"everybody has won, and all must have prizes"

ah, here we are at the end of the 23 1/2 things. le sigh. i have really enjoyed this experience. as a person who is fairly "in the know" with computery techological sorts of stuff, i've had a lot of fun playing around and learning some new tricks. i feel pretty good about myself for finishing this project on time (as i know many people have not been able to keep up). and i think this was probably a great challenge to those who are not as familiar with said 23 1/2 things.
some of my favorite things were some of the graphic design 'things' like playing with flickr and making librarian trading cards and the image generator. other tools that we learned about i might not necessarily use, but i think its good to know what is out there. and to be able to recommend it to patrons if applicable.
i don't think there are any major improvements that need to be made with the program. maybe more incentive to continue reading other participants blogs? maybe more inter-participant participation? he he he he.
i would definitely do something like this again. it was a lot of fun and i definitely learned a few things to take away with me. and i won't lie. i like prizes. i cannot wait to get my $25 gift card. and (cross fingers) i hope i win the laptop! my laptop just died! maybe i can learn to love PCs again if i get a free laptop ... don't i deserve it? has my blog not been a true joy to read?

thing 22 OR why do audiobooks on mp3 have to suck?

i happen to be a lover of audiobooks. i listen to them in the car, on the subway, sometimes i will even listen to a good audiobook at home and knit (it has to be REALLY good to make it into my home) anyhow, there is nothing i would like more than to be able to download an audiobook from the library and then listen to it. but i cannot. why? because i am a member of team apple. i love all things technology that begin with a lower case "i". none of the companies supplying audiobooks on mp3 are mac friendly.
they all blame this on apple ... and i guess i should blame apple too, but c'mon people ... can't we all just get along?
one time in a moment of desperation i purchased an audiobook off of iTunes, but it felt SO wrong! why should i have to pay for a book?! i am a librarian!
then, we have the problem of titles. now, i think it is GREAT that the queens library provides audiobooks on mp3 for PC users (and ebooks and all that jazz). great great great. that is GOOD stuff. however, and i find this problem with all the audiobooks on mp3 no matter which vendor is being used, i think the title selection leaves much to be desired. i find it is mostly popular fiction like james patterson and robin cook, which i don't tend to read. or it will be classic literature that is no longer subject to copyright. and while i love classic literature and i encourage all to read it, i read my fill of the classics while getting my BA in english and i don't feel like reading it for pleasure now. sorry. where is the philip roth and the ian mcewan and the zadie smith?
in the end i feel that audiobooks on mp3 are a little too new and the kinks haven't been worked out yet.
for instance, why must an mp3 file be "returned"? it is a file! it is not a physical thing! i hate that we can't have multiple users accessing an mp3 audiobook. with a regular physical audiobook it is different. if i have the 10 disk set of alice sebold's "the lovely bones" (not available in mp3), no one else can have it. because i have it. it is physically impossible for someone else to posses something while i posses it. there can be no simultaneous users. unless of course some whacko comes into my car to listen to it with me ... but that would be weird.
i know they say blah blah blah copyright issues you can't have two people using the mp3 file at once because people will LOSE MONEY! oh no! ... but i think that is bad business. they are trying to hold onto something that is inevitably going to escape them. an mp3 file is not a tangible thing, there is no reason why 100 people shouldn't be allowed to access it at once. there should be no recently returned shelf for something that cannot be physically put on a shelf.
hopefully one day these problems will be solved ... apple will stop being so secretive and libraries will be able to provide digital media items to mac users. after a while i am sure more and more titles will become available. and hopefully vendors will get it together and allow multiple users to access electronic files.
but until that fabulous day ... i will continue to take audiobooks on CD out of the library then rip them into itunes so that i may listen to them on my ipod, but then forget to delete later and then when my ipod is on shuffle i will wind up listening to a random chapter from On Chesil Beach.

thing 21 OR i am so lonesome i cannot podcast

i would like to listen to a podcast, really i would. i love apple and iTunes and my iPod and would love to combine my love for these things by finding a podcast on iTunes and downloading it to my iPod and listening to it. HOWEVER, since i am here at work and since my computer does not have speakers and since i no longer have a desk in "the back" i cannot really listen to a podcast here in the library. maybe on my off time i will listen to a podcast. maybe.
however, i like the idea of podcasts even though i have never listened to one. and although i prefer writing to speaking, i would be interested in learning how to podcast so that i could do a podcast program at the library. i think the kids would like it.

thing 20: you tube

i love youtube! always have, always will. what an amazing resource...you think of something you once saw ... maybe an old tv show, a commercial that you thought was funny, an excerpt from a movie ... and then lo and behold you can find it on youtube! when you think about it as a concept you wouldn't think it would be so tremendously successful, yet now that it exists i wonder how i ever lived without it. i think it's great that this website has given people an outlet for expression ... sure, most people probably won't be as famous as the "leave britney alone" guy but plenty of people are being creative and making something that is being seen by hundreds sometimes even thousands of people. and these people who are making videos that probably don't seem all that important, these videos somehow get passed around the web and then sent to the people who appreciate them. like the above video which was sent to me by a friend. i know i was supposed to peruse youtube myself, but i think as an avid youtube user i can pass on that today.

