Del.icio.us: #13

A few weeks into my position as a children's librarian, I realized that my department used to collect children's reference Web site urls in a binder that sat on the ready reference shelf behind the desk. I thought it would be more efficient to have the collection of links directly accessible from the computer, so I created a del.icio.us account for my department to use.

http://del.icio.us/avcr

It's very easy to update and organize, doesn't take up any physical space, and is accessible from any computer with an Internet connection. Each staff member in the children's department has bookmarked our del.icio.us account, and I've shared the url with the adult reference staff as well, just in case they ever get stumped by a children's reference question. So far, it's been very useful!

Rollyo: #12

I hadn't heard of Rollyo before the 23 Things challenge, and now that I see how convenient it is, I wonder why there isn't more buzz about this tool! The ability to easily create your very own customized meta search tool could be a real time saver.

I've bookmarked a number of Web sites for use in storytime planning. By plugging the urls into a Rollyo Searchroll, I can now search all of these sites at once instead of having to visit them individually! And whenever I discover new storytime idea sites, it will be very easy to add them to my searchroll. Here's my searchroll so far. I like it!

Librarything: #11

One of the first things I did when I accepted my children's librarian position was create a Librarything account. I knew it would come in handy as a reader's advisory tool-- and I was right! I use Librarything almost every day on the reference desk. I read 2-3 children's or teen books a week, and keep track of them with Librarything. I tag books with the genre and target audience age range, as well as other useful descriptors such as contemporary, series, illustrated, etc. So, for example, if a 10 year old girl comes up and asks me for a funny fantasy book, I'm prepared with my database of personal recommendations!

My Librarything account is here.

Image generators: #10

I'm not sure if there's any practical purposes to online image generators other than to be EXTREMELY SILLY... but maybe it couldn't hurt a library to be silly now and then! Especially when it comes to working with childrens and teens, like I do.

For example, my coworkers and I could use simpsonizeme.com to create a Simpsons-esque avatar of ourselves and use them as our portraits for a display of staff-recommended titles, instead of using our actual photographs.

Or I could use the lolcats generator for teen event flyers or signs.

Twitter: #9

Oh, Twitter.

I've been using Twitter for about two months now, and I just can't get into it. I don't feel the need to broadcast my every thought or action to the world around me. I think way too hard about what to write. I keep forgetting to update. I'm not "following" enough people to make it fun. Alas, I'm an embarrassment to the Twitter community! I haven't given up on it yet, though. I'll keep twittering away, hoping to see the light.

I've heard of libraries using Twitter to broadcast information to patrons, so I searched around and checked out some library Twitter feeds. I like how the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Undergraduate Library is using Twitter-- their updates are frequent, concise, and seem relevant to students' needs.

I'm curious to see if Twitter will really catch on in the library community and beyond. As far as I can tell, it's not as well-known as other social sites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, or Flickr, and I'm not convinced anyone would sign up for Twitter just to receive library updates. Still, using Twitter to disseminate library information is one of those wonderful "why not?" kind of experiments that Web 2.0 makes possible. It's easy, it's free, and it's not difficult to discontinue if it doesn't work out-- so even if only a few patrons take advantage of the service, why not try it?

RSS/Bloglines and library blogs: #7 and #8

Well! This is the busiest season for a children's librarian, but even in the midst of the Summer Reading Program, I need to blow the dust off this blog and get back to the 23 Things!

So, what did we ever do without RSS? This technology makes it so easy to keep up with anything and everything. Bloglines is one of my favorite Web 2.0 innovations-- it helps me stay on top of the things I need to know, from professional topics and trends to the local weather forecast. It's like one-stop information shopping! I'm a dedicated Bloglines user, having had an account for a couple of years now. I currently subscribe to 29 feeds, and I've organized these feeds into folders by topic. I have folders for Entertainment, Technology & Web, and Libraries.

My Libraries folder is, of course, the most frequently used. I'm a fan of the following library blogs:

Feel-good librarian, for thought-provoking stories of life on the reference desk. Often uplifting, sometimes sniffle-inducing, always a good read.

Librarian in black, which always keeps me up to date on technology news and trends relating to the library world.

A librarian's guide to etiquette, with snarky observations about working in libraries that never fail to make me laugh. I dare any librarian to read this and not recognize themselves! (I'm guilty of decorating my office area with a Beanie Baby, I confess.)

librarian.net, one of the original librarian bloggers and simply a must-read.

The "M" Word - Marketing Libraries, which highlights clever and creative ways for libraries to market their services and resources. Libraries have great stuff. Why keep it a secret?

Web 2.0 in my library: #6

Since starting my position as children's librarian a few months ago, I've been thinking about ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into the services at my library. One thing I'm super excited about is podcasting storytimes!

Right now, I'm on the Denver Public Library Podcast page, listening to Big Bear, Little Bear, read very delightfully by Ella. This is exactly the type of thing I want to do at my library. I have experience recording and producing podcasts, so the actual creation of the podcasts would be a piece of cake, but the main complication I would anticipate with storytime podcasts is copyright. I see that Denver Public Library got permission from Candlewick Press to reproduce the books' content on their website, and I'm making a note to myself to look into how to get this kind of permission!

In addition to storytime podcasts, I've also been thinking about trying podcasting as an ongoing project with our teens-- I imagine something like Denver Public Library's interview with Harry and the Potters would be fun for teens to produce. I'd love to see our teens thinking about what kind of information they want to communicate to the community and then making it happen.

I'm also liking Seattle Public Library's MySpace Teen Center. I developed a MySpace page for my library and although it's been quite successful so far (51 friends and over 400 views-- go us!), I'd really like to take it to the next level and make it more interactive, like Seattle Public Library's page. I love the way their teens themselves are providing content, like author interview and book reviews! This level of collaboration demonstrates that the library genuinely values its teen users, and I think that's an important message. My library doesn't have a Teen Advisory Board at the moment, but I'd like to organize such a group and elicit their opinions on what they'd like to see on our MySpace page. Using Web 2.0 is a great way to engage young library users and empower them to make their voice heard.