Web 2.0 applications (England)

I have written some prayers that will be included in a book due to be published next year but would love to have a whole book so I had a good look at Lulu. It looks easy enough to use but it is a bit hard to evaluate without actually publishing a book and I don't have one lying around. This site may be an option if I ever get round to writing a whole book and can't find a publisher. I would certainly recommend it to any of my friends who are thinking of writing a book (not a vast pool of people but there is one!).There were some other interesting sites on the list but probably none that I would use on a regular basis. I found all sorts of interesting things at .Docstoc. I could have done with it a couple of years ago when my son often asked me to set him maths problems! I liked the sound of Mango to learn or brush up a foreign language prior to travelling but discovered you had to pay. Apparently libraries can subscribe so their members can use it. That would be cool but probably unlikely. Boo is another potentially useful site when planning travel. It has hotel and bar details along with photos, weather and general city reviews. The main drawback to this site is that there isn't a section for attractions. I may use this next time we are planning a trip.I loved One Sentence - lots of true (supposedly) stories told in a single sentence - a great time waster.

RSS Feeds

I have been using iGoogle for over a year so was interested to compare it with Google Reader. I think I prefer iGoogle. I like being able to have different types of feed on different pages and the pictures add interest. I think Google Reader may be better for news then iGoogle as you can see all the new headlines whereas iGoogle you set how many items you you want to see from each which is great for blogs but probably not so good for news (unless you set the limit fairly high).
I use iGoogle all the time for keeping up with my favourite blogs but I like the fact that if I don't look at at it for a few days (or weeks) there are only the latest posts there and I don't feel guilty about the ones I missed.
Libraries can use RSS by putting feeds on their website - new books, events etc. Apart from personal professional development I can't think of another way to ue RSS in libraries.

Photo Sharing

I do have a Flickr account but I haven't used it much and couldn't remember my password. I decided to see what images there are of libraries. I already knew of the group that aim to take a picture of their library every day so thought there would be plenty of images to choose from. I came across Erik who has a series of images of 'Beautiful libraries'. I really like this shot because of the odd angles http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/2254208405/in/set-72157603863752660/

The Amazing Challenge - Brazil

My library is running 'The Amazing Challenge' to help staff get up to speed with various Web 2.0 technologies. The first task was to find out more about lifelong learning. In particular we looked at the 7 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners . The first habit was to to set goals for your learning. Accordingly, my goals for The Amazing Challenge are:

• Learn more about Web 2.0
• Explore the potential of web 2.0 technologies for improving or adding to existing library services
• Have fun
  
  

Usability testing for libraries - possible research topic?

Moira Fraser Says: June 19, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I like this idea. Another idea that I have advocated to public libraries before is the use of usability testing which is also commonly used for websites. At the core – you create 10 common tasks that people come to the Library for – things like find a book about …; read today’s newspaper from another main centre etc. and then you measure whether they can complete the task satisfactorily. You also observe them undertaking the task and ask some open-ended questions at the end to understand more about their experiences. It’s very useful at uncovering the things that we don’t notice because we are familiar and comfortable in libraries, but which cause library users real difficulties.
from http://diligentroom.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/what-would-rodney%e2%80%99s-mum-think/

Disaster plan

I raised the subject of the Library disaster plan at the staff meeting this morning. Apparently one was drawn up at the time the library was being reorganised (in 2006) but nobody knew quite where it was (apart from the copy that one staff member kept off-site) and it was due for updating. As a result of me raising the issue, a copy was printed off to be kept in the Reference Desk Procedures manual and I was asked to be part of the team to update it.

Small task - disaster plans

The only plans I was able to find were the Library Pandemic Plan (reviewed 29/4/09), Bomb Threat Plan and Emergency Evacuation Plan. I knew about the last 2 because they had been covered during various training sessions but I didn't know about the Pandemic Plan. Obviously, if I didn't know about them, other staff probably don't either. They weren't particularly easy to find - I tracked them down in the document management programme. I'm sure the council has other disaster plans which would also apply to the library but I wasn't sure where to look. The Pandemic Plan specifies that it is in addition to the council pandemic plan. The plan seems both comprehensive and feasible.