Thing 12 IM @VBPL

My experience with VBPL was great. The librarian answered all of my questions promptly. I think if staffing is adequate IM and reference work can go hand in hand. I would hope that at some time in the future we would have the ability to have people working reference anywhere at anytime.

I don't know what percent of the population uses IM, however, I think we need to provide the service regardless. We reach the world with our website and we need to consider that there are a lot of people who may like to contact us this way. I recently contacted a library in another state using IM because I knew that they would readily have the information that I needed.

Thing 11 IM

I think libraries have to consider all forms of technology if we are to meet the needs and expectations of our customers. Many people use different ways of communicating with family and friends and expect those same venues to be available in other areas of their lives. Library users are no different. If we are going to be attractive to teens, for example, we need to reach them where they are. That definitely means that IM needs to be a part of the service we offer.

One of the articles addressed our hesitancy once upon a time to use the telephone to do reference work. Libraries have always found ways to incorporate technology into our way of doing business. We should be able to do this without losing business or sacrificing the quality of service we provide. IM can be a start for someone who might never consider going into a library. If a question can't be answered using IM then the customer can come into the library and go from there.

Thing 10 - The Hunt for the Perfect RSS

I have done quite a bit of experimenting with the RSS feed searches. I have bloglines as my feeder so one of the easiest ways to add feeds is simply by using there search and subscribe method. I have also ventured out into the wild wild web and found plenty of feeds at some of my favorite spots. This process was also very easy.

So far I am enjoying every aspect of Learning 2.0 very much. I can see how the feeds will save me a lot of time that I normally would have spent searching. I'm usually at least with the curve when it comes to technology, but I can't believe I have waited until now to get the full benefit of blogs and RSS feeds!

Thing 9 - RSS Feed for Thought

Setting up the bloglines newsreader was easy to do. I need to find out if there is a way to narrow the information that comes to me. I am still working on that aspect of the RSS feeds. This will be a very helpful tool for both work and pleasure. I am a newsaholic - it goes all the way back to Walter Cronkite and that 15 minute newscast we would receive back in the day. I think it's crucial to keep up with all aspects of the news. So I look forward to reading the feeds on a frequent basis.

I have to add that I was amazed that the paper in my hometown - a rather small city now - is complete with several blogs and RSS capability.

Things 6, 7, 8 - Let the Blogfest Begin!

I've looked at blogs in the past but prior to today I have never created one. The potential is endless and I'm looking forward to new ways to use blogs in my life. I'm continually amazed at the possibilities for blog subjects.
I like how easy it is to make changes to the blog and to customize it. I will be adding things to it as I go along. My latest addition is the list of favorite blogs.

Things 4 & 5

So far Library Web 2.0 is keeping my busy, but at the same time I am having a lot of fun and learning a lot of new things. Web 2.0 is the future. The process so far reminds me of posting to whiteboards during graduate school. I often find myself thinking about how technology would have shaped my early education - had it existed at the time. Keeping in mind that "at the time" electric typewriters were the thing to have! I constantly marvel at the way new technology not only changes the way we learn and live, but that so many new inventions can crop up. I would have thought, at one time not so long ago, that we would have seen it all. Ha!

Having been a teacher in another lifetime, I have to think about the impact that Web 2.0 has on the training of current and future students. Oddly, I don't wish I were a young student now. I think I'm at the perfect age to both continue learning and to learn in a totally new and exciting way.