I Second That Motion
9 years ago
Sunday, April 20, 2014
What I learned in library school...
Today I finished the conclusion of my e-portfolio. Once it is approved by my advisor, I will be officially done with the culminating experience project for my MLIS. A lot of my classmates are posting Wordles of their portfolios on the facebook group. Here is the Wordle that I created from mine:
Saturday, March 29, 2014
All Good Things...
This is it! I have completed the '23 Things' challenge. And it feels good :D
There were definitely times when I was thinking 'why are they making us do this?!', but I have to say that I can see the value in having all employees participate. I even suggested to my casual employees that they might want to give it a try. The exercises were pretty simple (for the most part), but that might be a generational thing. I did notice different times that the pictures in the instructions did not match what was actually on the screen, but I am comfortable enough with technology to play around with it. I can understand how daunting it would be for someone who doesn't spend any time on social media to try and figure out all of these different applications.
I definitely think the most useful thing is the BiblioNB app. In an age where so many of our patrons have smartphones and/or other devices, the ability for them to access their account details with the tap of a finger just might encourage them to use the library more. And as I mentioned when I initially blogged about it, I REALLY like the scanning feature.
I don't really have a favourite, but I guess if I had to choose I would say Pinterest. However, I think I would probably use it more in my personal life than professional. As far as tools for professional use, I think that listening to podcasts is probably going to be the most useful. Working in the context of the public library I could see myself listening to relevant podcasts while doing the mail or shelving books - they would add something to my day, without taking any time away from other activities that I have scheduled.
The information about images and copyright was both interesting and informative, and contained a lot of information that I will definitely use (both personally & professionally).
Overall I think that this experience has been educational, and I have learned things that will help me to better serve our patrons. I am grateful to work for an organization that not only encourages their employees to explore new things, but challenges us to! It is exciting to think about how much there still is left to learn. The experience has inspired me to explore more of the technologies that our patrons are using, and to try to be more aware of technological trends.
There were definitely times when I was thinking 'why are they making us do this?!', but I have to say that I can see the value in having all employees participate. I even suggested to my casual employees that they might want to give it a try. The exercises were pretty simple (for the most part), but that might be a generational thing. I did notice different times that the pictures in the instructions did not match what was actually on the screen, but I am comfortable enough with technology to play around with it. I can understand how daunting it would be for someone who doesn't spend any time on social media to try and figure out all of these different applications.
I definitely think the most useful thing is the BiblioNB app. In an age where so many of our patrons have smartphones and/or other devices, the ability for them to access their account details with the tap of a finger just might encourage them to use the library more. And as I mentioned when I initially blogged about it, I REALLY like the scanning feature.
I don't really have a favourite, but I guess if I had to choose I would say Pinterest. However, I think I would probably use it more in my personal life than professional. As far as tools for professional use, I think that listening to podcasts is probably going to be the most useful. Working in the context of the public library I could see myself listening to relevant podcasts while doing the mail or shelving books - they would add something to my day, without taking any time away from other activities that I have scheduled.
The information about images and copyright was both interesting and informative, and contained a lot of information that I will definitely use (both personally & professionally).
Overall I think that this experience has been educational, and I have learned things that will help me to better serve our patrons. I am grateful to work for an organization that not only encourages their employees to explore new things, but challenges us to! It is exciting to think about how much there still is left to learn. The experience has inspired me to explore more of the technologies that our patrons are using, and to try to be more aware of technological trends.
Stumblin' and bumblin'
The final item in our '23 things' list was to sign up for StumbleUpon and share a website. This was my first time using StumbleUpon. I can see how it might be an interesting diversion, but in all honesty it probably wouldn't be something I would use much on a regular basis. Maybe it's just because it is new and I'm not very comfortable or familiar with it yet. I think it is pretty similar to ScoopIt, but I feel like the articles that I find on ScoopIt are more useful and relevant for professional development purposes. The things I saw on StumbleUpon were interesting, but not as useful - I am guessing this is because at the time of registration I just chose the 'Books' interest, whereas my ScoopIt account has more search terms.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
More apps
After attempting to use my BiblioNB app multiple times last week (unsuccessfully!), I finally had some luck today! Not sure if it was an issue with my phone, the app, or maybe even the wi-fi but whatever it was it seems to have worked itself out.
