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Hi everyone, I will be updating my Traveling Librarian page in the next few days  you will be hearing from me. In the meantime please visit me on Twitter https://twitter.com/TravelingLBRN

Traveling Librarian: Is the Economy in the U.S. Getting Better?

Traveling Librarian: Is the Economy in the U.S. Getting Better?: You may wonder why I am taking the liberty to talk today about investment and the Dow Jones. Well the reason is simple. I had a referen...

Is the Economy in the U.S. Getting Better?

You may wonder why I am taking the liberty to talk today about investment and the Dow Jones. Well the reason is simple. I had a reference question regarding the U.S. stock market and whether it is safe to invest. I am not an investors and even if I were I would not be able to provide any individual with advise or recommendation on the subject. However as a librarian it is my obligation to assist the patron in finding source of information that he can use to answer his question provided that the information is accurate and reliable.  So, I dig up some information and provided the patron with the most recent news on the U.S. stock market.

 In September 2008, the stock market took a plunge the Dow Jones hit the worst point drop ever 777.68 after learning that the U.S. Senate rejected the billion bank bailout needed at the time, one month later the Senate finally approves the bailout. Since 2008 the U.S. economy has been spiraling many of us have wondered whether we would ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. We maybe finally seeing some progress and hopefully the light will start shining again

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 Is the economy in the U.S. getting better?  Yesterday, CNN reported that U.S. Stocks rose allowing for investors for the first time to believe that the housing and financial crises may finally be behind us.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average had closed at a record high of 15,409.39, after gaining more than 100 points, or 0.7% at the same time, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose above 2.1% - its highest level in more than a year.  The Housing market showed significant improvement as consumer confident hit a 5 year high and housing prices rose a better than expected 10.2% during the first quarter reported.  This has been the biggest increase since 2007 and helped boost the entire sector. In other news that hit the headlines during the month of May was that gold prices were going down.  A stronger dollar is the cause of gold prices to go down. This may not be good news for Gold Investors. But for all of us normal people, and general consumers it is good news. It is no longer a rumor that that the U.S. Dollar is starting to measure up to other currency. It is moving slowly but surely. The strength in the U.S. Stock market is bringing back investors who are confident and are willing to buy in U.S. Stocks.  For foreign investors this equals to selling their currencies to buy dollars, and then put them to work in the markets, were the demand is for dollars. This creates extra demand for U.S. dollars.

Like with any investments, it is normal to see the U.S. stock market, the Dow Jones goes from + to – but this does not mean that we are back to a shrinking economy. It just means that there is still more talk that needs to happen. This morning as speculations that the Federal Reserve could restrict its bond buying the Dow Jones fell nearly 100 points. However, the 10 – year Treasury note rose 2.15%. So what does this mean that there is still hope and depending on your interest on what is happening in the financial market, today maybe a good day for you or a bad day. The one thing we all need to be focusing on that is in getting our economy going so that more money is invested which = to more job be created.  So, what do you think, is the U.S. economy getting better?

From your Traveling Librarian, always a librarian!

“Life is made up of small wonders and big Ahhs! For every experience there is always something to learn and for others to treasure!” 

Japanese Taiko Drumming

I hope most of you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. At least for me, it started with a bang on Saturday as the Miami Lakes Branch Library celebrated Memorial Day weekend with performer Tampa Taiko Group. 63 people visited this sought after event that took place at the library’s auditorium. Ron the Taiko drummer not only played the drums but also a Shakuhashi flute. Those present were introduced to history about Taiko drums and were also given the opportunity to participate and play the drums.

If you have never seen the Taiko drumming group performs then you missed out on a fun family event.  The Taiko drumming is a musical art form that involves music and well organized choreographed movement. The

sounds are loud, rapid and hard which many performers identify as being part of the Japanese martial arts it involves a unique rhythm were the performers are not trying to only use the drums as an instrument but they are also trying to connect their mind and spirits with the drums.  It is an ancient form of percussion using large drums. The drums can range from size from quite small to as large as a vehicle. The most common drum size is called the “chu-daiko” which is the size of the wine barrel drum.

Taiko drumming is a sound that vibrates through your body and soul. No two sounds are alike nor can it be described or compared to other drumming sounds.  Taiko drumming is native to Japan and has been around for over 1400 years. I have had the pleasure to enjoy watching and listening to Taiko performers in the past and it has been an experience that I have enjoyed watching many times over.  Taiko means “fat drums”. “Taiko” has generally often been used to refer to modern art of Japanese drum (Kumi-daiko) but the word actually refers to the drums itself.  

If you have not had the opportunity to see such a performance I then recommend that you watch Japanese theme movies such as Rising Sun or The Hunted. 

From your Traveling Librarian, always a librarian!
“Life is made up of small wonders and big Ahhs! For every experience there is always something to learn and for others to treasure”!

