World of Web 2.0

Lynley Dodd's 'Slinky Malinki'

Well Done NSL Team

So this is what it’s like in the world of Web 2.0. Welcome to a new place. I think the whole concept of belonging to a world wide network – that jump into the nether regions where you cannot see the ground beneath your feet & cannot really know who is there or what is there – it can take a bit of courage & a new mind set. ‘Astonishing’ to see the millions of people who are ‘out there’ ; does it have an effect on how we communicate face to face with each other, are we better or worse for having internet communities – it will be interesting to discover what other people think.

For some, I believe it has given them the confidence to express themselves more readily than they would otherwise have done to any group ; it’s all too easy to ‘post your view’ ; perhaps much the same way that writing articles, letters, diaries, etc allows us to comment but then we have the greater choice of publicity or privacy (not many will know the person they post their comment to or indeed how it may be used). What did Omar write so long ago (don’t I adore quotes) “the moving finger writes & having writ moved on, nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it”.

I enjoy using podcasts, Youtube, Project Gutenberg & although not always ‘in the mood’ to check my bloglines for feeds, am always ‘tickled’ to see the news items I’ve requested just waiting for when I’m ready to open them.
I have to say that with access to the vast diversity of material on such an imaginably large scale has for me been ‘tops’; it’s like something I’ve been waiting for – there is somewhere to go that will tell me what I want to know or lead me in a closer direction.

Well done to the web 2.0 team!

'Get Networking'

Social Networking – it’s not just necessarily about reaching ‘teens’, it’s about being ‘in the now’ and any library wanting to still be in business would have to agree. Sites such as those we have just looked at will change – in a few years, probably unrecognizably to something else – but as it evolves, libraries have to be there to evolve with them. To miss out on a generation of new technology, how much harder then will it be to adjust to the next step in those years to come. Ok, so we can reach these ‘teen’s’ their way – it must be this way if teens are the librarians of the future & by ensuring they feel good about libraries and their role today, through our actions now, we can feel confident that libraries will still have an important part to play in any future society.

So how does social networking fit in with knowledge & libraries – is it just about reaching people? Creating a virtual community – a place where ‘anyone’ can go & contribute & have a sense of efficacy & a sense of belonging – successful communities support participation, but this is more than a virtual community, isn’t it or are things about to change. Will our patrons communicate with libraries only through networks, where books/information arrive at their desktop, all the while still able to indulge in some form of social interaction. The nature of knowledge must surely remain the same ; how we access it & what we do with it will not be the same. Looking at Peter Morville’s comments (from Semantic Studios) could also be applied to libraries; “What ties information architecture, knowledge management and social network analysis more closely together is the reciprocal relationship between people and content ; We use people to find content – We use content to find people.”

I like what Meredith (the library tech guru) has said: As librarians who should know our users, we should at least be aware of what they’re doing online and see what roles the library can play in our patrons’ online social worlds.

(Pic c/o Artchive.com; Reubens, The Four Philosophers, 1611-1612)

'Get Social'

Looking at the list of social networking sites available, there is something for everyone if they want to get involved – great to see that libraries have taken part in what is primarily a ‘younger generation’ thing ; those Bebo sites look great – although they can get out of date rather quickly & need regular maintenance to keep on track – anything that is group or discussion related really needs regular input. A Jan 2009 study ranked Facebook as the most used social network by worldwide monthly active users, followed by My Space; so if you’re anyone, you’re on one of these sites. My friend (offshore) invited me to join Facebook, so we could easily share photos & travel tips, etc – which we both have done, but that’s as far as it went – both a little reluctant to do more, owing to the ‘identity’ issues associated with these sites. Although, as more of your friends ‘share’ on facebook, the more you will want to ‘share’ too. I have to say that it’s pretty neat being able to virtually sign a fractured ankle cast; Show your Support: Sign Judge Sotomayor's Virtual Cast . The list of groups you can join is pretty amazing – and if your friend is currently online, it will tell you.

Ok, so which is it – Facebook, My Space, Bebo, Exploroo, Gaia, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter ……

eBooks

The whole concept of ebooks is good and yet must have drawbacks. I’m sure endless reading on computer screens is more damaging to the eye than print on page but yet maybe that may also be overcome.

