Briargate Book Club

I decided to use the knowledge I gained through the 23Things to create a group on LibraryThing 2.0 for my Briargate Book Club. I will collect email information from the people who attend regularly at our next meeting for those who want to be part of the online group. I think it will be popular because I have so many members who travel. This will be a way for them to be involved when they are unable to attend the meeting. I have great hopes for this virtual book club. I will eventually list all the books we've read in our 2 plus years of meeting. Here's a link if you want to look.

In the meantime here's some information on our June 2008 selection. Local authors Cynthia Quicksall Landsberg and Judith Pettibone will visit our meeting on June 11 at 10am to discuss their book The Hero Within Healing Boys at Colorado Boys Ranch.

http://www.librarything.com/groups/briargatebookclub

It's All Over Now!

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I liked Ning alot. It's a cool tool I can use in a little part time job I have not related to the library. I have to remember Bloglines because I really do think it can make managing all the info that's "out there" easier! I love the idea of the free "productivity" sites. That I can create documents on ZoHo Writer and log on anywhere and access it is too cool! I really liked looking at all of this stuff and feeling somewhat conversant in so many different things. Now, I might be able to hold my own in conversations about all these things. I'll be cutting edge for about 15 seconds!

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I just feel so much more comfortable with exploring various options. I probably would never have experienced a Podcast just because it seemed so foreign to me. But now, I'll give it a try. A new use for that MP3 player I got for Christmas.
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was surprised that I could navigate around these sites fairly easily and that I was overwhelmed by any of them.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Time is always an issue when you work with the public. There are so many part time employees at PPLD that didn't have the same opportunities as full time staff or staff who don't work on the public desks.
And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Yes, without hesitation. I had fun and really enjoyed this entire process!

PodCast? We'll See About That

I don't know if I'll ever listen, but I did subscribe to Irish Fireside. It's all about traveling in Ireland. I've never been to Ireland, but it is someplace I really want to go. So, until I can get there I'll just listen. What I'm hoping is that the podcaster has a great Irish accent! So, until we meet on the Emeral Isle enjoy this beautiful picture and check out Irish Fireside!

You Tube! Your 15 Minutes of Fame

I like You Tube. Really. What's not to like about exploding mentos, cute kittens, snarling chihuahua dogs and so on and so on. It can be a black hole and I find myself just robotically clicking on one video after another. What can I say. I'm a sucker for baby animals. I tried several times and several different ways to embed one of my favorite YouTube videos, but even with my techo daughter's help I failed miserably. I was able to copy and paste this link however, and with any luck at all it will open. If it does I hope you enjoy Henriette the Dancing Dog as much as I did.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q0zlPMobw0

Nearing the Finish Line

In honor of the 134th Run for the Roses I have named this post Nearing the Finish Line. Though I would say this task has been more of a marathon than a sprint.

I went to Google Labs and created a webpage! You can teach an old dog new tricks! Who knew? Anyway, it was really easy and just another lesson in how accessible things are on the web. It brings home again the lesson learned in Library 2.0 about making our information easily accessible. To compete in the market, and that doesn't just include libraries any more, we have to change with the times.

I love ZOHO Writer. What a great tool. What I like most is it's easy and I can access from anyplace I have an Internet connection. I was able to add a picture and publish the document to my blog!

On Web 2.0 I scrolled through all the winners and runners up and then kind of at random chose the Broth.com in Visual Arts. There's a cool mosaic maker that is fun. I'm not quite good enough that I'm ready to go public with my mosaics. Give 4 or 5 years....

Cheyenne

This is my test document using ZOHO Writer.  It looks alot like Word which is good.  I can at least get started.

 

This is a picture of my canine friend Cheyenne.   Cheyenne was visiting while her people were out of town.  We both enjoyed our stroll around Sinton's Pond with beautiful Pikes Peak in the background.

 

Technorati Tags     dog,peak,pikes,Sintons,Pond,Cheyenne

The Times They Are A Changin'

I have a lot of catching up to do. I haven't blogged for awhile because it's been so busy at the branch! Yikes.

OK, Del.icio.us. Well, when I have to think about where to put the dots before I can find a site I get a little put off. The name of this site is just a tad bit to "cute" for me. In lots and lots of looking I found only one thing I wanted to refer back to. I think I need more uninterrupted time to look at this product and see how it would be beneficial to me. For now I'm leaning towards not seeing how it will make my life easier.

Technorati. I searched for blogs using an exercise program I participate in and lo and behold I found my very own blog on the list. None of the blogs were actually about Nia, but all had Nia listed as an interest. I looked at several of the blogs but didn't find anyone I felt particularly simpatico with. I did find a blog to subscribe to so I used Bloglines again. Man, I feel so techo divaish.

Library 2.0 is a good thing. The Times They Are A Changin' as Bob Dylan says. I guess the piece that stuck with me was out of the Iceberg essay. We really don't have the staff or time to train our patrons on how to use the library. Besides, our patrons are frequently more savvy than we are when it comes to using virtual sources. This program has really helped me by introducing me to so many things that are out there now but still I'm no expert.......

Let's leave behind the more archaic forms of cataloging, for example, and make our searches more user friendly. We know those search options are out there. Google has them. Amazon.com has them. It's a little sad when I have to use Amazon to find a book before I can find it in our catalog. I'm a pretty good speller, but the patrons aren't always. There are times when my search is only as good as their information. Amazon or Google either one help me when I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. Our resources should make it easier for me and the patrons to find what we need.

My Space, Facebook, Ning Oh My

I'm about to wear out my keyboard signing up and building a profile for all this stuff. My Space and Facebook I probably won't use. But Ning I like. I am a natural skin care products consultant and I created a Ning account for my Lemongrass stuff. I'm excited to have another forum to create buzz about these cool products I'm selling. Thanks to PPLD's 23 Things I found something useful to me personally as well as professionally!

Rollyo Yo and a Bottle of Rum

Alas there is no rum, but I did create my very own Rollyo. I do the newsletter for the Briarget Branch and various flyers for programs so I use lots of clipart. I get tired of the clipart available in Publisher so I frequently go out on the world wide web and search for free clipart and fonts. I put together my own search engine of free clipart sites and will add some free font sites when I have a little bit of time. I absolutely can see how this would be a useful tool. If you have a passion or interest to be able to build your own short cuts to the sites you find useful without actually having to be a programmer is great. I like Rollyo. The bottle of rum will have to wait for another time and place!

Book of the Post:

I don't acually have a book to tell you about today because I added my Shelfari to my blog. Take a look at it. It's similar to LibraryThing in that its another book sharing site with groups and reviews and a way to share your various book lists. Books you've read, books you want to read and so on and so forth! If you want to be my Shelfari friend get yourself a free Shelfari account and send me an invite!