A Conversation about Libraries

As a librarian, I find myself continuously approached by people that are amazed to learn that libraries are still a vibrant place to visit. Once we get into the whole conversation about libraries and what libraries have to offer they still ask the question of how we are surviving in times where almost anything can be found online.  So, I was lucky to come across this article “The Downside of Being Universally Liked/Advocate’s Corner” written by Jason Kramer.  I thought I might share it as it made me wonder about the future of libraries.  In recent years with talks about budget cuts and funding sources dwindling there has been much commotion and discussion about the value of libraries, especially public libraries.

 

Kramer explains that “Libraries have no natural predator” the reason being that everyone likes libraries and it seems that most people have had at least one good experience or a story to share about their library visit.  So, why are libraries getting so little support?  Kramer states that the problem lies on “the competitiveness and aggressive world of politics, no enemies usually means no allies” in other words in my opinion it seems that we are being neglected because we are not a major concern or money driven institution and/or politically influencing the masses. But this does not mean that we are the enemy.  On the contrary, we are seen more like the beloved child that bares no scars or resemblance to trouble.   We would have not been in the chopping board during budgetary times if it weren't for our present economy that is still struggling to survive. 

I have to agree with Kramer that libraries do not have a natural predator but in the past decade we have seen how the effects of a slumping economy have affected our livelihood.  I believe that we can visualize ourselves and change the negative perception and belief about libraries as an old institution that is stagnant and is not moving fast enough towards the future.  Libraries have always maintained a place of importance even in difficult times and it has to do, because our value is that we are “a tool not a thing that pushes opinion” (Kramer).  As “a tool such as the hammer” that builds and creates economic growth, libraries are infrastructures of the modern world.  “Information infrastructure is a utility and it is as necessary as much as power grids and transportation networks” (Kramer).

The importance of libraries specifically in Academic and Research libraries lies in the fact that they actually develop innovation; they are always conducting research that is supported by the Universities.  Kramer states those libraries provide the raw material of information that is needed to fuel researchers, and entrepreneurs.  Libraries are not an end in itself but a means to an end, what a great thought! So ask the question and the answer can be found at the library!  “One way is  to improve library presence  is to cultivate partnerships with other institutions, department or organizations, in other words libraries are and should be, the allies that others need to achieve their goals, when the library helps them we win too” (Kramer).  I understand that many libraries are rethinking or trying to reinvent themselves and this is always a good thing since it keeps us current and not stagnant.  

I think this is a great idea as it can improve overall library presence. There is nothing wrong with change, if with change there is progress.   For example, Become a library advocate,

partner with other institutions, businesses, non-profit that deliver unique services that no other can duplicate.  That is the key to this “NO Duplication of Services” being unique attracts attention and interest in the organization. Be the first to deliver any services by being on top of the leading edge in ideas and technology, lead for others to follow.  Opportunity is always present so why not take the bull by its horns, look around, see what others are doing, conduct your library like a business, an enterprise, compete to be # 1 and be always prepare for the future.

Your Traveling Librarian, a librarian at WILL! Have a blessed day, be a friend to a librarian!

 http://lj.libraryjournal.com/category/opinion/advocates-corner/

From my traveling desk to you!

Hi Readers:

This will be my first blog as a “Traveling Librarian” far from the days of school. When I first created this blog was to comply with one of my course requirements. Today, I begin to write to you and share my traveling experience as a librarian but also keep you informed of what is going on in the world of libraries but most important I hope to provide each of you a learning experience.  Think of this blog as a journal where I will share some history, geography, culture, food, shopping and information about the different libraries I will be visiting through each of my journeys.

I will be in touch soon writing to you, sharing stories, posting pictures and even providing information about library activities and more. I hope to also receive some feedback, comments and hear about your experience at the library or a place you have visited that would like to share with others.  So, I would like to welcome each one of you to my Traveling Librarian blog. 

Final Tutorial: Goodreads!

And so we come to the end of the tutorial section of our course. Goodreads as mentioned in a previous blog is one of my favorite sites. Funny but again, I find myself  learning that a site such as Goodreads is a social media site. I actually just use to see it as just a site for reviewing books and finding out what is good out there. I learned during this tutorial that Amazon.com has purchased Goodreads, so I should say that there are going to be some influential strategies from Amazon to get members of Goodreads to purchase from them. Well I must admit this Tutorial section of the course has been quite amazing. I have to say truthfully but I feel that I have learned so much about the different social media sites through this tutorial section and I feel that everyone did a great job. As a class we have learned a lot from each other.

"I'll See You on Facebook"

There is still so much to write about Facebook and it is increasingly becoming popular the discussion on the many uses for Facebook and how it impacts businesses, communication, social interactions, libraries and even teaching. But at reading this article, it seemed to me that there is so much enthusiasm involved at the idea of professors meeting with students through Facebook. It seems to be fun, but to what extent do you want to use Facebook as a way to professionally impact your students without mixing personal, impersonal with professional behavior. How much can the student professor relationship can handle before it becomes to personal. Any way the same can be said about libraries and librarians. I believe that as long as the Facebook page is used for professional use as in this case it can be handled ok. I would be a little concerned about other people ability to see what is going on and how much of school involvement can their be in the page. How much is it allowed? there are so many questions and many are answered in the article but I think it is still to early to say how this will all pan out . It is still a good article but nevertheless I would wait to see how many professors out there are using Facebook to reach out to their students. At least I have not met a single professor that is using facebook to conduct business with students.

