The End...Finally!

I found this exercise interesting and maddening at the same time. When you work the Children's Department, summer is not the time to go wandering in cyberspace. Your project time is dedicated to preparing for programs, doing book orders, stats and managing the volunteens, but with a bit of prodding from my friend Laura I have reached the end... at last!
My favorite explorations were Libratything and Image Generator because they were so much fun.
The program has helped me by making me aware of what's out there, things I might have not found out on my own. And the biggest surprise might be just to find out that the world of the Internet is much bigger than I thought.
This answer the last two questions, the thing to do would be to make it available at a different time, not the summer and in that case I may participate again. But if it happens again at our busiest time, then I simply would have to pass.

Digital Collection

I love Books on CD and can't imagine driving, even to the corner store, without them. I explored our library's digial collection and I see the potential. In our constantly moving world the ability to listen to books whenever and wherever you choose is just amazing. Here's an excerpt from the book I chose,

This is the spellbinding hour-by-hour reconstruction of the most destructive and powerful storm ever to strike New England.

On the night of September 20, 1938, the news on the radio was full of Hitler’s pending invasion of Czechoslovakia. Severe weather wasn’t mentioned; only light rain was forecast for the following day. In a matter of hours, however, a hurricane of unprecedented force would tear through one of the wealthiest and most populated stretches of coastline in America, obliterating communities from Long Island to Providence, destroying entire fishing fleets from Montauk to Narragansett Bay, and leaving seven hundred people dead. They never knew what hit them.

Podcasting

I listened to Podcasts of children's books from the Dever Public Library. They were o.k, but why bother? Personally, I much rather listen to a book on cd.

Those Funny Foreign Commercials!

My experience with youtube is limited to the occasional music video or "newsworthy" personality, but I love those foreign commercials! I particularly love this one advertising a language learning system. Yes, the library could make use of this technology to advertise programs and services and maybe even make it fun!

YouTube

...and the Web 2.0 Award goes to...

Lulu.com! There was much of interest among the award winners, including Cooked (where you could film yourself creating your recipe a la food network), but as a reader and writer my vote goes to Lulu, where any budding author can self publish her masterpiece.

Zoho Writer

So this is Zoho Writer. I like it. It's a cool word processing program that can be accessed on the Internet. Convenient, simple to use and it has all the tools necessary to create a good report (provided the writer has the necessary tools to write a good report.) When it comes to creativity, word processing programs are no help at all.

Playing in the Sandbox

Playing in the pbcls exploring web 2.0 sandbox. Interesting to see other people's favorites and to add my two cents to the equation.

To Wiki or Not to Wiki...

My children introduced me to wikis with the ultimate wiki, Wikipedia. On the plus side, wikis allow everyone an opportunity to put in their two cents. On the negative side, wikis allow everyone the opportunity to put in their two cents (misinformation and all.)
For libraries, wikis can be a great source for readers advisory, collection suggestions and policy development.

Web 2.0

To me, "Away from Icebergs" was the most interesting blog on Web 2.0. I agree that libraries and library personnel need to change and adapt to the times and the needs of patrons. But that shouldn't mean "anything goes." Just because people want to eat everywhere doesn't make the library a restaurant. Just because people want to chat on their cell phones doesn't make the library a park. Librarians, who are required to have a Master Degree, shouldn't have to spend most of their work day refereeing patrons arguing about computer time. A library should command and demand respect, for its collection, its mission and its employees.

Searching...

Searching the PBC Library's url showed 73 blog reactions, mostly about the mouse tutorial. Who would have thought that a little rodent would be so popular?
Tag searching for Web 2.0 resulted in 39,804 posts. Some related tags were Ajax, Tech Crunch and Internet. To me, they were a bit confusing and I'll probably never pass their way again.

So Delicious!

I find del.icio.us a wonderful tool to keep your favorite sites handy not matter where you are.

O.K I found Webfeet BORING! I didn't expect to find much -if anything-about my little Cuban hometown and I didn't. But the site was just not exciting. There's much better out there.
http://wfx.webfeat.org/wfsearch/menu?cid=11127

Library is the Thing

This was really cool. It's great for people who read a lot and forget what they have read. It's also great for reminiscing about stories you read a long, long time ago. Would you still feel the same about them if you were to read them again? Would you still feel a sense of wonder or fear or passion from stories that helped shaped who you are today? Or would you wonder, who was that person who thought this was the greatest book ever written? Well, I can tell you this: she's still hidden somewhere inside of you.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Ginasousa

Playing Around with Pictures

I loved Image Generator! It was fun playing around with the different images and adding captions to everything from a punk rocker to the cute little beaver. So many images, so little time...

http://www.redkid.net/generator/sign.php

Possibilities....

Another boat sunset ;)
Originally uploaded by pmsmgomes

A sunset, calm waters and an empty boat speak to me of possibilities, travels and explorations; not necessarily physical ones (although I like those too), but of the mind and soul.
I see myself here, sitting by the ocean, bathed in the sun's dying rays planning my adventure for tomorrow...

Repeating Selected Stuff or RSS

O.K, not so bad once you get the hang of it. I found interesting things related to some of my hobbies: gardening, writing, yoga. Do I have the time to keep up with so much constant information? Only if I actually stop gardening, writing and doing yoga!

Ahh...Technology...

My children might accuse me of not liking technology, but I'll have to disagree. I make full use of the Internet for information. I love e-mail. And I think computers are great for writers (maybe too great, allowing way too many mediocre novels to see the light of day.)
But I admit that there are some techno things I'm simply not interested in. For instance, I don't want to take pictures with my cell phone and I don't want to play video games. Period. End of story.

Bloggin & Libraries: A Match Made in Web Heaven

Libraries are among our country's most democratic institutions. A meeting place where people of all ages, races, creeds and economic status are afforded an equal oportunity to learn, understand and broaden their horizons. Blogs offer a similar opportunity for people to express their concerns, air their grievances and share their ideas. It's also a great forum for staff and administration to communicate with each other in a free, less intimidating environment. Blogs and libraries are a match made in Web Heaven!

Seven and 1/2 Principles

I view the seven and 1/2 principles as a valuable road map to learning. I believe the first one -begin with the end in mind- is the most difficult for me because I tend to have big ideas that just linger in my mind. The learning contract could prove to be a valuable tool in this respect.