#23 Is this the end or just the beginnin ...

This is the beginning ... I'm proud that I completed all 23 1/2 Things (sorry that it's not in order) and know that I have so much more to learn. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to participate in this program. My favorite exercises were exploring Flickr, learning about RSS feeds, technorati, and Library Thing. I will be more open to wikis, and will read blogs by John Blyberg and David Lee King, since I've gotten over feeling that I'm intruding. I'm off to read more about the meebo me widget. Did I just say that? Yes, I did....

Oh, and count me in if you offer another discovery program.

#22 Audio Books

I browsed the Queens Library audio books feature and found a decent selection of general fiction/nonfiction titles. The audio books are easy to access and the instructions are user friendly. One feature that's noticably missing for me is that the descriptions don't include the names of actors reading the books. I'm also curious as to why only one copy per title is available. A couple of titles that I was interested in were not available. Two titles that were - All the Flowers are Dying by Lawrence Block and 81 Famous poems, an audio component to the Norton Anthology of Poetry.

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts

I went to Podcast.net and did a search on children's book reviews. I found two podcasts - Book Voyages and lawitchkids. Book Voyages has 115 episodes but nothing new since 2006. lawitchkids is a podcast for parents in LA. I also searched for children's picture book podcasts and found 9 podcasts. Of these 9, I thought Children's Book Radio sounded interesting, but again, it hasn't been updated since 2006.

Podcastalley.com - I did the same two searches and 200 results for both search terms popped up.Book Bytes for Kids sounded good, and seems to be up and running. Here's the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids/feed

#17 1/2 Explore Facebook and Social Networking

I read through the Top Facebook applications for librarians. The applications that I liked best were Books I Read, My Flickr, and del.icio.us. Least favorite was my aquarium - not that I hate fish or anything - just didn't think I would have a use for it. I'm not surprised that 128,000 users do use this application. I don't like the zombies application and wonder who the 168,000 users are and where they live. Customers would probably like my aquarium, zombies and My Flickr. Teens especially would like SuperPoke.

#17 Playing Around with Wikis

I spent some time exploring wikiHow. 3 items of interest and probably why I still don't completely get wiki, unless it's work related -

How to cheat on a book report
How to color in a coloring book
Last, but not least, how to keep friends from stealing your lighter.

I believe that I have just wasted 3-4 minutes of my life on wikiHow. But, in keeping with the assignment, I added the second warning to the wiki on How to color in a coloring book.
http://www.wikihow.com/Color-in-a-Coloring-Book#Warnings

#16 Wiki Me This

I'm not a big fan of wikis and admit to trying to avoid this activity. But, after exploring a few, found that they have something to offer. Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki is very informative. The EZ Library Programming Directory, created by the Mid-Atlantic Library System, provides creative program ideas. I know I will refer to this wiki again. I also found a Library Outreach Wiki that offered workshop hints, workshop programming with hooks, and computer class handouts.

#15 On Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

I enjoyed reading different perpectives on Library 2.0 and Web 2.0, especially Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk's article "Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library. Casey and Savastinuk write that Library 2.0 focuses on "user-centered change", where customers are involved and actively participate in the library experience. John Blyberg's article "11 Reasons why Library 2.0 exists and matters" points out that L2 is revolutionary, that it isn't all theory, and that it's "essential for survival".

I think that a basic understanding of Library 2.0 is essential. Delivering excellent customer service in the future will require focusing on who our customers are, and investing in L2 components that personalize the library and make it relevant.