#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

Thoughts on: Rick Anderson - Away from the “icebergs” - the idea of not having a physical collection ('just in case' collection) but providing access to information when it is required.

Public libraries are a different case from academic libraries. People borrow books for leisure reading. This could change when a comfortable-to-view book reader is developed.

If a shift like this were to occur there would still be a role for librarians. In fact there would be a bigger role in locating and reviewing materials. For example if we didn't have junior non-fiction books, we would have to be able to guide children and parents to materials. If they are downloading without using the library this will be a real challenge and we will have to find other ways to make ourselves relevant. We would need to market ourselves more to attract remote users.
For example work with council childhood development programs to promote library services to parents.
There will still be the equity issue - we now provide internet access for those who can't afford it. Unless everyone is provided with a book reader/ 'universal device' there will still be people wanting to borrow books, look at the reference collection. Perhaps we could lend out gadgets - however this creates problems with maintenance, cost.

A compromise might develop where we have copies of valuable and popular books and can digitally acquire others.

#14 TEchnoRATi

Learning 2.0 as a phrase: 969 results.
Learning 2.0 in tags: 660 posts.
Learning 2.0 in the directory: 758 blogs.

This last is probably the most useful because rather than the phrase appearing here or there, or in one post, the whole blog has been indexed as being about 'Learning 2.0'.

The popular blogs: unsurprisingly a lot of them are on IT/Internet issues - lots of incidences of 'tech', 'gadget', 'hack' and 'geek' in the titles! Then various ways to make money online/ scams, followed by a sprinkling of other interests and US political sites.

#13 del.icio.us

Being able to access favourites from any internet-linked pc is very useful. This also relates to the idea of the 'single device' that we heard so much about in library school. ie a wireless net-linked pc/phone - without software. Instead we will use software that is available free or pay-per-use on the web. No more upgrading!

Also on del.icio.us I found some authors' pages - so if you are interested in a topic you can possibly find an author on there and then look at what he/she has bookmarked.

#12 Rollyo

I really like this tool. It's great for simultaneously searching sites you use a lot. See my search rolls over there on your right. The 'book search' roll searches my two favourites, Abebooks and Amazon.com. It needs some tweaking, at the moment the results are too broad.

#11 All about LibraryThing

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

The most interesting features for me are the users with similar libraries:

Profile>Connection News>Top 50 similar libraries

and the recommendations and reviews.

More Play...
This is a 'movie' I created in Windows Movie Maker, using my photos and copyright free sounds from the internet.

#10 Play around with Image Generators

My favourite generator:

Evening Standard Headline Generator





















This is the way I think anyway!

Christmas Scientists 'Doomed'

Maniac Machine in London Churches


iPod playlist generator:

#9 Finding Feeds

At first I found Topix confusing because I thought it was about searching for 'topics' ie subjects, yet the text around the search box seems to suggest that it is for local news searches. I wanted feeds about new/ organic architecture. The index didn't help. I tried a search on 'architecture' however this was too broad (although I did find a great site, 'Science Fiction in the News':http://www.technovelgy.com/). Then I tried 'organic architecture' and found some interesting articles. On the results page there are a few advanced search features.

#8 RSS

Link to my Bloglines page:

http://www.bloglines.com/public/Axolotl-Feeds

#7 - blog about technology

I've always loved gadgets and new technologies and by playing around with them I can usually get them to work. On the other hand...computers are so all-pervasive it can seem like everyone is staring at a screen all day. As librarians the internet is very useful, we need to consider it as well as other sources. But not to the exclusion of other sources.
On that note, there have been ads recently for Optus and Telstra broadband which, while funny, suggest that you can get the 'right answer' quickly and easily if you just have internet access. Some of them openly state that it's better than going to a library, so maybe we need to promote our skills better. (Though public libraries don't quite have Telstra's advertising budget). At the same time we need to be relevant by embracing new technologies.
One new product I wish we offered is downloadable audiobooks. I have read a lot about these in the US Library Journal. A library service subscribes to the vendor, just like a database, and library users can log in with their card number and download MP3 recordings.

Perhaps in the future we will need to review, and provide guides to online content as another information service?

thing #6 - mashups

I've had a look at a few different mashups. Some of them are great fun to play with, and useful for visual artists or people looking for inspiration. Trip Planner is also inspiring - for people like me who want to go back overseas as soon as possible!
You can upload your travel photos from Flickr to let other people view your trip. You can also plan a trip by searching the maps and the trips that other people have documented - kind of like a collaborative travel guide. Below is the link to a trip I want to take.


My trip so far:
http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-view-1347015-ancient_greece_tour;_ylt=AoWisUy_vObHRN.NsvCkphxSfMgF

#5 flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13928659@N08/

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