GLAMGRAN

Week 6 : EnCompassCulture - the global bookclub

2010-08-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

I love this site which is produced by the British Council Arts Group, to provide a worldwide reading group which has full details of over 10,000 books for all age ranges.
FIVE WAYS TO SEARCH AND BROWSE:
"You can make your own booklist, check out our bibliographies and ready-made booklists, browse in the author index, use the quick search box, or take recommendations from other readers and the Online Reader in Residence".
There is a really good selection of Author Interviews including one with Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid in which she responded to questions mailed in by EnCompass users.
I really like this title: 'Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs : She Thinks I'm a Piano-Player in a Whorehouse' by Paul Carter, which I found under the Humorous Travels sub-category. I like this way of searching. I will definitely use EnCompassCulture again & recommend it to patrons as it has many useful features. Check out the following:
Book of the Month
Author interviews
Newsletters

Week 5 : SlideShare - online presentations

2010-08-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

I did a search for 'libraries' and viewed 3 associated presentations which appealed to me:
TopTen Reasons Libraries are still Important which I've embeded below.
Virtual Libraries, Real Librarians. What librarians are doing in Second Life and how Australian Libraries can join in. A presentation by Kathryn Greenhill at the State Library of Victoria. Mashups for Libraries.

Top Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Important

View more presentations from bradspry.

Week 4 : Tastespotting - a community driven visual potluck

2010-08-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

I chose this pic & recipe (believe me a very hard choice) of Dulche de Leche Triple Chocolate Brownies (adapted from Baking Illustrated) because:
It's very chocolaty!!
It looks moist & heavy as opposed to light & fluffy (which is not for me).
Even though I'm not sure what 3/4 cup dulce de leche is- I'm sure I can find out!!
It can't be that hard to make!!
It's from the following blog where you can find the recipe:
http://treats-sf.blogspot.com/2010/08/dulce-de-leche-triple-chocolate.html
It's easy to use- just narrow your search in search box or browse at random. Yes I think I will use it again. I really enjoyed this task- I like to have a wide range of knowledge of what's available out there. What did I, personally, get out of TasteSpotting? I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Who doesn't like food! Especially CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!

Week 3 : FeedMyInbox - RSS made simple

2010-08-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Through FeedMyInbox: http://www.feedmyinbox.com/ I have subscribed to:
Auckland City Libraries Scooper on libraries Posts: http://bit.ly/a2UeW6
BBC News - Europe Daily Confirmed: http://bit.ly/c6fmOD
So now rather than checking blogs and news sites every day for updates, update alerts are sent straight to my email inbox on a daily basis & paid accounts can receive emails in real-time instead of a daily digest.
It is easy to use. The instructions are short & clear. We could use this in the learn.nets and in our workrooms especially in the context of keeping abreast of what other Libraries are doing. I would use this site again for favourite websites & promote it to customers.
Auckland City Libraries Scooper on libraries Posts

Week 2 : Picapp - the best images for your blog

2010-08-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

I've added 2 pics to my Week 2 Picapp post:
the first is a cityscape of Bath in Somerset, UK which I've added because I really like it & the second because I think it is really fascinating. It's the chariot found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun which was displayed at Discovery Times Square Exposition on August 3, 2010 in New York. The chariot, which most likely had been used by the boy king for hunting, is being shown in the United States for the first time and is the first time it has ever left Egypt. Yes it is easy for staff/customers to use, although I could not find how to add videos- maybe you have to register to do this, so I'll try doing this later.
It's not hard to locate pics that are are newsworthy and relevant although I wasn't searching for anything that Manukau Libraries could benefit from. I will probably use this site again & promote it to customers.

Week 1 : Box.net - online file storage

2010-08-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

I created an account with Box.net & uploaded the one & only Stieg Larsson interview. (Thank you Tosca & Danielle). You can view it at: http://www.box.net/shared/drt677rqfu
Some of the ways in which Box.net can be used:
Contact lists; shared folders which can be updated & changed when working on projects together; storage for meeting minutes which can be accessed by staff members; PowerPoint slides for presentations or basically any info that can be shared.
I thought it was a similar concept to a PBWiki & very easy to use. It worked for me & yes I would promote it.