Quora and Library Things

This week we learned about Quora and Library Things. Quora, from what I have learned anyone can search through Quora's questions, topics, and people, but it requires that one navigates through individual pages one by one, and sometimes you may miss searching answers that contained relevant knowledge. So, the best recommendation is that if you have something in your mind that you want to search for then read through all of  Quora's content including answers and posts. One thing that I was clarified through my confusion is that it seemed that it looked more like one of the many apps belonging to Google, but was happily clarified. As for Library Things. I have used in the past it seems to me that it has similarities to Goodreads. all though I believe that librarians may consider using Library Things more than Goodreads. However, my understanding is that Goodreads is more popular than Library Things in fact my library system uses Goodreads for reviews on books etc. So, it has been an interested week with some new information and some not so new. 

How much involvement should government archives have on social media post?

In the article "Should Government Archives Social Media Posts?".  The jury seems to be still out, this has become one of the latest concerns of government departments who fear the use of social media as a way to attract attention, they fear that any comment made can and will be held against them. For this reason, the biggest fear seems to be "compromise". Compromise on the part of those government entities who are using social media to reach out to their public. Fears of spelling out the wrong message to people and knowing that anything posted on the web may never be able to retrieve and delete and can be used against them. There is reason to believe that it will take a while for government archives to get involve with social media and I think personally this will be the case. In the meantime, those few brave government entities out there that are exposing themselves through  social media are doing so in a cautious way. 

Enough has been said about E-books

Enough has been said about E-books, I have been listening to how e-books are going to change the way we read and the way libraries conduct their day to day business. There has been changes, and E-books has brought it challenges among librarians and patrons. Librarians are still learning how e-books impact their library services and patrons are learning about e-books and many are using e-books but moreover there are still patrons that will continue to request books, audiobooks aside to e-books. So, what can we expect, we can expect an increase in patron request of e-book materials, we can expect libraries expanding their e-book collection and we can also expect new services becoming more attractive as we continue to move forward from just paper items to digital items. So, I would say mot much has change in the past few years except that we will be seeing an increase in library digital materials.

From my Traveling Desk: Foursquare and LinkedID

This week’s tutorials were Foursquare and LinkedId both social media platform are used for finding places, information, and also networking with others. In Foursquare I found that like Yelp! It provides directions to places, gives information about the place, it allows for people to provide feedback about their experience and even share pictures with others. When I think about LinkedId one site comes to mind and that is Monster.com. I believe that Monster.com has been in the business of helping others in finding jobs longer. However, it does not provide members with networking opportunities with other applicants in the same way as LinkedId. I am amaze on how many different social media platforms exist. Some of the ones that have been discussed in class I would have never have classified them as being social media sites and most likely If I have a need for their use, in my mind the idea of using them for other  reasons aside to gathering information  will probably never happen. However, there are quite a few sites that I will definitely come back and visit including becoming a member (hopefully a regular user) and who knows may be discover other ways that these sites can be useful to me and my job as a librarian. 

Social media is not the enemy of journalism, Pew report indicates

Definitely I have to agree that Social Media is not the enemy of journalism, what has happened is that it has taken much by surprise the journalism world. As we move towards a more virtual world where everything can be instantly found at a click of a mouse or finger tip tapping on your Android. Many people are opting going the fastest route of getting in touch with others, communicating and also getting instant information through a Virtual world of information. Not having to go somewhere to read a newspaper, not having to wait for the news to come up on tv. Not having to wait in line or wait for the mail to arrive. It is all now done instantly and rapidly. Just recently I went to the bank to retrieve a payment that I had made through bill pay. The problem that I was trying to get at was getting a copy of the bill pay which is an electronic check as proof to the vendor that I had pay for the item. It only took my bank officer 1 click a phone call and in less than 15 minutes the information was made available through fax. I did not have to wait by the mail box to get a copy or have to go directly to the company to get a copy it was all handle quickly and that is what we expect today with all of our transactions. Journalism is now the same way, we expect to learn about the news inmediately there are now apps that can be downloaded to your android or iPhone that allows for you to receive instant messaging regarding weather, last minute news, current events etc. and all of this technology has put a gap on traditional journalism. But this should not become a problem, if we look outside the box, this can become an added asset to journalism. trying to put together a formula that includes the traditional form of journalism of tranmitting on radio and tv and a new added service of news tracking through your computer, android, iPhone or any other format that allows for easy electronic access to information. It is important to meet the needs of all your audiences and it should not limit to one way of bringing the news to the public but providing many useful options.

Talking about Etsy... and what is Kickstarter!

This weeks tutorials have been quite interesting. One of my favorites was Etsy. I was introduced to Etsy about 2 years ago. I have since become active in purchasing items for my personal use...until recently that I purchased an item ( Children's Constructions signs) for this 2013 Summer Reading "Dig It". Etsy is wonderful in many ways you can purchase items, get ideas, share with others and even pin it to Pinterest. It is easy to use, easy to follow and easy to fall in love with it!

