Gaming in Libraries

Better late than never! After reviewing the literature/articles on video gaming in libraries, I realize that this is a resource I've left completely untapped. Yes, I've had my fair share of playing video games growing up (and, okay, I admit, I do have a Wii I like to play on from time to time!). The possibilities for video gaming in libraries seem endless. A Harvard professor using Second Life to organize many of his most often used websites is interesting and innovative. I never considered gaming to be a legitimate enterprise, especially in a library setting. I see now that I was dead wrong--the possibilities (on Second Life alone) are literally endless!

How Could I Forget About Shelfari?!

I love Shelfari. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, if I could. I think it's going to prove to be a vital and useful tool in a lot of public library settings, not only for the ways that librarians could use it to organize their collections (mentally) and to suggest books to patrons, but the immense usefulness patrons will find in using the website. I try to pass the word on as much as I can! (And, for the record, I much prefer it over Goodreads.com--Shelfari is much more streamlined and aesthetically pleasing, at least in my opinion.)

Social Media Sites for the Library

The fantastic options that today's social media sites allow libraries to explore is overwhelming (in a good way)! To give a quick and dirty summary of how I would employ YouTube, Flickr and Pinterest in a public library setting, I'm just going to make a few lists:

YouTube:
-Tutorial videos of how to use different library resources (catalog, downloading e-books, how to print in color or b&w)
-Videos of the inside of the library to show patrons where to find certain collections or to introduce possible patrons to what the library looks like
-Posting YouTube videos of [books made into] movie(s) trailers and book trailers to the library's website or Facebook page. Any YouTube video that is relevant to the library in some way could be posted!
-Videos of librarians & staff who work at the library--introducing themselves, explaining what they do at the library, hopefully creating a friendlier web environment for patrons


Flickr:
-Sharing photos of the library's new collections (all different fiction genres, non-fiction, YA, children's, DVD's, etc.)
-Photos of the library and its signage to familiarize patrons with how to navigate the stacks
-Good for non-fiction collections to showcase photography materials located in their collections

Pinterest:
-Similar to Flickr photosharing, but a more interactive interface, which will encourage more comments and "likes" from patrons
-Because photos pinned to Pinterest are directly connected to their original source pages, patrons can see a picture of a book that they want to borrow, and can click on the picture and be immediately brought to the catalog listing for that item
-Librarians can use Pinterest for their own personal use--perhaps creating pinboards of books they would like to buy replacement copies of, or a pinboard of ideas for programs or displays they can bring to the library

Does anyone else have any ideas of other ways these sites could benefit a library?

Defining Web 2.0

I finally fully understand what web 2.0 means! It's not as if I didn't somewhat understand before, but after reading "The Terrible Twos," I finally feel as though I can give a concrete definition next time someone asks me what library or web 2.0 means. Before reading this articles, I would've likely defined web 2.0 as "the latest in web technology" or something else that is similarly vague. It makes so much sense--of course web 2.0 includes websites that are more interactive and easily edited--and now I can finally admit that I didn't always fully understand what a web 2.0 site was! In the end, though, I'm left wondering what specifically defines a web 2.0 site nowadays, considering this article was published mid 2006. I definitely think interactivity is still a huge factor, but perhaps there are new factors that wouldn't have been around in 2006?

Next Generation Catalogs

I chose to focus my posting this week on the power point presentation on next generation catalogs--I find power points remind me a lot of being in class so I automatically feel like I absorb more information, and the format feels a lot friendlier when I try to break it down!

What struck me most throughout the power point was the obvious simplicity and obviousness of the major issues with most OPACs. I can't even count how many times patrons have complained to me about the lack of ease of use of our public catalog. There is no forgiveness on spelling errors (and I mean none), there is a lack of a simple search interface, the catalog pre-filters rather than post-filters (this gets very frustrating very quickly) and searching for an author by his or her first and then last name produces nothing even closely related to the author or their works. Rhode Island's OPAC seems so inherent to me because I work with it every day, I don't even think of the complications.

Browsing Villanova's VuFind catalog reminded me of browsing Google's shopping results (trust me, that's a good thing!). Anything that even slightly reminds me of such an awesome search engine as Google is a huge positive for me. Every element of the catalog seemed to remedy and improve many of most of the common OPAC issues, apart from one big thing--I tried spelling "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" incorrectly, in a number of different ways, and found that the catalog couldn't handle it (there were at least suggestions of what I might have been looking for).

Overall, I can't wait to see friendlier catalogs make their way to more libraries! Speaking critically and honestly, almost any element of the next generation catalogs added to most OPACs would be a fantastic improvement.

