23 Things Continued

Check out my 23 Things blog:

Budding Technogeek

Pushing Myself Along (Oh, and Transforming Our Image, too)

I typically get turned on to books through written reviews (especially on GoodReads) more than anything else, including tv or ads or book trailers or whatever. Usually, only if a book trailer is SUPER cool and/or innovative do I end up seeing it (and that's because it makes it onto several of my favorite, often non-library-related blogs). Sometimes I think they're neat publicity tools and then sometimes I wonder if they're not...I don't know...I don't like the ones which use an iTunes feel or a lot of animation or too much wackiness to sell a book because...well, books are great for letting kids make pictures in their head, decide characters' voices on their own, fill in the gaps with their imaginations.

That last sentence was definitely one of my worst ever. Anyway, are any of us gonna take Shelley up on her dare to make our own book trailer? Could we do a better one for Pete the Cat than the one on Mr. Schu's site? Surely one of us owns and can play a guitar, right?

OH GEEZ, Anne, that Questions of the Heart post made me cry. At my desk. Thanks a lot. (P.S. I'm also a "Digital Collaborator.")

I'm also a bit dubious about webinars--I always think they're just going to be PowerPoint-like, and impersonal--but I'm trying one out later this month: "Transforming Our Image." ALA is producing it, so here's hoping it will be quality. And useful. Just checked out Library Webinars (I love a good index) and Firefox crashed when I tried to open a webcast from Mt. Everest.

I mentioned this in a recent department meeting, but the only thing I would change about our Tech Adventure wouldn't be a change--just an addition: I'd love to talk more about the units face-to-face!

Finito!

My favorite library related video is on Vimeo. It is called Questions of the Heart. My nephews love any Chad Vader or Lego clips on YouTube. They also like the OK Go’s Rube Goldberg Machine Music Video. My boyfriend finds Eliijah Wood’s guest appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba funny where he is doing the Puppet Master. He also likes Auto-Tune the News and The Viral Video Film School.

I took the quiz and I’m a Digital Collaborator, meaning I am confident in my ability to manage digital devices and information. I’m glad I took the opportunity to learn about these new technologies, many of them I had only heard about and had not taken the time to try myself. Now, I feel like I could teach people how to use these tech tools. It was beneficial reading other people’s posts and getting a sense of their usefulness (pros and cons).

I’d like to go back and check out some of the CCBC’s shorts in order to be able to recommend more books this summer. I’m also leaning towards buying a Kindle if all goes well with the negotiations between Amazon and Overdrive.

Shelley - Thanks for all of your hard work! Additionally, you have been great about offering assistance when it has been needed.

And then I just ran out of time

I've been putting this one off. Not because I don't think all these things are important (I do!) but because I've never had a satisfying wiki experience. There, I've said it. They usually come off well-intentioned and often quite useful, but only for an fixed moment in time and then eventually fall off. I know this doesn't have to be the case, but...

I am a FB fan of OPPL and have often thought that we could promote a page specifically for Children's. Announce events, etc. ("Sign up starts today for the Baby Derby!")

Getting better about using GoodReads and keeping it updated, but like everyone else, don't buy enough books anymore to really find LT as useful.

Tech Adventures: Final Week!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you guys! We are finally in the last week of Tech Adventures.

We got behind with the extra week for eReaders and I'd hate to have this run into May and SRP busy season. So this week, make note of the different things here to explore at your leisure (or spare moments) in the future. Use your blog post to discuss any of these you've looked at, anything you missed talking about in past units, and/or to sum up your thoughts of the entire program.

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Webinar: A webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar shown online - often a cheap alternative, and easy to attend from your desk. Publishers offer webinars to show off upcoming books, ALA recently had a graphics tutorial, and Syracuse offered gaming class on YouTube – free to anyone, or pay to get credit and additional lecture/discussion. Some are live, others archived for downloading whenever you have time.

Here are some webinar archives:
CCBC Shorts
Downloadable from Nebraska
TechSoup Archive

You can also see what is coming up for library topic webinars. Find something interesting and listen to some of it. Would you attend another?

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Video hosting: YouTube is obviously the most popular platform, but there are other options. You can browse around at Vimeo and Veoh to see how they all compare, and share others that you’ve used.

