Resort Libraries?

Who would have thought that you could actually find a library at a resort?  While travelling to the Dominican last month, I actually came across a library at my resort.  Go figure!  Situated just above the main lobby bar was a quiet alcove furnished with comfy wing chairs, foot stools and 3 bookshelves of books & magazines.  Of course, the books and magazines were most likely donations left by travellers.  People actually visited the library to read…it was quite astonishing.  I bet you’re wondering if I actually read while on vacation.  No way…I’m not necessarily a traditional librarian.  I basically visited the library for a quiet place to nap or have a beer

          

Want to be a Librarian?

How many of you out there have always wanted to become a librarian?

Once in a while, I get asked that very same question.  My response of course “Not me.”  Usually, the traditional career choices that tend to get imbedded in our minds as we develop through childhood are the usual professions:  Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher or some sort of variation along those lines.  I wanted to become a Lawyer, but not just any lawyer…a high ranking Corporate Lawyer on Bay Street.  It’s kind of funny though because I’m a bit shy and I don’t think a shy corporate lawyer would make it on Bay Street.

To keep a long story short, I’ve had quite a diverse career.  I started off in the import / export industry as an Import Analyst.  Although it was a high pressure position, I did enjoy dealing with my very own clients.  The driving commute was just out of this world though.  I don’t know how in the world I drove to the airport and back everyday.  I then moved on and started to work for an academic library.  It was then I knew what I really wanted to do.

Back to school I went and I completed my Masters of Library and Information Science degree.  I was fortunate to be able to experience different types of libraries:  academic, public and now a special library.  Most people cannot fathom the fact that there are libraries everywhere.  Many corporations have their own libraries and of course require someone to run them.  So, for those of you that are completing your degree…my only advice is “KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN!”  Don’t just focus on the usual types of libraries.  There is a whole world out there full of libraries not just in your city or country.  The opportunities are endless.

Plus, each type of library has its own special characteristics to them.  The academic world focuses mainly on self instruction applications and of course that’s to encourage students and faculty to retrieve information on their own.  The public atmosphere tends to lean more towards assisting and less on self taught behaviour.  Of course, this is due to the fact that public library patrons are such a diverse group.  Some public library patrons are very independent, whereas others are very dependent and require more assistance or support.  From the short time that I’ve been working in a special library, so far I’ve noticed that there is a little bit of both the academic and public library atmosphere that drives the special library.  Self guided instruction and client support really make a difference in providing the best service possible for the client / patron.

Working for different libraries systems has taught me the most important valuable detail that makes all the difference in the world:  Everyone is different and everyone has different needs!  If I had to choose, I would definitely work in a public library or special library.  There’s too much politics in the academic library…but then again, that’s just from my experience with one university library system. 

 P.S. I made it to Bay Street!

Photo sources:  Strahov Library www.slaw.ca and LSE Library www.jisc.ac.uk

Facebook Phenomenon

What started out as a U.S. college students’ project, has now exploded into a mainstream phenomenon.  If you haven’t heard about Facebook, it is a vastly growing site that allows users to create profiles and socialize with one another.  When I started using Facebook, I was amazed by the number of friends that I found were already Facebookers or FBs.  To add an extra “fun factor” to FB, developers have created Applications such as “Happy Hour,” “Moods,” “Fortune Cookie,” and “Food Fight” to enhance the socialization process.  For added privacy, FB also allows users to change security settings.  You could change your security settings as tight as Fort Knox or let everyone see your profile. 

 The biggest concerns about FB is the possibility of profile breaches, predators, viruses through Applications and fake members, and the main fact that FB is so addictive.  If you tried to delete or suspend your account, FB asks you why.  All in all, FB is worth a try!

 Scholarly Articles about Facebook:

A Familiar Face(book):  Profile Elements as Signals in an Online Social Network              Cliff Lampe, Nicole Ellison, Charles Steinfield.  Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems:  Proceedings of the SIGCHI.  2007; p.435-444.  (retrieved from www.msu.edu)

 

 

C’est Fini

One  final note on the Learning 2.0 @ Mac program.  Although I’m just summarizing my opinions about the program, I will attempt to continue to post on here about various issues and challenges revolving around the Librarian profession. 

First off, I’d like to thank the Learning 2.0 coordinators for running this program.  It’s definitely refreshing to see a more tech savvy environment at Mac.

Secondly, here are my thoughts about the program:

• What were your favorite technologies, tools or activities?

