Today is the first day of the rest of my life

As we wrap up our exciting summer project, I am inspired to carry forth the skills I have practiced. Today is the first day of my last semester in graduate school. On Saturday I attended an e-portfolio orientation and have been looking at examples of previous student accomplishments. I can submit my support of the core competencies and evidence in the clunky setting provided by the school or choose another venue. What if I were to use a blog like this one? It would be more user friendly, more stable, and much more marketable for future uses. It is definitely worth considering.

Thank you, Bill and Catherine, for a pleasurable stroll through the jungle of Web 2.0. Now (she says in her sternest librarian voice) back to school with you!

Vid, pods, and tubing

When I hear my son giggling at his computer, I know he is watching YouTube videos…usually involving silly cat tricks. From this source he has learned important life skills such as deaf karaoke. There are many more informative lessons available, but a lot of fun stuff, too. Check out this video made by the Teen Advisory Board promoting the Antioch Library:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj1BvFMYiMs

The Contra Costa County Library offers audio books for children in a podcast format. The link to the Pod Blog is available on the web site:

http://www.ccclib.org/services/

I would like to see videos and podcasts to promote library services. These tools could be used to instruct users about the databases, catalog searches, library services, and popular programs.

Having said that, I must now conquer my reluctance to be photographed if I want to put my face where my keyboard is, so to speak.

Ning-ing

As I mentioned in my post on Library 2.0 (http://library20.ning.com/), there were CCCL librarians talking about Web 2.0 years ago. Now we have a staff wiki for book reviews, this eye-opening internet training, and all sorts of exciting developments. There is a blog on the Ning network called Library Summer Reading Programs (http://summerreading.ning.com). Tools like this can make it easy to find and exchange exciting new ideas about the SRP or any library program. The California State Library has a blog (http://blog.library.ca.gov/) with announcements about upcoming programs and events. The California Library Association has a weblog (http://www.cla-net.org/weblog/) that accepts contributions from members for items of information of interest to the library community. Virtually every organization (pun fully intended) has some sort of blog or wiki that allows individuals to learn about events or ideas and contribute information of their own.

One of the reasons I began blogging was to stay in touch with “real life” friends. I found new friends via blogging and have enjoyed connecting with others with similar interests. I began a MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/feklhr94509) not because I wanted to “date” or connect with the hip young crowd, but to be able to understand and assist patrons for whom this medium is essential. People are exchanging information in so many different forms that it is sometimes difficult to stay current. No one can manage to cover all the various forms of Web 2. any more than one could read all the books on the library shelves. However, as information professionals, it is up to us to have a working knowledge of the various ways to exchange information in order to assist those we serve.

RSS (not to be confused with RUSs)

Although I created a Bloglines account in the social networking class I took last summer, I find having the RSS feed post directly to my Internet browser much more convenient. Call me a rebel!

I regularly check the following news feeds: 

San Francisco Giants News

KCBS Bay Area News

KTVU.com – Local News

Contra Costa Times – Antioch<br>

Contra Costa County Library News

Library Link of the Day

Runescape News

Apple Hot News

Meeboing

In advanced reference, our class learned that many libraries are using IM to answer patron’s queries in the environment most comfortable to young people. We practiced using the school’s blackboard chat environment and determined which features of the reference interview would be most impacted by this method. Some of us were more familiar than others with keyboard shortcuts and abbreviations used in IM. One of the most important issues was to let the patron know when you would need a minute to compile information. If you go too long without communicating, the patron with a short attention span will get frustrated or give up. A trick that I used was to ask them to expound on their question while I began searching for answers.

Google Docs

Google Docs: http://docs.google.com

This is an excellent way to store data away from one’s hard drive for access anywhere. The concept may be a bit tricky to try and explain to the average patron. Many folks have enough trouble trying to get email, much less add another account to their ever-growing list of e-personas. For the more advanced user, however, it is an excellent option. I have uploaded many of my SJSU SLIS assignments and am happy to have one more copy that I can access during the coming e-portfolio work.

Delicious Reference

I learned about del.icio.us in my reference class and used it to store and sort the many links we utilized. It sure comes in handy. What librarian would pass up a chance to collect and sort information?

http://del.icio.us/feklhr

Flickr fotos

My boss likes alliteration, so this one’s for you, Greta! I took a summer class last year in which we set up all sorts of accounts like blogs, wikis, and a Flickr account. My link is not updated as yet, but I’m going to add the cute shots of my son being the first to receive his SRP prizes. Some of you may recognize him from Staffnet.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feklhr/

A Wiki-ing I go

Here is my review posted to the Contra Costa County Library reviews:

San Souci, Daniel. The Rabbit and the Dragon King: Based on a Korean Folk Tale. Illustrated by Eujin Kim Neilan. Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 2002. 32 pages. Tr. $17.95 ISBN 1-56397-880-6;  PLB $26.51 ISBN 1-41316-866-3

 

The moral of this story, a retelling of a Korean tale from the 7^th century, is that you should fully appreciate the life you are living, lest it be plucked from you by illness or apathy. In The Rabbit and the Dragon King, a hypochondriac ruler sends a turtle to find a cure for what ails him. A complacent rabbit is the unwitting victim who cleverly avoids sacrifice while healing herself and the dragon king of their ailments with her will to live. This folk tale retold by Daniel San Souci exposes some of the common symptoms of a comfortable life. The colorful illustrations by Eujin Kim Neilan bring the story to life. An interesting cast of players supports the main characters: the dragon king’s wife (“Belief, not medicine, is what he needs!”), the cuttlefish physician, the puffer fish magician who targets the rabbit as the source of the cure, and a team of volunteers that include a toothy shark, a swordfish, and an octopus. The author’s mention of a relationship between the ancestors of the wise turtle and the clever bunny will help children to feel that they know these characters well. The picture book design, the subtle humor, and the brilliantly detailed art make this book an excellent choice for story time reading for older children.

 

The author’s model source note credits Korea’s Shila Dynasty, A. D. 642, for the origin of this timeless tale. The tale has often been called The Hare’s Liver, but this version features the rabbit’s heart as the source of the king’s cure. Illustrator Neilan was born in Korea and currently lives in Boston. The note states she has drawn from both Eastern and Western sources in her beautiful depiction of the undersea world of the dragons and the rabbit’s island home. The dramatic brush strokes that overlay the deep tones of the paintings bring texture to the images of the swirling waters of the ocean and rabbit’s island home. This is the second Korean tale compiled by San Souci and Neilan. In the Moonlight Mist, published in 1999, tells the story of good-hearted woodcutter who finds a heavenly wife. 

http://staffpicks.pbwiki.com/Books%20for%20Kids?lo=4869437d

I’m published

When my son chose five titles to review for my children’s lit class, little did I know that there would be virtually no published reviews available. A couple were older titles and a couple were easy readers that are part of a series of beginning books with photographs instead of illustrations. I wanted to use the books my son had chosen, so had to dig a bit for reviews to compare to my thoughts and opinions. I vowed, if I got a decent grade, I would post my reviews to Amazon for the next person to utilize. I got an “A”!