Chapter 20: In which the Pirates go slumming

If you think of the Internet like a city, its easy to picture the city in terms of districts. News and business sites are 'downtown', personal websites and DIYs are the residential district, and eCommerce is obviously the marketplace. And like most cities, the Internet has its red light district. Unfortunately for the Internet though, this city also has slum. An area so bad even the red light district stays away. Here in Seattle I think of Burien, White Center, Boulevard Park, and West Seattle. On the Internet, its YouTube.

Now, like Burien and West Seattle, YouTube certainly has some good things. Burien has (or had?) a great sub shop attached to their Fred Meyer, and Boulevard Park has a nice beach (nevermind that my car was broken into there). YouTube has plenty of gems, too. Videos like Adventure Time, which I posted about a long while back, and the PG-rated 300 Trailer. Rob Paravonian, a musical comedian from the east coast, has a bunch of clips on YouTube and they're brilliant! And when the BBC doesn't have them taken down, as they often do, there's more than enough Top Gear clips to whet your appetite. But thats not what YouTube is really about. YouTube is about social networking, much like many of our previous Web 2.0 sites have been, and thats where the true Renton-ness of YouTube shines through.

Blogs like this one, and the millions of others out there, are often about sharing your thoughts and opinions with anyone out there that can track you down. But due to the nature of the Internet, and the many different blog sites out there, most of the time what you post on your blog is yours and yours alone. It isn't splashed on the front page of many different websites, enticing their users to read what you said. And rarely does anyone bother to 'steal' your blog post and use it as their own. But YouTube and many sites like it, tend to glorify random video blogs by posting them all over the front page. The social networking aspect of tags also means some of the most random videos you've ever seen will show up as related links to an amusing video you found. This means more and more people, mostly teenagers whose legal rights and privacy in these instances are in question as it is, are competing to be on the front page. So you've got plenty of guys and girls treating YouTube as their own personal strip show. You've got people so in need of attention that they advertise their cell phone number just to see how many people will call them. And you've got people posting video of their 'friends' at their most vulnerable, probably without concent. Its attention whoring at its worst, and the format is only becoming more popular as time goes on.

So how does this relate to Library 2.0? To be honest, it doesn't. Online video streaming does, but YouTube and its ilk do not. So lets talk about Streaming video content! As mentioned in today's Learning 2.0 description, streaming video has improved greatly over the past few years. So much in fact that most major TV networks now offer their regular TV content through their website as well! And in some cases, it actually looks better. HD broadcasts on a non-HD TV don't look any better than a non-HD broadcast. But an HD broadcast on a good computer monitor will look spectacular. And with this improvement comes the ability to distribute content to more and more people! Content like KCLS's own Story Time with Dewey and Sketch are a perfect example of how local content can be distributed globally. Through streaming video, many of the Dewey and Sketch story times are available for free, without a library card, straight through our website.

The same kind of approach can be taken with many of our events. Book talks, author visits, and seminars that are hosted at our local libraries can be recorded and shared through our website. This is also a wonderful way for local teens to become involved! Invite them to give book talks for their favorite books. YouTube proves just how much teens enjoy recording their thoughts for the Internet to see, why not harness that enthusiasm?

Chapter 19: In which the Pirates explore the unknown!

The final task this week is to explore the aspects of Web 2.0 that we haven't already discovered, and wouldn't be without this opportunity. By browsing through the Web 2.0 Awards list, we were asked to find an interesting site or two to blog about, especially in relation to Library 2.0.

While we've been doing Learning 2.0, I usually struggle in the beginning to see how these Web 2.0 apps would affect or help libraries. With many of them, I've been able to figure it out in the end, but in a few instances I still don't see the point. So this exercise was a little difficult, because its hard to look at brief descriptions of web apps and be able to find one that is both interesting and relevant to libraries! Some of the sites listed would be interesting to point patrons toward through our website, but that doesn't really benefit the library in the way some of our Web 2.0 sites have.

