# 23 The End ... not with a bang but a whimper*

The mathematically inclined would argue that the world can be broken down into statistics. Tthe Learning 2.0 program is no exception.
We have had -

• nine weeks
• 23 exercises
• 1 blog
• many RSS feeds
• unlimited photos on Flickr
• some funny pictures
• 1 catalogue of our own books (LibraryThing)
• 1 purpose-built search engine
• many tools with funny names (Wiki, Technorati, Del.ici.ous, etc)
• and an infinite range of possibilities for the future in libraries.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the technology and the more I have learned, the more I realise I don't know very much. But that's okay. Recognising your inadequacies can be positive if you open your mind to further learning.

To make an assessment at the end of the program, we need to return to the beginning -
Habit 1 – Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2 – Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3 – View problems as challenges
Habit 4 – Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5 – Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6 – Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7 – Teach and mentor others
Habit 7 ½ – PLAY!Have fun! It's never too late to become a lifelong learner.
Did I take on these habits? Yes I did and as a result I was able to complete the program, thanks especially to my colleagues for their mentoring and sharing of knowledge. And surely that's what being a librarian is all about.

* apologies to T.S. Eliot

# 22 Audiobooks

As a time-poor person who likes to multi-task, I've been thinking about how good it would be to be able to download books on to a MP3 player or IPod and listen while I walk the dog or potter in the garden. I know very little about how to go about this and of course I want to do it for free. This task gave me some insight into how to solve my problem. I looked at this site -
http://worldebookfair.com/Mp3eBooks.htm
- but I can't say that I have found the answer to my prayers. The range of books is limited and seems to be mainly classics. Is it a copyright issue? The computer-generated voices are dreadful and ruin the beauty of the language. I did listen to one book which was read by a real person, or so she said when she gave her name, but it didn't sound like any person I know. Until the range of titles can be hugely increased and until the voice issue can be solved, I don't think ebooks will take off.

# 21 Podcasts

I can imagine uses for podcasts in a library environment - user education, in particular, e.g. how to use the print station, how to use the catalogue - but I think expecting people to listen to instructions in the hustle and bustle of a 21st century library might be asking a bit much. I found it difficult enough to listen to the Learning 2.0 podcasts in our workroom - but then my workstation is situated next to a printer! And no, we didn't have access to headphones.
In terms of personal use, I find that my visual comprehension is far superior to my auditory comprehension and I prefer to see things written, even if on a computer screen. I find my eyes wandering when I listen to a podcast on a computer and therefore my attention is distracted. Many of the podcast voices are computer-like and do not make for pleasant listening. I browsed the podcast links given in this exercise and added one RSS lead to my bloglines.

# 20 YouTube for beginners

I had a look around YouTube - interesting enough, I suppose, if you've got something specific in mind or if you don't have anything else to do. There are only so many hours in the day and I don't really want to use any of my spare time looking at clips, humorous or otherwise.
However, I must admit I did enjoy the "Medieval Helpdesk" clip; it reminded me of my role at the Information Desk. We often explain what seem to be very simple concepts, only to realise that the customers just don't "get" it.
Back to YouTube - I did enjoy listening to a few song clips (I was able to combine my Learning 2.0 task with a bit of bonding-time with my daughter) and here is one of our favourites -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axpuVLQ_m4w

I don't know why this doesn't show as a link but it is Ben Folds singing "Brick". I just worked out that you can open another window and play music while working on something else (like a blog). Now that makes sense to me. Multi-tasking at its best!

# 19 Web 2.0 Awards

I had a bit of fun looking at the Awards and focused on Events. upcoming.yahoo.com opened with local events; www.eventful.com also listed links for several other countries but did not list the U.S.; www.confabb.com is a U.S.-based site which lists conferences. I searched for "quilting" and found references to U.S. and international quilting festivals (is it too late for me to go to the International Quilt Festival at Houston, Texas 1-4 November?). More realistically, it linked me to the Stitch and Craft Show in Melbourne next year, though it lists the venue as the "Melbourne Racing Club" when in fact it is held at the Caulfield Racecourse. Must have gotten mixed up in translation.
I also looked at www.fuzzmail.org which allows the recipients of email to view the email in real time. I'm not sure I like the idea of this. Imagine the receiver being able to see you change your mind about how you phrase something or even about including something questionable in an email. We all know the pitfalls of breaching email etiquette (e.g. use of capitals to signify anger) and I think fuzzmail may be even more dangerous. Maybe I'll just stick to www.cocktailbuilder.com/ for some fun ideas!

