Curiousity and Wrap-Up

I cheat. Is that so bad? Since I've been perpetually behind on Project Play, I like to read other posts before completing my assignments. It's not that I'm stealing their ideas per se, but using these insightful comments to help me construct by existing, but unformed thoughts, into something more cohesive. I normally confine this activity to the people I know since it's more interesting and I can relate to them a little better. This includes mostly Winnefox folks and a few OWLS people. This week, however, I strayed into SCLS-land and found the following on Learner's Permit:

"I think I have been behaving as a fundamentalist, that is deciding in advance what to read, explore, or learn about. I guess another word for it is "pre-judge." I realize that I need to try to follow the curious, investigative path."

Now I was all set to write about what a tremendously curious person I am. In fact, I'm so curious that I find it a little paralyzing at times. I turn on public radio, flip through books here at the library, chat with colleagues and patrons and am amazed at all of cool hobbies and interests they have, and I'm dazzled by how much they know about things. There are times I'm left feeling that I don't know anything. Now my we are expecting our first child and I'm imagining all of the questions the little tike is going to have for me that I won't be able to answer. Of course, I'm a librarian, I can find the answer, but by then s/he will have lost interest and decided Dad must not be very bright. There's so much I don't. Where do I start?

But then I read that quote which I included above and reconsidered. All of the previous paragraph is still true, especially in certain fields of knowledge, such as science and nature and more practical matters, such as gardening, home repair, etc. However, on topics that are more subjective, I'm not sure I'm that curious at all. For example, anybody who knows me realizes that I'm a huge political junkie. My poor wife (who never mentions me on her blog, she says I'm "implied"), has had her fill after this long political season. I get one hour of Countdown on MSNBC and that's it. But for all of my interest, there are several authors that I've never considered reading, such as Ann Coulter. Is that because she's shrill, hateful, and disagreeable? Probably. It's also because I've made up my mind that I'm not going to agree with anything she has to say. Does that mean I'm not a curious person? Maybe it just means I'm discerning. If I got bogged down trying to consider every point of view, I would have even less time to pursue the aforementioned subjects. I do intend, though, to be very conscious of any instances where I might be guilty of close-mindedness.

As for Project Play, all of my comments from the end of last semester still stand. I'm glad I got my second wind and managed to finish. Stef, Beth, and Joy have done a great job in every facet of this project. Thank you to all of them!

Week 10: Mashups

My library had already been added to Map Builder. The perils of procrastination. I tried to think of something creative to add, such as the various locations I've encountered wildlife (grouse, pheasant, fox, coyote, turkeys, chickens, charging deer, etc.) on long bike rides, but that didn't really seem to be in the spirit of the assignment. Instead I added a couple of out of the way restuarants in eastern Wisconsin I've discovered in my ramblings. You'll notice a couple of themes: pizza and beer. :)

The first mashup I ever used, even before I knew what a mashup was, was GMaps Pedometer. I couldn't understand why Google didn't promote this tool from their front page until it was explained to me by a friend that it wasn't a Google product. He's a software engineer, so I didn't feel TOO stupid. Anyway, it's a great tool, one that I had actually envisioned years early, but alas, I thought I would have to learn computer programming to create it.

I learned a little more about Mashups at an excellent program last fall at WLA with Julie Fricke from Lawrence University. There's some information about it here.

As for, "do you have any creative ideas for using mashups?" Sadly, no. But I'm definitely going to keep it in mind.

Week 9: YouTube

Well, what's not to like about YouTube? I lack the imagination or experience to find anything wrong with it. The few times I do use it (mostly to look for old Pearl Jam videos), it has worked very well. The only problem I've ever encounterd was clips being pulled, but I understand that VH1 would rather have users visit their website and see their ads.

It seems like there's always a new Pearl Jam video that I haven't seen before. Here's what I found today:



In much the same way as podcasting and screencasting, YouTube has countless possibilities for public libraries. It does seem like the learning curve might be a little more steep, but not insurmountable. As we see in many of the examples, there seems to be a great deal of potential for more lighthearted and humorous material than with the other tools.

Week 8: Screencasting

As with podcasting, I think the possibilities for screencasting in libraries are limitless. Here's a situation I often find myself in at the Reference Desk:

A patron is interested in using one of our electronic resources from home. I print out our homepage and circle where they need to click. Then I print out the electronic resources page and circle the link there. I then explain to them what information they will need to type in from their account. I give them our contact information and strongly encourage them to let us know if they get home and have any problems. In my 9 years of working in public libraries I have probably repeated this process dozens of times. I send them away hoping my demonstration was adequate and that they'll be able to remember it when they need.

Screencasting demonstrations for these resources, on the other hand, would give them something to refer when they home and find themselves not quite remembering what I said. There's the added benefit of not needing to print out the same pages over and over.

Week 6: Podcasting

Here's a good reminder that I don't know everything. I had no idea that you could subscribe to podcasts through Google Reader. Very cool. I went through a phase where I was listening to NPR podcasts on long bike rides and runs and simply used iTunes. I got out of the habit of listening to them (probably because 8 months of winter have interfered with my outdoor activities), but I still really enjoy them. I subscribed to an NPR podcast in Google Reader and as with most things Google, it was easy as could be.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm one of those people who just doesn't get MySpace. Podcasts, on the other hand, I very much get. I think the possibilities for libraries are just about endless. In fact, I'll be learning more about this as we get acquainted with the new iMacs we received through a grant.

I was also pleased to learn this week that there's an Onion podcast. I read the Onion faithfully in college and quickly discovered that it was not something I could safely read in class as I tended to blurt out laughing uncontrollably. My wife, on the other hand (she still hasn't started!), does not find the Onion funny at all. I look forward to tormenting her with audio clips. :)

Week 4: Social Networking

I was doing such a good job of keeping up on Semester 2. What happened? I was about to give up, but my wife, who I seem to mention here a lot, reminded me that we get $25 for finishing, so I'm going to give it a try!

I've looked at the MySpace pages for other libraries and I certainly notice patrons here in the library looking at other, but I just can't get very excited about it. Even though I have found it very useful from time to time, such as when a potential performer refers me there to listen to a clip, I just don't like the way it looks. It has a bit of an amateurish look to it, especially considering all of the cool, professional looking websites out there.

There's also probably something in my nature that keeps me from getting into it. I'm just not interested in going online looking for new friends. I can't seem to find the time to interact with the few friends I already have.

Libraries are clearly doing some wonderful things with MySpace and Facebook, but I don't think I'm especially well-suited for it.

Much To Do...

There's a lot to take in this week. It's not just Remember the Milk and Jott, but the seemingly countless ways they interact with other services. There's probably some combination here that would really work for me, but I'm not sure what it is. What I am sure of is that I desperately need something to help me remember things. My wife (who is weeks behing on Project Play I might add!) will attest to the fact that I ALWAYS forget something when I run errands. I make lists, but I forget to add important stuff. Even worse, I often forget the list itself. So paper lists have their limits.

I must admit to finding a certain amount of satisfaction in creating papers lists, crossing things off, and tossing the list. It just doesn't feel like I'm getting anything done unless I'm killing a tree! (To be fair, I do use scratch paper which I then recycle, but still).

I have a list of new tools that I intend to explore more fully when I have time. Remember the Milk and Jott are going on that list. Please, nobody hold their breath.