Gettin' 'Jing"-y with it

Libraries can definitely benefit from Jing videos, especially since so many of the resources and tools that libraries use require a computer of some sort. For instance, a library could use Jing to show how to use a database, catalog, or a library’s website. Video tutorials in general are great because they appeal to the visual learner; can be performed simultaneously with the application, if necessary; and they can be paused, rewound, and fast-forwarded through if the learner desires.  The nice thing about Jing, compared to other screen-capturing software like Camtasia or Captivate is that it’s totally free, so anyone can download it and create video tutorials without having to worry about funding issues. Jing is also very easy to use and straightforward, so there is not as much of a learning curve.

One of the drawbacks, though, to Jing, is that it’s not as fully featured as some of the other screen-capturing software utilities mentioned above. If I make a mistake in my video tutorial, or if I want to add something in, it can be much harder to edit this video without having to start over. Another downside is that the tutorials are limited to five minutes. While this does encourage tutorial makers to keep their videos simple, it may not be enough if you have a more complex topic that you want to explain.

A big drawback overall to video tutorials is that they take a bit of time to create, especially when compared to written documentation. They have to be planned out, especially if the user is going to speak along with it. If someone is not used to training, they may have difficulty moving their mouse and talking at the same time. Another downside is that since video tutorials are so visual, if the application or screen changes, even slightly, it will make your tutorial obsolete and may make it harder to follow.

I definitely think video tutorials are a worthwhile investment for libraries, especially with the invention of Jing that makes this technology accessible to a much wider audience.

Using Goodreads to Add or Rate Books

This video tutorial will show you how to add and rate books using the Goodreads.com website.

If it does not display properly, you may also view the tutorial directly on Screencast.com by clicking here.
  

Wikis in the Library

Wikis are one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools because they are so accessible and collaborative.  In the 90’s, if you wanted to make a page of information on the web, it involved HTML knowledge and some FTP knowledge, as well. Pages could not easily be updated and if a page moved or was changed, it would often mean broken links and dead-ends. Thankfully, with the invention of the wiki, individuals can create informative pages without any HTML knowledge. On top of that, they can easily create, edit, and change pages by anyone with access – not just the webmaster.

The biggest benefit for libraries to use wikis, as mentioned above, is that they allow individuals to create an informative page without having to know anything about web-design. Of course, knowing web-design certainly doesn’t hurt, but it is no longer necessary as it once was. This opens the doors to many people being able to share their information who might not have been able to before because of their lack of HTML knowledge. Wikis also allow anyone with access to edit, so one wiki can be maintained by several people (or by anyone). Since libraries are generally collaborative anyway, this is perfect for them!

There are many different ways libraries could use wikis. I could see a county having its own wiki with a page for each different public library within that county. One or two librarians from each different library could be responsible for maintaining their specific branch page and could use it to post timely information about their library – such as branch hours, events, and new features or additions. Libraries could also use wikis as a main page for all of their library information. For instance, a special library could use a wiki to explain all the databases it subscribes to, resources it provides, and staff members.

There is a really interesting wiki built by librarians for librarians called Library Success. It has links to all the various projects – including wikis – that librarians are using.  In the old days – as mentioned above – many websites existed like this that had a list of links about a particular topic. If someone wanted a link added or changed, they would have to contact the webmaster directly and wait for them to change it. If a link was broken or changed locations, only the webmaster could update the site. Thankfully, with this wiki, those one-person pages are a thing of the past. Anyone can edit or change the wiki as they like, which allows for the most up-to-date resource possible.

Wikis, however, are not without their drawbacks. For one, wikis can be too collaborative. Take the wiki mentioned above that anyone can edit. If someone wanted to, they could erase or deface the information on the pages. Thankfully, most wikis have the technology to revert to previous versions to help reverse blatant vandalism. However, this takes time and effort to maintain. The bigger the wiki is, and the more people that have access to edit it, the more of a problem this “over collaboration” becomes.

Another problem with wikis is that they take time and resources to set up and maintain. A wiki has to be hosted somewhere and the files, pages, and multiple versions take up space. There are websites – such as pbwiki – that allow anyone to set up a wiki without having a webpage. However, the wiki still needs to be maintained by someone or a group of people, which can be more effort than it first appears.

Overall, I think wikis are a great addition to libraries and the web in general. I like how it allows knowledgeable people to share information and collaborate with one another.

Social Bookmarking: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I would like to share a recent tale of woe, involving the website Delicious. I used to use Delicious several years ago, when it was owned by Yahoo, to save bookmarks across multiple devices. In the most recent years, I let my account fall by the wayside as I found it easier to manage bookmarks locally instead. A couple months ago, I decided I wanted to start using Delicious again. So, I tried logging into my account, and it kept on giving me errors telling me the username was not found. Username not found? That’s impossible!  I’ve been using the site for years prior without any problems. After more research, I figured out exactly what had happened. Delicious was recently purchased by the founders of YouTube and users had a certain window of opportunity to transfer their account information over. And if they missed that window? Their information was lost forever with no way to retrieve it. All those years of bookmarking, tagging, and organizing were just gone all because a website changed ownership. I was ready to cry. Thankfully, I had synced all of my Delicious bookmarks up to my local computer a long time ago, so the majority of them were still intact. But, I would still have to manually re-add them if I wanted to continue using the site.

