Thing 23...Thanks!

Thanks for the opportunity to participate in 23 Things on a Stick! I've learned much, been challenged repeatedly, and am looking forward to exploring some of these Things in greater depth...

Thing 22-Commitment to Keeping Up

The Thing I feel it will be most important for me to stick with is learning more about what is available in ELM, at this point. I'm not as well-versed in using this resource as I'd like to be, so I'm going to commit to exploring ELM at least one time during the week, more if possible.

I'm also working on a blog for our branch library and want to have it accessible before summer reading program kicks in. That will require using several of the Things and updating the blog regularly, so I think I'll be using many of the learned while completing 23 Things on a Stick...

Thing 17-ELM

I don't use ELM as much as I could, I've discovered with this Thing. There is such a wealth of information available that is untapped. I need to devote much more time than I have available right now to explore all of the ways to utilize the resources in ELM...should probably put a sticky on my desktop to remind myself to put 15 minutes a day into exploring all that is there.

As I work on the MN Library Certification, it would be very valuable to use the ELM webpages to share ideas with fellow participants.

Knowing how to use these tools would greatly benefit library patrons. I need to check with the local school district to see what they know about the availability of this resource...research projects and term papers would benefit from the use of these resources...

Thing 21-Socializing

I actually am a member of a couple online communities. cafemom.com has many different groups to fit any mom's needs/wants. I am a member/group owner/administrator of several autism support groups there and was on . I have a Shelfari account, too. When I found a social network that fit my interests, I became very involved. The autism groups, in particular, met a need for information, support and understanding in my world.

I didn't realize there were so many social networks out there. It's interesting to see how people connect online, hopefully not at the expense of face-to-face connections.

Thing 20

Facebook-I joined several gardening groups because it is the one passion I could see myself enjoying chatting with others about. I think Facebook is such a phenomenon because it is easy to use and helps people feel connected with other people. The connection, however, is often an illusion. In searching for people I know, I discovered some youth from our area who are presenting themselves as quite different than their real life persona, including age and images of themselves. It didn't surprise me, but it did concern me. It was also quite disappointing to see the way kids are portraying our local community in their groups and the reputations they are giving themselves via their actions or the fantasies they are portraying as their actions. There really is little way to tell which it is. I did appreciate the fact that you had to be a "friend" in order to view their profile, although I'm sure they give that permission to just about anyone who wants to befriend them.

MySpace-I don't know exactly why, but I didn't enjoy myspace. I'm not sure if it was more complicated or if I was just tired of the whole online "relationship" concept. It could be that I had just had enough of the pseudo relationship thing. I did find a depressing, annoying and ridiculous profile of a close family member while searching, so that could have something to do with it.

Thing 19

Podcasts frustrated me. I was able to listen to the first 3 (MPR, Memoirs for School Library Media, and On the Road with Minitex) but the directories frustrated me incredibly. I can usually figure these things out, but not this time. I listened to parts of How's the Family from MPR, and the Children's Literature Workshop from Memoirs for School Library Media. I have no desire to Podcast myself. I have subscribed to the How's the Family feed and look forward to future installments.

Thing 18

Google video seemed to take me to You Tube on the search I did, so I'm wondering what the point is...Had fun exploring YouTube. I chose the Library Rap because it is aimed at the population I would like to target with a library blog for our library. Video could be informational and entertaining. Library kids could create videos for summer programming. Volunteers could be recorded reading stories and links could be posted on the blog.

Hassle me...

Found an interesting site while using stumbleupon.

http://www.hassleme.co.uk/

You can set up reminders to be emailed to you to hassle you to do whatever it is that you want to be hassled about. Kind of a fun idea.

Thing 16-wow!

I think these look like amazing tools to have at our disposal. I actually plan on sharing them with the teachers and librarians at our local schools. It seems like kids are so clueless sometimes as to how to approach big projects and I could see this as a very useful tool in getting them organized and on the right track. What a great tool to be able to hand them that helps them think through their projects...

Personally, I could see it very useful in time management for projects like grant writing and planning summer reading program activities that are larger scale...

Thing 15

Let it be known that I hate video games! There, got that off my chest! I am not opposed to other people playing them, they just drive me crazy. I have both Puzzle Pirates and Second Life loaded on the public computers and going to get my kids and library kids to rate them for me. My nervous system just can't deal with the overload of all that action or waste of time...yes, I am old and a wienie...I accepted that a loooonnnggg time ago. Hope this counts for exploring this Thing...I did look at them.

