New Initiatives

We had a good SELCO board meeting Wednesday night. I received my "23 things on a stick" flash drive, and my name was drawn out of the hat for a DVD player. That was a cool surprise! There was good discussion about the new Strategic Plan for the consortium. I'm particularly excited about the Teen programming component. We also decided to go ahead and take a serious look at creating a new catalog utilizing Endeca.

Endeca is a great product used by a lot of large e-commerce companies. I'm glad everyone seems excited about it, but I think we still need to take a look at the alternatives as well. Solr is a similar open source project that is used by a lot of large e-commerce companies as well. It's not as slick as Endeca, but I think it is worth a look as well. Here are some links if anyone is curious.

Here is a list of sites using it for their guided navigation/search.
http://wiki.apache.org/solr/PublicServers

There are some pretty big sites in that list.
http://reviews.cnet.com/
http://shopper.cnet.com/
http://www.netflix.com/
http://www.archive.org/

I do see some libraries in the list as well.
http://deweybrowser.oclc.org/ddcbrowser2/
http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/index.html
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/digital/resndev/blacklight.html
http://siris-collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp

I also think we should be looking at AquaBrowser as well. They are a more library specific company. They've built a lot of the social aspects into their product. They do things like import LibraryThing tags and reviews, and allow patrons to do tagging, reviewing, and networking. Definitely worth a serious look. Plenty of libraries in their list of customers.

Thing 23. Final Thoughts

This was a good experience. It was a lot more time consuming than I was expecting. I definitely can tell I spent more time on the early things. I did learn quite a bit, especially about the more library specific sites. I definitely plan to play more with LibraryThing.

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

I'm constantly learning new things about technology, that's the nature of having a tech job. What I don't generally do, is ask myself how the library might use whatever I'm looking at. I think about what it can do for the business I work for. So my resolution is to make a conscious effort to start thinking more about how the things I run across could have an application in the library setting.

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

There are a lot of social networking sites out there. I use meetup.com to keep in touch with the MN MySQL User Group. I use Linked-in to keep track of my former co-workers and colleagues, here is my profile. I notice from my Linked-in connections that a couple of my former co-workers are now in charge of operations at Ning. They are definitely smart people, no wonder Ning has such a great architecture.

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

Facebook and MySpace, I can understand the attraction. They combine a lot of things you used to have to get ala carte. Web space, blog, BBS, IM, its all there. You used to have to get each one of those things individually. MySpace has been used a lot for marketing, especially in the music business. Here is an example. I don't see why you couldn't do the same sort of thing to market your library.

Thing 19. Podcasts

I regularly listen to podcasts. I pull a lot of them down from public radio. Two of my favorites are Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR, and Musicheads from MPR's new music station, The Current. I use Juice to download my podcasts automatically.

One way podcasts could be used in the library would be setting up a podcasting booth. I think that would be a great way to engage teens by enabling them to create content at the library. It wouldn't have to be anything too fancy. A PC with a microphone, audacity, and an internet connection. A booth to put it in that has decent acoustics, preferably something that could be setup and taken down easily.

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

I really got a kick out this movie. It is both entertaining and informative. I think it really displays how YouTube can be used as a reference in the library. I could also see libraries using YouTube to upload video of various events that happen at the library, or to promote upcoming events.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

I must admit I haven't used ELM much, so this was a good introduction for me. I really like the NetLibrary, but the books appear to be a bit out of date, at least the tech books are. I didn't know you could do so much with EBSCO. I will definitely be revisiting these resources.

Thing 16. Student 2.0 Tools

The two tools in this Thing seem useful. I especially like how the University of Minnesota Assignment Calculator brought together resources from many other colleges. I would have found this quite useful in college for keeping me on track. I was always the procrastinator who ended up cramming most of an assignment in the night before it was due.

Thing 14. LibraryThing

I thought Library Thing was pretty fun. I just might put my whole collection there. I did have a couple issues though. I had some time-outs when adding books. It is also buggy under Firefox.

