Week 9: Task #22 Downloadable Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.