Library gains web presence

Hammer28's Private Library opens (kind of...it is still private) on the web.

Whole New Mind Toilet Brush Digression

So, I am reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink for LATI and on page 34 he has a picture of a $5.99 toilet brush designed by the venerable and esteemed architect Michael Graves for Target. His point with this illustration is to show that only in a time of abundance could such mundane and utilitarian products be elavated to such status. I just looked at toilet brushes on Target and found that the median price was about $17.00. On Amazon I found an Alessi toilet brush for $59.99 - and that wasn't even the most expensive one. Pink then continues on to say that while abundance has brought beautiful material goods and that we are living in a time of prosperity that the paradox of the this is that we are not fufilled by it and are searching for meaning. This made me think of Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) and "conspiciuos consumption" truly everything that is old is new again.

Week 9, Thing 23 Summary

1.) What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I really enjoyed the Flickr 3rd party sites and image generators. Pandora was quite a pleasant surprise. Del.icio.us would be great if it was bookmarked on all the work computers in the library...I know that defeats the purpose of Del.icio.us but I can never remember where to put the periods.

2.) How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I would have continued to poke around the internets and would have discovered some things on my own, but to have a list of tasks and exercises was really helpful and allowed me to try some new things.

3.) Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Nope.

4.) What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The program is great; one small thing is that I would suggested is to re-order the steps so that the first task is to set up your blog and then do the 7 1/2 Steps of Life Long Learners.


5.) If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

Absolutely.

6.) How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?

I loved doing this so much that I dragged my feet once I got too close to the end because I didn't want it to be over.

Week 9, Thing 22 Downloadable Audio

I am a big fan of Overdrive, so I thought I would something different and give Project Gutenberg a try. It was very easy to download and to link to my blog; however, I did not try to transfer to a portable device so I'm not sure how that would work.

Last September I took a big road trip out west - over 1500 miles of driving, it was amazing to be able to take something about a little smaller than a cassette tape (plus a fm transmitter) and then be able to listen to over a half dozen audiobooks as well as a good selection of music. I vividly remembered a previous long trip, about 15 years prior, with only a small collection of cassettes and trying to tune in the radio when possible. Somehow it seemed whenever we could find a radio station they were playing Gary Puckett and the Union Gap...very odd.

The United States Constitution Amendments I - X The Bill of Rights from Project Gutenberg. Here's a little know fact about me - I usually have a copy of the Constitution with me. (I have actually had to refer to it a couple of times.)

Week 9, Thing 21 Podcasts

I don't know why exactly, but podcasts just don't really appeal to me. Perhaps after this I will have some podcast epiphany and realize that they are wonderful things, but as of now I am still relatively unimpressed. I subscribed via Bloglines to a video podcast about movies and to the Denver Public Library storytime podcast. I can see libraries utilizing podcasts for book talking, author events, storytimes, etc. maybe then I will be more excited about them.

Week 9, Thing 20 - You Tube!

I have already spent many hours sucked into You Tube, although for the longest time I didn't really understand what the fuss was about. (Mainly that was because I hadn't really looked at it yet.) I have also looked at some of the other major video sites like Google and Yahoo Video, but You Tube has so much more content than the others it is usually my first choice. In addition to watching cute dogs, old commercials, etc. You Tube or a similar site could also be used by the library for database demonstrations, book talking, and other things.

I've already added a You Tube video in a previous post and have two Google Videos on my sidebar, but thought I would add just one more. . . cause C is for cookie, that's good enough for me!

Week 8, Thing 19 Web 2.0 Awards

Several of the award winners were familiar, and many of them I had not heard of before. I thought that some of the business productivity sites from 37 Signals - Writeboard, Basecamp, Campfire, Backpack, and Ta Da List were really cool.

I clicked around several of the different award winners, but I was really impressed with Pandora. I've created a couple of different radio stations and it is really amazing how they parse down the music and then find similar artist. This is definitely a site that I will continue to use. This is a great way to find new music.