Librarian's Manifesto

Over on Sue's News blog, Sue has posted this wonderful "Librarians Manifesto" video from YouTube.



A wonderful presentation and message.

Clay Shirky - Here Comes Everbody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations

Over the Christmas break I read Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations by Clay Shirky. (ISBN: 978-1-84614-137-9)

In his book, Shirky investigates the effect of technology on our culture and social behaviour, with a look to past technology innovations that have shifted how the world communicates and behaves (in particular the printing press). In particular he focuses on social networking and Web2.0 technology as well as the proliferation of mobile phones.

On the surface it seems like a bit of a dry topic, but his easy to read writing style and plentiful anecdotes keep it moving and kept me interested in the points he was making. It would be easy to write off the internet and Web2.0 technology as the latest fad, but with this book he draws the comparison of previous technological advances that we take for granted today (printing press, telephone, radio, television) and how they affected our culture when they were new, to those technologies that we are seeing take off now, like mobile phones and laptops.

I enjoyed reading this book as well as having a few lightbulb moments go off as I read, where I understood the power of social networking, the difference in methods of broadcasting vs communication over time and the ease of access to information we enjoy today.

As someone in the library industry, I can highly recommend this book for a thought provoking and discussion raising read for all library staff. It's an excellent companion piece for 23 Things and we have it in our collection!

Merry Christmas!

We have one week of 23 Things left to go, and it's almost Christmas, so I thought I would do a bit of a fun post with some of the tools we've learned through 23 Things.

Let's start with an online photograph (one I took myself)...



And follow it with a YouTube video...



What about a mashup...



So there you have it. Christmas from a Web2.0 perspective. Now your challenge is to go and make your own Christmas blog post, using your newly learned skills.

For those of you still going, keep at it! For those of you who are finished, congratulations and thank you! And to you all...

Merry Christmas!

What do YOU want and need?

The days are ticking by and we're getting closer and closer to the end of the 23 Things project. I can see lots of activity happening out there in library land, and more and more people are tipping into the "completed" zone, which is fabulous to see.

My questions for you are:

What else at this point do YOU need to help you complete?

Please don't tell me time, I've just given you another 11 days. *smile* But is there any technical help, further explanations or demonstrations or assistance in that level that I can offer? Does anything not really make sense to you even though you've done that module? Do you need something shown to you in context of how to apply it? Please leave a comment on this blog to let me know if yes.

Also, what applications do you see Web2.0 technology to be useful to us as librarians in our day to day lives?

Are there things that you think could be useful to us to streamline our work, our communication, and even add a little fun to how we work. Again, please leave comments on thos post.

Wonderful Wiki Work

Another fantastic example of how a wiki can be used is Sandgate's entry.

http://bcclssupport.wetpaint.com/page/Sandgate+Library

It's fun, it's informative, it's attractive, and it's easy to do.

Well done Sandgate!

Innovation at it's Best

I want to share a link with you all. It's a page from our BCCLS Wiki that Kelli Morris has created...

http://bcclssupport.wetpaint.com/page/How+To+Documents

Be aware that you do need to have membership to see this wiki, so if you've not already emailed me to join up, please do so.

Kelli has done an awesome job at using some innovation (and networking with her colleagues) to share some of the things she's learned while doing 23 Things. She's found a simple, effective way to get her info in a place that any of us can go to, share and use. That's what it's all about!

If you have anything you can share, either add on to the page above, or if it doesn't fit, create your own area in the wiki. Don't worry if you're not sure where to put it or it's not perfect, we can always move it later, and it will grow as it is used. Just have a go.

Happy collaborating!
Kath

Two Weeks Notice

Well, we have two weeks left before 23 Things closes. Is this the expression on your face right now:



Well two weeks is a long time in the blogosphere. You can get through this without it being a high pressure thing. Just keep going at it, a little each day. It's been wonderful to see people plugging away who've not really been sure about Web2.0 technology and then something clicks and:



They get it! They understand that it's not about playing with fads, but learning what the tools are and how they can apply certain ones to their daily life. What ones are fun, interesting, informative, useful, efficient things that you can use.

Before long, you've saved so much time by using these tools, you can be like this:

Congratulations Mitchelton!!

I'd like to congratulate Mitchelton, who are our third library to have all of their staff fully registered and active in 23 things.

Wiki Wisdom

Since a lot of people are getting up to the wiki module, and are joining the BCCLS wiki, some help is probably needed with how to use the Wetpaint wiki format and what you can do with the wiki.

