the end

looking back on the 2.0 programme there were alot of sites out there that i vaguely knew of but just hadn't had the chance to really explore. 2.0 gave me the opportunity to have a bit of a play around with these and introduced me to wikis, podcasts, flickr and RSS feeds.
there were times when i couldn't quite get things to work and that could be a little frustrating - especially the rollyo part - but overall it was great to find out about the resources that are freely available to all on the grande interweb.

muchO thanks for this opportunity to expand my web knowledge!

netlibrary and ebooks

i've come across ebooks and ejournals through having to use them for research assignments at uni.

i located the ebooks'the age of innocence', 'laptops for dummies' and another book on sustainable architecture and added these to my favourites. i would definitely like to read these - however i've found that eresources can never replace the physical feeling of holding a book in your hands and turning pages. that said - i still think that they are a really great idea/resource.

podcasts

exploring podcasts was quite fun. i'd often heard of podcasts being really great to download on to personal mp3 players for listening to on trips etc. but had never quite gotten around to finding out exactly how they worked. this exercise was really great for locating interesting podcasts on particular topics of interest. it's also useful to know that you don't need an mp3 player for podcasts to be of use.

came upon a podcast called 'library geeks' and added the RSS feed to my bloglines account.
http://geeks.onebiglibrary.net/feed.xml

i also like the idea that we can all be podcasters! good fun.

youtubing

i love youtube! the fact that you can access scenes from favourite movies and tv shows as well as music videos is simply amazing. i'm not sure how all that copyright stuff works but i don't think anyone's complaining!
you can also upload your own home videos which can be great for aspiring film makers who are wanting to give their work a wider forum.





the video i chose is a music video of the strokes. there were some interesting 'super librarian' vids but i'm sure it's all been posted before so i decided to go with a catchy number that didn't have a disabled embedding!
youtube may prove useful for educational purposes within a library - perhaps with teaching patrons how to go about using certain tools or simply as a huge information resource.

task #19

i checked out a site called last.fm which allows you to enter your favourite band/artist and then it gives you a list of other artists that you may also like as well as playing a music track. kind of like an online radio station. quite good if you don't want to purchase/download music but just want to hear something or browse for new music. would be useful in a library for helping patrons to search for new sounds that they hadn't discovered and then to see if it was available within the library system.

i had a look at wayfaring.com on which you can personalise maps and share them with friends. you can include labels such as the homes/locations of family and friends - as well as places you often frequent. i'm not sure if it would be so useful in libraries - more a fun thing to do if you have time.

google maps and the google satelite function are so fun for checking out different locations in areas or countries that you aren't familiar with. it's always really fun to have a play with google satelite by trying to find your own house or friends places etc. this resource may prove to be useful for people that are searching for travel books and want to acquaint themselves with certain areas.

Zoho and google docs verry useful to know about

having microsoft word installed on most computers usually means that it is easiest to simply open this programme and create documents. the fact that microsoft has a monopoly over this software is a little annoying but i'm very glad to have been directed towards online programmes such as zoho.com and google docs during this learning 2.0 exercise.

zoho allows you to create documents and gives you all the tools of any other word processing programme and the great thing is that saved documents can be accessed from anywhere with your online account. you can then export your document in word, html, PDF etc formats which potentially means that you can flag on having to purchase the microsoft office suite when buying a new computer.

i have used google docs before however i used it as a medium to store files rather than to create documents. similarly to zoho it allows you to create a text document and export it into other popular formats.
overall i liked the simplicity of design in both zoho and google's layouts. very intuitive to use and clear.

i'm currently considering purchasing a new laptop and being a student with limited funds - it has been good to know that there are other alternatives to purchasing the microsoft office suite that includes the all important microsoft word programme.

playing in the sandbox

checked out the pbwiki "sandbox" and added my blog and also a favourite restaurant.
i liked the idea of being able to add input and respond to other people.

quick wiki

i've often used wikipedia for both academic and personal interest purposes to give me a brief outline of subjects - very useful. at times i have questioned the creditability of it's sourcs but overall have found it a very useful tool.

on further reading of the library wikis i learnt alot more about their other functions.
a wiki is a collaborative site that allows many people to contribute to it's shape and the information that it contains. it can also be used as an organizational tool for conferencing or meetings - perhaps useful in a library setting - and thankfully doesn't require knowledge of html etc.
the collaborative nature of a wiki may be useful for libraries in sharing certain techniques or information with regards to keeping up to date with current/future developments. it allows for the co-ordination and flexibility of input.

2.0... but what does it mean?

on reading the oclc.org newsletter regarding 2.0 i took from it that information in this age of information technology has become accessible to everyone and that libraries no longer hold a monopoly over resources.
libraries also have the duty of educating patrons in how best to access the myriad resources that we have available to us and to do this it's important to stay ahead of the curve and see what is of current and upcoming relevance.
access to digital databases and journals is also interesting as much scholarly content is being published online. services are becoming personalised and individualised so that patrons have the ability to manage their account/research and
"consumption" of resources.
what i got from this exercise was the notion that library 2.0 is an evolving concept where we must continually adapt to a post-modern climate involving a pastiche of available information and resources. all very exciting.

technorati exploration

did a little bit of perusing on technorati. i'm still not so certain on it's purpose although i did create a profile and i assume that my blog will be linked to technorati or other searches on the keywords that i've associated this blog with.

technorati

Technorati Profile