Virtually There

This was my experience with podcasts: finding a good one that is easy to hear, relevant, and doesn't require a subscription or some sort of hijinks is a challenge.

The LIS one either requires registration or is very non-intuitive. The other choice for our assignment involved bad phone connections and even worse humor--plus it was LONG. Dear people who designed this assignment, I have a True Confession: I found a substitute podcast, and I liked it (well, I liked the part I found time to listen to). I recommend childrensbookradio.com. In fact, you should be impressed that I posted it to my very own Del.icio.us account, in case I want to find it later and have become so addled I can't remember where it was. I liked the concept. I listened to part of an interview with an author, and it was fascinating--and the fact that I wasn't available at a specific time had no impact on my ability to listen to it. Most of them had weird, whirly things on the screen while I listened and those really bugged me. I felt as if I were having an opthalmologic occurrence that should involve medical intervention.

What could we at our library podcast? Good question. I can see vodcasting as having more applications here. We don't do much that involves only audio. I guess we could podcast Board Meetings, although I don't see those being in high demand.

In terms of library vodcasts, I liked this one by the Denver Public Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AppCIzJD84. Since it offers me the chance to subscribe to Denver Library videos, I think I even found the right category.

In addition to vodcasts that would help our public, I think we should also consider how we can interact with the library community at large. Our funny Confidentiality training video could be helping other libraries!

It's Del.icio.us

Social bookmarking is cool. I can see it being very helpful for our department staff, and also for the teachers we serve. In fact, I not only did the Gail Borden Learns assignment, but signed up for my very own account and installed the handy icons so that I can easily post new bookmarks and otherwise get to and fro. I want to fiddle with the "bundles" feature, but alas, time eludes me. I already talked to one of our part-timers about using this feature to assist with our reference work. And it's a perfect fit for her very part-time hours, especially since finding appropriate sites to bookmark is a neverending task. It's not as much fun as Facebook, but so far it wins the prize for being the easiest to apply in our day-to-day work.

Putting the Net in Networking

This is my critical analysis of Facebook: it's fun! My profile (slim as it is) had barely been up when two of my nieces who live hundreds of miles away found me--with no prompting and no hints. Others were soon to follow. The suggestions displaying people to consider as "friends" were often actually helpful, and the applications are cool. I'm already helping to save the environment. :)

I can see how public libraries--especially teen services--could use a social networking site. The automatic notification when a "friend" changes his/her page or posts anything new would be perfect for getting the word out on teen events. Check out http://http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/Seattle-Public-Library-System/7511741338 to see a successful-looking page. Also, because of the ability to connect various online tools, I can imagine that online spaces serving teens can be designed to work in a way that is compatible with the way today's teens approach information. Libraries, I think, have been too slow to adapt and have spent a lot of time trying to force people to do things our way. By connecting our Flickr photos or the various other online sites and tools with places that kids already are, like Facebook, we could be connecting with teens in their natural element, so to speak.