The Library has an account with YouTube and Rebecca wants to start uploading program highlights. There are a few up right now. Other libraries upload tours, storytimes, collection highlights, etc. How can we use it?

St Paul tour
YouMedia ad
RCPL Storytime
Addison Public Library Children's Dept Tour

These can also be done as audio only podcasts.

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Book Trailer: These can be basic or these can rival what you see in movie theaters, but they all try to drum up interest in a book. Sort of a book talk on steroids. Here are some cool ones:
Shiver
Mockingjay
Hush Hush
100 Cupboards
Mr. Schu finds and makes good ones, as well.

Are there others you like? Link ‘em.

Try to make your own book trailer or podcast. We have the software you need on the iMac: iMovie or GarageBand. Use stock photos and videos, and royalty free music. Or use the Flip camera from the IT Tool Kit to make your own visuals. Or use XtraNormal - that’s what ATS used to make their printing adventures video for staff day. There are many options, so have fun! This is also something that JVs might like to do. We can upload them to the Library's YouTube site and also display them on our site.

Public Domain Images and Media, for teachers, librarians and students
Wikimedia Commons
Royalty Free Sound Effects
Open Music Archive

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Don’t forget to do your final blog. What are some of your favorite videos? (Professional development or just plain fun.) What did you like learning about the most over this whole project? What do you think you’ll want to use in the future? Here's a quiz for you: What kind of digital user are you?

Thanks for participating!

Wiki is just so fun to say

Wiki, wiki, wiki! See what I mean? Anyway, I enjoyed exploring the wiki but I'm still not sure when I would use a blog vs. a wiki. What do you think the pros and cons are of each in comparison with each other? A wiki seems like a google doc just with more widgets. I couldn't find Jenny's pet page for a while, so I'm not sure how to navigate very well. Still, I like the concept of a group created web site. Maybe our patrons could also contribute to the wiki we create? Most of the wikis I had seen before were boring, text-based documents and so I'm glad to see some color and photos on ours!

I agree that the library twitter account is going well, but personally, I just can't get into Twitter very much probably because I'm very long winded, and I don't like word counts! Also, I get confused about where the thread starts/ends sometimes. It's like having a conversation on a cell phone, on a train. In a tunnel. I do like facebook a lot and I agree with SH that OPPL could and should be doing a LOT more with it. It's important for us to remember that whereas the kids aren't on there (at least not until they turn 13), the parents are using facebook like crazy.

Good Reads is wonderful, and I love reading other people's reviews, but I am always feeling guilty about not keeping up with my own posts. I'm a lurker. I also don't buy that many new books any more now that I get everything so easily from the library, so while Library Thing is interesting, I wouldn't use it that much.

OPPL 2.0

Wikis
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At first, I had trouble linking my pages in OPPLkids. With help from Shelley, I was able to figure it out. I didn’t realize how easy it is to create a wiki and that you can add so many different features, like slideshows, calendars, etc.

My favorite wiki is Wikitravel. It is great for tips on how to Get In, Get Around, See, Do, etc. when you need travel information quickly.

Twitter
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I had my own Twitter account for a little while. When I had it, I tweeted for a conference and I texted updates through my phone. I tried to post things that were relevant keeping in mind that my audience had a wide variety of interests. I don’t follow anyone regularly, but I’ve looked at some of TIME’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds.

Facebook
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Facebook makes it so easy to connect with people. I use the private messages the most since it is helpful when you are making plans with multiple people. I also like that I don't have to update friends, family, etc.'s contact information, like their email addresses, when you can simply communicate through the network. On a occasion, I'll use the chat function to send people links when we are on the phone. I've found Facebook great for sharing and viewing pictures since you don’t have to have accounts with the same photosharing site. I'm, however, tempted to delete my wall altogether because now when I send out a status up-date I’m sending it to so many different people, my mom, college friends, professors, the list goes on... Similar to Twitter, it is hard to figure out your audience.