I enjoy its many uses and I believe that my relationship will be a lasting one. I do not compare it Ebay but Etsy to me is like a hybrid between Ebay and Amazon. It has the purchasing power of Ebay but the sense of community like as Amazon. I think it has a potential to grow and expand it services. And yes it is a great platform for purchasing items that you can use in library programs.   Kickstarter, for me is a different story it is difficult to decifer what their platform is all about. I tried joining Kickstarter but for no reason I got the feeling that It would not be such as great idea after all. I cannot say much of Kickstarters, I guess we will have to wait to see how it may evolve.

The art of Pinterest & Reddit

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I want to share with everyone my experience with Pinterest. When I first was introduced to Pinterest I never looked at it as a Social Media platform. I recognized is creative, crafty and artistic concept. I have enjoyed Pinterest for its ideas, for its colorful displays and beautiful pictures and I pinned for the fun of it and then I took this class and learned through the tutorial on Pinterest all of the wonderful uses for Pinterest. I learned I could share library ideas and even what is going on at my library with others! Another social media platform that I learned was Reddit. Reddit has a lot of potential, I think it will become a great tool for librarians especially if you are working in the reference field. It is a great tool for collaboration and getting people to join and make comments. That is why it could makes a great reference platform. Both of these platforms have a unique use and with great expectations, imagination and willingness anyone is able to transform this platforms in a great tool for librarians to use in conducting day to day library business.

Reflection on Week 8 article: The Future of Social Media in Journalism

Yes, it is not news unless you are part of it! WOW that seems to be how NEWS in today's virtual world will be expected. It is not surprising to hear about how journalism is changing with blogs, twits and many other social media platform. The face of a Journalist has changed from a person that has study the field of Journalism or communication and works for a newspaper or TV channel and provides news to the public to that of many people sharing what is going on through their blogs, twits or Facebook and now their share comments are considered news. Sharing the news making history, these people are the new freelance journalist, without knowing it they are bringing the news through the high speed internet, without knowing it they contributing to the history, they are not necessarily making a living out of blogging or twitting but just communicating with people. It is through these communication efforts is that news is being disseminated to the public, free  and most likely without any sensationalism  something that we grew accustomed to listening day by day up to the point that we stop listening. Lets talk about true journalism. True journalism has been about making news, telling the stories that the public want to hear, selling news whether it was good or bad. Most of the time what we learn through news broadcast is not exactly the good news, because it does not sell. It is the bad the news that sells. 

This and many more anecdotes are what Journalism has been about for a while. However, this news generation of news broadcasters indirectly are providing the public the truth, and at least it is no longer about selling news but about informing the truth and fortunately sometimes the truth is coming thru with positive news to share with others. Bloggers as well as Journalist are also making money selling their stories online or even better selling a spot on their blog to make some money.  However, this is just a fraction of most bloggers. There are many bloggers that are actually blogging as a form of hobby, entertainment or simply to share information to their following.

So, I guess I can say from this week’s reading is that it is to be expected that with social media and people’s ability to freely communicate and express themselves that there would be a following, sometimes larger than that in the newsroom and that these changes would bring changes to the way news would be provided from now on and how journalist will be delivering news confiding on the contribution from people like myself.  I have to agree that journalism will never be the same, and in the same way that librarians will need to evolve in order to continue being relevant. For the journalist it will require that they too adopt this new form of media and also be part of the community by providing news coming from different venues.  

Week 8: Two Different Social Bookmarking Services with Two Similar Ideas: Diigo and Delicious

Today, I want to talk about my experience using the social bookmarking service Diigo and Delicious.  I had once used it during another course. But did not get into its use, in other words I did not see its value. I understand now the concept of bookmarking and it makes lots of sense and it can really make a student’s life easier. Easier because as a student you have lots of assignments that require doing research and both of this sites Diigo and Delicious are great tools for researchers. Bookmarking articles, books, periodicals easy to organize, file, and retrieve when you are ready to use them. Bookmarking is also a great tool for the reference librarian. Reference Librarian are constantly asked the same reference questions and this tool would be great for tagging and bookmarking reference responses for future use.

 But it can also a great tool for personal use.  Let’s just say you are putting together a list of books that you want to line up for reading. You can bookmark the title of the book and also a brief the description about what the book is about. This is important for the user as they can go back and read and decide if they want to read this book next.  I honestly think that Diigo and Delicious are great tools to use. However, I found that Diigo offers better features than Delicious.  When I started using Diigo for this course at first I needed to go back and try to retrace my steps to get an idea on how to use it. But then it became so simple to add bookmarks and even edit my bookmarks with Delicious it became a little trickier it was not that simple to add bookmarks, I could not figure out how to add an icon for bookmarking, and then it was not easy to find the “library” that had all of my selected articles. So it was a challenger at first and then it went smooth. But I also found that Diigo was visually more organized, it looked better. So, If I would have to choose between both social bookmarking services. Diigo would be the winner! Until something else new and better comes along. 

