#14 library things

I joined library things and did some exploring. I read a few reviews, left a comment and put 5 books in my library. The trouble is that it is hard to think of your favorite books when you are "on the spot". I put up one that is a favorite to read to my kids. I finally managed to get the widget onto my blog after about 17 times. Don't know what I did wrong the first 16, but I got so frustrated that I prayed it work and it did!! I can see this site as being useful as books pertain to the library and I often read reviews of books before ordering them for myself and my children. I also like the fact that it can connect you to people with similar interests and that provides an opportunity for those people to open your eyes to books you may not have thought about. It is slightly overwhelming because there are so many books and groups and info on the site. I think it would be great fun to have a mini site like this with people who use our local librarys. For instance, if our library had a web site it could be linked to a site or contain a place for people to share what they have been reading and recommend books. It would also be fun to have an online book club and be able to review books connected with our library and its patrons. Something to think about.

# 13 online productivity sites

I tried a lot of the online tools. I liked igoogle because I am partial to google poducts and I really liked the layout and the choices. For a news junkie like myself it was fun to have stories from a variety of newspapers and news channels all in one page. I like having foxnews and cnn in one place in order to compare stories. I chose the yahoo site for my home page because I already have yahoo e-mail and frequently check it so it just made sense. I also liked that I could have local news like the pioneer press on my home page, and I noticed it had a calander built in. It has an easy to review layout and I got cought up in a game of sudoko. Not so sure that was in any way productive but it was fun and relaxing for a while. I also tried the online calanders and liked the one I tried. I can see for work that it would be nice to have a shared calander to keep each other abreast of what's happening. What I really thought would be great was if we could have a calander like this to post on our library web site(if we had one!) so that patrons could quickly look up what's happening at the library. As for the lists, I still think it is easier, for me at least, to write out a list on paper. I write faster than I type and could have a list written before I even logged on to my computer. I am a list maker and they help me a lot but they are easier done the old fashioned way.

#12

Well I tried the social networking sites. I found them to be a lot like wikis. Disorganized, somewhat confusing and not all that interesting. Yes, I read a few stories and if you had time to waste this may be a way to spend it. On the other hand, I personally believe that time is a precious commodity. With 4 kids, a husband, my job, and friends and other goings on I have a lot better things to do with my time. I don't foresee anyone at their death-bed wishing they had spent more time on social networking sites. I enjoy debate and am a news junkie so newsvine was my favorite. I was able to find some interesting articles and even left a comment. I do not enjoy signing up for everyone of these tools as I am a strong believer in privacy and would rather not have so much info about myself on the web. Are these useful? To a degree yes, it is always useful to be familiar with what is "hot" on the web. It could be a tangible way to connect with a new generation of libraries users. But it requires a tremendous amount of time. I also read an article in the NY Times and was able to e-mail it to my husband very easily. However, I had to become a member of ny times online. This is something I would never in a million years see myself doing. Not because it is onlie, I'm just more of a Human Events kind of girl. But it isn't always bad to get the view from the other side. I prefer to read news from a newspaper or magazine online than the no editor site. How reliable is the info?