Wrap Up

Wow, that was a fun ride! I would like to thank Swan Libraries for making this all happen and available to other libraries. I can well appreciate how much time, effort and work has been dedicated to getting it up and running smoothly. I would like to also thank my place of work for allowing me to do the course and spending time with me to iron out problems. I have learnt so much in a little over a month. I particularly love Delicious and LibraryThing. My only complaint would be I had a frustrating time with trying to insert my Widget into my blog and now that it is in, I love that too! I loved the presentations "In Plain English" by Lee LeFever (is that how you spell his name, oo, I will check Google!). Spelled correctly now! My daughter told me about another blog site - Tumblr - do I go there too!!? To blog or not to blog signing over and out!

Geocaching

Geocaching is fun! We have friends who are mad keen on it and we spent one day with them touring the country side looking for them. The kids loved it too and they enjoyed checking out what was inside the container and had items ready to deposit. Upon checking out the sites in Explore #1, I found the Shoshore Public Library had a great idea of hiding it in their library. This would be a fun idea for children to explore the library or anybody who has a sense of adventure I guess. One problem I can think of is if you had a dinosaur mobile phone (me!!).

Podcasting

First, why can't I select my font/size anymore?

I did enjoy hearing the Podcasts and think it would be nice for our library to have Podcasts on our menu! As e-books will be a part of the future for libraries, perhaps a synopsis or the first few pages of new books would be of interest to patrons? I know some patrons who utilise audio resources, can sometimes complain about the narrator! On a personal note, I checked out Tony Delroy from the ABC and to my delight, I can obtain Podcasts! If you are a fan, this is where you can find him: http://www.abc.net.au/nightlife/features/nightlifepodcast.xml

Online Video

You Tube is a wonderful tool, professionally and personally. One disadvantage is perhaps there is too much information available! I used the keyword "library" and had 921,000 hits! I spent a lot of time scouring through various videos in an attempt to select one that I thought worthy of sharing. There were a lot of university videos! You Tube could be a fantastic way of promoting the library and its services. As I work in a public library, I could see this would also be a wonderful way of promoting our city. Embedding the You Tube video clip/s into the city’s webpage would be essential though! It’s a bit dry … but short!!

Twitter

OK, the enthusiasm has returned a little with Twitter.  Interesting that the limit is 140 characters, I really struggle at times to keep my limit under 160 when texting and that's not using T9!  I like that you can select a backgound design.  I know I go on about the validity codes when joining these sites, but this one made me laugh too.  Twitter asks "Are you human?  Before we create your account, we need to make sure you're not a computer!"  If you use the link to "26 Twitter strategy tips and tricks for success", I discovered sadly with Tip Number 5 that Mr Tweet, Twello has been discontinued :-(.  Not sure if Twitter would be useful for library staff, not enough character space!  Fancy a Twitter? Username is StateofSunsets (of course you say!).

Facebook

The enthusiasm has waned after Delicious and LibraryThing, I have joined Facebook.  For those who know me well, they know that I have resisted with fingernails digging into the doorframe, kicking and screaming.  I know that everyone uses Facebook, including all my family, so why resist?  I don't know really.  I feel have I have far better things to do I guess and if I want to chat with a friend, I will use the old fashioned way, a phone!  I think it could become a very time consuming habit!  As Facebook is banned at our workplace, does it seem fitting for staff to be logged in and not our patrons?  Might be useful to share ideas though.  Anyway, if you get a random person named Stateof Sunsets who wants to be your friend, that's me! 

LibraryThing

Well, I have spent numerous hours today flicking through Delicious and LibraryThing and WOW!  LibraryThing is fantastic!  Upon reading the Assessment and the requirement to add a widget to my blog, I thought "what the heck is a widget?"  So, I went into old faithful Google and "define: widget".  The answer, among many was:  "A widget is a device placed in a container of beer to manage the characteristics of the beer's head".  I also didn't know what Zietgeist was (LibraryThing Tab), so back to Google and define: "Zeitgeist (Axel Cluney) is a fictional mutant character and superhero in the Marvel Comics  Universe, a member of the second team of X-Force. Both definitions came from en.wikipedia.org/wiki.  Well, I didn't really think we were there to discuss beer or fictional mutant characters, so I continued with LibraryThing.  The Zeitgeist page is actually quite interesting.  In Talk, I found a fun game.  I have joined the "Playing games and solving puzzle" Group and made my first comment.  Fun!  Check it out!  http://www.librarything.com/groups/playnggamesandsolvin.  Reviews of my favourite books was also a bonus!  I've learned a lot today!  I thought this hilarious when I joined LibraryThing to ensure that you are not alien,

"To verify your humanity, please enter the author from the cover below!!

Delicious

Yes, Delicious really is delicious I have discovered!  What a wonderful site for all professionals and even private users, to retrieve information instantly.  Fabulous for library staff ... for example, instant access on reviews of books is fantastic. Great networking idea for recommending books to patrons.  From a student's point of view, this would also be fantastic way for students to network useful sites.  The only negative to Delicious is joining Yahoo, which would not have been a personal choice, as there is advertising galore!  Tagging is an extremely useful tool and having the facility for more than one tag per website to cover all subjects is convenient for all users.

Wiki

I like the idea of Wiki, both professionally and personally.  I think the public library where I work could use it as an area for comments or requests to purchase by patrons.  It would be interesting to see if any of our patrons use it on our public pcs.  Maybe a survey should be done?  Not sure about Wetpaint though ... if you want ads removed from your site, you will be charged $19.95 per month.  When joining up, you are required to enter your date of birth?  How is this relevant and in remaining anonymous, who will tell a little white lie??!!

RSS feeds

Well I have seen RSS feeds on many websites and finally know what it means!!  I did spend a lot of time sifting through sites that I wanted info from.  I like that you can select websites that you regularly visit, but have them "come to you" with information that is relevant to your position in the workplace or on a personal level, information that you are interested  in receiving.  Who hates the junk emails?  Meeee!!  I would rather receive emails that are of interest, instead of delete, delete, delete!  As I have only just set the subscriptions up, it will be interesting to see how much information comes pouring through, at least it will be interesting!!  Can anyone tell me why the "post date and time" is incorrect? It isn't really 1:11! 

RSS feeds I have added:

Bobbin lace: http://www.bobbinlacepassion.com/index.php/feed/
Powerhouse Museum: http://feeds.feedburner.com/PHM-PhotoOfTheDay
Thrill the World: http://thrilltheworld.com/feed/
Unshelved: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Unshelfeed
Swan Libraries: http://swanlibraries.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Flickr

Thank you all for your lovely comments, very encouraging.  I have checked out Flickr, there are many talented photographers and interesting photos.  I was wondering if I would use this site as a part of our library information services, then I recalled an unusual question from a patron some time ago ... could I find a picture of a cow's eye!!  Low and behold, there are many on Flickr and there is one from Chrissie64's photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrissie64/160211977/  if you fancy a peek.  Check it out if you dare!!  (Complete with flies and all!, pretty gross really). 

Here I go ...

Well, I have procrastinated long enough and finally put thoughts together to get my blog up and running.  I have no idea what to write about at present.  It has been interesting reading comments from other bloggers and it appears I am not alone in treading on new territory!  In saying that, I do love to learn, so once I put the fear aside of something which is very foreign, I know I will thoroughly enjoy this course.