Lesson 11: Twitter

The libraries post information about our programs, services and collections, and that's exactly what should be there. Twitter users can also find there what is happening in Calgary. I really like CPL Teen Zone. They tweet not only about books and programs, but also suggest some links about how to safely use Facebook, Apple's new iPod, New Moon sales, for example - lots of interesting topics for young people.

Through Twitter, the libraries promote our other social media, such as blogs. I tweet for CPL Central and it's usually about the blog that I manage (Reader's Nook), but I was happy to see that Fish Creek, for example, did the same.

Lesson 10: LibraryThing

LibraryThing is easy to use. The Search, with its various options, works well. Everything is just a click away. Zeitgeist page, for example, is full of interesting statistics about books and authors; for those who wants to join a group that covers a specific topic or a title, there is a part of the site called Groups, etc.

Membership is optional. I like the combination of a library catalogue and a social networking space. LibraryThing looks like a gigantic book club; you can choose to visit and observe, or you can become an active contributor.

Lesson 9: Online Productivity Tools

I've played with Google Calendar and Documents, and I think they are great applications! I can easily see myself using Google Documents. I really like this tool because it's accessible from any public computer. I usually save all my important documents in a special folder in my yahoo-email, in case that something bad happens to my home computer. With Goggle Documents I would be able to access my Word/Excel/PowerPoint files whenever I want.

Lesson 8: Flickr & YouTube

Flickr

Flickr is a free online photo management that allows the users to upload, edit, organize, share, etc. their photos. The step-by-step instructions on Take a Tour are easy to follow. The whole site looks bright and user-friendly.

I use Flickr.com frequently for the Readers' Nook blog, and I love it. Recently I needed a photo of Reykjavik in midnight in July, and, of course, I found it there. Some other times, due to technical difficulties that I don't know always how to resolve, it's simply not possible to insert the book image from the catalogue, so I use images from Flickr.com. It literally saves my day sometimes!

YouTube

I don't post my own video-clips on YouTube, but I view it frequently, mostly music videos or extracts from old movies. The quality of the clips varies greatly, but usually that's not the most important component. For me, YouTube is a sort of time-traveling machine, and the thrill of seeing something almost forgotten justifies the technical imperfection of the clip.

It's easy to use; I've never had any trouble finding what I was looking for.

Lesson 7: RSS - Bloglines

Setting up my RSS feed was not difficult.

I choose my feeds from Blogline Quick Picks, (books, movies, music, news...) and added a few of my favorite web sites, mostly book magazines' and publishers'. A great part of my job is about fiction, mysteries and history books, so I think that using Blogline feeds will keep me updated.

Lesson 6: Google Universe

Google Books searches the full text of the books that Google scans, converts to text and stores in its digital database. This tool is particularly helpful when we are not able to provide a printed book from our collection.

With your Google account, it's possible to "create and manage personal bookshelves, share books with friends and see what they are reading" (a concept similar to LibraryThing).

You can browse books by subject or use Search box to find a title. There is also Advanced Google Book Search with more options, such as publisher, subject, publication day, etc.

I'm not crazy about Google Books, but there is nothing particular that I don't like about it. I use it sporadically, and I would recommend it as a back-up when our printed material is not available.

Lesson 5: Social Networking

From all social networking sites, Facebook is my least favorite. It's mostly because of privacy issues. Facebook has met a lot of criticism on a range of issues, including child safety, advertising, data mining, inability to voluntary terminate account, etc. Apparently Facebook has been dealing with those problems, but some of them remains. The basic info can be found at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook

I do have a Facebook account, however, but I seldom check it. I know more or less where my friends are. Who is a friend with whom, it's not of my interest. In those rare occasions when I do check my account, I'm annoyed with its commercialism and advertising.

Recently I've been trying to make a change in my account - to add my maiden name - without any success.

I like everything that saves me some time and makes my life more pleasant and easier. For me, Facebook does not do that.

The Calgary Public Library's account on Facebook is a different story. I can the benefits for the Library. This is yet another possibility to make us more visible, chatting about our programs, services and collections.