This was a harsh reminder that Web 2.0 tools are never really permanent, especially when the dealing with cloud. We sometimes take for granted these sites where all our information is stored elsewhere. These tools can – and often – do change ownership and when they do, all sorts of problems can arise. It is important that if organizations, such as libraries DO choose to take advantage of these services, that they back up all of their information so it is not lost.

That’s not to say that these tools don’t have their benefits. Libraries can use bookmarking features as a way to easily share resources and information with patrons. Patrons could follow the libraries on these social bookmarking sites to easily add bookmarks to their personal accounts, if need be. These links could also be grouped by different subjects based on the library. For instance, an academic library could tag their links by appropriate areas of interest, so Math majors would only see links relevant to them, and so on. Since the social bookmarking feeds are published as RSS, anyone can subscribe to them with any platform, even if they do not have a social bookmarking account themselves.

Delicious and Diigo both have their strengths and weaknesses. Previous experiences aside, Delicious has a very nice layout since it was relaunched. I like how you can add bookmarks multiple ways. When you do add a popular website, suggested tags come up of what to tag it with. You can also add a picture, if need be, and add a group of links to a stack that you can make public, if you wish. With Diigo, I liked how it incorporated highlighting of important notes on a page. I also like how some bookmarks contained cached versions (but only the really popular sites). I did not like how Diigo required that you installed a browser plug-in to add links (I was using Chrome). If Delicious can easily add a way to add a link with no browser buttons required, why can’t Diigo? I did find the layout of a Delicious user page a little more informative than Diigo.

Here is a link to my Delicious page, and here is a link to my Diigo page.

QR Code

Here is the QR Code that links to my Google Sites (alternatively located here). On this page you will find my projects for my Preparing Instructional Media (LIS 6303) class. I tested this on my iPhone, so I can confirm the QR code works. I also noticed that the URL contains a small extra part on the end to track if people came via a QR code.

The value of podcasts for libraries

There are lots of different ways that libraries can use podcasts, some of which I have direct experience in.

Over the summer, I worked at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) as a reference librarian. Every day, a newsletter was published of the top electronic stories, called Smartbrief, and was e-mailed to internal and external customers. The library, along with other departments, took turns making audio posts of these newsletters for those unable to read the print-version. It involved taking all of the stories and figuring out which to keep, and which to take out. It also required you to prepare a script and decide exactly what you were going to say before you started recording. Luckily, CEA had lots of professional equipment, so the podcasts came out sounding very nice – although we did use Audacity, as well, to edit them.

Libraries can use podcasts for other things too, such as a spotlight on a new database/resource or a list of upcoming events. They can also do interviews with other librarians and staff members. The possibilities are endless. I do think that whatever information is presented in the podcast should be duplicated somewhere else in written form. For instance, if a library did create a podcast of upcoming events or highlighted a database, they should also put these somewhere on the website for others to see. While podcasts can help reach a larger audience, it is important to remember that not everyone is able to (or wants to) play audio files to listen to information.

Podcasts are definitely beneficial to libraries, but it is important to recognize that they take a LOT of work. A podcast may only take 3 minutes to listen to, but at the minimum, may take an hour (or more) to create when you factor in researching, scripting, recording, and editing, and publishing. The podcasts for CEA were about 4-7 minutes in length and took me about 2 hours from start-to-finish to create. Management must understand that podcasts are valuable, but take a lot of time and are not just a “five minute procedure”. I compare it a lot to technical writing, which I used to do. Instructions may take someone two or three minutes to read through, but a document could take hours or days to write!


Another drawback/consideration to podcasts is that audio files take up a lot more space than a basic webpage. It is important the library understand their resources available and understand if they are able to host the files without a problem. 

Life on a Cruise Ship Podcast

Click here to listen to my podcast about life on a cruise ship. I created this podcast since I would hear the same questions asked over and over again when I worked on a cruise ship. I would often joke that it felt like the movie “Groundhog Day”, where Bill Murray has to live the same day over and over. Find the answers to such burning questions as "Who would want to take computer classes on a cruise ship?" and "What are crew cabins like?" 

For this podcast, I took the top 4 questions I would often get asked. I tried to make the podcast a little campy to evoke that “cruise director” feel. I also had fun using the “echo” function in Audacity to help introduce each question. There are definitely more questions I could answer and more information that I could share regarding cruise ship life. These could be addressed in later podcast episodes, if I were to continue it.