whitebunnyrabbit

Publishing Evolutaion #84: Writer Communities and Author Websites

2010-04-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

I've never written to an author but I do enjoy visiting their websites. For this exercise I went to the websites of three of my favorite authors. The Anne McCaffrey website has a RSS feed and will receive emails to answer questions. The Nancy Atherton website lists the Aunt Dimity books in order and has all the recipes from each book. The Rita Mae Brown website has a newsletter that you can subscribe to. They all have biographical information, bookslists, mentions the new ones and book tours if planned. I enjoy learning a little about their lives and discover where they get their inspiration for the characters and stories.

I don't think that I have ever purchased or read a book that was published because it was voted most popular before it was "officially" published. That being said, a good book is a good book and it wouldn't matter to me if it went through that process.

Publishing Evolution#83: Paper to Pixels (or e-ink)

2010-03-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

In general, I like the printed page. I spend so much of my working time in front of a computer that I prefer the printed page when I'm reading for pleasure. The book is portable. Yes, I know the Kindle and such are also portable but it's not the same. I like the feel and weight of the book, the rustle of the newspaper and the glossy pages of a magazine. The one thing I do like about the Kindle, I've only seen them, is that the font size and type can be changed easily without having to change the "binding".

I will sometimes choose a paperback over a hardback but since I don't have a digital reader, digital books are not an option. Maybe one day. As to the price, no I wouldn't pay the same amount for the digital copy. I remember some of the same arguments bewteen vhs and 16mm film titles. "Paying to content not format."

I looked at ifiction and found the selection very limited but I sorta liked the idea of previewing. It reminds me of something I do with books, movies and such; scanning the first few pages of books and blurbs and reading the back of the DVD case. I don't think I would buy them. I might look to see if they were available to request from another library. I found "Henry Potty and the Pet rock", a Harry Potter parody listed in Worldcat.

Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand

2010-03-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

The various publishing sites look pretty much alike, the cost depends on what the author is will to pay. The cost of the books seems similar to traditionally published books. I looked at some of the titles that they offered but didn't find anything I would be interested in reading. We own one title from Author House. The author is a local man who calls almost every day to find out what his Amazon number is. It's been in the four million number range for a while. Barnes and Noble quit giving it a number several months ago.

I can see that these companies might be a good option for someone who as been trying to publish and has had a hard time finding a publisher. I know that on a rare occasion a self published book has found a large audience, Eragon comes to mind, but most of them don't seem to find one. I guess if I found a book that I really wanted to read and could get it from a reputable source, it wouldn't matter who published it.

Future of Media #81: Get Out Your Crystal Ball

2010-02-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

Of the media and developments listed, I think the fact that Wal-Mart is buying Vudu will probably have a great influence on the field in the next few years. The technology is changing so fast these days that it's a real guessing game, but anything that Wal-Mart gets involved in seems to make a big effect on the consumers.

I'm not a early adopter of technology. I once had a new VCR in a box for weeks before setting it up. I admit, if I find something that I like and it's easy to use, I stay with it. I don't jump on the bandwagon at the first appearance of a gadget. I generally wait a bit to let the developers work some of the kinks out of it first.

In the last 1980's I got a video player that produced the best picture quality of anything available. It was called the laser disc player. What the "new" format known as CD was to music, the LD (laser disc) was for movies, etc. At the time I was at WTLS in west Texas and one of he county libraries I worked with was the Midland County Public Library. The film librarian there was Anne Trout and she had a big collection of LD's. One of the titles she sent me to try was a Sear's catalog. It was interesting to watch. In-between the various catalog pages of clothes were style shows of the outfits. There was a machine that would play the threes sizes available: CD, 8 inch music videos and the 12 inch movies. I thought about getting one but at $1000.00 it was a little beyond my budget. The movies/documentaries were recorded on only one side and were 1/4 inch thick. I still have some of mine and yes, the player works just fine.

