Unshelved strikes again.

Unshelved: do it again.

Unshelved...keeping up to with Australian Youth Fiction

http://www.unshelved.com/2008-4-20

Social Networking update

And here's an example of what I was all excited about. Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service are on Facebook. Only 37 friends at the moment (one of them being your truly) but it's a start. Now if they want to tell their friends about what's going on in the library all they need to do is send out an event and it will go to everyone of those 37 friends.

Good work Yarra Plenty!

tb

Wiki Revisited

Though I still think concept of a wiki, how a community can add and edit all material forming a giant knowledge bank is a wonderful think, I do have an example to add shows the flaws in the current system.



My sister works in a large multinational company providing customers with information on weilding and safety products. She's currently on a project creating a knowledge centre, an intelligent database that provides production information based on how staff answer a set of questions. When justifying the expense of this program with the people with the money one of the questions she faced was "Why should we go to the expense of this program when staff can just look up wikipedia for the information?"



Her explanation was as follows:



She took the example of bottled gas. She noted that bottle sizes and standard colouration for the bottles differed greatly in Australia from the examples given in the article. So a customer refered to this site by staff or staff using this information would then be in error when it came to ordering. They would ask for the wrong sized bottle and when it reached them assume they had the wrong gas.

Wiki's are often seen my many of our customers as their 'one stop shop', but it's just not so. It's good to know that good judgement and research skills are still needed in the age of the computer.

Week 12: Social Networking

I've been a member of Facebook for a while and thought it just a silly nonsense that I filled my tea break with. Sure great for having fun with a few friends but not so useful for seriously keeping in touch.

Then I had a thought. I work mainly in Children and Youth Services. If the kids have been able to dodge the homework or there's nothing good in TV you know where they'll be. Who am I kidding! Their probably doing all three things at the same time! Kids are on there, somewhere waiting to link one more friend to boost their friends list, someone that might have something interesting to say. And don't we have something interesting to say!

You could promote "Your Library" Facebook site on bookmarks, a Internet classes, to schools and anyone who gives you eye contact in the library. They link as a friend, maybe scribble a message on "Your Library" Superwall, feed (or even add to) the fish tank and generally fool around. Through "Your Library" page they will find links to others kids who have become "Your Library" friends. You can create a "Your Library" group, the kids now belong to a community of kids who all go to "Your Library" .

Then! When you want to promote an activity you create an event, add a link to the council website with all the details and send it to everyone of "Your Library" friends. No emails that change every six month, so no updating contact lists and no issues with privacy.


You can run competitions through Facebook. There's already a option to create a Trivia competition, it could be modified for trivia on any subject. You could have a lucky friend competition or invite kids to write something on your Superwall for prizes. You can send them birthday messages and let them know their worth a poke or two. With a little imagination, a little time and almost no money you could have flourishing group of "Your Library" friends, putting you in touch with even more kids exponentially!

Facebooks puts you in touch and keeps you in touch with those people who want to be in contact with you. Sounds super exciting. Can't wait to try it out for myself.

Online applicatins

I've had some fun with a few of the online applications, particularly picnik. We don't have a strong photo editing program here at work so I found Picnik, in particular, a revelation.

I do love that it links to Flickr so well. I understand that Flickr also has photo editing, but Picnik is very user friendly and just my speed.

RSS rethink

Okay, after all my ranting a few blogs ago I better confess, I now really appreciate my Google reader.

I've added ABC news as well as the SMH. I have all my workmates Library Learning blogs on there as well as my outside of work blogs (I didn't want to say "friends' bogs"). It's there on my igoogle page which at home is homepage so I don't need to go anywhere else to keep in touch.

So...I can honestly say...without reservation...that I like RSS.

Week 10 Mashups

And here is my image. I like anything with graphics so Big huge labs was fun. There are certianly lots of wonderful programs out there. I particularly liked the US Public Library finder. Wouldn't that be great on the council website with all the libraries and other council sites of interest?

The London Map reminded me of all that local history primary source stuff that you don't want people playing with the real items but you want accessible. Linked to a map it's easy to see was material is useful to what area instantly, really handy when you have a high schoolers local studies assignments.

The Big Huge Lab stuff would be great for the creation of promotional material and I'll try and keep it in mind for next time I have posters to make. I stuck it into del.icio.us just in case.

And the mashup I found?

Mapsdango with its view of Fairfield.

Week 8 Answer boards

I've never had much luck with answer board personally. The answers provided are vague and based on personal opinion...hey I can do that! I want something concrete here! I guess that could be a good reason to get involved, providing good quality info. But I already have enough questions here at work, why would I want to go out in my spare time and find more?


