Survey says....Weboltion was a success! #23 FINISHED!

I do enjoy these exercises. I think they're very helpful and necessary in order to be more aware of the opportunities the web gives us for being even better at finding and sharing information.

Lots of creativity among coworkers and some very distinctive voices too!

Thank you, ladies, for expanding our web horizons.

Un hombre en Baja, Mexcio

Well, Mark's off to work a checkpoint at the Baja 1,000. This year he's just helping, but next year he'll race it himself-and I'll be there helping. If you've ever had a desire to check out Baja, here's your chance: we're looking for pit crew members!

Blogs we like #22 Completed

Nancy and Cari, thanks for sharing a few of your favorites. I can see myself using both Tablespotting (maybe just to drool over since I'm not much on cooking) and Makeuseof.

I don't follow these regularly, but have found a few that appeal to my interests:

Knitting:
Yarn Harlot

Life in Mexico:
The Mija Chronicles
Mexican Trailrunner

Yoga:
Daily Cup of Yoga

Photo Editing with Picnik #21 Completed

Found this Colorado Sunset photo and thought I'd brighten the rainbow and try to sharpen the mountains:


This is actually the original which, in this case, might be the better of the two:

Government Websites #20 Completed

As ominous as the title sounds, these were actually very helpful and, for the most part, well organized sites.

After trying several times to view my home on the assessors site, I saw the note about "reviewing the data entry standards" (when in doubt, read the directions!). It's amazing what correct data entry can yield. Saw the aeriel view, what the property is worth and my assessed taxes for the year (ouch!).

I checked out the Department List/Motor Vehicles/Branch Locations because an OM resident told me there was a DMV branch at the fairgrounds, and he was right! That's convenient and something that I am frequently asked about.

On the state site I looked at the Unemployment Insurance Benefits; something that many people seem to be checking on these days. I could see using the Find a Driver License Office too.

I didn't know about Ben's Guide to the Government for kids and think that could be very helpful for basic information.

Trying Zamzar Again #18 Truly Completed!

If this works, you should see some video of my husband racing. He first gets out of the way of a Trophy Truck which can go up to 120 mph in the desert. Check out seconds .42-1:10 to see Mark's VW Racing Bug: Tortuga.

Wiki Scavenger Hunt #19 Completed

Total score of 100%! The clues were helpful, thanks!

Tiny URL/ Zamzar #18 Completed (as much as I was able)

Winter's coming, but I'm still gardening in my soul. Consequently I looked up the perennials at Bookcliff Gardens and got this URL:

(http://www.bookcliffgardens.com/catalog1.htm#perennials)

Plugging it into Tiny URL resulted in this:
http://tinyurl.com/ygawovz.

I have often received URLs from others (even in library emails) that were too long and not always apparent; using Tiny URLs would curtail that problem!

Zamzar
Unfortunately, I'm not having much success with Zamzar and there's no one here to ask about it. I did successfully download a video to my email address, but got an error message twice after waiting 10 minutes or so for it to download to my blog. Not sure exactly where I went wrong, but am bummed. Wanted to share a few seconds of my husband's race that is actually included as part of a full-length video that a friend of ours shot professionally.

Library Professional Sites #17 Completed

WOW! What a great collection. While I was familiar with many of them (PLA, WebJunction, Library Job Postings, 100 Best and CLiC), others were entirely new. Lots to explore here. I did delve into the 100 Best which reminded me that I'd better try to remember the password for the Blogger account I set up; many of these blogs are on my account that I've not kept up with in a LONG time.

I enjoyed exploring the Resource Shelf, which had everything from library legal issues to a few more eclectic topics: 100 Hilarious College Courses that Really Exist and A New Online Guide to Hearing Aids.

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki was organized similar to our staff Wiki, so I found it easy to navigate, but was disappointed with the Programming (esp. for kids & teens) section which had only one success story and no real "new" ideas. The Readers' Advisory area did contain a lot of helpful information not only about starting a book club, but also how to chose books, talk about them and Writing Reviews for Open WorldCat! I will probably use both of these sites (in addition to a few others) in the future.

