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 :)

Pinterest

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 :)

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.