Vinton Cerf’s surprising being of the ‘book’ era and yet at the forefront in his passionate work for integrated web based reading of a truly global nature ; "Because the Internet is a computing environment, a software environment, it's possible to create a much richer kind of information than what we are typically accustomed to in books,” … “digitized books, he said can be searched and updated easily, linked to related material & enhanced with audio & video.” I like to think that those books I came to love will still look & read the same when I next pick them up ; but that is not the way google books see our reading future – “ .. they can also be changed, which means that the book you read a year ago may look different the next time you consult it”. It’s just a different way of looking at books I guess; you should feel attached to the story, not the book.
“Before physical books were invented, thoughts were constrained by both space and time”; but we are rather an unconstrained society aren’t we – instantaneous production ; The Espresso Book Machine – but here we have something that appeals to the senses as well as to our brain – it 'feels & smells' – so we are not willing to give all this up just yet.
I searched for title ‘Wife of Bath’ in Project Gutenberg - this came up with no entries (maybe it could have suggested something else? Other titles that were similar or a suggestion of possible author’s that linked to books they did have perhaps). Searched again for Chaucer and found 5 entries plus a wikipedia link (which is rather nice). I clicked on Chaucer’s Works Vol 4 (of 7) – The Canterbury Tales & from the list of formats, opened the html (non compressed) main site (1.96mb) & was delighted – the text was clear, very readable (included Wife of Bath’s Prologue); perhaps a paging format could have been useful, instead of having to scroll through the work but was easy to read & seemed complete – no missing pages and the formatting made it good to copy from.

Did the same exercise in Google Books ; searched for ‘Wife of Bath‘ – which immediately came up a whole list of entries, at the top was The Canterbury Tales directing me to the page number in each particular book entry but also other books that contained ‘wife of bath’ – something Pope had written about Chaucer, criticism & commentary books on medieval texts & Middle English – most impressive; however books that may have been of greater interest had ‘limited preview’ or only snippets available plus on the whole, the text was not as ‘reader friendly’. Is a keyword based search tool superior to an author / title search – not necessarily, but sometimes yes. I found Google Books was an exceptional resource for titles - which could perhaps lead to the researcher visiting their “local library”.

(pic c/o Barnes & Noble)

Podcasts

I have listened to podcasts before, not really noticing what they were called (from Radio broadcasts) ; have thought them an excellent device. It was easy to copy the feed into bloglines & then hey presto listen, email, save to clippings file, etc. Unfortunately, not able to include these broadcasts on the blog (due to copyright) but enjoyed doing this activity. I think latest book reviews & interviews from those new book launches we have would make ideal podcasts for libraries (will our oral history move into this arena?). I subscribed to Radio NZ’s “The Arts on Sunday with Lynn Freeman” ; wonderful listening to young NZ poet Charlotte Trevella speak about her work (what was I saying before about writer’s & emphasizing their own work?); I was certainly struck by her reading of “To a Sister” from ‘Because Paradise’; the interview / her reading can be accessed from here (uses windows media player): http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/artsonsunday ;
also listened to Te Papa’s podcast from last year on the Rita Angus Symposium – lots to immerse yourself in here ; great to revisit these talks, also giving students the ability to include different media in their study (although these podcasts don’t seem to have feeds) ; http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/whatson/podcasts/Pages/overview.aspx

YouTube

Absolutely – I think there’s definitely room for library videos to be a fun marketing tool ; “.. introducing the children’s section of our library – oh, it’s lapsit time, excuse the noise ….” No really, it could be rather useful, esp perhaps in informative areas for researching in the genealogy area for example, where a video clip could show someone going through the process of locating a microfiche, viewing it thru the reader, finding names, etc for further researching – explaining the steps & how it works. I’ve always felt, baking a cake was much easier after watching how it was done. There are some really fun clips, don’t we love watching what animals or other people do (there’s nothing quite so funny as someone falling over). I chose this video as I admire the artist & enjoy the composer & believe others do too – isn’t that part of creating video, to share with others, we want others to join in – people are brought together through this medium – video brings you ‘closer’, don’t you think?
I can see poetry, short story clips being added to our website, where NZ writers read their own work - now that would be good for the children’s catalogue ; clips with Margaret Mahy reading one or two of her most popular books ; the authors know where that emphasis should ‘really’ be.
I think libraries can pick & choose how best to use video to suit their individual situations; as we grow with technology & as our focus is assisting and informing, videos will be a part of this process. Features such as ‘other videos like this’ where the computer recognizes a visitor’s search & suggests what else may be of interest would be very useable.
My pick – Yo Yo Ma ‘Libertango’ ; Astor Piazzolla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwpR5_49uk (or see at margin)
Interesting how Westminster Libraries have promoted their services: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENUsbM0OWto

