In Case You Missed It - Barack Obama speech - Oct. 29, 2008

Podcasts

Maybe it's a generational thing but I'm not particularly interested in podcasts. I do listen to some on NPR but I don't add them to my blog or download them to my iPod 'cause I want to pick and choose what I want to hear. My iGoogle and My Yahoo pages are set up to show by title the most recent NPR podcasts, which is an easy way for this visual learner to decide if I want to listen. For example, I usually love Fresh Air with Terry Gross but I'm not interested in every single interview she does; I am a picky listener.

That said, I can see where there is a niche market for themed podcasts, from RVers to book enthusiasts. But as far as my own interests are concerned the only podcasts I'd be interested in listening to on a regular basis are Car Talk and This American Life.

I don't think podcasts are the best way for libraries to communicate with the public unless it's to act as a link to book readings.

YouTube

Boy howdy, YouTube is fun! It's also a huge time waster if one browses aimlessly. I most frequently end up on YouTube when someone sends an email ("You've got to watch this!") to a goofy or poignant video or when I've missed a clip from SNL (Tina Fey as Sarah Palin) or Meet the Press (Colin Powell endorsing Obama).

For this 20th 'thing', I entered "Vastards" in the search box hoping to find a clip from my son's a capella group of three years ago. It was a shot in the dark but, voila, there was one video from the original group posted on YouTube. Yay! (He's the tall, handsome one wearing a tie.)



YouTube is easy to use and has an amazing variety of content. I had a library customer who was looking for professional level DVDs explaining HVAC procedures. CML doesn't own anything but I found short detailed clips on YouTube. The customer was very happy with that option.

CML's Toolbox

After perusing several choices in the CML Toolbox, I concentrated on StumbleUpon, an online application that "discovers web sites based on your interests, learns what you like, and brings you more". Though not truly serendipitous, browsing StumbleUpon does generate the excitement of discovery with the possibility of unknown 'treasure' waiting at the next click of the mouse.

Thus far I've added three sites from StumbleUpon to my list on Delicious and I know I'll find many more - or at least waste lots of time searching with that possibility in mind.

Loved This One - Discovering Web 2.0 tools

Wow! So many great sites, so little time. I used the "short list" to search the winners of the Web 2.0 Awards and so far I've found four sites that I've added to my list on Delicious. Though there are many great sites, the one I'll recommend at work is LiveMocha (honorable mention on the Education list). As the New York Times describes it, Live Mocha is "A powerful opportunity for people around the world to connect with language partners". One can connect with native speakers around the world and improve at your own pace with free online lessons. The key word here is free.

I wanted to recommend Spanish Pod (third in the Education catagory) but it's costs range from $5.00 up to $29.00 a month and $125.00 at the executive level. I listened to a demo of a lesson and REALLY liked it; I would definitely recommend the site for those who could afford it. Spanish Pod does have a free RSS lesson feed that is worth exploring. There are also lessons in Chinese, French and Italian.

Google Docs

I've used Google Docs in the past while collaborating on a project with one of my sons. And I just discovered another use similar to delicious - I can put favorite quotes, self-created lists or other personally created documents on Google Docs and access them from any computer.
As far as how GD will help in my day-to-day work I think the same perks that I discussed above will help on the job: if I want access to a document I'm working on from any computer then I could put it on GD. And GD would streamline collaborative work on presentations or reports.

Learn & Play @CML wiki

After spending way too many frustrating minutes trying to figure out how to log in (I don't know what I was doing wrong - once I was shown how to do it it seemed like a no brainer) and then having to be shown where to type a message, I'm not all that happy with wikis. It feels clunky, sterile and ugly. I'm cranky. Perhaps it would be best if I calm down and reconsider before I continue.

Wiki - wacki

As mentioned in earlier posts, I'm a visual learner. Make it intuitive AND pretty and I'll be your RSS slave. The wikis I've looked at are dry, unexciting, and pretty much a collection of lists - many of them have a Craig's List look to them. The ability to interact, share and update info is the attraction but the format is boring. I can't see me creating a wiki.

Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

I read all five articles of "Web 2.0: Where will the next generation of the web take libraries?" from OCLC Next Space Newsletter and thank God I did. As I read one through four ("Away from Icebergs", "Into a new world of librarianship", "To more powerful ways to cooperate", and "To better bibliographic services") it became harder and harder to slog through the technospeak. I was almost blinded by all the shiny bright ideas but not the least bit intrigued.

And I noticed that the authors of these guesses, these resurrectors of today's version of the 'new math', are all men. So I finally had an "aha" moment...of course they're men. They work in an industry overwhelmingly staffed by women so they rise to the top and become the 'experts'. And, stereotypically, men like their shiny new gadgets, the newest toys in a world choking on technology, these answers to all our needs. The library as a sterile experience.

Then I read the fifth article, "To a temporary place in time...On the way to the library experience of the future" by Dr. Wendy Schultz. Dr. Schultz suggests "as more information becomes more accessible, people will still need experienced tour guides" and "focussed expertise", that "the avalanche of material available will put a premium on service, on tailoring information to needs, and on developing participatory relationships with customers. So while books may get in your...face all by themselves, people will prefer personal introductions".

In the past "Librarians were stewards, trainers, intimate with the knowledge base and the minds who produced it. Librarians today are not just inventory management biobots: they are people with a unique understanding of the documents they compile and catalog, and the relationships among those documents." My hero!!!!

"With Library 3D, we have strayed far into virtual reality in the flight from bricks and mortar into software. Yet many businesses are demonstrating that storefronts can still draw customers, if they offer a compelling experience: a clearly defined environment that is authentic (true and good); humane (emotional, irrational); experiential (designed, theatrical); impassioned; relevant (understandable, timely); and participatory (open, lived, shared). What would Library 4.0 be like? It will completely connect the digital and the sensual".

Dr. Schultz further posits that her vision of the library of the future, "Library 4.0, the neo-library...will be the library for the aesthetic economy, the dream society, which will need libraries as mind gyms; libraries as idea labs; libraries as art salons. But let’s be clear: Library 4.0 will not replace Libraries 1.0 through 3.0; it will absorb them. The library as aesthetic experience will have space for all the library’s incarnations: storage (archives, treasures); data retrieval (networks—reference rooms); and commentary and annotation (salon)....But Library 4.0 will add a new mode, knowledge spa: meditation, relaxation, immersion in a luxury of ideas and thought....a WiFREE space, a retreat from technohustle, with comfortable chairs, quiet, good light, coffee and single malt. You know, the library."

Oh my God, couldn't you just die? Who wouldn't want to spend time in this paradise? A place that nurtures the intellect, that encourages discussion and supports discovery through choice (variety). A home to thought, to jumping off the treadmill, to spending hours browsing for treasures. I don't need an introduction to bestsellers, I want access to titles I've never heard of - those are the treasures.

Delicious!

Delicious. Good name. I've already used it to list 13 of my favorite sites and I anticipate I'll add more over time. So far the biggest advantage is having my favorites being accessible from whatever computer I'm using. I noodled around a little looking at other people's favorites but haven't seen a big advantage yet. I'll spend more time with it once I catch up on Learn & Play.