Future of Media #80: Movies

2010-02-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

The website Hulu was a bust for me. Neither my staff computer or a branch laptop could run any of the programs, movies or trailers because it need an Adobe Flash Player 10 update which I don't have and can't install. Hopefully Network Services will be able to update when they have the time. UPDATE: The Adobe Player was updated and I was able to watch part of a couple of movies and trailer. THANK YOU NETWORK SERVICES. I watched part of Star Trek VII: Generations and Ghostbusters. Over all I liked it but the one thing I wasn't fond of was that while watching the movies and trailers they would stop or slow down every few seconds to load more of the movie or trailer. One thirty second trailer took over three minutes to load.

I watched trailers on IMDB, Hulu and Youtube. They all did the same slow load but at Youtube it would replay at regular speed. I had mixed success on Apple Trailers, I was able to watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid but not anything else. The other trailers would stall at 2 items remaining. I might visit the sites to see what is going but I would probably go to Google and search by title and see what the search found and then choose a site.

As of now, I'm not really interested in joining a fee-based service. I have a friend who is home bound and her really like the Nexflix service.

Future of Media #79: Television

2010-02-17T15:31:00.001-08:00

I searched both Hulu and tv.com for West Wing and Highlander. West Wing wasn't listed at all on Hulu, whereas Highlander had all six seasons avalable to watch. Tv.com listed both but only had episode guides and forums.

My cell phone doesn't have the ability to view programs or movies. I've never watched a program on a cell phone and I don't think I would want to, the screen's too small.

I'm not really interested in watching a streaming program. The ones I looked at were too slow and didn't hold my interest.

Genealogy #70 Genealogy 2.0

2009-10-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's been fun to play with the MyHeritage site. I started a tree to see how it would look and I find it more interesting than the classic pedigree charts. I didn't do the Look-alike meter because I don't have a picture of my parents to download but that's OK. The only difference between me and my mom's baby pictures are the clothes we were wearing. I did a celebrity collage and got some interesting results. Do I really look like Bette Davis (a 49% match) or Katherine Heigl (a 55% match)? The highest match at 67% was with Ophelie Winter. The collage is at the bottom of the blog.

The site, Footnote, is for the hard core genealogist in my opinion. I can see how it would be helpful and very useful. The ability to share photos, documents and other info via the Internet is one of the great things about how the Internet can help genealogists.

Genealogy #69: Database Researching

2009-10-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

I did a search on members of my dad's family on Ancestry.com. I hadn't found much on LDS Family History Library which I thought was a little strange because I've found so much there in the past. On Ancestry.com I found census records from 1890 through 1930 that had various people and dates. I also found WWI military records and death records. It's not my first choice but it gave me some good information.

Genealogy #68: Detective Work

2009-09-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've been having mixed results with my "detective work". I couldn't get any of the Tejano Voicies oral history stories to play. I enjoyed reading Betty Skelton Frankman's interview from the NASA Oral History Project. She was an aviatrix and participated in the same NASA tests and training as the Mercury astronauts. She flew in aerobatic shows and appeared in shows with the Navy's Blue Angels.

I had mixed results searching the Find-a-Grave site. I first tried cemeteries that I knew had family members. But the cemeteries were so big that they didn't list the people who are buried there. So I decided to try something else. Before I came to HCPL I was at WTLS (West Texas Library System) headquatered in Lubbock. WTLS is the library system that services 29 counties in west Texas. The county next to Lubbock is Crosby and its countyseat is Crosbyton.

The Crosbyton Cemetery was established in 1909 and the oldest grave is for Henretta Richardson. According to her gravestone she was born on Feb. 24, 1914 and died just 4 days later on the 28th of February 1914.

Genealogy #67: Genealogy Genesis

2009-09-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

My family has been involved in genealogy work for decades. My mom's father hired a professional genealogist to work on his line back in the 1940's. My dad had several briefcases full of forms and charts for the various lines he was working on. After he retired he volunteered at a Family History Center and used the computer that connected to Salt Lake City to continue his search. He printed out every family chart he could find. I've done a little. We interviewed a couple of elderly sisters (one was 97 and the other 99 years old) and recorded their information. It was interesting to hear them talk. If one didn't remember a name or date the other one did.

