Web 2.0 Ready

It was with some trepidation that we suggested the staff of Mandurah Libraries undertake Web 2.0 training. The usual barriers of time, access to technology and relevance were all considered. Was it achievable? Was it a good use of resources? Was it relevant?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Twenty-five staff began the course and, to date, eighteen have completed it.

Time was, and is, an issue. Most of those who completed the course did so in their own time, at home - a sign of the dedication of Mandurah Libraries staff. The suggested time frame of one hour per week was also seen as a little optimistic, with most people taking at least twice that long to complete each weeks tasks.

Access to technology was ever interesting, with the occassional glitch and inability to access necessary websites.

The most interesting of the three perceived barriers was relevance. There is an overwhelming recognition amongst those who have completed the training that this - user interaction, shared resources and alternative means of communication - is indeed the way of the future. If libraries are to maintain relevance than they need to be in the same space as their users and that space is the Twittersphere, facebook, wikis, You Tube and blogs.

While Mandurah Libraries may not be in that space yet, we can be confident that, because of the Web 2.0 training and exposure to this space, library staff are Web 2.0 ready.

Ooops ... I've been busy ...

So I haven't really had a chance to catch up on everyone's blogs. However I had a few spare minutes on the weekend, and with a choice between catching up on ironing and catching up on blogs, well, there's no surprise what I chose to do ...

The following are new blogs to add to our list. I hope you find them as entertaining and educational as I have ...

Bookworm
Widget Waves
not JUST a library

The continuing blogs are:

Missing Page
Travel Australia
roamingtheworld4lll
Web 2.0 training
Library Life
dragonmoxy
never2late2learn20
Kazzbloghereiam
Libraries, Learning, Arts and Culture Staff Blog

The list of finished blogs keeps growing and growing ...

Lou Lou Loves to Learn
becsiblogs
Today, I
World of Blog
State of Sunsets
Suffolk
Libraries- more than books
weescotslady
L
Shut Up Troy
Reluctant Blogger
wellidclare
Here We Go

If I have missed any, please let me know ...

City of Mandurah Libraries Web 2.0 Blogs

It's a little difficult to comment on other peoples blogs if we don't know where to find them so here is a list of the Participant Blogs from City of Mandurah Libraries ... enjoy!

Current blogs:

weescotslady
Missing Page
L
roamingtheworld4LLL
Travel Australia
Web 2.0 Training
Shut up Troy!
Library Life
Here we go!
wellidclare
Reluctant Blogger
never2late2learn20
dragonmoxy
Kazzbloghereiam

Completed Blogs:

Lou Lou Loves to Learn
Today, I ...
Besciblogs
World of Blog
State of Sunsets
Suffolk
Libraries - more than books

Sweet and Simple

 ... the website, that is, not so much the process ...

This weeks task was to write a sample HTML page from scratch, even though "all sensible people use editing software". Not us! We get to experience the thrill of turning a series of tags into a readable document ...

The aim of the exercise, of course, was to familiarise ourselves with mark-up language. There's a certain logic to mark-up that I find strangely appealing ... it's a little like carbon chemistry or quadratic equations where there are set patterns that need to be followed to achieve the desired result.

And here it is ... my first (and quite possibly last) website ...

Chocolate Brownies

Enjoy!

Hi Ho Hi Ho ... It's off to learn we go ...

There are five in our household and this year each of us are undertaking some form of study. We have two undergrads, two high school students and one post grad. The only one not studying is the cat. He's quite content to help us out by laying on our books, flipping his paw at our pens as we try to take notes and stepping all over the computer keyboards as we try and post messages to Blackboard.

Needless to say, life gets interesting ...

The studying, and subsequent learning is important. Equally important, though, is the modelling of learning. Just by growing up in a family where it is normal for parents to read, to undertake further study and to expect their children to do the same offers advantages over those who aren't exposed to that behavior.

It's often difficult for those who have grown up valuing learning and education to understand those who haven't. And, quite frequently, in public libraries these are the people we see most often.

It's up to us to offer opportunities for them to find that spark, that area of interest, that just may change their view.

Every journey begins with a single step ...

 ... And I'd like to think that the Web 2.0 Basics training is that single step at the beginning of our library service's journey towards a collaborative and interactive relationship with our community.

