Wiki

Thing #10 of the 23 is about Wikis. My blog prompt is comment on the concept of Wikis. They are an excellent concept. If two heads are better than one, think how great all these heads on the Internet working together are! The best wiki for libraries is the one on Library Success. There were some excellent resources on reading advisory and book discussions. As a former teacher, I would consider a wiki to be a fairly weak source. I mean I would encourage students to use wikis to get an overview or to check general information, but I'm not sure how much depth is possible in such a short format. I only edited one wiki--the one of library blogs. I just added my blog to the list. Although most of the blogs I checked were "institutional", I did find one other blog that has a few personal things on it, so I guess mine is okay to add. I do have some library photos and book ideas on the blog. I am reluctant to edit a wiki (such as the 23 things one) because I don't have a lot of information to add.

Zoho vs. Google Docs

In comparing these two on-line publishing tools, I would have to say, I prefer Zoho. Both ask you to create an account--I am starting to keep a small notebook for all the sign-in passwords with this project. Zoho has a much more extensive toolbar--including spell check. There are also templates and a publisher-type tool that allows you to create a slide show. There is a tool to preview and show page view. Google Docs may have some of these features, but they aren't as clearly on the front page as on Zoho. One nice feature that Google Docs had was a place that shows how people were able to use "Google Docs". It seems that it is especially useful for collaborating on documents. I'm sure that Zoho could do the same thing, but reading how to use the tool gave me a little more insight

Why I'm Blogging

I just realized last night that this blog is actually getting read. I just assummed it was my own little wave, lost in the great ocean of the Internet. But if you are stumbling upon this, I am writing this blog as part of a way to learn how to use some new technological tools. Other library workers in Minnesota are also doing this self-paced program, called 23 Things on a Stick.

I have worked my way through 9 of the items, some without success, including Yahoo messenger, but I do like using on-line publishing tools like Zoho. I will let you know if I hear of any other cool tools.

Thanks for reading.

The Bad Girl

I just finished The Bad Girl  by Mario Llosa Vargas.  He once ran for President of Peru, but he is foremost an excellent writer.  Years ago I read Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter and enjoyed it thoroughly. 



This novel, published in 2006, but translated in 2007, tells the tale of a Peruvian man, Ricardo Somocurcio, whose main goal  is to live in Paris.  He succeeds in creating a life in Paris as a translator complete with an on-again, off-again romance with "the bad girl".  This gal's identity is as shifty as she is.  He had first met her as a young man in Peru when she claimed to be from Chile to give herself more glamour.  She continues in her evolution as she gradually assumes new identities and marriages and romantic alliances.  Through it all, Ricardo can't help but love the Bad Girl, despite her cool response.

Sharing Slides

I had fun using the ZoHo Show to make a slide show of current fiction at my library. It was somewhat like using Publisher. I can't believe that it was so easy to publish to a blog.
If any of my patrons ever read this blog, they will find some new fiction and some ideas of what to read. I think in the future this may be a real possibility, give how much blogs are used by younger people.
I would recommend the ZoHo Show as an easy tool to make a slide show. All you do is choose a theme and then make your slides. I adjusted the font size on my slides, but I used a title and a few items under each title. I didn't use any graphics, but it looks like doing pictures could be fun, too.
I have never used a tool like this, including making a power point, so it was nice to see how easy it is.

E-mail and other 2.0 Communication Tools

E-mail is very handy for keeping in contact with other librarians and other libraries. I use it on a daily basis to get information from headquarters and also to respond to requests. I like it much better than a jangling phone, because I can answer the requests on my time. The communication of a written request is also something that I can remember better than a voice one. I can print up a copy. I can also think and plan my responses more carefully.

I'm not sure about the other 2.0 tools. I signed up for Yahoo messenger, but I have no one to talk to--I contacted Sharon in Milaca, but she hasn't reached that number of the 23 items. I don't have a cell phone, so I can't use IM. I listened to an archived Minitex podcast about deli.ci.ous, but in 11 minutes I was interrupted several times. I never did get the whole thing watched and I couldn't pause it. Many of the other podcasts are 40 to 50 minutes. That kind of time without interruptions is not possible in a small library like mine.