Open Source & Open Office #16 Completed

I had not used Open Office before although I was aware of it and other open source software. It seems very MS Word savvy; the only thing I found different was that I couldn't insert photos from a clip art source like MS Word.

As for what I think of how the use and/or promotion of open source software aligns with core tenets of the library profession-it seems directly related as it is available to EVERYONE (with computer access) WITHOUT CHARGE. It is free access--One of the best things (and great "selling points") about the library!

Clipmarks is Confusing! #15 Attempted

Okay, I must be missing something. After watching the super short video, signing up for an account and clipping a few things on a site, I gave it a heading, previewed it and accepted it. NADA has appeared on my blog. Tried a second site, clipped one photo only, signed in to my Google account and then got an entirely blank screen. While the video made this seem "oh-so-easy," I'll agree with the Lieberrycop that this was not so straightforward.

As I do not have time to delve into this any further, I will have to check with others tomorrow (if time permits) and find out what vital step I have overlooked.

Great idea if I can only get it to work!

NetLibrary #14 Completed

Checked out both OverDrive and NetLibrary. Downloaded the NetLibrary Media Center and browsed Mystery and Suspense. Chose Mistletoe Man by Susan Albert Wittig and thought I downloaded it to the computer. It did start to play but then I got an odd message saying that there was an unexpected error. Will try again at home with my ipod later.

It did seem much easier to use than before and were it not for the mysterious unexpected error, it would have been a very smooth transition.

Free and Legal Downloadable Music #13 Completed

I was impressed with the variety each of these sites offer.

Soundsnap was fun:
Water lapping on an ocean in Mexico (sigh!)
Thunderclap
Cartoon "boing" or spring jumper (great for invalid items!)
Wood gate creaking (creepy Halloween sound)

I think having distinctive sounds for different circulation functions might make checking items in and out easier. Perhaps something different for invalid items and/or notes about what a particular item contains.

Amie St I liked that you could import pandora and lastfm lists. Listened to Headlights and Chiaroscuro.

Artist Server I didn't like much. Thought it was overwhelming with clutter and not intuitive. Chose Classical/Woodwinds and ended up with vocal music in a foreign tongue (nice, but not what I thought I would get).

CC Mixter was probably my favorite. I checked out the podcasts: Mixin' in the Kitchen 7 featured songs about breath such as Hold your Breath. I especially liked their A Cappellas option. Listened to Day by Day by mykle anthony. Will probably spend more time here.

NoveList-My Constant Companion #12 Completed

I sing NoveList's praises almost on a daily basis. This is probably the database that most surprises patrons who bring in lists of authors and titles but don't know "which came first" or those who have just discovered a new author and wonder what else they may have written. Searching by series has also been a popular request and with authors such as Karen Kingsbury, NoveList's arrangements by series is a major time saver. Patrons are impressed when I print them a list from which we can order titles and many actually keep them and bring them in the next time they visit so we can keep track of what they've read, what's on order and what's next.

One patron loves Stephen King and after exhausting all my ideas, we went to NoveList's Author Read-alikes where we came up with Neil Gaiman with whom I was not familiar. This is a terrific resource and I frequently encourage patrons to explore it!

Author Resources-Something to Bookmark! #11 Completed

I had not heard of the Book Report Network before, and believe that I'll use this frequently when helping patrons. Great biographies of authors, and the Books into Movies is good for letting people know what's coming up/out when.

Faithful Reader seemed misleading to me as I expected it to be a place for Inspirational titles, but most that I looked at were Historical Romances.

I would have to say that for myself, I'd be most likely to use the Reading Group Guides both for book clubs and for booksellers and librarians. I'm just a book club kinda gal.

Looking at the Biography Resource Center, I decided to check out a new writer I'm reading: Dorothea Benton Frank whose novels are set in South Carolina's lowcountry; a place my sister has visited on many vacations. Having grown up along the east coast "shore," I enjoy the descriptions of the beaches and the homes and lives lives along the water. Something that surprised me about this author is that she was "A one-time fashion buyer who traveled the globe in search of haute couture."

