TechTrek 2.0

TechTrek 2.0: Glad it's over. Glad I've done it.

This format is not really my learning style, but that's okay--I do realize it's not all about me.

This was still a good vehicle for bringing us all along.

I would like now to see a Library 2.0 plan developed for the Charleston County Public Library's public presence. Suggestions accepted from all, then a plan outlined and set forth--A plan that makes sense in terms of the librarys mission. It makes wise use of staff time, energy, and creativity. And, of course, everyone is welcome to contribute to the elements in this plan. Isn't that what Library 2.0 is about?

I've said my piece. Thanks

Hard of Hearing

Sadly, this last quest activity fizzled. Can I see the potential for our library and podcasting? Yes, most definitely, but I just have to imagine it here from my cubicle in front of my work computer.

I thought I'd listen to a segment of Ira Glass's This American Life from NPR. Podcast didn't work. Heard a sentence then a pause, then part of another sentence, then a pause. Perhaps it was the time of day. Perhaps my computer here at work needs me to download some additional software, bu I shouldn't do that without permission.

Moved on to look at the Podcast Alley link. Must say the appearance of the site made me feel as though I was looking at tv at 2 a.m... Searched under "Food and Drink" and none of the podcast titles looked very appealing. Selected a couple and both just stopped and started, stopped and started. Repeat of my experience with NPR.

Went back to npr.org. and tried Ira Glass again. Page wouldn't even load. Went back to the TechTrek 2.0 instructions, reread them, and then revisited Podcast Alley. Typed library in the search box and selected a couple of random sites. No luck. Nichts.

My conclusion: Charleston County Public Library is not ready for podcasts--at least my staff computer is not.

An alternative conclusion: My computer is ready for podcasts, but I'm not. Listening to a podcast is not obvious enough for me to readily and easily to achieve.

Can see the potential, but we're not there yet.

YouTube and Marshmallow Peeps

Marshmallow Peeps.



They are True Americana.





I've observed Peeps doing research at a library, albeit vicariously. I've purchased Marshmallow Love, a Peeps story/coloring/painting book for my sister and her spouse.


I have given a DIY Peeps making kit as a host gift before. (Available at one time from Wham-O, but apparently not any more. Try "marshmallow peeps marshmallow maker" in your favorite search engine and you'll see I'm not making up this kitchen must-have.)


I have watched Peeps inflate and deflate in my microwave.


Obviously, I need to search for marshmallow Peeps in YouTube for this quest. I was not disappointed in the results. I'm concerned about the legality of randomly embedding a video in this blog and don't care enough to research it. So the easy away around it is just to link any readers of this blog to Blowing Up Marshamallow [sic] Peeps. Enjoy.


As for library usage of YouTube, well that's obvious. This quest used an example. Booktalks are another. Author promos are another. It's really an area limited only by the imagination. I will say, however, that if the quality--in all aspects--is not consistently good, there doesn't seem much point in exploiting this avenue of reaching patrons.

Quest 11

Composed the information below in a Google Doc and saved it... Formatting appears different now that I have entered it here. If it is easy to maintain the integrity of the original document when importing it into my blog, I haven't successfully done it through Google Docs here. But that doesn't matter to me for now, quite honestly. If this is something I ultimately use, I'll master it if it is possible or will register for Zoho Writer. Neither condition seems necessary now...

From my Google Doc:

Quest 11: Almost near the end of TechTrek 2.0



I'm doing this post in autumnal colors using Google Docs. If all goes well, I'll be able to import this into my blog.



We'll see how it goes...



Actually, I have already used Google Docs before on a collaborative effort in my personal life (as opposed to my library life).



I have chosen not to use Zoho Writer because I don't want to register for yet something else. I hope my using this component of Google won't revealing too much of myself to the powers that be at Google.



I can do without any more Google ads tailored to what Google's scanning system thinks I am discussing. And online privacy is becoming more of an issue with me.



That's all I have to say about Quest 11. The usefulness is obvious. But I'd want to learn more about privacy before using it extensively. I am suspicious and don't think this is a bad thing to be.

A Wikitorian Look at Wikis

I am enamored with the potential of wikis. And I love the name.

Many, many, many years ago when I was a Vicky, not a Victoria, I had trouble with both the concept of nicknames and my pronunciation of the letter V. Consequently, when asked my name, I proudly said: Wikitoria. One of my lovely grandmothers called me that for the next twenty years. With this is my background, how can I not love wikis?

Professionally, I am slowly working on developing one with a coworker for ourselves and other reference staff. The subject of this wiki? Legal resources at the Charleston County Public Library. Many of us panic when a patron asks for direction on finding legal information. The goal for the wiki is to reduce that level of anxiety. In the meantime, the creation of the wiki is causing me undue stress! Fortunately my collaborator is both very knowledgeable and very Library 2.0 savvy.

I need to pick up the pace on my contribution to the project, so this quest is very timely. Once we reach a certain point in the wiki, we'll make it available for staff to look at and improve it themselves or make suggestions for how we can improve it. Then it will be up to all of us to keep it current and useful.

