Two Great YAs to Recommend

Just finished Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It. Book Talked it to my Volunteens and they got excited.
Family with two teens in Penn when just before end of school term the moon gets hit with asteroid. When it hits it throws moon out of orbit and closer to earth. Just imagine all the natural disasters that begin to occur! Takes readers through almost an entire year as Earth undergoes all the changes. Very engrossing read.

I am now in process of reading Caroline Cooney's book Diamonds In the Shadow. In this story, a wealthy Conn.family of four hosts a family of refugees from war-torn Africa. The oldest son quickly realizes that something is going on with this family. To start with, he is pretty sure the couple aren't the parents of the two teens. What the host family doesn't know is that a fifth refugee came into the country on the same plane and this man has a violent agenda. The entire refugee family live in terror of this man showing up. You'll have to read to find out what happens.

Zoho Picture

What I Look Like After SRC Program Day

 

 

A Zoho Experiment

 

Oh ho its zoho

Oh Ho It's Zoho

 

I'm writing this in a Zoho document.  So far, as Meerkatdon already mentioned, the default text is Verdana 10pt.  After typing title I had to switch back to Arial again and change point type.  But this is definitely easier to use than the Google docs page.

 

 

Google Docs

Well I played around with google docs. The use of this is to upload docs or to email a quickly prepared (and very simple) doc to send. Other than that it is lousy software. I haven't had time to play with the others yet - like Zoho that all you others have been mastering.

Checkout the TagMashup on Library Thing

Ew Ew Ew. Just saw a new feature for readers advisory that is very cool. It is called a tagmashup. The tags are put into an aquabrower window on the side of the website page. Just click on a tag and you get a list. You can get down to english detectives - and get a list of authors and titles. There are some lists by subjects like chick lit and the complete Star Wars titles are under a feature called series. Very useful. Keep tagging the hell out of the books you put in there.

Utubing and Wikis

I'm jumping around a bit in this post so bear with. I posted a response to my investigation of Utube and mentioned Mashups and Google mashups. From this information I developed my own Google map. The map idea actually came out of reading about Utube. I have uploaded two little films to the programming blob so take a look.

How can this type of informatin be used in the library. The libraries can be registered as business links on Google Maps with information about hours, etc. that would be a practical application of a Mashup for us.

I already posted comments about podcasts, etc in the library. I think the programming blog is becoming a practical application for sharing visual information about programs taking place in the branches.

I just completed the Wiki readings. I think the article on what can be done with Wikis in the library covers many ideas. An additional idea that I have is to suggest the input of staff in the long range plan process with a Wiki. Goals and objectives could be written on a Wiki web site with invitations for thoughtful recommendations for implementation. These could be used/or not while the committees consider their final recommendations for the upcoming plan.
The Wiki could then be maintained for purposes of following the implementation of the plan in future years.

Another idea for a Wiki in the branch is the programming plan. We start with general ideas and set programs. As the ideas are finalized and staff assigned, the wiki can be used as the basis for the plan with team input. These programming wikis could be shared by other programming teams at other branches.

Read the "Onion" Article

Take a look at the picture caption that goes with the Onion title "Sanitation Workers..."
I think you will enjoy the library-related caption.

Google Map ( The Clean One)

Just did a google map. I want to find out how to make it more informative. Will continue to work with this idea. I love the idea!

Rube at Utube

Just fiddled around with Utube. Haven't joined yet. My pics wouldn't pass filter. Just kidding.
Looked at the Mashup sites tonight. Very cool. Saw one that is a google map with national anthems of the world. How cool is that! Will be playing around with this one for awhile.
Lots of Librarian Utube -but don't have sound at desk. Off desk I'll have my nose glued to the Ninja Librarian, and "When Bad Things Happen to Good Librarians". Lots of fun out there.

Checking out web sites

Today I looked over various web sites mentioned as feeds on facebook. They were as follows:
Stumbelupon -which organizes web sites according to your interests.
Last.fm - a music site
del.icio.us - social bookmarking - found factcheck.org - which I really liked
Yelp - gives city reviews - takes you right to Balt. Want a review for a good bar - go to this site.
Digg - entertainment news M Noble would love this site.
Picasa is like Flickr
Pandora is a music "genome project" so called. Type in your favorite artist or song
Hulu provides movie and tv news and clips had a podcast of the John Daily show from June 11th

Well worth the visits.

