Week 9 - Thing #23 - The End (not really)

You know, I actually had a hard time with this one, this essay of reflection, Thing #23, because it means that the training is coming to an end - not that I plan to retire all I've learned, but it means that the adventurous, new basics of the training are over, the new, excitement of looking at the next Thing. I guess you can see that I've really enjoyed this experience, and I do actually feel a deep appreciation for our library system, the fact that it's been so encouraging for us to join in and complete our 23 Things.

What did I like best? I know I enjoyed all of this, every exercise, and although a few took some real thought to work out the ins and outs, most were not hard. I'm not sure all of the Things are particularly useful, but I am very glad I know of each one of these Web 2.0 applications. I'd like to do more of this. I think RSS feeds and Del.icio.us have been my favorites and the ones I see the most practical use for in my everyday life. But then there is Rollyo and wikis (I refer to Wikipedia all the time), and Flickr, and I like the practicality of online applications, such as Google docs, and I found the YouTube experience really, really fun. So choosing a best, favorite experience is really hard, I suppose.

What can you do differently if you plan some more training? I'm not sure, but I do think a bit more explanation would help here and there. I had to fill in some gaps to figure out how to do some of these Things, but eventually, I got it. Nothing was too hard, but I guess the newness made for a few rough spots. So maybe a little more explanation would help here and there. Nevertheless, I think this was a very well organized exercise, and the emphasis on fun was very important, so that any anxiety we might feel would be lessened. Nice job, liaisons!

If you offered this again, would I sign up? You bet, without a second thought. Can we explore open source more? Would you explain the advantages or using Firefox as a browser? Can we take a closer look at tagging? I'm not so interested in avatars and the such, but I do think that whole area - the psychology behind it, the kind of longing or need people seem to have for a different (or not so different) identity - is a fascinating development in our time. I wonder where it will go, how far people will absorb themselves in their avatars. Can we learn more about social networking? So, yes, sign me up now for further training in Web 2.0 technologies, because there are lots more things/Things to learn.

I must admit that although I know completing the 23 Things does not really put me on the cutting edge, since much of this has been around for a while, but among my friends, I seem like a real expert. They are fascinated (well, maybe that is too strong a word) by my training and what I've learned. Hey, and listen, I'm not stopping here. I've enjoyed every moment of learning in this training. Do you think I'm going to let it all go to waste? No way. I use Del.icio.us probably every day, and my RSS feeds are very active.

As for a brief, coherent description, I'll give it a go:

This has been an adventure of sorts, an opportunity to delve into Web 2.0 technologies that I had heard of but had not had a chance to experience. And it was fun. I did not want the 23 Things to come to an end. Can we go on to those 43 Things mentioned earlier? I'm ready.

Week 7 - Thing #16 - Wikis

Wikis could have lots of uses for us in the library and the larger library community of users. For one, I think people, and I don't mean just library staff, creating their own subject categories for materials makes a lot of sense. I can also see group collaboration in many areas for library staff - planning for meetings and training workshops, organizing committee projects, preparing for conferences, the list goes on.

I particularly liked the Book Lovers Wiki fromPrincton Public Library, and thought it was a terrific idea. We already have Readers Place, which provides lots of opportunities for readers to submit their reviews of books, but our Readers Place coordinator has a certain amount of (necessary) editorial control over what is posted. I see the need for some control on a site such as that. But suppose beyond Readers Place, we also provided for an Amazon-like opportunity for people to write brief reviews, kind of snippets about books that they particularly liked. OK, so the reviews might not be masterpieces of writing, but neither are Amazon's user reviews. Readers can give honest impressions of books and maybe drum up some conversations about our materials.

I wonder if HCPL could use a wiki to provide users with an opportunity to add community information. Is that animal rescue organization holding a fundraiser in Forest Hill? Hey, HCPL has the community wiki resource available to post information about where and when. Is the town of Bel Air holding a community concert next Wednesday night? Great, post that information on our community wiki information board and get the word out. Maybe other entities could provide wikis as well - Harford County government, the towns of Havre de Grace, Aberdeen, and Bel Air, and other community groups - and we could all link from one to another. One world indeed! Linked from one to another...

Didn't we have a community resource guide once? (Maybe we still do, but I don't think I've used it for years - don't even know where it is.) Well, what if we have a wiki that allows community groups - non-profits, government agencies, and so on - to post information about the organizations - name, contact persons, addresses, telephone numbers, links to Web sites, purpose statement, and so on. Let the community keep the information up to date. And yes, occasionally, we or someone will need to clean up the wiki, to clear out entries for groups that no longer exist, but each group would be responsible for keeping information accurate and up to date. Just some ideas on using wikis...