bookmark away...........

With Del.icio.us bookmarking becomes a breeze. I think it's a wonderful tool because it can help organize your favorite websites, which allows you to find and access them with ease. By tagging your websites, it can simply narrow down your sites to a simple keyword. I could personally benefit from this because I know when I click my favorites button a whole list comes up. I then have to weed through them all to find what I'm looking for. I have allot of favorites so it becomes a huge hassle to hunt for a particular site, not to mention valuable time I waste.
I also love the fact that Del.icio.us is social. Social bookmarking can really benefit allot of people. You can become aware of valuable information you might not have been aware of thanks to another person who bookmarked that site. So, it can assist you in research you might be doing. The social aspect is great too. It's kind of like leaving breadcrumbs for others to follow and in turn picking up the crumbs they left behind for you. The end result is you being led straight to a valubale website.

Myspace Welcome Mats

I have a myspace account and I do enjoy it. It can be intimidating because myspace is such a large community now. Once you start making friends though it becomes a much more smaller virtual world. A big plus is the fact that it's very user friendly- they have a large help section that addresses all possible questions you might have. It's a nice way to publicly express yourself creatively- the possibilities become endless!!!!
It's an easy way to stay in touch with friends and get updated on what's going on in their neck of the world without much effort at all. If you want to check in with someone but just don't have the time to call all's you have to do is drop them a quick one liner like "how u doooing?" You'll get an answer when they find it convenient. It saves time for both people. In such a fast paced world it can become a life saver by helping you stay connected with your friends.
It's fun to go on and look at your friends profiles to see what they have been up to and vice a versa. The only thing I find negative about it is that your friends do expect an answer back a.s.a.p. if they drop you a line- so you do have to constantly check in. I also feel I have to constantly renovate my space to keep it interesting, which can be time consuming. All in all it's fun because you feel that there are welcome mats at everyones my space door. It can become your virtual home!!!

Go Right Ahead VBPL

I feel VBPL should use social networking to connect with teens. There is no harm in marketing the library on myspace for example. Many bands and businesses do so why shouldn't the Public Library jump into that circle too. There no harm in opening our doors to the patrons on-line. We our a public Library so we should be publicly open to all people including those in the virtual world.
I think by taking that step were showing the younger generation that we can still talk the talk and walk the walk even though were a library. We would be putting ourselves in their shoes and seeing things through their perspective. Relating to others always makes friends and creates a bond of trust. The Library is built on trust and we can use this trust to help educate patrons.
There is so much negativity surrounding social networking due to cyber-bulling and predators. We could transform this bad and turn it into good by be being a moral pillar. VBPL using a social network, in short, will reach a whole new group of people that already have access to social networking. This will allow us to make more friends........ and isn't that what social networking is all about : )

14,14,14!!!

It's great there's a place like staff Picks where you can go and get ideas for a possible next read and share your thoughts about your currant read. I found it was very easy to post about my book. Alls I had to click was the edit button and off I went on posting about my book. I just had to click save and then I was all set and done. Very simple! When all was done, it was nice to sit back and read all the great book reviews that others have posted.
Wikis are very useful and can be used for numerous topics. Libraries can use them to start book clubs, get opinions from patrons for up-coming events and share info on up-coming events. Wikis can join people together to socialize that would otherwise never have.

Wonderful World of Wiki

Wiki??? what's a Wiki?......... was the first thing that came to thought before exploring this weeks exercise. I had no clue what a wiki was. Fortunately, after learning what one is I found them to be extremely useful. I always believed two heads worked better than one. So when I learned a Wiki generates numerous people to work together and share knowledge amongst each other I said to myself....... right on!!! Information is always changing and knowledge is always increasing so it's hard to stay on top of it- especially if only a few individuals are responsible. When you have a large quantity of people that are willing to up-date and edit in new information on a web page it helps keep everything as currant as possible. This sharing of ones '2 sense' can benefit all the users and members, like it does in Wikipedia.
Libraries too can gain from a Wiki. For example the Book Lovers Wiki is a great idea. It encourages people to share their opinion about a certain book. It creates a sense of community amongst people who share common interests. When I think of a Wiki, I now get the picture that it's a place to go to and share your knowledge knowing that other people got your back.

A Good Mix Indeed

IM and Library Reference makes a good combination from what I witnessed. My experience with Ask the Library was a pleasant one. I asked a question and within seconds I got a friendly response. A librarian introduced herself which made it personal right off the bat. I quickly received an answer to my "where might I find books regarding quotes by famous people?" I was given some call numbers and was even asked if I was looking for any in particular quotes. I was impressed how smoothly reference IM went!
Later I talked to a librarian in IM reference about their experience. I learned that it was a whole new avenue for them but they generally enjoy it. I was told they sometimes get impatient people that ask a question and within minutes of hearing no response log off. On a more positive note, they will get patrons who need in depth help. For instance, I was told of a girl who was doing homework and had numerous questions. She said that she might have a few more and might still need their help. Instead of just answering the few she already had asked and move on, they stood on stand by until she gave the O.K that she no longer needed assistance. If that's not quality customer service than I don't know what is!!!!