A Major Dose of Reality!

I have decided to work on my webolution as a means of trying to ignore what is happening in my home.....

After a wonderful vacation, I am now dealing with a flooded kitchen and living room. The carpet is torn up, 3 industrial fans are going ALL WEEKEND, baseboards have been removed and holes drilled into the wall in hopes of drying it out, the refrigerator is in the middle of the kitchen and the entertainment center is in the middle of the family room. Water is still seeping out from under the tile and has finally dried where it seeped through our foundation and down the driveway. I am waiting to hear back from someone who MAY be able to disassemble and remove our wood burning stove under which there is sopping wet carpet no one can yet get to, and STILL have not had anyone from the insurance company come out to look at the damage.

Mark is away so it was I who shopvacced all the water up before anyone came and used my steam cleaner to mop up as much as I could from the carpeting. Why do these things seem to happen when he's gone?

The upside is, I could have been gone with him and then it would have been 3 DAYS instead of overnight that the water ran.

I am no longer a happy camper.

Anyone for Coldstone Creamery???

EBSCO: I use it all the time! #10 Completed

Health conscious friends have been telling me I need a Vita-Mix blender after I just bought a WalMart cheap one a few months ago and have already had one broken part. Consequently, I thought this a grand opportunity to check out Consumer Reports on Blenders. While Vita-Mix had the highest rating at 85%, there was a Braun blender that was touted as the "best buy." At $400+, the jury's still out as to whether or not I'll be a Vita-Mix groupie.


Checked on Samuel Clemens after looking at the Book Lush's photo (which reminded me of SC). Interestingly enough, nothing came up under Clemens, Samuel but only when I changed to Mark Twain. Found some fun tidbits: (Penny might know this) He got his pilot's license in 1859. Was also challenged to a duel by a rival newspaper man and escaped to San Francisco rather than illegally participating in the duel.

There were 12 Biographies, and 246 Magazine and News articles on Mark Twain.

Weebly Wobbles (but it don't fall down)! #9

Okay, I'm sharing this one with reluctance. Had no idea what to do with a website; have no use for one at this point. But I played around and had some fun with it. I started with Google since I already had an account, but decided I liked the templates at Weebly better (besides I don't want Google to think they've got a monopoly going).

And, yes, I know my grammar isn't correct in the title. Some of us will get the reference and understand!

Creative Commons is Cool! #8 Completed

Wow! This is a terrific site. Great for library workers-no risk of copyright infringement. I'm likin' this a lot!

I wasn't very creative in my searches, but tried Google images and Flickr looking for photos of flowers and beaches. Then tried Blip.TV with the generic search of Music Videos and got interrupted. Searched jamendo for "light rock" and came up with an interesting variety. I liked Kaliedoscope's "Strange Lights" which was classified as: pop folk strange spiritual lights!


Put in audio books and was pleased to see a reference to LibriVox a site with 1,500 public domain titles that I was introduced to while studying. I can see this being a valuable site to know and will have to play with it a bit more to get comfortable using it.

Readers Rock! #7 Completed

I'd already explored LibraryThing and Shelfari for school, so was pretty familiar with them. Had also used LitLovers when looking for discussion questions for Kiva book club, but hadn't taken a close look at it until now. Goodreads and AllReaders were both new to me. These strike me as "fun" sites to keep track of my reading (and that of others) when I have extra time but not something I'm likely to keep up with.

LitLovers appeals most to me. I like the LitCourses they offer,the reading guides, discussion tips (how to lead a book club), and the book club menus! We've often prepared foods that mirror what we're reading in my personal book club, so this is a helpful resource. This is a site I'll really use both professionally and personally.

I'd like to see something like Boulder's GoodReads page accompany our own blog and yes, I would be willing to contribute!

Libraries are for Users! #6 Completed

Without them, we're out of business!

I found the "sure signs that you work in a public library" on the Ohio site to be spot on. Information from the 2008 Digital Future Project Report was not surprising, but rather provided confirmation of what we already know: patrons use computers and many come to the library to use computers/stay connected with their communities (family, friends, business)!