anyway, i think there are many library uses for youtube videos ... instructionals on how to place reserves, how to use rfid, how to search the catalog, etc. also i think there are LOTS of things you could do with kids or teens if you had a webcam: book reviews, craft instructions, plays, poetry readings, etc etc. or my favorite idea which i had when i worked at nypl: booktalk smackdowns!

in conclusion: youtube is good.

thing 19: web tools

so i went to the web 2.0 awards and i was totally overwhelmed by the number of web tools listed. so i just looked through the winners and tried to find something of interest. first i went to something called cocktail builder where you can type in what liquor you have at home and it magically tells you what kind of cocktails you can make out of it. it will also gives suggestions of what you could make with just a few more ingredients. for instance, i have maker's mark at home. you cannot make a cocktail with this without something else. so it listed some helpful suggestions of what i could go out and buy so that i could make a proper cocktail. this might be useful if i actually was the type of person that had ingredients in their home. but alas my cupboard is bare. thank you take-out restuarants!
so then i decided i'd like to try one of the games. wouldn't you know it, most of them are blocked by queens library. no fair. but then i found one called guess the google. this was fun, especially if you are a librarian who loves google and thinks she knows a thing or two about keywords. oh my god! that's me! so anyway, it's a game and in each round you look at a mosaic of 20 google images that all have ONE keyword in common and you have 20 seconds to guess said keyword. there are ten rounds per game. i played THREE times and i still haven't gotten on the list of top scores.
so i like web tools. i purposefully didn't pick ones that were useful because it is the day before thanksgiving and i'm not feeling up to thinking too hard, and i'm kind of depressed, and i really don't feel like hanging out with my family, and i wish i was ice skating and why do all the cool things happen when i'm out of town .... oh, sorry ... got caught up in a tangent there ...
what i was surprised at was how many things are considered "tools" that i use so very very often and totally take for granted. such as: feedburner, craigslist, 43 things, google maps (i LOVE maps), flickr, facebook (although as i already have stated, i prefer myspace), and youtube. who knew i was using so many tools!

thing 18: google docs and other web-based software applications

i happen to love google ... i google everything and have no fear of using google as a verb. i don't even mind if the good people at google are spying on me. so i decided to check out google documents, since i have strong brand name loyalty. turns out i already have documents saved in Google Docs. i logged into google (as i am a gmail user) and lo and behold there were already documents there! you see, i am in a creative writing group and it turns out that a lot of the submissions that have been passed around were saved in my google docs unbeknownst to me! who knew? not it. and sometimes member of my group will edit text and then send it back with corrections and comments and things highlighted in red. i had no idea that they were using google docs!

so i think google docs is cool. for word processing, it seems just as good as microsoft word, if not better because it's on the internet and it's FREE! (i just bought a macbook and am debating about buying microsoft office for myself) but here is the downfall of google docs and other web-based applications ... you have to be online, right? sometimes i don't have internet access but i have my laptop and i'll want to do some word processing. you know, like if i were in a cafe without wifi. or if i was somewhere cheezy like starbucks and had to PAY for wifi, which i refuse to do because wifi should be FREE FREE FREE. also, the internet in my area seems to go out alot. i think i live in some sort of time warner black hole. so i can't really count on web-based applications ... however, i like the idea of uploading documents to a web-based application so that i could access them remotely. so in conclusion my verdict is .... drum roll ...

web-based applications are very useful, but i don't think you can use them as your primary software ... unless you live in a perfect world of constant internet access, you're going to need to pay for some software. (damned you microsoft i WILL be buying microsoft office for my mac!) or you could use that linux stuff my computer dork friend is always yapping on about.

thing 17 1/2 ... myspace versus facebook: the ultimate smackdown

i am on facebook ... it's okay i guess. maybe i'm just old skool. i like myspace better. i like decorating my profile and adding songs and all that. i even recently joined a group of ministers ordained in the church of spiritual humanism. who wouldn't love this?

but they say facebook is the new myspace. i just don't get it. all my friends are always asking me to take these stupid quizzes and download these applications. some of them are fun but mostly they're lame. i like the graffiti application. that one is fun. i draw very bad but cool graffiti.

see, now i can't even give you the link to see my facebook profile because you have to be my friend in order to see it. whereas with myspace i can show it to anyone. maybe this is to protect my privacy, but i am purposely on a social networking site ... i don't want my privacy protected ... i instead just choose not to post anything too personal or incriminating.

