Reflection

This image comes from a BBC news link that arrived today in my Google Reader feed, one of the tools I have set up since starting the Cam 23 programme. In very small print it is credited to Reuters

Many of the social networking and other tools explored in the first half of the programme were not new to me. I had registered as an enthusiastic early adopter when they were launched but then not made the time to explore them comprehensively. The 23 Things Cambridge programme with the additional links and exercises have prompted me to investigate further and I am looking forward to finding out more about Zotero and Mendeley.

We acquired a laptop with windows 7 at home and igoogle was the default home page so I set up a google ID, a new email address and a google webpage, which is far easier than writing the html script for a homepage before Cam 23 was launched but did not explore reader until Thing 1. Gmail or googlemail does not have features which are present in hermes webmail, such as the ability to sort columns according to subject or sender, but does keep related messages together, has folders and keyword searching of messages. For quick access to email messages I prefer putty access to hermes.cam.ac.uk but this is dependent on the programme being loaded on the computer in use, webmail is accessible on any system, and in Internet cafes google is often the default home page. In an office google mail or thunderbird or outlook can be kept running in the background so that you can be aware of incoming messages but time management skills are required to concentrate on the task in hand rather than check messages, or worse still engage in chat because a friend is also online.

Blogging has been great fun, and has been taken up enthusiastically by Cam 23 participants, but who has the time to read and comment on all the entries. For chartership candidates and new entrants to the profession a blog will be a worthwhile addition to a portfolio of skills acquired but for many librarians it will be hard to maintain a schedule of blogging in term time.

Doodle and Google calendar are useful tools for keeping track of meetings and events. I have found the email prompting for google calendar and can see that in an organisation with several staff it would help in forward planning, but wall charts with stickers and paper diaries still have a place, especially the university diary with board and term meetings pre-entered.

Twitter, Flickr, Slideshare were lovely to explore but suck the hours out of the day. I think that in Twitter effective use of # hashtag and bit.ly urls enables sharing news and links to conferences #npc2010 but believe that this is a tool for professional development rather than engaging with users. Any tool which requires a log in is setting up a barrier in the exchange of information.

Tagging and sharing links appeals to the cataloguer within me. There has been some very effective subject use of delicious by faculty libraries, one example here linked from the webpage, but I have found it hard to search across all Cam23 blogs for references to specific topics. The solution has had to be bookmarking an item when found with a todo tag to read later.

I would like to thank the programme contributors for writing the instructions to the things and the participants for their comments and extra links. This programme is bringing together the Cambridge library community in a way that the annual libraries@cambridge or brown bag lunches cannot hope to achieve.
Best get back to sorting out my paperwork:





Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Slideshare

Some years ago, I created a powerpoint introduction to the College Library which was embedded into the then welcome web page for graduate students. Slideshare seems a much simpler way to embed such information.

Using the search screen I came across
Building history websites, presented by Dave Lester (http://davelester.org) at National History Day. June 15, 2008.

Building History Websites: Software and Technical Tips

View more presentations from davelester.

Flickr using images

103 blog entries to catch up on after one week away. Have to take a deep breath and read what I can. In the meantime am using flickr and creative commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/14896779@N05/4736467532/ and to send notification to the Cruising Association about a shortcut to get through Losinj island or to enter the harbour of Mali Losinj via the artificial canal Prolaz Privlaka (3m deep and 6m wide) when the bridge opens at 0900 and 1800. Having seen the swell with a moderate NW wind I would not advise it.

As to library use of flickr, would it not be easier to get someone with a digital camera or a keen eye to take photographs on your behalf rather than fish for pictures on the web. Just a thought.


Sunset in Mali Losinj Midsummer.

Flickr and photo sharing

Found I could do a geographic search on flickr. Thank you Thing 9 Exploring Flickr since I had just used the service before to share photographs with friends and family rather than clog up their in boxes with large photofiles.
For those people who want to made money from their photographs this report "Getty taps into Flickr snappers" may be of interest.

I have tried to load a picture of our favourite (to date) lighthouse into flickr Sv Ivan na Pucini near Rovinj. I would be interested how many views it gets.
Calon Lan is off sailing for a week

Time management Doodle et al

Full of admiration for the course leaders and bloggers who are setting the Cam 23 challenges and advising via comments in addition to working/training/attending courses. Having left full time work to persue the dream of sailing I don't know how you do it all but perhaps the jisc info kit will help http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/time-management




Right oh Doodle. I first learnt about it at one of the monthly Brown Bag lunches, and used it last year to publicise library tours to the incoming freshers. It was received favourably by many of them and boosted attendance at the Michaelmas induction tours from the very low turn out the previous year, although perhaps a meeting with the Senior Tutor in 2009 after the low turn out might have helped.

Again after a brown bag lunch I used Mosuki and tried to publicise it at Heads of Department meetings but my usage of it slipped and I had not realised that it had fallen by the wayside. I am still a printed diary person, one for work (when I was in it) and one for home plus a great BIG chart on the kitchen noticeboard for sailing trips, rambling and family events, but have looked again at google calendar and made some entries. If you are not in the habit of using up to date mobile phones a University diary in the handbag is as good as anything.

Finally a note on today's picture. I take a laptop when sailing, but away from the Cambridge bubble of cheap, fast internet connections find that books and printouts of user group contributions to sailing networks are the best information resources when internet access is either not available or horrenously expensive via dongles.