# 18 On-line productivity - Zoho Writer & Google Docs

Is anyone else getting sick of having to log in to so many new features? I feel like I am leaving a giant footprint in the computer world when I would like to be far less intrusive.
I had a look at Zoho Writer - looks good in theory since it may mean lessening the Microsoft dominance (I assume that people can buy a computer and use Zoho instead of buying Microsoft Word software, thought how anyone is going to organise their desktop without Windows is beyond me and usually computer dealers throw in the whole Microsoft package anyway). I wasn't able to connect it to my blog.
Google Docs offers an alternative to Microsoft Excel (amongst other features) and seems to work in a similar way. The ability to share seems to be a big advantage, if sharing is necessary to your brief, but I think I'll stick to my old-fashioned ways (Microsoft).

# Playing around with PB Wiki

I surprised myself by being able to complete this task without any assistance - I feel I am actually progressing in these learning tasks. I added my blog to the plcmclearning favourite blogs - http://plcmclearning.pbwiki.com/Favorite%20Blogs - but sadly the Glen Eira title is very small and insignificant compared to the other library services. I must see if some of my cleverer colleagues can change it.

# 16 Wikis

"A Wiki is a quick-to-build, easy-to-edit website on which all information can be edited, changed, or rewritten by the users or members of the site". (Wiki = fast or quick). It's a way of getting information published on-line quickly and easily, without the need for an IT degree or knowledge of HTML.

In a public library context, setting up a wiki, accessible through the library's website, could be a great way of involving library customers. For example, we could ask them to post reviews of books they have enjoyed and even make comments about books that have already been reviewed. This could result in a club-like atmosphere, which would be attractive to certain groups of library users, particularly the 10 - 18 age group. Separate wikis could be established to satisfy different interests - cooking, gardening, astronomy, etc.

The main problem or disadvantage with wikis is maintaining editorial control, though this seems to be solved by limiting editing to specific people who must have an account and log in before any editing can take place. Those authorised to contribute to or edit a wiki could be limited to staff members (as in the St Joseph County Public Library's subject guides wiki - http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page - ) or through email confirmation of address http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page - Library Success, a best practices wiki, which asks for email confirmation due to vandalism problems. Some wikis even charge for membership - Princeton Public Library's gold membership for the Book Lovers Wiki is $75 a year, but it does offer the chance for reviewers to win prizes.

In summary, from the small amount I have explored and regardless of the possible pitfalls, I can see how wikis could be used by public libraries. I have even started my own wiki - http://mysteryworld.pbwiki.com/mysteryworld - though I don't know if I will get time to do much with it. At present, it is definitely a work in progress.

# 15 Library 2.0

This whole Library 2.0 training exercise has made me think about the future direction of libraries in a world that is constantly changing socially, politically, economically, environmentally and technologically.
Around 130 years ago, Melvil Dewey devised the Dewey Decimal Classification System and totally revolutionised the library world. Up until around ten years ago, libraries seemed to change at a slow, leisurely pace, almost as though change could only be accepted if there was no alternative. With the introduction of computers and the internet, not to mention the changes in social attitudes, change within libraries is now the norm. Libraries have to justify their place in the modern world. With so much information seemingly easily accessible on-line, librarians have to prove their role as information providers.
So how do we do this? Do we jump on the nearest bandwagon and eagerly embrace everything? Do we set up blogs and RSS feeds and rely on the new technology for our information resources? Or should we adopt a wait and see attitude, risking missing out altogether?
As an information services librarian in a frontline management position in a public library, I feel my power to bring about change in a physical sense is limited. My voice is small. However, I can embrace the changes in a metaphysical way, trying to bring about a change in mindset for myself and for my colleagues, ensuring that the people I work with will be able to accept the inevitable changes in a positive, empowering way. My personal shelf-life as a librarian is probably limited to a decade. I can only hope that the extent of positive change I have witnessed in the past decade will be replicated in the next ten years!

# 14 Technorati

Technorati is the "leading search tool and authority for blogs", with more than 50 million blogs attached to it. This is an incredible number of blogs! With the world population at 6,602,224,175 (July 2007, CIA World Factbook), that means one out of 132 people has a blog! No wonder we need a way of searching blogs, apart from the usual internet search engines. Mind you, I don't really believe these statistics - I think that some people have more than one blog, which inflates the stats. Because I have set up my Ifancynancypearl blog through www.blogger.com, my blog is also accessible through Technorati.
Would I use Technorati? Probably not at the moment but who knows what the future may hold? I'm not sure how it could be applied in a professional sense. However, I feel it is important to know about such things if only to avoid being a technoramus.

# 13 Del.icio.us

"Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking manager which allows you to bookmark a web page and add tags to categorize your bookmarks".