How Tweet Is It?

After reading this week's article about the Library of Congress digitally archiving every single tweet published on Twitter since its inception, I wasn't surprised to read all of the ramblings of the enraged commenters. I understand where people are coming from when they say that archiving tweets is "bollocks" because the government has no right or reason to do so or that the endeavor is a "huge waste of money," but I also don't think many people realize how much of an impact social media sites like Twitter are making in today's world. As a tip of the iceberg example of how much of an impact Twitter has made, the article cites the photojournalist  who was arrested in Egypt and freed as an eventual outcome of his Twitter posts. How can tweets like those not be justifiably archived? Yes, there are many, many archived tweets that will end up being pointless, redundant and private, but in the end it would cost more time and money to sort through billions of tweets to only archive the ones that are relevant to our country's history of social media!

Don't Judge Me by Shelfari

So, as of Monday, March 5th, I will be starting a new position at North Kingstown Free Library as Fiction Coordinator/Readers' Advisor! While I'm definitely psyched about this new job, one of the requirements of the job is knowing all the fiction genres like the back of my hand. The woman who I am taking over for suggested that I start to get to know the genres I don't typically read by reading a variety of at least 5 different types of book from that genre. And, as you can tell, I've decided to tackle Romance first! Wish me luck!

PS: if anyone has any good suggestions for good Romances, Westerns or Horror books please pass them on... these are the genres I'm weakest in! :)

Always On

"It also has implications for how space is used, for library skills, and for how collections are developed."


This quote from the past week's reading confirmed, to an extent, what I believe libraries will become in the future... the 3rd place, a community's place to gather for peace, quiet, socialization and information. Today's "always on" mentality can't be helped--how could it be, with such a constantly connected world? The more connected we become (how much more connected could we get, though?!) the more imperative it will become for libraries to mold themselves around such a constantly growing environment and make themselves indispensable within a society that is quick to disregard anything that cannot be labeled as relevant or convenient. How can libraries best makes themselves relevant and convenient, in all ways?

Out of things to say...

I've been trying for days now to think of something to tweet, post, blog or make some type of social media creation about for days now... although sometimes I enjoy posting things I've found in passing on different websites or friend's pages, there at times (like these past few days) when I'm bit too overwhelmed/stressed with school, work, and life in general to even think about posting something or sharing my stress with the social media world. When I'm stressed, I tend to remain private and focus on what I'm doing--what's the point of sharing it with the world? Yes, you get a lot of "hang in there" comments, but I'd rather not waste my time with posting my stress levels anyway because, 1. it's a waste of the time I'm already stressed about not having enough of, and 2. most of the time the feedback that comes from what I post doesn't really make me feel any better! What makes me feel better is addressing the things I have to do so my stress goes away. I don't mean to sound ungrateful for feedback that people give when someone posts a sad, stressed, angry or frustrated status update or tweet, but all the more reason for me to stay away from posting anything when I'm feeling any of the aforementioned moods/emotions. I'd rather not share my moods and emotions in such a public place, mostly because... who cares? Who really wants to read about how stressed I am or how I'm feeling on a certain day? So, I suppose I don't have much of a question to pose except this: does anyone else struggle with finding things to post that aren't so immediately personal to you that it feels as though no one else would care about them? Does anyone else have a hard time posting when they're own lives become too busy?

Everybody Tweets

I've been beginning to realize lately how much social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have infiltrated television media! I can't count the amount of times I see a Twitter hash tag pop up on the bottom of the screen during a television show (what actually made me think of writing a post about this was because I saw one pop up during the red carpet show for the Academy Awards--and the host made a verbal reference as well!). On top of it all, the local news is now using Facebook to boost ratings by posting new updates on breaking news and asking for viewers opinions on issues (they even do a segment of what's going on on Facebook, including viewers who've written interesting comments on the network's FB updates). To be honest, I'm surprised it's even taken this long for the local news channels to pick up on the trend of social media sites when they can be used so easily to the network's benefit! (Perhaps local news networks have had Facebook or Twitter pages all along, but it was quite smart of them to include a segment about it during the actual newscastings.)

(PS: As I was writing this post, I couldn't even count the amount of times "#OSCARS" popped up on the bottom of the TV screen!)

Library 2.0

After reading this week's article I find myself feeling very fortunate to have been between the years 1982 and 2000 (not that I hadn't felt fortunate before [and also, I think those years are a bit of a generalization sometimes--my father was born in 1956 and he's better with the web than I am! Depends on the individual]), but the amount of catching up I have to do on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis is overwhelming enough without having the innate web ability that comes along with growing up in an always evolving web 1.0 world (until it's evolved into web 2.0!).