Anyway for the sake of the course here is a question I answered. There is certianly a variety of topics out there.

I can see it being another way our customers can get in touch with us. 'Ask a Librarian' service at some libraries are similar to an answerboard service, though the link above is to one that is commited to providing a staff member in real time to chat to. If the library ran an answer board service that would have to be commited to replying within a set amount of time (24 hours) otherwise questions could go unanswered until it was too late.

I is an outreach, a way of contacting potential customers that may not normally think of the library. But do I anwer questions from all over the world in the hope of attracting a local customer? Are local customers relevant if I can show that I am answering questions from library resources? I would think council would appreciate it if I spent their time and resources on their residence.

Consider is there a role for your library in “slamming the boards”? In what ways might your customers like to rate or review items in the collection or services you offer?

I wonder if council would allow me the Internet time to just flit around on the answer boards like this? It does get the libraries name out there, even if it isn't to library customers (one question answered by a librarian in Hawaii). Getting back to a more local service I think it could be very good to have our service directly rated like those on the answer board. It's often hard to determine if your solution has been benefitial to the customer. On an answer board it's annonymous and they can feel free to be more honest.

As for items within our collections I like the ideas shown in the wiki sections of this course. Customers were encouraged to write reviews on the books, a star system could be added to that to score the materials. As an answer board is not linked directly to the item then the ratings would not be useful to other customers...though still useful us. :-)

Week 7: Library Thing

Here 's my Library thing page, only the five books.



It's cute and I would think that for book clubs or recommending new titles to a patrons it could be useful, but couldn't I do that in other ways without all the effort of becoming a member? I'm going to have to find out what other people have written for this one.



I could certianly spend years putting my personal collection on there, but professionally I wouldn't think of using it.

Week 7: Tagging

Del.icio.us is a good thing. One place that everyone can get access where all those useful URL's can live.

We often get emails saying "...this site is great, check it out..." or "...we had an assignment, this site was good...". And they are good sites, but even if you do save it into your favourites (and I'm not one to use favourites much) you can never find them when it's required.

A library wide del.icio.us account, a one stop shop for all library staff to add and use. If we wanted to be fancy we could even use dewey or LC subject headings for bundle tags to keep a standard that everyone would understand.

It's very easy to see how del.icio.us would be very useful in the library.

RSS revisited

I'm thinking I just don't get RSS. I've recently joined Google Reader and it is a easier to look at program compared to Bloglines, but I'm still having issues. I have blogs I'd like to add to my list, they have RSS tags (little orange icons) for both entries and comments yet can do I find the URL for feeds? All I get is code for that page, what's the bit I need to give my reader so it knows where to check?

Any ideas?

*Frustrated and embittered*

Week 6: Video

Hmmm...

I'm sure that video online is wonderful. I'm sure the 2min clip of 'Laughing Jack' is hilarious and adorable. I'm sure the videos on the library building projects, staff orientations, book reviews or '10 ways how to ride a shopping trolley' are all very informative and add depth to any discussion on the above topics.

But I can't look at them and therefore no matter how wonderful, YouTube or Google video are not useful. Even the embedded video in the the Libraries Learning 2.0 blog didn't come up, I'm sitting here looking at a blank stretch of blog.

There are three reasons why I am unable to view any clips and at least two of them are going to be an issue to my customers.

Webmarshal: Pretty much any YouTube or My Space site is blocked by Webmarshal here at work. Now this would not be an issue for most customers at home but how many of them have nanny programs that would do the same thing as Webmarshal?

Loading speed: Theoretically, broadband Internet is cheap and available to everyone. But in real life Broadband is still a lot of money and not all areas have access. As a dial up user I can tell you you CAN NOT use these sites with any ease. Until the government comes good with cheap broadband for all, loading speeds will always be an issue.

Out of date software: This is a biggie here at work and I'm thinking could be a real issue for people not confident computer users. Certain versions of windows, and video viewing programs will not work on these sites. Though many of the viewing programs are free and can be downloaded, will an unconfident user bother going to the trouble and often frustration of downloading a new version of the viewing program just to look at the library's clip.

So, no matter how wonderful it maybe to be able to communicate with your users by video on these sites I think we need to be prepared that sometimes they're not going to be able to access the video links. So by all means use video hosted on YouTube or Google video, but remember to provide the information in some other form as well.

Hey! I'm on TV ma!

Well Googlemaps at least.
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=-33.915258,151.036433&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.915265,151.036434&spn=0.007247,0.013883&z=16&iwloc=addr

This is a satalite picture of Bankstowns CBD. The large sprawling mess near the railway line is Centro Bankstown, affectionately remembered as Bankstown Square by the locals.

