Thing #23 - Summary of thoughts on program

I thought that the 23 Things program was one of the - if not the - most useful Lifelong Learning opportunities that I have completed since leaving graduate school. It is also a necessary part of continuing education that propels a career onward and upward. Not having awareness of the aspects of most of the 23 things would be a major detriment to a successful career in the library world.

This was also very valuable to me personally, as I have touched upon many of the 23 things before but never in a structured way that allowed me to learn the how-to and why. It has been a terrific experience and one that I would highly recommend.

Thank you Ellen & Jim for all of your hard work and time expended.

Thing #22 - Downloadable audiobooks

I created an account with Overdrive, after months and months of discussing this collection in our department meetings. I was surprised at how many titles had a waiting list associated with them, particularly those not on conventional bestseller lists. I noticed a lot of self-improvement titles were checked out. Of course, this is a consortium of libraries throughout Maryland, so the likelihood of someone somewhere checking out the item is higher than just within Baltimore County.

I looked over the young adult titles and had always heard good things about the audio version of the M. T. Anderson book titled Feed. I placed a hold on it and hope to listen to it when it becomes available.

Thing #21 - Podcasts

Podcasts, in their short existence, have somewhat baffled me. While I understand the value in hearing expanded information from established personalities, or unedited, unvetted broadcasts about well-known or niche interests, there has been a nagging thought about them. Who has the time to listen? Given that, I realize that there is and will continue to be fragmentation of what product our society views and listens.

I think I will stick to niche interest rather than hearing more and more from someone I've probably already heard enough from. I've always wanted to travel to Japan, so I have added the Japan Explorer podcast to my Bloglines feed.

Thing #20 - YouTube

There are so many things to watch on YouTube - old TV performances you'd never think you'd see again; Novak Djokovic singing I Will Survive; covers of tunes you thought you were the only person who remembered them; art installations; clips of football games ranging from NFL to PeeWee; and so very much more. I can kill hours and hours watching and commenting (TKinBaltimore is my login) on these videos. I haven't gotten into looking at it for current events and political information, as I think I get enough of that from other sources. I prefer YouTube to entertain me!

One cover I have watched a number of times is Luc Perkins doing the Innocence Mission's July, voice and acoustic guitar. It's one of my favorite songs and I was impressed with his version of it.

Thing #19 - Web 2.0 Awards list

I looked at the City Guides & Reviews winners, including yelp.com and judysbook.com. Both were very interesting, and yelp would be even better for Baltimore if there was more input by users. Which is a critical issue for a number of sites; the content must exist to maintain a robust, useful site. Judysbook suffered from a similar problem; additionally, it did not recognize Baltimore zip codes, but I found the content on Baltimore businesses when I typed in the words Baltimore, MD.

Thing #18 - Online Productivity Tools

I have used Google Docs and Spreadsheets on numerous occasions. The Great Books Consortium is currently using Google Spreadsheets to keep track of what books each age group is reading, which books have been dropped from and kept on the list(s). I also use Google Docs at home, as my laptop doesn't have the MS Office suite loaded on it.

The one major failing I've noticed with Google Spreadsheets is the inability to edit within a cell. Until that feature is improved, I will be using MS Excel for most of my work-related spreadsheet needs.

Thing #17 - Learning 2.0 Sandbox Wiki

I used Ellen's modified directions to get my blog on the Sandbox Wiki. It's amazing to see how many people have contributed. I'm hopeful that this will propel Maryland librarians to a better understanding of the tools of Library 2.0, and that most of them have not looked upon this as a chore rather than a learning and bettering opportunity.

Thing #16 - Wikis

I looked at a number of the wikis suggested in Thing #16

I liked the way the Oregon library's Library 2.0 page was organized. Everything at a glance is both aesthetically pleasing and useful for learning. No scrolling is a good thing :-)

I've used and contributed to the libsuccess wiki, in the Gaming section. The BCPL collection is included in the section of libraries circulating games, and I've received a number of emails looking for further information due to our collection being referenced there.

I didn't care for the Princeton PL's BookLoversWiki. Perhaps with more time it will be more fleshed out. It was unclear who was reviewing the books, and for Malcolm Gladwell's Blink to receive a 2-star review on a library's page needs very obvious clarification to viewers.

The Bull Run Library wiki is an interesting way to communicate, but again, aesthetics are a problem. The header is muddy, and the white space and bullet points going down the left side quickly bored me.

The ability to edit in a wiki is clearly the most important. I have edited numerous Wikipedia entries for spelling and grammar issues that I couldn't pass unchecked. I've also removed subjective material from entries on Wikipedia. I find Wikipedia immensely useful and a great addition to online research, but when I put my librarian hat on, I feel the need to separate fact from opinion.

Thing #15 - Perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0

The YouTube video by Michael Wesch is astounding. It should be required viewing for... everyone. The comments by Rick Anderson were very thought-provoking from a collection point-of-view. Michael Stephens and I have never really been on the same page, and I feel about the same about our viewpoints after reading his essay. Generally, I feel that much of the Library 2.0 cheerleaders have terrific theoretical concepts, but in practice the majority of changes and attitudinal shifts will come, maybe just not as fast as they want or expect.

Thing #14 - Technorati

Looking over the most popular blogs on Technorati, I was not terribly surprised by those on the list -- money making, technology, and the ubiquitous Boing Boing. What I found surprising was the wide range of top searches. Some were expected, like Eva Longoria and the Zune, but others included words and people I don't even know, in addition to rape - a highly unexpected top search term. Learning 2.0 was one of the top searches, too, which made me chuckle.

Claiming my blog was a little more trying, and I will attempt to do this again as time permits.

The numbers varied considerably about Learning 2.0 between a general search on Technorati and doing a search on which blogs included that tag (far fewer).

Thing #9 - MERLIN & other library related blogs

MERLIN is an interesting compilation of personal, librarian, and "organizational" input. I thought it could be a little overwhelming to the technophobe, though I don't have any obvious solutions. Taking it in small bites (via a Bloglines feed, for example) would most likely lessen some of the "check this out... and this! and this!" feel that a first-time viewer might have.

I added a couple other library-related blogs to my Bloglines, including my friend Louise's.

Thing #8 - RSS/Newsreader Bloglines

I really enjoyed this "Thing". Collating a lot of my interests (animals, dogs, sports, books) in one place makes me very excited. I will be interested in making a better, more cataloged list as I continue to work on this past the Oct 3 deadline. I was having a hard time figuring out how to find the public Bloglines URL, so I will attempt to get back to that at another time.

Thing #2 - Pointers from lifelong learners

I found the information in the PLCMC tutorial to be very useful for starting a new learning plan. The most difficult of the habits is viewing problems as challenges. As an example, for various reasons, my ability to cook has always been limited. In the past, I have always fabricated excuses as to why I could not. Now I am willing to find solutions to these problems and put together a toolbox of time, recipes, food, and cooking utensils that will allow me to finally make a meal. On the other hand, the easiest habits for me are teaching and mentoring others, and of course, playing!