Thing 14-Library Thing

Well, I have set up a Library Thing account and done some exploring. I've added the search widget to my blog, but it doesn't seem to search.

Before I saw Library Thing, I was a Shelfari member and added my Shelfari bookshelf to my blog, so I don't know if I will go to the work of doing much more on LT. I occasionally check my Shelfari site, but frankly, it is another time issue for me. I already have more books I want to read than I have time to read them...I do have a library patron who uses Shelfari and has some discussion groups there.

Thing 13-Productive or Not...That is the question

I'm not convinced that I found a lot of productivity enhancers in this Thing, but it may be because I'm not that much of an organized person and this kind of rubs me the wrong way...I think I would waste more time trying to be organized than actually being organized. I could see that if you were a person who had their ducks in a row and thrived on that, these tools would be quite amazing.

I already had a Google start page and I tweaked it a little. I also had a Yahoo homepage that I tweaked, too. More time wasted...My internet home page is set to my email for my home computer and the library website for my work computer, so I have no desire to set either of these as my home page, but when I am at Google or Yahoo it is nice to see a customized page.

I could see Stickynotes.net being handy. I have put some stickies on my desktop. One has a message on it. Two are there so I can just pop to it and add a sticky if I want to and save a step if I'm in a hurry. Not that it was time consuming to do anyway, but I wanted to see how I like it.

I think Zamzar will be very handy, especially for students who come in having done work at home or school on a program we don't have and wanting to do more work. Converting it would have been handy just last week when a student needed a program we didn't have here. (although he probably loved the excuse that he couldn't work on it....) I've got it saved to favorites in case I need it.

To-do lists might be handy, but isn't that what scratch paper is for? And it is more portable...

Backpack looks time consuming to me...the previously mentioned aversion to being that organized applies here, too.

Basically, it all comes down to how much work do I want to put in to getting myself organized...hmmmm...not so much!

Thing 12-I don't Digg it.

I find tools such as Digg, Reddit and Newsvine to be productivity detractors. While I know that some like to see what others are doing/reading online, I really don't like to follow the crowd. I don't crave news oddities. I don't want to see every headline everywhere. If I want headline news I go to one of the major networks and see what they have to say. Most of it is just too darned depressing anyway.


I did enjoy Stumbleupon. I like that as I stumble, my stumbles become more personalized to what I have been looking at. Once again, however, to me it is a productivity detractor.

I have read an article that I found through Digg, and while it was interesting, it was not life changing and I could have done without it.

Perhaps if I was in a reference position and saw requests based on what people are reading online I would see this as a more practical application. In my position, that just isn't the case.

Thing 11

Tagging and Delicious are interesting. I can see this will be very useful. I have found many times that the site I thought I had saved was on a different computer, so this will eliminate much frustration. It will also allow me to work from home more efficiently.

Thing 10

I could see myself using Wikis for many things. Family could have used it in planning for f.i.l's transition to a nursing home, planning family trip, etc. I'll be creating one for the MN Library Certification class so we can work together on our homework. It would be great for homework group projects in schools. Endless possibilities. I edited the 23 Things wiki...http://23onastick.pbwiki.com/ and checked out several other wikis. The library bloggers wiki is now bookmarked on my computer to revisit as time permits.

Thing 9

I found Thing 9 frustrating as I couldn't figure out why I couldn't edit on either tool. I'll have to spend more time on this, but am too frustrated for now.

Thing 7

Our library uses email to notify patrons of holds available and overdue items, if they have chosen that option. I also have several teachers who place requests via email instead of online requesting or calling.

Text messaging a librarian would be a futile task at our library as cell phone reception beyond the entrance is horrible. IM'ing would be great if a person needed help in the 4 hours a day we are open. Web conferencing could be a good use of resources for training purposes as most training is an hour away. Email would be a viable option for research questions, but a phone call or in person is still the most efficient way to do a reference interview and determine what the patron really needs.

I use text messaging in my personal life to reach family members with questions that don't necessarily need more than a one or two word answer. I've done some IM'ing, but most people I know (read "my age") would rather just pick up the phone. I see it more useful in an interoffice setting or to avoid long distance phone charges.