The dying grassy coloured patch west of Centro is a dying grassy patch called Paul Keating Park. Originally the council offices were there until June 1996 but a fire in the airconditioning ducts turned the whole building into slag.

Just south of the park is a nondescript fat 'L' shaped building. That would be the Bankstown Branch (Central) of Bankstown City Library and Information Service.

And now you know where I am.

Week 5 : Wikis

I see salvation! Salvation from hard copy procedures that are out of date an unchangeable. I see salvation from the difficulties of sharing children programs and training packages quickly and easily. I see the salvation to easy updating and disseminating of vital information.

And salvation's name is Wiki. Hallelujah! I have seen the light!

Now here is something I can get behind. For all the reasons above I would love work to use wiki's on our Intranet. Imagine a procedure issue where the solution was only one search away instead of wading though two folders of out of date hardcopies. Imagine using others work in programming or training, pulling out what you need and creating a whole new work simply and without causing injury to the original creator. What's more sharing your ideas instantly! Imagine Premier's Reading lists in one location that everyone can help update.

What's more we can get customer involved! I personally loved the open catalogue where customers were asked for recomendations. SO COOL! I know, instead of scribbling obscene notes in the jacket of the book, they'll add them to the record, but that's what nanny programs are for and if Wikipedia can do it, why couldn't we?

Where do I sign up for the Church of Wiki.

Week 3: RSS

Hmmm... not quite sure what I think of RSS. Let's go through the questions and see if a definite opinion shakes loose.

What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
I guess having one place to go to for all the things I want keep up to date with. The ability to not have think "Now what else do I need to check" is nice. I can't say I have an issue with keeping up with the things I personally want to check and don't have an issue unsubscribing to emails I no longer want.

What sites did you select for your RSS reader?
Newspapers mostly, and I think this is where it would be good. Having never played with a digital book I'm not sure of their programs, but I could see a tablet connected to an RSS full of newspapers that is updated constantly through a wireless network would be a really great thing.

How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your work?
Besides the above idea I guess it could be good for keeping all the online subscriptions organised and easy to view. I don't know about in other libraries, but online subscriptions don't seem to get a lot of use because their organisation is clumsy and requires several steps to get to the information. With RSS you'd just click the title and you'd be on the top page for that database.

How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
Well again, other than organising the multiple websites libraries collect on a regular basis I'm not quite sure. I guess I'll have to check other peoples ideas for this one.

I personally am a bit ambivalent about RSS, it just seems to be another techy toy that I have to join. I do think though, with a good reader program, a RSS could be a very useful tool for organising sites that often disappear or move. I will see what others have to say, maybe I just haven't seen RSS's full potential.

It's flickr

My one and only picture so far in flickr, I'll see if I can find a pool for it to play in for a while

Forget 'The Librarians' Unshelved is the real thing

Great Photo Week Two flickr

I've spent faaar too much time trawling through the wonderful images in flickr this week. This was only suppose to take 15 minutes a day, right?

Anyway, after what seems like hours of awestruck bliss here is my shot. This is an image from inside the Old Library of the Muntmuseum in Utrecht (The Netherlands).

You should be able to click on the photo too look at other images by this artist.

After looking for so long I must say I was getting a little desperate. Why I had to have a perfect photos is beyond me but many things, though beautiful, didn't appeal.

I think this one caught my attention because it is what many people consider a library to be. Beautiful, rich, silent and empty. Nothing like real library life at all!!

Short staffed; short healthed

I have a cold and feel the need to gripe; lucky you!



On a friendly comparrison of the amounts of sick leave each staff at our branch had, I came up on top with 128 days. That's a third of a year I could take off if I found myself that unable to work. The others protested that I never take days off, that I'd rather slump semi-conscious in a corner before giving up said corner for my cozy bed. No true, I love my bed. But I don't often fall sick and I must admit I start feeling guilty knowing that the rest of the staff have to do my shifts as well as their own if I'm off for more than a few days.



So, here I am at work, on a day I could easily be sitting back and watching the cricket and this branch of 7 staff is running on 3. One staff member on annual leave,two on sick leaves, one at training and me wishing that I could actually have one of those days off.



And people wonder why I don't take days?!

Bouncin' through Bankstown

So why Bankstown? It's the City I work in South West Sydney and like my blogs is diverse, often contradictory and often unintelligible. Take that as you will. Bankstown City council has given me 15 years of employment and on the whole good memories so I considered it my duty to spread the love. Besides, this way I can blog in work time and call it 'Personal Development'.

In the next few weeks I'll be blogging about my experiences in a training package called libraries learning 2.0. Fasinating as that may be for most blog surfers, if you looking for something that won't cure insomnia please check out my actual blog on word press.

See ya 'round.