Rather than re-inventing the wheel, here are some links to instructions and information on Wetpaint Wikis:

http://www.wetpaint.com/page/Wetpaint-Videos - videos on what Wetpaint wikis can do, as well as tutorials on how to do certain things.

http://www.wetpaintcentral.com/ - all the help information you could possibly need for Wetpaint wikis.

If you haven't already joined the wiki and are up to (or beyond) that module, please send me an email and I'll send you the invite key. Or if you have joined and haven't really had a go at using it yet, jump in and have a go. You can't break it, everything can be undone or moved or edited. It's YOUR wiki and you create the content for it.

Happy wiki-ing!
Kath

Congratulations to Banyo Library!

Well done to Banyo Library who are our SECOND library to have the whole team registered and up and running in 23 Things.

How to Map Your Progress

Want to check your progress in 23 Things? Here are the key indicators that we are using:

• Ticks in the left hand lime green menu beside each of the modules. (You do this by clicking on the small square on the bottom right of each page of the modules).
  
• Done the first "quick self assessment checklist" (can be found on the first page of "Getting Started")
  
• Registered your blog in the "register your blog" form on the second page of the "Blogs" module
  
• And at the end, done the "feedback" survey which you will find on the last page of the "Social Networking" module. This is what marks you as completed.
  

Those are the main indicators that you have finished the modules. Don't be concerned about the course/module completion or status sections under "Accessories" - they're not what we are following progress from.

Tag Galaxy

Roberto found this really, really cool tag search engine.

http://www.taggalaxy.de/

Select from the most popular tags on the left or do your own search.

I could play with this for HOURS!

Why LibraryThing and Tagging

Bronwyn at ASH found these two wonderful videos on tagging in LibraryThing (below). They are well worth watching as they give a simple, clear perspective on why LibraryThing and subject tagging can be really useful tools for librarians and our customers.

There are lots of other book/reading tagging (social cataloguing and databases for readers and libraries) tools out there, LibraryThing seems to be the one that is taking off the most, but if you are interested, take a look at:

Shelfari

Good Reads

Bookmooch

Bookcrossing

A Moment of Acknowledgement

A quick post to congratulate Coopers Plains library on being the first team to all be started and registered for 23 Things. Keep up the good work, you'll be across the finish line together before long!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

The one thing I am hearing from the libraries at the moment, is that motivation is a problem. In particular, the following two issues:

1. "I am just not getting into it/I don't have time."

My advice to you is to do SOMETHING Web2.0 every day. That's where to get started. If you read one blog, check your Facebook/MySpace account, upload one photograph, post one blog yourself, look at Flickr or YouTube, answer one question on Answerboards, edit/read the wiki once... any of these things, once per day, every day will get you kicked off. You will find yourself finding information or tools to help you get into 23 Things and that will save you time in the long term. I promise you, if you start with one small step each and every day, before long it will become automatic and it will grow. Commit yourself to one Web2.0 interaction every single day.

2. "I just don't know what to say on my blog."

This one is easy. Open up your blog post box, and start typing, about anything. Or put a video/photo/link in it that interests you and then start talking about it. Just start typing. You can always edit it before you hit "post" and once you start, you've got over the toughest part. If you think of things you could post on your blog at other times of the day, scribble them on a post-it note or in your diary, and save it for later. That's what I did with the quote in my blog post today (http://kathx23.blogspot.com/). I read a groovy quote yesterday, I copied and pasted it into an empty email and sent it to myself for "later". I do that with all sorts of things, pictures, videos, links to cool stuff, you name it. I jot it down or email it to myself and save it for when I can sit down and blog. And there is a really good book in our collection by Margaret Mason called "Nobody Wants to Know What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog." I really encourage you to borrow it and have a look. It's lovely and simple, fun and really helpful when the inspiration just won't come. I just randomly open a page and use the idea that I land on.

The main thing is to keep going with 23 Things. As the great wise fish Dory in Finding Nemo says, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."



(She speaks whale you know).

Japanese Gardens at Mount Coot-tha

As you can tell from my many gadgets I just love photography. However, I've discovered that these gadgets are taking a long time to download on staff and home computers so will cut back to one or two. Choosing will be difficult. Thanks to everyone who has been putting wonderful YouTube clips on their blogs. I can use many of them at training sessions. This video clip is something a little less work oriented and quite peaceful. Though,I'm sure I like it more for the music than the video technique. You know I have embedded a few YouTube clips but I still keep discovering new things each time. This time I have customised the "embed" with a border and some border colours. Well must keep plodding along - mashups await me.

