Google

Well I have always liked Google.  They never let me down.

I do like the new feature on Google maps which allows the option of directions by car, walking, or public transit.  The walking feature was great when Bill and I decided to check out open houses in the near north area.  We were able to start at one address and then keep adding new addresses. I printed out all the maps and voila.  Of course the condos were all really expensive and very small. 

I had no idea that you could get an actual picture of the start and end destinations.  There are my silly little entryway bushes!!

I think the public transit directions seem a little shaky.  I would feel safer using the cta or rta sites.  But on the other hand I know they have teamed up with the RTA so that must mean their info is good. But  I also really like the option of entering your arrival time in the Cta trip planner.

The other Google feature I think is great is the archives option on the news page.   It would be even better if you were able to access the whole article.  But at least the search is a quick way to get an idea of what is out there, especially in local newspapers, whose content might otherwise be difficult to access.

As Betty knows, I teach a class in Google tips and tricks, couldn’t imagine working without the Google image options, love the calculator option etc etc. 

All done!

 

Wiki

Well first I would like to say that I really liked Lisa’s little song.

I do think that it would be interesting to explore using a wiki for some of our content pages.  It would be great to have the knowledge of many for some of our subject guides, such as investments.  It would also be nice for others to be able to update. 

Seems like this is what we have with our reference rolodex.

 

IM

As all you Great 8 mavens probably know, I do staff the Askaway IM service, but I did visit it as a user.  My librarian did a fine job getting me the info-but she wasn’t overly speedy which is the one aspect that concerns me when I am dealing with patrons.   Important thing is to  send a little still working message.  Of course the beauty of IM is that people do tend to multitask so no one probably notices a slight delay.

I love using the IM service when I need to talk to someone at a company.

I would love to try to set up an local IM service to see how it works out.

Got 2 go

 

Podcasts

I listened to Candace Bushnell, http://odeo.com/episodes/23498828-Candace-Bushnell-Meet-the-Author, which I was looking forward to since I had just read her book.  Have to admit I lost patience listening to the Podcast.  I would much prefer reading a transcription of the discussion since we can read much faster than listen. 

While I do have my radio programs I enjoy listening to, especially Saturday WBEZ, I like to listen to them in real time, which for me is part of the experience. 

At this point I would say podcasts are not for me.  As far as applicability to the library-perhaps it would be worthwhile creating a podcast for programs such as “One Book Everybody Reads”, or the lectures given for the Lyric programs or the Art Institute exhibits.

 

Databases

Gave some of the Try It databases a run.  I did like the Magill OnLiterature Plus.  I tried searching for a recent local book club selection, The Professors’ House by Cather, and there was quite a nice synopsis which drew from the Magill Masterplots.  This would be a great supplement to the Literature Resource Center, which has reviews and criticism of course, but no synopsis.  Actually in doing  a comparison of this work in Lit Resource Center, the Magill product was much easier to use and seemed richer.

Also tried the Million Dollar Directory which I thought may be of help in answering a certain individual’s queries.  This time I compared to the Business and Company Resource Center and Business and Company won.  Also tried America’s Obituaries and Death Notices which did not seem very inclusive as I was unsuccessful with my searches.

 

You Tube at the library

WIth young adults in my family I have been aware of the wonders of You Tube for awhile.  From music to funny/charming videos it really is a great site. 

As far as the library, I think it would be more useful as a fun project.  I can’t imagine anything more boring than going on to you tube to see an instructional video.

 

Charlie bit me

 

My thoughts on Flickr

Once again it was a little harder than I thought it would/should be.  Called Suzanne to my aid, who assured me that I may just need to wait a bit before my images showed up on my blog.  And she was right.

I imagine I will be much more likely to use this for my personal life than the blog.  Perhaps I will use it to share my pictures from upcoming trips.

The best thing is that it is an efficient way to share with multiple contacts.  A bad thing is that it doesn’t seem that I would be able to upload many pictures at one time.  The maximum for a day is I believe 100mb-I used 35 just uploading 6 pictures!!

Not sure how I would use this for work.  We are already using this for our RLA committee and that seems a perfect use.  Sharing info and pictures from a common meeting with people from many libraries.  Perhaps down the road we could think of recording some of the Library’s programs and putting the power point presentations up on the blog.

 

Fort Tryon

Great 8 005

Originally uploaded by wags3307

On the way to the Cloisters

 

Beatriz’ beach

Great 8 002

Originally uploaded by wags3307

my friend’s beach -5 minutes on foot!