Podcasts are another piece of modern technology I have had ample experience with, separate from the library. From radio stations all over the country I have listened to countless recorded broadcasts made available of interviews with favorite musicians, which I did not have the opportunity to listen to "live," or listened to while it was live and maybe missed hearing part of it. This is a terrific service and I just love it.
As for library application, aside from use in preserving programs, what comes to mind for use is a supplement tool for making information available as we go into our communities seeking their input regarding library services. For example, informational content could be recorded and made available via podcast as well as having the info in written form, to reach a wider audience. This could be used for almost any subject where it is desired to spread the word about library-related matters to as many individuals as possible. Programming that is more focused on an aural rather than a visual presentation could be well-suited for podcast; what immediately comes to mind are author visits that could be made available.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Gettin' Down with Downloads
The availability of downloadable books and media is a service that recently more and more customers are inquiring about. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge in delivering this service, as it used to come up so infrequently that it was challenging to remember all of the aspects of the service. In reading other staff members' comments it was useful to keep in mind the reference applications of this service, and that it could be helpful in providing customers with useful tools such as language learning titles, that might not be on the shelf at any particular time.
As I completed this exercise I was pleased by the eclectic (if not very thorough) collection of popular music available for download. Personally, I do not like listening to audiobooks and tend to be a pretty eclectic reader, preferring funky biographies and odd nonfiction. However, were I so inclined to download, I did see some favorite biography titles listed in the Biography section.
We have many customers who are happily addicted to audiobooks and it does seem like this is an area of service that will only continue to grow and expand.
But I still prefer to hold my books in my hands, and have music to my ears. :)
As I completed this exercise I was pleased by the eclectic (if not very thorough) collection of popular music available for download. Personally, I do not like listening to audiobooks and tend to be a pretty eclectic reader, preferring funky biographies and odd nonfiction. However, were I so inclined to download, I did see some favorite biography titles listed in the Biography section.
We have many customers who are happily addicted to audiobooks and it does seem like this is an area of service that will only continue to grow and expand.
But I still prefer to hold my books in my hands, and have music to my ears. :)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Fair Game
Back in the stone age, or rather, the stonewashed jeans age, my first computer experience beyond word processing and checking out books involved games. My, how things have changed! I remember sliding the huge floppy disc into the drive and waiting with excited anticipation as the gold print made its first appearance against the black background of the monitor, heralding the arrival of another opportunity to play my most favoritest of games: Tetris. Yeah, I kicked ass at Tetris. :)
With the arrival of the internet, Tetris was a sentimental favorite that I eventually sought out, to play every now and again for old times' sake (and when my carpal tunnel syndrome needed another good flareup.) The majority of games just don't appeal to me. But as I believe I mentioned in a previous blog when I was first discovering Facebook and stumbled upon Scrabulous, it was kinda like heroin. I couldn't stop; I initiated new games with anyone who was ready and willing to play. Because I also kick ass at Scrabble(lous). Or at least once did.
Until I started playing with my friend Janey Jane. Somehow that minx ALWAYS comes up with all these bizarre words I have never EVER heard of, and all worth about 174 points each. It kinda takes the fun out of it when you're regularly getting slaughtered. And when Scrabulous went by the wayside and was replaced by the official online Scrabble version, it just wasn't the same. But I'll continue to play. And get my ass kicked.
Game on! :)
With the arrival of the internet, Tetris was a sentimental favorite that I eventually sought out, to play every now and again for old times' sake (and when my carpal tunnel syndrome needed another good flareup.) The majority of games just don't appeal to me. But as I believe I mentioned in a previous blog when I was first discovering Facebook and stumbled upon Scrabulous, it was kinda like heroin. I couldn't stop; I initiated new games with anyone who was ready and willing to play. Because I also kick ass at Scrabble(lous). Or at least once did.
Until I started playing with my friend Janey Jane. Somehow that minx ALWAYS comes up with all these bizarre words I have never EVER heard of, and all worth about 174 points each. It kinda takes the fun out of it when you're regularly getting slaughtered. And when Scrabulous went by the wayside and was replaced by the official online Scrabble version, it just wasn't the same. But I'll continue to play. And get my ass kicked.
Game on! :)
Photo Finish
Online image generators can be great fun! I enjoyed playing with some of the options suggested in this lesson and saw some potential opportunity for use with my own personal photography. I've already done quite a bit with creating email greeting cards over the years, and playing with generating license plates, magazine covers, etc. Too cool. :)
Monday, August 18, 2008
Where's Waldo?
As a lifelong habitual traveler, I have used internet mapping tools extensively in the course of planning my trips and getting to where I need to go, from well-known hotels and music venues to obscure clubs and friends' homes. Without them I would be lost. Quite literally.
I find it both fascinating and scary that technology has advanced so much as to enable the exact pinpointing of a location. With the use of GPS machines again it has been invaluable in finding my way around in unfamiliar locales, but it makes me a bit nervous that any random stranger could pinpoint someone's location simply by a few clicks on the Internet.
Some of us just may not want to be found. LOL
I find it both fascinating and scary that technology has advanced so much as to enable the exact pinpointing of a location. With the use of GPS machines again it has been invaluable in finding my way around in unfamiliar locales, but it makes me a bit nervous that any random stranger could pinpoint someone's location simply by a few clicks on the Internet.
Some of us just may not want to be found. LOL
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Oh Wiki, You're So Fine
Wandering the world of wikis can be a terrific easy way for many individuals to share their collective information on various topics. Some of the library sites I reviewed during the course of this unit were impressively comprehensive, offering a more structured format for the sharing of info than some other web-related options. But as with anything on the web these days, sad to see that this is yet one more thing flourishing under the anonymity of the internet with the potential for abuse. I've added content to Wikipedia and have seen a fair amount of childish tampering with entries. Nice to see that these sites are adding more safety measures to enable better supervision of entries added, as when used properly, there is amazing potential here for cataloguing knowledge.
