Week 3 - Flickr and more Flickr

The wonderful world of Flickr. Having had experience with this for some year I knew that I would enjoy this task. I went through the exercises all the same and did learn some new bits and pieces. I decided to have a go at both options because they both appealed to me.

Option One:

My favourite quirky person on Flickr is Elsie*Cakes.'s so I knew I would chose one of her photos. I love her passion for photography and all things arty!

I love this photo and it it typical Elsie style. I love that it is basically a photo in a photo. Its quirky and fun! I like photos that are not what other people usually like, something that is usually arty or just a little fun like this one! I hope you guys like this photo too......

Option two:

I created a new Flickr account rather than using my personal family one for the purpose of this task. You can take a look at my Flickr photos here! I uploaded several of my favourite photos that I have taken and the one below is one of my most favourite of all time. It was taken before I had my Digital SLR camera so it was taken on an ordinary Digi but it just captured the beauty so nicely.

Flickr is a good internet site to use. It is a create resource for photo sharing. Even though it has a Pro option that you pay for, it's normal usage options are fantastic and I can't see a real need for upgrafing the account. The tagging system is useful and it is good that you can chose your level of security so that it caters to most people. I still have a lot more to discover about Flickr for sure but I am happy that I can use it at the level that i currently do and still be getting a good service.

Week 2 - RSS

So I have too admit I was not at all excited about joining up to Bloglines. This is something I have done before for personal blogs I read and I never used it so my attitude was blah blah about it all at first. My attitude has changed since this initial outlook somewhat!

I really enjoyed the discovery resources as these were a little bit of fun and a great introduction to RSS and newsreaders. It opened my eyes as to how useful they can be, particularly if you follow a lot of blogs. I like the fact that with RSS and Newsreaders that they are easy to use, it is all there for you in one spot. I chose ten blogs of interest to add to mine for now. As I find more I will add more, here is a peak at what my bloglines looks like!!

I currently do use this type of technology in my personal life but I use Google Reader, I don't use it regularly but every couple of weeks I check in and go through anything I have listed in there. As far as RSS is concerned I am going to explore it more so stay tuned......

I think more libraries are starting to use Blogging and RSS feeds., a lot of academic libraries seem to have blogs but they aren't as widely used as they could be especially in the public system. There are many ways libraries can use RSS and it doesn't need to be just through a blog. Any site can be set up to use RSS as long as someone knows what they are doing. A library using RSS could use it for updating new book of the week, podcasts, whats happening in the library etc....basically anything that is going to be updated regularaly and are on their website. I think it would encourage patrons to tap into the library or their website more knowing that they can recieve regular updates on the libraries happenings through a newsfeeder and not have to continutally navigate through other parts of the site to get access to this information.

That is my take on RSS feeds and newsreaders. Not something everyone wants to use but a useful tool for those who do. The challenge for me now is to remember to check my bloglines!!

Week 1 - 5 library blogs and introduction

Welcome to my discovery of the Web 2.0 world as part of my studies for the Library Technicians Diploma. Enjoy the journey along with me. As part of my first task I have looked at 5 blogs associated with Libraries and I will share my thoughts and opinions on them.


Hey Jude - Learning in and online world

Hey Jude is written by an education and information professional who is fascinated by emerging technologies, innovation with web 2.0 and all that is means for schools and school libraries. Judy O'Connell has created an online environment that is inviting....I particularly like the title, it's catching; is current and caters to different audiences e.g. there is text, videos, and photos. You can see that Judy not only talks about Web 2.0 but uses a lot of it herself. She uses twitter, is on facebook, flicker, and has many blogs and wiki pages linked on her blog. It is obviously her passion and it shows.

I enjoyed looking at this blog because there was so much to look at. I particularly like her section on Students tools - let them fly! This is a list of tools that students can use in the digital learning world. There are a lot of resources that I haven't heard of and could be useful in my future career as a Library Technician and then later a Librarian. Some of these resources are Flicker, Wordpress and Wikis which I am aware of but there is also listed Gliffy (a site for flowcharts, diagrams etc), Jumpcut (editing and uploading videos), My Web Inspiration (online mind mapping tool).

Another useful part of her blog is under a title of My Things. It is links to some of Judys presentations which are all about Web 2.0. or school libraries, a list of her publications and her digital places.

Overall I am impressed with this blog, love its ease of use and it is one I will continue to keep up with as it is relevant to the digital age that we are in.


Virtually a librarian

I was really happy to stumble across this blog because I have not heard of there being an Electronic Services Librarian, and yes she is in Australia!! Something I particularly was interested in was her post about her Sony book reader. I have been tempted by book readers and have been curious about how easy they are to use in Australia; considering America use them in a big way and in Australia do not. The blog writer Kate weighed up the pros and cons of this reader......so well worth finding this particular blog post.

Her blog is a mixed bag of information but lacks regularity, Kate hasn't updated since January this year. She does however have a lot of different topics and I find them quite interesting - in particular she has a post on the 'demise' of the physical library and well worth the read, it can be found HERE. Basically it is a blog I like,wouldn't rave about it but it does have interesting topics and is set out so it is easy to read. If it was regularly updated i may be more inclined to get more excited about it.


Information wants to be free

Ok so I was a tad excited when I stumbled across this blog because I currently have Meredith Farkas book called 'Social Software in Libraries' out of the library!!! I am big on where social software is being taken in libraries and I think that is what I am most excited to stumble accross this blog.

The blog is quite informative and not only does she have regular blogging about interesting topics....her latest post titled 'didn't know I needed to be a sales person' an excellent example of the insight she has to offer. Worth a read and can be found HERE.

I liked also that she had other aspects to her blog, such as about me, her book website, presentations, contact me and her resume. I thought it was interesting to find her resume on there after conversation about this in Gails class the other week. The site was also inviting and the banner was fresh and made me want to explore further. The side bar was a little cluttered but I think that is because I like things to look very clean when I am reading them but I will be keeping track of this one!


Alia board blog

To be honest even though I am an active part of Alia I have never taken a look at their blog until today. I have discovered it is a quick way to find out what is happening in the library industry and find it easily. I like that the site is set out simply so the posts are easy to view and easy to read, and the colours are simple. I like that this blog is catered for Library Technicians and I think that is important to give us a bit of individuality.

The other fantastic thing about this blog is that it is of course Australian so the information is very relevant and it is a great way to keep up with the happenings of ALIA. It would be good to know how utilised this blog is because unlike other blogs this one doesn't have any comments on it....not that I came across anyway although I by no means searched every post on the blog.

I encourage other Library Technicians to take a look at this blog and support a Library orgninisation that supports us!


Aus Library Technician

I have chosen this blog to look at not because it screams Read Me...because it doesn't, not because it is up to date.....because it isn't and hasn't been updated since June last year. I chose it because it has some fun things to look at and some good links. It is also an easy blog to navigate.

The first part of the blog which is great to look at are the You Tube links on the side bar which are book cart drills at a conference in American in 2007.....a little bit on the fun side. There are other You Tube links on the side bar which are worth looking at, one being a trailer of a documentary about Librarians. There are also other library links, E-lists, and blogs.

What the writer of the blog has written has been of some interest and it appears that he is a great supporter of ALIA...always a bonus. If you get a chance take a look at this blog for a taste of the lighter side.

Overall I enjoyed choosing 5 different types of blogs to look at. They all had something insightful to share and were a good source of information when it comes to either web 2.0 or the Library industry. I hope you all enjoy looking at these as much as I did.

Allison