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About Me
- Stawicki
- I am a sixtysomething librarian, husband, father, grandfather, Vietnam veteran, author of three published volumes of poetry and one novel, and a lover of old radio, old books, old dogs, and Tex-Mex cuisine. The name "Stawicki" is an homage to the man who was my company commander in boot camp in the 1960s: a tough, profane little guy who was greatly feared and respected by legions of raw recruits. He was half my size, but I trembled when he stood before me.
Now, of course, the question is: what do I do with it??
ReplyDeleteMETHODS 1 & 2
ReplyDeletePrior to starting this course, I was aware of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0, but only in a passive way. I have used a number of the applications, of course, but have not taken the initiative to adapt any of them for my direct use. The terms to me mean pretty much anything interactive beyond a static web page. I am limited as far as what I can do in my library, inasmuch as it is part of a for-profit educational system that strictly controls all services from a central location and allows little, if any, local modification. However, I have seen some nice applications in terms of interactive audio and video from my local public library, and I find it exciting to explore such offerings as TSL’s Continuing Education opportunities—this course in particular! (And also the College of DuPage webcasts.)
Great David! A blog it is! Keep up the momentum...
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the name?
Thanks for participating, Dawn
Thank you, Dawn. The name, yes, is rather cryptic, but in part it has to do with my lifelong love of radio, especially the old-time programs from the 1930s to the 1950s. I own more than 25,000 of these shows in .mp3 files, all cataloged and organized on the second floor of my house. Also, the "second story" refers to the untold aspects of anyone's life, with radio as a metaphor for life itself.
ReplyDeleteMETHOD 3
ReplyDeleteI am excited by this! I vaguely knew what cloud computing was, but the possibilities seem endless. As one small exmample, I don't have PowerPoint or Excel on my home computer, so I have been limited to using these applications at work. Now that I know about Google Docs and Zoho, I'm able to use these applications in the cloud from home!
METHOD 4
ReplyDeleteMy 3 feeds:
http://tametheweb.com/feed/
http://www.archive.org/services/collection-rss.php?collection=oldtimeradio
http://www.libgig.com/rss.xml
I liked this exercise, but not as much as the previous one. I certainly see the advantages of an RSS feed, but at the same time it brings in a steady flow of information that I may or may not be interested in, requiring more time to skim through and determine the worth of all the "stuff." A very narrowly focused RSS feed would be easier to keep up with, I suppose. Will I keep using this? Maybe, if I'm convinced that the time and effort spent scanning the posts are worth it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8113246@N02/3812527198/
ReplyDeleteThis image is one I see in my neighborhood: the newest building in the Memorial City hospital complex. The odd structure on top that looks like a cross between R2D2 and a rocket ship is known as The Beacon, and at night it has striking blue vertical lights visible for miles.
METHOD 5
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to online photo sharing a couple of months ago by one of my nieces, who posted photos she took at one of our family celebrations. I thought it was a great idea! I'm sure we will continue to share new photos within the family. As for libraries, the first thing that comes to my mind is what a great tool this would be for local history collections. Imagine how many photos of cities, neighborhoods, buildings that no longer exist, etc., are in personal collections that could be scanned and posted to a public site. Also, a great way to identify "mystery" photos of persons and locations would be to post them on the library site and ask if anyone recognizes them...
METHOD 6
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the sheer number and variety of videos out there. Granted, a lot of them aren't of much value, but the same could be said of books or any other medium. I chose the video I embedded on my blog because it was informative, humorous, and concise. I think the brief videos are especially useful for how-to instruction, particularly since they can be replayed as often as needed and do not require a hardware platform as do DVDs and videotapes. Libraries could consolidate links (and I suppose some of them do) to compile a useful site for "how to do anything."
METHOD 7
ReplyDeleteTo me, this harkens back to cloud computing, i.e., a way to do what you want without being shackled to one computer. We can't imagine not being able to check our email from anywhere--why shouldn't this be true for bookmarks as well? For libraries, I think Delicious is more patroncentric than our old way of creating hierarchical links (without patron input)on our own websites. It may be replaced by something better one of these days--and it probably will--but in the meantime its appeal is that it is looser and easier to use.