Reflecting on Week # 7 "Social Media and Privacy"

As I reflect on one of week # 7 this article “California Passes Tough Social Media Privacy Laws” by Michael Endler, it is amazing to believe that employers and schools would interfere in a individuals private matters to determine the character of a person by the way they behave on Facebook. I am not saying that I agree with everything that is posted on Facebook, I have seen some really serious disturbing posts but I also see that some individuals do it just for the shock and reaction of others (they want to see how many likes and comments are made to their post) and I see of these post coming from ignorant individuals that are not aware that these things are monitored and in most cases stay on the web forever. I understand that we live in a society that does not seem to value any longer “privacy” or may not even know the meaning of it. Everybody seems to want to be known and know everyone and we have been exposed to so many ways to connect with others that we forget that we are also being watched by people that we do not necessarily have any type of relationships with.

The connection is an open connection, in a two way street and can be a dangerous one. And I am believer that even as we engage in this type of social media activities we must be at our best behavior because we do not know who may be watching us. But at the same time I do not believe that others have a right to our privacy or so call privacy and to invade in our space and defy who we are and make determinations of whether we have the integrity for a job or for being accepted at a school.  I am happy to hear that California has taken the lead to ensure that people’s privacy is protected. That employers or any other entity does not have the right to ask a person for their user name and password on Facebook for them to check out your site and determine your fate based on their believes. Like the article alludes if you have different religious and sexual preferences from that of the employer or school they may use that against you and fail the possibilities for you to land a job or an opportunity at an Ivy League University. This is a free nation and up to a certain point we are at fault for what is happening we have let much of our personal life to be part of everyone’s life without realizing that we have given up an important value “ freedom” and “ privacy” 

Google + Library Donations

Today, I learned to use Google +. I added friends, family and acquaintances to my circle. Expanding my social network and providing information some useful information and maybe in the future use it communicate with others. In my first Google + as part of my Social Media course I posted some suggestions as the person in charge of donation on how Social Media/Web 2.0 applications can be used to promote the libraries annual book sale that includes donated books and also how Social Media can serve as a way to announce that the library is accepting donation of books and other materials.  I then shared my post with all of the people within my circle. I hope you have a chance to read what I posted on Google +

From my Traveling Desk: Discovering more on social network sites

The traveling librarian had a very important date this past week. It had to do with Comprehensive Exams. Yes, my days/nights were filled with researching, reading, writing, re-writing, and even crying!!! But  throughout the week I still checked on my other classes. Although I could not do much. I am happy  that it is over..at least I hope! and I finally was able to watch my classmates tutorial both quite interesting Friendster and Hi5. Both social network from what I gathered are similar they seem to target the Asia Continent and one of their big attractions is gaming and entertainment. I was kinda disturbed to learn that in Friendster the age to join is 13 and up and their game webpage shows two young ladies demonstrating game cards in their hands. Also the webpage seems to have a dating page for ages 18-27 so I wonder how does a child age 13 not get around going into the dating portion of the site? I am happy to have learned about this site, it keeps me informed of what is out there. Both of my classmates did a great job with their presentation.

The Death of Library 2.0

“Library 2.0 Five Years Later” Journal Article by Walter Crawford was quite a surprising article to read.  I was shock to learn through the article that Library 2.0 was just a concept that never took off and it is now dead. I have understood that the basic idea of Library 2.0 was to transform library services by making them more interactive and more web-based along with Web 2.0 lines. I know that there is a great difference between both principles.

Web 2.o services is modeled to share information in a particular way different from the definition of sharing information for libraries. Librarians have been in conflict with this notion of sharing information because of privacy laws. Privacy is central, core value of libraries.  So, I think that in part Library 2.0 has not taken off not only because is more of a technology based principle but also because of the fear that the use of technology as a form of contact, communicating or disseminating information to the public electronically or virtually may violate privacy laws that protect the information that patrons obtain from the library.

However, as a new generation of librarians’ rise, the views will change. Librarians of the future may define space as a virtual space not a physical space but the use of physical space will continue to exist, communication will continue to evolve into more virtual setting. In part this is due to the budget challenges that libraries have been facing for the past few years and an existing limited technology skills among older librarian colleagues. The growth of mobile devices and applications are driving forces for which change is necessary.

As more patrons demand that libraries understand and know how to deal with the demands and expectations of Web 2.0 (Facebook, blogs etc,) more libraries will have to understand that these days everything is about the use of online or virtual communication. As we move more into an open content process, the traditional approach of librarians to serve their patrons will gravitate towards more of Web 2.o platform.   Library 2.o maybe a term that is now considered obsolete but we must admit that Library 2.o has much to do with the changes as it is part of a movement of change; change in library services and change in librarians view but also requiring that librarians obtain the skills necessary to be able to move forward with technology.  So, whether it is Library 2.o or Web 2.o or any other new technology we must be ready and prepared to use it.

Announcing Twitter in Schools!

