So what are QR codes then? #cam23

Thanks 23 things for explaining this to me! Not having a smartphone, these had completely passed me by (until now!) I liked the University of Huddersfield's idea of using them on journal stands to link to the electronic version and on shelves to link to ebooks. Not knowing how many of our library users have smartphones, I'm not sure what the take-up would be here, but it would be interesting to try. This is my QR code to link to the ebooks@cambridge webpages:

As for how they can be used in libraries, there seem to be so many possibilities to provide access to resources, information and help via QR codes. In terms of drawbacks, I suppose even if they can be made to look prettier, the library could begin to look very cluttered if these were all over every available flat surface! Some thought would need to go into this to avoid QR overload and how to make it clear to library users what each QR code would do/take them to so they know which ones they are interested in and which to ignore.

Things galore - presentations and visualisation #cam23

I've previously blogged about slideshare here, but haven't used it since. I just had another look to see if there were any interesting new presentations up there. There seemed to be a lot more advert-style presentations compared to last time, but it may have just been the search terms I was using that brought up more of those (e.g. ebook) I found an interesting presentation called Library 2.0 jump-start your library with blogging and Twitter which had some useful tips on it.

I've seen a few Prezis and like their visual appeal, but I've never created one before. First I signed up with Prezi and explored a few. One that caught my eye was on the history of candy. I did find on occasion when moving through it quickly that it was a little bit motion-sickness inducing - one thing to beware of when creating mine! I then found a more serious but effective Prezi on the history of evolution. I think Prezis are harder to make look good than may first appear, but I had fun making mine! Here it is:

Pictures, podcasts and creative commons #cam23

Since I last used flickr, the layout has changed a bit, but I'm glad to see the Creative Commons licensed images are still there, and easy to find via a tickbox on the advanced search. This is such a useful feature! Talking of useful (my favourite thing to look for in a web 2.0 tool) Imagecodr really makes it easy to ensure the image is properly attributed, so here is my first shot at using it:

  by  alexbrn 

I also find the preview function on Imagecodr very helpful - so far, I think I'm a fan.

I don't use podcasts very often, but in a university and/or library setting they can be great for things like inductions, video tutorials and lectures. A student friend of mine finds podcasts a good way of spending time while he sits supervising an experiment - as they are in short bursts, they don't require a long time concentrating (which is good when you want to keep an eye on your experiment and make sure nothing is going wrong). Podcasts are probably useful for people who are short on time or who have short attention spans, or want to fill time while on journeys etc.

I hadn't explored the CILIP communities podcasts before, but there are some interesting sounding ones there, so it's worth remembering. I haven't subscribed to it, but may go back and search for information on a particular topic. As I have just got an iTunes account, I searched there and came across http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/los-angeles-public-library/id280972438?ign-mpt=uo%3D4. I'm sure there are other public libraries who put on talks and speeches who do this too, but it struck me as a nice way of making the library more visible, reaching out to those who missed the talks, and making the most of the effort that has gone into putting on the talks.

Various things, briefly #cam23

First up is LibraryThing. Everything I said in my previous blog post still applies, I think. I haven't used it for my own books, but there are some useful features for libraries.

My thoughts on Facebook for libraries and LinkedIn have already been covered in my previous blog post for the cpd23 programme, so I won't repeat myself here!

I'd no idea what tumblr was until now. I had a look at some tumblrs (is this really the plural of tumblr? It just looks wrong!) and like the look of them. Since I have already started this blog on blogger, it makes sense to me to carry on in this way, but I I like the visual look of tumblr and may be tempted to try a tumblr next time I need to set something up similar up.  One for the future then!

Similarly, I hadn't heard of posterous before, but I liked the Judge Business School's idea of using it as an online handout to showcase tools. Having looked at a few posterouses (this also looks wrong as a plural!), I would consider using it for a group blog.

Organising - Doodle, Google calendar and library widgets

I've previously blogged about Doodle, and how useful it is for arranging meetings and events, so won't repeat myself here. I've also blogged about Google calendar before. I still use this regularly outside of work with a rowing club (we've also been using Doodle to schedule rowing times). The fact that it is so easy to share is useful for teams. Having set up a personal Google calendar last time round for 23 things, I don't use it as much as I expected to. I managed to get hold of a paper diary and I actually prefer this for my personal work use. Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned! My department already has an shared online diary on the intranet, so I don't think we'll be using Google calendar any time soon. However, being able to embed calendars in websites is very useful for libraries and other organisations as it allows them to share details of events, talks and opening hours with the public/their users.