Right now, my biggest problem is organizing the content. How do we present complicated information in a logical, understandable, and useful fashion? The layout and mechanics of using the wiki are momentarily of secondary concern to me.

We're using pbwiki for this project, and my collaborator did the hard work of setting up the wiki. I won't pretend that the few contributions I have made to it have been easy, but I am confident I'll master the mechanics of it.

My experience with the wiki so far, though, is that the mechanics aren't quite as transparent and obvious as I would like. But, hey, it's not a perfect world. And a wiki seems the perfect platform for this project, both in its creation, for staff input, and for everyone to help keep it useful and current.

I realize I am just rambling on at this point as another means of procrastinating. I need to get back to work on that wiki...

Just sign me
Wikitoria for Wikis!

Bebo, Facebook, etc.

I have nothing original to say about social networking.

I was pleased to see that, without being a registered member, I am unable to gain access to the Bebo accounts of some people I know. On the other hand, I now know too much about other people I know who have Bebo accounts. They are just a little too visible.

Some of the articles linked to the quest already made good points about how libraries can use social networking sites. I found Steve Campion's article especially interesting, straightforward, and right on when he posits that a library should have a coordinated effort in its 2.0 presence.

So, can I contribute to an appropriate library social networking page? I don't see why not. But, in the meantime, I'm done with this quest.

Foto Flickr or Photo Phlickr

I'd like a little visual symmetry when talking about Flickr, but I can't decide which I prefer: Foto Flickr or Photo Phlickr. Obviously, Yahoo has decided to go with the letter F. Me? Upon reflection--at least 5 seconds of it--I'm partial to the Ph. It looks more absurd and, dare I say, cutting edge and pretentious.

But on to the quest at hand: I've decided on completing Option A as it seems most easily doable from my desk right now. I'll just borrow a photo from someone I know who won't mind, ask permission in an email after the fact, and move on! I'll gain the experience of adding a graphic element to this blog, which should be a useful and satisfying accomplishment. I have been known to admire photos in the blogs of others...

So here's the photograph that I will write a few lines about. In order to be able admire it immediately to the right of this paragraph instead of at the top of the page, I ventured into a Blogger help group, which was a new blogging experience for me. Having to take this step, though, can also be viewed as another example of how something that should be easy, obvious, and seamless (placing a photo part way down a blog entry) isn't. Guess my take on this depends on whether my mood is glass-half-empty or glass-half-full.

Anyway, to the photograph I've posted: I've been thinking about Ireland lately because I recently viewed some photographs that a very nice colleague of mine shared with me. They were from a recent trip of hers to Ireland. The one to the right--not borrowed from her but taken by one of my children--was taken near the Hill of Tara. Lots of real history there and many personal memories of good visits with lovely people--and children running all over the landscape chasing sheep.

Quest 6, Part 2: Technorati

So how much do I have to write about Technorati to get credit for completing this part of the Quest 6?

Okay, now I know Technorati exists. This is good. This knowledge will undoubtedly come in handy.

I did a couple of searches on some professional stuff. Backed into a blog on ethics and librarianship that was just set up for a graduate course somewhere. Advanced search features work well, as they should.

Looked at some of the more popular blogs. Found many on a par with browsing the grocery list collection: interesting for a few minutes and good for procrastinating, but as mentioned in a previous post, I don't need any new diversions for procrastination.

Guess now that I've posted I'll read how others reacted to Quest 6. I aim to be inspired and entlightened by others who had a more meaningful quest than I.

I think this post is supposed to have the term tagging in it, so I'll make sure I tag it that way!

Less than del.icio.us

Have let other things take up my time than Quest 6, but I guess now I had better move forward.

Ho hum at this point with del.icio.us. Was underwhelmed with it during the TechTracks class taught by SCSL staff. Remain underwhelmed.

Part of it is that I am tired of spending as much of the day as I do in front of a computer. I have recently been working to be less plugged in, and I'm enjoying it.

Part of me says that computer technology that isn't seamless and obvious--that requires the watching of an extremely boring video--fundamentally has something wrong with it.

Another part of me is just sick of bells and whistles when I don't see any immediate benefit to me, because, as always, it is about me. [Isn't that really what socially networking is all about: me?]

I have never used bookmarks that much. I can see the benefits of del.icio.us if I used them a lot, but I don't. Just remember urls of places I visit all the time. Use search engines otherwise with a good keyword strategy. Many sites I use only to answer a specific reference question. How likely is it that I'll ever get that question again? And if I do, the site I used the first time might not give the best answer the second time.

The September 15th LJ article called "Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us" makes me feel like someone from Missouri: Show Me! I'll get on board if I see CCPL has a plan to use tagging--I'll enthusiastically get on board if the plan makes sense to me.

In the meantime, I don't find cloud tags much more than a random curiousity: A way to encourage procrastination by providing lots of diversions. I don't need any encouragement in that area.

Having said all this, the next time I have a topic to research, perhaps I'll make use of del.icio.us. But as I write this, I am secretly hoping that another option will appear that has more appeal to me.

Organizational Challenges

Quest 4 is completed. Tried to bring a little order to the feeds I had already set up and add a few more.

