Exciting News About Scifi/Fantasy Book Group

Thank you to all those you expressed an interest in joining the book group both in person and online. To further enhance the book group experience, if you remember from my previous entry, I am using Meebo as our chat room. You can click on this link to see the Meebo room. The great feature, aside from the chat transcripts being recorded, one can insert various video clips from YouTube and Google Video as well as images from Flickr and Photobucket. I am in the process of putting some videos from the movies and then, I started to think some more about this. If you have a video camera record yourself ahead of time with your thoughts about the book or leave a short video question for us to answer. If you can upload it to YouTube or Google Video, I can then add it to the chat room for all of us to view and enjoy; just send me an email: nextgenlibrary08@gmail.com. So, get cranking on finishing the first Dune book as we are close to a month away from the start of the first.

YouTube to the rescue

One of the benefits of using a Web 2.0 tool like YouTube is the amount of information one can find there. I had two occurences where patrons needed to find specific videos on subject which the library does not have in a specific branch or even in the system.

One patron wanted information on Cochlear Ear Implants for her presentation for school. While we had some books on ear implants, I joked with the patrons saying have you checked YouTube. Oddly enough, there were videos about people who had this type of surgery.

The second usage of YouTube had to do with research on elderly care and mental health. While there were books on the subject, the two patrons were looking for videos. In this case, the library had no information on the subject but when I checked YouTube; there it was. Rather than having the patrons leaving the library empty handed, they sat down on the public computers and checked YouTube for themselves.

Now that I’ve seen the benefits of YouTube; I am going to start recommending this site for future patrons. YouTube has proven to be far more than better site for research than simply looking for videos of drunk dogs on skateboards.

Using The Library: Guerilla Style « R.A. Swigert: Stacking The Odds

Using The Library: Guerilla Style « R.A. Swigert: Stacking The Odds

Scifi & Fantasy Book Group for Miami Lakes Branch Library

Coming April 29, 2008, from 7:30pm – 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time, the first Scifi & Fantasy Book Group will begin to explore Frank Herbert’s world of Dune. This invitation will be open to everyone and we do mean everyone. There are several ways to join in on the fun. You go to Dune Book Group hosted by Google to read articles about Dune the book and movies ahead of time, make comments, and even post your own insights. On the date of the event, sign up on Meebo for a free IM account and join us in a chat room on that day from virtually everywhere and anywhere. Or lastly, join us in person at the Miami Lakes Branch Public Library. Click here for the library address.

For more information, email me: nextgenlibrary08@gmail.com

Act!vated Storytellers @ Miami Lakes Public Library

Dennis, Kimberly and Zephyr Goza make up the Act!vated Storytellers. They are schedule to come to the Miami Lakes Public Library Branch on January 12, 2008 @ 3pm. If you happen to be in the area or plan to be in town, please stop by on that date. Any question you can Meebo Me on the blog.

For more information, check out their site: http://www.activated-storytellers.com/

What is Next Gen Library?

As a library student, I am currently working for a library branch where we are trying to intergrate Library 2.0. I recently did a paper where I discussed the implentation of using some Library 2.0 tools.

Why Do Libraries Need to Upgrade to Library 2.0?

Over the 2007 summer, Florida lawmakers passed a property tax reform bill that could save extra money from the rising cost of property taxes for many Floridians. However, since many government services are tied to the property tax as the main source of revenue, one can easily conclude; with less revenue there will be less services the public can benefit. As such, libraries are part of the government that provides service to the public that is more than allowing people to check out books to read. Libraries offer access to computers and laptops to many patrons, both adult and children, who many simply can not afford or have one of their own to search the Internet or perform personal, educational and professional matters. Libraries offer many programmed events from story time for toddlers to adults who want to open their own business. In addition, libraries offer outreach programs to those who can not physically get to a library by providing bookmobiles or have materials shipped to and from their home. Libraries offer so much to everyone from the time they are born to the day they die that it is hard to imagine not having a library in our lives to service our needs. As Parker (2007) noted, “In times of change and challenge, Floridians need more library service, not less.” When faced with this reality of looming cutbacks are lurking just around the corner, what can libraries do to still continue to be a vital part of the community? Libraries can upgrade themselves to a Library 2.0 platform. This paper will examine three key issues: what is Library 2.0, what are the tool and cost of implementation of Library 2.0, and what are the pros and cons of Library 2.0.