Visualizing my life

This is an image of the bookmarks that I've saved which I created using Wordle. While I do not consider myself to be a visual person I found it rather enlightening to see the topics that matter the most to me.

So un-Cuil

I'm certainly not the first person to post about the new search engine Cuil (and God knows I'm not the first one to think she's witty using the little play on words for my title). Still, I feel the need to post my two cents about the subject because it's important that someone attempt to level the playing field in the world of information management. Google has, in my humble opinion, become too much of a universal index; a one-stop shop for all your information needs, which may be convenient but far too dangerous to have one company control the access (or lack thereof) to the information on the Internet.

Unfortunately, Cuil has not even come close to leveling the playing field. I know the creators said that their algorithm somehow analyzes content to provide results based more closely on relevance where Google focuses more on popularity. I don't care about algorithms. I care about results I can see, and like all the other librarians across the land, I did a search of my own. I started with a simple search: the Maryland to Kentucky Reunion that the ancestors of many Maryland Catholics attend every couple of years. On Google, the first five results (and, hey, that's more results than most people even look at when searching) using the search terms Maryland to Kentucky give details on the reunion itself or about specific families who were part of the migration. And on Cuil? I couldn't find anything on the first four pages so I gave up. I refined the search by typing "reunion" at the end, which did not provide a link to the latest reunion site, but did bring up a link to the 2002 reunion (which, oddly enough, is the only one I've attended). I've heard from others as well who did these sort of side-by-side comparisons that Cuil didn't even come a close second to Google in their books.

I do like some of the features that Cuil has including the tabs that break a concept down into more specific categories to refine your search. Typing in "Scotland" provides tabs for maps of Scotland, the Bank of Scotland, Scotland Yard, etc. So hopefully Cuil will take the feedback (which I'm sure they've gotten plenty by now) to continue to tweak their algorithm so that one day they can live up to their name.

Bright, Shiny Morning

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read a lot of complaints from other readers that the characters in this book are cliche. Of course, they're cliche. That's the point. This book is about Los Angeles and LA is one big, fat cliche. I don't care. Los Angeles makes a great protagonist/villain for any novel and James Frey captures her character beautifully.

View all my reviews.

So this is it?

So we finally have come to the end of the road...or maybe it's just a fork in the road, I don't know. We've spent the past couple of months exploring the technology that is impacting our profession and changing the way we provide information. What did I learn most from this exercise? Well, I learned that I know a lot more than I thought I did when it comes to Web 2.0. What am I most excited about? Getting the opportunity to actually apply what I learn in my job. Hear that higher-ups...let us apply what we've learned. It doesn't matter how much training you've had without support from the administration.

Heard any good books lately?

About 5 months after I started working at the library I discovered the link on our website to our Digital Media Collection. A brand new world was opened up to me. I start downloading books onto my Creative Zen starting with Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail. From then on, I was hooked. Sadly, though, my pusher has officially cut me off. 3 months ago I switched from a PC to a Mac, and now the Overdrive audiobook people are trying to feed me some line about Digital Rights Management and incompatibility. Maybe someday these two crazy kids will be able to work things out and I'll be able to get my sweet, precious books once again.

Beware of the pod people...

So we're finally up to my favorite part of the 23 things: podcasts. Sometime in the near future - when I have the time, motivation, and money - I'd like to create a podcast for my blog. Ever since my neighbor jerry-rigged his Mr. Microphone into an illegal radio station and let me DJ a few times, I've been fascinated with my own voice. I'm sure you won't share in my fascination, but that's not going to stop me! (cue maniacal laughter)

Alas, now I'm going to have to be satisfied with just listening to podcasts. Of course, we all love to hear from our favorite librarian rock star, Nancy Pearl, and her podcast where she interviews authors and discusses upcoming books. I also like the LibVibe podcast which provides snippets of library news. That's the nice thing about podcasts is that they have a podcast for just about anybody, from teachers to photographers to Yetis who are into computers. So be sure to do some exploring and find the podcast that is right for you.

You Tube

I have a love/hate relationship with You Tube. I've seen some funny and fascinating videos (i.e. the video of the baby water buffalo escaping a double attack by a lion and an alligator), but I've also seen some of the most juvenile and idiotic bull$#@% being caught on film. You Tube can be a great tool if used properly, or it can also be a total waste of time.

The video I'm including is of a stunt successfully pulled off by the Improv Everywhere troupe in Grand Central Station. Check it out.

Just lost the Web 2.0 awards pool at work...

I explored some of the winners of the Web 2.0 Awards. First I looked at Mango Languages, a program that enables users to learn a language including Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. Considering Rosetta Stone has discontinued it's remote access to its language programs, this might be a potential program for library patrons to try.

I also tried out My Heritage, a genealogy program that allows users to create their family tree. It doesn't provide the detail that you can get from the paid packages such as Family Treemaker or Reunion, but it's a good starting point for the amateur genealogist who wants a visual aid for the information they're collecting.

