Web 2.0 Awards List

The Web 2.0 Awards List was interesting enough to look at but at the moment I can' t think of the contribution it would make to PBCLS. I thought these tools were really interesting mostly because they were catagorized in a way that made it easy to choose your interests. For example, I chose the category Retail and picked the 1st place winner called Threadless. I entered the site and found out that is consisted of a T-shirt company. It was neat to see the various shirts displayed on actual human bodies. There was some really nice ones too and best of all the site offers a way for those creative minds out there to submit your own design and possibly win $2,500! Hey if I don't win that laptop or the MP3 player, I'll still have a chance with the T-shirts...

zoho

I think writing with Zoho writer is cool .The possibilities are endless !YOu can customize a document just as you would in a program like Microsoft Word, but others will be able to see it as well.Not only that, you can also access the document from any computer without worrying about what program it has. As for the library, this could be helpful if say you are a member of a committee.All the members will be able to access the list, agenda, etc. and edit if they so desire .

PBCLS Sandbox

J's Sandbox
Originally uploaded by gildorluthien

I looked around at the PBCLS sandbox and I have to say I read some interesting facts. I think it was easier to find out people's "favorites" this way rather than go to each individual blog. Even though some blogs are somewhat anonymous, I was still able to get good ideas on favorite vacation spots, restaurants, and books.

Wikis are wonderful

Before completing the Wiki assignment, the only thing I knew about Wikis was through Wikipedia. When I had to write research papers I was always warned never to use this site because of its unreliability. I had heard that a person can go in and edit an entry, either to correct or add something, but I didn't realize the benefits until I watched the Wiki video. It really is a great concept when you think about it and it is so easy to do. Even people with little computer skills can add their thoughts, suggestions, or expertise.
I clicked on "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki" to gain some insight as to how Wikis can help the library. I was surprised at how much information was available and how organized it was. The categories are in alphabetical order which makes finding what you need so much easier. I can see how this would work with the PBCLS since we have 15 locations (including the Annex) that could add their own information. We could even extend this to the city libraries. This way we would have an up to date list of programs that patrons could use in addition to the ones offered within our library system.

Web 2.0 & me

The articles regarding web 2.0 and libraries were really interesting. I especially thought the Iceberg article provided insight on what we (as library staff) should consider when we think of the future of the library. For me personally, web 2.0 has provided additional tools that could prove useful in the future. There is no such thing as knowing too much. Do I think the future of the libraries are threatened by technology? Nahhh, I think we do our best to keep up even if our machines decide to rest now and then.

Technorati

I have to admit Technorati was more fun for me than del.icio.us. The site itself is easy to navigate and understand. I did the discovery exercise with our library's URL and it came back with 73 blog reactions. I'm not sure if that it a lot or a little by Technorati standards but it was still interesting to look at. The posts covered topics like the computer classes, downloadable audiobooks, and book clubs. When I entered "Web 2.0" in the tag search, it came back with 39,748 posts. I have to say I didn't have time to go through them all. An interesting thing that happened was when I tried to open one of those thousands of blogs, I got this message
"Doh! The Technorati Monster escaped again.
We're scouring the blogosphere attempting to find it. Back in a flash!"

del.icio.us

Ok, so I didn't do so well on this weeks projects because they all seem confusing to me. It took me a little while just to write out the word "delicious" with all those periods in it. Anyway, I think I got the gist of it thanks to the "Social Bookmarking in Plain English" video. I wish they would teach all this technology in that manner. I tried clicking on different bookmarks and noticed some tags that people used but not too many notes. I do see how del.icio.us could be helpful as a research tool in libraries as it allows you to narrow down topics quckly and undoubtedly saves time in the long run. The faster the information gets to the patron, the happier they will be. As for myself, I think I will stick to the old style bookmarking because I personally do not visit too many different sites...

LA VIRGEN DE LOS ANGELES

LA VIRGEN DE LOS ANGELES
Originally uploaded by maluz2122

This is an article I found on Webfeat. I entered a search for "Costa Rica" and scrolled through several articles until I settled on this one. I have personally visited "La Virgen De Los Angeles" several times. Natives often recommend that visitors go there as it is an impressive and beautiful church regardless of your religion. I found the picture on Flickr...

Article:

The Virgin of Los Angeles has been venerated by Costa Ricans for over three centuries as their nation's patron and female role model. The Virgin's legend began in 1635, when she appeared to a peasant woman as a small statuette. In the centuries following, her image has been manipulated for political and social ends. The Virgin remains the single native icon in a nation of diverse and often disparate people.

Source Citation:Mullenax, Nancy A. "Native of her land: Costa Rica's Virgin of Los Angeles." Journal of Latin American Lore 18.n1-2 (Summer-Winter 1992): 3(11). General OneFile. Gale. Palm Beach County Library System. 5 June 2008
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Gale Document Number:A18749840