The Library widget is something that's new to me, but I think it's important to be aware of things like this so that I can help library users if they ask about it, or help promote it to them if they don't already know about it. I don't have any loans out so haven't tested all the features properly, but it's been interesting to see what options are available. I wonder how many students use the iCal calendar feed to view their loan due dates in Google calendar? This is something I would have really appreciated as a student (not that I often had overdue loans, but it's a neat way of checking!) I like the fact that there is a mobile version as well, handy for use on the go. The screencast is really helpful, and much better than the one I created for thing 6! I like the way the instructions/commentary are written underneath. Overall, so many great features. Another favourite is being able to see the libraries you are registered with and your borrowing rights at each - apparently mine has expired, oops, better get that sorted! I am often asked by readers how many items they can borrow and for how long - so I will point them in the direction of this in future. Thanks to Cam23 2.0 I now know all about it.

Thoughts on Twitterfeed

Just a quick update to my last post. I like Twitterfeed as it does exactly what it says on the tin, with no fuss. I didn't find it the most user friendly interface in terms of setting up an account and establishing a feed from my blog to Twitter, but now that is set up it is very straightforward to review. When I published my last post, hey presto, a bit.ly link to the post appeared on Twitter and I received a comment almost straight away (thanks Annie!). Think I will carry on using this.

Tweets and feeds and extra things - Cam 23 2.0

So, first up is RSS feeds. I think these are very useful, but I'm not sure if I use them in the most effective way. I just logged into Google Reader to see the feeds that I had subscribed to last time round in 23 things. I haven't looked at Google Reader once in the last year! I do, however, like to add feeds for blogs to my iGoogle page and my blogger dashboard. I find these easier for following a relatively small number of blogs. On first impression, Google Reader is just a bit too confusing for me - there are so many options down the left side of the page, such as notes, starred items and trends that it's hard to know where to start! I would prefer my subscriptions to be at the top of the list and not hidden away at the bottom! On the plus side, it is useful that it highlights the unread items and shows how many unread items there are. If I find myself subscribing to more feeds, then I may well revisit Google Reader and would probably get used to, or at least put up with, the layout!

Next up is Twitter - the thing that surprised me last time round with its usefulness! I'm not much of a regular tweeter although I do follow several librarians including other 23 Thingers. I've just had to refresh my memory of how to search for people and hashtags. Luckily, it's user-friendly and so this wasn't too tricky. I had never tried any of the applications before, apart from Bit.ly which is very useful for posting links. Hootsuite looks like it would be a very good application for those with multiple accounts, or for teams who contribute to an account, but neither of those apply to me at the moment so I didn't bother to try this out! I have just signed up for Twitterfeed, which looked like the most useful application for me. I will have to revisit this once I have published this post and have tested how it works. Watch this space!

Cam23 2.0

I'm pleased that 23 Things is back in 2011 as Cam23 2.0! I really enjoyed the programme last year and as well as learning a lot about web 2.0 and social media, I gained the confidence to blog. There were a few surprises, such as the discovery that I actually continued to use Twitter (something I had steered clear of prior to 23 Things!). While I'm by no means a prolific tweeter, I do find it useful as one way of helping me to keep up with what's going on in the library world. 23 Things was a way of getting more involved in the Cambridge libraries community and this was not just through meeting people at the launch and closing parties.

I've decided to stick with Blogger so that I can use my existing blog. As for what I want to get out of Cam23 2.0, I hope to refresh my skills and update my learning from last year. In this fast moving world, some things may be changed since last summer, and I'll be trying out some of the new things as well. 

iGoogle was one of my favourite things last time around, and I have continued to use it (although not every day). I have just taken the time to review my iGoogle page. Having investigated the current hottest gadgets, I decided to add the Google translate gadget to my home tab. Every now and then it is useful to have a translator to hand, so I will try this out next time I need one. My 'library stuff' tab is the one I use most. It's my preferred method of following blogs as I only follow a few, and contains the ever useful Copac and Worldcat gadgets. To prove I remember some of what I learnt last 23 Things, here's a pretty picture:

For the extra thing this week, I have added a search box and a labels word cloud to my blog. It's so easy to make changes in Blogger, which is one of the reasons I like it. As time goes on, some of the other gadgets may be useful too. I picked a very librarian-ish template this time around, rather than sticking to the default. I look forward to viewing some of the other Cam23 2.0 blogs, seeing which templates and gadgets people have used and of course reading the posts!