Gipsylibrarian’s Weblog

I finally got a chance to create a del.icio.us account to bookmark the myriad of links that I am gathering as part of the 23 Things course. http://del.icio.us/gipsylibrarian

Benefits

• Easy to set up an account
• Bookmarks don’t get deleted when computers crash or get rebuilt
• Access to favourites from anywhere that has internet access

Thoughts on tagging

Social Tagging (where tags link to tags used by other users) is really very similar to cross referencing - Librarians have been doing this forever!

• Del.icio.us is not as disorganised as I first thought
• I think it is better to limit the number of tags to make things more manageable
• The quality of the tags (and the tagger’s ability) does vary greatly. Perhaps some people have training in filing and indexing (or even library training!) or are just naturally logical, methodical types!

Google docs and zoho writer sound like they could be really useful for collaborating on work-related documents. Too bad we can’t access them at work - of course they are BLOCKED!!! Looks like we will continue to send documents back and forth by email, or store things in T:Drive to work on (we currently track changes by using methods such as typing in different colours - very high tech!).

I might look at these tools at home sometime, although then I would have to teach the people I know how to use them too. (Most of them don’t use or don’t like technology, or are too busy to learn about new tools).

Question: Is there an Institute option for collaborating on documents? Perhaps there is and I just don’t know about it.

I’m already a fan of  Wikipedia. It’s a useful resource for librarians.

As for contributing to wikis, I’ve used a wiki when I was involved in a Learnscope project a couple of years ago. The main problem was finding time to work on the project and also add updates to the wiki. Time pressures won and I only added the bare minimum of project details to the wiki. Still, I like the idea of a shared web page that can be edited and updated by a group of users.

I’ve had a look at some of the wikis listed (those that weren’t blocked!). I’m a bit concerned about the number of these wikis that have been abandonned and the content moved elsewhere. Some contributors state that they had too many problems with spam. Other wikis were just created for a specific project though, and ended at the project’s conclusion. If privacy and spam issues can be resolved, I think wikis have potential for the following:

Potential Library Uses

• project management
• library subject guides with RSS feeds e.g. http://champlaincollegelibrary.pbwiki.com/Accounting
• reading lists with RSS feeds

Education Uses

Here’s an interesting idea - wikis as textbooks! http://lrr.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/Lrr2Tale/Tale/ResourceInfo.aspx?resID=6927

Potential Challenges:

• controlling authority of content
• deciding who can edit the wiki and setting up restrictions without missing out on potentially valuable contributions
• finding time to maintain the wiki as regular checks and updates would be required

Copyright is a minefield and keeping up with what you can and can’t do is a big challenge. Creative Commons Licences are a great idea - I support any initiatives that facilitate sharing of resources, while acknowledging authors and owners.

As for Web 2.0, Library 2.0, (TAFE 2.0?) it is another challenge that we are all currently facing. I welcome the idea of more interaction with and participation from Library users. I know it is needed, or we will become obsolete. One of the challenges here is finding effective ways to encourage Library users to respond and engage. In theory it all sounds so great - reach out and support users in new ways, meet them in “their” world and customise services to support users in the way they want to be supported. The hard part is putting this into practice. We can set up blogs, wikis, create podcasts, videos etc etc, but how do we get users to respond ? Many Library users are so pressed for time that all they want is to grab the relevant text for the latest assignment, without having to search the catalogue, let alone engage with us online. Also, how do we find out what users want in the first place? It is easy to make false assumptions and spend a lot of time on something that nobody needs or wants… On the other hand, sometimes it is worth just having a go and seeing what the response is. Perhaps if new methods and tools were introduced, people would welcome them.

OK - I’ll try putting in some html code and see if the tag will be recognised on Technorati. Cross fingers and toes!

No success - I'm giving up now.

I really have to speed up and stop writing such long posts. Otherwise I’ll never finish this course. Problem is, there is so much interesting stuff out there. It’s a whole other world…

Technorati is another site full of interesting links. It’s blog searching capability is useful. As for tagging, I’m trying to get my head around the instructions before giving it a go. I might try tagging  an earlier post and see what happens…..