BiblioNB is an incredibly useful app for anyone who uses the New Brunswick Public Library Service. All of your account details, plus the entire catalog are literally at your fingertips. One of the most useful features of this app is the ability to scan the ISBN barcode on ANY book to find out if it is available through our system. Let's say you are having coffee with a friend and they recommend the book they are currently reading. If they have the book with them, you can open the BiblioNB app, scan the back and know immediately if it is in the system. If it is, you can put it on hold with a tap on the screen.
You can also keep track of your due dates, renew & request books, and check your holds. You can also keep track of things you have read, or want to read, using the shelves feature. Overall it is a very easy to use app, and well worth the download.
Other apps that I have in the 'books' folder on my phone include iBooks, Bluefire reader, Kobo reader, Audible and Goodreads. I do not use the readers very often, mostly because of the size of the screen. I do like Bluefire because I find it incredibly easy to download the free classics, it is definitely my favourite. Goodreads is something that I was already using - the website version was discussed & we were encouraged to sign up at a regional staff training day a few years ago. I have been using Goodreads to keep track of the books I have read (when I remember to do so!) mostly because of how easy it is to scan the barcode and add the item to the 'read' list without having to type anything. Now that I know that we can do this with library books within the BiblioNB app I might be more inclined to use the 'shelves' feature. I rarely log in to my library account on a computer because I don't have one at home (just the smartphone), and if I'm at work I use Workflows. Audible is a good app for people who enjoy audiobooks. For someone like me who drives 80kms a day it is nice to have a variety of audibooks to choose from. I particularly enjoy the samples, it is nice to be able to listen to the couple of chapters of a book to see if it is something I would like to read before I order it in.
I hope that our patrons who have smartphones & other devices will use the BiblioNB app, as has the potential to save them a lot of time and aggravation. We have been encouraging patrons to download the BiblioNB app, but unfortunately it never seems to co-operate when I try to demonstrate how the app works on my phone. Perhaps we need to acquire a tablet of some kind so that we can walk patrons through using the apps without putting our personal information at risk using our cell phones.
BiblioNB is an incredibly useful app for anyone who uses the New Brunswick Public Library Service. All of your account details, plus the entire catalog are literally at your fingertips. One of the most useful features of this app is the ability to scan the ISBN barcode on ANY book to find out if it is available through our system. Let's say you are having coffee with a friend and they recommend the book they are currently reading. If they have the book with them, you can open the BiblioNB app, scan the back and know immediately if it is in the system. If it is, you can put it on hold with a tap on the screen.
You can also keep track of your due dates, renew & request books, and check your holds. You can also keep track of things you have read, or want to read, using the shelves feature. Overall it is a very easy to use app, and well worth the download.
Other apps that I have in the 'books' folder on my phone include iBooks, Bluefire reader, Kobo reader, Audible and Goodreads. I do not use the readers very often, mostly because of the size of the screen. I do like Bluefire because I find it incredibly easy to download the free classics, it is definitely my favourite. Goodreads is something that I was already using - the website version was discussed & we were encouraged to sign up at a regional staff training day a few years ago. I have been using Goodreads to keep track of the books I have read (when I remember to do so!) mostly because of how easy it is to scan the barcode and add the item to the 'read' list without having to type anything. Now that I know that we can do this with library books within the BiblioNB app I might be more inclined to use the 'shelves' feature. I rarely log in to my library account on a computer because I don't have one at home (just the smartphone), and if I'm at work I use Workflows. Audible is a good app for people who enjoy audiobooks. For someone like me who drives 80kms a day it is nice to have a variety of audibooks to choose from. I particularly enjoy the samples, it is nice to be able to listen to the couple of chapters of a book to see if it is something I would like to read before I order it in.
I hope that our patrons who have smartphones & other devices will use the BiblioNB app, as has the potential to save them a lot of time and aggravation. We have been encouraging patrons to download the BiblioNB app, but unfortunately it never seems to co-operate when I try to demonstrate how the app works on my phone. Perhaps we need to acquire a tablet of some kind so that we can walk patrons through using the apps without putting our personal information at risk using our cell phones.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Apps & devices
The 'things' we had to do this week were about our electronic library. It was a good review for me, as I had previously installed both the BiblioNB and OverDrive apps. However, since I do not have an ereader or tablet but rather an iPhone, I have not read a lot of eBooks.