GoodReads.com
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I use it to keep track of the books I have read for fun, my book club, storytimes, and literature classes. I peruse others reviews or look for books to add to my to-read "pile" I have been meaning to add tags and a bookshelf. I frequently search for books and use the covers for bibliographies and look to see if they have won any literary awards. Like Rory, I don't buy a lot of books in order to save $, space, and the environment, so Librarything does not make sense for me either.

Wiki Fun

The exercise I liked the most for this unit was our Wiki. I created a Library Pets page with a picture of our favorite gerbil. I think the Wiki is easier to use than our blog. I also answered a Yahoo question, I think some people are trying to get out of their homework!

I created a Twitter account awhile ago to follow our favorite pigeon but then got cold feet when strangers started following me. I give myself Kudos for remembering my log in and password! I added the library and Bill Cosby to my list. I read an article in the Sun-Times about how he uses social media.

I also joined Good Reads so now all I have to do is read some books! I think the thing I'm afraid of most with Twitter, Good Reads and Facebook etc. is sounding witty, interesting and intelligent. Man, you could spend all day just reading your blogs and the links and writing concise smartly worded posts yourself!

Library uses? Twitter would be great to let people know of events or links to book trailers.
A wiki might be fun to post what was done in storytime and getting patrons to contribute reviews.

Socialites

I have to say, I find wikis very useful for content and such a pain to create. It just always feels awkward and I'm not sure why. Part of it is that you have to consider navigation as you create, I think - pages need to link to other pages as well as be linked from others, so there's a lot of editing involved, trying to figure out how it all slots together and what people will be looking for next. The benefits of a wiki is that with so many connections, you can pretty much follow a stream of consciousness to learn more information. (Best observed when you realize you've lost an hour going from wikipedia page to wikipedia page.)

Heather has talked about wanting to do a website with storytime song and rhyme videos, and I really like how this library uses their wiki to do that: Tell Me a Story. You can find songs easily through categories or alphabetic lists, and each song page has recommended similar songs as well as links to back to categories it belongs in.

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I adore twitter. So easy to keep up (provided you don't go overboard on followers), so easy to update. It's not for everyone, I understand, and it's easy to get lost in a sea of obnoxious updates. I have a mix of librarianship and friendship people listed and use it accordingly. This probably violates some twitter social rules, but I am too lazy to manage more than one account and no one has complained yet.

I love the creativity that the medium forces - it's hard to be witty and/or smart and/or interesting in 140 characters or less, especially consistently, but some people manage well. I only linked Betty, but all the Mad Men characters have accounts - during the season, they will chat back and forth, or hold parties, which is great. I also just learned that Clara Barton is "live" tweeting the Civil War, via the National Park Service. The first bullet was just fired on Fort Sumter 12 hours ago. Nifty.

It is also a very easy way to push information to people - I like hearing about events, sales, brand new books, etc straight from the brands without having to go hunting. I like being able to surprise people with book recommendations or answers to questions thrown out into the twittersphere. I can also choose to get text messages when certain accounts update, which can be very handy.

I think we have a nice balance on the OPPL account - there's three of us posting (me, Sharon and Monica, with Anne rejoining soon) - and we are able to push events, answer questions and just chat with our patrons, all of which is appreciated. Ten Ways Twitter Will Benefit Your Library sums it up pretty well. Also see: The four stages of understanding twitter.

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I think the article overstates the importance of having a Facebook, but since we do have one, I wish we used it better. It's missing the social aspect that our twitter has, and I agree with Rory that we need to engage the patrons who are there more. I think we could ask questions, share reviews, share links, solicit opinions, etc. Why didn't we post asking for snapshot quotes there? We're half-hearting it there, and it shows.

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One great thing about Library Thing is that it offers you recommendations based on the books you add and the tags you give it. There's also a quick link to Project Gutenberg, and it tells you if there's a copy available there without any clicking required. I like that a lot. I like the idea behind it quite a bit, but the thought of actually cataloguing my own collection is overwhelming. I'll stick with GR, which serves my purposes pretty well.

I do like the idea of using LT for book reviews/recommendations for patrons, though. In addition to the automatically generated recs, we could add our own read-alikes. I think it might work as a replacement for the staff recs page, which I generally forget exists. An LT widget on the home page would be neat.