There are new programs being developed everyday so it's important for librarians to keep on top of the latest technology that could be useful for patrons (especially if it's free).

Zoho? Is that a neighborhood in New York?

So this week we're working with "online productivity applications". These can include word processing or project management applications. Quite useful for anyone who doesn't want to pay a few hundred to buy the Microsoft software package. I'm currently typing this document using Zoho writer; two seconds to sign up and I'm good to go. It has a lot of the features I can find on my Microsoft Word document. Is this something we can use in the library? Certainly. I've had plenty of patrons complain about being unable to bring up their documents on our computers due to incompatible software. If they used something like Zoho they could easily sign-in, open their resume or angry letter to Comcast, and print. It's definitely something worth exploring.

Wikity Wikity Wikity Wack

This week in the exciting world of Web 2.0 we learned a little something about wikis. My knowledge of wikis has been limited to Wikipedia of which I've always been a little wary. The idea that Joe Blo can go online and add his "knowledge" of...I don't know...the Battle of Gettysburg led me to believe that it was not a reliable source.

However, I do see the advantages of wikis as a collaborative tool. I'm moving into a new place next month with my boyfriend and asked him if we could start a wiki. I can add links to websites for furniture stores, add lists of things we need to do before we move in, etc. It's an easy way to communicate on projects for work, school, and home.

I played around a little with our library's wiki and added my blog and my favorite book (Of Human Bondage...if you haven't read it, do it now). So it's pretty cool.

Exercising in the Mind Gym

Web 2.0 - It's many things to many people. What does it mean to you?

I honestly don't know how to answer that question. When I was in library school we often talked about Library 2.0. And we talked. And we talked. And we talked. So I'm a little weary of any phrases ending in "2.0". As a library patron I've seen some definite changes in my library...downloadable audio books, "Ask a Librarian" live chatting, federated searching capabilities of library databases. The library is no longer a building but a 24-hour information center. That is what Library 2.0 really means for me: easy access to information.

Still, I'd like to see more interaction between my library and the patrons; either a presence in Facebook or a blog where they can get feedback. A collaborative partnership between the library and its users would ensure its place in the community for years to come.

The Technorati Monster escaped again...

Today I explored the world of Technorati, the social networking site that has its finger on the pulse of the world's "citizen media" (i.e. the stuff you and I post on the Internet). The last time I checked out Technorati it was mostly a search engine for blogs. You just type in a subject term and were given a list of blogs relating to that term. Now it is tracking "112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media." Pretty impressive. You can search blogs, videos, photos, and much more. You can track the topics that are most popular right now ("Barney in Outer Space"...my God, is that stupid dinosaur still around?). Plus you can create your own account to make a list of your favorite items.

I didn't get to explore the site that much because they appear to be having technical difficulties this week (I imagine the Technorati monster as some Godzilla-like creature terrorizing the blogsophere). I was supposed to go to the advanced search and see which blogs were linking to our library's website. Snore. I had much more fun seeing which blogs were referring to my friends' websites. So this is a handy tool to see how your blog is fairing in the blogosphere. Hopefully I can become more familiar with this site once they get their act together.

Mmmm...Del.icio.us

So this week we're diving a little deeper into how social networking sites impact librarians. Our job is to find information and social networking sites have redefined how information is classified and how we search for it. Instead of working within structured systems like the Dewey Decimal System, anyone and everyone is able to attach any tag they want to photos, bookmarks, blog posts, etc. While there's a certain freedom in these folksonomies it makes our job considerably harder.

A good example of a social networking site that goes crazy with the personal tagging is del.icio.us which allows its users to share their favorite bookmarks. As anyone can see from my del.icio.us page, I'm a huge fan of this site. I discovered del.icio.us about two years ago when I was taking a class on Information Sources in Science and Technology and I had to participate in a group presentation on reference sources for mechanical engineers (here's a tip for current students in library school: learn to say 'no' when you have an overbearing partner who insists on choosing a boring topic). When we started we kept e-mailing each other links to different websites we could use for our bibliography. Naturally, I began to cringe when I opened my e-mail to see the subject line: "Just one more thing..." several times a day. I told my partner about this great site, called del.icio.us, where we could easily share bookmarks without using e-mail. This site is essential for any reference librarian. You can easily access your bookmarks from any computer and classify them according to various subjects. I have tags for science, arts and humanities, ready reference, etc. Another great feature is the ability to type little notes to make it easy for me to remember why I saved the bookmark in the first place.

In the end, social networking sites like del.icio.us make it easier for us to not only find information but connect to people who have similar interests. These people then connect us to information that we may not have been able to find on our own (or even through a well-intentioned librarian). Serendipity is truly the key that makes this all work and we need to learn to maneuver within this less-structured system.

