sociaLISe

(Having a bit of a crisis – this post will likely be updated in the coming days with more thoughts)

I think I’ve experimented with most of the tools we’ve talked about and they were all fairly easy to use. Except for my attempts at mashups with Yahoo! Pipes – that was just frustrating.

Oh wait, I have yet to tweet… I’m coming around though. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

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Distance ed has been do-able but not entirely enjoyable. My days are eaten up by working for the man and commuting* so I get about three to four hours a night to myself that I’ve invested in trying to get work done for the class. Some nights have been better than others but it’s been draining. Giant kudos to those who are juggling a lot more than I am and are still able to stay on top of things. Gold stars for you.

*I love Toronto but I can’t get over the fact that it takes me an hour to travel from one section of North York to another!

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The course material was most interesting for me when I was able to talk to someone else in the class about the readings and our ideas/thoughts/reactions. I understand the logic behind the blog posts and the commenting but for me blogging wasn’t able to compete with the experience of an actual conversation. Perhaps students could have the option of coordinating small chat groups instead of blogging to try and more actively engage with the readings. These chats could then be posted in a wiki or some forum where anyone else in the class could read and comment on the conversation topics. Posting the chats for the class to see would also act as quality control so that conversations remain (mostly) on topic. Just a thought…

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Summing up my experience? I’ve learned something new every week and that’s more than I can say for some of the other classes I’ve taken. So all in all, a thumbs up for LIS 9763.

Truth: I had no idea what cloud computing was before this week’s readings.

I cloud compute everyday!
I compute everyday!
I do this everyday!

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So, normally I can come up with some points to counter some of the arguments made in the articles. This week? Not so much. Why? Because the articles try to provide a balanced outlook of mobile browsing and cloud computing in libraries and have left me with little to say.

Fear not, I still have something to say…

While watching the lecture and reading the articles I have to admit that I was feeling a little left out. I don’t have an iPhone; I don’t access the Internet through my pretty cool cell phone (because I’m cheap); and I hadn’t heard of a QR Code ’til Monday. So I was feeling (technologically) out of the loop. Then I find out that libraries are trying to incorporate QR Codes in all these interesting ways but I can’t participate in the experience because I don’t have the means. I felt technologically excluded :\

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Neat ideas

QR Codes as Call Numbers

My first thought when I heard/read about this was, “How lazy can you get?!” But I can empathize with the person who can’t seem to find a pen/cil or scrap of paper when it comes time to jot down the call number. Luckily, I have a fairly decent memory and at least two pens in my bag at all times. So now you’re thinking, “But what if you need to jot down 10 call numbers?” Then I guess I’d be in trouble if I had no paper and no writing implements – highly unlikely, particularly if I’ve headed to the library to do some research. But enough about me and back to the user. Yes, as a user I would think the QR Codes are cool provided I have the technology. But how does snapping a picture of the code differ from just taking a picture of the call number on the monitor? Snapping the pic doesn’t require going online via your mobile device, but it sounds like reading a QR Code does require web access…

Audio Tours

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that some users would like access to library audio tours. I really like the idea of an independent tour of the library because not everyone is able to attend an orientation, and sometimes staffing issues can have an effect on whether or not tours are conducted (or conducted well). Personally, I would prefer a video tour because audio tours can fall flat sometimes if the tone isn’t just right. And if the videos are accessible on the library’s site I may watch some of the video at home to get a sense of where I’m going before I visit the library – I know that if I hadn’t gone on the tour of Robarts in my first year I would have definitely watched a video tour of the building.

After doing the readings and having worked on our group project here are a couple of (random) thoughts:

- This isn’t specific to social bookmarking; it’s more of a social software observation: tech skills matter. Take a look at our group blog post, in particular our issues with making our social bookmarking site, well, social. And if you haven’t had the chance to look at the Corrado and Fredrick article then check it out. It’s full of great tips but at the same time it’s a little daunting when MySQL and PHP and CSS keep coming up. There’s no rule that says that we’ve got to be familiar with various platforms and software, but wouldn’t it be helpful if we were? Web 2.0 has helped make things easier for the less technically inclined (*points at self*) and has helped level the playing field (to some extent) but I don’t want to get complacent when it comes to the techy part of techological things…

- I’m no cataloguer but I’ve got a secret love for controlled vocabulary. At times this made the project more challenging, and maybe even a little frustrating, so it was important to keep re-reading Mercado’s words:

This gives you an opportunity to observe a user-based classification, and learn what your users think your data is about, and possibly using that to your advantage to, say, improve your classification, or study how the patron mind works.

Searching by tags is really not that different from keyword searching. I love keyword searches, and natural language search functions – so why am I poo poohing user created tags? Probably because I’m still green enough to be snooty about such things. But we’ve got to keep reminding ourselves that it’s all about the user; if they can’t find or access information on their terms then what’s the point of all the work that we’re doing?

For those people using Google Wave:  Is GV an attempt at a wiki? Is it a wiki?  Whatever it’s meant to be I’m not using it to it’s fullest potential – probably because I only have a handful of people in my contacts and they have little interest in playing around with it…

Fifteen years in Toronto, countless walks on Bloor Street, and I never noticed the Japan Foundation.

I had the opportunity last night to visit JFT (Japan Foundation Toronto) last night and oogle their library and “Orgamic Architecture” exhibit. If you’re interested in Japan, Japanese culture, or just interested in libraries (and I think you might be), I’d recommend stopping by 131 Bloor Street W the next time you’re in downtown Toronto.

Sadly, the library at JFT is noticing that the number of visitors are decreasing as are circulation stats so spread the word to anyone you know who’s looking to learn about Japan or maintain ties with the Japanese community in Toronto. The library is open to the public and issues library cards to anyone residing in the city for a minimum of three months. What’s the collection like? Imagine a small branch of the TPL – now imagine that the majority of the materials are in Japanese. Worry not, there’re also materials in English (fiction, non-fiction, multimedia) and French (Japanese novels translated into French). And an enviable collection of popular culture (manga, J-pop, films). Add to that mental image extremely friendly staff, a well-lit space, and comfortable seating – that’s the JFT library.

Dear Blog,

Having read the articles for this week I’m feeling a little shameful and guilty – I haven’t been a very good blog parent.

People have kindly taken the time to comment on my posts and I have yet to respond. And I know that I’ve got to listen to Dreyer and Grant and be more active on here.

I think about you often, honestly, I do. I promise that I’m not like Steven Krause’s or Jill Walker’s students: I would just write, if given the opportunity (read: time). Time just manages to get away from me and that chore known as my job is quite the time-stealer as well.

I can’t promise that things will change immediately, but I can promise to try and take better care of you.

Love,

Amena