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My best friend loves to go on Yahoo Answers and answer math questions (she's an accountant, and a geek). I hadn't tried it before, but I liked the idea as suggested at ILA. There is a books and authors section, and a homework help, which could be a good place to start. Like Rory, I haven't responded to any under the authority of a librarian, but maybe some day. I think it's a great way to remind people that librarians are there to help with any kind of question.

Always Wanting to Be First, I Am

It was really fun playing with our new department wiki. In the current context of both the brand new wiki and this blog...well, they feel like they could serve a lot of the same purposes. The wiki is more about organizing and sharing information that we might want to have saved, though, while a/our blog is more about "whoa, cool, check this out!"...anyway! The wiki's discussion feature would probably be better for dialoging with each other than keeping up with blog comments from each other, that's for sure.

I "improved" the wiki with some colors in the headers and added some images and made a new page, too [a page which wants your additions]. I wasn't quite sure what Shelley meant by making sure I link my new page, but I think I figured it out. I did wonder if, whether we kept this wiki up, if we'd want to all have a different login to keep track of who was changing/adding what? (I was looking at the "History" tab, see.)



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I'm fairly familiar with Twitter, so forgive me if I don't create a new account and connect with anyone (been there! done that!). I did check out all of Shelley's suggested accounts, though, and that was a lot of fun. It made me realize that, as a "lurker," I'm sometimes put off by Twitter streams with tons and tons of @ messages and inter-tweeting communication. Makes me feel like I have to pick through for original content, and that I'm not in on the conversation (because, well, I'm not). Does that make any sense?

I think OPPL's Twitter is pretty darn good (and, nope, I'm no longer contributing to it, so that's not a pat on my own back).

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I made sure to like OPPL's Facebook page, feeling a little doofy for not having done that before. And I love feed prompts listed in that Library Journal article that Shelley linked to. We should do a bit more "Hey, throw us back your take on this!" to our followers, I think. Put more "social" in our social media efforts.

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I'm a huge GoodReads fan and agree with Shelley's take that it's more about sharing and reviewing books than Library Thing's more personal, organizational set-up. I haven't ever actually signed up with Library Thing (because I tend NOT to own a lot of books), so I just did. Like I was supposed to. Good Rory.

I'm not going to be converted away from GoodReads, but I did like/prefer some things about Library Thing. Like that it asks you what your preferred source of cataloging info is? And included links to local book events? But mostly, Library Thing seemed a bit clunky and slow and...sorry...like something catalogers would like.

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Go answer something on Yahoo Answers, huh? With research? Um...that seems like a lot to ask at 5:05 pm. Am I learning enough and expanding my horizons enough if I just answer something FROM MY HEART? Seriously, I've always wondered how easy the interface was for responding to questions (or how, exactly, you find questions which need answered), so I did learn something! And I answered this (not admitting I was a librarian).

Tech Adventures Unit Five: Social Media

Unit five: Social 4/11-4/25

Wiki: A wiki is a collaborative website that multiple people can easily edit and contribute content for. The most famous wiki of all is, of course, Wikipedia. Usually wikis are smaller and more focused, though, like Library Success: A Best Practice Wiki or Child Lit Wiki.

The Library has a wiki: OPPL Sandbox. I created one for us, too: OPPL Kids.
Check your email for log-in access to OPPL Kids. (If you prefer the Sandbox, I can get you that info, too.)

Create a page, maybe for program you’ve done or a book you want to recommend, and edit someone else’s. Be sure that you link whatever page you create to another page – the home page, a hub page, etc. This is easy to do with the Link button. You can add photos using “file” and videos, slideshows, calendars, and a lot, lot more under “widget.”

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Twitter: This is a tool the Library uses pretty consistently, so everyone should have at least a passing knowledge of how it works. This is called microblogging – every post is no more than 140 characters. Some writers are better at condensing than others! It works like facebook (or an RSS reader) in that you add accounts to follow and they all appear on your feed. Create an account, connect to a few other users and make a few test posts.

Suggested accounts to check out:
Ours
Arapahoe Library District Storytimes
Mr. Schue, a fairly local children's librarian
Mel, an ALD Children's librarian with great storytime ideas
Updates from our favorite Awful Library Books site
Laura Ingalls updates on the Twittograph
Betty Francis tweets from 1965. (Best during Mad Men seasons)
Tweets of Old (one liners from 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century papers)
You can also look for authors like Judy Blume or Neil Gaiman.

