Thing #6 - Chinese characters

Not because I can read Chinese but because there is such a thing as a Chinese character generator.

Richard pronounced: lǐ shā dé

Thing #18 - Librarian Song

And thanks to Michael Golrick (now library director in my home town) for sharing a little library humor! (Does embedding a YouTube video count for #18?)

Thing #5

Not every day is a "nose to the grindstone" kind of day as we enjoy visits from SELCO's treat-or-treaters!



For all the fun: Halloween Presentation

Thing #4 – Flickr

The organizational options in Flickr are plentiful but like the current discussion about tags versus subject headings in the world of library catalogs, the organizer in me would love more consistency --- at least for SELCO’s photo array!

Our Flickr account keeps growing with over 461 pix today. We do an okay job tagging but the terms vary and 62 were blank, although I fixed 22 while working on this blog posting. (Maybe the other orphan pix will get tagged on another cloudy Saturday.)

Flickr makes it easy to create sets and insert a web link to a small selection of pix on the same topic. So a news item or a blog post on Rural Sustainability connects directly to our LSTA program photos. We also have sets for each type of library:

• Academic (6)

• Public (136)

• School (70)

• Special (13)

Thing #3 – RSS

Like so many others, I initially thought, I’ll just bookmark my favorite sites and check them periodically for anything new ---sort of like choosing when to pick up the newspaper. But unlike the newspaper that comes at the same time every day (or something close) bloggers post at all hours, they may post several times in one day, or be quiet for days. I was quickly converted to the advantages of RSS - Real Simple Syndication and have had a Bloglines account ever since Barbara Misselt (now at ECRL) shared this cool tool. I've even blogged about Bloglines!

So having subscribed earlier, my 23 Things activities for today included:

• Adding a Bloglines button to my toolbar
• Aggregating all the SELCO staff blogs in a Bloglines folder – energetic postings out there!

Thing #2

Just as Minnesota launched 23 Things, John Blyberg posted Library 2.0 Debased. Now if you only read the title or the first paragraph you might get the sense that he is shifting his support from Library 2.0 --- not so. Blyberg is simply reminding library staff to adopt these tools purposefully, not just as hype.

Maybe it is because library funding is tight or librarians are often perfectionists, but I get the sense that some believe we should only offer programs or services that are proven to be 100% successful. Certainly that pressure is palpable at the regional level. If SELCO delays implementation to identify major pitfalls – then we are holding back library innovation but if we spotlight something new – then we are wasting time. The reactions when we launched the SELCO Librarian were a good example of this dichotomy. There were some who cheered our blogging venture and complimented us by immediately adding our site to their RSS feeds. Others felt this was a waste of regional time and one reason some of us only posted long after work hours so as to be seen as something “extra” in our work life and not the norm.

23 Things is all about trying something new in a safe and supported environment and (dare I say it) enjoying online learning. I’m personally participating in the 23 Things program and all members of the SELCO staff are being encouraged to participate. As of this posting 437 individuals have around Minnesota have registered with 23 Things, including 60 (14%) from SELCO/SELS. How exciting!

We may not adapt anything from our experience but, as Stephen Abrams stated, we can expect change simply because of our exploration. As David Lee King wrote: ”If one 2.0 project doesn’t work as expected, that doesn’t mean that “library 2.0 didn’t work” as a whole … not every blog, wiki, IM reference service, Second Life project, or podcast that your library creates will be a blazing success. Some will be dismal failures. And that’s great! Why? Because you learned something, and you can take that knowledge and move on to the next project.”

Thing 1 and a half - Avatar Done

I was going to "accidentally" forget the 1-1/2 part of Thing #1 and not create an avatar. After all, do I really need a "visual on-screen, in-game persona"? But my conscience kicked in and such an omission didn't flow with the cooperative spirit with the program. So, the Beadworking Librarian has beads which will change as I progress through 23 Things. Stay tuned to see just how glamorous the jewels display.

Where? Oh where?

Even prolific writers face the challenge of finding time to blog and now there is the added dilemma of where to post? Nearly two years ago, SELCO launched the SELCO Librarian:

• to share professional information of interest but which is not critical to the daily operation of SELCO/SELS or the members of the multitype consortium; and
• to provide an insight into the personal interests, talents, and opinions of the SELCO staff as they pertain to librarianship.

As SELCO's Executive Director, that is blog #1 and I share right along with other staff members. In December, I authored 8 of the 15 entries. Admitedly, that quantity was a bit unusual and several of those posts served as reports for a virtual meeting. There is blog #2, the Structure blog, as SELCO/SELS deliberates about organizational structure, membership, and governance. And finally, blog #3 - Bead Working Librarian - my own blog and now part of 23 Things on a Stick for a bit more personal info and the place to work through the program with other library and web 2.0 explorers. So the question remains, "Where? Oh where to post?"

23 Things on a Stick - #1

Task #1 for Minnesota's new 23 Things on a Stick has everyone creating a blog. Since Bead Working Librarian was languishing, I modified the curriculum (you can do that with a self-directed class!) refreshed the site (converting from the old Blogger to new Blogger) and Voila --- I am ready to delve into Library 2.0. Biggest problem was not the work itself, but remembering an old username and password. Luckily, Google sends reminders.