This is an interesting tool - particularly handy if you use different computer terminals. However, the lack of privacy is a bit of a concern. We have so little privacy in our lives nowadays and even people who lead blameless lives can have a twinge of fear about how transparent and accessible our lives are. (Remember Sandra Bullock in The Net? In fact, Orwell's 1984 predicted some aspects of the world we are now living in). I'm not sure I will embrace the social networking aspect of Del.icio.us but nonetheless it has been an interesting experience.

# 12 Rollyo

Rollyo is an entirely new concept for me - the idea of creating your own search engine to search only the websites you choose - and I love it (particularly since I managed to do the task with only a minimum of help). I am going to use Rollyo to create search engines in other topics which interest me.

# 11 LibraryThing

“I just said, 'Well, the real people performing miracles every day are librarians,' and we all laughed ourselves off our chairs.” (Nancy Pearl)







I have looked at LibraryThing before but this time I was encouraged to set up my own catalogue. I wish I had time to add all my books at home!

To get a hint of what Ifancynancypearl likes to read, here's the link:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/ifancynancypearl

I also find LibraryThing helpful in finding suggestions for my personal reading and I have read many good books as a result. I can also use it in my information services role, in terms of finding similar books and placing suggestions for books that my library doesn't have.

# 10 On-line image generator

Initially I thought I would be able to reinvent myself in a virtual world by generating a new image (think tall, slim, blonde, unencumbered) but I soon realised that the task referred to pictures!

My colleague, Yarnspinner, recommended this website - http://www.imagegenerator.org/ - and I had a bit of fun with it. It's worth looking at if you want to put together signs, etc. She also helped me transfer the image to my blog. Thanks Yarnspinner!

I'm not sure how I will personally use this skill, although it would have been really handy in 1994 when I was compiling the kindergarten newsletter (when cut and paste involved scissors and glue!).

# 9 Newsfeeds - satisfying our hunger for news

This activity provided a good opportunity to reflect on what I've learnt so far and to have fun using this knowledge to explore. I've never been one to keep up with the news on-line - I enjoy reading my home-delivered copy of the Age every morning - and have only ever resorted to checking on-line if I hear a rumour of an interesting event during the day and want to check on the details of the story.

Having made this disclaimer, I nonetheless completed the task and now feel inspired to check some of the sites I added to Bloglines. Even with Bloglines, the magnitude of the task of "keeping up" with the information revolution is daunting! I'll just have to plod along, sharing interesting facts/opinions with my colleagues and in return being educated by them. As a teamwork exercise, Learning 2.0 is great!

# 8 RSS feeds - keeping in touch the easy way

Really Simple Syndication - With a lot of help from my friends, I managed to complete this task. The Learning 2.0 process is a bit like "painting with numbers" and I find that if I follow the instructions too closely, I can perform a task without really understanding it. Therefore, I use my Train the Trainer technique and "do it fast", then "do it slow", and then I have a workable grasp of the concepts and the steps.

If you've ever wondered what interests Ifancynancypearl, click on the link below (remember it's a work in progress)

http://www.bloglines.com/public/ifancynancypearl

# 7 How my friendship with technology began

It was a dark and stormy night when I first began my relationship with technology. Well, actually I don't remember what the weather was like but I do remember that I was very scared to use my first personal computer in 1987. I never really understood DOS and therefore the computer was a very expensive word processor and I was never even comfortable with that (I remember handing in a 5000 word essay with everything underlined except for the bibliographic references).
Fortunately I didn't let my fear paralyse me and gradually, thanks to an updated p.c. and Microsoft Windows, I became familiar with the rapidly evolving technology. I was able to re-enter the library workforce after a lengthy break and embrace the technological changes that were happening.
Every year seems to bring new resources - a myriad of databases, ABS on-line, etc - and for me, 2007 will be the year of the blog.

# 6 Flickr fun

Yes, it is fun to learn a new skill and to play with the options Flickr offers us! I created a trading card (with an internal view of my current library branch) - click on my Flickr link to see it.

# 5 My friend Flickr

Click on the link to see my photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13914918@N07/

# 4 Feel the fear and do it anyway

"We are built to conquer environments, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve" - Maxwell Maltz

"Fear defeats more people than any one thing in the world" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiousity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed" - Joseph Addison

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong" - Joseph Chilton Pierce

"Fear is something to be moved through, not something to be turned from" - Peter Mc Williams

# 3 In the beginning

My mantra for this week -

TECHNOLOGY IS MY FRIEND
TECHNOLOGY IS MY FRIEND
TECHNOLOGY IS MY FRIEND ......

(If I say it often enough, it might come true!)