Office 2.0: Google Docs

I began using googledocs about two months ago through the work I have been doing with CODEP. Several members post documents to allow easy viewing and editing which is particularly useful as we all live in different parts of the country and are often working on things at different times. It is also really useful if you forget your memory stick and need to save your work when working on a shared computer. I think it has a very friendly interface and as it is similar to Word it is nice and easy to use.

Wikipedia

The very fact that there is a WISER session entitled 'Beyond Wikipedia: Reliable Reference Sources' run by librarians, for staff and students at Oxford highlights the prominence of Wikipedia, in academic research. I use it all the time, to ‘check’ pieces of information and to research and I have friends who contribute or translate pages regularly. The editing feature once again makes the sharing views and information really easy and readily accessible and yet it also challenges my understanding of what an author is, who owns a piece of writing and who is responsible for regulating it. No doubt I will go on using Wikipedia for both serious study and fun research, knowing that it has its limitations but also that it is a great source of information.

Wikis

I was introduced to Wikis during my time at the RSL. Many of those who work in reader services use the Re@lSpace wiki. For 23 Things I also decided to join the Web 2.0 Working Party wiki. I found it really easy to use and like google docs, the fact that everyone who has registered, can edit and comment on posts it makes sharing information reallu easy. I found the editing toolbar fairly straightforward to use and had a good look at all of the libraries currently using Web 2.0. The list can be found at http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/libraries/web2.

More tweeting...

I have been following several tweets on Twitter but I still don't really think I am appreciating it! I'm not someone who talks the talk and I don't really feel I have an awful lot of info to share with a world of stangers.
For libraries, Twitter provides another opportunity for for reader interaction but I once again I wonder whether readers really want librarians invading their social spaces.

tweet, tweet, tweet

Over the last week I have been I have been exploring the world of Twitter. Before I embarked on my exploration, the only experience I had of Twitter was through celebrity magazines who have started reporting celebrity ‘tweets’ which they think will be of interest. I was keen to explore twitter but did have some reservations, the main one being that, at heart, I am a verbose humanities students who dislikes text who usually uses far more words than I need! So I was a little horrified when I read that the definition of a tweet was ‘a single update of no more than 140 characters’.

This morning I have added friends who use Twitter to my long list of news and book tweets I decided to follow. I think tweeting works well in an environment which is very fast paced and for organisations who need to share just a little information with a lot of people. It does though only further fuel our appetite for immediate information and the desire to have what we want instantaneously.

The process of adding friends wasn’t too hard although I couldn’t search any of my existing accounts as I’ve only very recently got a Yahoo and gmail account and I only use them for the 23Things so don’t have a list of contacts on them. It was very helpful being able to search for all the 23Things tweet by putting ‘#ox23’ in the search box.

LinkedIn

I was very keen to sign up for LinkedIn because one of my concerns about sites such as Facebook is that they are social networking sites. I hadn’t heard of LinkedIn so was keen to have an explore and see what it could offer. I was however quite disappointed. I found it fairly difficult to use and it was particularly intuitive. So I definitely agree with having professional networking sites but I’m not sure that LinkedIn is one I’ll be using in future.

The world of social networking

As my previous posts have suggested, I am really interested Web 2.0 but am a little hesitant on the how and why of the resources out there. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about using Facebook, something which I had used exclusively to say in touch with friends, as a library communication tool. Libraries, businesses, universities, charities are all populating Facebook pages in order to drum up support and publicise their causes. I think the first question to ask is whether readers want libraries to communicate with them via Facebook. My initial thoughts are no, but having looked at Queen’s College Library site, which boasts 2,000 fans, perhaps I am mistaken. So I have been converted into thinking Facebook pages for smaller libraries are a good idea but I can’t imagine this kind of page working for larger libraries.

Communicating on Facebook does not bring anything especially novel to the way libraries are interacting with their readers- we already have websites etc which are our main ways of conveying information- but it is an additional way of reaching of them. Looking round the library now I see a lot of Facebook pages on the screens but I don’t think any of them are checking library opening times or accessing reading lists…

YouTube!

YouTube and I have been friends for a long time and I find using it completely addictive. From searching for children’s tv favourites to listening to new releases to watching film trailers… I spent (possible read wasted) a lot of time on YouTube in my university days.

Recently, it has become associated with the charity work I have been doing with CODEP in Sierra Leone. Several videos illustrating the logistics of book shipments, interviews with children and footage of the country have been uploaded. I’ve also subscribed to other users videos who have visited the country as an NGO.

I explored the 'YouTube EDU' channels and looked at videos from Harvard and the Open University- there's some great footage celebrating 40 years film production by the Open University and the BBC.

The wonderful world of podcasting

I have been listening to ‘catch up’ radio for a long time and have found it really useful, although sometimes I don’t get a chance to listen before it disappears from the BBC website! But I now see that one of the advantages of a podcast is the fact that you can download it and of course, if I had one, I could listen on an iPod. Many of the ‘podcasts’ available on the BBC simply increase availability of their programmes whereas discussion groups, universities and so on often make special podcasts to provide extra information, promote their organisation or simply to spark debate. Although I am a fan of discussion forums and enjoy listening to those who are not experts in a field express their own thoughts and views on topics, some podcasts lack any structure and remind me of conversations I’ve had with friends over coffee… and yes, these conversations were fun and worthwhile and interesting but does anyone else really want to hear them?