As for advise, connect family members, there's a good chance that someone in the family may already be doing genealogy and would love to share. Be patience, it can go in spurts and just when you think the line's gone dry, something may happen and it starts flowing again. Keep good records and organize them. The more info you can get the better, especially if it included photos and stories. This helps the person to "come alive" and isn't just a name and some dates on a page.

Crafts and Hobbies #65 Coin Collecting

2009-08-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

My dad was a coin collector and I remember seeing all sorts of coins, both singles and sets. He bought mint sets of ours birth years for each of us and gave them to us. He also bought commemoratives and mint sets.

I remember having a penny collection as a child. I never did completely fill that blue folder, but it was fun going through the change trying to find the ones I needed. I did keep a few of the Texas quarters as souvenirs.

Both my brother and sister have been world travelers because of their work and have brought back money from the various countries they have visited. I have always found it interesting to see the variety and craftsmanship that are displayed in both the paper money and coins. Some designs make the US designs seem a little dull.

According to Google maps there are three coin dealers in Humble. I went to one a couple of years ago when I sold some coins. They used to Red Book to determine the prices. they had quite a selection of coins to choose from.

Crafting and Hobbies #66: Knitting and Crocheting

2009-08-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

It was interesting to read some of the history of both knitting and crocheting. I knew it had to have been around a while but I wasn't sure how long. I learned some of the basics as a child but the only person in my family who did either was a cousin that I rarely saw. I picked it up again while I was in Lubbock and knitted some scarfs and crocheted a couple of afghans. unfortunately I haven't kept up with it. This exercise has reawaken the interest.

We don't have a knitting group at Crosby and I'm not sure if we would have enough interest to start one. We have serveral women who do quilting though.

Pot Luck #57: TXT U L8R - Texting

2009-05-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

My experience with texting is very limited, i.e. I received one text during Ike and wasn't sure how to answer it. So, the exercise has been very helpful. The instructions were pretty clear and I think that I could text if needed. As far as texting and walking or driving. Maybe its just me, but I can't think of anything that would need to be said that couldn't wait until the conditions were safe. The only possible exception might be during an emergency.

Books, Readers and Beyond: #54 Social Networking Through Books

2009-03-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

We have had a book group at Crosby since 1994. It was started as an outreach project with the May Community Center in Huffman while it was still part of the Crosby service area. The Atascocita Branch opened in 1996. There was also a Ladies Book Group that met at the library but was not associated with it. Both groups continued to meet separately for a couple of years. The May Community Center group members would fluctuate but after a couple of years the numbers stabilized and for the most part not only were the same people in both groups but all of the ladies lived in Crosby. In 1996 when the May Community became very busy and had a hard time finding room for us, we combined the two groups and moved the group to the library. For the most part I've have lead the book group. Carolyn Allen lead it for a time but I took it back when her duties expanded and she didn't have enough time to devote to it. Personally, I like the opportunity to meet face to face to discuss the books.

The Crosby Book Group could almost be called a mystery themed group because that would cover the majority of the books. We have read in various genres from biographies, nonfiction, general fiction and classics, adult, young adult and children's but the most common genre is mystery. Suggestions are requested every month and I try to find books that will fill the requests. The one genre they will not read is romance, since most are widows I guess that makes a certain amount of sense. Sometimes they leave it up to me and I have used both NovelList Plus and ReadingGroupGuides for possible titles. For us, the book is always the starting point for the discussion. After that ... it could and often does goes anywhere.

For the last exercise I searched for the book Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey on both LibraryThing and Goodreads. In Librarything the book was owned by 3118 people and had an average rating of 4.02. On Goodreads, it was owned by 3554 and had an average rating of 4.09. The ratings are very similar with a comparable number of people which really didn't surprise me. Anne McCaffrey has been a very popular author for four decades and has a huge following.

