Time for a change?

Now that we have settled in to the lovely new library, I am leaving. From 2 Jan 2008 I start in a new position, outside the library and in Melbourne. I am looking forward to the new role and the move, but am a little bit nervous about what will be expected of me. It is scary moving outside the familiarity of the library and away from being part of a library team. Anyway it'll be interesting.... I am also thinking of studying again next year - may live to regret it.

So Melbourne will be fun, I love exploring new cities and there will be lots of bands to see, shops to explore and weekend trips.

It's time

The time has finally come, the books have been moved and are safe and sound in their new location, so it's our turn. We are almost packed and ready to go, just a few more things to do tomorrow and we can all head home for the weekend and turn up on Monday in our new library. Fingers crossed the IT will all be up and running and we can get back to some semblance of normality. I am looking forward to sleeping through the night without waking up and jotting down 'things to do' at all hours! Very exciting.....

Not looking forward to getting a bus instead of driving. Looking forward to being near shops, supermarkets, the gym and good coffee!

Library move

We are moving to our new library in two weeks. Very exciting, but a lot of work. We have been furiously weeding, creating floor plans and finalising the order of the collection in the new space. This includes moving Law Reports from shelf to shelf so that they are in a logical order and are spaced to allow for growth. No need for the gym this week!

We will have more shelf space but no training facilities which is what we really needed. The library is lovely and modern though so mustn't grumble!

wiki's for research

I am planning on co-writing an article on the wiki we have created at work and how we are using it to deliver research to clients. Maybe this will be published and I'll be able to tick that off my New Years Resolution list for 2007?

I have also tried to use Pageflakes to share info, RSS feeds, bookmarks etc with other staff in my team, but it takes too long to open and change.

Putting the theory into practice

Now comes the time to see which of these 23 things we have learnt about translate into our everyday library jobs and tasks.... We already have a wiki, a good way of collating research data but not sure whether clients get the collabrative aspect yet. Time will tell. I can se a use for a blog - for communication among LIS staff and maybe then with clients.

You Tube for training clients in remote locations??

Thing # 23 reflections

Wow, I have finished, now what will I do with all that spare time?

My favourite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey were LibraryThing, the online image generaters and finding podcasts.....

The program has given me the confidence to experiment with Library 2.0 'things' and also made me consider the situations and applications at work which might lend themselves to these technologies. I think a lot of our services and products could benefit from the inclusion of a wiki, blog or RSS feeds. My lifelong learning goals are now firmly rooted in learning and trying out new things, rather than reading about and dismissing them.

I think the format for this program is good, as it provides a framework and timeline to follow but was flexible enough that you could catch up, miss bits etc. I would have liked a bit more interaction and encouragement among ourselves. This may have enabled others to feel more confortable asking for help or sharing their experience.

Thanks for the journey and the encouraging comments!!

Thing # 22 AudioBooks

Wow, the Gutenberg Project site has a great range of books to download, especially the classics. I think I'll have to join and try some out. I know my public library has eBooks, I put a hold on one and when it was available I couldn't work out how to download it. I'll have to try again......

Almost finished my 23 things!!

Thing # 21 Podcasts

I love the idea of the Melbourne tour Podcasts. I will definitely download a couple and put them on my iPod for my next Melbourne visit. The ABC is such a good site, they seem to be ahead of the game and have worthwhile content too.

My cousin has started writing a series of sci-fi books and recently had the first one (Terra Incognita) published on Podiobooks. It is a great alternative to publishing for new writers!

Thing #20 YouTube

Got stuck playing with this site last night. Started with funny cat clips, then discovered music clips - very dangerous! Just got an e-mail newsletter from World Vision pointing readers to YouTube and the 'Teenage Affluenza' clip. It is interesting to see who is using this technology to reach a new audience - I think John Howard even posts video messages.

Not sure of any possible future for YouTube in libraries but you never know....

Jeff Buckley- Hallelujah- Music Video

I love this song and this version....

Thing # 19 Web 2.0 tools

I chose ma.gnolia to investigate. It would be nice to be able to share bookmarks with other library staff and even clients. I have a heap that I refer to when doing research; especially international, legal and taxation related sites. Web tools such as ma.gnolia could be very useful for creating groups, where we could share our contacts and resources among ourselves. It also allows for discussion and tagging of bookmarks.

Google Docs

I am getting scared now.... Is there anything that google isn't into?

This is better for me than Zoho just because it remembered my Google login automatically and I presume all Google applications will be linked somehow.

