Library 2.0 reflective exercise & suggestions for next round

Having a weekly timed incentive to explore these tools and technologies really helped me get over any intertia about exploring online things I do not have an immediate use for.

I had a gmail account already but was not using it to its fullest, and had never considered blogging. I also thought I knew what RSS was but had never subscribed to one, but bloglines has turned out to be my favorite part of Library 2.0

Adding Unshelved and Postman on Politics to my Bloglines account has been the highlight of the Learning 2.0 experience for me!

While I don't imagine I will do much in the way of MySpace or mash-ups, as a public services librarian and a parent I now have a much clearer idea of their appeal to others.

I think of all the technologies we explored in Library 2.0, podcasting is the most intriguing and the one I will most likely explore further on my own.

As far as wishes for future similar trainings, I would suggest the following:

• keep the format of a set period of time, with flexible deadlines
• keep the format of having an overall "expert" like David
• keep the weekly "testimonials" of local staff discussing their use of the applications

Regarding scheduling, this worked out okay but most staff I talked to, like myself, were not able to start "on time" and felt a little rushed in the first few exercises. To match the rythm of branch life, January and the first 2 weeks of February, and September, should be avoided for anything that requires undivided attention.

For future training opportunities, one thing I would like to see is an annual hands on "latest technology" show and tell. For example, a patron came to my library last fall and needed help uploading pictures of his car from his phone to his ebay account. I would have loved to have been more helpful! New wireless devices show up periodically, it isn't always easy to figure out their compatibility with our systems, but our patrons do look to us to be adepts.

WLA tries to do a program on personal technologies but KCLS participation in WLA has dwindled to mostly presenters and officers, so the bulk of our employees were not exposed to:

Thursday, April 19, 2007
2:00-3:15 pm
Carrying Your Life in Your Pocket
Room F / TRCC
Michael Porter
Take a closer look @ the newest (and often smallest) consumer electronic gadgets, including PDAs, smart phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, wearable technology and ultra personal computers. What are the trends in consumer electronics and how will these trends continue to affect libraries? Be sure to bring your favorite gadget to show off!
Sponsor: OCLC Western/WebJunction

Overall, I very much appreciated the training, the format, the weekly nature of the exercises and the nudge to try new things. Thank you for the learning experience!