Books, Readers and Beyond: #53 Finding Books Online

2009-03-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the last bookstore in Crosby closed a while back. So, the closest bookstores to visit for me are in Humble. The two main stores are Barnes and Noble at Deerbrook Mall and the Half Price Bookstore in Deerbrook Plaza. Both have websites. Barnes and Noble has a full range of materials from books, magazines, audios, DVDs, etc. Half Price Books has a combination of both new and used books along with used DVDs, VHS, audios, magazines, etc. Humble does have a couple of other used bookstores that I drive by on a regular bases, the Hard-to-Find Book Store and Ye Olde Book Shoppe, they are listed in the phonebook but only the basic information is listed on the web.

For the second exercise I choose the Anne McCaffrey book Dragonflight and searched for it on both Barnes and Noble and Amazon. At Barnes and Noble, the book was priced anywhere from $.01 to $13.95 depending on whether it was new or used. It was available in both abridged and unabridged audios with prices between $1.99 for abridged and used and $29.95 to $43.97 for unabridged. The MP3 on CD edition was $24.95. At Amazon, the prices were similar, anywhere between $3.88 to $13.05 depending on whether it was new or used. A leather bound copy is listed at $112.50. It is also available in both abridged and unabridged audios ranging in price from $9.98 to $49.95 and the MP3 on CD goes for $24.95. The Kindle edition is $5.95. There is also a limited graphic novel edition starting at $19.95.

For the third exercise I went to Bartleby.com and read part of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The site has a very limited list of titles and all can be considered classics. Pride and Prejudice was from the Harvard Classics series and included a biographical note, criticisms and interpretations by six people including Sir Walter Scott and Lord Macaculey. A list of characters preceded the individual chapters. I found the ads on each screen distracting and waiting for the screen to download the next chapter a little annoying. I did like the font, it was easy to read. I also read the same book on Project Gutenberg as a comparison. I looked at the plain text version of the book, which was in Times New Roman. I've never liked that font because it makes it hard to read over long periods of time. However, they did have a bigger and better selection. In general, I'm not fond of reading a book on a computer screen. I prefer the hard copy of a book. I like the ability of moving from location to location that a book offers. It's hard to cuddle up with a computer screen. Perhaps the Kindle would solve some of these concerns. It's portable and as near as I can tell, there are no ads moving on the screen. I was at the DPS recently and saw a woman reading from her Kindle as we were standing in line. She seemed to enjoy it. I used the plain text version because I couldn't download on the computers at work. I like the idea of downloading either to a MP3 or Kindle. I also like the idea of the Playaways. But, for now anyway, the selection is very small and the cost is similar to cd. Maybe one day...

Books, Readers and Beyond: #52 What to Read

2009-03-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

The first exercise was to find a Read-alike for a book. I choose Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight. Novelist Plus gave me another book by McCaffrey. Also listed was Monster's Legacy by Andre Norton and Child of an Ancient City by Tad Williams. I next went to What Should I Read Next? After typing in my author, I got a short list of possible titles including some by McCaffrey and Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey and Heritage and Exile: The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley. On Fiction_L Booklists, I was able to select books in the following areas: Genres, Character, Setting, Author, Audience, "Best of" lists and Miscellaneous. I chose "Genres" and after reading through the list selected "Fantasy Fiction with a Female Protagonist" since the main character in Dragonflight is Lessa. The list was a nice length and McCaffrey was listed again as was another book by Marion Zimmer Bradley, this time it was Mists of Avalon but not Tad Williams. There was one by Andre Norton entitled To the King a Daughter. The easiest way for me to find a read-alike was through Novelist Plus .