Thing # 18

I am writing this using Zoho Writer, not sure of the benefits to this yet, but I will play around with it a bit more.....

Wiki's - Things 16 and 17

Trying hard to catch up now as I am nearing the end of 23 Things!

I have been involved in the wiki that the LIS team developed at work so have been able to add content and play around a bit with that. I would have found it difficult to know where and how to start though if I hadn't been shown! I think there is great potential in wiki's for research tasks and in ongoing and closer collaboration with clients. It is a great way of sharing info while remaining flexible and current.

I recently discovered PBWiki and started a page on arty/crafty stuff. I haven't spent much more time on it, mainly because I haven't 'created' recently. It isn't as sophisticated as the wiki software we use at work, but is still fun to play with, and free :-) Like everything else Library 2.0-related, they seem to update it regularly and add new features.

I liked some the examples of library wiki's provided by Learning 2.0 and can see the benefits for public libraries especially. We have challenges such as confidentiality and the need to train/educate clients on how and why to use a wiki within our organisation. I can see some form of collaborative software being used more in our work in the future.

Things 13, 14 and 15

Technorati is useful as I often come across a web page or article that I would like to keep but I prefer not to keep printing them out.

Del-icio-us I am not so sure about, it isn't quite the same as the convenience of having your favourites in a browser and I can't see any benefit other than sharing your links with others. The tagging becomes important for this, so just creates more work, for little gain.....

Away from the 'icebergs'. I related best to the first article in the list of five that discuss Library 2.0 (apart from the boating analogy). It seems the most relevant to our library environment. The 'just in case collection' is definitely less of a priority, although we still have a responsibility to collect materials relating to taxation, especially internal publications. There are also many people who are still attached to print as a format and aren't ready to reserach or read online (I for one will find it hard to part with a 'physical' collection). User education is indeed an issue, due to limited resources and the wide range of services that users have access to. eLibrary tutorials and user friendly interfaces are esential to overcome this problem.

I loved the idea of Library 4.0 the neo-library: experience, in the last article (To a temporary place in time), Library as knowledge spa, art salon etc

M&M duels

Someone sent me this today and I thought it amusing so am sharing, in case anyone else is reading this ;-).

Things 10, 11 and 12

I love LibraryThing, although it would take too long to add all of my books. The image generators are fun but I can't see much point to them really, once the novelty wears off. I don't get Rollyo (or didn't try to), I think I am just over the 'register here' process. It is a real eye opener just how much 'stuff' is out there! Who creates it all and why??

RSS Feeds Thing #9

I set up a Bloglines account a while ago and find that I don't check my feeds very often. It is the same as other forms of technology in that it leads to info overload. The one thing it has been good for is keeping in touch with friends or colleagues who have their own blogs. It makes it easier for me to tell when they have posted.

I can see that in a work environment it would be good for current awareness (eg: feeds from the media and other Govt Departments: Parliament, Treasury, ABS etc). I would have to have Bloglines as my home page though or else I'd forget to check it each day! I did try setting up a Pageflakes account for the library with feeds etc but it takes too long to open and navigate around.

Anyway, moving along.....

Early Morning walk

Early Morning walk
Originally uploaded by jobloggs

I took this early one morning on a foggy day. I disturbed a group of kangaroos and stopped to watch them hop away!

About time! Thing # 5

I'm falling behind a bit with this program so will try to catch up in the next week or so. Luckily I have been using flickr for a while already now and am familiar with this 'thing'. I originally set up an account to share pictures of my new home with friends and family back in Sydney. Since then it has developed into a hobby too. One of my New year's resolutions this year was to learn more about photography, so I have been using my little Sony 'point and shoot' digital camera to try to take more 'interesting' photos. The aim is to save enough to buy a good Canon digital SLR at some point.

4 traits of effective librarians

I just came across this article on LISNews and thought it looked quite relevant to this project. The author offers his list of four traits that would not only make librarians more effective, but happier and more productive.
1. Openness
2. Responsiveness
3. Collaboration
4. Communication

First post - Thing #3

Hi everyone!!

The habit I am worst at would be most of them, but if I had to choose I think it would be 2 - accepting responsibility for your own learning. I tend to go to training and development sessions that are organised and/or paid for by my organisation and have only recently begun to take more responsibility for my own learning and development. This ranges from professional reading (journals, media articles, books etc), attending conferences and events, networking and basically just actively participating in the LIS profession. This may be due to the fact that I have more spare leisure time now as I know time is a factor, especially at work.

My favourite habit is 7.5 - Play! I can do that....

I am looking forward to seeing everyone's blogs and reading your posts.