborative places (physically and virtually) and thinking about how technology can help provide better services. I think of Library 2.0 as more of a frame of mind than a collection of technologies. It's important for libraries to engage in strategic planning and self studies to decide where their priorities are and what needs to change in order to get there. Sometimes technology needs to change (tools purchased from vendors don't always match a library's goals), staffing, or physical library space. It's important for libraries to define themselves to complement patron's current information gathering.
I don't think everyone uses the phrase "library 2.0" to be trendy. Some people actually believe libraries should be more collaborative and I like that.
As for 23 Things on a Stick in my own life, I hope to find time to get all the way through it. It's hard because (like everyone else) I've got so many important goals to accomplish. I just have to work this program in as one of my goals. By participating in 23 Things, I'll learn about tools that will help me do my job and connect with patrons. It's important.
I do like the affect this phrase is having though. I'm glad librarians are thinking about libraries as collaborative places (physically and virtually) and thinking about how technology can help provide better services. I think of Library 2.0 as more of a frame of mind than a collection of technologies. It's important for libraries to engage in strategic planning and self studies to decide where their priorities are and what needs to change in order to get there. Sometimes technology needs to change (tools purchased from vendors don't always match a library's goals), staffing, or physical library space. It's important for libraries to define themselves to complement patron's current information gathering.
I don't think everyone uses the phrase "library 2.0" to be trendy. Some people actually believe libraries should be more collaborative and I like that.
As for 23 Things on a Stick in my own life, I hope to find time to get all the way through it. It's hard because (like everyone else) I've got so many important goals to accomplish. I just have to work this program in as one of my goals. By participating in 23 Things, I'll learn about tools that will help me do my job and connect with patrons. It's important.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Thing 1
I'm trying this new 23 Things on a Stick. My first Thing was to create this blog and an avatar.
Creating a blog is easy and so was creating the avatar. The main problem is just the time investment. I really think that registering for this program will help me put in the time. I think I'll learn a lot of new fun tools too. It should be a good learning experience.
Creating a blog is easy and so was creating the avatar. The main problem is just the time investment. I really think that registering for this program will help me put in the time. I think I'll learn a lot of new fun tools too. It should be a good learning experience.
Friday, October 5, 2007
whew
It's Friday!
I'm going to a motorcycle class this weekend and I'm pretty excited, even though I don't even own a motorcycle.
This week at work has been full of scheduling and preparing for upcoming library instructions. Ack, I can't even stop working... this blog is going to have to wait!
I'm going to a motorcycle class this weekend and I'm pretty excited, even though I don't even own a motorcycle.
This week at work has been full of scheduling and preparing for upcoming library instructions. Ack, I can't even stop working... this blog is going to have to wait!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Beginning of the Blog Life
The new fall quarter started on Monday, so I'm getting swamped! It's kind of funny that I should choose to work a couple extra hours to keep up and then blog about work in my free time.
I really do have a life! I have been really into disc golf, crocheting, learning to sew, and reading lately.
But I also really do enjoy my job, which my husband thinks is weird. He doesn't think many people enjoy working. I work as a distance education librarian at a career college and work from home. My duties include: virtual library instruction, virtual reference, database purchasing and maintenance, and website design and maintenance. How awesome is that? It's so fun!
The beginning of the quarter is hectic for me. Here's and example of what I'm doing: introducing myself to new instructors and inviting them to the new instructor training/ library refresher webinar next week; planning and preparing for the new instructor webinar; emailing/calling instructors who have research projects as a part of the syllabus and recommending that they include a live library instruction webinar or at least a specialized library handout; scheduling library webinars; creating handouts (Some instructors are having students start researching right away so they need their handouts in a hurry. Luckily, I can count on an institutional database of handouts). I'm also creating a Captivate (version 1, not version 3) tutorial about our new federated search tool: 360 Search. I'm hoping to have that done by next week. We're having some troubles with 360 Search interoperating with some of our databases, but we're working on that too.
Wow. Hope that paragraph wasn't too boring for you. You, the imaginary reader... I should work on getting some real readers!
I really do have a life! I have been really into disc golf, crocheting, learning to sew, and reading lately.
But I also really do enjoy my job, which my husband thinks is weird. He doesn't think many people enjoy working. I work as a distance education librarian at a career college and work from home. My duties include: virtual library instruction, virtual reference, database purchasing and maintenance, and website design and maintenance. How awesome is that? It's so fun!
The beginning of the quarter is hectic for me. Here's and example of what I'm doing: introducing myself to new instructors and inviting them to the new instructor training/ library refresher webinar next week; planning and preparing for the new instructor webinar; emailing/calling instructors who have research projects as a part of the syllabus and recommending that they include a live library instruction webinar or at least a specialized library handout; scheduling library webinars; creating handouts (Some instructors are having students start researching right away so they need their handouts in a hurry. Luckily, I can count on an institutional database of handouts). I'm also creating a Captivate (version 1, not version 3) tutorial about our new federated search tool: 360 Search. I'm hoping to have that done by next week. We're having some troubles with 360 Search interoperating with some of our databases, but we're working on that too.
Wow. Hope that paragraph wasn't too boring for you. You, the imaginary reader... I should work on getting some real readers!
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