I could see libraries using this as a place to put lists of new books. It would then be easy to add the feed to their website. Similar to the widget I added to this blog.

My library is here.

Thing 15. Online Games and Libraries

I decided to skip ahead to Thing 15 because its relevant to what I am doing tonight. I am blogging from the Plainview Public Library as I help chaperone one of their GameFest nights. There are 28 kids ages 12-18 here tonight. Some are playing the Magic: The Gathering card game. Some are on the computers playing Runescape or armorgames.com. There is also a PS3 hooked up to a projector that they are playing Rock Band on. There are 2 other TV's set up with gaming consoles. Lots of fun is being had.

Plainview has had a very successful gaming program. Along with the GameFest nights, they have had various video game tournaments and are about to do another Dungeons & Dragons class. Alice went to the TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium last year and came back with a lot of new ideas, especially for family gaming and intergenerational gaming. The rumor is that its going to be in Chicago again this year, but November instead of July. We'll have to keep an eye on the website to confirm that.

So, on to the actual assignment. I did Puzzle Pirates, pretty fun but I'm still more of a Runescape person.

Thing 13. Online Productivity Tools

I have setup iGoogle. I don't login to it very often. Mostly just if I'm somewhere and don't have a laptop with me, or am on my ultra-portable PC. It gives a decent starting/aggregation point for the resources I use the most. I can see at as good resource for someone that doesn't have a PC at home and uses mainly library computers.

This is a bit of a re-hash of previous blog posts, but I think the Google calendar app is awesome. You can read Thing 9 to find out how I use it. Plainview Public Library uses it within their website as their events calendar. I think that is one of the great applications for a library. I do have a Remember The Milk login, but I rarely use it. The Google calendar does SMS to/from my cell phone, so I don't really need the other one any more.

I also subscribe to the Lifehacker RSS feed. They are constantly reviewing GTD apps and posting productivity hints. They are a great resource for that sort of thing.

Thing 12. Do You Digg?

Nope, I don't. I don't have anything against it, I just don't use these services. The amount of information I get from the Internet already feels like drinking from a fire hose. Also, these sites can be to much of a time waster for me. I was looking at reddit and pulled me into a 20 minute tangent reading Dilbert, and about movie sequels that were so bad they damaged the original. Not sure about the library application, but definitely can be cheap entertainment.

Thing 11. Tagging and Del.icio.us

I'm a relatively recent convert to del.icio.us. I didn't see the point because I had Google's bookmark sync setup, so I had my bookmarks on all my workstations already. I'm also a bookmark pack rat, and one day I decided I was going to give del.icio.us a try in an attempt to get them better organized and available from any PC without needing to install any software. It's been great. I no longer scroll through pages of bookmarks to find the one I want. It has also saved me from keeping 30 tabs open to websites I thought looked interesting, but I hadn't had the time to give more than a cursory glance. Now, with the del.icio.us toolbar, I just tag them and know that they'll be there when I'm looking for something on that topic.

I can see this being a very good tool at libraries to share commonly used bookmarks, they can be available to any computer in the library. I can also see pulling an RSS feed for a certain tag and putting that as part of the content on the library's website. It's a great way to share interesting items with coworkers and/or patrons.

Thing 10. Wikis

I am a big fan of wiki software. When I started at Fastenal almost 2 years ago, there was very little documentation for my group. One of the first things I did was install MediaWiki(Wikipedia's software) on my workstation and started documenting things about servers, services, and policies as I learned them. After just a few months of doing that, everybody saw how easy and valuable that was, so we decided to purchase commercial wiki software. We chose Confluence which I had used in at my previous workplace. They were already using Jira from the same company for bug tracking, issue tracking, & project management, so it just made sense. I'm a big fan of Confluence, if you are looking for an enterprise class wiki with paid support. Its very easy to use and the permissions can be very granular.

I think all of the examples of libraries using wiki software in this "Thing" are great. There are lots of open source and hosted versions of wiki software out there, so the cost of entry can be very low. It's a great way to get some quick and dirty documentation started, and everybody can refine it.

