Week Nine

In ILL, we have thought about using a wiki to document all our work procedures. Our procedures seem to change quickly or we often find better ways of doing old routines. Updating “print” instructions becomes time consuming since things change rapidly in the world of ILL. It seems as though once we finally get some instructions written, they are then out of date. A Wiki would allow us to update the needed parts in a timely manner. In addition, it would allow individual staff members to add any special “tips” or “tricks” they have discovered in our work processes. A wiki, used in this manner, could allow for greater information sharing and make a more knowledgeable staff.

Wikipedia can have both positive and negative impacts on information seeking depending on the way in which it is used. Wikipedia can be a starting point for information seekers. When looking up a topic or term that is unfamiliar, the information found on Wikipedia can provide the seeker with a direction to pursue further research. For example, I searched the term “hat trick” which I am sort of am familiar with, but I wanted to know where this term came from. Using Wikipedia, I was able to learn possible origins and the entries on Wikipedia provided me with ideas where I could learn more (the Hockey Hall of Fame web site). Wikipedia could have a negative impact on information seekers if the seekers assume that all the information obtained is final authority on the topic searched. The ease at which information can be edited needs to be considered before accepting all information on Wikipedia as true. However, good information seekers should always evaluate the sources from which they obtain their information for accuracy.

On a side note …the term Wiki always brings a song by “The Wiggles” to my mind and then I just can’t get the song out of my head. There is a line in the song where a high pitched voice sings “hmmm wiki, wiki, wiki, wiki. Hmmm wiki, wiki, wiki, wiki.” Ahhhh! Now I’m singing that song again! --- If you don’t know who “The Wiggles” are, you can find out by looking them up on Wikipedia :-)

Week 8

Hmmm...I must say I was a bit disappointed that cloud computing didn't involve any travelling or outdoor activity. However, cloud computing does appear to have the ability to make some computer activities quicker which means less time sitting in front of the computer and more time to go outside or more time to travel. Yeah! :-) I have used Google docs to gather statistics from all of the CSU ILL offices. Google docs has been very helpful in streamlining this process which we had previously done via email and attached files. Many of the other CSUother ILL offices were hesitant to use Google docs (mainly because it was new and unfamiliar), but once they tried, few wanted to go back to emailing statistics. I can see Google docs or other types of "cloud computing" being used with many collaborative tasks done in the library.




http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd7dpj3s_0c5jnbbdf&invite=533246256

Week 7

Tagging seems to have advantages of increasing the organization of information by using familar, easy terms to describe the information (such as bookmarks). In looking through the Pollak Library's delicious account it was easy to browse several websites related to one topic quickly. It was nice to be able to click on one of the tags and find relevant information with ease. Tags appear to have the ability to group together library tools/services using simple terms. However, as more and more tagging takes place it seems that it would be necessary to have some consistency in the terms used for tags if they are to be used by large groups of library patrons. Having tags that are understandable for the users will be essential for tags to be effective for any library tools/services. My favorite example of how a seemingly common library term can be misunderstood is when I had a patron list a telephone number on a form that was asking for "call number."

Here is the link for my delicious account: http://delicious.com/staycnoe

Week 6

I have use IE, FireFox, and Safari. Usually I seem to use IE since it is the default on most computers. When I tried to download FireFox on my computer at home it initially said it would take an hour to complete. That was strange. I stopped the download because I am too impatient to wait an hour. However, I tried again another day and it only took a couple minutes to complete the download. This downloading experience resembles many of my experiences with the different browsers. I don't really have a preference, but if one seems to be "acting up," I'll switch to another.

The plugins I have tried all seem to be helpful and have benefits. Libx makes it very easy and convenient to determine if our library owns things while searching other sites. I like that I can immediately search the library's catalog without having to go to the library's site first. I also use the Google toolbar. Again, it is a nice convenience. A small drawback for me is that as with the additional plugins/toolbars, the screen gets a little cluttered. Although I'm sure I could take some time to organize the toolbars to "clean" things up and make things prettier for me.

Week 5

Jing or other multimedia tools will be useful in providing instructions as to how to navigate around the library's website and its databases. Particularly for ILL, it will be beneficial to be able to "show" patrons how to use ILLiad more effectively. Many patrons have trouble finding their articles; a simple video can show the patrons where to go to find their information rather than a longer text-based set of steps. For those who learn quicker visually, such multimedia tools may encourage more patrons to use many more of the library's available tools.

Here is the link to my video which shows a simple search for a full text article in Academic Search Premiere. http://screencast.com/t/9Rmdknds3 Enjoy!