We created a Staff Blog last year, inspired by a team building project to encourage all staff to reflect on, and present to other council staff, the past, present and future roles of library and information services. On reflection, the timing was not great and the expectation that staff were familiar with, or even interested in, blogs was probably a little high. The completion of Web 2.0 Basics has introduced blogs to staff in a simple, fun and user-friendly manner, and our staff blog has been re-energised.

Flickr has the capacity to increase the profile of our library and information service, and it would be fantastic to utilise the photographic talents of our staff to showcase the services and programs we offer. While I see a future for flickr in our Web 2.0 strategy, it is of lesser importance than other applications. 

LibraryThing for Libraries should be the starting point for increased interactivity with the community, given that it is already part of our catalogue. To fully utilise it we need to train staff in its functions and demonstrate to the community just how amazing this tool is. We need to generate excitement! Perhaps we should set a LibraryThing target for Library Lovers Day? Every team member who demonstrates LibraryThing to three clients receives a ... (suggestions welcome)?

Facebook is the most obvious social networking tool we should be championing for libraries and information services. The aim would be to take the service to the people on the platform and in the space where they are most comfortable.  Once the page is established, with a suitable logo/image/brand, all that is required is one post of interesting information a day, and someone to monitor and respond, where necessary, to comments and posts. One hour per day of staff time should be sufficient to cover facebook monitoring for the library and information service.

Similarly, facebook should be available on the public pcs for the community to access ...

   " With over 500 million users, Facebook is now used by 1 in every 13 people on earth, with over 250 million of them (over 50%) who log in every day. The average user still has about 130 friends, but that should expand in 2011"

That's an awfully large chunk of the community we are not engaging by not allowing facebook access.

Once we are comfortable with facebook, Twitter could be introduced. The immediacy of Twitter implies tweets should be tweeted throughout the day, as opposed to a single facebook post. To maintain brand consistency, the same logo/image/brand as facebook should be utilised. An hour of staff time per day would be a conservative estimate of required resources. 

The enjoyment of a journey is influenced by our fellow travellers, and I have found those who undertook the Web 2.0 Basics journey at the same time as I did to be refreshingly honest, open to new ideas and very entertaining.

A great big thanks to Melissa and Mark, and the City of Swan Libraries for creating the training and offering it to all WA libraries.

Thanks also must go to our IT department who allowed our team access to otherwise inaccessible sites on work computers.

And of course my fabulous family who has also been on this journey with me. Watching the In Plain English videos ... listening to me read through my blog posts (sometimes a number of times!) as I edit them prior to publication ... putting up with my tweeting, blogging and commenting ...

All of which just goes to prove that the journey is more important than the destination.

Orienteering in the Digital Age

Ok, fess up! Who hasn't watched Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, or read Matthew Reilly and James Rollins and thought "I want to be doing that! I want to dig for treasure and solve puzzles and be shot at by crazy soldier types ..."?

Well, maybe not the shooting part but you have to admit there is some intrinsic primal urge in each of us to seek adventure, solve the mystery and win the prize.

Geocaching allows us to do that in the safety of our community, without exposing us to doom and danger, or impacting on our work life. After all, very few of us are independently wealthy like Lara Croft or Jack West Jnr. and  we need to turn up to work to pay the mortgage.

In a single branch of a public library, geocaching may be hard to administer, but across a Library Service with multiple branches geocaching would be a great way to introduce borrowers to the different services and programs on offer at the different locations.

What appeals to me is the capacity for geocaching to link our branches - Mandurah, Falcon eLibrary and Community Centre, and Accent - with the Mandurah Community Museum, INQB8 art exhibitions, heritage sites, public art, Alcoa Art Gallery and the Visitor Centre particularly during one of our fabulous festivals. The cache could be based on the theme of the festival, and help showcase not just the library and information services, but Libraries, Learning, Arts and Culture within the wider community.

I'm also quite impressed with the idea of a geocaching workshop within the library's Learning Program. It may attract new members and add to the skill base of the community.

Or it could just be fun!

Personal, on-demand broadcasting ...

 ... now there's an offer you can't refuse.

How brilliant is it to be able to download the information you want, in the format of your choice, onto your favourite device so you can access it when it's convenient to you?

The applications, and implications, of podcasts are wide and varied. From a library and information perspective podcasts could be used for Writers in the Library, Guest Speakers, and Lectures, engaging audiences who may, for whatever reason, not attend these functions in person.

Book reviews, tips and hints on making the most of your library, information on online resources ... even feedback could be packaged in ways to make them accessible and entertaining.