Thing 9. Online Collaboration Tools

Thing 9. Online Collaboration Tools

For this thing I decided to take it one step further and actually do my blog post from within Google Docs. Did you know you can do that? I've been using the Google apps for a while. I even have a Google Apps For Your Domain account. My wife and I heavily use Google calendars so we can both edit the family calendar, and I also created a separate work calendar. I can either view them one at a time or both together. It's a lot handier to be able to look at our home calendar while I am at work. A lot easier than setting up a dedicated webcam pointing at the calendar on our wall at home. :^) Regarding Google vs. Zoho, I think Zoho has a better feature set, but I'm more likely to use Google because I do so much other stuff in Google already.

I think online collaboration tools can be very useful in any organization, including libraries. I think its a relatively untapped resource that is finally starting to get some traction.

Thing 8. Share Your Creations

I already have a flickr badge on this blog, so I completed a tiny bit of this "Thing" earlier. I guess that will be my thing to share.

I like the idea of SlideShare as a place to share presentation materials. I personally haven't spent much time creating presentations; nothing I can share outside of work anyway. I do tend to download all the presentations I can find after I go to a conference. Some have put them up on SlideShare, most just post them in PDF form on their websites. They are a good reminder of the highlights of the talks I attended.


I've heard good things about Zoho. Mainly that it has better compatibility and a better feature set than the comparable Google applications. It seems to me that showing patrons to these sites could be a good alternative to spending the money to license the Microsoft applications on patron accessible computers.

Lazybase seems like it could be a good place to put some limited use, "throw away" databases. Their web server is throwing errors tonight, so hopefully it's usually a little more stable.


All these tools look to be useful. One thing to keep in mind when using them is the fact that you are putting your information in the hands of a third party. You have to decide what level of trust you have for that organization. You also need to keep in mind that if you are using their free service then there is really no support, and if your data is lost you probably aren't going to get it back. If the tool works for you and you can live with its limitations and risks, go for it.

RSS Feed

I have 152 of the SELS 23 Things blogs subscribed in my RSS feed reader right now. Here is an export of it, in case anyone wants to import it into their favorite Feed Reader.

Thing 7. Web 2.0 Communication Tools

Email. Email is useful but I don't consider it to be an instantaneous form of communication. I was in the Internet business long enough to know that there are many things that can hold up your email. I also believe it can be a productivity killer as much as a productivity enhancer. I try not to look at my email more than once per hour. Generally any requests that come in will have been taken care of already by someone who looks at every email the minute it shows up in there mailbox. It keeps me from being interrupted, I can continue to get things done. If you want something done immediately, don't send me an email, call my extension. If its an emergency, call my cell.

IM. Instant Messaging is a great tool. I use an internal IM server at work all the time. If I'm working with a developer or database administrator, we can copy and paste snippets of code, configs, and logs back and forth. Much more precise than a voice call. And I can be doing other things while interacting with IM. IM combined with a webcam and microphone has also been a good tool for saying good nite to X when I'm traveling on business. IM is also how I get most of my books. If I run across something that looks interesting to me, I instant message it to my favorite librarian(who also happens to be my wife) and she'll find it for me. Plainview does live reference over Instant Messenger, although I don't think many patrons take advantage of it yet.

Text Messaging. I use text messaging in bursts. When its my week to be oncall, our monitoring systems alert via text messages, and we acknowledge them via text message. I use it when traveling with coworkers to coordinate where we are meeting and when. I can see some use for it in library systems especially integrated into the ILS. Overdue notices, notices that a book that was ordered is in, that sort of stuff would all be good choices for text messages. They are short, and somewhat time sensitive. I also use text messaging to Google for definitions, weather, things like that. I suppose that similar queries could be sent to the library, but it seems like a lot of that would be a waste of librarian resources, especially when Google is so good at it.

