playing with librarything

LibraryThing will be a fantastic way for the library to allow employees from other locations to search our recreational book list. Currently, we have a list of titles, but so many employees always complain about the lack of covers. LibraryThing solves that dilemma.

Missing

When has it become alright for friends to make plans with you and then cancel at the very last minute? I am trying not to be mad because I understand life happens. (Trust me. I understand that life does happen.) But. I am slightly upset. I had a bad day at work and was invited for some cheering up but declined because I had other plans made. Those plans, went kaput. They went kaput for a not very good reason. Instead of being around people and forgetting my stressful day, all I can seem to do is dwell on it. Days like today, make me miss living in the same city as my pre-La Crosse friends.

my thoughts on feed readers

Along with staying up-to-date on blogs and news, a feed reader is a good way to read professional articles. I have subscribed to the table of contents of several journals. As soon as the issue comes out, I am notified in my feed reader. I can scan the titles and then decided if the article is worth reading in its entirety. I love this option because I don't have to go out of my way to track down each new issue of all the journals looking for relevant articles.

all things flickr

I like to take pictures. I like to organize. I like the fact I get to do both with flickr. I have had a free flickr account for a couple of years, only recently purchasing a pro-account. I have enjoyed the ability to upload pictures to share with friends and family, instead of sending out multiple emails with pictures as attachments.

In a professional setting, I have used flickr to store photos of things I like or dislike in libraries. Instead of just having them in a folder on my computer, I am allowed to post the pictures, add descriptions and then garner feedback from my co-workers.

A few things I didn't know about flickr before taking this tutorial:

• guest passes can be issued for photos you want to keep private.


• use of a feed reader to stay on top of all the comments being made about your photos.

What can Technorati do for your library?

Prior to completing this lesson, I had no idea what Technorati was. I heard about it. I had a general idea of what it is. But not really sure what it was all about. Now that I do know, I am an avid fan. I am not sure I will use it for doing reference work, but I will use it to keep on top of the latest and greatest in the library world.

del.icio.us goodness

Del.icio.us is an easy tool to learn and start incorporating at work. It will save an information professional so much time. I appreciate the fact that I can save a link while at home or at work because you never know when you will come across a website that is worth bookmarking.

The best part about it, is the ability to share links with people in your network. No more clogging up people's inboxes with links to news articles, blog postings, or tutorials. It is also helpful to have attached tags, so when you are trying to answer a reference question, it is easier to know which websites to go to. I have saved many websites with medical images because these questions tend to come up again and again.

My only problem with using del.icio.us, as well as flickr, is coming up with appropriate and consistent tags. Some tags, I use the plural and other times I don't. Sometimes I add the date and other times I don't. What are the important aspects of a site or a picture worth tagging?

Why I chose Blogger

I like all things Google. Oh and I had a friend who had her blog through blogger. Plus, I really enjoy the ease of use, especially with uploading photos.

23 Things

I get to play with technology and learn new things through SLA's 23 Things. I will be using this blog to keep track of progress and thoughts I may have on the things that I learn. I am taking the lazy route and using the blog I already have, as opposed to creating a new one.

I have to admit, this might be the coolest thing SLA has done and well worth the membership fee.