Last Blog Post- this time around

2010-05-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

"It's All Good!!"
An enjoyable learning and discovery experience!!!!
Some great new tools which I know I am going to use again & some new Gadgets for my Blog!!

Week 6 : Facebook - playing nicely with others

2010-05-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

My use of Facebook is limited due to time constraints, as I have enough trouble at home keeping up with all my emails. I did sign up during the last web 2.0 project, but had not since visited the site until recently, when I logged on to check out a relative living in London, who had uploaded her baby scan! But they had to ring us first to let us know it was on facebook! I was also able to view the numerous pics of their recent holiday in Morocco. All my 'friends' are extended family, except for one colleague, who is now a 'friend'!!
I posted a comment to the discussion topic What book are you reading - RIGHT this minute?
I'm still thinking about: What is the BEST book you ever read and WHY? There are many!
I did a search for The University of Queensland Library on Facebook & their Updates include News & Events such as Opening Hours; Public Holiday closing; advertising a new learning space named: 'The Hive' a space for thinking and working collaboratively; an online exhibition: 'Palaeoart and the dinosaur trail at St Lucia'; announcing the recipient of the Fryer Library Award & Special Events such as visiting Writers; etc.
What can Facebook do for us as a public library? What would our customers get out of a Facebook page? What can Facebook do for you individually?
I couldn't help comparing Facebook to our Library Website. Isn't the latter providing a lot of what Manukau Library provides on Facebook? Some patrons might find it easier to join in a discussion or post a comment on a Facebook Library page than on a website, if they were more familiar with it. Latest thoughts , Top 5s on our Library Website, in fact everything under the Reading & Reviews tab, compares favourably with what Facebook offers.
I like the idea of everything in one place for convenience, rather than having to log on to a lot of different sites.
Quite a few of our customers already use Facebook. It seems to fill a need with a lot of people & yes I would promote it.

Week 5 : Music files and mp3s

2010-05-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

Free mp3 sites:
One of the sites on the list I had a look at was very easy to use:
ItsFreeDownloads.com - This site finds the free downloads iTunes offers and lists them on a weekly basis.
It offers a free trial of 25 free downloads from eMusic which is iTunes 'cheaper, cooler cousin'
Following categories:
INDIE ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK, HIP-HOP/R&B, COUNTRY, JAZZ/CLASSICAL, GUILTY PLEASURES
After the free trial, songs are available for 50c (American I think) or less & there are over 7 million songs to choose from.
Free iTunes web widget:
Every week Apple puts a few free songs and some free videos on the iTunes Store. Usually these are free for just a week, sometime longer. This gadget helps you by listing all the free stuff in one place by category (music, videos, audiobooks, etc.) and giving you updates as new stuff is released.
eMusic Daily Free MP3 Download Gadget:
Every day eMusic.com has a free music MP3 available for download. This gadget shows you today's freebie and lets you download it.

Week 4 : Books and social networking- GoodReads website

2010-04-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

How can this site be used for readers' advisory purposes? How would Customers & library staff find this site useful?
On this free social networking website for people who love books, you can see everyone's bookshelves, their reviews, and their ratings. You can also post your own reviews and catalog what you have read, are currently reading, and plan to read in the future, join an online discussion group, start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing.
If you click on the 'explore' tab there are other things such as trivia, quizzes, videos, quotes, events & a swap option!
Yes I would, & already have promoted http://www.goodreads.com/ to customers.
I don't see why we couldn't have these above options added to the Manukau Library Website. We already have reviews & ratings, so wouldn't it be wonderful for customers to be able to add their own bookshelves, although currently we do have the option of 'Reading History' to keep track of reading history. Through our library website we could compare our booklist to that of another Library member & find readers who have similar tastes - thereby finding more great book suggestions.
I JUST LOVE THESE WIDGETS!!!!

