I enjoyed this semester of Project Play, even though I did the crash course and completed it in a few days. I think many of the applications have potential use in libraries and it's just a matter of finding the time and resources to make use of them.
Regarding the question of curiosity, I think I'm a curious person in certain aspects. I'm very interested in psychology and often wonder what makes people behave the way they do. However, I know I'm not very curious about technology. I think it has to do with the amount of free time I have and also the fact that I'm not willing to spend money on technology until it has proven itself. It probably also has to do with my social circle and the fact that none of my friends are that interested in technology as a hobby.
It's been fun to play around and discover new tools, but it's been easier to do this as a group rather than on my own because the people behind Project Play have chosen the best of the bunch to highlight. Thanks for all of your hard work!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Mashups
I think mashups are fitting for librarians and libraries, since we seem to collaborate on so many different projects. However, I'm having a hard time coming up with an idea off the top of my head as to how to use mashups in my library. Perhaps if we had an identified problem a mashup might be a solution to it, rather than vice versa.
The various maps I've seen have lots of potential. There's now a mashup on one of the weather websites that lets you see the actual houses in a neighborhood and places the radar over the top of this map, so you can supposedly tell when it'll be raining or snowing over your house.
One use for the map might be to label various places in the community and color coordinate them (restaurants all in blue, historical sites in yellow, etc.), although this might be a project for the Chamber rather than the library.
It might be worth it to update the Winnefox page with a mashup map. There is currently a map of the five counties Winnefox covers, but only a list of the libraries and you need to click on each one to find its location, hours etc.
The various maps I've seen have lots of potential. There's now a mashup on one of the weather websites that lets you see the actual houses in a neighborhood and places the radar over the top of this map, so you can supposedly tell when it'll be raining or snowing over your house.
One use for the map might be to label various places in the community and color coordinate them (restaurants all in blue, historical sites in yellow, etc.), although this might be a project for the Chamber rather than the library.
It might be worth it to update the Winnefox page with a mashup map. There is currently a map of the five counties Winnefox covers, but only a list of the libraries and you need to click on each one to find its location, hours etc.
YouTube
I really like YouTube, and I've rarely had any problems watching videos, whether on YouTube or embedded on other websites.
There are a lot of concerns about copyright and YouTube, especially from some of the larger corporations. While I can understand why a network wouldn't want full TV episodes posted online, I think it's too bad that some companies are also insisting that any clips be pulled from YouTube. For example, NBC has pulled clips from Saturday Night Live that had been posted. NBC created a website with Fox, Hulu.com, which I believe will have some of the content that was pulled. Still, when people are searching for videos, YouTube is the place to be and I don't understand why companies aren't taking advantage of it and riding the wave. If you make it too hard for people to find information, they will lose interest and stop looking for it.
One thing I don't like about YouTube is that the content is not organized very well. There are so many spoofs of the most popular viral videos that finding the one you actually want to watch might be frustrating. There's also no quality control - some videos are simply people with a camera phone at a concert. The best YouTube videos are probably ones that you find elsewhere, where someone has already done the hard work and culled the perfect video to embed in their website or blog.
For libraries, I think a video on YouTube would be a great way to promote the library. It could include a tour and an introduction to staff and the services that are provided. The only problems would be figuring out how to do it and then finding the time. It's definitely something worth keeping in mind for the future.
As for my embedded video, I really wanted to post the Matt Damon/Sarah Silverman video and the follow-up response from Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck, but they are definitely not work friendly. If interested, you can read about it and find links to both videos at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/02/jimmy-kimmel-st.html. Warning - do not watch these videos at work!!
Instead, I'll include one of the first really popular viral videos that I remember seeing, the music video for Ok Go's song "Here it goes again". They did the video in one take - can you believe it? Enjoy!
