Wikis
I viewed several library wiki examples & found that some were more user-friendly than others.
I liked the BookLoversWiki for its reviews. I found the homepage layout to be very text heavy, though. The featured review is a good idea, but I didn’t like that everything is in bold print! Using the wiki to “create a snapshot in time” of what club members read during the summer was a fun idea. I could see a similar type of wiki being used for a teen reading game. Posting peer reviews & placing them into genres would give the teens a new way to connect to books.
The Grand Rapids Public Library wiki is great. I found the layout very straight-forward. I would imagine that it’s almost a full-time job to maintain it, though! Creating genre book lists for patrons is always a good idea. They cut back on text by simply listing the book title & linking it to the library catalog. From there, a patron could read a review of the book. The only downside is that the more you click, the more likely you are to lose and/or frustrate a patron.
The Bronxville Library gives out genre reading guides for adults, teen, & children. Placing these lists into a wiki and linking it to the site would make for a nice addition for patrons. I would suggest providing at least 5 books with reviews within each genre. “New to the shelves” or such. Then have a list of suggested authors and titles.
The GRPLprovides a tremendous amount of information on their wiki. I like that they include book covers– some patrons like to have a visual in their head of what they are looking for before they come into the library. Clicking on the book cover also leads to the catalog. Another good decision. As are the lists for web resources and related pages.
The Loudoun County Public Library wiki almost seems like a library homepage. They list events happening at libraries throughout the country. They also list articles of interest. A wiki would be the better tool to use (rather than a blog) — especially if you want to list & subdivide into topics. A wiki could probably be used by smaller libraries looking to set up a library homepage.
The wiki I visit the most remains Wikipedia. You just can’t beat that search box!
just don’t call me a twit
I just read Linda Braun’s twitter article on YALSA. Linda is a huge fan of twitter. After reading her comments, I’d love to be able to say she’s made me a convert, but…
I suppose it would be useful to read comments on a movie before I spend $10 to see it. Actually, I’m going to test that right now.
I just searched “Benjamin Button” on twitter. From reading various tweets, I can gather that this movie is “incredible,” “kinda sad at the end,” & more enjoyable when there are no “giddy preteens giggling.”
The best comment: “Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”
Hmm… okay. I may have just become a Twitter convert.
What I found most interesting about Linda’s post was the comment on the bottom. Someone searched “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist “ She found tweets about the movie & comments about the actors. She wrote, “What does this tell me? Sounds like a blockbuster hit on the way and so I better read the book already and stock up on copies of the book as well.”
I thought this was a great idea. If you’re unsure about a book or movie, check Twitter to read what people think about it before purchasing it for your Library.
Tweeeeeeet
So I’m testing out twitter. I think I understand where the name came from– I kind of feel like a twit posting to it. Most likely b/c I’m essentially talking to myself at the moment. Unless you know many people using this site, or you enjoy commenting on what strangers are doing, it’s not that enjoyable. I suppose if you’re a teen, though, it could be fun to link this to your phone and check your friends’ posts (usually in lieu of paying attention in class). It’s sort of like instant messaging.
Looking at some of the messages posted… wow. It’s interesting to read what some people are doing at 4:00 in the afternoon. Watching movies, washing the dog (must have paused in soaping to post that)…
Facebook has something very similar. It includes a line up top — “what are you doing?” People change their post daily. It’s amusing to read what others are up to– even more fun to comment on their activities. (Read “comment” as “make fun of.”) =)
LibraryThing
I love this site!! I added a mix of adult books and young adult books to my library. The recommendations were pretty good. Many of them I had already read (so I added them to my library, too). I wish there was a quicker way to add them to my library w/out having to leave the recommendation screen. If I could just check a box as “already read it!” — that would be better. Once that’s done, it would be great if there was an option for “generate new recommendations.” Is there?? Am I missing it?
I’ve been clicking on the title of the book, then clicking the “add to my library” option. Then I have to go back to the recommendation screen to do the process all over.
It’s nice that the recommendations aren’t all for the same authors. I was a little worried when I first glanced at the list. But it contained many read-alikes. I suppose it stands to reason that if you like one book by an author, you’d like their other books. It’s nice that almost every additional book added to my library generates more titles on my recommendation list– one note: the more dissimilar the book, the more recommendations it will create.
image generator
Also found on froggfield’s blog – befunky.com. I’m having lots of fun cartoonizing myself. I started out with a sketch version of my picture, but now I think I’ll go back and see if I can make myself into a manga character.