Wiki Wonders

It's good to see more and more folks getting deeper in to 23 Things as the weeks go by. Especially now that we've got our BrizEsticks to help us along.

Lots of people are signing up to our BCC wiki, which is great to see. Don't forget that when you do join the wiki, YOU have the power to create pages and sub-pages on the existing ones, add images, videos, links, text, widgets and such. It's only limited by your imagination as to what you can do with this wiki as a tool for communication and collaboration in BCCLS.

Make sure you watch the WetPaint "How To" videos that are provided on the site, as they'll show you in simple language how you can edit the wiki to share the creative input.

Every branch has a section, and it's up to you in each branch to decide how you would like to use it.

Happy wiki-ing folks!

iSkills Web 2.0 training

A new wiki page has been created under 23 Things for staff undertaking the iSkills Web 2.0 training of customers...


"This page has been created for Web 2.0 trainers to provide feedback and comments about the iSkills Web 2.0 training for customers."

Please use the wiki to share with each other how the training is going, what works well and what the customer response is like, as well as any other helpful comments or feedback.

What is Web2.0 and Where is it Going?

Over at Nottherealworld, one of our own BCC 23 Things blogs, there is a fantastic post about what Web2.0 is and where it is going, currently being called Web3.0.

To go direct to the really good post and see the embedded videos, go to:

http://nottherealworld57.blogspot.com/2008/09/already-talk-of-web-30.html

It gives some good, clear explanations about how Web2.0 evolved and where it is now, and what is likely in the future. It's definitely worth having a look and watching the videos.

Want more HOWTO's?

If you are finding something difficult to do and can't find anywhere showing you "Howto" yourself, please leave a comment in this blog so we know we need to add another Howto!

HOWTO: Subscribe to an RSS Feed Using Bloglines

It's easy!

Here's a video I found on YouTube to explain it:



Remember! You will need to be logged in to your bloglines account to do it though.

How to Blog a Flickr Photograph

So you want to blog a photograph from Flickr?

And you've tried to save it to your computer and then upload it perhaps, using Blogger's upload image function. But all you get is either a broken image or a white box. "Damn Blogger, keeps ruining my images!" you think!

Ahh but does it?

This method of using images on your blog is considered stealing them, and Flickr is very carefully set up so that you cannot do this. If you try to copy or save any of the photographs on Flickr in this manner, it cunningly gives you a white box or broken image for your troubles.

But now you're thinking "But I saw Kath and other people have blogged images from Flickr! No fair!"

You can do this too, providing the owner of the photograph you would like to blog, has actually given permission for you to do so.

To do this, it is VERY easy. If a person has given permission for you to use their images on your blog, you will see a little link above the photograph, as per the example below, circled in red:

The first time you use this function, you will need to set it up with the Open Source settings, but once you have done that, it's very easy to use and is the legitimate way to blog and credit photographs from Flickr. It's very simple, it will take you to a page that shows the photograph, a title block and text box, you blog there, hit publish and voila, you've blogged the image.

There are other ways to share images/photographs in your blog, through such tools as Photobucket or Shutterfly etc, but Flickr and Blogger are designed to work together, so this is the first you should learn.

Mind Your Manners - Blogging Etiquette

I've had some emails and even questions on people's blogs about what kind of etiquette is expected in the "blogosphere". So I thought I'd share a few of the things I've learnt in my time as a blogger (about two years).

• Always credit anything you use that is not yours. If you use Flickr and YouTube embeds, they will automatically link back to the original owner. But if you use information from another website, provide it's name and a link back to it. Or if you quote an article, link back to an online copy of that article.
• If you want to offer critique of something, use a polite, constructive tone. Remember, people are very attached to their work (be it blogs, photos, videos, whatever) and it's ok to share constructive criticism, but openly bagging something is not cool. How would you feel if you were on the receiving end of that yourself?
• Give your blog a title, and tags (labels).
• If you read someone's blog, comment on it from time to time - all bloggers love to hear from their audience.
• Keep your blog clear, the paragraphs reasonably short and check your spelling!
• Don't assume your audience understands something as clearly as you do. Explain!
• Keep it upbeat. A raging rant just gets your readers cranky... and they're likely not to come back.
• Use pictures and videos to break up the text.
• Try to use a template or layout that is easy to read. Some of the grooviest looking sites give the reader a headache after two paragraphs.
• Variety is the spice of life. Don't post the same subject or same format every time you post. It makes your blog easier to read if there is some variety.
• And remember: Do unto others as you would have done unto you. If you wouldn't like something said about you, or your work not referenced, or criticism aimed at you, think twice about doing it to others.