One interesting site I saw, but didn't explore, was Last.fm, a custom streaming 'station'. My first thought was that, through a website like this, libraries could provide samples of the music available through their catalog, or give library patrons something to listen to while they browse the other available services in the system. At present, however, there are probably a thousand different reasons you can trace back to the RIAA as to why this wouldn't work. I could see the headlines now: "Library System gives kids free pirating tools, everything but a boat". As if Pirating is a bad thing!

Continuing through the list, the only other site I saw that I felt might benefit the library system is a site I'm already familiar with: Threadless, a shirt design site thats been around for a long time. Featuring such classics as The Loch Ness Imposter, Pandamonium, The Diabolical Hot Dog, You Are What You Eat (my personal favorite), and The Communist Party, the site is all about user submission and participation. Artists submit an idea for a shirt, and users can vote on it. If a design gets a high enough score, its submitted to be made into a shirt! Users can also comment on designs, voicing approval or disapproval, asking for revisions, or just generally commenting. Over the years the site has become more and more popular, and popular fashion trends tend to show up early on the site. If you want to look hip and cool, the latest shirts on Threadless are a great place to go.

How would Threadless help out libraries? How many aspiring artists out there wouldn't love to have a say in what their Summer Reading Program artwork looks like? How about those plastic bags we hand out that are actually pretty popular (well, they are!)? Why not give patrons a chance to design what our bags look like? Threadless even has a few 'competitions' going on through their site. Entitled "Loves Threadless", many groups (such as bands, movie studios, and websites) sponsor design competitions. Usually involving some sort of prize, each group asks for designs around a particular theme. How cool would it be to see "KCLS Loves Threadless"? It would be yet another way for patrons to contribute to their library system and get something back.

Perhaps this way I can get my STUF THIS SI LIBARY shirt!

Chapter 17: In which the Pirates mess about in Google Labs

"Today, we're going to learn to make plutonium from common household items."
-Filo (UHF)

In a sense, Google has been doing just that for years. They take common websites, throw in a little Google flare, and make into something grand! And this week, we Learning 2.0ers were tasked with poking about inside their super-secret (read: free to browse) web lab, where some of their upcoming ideas are being worked on. There are even a few bubbling beakers lying about!

Looking at their list of current Projects, it was hard for me to choose where to start first. If I'm honest, half the stuff on their list looked pretty silly to me. Take Google Sets for example. You enter in a few items from a set of things, and it predicts more items that belong in this set. WHY?! What the heck is the point of this?! I put in Pink Floyd, Yes, and ELO, and it was able to predict 12 more band names, thereby filling in a set of Prog rock band names. Bravo. Wow. Amazing. How the heck does that help me in any way? But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that while Google Sets itself is pretty useless, its a good example of Prediction and Customization technology. By demonstrating how they can predict things you may be interested in, based on just a few pieces of information you've entered, they're giving you a glimpse into how they'll be able to better serve you, and your web searches, in the future. How about that, eh?

I returned to the lab and checked out what was behind Door #2. And this time, instead of finding a brand new technology I've never seen before, I found something much simpler. A variation on their already wonderful Google Maps they're calling Google Transit. Now, if you live in the King County area, you've probably used the King County Metro's Regional Trip Planner, a site to help you find which bus(es) to take to get you where you're going. And you've probably also been witness to how bad this trip planner can be. Its very picky about addresses, its not exactly the prettiest website to look at, and most of all its not very accurate. This is where Google Transit comes in! Using the Google Maps API and the bus timetables available through Metro, it recommends three possible routes to take to get you to your destination. The layout seems nicer, and unlike Metro's Trip Planner, Google Transit doesn't recommend the exact same route 2-3 times. Instead it gives you three different choices. Comparing the same "trip", Google Transit gave me three routes, only one of which was recommended by Metro's site. Add to that Google Maps' ability to show you real time traffic on the same map, and you even get a sense of which route will avoid the worst traffic. Google Transit is only available in select cities right now, as is the traffic report addition to Google maps. But thankfully, Seattle is one of them. Oh, and don't forget to visit Google Maps for your next visit to Japan, where they state they do trip planning for "All regional and national rail networks, domestic airlines and ferries"!

Chapter 17: In which the Pirates discover Online Productivity Software!

