Thing 12/Im and VBPL

I talked to Matthew and Marti who are very ppositive about VBPL's offering IM to the public. They especially feel that our present and future teens are much more comfortable and willing to communicate with us using IM versus face to face. I also looked through the IM notebook in Telephone Reference and read sample qustions, saw statistics etc.

I went to the VBPL sebsite at 3:10 to ask my own question using IM but it was not on. I called the party who was suppossed to be on to remind them to start. They did; I asked a question but had to wait 6 minutes to get a reply that they did not have the answer to my question about a program but they could find out. I replied but had to sign off before they replied back. So I was not overly impressed due to the slowness of the process. It would have been much easier and faster to pick up the phone and dial.

I do think IM and the library is a good mix for some situations - teens; short, factual questions about hours, programs, account status etc. I would expect some customers not to wait around for an answer if the library staff took to long to respond.

Thing 11/IMing

I looked at all the articles and feel that VBPL is on track with the use of IM as a reference service. We want to appeal to the young customer, as well as the 20 - 40 year olds who use so many of the mobile devices in their normal day. The fact that IM differs from email in leaving no paper trail is an advantage, some workers feel; supervisors may disagree. I found it intereting that the PEW study found that teens use email for adults and IM for buddies.

Thing 10/Search Engines for RSS feeds and more

I found Technorati the easiest to use. I explored the Site Map and FAQs which were helpful. I like that it searches all blogs, not just the ones with RSS feeds.
I liked Syndic8 also. The format was appealing. The "5 Most Popular and Most Viewed Feeds" was fun too.
Topix.net was too busy, too much information or maybe I was getting tired of looking at so much. I was not able to get Feedster - Page could not be displayed.
I will now be on the look-out for the RSS icons as I look at a site.

Thing 9/Discovery Exercise Option 2

I am delighted to find out how easy subscribing to RSS feeds can be. I subscribed to 11 feeds as of now and will continue to add more. I like the time-saving feature of having all the news feeds in one place rather than having to visit each site. It is a great way to stay current, something we need to do in the library field. I can see us using it to market our new resources and programs and to attract new users.

Thing 5

I talked with 2 colleagues about their experiences with their children and blogging and IMing. I had reservations about how interesting it would be to me to sit home and be on a computer to chat with people I don't know about whatever. I prefer to go outside and talk to my friends who I rarely have enough time to see and find out how they feel about issues.

One colleague's teenage daughter stays online constantly chatting with several freinds at once while also talking to someone else on her telephone. Of course, I can see the attraction of that for a teenager! For me, I would not enjoy this method for very long at the time. Wait! I would enjoy taling to my family in their various homes all at once... I would love it. Here I am seeing my thoughts and attitudes changing already.

The second colleague's slightly older children had blogged a lot at first then grew tired of it and went outside and got some exercise and interaction with people.

I have found myself much more entertained than expected at the various videos we have been asked to watch on UTube. I hope I don't get hooked on this kind of entertainment.

I like the ideas of enjoying the "fun and excitement of positive change" and being "willing to modify based on user feedback" - these quotes are from some of the videos watched. As a library person, I do not like the idea of the "open catalog" with users modifying too much there.

Thing 4

My thoughts on Library 2.0 are constantly trying to stay focused! So many choices! So many diversions! I try to read an article and get diverted to more links, topics etc. I know that this is the way life is now but it certainly makes it hard to get to the goal, the finish line, the end of a task.

I do love the things Web 2.0 has made possible - ebay, craigslist, delicious, wikipedia etc.

Thing 2/7 1/2 habits

The easiest habit for me is being a confident learner. I enjoy learning new things and am willing to work hard to do so.

The hardest habit for me is putting together a toolbox. I usually try to accomplish tasks without asking for help; however, with Learning 2.0 I am learning to ask c0-workers for help. I have told several people that they are part of my toolbox...Marti, Matthew, and Diane W. Thank you all!

ATTITUDE is the key to being successful at most challenges.