Have just had a look at the enCompassCulture site and found it is a site for book enthusiasts.
This site offers five ways to browse, reading groups, author interviews, readers' quiz and also a reader in residence - Susan. Susan writes reviews, has a 'book of the month', blogs and has a newsletter.
For readers' advisory, using the readalike titles/authors function would be a great way to suggest to customers what their next read could be - similar to what they have just been reading.
Library staff would find this site useful to keep up with what Britain and the world are reading. It was nice to see the British Council have created this site.
Yes, I would promote this site to our customers, along with GoodReads. It is another way to keep us informed on available literature.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Week 5 - SlideShare, Online Presentations
Have just had a look at the site Slideshare.net and looked at three online presentations about libraries - Library in your pocket - mobile trends for libraries, Beautiful libraries of the world, and 21c School libraries. All were interesting.
This site was easy to use and would be of benefit to someone doing research or an assignment and required different sources of information.
Although I am probably not likely to use this site again it is useful to know it is there and I would certainly promote it to our customers who are studying.
This site was easy to use and would be of benefit to someone doing research or an assignment and required different sources of information.
Although I am probably not likely to use this site again it is useful to know it is there and I would certainly promote it to our customers who are studying.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Web 202 - Week 4 - Tastespotting.com
Wow, what a site Tastespotting is. You could spend all day looking at the delicious photographs of food and going from one link to another.
After I had had a look around the site, the recipe I decided on was Sausage, Basil and Mustard Pasta. It looked good and the recipe seemed easy to follow and the ingredient measurements were in metric (which I am used to) and imperial.
Yes,I will have a look at this site again, maybe to get some inspiration for dinner!. Some of the recipes were from the northern hemisphere as they used seasonal(summer)ingredients.
The task for Week 4 was fun and a nice change from library and customer related Web learning. I don't think that all Web 2.0 activites need to be directly related to libraries. It is good to get an overview of different sites on the Web and broaden our knowledge.
After I had had a look around the site, the recipe I decided on was Sausage, Basil and Mustard Pasta. It looked good and the recipe seemed easy to follow and the ingredient measurements were in metric (which I am used to) and imperial.
Yes,I will have a look at this site again, maybe to get some inspiration for dinner!. Some of the recipes were from the northern hemisphere as they used seasonal(summer)ingredients.
The task for Week 4 was fun and a nice change from library and customer related Web learning. I don't think that all Web 2.0 activites need to be directly related to libraries. It is good to get an overview of different sites on the Web and broaden our knowledge.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Web 202 - Week 3 Feed My Inbox
I have just created an account with Feedmyinbox.com and added Auckland City Libraries blog and also Sewing.com as my RSS feeds to my emails.
This site was easy to use and I think our customers would not have any difficulty in creating an account and adding up to five RSS feeds for free.
Yes, I think I would use this site again, probably to add another feed. As for using it on the learn.nets and in the workroom, well, I think it would be useful to keep up to date with what's happening in the library scene with the library blogs. I guess it would be finding the time to check and read the blogs that would be the problem.
I would be happy to promote this service to our customers now that I know about it!
This site was easy to use and I think our customers would not have any difficulty in creating an account and adding up to five RSS feeds for free.
Yes, I think I would use this site again, probably to add another feed. As for using it on the learn.nets and in the workroom, well, I think it would be useful to keep up to date with what's happening in the library scene with the library blogs. I guess it would be finding the time to check and read the blogs that would be the problem.
I would be happy to promote this service to our customers now that I know about it!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Web 202, Week 2 - Picapp
I have just had a look at the website Picapp.com and enjoyed watching their informative video.
I could see where Picapp would be useful for keen bloggers who want to create an interesting blog with more than just a lot of text. Having an image store to select photos from and easily copy and paste them to your blog would be a great way to attract people to your blog.
I found the site easy to navigate as would our customers. Some of the categories I had a look at though did not seem to relate to the topic and were just photos of people or other things. For example, when I searched 'pets' some of the photos were of racing cars!
The photo I chose of artifical limbs all lined up took my fancy, the owners of these limbs may have gone on a one-legged race, but I think it is actually something to do with a football match for disabled people.
It is good to know about Picapp.com for future use.
