Online productivity

One of the debates I had with myself as I was choosing a new computer was what type of productivity suite to buy. I knew that I wanted a Mac, (from which I am writing right now, so exciting), but I wasn't sure if I could do with the iWork suite or if I should stick with what I knew and buy Office for Mac. The latter is what I did, only because I like being able to access all of my old documents and papers etcetera, and I didn't want to run into any problems with submitting work in the future. 

I did consider, however, the availability of such tools online. I have used Google's web tools on a variety of occasions for a variety of reasons, primarily to back up documents when I wasn't sure where I'd need to access them. It also provides a way to open attachments sent to my gmail account without downloading the file. Not only that, but I was also able to create collaborative spreadsheets and documents with friends who are far away, and share them without hassle. 

My main problem with Google Docs is that they don't always allow me the formatting I wanted. This often became a problem when trying to upload a file and then access to print elsewhere, as I often do. I still appreciate what I can do with these tools, but I like having Office as a basis to work from on my computer, and it is also very comforting to know I can still do some work in the absence of an internet connection. I realize that is less and less of a problem today, but you never know when you need to write something while out in a out of network zone! (Pen and paper I guess...) 

 The other useful point that is indicated on the learning 2.0 website is the ability of the online tools to publish in html so that they can be accessed as a webpage rather than some sort of attachment. I need to keep this in mind as my online work continues. 

Contributing to wikis

The learning 2.0 website encourages users to learn to edit a wiki site for practice. The sandbox, or site for playing around, that they have set up was unavailable to me two years after the project originally initiated, so I instead went over to Wikipedia to try editing a page there. 

I went through the editing tutorial that is available on their website and found it to be very user friendly. They definitely want to legitimize the information that users provide, and ask people to cite sources and reference any changes made to a page. Even if the historian in me may look at some of the sources and realize that they aren't that great to begin with, as a general internet peruser and quick fact looker-upper, I do like knowing that the information has a basis somewhere, and, if traced back far enough, is probably from a legitimate source. 

However, I am now excited to go into the Salamanca wiki page and either edit the section about the Plaza Mayor or write a new page for it. There's a place where I have plenty of information and sources! I could potentially edit wikipedia in two languages, although the page in Spanish is already quite good. 

What I like about Wikipedia and other open source sites such as this is how it allows people to be passionate about particular areas and then share it with the world. Or at least other similarly interested people. I was out to dinner last night with a friend of mine who edits a open source sports magazine online, and she was mentioning how even though the content is not her cup of tea, the people who contribute as well as those who run it are extremely dedicated to their interests and really utilize the source. 

Wiki wiki what?

Wiki is fun to say, if nothing else, which puts it on my radar.

Anyway, in exploring some of the wikis offered by the learning 2.0 class, I have really expanded my knowledge of them. Prior to today, I had used wikipedia for finding a variety of quick information, filling in my gaps of knowledge when something small came up, or doing some preliminary thinking about research. Senior year at Kenyon, several of my friends began working on Kenyon's version of Wikipedia, KCPedia, which provides historical information about Kenyon, though is still a work in progress.

Looking today at some of the other wiki sites out there, I realized what a useful and collaborative effort it has potential for being for a library. I particularly like the idea of a book review wiki that links into the library catalog like this one developed by Princeton Public Library. Granted that site is old, from 2006, but as a model I think it is interesting. There are many possibilities for wiki functionality in the library today, and it's only beginning.

La Plaza Mayor de Salamanca

After spending a bit over a week looking into the Library 2.0 world and all the various forms it can take, I've really grown to appreciate all the technology out there. In my mind, the role of the library has always been to foster knowledge and introduce people to new sources and information. Therefore Library 2.0 and the Web 2.0 tools available fit well into the established goals of the library.

My thesis for my Spanish major at college was about the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca and it's role as the social/political/cultural/etc center of the city. In America, the majority of towns and cities don't have a center that is as multi-functional as this lovely architectural gem in Spain, , however we do have libraries. What drove me to be a librarian was, in part, my desire to see the interaction of people and place in a completely accessible and public space. I feel that the direction of library 2.0 in part will lead us to this point, where a library will not just be a space for books, but a space for public interaction and discourse in whatever medium is appropriate. The public library has a great deal of possibility, if it can ride out the waves of change.

Dr. Wendy Schulz's article, describes how the library is an ever-changing part of society and will continue to morph and grow through various trends and desires of the public. I like her library 4.0 vision, and hope the transformation of libraries can seamlessly meet the wants of the public. I also like Michael Stephen's article about librarian 2.0 and that this person needs to understand and anticipate the needs of the patron, keeping on top of the changes going on in the world around us. All of the articles offered by this section of the learning 2.0 course are interesting, though these two are the ones that stood out to me.

Tagging and Technorati

Because I was lazy yesterday and decided to go to the beach and to the movies instead of working the learning 2.0 program, I am now sunburned and trying to make my ailing computer stay alive while I work out two tasks this morning.

I like the idea of Technorati as a good way to search for blogs relating to specific topics, but I have to admit that I am still new to reading blogs on a regular basis. I think I'll have to report back on this one.

Also to consider: how do blogs function as a source of information? My mother, a high school history teacher, found that this year was the first time blogs were used as sources in the research papers she assigns. I'll spend some more time looking around Technorati to find this out.

However, I like the idea of tagging though I don't often think to do it. But I am going to try, if only to track where my mind is at any given moment.

Del.icio.us

Apparently, according to the del.icio.us blog, they are soon to be fully changing their URL to delicious, and I won't remember how to punctuate and spell at the same time.

In terms of technology, I see how this site could be immensly useful. I am happy I came across it today, because I'm getting a new computer sometime this week (how long does it take to get a macbook from Shanghai to Cumberland?), and would really like to keep my bookmarks when I trash this puppy. However, once del.icio.us imported all my bookmarks, I realized that I am glad they don't automatically share them all. Because I am sure that no one needs to know the angsty song lyrics I bookmarked at 19 when breaking up with someone. Or the crazy internet videos that were funny at 2am in college, but are frankly a little embarrassing to share with the masses.

Or maybe that's my problem, I need to accept that del.icio.us isn't about proving who has got a more refined list of bookmarks, but rather tag things appropriately. Because apparently 267 people on del.icio.us also have this video saved, for whatever reason, and poking around using del.icio.us's tools has shown me that they too are people with otherwise interesting bookmarks and tags, and that this strange video was for them, like for me, something that was hilarious at the time and sentimental enough to keep in bookmarks, but not, perhaps, something we use every day or even think about more than once a year.

The moral of this story? I need to weed out some of my bookmarks, but I also need to own up to the fun times I had, the subsequent bookmarks created, and the dorky internet videos which my friends will still send me, despite trying to feel more mature than I was 5 years ago. Because I'm still going to laugh and think of Terrell when watching "We Like the Moon" at 23 or 83.

Library Thing

LibraryThing, if you aren't familiar with it, is a social site that allows you to catalog your personal library online. If you pay a very reasonable fee you cal list as many books as you want. I've put most of my collection up, although this often results in piles of unregistered books sitting on my shelves in distinct places. Needless to say, I must catalog them soon or else I may be buried in a avalanche.

My current great idea for putting my LibraryThing to use is that as I pack my books to move, I can tag them all as packed as I do it, and then make sure everyone makes it through the move okay. Will this realistically happen? Probably not, because I have a bunch of books, and it would take time to tag them all for a basically foolish reason. However, what it also offers is the chance to designate between all the books I own, and all the books that moved into an apartment of undetermined size, and those which continue to live in my parent's basement.

But, we'll see.