Twittering with my twitter

Once again I just had to keep fooling with my blog. I decided I wanted a "badge" for my twitter. Must have pressed the wrong button because I am on a twitter with people from NY. Will try to fix later - so far no luck.

Okay Go Ahead and Laugh

Just as soon as I posted the previous message I get a pop-up from Google Reader asking ME if I want to show my shared items in my blog. I politely answered yes and bingo here are my shared articles. Well dang. I don't know what happened. Perhaps a Google Reader was spying on me and helped. If they did thanks a bunch.

Still Can't Feed Links to work in blog

Talked to a coworker who has no problem with this and we both tried to create a link for an article. It no longer works with my blog. Every URL I put in fails. This has occurred over the past three days that I have been working on it. I can go to my google reader but can't share anything with my blog. Oh well.

Still working on my RSS feeds. I think I broke it. Would not accept any URL tonight so I'm giving it a rest and will try again later.

Researching issues with OPML and RSS

I couldn't understand why My RSS link to my blog wouldn't show complete subscriptions. To date, all I've been able to do is to share one article at a time.

Perhaps someone out there has figured out a way to do this. I tried to export the OPML of my scubscriptions to the placeholder on my blog that previously held the shared RSS article. At the time of this writing all the link shows is a message that says da... subscription. Perhaps it is still loading. I will give it a little time before changing back.

I was looking at the UTube and podcast information and that is what got me interested in OPML.
Apparently OPML allows one to read content of RSS feeds as a bundle- at least in theory. If you google OPML, the articles are very techy. Since, in this area, I am not, they are difficult for me to interpret usefully.

In terms of Utube and podcasts it is readily apparent how they could be used by the library system. We could have a explanatory video uploaded in Spanish on how to access information in the library and spanish resources available. Of course we could just make a printed link to do this as well-assuming the person can read fairly well.

Colleges are uploading course units in RSS feeds. We could offer something similar on how to use the computers, sign up for cards, genealogy. I think that a really great one would solve the current problem that those of us on the info desks are seeing daily - that is the person coming into the library to apply for basic jobs online. We don't have sufficient time to give them personal tutorials. We do refer them for one-to-one lessons at the bigger branches but you can usually see the look on their faces of frustration and resignation. Many of us are discussing this need to assist these kinds of patrons. All the big box stores and supermarkets are sending people to the library to apply for jobs and many have never touched a computer with a web application. Podcasts,etc. might serve a useful purpose here. I have always thought that Michael Gannon's readers advisory workshops ought to be taken to the big screen - which in our case might mean the web. His presentations are informative and hugely entertaining. There are numerous ways to present information in this type of format and in future years I am sure we will use it. We know that C. Co. and Pratt are using them now. All we need is time - right?

Flick Update

Oops. I asked for my Flickr photos to be put into a slideshow. Little did I know that MY pics would disappear into an endless show. So I have fixed that prob and now just have my flickr web site up.

Flickring...Twitterin... Oh My - haven't done any of that in ages!

I've set up my Flickr account. You can see the pics as a slideshow with Sneaks. To see the whole video try looking at the programming blog.

My RSS feed is great. I much prefer it to looking at the CNN site on our link under Newspapers,etc. I am currently sharing an article from the Onion.

As for twitter, I see the point, would save time from going into and out of email. Enables a person to send a quick note to someone else's computer and all that. Can't think of a way to use it right now. Anyone out there with any suggestions, please respond.

Glad to share my book reviews until they become annoying. Don't think anyone but me will ever read this thing so I'm not overly worried.

Second Book after The New Policeman

Just discovered that the system has ordered the next book in the series after The New Policeman. It is called The Last of the High Kings. If you enjoyed my review of the former you might want to go on the waiting list for the next. It is catalogued as a Y Fic.