Thing #21 - Download and return a library eBook
I found the process a little frustrating - first I was told that I had to be connected to the internet, even though I thought with my data plan the internet was always 'on'. So I went into the settings on my phone and connected to the library WiFi. That was the first hurdle. The next roadblock was after I had selected & checked out my book. I clicked on the download link six times, and kept getting the message 'Fulfill:-1003 An unexpected system error occured while trying to contact the Adobe servers'. On the seventh try it worked. I don't know how or why, but I wasn't going to dispute it. Returning the book was very simple and I had no problems at all.
Thing #21 - Download and return a library eBook
I found the process a little frustrating - first I was told that I had to be connected to the internet, even though I thought with my data plan the internet was always 'on'. So I went into the settings on my phone and connected to the library WiFi. That was the first hurdle. The next roadblock was after I had selected & checked out my book. I clicked on the download link six times, and kept getting the message 'Fulfill:-1003 An unexpected system error occured while trying to contact the Adobe servers'. On the seventh try it worked. I don't know how or why, but I wasn't going to dispute it. Returning the book was very simple and I had no problems at all.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Sharing & Information Curation
This week's things use the curation tool 'Scoop.it'. I had previously signed up for this service, so this time I logged in using the library twitter account that I created a few weeks ago. It was a pretty simple process, however what I was seeing on the screen did not always match the screenshots on the 23 things blog (specifically the cool extra thing).
I think that this service could be a very useful tool for library professionals, or really anyone who has a specific interest that they want to explore. However, I must say that it is easy enough to find articles that I would like to read, but finding the time to actually read them is another matter entirely!
I think that this service could be a very useful tool for library professionals, or really anyone who has a specific interest that they want to explore. However, I must say that it is easy enough to find articles that I would like to read, but finding the time to actually read them is another matter entirely!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Podcasts & Professional Development
The idea of podcasts is not new to me - in fact, I quite often listen to podcasts through the CBC app on my iPhone. Podcasts can be an excellent professional development. There are lots of good Librarian focused podcasts out there dealing with topics specific to libraries (i.e. weeding, programming, collection development). However, the podcast that I stumbled upon for this assignment was on bookrageous.podbean.com. I listened to episode 65; Young Adult Books.
Today was the first time that I visited the bookrageous site. The first half of the podcast focused on what the panelists are currently reading (or most recently read). Then there is a musical intermission, followed by a discussion of some of the books received ALA Youth Media Awards. I was drawn to this podcast because I am doing a course right now about award winning youth literature.
I did check out the sites that were suggested by the 23things team, but I found that to listen to any of the podcasts on those sites we would have to register and I was reluctant to do that. But I am happy that I kept looking, because I think the bookrageous team are awesome and I will definitely be checking out some of there other episodes.
Today was the first time that I visited the bookrageous site. The first half of the podcast focused on what the panelists are currently reading (or most recently read). Then there is a musical intermission, followed by a discussion of some of the books received ALA Youth Media Awards. I was drawn to this podcast because I am doing a course right now about award winning youth literature.
I did check out the sites that were suggested by the 23things team, but I found that to listen to any of the podcasts on those sites we would have to register and I was reluctant to do that. But I am happy that I kept looking, because I think the bookrageous team are awesome and I will definitely be checking out some of there other episodes.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Having Fun Isn't Hard When You've Got a Library Card | PBS KIDS
This week one of our 'things' is to embed a video from youtube or other video sharing site. I thought I would share with you all one of my favourite library-related videos. Here is the PBS Kids classic featuring everyone's favourite Aardvark & his friends. Enjoy!
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Email thing...
After signing us up for both Pinterest & Twitter this week I have found that we were getting inundated with email notifications. We were able to figure out how to turn off the notifications, but I thought that I would mention it on here in case anyone is having trouble with it. Probably the easiest thing to do is open one of the emails and scroll down to the bottom. There should be a link to either unsubscribe or change notification settings. Click on the link and follow the instructions, simple as anything. Hopefully this will keep your inbox from filling up with notifications :)
The next few things in the '23 things' challenge involve Pinterest. This is something I was kind of excited about because I have been hearing all about how great it is for sharing ideas. But I must admit, I have been avoiding it because I have also heard about how it can turn into a time suck!
