Sunday 21 August 2011
Thing Eight: Google Calendar
After spending a few hours playing around with Google calendar I have come to the conclusion that the calendar on my Blackberry serves me much better. The idea is that I have access to my calendar on any computer in any place in the world. But I already have that on my BB. I don't always have access to a computer, on the bus, in town, etc. I carry my Blackberry literally everywhere with me. If I'm in town and I need to know who's birthday card to get next, I just look in my pocket and get the appropriate card. The only advantage Google calendar can offer me over my current system is the sharing functionality. At the moment I do not need this function. I am neither far enough in my career, or have that many networking buddies who would want to share my events. However, I will keep it in mind for the future when perhaps my career will progress and I will become increasingly more Librarian-esque! One can but dream.
Thursday 11 August 2011
Thing Seven: Professional Organisations & Face to Face Networking
Being a Mommy to a one year old little boy means I don't get much time to actually get out there and meet other professionals. Online networking is fantastic for me as I can do it after William has gone to bed and I have a few hours spare before going to bed myself. Saying that, I am still a member of both SLA (schools library association), and CILIP. I keep my eye out for any events that may be worth going to, but tend to be limited to day time events when I would normally be at work. Arranging child care for any other time would be a nightmare!
Thing Six: Online Networks (Part II)
LISNPN
I have signed up to LISNPN and had a look around. Everything looks great on here and I will be sure to dig down and do some serious reading and discussing on here in the future.
Librarians as Teachers Network
This is not something I'm going to join at the moment. Although I do teach library and information studies, I only teach roughly 6 lessons a fortnight, and only to 11-12 year olds. I hope to expand our library studies sessions in future and then I will return to the LATN to further my skills etc.
CILIP Communities
Having already been a member of CILIP for a few months I am ashamed to say I've never looked at the communities section. I have now created a small profile for myself and uploaded a profile picture (the same across all social media sites - my son and I with purple hair lol).
I will look into all of these more in the future. At the moment I think I'm suffering from social networking information overload!
I have signed up to LISNPN and had a look around. Everything looks great on here and I will be sure to dig down and do some serious reading and discussing on here in the future.
Librarians as Teachers Network
This is not something I'm going to join at the moment. Although I do teach library and information studies, I only teach roughly 6 lessons a fortnight, and only to 11-12 year olds. I hope to expand our library studies sessions in future and then I will return to the LATN to further my skills etc.
CILIP Communities
Having already been a member of CILIP for a few months I am ashamed to say I've never looked at the communities section. I have now created a small profile for myself and uploaded a profile picture (the same across all social media sites - my son and I with purple hair lol).
I will look into all of these more in the future. At the moment I think I'm suffering from social networking information overload!
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Thing Six: Online Networks (Part I)
"Facebook is the backyard BBQ; LinkedIn is the office", Reid Hoffman, I totally agree.
LinkedIn
I just had my first experience with LinkedIn and felt like I was applying for a new job. It's horrible recalling previous employments, education, etc. I wrote my CV a few years ago and simply add to it when I need to. LinkedIn was like creating a whole new version of my CV in a social network environment. I feel I cannot be "profersonal" on LinkedIn, as I feel I can on Twitter and Facebook. I have joined a few groups, and this seem the most interesting feature. I will continue to use, and further explore, LinkedIn. But I am not sure how much I will use it in future.
Facebook
Facebook is where I express my opinions that may not be appropriate to post on a more professional social media space. I post photos of my family, and lots of my little boy! Facebook is where I connect with friends and family, and keep up to date with what people are up to. It's where people go to be nosey!
Facebook relaxes me, LinkedIn makes me tense!
I just had my first experience with LinkedIn and felt like I was applying for a new job. It's horrible recalling previous employments, education, etc. I wrote my CV a few years ago and simply add to it when I need to. LinkedIn was like creating a whole new version of my CV in a social network environment. I feel I cannot be "profersonal" on LinkedIn, as I feel I can on Twitter and Facebook. I have joined a few groups, and this seem the most interesting feature. I will continue to use, and further explore, LinkedIn. But I am not sure how much I will use it in future.