Kind of creepy looking, but at least I seem happy.
Here I am touring Paris. I think I should have opted for a trip to the Caribbean instead… I’m looking terribly pale. And there seems to be something stuck in my head.
Create a caricature of yourself. This is my 1970s bowl haircut look. Still very pale.
Fun w/technology
From froggyfield’s blog:
“Some days, I admit, I would like to hit technology over the head with a frying pan. Those are the days when I inadvertently delete a 4-picture, 6-paragraph blog post (and yes, I learned my lesson). Or when I spend 20 minutes trying to log onto my email account because of course I can’t remember whether froggy is the screen name for yahoo, gmail, aol, wlsmail, or one of the other email accounts I’ve created.”
I have to agree with that last part! I’m finally realizing that I have to write down my passwords and login names — particularly those created recently for WLS Learns. Between wordpress, flickr, & bloglines, I’m losing track. Perhaps I will just have to play more Brain Age games on my Nintendo DS… work on improving my memory. Email logins, facebook, baker & taylor login–those are all safely locked up top. Now to add my newest web tools to that memory file….
technology
Does everyone know this site? It’s the most frequently updated and complete deal site on the web. It features the hottest deals on the web & over 800 coupons for online stores. Items posted on the site are usually good for one day only, so act fast! Just to give you an idea of what you can find, I saw a posting for Guitar Hero 2 & 2 guitars for $25. !!! The site includes an RSS link, so you can include it on your bloglines account.
Actually, is the site a “shopping” news reader?? I think so! It pulls together regularly updated information from various sites on the web & puts them all in one place.
Another site to know when shopping online: FAT WALLET
The latest and greatest online coupons at hundreds of stores.
RSS feeds
Been playing with Bloglines. This is my first time using this particular newsreader. I’m not sure how I feel about it just yet. The good thing about WLS Learns is that it’s forcing me out my comfort zone. For instance, I’ve made my own blogs before, but I did so using BLOGGER. WordPress takes some getting used to. (I’m adapting, but I’m still leaning towards Blogger. I find wordpress has a lot of options and apps, but it seems more cluttered. Perhaps Blogger is meant for beginners… wordpress is the next progression? More to offer?)
I’ve also posted photos online, but I’ve only used KODAK GALLERY to do so. Again, using Flickr takes me out of my comfort zone…. that’s the whole reason we’re doing this! Flickr incorporates other web apps in ways that Kodak Gallery definitely does not offer.
As far as RSS readers go, I’ve been using Pageflakes for a while now. (I think I was first introduced to it at a WLS workshop.) I find the format of Pageflakes to be more user-friendly. I like having all of my feeds on display at once and being able to read one line blurbs from each (usually the top five most recently updated items will appear). however, Bloglines typically lists about 10 news items per feed… hmm…
I think adding a RSS link to a Library’s homepage is a great idea. Patrons can subscribe to the site & receive updates on programs, new books, noteworthy articles, etc. I know that I use my reader to keep track of friends’ blogs. If something new is posted on their blog, I can simply click on the link on my reader to read the entire post.
So far, I think this “thing” was the easiest to learn & use. Possibly because I have prior experience playing with RSS feeds using Pageflakes?
The bloglines site seems very slow, though. Adjusting my account settings is taking forever. Perhaps they’re just having server issues today….
Photo montage
Flickr Montager- a photo mosaic from photos found on Flickr.
This is a fun app. I searched “chicken” in the flickr montager, and it created a tile mosaic of all kinds of chicken pics — dinners, farm animals, signs, etc. The title of the collage is “Copter Pilot” — looks vaguely like a chicken to me.
I was curious to see how it would interpret a more abstract term, so I searched ”LOVE.” It pulled images of hearts, faces, kisses, landscapes, flowers, text… quite a variety of things. I suppose it depends on how an image is tagged. Interesting to see how many different things fall under the same term!
Still the gold standard?
Plot Twist: The Newbery May Dampen Kids’ Reading
The Newbery Medal has been the gold standard in children’s literature for more than eight decades. Now the literary world is debating the Newbery’s value, asking whether the books that have won recently are so complicated and inaccessible to most children that they are effectively turning off kids to reading…. (click on the link above to read the full article)
For further reading:
“Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?” – an article in the October edition of School Library Journal
Stop Picking on Newbery – an article in defense of the premier award in children’s literature
School Library Journal’s 2009 Newbery and Caldecott Predictions