Week 3 : Twitter - micro-blogging at a glance

2010-04-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a good way of sharing smaller everyday things that are happening & finding out what your friends are doing, by following their updates on your twitter page.
I found @Manukau_Libs, so now I am 'following' their tweetstream & I sent them a 'tweet' (message) on Twitter. I also added my Twitter page to my RSS Feeds on my sidebar, so now I can go straight to my Tweets from my Blog sidebar.
I also felt I needed a Twitter Profile Widget on my sidebar to display my Twitter updates!
Is it easy to use? Would customers find it simple? I thought the 'Twitter in Plain English' clip was a bit basic & I wanted to know more about it, so found another clip which I thought covered far more, in easy steps.
http://bit.ly/aiSZUl
Yes this would be really useful on the Website, learn.nets and in our workrooms- a good way of providing & receiving latest Library info immediately, such as the following Tweet that I read today:

"Manukau_Libs NEWS: Manukau Libraries now have a small collection of books in the Afrikaans language: http://bit.ly/d0axJt "

A great way for Manukau Libraries to promote a variety of new information to staff & patrons!
Yes I would use this site again if there was a specific purpose for doing so, & yes, I would promote this service to customers.

Week 2 : Zamzar - converting file formats

2010-04-21T16:40:00.001-07:00

I think this is great, as I have previously converted PDF files in a complicated round about way. It really is as simple (once I found the right button to click) as selecting a file to convert, choosing a format to convert to, typing in your email address and clicking convert. It was almost instant, it converts up to 1GB in size. I converted a Word doc into a PDF file.
I did find out, though, that the file download expires after 24 hours, unless you sign up for an account to store your files for longer. So you do need to download it before then. You can sign up for a Zamzar inbox to manage your files and store up to 100 GB of your files.

I am pleased I know about this as I think it will be a useful tool for future use.
I then converted the file to JPG so I could upload it to my Blog.

Week 1: Blogger

2010-04-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

This has already been done- I am using my old Blog, so can skip the set up and move straight on to the next post!!!!! I will be blogging about the latest Manukau Libraries Learning 2.0 project which is going to encourage us "to experiment and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today".
The objectives are:

To encourage exploration of Web 2.0 and new technologies by Manukau Libraries staff.
To provide staff with new tools (that are freely available on the Internet) to better support Manukau Libraries mission: To boldly go where no man has gone before.
To reward staff for taking the initiative to complete 6 self-discovery exercises.
To encourage staff to explore any and all Web 2.0 tools Manukau Libraries is currently using.

What more can be said!!!!

Is this really the end? Or just the beginning?

2008-09-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on my learning journey and a few thoughts about my journey through this programme:
Yes this experience has certainly enhanced my Web 2.0 skills, encouraged me to experiment, explore and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today, provided me with the information and knowledge & new tools (freely available on the internet) to provide better service to our customers. Yes it really has been a fun and rewarding experience along the way!
Now I have got to the end I can go back & explore a bit further, some of the things that I rushed through when pushed for time.
It's taken a little longer than I would have liked, because of time constraints at home & at work. I appreciate that our Managers have been totally supportive of this training.

ebooks

2008-09-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Visited Project Gutenburg, a source of free ebooks & explored some of the titles available & took a look at the different ways you can download or read them. There are over 25,000 free books in Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog, with various means of searching, including an advanced search with different options for searching.
Title on the left appealed to me: "A mysterious murder on a flying express train, a wily Italian, a charming woman caught in the meshes of circumstantial evidence, a chivalrous Englishman, and a police force with a keen nose for the wrong clue, are the ingredients from which Major Griffiths has concocted a clever, up-to-date detective story. The book is bright and spirited, with rapid action, and consistent development which brings the story to a logical and dramatic ending."
URL for this ebook: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11451/11451-h/11451-h.htm
With a frontispiece in colours By Arthur O. Scott
1907