I greatly enjoyed using WordPress for my blog.  This was my first WordPress blog and it definitely provides more features than Blogspot / Blogger.  I don’t necessarily have a favorite tool or activity.  I’d have to admit that the tools that I have already experienced prior to Learning 2.0 allowed me to complete the activities more quickly

• Has Learning 2.0 @ Mac helped you get comfortable with emerging technologies? How?

Well I’m already comfortable with emerging technologies, so no it hasn’t really done that for me.  Although, I’m sure that the program has introduced many others to emerging technologies.

• Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this programme that surprised you?

There weren’t many unexpected outcomes that I could think of.

• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

One thing that I think might be beneficial next time is to predetermine staff computer knowledge.  There may have been some activities that might have been confusing for many.  I liked the idea of creating walk in sessions for the staff…more sessions would allow staff to understand how to use the tools discussed in the activities more effectively.  Furthermore, another issue that could be considered is the fact that not all staff have computer access for the duration of their shift.  Completing the activities within the timelines may have been challenging for those with little or no computer access at work.

• (And this is what we really want to know!) If the Emerging Technologies Group offered another discovery programme like this in the future, would you chose to participate?

I would definitely participate in another discovery program.  This Learning 2.0 program created a huge buzz around other libraries as well.  I’ve been asked about the program and how well it was going.

Thank you again for the enjoyable journey!

Search ‘em

This week we checked out various browsers and browser add-ons that could be useful.  Using browsers other than the generic Internet Explorer or Netscape can sometimes be beneficial.  For instance, there was a system issue a couple of months ago where the students had difficulties searching on the internet.  One student informed me that she used Mozilla on the laptop she borrowed and it worked just fine.  Anyhow, I checked out some of the add-ons for Firefox and found a couple of them interesting.  I decided not to register on a few of the add-ons, therefore limited myself to quick and easy add-ons.

The first add-on I tried was “Answers” one of the recommended  add-ons.  I found it very helpful in that if you Alt clicked on any word on a webpage, “Answers” would provide a definition or explanation as to what the word means.  In other words:  a very helpful, quick and easy online dictionary.  I will probably make great use of this tool at work

The second add-on I looked at was Yoono.  Although there was a section where it asked for you to register, it began working just fine without registration.  One thing I liked about Yoono was the neat ticker line that appears bellow the url web address line.  The ticker showed suggested sites that relate to the site you are searching.  There was also a helpful sidebar that provided links to suggestions as well.

I then went on to try the Morris bookmarklets.  Much like “Answers,” the bookmarklets allow you to highlight a particular word or phrase and quickly find McMaster library materials related to the word or phrase.  This would definitely come in handy if one is researching journal articles and would like to find related library resources to terms within the article.

Finally, I would just like to ask one question about Firefox.  One thing that I found a little annoying about installing the add-ons from Firefox was that you had to keep restarting Firefox after every installation of an add-on.  Is there a way that you could install multiple Firefox add-ons without restarting every single time?

Games, Games and Virtual Worlds

Playstation 2 or 3, WII, Xbox, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Gamecube and loads of other multimedia gaming have made a huge impact on the lives of society and competitive gaming markets. 

I was fortunate to have grown up in the days of Commodore 64s and Vic 20s.  Somewhere in my parents house, there is a mini Frogger arcade console that I played daily.  Don’t forget good old Atari PONG!  Yes, I do have the new Atari knock off of the original.  I just wish it had the cartridges too instead of a console memory chip.

Gaming of today compared to gaming of yesterday has vastly improved overtime.  Instead of the basic one dimensional graphics, we now have advanced 4D graphics and versatile gaming equipment that allows virtual movement (ex. WII and games like DDR *Dance, Dance Revolution*).  Gamers could also interact with one another through internet networking. 

Among the various games I’ve played include but are not limited to:  DDR, GTA, Grand Tourismo, various internet gaming sites like MSN zone and Yahoo games.  I have tried World of Warcraft but have not had the opportunity to explore it due to time constraints.  I have also registered on the virtual world, Second Life.  You can find me and my avatar Rosebud Audina.  Second Life is quite interesting.  I would like to explore it further, however time constraints and access are an issue. 

Although gaming and game consoles have become a ‘must have’ in society, one might question how gaming / gaming consoles relate to libraries and library services.  Gaming could be beneficial for both academic and public libraries as it would provide a strategic learning environment.  We learn to create, analyze, think, function, problem solve, strategize, play individually or as a team and map an overall approach from the start to the end of a game. 

If we look at virtual worlds like Second Life, a new university student could check out the virtual library and learn where and how to find the information he / she is looking for without leaving the comfort of their home.  Some libraries already offer virtual library tours on their websites like the Burlington Public Library and virtual IT tutorials like Canterbury University, UK.

