Michael Hedges

I had listed Michael Hedges as one of my favorite artists so here is a sampling of his work. He sadly passed away in late 1997 in a car accident - really a loss of a great artist and a great man. There is a fund set up for his children through his webpage Nomad Land
He was such a treasure and shared so much - I posted this too because of the wonders of YouTube which allows performances to be shared - very hard to locate them otherwise.

Week 7: Wikis

I completed Thing #16 by reviewing the various Wiki links provided and found some interesting and some a little boring. The layout seems to be more basic and less flashy - so I guess I compare them to web pages even though they are different in how they gain content. I like the idea of patrons/people being able to add content but would have some concerns about deletions or malicious usage. But - to be focus on the positive - it can be a wonderful way to allow patrons (thinking of library land here) to create content and comment on things of interest.

I really liked the Charlotte and Mecklenburg Counties Library Wiki on "core Competencies". They do so much there that is just cool. The page was clearly created and organized. The content was helpful and of interest. The WIKI on Library Success was also of interest to me personally. I really enjoy the idea of this running dialogue between staff and their library - where they can comment and have an arena to share ideas as well as successes. Princeton's Public Library was also nice with the Book Lovers Wiki - I thought of HCPL's Blog-A-Book where we have this concept in place now.

I found the ALA Wiki with New Orleans to be loaded with content but it was too much for me to scan. Almost information overload and I did not like the presentation of the Wiki. The information was helpful and would be of use to conference attendees but it just did not click for me.

As for library applications - I think libraries could use Wiki's in many diverse and interesting ways. Providing updates on programs, comments from patrons on library programs we offer or they would like to see, computer DIY courses for patrons, tips on doing library research, book comments and reviews, guides for teachers to databases and information for students. It seems like there could be many avenues to explore.

To complete Thing #17 - I went and played in the Sandbox Wiki and posted my blog to the list. Here is a link to the small posting I did to just get a feel for the process - not very exciting but it will be fun to go back and improve upon it. I thought it was really easy to create the content and post it - very friendly to use.
Novel Ideas Wiki

Week 6: Technorati & 2.0 thoughts

Worked with Technorati and things went well.
Technorati Profile
In looking at the top searches I recognized some - (eg) YouTube - but there were some I have never seen before. So it could be interesting to see what people are looking at. Often though, I find my interests do not match the most popular searches - which is preferable to me because I honestly do not care about Fergie or Paris Hilton. I thought the list of top blogs was curious. The tags made sense in browsing.

I would agree that the Library 2.0 concept would involve a mindset change in how we approach library services for our patrons. Libraries and their staff, in my opinion, are a diverse group of people to begin with so this is very beneficial in that their varied experiences as well as approaches to challenges would be very broad. This is wonderful for us because we become fluid and adaptive to change. By adding the technology element then we have another means of increasing the quality and level of service we provide. I loved the video clip for "The Machine is Us/ing Us" - a lot to think about and such a great presentation technique. How we are shaping and being shaped in turn.

Dr. Schultz's To a temporary place in time...was interesting to see how she projects things may move with libraries. The idea of collecting librarians and their thoughts as opposed to books themselves. Who knows how we will evolve? Mr. Stephens post is also interesting to me - the user-centered library practice. A little more down-to-earth touch with tech and its applications. I find it all very exciting to think about the future of libraries.

Week 6: Tagging

I began this week with task #13 and used Del.icio.us. The tutorials were helpful and gave a nice introduction - this is all new to me with this week's work. Most of the terms I have heard in passing but never explored or used their services. It is always good to learn some new things.

I worked around in Del.icio.us with the topic of customer service - which has always been of great interest to me. I think this is because so often I find that customer service is marginal at best and it makes an impression on me when it is exceptional. I found some interesting blogs and web pages - I did create an account - very easy to do. It was interesting to see how many people had saved this as reference points. I can appreciate how Del.icio.us can be beneficial as a way to retrieve "favorites" from anywhere but I can see applications in research that are useful too. Good ideas and resources for direct usage applications and also for presentations.