Web 2.0 and how libraries can make the most of it...

The 23 Things Initiative has definitely shown that there are hundreds of Web 2.0 applications. This in itself is significant, it illustrates the widespread use of ICT in all spheres of our daily lives and how reliant we are upon electronic methods of communication. However, perhaps what is more interesting is how these applications can be used in the Information Sector. In fact, I think the first question which needs to be asked is, are they being used? From reading other 23 Things blogs it sounds as if many of the Bodleian Libraries are using Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook, Delicious, Twitter, blogs to communicate with each other and to their readers. After researching this topic it seems to be a widespread assumption that Web 2.0 makes a librarian's life easier but with so many applications to choose from and the constant battle to compete for readers' attention when they are bombarded with a whole host of information on the Internet may mean that we have to try even harder to communicate effectively with readers.

I also found an interesting set of Podcasts through the CILIP website which are recorded by the 'Library 2.0 Gang'. They can be accessed at http://librarygang.talis.com/. Once again, the librarians in participating in this programme fully acknowledge the wide range of resources available but they are a bit more hesitant about how they can be used by libraries.

Social Bookmarking

What a sheltered life I’ve led! Whilst I was familiar with Delicious, I had no idea there were so many social bookmarking sites. One of the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet is the wealth of information it offers and the difficulty of re-finding that really useful page when you want to look at it a second time. I like to organise things into folders especially when I have lots of projects on the go at the same time so was really interested to explore bookmarking and tagging.

I certainly pinned high-hopes on Delicious after reading

‘With emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.’

I’m not sure whether it has ‘greatly improved’ how I use the Internet but I know with some more practise Delicious will be a useful tool.

Flickr and Picnik: The world of on-line photo editing

This was the first time I had used Picnik and I was very impressed. It is great to be able to import photos from other sites such as Flickr and Facebook and it really speeds up the whole uploading process.

I love black and white photos so played around with the colour settings for a while and am pleased with the result!

I could definitely get hooked on photo editing software- holiday snaps, party pictures, library shots… the possibilities are endless!

Flickr

I set up my Flickr account last week and have uploaded a couple of photos already. I have just come back from a week in Sierra Leone, where I have been helping a Developmental Charity called CODEP (www.codep.co.uk).

They aim to support-
- the construction of learning and literacy resources centres
- the establishment of school libraries and classrooms stocked with books and furniture
- functional literacy programmes
- teacher training programmes
- vocational training programmes
- un-schooled children and young adult literacy programmes

Last Friday, I attended the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the Equiano Centre, the new Learning Resource Centre which is being built in the Waterloo District. I will upload a selection of my photos onto the Flickr pages so all those interested can see how school and public libraries are organised in Sierra Leone. When I've uploaded some more photos I will use the 'Geotag' function to indicate where they were taken.

Managing Google Reader

I have now explored 'Manage Subscriptions' folder on Google Reader and have made folders to organise my feeds. I have also explored using the 'next bookmark' feature and I am hoping this will also help me manage my RSS feeds and blogs more efficiently.

RSS Feeds and Google Reader

A couple of weeks ago I set up my Google reader account and am now following lots of blogs and RSS feeds... in fact perhaps too many! When I signed into my account today I was amazed by the number of new posts to look through. It's almost too easy to have lots of Subscriptions so I decided to star my favourite ones and make those a priority to look at!

One of the feeds that did catch my eye was from CILIP, who have called on Gordon Brown to make school libraries statutory. The open letter was sent by the President of CILIP (www.cilip.org.uk/letter-pm) and stated

"Good school libraries and their librarians are an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Just as it is a statutory duty to employ qualified teachers and deliver the National Curriculum, so it should be a statutory duty to provide school libraries with qualified librarians as an essential part of every child’s entitlement to a decent education”.

Blogs Galore!

I have really enjoyed looking at fellow OULS bloggers and finding out about their 23 Things journey so far. It's great that several of the trainees are supporting the project and that so many people who have not blogged before are getting involved.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the OULS trainee scheme and 2009-2010 cohort see the Trainee Blog at http://oxfordtrainees.wordpress.com. If you were really interested then you could subscribe to the RSS feed too, in preparation for Things 5 and 6!

I found this sign when I was doing some research on censorship and the banning of certain books. I thought I might suggest placing such a sign outside all OULS libraries to warn any unsuspecting readers! The picture can be foundon the American Library Association website at http://www.ala.org/.

This is my current iGoogle Page. I had not used iGoogle at all before I started 23Things but have found it really useful to have a personalised area where I can view news, weather and maps.

Welcome to Amy's 23 Things

As a trainee, I am continually learning new skills and being exposed to different library situations. I was really excited to hear about the ‘23 Things’ Project because it is Web 2.0 focused and I am keen to learn more about ICT and particularly blogging and podcasting in the Information Sector.

For my trainee project, I am re-designing an induction session for the Bodleian Library and I am hoping that by participating in ‘23 Things’ I will gain in confidence when using ICT in my work and be more familiar with how ICT can be used to communicate with readers and colleagues.