SLQ Week 5 - RSS Feeds

Am up to Week 5 of the State Library of Queensland's Licence 2 Test Drive, and this week we are looking at RSS feeds.  I could not imagine living without RSS feeds as they are such a time saver.  I really like the following Youtube clip as it clearly explains what an RSS feed is, and why you would want one.



I have been using my Bloglines account now for over two years, and I could not imagine ever going back to the old way of looking for information.  My Bloglines account automatically retrieves updates and is separated into three different folders : a professional libraries folder encompassing library, librarian and library related blogs; a friend folder that tracks the lives of many of my online non-librarian friends and finally a news/weather and other interesting sites folder.  All of the information comes to me in one place, and I can view all blog posts or updated information whenever I want.

My Bloglines account is a vital professional tool, and it enables me to keep up to date with what is happening in Library land.  I follow blogs from information professionals from around the world, and this global perspective encourages me to think and do libraries with a broader/wider understanding, and from a deeper knowledge base.

I really like the Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the day blog.  This is such a great idea and is a wonderful way to share the amazing photos contained within their collections.  I think our local history library could do this, and share the story that the photo contains.  It is also a way to engage with the community as it promotes conversations and connectivity.

I am thinking of changing Feed readers at the moment, and exporting my Bloglines account into Google Reader as I have had a lot of trouble lately accessing my information.  I was sent this link via twitter after making a comment about the reader being offline again which explains some of their problems.

A week of discoveries....

I love being a librarian. I don't actually have a job as a librarian as yet, but I still love the possibilities of what could be. I love that part of what I need to do to keep relevant and up to date is keep learning! This week I discovered Audioboo , and my mind has been reeling with the potential. My twitter friend @dramagirl shared some thoughts about what she was doing with Audioboo, and I was intrigued. Above is a link to my second Audioboo, recorded using my iPhone at the Toowoomba City Library. It contains an interview with my friend and work colleague Kelly, talking about her SLQ's License 2 Test Drive online learning experience.

I would also like to use Audioboo to record interviews with some of the teens who attend our young writers group at our library. Also to record snippets of conversations with customers as to why they use our facilities/resources.  Also would be great for collecting oral histories as part of the Local History Collection. Imagine a link on a website that allows the user to hear an interview with a patron about a favourite book, or author, or service....

This week I also discovered the Columbus Metropolitan Library's 2008 Annual Report. Sounds boring? I don't think so! It is a visual representation of their report, and contains amazing interviews, news promos and conversations with staff, customers, friends of the library, board members and their executive director. What a wonderful marketing tool! Was a half an hour well spent.

I spend alot of time thinking about marketing and promoting our library, and read alot about organisational change. I discovered a quote this morning and was very taken by it. It was from a slideshare presentation on The New World of Word of Mouth . It talks about how to give customers an experience that they will want to talk about and share.

"You must decide what you stand for, and then align every one of your systems to reinforce it. You must recruit for it, you select for it, you orient for it, you train for it, you reward it, you promote for it, and you terminate those that don't have it"         John Young

Lastly, I turned 40 this week, and enjoyed a week of festivities! I also discovered a few things about myself. I am overwhelmingly grateful for the friends who share my life! Thanks to all for spoiling me so rotten. Thanks also to my many new friends who share my digital spaces. I am really loving the relationships that are being built there, and hope one day to meet IRL. I am also grateful to have such a wonderfully supportive family, who love me and encourage me to reach for the stars.  Thanks for everything.  Lastly, I discovered that I like being me, and  that being 40 is great :-))

Week 4 SLQ Licence to Test Drive

This fortnight we looked at social networking as part of the State Library's Licence 2 Test Drive .  I am particularly interested in this topic for marketing and promotion, and creating relationships with patrons/customers.  Just this week David Lee King posted a blog about the use of social networking tools both professionally and personally, and the fine line that divides the two.  It is a very good post, and worth a look.

Librarian Idol - in a post on a very similar theme - states, "So, here's one thing I'd like to see. If we're so focused on libraries using social media, then we need to train our librarians up on actual social networking skills for online communication".  He then gives 4 tips on how to do this.  Also a great blog post and worth reading.


I am personally involved in a few social networks, and my fav at the moment is twitter.  My account is a mix of both professional 'friends' within the library/online industry, and geographical 'friends' that live within my community. I have also been fortunate to meet up with some of my twitter 'friends', and have yet to be disappointed with the contact.


I am ever so grateful for my professional 'friends' who continue to educate, inform, inspire and encourage me to become not only a better person but a better librarian.  I am so glad that I work in a profession where most share so freely of their knowledge.  I am *loving* building online friendships with people from my local community.  I love that my 'friends' know that I am a librarian, and I enjoy answering questions and passing on any info that I can.  I especially like when they come into the library to say hi!!


Now for the shameless plug!  This last month month has seen me create a Ning network aimed at the teenage readers within our community.  We just released it this week, and still need to advertise heavily within the schools and at work.  It is called Virtual Libraria , and I will keep you posted!