Web Conference. This is another technology that I use all the time. Many vendors will demo their software using this. Some vendors will use tools like WebEx to do remote support. I used to work with a very geographically disperse organization and we would use web conferencing to bring together employees to get everyone up to speed on a new service we would be providing. I'm not sure I see my local library hosting a lot of web conference meetings, but I do see a definite benefit to it at the consortia level. Everyone wouldn't have to drive to meetings/training. I do agree with most of the tips in the webjunction pdf. Especially the part about distractions. It is very easy to switch to another screen and try to do a little work while in a web meeting. Very tempting, but while you think you are multitasking, you really aren't giving the meeting as much attention as you probably should. Like most things in life, it takes discipline. I watched the webinar "Podcasting 2" as part of this thing. I found it quite interesting and good quality. I won't comment on it too much, but it could be useful for Thing 19.

Challenge. I did sign up for the 23 Things on a Stick Google Group. And have seen a few people post there. As for Meebo, I personally don't have much use for it. I use Pidgin as my IM client and it really does all I need. I have tried Twitter in the past, but I just haven't found it useful. Maybe my mind just isn't open enough about it, or maybe I just haven't found the right things to connect it too. If the Los Angeles Fire Department has found a use for it, I probably haven't been thinking about it creatively enough. One of the blogs I read faithfully is Confused in Calcutta. He's been musing a lot about twitter lately, and other social networking tools in general. A good read if you have time.

And here is a little extra food for thought about Library 2.0 in general. William Gibson has said many times that the future is already here - it is just unevenly distributed. I think he's right and that libraries can have a big part in making sure it is distributed more evenly. I mentioned before that my wife likes to remind me that the library is the great equalizer. Its just as true with Internet access and access to social media as it is with other media.

Thing 6. Online Image Generators

spider-man card, originally uploaded by JuniorLibrarian.

Thing 5. More Flickr Fun

I looked at a bunch of these tools that plug into the Flickr api. There certainly is no shortage of them. To be honest, I don't see much use for most of them. They're fun to play with a bit, but I'm not seeing the practical use. I look forward to seeing how other people comment on this task, maybe I'm totally missing it. I did create a montage with the 23thingsonastick tag at this site, but it doesn't appear to have saved it. So here is a jigsaw puzzle of a book cart instead.

Jigsaw, originally uploaded by JuniorLibrarian.

Thing 4. Photosharing with Flickr

The Library From a 4-Year Old's Perspective


Favorite Comic Books, originally uploaded by JuniorLibrarian.

I had a little extra fun with this project. My 4 year old son, we'll call him "X", helped me out. X has pretty much grown up in the library. When he was a baby we bought a second Pack 'n' Play so he could go to work with Mom. When he was old enough to start talking, he was the official greeter, saying "Hi" to everyone who walked into the library. Even now he typically spends 4-5 hours per week at the library, he's graduated to pulling the books out of the book return. I knew he needed to spend the morning at the library today, so I sent the camera along with him. I asked him to take pictures of his favorite things and things he thinks are important at the library. The above picture is of one of the superhero graphic novels he loves to read while he is there. On the right you'll see a Flickr badge that has the rest of his photo session.

I like Flickr. We have a pro account for our personal use. I'll admit that I don't use it much, my wife is the photographer in the family. It was good to take this opportunity to explore. I found and joined the "23 Things On A Stick" Flickr group. I geo-tagged the photos I uploaded and searched and found some pictures people had posted from our area. I know our library also uses Flickr to post pictures from their various events. Its probably one of the better Web 2.0 tools.

I hope everyone is enjoying their 23 Things Flickr experience as much as I enjoyed hearing X talk about all of his pictures.

Thing 3. Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds

I've been using RSS feeds for a long time. I like to add them to my email client, Thunderbird. That way I can catch up on my email and my feeds at the same time. I do also have them setup in Google newsreader as a backup, but rarely use it to actually read them.

