Thing 13: Tagging

I love tagging. I know that there should be some set of agreed upon words to describe a thing, or a subject, but we as librarians need to get away from the antiquated versions of these. "Young Adults" or "Juvenile" anyone? How about my favorite pet peeve from our OPAC: "nonmusical sound recording"... perhaps you mean audiobook?

This is where my other pet peeve comes into play. It is almost impossible in a traditional OPAC to look up a genre. Or especially a subgenre. One place you can is at the Bedford Public Library because they have embraced library things tags and integrated them in the system.

For instance, when I look up Neuromancer, it gives me the regular subject headings, such as

Science fiction.
Hugo Award winner -- 1985.
Hugo Award winners.
Nebula Award winner -- 1984.
Nebula Award winners.

But it also gives me the option at the bottom to look up these tags

20th century artificial intelligence computers cyberpunk cyberspace dystopia Gibson Nebula
Award sci-fi science fiction sf sff speculative fiction virtual reality William Gibson

which I find much more useful if I am wanting more books like this.

Twitter 2

I just have to give props to Brent Spiner on Twitter. He was Data on Star Trek and I am not a HUGE star trek nerd but his tweets are almost like reading a story or sitcom or ... they are FUNNY.

Thing 12: Twitter

I started a twitter account a couple of months ago. My first tweet:

Playing with the iPhone and twitted10:02 PM Apr
2nd from mobile
web

The last time I heard about twitter? I guess that was in my car yesterday morning listening to 102.1 the edge and they said something about how they were on Twitter as they talked... I didn't try to look them up. [ed. I just did and I couldn't find it on their website so maybe I was wrong]. Diane Rehm from NPR does the same thing. The guys on MSNBC's Morning Joe do it too. And on NPR this morning they were talking about how the rest of the world is getting information out about Iran. You guessed it: Twitter...

My library is doing Twitter... we've got it posted on the front page http://twitter.com/ArlingtonTXLib. I'm not in charge of it but it looks interesting (I'm nominally "in charge" of the adult blog).

Thing 11: Instant Messaging

I used to instant message 9 years ago. I stopped doing it, partially because I only have one friend that still uses AIM (he won't get a facebook page). There was some point when it was cool to randomly chat with people that lived near you and I remember doing that was kind of fun... and I guess potentially dangerous as well even though I never tried to meet up with anyone. Our library is practicing with meebo and I really hope we start using it in a more publicized manner because I think that it would give people who either are shy on the phone or perhaps even our deaf patrons a way to communicate with us. I've used the facebook IM fairly recently as well as the Yahoo Messenger via Yahoo Mail.

Thing 10: Ning

From what I can tell about ning from an administrative standpoint, it would only be useful if you have a specific use for it. Arlington Reads tried to set one up for its volunteers to be able to connect and get useful information. You can see that there are sort of spammer joiners, which isn't helpful.

From a user standpoint, I don't see what the point of it is, unless I went to a website that I really liked and their community pages were on ning. For instance, Texas Prairie Farms updates the people that buy their produce on what is going on.

I don't think I will use this beyond this Thing, especially with their terms of service.

Thing 9: more Facebook

Organizational pages are interesting on facebook. Currently I am a fan of UNT Media Library, Texas, Target, Inappropriate Giggling, Mexican Food, Sarcasm!, Not being on fire, BORDERS BOOKS & MUSIC, Hugs, sleeping, Reading, NPR Marketplace, {Jane Austen}, Buddha, and Nine Inch Nails.

As you can see only5 of those could actually be considered an "organization" by any real standards. So should my library be right next to giggling or sarcasm? I think if it done right, absolutely yes. Because you are going where the people are. Borders does this really well. They have videos, free content, including recipes and free chapters of books. This makes me want to shop at Borders when I would really have gone to Barnes & Noble before. So why am I a fan of Borders and not B&N on facebook? It is because one of my friends was a fan and it suggested that I be a fan. That is the only reason I am a fan of any of these things because I wouldn't purposefully go out and look for Borders or Target. But there it was on one of my friends pages and one click added me. Simple. Easy. Viral Marketing.

Thing 8: Facebook

I migrated from Myspace to Facebook about a month ago. A couple of things I've noticed:

• Not all of my Myspace friends are on facebook. And it is almost exclusively those that have degrees vs. those that don't. Those that don't still use Myspace. My husband won't get a facebook account because of their terms of service.
• It is easier to use. Everything is in one place and I don't have to click to a million different terribly layed out pages to see what people are up to. Myspace tried to attempt this with the home screen, but they separate all of the categories which makes it confusing.
• Games on facebook are easier to do. But at the same time they are just about as annoying. I signed up for a bunch when I first started, but the only ones I am interested in continuing is a farmer game and a vampire game. The rest I could care less, but I'm still getting sweets or drinks or fish sent to me. *sigh* I feel if I opt out of them other people will get annoyed.
• I like the idea of being able to send links to people, especially since no one I know uses the sharing function on google reader or publicizes their delicious account.
• One thing I've noticed is you have to be really careful what you say regardless. Does your step-mother need to know where you went drinking or (as one of my facebook friends found out) your co-workers know you are looking for another job?

Thing 7: RSS feeds

In my last post I mentioned that I've had Google Reader for awhile now, but one thing occured to me in watching the Common Craft video (I LOVE their work)--why don't I subscribe to any non-blog RSS feeds. The answer is I'm not really sure... I just know that most of the time I don't need to know if a website has changed recently.

Although I like the idea of Snack Upon. You put in a delicious username and it brings a feed of different RSS content that person might like.

Thing 6: Blog Readers

I used to use bloglines last year, but migrated to Google when I realized just how more convenient Google is. It is really a one stop shop. Which is also kind of scary in its own way.







