I'm Back

Here'a follow-up to the virtual library entry. I am still unable to bring up census records for my grandfather who I know for a fact was alive because my dad was born in the 20's. I'll have to ask mom if he spelled his name differently. But anyway I entered an aunt's name and I believe her family records appeared. It's kind of neat to see that record from so long ago.

#12 Twitter I Think

OK maybe I'm missing something but I'm not impressed. Maybe this is something that takes time to do or to understand. Never was able to find other library staff. Tried under Books and only got or mostly got Publishers. I didn't find the following very interesting. Then I tried typing in librarians-got nothing, tried libraries and you can imagine the number that came up. Then I thought how about children's librarians and there was truly nothing that came up. I finally tried entering another phrase (I don't even remember what I typed) but got a children's library shelf something or other only it was another publisher I think, that was tweeting about her trips to Italy, etc which made me think -- I know I'm someone from the last century -- but I don't find this interesting enough to waste my time!

Oh well, I must confess I'm a closet All My Children fan even though I don't watch it very much at all anymore. I don't even record it because the back log of watching episodes was just too great. Anyway I did find an Allmychildren tweet thing that I could follow. I'll give it a try.

I think, mostly, I just feel guilty. I realize this is an "assignment" but I feel guilty "just looking around" at twitter, facebook, pandora, etc. I ask myself-am I wasting time? have I looked long enough or looked too long? I am clearly someone who needs lots of practice so if I'm going to help patrons, I better look around some more!

This may be my final post to this blog, not sure if I will attempt the extra credit. So for all you legions of followers (hahahahaha) farewell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#11 Virtual Libraries

I wasn't too surprised with the amount of information that is available in the virtual library. Juan Moore Tacos can be found in Fremont, CA. Maybe it wasn't working properly but I was unable to retrieve information about my grandfather in HeritageQuest. I did it a few times. Tried using my dad's name and my uncle's name, all 3 were alive for the 1930 census but I got no results. I will try to ask adult services for help since I would have found that info interesting. I didn't want to write down just anybody I didn't know so that part of this report will come later. Bad me but I didn't realize we had that Books Coming out soon. I did request a book from an author I like to read that is coming out in April so yea. Can't wait to share that with my mom, I'll be requesting all sorts of books for her. A couple of months back I found and signed up to receive an enewsletter for children's picture books that we had listed under the Books and DVD drop down menu. My thinking was that I should be aware of it and try to make sure that if we are letting patrons know through the newsletter that these are books to read, we should try to be sure to have the books for them to check out. So far it has been working well.

#10 Downloadable Audio

OK advantages/disadvantages Disadvantage is that the books are very old which could also be an advantage if you want to read books that are old and maybe no longer in print or are hard to find. Disadvantage is that it looks like you'll have to pay to listen to newer releases which may be an advantage and job security if you are a publisher or work in a library. And a big advantage is that it opens up a whole new world for those who may have difficulty getting to libraries or book stores. How great is this during snow storms and blizzards?

#9 Instant Messaging

This I was actually familiar with because we use instant messaging in our department. In the beginning we had a pidgen account and shared monitoring duties with adult services. Now we've grown and we use our own. It comes in handy when trying to privately communicate with each other, no fear of being overheard. I think that has its advantages. Maybe unfortunately for me, but I just don't see myself using this for personal communication. I probably should though because I don't always like answering the phone (and yes I still do have a landline). So if I used instant messaging, I could see what someone wanted to tell me but I wouldn't have to answer immediately if I didn't want to.

#8 Podcasts

OK onward and upward. Just took a listen to podcasts. So that's what it's all about. I listened to the Denver one. It was really nice for little ones but noticed most of the books were from 2006 and none were newer then 2009. Perhaps the individual that handled this for them left but I would think if you take the time to do something like this and with all the technology, you need or maybe should keep this as current as you can. Are there copyright issues with recordings like this? Anyway I appreciated learning about this and if I ever get an ipod or mp3 player, I will be right there listening.

#7 Google Docs

I actually completed this tune up last week but could never find the time to post to the blog so here goes, let's just hope I remember what I learned. I thought the idea of google doc was an interesting one. I could see applications for its use here at the library, no more working on the q drive, saving to q drive then saving to p drive then trying to remember what drive was this thing on.May be helpful for interdepartmental documents-like when we are working on committees. I created a calendar on google docs. Seemed fairly easy. I'll have to use it on a more regular basis to see how it compares to 30 boxes and outlook.

Wiki #6

OK so I've read about wikis and learned quite a number of things. Who knew anyone can be an expert about anything and then put what you know about out for anyone to read. The staff library wikis I looked at were very involved. And to think, everyone and anyone can contribute. It would be a big help but nice to know that a monitoring system seems to be built right in so that while everyone contributes, there will still be those who can oversee.

