Curious - Think different

This is the last Project Play assignment of Semester 2. I'm kind of sad. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed Project Play. It has encouraged me to be more curious about the new tools available on the web. I'll miss the assigned exploration of Web2.0. Some assignments were fun and some not so fun. Now I'm on my own, so to speak, but I will try to continue to try to keep playing more, learning more, and fearing less. To do that I will try to stay current with the newsreader Bloglines and I'm going to try to carve out some time each day (or at least each week) to look at sites like eHub or Go2Web20. Google sites looks interesting and I wonder if the dept I work in could use it somehow. I'll have to think about it some more.


Maybe I'm not as curious as I should be, at least according to Seth Godin. See his video. He does have a point about how our society as a whole is not curious, that we watch too much television. Perhaps if more of us were willing to explore new ideas, to push the envelope so to speak, our world's problems would be fewer? What kind of world would we have if everyone was curious, where one was open to new ideas, where one could see new possibilities? Life in that world sure wouldn't be dull.


I used Sloganizer to find a title for this last post for Project Play. After watching Godin's video, I think the Sloganizer came up with an appropriate title. Being curious means thinking differently. One is not afraid to try new things or ideas. Project Play has started me on that path and hopefully I will continue to keep on playing more, learning more, and fearing less.

Mashups: [Project Play: Semester 2: week 10]

This week we got to learn about mashups.

The assignment was to add my library or some location to the Project Play sandbox map on mapbuilder.net. At first I couldn't figure out why my screen looked different than the example. It was hard to click on the correct buttons. However, after some help from owlsbeth I realized that I needed to change my resolution in order to see what I was doing on mapbuilder.net. Once I did that things became a whole lot easier.

Mashups are kind of fun and have an unlimited potentional. One example, that I was interested in was LibraryThing for Libraries, bringing together LibraryThing and library catalogs. People then have another tool to help them find something to read. I wonder if my library has considered doing something like those libraries have done (Libraries Using LibraryThing list).

I thought about doing a map of the locations of mysteries that I've read. It would be cool to see on a map the places that I've read about, but that would take a lot of time on my part. Plus most books don't have an exact address. Maybe I'll play with it at home?

I'm still trying to play more, learn more, and fear less!

YouTube: [Project Play: Semester 2: week 9]

This week we get to play with YouTube. There is a lot of variety on YouTube. I started out by watching some of the library videos. Arlington Heights PL did one on virtual reference, consentrating on IM. Next up was a travel writer giving tour of a library in Kansas. The last library video I watched was a commercial for the Grand Rapids PL. It was pretty easy to find videos on libraries. One could get carried away going from video to video.

I also took a look at some knitting videos. One was for binding off. I forgot how to do it and this short video showed me how. I like that you can find a video on how to do something. But I wonder if one could develop a YouTube addiction?

I probably spent too much time messing around with YouTube. Libraries can use this to promote services, give tours of the library, share a library program, the possiblilities are endless.

I tried to put a video that I found in the Film & Animation - Top Rated (Today) section. It was fun and made me think of summer. However, I couldn't make it work. So I'll try another one, which seemed to work. [Yeah!]

Screencasts: [Project Play: Semester 2: week 8]

This week we get to find out about screencasts. I don't have a whole lot to say about them. I do think that it's a good tool to use when trying to show someone how to do something, such as search the library's catalog or reserve a title. The ones at the University of Calgary: Library Connection looked and sounded pretty good. The few I looked at were short and to the point. It's another way to reach people.

Podcasts [Project Play: Semester 2: week 6]

This week we got to learn about podcasts. They're a good way to share audio or video content. I took a look at some of the library podcasts. A fair number were geared toward children.

I chose to add to my bloglines subscription Uncontrolled Vocabulary : a live discussion of news, trends, and topics in librarianship. In fact, I started to listen to one of the podcasts. I didn't finish it because it was an hour long and I needed to get back to work.

