This is a dangerous list to look at because of the Books category -- I could get caught up in looking at book lists and new sites for hours -- but here's my short list of what I saw:
Biblio.com: http://www.biblio.com/
Their goal is to be the "corner, used bookstore" with a conscience -- with over 50 million books in their inventory, they also strive to give back -- from their website, they state:
"We've grown, but we've proudly maintained our original vision, becoming a local bookstore on a global scale. Every day we enable our customers - nearly a million book lovers from every country on earth - to find high-quality books. We've helped people get books they've spent years trying to find, and in the process, we've helped forge lasting relationships between book lovers and independent booksellers. Our technology bridges geographies to help customers form old-fashioned relationships with small corner bookstores around the world.
Every day, we help small businesses in 36 countries develop and grow their businesses. We provide them with technology and tools that allow them to establish and strengthen their identity. We enable them to connect with their customers, and form new relationships."
Honorable mentions went to LibraryThing and WorldCat -- both already favorites of mine...I talk about LibraryThing below -- it brought me into the social sharing arena like nothing else...ok, Facebook has piqued my interest because of my looming 30 year high school reunion coming up...but I digress.
Ok -- enough for today -- I've enjoyed exploring some new things this summer and revisiting some old friends.
Carol
Friday, August 15, 2008
Week 8: Thing 18 - Zoho Writer
Looking at Zoho Writer this week was interesting. My question as I look at any of these new tools is as always -- what's the applicability in my daily life that will actually be beneficial and save me time or help to include the technology in instruction -- without being the driving force itself -- i.e. "toys for toys sake."
I think there is a future to the online word processing programs such as Zoho and/or Google Docs because of the newer versions of Word that have gone beyond the average user's needs and the complexity of them make general typing/paper writing more convoluted than necessary in many cases. So...in comes an online program that allows you to type from anywhere -- format simply and voila -- you have a paper created -- I'm all for it!
All of the other "bells" that Zoho has -- I'd need to explore more -- I already have email, a wiki and a blog -- at some point, it's a matter of duplication, questioning how many access points I need to have as my portal and seeing "good enough" is just that -- good enough.
Oh -- and yes, I published this to my blog from Zoho -- and it worked fine -- so another plus in its favor!
Carol
Thursday, August 7, 2008
All things Wiki: Things 16 & 17
Wikis...I really hadn't created one until I returned to the U.S. in April, although I'd been using Wikipedia for my own quick searches and as an example in my classes related to web evaluation for a few years.
As I looked around at the various wiki sites, I guess my main question is "why??" -- by this I mean -- what are the benefits of them in the context of the place and or purpose. I come back to this question a lot as I look at technology and try new things...is there a tie to instruction, to the curriculum, to learning?? -- or -- is it just fun because...
Not to negate fun because..., but at some point, I begin to feel overwhelmed as to "why" -- and unless I can see a benefit to my life, or my job or to the communities I serve -- then I really just need to backburner some things because of time and energy.
Re: wikis -- I think if we have content that is collaborative and would benefit from collective input, then I'm all for it. The websites that I looked at were using them for a myriad of purposes, from reference, to book information. At Boatwright, we have the MSD and Boatipedia wikis -- MSD seems a good choice for a wiki, since we might have collaborative additions we can benefit from -- Boatipedia, as a wiki, I'm still thinking about -- I see benefits from having comments on the pages and staff input, but we really don't want anyone to be able to go in and change content -- do we?
How could other areas of the library benefit from a wiki? I think as a knowledge base, they are very useful -- such as reference transactions and FAQs for staff -- such as questions asked at the desk, especially since they can quickly be searched. For many cases though, I think that a blog can be used with just as much success since you can post information and comments -- it depends on whether the information is timely as in updates/or more static--reference-oriented in nature I guess...
My 2 cents for the day on Wikis and posts for this week.
Carol
As I looked around at the various wiki sites, I guess my main question is "why??" -- by this I mean -- what are the benefits of them in the context of the place and or purpose. I come back to this question a lot as I look at technology and try new things...is there a tie to instruction, to the curriculum, to learning?? -- or -- is it just fun because...
Not to negate fun because..., but at some point, I begin to feel overwhelmed as to "why" -- and unless I can see a benefit to my life, or my job or to the communities I serve -- then I really just need to backburner some things because of time and energy.
Re: wikis -- I think if we have content that is collaborative and would benefit from collective input, then I'm all for it. The websites that I looked at were using them for a myriad of purposes, from reference, to book information. At Boatwright, we have the MSD and Boatipedia wikis -- MSD seems a good choice for a wiki, since we might have collaborative additions we can benefit from -- Boatipedia, as a wiki, I'm still thinking about -- I see benefits from having comments on the pages and staff input, but we really don't want anyone to be able to go in and change content -- do we?