(Pic c/o Sydney Morning Herald)

Web 2.0's Top 1,000

Looking through that amazing list of sites, I’ve come across more than one that sounded great eg Visual Thesaurus – had a few minutes thinking how marvelous this site was, until I realized it was by subscription – disappointed I struggled to find something just as useful that was free! I like google maps & others we have explored thru this program, however found myself back to the wikis – this time Wikitravel - read & co-edit travel guide (under Text 2.0); wikitravel.org/en/ – reads like a lonely planet with useful details about visiting a range of countries, with news reports & events related to specific cities. If this is as good as it looks, it could be more useful than a printed travel guide – there are links to travel blogs, a section on foreign languages & phrases - can’t see that it has maps (on an initial visit) but you can create your own account & join in discussions, create wish lists, etc. Apparently the facts & info get checked by local editors every month & then printed copies can be ordered online (main online editing is restricted). Wikitravel received a Webby Award for Best Travel Website in 2007. That same year, Wikitravel's founders began Wikitravel Press, which publishes printed travel guides based on the Web site's content. The first print guides were released on February 1, 2008.
I see Amazon has a few available on cities round the world eg Paris (above). Perhaps this site could be considered when up-to-date travel guides are not available for patrons at the desk.

Zoho ho

I have thought about using these web based applications, when unable to access/purchase the proper software, but have never done so. I can see that being free & available to anyone who has internet has advantages – esp if emails are restricted as to size of attachment and/or blocked addresses, as this can be by-passed relatively easily. Had a play with the Zoho Show. All looks reasonably ok – seems like you can make them public or private ; clever the way you can invite people to view your presentation (wherever they may be), they sign in & you start the remote display – although looks as if you might have to be online at the same time. Lots of tools to use – maybe a tad too many gimmicky type features. Tried embedding the show - see on margin - (you can click the little box with arrows, at bottom right of display to enlarge); however easy to save as .ppt or .pdf.

Roll Your Own ?

This is a rather interesting way to manage all those websites – would I use it? can’t be sure. Looks like you could advertise your own web business, & recommend it for others to use, although most of the rolls seem rather specific to the creator. Tried looking at a few - not all of them go anywhere – the websites have gone or changed. Wonder how often this site is really used & how many of them actually get edited. I have created a roll called ‘Museums of Note’; some of those beautiful buildings that house the greatest treasures on earth. Not keen on the navigation for this site – but hope the links stay live – not all sites ‘good to go’ at time of post (Egyptian Museum in Cairo dropped off somewhere) – had to include ‘ours’ though.

Museums of Note: http://rollyo.com/vera/museums_of_note/
Searching under MofN for New York : http://rollyo.com/search.html?q=new+york&sid=576406&x=48&y=16

After our introduction to LibraryThing at the Reading Experience, I thought I would be taking a closer look at this site; however this exercise has prompted me further to log some titles & have a play around. Most of the books I read are all library ones - with exceptions .. but you can categorize them easily with separate lists for books you have or have not. I can see it would be very useful to have your own catalogue of books – however not that easy to locate the right issues for the publications you have in hand (with the same cover image); so your list may not be accurate. Good publicity / business for Amazon I’m guessing – as it’s right there to order if you like the look of it. Also useful to share with your friends books you like and recommendations – book clubs. Virtually all of the web links worked under ‘local’ for libraries & book shops in Auckland, NZ, except for NSL – poss the link just needs updating.

See link at margin under: Veras Catalogue. Happy Reading

Image Generators

These sites certainly make light work of editing & customizing that certain something – loved the idea of printing your own CD cases ; will think of it when I next need one.
I enjoyed “Word Mosaic” (just for fun), Framer, Palette – wonder how useful this could be for identifying colours – could it be matched easily to other applications such as handcraft silks or amateur pattern making – as mentioned by DT&G Design; DTG magazine “Patterns is another area where the artist must harmonize colors, or else the art fails.” Identifying and combining colours is not as easy as you might think. I tried a sample photo & was pleased by the result – how clever. Is it easier on a computer or in a book? NSL have books for helping you choose the right colours for your home and garden – would you take a photo & ask palette to do the work or pour over a colour chart in a book ; both are fun, both however would only be the first step!
http://www.elgar.govt.nz/record=b1554255~S6

(Pic: Alleged fragment of Durendal in Rocamadour ; wikipedia)

(Palette: The Heliotrope Fairy ; Cecily Mary Barker)