Social Networks - Week 12

It will still take me some convincing to appreciate social networking applications in a library setting. The British Library Facebook page was OK but then is there any reason to have blogs. It seems that there are so many new technologies and the issue is which one to choose ... and will the technology you put your blood, sweat & tears into last for very long.

Online Applications & Tools - Week 11

I am really amazed at what is now available online and most of the good stuff seems to be free!! Online applications are great if you want to work on a document - if you have left your USB at home it doesn't matter. I can see the benefits of working collaboratively on a document and the ease of access of a file.

Mash Ups - Week 10

I am blown away with the amount of mashups available, and more being created as I speak. Below I have included a Map Maker into my blog. From a library perspective mashups could be handy for a range of things for example in Local Studies where you could mix up images and text with a map from the local area.

Places I have been to so far ...

http://bighugelabs.com/map.php

Podcasting - Week 9

Using podcasts in the library would be a fantastic idea - you could use it for library tours, instructions of how to use catalogues or search within particular subjects, local history tours, author talks, etc etc etc the list could go on.

Social Searching - Week 8

I think having an online user review of our collection/services could be really useful, but I am not sure how many patrons could be bothered writing a review - maybe some of the hardcore patrons perhaps. I think sites with user reviews of products such as camera's etc serve this purpose far better.

Del.icio.us - Week 7

I had always heard of Del.icio.us so often but I never knew what it was ... until now! I think it is a great tool for packing all your bookmarks and taking them anywhere you go. It would definitely help in a library environment as we are often moving around to different PC's. If we had all our useful links saved in Del.icio.us then it wouldn't matter what PC you were on, this would in return allow us to provide a better service to our patrons.

Wiki's - Week 5

After only really experiencing Wikipedia I have found it fascinating how wiki's have been utilised to suit a multitude of functions - from legislative reviews to fan-based information wiki's such as Wookieepedia. The only concern I have is the accuracy of the information even though steps are being made to improve accuracy eg. being cited.