Finding a Book with the Card Catalog

Podcast - Card Catalog

This MP3 Podcast is designed especially for the Society of the Four Arts Children's Library.  It is an overview for using the Card Catalog (same as my PowerPoint and Prezi Presentation topic).

Children (and parents) visiting the Children's Library for the first time are usually surprised to find a card catalog and even more surprised when they are told that is an up-to-date catalog and how we currently search for books.  I want users listening to the podcast to understand the pink labeled drawers are for them to search.  All cards (title, author, & subject) are sorted alphabetically.  The call number on each card tells the location of the book.  And, catalog cards tell more about a book than just location!

To listen to this Podcast click here.

Web 2.0 - by Samantha Crawford

When looking at the items included in a “23 Things” developmental program the following online tools are included:  Blogs, Building Community & Widgets, Online Podcasting, Photo and Image Generators, Productivity Tools (like Google Docs), RSS Feeds, Social Bookmarking, Wikis, and YouTube (Lemmons, 2009).  Those online tools are all part of Web 2.0 which is becoming a regular part of libraries.  This inclusion can be through patron or student instruction, community networking, colleague or staff collaborations, and programming. 

Before looking at the implications of Web 2.0 there are drawbacks to be familiar with.  As stated by Luo, the use of these tools brings technical challenges (2009).  Librarians, library instructors, and all Web 2.0 users (including library patrons or the students in a school library) need to have significant technical understanding and various computer skills to use the tools effectively (Luo, 2009).  Time is also a factor (Luo, 2009).  Everything takes time including the continued development and management of Web 2.0 tools.  Also, vandalism was a drawback Luo included with the use of Web 2.0 tools (2009).  With the concept of Web 2.0 being a collaborative resource, vandalism could be a problem.  Users can comment on all posts, add tags, include hyperlinks, add video, and much more; this can be used for learning and sharing amongst library users but one could also include items or text that are not appropriate, delete materials, or manipulate parts of the tools. 

Librarians need to be knowledgeable of the implications for Web 2.0.  Educational implications include the need for professional development of library staff.  Also, librarians can use Web 2.0 to engage students and improve learning (Luo).  Blogger, Google Docs, Delicious, and Wikis are all Web 2.0 tools that I have found appealed to me as a student and did facilitate not only my individual learning but also collaborative learning through sharing with my peers.  Informational implications include an understanding of all the tools available to users.   Librarians should continual educate themselves when it comes to Web 2.0; this means they should be experimenting with the many tools themselves! Tools with an “s”, it’s not enough to just understand one or two of the Web 2.0 tools.  One information literacy implication is for librarians to include tools in order to increase student participation, interest, and learning in lessons or activities; “the accessibility and functionality Web 2.0 tools have made them appealing as instructional vehicles” (Luo, 2009, p. 32).  Another implication is for librarians to choose which tools are a better fit for their library (Fredrick, 2011).  Librarians need to look at the “educational significance, physical format, functionality, readability, and technical quality” of tools (Fredrick, 2011, p. 36).  Social implications of Web2.0 are that the tools make it possibility to converse “online” with peers or other users with a common interest.  Libraries can use Web 2.0 to keep their staff, patrons, new users, or others collaborating, conversing, sharing, and learning from one another.

In conclusion, Web 2.0 is the future.   No, it’s now!  Public, school and all libraries can utilize Web 2.0 for their specific users needs.  This may be through public blogs, a social bookingmarking account in which tags are added to favorite online resources, a post with podcastings of book readings, or a collaborative Wiki used for students to complete a group assignment.  Talk and listen to library users, find the tools best for your library, and continue to expand the use of Web 2.0!   

References

Fredrick, Kathy. (2011). A fleet of freebies: Choosing web 2.0 tools for a school community.  School Library Monthly, 27(8), 37-38.  Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database.

Lemmons, K. (2009).  Skill of the month: Professional development. School Library Monthly, 26(3), 22-23.  Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database. 

Luo, L. (2009). Web 2.0 integration in information literacy instruction: An overview. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(1), 32-40.  Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text database. 

Facebook Account

The West Palm Beach Public Library

http://www.facebook.com/westpalmbeachpubliclibrary?sk=wall

I decided to use a local library’s Facebook to blog about.  This Facebook Account is regularly updated. These wall posts include upcoming programs, cancellations, and community education resources such as a post about job search resources and computer lab help. 

I like the information link with a map to find the library.  I also enjoyed looking at the photos.  I wish there would have been more albums. For instance, I know the library has a Polar Express event each December and uses the city trolleys (like the train), which travel their regular route (5 or 6 stops) in downtown West Palm Beach, FL.  I would have loved to have seen some behind the scenes photos for this event.  A suggestion I have to make this account more user friendly is including a monthly listing with the events link.  Viewers need to go to the West Palm Beach Public Library Homepage to see which events are coming up.  It would be convenient to include the events here, too.

QR Code

Here is a QR code to my first blog created for a previous class.

Bookmarking

Here is the link to my, currently in progress, Delicious account...
http://www.delicious.com/SamCrawford

10/2/11 - additional note on Delicious

I finally finished my Delicious Account.  Now, at first I decided I just wanted two tags - Web2.0Examples & UsingWeb2.0.  This was to organize the two types of links I was adding.  Then, I was reviewing the RSS Feeds and viewing some of my fellow classmates postings.  I decided I wanted to add more tags.  Then, I became a little frustrated.  Once a tag is attached there doesn't seem to be a way to delete or edit just one tag.  This issue occurred due to quick typing or another mistake, like not adding a capital or an "s" that I wanted to change and could not; I would edit, delete tags, save and when I went back to my main delicious page the unwanted tags were still there.  I ended up deleting three links and re-saving them. [One link - the New York Public Library Facebook - still has a tag I would like deleted; it has both Web2.0Example and Web2.0Examples and I would like it to only have Web2.0Examples.  This way when viewing my page one can narrow down with Web2.0Examples and all five of these links will be together and then one can narrow down further.]  Maybe someone has a different way to edit these tags I don't know about.  If you know how I can delete the "Web2.0Example" tag without deleting the whole link please comment here.  Thanks.
I understand our tags will bring others to the links but it would be nice to change or delete a single tag on a link.  It is easy to add them --- lots of them!

Creating a Blog

I wanted to add a post to begin Module 3.  This is the second time I've blogged - I created a blog for a previous class.

I thought the design with the books was very fitting for Preparing Instructional Materials.

Sam