All about Wikis

After reading the various explanations for Wikis, I find this feature isn't for everyone. I agree that there are some librarians that would find this a very helpful tool, especially for such things as Subject Guides. However, by using a Wiki for a Subject Guide, the librarian (or creator of the Wiki) would no longer hold the rights to that work, and I'm afraid eventually the Subject Guide would become it's own life form, and completely lose the original scope. I think I'm more in the mindset that if I'm creating a good research tool, then I want to be able to determine what gets added and when. If students or faculty want to chime in, fine. Let them contact me directly so I can research their suggestions and determine if it's legitimate. I wouldn't want bogus information typed in my Wiki. That would reflect bad on me.

The second part of this exercise was to add information on the OULibraries Wiki. I was determined to complete this exercise on my own, especially when I viewed the blogs already linked (I doubted ability of some of my colleagues). I figured if they could get this assignment done sucessfully, then so could I. And I did. It's nice to be able to link to another webpage without having the lengthy URL. This is very useful.

Musings on Web 2.0

For the exercise, I read OCLC's article on Web 2.0, "Where will the next generation Web take libraries?" (2006). This article discussed 5 perspectives on the impact of Web 2.0 in regards to libraries. The 5 perspectives are:

• Away from "icebergs"
• Into a new world of librarianship
• To more powerful ways to cooperate
• To better bibliographic services
• To a temporary place in time

I thought it ironic that these perspectives, while updated, sounded a bit like Ranganathan's five laws of library science that have remained the centerpiece of our professional values. I scrambled to find my old textbook to re-read these values and see how far from his laws we are. Far, but still within the realms of his convictions. Libraries are still dedicated to the service of people. They always will be.

Ranganathan's laws were written at the time when only a physical library was conceivable. In 1995 Michael Gorman authored "Five new laws of librarianship", (American Libraries 26, 1995:784-785). These laws work well for the physical and virtual library. So much in fact, that OCLC's 5 perspectives seem to further expand on Gorman's ideas. One such "Gormanism" is to "respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated". Today's library has many packages of knowledge, and each package is its own life-form. Library workers should not fear these new forms of communication, but rather embrace them to advance library service. In Anderson's manuscript, "Away from "icebergs"", he suggests we need to push away from traditional practices and attitudes, and row towards a more progressive ideal. Library patrons are expecting libraries to "keep up" with technology.

Library 2.0 is creating change within the library structure. While it's important to "collect" subjects for patron use and research, it's also important to include the patron and/or researcher in the dialogue as to what they are wanting or needing in their respective collections. This is what I find important to the future of Library 2.0: open communication with the community.

Technorati, etc

Ok, I've decided that trying to catch-up on homework from 2 weeks is a no-no. My mind has turned to mush. I have one more assignment (or "thing") to work on for this week. I may not get it done since I've put at least 6 hours into this "fun project" today.

On Technorati. There is a need to crawl all blogs in cyberspace or no one would ever find the blog that is interesting to them. If there wasn't a crawling service, no blogs would be read and bloggers would be out of business.

I like the search feature. However, I'm not going to add keywords to my blog just yet as I'm not sure I'll keep the "homework" blog up and running after this workshop is done. I may begin a new blog - with something way more interesting to read than my thoughts on homework.

To date, Technorati seems to be the most useful tool for a blogger.

Del.icio.us

This is an interesting concept: bookmarking in categories. I can see some benefits to using this tool, especially if one is doing in-depth research or is in need of heavy-duty organization to simplify one's life. It would also be a good tool for the techno-geek; which I am not remotely close to becoming.

I do see the benefit if using PC's in more than one place. Add bookmarks on one computer, and voila! they are retrievable on all machines. Personally, I don't log on to my home computer enough to find del.icio.us something I can't live without, but it's nice to know I have options if and when I become a geek.

Exploring Rollyo

Ok, this just might be an item that would be used by me! It's nice to be able to type in a topic and only get information on that subject. However, I find that this is a lot like other search engines, so I'm not sure I would need another one. I would have to use it more to get a better idea of the quality of information obtained. I did think that it was slow in retrieving information, which can be bothersome.

Library Thing

I'm asked to create yet another account, which is getting to be a bit annoying. I'm also suppose to add 5 books to my list. Five books? I've posted three for now, and may add a few more titles later.

Here's the link to my personal library:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/debraorr

Image Generators

Well, this is my generated image. I would love to tell you where it came from, but I honestly cannot remember. I really do need to start taking notes so I can talk intelligently about this technology. Right now, I'm happy to be able to get the assignments done.

Finding Feeds

This exercise could be a bit time consuming if I searched for newsfeeds on my own. However, for this task, I clicked on the suggested sites to preview. I like Topix.net the best. It highlights local and State news, which is what interests me the most.

Making Life Simple with RSS and Newsreader

I have decided that RSS should be renamed to Really Simple Stupid. Seriously, this wasn't a bad exercise this week - unless I did something horribly wrong, I thought this task was by far the least time consuming.

What do I like about RSS and Newsfeeds? I can add my favorite newsfeeds to my bloglines account and read only those stories that I sign up for. No more scanning the pages of The Columbus Dispatch to look for articles that are of interest. No more annoying pop-up advertisements that don't alway have the "close" button. I'm able to pick and choose.

The only drawback I see with all of this is that I now have to remember more passwords. Ugh.