I did not create my own wiki. Believe me I don't know enough about anything to create something like that with any degree of expertise. I did look at a few. I like to do stained glass and found a stained glass wiki. Very interesting way to learn the history. Then I went to a card making wiki. Again very interesting. Do you know cards have been made since the ancient Chinese did it?

The one thing I'm learning about all this technology is that while it is trying to make our lives easier, you just need a whole lot of time to read all this stuff.

Social Networking #5

Well this one was much easier to do. I had some idea of what facebook was but do not have an account. I checked out a few libraries' facebook pages and discovered it was a nice way to see what other libraries are doing. Much like our facebook page, you can just read the latest news but also are able to access their websites and calendars if you want to learn more about something or register for programs. I like that -one-stop-shopping ability. Still not sure I want my own page but I like being able to look in on others.

Flickr # Not Sure

I guess this would have to be my least favorite tuneup, thus far. Maybe it was because I had to stop and start again. I didn't want to have to repeat all the steps but maybe I should have. I can see the benefits especialy if your blog was being used as a tutorial or a way to show followers what is going on. Could I repeat this on my own-don't think so. At least not without the steps or a lot of practice.

Newt Escaping

Newt Escaping
Originally uploaded by TP Tuneup

This is try #2 to get this posted to my blog. If I succeed, I will not know how I did it.

#4 Flickr

OK I tried the Flickr. I was able to upload a photo from the YS Q drive because I wasn't in the computer classroom. It was of Nigel. Went back and forth following the directions. With alot of help from Amy I was able to figure out how to add my blog but we just couldn't get the photo uploaded to my blog. Will try again in a while because I am now on desk duty. Not sure if I should delete my blog from the choices but will anyway because I could probably use the practice in doing this all over again. More about my feelings on this in the next post.

Tune Up #3 and then some

I'm here at the reference desk and thought I would give it another go at reading the two articles associated with Pandora and YouTube since when I was in the Computer Classroom I couldn't view them because I didn't know the user name and password. Well lo and behold I was able to read the article on You Tube but when I tried the Pandora one I received an internal error message and I tried a few times. So the user/password thing was resolved and you no longer need the user/password or you may still need it when working in the classroom or Pandora is having a problem or you may just need to read the articles from the reference desk. The article was interesting telling us about how You Tube came to be what it is today. Maybe we should all go to more parties - it could lead to big bucks!

Tuneup #3 YouTube

OK I did not create an account, at least not yet. I'm a little apprehensive. I did view a few. I can see the benefits. In youth services it can be great for giving us ideas for new programs. For personal reasons you can get a laugh when you need it or explore anything you might be interested in. I took a few minutes to check out some videos (can you still call it videos?) on card making, something I'm very interested in and I will certainly be going back to look at more. The couple I viewed directed the viewer to the viewee's blog for more information. Now I may have more blogs to add to the RSS feed. One new technology connects to another, I never knew.
I'm liking the way we are doing one at a time, learning about it, doing it, and then seeing how they are all connected. I will have to go back to the Pandora and the YouTube tune up again though to view the Discover portion when I discover the user name and password.
Thanks for reading!

Happenings During Tuneup #3

Don't want to forget this but did anyone else have this problem. Under the "Discover" where we have to read more about it, when you click on that it asks you for a user ID and password. I didn't know it. Should I have known it? Maybe I'm the only one, but a heads up might be useful before we go to a tuneup, letting us know we need to know user ID's and passwords. This way we can get that info before we go to the computer lab. If this is just me, I apologize for not being prepared. If this is not just me, maybe this query will help us all.

AND, I just want to say thank you to everyone on the Tech Committee. You can tell you guys worked very hard to put this together for us, and I appreciate all your hard work!!!!!!!

#3 Tuneup Pandora

Wow, who knew you could create your own radio station! Well apparently alot of people. I liked the fact that you could connect to your radio station and then go and do other things. I kept giving thumbs up signs and skipping to the next song because I pretty much liked everything they suggested and I didn't want to waste time. But then Pandora told me it had to stop because I skipped too many. Oh well I will be back. I could even find this useful at work. You could put it on for some easy background music and go about your work when you need to work on the computer for any length of time. The only drawback now that brings sadness to me is the fact that those of us who have thin clients at our desks have no sound cards or the ability to listen to anything from our computers. Maybe that will change.

Tech #2 RSS

OK I learned something new today and that is always a good thing. The thought of RSS, now that I know a little, is really quite good. I always wondered how people had the time to keep up with all those websites or even how they found all the ones they follow. Now I know. This is a great way to keep up with all the latest in whatever you are interested in.
I had one problem (yes, just one I think) when I tried to add the Library Link of the Day. I clicked their little button instead of copying and pasting the link. It said I was subscribed but do not see it on my list. So I guess I'm subscribed somewhere but don't know how or where to find it. Would that be another lesson?

How Do Ya Do?

Well don't know how successful this will be but I think I've created my first blog and my first blog entry. I've even changed the font! That is all for now.