Twitter slang:
Tweet: your <140 character long post Retweet: Click “retweet” on a tweet you want shared with your own followers. At: Put @ before someone’s user name to ensure they get notified you’re talking to them. @oakparklibrary You have the best children’s programming ever! Hash: Put # before a word or phrase to make it searchable. #saturdaylibrarian for example. The top ten talked about #s on twitter are called the trending topics. (SaturdayLibrarians never trends.)

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Facebook: Did you know that the Library has a Facebook fan page? Check out other library pages, too. Do you think we need one?

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Good Reads.com v. LibraryThing.com: Most of us have accounts on GoodReads, which can be a great reader’s advisory tool. Another option is Library Thing. While GoodReads focuses primarily on reviewing books, Library Thing is more about cataloging your own personal library. LTs tags are also used differently than “shelving” tags on GR.

Choose one of the above and create an account. Add/review a favorite childhood book, favorite book now and favorite of 2011. Which do you prefer?

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Bonus: Librarians at ILA talked about how they would go to Yahoo Answers and answer questions, making sure to point out they were librarians doing research to help. Give it a try!

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Don’t forget to make your unit post. Do you think we should step up or change our social media presence? How can we use these or similar tools in our department? Could we use a department Good Reads or Library Thing page to provide recommendations to patrons? Which tagging style do you prefer? District 200 is partnering with District 97 to create a wiki on research strategies and practices for kids, parents and teachers, as part of the Vertical Team. How could we use a wiki?

We don’t have a social media policy that I’m aware of: should we?

E books suck at 9 pm

Ok, I'm being honest here. I do love media on demand for audio books. The selection is awesome (thanks to SH), and downloading the software was super easy. However, my experience with e-books has been dismal. During the training, it took forever to download the software so I never really learned how to do it properly. Consequently, the night while I was trying to download an e-book to my teen daughter's iPod so that she could listen to it while she fell asleep, was a disaster. Was it the software? Was it my ineptitude? iTunes/Apple's proprietary nonsense, or what??! Needless to say, I'm an e-book fail. I also don't like reading them on tiny screens. At all.

I do, however, really like the iPad and the dedicated readers, probably because they have bigger screens and seem more "book like". They all seem pretty much the same to me, although I wish they offered e-ink like the Kindle. Frugal me wants to ask which one is the cheapest?

As for databases, I agree with Rory about the American history videos. I got sucked into that one for quite a while just to browse around and I think kids might like some of it. Grolier's Online Passport had links to newspapers all over the world, which I think could be very useful for homework assignments. Mango is great for older kids and adults, but I still think the language learning materials we have down here are best for kids under the age of 9. I agree with everyone that Novelist is always full of good surprises, and World Book is a quick and easy go-to source. I still don't like InfoBits--it's way too outdated and lightweight but Lands and Peoples will be especially useful for the SRP.

Complete Idiot's Guide to EReaders

I need this book! I did manage to download one book on one device. Hallelujah!

I also found Sanborn maps cumbersome to use, I had to zoom in and try and make out which map to scroll to. I did manage to find my Mom's house which looks remarkably the same and the library which doesn't! I also like Novelist for finding similiar books and also those pesky lexile levels. When going through the books I've chosen for the 3rd grade list I used our own catalog to read the reviews. As an exercise for myself I looked up magazine articles that were cited in a biography I printed out for a young patron. I found them using Proquest but they were just abstracts and not full text. Too long ago for poor Dominque Dawes. It would be fun to give kids a database challenge this summer using Lands & People or World Book. I couldn't find a really good trivia game on either site though.

Yer Highness?