We kick off Week 10 with a look at Online Productivity Software, which is a crafty way of saying online Office products. Back in the day, when it came to Word Processing, there was Microsoft Word and Works, Corel WordPerfect, and not much else! For Spreadsheets you had Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and FoxPro. And that was pretty much it for Productivity software. Aldus (now called Adobe) Pagemaker and Microsoft Publisher were late on the scene, and most database software was something for hardcore DB'ers, not your average office grunt. Then Microsoft decided to up the ante. While they may not have been the first company to do it, much like Windows, they were the first to make it popular. Microsoft Office changed how the world was run.

Microsoft Office was a "suite" of software designed to address the needs of Office grunts even before they knew what they needed. It included an E-Mail program (e-mail? Whats that?), spreadsheet, word processor, database software, and loads of clipart all in one package. And as it became apparent Microsoft Office was something the business world, Corel tried to hop on the bandwagon with their own suite called WordPerfect Office. But despite being the leader in Word Processing with their original WordPerfect (or WP for us computer gurus), Microsoft Office became King of Productivity Software suites.

But that was then, and this is now. Office 97, Office 2000, OfficeXP, Office 2003, and now Office 2007 have gotten more expensive, more elaborate, and have become more a Corporate suite than a package for average users. Their cheapest suite, Office Home and Student editions, are very meager offerings for the price you pay. So here comes the next Revolution: Online Office Productivity Software!

Google and Zoho offer their own Productivity Software right from their website. And whereas Microsoft and Corel charge a good deal of your hard-earned cash, these cost nothing more than the time it takes to set up an account! Whats more, both products (especially Zoho) offer nearly as much customizability and features as your $150 Office suite, as well as the ability to import documents saved in those antiquated file formats!

Don't get me wrong, Microsoft and Corel have age and experience going for them. Most of their products have few bugs, plenty of documentation, and a constant stream of fixes available through their respective publishers. Google and Zoho are new to the game, and for as brilliant as their coders may be, there are plenty of issues that need to be addressed. As much as I liked Zoho, the amount of trouble I had simply changing the font on my document to Arial was evidence of how new these programs are.

So which do I recommend? For now, I'd say Zoho. Their suite has a lot more to it, and the existing programs all seem more refined. However, Google is an Internet Juggernaut right now, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them snap up Zoho to bolster their own productivity suite. And I'm OK with that, because Google has something of a Midas Touch. Combining these two great suites could result in Microsoft Office finally having some serious competition!

Chapter 16: In which the Pirates read about Library 2.0

Much like Web 2.0 discusses "user-centric" web models, Library 2.0 is a description for a more user-centric library model. And to be honest, I think its a bunch of baloney!

Don't get me wrong, its not that I think libraries should shun their users and create content only for themselves. Quite the opposite, in fact! I think libraries have been doing this for years! And all Library 2.0 is is a buzz-word created by library administrations around the world to use at the latest ALA conference.

Today's assignment was to read 3 to 5 of the mini-essays on Library 2.0 published on the OCLC website. And while I haven't quite finished reading through them, I already feel the need to react to them. I start, quite illogically, with essay #2 by Michael Stephens: Into a new world of Librarianship. With his trendy Macbook Pro, pulled-back long hair, and a panchant for buzz-words, Michael Stephens comes across more as a Blogger that happens to be a librarian, rather than a Librarian that blogs. He starts by telling us, in essence, that Library 2.0 libraries should cater to their users. Providing resources for patrons. Next, he'll be suggesting we should be open on occasion! Seriously, did we need an essay telling us libraries should cater to patrons? Isn't that kind of a "no duh" statement?

I did find part of his essay particularly amusing, however.

This librarian does not buy technology for the sake of technology. “Techno-worship” does not exist here. Without a firm foundation in the mission and goals of the institution, new technologies are not implemented for the sake of coolness and status. Technology is put to the test: Does it meet the users need in a new or improved way? Does it create a useful service for putting users together with the information and experience they seek? These are some of the questions this librarian asks when planning for technology. This librarian creates and nurtures a living, breathing technology plan.

Notice to our Director: Technolust is bad! Even the stupid blogger knows!

