Olibravarian’s Weblog

Oh my. There are a lot of issues raised in the debates on Library 2.0. Among them are:

• the importance of studying and consulting our users
• intelligent implementation of technology
• keeping up with change & staying relevant in the face of “competition” from the Web

On one hand, I do find the trendiness of certain ideas within the library profession a little odd and off-putting. Do we really have to discuss the same things over and over again at every conference and on every blog? Maybe other fields are this way too? There does seem to be a certain level of desperation to the Library 2.0 thing.  I think someone called it a “life-preserver” on one of the blog posts, but now I can’t remember which. I really don’t think we need to be so fearful. Our jobs may change, but we’ll adapt. Libraries will change, but information is not going anywhere!

On the other hand, I can also see that this label, as Meredith Farkas calls it, can be useful in summing up some important themes that libraries are considering at this particular point in time. So in that way, it serves a purpose – to get us thinking about wider trends in the creation, organization, and consumption of information, and where we fit into all of that. It’s a good discussion to have.

So I signed up for Technorati account and “claimed” my blog. I looked at the widgets, but didn’t think there was much point in embedding something that shows how many blogs are linking to mine, considering that this is the message I see in WordPress: “This dashboard widget queries Google Blog Search so that when another blog links to your site it will show up here. It has found no incoming links… yet. It’s okay — there is no rush.” I like how comforting they are.

I am very wary of discovering new blogs to subscribe to since they already suck up a significant amount of time, so I tried not to look too closely. I did, however, find myself following a link to the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer. Technorati is a nice site, but it makes me feel a little info overload anxiety!

I took a look at the del.icio.us boatwright account, and within seconds, had added a new site to my own del.icio.us account using the tag “lifehacks.” The site, in case you’re interested, is The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1.

I have been thinking for awhile about adding del.icio.us links to my subject guides. That way, when I encounter a new website that would be useful for say, sociology research, I don’t have to go back and update my guide; I just tag it “sociology.” I had been holding off from doing this, since it seems that our undergrads are really not aware of del.icio.us (based on some small, informal surveys), but it’s probably worthwhile just for the sake of efficiency! I’d love to hear what others think.

Oh, I see that my “Wordle” finished loading while I was typing this.

I had some trouble will Rollyo. For example, it wasn’t allowing me to make it public for some reason? Also, I tried pasting in the code to embed a search box in my blog, but when I published the post, it removed most of the HTML. I’m not patient enough to toy with it for long, so it has to work the first time around!

I did like some of the other Rollyo searches I tried though.

This was fun! I really hadn’t played around with these tools much before, and I think they would be great for library outreach and marketing. I especially liked PhotoFunia and the Sign Generator, but the Flickr toys were cool too. Here’s one of my dog, Winston, created in PhotoFunia.

So I tried out some of the news feed search tools, and can report back that Technorati is best in my opinion. I couldn’t get the Feedster page to open, so that was out, and Syndic8.com was just too ugly to look at! Topix.net was all right, but Technorati just seems to offer a cleaner interface with more options.

Actually, I was also pretty happy with the Google Reader Discover page, although I have been avoiding it up until now for a reason. As i suspected, I did not escape without subscribing to yet another blog – thanks a lot!

What I like about RSS and newsreaders is the content delivery aspect – it comes to me, I don’t have to go to it. Also, it’s such a useful way to take a break from my work while still feeling productive! I started using feeds for work, but once I had a reader set up, I found myself adding so many personal interest feeds that they are now equal in number to my work-related ones.

I really like the new books feeds, except that I wish there were a way to drill down more narrowly. For instance, I would like to get a list of the new psychology books but not the new philosophy books. I’m guessing I can set that up individually, but I haven’t looked into it and am not sure if it would be worth the effort. I also think it’s a good idea to have a library news blog, like “What’s New,” but the blogs I follow most closely are those that post brief bits of news, links, etc. every day (or at least several times a week). I understand that we might run out of things to say, but I’d enjoy seeing more frequent posts on the library blog. Maybe if we had a team of contributers?

Hmm, I’m not coming up with any bright ideas right now for new and creative ways to incorporate RSS feeds into our library services, but it is Friday afternoon and I’m sleepy! I’ll have to come back to this one later…

First of all, Tag Galaxy is awesome!

My task for this post is to write about “anything technology related.” The first thing that springs to mind is a discussion that I had yesterday with a friend in the IT field (usability). I had mentioned to him the Technology Petting Zoo that we had recently, and he made the following controversial statement: “Oh, that is so typical of academia. You get paid to sit around playing video games. It’s all a bunch of ‘fluff’ that doesn’t actually result in a useful product or service” (I’m actually paraphrasing here). So my response was that “play” is in fact a very effective way to learn, and that the more we know and understand about popular technologies, the more we will know about the products that shape our users expectations. Furthermore, awareness of these tools allows us to make savvy choices in adopting new technologies that will make our work more efficient and effective. I don’t think my friend was convinced, but I was interested to see this argument, which I’ve come across many times in the blogosphere and professional publications, popping up in my own discussions.

Anyway, I’d love to hear others’ thoughts!

Let me just say that comments make a big difference (in reminding you that someone might actually be reading your blog)! Thanks to my colleagues who took the time to share their responses. Actually, I could have posted this as a comment as well, but I wanted to have something to write for Week 2, just so I could have a post for each week.

I think it’s a given that most people working in libraries are devoted lifelong learners. I have more trouble thinking of our students in this way. In my work with students as a reference/instruction librarian, I am most often helping them to develop skills for research tasks that are external requirements rather than self-directed, interest-driven learning. I suppose this will come in time, after they have completed the tasks and requirements necessary to earn their degrees, but it would be nice to see it more often within the context of their university experience.

It might be interesting to offer a “research after college” class for graduating seniors that focuses on information resources outside of academic libraries. However, I don’t have the impression it would be heavily attended! Seniors have more important concerns, like finding a job.