Obstacles

When we filled out the contract we had to list the obstacles that might arise while we were completing the the 23 things challenge. In the last week all the ones that I listed and some more have occurred. Both my boys came home for a week, that involved a lot of talking, cooking and washing! - It was great to see them. Every time I sat at the computer, either someone else wanted it, or I was required to assist with farm work etc.
Then there was the music practice for the competition last Friday night, we came second - beaten by two points.
Another subject got in the way, spent the weekend in Ballarat learning to assist customers to access information - good fun.
Last but not least I had to go to work, half the Library staff have got the flu and no doubt by next week the other half will have it.
Tomorrow I head off to music camp for a week with 25 kids and a few crazy adults to play music from 9 in the morning till 9 at night everyday. Its a long week but a lot of fun, we do two concerts on the final weekend and everyone learns heaps.
After that I am going to have to spend a lot of time catching up on all the home work.

Week 7: Wikis

Spent most of yesterday lost in Wikipedia, so much to read, and so many little snippets of information that might be handy at some stage! you can just go on and on for hours. Web2.0 is taking me on a great adventure, there is just so much out there to discover.
Have looked at several library wikis - some good, some not so good.
The Bull Run Library was current and informative, lots of information and links to other activities and sites.
I spent some time looking at the Grand Rapids Michigan GRPLpedia site. I am interested because my son is going there for 6 months later in the year. The site only has links on the first page, no other real information. I find this a little bit offputing, I would prefer to have some info right there, rather than having to go and search for it. I think that in this day and age people want to be able to access information quickly and if they open a page with only links on it they might not go any further.
The Wagga Wagga City library has an excellent site, lots of information and well set out. There is an invitation to join the library and become a cyber-member. There are wikis for:
The Book Club
History of Wagga Wagga
Memories of Wagga Wagga
Local Radio
Guy Lit Wire (for teenage boys)
Baby Bounce (infant program)

Wikis in libraries play a great role in encouraging library patrons to become involved in their libraries. They make it easy for anyone to not only access information, but also to add information, great for book clubs, FAQ's or technology advice.
Wikis can also play a role in communication between staff, particularly in the case of regional staff working on joint projects.

It is important to update wikis often to keep the readers interested, "leaving a blog or wiki untouched for days raises questions about its importance to the organisation. Content is the key to appeal so making it fresh and inviting is essential." (Watson, K. and Harper, C. 2006)

Reference

Watson, K. & Harper, C. (2006, December). Using blogs and wikis to communicate with library clients. inCite 27(12)

Had a great weekend with the family, lots of pony rides and farm adventures for the city grandchildren. They have all gone home so its time to learn a new skill.
Today I am going to look at wikis and see what fun I can have with them.

Moonflowerdragon, you asked me which reader I used to do the RSS feeds. I used the google one which is on a tab on the gmail page, it was very user friendly!

"The ability to find, use, and communicate information effectively and ethically is commonly known as information literacy. It is the umbrella term for emerging literacy’s such as technology literacy, media literacy, and health literacy. Information literacy is the domain of all educators". (Weiner 2010)

Therefore working in the library industry, one of the skills that we need to develop is the ability to source and evaluate information. We also need to have the knowledge to advise young people on the most effective methods they can use to search for information. To be able to do this we need to be familiar with a broad range of Web 2.0 tools.

Because of the vast amount of resources available on the World Wide Web one of the biggest challenges people face today, is how to sort through all the information they access. They need to learn to use effective search strategies and then to be able to identify results that are both relevant and accurate. Young people who sucessfully learn these strategies are then able to go on and become life long learners
"Sheer abundance of information and technology will not in itself create more informed citizens without a complementary understanding and capacity to use information effectively". (Bundy 2004)

As providers of information we need to continue on the path of lifelong learning, it is our responsibility to embrace new technology and forms of communication as they become available. We then should be able to pass on these skills whenever the need arises.
"The landscape of Web 2.0 is constantly evolving and it is crucial that librarians stay current with its development". (Luo as cited in Godwin 2010).

References

Weiner, Sharon A.: Information Literacy: A neglected core competency.
Educause Quarterly magazine 33(1) 2010. Retrieved 13 June2010 from
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/InformationLiteracyANeglectedC/199382

Bundy, Alan. Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework: principles standards and practice, 2nd ed. 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2010 from http://www.caul.edu.au/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf

Godwin, P. 2010.June 10. Web 2.0 Integration in information literacy instruction. [web log post]. Retrieved on 13 June from
http://infolitlib20.blogspot.com/2010/06/web-20-integration-in-information.html

RSS & Newsreaders

I have finished setting up my reader page and have subscribed to 6 feeds. Two newspapers and the weather to keep me informed about what is going on in the world. The three library related sites are ALIA, the State Library of Victoria and Melbourne Uni Library IT team.
The Melb uni IT team have introduced RSS feeds in their library catalogue so you can be alerted when new items are added to the catalogue - Very clever and extremely handy!
The state library have a similar system which alerts you to new items relevant to your searches.
This is just another way that your local library could keep its borrowers up to date with new items as they arrive.
I find it to be a really useful way to receive and send information, because you only get a brief overview which means you can look at it quickly. If you want to know more you can then follow it up.

rss Feeds

Worked on the rss feeds activity today. Have been in and set up a feed page, started with the page on the link and got a bit frustrated with it, so I read some posts about it and decided to go with the google page.
I have suscribed to two newspapers and ALIA so far. I have had to stop because the website is having difficulties and told me to try again later!
Aready it has been great to read the news headlines as they come up, I'm a bit of an online news addict. I suppose it stems from never receiving a hard copy of a newspaper until lunch time if at all.
I can see that it would be really useful for libraries to subscribe to the feeds that would be relevant to them and their users. The great advantage is that the information arrives automatically you don't have to search separate websites to access it.
I haven't got to the bit about setting up your feeds for other people to access, I will look at that tomorrow

Spent most of today researching for conservation assignment. Going to Mt Helen for library excursion tomorrow. Band rehersals tonight and Sunday so hope to get back to info lit on Monday. Had another play on flickr, looked at library cards it gave me insight into what other people are doing in their jobs.