You Tube Videos: 90 second book review: Austenland

Oh course I liked this website, who doesn't love YouTube?? The reason why did I chose this video is that I read about it in the January 2008 issue of the Library Journal and thought it sounded intriguing. What a creative (and low budget) use of both the library's resources and YouTube to generate interest in books! Especially classic books, like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and make the story relevant to millennials by using pop culture references to make a video.

Unfortunately however, the possibilities of YouTube for my respective organizations are limited since it is blocked from our access. But if it weren't I would: add any dining & wine or famous chefs and or comedic food/dining/wine references to the culinary institute to encourage both students and teachers to engage and offer combined learning/entertainment opportunities. As for the hospital library, I would add healthy cooking or exercise videos that are consistent with the organizational mission. Or create some library use videos to help "market" the library and library services.

Library 2.0- What It Means To Me

In "Library 2.0- It’s many things to many people", I really enjoyed reading what others' concept of Library 2.0 is.

And what does Library 2.0 mean to me? Well, I'm really glad you asked. I get so tired of the negativity that some librarians express when asked to learn or use 2.0 technologies. It's depressing in general and discouraging to those of us that are starting out in this profession. In what other career area is it acceptable for members of the profession to eschew change and growth in their work environment, or to explicitly state that they refuse to learn the technological aspects of their jobs? Hello, unemployment line.

But then I have hope, because of efforts like the Vermont's 23 Things and the nationwide participation of libraries/librarians in the 23 Things project. I think the best thing about this endeavor is that even if you don't (or won't) use these 2.0 skills on the job at library, you will understand the concepts and see how 2.0 tools support learning and/or information seeking.

My hope is that those librarians who deep down are still clinging to the icebergs, will lend their support to those of us who want to be Librarian 2.0. Because both sides of the 2.0 debate love libraries and are hopeful for it's viable future.

And I believe both sides can be hopeful if we contemplate Dr. Wendy Schultz's vision of the Library 4.0, as our evolution continues.

Flickr

For the Flickr exercises, I decided to do option B: I brought in my digital camera to take pictures of the NECI Essex Child Library. I uploaded and tagged the photos, and joined the group setup for the Vermont 23 Things to share my photos.

The photos I took are of the outside of our building and all the inside rooms of the library.

In my experience, as a first time Flickr user, the process was easy. I really liked the fact that (unlike blogger) you can upload a group of photos at once and it doesn't take very long.