I used Novelist Plus to find the books for both the fourth grade girl and her thirteen year old brother. When I got to the site I selected age range of "Older Kids" and choose dogs, I found over 2300 titles listed including both fiction and nonfiction. Two of the books are: a nonfiction entitled The Right Dog for the Job: Ira's Path from Service Dog to Guide Dog by Dorothy Patent and a fiction book entitled Fun Dog , Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman. For her brother, after selecting "Teens" and ghost, I found Melvin Burgess' The Ghost Behind the Wall and All the Lovely Bad Ones: a Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn. Even though the site Read the Books was not listed in the posting, it is a database on HCPL. I was able to find various books for both of the siblings very quickly.

To find read-alike authors for the customer who liked Dean R. Koontz, I went first to Novelist Plus . After selecting "Author Read-alikes" I went to "Authors K-L" and clicked on Dean Koontz's name. I found a short article about him and some suggestions of other authors. Three of the authors listed are Dan Simmons, Greg Bear and Robert McCammon. The other site that I explored was What Should I Read Next? . After entering Dean Koontz's name I got a list of possible authors and titles. Three of those listed include: Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson and Phil Rickman.

For the final exercise I went to the Mid-Continent Public Library and searched for Tamora Pierce. The book, Alanna: the First Adventure is the first book in the Song of the Lioness quartet. The other titles in the series in order are: In the Hand of the Goddess, Woman who Rides like a Man and Lioness Rampart. The site Fantasic Fiction was real easy to use and gave me the info very quickly.

Spring Cleaning task #30: Take the load off Our Drives

2008-04-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it taken awhile but the archives are cleaned and the P and Z drives are looking good. I got rid of some old files and folders from 2004. The oldest files to go were from 2000. I'm keeping the inbox down to a workable number as well. It was amazing how much I found. It was so easy to just move an email to a folder and forget about it. The numbers added up real fast.

Spring Cleaning task #29: Email

2008-03-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

I have had a personal email account for a few years. In the past few weeks I've been in the process of reviewing my hcpl email account. I've forward some emails, deleted many and resubscribed to a few using my personal email . I still have a ways to go before my accounts are organized but I am making progress. I'm pretty good about keeping the current and recent email numbers to a minimum so my biggest project will be to go through the "archived" files.

Spring Clearing task #28: Don't Clutter

2008-03-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I've read the Getting Things Done article and it sounds like a good program. I've already started to review and weed my emails. I think it will be a long process, but a much needed one. I also read two articles on email and online simplicity. The article about becoming an email ninja was interesting and I will use some of the suggestions as well as some ideas from the Zen of Tech and the 12 ways to keep online life simple and peaceful. Both articles were listed under the Technology link on the ihcpl blog.

I've added both Google Calendar and Remember the Milk links to my Google account. I've never used on online calendar before so it should be interesting to try to keep it up to date. I like the idea of having online do - to- list and signed up for RTM. I choose it because it will work with the Google calendar. I also like the idea that Google Calendar and Outlook will work together. We'll see how all of these work.

February 2008 Sound: Making or Listening Together task #26

2008-02-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

I looked at several of the sites and frankly, I don't see myself using most of them. I'm not interested in creating a soundtrack or remixing songs. I refuse to use my cell phone as a radio. And I'm not interested in blogging with others about what type of music I listen to. I can see where these sites would be interesting and fun and I'm glade that they are available. I have enjoyed exploring imeem and pandrona. I've setup accounts and created playlists on both.

February 2008: Sound Downloading and Burning task #25

2008-02-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

Well, with a little bit of playing, I got the music that I had selected burned to a CD. Actually, I did it twice. Once by playing around and accidentally getting it setup to burn and once by following the instructions. Interesting. I used a CD-RW and discovered that the CD burner always asks for a blank disc. That's OK for now. I also learned how to delete a CD-RW and star over.

I don't like the DRM approach to "music sharing". It's too restrictive and too much in their favor. I like the idea that the EFF has about a reasonable monthly fee by way of a voluntary collective licensing agreement. It seems all parties with the exception of the lawyers would benefit.

