Facebook

Sorry, but I've heard some disconcerting opinions about FB and I'm not sure that I want to go there. I think it is probably a great tool for some folks and obviously the library always wants to stay up to the minute with what the community is doing and FB is a way for us to continue to spread the news about how great we are, but on a personal level it something that I may not participate in.

Virtual Worlds

I am not a SL citizen and although this is all new to me I think that these virtual worlds are pretty amazing and I can see them becoming more popular. I don't necessarily believe that we are competing with virtual reality worlds today, but we might see that happen in the future.

From the "Dark Side"...

All I have to say is that I just recently saw a report of a person who only conducts her business transactions on line and has been extremely careful, and she got her identity stolen off of the Internet. So if even the most experienced folks out there can get scammed...I don't take any extra chances. I'm sorry, but I don't put any of my personal info out there and I don't do online payments or banking. Call me old fashioned, or foolish, or just plain paranoid, but I've had my identity stolen once before with snail mail and I don't want to go through that again!! Phishing and Malware are just frightening!

Life Long Learning

I just can't keep up with all that is out there!!! Whew, there were so many great links in this last assignment I wanted to spend more time exploring. The Berklee Music Lessons were very cool, I loved the fact that a amateur blues guitarist could basically get free lessons from a professional musician of a prestigious music school. How cool is that?! Like I said, I definitely could've played around in this assignment more. The positivity blog I would visit again and I think that Instructables is just evil. That is just plain addictive for the do-it-yourselfer. Very, very cool. I will be checking that out like crazy. eHow was great too. The online graduate classes are something I was already familiar with and the eCollege Guide is a handy tool. I have some further investigating to do on my own part after 2.1 has ended. There are just so many tools out there to find info, it's mind blowing. I really enjoyed this assignment and I will be returning to many of these web sites.

I think that our Orange Seed is a great way to share ideas and suggestions as well as solve problems together with fellow staff system wide. This is a easy way to brain storm with a group of people and to get feedback on ideas and solutions. Orlando Memory demonstrates how OCLS is part of the community and visa versa, because the community is our reason for being here. I haven't added anything to OM yet because I am newer to Orlando and I haven't thought of anything fun to add to the website-but I intend to. As far as the new strategic plan...it has a tremendous impact on me and the work that I do here because it means I must continue to improve my skills, learn, and evolve with our library in order to keep up with the community that we serve. I will need to continue to attend classes and webinars, and update my skills to better assist our patrons. I do feel that we are already a progressive institution that strives to accommodate the needs of our customers, but we will need to continue to stay on top of all of the advances in technology and communication to remain one of the best libraries in the country.

To be continued...

This week I feel as though there just is not enough time to really play in the adventure exercises but this assignment was a lot of fun (even though farecast didn't have my home town airport for the airfare trends), and it showed me once again, just how much information (and fun stuff ) is out there for everyone. I will definitely be using Pan Images and I'm cooked. As far as what I think applies to OCLS....We could use the StandoutJobs.com in our Netlinks for employment, Biznik would be perfect for all of the patrons that come in looking for information/help on starting their own small business, the genealogy links My heritage and Geni are both free which our patrons would use, and .Docstoc could replace the database we used to use for legal forms. I'm sure that Vufind would be useful to the library but I honestly had trouble working my way through it. Like I said I really enjoyed this assignment and it was also very infomative.

Organizational Change...

It's what we're all about, we have to keep up with the demands of our patrons/community. We are keeping up, and our patrons appreciate it. In our Mission Statement we talk of a "changing community" which is why our "services" need to keep evolving, and when the statement mentions "continuous inovation" that equates with being up to speed with the newest technologies out there. Our patrons love the library and the services that we offer. What we offer our community enriches their lives, makes their lives easier, saves them money and saves them time. This is where the the Davinci article comes into play, because we offer our customers more than information, we also give them an experience. We are already aware of the suggestions that this article makes. We have secret shoppers to "evaluate the library experience", and as an organization we are always "embracing new information technologies" and Orlando Memory touches on this article as well. I think that we are already doing a lot of what this article suggests libraries will need to do in the future to keep folks coming through their doors. The music/theatre performance rooms are a great idea that I'm sure would do well, but Orlando just can't afford any new expenditures right now. Something for the future maybe, a very cool idea. And the USB bracelets-very very clever! Willie Rules!