Facebook is where I express my opinions that may not be appropriate to post on a more professional social media space. I post photos of my family, and lots of my little boy! Facebook is where I connect with friends and family, and keep up to date with what people are up to. It's where people go to be nosey!
Facebook relaxes me, LinkedIn makes me tense!
Thing Five: Reflective Practice
I have struggled with what to write for my reflective practice entry. And I still don't really know what to focus on. My last week at work prior to the summer holidays was when I conducted my stock check, so I guess I will focus on this.
What?
Each year I conduct a stock check within the library to see how many books have been lost, possibly stolen, withdrawn, etc. It gives me a good idea of what our weakest stock areas are, and gives me chance to clean the shelves and identify stock that may need to be repaired, or may need to be withdrawn.
Scanning the barcodes took me 3 days in total from 8am - 4pm. A few years back we purchased a usb barcode scanner that can be plugged into the library laptop. I used this set up on a wheelie trolley to move around the shelves and scan each barcode. I took each book off the shelf, scanned the barcode on the inside cover, then put the book back on the shelf. The stock check showed we had almost 6000 items - that means I did this 6000 times - omgosh no wonder my arms hurt when I finished!
On the 4th day I uploaded the data and analysed my results.
So What?
From the stock check, I identified roughly 30 books that needed repair, 5 DVDs that needed cleaning, and 200 books that needed to be withdrawn, either due to severe damage to the book, out of date information, or simply because the book hadn't been taken out in 28 years (yes REALLY!)
While going through each book I noticed some barcodes had been stuck a few pages in, under the date label (so that it had to be lifted up before accessing it), or even inside the back pages in some books. Although at the time of cataloguing, the positioning of the barcode must not have seemed like such a big deal to the person doing it (these were catalogued before I worked here), it actually slowed the stock check down quite substantially.
Now What?
When cataloguing in future I will ensure the barcodes are stuck on the first page, directly below the date stamp label for ease of access.
I have set to work on cleaning the DVDs and repairing the books. All stock should be in excellent condition by the time we open again in September.
What?
Each year I conduct a stock check within the library to see how many books have been lost, possibly stolen, withdrawn, etc. It gives me a good idea of what our weakest stock areas are, and gives me chance to clean the shelves and identify stock that may need to be repaired, or may need to be withdrawn.
Scanning the barcodes took me 3 days in total from 8am - 4pm. A few years back we purchased a usb barcode scanner that can be plugged into the library laptop. I used this set up on a wheelie trolley to move around the shelves and scan each barcode. I took each book off the shelf, scanned the barcode on the inside cover, then put the book back on the shelf. The stock check showed we had almost 6000 items - that means I did this 6000 times - omgosh no wonder my arms hurt when I finished!
On the 4th day I uploaded the data and analysed my results.
So What?
From the stock check, I identified roughly 30 books that needed repair, 5 DVDs that needed cleaning, and 200 books that needed to be withdrawn, either due to severe damage to the book, out of date information, or simply because the book hadn't been taken out in 28 years (yes REALLY!)
While going through each book I noticed some barcodes had been stuck a few pages in, under the date label (so that it had to be lifted up before accessing it), or even inside the back pages in some books. Although at the time of cataloguing, the positioning of the barcode must not have seemed like such a big deal to the person doing it (these were catalogued before I worked here), it actually slowed the stock check down quite substantially.
Now What?
When cataloguing in future I will ensure the barcodes are stuck on the first page, directly below the date stamp label for ease of access.
I have set to work on cleaning the DVDs and repairing the books. All stock should be in excellent condition by the time we open again in September.
Friday 15 July 2011
Thing Four: Current Awareness
Twitter
I have been using Twitter for about 6 months and use it mainly for communicating with family and friends, but also for keeping up to date on developments in the library world (and mommy related things). I am already a follower of many LIS organisations and librarians and find many of them really interesting.