I just got my mp3 player so I don't know how much I will be using it for music. That's not why I bought it but I'll just have to see. Since I have a cassette player in my car, I use it alot to listen to books on tape not music. I do buy CDs, mainly soundtracks. At this point I thank I will continue to buy and play both CDs and cassettes for the foreseeable future.

February 2008 Next Gen: Sound of Music task # 24

2008-02-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year and a new challenge. This month -- sound. I looked at some of the different sites for music downloads. Both free and fee. There seemed to be simular costs for most of the sites with the exception of Amazon. Most were monthly fees but Amazon allowed buying either the entire cd or choice of which tracks to buy. I just purchased a mp3 player but I didn't get it just to download music. I got one so that I could use the Overdrive book collection. I did download some music but I also downloaded a couple of talks that I will be using in some classes that I will be giving. I maybe the only person in Harris County who had trouble finding something to download on music.downloan.com. I guess I was trying to find someone too well known or I was looking in the wrong catagory.
I've listened to KODA on line off and on for the past year. I like to listen the podcasts of the Lifestyle Features thatI sometimes miss.
I found the two articles on password security very informative. It was very enlightening to review some of my passwords. I see some changes coming.

Week 10: task #23 Summary

2007-11-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

Wow this has been a fast, busy and rewarding eleven weeks! A lot was covered. Some of the topics I was familiar with, some the terms were familiar but that was about it. I enjoyed learning about Flickr and avatars. I understand blogs and RSS feeds better. I will continue to use some sites such as LibraryThing and Library Elf and Del.icio.us. I had heard of Youtube but until now had not spent much time exploring it. I understand why it's so popular and additive. I've enjoyed most of the exercises. I'm very glade I didn't have to do this alone. A few of the tasks were very frustrating and if it wasn't for the support and guidance, I might not have completed the course. Now, when do we get to try Amazon's Kindle???? Star Trek Next Generation here we come!

Week 9: Task #22 Downloadable Media

2007-11-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

I visited wowie and librivox and was a bit surprised by how limited they were. Wowie seemed to be very limited in what it had to offer and I got some strange "hits" from the searching. For Jane Eyre I got Jane Eyre and two books by Jane Rule, one book by Jane Simon and one book entitled Dead: with Dick and Jane 01. It was interesting that the librivox entry also linked to wikipedia entries of the book and Charlotte Bronte. I like the idea of books in public domain being available, but the practice of various people reading different chapters of the same book could be a bit problematic. I liked exploring the HCPL collections and I checked out one of the videos. I understand why the tutorial suggests that if using DSL to download one at chapter at a time because even on the staff computer it took some time to download.

Week 9: Task #21 Podcasts

2007-11-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

I spent some time perusing two podcast sites, podcast.net and podcastalley.com and found some interesting sites. I added a few movie and book review sites to my blog and well as a couple of library/ librarian news sites. I don't have a mp3 player yet but when I do, there's plenty of artists and titles to choice from.

Week 9: Task #20 Youtube and other video sharing sites

2007-11-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

I spent some time looking at the different video sharing sites that were listed. I saw dancing cats, hamsters and people. A musical version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a little strange but I liked the various comedies starring cats and kittens. The Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad brought back memories of libraries in the 1980's and how much public performance videos cost. As Time-Life was fond of saying when asked about the $350. 00 price of a VHS tape: "It's not the format but the contents." And I loved watching Cookie Monster and the Librarian.

Week 8: task #19 Web based apps

2007-11-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

I've enjoyed looking around in Zoho. It seems fairly easy to use and the toolbar is similar to Microsoft Office. I played with different size fonts and colors and added pictures among other things. I like the idea of not being limited to one computer or for the need to have a jump drive or disc to work on projects. And you can't beat the price! I will definitely be using it in the future. Thanks iHCPL for introducing me.