Never thought I would be twitting.  For me the whole concept of Twitter seemed like a waste of time, I never understood why anyone would want to be following what other people are doing. When I would hear that people were just twitting and following Larry King, I would answer “you have got to be kidding, there is more to life to following celebrities!” to want to know what he is doing, what he is eating, where he is going and then on top of all, hear that Twitter was also been used as a way to attract people to listen to his show! We’ll I was just completely disgusted until this course and….I read this article “The Twitter Toolbox for Educators” It seems to me that the author Steven Anderson has a grip on this whole Twitter concept, he not only understands it but makes good use of it. It definitely changed my view about is possible usage. He explains how Twitter can be used as a tool by educators for learning. The author discusses that he uses it as part of his Personal Learning Network (PLN) or as part of his Personal Learning Community (PLC) and I really enjoyed the quote statement on the article “Alone I am smart but together we are brilliant” (although I would have liked to know who’s quote was he quoting) I thought it was a good one. I had no idea that the School community or Education community have been embracing Twitter as a way to share learning resources or even to teach.

However, I have yet to meet a teacher that is using this method of communication in Miami, but I still find it quite interesting. The fact that there are schools out there and teachers out there that are taking the classroom to the next level is ingenious! To hear that there are teachers that are even using Twitter to remind their students of assignments sounds incredible. These teachers seemed to me like Super Educators and very much dedicated to their students than the average teacher.  I also liked the fact that the  community and school district in which the author is working at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County seem to be quite in tune with social media as way of teaching history, as way of marketing their school and also as a way of maintaining open communication channels with students, parents and colleague. I find this to be the top notch school project ever, If I may say so. Kudos to Mr. Anderson!

From my Traveling Desk: Wikivoyage Tutorial Presentation

This week I learned about Wikivoyage.org a web-based travel guide. It was a good experience and enjoyed very much learning about the history, background and future of Wikivoyage. I honestly hope that they prosper. I love traveling, so this was an area of research that I enjoyed working on. I created a PowerPoint presentation and then used Windows Movie Maker to turn my PowerPoint presentation into a film that I could upload in You Tube. Another source of social media completely new to me. So, in a short time I have learned to use two new media formats Windows Movie Maker and You Tube. I will not deny that the experience at first was very challenging and nerve wrecking. I can easily declare that the narration part of the PowerPoint easily took me several hours to complete. First I had to edit my script several times, then there were background sounds that interrupted the recording, a few errors made while reading the script and the most important factor, my awful strong accent!  Yes, it was definitely challenging. Then came the bone breaker...trying to figure out how to use Windows Movie Maker and You Tube, that also took another few hours of struggling until successfully complete. I am amaze at myself, I finally got it done! My advise to anyone doing this project for the first time to put aside time in your schedule to complete because you will need the time.

Choosing a Library Blog to Follow

For Week #3  second assignment I selected “The 'M' Word - Marketing Libraries” blog. This blog is about marketing tips and trends for libraries and non-profits.  I browse through a few library blogs but most of the blogs that I read were about new found technology being used by libraries or about what is going on at a particular library or events. I also read a few that used the blog more as their personal librarian journal. I felt that if I want to follow a blog it has to have more content, more about the works that a librarian or a library is doing. I hoped to find a blog that provides new ideas for library’s and librarians and maybe find brainstorming posts that I can follow and make comments. I want to learn what is going on differently in the library world that is really innovative, creative and inspiring.   Personally I would like to know more about what other libraries around the world are doing  not limit myself to what is going on here at home in the U.S.A. and that is what attracted me to this blog. 

This blog has two collaborating authors Nancy Dowd and Kathy Dempsey. Both authors are available for speaking and consulting. Their expertise is on marketing and finding ways for libraries to make that connection with their community.   For me personally making that connection is important.  Their post “ Take the Library to the People” totally inspired me to want to subscribe to this blog. They talk about libraries built were travelers are.  Libraries at an airport in Amsterdam were travelers can enjoy   books, videos, movies, music, art, and more in over 30 languages, and is meant to entertain and enlighten people about Dutch culture while they're waiting for flights in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, considered one of the world's busiest airports. Their post covers many areas of librarianship from the biblioburro in South America to gift ideas for library lovers and promoting libraries with T-shirts that say “Libraries are My Candy Store”.

I think that the main characteristic found in a successful library blog, aside to having a appealing and attractive appearance. Having a blog that has great functionality most importantly the library blog should allow for your readers to be able to interact with you.  The first thing that blogger should know before starting a blog is “What is your blog about” who is your audience and what is your goal? The content for me is the most important, establishing goals and objectives for your blog.  Allowing for content to be always fresh, with new topics to discuss and it is important to maintain the blog at least update weekly but the if possible setting up a calendar to follow for the updates would be even better.

Finally, A library blog should have more than one contributing author, and should be able to incite intelligent communication.  A successful library blog should provide a positive view on the library and be able to feature topics of interest to patrons, including book reviews, articles of interest, new services, future programs and even  include pictures taken of the library, its people, events and even videos on feature programs, resource topics anything that will expose the library and serve to advertise the library and its services. 