Library Thing

I've been a member of Library Thing for over two years now. My current space is so small that I've had to store many books with relatives across the country. It was like giving my children up for adoption. Library Thing enabled me to catalog my books so I could keep track of where they're located. At least, that's how my account started. Now it's more of a psychological profile that demonstrates how my personality has transformed over the years; from new age books to explorations in physics, I've definitely gone through some growth spurts.

I did learn about an interesting feature. Library Thing provides a "local" tab that allows you to learn about book fairs, bookstores, and libraries in your area. I travel a lot and I love checking out libraries wherever I go, so this feature is especially handy for me.

Feel free to check out my catalog. And don't forget to add the library widget to your blog so we can all take a peek at what you're reading.

Image Generators

I told my boyfriend to tattoo my name on his knuckles or else! Just kidding. Today we're playing with image generators. I went to Austin Skate Notes and found this knuckle tattoo image generator.

Beware of feeder bands

This week in the wonderful world of Web 2.0 we're discovering the joy that is the feed aggregator. Feed aggregators supposedly simplify your life by allowing you to keep up with all your favorite blogs in one place. I'm already familiar with this technology because I signed up with Newzcrawler two years ago. Yes, I paid $20 for the service. And, yes, I could only access my feeds on my computer. So, no, I don't recommend this service unless you are some sort of feed junkie. The truth is I bought it for the ticker tape feature that scrolled the latest headlines across the bottom of my computer. It made me feel like a stock broker.

I quickly learned the danger of the feed aggregator because a little balloon would pop up when I read a blog saying that it found a new RSS feed and wouldn't I like to add it to my already growing list? Why, yes. Yes, I would. Before I knew it I had 200 different blogs I was supposed to be reading. Information overload.

This time I'm using Bloglines as my aggregator. You can click on my blogroll under "favorite links". It's free and I can access it from any computer. I plan to keep my list fairly simple this time. My advice is to pick a few blogs that are written by professionals you trust and forget the rest.

J

P.S. You might also want to check out Google Reader, another aggregator which allows you to easily share blog posts with your friends.

Fun with Flickr

Jayme
Originally uploaded by jaymerae

4 posts in and I think I've made some breach in blogging etiquette by not providing an introductory post. I believe all blogs should state a specific purpose about what the blogger is trying to communicate - whether it's about one's profession, one's politics, or one's terrier named Sir Barks-a-lot.

So brief introduction because I like to keep all things simple: My name is Jayme and I'm a librarian. I think the title "librarian" sums up a lot about me - my vocation, my interests, and my personality. Just imagine your typical bookworm and you'll have a good idea of who I am. The only question it doesn't answer is why I'm here (wherever "here" is). I'm here because the library where I work has found a fun and easy way to train us on new Web technology. Last week it was setting up our blogger account; this week it's having fun with Flickr. I already have a Flickr account, but now I can post my pictures to my blog. As you can see from this picture, I can also upload photos from my Mac Photo Booth using the cool Flickr API, Flickrbooth.

We're going to be learning a lot over the next few weeks, but the technology that excites me the most is learning about podcasts. I've heard (and seen - is it still a podcast if you've seen it?) a lot of great podcasts from SirsiDynix Institute, Library of Congress, and many other places. I think it's a great way to reach potential customers and educate them what the library has to offer. Hopefully it's a technology we can incorporate at PBCLS.

J

P.S. You may have noticed the slide show I've posted. Be sure to check out the Flickr account for the Library of Congress.

Rings of Brogard

Rings of Brogard
Originally uploaded by jaymerae

I'm just testing to see if this whole Flickr/Blogger relationship can actually work out. I visited the Rings of Brogard last summer in Scotland. I loved it, but I didn't get to see one stinkin' heeland coo the entire time I was there.

"You got blog in my library"..."You got library in my blog"

A blog is a tool, and like any other tool, it is only effective in the hands of those who know how to use it. Yes, a blog is an easy way to inform patrons about upcoming events, new books, or changes in the library system. But the blog needs to be dynamic in order to be successful, and in order to be dynamic there has to be a two-way communication between the customers and their library.

A good example of a library blog is the My Bookspace page created by the Hennepin County Library. They took a page from the successful Amazon business model (p.s. I love you, Jeff Bezos) and created a space where customers can publish a list of their favorite books and other customers can comment on these lists. When a dialog is developed with the customer, they begin to feel invested in the library as an institution. If the blog does not allow for this type of interaction, it becomes just another way to advertise events and those who maintain the blog become bored.

Why not round it up to an even '8'?

I was asked this week to comment on the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, a presentation by the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County. While I appreciate their effort to get their customers to think outside the box when it comes to learning, I found their presentation to be a bit oversimplified. Of course there are many different skills to learn and many different ways to learn them. We all know that.

The one item I did appreciate, and the one habit I will have the most difficult with, is Habit 1, "Begin with the end in mind". This is especially true when learning about technology since it evolves so quickly; just as you have learned a new program its upgrade comes out on the market the next day. It's important not to become overwhelmed by all that is out there and to focus on one skill to learn. Hopefully, that is what we can accomplish with the 23 things program.