Week 8: task #18 Social Networking

2007-11-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

I've been reading some of the other ihcpl blogs and how they feel about social networking sites. I must admit that I feel much the same way. I can see where myspace and facebook and other such sites would be popular but I don't see me joining any of them. I tried myspace on a branch computer and maybe that was what turned me off to it. My first search was a general search using gender, age, etc. and I got tried of the screening page appearing after 4 or 5 pages and when I tried to go beyond the 10th screen the computer would reset and go back to the 1st page. It did this several times and it got very old, very fast. It was a little better when I tried a different route.

I looked at Yahoo 360. On one of the sites the blogger was explaining why she was leaving Yahoo 360 and moving everything to another site. It seems that she and many others have been having problems with the customer service team for over a year and wasn't getting any help. I did enjoy looking at catster and dogster. I grew up with cats and it was fun to see the various blogs. I always knew that pets become part of the family and can be just as important as a child. At lot of time and love went in to creating these sites.

Week 7: task #17 Technology

2007-10-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

The assignment of writing about technology got me thinking about how my library experiences have been effected by technology. I grew up in Dallas and went to the local DPL branch. When I was young they used a big hooded microfilm machine to record transactions. During Library School at TWU we went on a field trip to the main library to see at the only computer on campus -- the direct link that cataloging had to OCLC. I took a computer class and used the FORTAN computer language and IBM punch cards. They had to take the program packs to NTSU (now UNT) to run them. TWU got a computer the next year. After graduation I moved to Lubbock and began working at WTLS as the AV Consultant. For nine years I got to catalog 16 mm films and later VHS tapes in OCLC. The circulation department was using a microfilm machine without a hood. When I left in 1991 LCCL was deciding which computer circulation system to use. They were the last MRC to automate. Since I've been with HCPL I've used ALICE, CARL, Dynix and now Horizon. To say that I've seen some changes in how libraries use technology would be an understatement. If the past is any indication of what the future might hold, then I see libraries continuing to change so to help our patrons and communities to meet their changing needs. It truly is a field where life long learning is important and rewarding.

I've added comments to two blogs (ihcpl homework and whymustweblog). I loved the quotes that whymustweblog listed.

Week 7: task 16 Wikis

2007-10-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have used Wikipedia in the past. It was nice to learn about the history of the wikis and some of the ways that they are being used. I could see wikis being used to collect SRP program ideas, reading group suggestions and adult programming ideas. I logged in to the ihcpl wiki and added my blog to the lists. I also added my favorite children's book to the book list. I tried to edit both the Favorite Blogs and Favorite Book list several time before I was able to enter my info. The site was very busy for awhile. I didn't have any problems adding to the movie site, of course it was after 6:30 pm when I tried.

Week 6: task 15 Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

2007-10-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm inputting this entry from my home PC. The reason why I mention this is because, before I could get to this point I had to update both the Microsoft and Dell Security files on my computer. Anyone who has been using computers for any length of time knows and accepts that the computer field and especially the programs are constantly changing, improving and evolving. Since we, as both, librarians and library patrons are using computers more and more, it would make sense that we will need to not only be aware of the changing in the computer field but also investigate what programs can help us do our jobs better and how best to assist our patrons.

I found Michael Stephens' article very interesting. I agree that libraries should not add new technologies just "for the sake of technology". That we need to preserve what is good and proven of the established and current procedures and but also look forward to future. Examine the trends, then explore the programs and technologies that will enhance our collections and services for our patrons. It will be important to have an ongoing staff training program so that the staff will be able to assist both other staff members and our patrons. Reading these articles have reinforced the appreciation that I have for the HCPL commitment to staff training and exploring of the new programs and technologies.

Week 6: task 14 Technorati

2007-10-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

I looked at Technarti and explored it a little. If I did the searching correctly, then I found 561 listings with the general advanced search of Learning 2.0 but when I added the tag limiter the number droped to 129. Looks like a good way to screen out a lot of blogs that might be of limited use. Tried to watch some of the videos but couldn't get in. Guess the site was just too busy.

