Tagging

I use Delicious all the time. When I bookmark something at work Delicious asks if I also want to add the bookmark to my Delicious account. I like being able to access my bookmarks from anywhere. I find this very useful with the work I do as a librarian. In some libraries there may be several workstations from which librarians assist patrons. By using Delicious all of your bookmarks are available, not matter which workstation you are at.

Social Networking

I am behind on posting and I thought that would be my biggest obstacle in using social networks. I never seem to have enough time. However, I created an account in Facebook and I have found that there are a lot of librarians that use Facebook. It has been nice to meet new people and to reconnect with people that I had lost touch with. I probably do not spend as much time on Facebook as other people do, but I have found that I like the idea of being connected to others.

I think that librarians need to realize that social networks are one way that kids communicate and that blocking kids from using social networks only hurts the library. A report from OCLC shows that people support libraries mainly because of how they percieve libraries, not necessarily because they use libraries. If kids have bad experiences with libraries, how do you think they are going to perceive those libraries once they are adults? Just a thought.

Facebook - LibrarianInBlack

The LibrarianInBlack just posted this. See, patrons think it is cool when their library has a presence in social networks.

My local library, the San Rafael Public Library, now has a Facebook page. A kind tech-savvy patron created it for the library and is maintaining it for them as well. The page has been up for a couple of months now and is going strong. They have photos, links to key services, and upcoming events listed on the site. It's a great way to stay up to date with what's happening there.

It was featured in our local newspaper, the Marin Independent Journal: "San Rafael Library joins social networking site Facebook." The story was even picked up by Business Week!

Interestingly, the writer contacted several of us who were fans of SRPL through Facebook's messaging system asking for comments for the article. I thought that was pretty darn neat. I was quoted briefly as were others. I am thrilled my small local library has a page. They have over 50 fans already with minimal publicity until this article. So cool!

Home on the Range

Home on the Range
Originally uploaded by SD Book Woman

Heavenly Days! With help from a colleague I was able to post this trading card. The problem was that I was using a different Yahoo login for flickr. Once I used the same login it worked. This is where I use to live. I think it is what is called a fixer-upper.

Office 2.0

I have decided that I like Google Docs best. I looked at Zoho, but did not like the features as well as in Google Docs. I can think of numerous uses for Google Docs.
1. Working on a presentation with a colleague
2. An address list for my 36 cousins that they can update as needed
3. Working on a grant application with colleagues
4. Sharing a calendar
5. Helping my niece with her homework



I think that is a good start.

YouTube

Okay, I love YouTube. I have thought about several different ways we could use YouTube at our library. Rapid City Public Library has used YouTube to show the opening of their branch library, for storytime, and to highlight the numerous library programs that they provide. If people do not come into the library, how do you get the word out about what the library offers? YouTube is a great way to reach an audience that libraries are currently missing. My current favorite YouTube video is not about libraries, but rather about the fact that our new president is Irish. I am Irish, so I think this is great. Take a look here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xkw8ip43Vk.

Podcasts

I found a cool podcast called the Library Channel. The focus is more research libraries, but I still found it very interesting. You can listen to the September newsletter at http://podcast.com/show/53155/. I could see where librarie could use podcasts to promote library events or even to record library events (be sure to get copyright permission). I have added this podcast to my Bloglines. I will be interested to learn more about this podcast site.

More about Flickr

Thank you to Fabric and Books, who helped me with adding another blog to my Flickr account. I was able to do that, but I still could not post from Flickr to my Book Woman blog. According to Flickr the picture was posted to my blog, but it seems to have ended up in the black hole. I really can see a lot of uses for promoting my library using Flickr. I just have to figure out how to make Flickr work. I am now off to do the next lesson.

Flickr Tools

I liked the trading cards, but after I created some I could not post them to my blog. I will have to try again another day. I could see where you might use the trading cards for a teen program. I think I would use more of the tools for personal use, rather then library, but there are ways you could use the tools to promote your library.