How could other areas of the library benefit from a wiki? I think as a knowledge base, they are very useful -- such as reference transactions and FAQs for staff -- such as questions asked at the desk, especially since they can quickly be searched. For many cases though, I think that a blog can be used with just as much success since you can post information and comments -- it depends on whether the information is timely as in updates/or more static--reference-oriented in nature I guess...
My 2 cents for the day on Wikis and posts for this week.
Carol
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Things 14 & 15...Technorati and Library & Web 2.0
Technorati -- "Currently tracking 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media...Technorati is the recognized authority on what's happening on the World Live Web, right now."
Another interesting resource -- I hadn't looked at it before, so new knowledge is always good. Will I use it again? Maybe...but my brain is quickly approaching the fill point for the "daily" tools, vs the "these are interesting" tools -- how many things do I use in a day? Good question ... maybe reprioritizing is needed as to what's cool, vs. what really helps me stay caught up and organized??
Library and Web 2.0 -- these are certainly the current buzzwords...talking about new technologies and uses of the web and how libraries interact in all of it...some of it is I think a little of the "new terms" to describe what's already been going on...
Some interesting quotes from the articles to think about:
From "An Academic's Perspective: Snake Oil, Bandwagons, and Library 2.0" -- http://liblogs.albany.edu/library20/2008/01/snake_oil_bandwagons_and_library.html#comments: "I think it's important to understand that we can't expect students to envision how every new technology in the library might benefit them."
"Library 2.0: Service for the Next Generation" - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html:
"Many tools and ideas will come from the world of Web 2.0, and many will have nothing to do with technology."
Another interesting resource -- I hadn't looked at it before, so new knowledge is always good. Will I use it again? Maybe...but my brain is quickly approaching the fill point for the "daily" tools, vs the "these are interesting" tools -- how many things do I use in a day? Good question ... maybe reprioritizing is needed as to what's cool, vs. what really helps me stay caught up and organized??
Library and Web 2.0 -- these are certainly the current buzzwords...talking about new technologies and uses of the web and how libraries interact in all of it...some of it is I think a little of the "new terms" to describe what's already been going on...
Some interesting quotes from the articles to think about:
From "An Academic's Perspective: Snake Oil, Bandwagons, and Library 2.0" -- http://liblogs.albany.edu/library20/2008/01/snake_oil_bandwagons_and_library.html#comments: "I think it's important to understand that we can't expect students to envision how every new technology in the library might benefit them."
"Library 2.0: Service for the Next Generation" - http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html:
"Many tools and ideas will come from the world of Web 2.0, and many will have nothing to do with technology."
del.icio.us -- My 13th Thing...
del.icio.us -- I had set up an account before arriving here and tried it out, but like so many other "things" -- it had been put aside without really using it.
http://del.icio.us/cwittig
I dumped all my bookmarks into it initially, so it really needs a good cleaning out, but I think it has potential. I've used the idea of bookmarks in a class, but not where students can add to them and they've always been static links, so seeing how other people use the resources has been interesting. Tagging is still the "new" aspect for me to remember to do when I save links -- and the visual clouds, like Wordle usually don't grab me as much, although it's probably just a lack of experience and practice with them.
Overall -- another tool to remember to use more with great benefits!
http://del.icio.us/cwittig
I dumped all my bookmarks into it initially, so it really needs a good cleaning out, but I think it has potential. I've used the idea of bookmarks in a class, but not where students can add to them and they've always been static links, so seeing how other people use the resources has been interesting. Tagging is still the "new" aspect for me to remember to do when I save links -- and the visual clouds, like Wordle usually don't grab me as much, although it's probably just a lack of experience and practice with them.
Overall -- another tool to remember to use more with great benefits!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Rollyo - Thing 12 and counting...
Here's the link to my search on Rollyo for books -- I started with a list of top sites recommended by http://books.nettop20.com/and it's "vendor" heavy -- so if I was to edit it, I'd add more review sites and less commercial -- although when I tried a search in it, sponsored sites were added anyways...but an interesting premise nonetheless.
http://rollyo.com/cwittig/carols_book_search/
Overall--this reminds me of the specialty search engines and the "vertical" searching that was touted a few years ago -- but with the new 2.0 "create your own" aspect. Interesting, but would I actually use it? I doubt it -- it's one more site to bookmark, tweak, and personalize; but I'm about personalized out at many of the sites I visit and like the old, anonymous experience once in awhile! But that's my Monday personality coming out, so we'll see come the end of the week how I feel...
http://rollyo.com/cwittig/carols_book_search/
Overall--this reminds me of the specialty search engines and the "vertical" searching that was touted a few years ago -- but with the new 2.0 "create your own" aspect. Interesting, but would I actually use it? I doubt it -- it's one more site to bookmark, tweak, and personalize; but I'm about personalized out at many of the sites I visit and like the old, anonymous experience once in awhile! But that's my Monday personality coming out, so we'll see come the end of the week how I feel...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thing 11 -- Library Thing --- Let me count the ways I love THIS!!!
