In Closing

All in all, I think 23 Things was really useful. I learned A LOT. I am quite sure I will never use most of it, sorry I’m still so… 20^th century. I just can’t send a lot of time checking my RSS feeds and reading blogs and exploring photos/videos, etc… I have no desire to network with someone I don’t know across the country or globe who tells me their name is Anne in Kentucky but is really Buck fresh out of a Dallas lock-up. But it’s still useful. It’s been demystified.

I have picked up a few things I do like. My avatar is cute. Library 2.0 was a great thing to learn about, it’s something to watch in library world. Google Docs will become one of my best friends.

The set-up was great. James and Lesa were very encouraging. I liked the self-pacing but with guidance format.

If the library offered another discovery program like this, I’d take it. It was a great way to learn about a lot of stuff, stuff that the patrons expect us to know about.

Audiobooks & E-Books

Finally, something I know about!

I discovered audiobooks and e-books here at the library. I don't much care for our audiobook services as I don't sit around a computer long enough/don't care to sift through titles I can copy/etc... When they can be used on an i-pod, we can talk. As for e-books, that's different. I wish the collection were geared more towards non-fiction than fiction. Fiction I want to read for hours in hand, book or reader. Non-Fiction titles I rarely read from cover to cover. I search out the info I need and would love to have that in e-book form.

I like Project Gutenberg and think it's useful to refer to teens looking for a copy of a classic that all of their classmates have already checked out.

NPR Books Podcast

Eek! There are alot of podcasts out there!

For library use, I signed up for an NPR BOOKS podcast. A number of daytime patrons come in looking for something they heard about on NPR.

For myself, a podcast on Darfur, an issue close to my heart.

Rapping Rove

Rapping Rove will be missed!

Upcoming

I checked out a number of te Web 2.0 winners and decided I'm not really inclined towards most. It amaze me that people find the time to create all this even. I do like the local events info site http://upcoming.yahoo.com. I liked that it immediately realized my city and listed a few upcoming events. It could use some updating with other things I know are going on locally but they invite submissions so with more use, it could be great.

Google Docs

I decided to go with Google docs because I am reaching my limit of just how many e-places, sign-ins and passwords I need to keep track of.

I like it. Up until now, I've attached docs to drafts in my work e-mail if I need to work on them from home. This is a viable alternative. I think I'll probably keep more sensitive docs on a memory stick still, just in case. But since most hackers & criminals aren't fascinated by my choice in short story titles, I think I'll be o.k.

I posted this fall's Literary Shorts titles in my blog for any Frederick, MD locals interested.

Literary Shorts

Fall 2007

C. Burr Artz Library

Love the idea of a book club but pressed for time? We read and discuss short stories that generate thought & discussion on the spot. Bring only yourself and a cup of coffee, no homework required.

Thursday, September 20^th, 7pm

Yours by Mary Robison and Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver

Saturday, September 22^nd, 3pm

Love, Your Only Mother by David Michael Kaplan

Thursday, October 18^th, 7pm

As If There Were Trees by Colum McCann

Saturday, October 20^th, 3pm

Coins by Mona Simpson

Thursday, November 15^th, 7pm

The Epiphany Branch by Mary Gordon

Saturday, November 17^th, 3pm

Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood and A Fable by Robert Fox

Literary Shorts

Fall 2007

Urbana Library

Love the idea of a book club but pressed for time? We read and discuss short stories that generate thought & discussion on the spot. Bring only yourself and a cup of coffee, no homework required.

Monday, September 10^th

A Temporary Matter by Lahiri, Jhumpa

Monday, October 1^st

The Shawl by Ozick, Cynthia

Monday, November 5th

The Miracle by Ba’bila Mutia

Maryland Libraries Sandbox

Sorry, didn't like this one at all. Lots of stuff, lots of blogs, not particularly appealing to me. I like a clear-cut, straight shot to information. I don't enjoy brwosing about, looking for gems in a mine. It was an interesting experience though.

Wikis

I’m already quite a fan of Wikipedia. At the desk, I use it when I’m at a loss of where to begin with a reference query, if only to point me in the right direction. Personally, I use it for all things non-medical.

I found the Book Lovers Wiki most interesting and useful. I’ve often lamented the fact that we don’t keep a running tab of patron & staff book reviews on books in our collection. This one is great. I even picked up a title to try for my short story reading group! Yea!

What I love about wikis is how you can wiki about anything you please. The Bull Run Library Wiki is a great example of that. Unfortunately, it’s also what I don’t like about it. How do I know I can trust this patron who seems so enamored with the library they’ve decided to wiki it??? I suppose that’s the cool thing about the Book Lovers Wiki. Book reviews are inherently subjective. But whether [xyz] library program will be guest moderated by [favorite writer] or not isn’t.