NO ONE MUST KNOW MY SECRET IDENTITY.

anyway ... the two facebook applications i really like are Books iRead and Where I've Been.

sometimes there are patrons who actually know which librarians can recommend books that are good choices for them. for instance, when i worked at a library where people actually read, there was one woman who ONLY wanted book recommendations from me. she trusted no one else. if we were both on facebook she could see which books i like and get her recommendations that way.

i also like where i've been. you have a big map of the world and highlight the places you've been in one color, places you've lived in another color, and places you'd like to go in another color. then you can compare your map to others. this has few library uses, but i still think its cool. i've been SO many places. next continent to conquer: asia.

i cannot make an entry on a wiki

ok ... i've looked at some wikis and i really don't know what to make an entry about. what do i know? little old me? i even found a harry potter wiki but am totally paralized when it comes to making up my own entry. sorry. i think i should get credit for thing 17 anyway.

thing 16 .... wikis

i really love wikipedia. sure, not everything is completely factual. you must take it with a grain of salt. but i love it all the same. what a great way to get quick information in a digestable form. love it love it. no other wiki makes me as happy as wikipedia.

thing 15: library 2.0

wow ... that annoyed librarian sure is annoyed. but at what i can't really tell. seems like she just wants to tear apart anything anyone says about progress in libraries. everything must stay the same! don't change! don't adapt!
i think there is a big problem with librarians thinking they know "what's good" for patrons, even if what we say is "good" for them isn't what they actually want. what is our job? is it to decree to the patron what they should be doing with their time? read plato not patterson! watch foreign films not chick flicks! use online databases not online dating services! NO FUN ALLOWED!
i think it is our job to provide services to the community, based on the community. now, that doesn't mean you have to dumb down your library ... but a llibrary should reflect its patrons. THAT IS WHO THE LIBRARY IS FOR! i think we should always strive to expose our patrons to higher forms of literature and media and culture ... but we also should give them what they want. if we don't they'll just go somewhere else.
i'm not saying we should just do anything a patron asks or order whatever materials they suggest, but we can certainly try to take what they say into consideration. i don't think we need to follow "every stupid idea" but i think we should be open to new ideas.
what does this annoyed library want out of a library anyway?
if we want people to use the library we should make it easy to use. we shouldn't be bogged down with archaic rules that may not be neccessary anymore. we shouldn't be difficult for the sake of being difficult. the library should be welcoming ... it should be pleasurable to use ... it would be nice if people could come in and ... my god i can't believe i'm saying this ... FIND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR!
i know, let's make everything hard to find ... let's not be user friendly ... let's insult the patrons' interests ... tell them what they should like and what they shouldn't like ... then let's complain when patrons say librarians are strict and mean. and we can even act surprised when circulation goes down and no one comes in and people say stuff like, "libraries? we still have those?"
no wonder people would rather hang out in barnes and noble.

coincidence? i think not!

has anyone noticed that my bell curve picture showing me in the 95th percentile is the SAME SHAPE as my monster hat? i think that must mean something.

popular blogs

i looked through some popular blogs on technorati ... it kinda gave me a headache. and in general, i'm kind of having a bad day. maybe i shall revisit this later.
p.s. thank you for the flashlight. i am going to put it in my bag o' prizes for the kids. i already own my own flashlight, but it was very exciting to get it nonetheless. i love presents.

thing 14 why have you forsaken me?!

went to technorati but when i tried to set up an account it was having technical difficulties and it wouldn't go through? is it because all of queens library is trying to make an account at the same time? maybe. anyway, i hope i get credit for doing thing 14 because i tried. it is not my fault that technorati is having technorati difficulties.

today's storytime

here's what i did:
i opened up with introducing the children to my new friend Mouse, who is not a real mouse, but a puppet of a mouse. i explained to them that Mouse is very shy and that they need to say "good morning to him." which they then did. then Mouse helped me go through the rules of story time. he wiggled his arms to show the kids that they should wiggle their arms now while they had a chance (there is NO wiggling during storytime). then he strethed his ears and the kids stretched their ears so that their ears were ready for listening. then Mouse put his hand in front of his mouth to signal that it was time to be quiet. what a good mouse he is.
then i read the following books:
mouse paint: starring some of mouse's friends who fall into jars of paint and then mix up the colors to make new colors. the kids enjoyed guessing what the colors the mixed up paint would make.
then we read brown bear brown bear what do you see, and the kids guess which animals brown bear would see. usually they got them wrong, but i was very supportive of them.
then we took a little break for stretching and played "open, shut them." a little girl was nice enough to tell me that i was actually playing the game wrong and she explained the correct procedure for open shut them, so then we played a modified version.
then we read: in the tall tall grass, which they also enjoyed but there was no audience participation
finally we read go away big green monster, which was a real hit. i read it twice. once using the book, and the second time using this puppet that has removeable pieces so the kids instructed me on which pieces to place on the monster and which pieces to take away. it was really cool.
then we made monster hats, shown above. and as the kids were leaving proudly sporting the monster hats that they had made ... i felt good.