I could see where Picapp would be useful for keen bloggers who want to create an interesting blog with more than just a lot of text. Having an image store to select photos from and easily copy and paste them to your blog would be a great way to attract people to your blog.
I found the site easy to navigate as would our customers. Some of the categories I had a look at though did not seem to relate to the topic and were just photos of people or other things. For example, when I searched 'pets' some of the photos were of racing cars!
The photo I chose of artifical limbs all lined up took my fancy, the owners of these limbs may have gone on a one-legged race, but I think it is actually something to do with a football match for disabled people.
It is good to know about Picapp.com for future use.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Web202, Week One - Box.net Online file storage
Have just learnt about and used Box.net for the first time!
It was easy to make an account and follow the instructions on how to create a folder and upload a file to it. I have opted to share my folder with the link http://www.box.net/shared/350ueeezer.
Although I don't think I would use this personally, it is worth knowing about so that we can help our customers use it if they don't want to save their work to a flash drive, burn aCD or email it to themselves. So, online storage would be an alternative option for them.
Yes, I would promote Box.net to our customers as it is versatile in that a person only needs internet access in order to access their files anywhere, anytime.
It was easy to make an account and follow the instructions on how to create a folder and upload a file to it. I have opted to share my folder with the link http://www.box.net/shared/350ueeezer.
Although I don't think I would use this personally, it is worth knowing about so that we can help our customers use it if they don't want to save their work to a flash drive, burn aCD or email it to themselves. So, online storage would be an alternative option for them.
Yes, I would promote Box.net to our customers as it is versatile in that a person only needs internet access in order to access their files anywhere, anytime.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Web 2.0 - Week 6 Facebook
I have recently visited Facebook and although I have not signed up and created an account yet, I am familiar with this social networking site and may join Facebook in the future. My daughter showed me her profile page (which can be made public or kept private) and how Facebook works.
It's a great way to connect with friends and family and keep in contact with each other by sending messages, posting photos or adding an application such as Goodreads to your profile.
Some young people use Facebook a lot and it can become a bit addictive and time consuming!
I have not had any library customers ask me about Facebook but I would be happy to show them, as it is easy to use.
I also had a look at Manukau Libraries Facebook page and see it is a good way to promote library events such as Manix4.
As for the 'Best book I have ever read', well, I don't think I have just one book that is the best I have ever read. Rather I have read books that I just can't put down until it is finished, books that I read a bit at a time and some books that I don't finish reading. I find books take me to another 'world' and make me think how people's lives can be so different to my own.
Well, that marks the completion of the final Week 6 task for Web 2.0.
It's a great way to connect with friends and family and keep in contact with each other by sending messages, posting photos or adding an application such as Goodreads to your profile.
Some young people use Facebook a lot and it can become a bit addictive and time consuming!
I have not had any library customers ask me about Facebook but I would be happy to show them, as it is easy to use.
I also had a look at Manukau Libraries Facebook page and see it is a good way to promote library events such as Manix4.
As for the 'Best book I have ever read', well, I don't think I have just one book that is the best I have ever read. Rather I have read books that I just can't put down until it is finished, books that I read a bit at a time and some books that I don't finish reading. I find books take me to another 'world' and make me think how people's lives can be so different to my own.
Well, that marks the completion of the final Week 6 task for Web 2.0.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Web 2.0, Week 5 - Music files and MP3's
I have been looking at the free music sites listed for Week 5. Firstly I looked at Amazon and found it to be quite comprehensive but it needed a logon and password (like most of the sites) so I then had a look at http://freealbums.blogsome.com. This site has blogs about artists from different genres such as classical, avant-garde, surf rock, pop, singer/songwriter, jazz and country.
I downloaded a song from artist Jane Siberry, titled It Cant Rain All the Time. This site (freealbums) was easy to use but was not that attractive to look at. It was just a long list of blogs about artists. It did have an album directory A to Z or by month, archives, RSS feeds and blog.
As for other music sites, my son mentioned http://www.themahoganyblog.com which we had a quick look at. Nicely laid out with pictures, long list of categories, archives, favourites, a Facebook page and it doesn't need a login or password.
I think customers should be able to use the sites I looked at themselves without too much difficulty. It is probably the younger generation that would use these sites most. My pick of the sites would be the mahoganyblog.com.