But enough about the long-haired hippy. Essay #1 is by Rick Anderson, Director of Resource Acquisitions for the University of Nevada, Reno libraries. His essay is something of a warning to the libraries still living in a 1.0 world, and actually I found his ideas pretty spot-on! He describes 3 "icebergs" that libraries need to begin watching out for, to help keep them relevant and afloat. The first iceberg is the idea of "just in case" collections. And actually, the Bellevue library is a perfect example of this! Spread across 3 floors, the Bellevue library has thousands of books, on any and every subject you could think of. The problem is, a good number of those books never circulate! Even before the Internet became a big deal, a large percentage of our books were there "just in case" someone needed a book from the 60s on space travel in the future. But nowadays, that kind of hokey future-telling history can be found on any number of websites. The same is true with exercise and dieting books. What was relevant then may be pretty useless now, and all that information can be found quickly on the web anyways! So why do we have them? Libraries spend tons of money maintaining "just in case" collections and the buildings and real estate to house them, when perhaps they should be looking at how to better use available resources on more important and relevant materials.

He also goes on to discuss ease of use and ease of access to materials and resources. Two icebergs that probably would be better described as one iceberg linked beneath the water, where we can't see. Thats because these two topics go hand-in-hand. Ease of use is pretty pointless when there's nothing to use! And easy of access is equally unimportant when the available information can only be retrieved by a decryption specialist! As technology advances at an ever-increasing rate, libraries must begin to away from the idea that a library is a building that patrons come to, and instead that its a location patrons visit both physically, and electronicly. Free and equal access should include the ability to freely and equally access materials from home, from across the country, or even around the world. KCLS has done a great job at adopting Electronic Resources and Databases to help move towards that goal, that our patrons can access information from home as easily as they can here in one of our libraries.

The next two articles, written by Chip Nilges and John Riemer respectively, speak of interoperation between library systems and institutions. Or, in relation to Web 2.0, how libraries can become a part of Library 2.0 on a broad scale. Library 2.0 isn't just about giving your local patrons their own version of YouTube or LibraryThing, its also about sharing content with other systems to help refine shared information. By integrating shared data like tags and related resources, we give patrons more access to the materials and information they're looking for. One idea mentioned is to integrate many of the ways sites like Amazon.com function, by providing feedback opportunities and purchasing options, and linking or providing professional reviews from things like the New York Times Review of Books, or Publishers Weekly. Chip Nilges, VP for OCLC, speaks of many of the technologies that the OCLC have been working on. Almost all of these ideas help promote Library 2.0 by providing ways for individual systems and institutions to consistantly offer the same results as another location has. Open WorldCat is becoming something like a central catalog for the worlds libraries. This is perhaps Library 2.0 on as large a scale as possible, and I think it sounds like an amazing achievement.

Finally, futurist Wendy Schultz's essay discusses where libraries will go after Library 2.0. She takes ideas discussed in the previous essays and extends them out well into the future. Much of it sounds like its straight out of Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth saga, with Virtual and Augmented reality enhancing how libraries already function. Where resources stop being something you simply read, but instead become something to interact with. Not just information presented to you however the author intended, but information that acts as its own guide through the facts and opinions presented. Even the definition of libraries change, as user-created content expands beyond blogs and video sites, and into browsable experiences! Its all a long way off, but I for one certainly look forward to it all!

Chapter 15: In Which the Pirates try some Custom Searches

After a week away, I'm happy to say we're back!

This week doesn't have much of a theme. Instead, its a bit of this and that all tossed together. So today, we're learning about Custom Search Engines.

Search Engines have been around for a very long time. Sites like Yahoo, Alta Vista, and Webcrawler were how you got around the internet back in the day! But times change, and so does the internet. Its gotten much bigger, much more popular, and thus... much harder to search. Whereas before, a search for Pirates would get you a few Geocities sites, a historical accounting of the life of Blackbeard, and a website or two offering up downloads of Windows for Workgroups and the latest Kings Quest game, now you get 59 million hits! And thats with Safe Search keeping all the porn out of your search results!