LOVE Library Thing....
I discovered it in Belgium when I had about 100 scraps of paper on my desk and the daughter of a patron came in telling me about her daughter's new "catalog" system online --- so I was introduced to my fave thing of the year by a 12 year old...go figure.
Carol
I discovered it in Belgium when I had about 100 scraps of paper on my desk and the daughter of a patron came in telling me about her daughter's new "catalog" system online --- so I was introduced to my fave thing of the year by a 12 year old...go figure.
Carol
Thing 10 - Image Generators
This week I experimented with Flickr Toys -- the goal is to eventually mashup the map with my photos and create an online scrapbook that's linked -- but for now, that's more time and energy than I have!
bighugelabs.com/flickr/
My Europe Adventures...
Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com
Here's the few at Flickr that I added to the map:
www.flickr.com/photos/28459312@N08/
bighugelabs.com/flickr/
My Europe Adventures...
Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com
Here's the few at Flickr that I added to the map:
www.flickr.com/photos/28459312@N08/
Monday, July 14, 2008
Blogging About Technology - "Thing 7"
I somehow missed this one last week, so let me gush a bit how much I love the 1 piece phone/browser/email technology -- I wish I had selected an IPhone when I arrived instead of my T-Mobile Dash -- but alas...that's a whole different blog of woe, but I do LOVE the technology of it all...and when I discovered what Bluetooth actually meant to me -- and that my steering wheel now answers the telephone in my purse...I was smitten.
And now that the new IPhone is out...I have to find a reason to convince Allen that he needs my Dash, so I can have the new toy on the shelf...hmmm...but how do I convince him that I also need a Kindle book reader too?? :)
A girl and her tech toys...
And now that the new IPhone is out...I have to find a reason to convince Allen that he needs my Dash, so I can have the new toy on the shelf...hmmm...but how do I convince him that I also need a Kindle book reader too?? :)
A girl and her tech toys...
RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds and Me...The GOOD: I've been using RSS feeds for quite awhile. I started with Bloglines and found it was an easy way to go "to" the information, rather than have a bunch of emails coming in everyday from listservs. I could read when I had time -- not clutter up my email and also quickly scan a list of feeds.
The BAD: I have a tendency to sign up for more than I can read...so every couple of weeks, I do a purge and just mark "all read" and move on...kind of like a refrigerator dump on garbage day.
The UGLY? Hmmm...Only the inability of finding that "one" feed that will catch me up on all the important stuff without having to subscribe to a bunch of them, just in case...
The BAD: I have a tendency to sign up for more than I can read...so every couple of weeks, I do a purge and just mark "all read" and move on...kind of like a refrigerator dump on garbage day.
The UGLY? Hmmm...Only the inability of finding that "one" feed that will catch me up on all the important stuff without having to subscribe to a bunch of them, just in case...
?? Do you find yourself using these feeds for your personal interests, work, both??
Yes, yes, and yes...I have the library feeds, which led to the book feeds, which led to the news feeds, which led to the ... well, you get the picture... Andy was right in that it can become "the" place to lose an hour easily as you're just catching up -- and of course, finding out the latest gossip from People ... ?? Evaluate the UR Libraries RSS feeds. Do you find them useful? Do you think they are useful to library users?
What other ways can we utilize RSS in a library setting??
What other ways can we utilize RSS in a library setting??
I think it's a useful way to present information -- it does need to be visible -- so I think ours might benefit from actually having some of the news right there, like is on the main website -- maybe in some of that unused white space to the right? :) -- ok, just kidding...
Other ways to utilize...hmmmm...definitely try to branch out with subject guides into blogging and offering feeds to current information posted and updates -- the feeds for new library books is a great offering. On the Art page, there were a couple of feeds to both current news and podcasts, so offering those as feeds is an interesting option.
My links on the right are feeds I'm pulling from NPR and other sources -- I'm a book review junkie, so I love to read about what others are reading and what new books are up and coming.
Other ways to utilize...hmmmm...definitely try to branch out with subject guides into blogging and offering feeds to current information posted and updates -- the feeds for new library books is a great offering. On the Art page, there were a couple of feeds to both current news and podcasts, so offering those as feeds is an interesting option.
My links on the right are feeds I'm pulling from NPR and other sources -- I'm a book review junkie, so I love to read about what others are reading and what new books are up and coming.
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