Podcasts

2008-09-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

There really IS a podcast out there for just about every interest area!! My discovery process. Did I find anything useful here?
I took a look at some popular podcast directories & finding tools & chose Podcast.com which didn't require a software download & shows more than 60,000 podcasts on a very wide range of useful topics. Podcast.com has a Community page where you can find members and browse their podcast directories and playlists. Fresh playlists are listed on the sidebar. There is also a page for adding a podcast feed.
I explored this directory & located a library related book review feed that I find interesting: "Book Recommendations, Blog and Podcast: Books on the Nightstand"
I pulled the RSS feed for this into my Bloglines account so that when new casts become available I’ll be automatically notified of their existence.
Also added it to my sidebar on my Blog.
There is a definite use for podcasts on Library websites for book reviews, advertising Library programs, etc.

YouTube videos

2008-09-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Exploring YouTube is very interesting- there is a lot of rubbish, but also a lot of great stuff! There are lots of videos worth adding, but I've chosen an intro clip of the TV series "The Librarians" as I love the program & view it religiously. My favourite bit is the Librarian hyperventilating into the paper bag when she gets to work!! I placed the video inside my blog using the copy and paste code for the "Embeddable Player” & Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting the code.

Liked the video made by the Library Graduate students of the University of Pittsburgh for National Library Week, which really gets the message across in a semi humorous way.
Features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites? Well, yes, a whole new marketing oportunity for Libraries!

My Grandson showed me this YouTube video- it's called "How to Marshall a Jet & British Style".

Online Applications & Tools

2008-09-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

Took a look at the web-based word processing tool, Google Docs, created a simple photo slide show of County of Devon in UK, using one of their templates, inserting some images from a Google Image search, then published it through Google Docs to my blog. With web-based applications, the possibilities are endless. I like this online office and productivity application- so many options including sharing & a wide range of templates. You can publish your document to the Internet, where anyone will be able to access and view it online. They will also be able to join the presentation online and chat with others also viewing the presentation.

Thing 17: Social Networking

2008-08-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

My Space: My Space Forums- clicked on Travel Forum & then had a look at
New video: Trailer from my Panama trip!! which I thought was quite a good idea for sharing one's travel experiences. People offer all sorts of travel tips & advice. Liked the music & Video & Film pages too, also that you can find friends by category, location & age! Think My Space is my preferred site. Check out this video on My Space: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=41115937
Facebook: About Facebook gives a little insight into what it is all about, but not as much explanatory info is available without joining up, so I did & the applications are similar- sharing photos, videos,etc
Bebo looks fairly similar with same type of fun options available.
Personal feelings are that these Social Networking sites are definitely a good way of communicating, networking & keeping in touch with a group of people, even though there are drawbacks & dangers attached, as we all know, & hear about all the time. It's also a good way to just have some fun. Would use it if I was in a situation where I had some spare time!!!
Hennepin County Library site: Have to write about this later as it is blocked!!

This is a good example of a successful library profile: Some of options are: a discussion board, you can post reviews & wall posts, search library catalogue from the site, & chat online with a librarian.

On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0 ...

2008-08-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

Your library in a Web 2.0 world?
I agree with Tom Storey in his article "Where will the next generation Web take libraries?" In Web 2.0, "the Web becomes the center of a new digital lifestyle that changes our culture and touches every aspect of our lives. The Web moves from simply being sites and search engines to a shared network space that drives work, research, education, entertainment and social activities—essentially everything people do."
As Rick Anderson puts it- "our patrons will expect access to everything – digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts, etc." And yes this IS (not may be) our great opportunity.
We do need to help and educate patrons, in addition to providing user-centric services. I consider this training of our Library users, part of our duties, provided we are getting the ongoing training to train. We need to be ahead of the public we serve, or our "ship" will crash headlong into the iceberg & we'll sink!

Technorati

2008-08-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Our big chance to have free time at work to do our Blogs & everything I need to do is blocked!!!Including Technorati Tour video which is restricted by the content rule 'Block dangerous files'.