I have my blogs set up into distinct categories: librarian, culturetech, and kids. I am trying to separate my work from personal life in these distinctions, but it is hard. The only one I know isn't work is kids. In my culturetech folder I use many blog posts from the blogs I follow as inspiration. Or I find out things for work. In fact, from Lifehacker, I found a tip that cut down on the amount of blog posts I had to slog through. Now I show my blogs in list form instead of expanded, and with the categories don't have to click through to each single blog.

From your 46 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 771 items, starred 0 items, shared 30 items, and emailed 7 items.

So even though that seems like a lot, in reality I only read in between 20 and 30% of those 46 blogs (with the exception of Free Range Kids 100%!). When I am sharing an item, I've really only been doing that so I can remember to go back and read it in depth later.

Thing 5: Image Generators

Something my nine year old said to me yesterday: "Love is when you buy me sweet things." How sad and how cute at the same time. There is one of these that is potentially useful for libraries where you can make a READ poster. It is from ALA. This thing is really similar to the last one except this time the point is to create something that didn't exist before, instead of altering it. I like it.

Here's a question

I wonder how you delete a blog? I did a test one for work that I don't need anymore...

Thing 4: redux

I used to be so obsessed with my name that I had speakers of different languages write out what my name would be in their alphabet.

I'm digging this one too.

Thing 4: More Flickr

So I went ahead and uploaded some new pictures and tried to use the Big Huge Labs tools. One of them wasn't very web page friendly (it was gigantic when it put all my pics together). But I love this one. I chose to use my nine year olds photo since I've been kind of obsessed with the new baby and Ben should get his "props". This was back in 2007 at the zoo. That day I got a call from my temp library job asking if I could come in. But hanging out with him was way more important!

This was my first time using anything like this and while it is kind of cool, I don't know what use it would be for my library except to show other people how they can do cool stuff too. :)

Thing 3: Flickr

Its the next thing from North Texas 23 (that link is mainly for me).

I do have a flickr account, but I haven't updated it in over a year, with most of the photos I put up in 2007. I think that is a little strange. I take pictures all the time with my phone's camera (or I did until I got the iphone--I don't like the camera on it). I have a digital camera that will hold a jillion photos or 10 hours of movie. And to top it all off, I actually intended to minor in photography in college, so I even have a solid pre-digital background in photography. I guess the reason I stopped uploading the photos is because I didn't think anyone wanted to see them. If I do think someone wants to see them, I put them on facebook or myspace. I've uploaded TONS of photos to snapfish, with the sole purpose of getting them printed out at a Walgreens, but in order to share your photos there you have to email each individual person you want to see your photos.

One way that I've used flickr in my professional capacity is finding creative common licensed photos for use on fliers. It is hard to find interesting photos. I know I've seen the same Microsoft clipart on tons of libraries fliers. For instance, when I wanted to do an altered book program, there weren't any photos for that. So I went to flickr and found Teresa Stton, who has let people use her photos as long as they are attributed to her. Anyone interested in this should go to The Creative Commons part of flickr. It is amazing.

Thing 2

So I really don't think of web 2.0 as a separate idea set apart from what was originally the world wide web. I very much think that humans like to catalog and identify what is different and what is the same about different objects. Quantifying the new social networking as 2.0 is disengenous because the internet has always been about sharing. Are we doing it in a new way? I don't really think so.

I remember when I was 16 and on a BBS (bulletin board system). This was when most people were still not on the internet and you had to dial in to other people's computers to receive information. It was very unregulated and wild west-ish. There were different forums on different topics and I ended up sending a few emails back and forth with Bruce Sterling. I didn't know who he was at the time, but I've later learned that he's a pretty famous author in his own right (and from Austin, where I lived at the time). A couple of years later I emailed Maureen F. McHugh and received a response back (You can tell I like science fiction).

I will say that, especially in the world of science fiction writers, the internet blogging culture has given rise to the "in" authors: Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi, Charles Stross. I read a blog post that said the only reason these guys are nominated this year is because they have a cult of personality that follows them. I tend to agree even though I enjoy all of their writings.

My boss asked me why I would want to do 23 things since I do know about technology. I have always learned new technologies ad hoc and I think this might be a good way to break the cycle.

23 Things North Texas Style

Hello North Texas 23! My name is Melissa Jeffrey and I am currently the adult services librarian at the SW Branch of the Arlington Public Library. I have done teens, childrens and genealogy, but my position right now is just about the adults within a 2 mile radius of me. I am also on our web team here and I sent the link to this to people on my team.

Quiche

SO I've never made quiche before and never really had an interest too except that we don't have a lot of money so I've got to use what we've got. I read this book called the Flavor Bible that tells you what goes good with what. So when I looked up beets (gotta eat what you've got), I found boiled eggs. I ended up making Boston beets last week and they weren't terrible, so this week I am trying something new. I just feel like the kids don't get enough variety when it is nothing but chicken nuggets and hamburgers. Why don't we eat the same foods that people used to?

TechNet2008 presentation

I had a lot of fun at the TechNet 2008 conference sponsored by NTRLS

Genealogy for Patrons

Presented for NTRLS in April.

...an information revolution

As new librarians, I believe that we have a responsibility to our patrons to analyze the sources of information. But I also believe that we have this opportunity to be a part of something bigger than any library or any encyclopedia. Wikipedia is a good jumping-off point for further research, and for some research it would be the first place I go. How MANY times have I had a young child come in the library and want information on current wrestlers in the WWE? Plenty of times. And not being a fan of wrestling, I don’t know all of the people off the top of my head. But with a couple of clicks, I can pull up information on the whole history and make sure we have more up-to-date information than Hulk Hogan.

This also goes for more technical questions, video game questions, and knowledge that might not be in print.