Regardless of the generation an individual is born into, I feel as though the most recent developments in the web, wikis, and in particular, blogging, has created a much more welcoming and learning-facilitating environment, particularly for newer users. This is definitely something that libraries can and should take advantage of when helping patrons. If libraries use the web's ever-increasing approach-ability to their advantage in this way, they will eventually come to be seen even more as the gatekeepers and facilitators of the technological world... eventually making them as indispensable as the very web tools that they help patrons learn about!

Week 3 Video

I want to start off by saying that I usually have a hard time watching videos and remaining attentive throughout the entirety of something like this... especially when it's almost an hour long! So I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed listening to what Danah Boyd had to say. She was engaging, intelligent, informed and witty and I found myself wanting to hear more of what she said.

I really appreciated what Boyd had to say about privacy and teenagers. Our society, in general, seems to be constantly reminding teens to maintain their privacy and the importance of privacy... when, overall, privacy in itself is all teens seem to want, enjoy, appreciate and facilitate! In ten and twenty years, today's teens are going to be the adults, warning their children and others to be careful with what they put out there... but really... will they? I can't even imagine what today's teens will be like as parents. Will they be more cautious with their privacy or less so? And what will be the consequences, either way? I realize teenagers are naturally more prone to wanting their privacy, but I can see today's teens growing up to be even more private than previous generations, mostly based upon the ultra-sharing tendencies of the times they grew up in. On the opposite end of the spectrum will those teens who grow to be over-sharers and don't value anyone's privacy whatsoever.. eek. What a mix!

Initial Thoughts on The World is Flat

After getting only a few chapters into The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, I find myself apprehensive but also excited.  Friedman has already explored several ways in which jobs and tasks can be outsourced to other countries like India and China, and every time he cites an aspect of a job that can and is easily outsourced, I keep thinking "okay, time to start talking about libraries... which part of my job will I lose? All of it? Some of it? What will that mean?" I have a couple things that I've thought of already that could be easily outsourced in a public library setting (program registration, cataloging, etc.) but can anyone else think of other aspects of the library profession that could be outsourced? And how is this going to change the dynamic and structure of the library as a physical space? I imagine outsourcing would implement some drastic changes, but I'm curious to find out what other people think that might look like!

Joined Twitter, Have Yet to Tweet

So, I joined Twitter this weekend and found my previous assumptions about the site to be (mostly) disproved! I'm pleasantly surprised. I always (incorrectly) assumed that Twitter was just a platform for people to write random information about themselves and their personal lives (which is a hefty assumption, I know), but after reading about Twitter for class and now joining it, I see that it's a lot more than that. Twitter is, as with many other social media sites, exactly what you make of it. And so far, it seems as though I've made it my personal news resource. Upon joining I decided to follow the feeds of: the White House, CNN, NPR, American Lib. Assoc., BBC World News, United Nations (how cool is that?!), NY Times, Kathryn Budig (my favorite yogi) and... Lady Gaga (don't judge me, I love her). After showing my sister that I'd joined Twitter, she insisted that I also follow Rev Run (she's heard that he tweets some really great stuff--and he kinda does!).... so basically this has resulted in my Twitter feed being a random assortment of world news, how much Lady Gaga loves her fans, and pop culture updates (Adele won album of the year at the Grammy's tonight, which I couldn't watch because our TV's rabbit ears only get us 3 channels and CBS isn't one of them)! To be honest, with such a lack of access to some of the news I'd typically watch on TV, it was nice to be able to read quick blurb updates on the news via Twitter. And because I chose who to follow, I was able to filter out those sources that I don't necessarily want to hear from (although I do question if this will lead me to some type of news tunnel vision?).

My next step is to actually post or "tweet" something... I suppose I can really say anything I want, as I only have a few random strangers following me instead of any people I actually know (what's with that? They've gotta be spammers or something, right?).

Now that I've gone on a bit about my newly positive feelings towards Twitter, does anyone have any suggestions or advice for a newbie like me?

What Dr. Seuss Books Were Really About

A library friend of mine recently shared a picture on Facebook (in which she tagged me) of several Dr. Seuss titles and their "true meanings." Since the picture was shared via a popular social media site and after tracking down its source, I found that it was originally published 11 months ago on a site called BuzzFeed ("the hottest, most social content on the web"), I figured it was a pretty legitimate posting for class, considering all the social media connections! Check it out!