Setting up an account was relatively simple - all you need is an email address. You can find our library now, visit http://www.pinterest.com/almccainlibrary/ to see all of the cool programming & craft ideas that I pinned in the first 20 minutes.
I was a little confused about the instruction to add the 'Pin it' button to the web browser as most of us do not have admin rights on the library computers. I tried it on one of our public access computers and it wouldn't let me. I can see how this might be useful on a personal computer. My co-worker told me there is an app, so I might try to get it on my iPhone and see how that goes.
Creating a board was fairly simple, but I was a little confused at first about how to add things to the board - I could have benefited from a little more instructions on the 23things website on how to go about that! Luckily one of my co-workers is very Pinterest savvy, so I was able to get her to help me. Finding library related board to follow was fun, and I can definitely see how useful it will be for things like Summer Reading Club and Hackmatack.
So far I think this is probably my favourite thing I have learning during the '23 things' challenge :)
Setting up an account was relatively simple - all you need is an email address. You can find our library now, visit http://www.pinterest.com/almccainlibrary/ to see all of the cool programming & craft ideas that I pinned in the first 20 minutes.
I was a little confused about the instruction to add the 'Pin it' button to the web browser as most of us do not have admin rights on the library computers. I tried it on one of our public access computers and it wouldn't let me. I can see how this might be useful on a personal computer. My co-worker told me there is an app, so I might try to get it on my iPhone and see how that goes.
Creating a board was fairly simple, but I was a little confused at first about how to add things to the board - I could have benefited from a little more instructions on the 23things website on how to go about that! Luckily one of my co-workers is very Pinterest savvy, so I was able to get her to help me. Finding library related board to follow was fun, and I can definitely see how useful it will be for things like Summer Reading Club and Hackmatack.
So far I think this is probably my favourite thing I have learning during the '23 things' challenge :)
Friday, February 21, 2014
My Cool Extra Thing
For all of you library staff out there who deal with these king of patrons on a regular basis, I give you my James Patterson meme:
Like anyone else who participates in social media, I have seen a lot of memes. Before now I never really thought about where they came from. Now I know!
Like anyone else who participates in social media, I have seen a lot of memes. Before now I never really thought about where they came from. Now I know!
Wordle!
 |
| Who Am I? |
I was a little apprehensive about doing the Wordle component, as my co-workers had some trouble with it. Hopefully the code (which I copy and pasted above) will translate into a neat little word cloud. Fingers crossed!
Attributing Images
The next 'thing' I need to blog about is posting an image. I watched the video on the 23things blog and I was all set to tryout flickr, but I was unclear about whether or not it is necessary to have an account to use the images. So, I searched for a photo using Wikimedia commons. Here it is:
By Tulane Public Relations (Girl in the Library Uploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I found this image at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Girl_in_the_Library_%283638661587%29.jpg.
I completely understand the importance of creative commons and copyright restrictions, especially for content creators who are trying to make a living from their work. This information will be helpful when planning and promoting library programs, both with printed posters and online.
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By Tulane Public Relations (Girl in the Library Uploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I found this image at http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Girl_in_the_Library_%283638661587%29.jpg.
I completely understand the importance of creative commons and copyright restrictions, especially for content creators who are trying to make a living from their work. This information will be helpful when planning and promoting library programs, both with printed posters and online.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Social Reading
These things were more of a refresher course for me, as I had previously set up an account on Vision but I haven't used it in awhile. I'm actually kind of surprised that I haven't used it more, because I was so excited when I first heard that we were going with bibliocommons. When I was taking my first courses at SJSU back in 2007 everyone was talking about bibliocommons. There really are a lot of great features available for people who are into "social reading".
As I recall, it is fairly simple to set up your account - aside from getting a username that isn't already taken, but I think we all run in to that problem on pretty much all the social media sites. As far as creating a list in Vision, the most frustrating part is that once you do your search you can't click on any of the results to get more information. After selecting and then deselecting the wrong thing a few times I started selecting four or five, and then just removing the ones that I didn't want. If I were going to suggest an improvement to the system admins, that would be it! Writing the comment was easy enough, once I found the right spot to leave it - in addition to the 'leave a comment' option towards the top of the page, there is a 'comments' button at the bottem, that tripped me up at first. So I guess if I was going to leave two comments, that would be the second one hehe. Finally, following a reader with simple interests was a piece of cake.
