Wrapping up Library 2.0

I have really enjoyed doing Library 2.0. I have learned a lot. There were many things that I didn't even know about until we learned it in this program. I had no idea what RSS feeds were or that there were so many online Word processing sites for patrons to use. It has been a great experience. I also learned a lot doing this program by helping others when they were having trouble or couldn't figure out what to do. I also learned from others. It's fun to learn these things when we all work together. I plan on returning to many of the things that we have learned and playing with them and doing more with them. I plan on continuing on with doing my blog. Thanks for doing the Library 2.0 program. I can't think of anything that we haven't done that I want to learn. I know there is a lot out there, but I think that we have covered those things that I wanted to learn. There are a couple of things that we learned that I think would be a useful tool for the library, one of them is knowing about the online word processing capabilities that will help patrons to be able to do a word document and I think keeping up with the Library Wiki is a great idea and a useful tool for the patrons. Putting photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube is also a fun way to keep patrons informed about goings on at the library. Thanks again for doing Library 2.0.

Podcasts and Netlibrary

I played around with Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com and found about 4 podcasts that interested me. One of them was a Disney podcast. The other ones were book review podcasts. A couple of mystery ones. As I played around with site I was able to figure out how to put the podcast onto my Google Reader without having to subscribe to the website. It is a fun and useful site for searching for reviews and news on certain subjects.
Netlibrary is something that I have used before when it first came available. I have had an account and I have downloaded 4 books and have put them on my MP3 player already. It is very easy and fun. The checkout feature works just fine. I have had no problems with that feature.

Another YouTube Video

Here is another YouTube video for your enjoyment. I picked this video because it put the lyrics on of what this mother is singing to the tune of "The William Tell Overture." There are other videos that just has this mother singing without the lyrics showing. It is very funny and quite true. You mothers out there would really enjoy this.

YouTube

I have enjoyed playing around in YouTube. When I went to Atlanta Georgia a year ago, I was able to see Mei Lan, the baby Panda. This video is when she is a year old. I chose this video because the panda is so cute and I just want to hold her. I looked up many other videos, including the many of the domino videos. I tried to find the Library Staff Development Day video and couldn't find it. I found the David Lee King video of him touring the library. I might put that one in also. YouTube is a fun way to advertise or show the programs the library has to offer.

Web 2.0 Awards

I played around with a couple of the winners. I played with the games and the one game that I had fun with was called Guess-the-Google. It would put up an image of a collage of pictures and you would guess the search term in common with all the pictures. It is fun for when you want a break from everything. The other one that I played with was the winner under the category Classifieds and Directories. It is the Craigslist. I know that most patrons know about this site, but it is the first time that I have heard of it. You can pick a state or city and it has the classifieds for that city. And it is up to date. This would be a great site and very useful for patrons looking for housing or jobs, etc. There were many other winners that we have already looked into or played around with previously.

Google Labs

I played around with three of the labs. The first one is Google Ride Finder. This lab would be very useful in some states that use taxis and other forms of transportation for people to call for a taxi. It shows on a map where the rides are and gives you the name of the taxi service and address and phone number you can call, etc. The next one that I liked is Google Mars. It gives an image of mars. Let's say you click on craters, it will put a balloon where the craters are and on the side it will give you articles on the craters. I had fun playing around with this one. I am sure that this one will graduate. The last one I played around with is Google Suggest. This is similar to Did you mean... when you do a search except this shows suggestions as you type in a word before you click search. It is very useful, especially if you are not sure of the spelling and it shows you before you click search. I am pretty sure that this lab will also graduate. This was fun to see what Google has been working on.

Cool Text

Online Application Tools

I was surprised to see how many online application Tools are out there on the internet for Word Processing. I have read about each of them and they all seem pretty similar in what they offer. These tools will be very useful for patrons that don't have Microsoft Office or any word processing tools to be able to get on the internet and go into anyone of these tools and be able to write a letter or anything. They are limited in Fonts and some things that you can get on Microsoft Word, but you can open up a Microsoft Word document and other application. It is also nice to know that they are free to sign up for and easy to use. I am glad to know that these tools are out there.

The amazing world of Search Engines

Exalead : I didn't like this search engine. Very limited search information.
Wink: This search engine was for searching Social Networking sites and people. If you are into searching this type of information, then this search engine is for you.
Gravee: This search engine doesn't even work. I typed in a search and it came back with nothing.
Clusty: This search engine was better. It gave me the information that I was looking for on the subject I needed. This search engine was an easy one to use.
Mooter: This was not a bad search engine. I was able to get some information on the subject that I needed.
Kartoo: I didn't like this search engine. It was too confusing. I would push on a link and it would give me another link. I didn't get the information I needed.
Yahoo: This search engine I used a lot before Google came along and I have been able to find the information I have needed using this search engine.
All in all I still like Google the best. It has more to offer. Yahoo is good for Flickr. I will still use Yahoo once in awhile.

Library 2.0 and the Future

I agree, technology will continue to grow and more things will be on the internet, but I don't believe that the print form of the library will ever go away. Like the Just in Case article, there will still be a need for the print form of books and journals. There are many journals and books that are not digitized and can't be accessed on the internet, and maybe someday they will be, but I don't see the print form of the journals ever going away completely. I like Dr. Wendy Schultz's article and how she talks about where libraries are headed in the future. She talks about the library 4.0 phase and that library 1.0, 2.0 or even 3.0 will not go away but be integrated/merged into each other. There are a lot like me that don't own an ipod or PDA. There are many who don't own a computer or CD player, or can't afford to own one. So I for one will still want to hold a book physically in my hand and curl up in a blanket and read.