There are a lot of concerns about copyright and YouTube, especially from some of the larger corporations. While I can understand why a network wouldn't want full TV episodes posted online, I think it's too bad that some companies are also insisting that any clips be pulled from YouTube. For example, NBC has pulled clips from Saturday Night Live that had been posted. NBC created a website with Fox, Hulu.com, which I believe will have some of the content that was pulled. Still, when people are searching for videos, YouTube is the place to be and I don't understand why companies aren't taking advantage of it and riding the wave. If you make it too hard for people to find information, they will lose interest and stop looking for it.
One thing I don't like about YouTube is that the content is not organized very well. There are so many spoofs of the most popular viral videos that finding the one you actually want to watch might be frustrating. There's also no quality control - some videos are simply people with a camera phone at a concert. The best YouTube videos are probably ones that you find elsewhere, where someone has already done the hard work and culled the perfect video to embed in their website or blog.
For libraries, I think a video on YouTube would be a great way to promote the library. It could include a tour and an introduction to staff and the services that are provided. The only problems would be figuring out how to do it and then finding the time. It's definitely something worth keeping in mind for the future.
As for my embedded video, I really wanted to post the Matt Damon/Sarah Silverman video and the follow-up response from Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck, but they are definitely not work friendly. If interested, you can read about it and find links to both videos at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/02/jimmy-kimmel-st.html. Warning - do not watch these videos at work!!
Instead, I'll include one of the first really popular viral videos that I remember seeing, the music video for Ok Go's song "Here it goes again". They did the video in one take - can you believe it? Enjoy!
Screencasts
I think there are lots of applications for screencasts in libraries. It would be very helpful to have tutorials on how to use the catalog to find materials and place holds, on how to use the basic databases, etc. However, I think screencasts such as these should be created at the system level, since each member library has access to these resources, rather than having individual libraries create their own and possibly duplicate efforts.
I could envision creating a screencast tour of the library, as it might be simpler than creating a video and easier to follow for someone who is brand new to the community. Still photos might be less distracting.
One thing I didn't like about a few of the screencasts is that they had too much information in such a small space and time frame. One had tons of information and moved way too fast, so much so that I felt it was difficult to follow, so I can only imagine how someone who is new to libraries would feel. I think the creators of the content need to be aware of their pacing and slow down.
I could envision creating a screencast tour of the library, as it might be simpler than creating a video and easier to follow for someone who is brand new to the community. Still photos might be less distracting.
One thing I didn't like about a few of the screencasts is that they had too much information in such a small space and time frame. One had tons of information and moved way too fast, so much so that I felt it was difficult to follow, so I can only imagine how someone who is new to libraries would feel. I think the creators of the content need to be aware of their pacing and slow down.
Podcasts
I don't have very strong feelings about podcasts and library involvement and I don't see them as something that would be a high priority for us to create at our library. It'll be interesting to see if they catch on at other libraries.
If copyright wasn't an issue then I think it would be a wonderful idea to have a bedtime story podcast read by the children's librarian and updated on a weekly basis. This would be a good way to reach out to families at a time when we're most likely closed or when the children's librarian is typically unavailable.
Podcasts might be useful to supplement a library's foreign language learning collection. For example, if a patron was interested in learning French but all of the French language books on CD were checked out, the librarian could search for podcasts. (And there are many out there!) The patron would need to have access to the technology, of course, but at least it would offer another option to be able to help them right then and there rather than having the patron have to wait for a hold. There are probably other reference applications as well.
If copyright wasn't an issue then I think it would be a wonderful idea to have a bedtime story podcast read by the children's librarian and updated on a weekly basis. This would be a good way to reach out to families at a time when we're most likely closed or when the children's librarian is typically unavailable.
Podcasts might be useful to supplement a library's foreign language learning collection. For example, if a patron was interested in learning French but all of the French language books on CD were checked out, the librarian could search for podcasts. (And there are many out there!) The patron would need to have access to the technology, of course, but at least it would offer another option to be able to help them right then and there rather than having the patron have to wait for a hold. There are probably other reference applications as well.