I'm a systems administrator and one way I use RSS is at work. Whenever we make a change to a server, we post to an internal blog. I use the RSS feed for that blog to stay up to date with what is going on. Its also great for historical purposes. When was it that we made that change to the mail gateways? I'll just search for "mail gateway" in the blog and see all the related blog posts. A lot handier than the paper logbook used back in the old days.

I do read a few library blogs which a linked below.

Plainview Public Library
Library Technology in Texas
Library Web Chic
open-ils blog
And I pull three RSS feeds from SELCO. I do the "Regional News", "SELCO Librarian", and "Structures". I'm not going to link those as they can all be found from their front page.

I also pull a few feeds from /. and Lifehacker. I have a few other technology feeds, some from blogs of friends and family in other states, and my current favorite online comic xkcd.com.
I like RSS feeds because I don't have to go around polling everyone's sites to see if something is new. And I treat it similarly to how I go through my email. Deleting stuff that doesn't look interesting, reading some now, and flagging others to be read later. All said and done I have about 35 feeds so I can't read them all, but I can scan through them and find interesting stuff in all of them.

Thing 2. What is Library 2.0?

I'm going to subtitle this post as "Freewheeling about Library 2.0" as it is very much a stream.

I see libraries as places of connections. They connect us to the information. They connect us to government. They connect us to our communities. They connect us to the world. This connectedness fits right in with Library 2.0 and Web 2.0. I know at my local small public library the Internet computers are in constant use. The library is a place you can go create your online presence and connect. You don't have to have access at home. I also know that our library's wireless hotspot averaged more than one connection per day in 2007. So a library is a place to come and connect, even if you do have other options for access. My wife likes to remind me that libraries are the great equalizer. I know it is hard for smaller libraries to keep up in this 2.0 world. You have to pick and choose, or you'll get buried trying to keep up with all the different Web 2.0 tools. I see a lot of libraries making a blog as a portal for their online presence. I think that's a great choice. It makes the site much more dynamic, and not just a brochure for the library.

Library 2.0 goes beyond just the new Web 2.0 tools though. Its about finding out what the whole range of patrons are looking for today, and looking ahead to tomorrow. Its about finding ways to bring new people into the library. Plainview has a Teen Advisory Committee made up entirely of teens. They do fundraising for teen programs and come up with ideas for teen events. Open computer nights, DDR and Guitar Hero, Dungeons&Dragons classes, and a Family Wii Bowling night are just a few of the ways they are bringing in new people to the library. This keeps the library in both the minds of the current taxpayers(parents) and the future taxpayers(the teens). It makes the library a destination, a fun place, and an interesting place, plus exposes them to all the other services the library offers as well.

I look at Library 2.0 as an evolution. Its really the same things that libraries have always needed to do. Give people access to information in a way that is useful for them. The challenge is that last part. How long have sites like Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Epinions.com been giving us recommendations based on other purchases, and letting us review items for other customers. The biggest problem I see in the 2.0 world is privacy. Libraries have historically been a strong protector of privacy, but to implement services like the above, you have to collect personally identifiable information and create a history. If we look at current public opinon, it seems that the majority of Internet users are not concerned(See the Pew Internet Life study titled Digital Footprints for information about that). Maybe we don't need to be quite so concerned about it either, we can allow users to choose how they want to connect to the library. We just need to give them the options. In the end its all about connecting the library and the user, whether in cyberspace or meatspace. I think Library 2.0 encompasses both.

Thing 1. Set Up Your Blog

I have blogged before, but generally I do a few posts and then abandon it. Its generally a low priority. I've used a few different blog sites/software. They have definitely come a long way in the last few years. I like Blogger because its very flexible. You can publish to your own hosting space if you want, you can edit the css if you want. So its good for the advanced user, yet easy enough for the beginning user. You can create a decent looking blog in just a few minutes.

I'm not excited about the Yahoo! Avatar thing. I thought they were all pretty cheesy. I guess I'll probably replace it with a picture at some point. I know, the teens/tweens are probably using the avatars and that is why we added one. Well, as long as I have that bit of cheese on there, I decided to throw a weatherpixie in the sidebar as well. :-)