Despite my tardiness, I have been exploring the databases. I swear!
I too have wrestled with Sangborn maps and I've brushed up on my Italian w/ Mango.
In fact, five minutes ago a patron came to the desk looking for information about Dick Bruna and I showed her the "Books and Authors" database.
I had a really good time exploring the Historical Chicago Tribune, where I found this article about my Nazi-hating grandfather, and after reading this one, I think you should all be referring to me as "Lady Jennifer" or something. I advise you commoners to consult Gennie regarding the proper Norwegian way in which to address me henceforth.
As for the devices-- I am happy to report that my e-book of Chime is now ready for pickup. I'm going to attempt to read it on my i-phone, but confess to being worried about bringing it into the bathtub...

databasin'

I admit to not using the databases as often as I probably should. This is mainly due to the typical reactions of kids when I've suggested we consult a database. However, I should probably adopt more missionary zeal (like GG) and cheerlead kids into using them.
Having said that, after messing around with Sanborn Maps for a while, I'm quite underwhelmed with its ease of use. No searching by address, or even street? Maybe that works with a smaller locale, but I got pretty frustrated searching for my house in Chicago.
On the other hand, I don't know why I keep forgetting about Novelist. Nearly every time I use it (for readalikes, age-appropriateness suggestions, and reviews), I'm happy I did. Intuitive and user-friendly, I think.
I've used Mango to try to scrape the rust off my Spanish, and I like it well enough. Simple enough to use, and lots of languages to choose from.
I got the chance to play with the e-readers in a training session with Ed and Eric (and Jenny B!) a week or 2 ago, and I liked them all, but for whatever reason I liked the ergonomics and functionality of the Sony the best.

Wave of the future!

I find that I'm showing patrons our databases at least once a week (or more if it's heavy project time) and recently wondered why more now than before. My conclusion was that it's me, not our offerings, so I guess I'm on board! I also enjoy explaining why we can do this even if the teacher specifically says "no internets," which usually involves me saying to the parents "do you remember the periodical index? This is what it is now. Trust me, your teacher will accept this... and if they don't, tell them to call us."

I find the Biography area of the adult online tools to be the best, because it has bio info, but also articles of interest about the subject. It's come in handy lately for Orville Redenbacher (not even in the bio dictionary!!), George Halas and even Ruby Bridges (not in the encyclopedia of notable African-Americans!?!) I like the layout of Info Bits for kids, but find it's often too elementary for any research project that would go beyond our stacks.

Cluing Patrons into What We Offer on OPPL.org

On the Study Page, I use World Book for Kids if a child is looking for a snippet of information fairly quickly. I’d rather rely on that than something from a Google Search. I like Mango Languages and have recommended it to adults that are learning a new language. I wonder if it children would find it as helpful since it doesn’t look like it is aimed at them. I am a fan of NoveList for author searches since it is easy to limit authors’ works by different age groups (Teens, Ages 9-12, Ages 0-8).

I liked being able to take a look at the E-books during the session last week, but I still left with a lot of questions. MOD is something I think I need to use on my own, especially so I am familiar with the different devices and how they connect. I’ve already answered several of my friends’ questions about our e-books as far as holds, returns, etc. and how that all works. I also have showed them how to use the catalog which I guess really isn't that intuitive. I like how UW-Madison Libraries they have all of their books, databases, journals, etc. made into one search engine on their homepage. As far as MOD, I’m not sure how we are going to be able to assist patrons if we can’t log into their accounts without their permission. I was also wondering how do we keep track of circulation statistics with MOD? It seems like something that Overdrive must do for us automatically, but can we see them?

I don’t have an e-reader, but now am slightly more interested in buying one, that is compatible with Overdrive for library school. It still seems like companies are still working out many of the kinks. Initially, I thought that having a phone, Itouch, and a laptop met my tech needs, like Shelley. I did some research for my dad when he bought his Ipad. He uses it a lot for travel, but not for work. It seems like technology is rapidly changing. Heck, we now have the Ipad 2 and Iphones 3Gs have come down a lot in price. As always, I feel like I have a lot of catch up to do! Thanks for all of the tidbits of information about different databases. I’ll have to take a closer look at the Adults page for ways to answer more reference questions and for my own use.

Data Chatter

We have such a looooooong list of databases available here, that sometimes it seems overwhelming when you need to find something. Most of them aren't terribly useful for us down here, but some are fun.