They also mentioned that: "Public libraries have been known to offer toys, tools, or art for circulation..." I have heard of libraries loaning cake pans. What if we loaned some of the board games we have?

I find that it's both easy and difficult giving patrons what they want. Easy if they TELL you (which they often do!), but often they just kind of "expect" the library to come up with events and programs. It's then a challenge to find the right day/time combination that will get them to attend!

I found these to be a great place to "review" how best to serve our patrons and how to listen to what they want.

I liked that the orientation started with talking about the library's mission and its overall importance to everything the library does and is. MCPLD has been very aware of this while working on our strategic plan, but I think every library needs to keep that at the forefront of all they are doing in their communities. I took my title from the "users" section which so very much reminds us that without our library users we have no purpose.

Customer Service 123 did a good job of defining the customer and what they want. Both sites also mentioned the statistics of "happy" vs "disappointed" customers and how devastating it can be to libraries who have unhappy patrons.


These are helpful sites to review!

Spontaneity: a video

Listening to Sue Hanson yesterday brought this to mind.

I came across this video a few weeks ago and while the action is not spontaneous, it APPEARS so to those who "experience" it. I thought it a good example of "having fun." Watch people's reactions...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. (I couldn't get the video to download onto my blog, but hopefully the link will work!)

Libraries are for Users! #6 Completed!

Without them, we're out of business!

I found the "sure signs that you work in a public library" on the Ohio site to be spot on. Information from the 2008 Digital Future Project Report was not surprising, but rather provided confirmation of what we already know: patrons use computers and many come to the library to use computers/stay connected with their communities (family, friends, business)!

They also mentioned that: "Public libraries have been known to offer toys, tools, or art for circulation..." I have heard of libraries loaning cake pans. What if we loaned some of the board games we have?

I find that it's both easy and difficult giving patrons what they want. Easy if they TELL you (which they often do!), but often they just kind of "expect" the library to come up with events and programs. It's then a challenge to find the right day/time combination that will get them to attend!

These are helpful sites to review!

OPAC Holds #5 Completed

I tried both methods from home although I hadn't used the Book Bag method for holds before. With practice, I imagine that would be just as easy to use. If you normally pick up all your materials at one location, I feel the first option is fine. Did not know about the "View" and "Public Display" option that Betsey mentioned and had fun playing around with that too.

Let's face it-like it or not, Facebook is BIG! #4 Completed

Explored Coca Cola and while I like a nice cold bottle (or can) of coke, I'm not likely to visit their site again; a waste of time if ever there was one. I have checked out CAL, ALA and PLA and found good information there (voted on the pins for next year's Summer Library Program). I do think it's important to know about Facebook, My Space and LinkedIn since so many of our patrons use these networks; they expect us to have some familiarity with them.

I also see the value in connecting with family and friends, sharing photos and whatnot, but cannot see having friends numbering in the hundreds....too much chattering for me. Nice to keep in touch with friends out of the state and in other countries (though China is now blocking Facebook).

A Treasure Trove! #3 Completed@100%

Fairly easy to find all the information, however I thought it might be appropriate for the book store hours to be listed under "For Readers" too. I was embarrassed that I didn't know we were now offering IM Chat with Meebo, but glad to see it.

Pandora and Last FM #2 Completed

Pandora I've known about for a long time and have several playlists. I like the variety of their choices and the layout of their page. I'm also a big Greek Mythology fan, so find the name very appropriate.

I'd not heard of Last FM, so had fun playing around here. Did find some glitches. I typed in Accapella and while it did come up with a group by that name, it was not acknowledged as a type of music. I was impressed that it did find Kitaro and from there found other musicians/groups (such as Karunesh) of whom I was unaware. I particularly liked Zen Breakfast. If you like Celtic music, check out Medwyn Goodall.

And the beat goes on...#1 Completed

Nice to be blogging again! It was interesting trying to guess who everyone was. Here's to more technological exploring with Webolution 3.0!

P.S. Can anyone name the artist associated with the title above?