I'm glad to have finally created my 'mashup'. I had put it off for a while as I thought it would be alot harder to do, but it was so easy. I chose my photo from Flickr and used the 'motivator'application on 'big huge labs' to create the mashup.

It was great looking at how mashups can be used on google maps. There are some real innovations out there. I was also impressed with VoiceThread and thought that this was really applicable to libraries. You could have experts comment on digitised objects from the collection enabling online clients to have a greater appreciation of our collection.

The photo I used for my mashup is Lego People by Scoobay and is on Flickr

Podcasts

Looking at podcasts this week I can see how they are a great way to engage with clients and staff. Particularly as everyone has different learning styles and listening to information/presentation can often be preferable than reading from the screen.

This technology seems to be already used quite widely for presentations, seminars, radio shows etc. I noticed that many libraries were using podcasts for story telling which is something I had not thought of. I also came across an interesting library podcast that was like a library radio show and interviewed librarians about their projects and/or work. This could be a way to use podcasts for staff to share ideas and update other staff on projects in the library.

Podcasts could also help clients, informing them as of new resources or resources relevant to different study areas.

social searching

After having a look at social searching this week and found it quite interesting. I am a big fan of 'amazon' and always find the 'what customers bought' links quite good (I have found many good reads that way). I find the reviews good also however I don't necessarily find them indicative of whether I will enjoy the book or not and they are usually so varied anyway but always interesting to read. If I had the time I would love to contribute to these reviews also as it is a great way to share thoughts and opinions with others around the world.

This is yet another way to connect with our clients and I know many public libraries review books on their websites and encourage clients to do the same. This could provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing amongst clients who are researching a specific topic. However I suppose another side to this is that ratings and reviews are always subjective and each individual really needs to judge for themselves whether it is useful for their inquiry/research - but it can definately lead in the right direction.

I think it is fantastic that librarians are answering queries on answer boards and it is always interesting to see the types of questions people are asking (which, after looking at yahoo answers, it seems is pretty much anything and everything). It's useful that the answers are rated also as this is good feedback for the librarian and highlights their valuable skills in finding information which people may not have necessarily know about, so great promotion of library services too!

Tagging and Folksonomies

As I love a good book I am really enjoying Library Thing. I only wish that I had more time to add more of the books I've read. I am always curious to see what others are reading and what they think about it too so I will definately revisiting this site.

I think that tagging and folksonomies are a great idea for libraries as they are really useful for clients. Natural language browsing and searching would be much easier for the typical library user than using controlled vocabulary. The tag clouds that we discovered in this weeks activity shows how user friendly they can be. An application that springs to mind is making a tag cloud for our internet links such as Sutherland Shire libraries have done.

YouTube

Exploring online videos this week has been great fun, however mildly frustrating as the video kept stopping every few seconds. I can easily see how online videos could be applied to our work, especially after looking at how some other libraries are using them. There seems to be no end to ideas for using this technology. I liked the video from New Jersey State Library interviewing clients on what they used the library for and thought this was a fun way to engage with clients. I also think having a virtual tour of the library for interested clients is another great way to engage. The HSC art express video made me think about what we could do with our exhibitions. Interviewing curators and artists would add an extra dimension to the exhibition and be another way to promote them.

Another application might be to have online videos set up on our site to introduce new users to our services. Also having videos aimed at particular client groups outlining resources available could be useful. I attended a seminar recently where we saw YouTube videos put together by a teacher librarian for HSC students as part of the "All My Own Work" program. The librarian filmed various teachers talking about the different aspects of the program (each about 30secs to 1 min) and how students can make sure their work is all their own. I thought this was a great idea for engaging with secondary students on an important issue.

RSS

This week I have been exploring the world of RSS feeds. I already have a Bloglines account with a variety of feeds but have eagerly added more this week. I found LibraryBytes a good professional development feed to add due to the fact that it not only contained relevant information but was also presented in an interesting style. I am also enjoying receiving the 'photo of the day' and have subscribed to some interesting food/cooking blogs.



RSS feeds are such a easy way to keep up with trends in the industry as well as with outside interests. As it's all in the one place it saves so much time and can be something to look forward to checking in the work day. RSS feeds could have many applications for library staff. For example with my job researching I use RSS feeds from different databases to alert me to when an new article is available on a certain topic Eg. the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Collection services staff could use RSS to alert them to new publications and catalogues from suppliers. I'm sure there are many more ideas for this technology.