Thing #7

It was rather interesting to use the RSS feed finding tools. In the past I've just googled a topic and sometimes added the word "blog" to see what would happen. Or I've added random blogs from lists of blogs. I know I've seen some lists of blogs by librarians on some listservs before.

I've seen Topix come up a lot in Google searches when I have searched for local information. I don't see much use for it though because I already feel like I'm on news overload.

I found the "discovery" tool within google Reader to be limiting but the Google Blog Search was more comprehensive. You can even include dates in your search parameters and it indexed what seems like an endless number of individual blog posts. For finding feeds with it, I recommend doing an advanced search and searching for something "in the blog title".

Technorati featured too much advertising. It was on the sides but also in the middle of the page and that was a turn off.

Snydic8 seems like an interesting "from the ground up" approach since you can submit your feed for indexing and I liked seeing the stats on the approval status. But when I searched for "Cincinnati" it brought back only 88 results and most seemed like mainstream, commercial sources. Most of the results were from Topix. Some were from CitySearch. Others were from more established sites. Really I am not that into feeds that have huge followings or are from these larger sources. It seems too commercial for me. Though I did like how Snydic8 featured an overwhelming number of feed tags for different readers.

Here's what I added:

An Archivist's Miscellania

Archives Next

The Practical Archivist
The Pondering Archivist
The Video Archivist
Academic Librarian

I also formally added 2 blogs I already read from time to time that I have on my Firefox toolbar:

Library Link of the Day
Reflections from a Small College Library

Thing #6

Well, there is a lot to like with RSS feeds. It makes it easy to follow content on the web and I like it as a better alternative to saving everything into a browser's bookmarks folder. I have the worst habit of adding things to my bookmarks and then never accessing them again. "Oh, I'll want to look at this later" Oh no, I don't... You could even add a mostly static page to a newsreader so it's in a place where you know you can find it later. I also like the feature of being able to import and export from reader to reader. I want my personal collection of whatever, to be portable.

But I sort of feel bombarded with content on the newsreader. I don't like logging in and seeing a ton of bolded items signifying that I haven't read them. To me that sort of feels like a computer program has generated a to-do list for me. Sure, I gave it some guidelines but I guess I feel pressured to keep up with everything I add. I realize this is probably a time management issue or some type of psychological problem on my part, but I can't shake it.

I suppose I could group my feeds in a hierarchy with things I want to always read, things I sometimes want to check and things that I like but maybe don't want to follow constantly. And since it is fluid, I could always switch feeds in and out of the various categories based on what I have going on.

One superficial thing though. I don't like the looks of Bloglines. I like Google Reader better but I still prefer pages with more design and colors- something more like a Pageflakes page or iGoogle. I REALLY appreciate good design. I used to do layout and design in my undergrad days and I really like well designed websites that just look appealing. I don't need anything crazy looking like a teenager's Myspace page (okay, so that guy is a bit older than a teenager- here's another one) but I like customizing my colors and interface or I prefer to see how the author has designed the site. So I can't see myself actually reading in the newsreader. I'll still prefer to hit the actual site once I know new content has arrived.

Google Reader appeals to me because I am a heavy Google user. I use gmail, chat and of course their search engine. To me it just makes sense to log into Google and have all my content in one place. I also like how in the Google reader you can add tags to the feeds. Maybe you can do this in Bloglines or other readers but Google seems to make it very easy to do that.

On the topic of libraries....
Well, library blogs are a great way to inform your patrons about upcoming events or new items. Our director started up a blog on our college's intranet but as of now there is no way to subscribe to it and it is only viewable to staff and faculty, no students. Having an RSS feed might bring more regular users to your site since the content is pretty much delivered to them.

But the biggest way this could be used, at least here is the RSS integration in databases. Ebsco and Wilson Web (and probably others) have the option for you to subscribe to your search results list. Your reader will show you new material that fits your search criteria. This is a perfect way to keep up with an emerging topic. So many times students and faculty get only a few results when they search for something specific or timely. It would be great to teach them to use the RSS feed option so when new material on that topic is available, they can easily find it.

This is a great benefit because many patrons struggle with how to effectively search a database to begin with. We do a lot of one-on-one searching sessions with people on an as needed basis but I'm not sure they always retain what we have taught them. I'm afraid once you show them how to search once, some might forget or be intimated and not try to search again and therefore miss new literature in the future. This is perfect for faculty working on a ongoing research project or any other time someone wants to keep up on the current literature in the health care field.

Now I'm ready to make a tutorial on how to use the RSS feed option in the databases.

Thing #5

Instant messaging.

Background
I had never used the Internet until sometime in 2000 when some of my high school instructors started encouraging its use. But my poor, Catholic high school didn't have it on site so I went to the local public library often and used the computer there. The library blocked chat rooms and instant messengers so I didn't really use IM until the summer of 2000 when my parents broke down and got us dial up Internet at home.

I started on Yahoo because I liked a lot of the chat rooms there and the Yahoo game sites. Then I started using MSN messenger because it turned out that a lot of my friends had that. I then went to college and kept using MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger but met some people there who were using AIM. So naturally I got an AIM account as well. I found out about Trillian at some point and started using it to manage all of my chatting. I was a pretty intense IM user for the first few years. My interest sort of waned though and many of my regular friends I chatted with stopped using it as much. Now I rarely use it. I mostly just stick with Gmail chat to talk to my husband every now and again during the day. We've always chatted a lot because in the beginning we had a long distance relationship and all of our regular interaction was through IM as opposed to phone calls. And for the record, I'm not a person who uses text messages because of the cost. And I hate most abbreviated "net speak" phrases.