Keyword search using Advanced Search, for “Learning 2.0” in Blog posts: Blogpost search is also blocked, but found 9,458 results searching in "Rising Posts and Stories" on front page. Later at home I found 9,782 results doing Blogpost search in Advanced.

In tags: found 941 results

In the Blog Directory: 9,835 results.

Are the results different? - number seemed to vary each time I searched in the Blog Directory.

Popular blog, searches & tags: Interesting mix- gadgets seem to be the Thing too.

Tagging, folksonomies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

2008-08-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

Site options: Many very useful sites- I clicked on "Yarra Plenty Online Learning" which was bookmarked by 59 others & 13 people wrote notes. Related tags seem to cover it all.
"Mappr! Where It's At" was saved 1038 times & 265 wrote notes.
The Commoncraft Youtube video really does explain Del.icio.us in user friendly terms. I love these little videos.
I can see the potential of this tool for research assistance, as well as for information sharing for example, a group of teachers, as in the demo video. Yes it is an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere, a great way to bring all related sites together on one site, & other people have done all the web searching!!

Playing around with PBWiki

2008-08-22T01:23:00.000-07:00

Liked the concept of using Wikis for planning a trip, or some similar event, involving a group of people, as explained in the little demo video demonstrating Wikis at bottom of No 12: Week 5 page. It is an easy way of communicating with a number of people, all having the means to contribute.

Added my Blog to the Favourite Blogs page & found the demo video was very basic, simple & clear about how to go about editing additions to the Wiki.

Added a link to the Manukau Libraries Wiki, to my sidebar under Link List.

Wikis

2008-08-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

Book Lovers Wiki Princeton Public Library: I like this Wiki very much- it's a tad like our Next Reads but has actual reviews right there on the same page & reading club members are able to participate & contribute reviews and other content to the wiki. I like the idea of using a wiki in this way and it allows the opportunity to experiment and learn about new technologies within the community.
St Joseph's County Public Library Subject Guide: SJCPL Subject Guides: Thought this was just like doing a subject search on a Library catalogue, until I actually had a look at it. It seems to have good basic helpful info on a lot of different subjects for example how to go about starting to research your family history, links to online subscription genealogy related databases & other St Joseph's & Indianna County links as well as National Links.
Library Success: A best practices wiki: I like the fact that this is one place where all of this Library related information is collected and organized- "one-stop shop for great ideas and information for all types of librarians". Anywhere in the world, librarians who are developing successful programs and doing innovative things with technology, or have materials, or anything that would be helpful to other librarians, including useful websites, can record them on this Wiki & provide Links. Interesting that this wiki has vandalism problems!!!! So I guess this must be one of the biggest drawbacks about Wikis. Topics covered seem to be pretty comprehensive & well written up.
Other Library Wiki examples: There again, the uses of Wikis seem to be endless- from staff manuals to community info & guides.

Being a "picture" person I would like some of these Wikis to have more illustrations, so I've added one little picture to this post!!!

Things Technology Related

2008-08-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

I LOVE ALL things related to the computer: Research on the Internet, email, scanning & editing old family photos, organising photos into albums. I don't know how we ever managed without Computers. Blogging: it is really great fun & I have been exploring some of the Gadgets that can be added- endless possibilities & I would love to have time to do it more seriously- ONE DAY! I'll add some more adventurous Gadgets later. It would be a great thing when travelling for any length of time to have a Travel Blog. I thought I would see if I could upload one of my very amateur mini movies of Royal Guards in London, taken with my digital camera- wasn't sure if it would work, but yes it did!!!! There is only one way to do it & that's to give it a go.! Took a little while to upload though. I'm so pleased that we are doing this training, as I'm learning all sorts of basic things that I wouldn't have bothered about, & it's a good basis to add to in the future.