The 'cool extra thing' this week was to create a Goodreads account, which is something I that already have done (I believe at an HSJ staff development day). I have the app on my smartphone and it is AWESOME. I love to be able to scan the barcode of the book I am reading and add it to my list without typing anything. (Sidenote: the scanning function is one of my fav things about the BiblioNB app too).
Almost halfway there!
As I recall, it is fairly simple to set up your account - aside from getting a username that isn't already taken, but I think we all run in to that problem on pretty much all the social media sites. As far as creating a list in Vision, the most frustrating part is that once you do your search you can't click on any of the results to get more information. After selecting and then deselecting the wrong thing a few times I started selecting four or five, and then just removing the ones that I didn't want. If I were going to suggest an improvement to the system admins, that would be it! Writing the comment was easy enough, once I found the right spot to leave it - in addition to the 'leave a comment' option towards the top of the page, there is a 'comments' button at the bottem, that tripped me up at first. So I guess if I was going to leave two comments, that would be the second one hehe. Finally, following a reader with simple interests was a piece of cake.
The 'cool extra thing' this week was to create a Goodreads account, which is something I that already have done (I believe at an HSJ staff development day). I have the app on my smartphone and it is AWESOME. I love to be able to scan the barcode of the book I am reading and add it to my list without typing anything. (Sidenote: the scanning function is one of my fav things about the BiblioNB app too).
Almost halfway there!
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
All things Twitter
Things 4-6 are all about twitter (set up account, follow library-related accounts, and tweet). Since I already have done all of those things on my own, I decided to set up an account for our library. You can find us (for now) at www.twitter.com/almccainlibrary. I think I remember something being mentioned at a training at one point about conventions for library twitter accounts, so I will have to check with my regional management team to ensure that this account is up to standard. It was difficult deciding on a name, because our library is named after former community members rather than the community itself. This may need to be changed to be in line with provincial standards, but for now I am pretty pleased with how it all turned out.
The process to set up a twitter account is pretty simple. The user is guided along with step by step instructions. Also, the FAQ section is very clear and easy to navigate. I can see the value in having a library social media account, especially for last minute changes and cancelations (like storm days). Twitter especially is an easy way to scan information without getting bogged down with too many details with the limit of 140 characters per tweet.
Looking forward to seeing if any of our local patrons are on twitter, and if we get any followers.
The process to set up a twitter account is pretty simple. The user is guided along with step by step instructions. Also, the FAQ section is very clear and easy to navigate. I can see the value in having a library social media account, especially for last minute changes and cancelations (like storm days). Twitter especially is an easy way to scan information without getting bogged down with too many details with the limit of 140 characters per tweet.
Looking forward to seeing if any of our local patrons are on twitter, and if we get any followers.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
23 Things
So here it is, my (not so) triumphant return to blogging! This time, it is mandated ;)
As part of my job working in a New Brunswick public library, I have been asked to participate in the 23 things project. Thing #1 - set up a blog. DONE!
I am a little surprised that I was still able to access this old blog, but since I can I see no point in creating another one. And now I have an actual focus, and specific things to write about, so maybe I will actually contribute for more than just two months.
A little bit about me - I am the manager of a small public library, and I hope to have the opportunity one day to move up to a medium library. To that end, I am in the process of completing my MLIS (anticipated graduation date of May 2014!). I am passionate about my home province of New Brunswick, libraries & literacy, early childhood education & families, and the arts (especially music). Currently, I am the Chairman of the board at Step Ahead Bath Family Learning Centre, and a member of the Carleton County Music Festival Committee.
It is exciting to be involved in a project that feels like we are moving the library system forward, being responsive to the needs of our patrons. I often speak to family & friends about how the library is more than just a book warehouse, and how we need to position ourselves as the one-stop shop for knowledge of all kinds. Now that I think about it, I am sure my family & friends will be glad to hear that I have an avenue to express some of these thoughts & opinions so that maybe they will not have to!
....and I think that takes care of Thing #2 - write a blog post.
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