Discover No. 16 – summing up

I was going to call this topic “The end”, but decided not to as it’s not the end.  There is so much more to discover.

There is now so much information out there.  Databases, news sites, sites of professional interest, image and video collections, social networking – the list goes on and on and on.   What has struck me about this program is how much “librarian-ness” there is.  Library workers select, organise and make available material.  That’s a fundamental of our work.  So many of these learning 2.0 tools help us with those same tasks in our personal information needs.  Hash tags, delicious, flickr, RSS feeds are all ways of organising information, and making it easier for us to sift through, and find those items of interest.

The other learning is that we don’t have to use it all.  Try it, like it?  Keep going.  Try it, don’t like it?  don’t use it.

Thanks Warren (and the team) for all your hard work

 

Discovery No. 15 – mobile phones

My life is in my mobile phone.  My calendar, both work and home, all my contacts, photos which I can upload to my netbook, my work email, and it makes and receives phone calls!   The only downside is that I am available 24/7, but I can always turn it off.

In public libraries, I think we should look at reaching customers where they are.  If 30% of teenagers have a mobile phone, we should try sending a text reminding them of a due date, marketing our programs and activities.  The teenagers I know are never without their mobile.  It could be worth a try.

Discovery no. 14 Online databases

As librarians, information experts, we need to do more than “google” if our information and reference services are to remain relevant. Skilled searching using online databases is a fundamental skill.

Discovery no. 13 – Social networking

I’ve been a FAcebooker for ages. It was a great way to keep in touch with my sons when they first went to university. Now I have a circle of friends. We share photos, emails and news from Australia to Turkey. Love it.

Discovery no. 12 – Web Video

Delightful waste of time!

Food for thought

I agree with the statement that social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate. The over-50s might not get it, but they don’t get mobile phones much either. And look how far they have come. It’s the pace at which change occurs that causes anxiety. YOung people accept it, live with it, and learn to love it, because they don’t really question it. It’s just there.

Discovery no. 11 Google docs

Again, useful for people on the move all the time. Students particularly would find it valuable to share documents collaboratively. On our recent overseas trip, my husband was asked to prepare a referees report for a young friend. We used google docs, through my google account to complete the document and send it back to Australia. Completely gets over the problem of formats. Excellent

Discovery no. 10 – online collaboration

Not a great fan of Wikipedia. See artlicle http://lisnews.org/wikipedia_victim_its_own_success

Discovery No. 9 – Connecting online

SMS – love it! And the only way to get your children’s attention. Here’s a tip – if you want to get an answer – make sure there’s a question mark at the end of the message.
Have used IM via facebook. This is a fairly recent addition to the facebook account and very useful for having short conversations with friends. I found it very useful when overseas recently.

Discovery No. 8 Keeping track

Delicious and Digg are another way to keep order. What I like is the way you can access your account from any computer. Especially useful for travellers who may access computers in many places – even public libraries. Not especially useful for me as I keep very few bookmarks.