Social Networking
I visited four library MySpace pages, including those of Oshkosh and Winnefox. I really think they need to be more interactive and updated more frequently in order to attract readers. It appears that the last time anyone had logged in to either of those sites was over a month ago, and neither of them has an active blog.
To be effective, I think a library has to commit to maintaining a presence on a social network. If readers know that content is going to be updated on a regular basis, such as every Wednesday, then they would probably be more likely to return and see what's new. If the content doesn't change often enough they will lose interest and find another site that appeals to them.
I think this is an area that libraries should consider getting involved in, even though it may mean additional work for staff. The content doesn't need to be created just for this purpose - many larger libraries have programs going on nearly every week, so it might simply be a matter of posting that content in another place.
I recently spoke with a few representatives from our school district about trends among students, and they both agreed that social networking currently plays a very large role in students' lives. Not only are current students using it, but it appears that they're continuing to use it into their 20s and 30s. It doesn't seem like this is a passing fad, for now at least, which is why I think it may be worth it for libraries to get involved and create a presence. This is something we will probably be looking into over the next year or so, depending on the direction of the long-range plan which my board is currently writing.
I also agree that it's a good idea to try to lead readers to the library's website or staff, either by providing a search feature that links directly to the catalog or by including a Meebo widget.
To be effective, I think a library has to commit to maintaining a presence on a social network. If readers know that content is going to be updated on a regular basis, such as every Wednesday, then they would probably be more likely to return and see what's new. If the content doesn't change often enough they will lose interest and find another site that appeals to them.
I think this is an area that libraries should consider getting involved in, even though it may mean additional work for staff. The content doesn't need to be created just for this purpose - many larger libraries have programs going on nearly every week, so it might simply be a matter of posting that content in another place.
I recently spoke with a few representatives from our school district about trends among students, and they both agreed that social networking currently plays a very large role in students' lives. Not only are current students using it, but it appears that they're continuing to use it into their 20s and 30s. It doesn't seem like this is a passing fad, for now at least, which is why I think it may be worth it for libraries to get involved and create a presence. This is something we will probably be looking into over the next year or so, depending on the direction of the long-range plan which my board is currently writing.
I also agree that it's a good idea to try to lead readers to the library's website or staff, either by providing a search feature that links directly to the catalog or by including a Meebo widget.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Remember the Milk and Jott
Remember the Milk is an interesting concept, but I think it has more applications for personal use or use between two people than it does for group use.
I've been very involved in the current WAPL Conference planning and last year's WLA program planning and I think Remember the Milk has some potential. However, since the same tasks are often aimed at more than one person I think you would need a checklist for each person in the group, rather than one checklist for the group.
On another topic, I didn't like how you were limited to one entry per line of text - I thought it would keep entire email messages together rather than split them up.
One non-library use that this might assist with is a group event or group travel. For example, we go on an annual camping trip with friends and if we had a list of all of the shared items that were needed (not everyone needs to bring their own grill, etc.), each couple could check off or remove items that they plan on bringing.
Jott is a cool concept. I'm out of the office quite a bit for meetings, and often something comes up that I need to make a note of and handle when I get back to the library. It would be very simple and easy to call and leave yourself a reminder message.
I've been very involved in the current WAPL Conference planning and last year's WLA program planning and I think Remember the Milk has some potential. However, since the same tasks are often aimed at more than one person I think you would need a checklist for each person in the group, rather than one checklist for the group.
On another topic, I didn't like how you were limited to one entry per line of text - I thought it would keep entire email messages together rather than split them up.
One non-library use that this might assist with is a group event or group travel. For example, we go on an annual camping trip with friends and if we had a list of all of the shared items that were needed (not everyone needs to bring their own grill, etc.), each couple could check off or remove items that they plan on bringing.
Jott is a cool concept. I'm out of the office quite a bit for meetings, and often something comes up that I need to make a note of and handle when I get back to the library. It would be very simple and easy to call and leave yourself a reminder message.
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