Thing #19

I signed up for Twitter and am following some news sites. It might be good for sending out notices to classes. Don't think I want to follow any stars.

I looked at the widget tool and think that is beyond me at this point at least although I do want to learn how to post some on my webpage for databases. I am hoping that the vendors have done most of the work for me and I can figure the rest out.

Thing #18

I think Google Docs is a great application. I have used it in the past year for collaborative work with committees and once you get over not wanting to edit someone else's work(or not wanting someone to edit yours), it really works well. I was impressed with the number of templates available and plan to use some of them in the coming year, starting with the trip planning checklist.

Thing #17

I think this is a great tool to put together a list of good websites for an assignment. I made one called "News Search" of trusted and local news sources for checking on current events.

Thing #16

I like the idea of wikis to put together resource pages for research assignments. Starting with my suggestions and the teachers and then the students can add their ideas. We are definitely dropping one of our online encyclopedias. I am still uncomfortable posting on wikis and blogs.

Thing #15

I have always said that the thing that I like best about my job is that I don't get bored because I can always find ways of improving what we do. Library 2.0 is going to be a huge challenge, particularly for those of us who don't like change. In addition to the coffee bar at the circulation desk and changing "rules" about talking and eating and drinking to make the space itself more welcoming, these tools make it possible to make the entire research process more available and help available outside the library walls. While I have long been a proponent of ebooks and online databases, I am rethinking how to make them easier to use rather than trying to convince students that the trouble is worth it.

Thing #14

Searches in different parts do yield different results. I was surprised to see how quickly the top searches change and how interested people apparently are in pop culture. I think the tag clouds are fascinating and another term for keywords. I can't come up with any uses for this right now, but I am glad I know what it is.

Thing #13

This is an interesting way to keep bookmarks. I had tried them with folders before and just gave up organizing them and found it was easier to do a new search each time. I imported all the old ones into delicious and it was not a good idea since all the ones the browser selected went too and I spend a lot of time deleting ones I didn't want. I did put some tags on the others and can see setting up accounts and a social network for classes. Not sure how it would work with the passwords required for subscription databases but would be a great way for students to share websites with each other.