Learning To Work With Wikis

Ever wonder how Wikis work?  How can they serve libraries? Library Technology Reports “Wikis”  Part 1: Wikis & Libraries, July –August 2006. Wikis addresses these questions and more. I found it to be a  good article to read if you have never created a wiki or participated in adding or editing wikis. In truth, I always wondered how I could be able to add or edit one.  Through this course, and after reading this article I have learned that there are many reasons to engage in creating or being part of the collaborative team that works in creating and maintaining a wiki page.  The word Wiki comes from “Quick” in Hawaiian. The meaning of Wiki for the web interface is more about how easy you access and collaborate with it online. The article makes a case for Wiki on how it can benefit librarians. It offers librarian’s different scenarios to consider for its use.  

The article provides sites where you can start a wiki within minutes.  You can also consider an open source option for installing the software into your library server (of course, please get approval from your administration since there may be someone in staff responsible like a webpage manager). I liked the many options for the use of a wiki presented in this article and as a future librarian they seemed useful. For example: a library may want to consider listing resources available at their library; consider also using a wiki as a subject guide that can be used by both librarians and patrons, they can also use it to provide an overview about the library programs and services and even about the library’s history. 

In my view the best idea is as a training resource, librarians could work together collaboratively to create a research best practice outline or share with other librarians their many resources on the wiki . So, there are many possible uses for a wiki. Many University libraries and schools are considering using wikis as teaching resource site, they have links to their course curriculum, is also a great site for students to create their academic portfolio and in this same way University libraries are using MediaWiki as there preferred wiki webpage to provide students with links to articles, materials and other source information of importance for students.  

Several important points mentioned to consider before creating a wiki were:

·         Have specific goals and objectives to achieve with the wiki

·         Ask the question “what is the goal of this wiki?

·         Who will be collaborating in this wiki?

·         Appoint a wiki monitor

One last best practice advice mentioned is to be proactive with monitoring the changes made to your wiki. Now, what are you waiting for be proactive and start one! I know I will.

From my Traveling Desk

To say that I am an expert at this blog activity would be a lie. To this day, I am still working on how to better my blog image. I am still discovering how to make my page look appealing to the eye and attractive to anyone that comes across it. I am still figuring out how I get my page to be view by others and most importantly I am still learning about social media and how I can make it to my advantage or even better how I can use it as a librarian to provide information about traveling and what I learn from my visits about  culture, language, history, cuisine, literature, education, population, geography, arts, books...there is so much to learn, to share and to enjoy with others.

The Rise on Social Media

  

As I read some of the articles presented on Web 2.0 I realize that the rise on the many Social Media has now become just more than just main stream interest. The interest has gone beyond just finding ways for friends to connect with each other or simply communicate to others what you are doing. Social Media is now an important part of the business world.  Public and Private companies are interested on what social media has to offer. They see Facebook, Twitter and even You Tube as a mean to increase their business, increase their potential market and even influence how others perceive them. One of the things that I have learned through the discovery of blogs is that you do not have to have a journalism degree or be in the media spot light to get some attention. But you do have to have a reason to write a blog and one that will captivate a group of people for it to go mainstream. Reports such as the one written by Stuart Eliott describing how social media has played in an important role in the lives  of consumer  provide readers like myself proof how the internet and then of course social media sites have influence American’s  in their use of the internet. What I mean is that through social media more people are spending more time online to visit retail websites that  are advertise through a social media site. They are also discovering through Social Media what is going on in the world and finding websites to read more on the different subjects that are presented to them through their favorite social media site.

I cannot say more but the report is not only convincing. I am one of those people that have been lured to see other websites and even make some consumer choices because of articles read in social media sites or simply through suggestions made through others.   It is also interesting to know that Blogger is one of the social media sites that is increasing right behind Facebook in the report.  Stuart Elliots article “ Report Details Rise of Social Media” is a good one to read and would recommend other  articles such as Computers in Libraries: Innovative Services for Sustainable Libraries which discusses the emergences of Web 2.0  and Library 2.0 and how this revolution has impacted libraries but most important  what are  the current trends in library collections.

Week 2 (B) Assignment - Tag Clouds

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Tag clouds are not new forms of tags but they are to me since I did not know what their were until now, I had never created one. They serve as presentation techniques that are inserted as an explanation to web resources . Tag clouds are defined as visualization of word frequency. Cloud tags are just fun visual presentation of of words that can be shaped and sized with different fonts and colors.  These kind of tags can be found in advertisements, store displays, book covers, calendars and many other kinds of displays. I see them as colorful distractions placed for you to read and wonder.  It is definitely fun to create. I can imagine placing this kind of tags on posters promoting book events at the library using words that describe the different themes, topics or even titles.  In an attempt to experiment on the different possibilities I created two of these tag clouds to share on this blog. They were easy to create, fun, and gratifying to the eye.  In order to be able to use them on my blog I saved them as picture on my picture file and then transferred them to my blog. 