Week 6: task 13 Tagging

2007-10-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

I had setup a del.icio.us account several months ago. I liked the idea of having access to my work bookmarks from any computer. My profile didn't like to roam. It still doesn't but I don't try to make it roam anymore. I haven't used in a while, so it was nice to get a refresher course in its many features and uses. I can see how the site could be used for doing research and I'm sure many students and researchers do use it that way. The two user guides were very helpful and I will be trying some of their suggestions. Thanks for adding the iHCPL del.icio.us site. I've added it and the HCPL site to mine for easy reference. I like the tagging that we can do for each site. I'm keeping mine very simple for the time being. Maybe I'll expand as I continue to add more ito it.

Week 5: task 12 Library Elf

2007-10-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Library Elf account was easy to setup. I set it today so its too early to get any emails other than the welcoming message. I can see how helpful it can be to receives emails on a personal account and not just our staff accounts. I can also how helpful it might be for parents who are trying to keep track of various family members accounts.

Week 5: task 11 Library Thing

2007-10-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

It was very easy to setup the Library Thing account. I added 10 books. It was interesting to search through the various editions of some of my titles to find the correct one. I didn't realize just how many covers the Harry Potter books have! It's nice to have the Amazon.com connection. I think I will continue to add. It might be fun and a little scary to find out just how many volumes I actually have.

Week 5: task 10

2007-10-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

So far this week I've played around with widgets and avatars. I've added a widget of a pretty black cat from the website Widgetbox . I used the Yahoo avatar generator to make an image of me on Pern with a small dragon. And I found a nice generator to make Harry Potter characters. The generator's name is Harry Potter Doll Maker. I can see how these could be habit forming.

Week 4: tasks 8 and 9

2007-10-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

It was very easy to setup an account on Bloglines. I added 14 blogs to it to start with and then spent some time exploring the different websites that I use frequently. I've seen the different blogger icons in the past but because I wasn't trying to select blogs didn't think too much about them. Now that I'm looking for them, I've realized that some the sites that I go to most don't have them. But many do, so I guess it all evens out. During my searching I've added 8 more blogs to the list. As you can tell, I've also added the e branch blog to this page. I've looked at the four newsfeeds that were mentioned in the exercise. I tested two different topics in all four. I got similar results in three of the four. The fourth, Syndic8, was a little more involved because of the straight directory of sites.

I'm slowly getting comfortable with the various elements and possibilities of blogs. I'm enjoying the learning process and glad that we are learning about the different technologies that are available.

Week 3: more fun with flickr

2007-09-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

I've spent part of the day exploring more of what flickr can do. I added more photos, edited the photos and created sets. It's been real fun downloading and moving things around. I just may have to get my own digital camera. I may have found a new hobby.

I've also looked at the various mashups. Some I like and some I don't. Some are fun and I could spend a lot of time just playing with them.

Week 3: pixer

2007-09-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt at downloading a picture that I edited. I used pixer to reduce the size of the picture and crop the left side of it. I think I will need to practice this a few more times to feel a bit more comfortable with the program. I can see how this and other similar programs could be very helpful.

Crosby "lake"

2007-09-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

Crosby "lake"
Originally uploaded by whitebunnyrabbit

From the 2004 flood.

crepe myrtle

2007-09-25T14:02:00.001-07:00

crepe myrtle
Originally uploaded by whitebunnyrabbit

Here's our beautful crepe myrtle.

Week 3: Flickr picture

2007-09-25T13:59:00.001-07:00

azaleas
Originally uploaded by whitebunnyrabbit

After a group effort, success!!

2007-09-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Week 2: task #4 Internet Safety

It was interesting to read the different websites devoted to internet safety. The information is so basic and makes a great deal of sense. I wish more of our patrons would take the time to read about how they should use this wonderful technology and then use it.

whitebunnyrabbit

2007-09-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

September 20, 2007

This is a new experience for me. I haven't kept a journal in a long time. Blogging is opening a whole new world of opportunities.