OK. I don’t understand how Technorati tags work. I can add tags to my posts and I’ve read the tagging instructions on Technorati…. I’ve even followed directions and “pinged” my blog to Technorati and got a messasge saying this was successful…..According to the Technorati tagging instructions, WordPress categories should automatically be read as tags and I don’t need to insert HTML code into my posts. (Just as well, because HTML makes no sense to me). Maybe the problem is that my posts are tagged by week # and I am searching Technorati Tags by the tags I created on my posts. I DON’T KNOW! I GIVE UP!!!!

I felt that I might have dismissed del.icio.us too quickly, as my initial reaction was pretty negative. So, I am intending to set up my own del.icio.us account to keep track of the growing list of links that I am dicovering during 23 Things. I think it will be a great tool for this purpose. Just have to find time to set it up!

I also went back to take another look at the SJ Library del.icio.us account (see Classroom Learning notes). Under their del.icio.us tag I found a really interesting link to creating online Library guides. http://demo.libguides.com/content.php?pid=231  This has heaps of potential! Even so, I doubt that I ever would have found the link had I actually been searching for something on creating Library Guides. It is tagged under “L2tools” (LIbrary 2.0?) and then listed under “del.icio.us”. Must everything be so obscure? I think the personal nature of tagging and the strange new language of Web 2.0 often make it very difficult for new users.

A final comment : when I tried to get into this site - Springvale Library Libguides, I encountered a  block informing me that the content was pornographic. I have become cynical about the truth of DET blocks, so I tried again a few minutes later, and got in. I’m mystified, as I can’t think of anything less offensive than a bunch of Librarians talking about how to create online Library guides. Mind you there are “videos” on the site. Nasty things videos, you can’t trust them…. I am starting to wonder if DEThas their own random block generator, designed to make us all stop trying to access the internet.

OK - for starters, I hate the way Del.icio.us is spelt. Those dots are so irritating!!!

Apart from this, I guess this site might be useful. It would be handy to have all my bookmarks in one place that I could access anywhere. I do tend to go from computer to computer, so the “favourites” tool is fairly useless, unless I’m at home. Being able to share bookmarks with friends or colleagues would also be beneficial. It would save a lot of time emailing links to everyone.

Maybe it’s my library training, or the mood I’m in or something, but I’m not all that keen on everyone just making up their own tags all over the place. I have no objection to this for personal filing use (whatever helps you to remember!), but I have my doubts for educational or library use, unless you got everyone in the group to agree to use the same tags. If you try to search del.icio.us,  it’s just so messy. You could find things by serendipity, which is nice, but there is no consistency and a whole lot of rubbish in with the good stuff.

While I’m having a whinge - why is it that everything associated with technology takes so long to do! I’m longing for the simple days of paper and pens. So quick, so easy, no accounts and no passwords!!!!

This tool is great for librarians! 

I used Rollyo to create a customised search engine for Turf Management (big news at Kurri Kurri campus). The websites to be searched are drawn from the TAFE Studylinks Turf Management page.

 http://www.rollyo.com/index.html

After viewing the extensive list of sites that won awards, I’ve given in to my obsession with listmaking and created an account at 43 Things http://www.43things.com/. This site enables you to list your goals and write entries about each goal. Others viewing the site can cheer you on, and you can encourage them with their goals also.

Using an online list might stop me losing all my postit notes. The challenge for me now is to actually do the things on my list, not just keep making more lists! On a less positive note, it is so quick to write a list on paper and you don’t need a password!!

A number of the award winning sites looked like fun, but I didn’t see many that would be useful for work purposes. (I’ll play with some at home though!) Some that did appear useful, such as Google documents,  were blocked by DET. The use of others, such as online survey generators,  might also be breaching workplace policy. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d be a bit nervous about just launching in and using some of the tools I saw listed… Do we have any guidelines or policies for using Web 2.0 tools?