Rating: 5 / 5
RSS
I signed up for Google Reader and integrated it with my Google Chrome browser. I have also downloaded a feed reader for my blackberry so I can keep up to date with library blogs etc on the go. I am REALLY enjoying RSS feeds and have already learnt an awful lot about new technologies. I can't wait to implement all these new ideas into my own library!
Rating: 5 / 5
Pushnote
Pushnote is something I'm still looking into. I'm not sure how useful it will be to me, and in all honesty, I don't really see the point in it. I feel it would probably take less time and effort to simply copy and paste a link to someone in an email, tweet, or facebook message, rather than signing up for an entirely new website just to recommend and comment on other websites. I won't give up on it just yet and will continue to explore, but this one I am not very hopeful about.
Rating: 1 / 5
To summarise
Twitter is my favourite for personal use
RSS is my favourite for professional use
... Pushnote is yet to impress me
I have been using Twitter for about 6 months and use it mainly for communicating with family and friends, but also for keeping up to date on developments in the library world (and mommy related things). I am already a follower of many LIS organisations and librarians and find many of them really interesting.
Rating: 5 / 5
RSS
I signed up for Google Reader and integrated it with my Google Chrome browser. I have also downloaded a feed reader for my blackberry so I can keep up to date with library blogs etc on the go. I am REALLY enjoying RSS feeds and have already learnt an awful lot about new technologies. I can't wait to implement all these new ideas into my own library!
Rating: 5 / 5
Pushnote
Pushnote is something I'm still looking into. I'm not sure how useful it will be to me, and in all honesty, I don't really see the point in it. I feel it would probably take less time and effort to simply copy and paste a link to someone in an email, tweet, or facebook message, rather than signing up for an entirely new website just to recommend and comment on other websites. I won't give up on it just yet and will continue to explore, but this one I am not very hopeful about.
Rating: 1 / 5
To summarise
Twitter is my favourite for personal use
RSS is my favourite for professional use
... Pushnote is yet to impress me
Tuesday 12 July 2011
Bedtime stories ... on the ipad ... really?
It astonishes me how far the modern world has come in the last 10 years or so. CPD23 has introduced me to an enormous network of librarians embracing new technology and ensuring their libraries are at the forefront of everything! A media-savvy friend of mine recently posted a link to an article on an astounding kids' book on ipad called "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore".
The article says that the book is a children's bedtime story. Now, as both a librarian, and (more importantly in this scenario) a mother, I find this hard to swallow. When my little boy goes to bed, he wants to sit on Mommy's lap and be read to by his Mommy, quietly and calmly until he gets drowsy enough to go to sleep. Although there is an option to turn the voice over off, I know that my baby will still be so amazed by the moving pictures that my voice will no doubt fade into the background and he will inevitably get bored. Not only that but it is pretty well known that television is a stimulant to children. Surely showing your child a bedtime story on what is essentially a mini-television (I know the ipad is much more than this but run with it for a minute) is just going to stimulate them rather than calmly settle them down for the night?
On a more positive note, the app truly does look amazing and there is no doubt in my mind that e-readers are the future. New technologies need to be embraced by libraries everywhere. If I could get my hands on an ipad for our library I would be one very happy lady!
The article says that the book is a children's bedtime story. Now, as both a librarian, and (more importantly in this scenario) a mother, I find this hard to swallow. When my little boy goes to bed, he wants to sit on Mommy's lap and be read to by his Mommy, quietly and calmly until he gets drowsy enough to go to sleep. Although there is an option to turn the voice over off, I know that my baby will still be so amazed by the moving pictures that my voice will no doubt fade into the background and he will inevitably get bored. Not only that but it is pretty well known that television is a stimulant to children. Surely showing your child a bedtime story on what is essentially a mini-television (I know the ipad is much more than this but run with it for a minute) is just going to stimulate them rather than calmly settle them down for the night?
On a more positive note, the app truly does look amazing and there is no doubt in my mind that e-readers are the future. New technologies need to be embraced by libraries everywhere. If I could get my hands on an ipad for our library I would be one very happy lady!
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