I guess that's it! I just completed the final survey. I intend to keep this blog and will attempt to update periodically with new findings in Library 2.0 tools and technologies.
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23 Things Survey
Congratulations! You have completed Thing 23! We hope you have enjoyed the process and will continue to learn about and use technology in your personal and professional life.
Thing 22, we're nearly through!
I've learned a lot since Thing 1 - maybe not enough to guide Library 2.0 evolution, but definitely enough to evolve with it. This Thing is asking for a resolution to maintain this blog, using the tools I know and learning and applying new ones as I become aware of them in the library. I think I can do that. I've really enjoyed reading other 23Things blogs while experimenting with new technologies - it has been fun to see what works for some and not for others. One of the things I use most from this training is bloglines. I intend to continue to use this to check-in with fellow 23Thingers and discover new Web 2.0/Library 2.0 tools. I've added LibraryBytes and Librarian in Black to my fat (and growing!) folder of Library News & Info sites to keep up with as a start. And, of course, there are always NEFLIN webinars and trainings to look forward to!
This Thing looked at some amazing tools created by the University of Minnesota Libraries: the Assignment Calculator, the Research Project Calculator, and the Teacher Guide to the Research Project Calculator.
Wow! Where were these tools when I was an undergraduate? Or when I was teaching, for that matter? Unfortunately, by the time I see students working on projects here at the public library, it's generally because they need a book tonight (!) for the assignment due tomorrow. Time management is an essential skill to have, but one that is not often taught in school. I'm sure that many students (and their parents) would find that, when broken down into manageable chunks, tasks are easier to accomplish and staying focused or keeping on track is less of an issue. This would be a great thing for librarians to talk about when doing outreach to schools or hosting class visits. We could also share information with teachers before the start of the school year along with information about other services the public library has to offer them. Graphic organizers are HUGE in education right now. Every in-service devotes at least some time to touting their virtues. The University of Minnesota encourages teachers to act as "information literacy coach" and offers real-life tools (planning guides, rubrics, organizers, etc.) to customize and accomplish this. There is even information I can use today - tip sheets on improving Google searches, reminders for evaluating web sites, and Boolean Basics information that was actually a great refresher for my own searches. I hope the folks hard at work on revamping our library's new website and creating a teen page are also doing this Thing. Good stuff!
I honestly don't think the printed word will disappear. I'm reading a book right now, The Adoration of Jenna Fox that has an appropriate quote, "...there is still something different about opening a real book, the scent that emerges, seeing one word at a time and soaking in its shape and nuance". Reading a book is a tactile experience. It's a craving only satisfied by holding a book, turning its pages, reading the printed word. Maybe that's just me. I feel that music sounds best when played on vinyl, stories best remembered when lingered over. Audiophile, bibliophile...
I haven't noticed a sharp decline in our patron's desire for books here at the library. Books on tape and CD are as popular as ever, and our new mp3 Playaway format has it's own fan-base. I am noticing a trend in the library purchasing less esoteric books in print and replacing them with online electronic resources. Most of the time, the patrons looking for these titles or subjects are turned off by the fact that they will have to download the "book" on to a computer to gain access to it. Other times (as is the case with some high school and college students) they are eager for this new format and like the fact that they can search for and "borrow" these items right on their own personal computers. I do think that a large percentage of our library patrons use the library, not for books, but for DVD borrowing privileges. Because we carry all of the new releases as well as children's, educational, and informative DVDs, and we allow up to 8 DVDs per card for one-week free check out, it sometimes feels as if I work at a Blockbuster rather than a library. But that's an old complaint, and I'm just as guilty of checking out Mama Mia! as the next guy. (I mean, it'd be worse if I had paid to see that one, right?)
The NEA Report Reading on the Rise (press release) tells us that there is a definitive increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature, with the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24. Good news for young adult librarians!
The article How Libraries Can Survive in the New Media Ecosystem was interesting because it talked about literacy in visual and graphic terms, making a strong case for including graphic literacy in education and giving new credence to "reading" on the Internet It said, "The nature of literacy is changing; it includes not only text but also symbols and visual images or icons that make up graphic user interfaces. Students need to learn the language of screen literacy and to develop the skills to understand the instructions and messages represented visually". It also stated that people live in a state of "continuous partial attention" which I find to be SO true. Generally, people are at their desks, multitasking, checking e-mail, browsing articles, creating reports, maybe while fielding a call on their cell or IMing a contact. Reading a book is a chance to turn all of that off! And still another reason I like to just sit and focus and let a story envelop me.
This Thing is all about web 2.0 tools that were created to enhance a person's reading experience. There are a lot of cool features for people that want to take their interest in reading further. I visited and explored the following sites:
Books On Your Phone
My initial reaction to this was - no thanks! But I went ahead and took a look at BooksinMyPhone. I do not have the Internet enabled on my cell phone, my provider charges lots for downloads, and my screen is all of about 1.5 inches big, so this is really not something I am interested in. It does have some good features like automatic bookmarks so that you never lose your place, and you can adjust the font size for your reading pleasure. This particular site contains mostly classics, probably because of public domain, but be aware that even the list of "best sellers" they offer are historical best sellers, which means they were popular from 185 - 1922.