METHOD 8
ReplyDeleteI have to admit this was my least favorite method so far and for some of it, quite honestly, I don't see the point. I think every Tweet I clicked on led to a web page, which leads me to ask how is this any better than an ordinary link/annotated URL? I do see the point of social networking sites as a means to get oneself "out there", but that is a double-edged sword that cuts both ways and is fraught with all kinds of dangers. On a personal level, I don't have a Facebook or MySpace account and I don't intend to get one. I'm not a Luddite--it's just not for me. My library is also not using social networks, but that is a matter of company policy rather than my own preferences. There do appear to be some creative uses of these sites by libraries, but again (to me) most of it looks like a looser, more informal take on traditional web pages rather than anything truly innovative. But that's OK--think of how many ways there are to cook a potato, and each way has its own fans who swear it tastes best!
METHOD 9
ReplyDeleteMy chat experience, like most I have done, was easy and fairly enjoyable. I say "most" because in some settings, especially with multiple participants, there can be an annoying delay even beyond the typing response time. I suppose this is caused by the "backing up" of the submitted chats.
Recently I was on a chat line for customer service for a very large company, and it turned out the person I was chatting with was actually in India. This reminded me of the first virtual reference services in libraries, where the responding librarian might be in a different library several time zones away. I have not noticed that virtual reference (via chat)has caught on in a big way in libraries, even though I first heard of it about 10 years ago. (?)I think it's a great service, although I can't type as fast as I can talk. My library does not offer it because of (again)company restrictions, but I do get some questions via email which I always respond to rapidly. The company is showing some signs of softening up to IM, so that may be in my future. (Mine and the library's.)
METHOD 10
ReplyDeleteI find intriguing the many ways wikis work for collaboration. Remembering the old days of endless back-and-forth typed memos, then emails and listservs, I see that wikis are able to consolidate all the contributed information in one place, whereas under the old methods everybody had to hope they had received/read all the memos/mails/threads. (More to keep up with, more to file/store, etc.) Wikis are a better way: information central.
Libraries in any community, large or small, could host a "best of" wiki, seeking everyone's input as to where to find locally the best hamburger, best car wash, best day care, etc. Who would know this better than local residents, and who better to sponsor such a wiki than the library?
METHOD 11
ReplyDeleteI listened to a couple of podcasts of "Librarian Live" and sampled a few elsewhere. I really like podcasts, having been for many years a big fan of old-time radio programs. I own around 25,000 of these programs from the 1930s to the 1980s, all in .mp3 format, and I listen to them mostly on a portable .mp3 player. (My collection is on CDs, which I copy onto my PC's hard drive, then download to my .mp3 player.)I listen to them as I walk, drive, work around the house, whatever.
I think podcasts have enormous potential for libraries. I could see my library using 5-to-10 minute podcasts in library instruction, orientation, etc. or simply gathering student comments and feedback for others to hear.
METHOD 12
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this program and benefited very much from it. When I was younger I always said I would never be one of those old fogies who didn't keep up with the new trends in their profession, but after 34 years in the field the tendency to maintain the status quo (technology-wise, at least)is almost inevitable. Programs like this allow one to stay abreast of developments that are essential to librarianship. I won't say "emerging technologies" because everything covered is now well established; for me, this was a matter of catching up to where I already should have been.
What was my favorite part of this? I'd have to say cloud computing, because I like the freedom it imparts and also because I think it can be applied to almost all uses of computing techology and the Internet.
Every assignment in this program was well constructed and informative. I really can't imagine any way the program could have been improved, and I very much appreciate the opportunity for continuing education. I run what is essentially a one-person library in a corporate setting (a small proprietary university)and I am unable to get away for conferences. A program like this is exactly what I need to keep up with my field, and I thank the Texas State Library for providing it. Would I take another one like it? DEFINITELY!!!
Hi David, congrats on completing this! Each of the methods was supposed to comprise a blog post and not a comment to your initial post, but no worries, the info is there. Just want to make sure you're aware that unless someone goes into your first post, they don't see your progression through the methods as they should if they visit. Of course, maybe you don't want to muck up your blog with posts on the methods and would rather post with radio stuff!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, hopefully this was interesting for you. Did you request your CE certificate, if you need one?
Thanks,
Dawn