Google Maps Disappoints

Having gotten less-than-expected results from searching on several house locations, I decided to hunt for the Marysville Library. The closer I zoomed in, the less familiar the territory became until a swimming pool appeared where the library should be. Well, I gotta tellya, there's no pool here--a nice staff patio--but no pool. But because I'm such a Google fan, I'm not giving up. I think I'll try Terry's Disney search and see if I can find that bench!

Been There--Done That

I've had an avatar for years and I think it pretty much says a lot about me--that is, according to its definition as the incarnation of a higher being! I don't think I have a virtual self--what you see is what you get and I prefer interacting with people in the real world, thank you very much. SL is indeed an interesting place to visit, but I have absolutely no desire to set up residence there. On the other hand, I can see where it would be very popular for exploration and discovery via a virtual world---hence the presence of many universities in SL.

Go Google Docs

Zoho Writer was in the original 23 Things and I was thrilled to be able to show it to patrons in a pickle--specifically those who needed to create a document, but needed flexibility to access it beyond the boundaries of Word. Most folks use GoogleDocs because of its versatility and because folks trust it as a search engine, it's not a leap to trust Google's other online tools.

. . . But My Heart Belongs to Google

I remember the days when a search engine called Metacrawler was the fastest, best kid on the block. Then Yahoo came and went, in my opinion, to the dogs. Which is about when Dogpile plopped onto the search engine scene--not impressed. I've tried them all and always go back to Google.

Monopolize My Time

Well I gotta say that it feels a leeeetle bit naughty (12 years of Catholic schools can do a number on one's view of right and wrong!) to be having so much fun while getting PAID. I could have created funny Monopoly cards all afternoon, but summer reading signup is at a brisk pace and many other tasks vie for my time, so I'll tuck these treasures away for future use with the public---especially the scrapbook generator, for all those patrons who can never find a scrapbooking book on the shelf!

Overdrive Indeed

I think downloadables for the general public are one of the greatest library collection additions since sliced bread, as the saying goes. Myself, I'm not a candidate for this format, but I love being able to introduce the product to the people, answer their questions, show them the steps from getting started to kicking it into overdrive. I'm especially thrilled when an OD selection can provide reading material for a person when no other format is available and they can't wait. The fact that a 'book' remains checked out for the full period before disappearing is a common complaint that I hear, but on the whole, OD is a great hit.

Because I'm one who is always on the lookout for practical, easy-to-use/navigate tools that have actual application in the library setting---let's face it, not everyone is a Facebook or My Space kind of Internet user--I was drawn to Learn Outloud, with its decidely more educational orientation.
I've listened to a lot of podcasts, just to splash in the waters a bit, and have found many of them to be of fairly poor recording quality and rather boring in content. The format does however, allow for creative exploration and just plain fun on the part of the podcaster.
I am rather proud to be one of the two Children's staff members who pioneered podcast recording for the SIL website.

Tag, You're It!

Call me a stick in the mud party-pooper, but because of the highly subjective nature of tags, I find them to be generally less useful than a standardized lexicon for subject headings.