This blog is for a course called LBSCI747 Selected Technology Applications in Information Management. I will share my thoughts and conclusions on various aspects of this course here.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
My Avatar is not Myself
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Second Life
Monday, November 29, 2010
TSA's enhanced security spurs US 'airport rage'
I wish that all news was delivered in the same fashion as NWA World Edition. This “news” delivers news via a YouTube channel using animations and avatars. As this is a parody of news stories, NWA World Edition appeals to people who want to get a laugh, but also appeals to those who want to see the news in a fun and relevant way. I don’t watch television and I don’t read print newspapers. Occasionally I’ll skim online editions of newspapers, but I rely on other people to send me links or post on Facebook when there is something relevant to myself that I may want to read. Just the other day I tried to watch the news to get more information on something and received a brief and superficial analysis of the situation. However, this video and the others posted in this channel, offer in-depth explanations and use animation to illustrate ideas. I believe this is an excellent and relevant way to deliver news in these times.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Instant Messaging at Chatsworth University
We have discussed in previous meetings our dilemma at the reference desk in our library. Chiefly, reference librarians, such as myself, are concerned that we are not meeting the needs of our users as well as we might with a virtual reference service. The reference desk is commonly underused and the reference librarians find themselves answering questions about lavatory locations and how to printer materials more frequently than they're asked for research assistance. After conducting a recent survey, we found that most students conduct research online and would be more inclined to use virtual reference service than in-person reference services.
As such, we propose using our staff in the place where we're needed most: on the web. We would like to start a virtual reference service on our homepage. Below are the top 5 reasons:
1.) Remote flexibility. Using an online chat service will allow our users to get timely responses from our librarians without visiting our library. They can access our reference services wherever they are during library hours. Our university's mission to increase hybrid learning capabilities is another reason why virtual reference services would benefit our university.
2.) Anonymity. Some students may feel awkward asking some questions. This will allow students to satisfy their reference needs without feeling embarrassed or "dumb."
3.) Easy linking abilities. Since there is a good amount of resources that librarians use on the Internet, sending patrons helpful links to websites and databases is easy online. Librarians can simply add the link to the chat.
4.) Eliminate bias. Virtual reference eliminates prejudices and biases that a librarian may have when helping users. Although librarians should assist every user in the same manner, an online virtual reference source further eliminated such biases.
5.) Low cost. Using open source and free chat software ensures that there not be a high overhead cost for this addition. Training for our librarians and marketing for these services are the only costs our library will endure. These costs are well worth the investment for the improvement of our reference services to our users.
Thanks for your time and I hope to discuss matters with you in person (or via instant message . . .) soon.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Facebook "friends"?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
Monday, October 18, 2010
Social Bookmarking and the Maui Community College Library
Here is the library's mission from their website: University of Hawai'i Maui College Library's mission is to provide resources and services to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to facilitate learning and research within the academic community.
Not only do the sites bookmarked achieve this mission by including websites that are about education and research, but the very fact that the library has a Delicious page does this as well. This library is appealing to their users who are college students that spend ample amount online for school and free-time. MCCL is making their presence known in the digital environment and aiding their users there.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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Facebook Manners And You
There is no official etiquette book for Web 2.0 technologies, but this comes close. This video, posted on YouTube about Facebook and now re-posted by me on Blogger (Web 2.0 overload!), speaks about the sad state of human relationships that are confined and defined by computers and social technologies. It also illustrates, albeit with humor, the potential dangerous ramifications of positing private (and perhaps false) information about other people.
What are some other rules of Web 2.0 etiquette?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Library Blogs
None are as interesting as the Georgia State University blog we had to review for this week's reading. First of all, the other blogs are not updated as frequently as this one. The last post on the GSU blog was on Friday, October 1 (not 1 or 2 weeks ago). The post discussed the buzzworthy movie called The Social Network that was released that day. The post was short and included links to read more about the movie and Facebook. This is relevant and compelling. The posts are all succinct, well-thought out, and updated EVERY weekday. The scope of this blog reaches beyond GSU's library to current events with a librarian's flair. This is a fine example of what a library blog should be in today's environment.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Library 2.0: More convenient than ever
There are many, many other benefits of Web/Library 2.0, but I am a firm believer that if something isn't convenient for a user (or anyone for that matter), it will not be utilized. Perhaps it's laziness, impatience or ADD, but convenience is truly what it is all about.