Library 2.0

Wow. Library 2.0 is a lot to think about. At first, reading the Wikipedia info, I thought “it’s a good idea; of course I’d like to see my library continue to move forward to improve service.” Reading the different perspectives from the OCLC newsletter REALLY opened my eyes to the various possibilities though.

I most appreciated “Away from Icebergs” and “To A Temporary Place in Time.” In the first, he was clear on the time-honored traditions we need to be willing to let go of. In the latter, it was great to see beyond Library 2.0. What’s hip & modern today is outdated tomorrow.

The other viewpoints also ha good points but I felt that they may have forgotten that in a PUBLIC library, we don’t just serve the tech-savvy crowd.

In any case, I’d love to see our library move ahead with the times, just as long as we never get stuck in any one moment of time AND as long as we don’t forget to serve our more traditionalist patrons. They too are worthy.

Milcah on Technorati

O.K. So I've checked out Technorati and "claimed" my own blog. I decided to search out my name "Milcah" and wasn't surprised to find a long list of Jewish references. However, I was happy to see a blog noting that "Milcah" means queen. I was told that by a Jewish dental hygienist when I was about 7 years old and again by my husband when he was doing some Hebrew Scriptures research but it was nice to see it confirmed by a stranger. Very nice.

BTW, to workmates who know me as "Marie," pretty much all of the women in my family are named Marie. We refer to each other by our middle names. Mine is Milcah.

Delicious

O.K. I'm in! I set up my del.icio.us account (http://del.icio.us/milcahdesir). I am using it to line up all of my work-related links. Cool!

Library Thing

Ooh, Library Thing is nice. I have a reading list in Word here at the library but it's nice to have it on-line. Bookcovers are a plus! I put 15 books on so far. I'll keep working on it.

Digital Cameras

My favorite technology-related thing is the digital camera. I didn't realize just how much I love this thing until my son's teacher sent home a disposable camera of photos she'd taken of him all year long. My son, whose photograph experience is mostly limited to digital cameras, asked me, "Where are the pictures Mommy? Let me see them on the little screen." I literally picked up the thing and was like, "Good grief! I've got to like walk this in to a store and wait for processing just to see if I even like the photo!" I'm not a techie but I have to say, I love being able to see the picture and decide whether I like it or not BEFORE I spend money on printing it.

Flickr Mashups

O.K. This is from Week 6 & I'm only getting to blog it now because... this totally didn't interest me. I have to admit that photos really only interest me if they are particularly breathtaking or funny UNLESS they are of people I know AND care about. Having me browse through these was like meeting a friend's mom who insists on having me look through 30 years of family photos where the only person I give a hoot about is the friend. Ugh. I've been there, too many times...

Rollyo

I've created a Rollyo search engine called Milcah's Books. When patrons come to the desk to ask about a book not in our catalog, I tend to check Amazon to verify title/author. If not there OR if there but not in Marina, my next step is Worldcat. I've not had occasion to need to check the Library of Congress, but in teory at least, that's an option. Also, for myself, I purchase books from Amazon.ca and Barnes & Noble. So I selected those sites for my Rollyo. Now, I'll try to use it. Maybe I'll have more to add to it at a later date, especially for the French titles.

Virtual Me!

Love it!!! It's Virtual-Me (more like half of me really on the rooftop garden lounge of my dream penthouse on the Upper East side of Manhattan...) !!!

Bloglines

Bloglines is a place I could lose myself in! When I first looked at it in Week 3, I was like : "I'll get back to this. I'll do it for the training but I'll never use it."

But then... ahhh... [angels singing in the background]. Dilbert!!!

I've also signed up for Quotes of the Day, the Shifted Librarian, and Salon.

RSS Feed

O.K. Finally! I've gotten an RSS feed up & running! I was convinced I needed to do this from home but Trina introduced me to the world of mobile homepages! I tried using netvibes but it wouldn't always load. So I am using MY YAHOO and it's great! Simpler than netvibes but I'm a newbie so that's fine. I'm an NPR junkie so I've added Driveway Moments to my page and am adding more. Yea!

Marc's Wedding

My little man was in my cousin's wedding last month. What a cutie!

Here's a photo from my cousin's wedding on the 16th. My little man was a page. What a cutie!

Une peinture

Une peinture, originally uploaded by Martin Baran.

Love this mural! I'm dreaming of beach house with this mural as you enter...

Hi Everyone!

Hi Everyone!

I've finally arrived into the 21st century!

About 7 1/2 things:

Easiest to implement
1) I have been training myself to begin with the end in mind. I actually pull out pencil & pad (or mouse and M'Soft Word) and start with my goal. Then I start jotting down what needs to be done to accomplish it.

Hardest to implement
3) View problems as challenges. - I tend to get really nervous when things go wrong (as they most often do.)
7) Teach/mentor others. - I find it hard to believe I really know that much more than my friends and colleagues, enough to actually guide someone else.