I downloaded a song from artist Jane Siberry, titled It Cant Rain All the Time. This site (freealbums) was easy to use but was not that attractive to look at. It was just a long list of blogs about artists. It did have an album directory A to Z or by month, archives, RSS feeds and blog.
As for other music sites, my son mentioned http://www.themahoganyblog.com which we had a quick look at. Nicely laid out with pictures, long list of categories, archives, favourites, a Facebook page and it doesn't need a login or password.
I think customers should be able to use the sites I looked at themselves without too much difficulty. It is probably the younger generation that would use these sites most. My pick of the sites would be the mahoganyblog.com.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Web 2.0, Week 4 - Books and social networking
Have just visited the Goodreads website and think it is a great way for book lovers to keep track of what they have read or will read and share it with other readers. Some readers may prefer this site instead of using the opt in/opt out facility in the OPAC or use both.
If a customer is wanting help with what next they might like to read then I would certainly make them aware of this website or show them if they are not happy with using a computer.
Library staff can also refer to Goodreads and check the 'popular list' of books or the 'most read books for this week', so that they are kept informed.
Overall, I like Goodreads and will use it from time to time.
If a customer is wanting help with what next they might like to read then I would certainly make them aware of this website or show them if they are not happy with using a computer.
Library staff can also refer to Goodreads and check the 'popular list' of books or the 'most read books for this week', so that they are kept informed.
Overall, I like Goodreads and will use it from time to time.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Web 2.0 Week 3 - Twitter
I have just signed up to Twitter and chose a couple of topics to follow - funny and health, along with @Manukau Libs.
At this stage I don't think I would use Twitter much. To some extent it seems to be a young person's pastime. I need to get more familiar with Twitter before I decide if tweeting is for me.
It was easy to sign up so most library customers shouldn't have trouble doing the same (with a little assistance from a librarian maybe).
Perhaps Twitter could be used by Manukau Libraries to promote Manix to our young adult readers.
At this stage I don't think I would use Twitter much. To some extent it seems to be a young person's pastime. I need to get more familiar with Twitter before I decide if tweeting is for me.
It was easy to sign up so most library customers shouldn't have trouble doing the same (with a little assistance from a librarian maybe).
Perhaps Twitter could be used by Manukau Libraries to promote Manix to our young adult readers.
Web 2.0, Week 2 - Zamzar Conversions
Have just used Zamzar.com and converted a word document to a pdf file and it was easy!
I wasn't aware this was available and would certainly recommend it to our library customers.
Although I would probably only use this conversion site occasionally it is worth knowing it is there to use.
The only drawback I can think of is the delay it sometimes takes if online traffic is heavy and a library customer is waiting for it to be emailed back to them.
Until next week ...
I wasn't aware this was available and would certainly recommend it to our library customers.
Although I would probably only use this conversion site occasionally it is worth knowing it is there to use.
The only drawback I can think of is the delay it sometimes takes if online traffic is heavy and a library customer is waiting for it to be emailed back to them.
Until next week ...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Manukau Libraries Web 2.0 Week 1 Blogger
Here I am again after an absence of almost a year.
Yes, I am starting the six week online course on Web 2.0 with Manukau Libraries. I am using my existing url and email.
It will be interesting to find out about the latest changes happening in cyberspace and hopefully keep up with my kids who always seem to be one step ahead of me when it comes to computers.
I am aware of the rapid rise of Twitter and 'tweeting' but haven't tried it out (yet). In a library situation Twitter maybe useful for a student who wants up-to-the-minute information/comments about a topical news item and what people's opinions throughout the world might be.
My only fear will be that I don't complete this on time.
Yes, I am starting the six week online course on Web 2.0 with Manukau Libraries. I am using my existing url and email.
It will be interesting to find out about the latest changes happening in cyberspace and hopefully keep up with my kids who always seem to be one step ahead of me when it comes to computers.
I am aware of the rapid rise of Twitter and 'tweeting' but haven't tried it out (yet). In a library situation Twitter maybe useful for a student who wants up-to-the-minute information/comments about a topical news item and what people's opinions throughout the world might be.
My only fear will be that I don't complete this on time.
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