I haven't really gotten into podcasts. I prefer to listen to music when I am driving in the car or doing a physical activity outdoors. I do occationally listen to an audiobook. However, I can see the value of podcasts. It is a way to get out your message using audio or video. People can then listen to it or watch it at their convenience and not worry about missing it.

Social Networking sites [Project Play: Semester 2: Week 5]

This week we took a look at social networking sites. Although I understand the attraction, I'm not totally convinced that I personally need a MySpace or Facebook page. Yet it may be a place for the library to connect with younger users, at least to start with.

My assignment is to look at 3 library myspace pages. I took a look at Oshkosh PL OurSpace, La Crosse PL , Denver Public Library , and Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. The one I liked the best was Denver's. Oshkosh's was pretty basic. LaCrosse's site seems to be about blogging. I was wondering why there wasn't a link to the Library's home page or library's services. Whereas both Charlotte and Denver' s had links to library services. Charlotte has links to the best books of 2007 for teens, a meebo link for chat, links to find out more info about the staff. Denver has links to library services: AskColorado (virtual reference service), the catalog, reference databases, youtube summer reading video.

A lot of people are using social networking sites, so I guess the library has to go where the customer is, so to speak. But I think gearing a library's social networking site toward teens would be more useful. It would be interesting find out the impact of those sites on library use. Does the use of the library's databases increase? Does the use of instant messaging tools (Meebo, virtual reference services like AskAway) increase? Does it reach potential users and make library users out of them?
I'm not sure about getting a page on MySpace or Facebook for the library for which I work. Perhaps doing as Denver Public Library , and Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County did and concentrating on teens would be the way to start? But I think that the site has to be useful to the population that you are trying to reach. Otherwise, why would they even visit the site?

Remember the Milk & Jott [Project Play: Week 3: Semester 2]

This week we got to play with Remember the milk and Jott. Both have the potential to be useful tools, particularly for list makers. I successfully sent a message to Remember the milk. I added a due date and then clicked on "complete". It took me a while to figure out where my task went to after I did that. I think with a little more effort I could tap into the usefulness of Remember the milk. Whereas, with Jott I'm not so sure. I do see it's usefulness, but I have never lived and died by my phone. I do have a cell phone, but I'm still learning to use it. My screen is so small, I really haven't wanted to use it for email & texting. I guess I'm just old, but I am trying to play more, learn more, and fear less.

Google docs never sleeps. [Project Play: Semester 2: Week 2]

This week we got to play with Google docs. It's quite a powerful tool. I was impressed by the ability to share documents and look at all the revisions. I can see why groups of people use it. However, when I was do the editing it seemed to take a while to load. Another potential problem is that it relies on the Internet to work. Without a stable, high speed Internet connection one could be up the proverbial creek without a paddle, so to speak.

IM, the smart choice [Project Play, Semester 2]

It's second semester of Project Play and we are learning how to use IM. Although I didn't have an IM account (I do now), I was familiar with IM. I do virtual reference (AskAway) via Question Point which has an IM capability. However, I don't use it very often. But when I do need to communicate with my fellow online librarians or have a technical problem it is nice to be able to communicate instantaneously.

The first part of the assignment was pretty easy. I found someone who was online, typed a message, press enter, and waited for a response. And what do you know someone replied back. Yee haw!

I already had a yahoo account so I thought that I would start by using yahoo messenger, but I wasn't sure how to find people to talk with. So I signed up for a meebo account and put a link in my blog. It was pretty easy. My office mates gave me their IM names to add to my buddy list. I did chat with my office mate using meebo. I even figured out how to get a picture of my cats on my meebo page.


Finally I tried out the sloganizer to come up with my title for this post.

Project Play Week 9: Wikis

Week 9 is wikis.