Internal customers could be equally enthralled. The novelty of receiving a presentation on RFID and self loan stations as a podcast, complete with client feedback, accessible when it is convenient to them rather than in yet another meeting may be the difference between stakeholders agreeing to fund the project or rejecting it outright.

As for my podcast subscriptions ... Scientific American's Sixty Second Science and Sixty Second Earth get my vote. Another little snippet of science to satisfy the geek in me.

I-Tube, YouTube, We-All-Tube

There is an awful lot of ... rubbish ... on YouTube! I blame reality TV shows and the incessant need to coddle an individual's self esteem. Surely it is kinder to tell someone their future in singing is limited by their inability to carry a tune, rather than let them post a video of themselves on YouTube doing just that, and opening themselves up to worldwide ridicule?

Forgive me, I digress ...

I found wading through the detritus particularly mindnumbing, flicking from one video to the next in search of a suitable clip to embed. We've all seen the clever Old Spice videos, Librarians do Gaga and the VALA Digital Native ... and never before have I been so grateful as I am now that somebody, somewhere has the time and patience to locate and share these gems.

Don't get me wrong - I have no doubt there are more educational and stimulating videos out there than I managed to stumble across this evening ... I am particularly fond of the In Plain English lessons that have formed part of the Web 2.0 training ... I just need to refine my searching skills!

WIthin the library and information profession, online videos could be used for:

• marketing and promotions
• recording Storytimes for isolated clients
• recording guest speakers, making them accessible to Home Library Service clients
• staff and volunteer training
• demonstrating to stakeholders the validity and relevancy of our services

And now I'd like to introduce Bob, my new YouTube friend. I hope you find him as sweet as I did.

To tweet or not to tweet: that is the question

After a brief dalliance with Twitter last year I decided tweeting was not for me. Brevity is not my strong point as anyone who knows me will attest, and I have a terrible aversion to abbreviated text speak, editing all my messages to ensure the spelling and punctuation are correct, and the grammar at least passable. My only concession is the occassional use of an emoticon, and then it is usually nothing more than a smiley face.

Just this week, while discussing Twitter and my lack of enthusiasm for it with a colleague, it was suggested that this was because I was not under the illusion that everyone found every thought that popped into my head illuminating, or stimulating, or even the tiny bit interesting. Fearing that my self esteem might take a battering if we continued down this path I hastily agreed.

On reflection, however, that is precisely why I was not itching to commence tweeting. Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say?

Twitter seems to be more time consuming than other social networking platforms. While a library could effectively use facebook as a marketing and communication tool, adding a single post per day, Twitter has a greater sense of urgency, and almost demands continual updates.

Despite this lack of enthusiasm, this suspicion that nobody wants to hear my thoughts, I am again tweeting. You can follow me @TeenaLMiller.

Or not ... it's up to you.

Fabulous Facebook

Ah, facebook, where would I be without you?

How would I know whose birthday it was? Who would remind me that The Little Big Book Club has the next months reading selection and craft activities available on their web page? Where else could I see photos of my friends bumper harvest from her backyard vegie garden?  

I am indeed a facebook fan!

I have less than the average number of facebook friends, and each of them I know personally. They're a combination of friends I went to school and uni with, work friends and colleagues, some wonderful people I've met in my travels,  relatives - including my children - and my children's friends. As a rule, I generally don't invite people to be friends, and if someone sends a friend request I weigh up the pros and cons before accepting/declining. I mean, do I really want to be friends with someone who barely said two civil words to me throughout our entire school years?  

Initially, I used facebook to share photos and information with family who live far away. Now, I tend to use it more for work purposes. If I come across an article I want to refer back to, or share with my colleagues, I pop it on my wall ... sometimes even my non-work friends make comments on them which is a bonus. I love starting and contributing to dialogue on library and literacy related issues!

Of course, I'm not above using facebook to keep an eye on what my girls are doing in their lives. Even though we have quite interesting and open dinner table conversations (thank goodness what's said at the table stays at the table!) I wouldn't be doing my job as a parent if I wasn't stalking ... I mean spying on ... no, no, communicating with my children on facebook.

Facebook for libraries is a no-brainer. It has to be one of the simplest - and cheapest - marketing tools available. It is a direct link to Gen Y (and whoever comes after Gen Y!), and increasingly to Gen X and Baby Boomers. Having a facebook page demonstrates that your library is keeping up with technological changes, able to provide information in a variety of formats and welcomes all members of the community.