Crap Detection Article is a Must Share

Although I consider myself to be relatively well-skilled in the arena of search engine crap detection, I find myself often worried about my mother when she surfs the world wide web.  My mother is very intelligent, but it's just that she's not very internet-friendly... she loses her patience (with me, not the internet) quite quickly. She knows how to check email, a few random news, financial, and online shopping sites, and Facebook (which she recently gave up on because she found it "too intrusive" [but can you blame her?])... but that's about as far as she goes. I've constantly tried to teach her how to differentiate between sites that are legitimate between those that aren't, and we both always end up frustrated when she asks "but why is this one better than that one?" and I can only answer with reasoning that doesn't make much sense to her. Before I was even done reading Crap Detection 101, I had already sent the link to my mother in an email. I'm sure it's something I'll be passing onto even more people/patrons/family members/friends in the future!

Pros and Cons of Social Media

As I was reading through MediaShift's various blurbs from different social media experts about the pros and cons of social media, I found myself agreeing in some way with (almost) every expert. I wouldn't say I'm on the fence about whether or not social media resources are good or bad for our culture, economy, intelligence, etc., but rather that, as with any issue, there are positives and negatives no matter which social media user's patterns you observe.

As an example, I'll admit that I find myself quite often using social media sites as a jumpoff  point when learning about something. This isn't to say that Facebook is where I go to get my news--if I'm seeking news, I typically go for the printed and online versions of credible news sources like my local newspapers and national and international newspapers and magazines. However, social media sites are where I often find myself learning about something I wasn't previously aware of, if I haven't seen it on television news or learned of it by word of mouth already. Once I am made aware of the situation via social media, I then seek out more reliable and credible sources so I can begin to form an educated knowledge of the story or blurb. In the end, social media hasn't dumbed me down one bit, in fact, it's oftentimes made me seek out more credible information so I can teach myself a few things.

Just a few minutes ago, I read an article that a friend posted on Facebook (alongside the link was her opinion on the issue) that really got me fired up (because I disagreed with her opinion about it)... so I went to a couple news sites to widen my knowledge of the subject and I felt better, more informed and relieved to discover that the link she chose to post was highly influenced by her religious beliefs rather than journalistic credibility (but I didn't respond either openly or privately on Facebook... she tends to be argumentative at times and I don't use Facebook as a forum for such heated disagreements!). I think this is a great example of social media [indirectly] facilitating information hunting!

Those who use social media as their steadfast go-to source for information may have been the very people who wouldn't be reading the news anyway if social media sites did not exist. But hey, even if some people are getting their information strictly from social media, it's better than the alternative of not having any information at all... sometimes.

NoveList is a Novel Idea

When I'm working at any of the public desks at my library, my go-to database for helping patrons find their next book is NoveList. I cannot stress how awesome this resource is (at least for discovering adult, YA and children's fiction)! Although it has a lot of the same basic information available as Amazon.com, I find it much more reliable and useful. NoveList's reading suggestions are almost always spot on and they pack in a lot of helpful information in a pleasing-to-the-eye and easy to navigate interface.

To check it out, click here! (If you aren't a North Kingstown Free Library card holder, but you are a RI resident, go to www.askri.org and click on the EBSCO link.) Let me know what you think!

Social Media: Enabling Users to Only Trust Eachother

I found the above YouTube video on social media to be interesting, overwhelming and inundated with facts that I've lately suspected to be true but have yet to find confirmation of their truth (that would be quite a research job!). Yet with the internet becoming such a fantastic facilitator of free information, it's hard to know where to turn to discover valid sources. According to the below video, people generally trust user recommendations much more than they do advertisements--but what does this mean for social media? Will there someday be a review page for social media pages? And then a review page for the review pages? Will it never end?! Perhaps I've gotten carried away, but so much readily available information simply makes me think about what the end result will be (or just what the social media scene will look like five, ten or fifteen years from now... can we even begin to imagine it?).

Regardless, my point is this: people trusting user recommendations much more than they do advertising is not a new thing! It's simply that the internet makes it easier for users to connect and share their opinions. Social media is a giant facilitator and the world wide web is its stage. Think of the possibilities!

Lastly, on an unrelated note (but still related to the video), I found the tidbit interesting about the U.S. Department of Education study revealing that students taking online courses significantly outperformed those receiving face to face instruction. Is anyone else as surprised as I am about this? What are your thoughts?

Hello Hello

So far I've had a lot of fun creating my blog... I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs throughout the semester!

Maggie