Thing 18: Wikis

I've used Wikipedia for some subjects, I will admit it. I remain cognizant that some articles may be more authoritative than others. Factual articles are more reliable than subjects open to interpretation. For example, I looked up redbud trees because I wanted to find out more about ours. It turns out that the article is part of an official project to make the botanical entries better. I was very interested to learn that parts of the redbud tree are edible, especially the flowers and young twigs. There was nothing on cultivation, care and maintainging then, however. This was a big omission.

I created my own wiki page on wetpaint and added three subpages. It was easy, and fun.

Thing 16: Library Thing

This is a wonderful place for book lovers! I started a catalog of my home library, entering about five titles. I liked the option to select LC cataloging rather than Amazon for precision, though I didn't take advantage of it yet. I can go back if I decide to use it. I used several tags, including "autographed", as I want to be able to identify which of my books are autographed by the author. The next day there were several suggested books that I had read or want to read, just from that small sampling. I can see that I need to enter more of my library to narrow down the "50 libraries most like mine" list. That will be interesting to peruse--I expect to get lots of titles I will want to read. I have started a list of books I have read from titles that are popping up, and plan to start a list of books I want to read. The groups were interesting, especially Librarians who Library Thing. I spent too much time in there. I was interested in the discussion thread on whether or not to keep Dewey classification, as at least one library in our area is experimenting with browsable collections. I agreed with most of the folks posting -- I think we should keep Dewey (or LC if that is used) and add useful signage, such as "cookbooks" or "history". I also wasted way too much time reading the thread on annoying things that patrons do. LOL. They were all the same things our patrons do or say, and sounded alot like a staff group sitting around the table in our staff lounge.

This site also has real potential for cataloging a small library, and Thingology has useful information for those libraries or anyone serious about cataloging their collection, such as ThingLang, ISBN Check, and MARCThing. Book discussion groups can even be started for their library users. This is a good example of using both traditional cataloging and tagging to catalog and access material. I am looking forward to using Library Thing and participating more actively at some point.

Thing 13: Tagging

I think tagging would be a positive addition to our OPACS. All public service librarians are aware of the big gap between the way the public asks for information on a subject and the way a title is usually cataloged. Allowing them to "tag" an item that they found useful with their own term for it would supplement our added subjects through which we attempt to make titles more findable.

I will make an admission here that will make some catalogers gasp and cause reference librarians to chuckle and nod. Many subject headings are NOT the way most people (including librarians) would think to look for material. As an example, pick any subject within United States history. I am not the only reference librarian on our staff who routinely uses title keyword first to get one or more quick hits, and then hyperlinks to the subjects listed to locate more. Scrolling through a long list of subheadings in a lengthy list to be sure we don't miss anything takes a long time. Most of our public want something in their hands fast, or they will say "that's okay, I'll go to Barnes & Noble", and turn and walk out the door while we are still talking. We know they probably won't find it at the bookstore either without looking through book after book, but they don't want to wait.

I am not advocating the elimination of traditional cataloging. We need a systematic way to organize and look for material. Our cataloging staff here has always been open to suggestions for added subject headings as the need becomes apparent, and this is essential. Tagging would add another, patron led, layer to accessibility.

There would need to be some way to control and edit entries--spelling, inappropriate language, spam, incorrect usage (they have obviously used the wrong word).

Tagging is another way to make our libraries more accessible to our users.

Thing 19: Google Docs

Google Docs is one of the most useful sharing tools I have seen so far, though I really liked Flickr. It's formatting was so similar to Word that using it was a breeze. Yet it is simpler than the Microsoft Office programs, with fewer options, therefor less daunting for inexperienced users. I would probably get frustrated with the lack of some of those options in Word, as I use it a great deal. I never really use Powerpoint, so I was pleased with my success in creating slides, with background and/or color in Google Docs. The program has some formatting choices, such as a choice of backgrounds, or one can insert graphics, pictures, or backgrounds from elsewhere.

I had some tasks that lent themselves well to this assignment, so did actual work. My document was a draft revision of our Proctoring Policy, copied and pasted from Word. I shared it with other staff who need input. Those who are doing 23 Things were really excited by it! While Word does have document sharing and editing at the Advanced level, I only used it one time, because the staff I shared it with could not successfully use it. I like the way Google Docs gives me a list of each update and adds the updates as they occur. I also appreciated the ease of inserting comments and the way they show up in the document, with the person who made the comment noted. I will be able to save the final result in Word and copy it to our shared Office folder for policies.

I was also excited to see that I could save as a pdf file. We are asked by the public from time to time how to save to a pdf file, and because our public computers only have Adobe Reader, had to direct them to free online services such as Cutepdf. Now I will be showing them Google Docs.

I created a brief presentation to explain how to go through the Special Events permission process with the City, since I had just done that and wanted to make it easier for other staff in the future. My spreadsheet was from a template "to do" list, to keep up with the dozen things I need to do during the next 2-3 weeks. Finally, I created a form to update emergency contact information for our regular adult volunteers. I can e-mail the form, they will complete it online and submit it, and the information will automatically show up on a spreadsheet. How simple! Google Docs walks you right through the process of setting up an online form. I can see using this to establish online registration for an event.

Thing 8: Facebook

I will admit I wasn't thrilled at the idea of establishing a presence on Facebook, partially out of a concern for privacy and because I didn't want strangers asking to befriend me. However, I created my Facebook profile and immediately two pictures and names popped up--my best friend from high school and my current next door neighbor. I was excited! I assume they had searched for me by name, because I had not put in much information yet. As I filled in my profile, more pictures popped up as possible friends, largely from my high school and a few from the library world; I had no idea who they were. This encouraged me to put in my work history to hopefully locate people I have worked with over the years. It will be kind of fun to see who pops up, and I am eager to search for a few people by name. I'm still finding the format somewhat confusing. How do I confirm someone as a friend, and how do I know that I have successfully asked to befriend someone? I think I had better look at the tutorial. I am working on the assignments in Thing 9: More Facebook, but this is proving to be time-consuming. More later on that. I am opting to limit what people can see until I accept them as a friend, and will only be selecting actual friends that I want to keep up with or re-establish contact with. I am also uncomfortable with showing my friends, though it might be a way to find mutual friends. It seems to violate their privacy.

Thing 7: RSS Feeds

I added the Unsubscribed website to my Google Reader. Their site had an RSS logo to click on. I've always enjoyed those comic strips about library life, especially the reader's advisory and reference desk topics. If the public could only see themselves from our side of the desk! Adding an RSS feed was really easy, and should make it easier to keep up with favorite websites, news, whatever.