Monday, January 28, 2008

Information at your Fingertips

Thing 3. Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds


I had always heard about RSS and other feeds but never understood what the benefit was to me and our library. I was always afraid of virus etc. with feeds that would cripple our computers.


I was a little frustrated on the blogline site. It took two of us awhile to decide how this works and how to place it on our blogs. We really wanted the weather feed but could not find the RSS feed, so we both chose other feeds. Could someone help us with this?

I did like adding 23 friends blogs that I check everyday. Took some time to figure out what add page element it would works with and how to add other links to the links part and name the element. Nowhere does it say how to do this. Some other instructions are needed.


I would wholeheartly endorse and show the staff and patrons how to do these great features. I have added a lot of the features we are learning in the 23 things program to the library blog http://www.kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/. I have talked to staff and patrons, and family about the 23 things website and even though they will not get rewarded like I will I thought they would enjoy the step-by-step process.

I am really having a great learning experience. The only thing I worry about is I might forget how it all works, so I downloaded the information to have as a reference for the future and to hand out to others. A big thank you from me on helping learn Web 2.0.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Web 2.0

Thing 2. What is Library 2.0?

I been working in libraries for over 35 years and times they are a changing. Librarians over the years have always been in the forefront of using technology and helping others discover how technology can help them in their daily lives.

As Stephen Abram said sometime it is hard to find the time. But if it is important to us we can find the time. I come early in the morning and work on new skills I have learned and tell staff and patrons how they can be used. Technology seems to be a double edge sword sometimes you feel like it is taking over your life and other times what did I do without it. I especially feel this when the computers go down and all of my work is on it. That means I have to wait for a specialist to fix it. I have never felt particularly threatened by Google or the internet in general because I am pretty busy helping people all day long in my library as it is. The difference is that I help them do different things than I did five to ten years ago.

I have been reaching out to clubs and businesses in my community and the result has been wonderful. The response we get from people when we help then actually deliver the items they wanted has ranged from surprise to jaw dropping amazement. “I had no idea you could do that” is a common response, yet what they don’t know is that the project may have only taken ten or fifteen minutes. To me, this is the kind of thing that creates relevance- delivering the items that our clients want, whether that is with flickr , your blog or with a telephone. And those clients aren’t just millenials, they are anyone and everyone.

The internet and all of the wonderful sites are great to explore and tell others about your finds.
I am pretty proficient at some of the Web 2.0 tools and I am looking forward to learning about more of them through the 23 things on a stick program.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Island Princess Avatar & Site Meter

Thing # 1 Avatars & Site Meter

I finished my avatar a few minutes ago and it really did take a long time to decide the hair, clothes, and background . I went with what I would like to look like when I retire, hopefully in the next few years.

I still do not know what to do with an avatar but at least now I know what one is and where to go to get another.

I also took the challenge and added a site meter. It was very easy and quick and now will see how many visit my site.

Excited About 23 Things on a Stick

Thing #1 Blogs

I have been looking forward to this projects for a long time. Last summer I ran across the 23 Things You should Know from Charlotte-Meckelburg Library and started to work on the 23 items. I am glad MLA decided to get together and make one especially for Minnesota. Thanks Guys!

I have another blog at kassonpubliclibrary.blogspot.com. At this blog I have library information, events and even some fun stuff. Check it out!