Reader's Advisory
I'm often on the desk when someone will ask a question about a genre I am completely ignorant of, so I'm always looking for good RA sites. I explored Reading Trails. This one seems like it has a lot of potential, but it is still very new - I was surprised that there were so few members/readers in the Reading Trails community. Only 7 people have read Middlesex? On this site, books have a trail based on reader input/lists. They intersect and you can see how many trails a single book appears in. You can follow the trails of a favorite book and find out what other people think you might like to read next. Your trails can be shared with friends, tagged, organized, and widgets can even be created for you blog. Overbooked is listed under the heading below, but might also be useful for RA. No reading in real-time here, but I was impressed by their suggested reading lists (adult books for teens!) and love the fact that it was created by a librarian in order to channel her "obsessive tendencies to organize stuff."
Online Book Communities
If I had more free time, I could see myself devoting entire afternoons to discussing books with like-minded readers. Sometimes it's hard to find the right book club, but online book communities are springing up all over the place, making it easy to try them out before making a commitment. BookGlutton is "described as a cross between a book, a computer, and a book group, BookGlutton has created a web-based e-book reader that lets users discuss the book from the inside". The biggest problem I can see with this site is, again, they don't have everything. Mostly classics here, but hey - it might be fun to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with 252 other Stumbling Funsters.
Book Group Resources
I would really like to start a book club here at the library for teens, but I've hesitated due to lack of participation in past endeavors. I've been considering an online book group, and Booksprouts looks like an easy way to get started! I was excited to see that there are already library groups on Booksprouts discussing The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I'm going to mention this at my next Teen Advisory Board meeting and see what takes root.
Audio Books
LibriVox is an interesting site with a noble mission. Their tag line is "accoustical liberation of books in the public domain". They use volunteers to record texts in the public domain and then make their recordings available online. On the site they state, "This can be political if you wish, or mean nothing more than this: we read books and then give the audio files away for free." Because they depend on volunteers, my main concern with this site is the quality of the readers. I listened to some of the samples and they were about what I expected. You can make your own determination.
Book Reviews
According to their web site, BookBrowse "seeks out and recommends only the most interesting and well written books and provides you with everything you need to decide which are right for you - so you can browse the best and ignore the rest!". I did several searches for titles I've recently read (and enjoyed) that were not found on the site. This makes me wonder if the titles I searched for were deemed too poor to be reviewed by BookBrowse, or if they are just too new? BookBrowse has two levels of service - free features for visitors, and extended services for members. I like that they offer author bios & interviews and reading guides for many titles. The "thumbs up" icons used for critics' opinions are an easy way to browse impressions, and I like that they make the distinction between these and readers' ratings.
Facebook
I don't use my Facebook account as much as the rest of the world, but I did take a look at NEFLIN's suggested list of book-related apps. I was surprised to see WorldCat on Facebook and became a fan.
Book Swaps
I've been following BookCrossing for a while now. It's such a neat idea, and I love the thought of a traveling book you can track where it's been. The Denver Public Library has a special BookCrossing display for out-of-town guests to browse - I brought home Water for Elephants on my most recent trip. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary has even added an entry for bookcrossing: n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. Read and release!
Children's Books
When I worked for the Sacramento Public Library system, I helped to record stories and chapters of books through the Dial-A-Book and Dial-A-Story programs. I always got great feedback from parents and children that enjoyed calling up and listening to the recordings. Now the Internet is flooded with podcasts and .pdfs doing essentially the same thing. Lookybook had shut down at the time of this writing, oh! it would have allowed HOURS of fun for my computer-infatuated 2-year-old. I suppose I'll just have to let him watch Diane's slides for Not a Stick again for the 100th time...
For this Thing I read the following articles:
How Gather hopes to be the MySpace for Books in Publisher's Weekly ( - this was written in 2005, but essentially says that Gather hopes to attract both published authors and those who hope to have works published) and WebJunction article: Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library ( - which again states that in order to build an interactive library, we need education, imagination, and the integration of social networking into existing library activities).
Then I explored WebJunction.
I had never heard of WebJunction before, probably because none of their partners are in the states of FL or CA. It does include blogs, webinars, courses, competencies...and it reminded me of connecting-the-dots when writing lesson plans for my K-5 classes as a media specialist. Most of the information here is intended for library organizations rather than library individuals, but it does seem to offer library staff valuable technology and support in professional development.
I enjoyed browsing the list of other social networking sites. I am already a huge fan of last.fm (it's magic!) and Yelp which I've both contributed to, and used for finding good grub when traveling out of town. NEFLIN suggested Nibbledish (formerly Open Source Food) and I am in love! It has a gorgeous layout and is a networking site for finding, rating, and sharing recipes. Check it out - Yum!
