Number 18: Online Video

I'm well-versed in all that is Youtube. I even have my own account and have uploaded a few videos. The public library where I work even has its own Youtube account and has uploaded videos from our various festivals and celebrations. Here's a video from our 2007 Native American Festival:



I think this is a terrific use of web 2.0 for libraries. Putting videos like this online exposes more people to what a library has to offer- especially to people who might not normally attend events such as the Native American Festival. Too often libraries are written off as dusty repositories of books. Public libraries especially are so much more than that- community centers full of life, and video is a wonderful way to show that!

Number 17: I'm not sure what this thing is

So Thing 17 appears to be about something called the Electronic Library for Minnesota. I'm not in Minnesota. I'm in Oklahoma. But, reading the Thing, the ELM appears to just be a collection of databases that is purchased by the state for the public's use. Okay. We have that in Oklahoma too, although slightly different. I am familiar with the databases that Oklahoma state provides, as I have to instruct customers on how to use them at the public library. However, all the "save to my page" tools and whatnot as described in this Thing were new to me. I'm not even sure if that would work on our public computers at the reference desk at the public library. I'll give it a go tonight.

Number 16: Student 2.0

23 Things asks:

• How might the RPC and the Teacher Guide help you help students plan and manage research projects?
• Can you think of any uses for library projects—could you use it to help manage a timeline for a project of your own?

Alright, I'll stop with my web 2.0 whining and I'll admit- HOLY COW THESE TOOLS ARE AWESOME!!!

Yeah. The Assignment Calculator blew me away. What a great idea! How come I've never heard of this before!? Can I use it in a project of my own? You betcha! I totally plugged in the dates for a 10 page research paper I have due in another class, and looked at the schedule it gave me. I am someone who works best under deadlines, so semester-long projects can sometimes be difficult and stressful for me. I always worry, "Have I done enough yet? What exactly *should* I be doing at this point?" Well Assignment Calculator told me! I am seriously going to use this for that paper, it will help me a lot. Even though the links are for Minnesota-specific things, the timeline it generated is incredibly helpful to me. Finally, a web 2.0 productivity tool that doesn't just create more STUFF in my life and actually applies itself to my *current* life.

I would like to see this idea extrapolated for use in the workplace. Projects at libraries aren't exactly the same as research papers for students. What about a program manager for public librarians? You describe the type of program it is, when it will be, and a tool like this could tell you what all you need to have completed by when to be ready for the project! The full-time librarians I work with at the public library would love that kind of tool, and it would really help some of them.

Number 15: Gaming

I am not a gamer. I have not played video games regularly since I was about 12, and then it was only an occassional afternoon spent on Mario Kart. I just never got into it beyond that. I'm still not into it. I've played Guitar Hero and Rock Band a couple of times (mostly at my public library!), and those are fun, but I can't imagine spending hundreds of dollars on purchasing a system.

The Norman Public Library has been offering gaming events for awhile, now. We have a gaming series for teens called Game On, where multiple consoles and games are offered (all age-appropriate). A few times, we've offered adult gaming nights, with some of the more mature games.

23 Things asks:

• If you chose Second Life, write a blog post about your findings and thoughts on Second Life. Is there a role for Second Life in libraries?

I had never explored Second Life before. I thought this was funny though. This is another thing that I really just don't get the point of. I can see why some people would enjoy it, and get sucked into it. I just don't have the time for something like that in my life. I suppose it could be good for libraries to have a presence in the game, because there is a whole community of users who might not otherwise know much about the library (because they spend too much time at home playing games!). We have a librarian at the public library who I know would love to do something like this, and she'd be good at it. So, I think if there is a librarian on staff who is immersed in gaming culture, then why not have a presence? It's just like any other demographic or group the library would try to attract.

Number 14: LibraryThing

23 Things asks:

• How can you use LibraryThing for your library?
• How else do you share booklists, etc. with library patrons? Would LibraryThing offer an alternative?

Behold, the only LibraryThing widget I could get to work on this blog, I don't know why:

So that will link you to the mini-catalog I created.

I had poked around on LibraryThing way back in the day when it first started. It's improved a lot since then! It seems like the kind of thing I could get sucked into. If only they had a widget that let you print out call number labels for your personal library...

As for its use in libraries... I am undecided. I suppose it would be helpful for creating booklists, but how do you get it out of LibraryThing? I couldn't find a widget or tool that would extrapolate your information into a list.

Number 13: Online Productivity Tools

23 Things asks:

• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?

This thing suggests trying out iGoogle and Google Calendars, both of which I have used before! I like that those services are integrated into my email. Some time ago I set up my iGoogle home page, though I do not regularly use it. At the time I was studying for the GRE, and added a gadget that gave me a GRE word of the day. I also added a weather gadget. I found it really helpful when I was using it regularly.

As for the Calendar feature, I am a regular user, even though in an oddball kind of way. Maybe that's what's great about these web 2.0 tools, that you can use them however best it suits you. Anyways, I pay all my bills online. I hate writing checks and I hate getting paper bills in the mail, so I do everything online. It's harder to remember those due dates though, when you don't get a paper bill reminding you every month. So, I set up recurring Calendar reminders for my due dates. For each bill, I set it up so that I would get an email reminder a week before it's due. Since I'm in my email nearly 24/7, I can just stare at those suckers and it helps me to remember to pay my bills. After I pay the bill, I delete the reminder from my email, so that I can remember that I did in fact pay it (a lot of e-bill services STILL don't send you an email confirmation that they received your payment). I really really like this service, it helps me a lot. There have definitely been times when I would've forgotten to pay a bill if I hadn't seen the reminder in my inbox.

Also mentioned in this Thing is Zamzar, which I have also used. I discovered it very recently when I needed to email a copy of my paper program plan to my advisor at OU SLIS. I scanned it, and then created a PDF using Zamzar. Totally helpful and awesome!

So, A+ to these Things. I like them. I recommend them.

Number 12: Social Media Sites

23 Things asks:

• How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home?
• Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor?

Before I completed this "thing," I was familiar with what sites like Digg and Reddit were. But, I had never been to one before. (That seems to be a reoccuring theme with these web 2.0 sites- I'm familiar with the concepts, but haven't actually tried many of them out.)

I don't foresee using these tools at work or at home. Again, I did not like them. I especially found the Digg website to be just a cluttered mess of information. I don't think Krug would like it! I see their usefulness for someone who maybe doesn't want to spend a lot of time "digging" (har har) through pages and pages of news sites. However, I'm someone who likes to do that! I prefer to seek out information on my own, as opposed to going with what other people find interesting. This is probably partially because I have tastes and interests that run contrary to most people's. :)

Again, whether or not these sites would be a productivity enhancer or detractor would depend on the person using them, and how they prefer to browse the web. For someone like myself, it would probably be a productivity detractor. I already scan several websites first thing in the morning for my news. Going to a cluttered site like Digg would not help my morning!