Thing #21 Podcasts

I usually subscribe to Podcasts via the Itunes store, but by exploring Podcast Alley I found the Audiobook Reviews podcast and added it to my Itunes podcast subscriptions as well as adding the feed to my Google Reader account.  It was very easy.

Although I have issues with some of the ways that Itunes limits users (like allowing one to manually sync music with only one computer at a time - switching to syncing an iphone with a new computer is a nightmare that involves wiping out *all* your media),  I like the way it handles searching for and adding podcasts.

Thing #20

Wow. YouTube. Love, love, LOVE it! Useitallthetime. You can find tutorials on anything - I have watched countless photography and Photoshop videos and waxed nostalgic over Puertorrican commercials from the 60's, 70's and 80's as well as video captures of old DOS games (ZZT! Kroz! King's Quest!).

As for its use in libraries: I typed "library training" in the search box and came up with a long list of both serious classes and hilarious clips. Here are a couple of examples:

Thing #19

For this one I've been exploring Wufoo, which is new to me. I love its attractive, eyecatching and very clean interface. I can see many applications for this one: mailing lists, surveys, contact forms, etc. It seems very easy to use, with a reasonable pricing structure and it even has ready made templates.

Thing #18 Google Docs/Recipe

It was very easy to publish my document to my blog - didn't even have to sign up for it since I already had a Google account.  I'm just changing the title and adding this comment.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars (from Taste of Home)

1 18 0z tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 egg

Cut cookie dough in half. For crust, press half of the dough onto the bottom of a greased 8-in. square baking pan. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Spread over crust. Crumble remaining dough over top. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.  Yield: 12-16 servings.

Editor's note: 2 cups of your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough can be substituted for the refrigerated dough.

Ana's note: I use 1 and 1/2  family size tubes of cookie dough and double rest of ingredients, then use a 15x10x3 pyrex.

Thing #17

I'm not sure what  happened  here. I was able to add a link to my blog, but as a comment. Otherwise, when I go to "blogs" and click on "edit"  I see the Page Tools but "insert link" isn't clickable.

Thing #16

Very interesting and already useful. On the SJCPL Subject Guide Wiki, I was immediately attracted to the "History Related Mysteries" entry. I'm a voracious reader of fiction and I love "If you like..." lists. This is how I discovered Diana Wynne Jones ( if you like Harry Potter...) and George R.R. Martin ( I had already read  Robert Jordan and Tad Williams). I think those kinds of  lists are an excellent resource on a library wiki.

From the  Bull Run Library wiki I was led to the WowLibrary service, which in turn led me to sign up for email alerts from TCCL.  Oh! The ways one can meander through the Internet...

Thing #15 Library 2.0

From one of the articles: "Exposing our metadata to initiatives like the Open WorldCat Project can make resources discoverable in many more settings, well beyond local online catalogs that were the original destination for the metadata. Done thoughtfully, with the advocacy and coordination of a bibliographic utility, such as OCLC, we can avoid the duplication of records in search result displays that would occur if every consortium were acting individually. Through RSS feeds, libraries can package and push their content to users’ preferred working places." 

From my perspective as a library customer, it is both exciting and amazing to me how much I can take advantage of library services from my own home and how quickly that accessibility is expanding.