D to the E to the LICIOUS...

Delicious is one of my tastiest new web finds... by the way, Fergie, T to the A to the STEY is incorrect! Maybe Fergie should use Delicious to bookmark Merriam-Webster online.

I recently opened an account and am so psyched to have all of my fave websites in one location. Because it's social and you can browse other people's tags, I have far better success using Delicious to find cool websites than by using a regular old search engine because you can see what websites people have actually listed as notable. I have already found tons of uses at work for websites that I have found on Delicious... free online stuff, notable libraries, program ideas. All I can say is that this website is appropriately named and I am in love with it.

Wiki wiki scratch

I don't have to tell HCPL how beneficial Wikis are because we already use them. I don't have a wiki or contribute to a wiki in my personal life, however after watching the Commoncraft video, I want to plan something with multiple people. I am now looking for a reason to create a wiki...

On a completely unrelated side note: whenever I hear the word wiki, it makes me think of scratching records. You know, like, wiki wiki scratch. To tie this together, here's what Wikipedia has to say about scratching.

Flickr is pretty cool.

I have to just put this out there: Flickr is AWESOME! I love the fact that you can add photos, add tags, collaborate with other users, add favorites and browse photos easily. I checked out the Library of Virginia's Flickr collection and was sucked into their great aray of historic Richmond pictures. I love the fact that people can browse through their pictures and add tags and make comments as they see fit. I found a picture of some 1956 class at TJ high school and noticed that someone had identified several of the people in the picture. What's really great about Flickr especially when dealing with older pictures is that it opens up the possibility that someone will come across a picture and know something about it that you don't know. While doing this is risky in some ways, there is a lot to be said for the "wisdom of crowds."

Two peas in a Podcast.

So I do not currently subscribe to any podcasts, but I think that they are really cool and truly hold a lot of potential for the library world. After attending the booktalking workshop, I was all hyped up on the potential for creating interactive media with the help of co-workers and in some cases patrons. I am going to take this opportunity to give a shout out to the Bookmobile's Book in a Minute. If we can get into the reading rainbow state of mind, there are so many things that we can do to promote reading, spark interest in particular topics and titles and get the word out about goings on at the library.

Twitter and tech addicts

So I am just now getting around to blogging about Twitter. While I recognize the merit in Twitter as a tool that could help the library connect with teens and other tech savvy patrons, I don't think we are quite there yet. This could have a lot to do with the demographic that I am used to seeing at North Park, but from what I gather, our patrons at least wouldn't benefit from it yet.

Now from a personal standpoint, I am not judging or condeming those who twitter or blog or text (because I am a blogger and a texter), but our over-fascination with tech makes me kinda sad. Now obviously we can't revert back to party lines and model T's, but in some ways, I wish we still kinda kept it simple stupid. New tools and technology emerge because we are trying to save time, so if we save time by shopping and paying bills online so we don't have to go to the mall and post office, we email so we don't have to write, and we text so we don't have to call, we should be racking up tons of time saved, right? My question is: where is our time going?

The Twitter video that was supposed to make me see how cool it is and make me want to use it made me want to throw away my cell phone and pay a friend an unexpected visit, rather than update them on my every move. It kinda stinks that Carla had to learn that her friend likes VanHalen from Twitter and that she is addicted (and that's a quote) to her blackberry, blog and email. It's a shame that we are so busy now a days that we have reduced many of our friendships to the fast food, on the way to work level. Can we honestly believe that technology can take the place of human interaction? Maybe, just maybe we need to cut some things out and take the time to smell the roses. Life is passing us by and just because we are kept up to date with happenings around the world and around the corner doesn't mean that we are taking the time to enjoy them and be a part of them.

RSS snacks... I mean feeds.

My best friend who is in the Navy band is leaving in a few days to be stationed in Italy for the next two years, so hubby and I went out for a celebratory goodbye dinner with her and her boyfriend. We dined at Cafe Rustica (which I highly recommend) and indulged in wine, fresh bread, cheese, radicchio with balsamic vinagrette, NY strip, garlic mashers, steamed veggies, grilled pound cake with lemon curd and fresh fruit and coffee. I had a stick of juicy fruit for breakfast this morning to compesate for my gluttany last night. It all balances out, right? Well now my poor tummy thinks that it can expect meals like that all the time and it's growling at me... I really shouldn't blog about anything called feeds when I am hungry, but I digress.

Ok, RSS snacks... I mean feeds. Hmm. After a great demonstration and sales pitch from Lisa about how RSS feeds could be really useful to getting the word out about goings-on at the library, I really do see the potential. As far as reaching out to people who may not keep up with Connections but are interested in what we have to offer, it could really be a great tool... the only trick would be getting people to subscribe to the feed. I think that overall, TW and TU would have the greatest success rate with the feeds because their demographic is overall more tech savvy. Right now, I believe that due to the digital divide that exists in NP's area regarding socio-economic status and age, it would be a struggle to get a large portion of our patrons to subscribe to a feed. The YA population would arguable benefit the most from this addition to our website, but hopefully as the divide narrows, it could become increasingly more effective.

bad blogger... bad, bad blogger.

I think I may be the last person to create their blog. This work blog is my fourth blog baby and since I am not new to blogging, I should have created it before I took my annual leave, but I didn't (bad girl!). My only concern regarding it is that I remember the log in name and password... well that and that I can come up with enough witty library/web 2.0 chit chat to keep Louise and my co-workers interested in what I have to say. :o)

Until next time...