Thing # 24

There are three main reasons why I enjoyed the learning 2.0 program.

1. This program has given me a chance to explore tools that I had never heard of before, or tools that I seldom used.

2. It created a lot of involvement and interaction from the staff. Everyday, people were talking about what they liked / disliked about certain tools.

3. It really got me thinking about how web 2.0 tools can be applied to library services and programs. I've been opened up to new ideas thanks to reading other blogs and examples from other libraries.

Another positive about this program is that I discovered some tools that I will continue to use. Bloglines is something that I had never used, but I use it at home and will continue to use it. I like Library Thing and plan to keep on using that as well. The open office programs are pretty cool, and I plan on using those more in the future. The program itself was executed in a great way, so I can't really think of anything right now that could of been done differently. And yes, I would definitely do another discovery program like this again.

Thing #23

I first went to Podcast.net and did a search for "library news" and found the Library Channel podcast. It's geared more towards academic and research libraries, but there's some useful stuff there, plus there's 449 episodes. However, it looks like they haven't had a new one in about one year.

Next I went to Podfeed.net and did a search for "book reviews" and came up with a show called Book Reviews and Author Interview Podcasts done by a librarian in Kansas. This is the one that I added to my bloglines account.

While I was searching through the podcasts, I noticed libraries using podcasts to talk about library events, and other programs. So like YouTube, libraries could use podcasts to do book talks and other programs.

Thing # 22

This was my first time to really explore READS and MyLibraryDV. READs has some nice features, like the option to browse new titles and titles that are always available. I wanted to look for some learning Russian audiobooks, so I typed in "Russian" for a title keyword search and came back with seven items. So I was pleased that they had those titles.

I've never been into audiobooks that much, now maybe I'll try it. Just browsing through the classic titles, I noticed some that I'd like to hear that I've neglected reading.

I also noticed that the MyLibraryDV has all those Globe Trekker episodes from PBS which I like to watch.

These two programs are definitely good resources for any library.

Thing # 21

YouTube can be a pretty addicting site. YouTube is great because of the large number of video clips available. You can also find whole documentaries on the site which is great. The downside is of course the quality of the videos.

For libraries, I think one good way to use YouTube is to film book talks and post them to the library website. YouTube allows for user comments, so that could be one way for people to discuss the book remotely and after the event has taken place. This could also be used for any other library program as well.

Here's an example of a show done by the Billerica Public Library called "Library Lowdown." On this particular episode they discuss books on Antarctica.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bLWUNqERgQ

This is just one example, there are other videos done by other libraries with authors and much more.

Thing # 20

I chose to explore Lulu, the all-in-one self publishing website. Through Lulu, you can print, self-publish, and sell your book or CD. It seems like an ideal site for someone who just wants to print up a few copies of a book. They use a print-on-demand service, so they will only print a copy when someone orders the item. You can also get published through Lulu, which will get you an ISBN and distribution through Amazon.com and other retailers. Of course, all these services cost money. The cost might be worth it to someone who wants to avoid large set up costs, or to someone who doesn't want to print hundreds of books.

Besides the commercial side of the site, Lulu offers online community forums through groups, message boards, and a blog. This way, lulu users (or someone who is just interested in self-publishing) can interact and discuss issues and ideas.

I haven't used this service, so I can't really talk about any major downsides to it. I guess it's a little pricey, but I'm sure most of that is attributed to not printing things up in large quantities.
Other than that, I really enjoyed browsing through the books. There are tons of interesting books in the catalog. A lot these books may not be available anywhere else, so it's nice so many of them in one place.

For libraries, I can't see much of a use outside of it being a collection development tool. Lulu has a large catalog of self-published books that are probably only available from small presses or the creators themselves. So Lulu is helpful in that respect.

Thing #19

Wikipedia has a long list of social networking sites, many of which I didn't know of or didn't know were considered social networking.

As far as general social networking sites, a library could use it as a promotional tool, or a way to let patrons (especially teens) know about programs and such. The libraries that have myspace accounts seem to be doing just that. It's basically another way to let people know about their services and programs.

Out of all the social networking sites, I found Bookscope the most interesting. Its focus is on books and there's considerable less clutter on the pages, compared to the other sites. I liked how they had book discussions groups. So having book discussion groups via social networking sites is one more way libraries can use this tool.

Thing # 18

I had heard about Open Office before, but I never realized there were this many web office programs. I think it's great, and pretty easy to use so far.

One thing I really like about Google Docs is the Revision feature, which makes it easy to keep track of all the changes done on the document. It automatically keeps track, unlike Word's feature which you have to enable. I like that you can export the document as a word file, pdf file, or as html. I'm still trying to figure out how to change the page set-up, like changing the margins and such. I guess that really doesn't matter if you can export as a Word document and change it there. Also, you can save your documents online and access them without any kind of storage device.

Overall, I'm pleased with Google Docs, so much that I decided to publish this blog post with it.