Happy Blogging!

How to Embed Video in Your Blog

Kudos to Youtubes from Youall for finding this video on YouTube showing how to embed a video in your blog.



Lovely and simple, no need for me to reinvent the wheel!

HOWTO: Post Links in Your Blog

Want to post a link in your blog? It's easy!

If you want to paste just a straight up link, like this:

www.tametheweb.com

or this:

http://www.goodreads.com

Then just type or copy and paste the link into your blog. Blogger will automatically populate it as a link.

If you'd like to make a link that is behind some text like this:

Click here for link

Then highlight the text that you want linked, and then go and click on the little button in the format bar above your blog text box that looks like a little earth with a chain over it. If you hover your mouse/cursor over it, it says "Link".

Just type or copy and paste the URL address in the line that says URL (you don't have to have the http, but it helps) and click "OK".

Voila, your highlighted text is now a link!

Go on, have a go in your own blog.

Library staff blogging for 23 things.

Hi all,

The list of staff's blog sites has been moved to a page of its' own. The list was getting a little long for here (which is great news!). If you click on the link located on the right of this page it will take you to the blog list. There are great ideas and great blogging to be read.

Look forward to reading some more.
Leanne

Setting the Scene

Did you know that every single one of the Web2.0 technologies that we are using as part of 23 Things has personalised settings and customisations for each and every member? Yes, that's you!

For example, if you go to blogger and get all ready to post, you will see there is a button that says "Settings". If you click on it, it will take you to a whole bunch of things you can set up your blog to do, or alternatively, not do. Things like checking (moderating) any comments that are left before they are published. You can change how your blog looks, what bits can be seen, whether or not search engines can find your blog, the formats, the archives... you name it, you choose how it works!

In Facebook, you can click on the "Privacy" link (it's in the blue menu bar, on the right side of the screen) and change all kinds of things in there. Who can see your photos, which applications can be seen by whom, what parts of your profile can be seen, and even who can search for you! The same goes for MySpace.

Take the time to explore the settings, security and privacy features of each Web2.0 technology you sign up for, and set them up to suit your needs. How you share your Web2.0 technologies is up to you, and if you explore you can find LOTS of fabulous ways to customise your pages and accounts.

Happy customising!
Kath

Share a Link

Have you found something interesting/useful online in your 23 Things travels? It would be really helpful to share these links amongst us.

You can do so by clicking on the "Links to URL's" under the Accessories in the 23 Things training page. Once you are there, you'll see a little blue and white + symbol. Click on that, and you can add the details of your interesting/useful link and click on "save" and voila! You've shared the link.

Happy link sharing.

Share Your Blog!

Set up your blog? Want to share it with your colleagues? It's easy!

Go to the 23 Things learning page (that's the one with the green menu on the left hand side, where you do the training modules). In that green menu, under "Accessories" towards the bottom, you will find a link for "Links to Library Staff Blogs". Click on this link and it will take you to the share page for the library staff blogs.

As you will see, there are already some folks who have shared their blogs. Mine is the second one down on the list at the moment (it's called Kath Times 23). To add your blog, click on the little blue plus button at the bottom of the list. A window will open for you to put the name of your blog, it's URL and a description of what your blog is about. Enter this information, and then click "save".

Once you have done that, you will be able to see a link to your blog. As soon as one of the admin have verified your blog, it will be visible to everyone else.

Check the page regularly to see the new blogs and once you've done the module on how to subscribe to blogs using RSS feeds, subscribe to the ones that interest you. It's a really good idea to subscribe to this blog too.

Happy blogging and blog reading.
Kath

Instant Messaging in 23 Things

Hello it's Kath here.

I just posted a blog on my page that is relevant here. Rather than type it all out again, just this once, go to:

http://kathx23.blogspot.com/2008/09/instant-messenger-in-23-things.html

I'll add future tips and tricks here!

Happy 23thing-ing.
Kath

Getting started..

Hi all,

I know some of you have started on the 23 things journey and have you own blogs created. Don't forget that if you would like to have them added to this page so other staff can easily access and read your blog .. let me know and I will create your link on the viewing panel.

We will add some more sites and tips to this site as we progress through the sessions.

Regards
Leanne

Introduction

Welcome to the Brisbane City Council Libraries Learning 2.0 program. Learning 2.0 is an online program to learn more about emerging technologies on the web that are changing the way people, society and libraries access information and communicate with each other