Thing 17 - Elm Productivity

The webpage option is a nice way to keep all your resources together will all the information needed to properly cite the source and an easy way to get back to the articles for further reference.

Having a shared account would allow multiple staff members to research a project and add their notes and recommendations in one easy location.

They are great for research for school or personal interests. A source for reliable information that is easy to search and use advance search options to narrow your search results.

Thing 16 - Assignment Calculator

I liked both of these tools for the information available to help students narrow their topics - a task that seems difficult for them. I did like how the Assignmnet Calculator also included sources related to the general topic for further research that students can count on for accuracy instead of just hoping they find the right information in a Google search.

Also having a time line on how long to spend on the different parts can be very helpful to keep students on track to complete an assignment on time.

Thing 15 - Online Games and Libraries

I played the first round of Puzzle Pirates and it was interesting to see the interaction. I had to wonder if they have people working or some type of software program that coaches the beginners, since it seemed to be able to tell I didn't know what I was doing and told me where to click and move to to get started, continue the game and how to go ashore and spend my winnings! While it was entertaining, besides possible "gaming" competitions I dont know how you would use it as a library.

Second Life I do find very interesting but very time consuming. From what I have read it is very exciting what other libraris are doing there but again it is a team of people working together and they still are not as far as they would like to be. I don't know how or if a small library would want to compete with that. I think it would be better to refer people there if interested and participate if you have the time.

Thing 14 - Library Thing

I think LibraryThing is great for a small library, like our church library. A very easy way to make an accessible catalog for very little money. I especially liked the forum for librarians interesting and helpful.

I like the widget for the blog but I am a bit confused on why a public library would use it to take people away from their catalog. It is interesting the information LibraryThing has available about books, but there is not a way for a patron to request a copy of the book once they get there or an easy way to get back to the pubic library website to request it.

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

I have been using the "My Yahoo" as a home page for awhile now. I have my page divided into 3 columns, the first is for library related RSS feeds, the middle column has an entertainment focus, and the 3rd is calendars, weather, and other links. It is my homepage on my home computer. It is relatively easy to use, I can sort the topics I am interested in and access it anywhere.

I liked the backpack concept for keeping lists and a calendar on one site. However, I am not willing to pay the minimum account price of $7 a month for that combination.

Both the online calendars and lists would be great for a librarian that worked in several different buildings of for a library staff to share data. I don't believe I would use the list websites myself though, they seemed more time consuming than helpful.

I do like the 30 boxes calendar, it was easy to use and I have added it at the bottom of the blog. It would however, require a change in thinking about how I use a calendar for it to be useful. I am used to the large desk calendar that I can easily scribble on and cross things off even if it is a couple of days later. And it is always in my face at work so I can't ignore it or forget about it!

Thing 12 - Social Media Sites

I understand it is important to stay on top of current events to understand what is going on in the world and to be able to patrons questions about those topics. However, I do not think spending a lot of time reviewing these sites would really be that helpful. I could see haveing the sites listed as something to look at when I have absolutely nothing else to do and had time to kill!

I would definately say these tools could easily be a distractor with all the funny and unusual and articles that may be from less than reliable sources.

I have heard of Digg before and seen the icons on websites but this is the first time I have experimented with any of them. I really don't see the value of the tools in a library setting besides the general exposure to news in the world.

Thing 11 - Tagging & Del.icio.us

I think del.icio.us would be a great tool for teaching or research however, I felt overwhelmed by the volume of links available on the public library sites that were included in the resource section. Having your bookmarks avaiable online would also be a great resource if you traveled between libraries as part of your responsiblities or worked from home.

I have used del.icio.us to set up links about the City of Hibbing at http://del.icio.us/Hibbing sort of a one stop shop for bookmarks on websites related to Hibbing. As a library though I think you would have to be very careful that the links you included were helpful, easy to access, organized and not overwhelming. I think the Menasha Library is a better example with the text descriptions instead of the dewey decimal system the San Mateo library is using as tags.

I also know I had a hard time limiting my tags to one word and I noticed Menasha would put two words together for the tag and it made sense. i.e. popculture

I did look at furl, but I thought the site was a bit slow and was dissapointed that I could search for a tag but could not see what other tags had been attached to a specific article.

