THE END

This is it, the last lesson in our Learning 2.0 program. It's been quite an interesting journey and have found it extremely rewarding. I have really enjoyed this course and have learned how to access a new world of information that we will be using in our library to promote it to a wider audience.

So what is social networking - It is another impressive tool which would be even greater in engaging the younger generation and encouraging them to participate in the Library even if it is in a virtual world.

I believe that social networking sites such as My Space, bebo and Facebook could be very valuable to promote the library, library services, library events such as visiting authors and to highlight parts of the library collection.

GOOGLE DOCS

Online applications and tools that is free! No installation of software that is required, only a web browser and internet connection. All I can say is wow!! a whole new world of online features that is so user friendly. We can use these features in a library quite effectively and efficiently. If you have a project for example, a Library Newsletter, you post the first draft of the newsletter to your colleagues. Everyone can in turn add or edit text on the document. That way everyone is using the most current version of the document, meaning that it will get to print earlier! you cant get better than that!

MASHIES

Mashups are hybrid web applications that take features from one application (like Flickr) and mash it up with another (like a mapping program)and its sooooo much fun! I see quite a lot possibilities for mashups in the library, especially for local studies and promotional ventures.

PODCASTING IN YOUR LIBRARY

What a great idea podcasts are. I can easily see them being utilised in a public library. Podcasts could be made for lectures and author talks at the library, also, to deliver online books to library members who use the cassette and cd formats. I also like the idea of going to one's favourite radio program to listen and download a radio show you happened to miss. Versatile and easy to use.

SLAM THE BOARDS

Slam the Boards is an attempt to get reference librarians to provide answers on popular "Answer Board" sites like Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers, AskVille, etc. The questions are been answered by librarians. I like the slamming the boards idea and think it is a great way to promote librarians.

LIBRARYTHING

LibraryThing was developed by booklovers, for booklovers and its basic function is to quickly and painlessly create an online catalog of your personal book collection. What makes it even more special is its social networking component - once you've entered your books, you get to see everyone elses via book titles, authors, and the tags you assign to each entry.

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

Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is interesting, straightforward and quite useful! Well, in addition to tagging your bookmarks, you can see how other users have tagged the same links and see related websites are important to them. This is an excellent way to find websites that may be of interest to you.

http://delicious.com/Inverell.Library

This would probably have to be one of the most entertaining of the activities. I've just finished watching Mr Bean at the Library on Youtube. It was great and made me laugh. The timelapse video was excellent! I particularly liked the user guide videos which show people how to use eg. the library. It think that something like that would be very handy.People can be so creative....keep it up!

Wiki Wiki - Our Library

The goal is to use a wiki to create a collaborative piece of information, sharing the knowledge of all contributors.

Book Lovers Wiki is a great way to provide resources, ideas, and tips for library staff to use as part of their readers advisory services. Many applications can be used in the Library, especially talking to other people in other branches, and sharing ideas with them.

If you need to organise anything that involves more than one person this is an effective way of doing it. Also with community meetings , instead of having face to face meetings we could talk to each other through wikis.

Wookieepedia is a user friendly database for Star Wars fans you were are incouraged to participate in everyday activities as a community via the project page. There is the discussion page which is useful to edit or leave messages or look up history. I was surprised to learn how easy it is to contribute to or edit an article appearing in the Wikipedia. You don't even have to sign up or sign in. And you remain anonymous as well.

The Montana History Wiki is a collection of information to help guide researchers to the resources available through the Montana Historical Society Research Center. It is designed to assist researchers in finding the best resource for their projects or topics. The wiki also contains collaborative projects designed to meet the needs of particular groups. Users should note that the Montana History Wiki is not open for editing. However, if you have comments or would like to add content you can email to them

Week one!

Hi there, as I am a first time blogger - I am willing to learn a new way of communicating to a broad audience. This effective way of getting your message out there to a wide audience and getting a response in return is an exciting way of communicating. It is great to learn about Learning 2.0 and use this to create a way of communicating with other libraries as well as library patrons in a relaxed environment. I have always been interested in learning to create my own blog but have only just found time to do it. It is fun and so innovative, technology has taken us a long way with even more to come.

(heh, edited)
Btw due to a small mess up the first weeks post has found itself on the top of the last two. Whoops! Technical difficulties. All good now. :)

Our Library

RSS would be really beneficial in our Library. Our library would have a online method of promoting library events, services, new collections, and so on, to members and the general public. This is especially great for the customers who don't visit the library often in person.

My opinion is that libraries really need to 'keep up' (especially with the younger library users) but really be at the forefront of technology and RSS seems one good way of achieving that.

Princess

Flickr is a website that allows users to upload digital pictures from their computer and share them with just their friends or the whole entire planet. Users can “tag” an image with key words that describe the picture. This allows people to search Flickr for pictures that interest them by entering tag words into the search window.

I can see this feature being useful in a library but I would be careful choosing photos because of "sharing photos" with public which could cause problems. I can just imagine how useful Flickr and Picnik can be in promoting library services, events and resources.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fernandofelix/1178052002/