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Learning more on the use of Tags and Meta Tags

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of reading Shannon’s blog on Tags and Meta Tags so I decided to look into it and get my blog page with its own description in hopes that in the future, I will get people interested in my blog. Although this blog will be used for this class, I plan to expand on it and hope to make it a permanent blog where I can write about my traveling experiences and shared with others as a librarian what I learned on each trip. Hopefully I will be able to share the history, food, culture, language, books, music art in a fun, interesting and professional way for everyone to enjoy.

More on about Tags

 I knew nothing about tags until I took this course and as I was preparing myself to follow the instructions on how to develop the tags for my blog, I discovered the following. I was amaze at the different tags and their description. There is a title tag, description meta tag, keywords meta tag, robots meta tag, and charset meta tag. Each of these tags have a specific function some are obsolete but it is interesting to learn from each one. These are all webmaster tools and unless you have created your own web page or have some programming experience, you may have missed out on the use of Tags. 

  

The Title Tag - are not meta tag, the title tag serves to identify each individual pages content and link to other websites.

The Description Meta Tag – It tells the search engine what your page or site is about and it also helps to get people to visit your site.

The Keywords Meta Tag – This tag is practically obsolete but for information purposes there is one search engine that still uses it “Bing” and it is for the purpose of detecting spam. I read that it is best not to use it at all.

Robots Meta Tag – Is considered one of the most important tags. It lets your specify that a particular page should not be indexed by a search engine and also if you do or do not want links on the page followed.

The Charset Tag – All sites in the U.S. must validate charset, that is the UTF-8 tag in order to deliver HTML using English characters.

A very important markup format is rich snippets. Rich Snippets are the descriptions that appear under every search result; they are designed to give users a sense of what on the page and is relevancy to their query. 

Week 2: Reflecting on the Social Networking

Social networking is seen differently by adults, young adults, marketing experts, etc. Young Adults enjoy Facebook as a form entertainment and keeping in touch with friends. Marketing experts or business owners find social networking as a online source for selling their products and gaining new clients.  As an Adult belonging to a generation where social networking took place at a church, family gatherings, schools, parties, libraries etc. For me social networking has since expanded its definition but also its possibilities. People now find themselves social networking all the time. They can now social network from their computers, cell  phones and  in person.    I see social networking as a way to meet with others for entertainment, business, educational and personal discussion. When you social network you are gathering with more than one person over drinks, chat room, online social sites, parties, meetings, workshops, clubs, and other social gathering areas. The whole idea of social network is to gather and share with others ideas, information and experiences. I started using social networking sites specifically Facebook about 4 years ago after discovering its use after learning from an old friend from high school that many of my old high school friends were on Facebook. Since then not only have I been in contact with those old school friends but I have created new friends, I have used it to keep in touch with family members living in different parts of the world and also used it for entertainment. I also tried Tweeter but did not continue to use it as I felt it was too time consuming. Using Tweeter made me feel obligated, to be always following someone or having to come up with an interesting description of what I was up to in hopes for someone to follow me.Just recently I discovered Pinterest and honestly have fallen in love with it. Pinterest is so useful; I am learning to build a portfolio through Pinterest for my Toddler Story Time.  I am meeting people with similar interests who like what I have to pin or comment and it is just easy to follow and maintain. I have Flickr account but have not been active; I mostly use it to keep track of photographs posted by friends and family.  I have created a few blogger sites but have not taken seriously working on them, may be when I am done with school I can start dedicating more time to each one. The two social network sites that I keep up with the most and almost on a daily basis is Facebook and Pinterest. Facebook is mostly for entertainment purposes, although I have in the past posted a few announcements of events being held at the library. For Pinterest is mostly for professional use, as mention I am trying to create portfolios for my children programs and this include putting together books, songs, music, rhymes etc.

Reflections on Blogging

I have other Google accounts where I have created blogs. I have a blog that I created a few years back just to discuss books that I have read and then I have written in my blogs other subject matters of interest such as traveling, foods that I like etc. I also had to create a blog for another class, but in that blog I was to post reflections on each of our assignments and my others classmates would have to comment on each other’s post. For the most part the blogs that I have read have been from other students. Now I am into learning about what other people are doing out there.

I am now subscribed to other bloggers “Motorcycle Philosophy” “Rude Biker Chick” and “Too Much Tina” these blogs belong to people that I personally know and enjoy reading what they have to say. Their blog is not specific to motorcyclist as they write about other topics such as places that they have traveled to and there is a lot of poetry in their motorcycle riding experiences. What I like about reading other people’s blogs is the stories told, I learn from what they write and also want to share my experiences in their blogs. Blogging is not only another way of communicating, providing information or news but is also another way of keeping in touch. Blogs today are more popular than when they first started, there are many reasons to blog (pleasure, work, school etc).What I do not like about blogs is that it takes time to maintain, unless you are dedicated to it. You may lose touch with your audience or at least those that are following your blog. It requires constant dedication, research, keeping in touch with the comments received and it requires creativity in writing and in attracting other people’s interest in your blog page.