Sanborn maps is one of my favorites to play with. The downside is that once you've used it to find your house throughout the last hundred or so years, there's no need to go back and revisit. Searching for my parents' house was a bust, but I was able to find my building, which was built in 1926 and named Scoville Manors. My friend Michele grew up down in southern IL, and her family owned the local funeral parlor. So I also went to her town, and watched the family business move and grow, and that was pretty fun, too. It's clunky as all hell to use, but the information is at least useful and interesting.

Some of the classes in Universal Class are really good - I read through some of the photography text books and learned a lot. One of the recommended texts for the Babysitting 101 class is an American Girl nonfiction book, so this might be a good resource for tweens getting ready to sit on their own.

Kidwise, I think the WorldBook databases are pretty comprehensive and easy to use. Grolier is also great, but currently unavailable remotely. (Eric is working to fix that.)

I've had the Overdrive Console loaded on my work computer since we got the new ones, and I've used it in the past, but now it's only playing mp3 audiobooks and not the wma format. (Sadly for me, the Doctor Who titles are wma.) It probably just needs an update, or maybe Windows Media does, which is only problematic here where I need IT to do all that for me.

I'm not totally sold on the idea of a dedicated eReader for myself, since Stanza on my Touch works so well, but I liked being able to play with the Nooks and Sony. I like how fast the Nook Color moves, but I don't like the screen or needing to swipe to turn the page. The black and white Nook has a similar eInk format that a Kindle has, which is excellent for reading, and has perfectly placed buttons for turning pages, but each page refreshed SO SLOWLY OMG. It took a few seconds, and for part of that, both the old page and new page are overlaid on top of each other. It's a mess. The Sony had similar refreshing issues, although less slow, and the buttons were very awkwardly placed. I'll stick with the iTouch for now.

I was really, really surprised to see how easy it is to download anything from MOD and move it to any of these devices. When I tried it in grad school, it was horribly clunky, but they've really made some good strides. It really was as simple as drag and drop and go. (Okay, that's after you've installed all the software, which is still an annoyance.) Still, I think it'll be worth downloading the Console to my home computer and putting the audiobooks on my iPod, instead of just using the Overdrive app on my iTouch. (Which is super easy to use but, like my work computer, can only load mp3 audios.)

Databasics

Looking through our kids' databases I was reminded/made aware that:

• it's good to look through our databases...because it's easy to forget what we've got, even without the annual updates!
• during African-American HistoryMonth, I should definitely show patrons the African-American History Online database when they ask for relatively obscure bios.
• LearningExpressLibrary and Tutor.com both have older elementary math and reading reviews/preps, though neither really put things like worksheets front and center.
• World Book Online for Kids has a very short article entitled "Animals Have Babies." Now I'm dying for a kid to ask me whether or not animals have babies...and whether I can prove it.
• the Gale student Resources In Context is amazing for helping older kids with projects on "big issues."

Looking through our adult databases I was reminded/made aware that:

• though we offer access to the more-and-more popular Ancestry.com, it's only available here at the Library.
• the American History In Video db is the most splendid thing EVER. A mix of contemporary, documentary, and vintage films all about America. As far as I can tell, most of the videos come with transcripts, but I especially love the soundless ones from the turn of the last century, like this one.
• INFOTRAC is a big deal/portal.
• Oh, yeah! We've got access to Consumer Reports. So cool.

Finally, I tried to download the Overdrive Media Console to my work PC figuring it'd be easy peasy...but so far I can't get around the "you can't download nuthin'" rules for these PCs. I'll ask Shelley or Curt if it's possible. Looking forward to the technology petting zoo Shelley's bringing us next week! [I wish I could have put in on my personal Kindle, but Amazon is a harsh mistress.]

Unit Three Adventures

I'm glad we're doing this, even if I can't seem to remember my login name and password for google reader. If I don't at least try new technologies I'll just get farther and farther behind. I don't see alot of people besides staff contributing to the the teen website. Maybe teens are too self conscious? I wonder how Amazon does it? I used to bookmark alot of websites so I liked Delicious. I'd love to see a library wide calender including both library sponsored and private events listed, so maybe Google docs could accomplish that. I can also see it for things like what supplies to order, what to buy for Storystop etc. I'd like to do a pre Harry Potter event called Bookopoly so here's my list of goofy activities so far!