Thing 8

Yowza, this is fun! Bright colors, lots of choices for frames and graphics...wish the pictures were bigger so you could see how cute Kayla is! (She is my great niece, 21 this week and studying in Heidelberg for a semester). This could be fun for book talking or bragging about the wonderful things going on at your library.

Thing 7

E-mail is a mixed blessing. Sometimes I'll get a quick response when I need it, sometimes my e-mail gets lost in the shuffle and I have to send and re-send my questions, comments, concerns. Sometimes, it is just easier (and faster) to pick up the phone.
I've done some answering of questions on our "Ask A Librarian" service and have really mixed reactions to that, too. For a straightforward question, it is great. When a customer is frustrated or angry or simply unable to clearly describe what is wanted, it is really difficult. It is hard to soothe someone without your voice, body language, etc.
IM is so foreign to me. I do not understand the language. I do not understand the need for immediacy.
I watched part of the Library 2.0 webinar on MINITEX. It is hard to listen to a disembodied voice and see only the powerpoint presentation. I found my attention wandering and my body resenting sitting in an uncomfortable desk chair. I do like that the webinars are available, some of them looked quite interesting.

back to the trading card idea

LaVonne, one of my coworkers who is in charge of an adult reading program, and I were kicking around ideas on Saturday for how to use some of the things we're learning here. I suggested making recommended reading trading cards for her adult program. I made up a sample with the book cover as the picture, the text was a one sentence tease about the story and a one sentence review/reaction from the reader. It looked really nice (sorry I didn't save it because the quality of the photo wasn't good) and would be a nice add-in to the sign-up packet adult readers get when they join the club. Reader's advisory is a favorite part of my job and I like the idea of using technology to spread the word. LaVonne suggested I use my blog to recommend books, make book lists, etc. and I will definitely look into that possibility when I've done all 23 things on a stick.

Thing 5

Wow! The perfect Christmas present: personalized jigsaw puzzles of favorite photographs. I stand in awe at what can be done with a computer if you have the inclination. Thank you to all of the talented people who share their efforts and talents and great ideas. It is fun...but so is fabric, pencils and paper, the creative mediums I like to use. I can't wait to show some of these things to some of the kids who come in my library...they could be actively involved in creating something--a nice break from playing computer games!

Whining again

I really don't like having to sign up for all of these accounts. I don't like having information out there--required fields are a nasty thing. If I don't want to put in the information, I shouldn't have to do it. Don't tell me about secure sites and all that, I am a private person and I don't like sharing my information.
I do like playing with Flickr and making the trading cards, etc.

More about Thing 4

This gorgeous carousel photo is by Dan Bears. The link is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7355435@N04/525309090

The playing card is fun to make up and there are endless possibilities of subjects. This is the first in my Place I Love series. Try it, you'll like it.

Another thing about Thing 4

Oops! I forgot the link. Let's hope this works!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430380046_561d142fd1_o.jpg

Thing 4

I feel like Dr. Seuss whenever I post because of all of these "things" I'm adding.
This was the most fun of all, so far. I had a fabulous time in Flickr looking up other people's views of the places I love the most in this world. The Five Sisters window in York Minster, or "the girls" as I call them, is my favorite spot in all of the world. To be exact, my favorite spot is the black floor tile under the arch of the bell tower, facing the window. I can (and have) stood for an hour at a time staring at the windows. But back to the business at hand, the directions were clear and I managed to get the picture into my blog on the first try. I am frantically patting myself on the back for this one. I loved looking at the pictures, enjoying the creativity of the photographers--great uses of time exposures, light, color, etc. This is definitely a web site I'll be looking in at on a regular basis. Plus I get a happy thrill sharing something I love so much with all of you who are checking in on my blog. Go to York--it is a delightful city!

Thing 3

With help from Donell, my cohort in children's services, I managed to sign up for Google Reader and some blogs. It's nice to know I'll be notified when the blogs are updated, but now I have to remember to check on my Google Reader account!!!! I had hoped that notifications would be sent to my email account, which I check regularly during the day, but no such luck.
I taught my second computer class today...and if you've ready my other postings, you know what an accomplishment that is! It was a computer basics class, attended my mainly seniors. I am surprised by now exhilirating it is, even fun. My skills are so basic but it is fun to show someone else the wonders (and there are many of them--I love the word processing programs) of a computer with others. I never thought working with adults could be so much fun but the people attending the classes are so interesting and so vibrant...hope I'm like that in my senior years!

thing 2

I just read about Web 2.0 and every fiber of my luddite soul is screaming yet I want to put a more positive spin on my response. I am a children's librarian and using technology just doesn't fit my perception of how I need (and want) to interact with my clientele. With my older readers, I think using technology would be fabulous but I work so much with little ones and person-to-person contact is more effective with them. I am the face of the library for so many kids and they are connected to the library and its services through me. An image of me on a computer just doesn't fill the bill. So I, officially, am going to wait and see. (And those of you who are avid advocates of Web 2.0, please be patient with the rest of us.)

the first thing

Some people (i.e., me) are being dragged kicking and screaming into new technology. Why can't the new technology have decent directions to make the process easier?