As for use within libraries, I'm thinking wikis have potential for being a good vehicle for committees and task forces to share and store information that all might need access to. Having just served on such a committee where massive ongoing rewrites were needed for updating documentation, I think of the overwhelming influx of emails that inundated my box, and how perhaps a wiki might have provided an opportunity where the most recent rewrite of a document could have been posted and allowed opportunity for all members to update one common document kept in one common place. Hmm. Perhaps something to think about for future committee work.
As for use within libraries, I'm thinking wikis have potential for being a good vehicle for committees and task forces to share and store information that all might need access to. Having just served on such a committee where massive ongoing rewrites were needed for updating documentation, I think of the overwhelming influx of emails that inundated my box, and how perhaps a wiki might have provided an opportunity where the most recent rewrite of a document could have been posted and allowed opportunity for all members to update one common document kept in one common place. Hmm. Perhaps something to think about for future committee work.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Whatever it is, you can find it on YouTube!
YouTube: the budding auteur's wildest dream. Or the public figure's worst nightmare. A place where one's goofiest whims, a moment's gaffe, or personal triumph may live forever in infamy, readily accessible at any time of day by anyone on the planet.
Amongst the online communities I belong to where we are all members of a fandom following the career of a favorite celebrity, YouTube has been a godsend, as people share the wealth of their experiences. Those who are fortunate enough to attend concerts shoot videos and put them up, to be enjoyed by those who are not able to come, as well as provide a nice visual memory of the shows for those who are. I've uploaded many of my own personal videos and viewed countless more. Quality is as varied as the individual shooting the vid, but it can be quite nice to have even a crappy video preserving an event rather than having nothing at all.
For the purpose of this work exercise, I started by looking up the SIL promo video (in which I am a happy cast member :) ) on YouTube and saw what other vids popped up. Everything from well-planned, well-executed promo videos nicely advertising other library systems, to the hasty out-of-focus whims of teenagers chasing their giggling pals through the stacks. And don't forget that timeless classic: "Library Porno." (Actually pretty innocuous.) I've already used YT quite extensively to look for vids for my own personal interest. One feature I like is how links to videos of similar content pop up on the screen to offer similar suggested viewing options, which can lead one to some very interesting discoveries indeed. But then again, it can set you off onto one of those endless internet loops, where you just keep clicking and clicking until you suddenly blearily realize that it's 6 am and time to get ready for work again.
I had not experienced Hulu or Fancast before. On Hulu, I looked up my favorite tall Greek topic and was able to come across some links to interviews with him that I had not yet seen, or hadn't seen in years, which was fun. I am in general not a big TV person, and while at one time a major cinemaphile have kind of burned out on movies. So for Fancast, just for fun I tried looking up an old British series I used to like, "Doctor in the House," and found it. I tried the "Six Degrees" feature to see if it would yield the subsequent seasons of the series, which had been given different names ("Doctor at Large," "Doctor on the Go," etc.) but I had no luck. It may very well be that they are just not available at this time.
I will keep these sites in mind for periodically checking in for things that may be new in regards to my boy CM, but as I mentioned, I am just not a big TV/movie person anymore. I can see how these services could be useful for libraries; from the basic reference aspect as well as providing the opportunity for library programs and services to be put on video and shared. YouTube could become the great promotional tool of the century. Today one upload, tomorrow the world.
And hey... just because I can: ;)
"..any way the wind blows..."
Amongst the online communities I belong to where we are all members of a fandom following the career of a favorite celebrity, YouTube has been a godsend, as people share the wealth of their experiences. Those who are fortunate enough to attend concerts shoot videos and put them up, to be enjoyed by those who are not able to come, as well as provide a nice visual memory of the shows for those who are. I've uploaded many of my own personal videos and viewed countless more. Quality is as varied as the individual shooting the vid, but it can be quite nice to have even a crappy video preserving an event rather than having nothing at all.
For the purpose of this work exercise, I started by looking up the SIL promo video (in which I am a happy cast member :) ) on YouTube and saw what other vids popped up. Everything from well-planned, well-executed promo videos nicely advertising other library systems, to the hasty out-of-focus whims of teenagers chasing their giggling pals through the stacks. And don't forget that timeless classic: "Library Porno." (Actually pretty innocuous.) I've already used YT quite extensively to look for vids for my own personal interest. One feature I like is how links to videos of similar content pop up on the screen to offer similar suggested viewing options, which can lead one to some very interesting discoveries indeed. But then again, it can set you off onto one of those endless internet loops, where you just keep clicking and clicking until you suddenly blearily realize that it's 6 am and time to get ready for work again.
I had not experienced Hulu or Fancast before. On Hulu, I looked up my favorite tall Greek topic and was able to come across some links to interviews with him that I had not yet seen, or hadn't seen in years, which was fun. I am in general not a big TV person, and while at one time a major cinemaphile have kind of burned out on movies. So for Fancast, just for fun I tried looking up an old British series I used to like, "Doctor in the House," and found it. I tried the "Six Degrees" feature to see if it would yield the subsequent seasons of the series, which had been given different names ("Doctor at Large," "Doctor on the Go," etc.) but I had no luck. It may very well be that they are just not available at this time.
I will keep these sites in mind for periodically checking in for things that may be new in regards to my boy CM, but as I mentioned, I am just not a big TV/movie person anymore. I can see how these services could be useful for libraries; from the basic reference aspect as well as providing the opportunity for library programs and services to be put on video and shared. YouTube could become the great promotional tool of the century. Today one upload, tomorrow the world.
And hey... just because I can: ;)
"..any way the wind blows..."
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