Thankfully, with age and growth comes refinement. In this case, in the form of Customizable Search engines. For mine, I went with Google Co-op, both because I like Google's layout, and because the boys from California can do no wrong, in my opinion. So, I was done with step one: pick a custom search engine... uh, engine. Now for the hard part: What the heck do I want to search?!

Actually, it only took me a few minutes before it became pretty obvious. As a self-proclaimed nerd, I read lots of gaming and tech websites. I like to keep up-to-date on the latest gadgetry to make my water faucet change colors or hold on to things without an extra hand. So I set up a search engine for searching gaming and gadget websites!

Introducing Games & Gizmos!

I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well I can search several websites at once for information on a particular product or concept, instead of having to use the search tools for each individual site (which, often times, are pretty terrible). I can easily see how useful this would be for libraries. Setting up several topic-specific search engines, it would enable both patrons and staff alike to search for information on topics of interest within some general criteria, instead of being innundated with results from all over the web! Limit searches by material-type, like Newspaper archieves or Geneology sites. For an individual, I'm not sure the trouble of setting up these Custom Searches are worth the results, but for a large user-base like a library system, Custom Search engines could spell the difference between an overly complicated website and a user-friendly one.

Chapter 14: In which the Pirates read some guy's blog

Great title, I know. But it actually is relevant!

Slow night here at Bellevue, so I was reading through some of the old Comments on the KCLS 27 Things blog, and stumbled across a rather cool coincidence, of sorts!

During Week 6, we explored Technorati and LibraryThing, two Social Networking sites that use Tagging. Many Learning 2.0 folks signed up for Technorati and made Learning 2.0 a hot topic on the Popular page. This also means Learning 2.0 and kcls27things started showing up on other peoples sites as related topics! And wouldn't ya know, we attracted the attention of a popular blogger!

Learning 2.0 and the KCLS 27 Things project

Certainly a nice article that makes mention of us, and shows how our 27 Things project isn't just useful for library employees, but for many people out there who don't know much about Web 2.0! How about that?

Now here's the nifty part: If you read the blog post, he makes mention of aNobii in relation to LibraryThing. It turns out aNobii is a cataloging site for personal libraries as well. And based on my brief exploration of their site, I think I like it better than LibraryThing! The interface seems a touch cleaner, the Tagging and Social Networking seems more intuitive, and there seems to be fewer extraneous entries for the same title. Granted, they don't have the :CueCat, but I'm not sure thats enough of a feature to win the battle for LibraryThing, at least not for me.

Both are free, so check them both out and discover for yourself which you like better!

Chapter 13: In which the Pirates generate things!

This week's only assignment is to fiddle random generators. Which is really just an excuse to have a nice break in the middle of the project, and give everyone a chance to catch up.

Me, I'm caught up. So I spent some (way too much, if I'm honest) time browsing all the generators on the list provided, and had a hard time coming up with anything I was at all interested in! I mean, you wouldn't BELIEVE how hard it is to find decent pirate imagery in these generators! Warning Sign Generator? No pirates! Avatar generator? No pirates! Mandelbrot Fractal Generator? NO FRICKIN PIRATES!

Well, as is obvious by the beginning of my post, I found me some pirate imagery. I was even amused to find the same site had some great logos like Admiral Akbar, Guy Fawkes, Mister T, and even that Sparta guy!

Chapter 12: In which the Pirates browse some Wikis!

To be honest, I read through all the Wiki stuff posted, and then when we got to the Exercise section, I blanked. I couldn't think of anything to say! Yes I can see how wikis would be great for libraries, both staff and patrons alike, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly why!

To be honest, its in part because I keep thinking of WoW Wiki, a Wiki for World of Warcraft and how useful it is, and struggle translating its application to libraries. A Wiki that describes dungeon strategies, quest and item details, and more about a fictional world? What an awesome idea! But a Wiki for your local library? Ummm... good idea?

So. I'm going to cheat. For today's exercise, I refer you to a KCLS Blogger who really hit the nail on the head:

The Amazing Knitting Kitty

If you're like me, and you needed convincing as to why Wikis would benefit library systems, read her post!