Thing 23 - Summing Up

A training that was actually fun? I'd like more of these. I learned more than 23 things. Aside from the broken links, I thought this was put together very well. The "things" were easy to learn and easy to use. It also gave me an opportunity to look at the websites of other library systems and learn from what they're doing. I expect to be using some of these things regularly and now I have my blog as a reference.

Thing 22 - Downloadable Audiobooks

Downloadable audiobooks are an excellent resource for someone who can't get out to the library. Although, one would have to be fairly computer literate to navigate through Overdrive or NetLibrary and download the book or burn oneself a cd. The patrons in our library enjoy having access to the ebooks -- especially the Safari Tech books. There is a lot of information there.

Thing 21 - Podcasts

The links to the sites in this "thing" were all broken. I was able to find a library podcast on the website of the Philadelphia Free Library. They record their "meet the author" events and post them as podcasts on their website. Not the flashiest or most entertaining things on the block, but adequate.

Thing 20 - You Tube

Everyone loves You Tube. There are some videos on You Tube of John Mayer's (my favorite) entire concerts. I occasionally run across some really horrifying home videos of wannabes, but there is a lot of quality entertainment on You Tube.

Thing 19 - Award Winners

Ok, here's my chance to take a look at Delicious. The best thing about it is, of course, that you can view your bookmarks anywhere. A frequent request from patrons in our library is for very specific types of recipes that we're unable to find in cookbooks. Bookmarking unusual recipes or certain types of recipes would be useful for us. The ability to search the bookmarks of others is also a helpful tool.

Thing 18 - Google Docs

I think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread! No more "Why won't it open? I don't have that version. Oh, **!?$! that application is not on this computer and there are no other computers available in the workroom." We're finally all on the same page.

Thing 17 - Maryland Libraries Sandbox Wiki

The only link on this "thing" that is functional is the PB Wiki Tips, which seem pretty out of date. I did come across an interesting tech-talk site in my travels, though. www.makeuseof.com

Thing 16 - Wikis

The best practices wikis are especially interesting. There is one on dog behavior, Dog's Wiki, that is particularly good. A best practices wiki would be good for our library system. We could share between branches when we come up with a best practice -- on any aspect of our work -- that we might all benefit from knowing.

Thing 15 - The Future of Libraries

Will public access be guaranteed? What about the immigrant population? Will everyone have equal access to the most state-of-the-art applications and equipment?

I enjoy (and depend on) having information available to me at any time with just the click of my mouse. Instant communication is also great. But I, for one, will miss the day when I just kicked back in my armchair, with a paper copy of a good book and a Bailey's on the rocks, and took off into another world for hours and hours . . .

Thing 14 - Technorati and Tags

It's not surprising that of the top 100 blogs, most are about politics or celebrities. Some of the blogs were funny, but I didn't find much quality reading.

Unlucky Thing 13 - Tagging and not so Del.icio.us.com

Unlucky thing #13 is not available to me right now. None of the links are current. I enjoyed looking at the other public libraries' and community colleges' library websites, though. It was interesting to see how the pages are set up, what the different communities are doing and what their priorities are. San Mateo Library webpage opens to information about job seeking workshops and books about stress. I feel their pain. I will try to come back to bookmarks and tagging later and see if I have better luck.

Thing 12 - Rollyo

This is easy enough to do -- it's a 1 Search. What I wanted to do was create a roll of a number of different search engines, but you can't do that. I rolled together three area Humane Societies. This could be used if you've lost your pet.
www.rollyo.com/samspade09575

Thing 11 - LibraryThing

LibraryThing is very useful for reader's advisory. The list of books I think are the best ever is too long to remember. This is a place I could easily store that information. http://www.librarything.com/home/SamSpade09575

Thing 10a - Letter James Image Generator

This is a photograph from Letter James that I edited.

Thing 10b - Creating a 3D Avatar

This is the image I created of myself in meez.com. It was very easy to use -- just select and click. Some of the features cost money. My hair was $2.00, but since I am a new member, I got it free. I exported the image to my blog.

Thing 9 - Subscribe to MERLIN and View Other Feeds

The Feedster link seems to be broken.

Topix is very nice. The map with the you tube selections is great. This is as good or better than our local paper.

Syndic8 made me feel a little information overload. I can picture myself getting up in the morning, going to the computer, clicking on Syndic8, and the next time I look up, it's night.

The "blog directory by topic" section in Technorati is useful.

Thing 8 - RSS Feeds and Bloglines Newsreader Account

I set up a Bloglines newsreader account. I don't know how much I will use this because the homepage on my computer at home has a section where you can list sites you read every day, so all you have to do is click on them as soon as you log on.

Thing 7 - Anything Technology Related

I appreciate having the opportunity to learn any new technology. Until recently, I thought I would try to keep my life simple, but whenever I learn something more high tech, I love it! Sometimes I'm struggling to figure things out, but if I get stuck, I just ask my child for help.

Thing 6 - Flickr Mashups & 3rd Party Sites

I was most impressed by the "GMIF" application, which allows you to show on a map where the picture was taken. This is great for vacation photos.

Thing 5 - Flickr

I chose this picture to place on my blog. I used the image upload in blogger.

Thing 3 & 4 - Creating and Registering Blog

I didn't realize creating a blog was so easy -- nice templates, easy to edit, and even spell check!

Thing 1 & 2 - Introduction and Lifelong Learning

The easiest part of learning for me is to "begin with the end in mind." I always seem to know what I want to accomplish. Figuring out how to get there is the challenging part. The most useful trick I got from this "thing" was the one about viewing problems as challenges, rather than crises. I'll have to remember this as a substitute for hysteria.