Thing 23: The End

This has been a journey in learning, discovery and fun. I learned that there is so much new technology out there and how fast things are changing within libraries. I discovered that I liked trying the different exercises and had fun creating my Avatar, setting up RSS feeds, listening to Podcasts and YouTube. I also, had some problems but with the help of others I was able to work through them. My biggest problem was time because I had to do most of my project from home but I would not hesitate to do it again. And I did have fun experimenting and discovering that I could do this and not be afraid to try something different. Now that I'm finished I will probably at my leisure go back and spend a little more time with some of my favorites. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to explore and share this growing technology.

Thing 22: Discovering Audiobooks

When e-books were introduced to our library through Overdrive I downloaded a few onto my computer. I have in the past downloaded e-books to my handheld unit using another program. I have also used Audible to download to itunes for my ipod. This is a wonderful service for busy customers. Through this library service they can still get what they want for 21 days and not worry about returning them and incurring fines. For this excercise I found a title that I have not read but will from my computer.

Thing 21: Podcasting

I listened to several podcasts from my itunes and yahoo accounts with news stories of interest that I subscribe too already. But I did find two podcast sites of interest called "Libvibe & Library Channel" that contained various stories concerning what's happening with technology, libraries closing, customers up in arms about weeding, etc. I added these two sites to my Bloglines account.

Thing 20: YouTube

As you can see, this is one of my favorite Youtube videos. The minpin! Most of my friends and co-workers know that I have a min pin. His name is SirBoss. He truly lives up to his name.

Thing 19: Web 2.0 Awards

I took a look at the Web 2.0 award winners and checked out the digital storage sites. I toured a couple and found one that I liked(Picasa.google.com). After playing around with it I downloaded the program to my home computer and I love it. It has helped me to find all my photos and put them in one place. I've been able to enhance and make some startling changes to some of what I thought were my best shots originally. I could see this being useful to the library staff for storing pictures of their programs, special events, branch pipeline, etc. in one place.

Thing 18: Productivity Tools

View my blog post about this thing by clicking on the link below created using Zoho Writer.


http://writer.zoho.com/public/brenhamlin/Untitled/script

Thing 17: Adding My Blog to Sandbox wiki Favorites

I followed the directions and as they said "Ta Da" my entry was placed there. I also, added my favorites to the favorites blog. Once again following the simple directions.

Thing 16: Wikis

I really liked the New Orleans ALA Conference wiki. It contained such a wealth of information for example the calendar of events, directions, transportation, links to New Orleans shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc. The BookLovers wiki was very informative and thoughtful. It gave you various views of a book from different perspectives. I think that this is something that could be used in our book clubs, meetings or programs.

Thing 15: Web 2.0

Rick Anderson's perspective hit the nail on the head when he states that people want it now. The library of years past is not the library of today and today's library will not be the library of the future. I've witnessed this myself as one who works in a lbrary. The changes have been many and they are constantly changing each and every day. Technology is a way of life and if you don't keep up you will be left behind.

Thing 14: Technorati

While searching through Technorati I decided to do a search using GPS. This past week I purchased a unit from one of my favorite websites at a great price. It was a refurb without a scratch on it and came with lots of accessories. Well after reading several blogs with the tag GPS I found one with a person who had just purchased one also and he was raving about what a fantastic deal it was and recommending the same website. I can see how this could be useful for searching.

Thing 13: Del.icio.us

I took a look at tagging and Del.icio.us and how they work. I'm still not certain how all of this works but I was able to go to LibraryThing and found my catalog of my favorite books. I will continue to play with it until I have a better understanding.

Thing 12: Rollyo

It was an interesting experience. I put the sites I use to find electronic bargains on my searchroll. See side panel. Have fun!

Thing 11: My LibraryThing book list

My list contain some of the books in my personal library. See the side panel. This was easy to setup. It was interesting to see what books were popular and those that were not. When time permits I will add more books to my list.

Thing 10: Online Generator - Avatar

I created my Avatar using http://avatar.yahoo.com/. It was fun creating and having the freedom to make so many changes with the clothes, accessories, background, etc. I think she looks pretty good along with her canine companion.

Thing 9: Exploring MERLIN

I added MERLIN to my Blogline using copy and paste method, it works for me.

Thing 8: Created Bloglines account

Wow!!! this was interesting and fun once I got the hang of it. I got a little carried away and subscribed to 15 feeds. I found one on digital photography which is a hobby of mine.

Thing 2: 71/2 Habits

I'm going into this as a challenge to build up my self confidence and hopefully to learn and have some fun along the way.

Thing 4: Setting up my Blog

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I just have to use it more often to get use to how and what I can do with it.

Thing 7: New Digital Camera

I recently purchased a new camera with 8.2 Megapixels & 3x Opitical Zoom and really got the chance to use the zoom taking pictures from my balcony of the beach. They looked as if I was actually standing on the beach taking the shots. Technology is wonderful.

Thing 6: Flickr Fun

I had so much fun creating billboards promoting the library using the different backgrounds. There is so much to choose from you don't know where to start.

Thing 5: New Self-Reserve Shelf

Here is a picture of my branch new Self-Reserve Shelf. The public now have the option to pickup their materials and come to the checkout desk or use the self-checkout machine. They love it!!!

Thing 3: Testing

This is my first post so I wanted to see if it is working.