Many public libraries have also considered offering gaming in child and youth areas to promote learning, teamwork and library use. Access through public library e-resource sites to various archive and encyclopedia sites including Canadian Encyclopedia offer fun interactive quizzes like the Canucklehead Quiz that help teach and test our youth of their knowledge of Canada.

Hence, gaming will definitely remain an important factor in library services and learning environments.

Face This

Well, since I’m already a member of Facebook, I’ll write about some of my thoughts.  Facebook is so addictive!  My favorite feature is “Poke” hehe….although that could get super addictive too and competitive.  I like to think of myself as the Master Poker LOL.  Some great things about Facebook is that you can add a whole bunch of pictures, tag pictures, make comments on your wall and your friends’ walls, send messages to your friends, create events, and create new groups.  I’m sure that there’s much more to it, but I’m still exploring the many possibilities.  Probably the most worrisome aspect of Facebook and other networks like MySpace is security and identity theft issues.  Some people are changing the spelling of their names to avoid such breaches.  I actually omitted some of my information due to this as well.

Another network that I have recently explored is Zorpia.  I was invited by a friend to join the network.  Again, it’s the same kind of concept as MySpace and Facebook.  I checked out the basic features and am currently exploring it further.  I like the fact that you can post unlimited pictures on Zorpia.  I know with Facebook, there is a limit as to how many pictures you can upload at one time.  Zorpia also allows you to customize the style and appearance of your page and post journals as well.

Online Apps

I’m back!  Well it was the perfect getaway while it lasted.  I’m so glad I missed the miserable weather here….it was a hot 80 F in Vegas and I was so sad to leave.  I will post some of the pics up here when I get the chance. 

Anyhow, on to the activity for week 8.  I decided to look at 3 different online applications.  The first one was Rollyo that allows you to create your own search engine.  I didn’t find it all that impressive, but I gave it a try anyway.  The one thing I did like about it is that it broke down the results into sections (e.g. custom blog, news and web results).  I’d have to give it a “nothing to write home about” rating. 

Now the 2nd application I looked at was Snipshot.  I loved it!!  Snipshot is an online software that allows you to edit your pictures online.  I currently use Digimax to upload and edit my pictures.  The process is so lengthy and frustrating trying to edit pictures through Digimax.  I will definitely use Snipshot as an alternative.  Another plus is that Snipshot is so EASY to USE!  What more can you ask for?

Finally the 3rd application I looked at was LastFM.  What a great idea….creating a website that basically learns the type of music you like and links you to other music you might like and people who enjoy similar music.  Plus I learned a new word “Scrobbling”…I think I’m going to actually look that up in the dictionary.  I don’t think it’s a word.  So, I typed in The Killers under “type your favorite artist search.”  The only problem I had was that the search lead directly into a song and I didn’t realize the speaker was up so loud. 

In conclusion, Snipshot and LastFM get two high fives.  Rollyo gets a “nothing to write home about.”

Tag You’re It

Although del.icio.us is fun to use, I’d have to stick with good ole Google for finding information due to the one major factor I rely on…SPEED.  Given that I will be in Las Vegas next week , I decided to search Las Vegas.  When I conducted a search for “Las Vegas” on del.icio.us it took quite a while to load the results page.  I’ve tried it on three different computers in three different locations (just in case the computer I was working on was slow) and it was still very slow at responding. 

One thing that I did like about del.icio.us was that the top results were less inclined to show travel advertisements.  Here are the links that I added and tagged:  http://del.icio.us/onicholl.  Google automatically provided links to airfare, hotels, etc… 

The tags on del.icio.us were quite generic.  Nothing to write home about, but totally acceptable given that I conducted such a broad search.  I decided to play around with del.icio.us some more (funny thought break….everytime I type del.icio.us, that Fergie song “Fergalicious” pops into my head lol).  Anyhow, back to what I was saying.  I also came across del.icio.us/styleyoursite.  You can have a lot of fun creating and styling your site. 

Overall, I give del.icio.us 2 thumbs up for style, information and tagging.  Lack of speedy results deserves 1 thumb down.

Now onto Flickr!  Flickr is so much fun.  I will most likely put up photos from my trip on there soon.  Well the only issues I see with Flickr is privacy and copyright issues, but that seems to be a constant concern with anything that is done on the internet like Facebook, MySpace or Zorpia.  Anyhow, here is a link to what I will be looking at next week hehe…Las Vegas at night.

See you all in a week…that is unless I get Lucky

Wikis, Oh My

Creating a Wiki page was quite enjoyable.  It was especially interesting viewing my colleagues’ favorite books.  In a way, it felt like checking out a Readers’ Advisory website.