New Book Reviewed

Just finished Joan Bauer's latest Peeled. This time the subject is apples-not pumpkins. Hildy Biddle is an aspiring journalist for the high school paper. As Hildy states "apples are the core of our existence". She begins to question the town paper's assertion that a house is haunted. With a team of friends she gets to the bottom of a plot between the editor of the town paper and a big out-of-state developer to build a big mega-haunted-house theme park. Lots of great lines and apple puns. Y Fiction. Readers who like Squashed will enjoy this novel.

I completed my RSS lesson.
I am going to upload some pictures this week to Flickr to share with the blog.
Got some great shots with Sneaks at a local school visit.

Blogs and Flickr

I've created a blog and have enjoyed reading the Web2 articles. They were a real eye-opener for me. I also enjoyed viewing librarian links on Flickr. My son and I had a conversation about the library's use of blogs and Flickr. Since he is young (22) and hip I wanted his input. He said that Flickr isn't used by young people. He said that anyone his age wouldn't be caught dead on it. That Flickr is for "old people" - like his mother. I guess kids use Myspace. In terms of blogs his take corresponded with our present best use of blogs, i.e., for internal communication between branches for programming and collection issues. From that stand point I would anticipate the growth of blogs.

I have very much enjoyed using LibraryThing. It helps me with readers advisory. I really enjoyed the link to "orangeful's" blog and her link to her LibraryThing. I actually requested one of her books on her site to read. I can also use her blog link to do readers advisory in science fiction - which is an area where my skills are weak. So... I guess that I am saying that we could emphasize LibraryThing to our patrons. I don't know how many I've personally told about Librarything when they say that they wished that our library could keep track of what they have read.
It might also be useful to have genre blogs maintained by staff that are accessible to the public. It is possible that with advertising the library could even make a bit of money. So many of us are avid readers that these blogs could serve useful purposes to both patrons and other members of the staff.

Library Thing

Finished The New Policeman and it was wonderful. Each chapter is headed by a piece of traditional Irish music. The name of the piece is the chapter title. The song title is woven into the plot. JJ crawls into the land of the faeries and must save the world -both his and the world of the faeries. The book could be considered controversial because it features a Catholic priest whose aim is to end Irish music and the world of the faeries. So I supposed someone would describe the book as anti-religous in our politically correct world. You will have to read the book to find out who the New Policeman really was.

In another matter, I've been trying to link my Librarything with my blog without success. I'm going to give it another try today.

I also received an email of an article my son sent to me from Japan that has been published in a major magazine there. I'll provide the link here if anyone wants to read it.
http://fitnessjp.com/025_78_save+the+world+by+bike!+the+2008+bee+ride

My Latest Books

I'm reading two books. Both were reviewed in the May issue of The Horn Book magazine.
The first one is by Mary Downing Hahn called All the Lovely Bad Ones. This is catalogued as a Y but could easily be given a J designation. The two main characters are in their early teens - perhaps that is why it is given the "Y". It is a good recommend for 6th graders - even a 5th grader who reads alot. Nice haunted house book to recommend to those summer readers. It is written in the gothic style but very updated - taking pokes at people who chase spooks -modern ghost-busters. The ghosts themselves were once a bunch of naughty children caught in a terrible situation. Our two teen protaganists figure out ways to help them find peace.

The second book is one I've just begun reading. It is written by Kate Thompson and is the first in a series. The second book is the one reviewed in The Horn Book. I'm reading the first in order to catch up. This one is called The New Policeman. So far the story begins with a farming family in modern-day Ireland. It is a family of poets and musicians. The lead character is a teenager named JJ. There is no indication in the first 50 pages or so that this book will have a fantasy element. JJ uses his mother's maiden name of Liddy. It is her family's farm and she wants her son to carry on the name. Every Saturday the family hosts an Irish music event. JJ is beginning to feel like a nerd at school because his friends don't stay at home on Saturday nights and they don't play traditional Irish music. From the review in Horn Book I know that JJ will be involved somehow with the Irish fairy world. The New Policeman is catalogued as a J title. It could easily be catalogued as a Y. I would definitely recommend this book to teens. It is quite thick with over 300 pages. More later when I've finished it....