Thing 10 - Wikis

I think wikis are a great way to collaborate on a project and an easy way to make a website. They also would be a better more flexible way to maintain standard operating procedures type document for a library. It would be easy to update and has the option of sending emails out when it has been changed, to keep staff informed.

I think wikipedia is interesting information and a good starting point for information but that information should be verified. One good reason for this is what one of our summer interns told us their knowledge bowl team did. During the part of the competition that allows for research on the internet, the first thing they do is plant false information on wikipedia to try and trick other teams into answering wrong!

I edited the 23 things on a stick wiki. I built a new page about Hibbing and added a list of all the current pages to the sidebar.

I do already maintain a pbwiki for the National Church Library Association listing book reviews. However, that site tends to be rather fickle when I am updating information so I plan to look at the Zoho wiki a little more to see if that one is easier to edit. http://nclareviews.pbwiki.com/

Thing 9 - Online Collaboration Tools

Welcome to Zoho Writer

Your Word Processor on the Web

This is a test for how well Zoho Writer works. I have used Open Office but this is really convenient to have a web based word processing software available with your documents any where you have internet access. a great way to back up data that does not require a secure environment.

The information above is text from my Zoho writer document. I also created a zoho wiki at:

http://chrismag08.wiki.zoho.com/

These are great tools to use when working as a team on a project. Especially if it is something system wide where all the team members are not located in one building.

The online storage of documents with Google and Zoho would also be great for staff that rotate between buildings or work from home - if the data is not private. I don't know how comfortable I would feel about storing files about staff or patrons online like this.

Thing 8 - slide shows and presentations

The slide shows would be a fun easy way to make a website look more dynamic. See the left sidebar for my Flickr badge.

The eFolio site was easy to use but I am used to the software as it is the same as our city website. It may not be as intuitive for someone who has never used it before. This seems like a more professional way to promote yourselves in the business world, especialy compared to myspace or facebook.

My eFolio - chrismagnusson.efoliomn1

I was disappointed that the Lazybase was not working but I know another staff member has had problems with the code from that site breaking her blog. That would be a neat tool to have available if it worked properly. I could see making a list of my favorite restaurants to share with people visiting the area or upcoming library classes and events.

The Flickr slideshow and badges were easy to use and I would recommend those but the other two tools were not as user friendly or did not work at all so I don't know that I would recommend them.

Thing 7 - IM, Texting, Webinars

Instant messaging would be a great tool for internet based reference. However, I do see it being limited by staff being available and willing to do it. Since the only desk staff a staff person is at constantly through out the day is the public service desk, it would definitely have to be something all staff would be willing to use.

Text messaging is a great tool for me personally to communicate with my 20 year old son. He does not like to talk on the phone so it is a great way to stay in touch without annoying each other! I also have just tried the google service. I can see that would be useful searching for phone numbers or restaurants and businesses when on the road. However if you don't have a data plan it could get expensive!

Webinar's are a great learning tool without haveing to travel to the presenters location. Allthough they can be difficult to participate in while at work, since it is easy to get distracted by work responsibiliites. Having a quieter location to participate in a webinar is a very good thing.

Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

1 - Email is an incredible tool but it can be overwelming. I rely on my spam filters quite a bit to filter out the truly unimportant. It can take time to train the filter to work well since spammers change their addresses so much. But I also find it helpful to filter by subject. That way I can get rid of all the "out of office" sent back to lists I subscribe too. Now if I could just find time to read the interesting but not required for work email!

Thing 6 - Online Image Generators - Image Chef

This could be a fun way to do a puzzle comntest to see if people could figure out a book title or character from the abbreviation on a license plate.

Thing 6 - Online Image Generators

This is something that could be used to promote Bob Dylan days or new books if you had permission to use a book cover this way.

This was definately something fast and easy to do!

Thing 5 - Spelling with Flickr

Spelling with the photos like this would be a fun way to promote your mystery collection or a teen event.

Thing 5 - Making a puzzle from flickr photos

My creation, originally uploaded by Chris Mag.

A photo by a local Hibbing artist.

This could be a fun way to promote your library with puzzle give aways featuring your library on a puzzle, depending on the costs of the actual puzzles.