I think that wikis can be a good way to share information. The Common Craft video did a good job of explaining that. However, like any information source one has to examine who is putting out the information and if it is a reliable source.
The first assignment is to check the external links in the wiki article for my community to see if there is a link for the library. Madison, WI, does have an external link for the library. So I couldn't add a link. I then went to my home town, Watertown, WI, to check for an external link to the library. There wasn't one. I tried to add one without creating an account (I have too many accounts already), but I'm not sure if I was successful.
In addition, I did go the Project Play Sandbox wiki and added some titles to
Favorite authors, titles, or series
Favorite movies
Favorite quotes
It was pretty easy to edit the pages (easier than wikipedia was) and add my two cents. Also it's a pretty cool way to share favorites. I saw a number of my favorites already on the various lists.

Week 8 of Project Play


I can't believe 8 weeks have already gone by. It's seems like yesterday that I was just starting this blog.

This week I'm learning about tagging and social bookmarking. Coming from a world of controlled vocabulary, it's a bit unsettling. However, it's kind of cool to see what hundreds of other people use to describe a bookmark. The tags a person chooses can tell me something about he/she and how that person views the world. Maybe it will give me the incentive to "organize" my work and at-home bookmarks so I have access to them from any computer?

For libraries it has the potential to tap into whole new worlds and connect with new library users who might not be aware of what the library can do for them.

I did get a del.icio.us account. Here's a link to it. I started to bookmark a few sites. It's kind of fun and easy, especially with the del.icio.us button.

Project Play Week 7: LibraryThing

Wow! It's already week 7 of Project Play. Blogging is still a chore for me. I'm impressed with all those bloggers who do it day in and day out and have something to contribute.


This week is LibraryThing. I have seen it before, but now I have an account. I even figured out how to put a link to my library on LibraryThing.

I can see the potential. It's great that lots of people can share what they are reading with others for free. It's a great way to keep track of what you've read and what you like about it. However, I wonder about the tags that people give books. For example, I looked at the tags for one of the books in my library, The Tenderness of Wolves. Most tags I agreed with, such as Canada, murder mystery. But some I wonder about, such as 2000s, 2006, 2007.



I'm suppose to use the suggester and unsuggester on LibraryThing. So here it goes:

Book that I like: Lonesome Dove

Book from the LibrarySuggester using Lonesome Dove : there are a number of choices that I've already read and enjoyed. The Streets of Laredo, The Prince of Tides, The Winds of War

Book from the LibraryUnsuggester using Lonesome Dove: a list of 74 titles came up. With all those unchoices, I'll choose the last one on the list Critique of Judgment.

Hopefully, all the links I did will work. I am trying to play more, learn more, and fear less.

Have a Great Day!

learning to use flickr

zak & albert
Originally uploaded by kasey j

this has been an interesting adventure. i think i know a bit more about flickr and can visualize the many possible uses both for work and for home.
i hope blogging this photo works.

i'm still not used to blogging, but here goes post #3. this week i'm suppose to talk about feedback thingies and how we can use them for the library. in fact, i'm suppose to come up with some way to invite my fellow project players to comment on my posting.

first, feedback thingies:
i think the library is already using feedback thingies. for example, i see an opportunity on the main page to take a survey about customer satisfaction. also MADreads and Check It Out allow people to comment on book reviews and library news.


invitation to comment (please do so):
i thought that i'd give the SurveyMonkey a try. i created a survey asking y'all for your favorite tv shows or favorite activity. i'm curious to know what others are watching. maybe there's something good on tv that i've been missing? so PLEASE take my survey. [thanks to Pinky for the idea :) check out her blog (way cooler than mine) and survey.]

week 2 of project play

this week i got a refresher course on rss newsreaders. i already have a bloglines account, so i just used that and added a few more sites. to my list, both old and new.

they include:

• abécédaire entrées


• leereer


• veronica's play

• annoyed librarian


• free range librarian


• library link of the day


• the shifted librarian


• librarian.net


• tame the web: libraries and technology


• MADreads

bloglines allows me to try and keep up with what is going on in the world.

My first post

This is my first attempt at blogging. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't taking a course. Hopefully I will learn a lot in this course and have fun in the process.