Thing 7: So What's a Wiki??

I choose to look into the BookLoversWiki, http://booklovers.pbworks.com/Princeton%20Public%20Library,  which is sponsored by the public library in Princeton, NJ, and is in essence a peer review wiki.  BookLoversWiki features an index to the reviews and it is seperated out into different genres such as Westerns, Biographies, Autobiographies, etc.  This particular wiki was set up for a summer reading project and seems similar in nature to the 23 Things learning assignment that the PLCMC set up originally with prizes and gifts associated with the project.  What I found most interesting about this "thing" was the fact that it really created a community outreach of sorts, it got individuals reading, and sharing with others their experiences and thoughts of these books.

The actual uses of a Wiki in a library are numerous.  You can look at the PLCMC 23 Things site associated with this particular thing, http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com/2006/09/16-so-whats-in-wiki.html, and see that numerous other wiki's are listed.  I decided to explore the other ones listed just to get a feel for what other purposes the wiki's really served.  There were wiki's created for subject guides, which really is genius because it allows a library to keep constantly adding to and updating these guides and the BIG plus is you don't have to be trained in html.  Wikis created strictly for events, I guess you could equate it to a facebook event that has it's own site; and one library actually even uses a wiki as it's website which in today's economy is a great idea because we're such an internet driven society and so many libraries just don't have the budget to have someone who is trained in html keep up with an actual website. Overall a wiki can serve any purpose a library wants it to from communication with it's patrons about incoming books, and events to showing a patron where things might even be located.  Princeton's wiki was particularly cool because if after you read the review you were interested in the book you could just click on it and would give you the call number and all the info for where the book was located.  Basically the purposes for a wiki for a library are numerous and I've just named a few.  

Thing 6: A Thing about Library Thing

I set up an account through librarything.com and have to say I was instantly impressed.  I have only put 5 books in there but plan to put a lot more in there.  Library thing offers libraries the ability to basically create a catalog by putting in no more than a books ISBN number which is awesome; it's also a great tool for libraries to allow patrons to use because if you're looking for a book that is similar in nature to the book you clicked on simply just look right below the title and you will see a full list of books that are similar.  Library thing is so easy to use and set up that it would also be great for someone who has a home library.  It also allows individuals to post reviews about the book which could help someone in a library setting who is doing research decide whether or not the book is in fact as useful as it would seem.

I have a friend who is a rare book collector and he uses it to keep up with his collection, I feel that this points out that library thing serves a purpose not only to actual libraries but to people with personal libraries too. 


My librarything:
http://www.librarything.com/home/mcdunbar86

Thing 5: Playing around with Image Generators Part 2

Libraries and Librarians alike are always looking for ways to showcase new books or new technology, taking the books jacket and creating a generated image of it would make the book seem fun and exciting to patrons.  Also, as previously stated in the more flickr fun post, image generators are great ways to illustrate things to show patrons how to use computers or film readers.  If something has been modified to look better and more eye catching that's almost always a good thing!

Thing 5: Play Around with Image Generators Part 1

I have to say that this so far has been my favorite thing of my things (wow that was a lot of usage of the word thing).  I played around with BigHugeLabs, and have to say I was very impressed by it.  I had used things like image chef before, but this was really 1,000x's better! 

I played around with several different options before deciding that I really liked the framer option.  It's rather simple and just adds a cool edge to the photo.  See:

I took this photo when I went to Disneyland this summer for it's 55th anniversary. 

Thing 4: RSS Feeds & a Newsreader

RSS Feeds and Newsreaders really are something we should all use, their ability to put everything in one place is something really busy people dream of.  Until this assignment I was not familiar with or had I ever used an RSS feed.  Now the assignment did say to create your account through Bloglines, but I instead chose to go through google reader; I had read online that Bloglines was being phased out.  It really is a great thing. 

RSS Feeds and readers are something really great for libraries.  Libraries all over the world have have blogs with great ideas, and loads of information, but it's so hard for us to have to sit down and read every single blog in order to see those great ideas which is where something like google reader comes into play.  Websites can also have RSS feeds and so for libraries to keep up with the changing technology subscribing to a sites RSS feed and creating a reader account is really a top notch idea.  There are blogs and sites donated entirely to following what's going on in the world of Library and Information Science and by following those sites Librarians and Libraries can pick up on ideas. Using RSS feeds and readers really boil down to one thing for libraries getting new ideas for things without having to spend hours looking through sites and blogs.

Thing 2: Explore Flicker-Part 2

I found flickr to be a very useful tool for myself on a personal level, I liked the fact the you could set it up where people could be separated out into different categories allowing them to only see in particular photos.  Flickr would be very useful to libraries especially for publicity purposes and for staff.  For publicity purposes the library can upload all photographs to the site and separate them out into different folders for different events.  The library can set up their blog with a link to their flickr site which allows patrons to go and look at pictures of events.  It also the staff to have access to photos, instead of them just being on one computer's my pictures, which they can use for whatever purposes they might have. 

Thing 3: More Flickr Fun Part 2-Uses in a Library

When doing this particular "thing" I had difficulty seeing how its use served a purpose in a library, and am still struggling with it.  These mash up tools can't serve any other purpose than to illustrate things to patrons and staff alike.  Being able to show patrons particular things through illustrations can be very helpful.