3rd Party Applications & Mashups

2008-08-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

Good fun playing around with some of the featured 3rd party Flickr Apps & managed to create my own customised jigsaw from one of my own photos using "Jigsaw"- one of "fd's Flickr Toys". Then uploaded it on to my Blogspot. Found it quite easy to do. Wanted to have a go at Mappr but looks a little more time consuming so will have a play at a later date. Want to explore more of fd's Flickr Toys too- later!!!!! They ALL look intriguing!!!

Flickr & Picasa

2008-08-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've been using Flickr, the popular image hosting site, for a while now, to find photos of various places that I'm interested in, mainly in England, Scotland, Ireland, & Wales. If they are relevant to wherever I'm researching, I save them to a folder on my computer, so they are there for quick reference.

Above is a photo that I got from Picasa Web Albums, of the bridges at Conwy Castle in North Wales, one of which was built by my Great Great Grandfather.
I've also added a little slideshow of Scenic UK from Flickr, to my sidebar, using the Add a Gadget Slideshow category. Another photo hosting site I like for free travel photos which can be downloaded is: Travelwallpapers.net & I've added a link to this on my sidebar.

Search Rolls & rolling my own search engine with Rollyo

2008-07-31T02:46:00.000-07:00

Not sure yet if I would use this a lot, but I can see the advantages of this tool that allows you to create your own search tool for just the Favourite websites you know and trust, or a set of similar online resources that you frequently use & it's interesting trying to work out how to set it up! You can see my Rollyo searchroll for travel related searches, on my sidebar.
I had a look at some of these search rolls that have already been created: I liked Free Photos which even had links to sites advertising cheap hostels & hotels when I did a search for London.

LibraryThing

2008-07-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

I like that this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, but also connects you to other people who have similar reading tastes. It has over 4.7 million cataloged books & comes up with suggestions for what to read next.
I added some books to my library & really like being able to "view" them on a virtual shelf.
My link to my LibraryThing catalog:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/glamgran1
You can see my Library Thing search box on my sidebar.

Image Generators

2008-07-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

I found this a lot of fun & want to explore this type of image generator, which allow you to easily manipulate images and graphics to create fun images, a little bit more. Especially liked "Lift Magic" & tried to do up the POPE but decided it was a tad disrespectful!!! Will think of someone else to do up when I have the time. The discovery resource I used was: The Generator Blog where I found: http://mooch.driversed.com/moochify.html

RSS

2008-07-15T02:12:00.000-07:00

Well, this adding RSS Feeds to Bloglines is great fun- I had no idea how much stuff was out there!! Well, I guess I did really. No excuse not to be well informed these days. The possibilities of using this technology for consumption of diverse types of information, in Libraries, & to find relevant & up to date info for patrons, are limitless- at home too. My Bloglines address is:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/glamgran1
I've added the BBC News News Front Page World Edition to my sidebar, with most recent headlines displayed.

Fun Stuff

2008-07-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

More Fun Stuff- "Buggin' You". Just click on link added below:

http://img.tapuz.co.il/forums/8572800.swf

Grandchildren

2008-07-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

Well what more can I say!!!

Pirate! Monkeys in a tree

Fairy Party-6th Birthday

Favourite Places

2008-07-08T02:26:00.000-07:00

Next I thought I would upload a few of my pics of some of my favourite places I have visited.

Heidelberg, Germany

Peter Pan Statue, Kensington Gardens, London

Stirling Castle, Scotland

St Ives, Cornwall

Favourite Foods

2008-07-08T01:54:00.000-07:00

Thought I would play around a little and add a test post or two, starting with FOOD!!!

Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Cheesecake! Cheesecake! Cheesecake!

Web 2.0 Training: Setting up my own blog & adding first post

2008-07-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

I think it's great & will be a lot of fun & there are lots of things on the list that I want to learn about. We'll all be Web Wonder Gals by the time we're through. Sorry, & "Guys".
I'm really enjoying setting up this Blog- much more fun than preparing for performance Reviews, dealing with hundreds of screaming School Holiday kids & sorting out all the books that still need to be tagged!!