Thing 17: Social Cataloging

I chose goodreads because LibraryThing was down.  I selected 14 books from 2 series that I love.  Yes, I am new to social cataloging.  One of my professors in library school showed us LibraryThing, but I had not taken the time to look into it further.  It could be interesting to see what others are reading who have similar interests.  Here is the link to my goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4900784?shelf=read

Thing 16: E-Books

I was familiar with many of these because I work at the reference desk, but I was not familiar with all of them.

PsychBooks had a lot to offer; I searched "dream interpretations" initially and did not get any results, but when I searched "dreams," there were a LOT of books to choose from.

I am not sure if e-books are the wave of the future but there is definitely a place for them in our society.  As they continue to improve them, those who prefer to hold a book in their hands may come around.  I think inevitably it will be the young children who grow up with e-books who will be the ones to consume them the way many of today's adults do with printed books.  There are so many problems with e-books with regard to copyright that it may take a while for all aspects of it to be legally correct.

Our students do not seem to be familiar with e-books, but when I show them how to access and use them, they are impressed.  Some seem skeptical until you show them how you can search for a word that they are looking for, and they see how easy it is to use.  If textbooks move more toward e-books, they will have no choice but to become familiar with them.  They may also appreciate the lower price of textbook e-books.

I do not own any type of e-reader; I have seen one demonstrated briefly at Barnes & Noble, but have never used one myself.  The idea does not appeal to me, but if I were a commuter on public transportation it might be a different option than carrying just one book or magazine.

Thing 15: Creative Commons

I looked at the Creative Commons section of Flickr.  You need to search by type of license, and I chose the "Attribution" license. Using the search box, I typed in Paris to find images of Paris, France.  These were mostly beautiful, artistic scenes of Paris.  When I used the browse search ("Browse Popular Tags" located beneath the search box), I found more personal images of people visiting Paris, people at meetings in Paris, and people attending Christmas mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Creative Commons could be used as a resource for those who are concerned about whether the work they have chosen is copyrighted.  Certainly many of these images look professional and could add to a typed report or published material.

I think Creative Commons should be included in library instruction as it is another tool available for people to use especially for those who may want to use images and are not sure about what is copyrighted.

I can see where some original content would be acceptable to share such as photographs, but some creative art work or writing may not.  I asked my teenage daughter who is an artist and a writer about this; she said she would consider sharing her art work but not her writing.  I can see both sides of this problem.  I wonder too if people abide by the Creative Commons contracts and if anyone monitors them to see that they are not abused.  It is a good option to copyright as those laws have become so restrictive.

Thing 14: Online Surveys

I tried using Doodle to create an online survey called Stranded Island Choices.  I asked 2 questions about what 3 things would you want if stranded on an island and what 3 things could you live without if stranded on an island.  However, that didn't work because I needed 3 lines for each answer for respondants to enter answers, and Doodle wanted answers you could check off, not write in.  So, I created this same poll in Google Docs.  That worked much better for me.  Here is the link:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/gform?key=t73MTBMkhGEeIbyWEKbPgbQ&hl=en#

My only choice was to email the survey to others rather than just share the document (maybe I'm forgetting something I learned earlier!).  The 23 Things said to share the form on our blog, so that is what I am doing here.  It's good to know that these forms are available and not that difficult to produce.

Thing 13: Document Sharing

I shared a Google Document with information about a website that allows you to find other websites based on your interests by different categories checked.  I did not allow anyone else to edit it, only view it.  I titled it "Website Recommendation."  Here is the shared Google Document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13WraHG39NbWPUfWuWaClw4TwNJPDPLx4kzNI-y_uAdg/edit?hl=en

Google Documents would be useful in a library when several people are working on a project together.  While in library school, four of us used a Google Document when we had a class paper due jointly.  One person set it up, shared it, and allowed editing privileges.  We could add our sections and revise others' sections, making suggestions in wording or what to include.  It worked very well.  That is my only experience with Google Documents, and it was very helpful.  It would work well in a similar situation.

Thing 11: Shortening a URL

I shortened a link for the Academic Search Complete database from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search/advanced?hid=7&sid=8fbbe2c4-f147-4fbf-a36e-cba9f54757e1%40sessionmgr11&vid=1

to http://bit.ly/h6lq6w

This would certainly be helpful when giving students links to databases and when linking to a specific article within a database, especially in virtual reference (LRC-Live or email).

Thing 10: Searching Twitter

I looked at the most recent twitters, which mainly dealth with Martin Luther King Day (today), and that was interesting to read what others thought about this day.  I also looked at the different Twitter accounts listed on 23 Things, specifically VMFA and Va State Parks.  I could see where it might be helpful to have a place to look for this updated information especially if you are not at your computer and have a phone that can access Twitter.  Also could be useful for updates on special events.  However, I would not be interested in using Twitter because I either text, call, or check a social networking site to see what people are thinking about or saying; these sites also include threads of "conversations."

I did several searches; one for "art" and surprisingly found one on "art, service, and inspiration," which was actually about someone who has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease); my father had that so it was ironic that I chose that one to read.  I also searched "Gabrielle Giffords" to see what the latest information was for her, and I was surprised that there were several updated news stories about her recovery.  I suppose I can see where having these tweets in the LoC might help future generations understand what we were doing, but how accurate are they when anyone can post anonymously.  Also, that is a LOT of information to weed through as a research tool.  Also, is it an accurate depiction of what people are really doing or what they want you to think they are doing?