It's about maintaining relevancy - and those of us who don't have a facebook page are at risk of lagging behind in customer service and information provision.

It would also help if clients who come into the library can access facebook on the public pcs, or even their own computers via the wireless network ... Being unable to do so reinforces the image of libraries as archaic, unable  and unwilling to embrace change and increasingly irrelevant in a digital information world. Yep, you guessed it ... a personal bug bear of mine, but I'm working through it ...

Oooh, must fly ... I've just received notification I have new facebook activity ...

It's a Library Thing

It could just be that it's 10.30 on a Friday night and part of me thinks I should be out doing something spectacular, while the other half of me thinks I should be tucked up in bed finishing the last hundred pages of Red Ice ... but I'm not completely blown away by Library Thing.

Don't get me wrong ... I think the widget looks pretty specky over there on my right, and I'm kinda impressed by the way the covers keep changing, randomly ... but it seemed like such a chore to add the titles, then the tags ...

It's not that the process wasn't simple - it was no more difficult than Delicious (or risotto). No, the real problem was trying to decide which books to add. Did I really want to add all the Cherub books, or all the James Patterson, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwall and Matthew Reilly books? And would my collection be serving it's true purpose if I added just one from each author? I suspect not ...

I do, however, like Library Thing for libraries. It's like having a personal reader advisory service embedded into the catalogue. Unfortunately, I fear it is under-utilised at Mandurah Libraries for the simple reason that very few people - staff or clients - seem to know of its existence, and those of us who do are not (yet) adequately trained in its application.

Something else to add to the to do list perhaps?

Delightfully Delicious

Delicious is like risotto ... it doesn't look very appealing, but it's very tasty ... not to mention addictive. And, like risotto, it's quite simple to do.

Risotto: Slowly cook flavour base - onion, garlic, seasonings in olive oil ... add rice ... stir ... add wine ... stir ... add stock ... simmer ... stir ... season ... repeat until rice is cooked ... remove from heat ... add butter and parmesan ... stir ... cover ... serve.

Delicious: Create an account ... log in ... click "save a new bookmark" ... copy and paste the web address ... add tags ... save ... repeat ...

The fun REALLY begins when you decide which tags to use. Should my tags be adjectives or verbs? Or can they be both? Is it OK to use "yum" for cooking and for Supernatural and True Blood? And just how many is too many?

Initially, I set myself a goal of five bookmarks ... then ten. I couldn't stop at thirteen ... that would be unlucky, and seventeen just seemed odd! Thank goodness the internet dropped out or I may never have stopped!

I woke up in the middle of the night, remembering a few websites I just HAD to bookmark ... I remedied THAT this morning, before work ...

Be warned, it's addictive ...

 ... Or perhaps I'm just easily amused!

http://www.delicious.com/louloulovestolearn

The Wonderful World of Wikis

Just when I thought the world wide web was being over run by the wicked and unruly (if you believe everything you read or hear in mainstream media), I learn of yet another example of what can happen when the internet is used for good not evil.

As a collaborative tool, wikis are incredible. As with anything, the tool is only as effective as the user, so as long as all collaborators present balanced, unbiased and accurate information (to the best of their knowledge) in a professional manner wikis have the potential to:

• save time - no longer will we have to trawl through threads of emails to reach a decision
• save paper - re-printed procedures and edited documents will be a thing of the past
• be a truly egalitarian creative process, where everyone has the right to contribute and edit
• involve our clients in real and meaningful communication
• tap into a wealth of knowledge otherwise lost - particularly in regard to local history

I love, love, love the Antioch University's Staff Training and Support Wiki! Oh, the things we could do (to quote Dr Seuss). I have visions of procedures being instantaneously updated and accessible. And how fabulous would it be to have a central point for new staff to access all the information they could possibly need ... and if it wasn't there, we could add it!

I have to admit the Games and Public Libraries Wiki freaked me out a bit. A brilliant selection of speakers coming up, but as much as I love learning, I'm not quite ready to make that jump to creating a toon, joining a guild and whispering a secret password to join the lecture. That seems too much like creating a second life to me, and while there are days when I would jump at that opportunity, most of the time it's hard work keeping up with the one life I already have!

I also loved the NSW State Library Reader Advisory Services' Wiki. As has been discussed in the WA Public Libraries Web 2.0 Wiki promoting books and reading is something we should all be striving to do, yet it often is delegated as a less important task. I'm looking forward to participating in the Read It 2011 monthly twitter group.