Pros
IM has a lot of advantages. It's easy to use once you start. I even got my dad into it when I went away to college. We would chat on MSN once a week and now he uses it to chat with one of his friends he doesn't see as much now that they are both retired.

It's much more dynamic than email. Chat is just like a conversation except you can't see and hear the other person. But it is faster and more interactive than email. Sometimes email becomes kind of awkward when you are trying to iron out something complicated. IM makes it easier to discuss detailed things.

Now that things like Trillian and Meebo exist the compatibility issues have pretty much ceased. It's now not as much of a hassle to have friends using different IM platforms. IM is even on cell phones now so you can still keep in touch on the go.

Cons
I can't really think of that many disadvantages anymore. Many of the programs now don't even have to be downloaded. You can chat from the browser so you don't have to install anything on your computer and that is a plus if you use multiple computers.

Perhaps the biggest issue would be teaching patrons and fellow staff to use it. If most of your libraries' patrons are older or not technologically inclined the interest may be limited. But even if your library has mostly older patrons I think trying it out on the site would be useful because maybe it would spark people's interest and willingness to learn it. Perhaps some patrons would find it impersonal, I'm not sure. Also, teaching library staff who have never IM'ed before might be a challenge. Here, our circulation and reference habits are pretty ingrained and I'm afraid some staff might feel that starting up an IM reference service might add to our workload when perhaps it would just reallocate some of the calls we currently get and maybe replace a few of the in person reference sessions.

Another basic concern would be having to keep an eye on it and not forget about it as phone calls and patrons roll in. If the person keeping tabs on your library's Meebo suddenly walks away and doesn't update their status, patrons could feel ignored or mislead by your online presence. I could see this as being a potential issue at a library when there are few staff members and one gets into doing something away from their desk when they are supposed to be manning the chat based reference. I frequently get called away from what I am doing with little notice or I end up trying to help 2 people at once when I'm the only one on duty, so I would have to be trained to remember to set my status to "be right back" on the Meebo client.

My library and IM
I had never heard of Meebo until a few months ago and now it seems it is on every academic library's webpage that I visit. I'm going to push to have it added to our website but that will be several months off because our site is heavily controlled by the web development company and they like to make every department's page very similar in design and layout and this just might break the mold but I think we can make a good case to have it added especially when our "competitors" have it on their sites.

I hope our patrons would use it. The traditional age students here are pretty saavy with things like Facebook and Myspace and chatting online. I work mostly at night and get a few reference calls here and there but I'm sure more people are at home or in the on campus housing using our resources. We do get the occasional question via our generic library email account. Few students come in at night so I'd be curious to see if we offered IM reference if people would take advantage of it from home because with Meebo they could "see" that we are around to help them. It could increase our visibility by showing on on site that a live person is around. They might know the library is open but not want to come in or even make the effort to call us. I will be more than happy to test drive the service for us in the evenings.

If I was a patron I'd probably use it if I had a question. I prefer email or written contact to phone contact so for a somewhat introverted soul like myself IM reference would be very useful.

Thing #4

Whew, that was an easy week...set up a blog and tell the commission about it.

Now I'm officially caught up again!

Thing #3

I've obviously created my blog so Thing #3 is now completed.

I have dabbled in blogs over the years but my use of them has always been more private and not so much for the whole world to read. I read a lot of people's personal blogs- people I don't know "in real life" and some other blogs as I find them on library topics, politics and anything else that catches my interest.

Thing #2

Well, I'm already behind in my 23 Things. So now I'm going to get caught up with Thing #2- Lifelong Learning.

"Lifelong Learning" reminds me of one of those buzzwords thats get thrown around. So far, I've spent the majority of my life in the throws of formal education. Ages 5-24 to be precise and really age 4 if you count preschool. I've always pursued other learning activities though of course. I have always been an avid fan of puzzles of all sorts.

The easiest of the 7 and a half habits for me is #6- Use Technology to your Advantage.

It's amazing how many tutorials on any subject imaginable are out there. If you need to figure out how to do something, chances are someone else out there has created a lesson on how to do it for everyone else like you who is struggling with the problem. Recently a faculty member asked me how she could embed a You Tube video into a Power Point presentation. I really had no clue as I don't make a lot of Power Points and because until recently You Tube was blocked at work, I had never a reason to attempt to embed one into a Power Point.

So, I googled this question and to my amusement found a You Tube video on "How to embed a You Tube video into a Power Point". See, a tutorial for everything. This faculty member couldn't believe I actually found an answer by performing a basic Google search.

The hardest of the habits is #1- Begin with the end in mind.

I'm notorious for starting things and never finishing them. Subconsciously I think setting a goal will somehow constrain me. I can visualize the end goal- I mean why else would I even start to pursue something? But it's determining the extent of something being finished that troubles me. What is a good end to something? There is always more that could be done.

Thing #1

I took some time yesterday to browse Stephen Abram's list of "43 Things I might want to do this year", from Information Outlook.

While the popular 43 Things site contains a broad range of "things" people want to accomplish, Abram's article is specifically focused on technology.

Most of the things on his list I'm already familiar with. I'll admit that I am of the Facebook generation and I first used Flickr several years ago. I'm typing this blog post through the Firefox browser. But a few items on his list of 43 things stumped me, such as"15. Get a PubSub account and start searching the future" and "23. Play with Blinkx and learn about searching TV shows, video and podcasts."

So if I "already know this stuff" then why am I spending time doing the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program? Well, even though I've been using these types of things in my personal life for years, I'm trying to figure out how libraries can use them. I've seen some good examples in the past but I always wonder if they will work here because of our library's size. Stay tuned.