The big challenge for me has been figuring out how to bring tidy order to my selections. I often dither about what folders to create, what to call them, which items go in which folder, etc. You'd think after all these years I'd have it down pat, but I don't.

I can use logic to find information, but that logic seems totally lacking when it comes to organizing the information! That skill must be in some gene that gives new meaning to the word recessive.

I guess my next goal should be to look at some of the feeds that have been identified by reference department staff and decide which ones are really useful. Add those to my blogroll and get rid of those that I automatically mark as having read...

TechTrek2.0 trackers can see my blogroll at: http://www.bloglines.com/public/WestVictoria

I guess anyone else can look at it, too, but I can tell you in advance that it's not very interesting. Maybe next week, while I'm waiting for the next quests to appear I can work on fine-tuning my professional blogroll a little.

AISB IM is EZ

O, IM, how I both love and hate thee.

IM Love: It's easy to use. Main Reference's IM service using Plugoo is great. Don't have to download Yahoo Messenger and end up having to download Yahoo detritus with it, for example (IM Hate issue), just to IM a question if you usually use, say, Google Chat. From a work perspective, IM is just another way to help people find the information they need--and an easy way to send patrons weblinks right away.

IM Hate: I thought I'd try meebo.com, but my computer kept crashing on it today and the meebo screen wasn't instantly clear to me. I have little tolerance for technology that doesn't instantly make my life simpler. If it isn't seamless or intuitive, then what's the point? Learning how to use new tools shouldn't be difficult. The complicated part of lifelong learning should be the intellectual activity.

Back to IM Love: I've now worked Main's IM service from both sides of the desk and now have not only answered questions, but had one answered as well. Today I asked for the population of Cologne, Germany, and received the answer and the source of the answer. (Don't know what I'll do with the information, though...)

And once more to IM Hate: I've used Google Chat long enough to know that I really don't like carrying on conversations with more than one person at a time. I can do it, but it's a little too reminiscent of the reference desk at the old Main library on Sunday. That would be the really old Main, the one where there were just two people staffing the reference desk, one from Main and one from a branch. It was hectic. It wasn't much fun. There was no way to give anyone the assistance and attention he or she deserved. Multiple chats ongoing chats feel that way to me--not the way I choose to multi-task.

Guess these IM Hate entries make me an aging curmudgeon, but the IM Love ones show that I am a fan of it.

Quest 2 Assignment

My seatwork for Quest 2:

Biggest challenge is: Beginning with the end in mind.

Completing this quest by November whateverth seems a bit like a school assignment. Becoming more familiar with new technologies seems a bit vague, unfocused, and, quite frankly, very easy to achieve. (In my first blog posting I figured out how to put in a hypertext link, so I've already become more familiar with new technology...) I acknowledge that goals are good to have, but come evaluation time I always feel as though I am back in the middle of a library school assignment. I had one professor for multiple classes who she was all about goals, objectives, enabling objectives objectives, and some subparts of that I thankfully no longer remember! I learned a lot from her, but feel as though I did enough end-in-mind thinking and how to get there for three very long lifetimes.


Easiest challenge is: Accepting responsibility for my own learning.

Let's be real. Whose fault is it if I don't learn because I won't ask questions (already done that one...), don't try, don't collaborate, don't share what I have learned, pretend I don't have time (that excuse just means I need some help w/ time management), etc.

We've been given encouragement to learn and play. Why not take advantage of it? It's great to be able to explore--all the while letting my mind work in tandem thinking of how this can help CCPL and its mission.


Another challenge: Spelling and typing

I hate spell-checkers--just one of my many irrational quirks--but I am also a bad keyboarder. Also hate proofreading. So I have the challenge of presenting literate-seeming posts without spell-checking or much proofreading. I think this might be my biggest challenge! The solution is easy enough to fix, but that would require another set of goals and objectives...

Quest 1? or Rocky Start 1?

To be honest, Tech Trek 2.0 got off to a very slow and rocky start with me. I had to use my love of irony to make it through Quest 1.

In Quest 1 we have a topic presented in one way--in a tone that quite honestly tries my patience no end--about a subject (Lifelong Learning) that can be experienced and approached in many different ways!

Quest 1's negativity about past learning experiences irked me no end, as I have been around long enough to have had many positive "old school" learning experiences. Technology can be wonderful and can enhance, enrich, and aid learning experiences, but the tone of 7 and 1/2 habits online tutorial was not endearing to me.

Making lemonade of lemons, though--a seeming theme of the 7 and 1/2 habits--I envisioned my mother's impatience going through the same presentation. My irritation was nothing compared to what I imagined hers would be; I could hear her fussing up a storm. I really cherish occasions & things that make me feel my mother's presence, so I easily put my irritation behind me and enjoyed the memories, the connection and the moment.

With Quest 2, we're getting into the learn-through-play part, so all is now right with Tech Trek 2.0 and me. My plan is to continue with the trek despite the irksome start. I realize Quest 1 probably works fine with other people, but I felt I was working with a salesperson who just didn't get me. Because, after all, it is all about me.