I've used the P and S drives for several folders over the last two years. I found a couple of folders on the P drive that I had created and left up since 2006. I had fun deleting these folders knowing that I certainly don't need the files in them any longer.
As I was deleting these folders that I personally created, I came across many more folders that we've created in our department that we can easily delete. This exercise makes you realize how much you can do to get rid of folders and take a load off the system. This exercise also underscores the need to try to be as organized as possible when creating files and folders so that you don't have dozens of folders when you only need a few, well-selected ones to do the job.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Email Clean-Up #29 in iHCPL
I've been doing spring cleaning on my work and person email accounts. I saw my work account's quota usage drop from over 20% to .6%! I feel much "lighter" now that I don't have all those old emails cluttering up my mailbox. I went through each email and just asked myself if I needed the email any longer or if I could easily live without it. If I needed the email, I either wrote down the information or I printed it out. Then I deleted and purged and deleted and purged!
Using some of the GTD principles, I developed three folders that I could initially move emails into so that they would be "collected" in one spot. I analyzed the email that I receive and I decided to name the folders from the three main duty areas that are in my job description. Most of my email falls into one of those areas. I plan to go through my email three times a day (when I arrive, lunch and before I leave) to see if the email falls into one of the three folder areas. If the email doesn't, I will address the email by responding to it or deleting it. If the email does fall into one of those three job areas, I will move the email to that folder. Once a week (on Thursday) I will go through the folders to clear them out completely.
Using some of the GTD principles, I developed three folders that I could initially move emails into so that they would be "collected" in one spot. I analyzed the email that I receive and I decided to name the folders from the three main duty areas that are in my job description. Most of my email falls into one of those areas. I plan to go through my email three times a day (when I arrive, lunch and before I leave) to see if the email falls into one of the three folder areas. If the email doesn't, I will address the email by responding to it or deleting it. If the email does fall into one of those three job areas, I will move the email to that folder. Once a week (on Thursday) I will go through the folders to clear them out completely.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Using GTD to get things done! iHCPL #28
I enjoyed reading the principles of GTD. I've always admired people who are well-organized at work and at home. I've read books that incorporated the basic principles of GTD, but I haven't always put them into practice.
I like the philosophy of collecting the items (ie. emails, paperwork, etc.) in one place to work through. I particularly like the 2 minute rule about doing anything that can be done in 2 minutes. I recently put this concept into practice when going through email that accumulated over several days. I quickly responded to several emails that I no longer have to keep on my mind. It's always gratifying to get things like that done.
I've made a little outline of the GTD principles to put on the bulletin board by my desk as a reminder to keep paperwork or little tasks from getting out of hand.
I like the philosophy of collecting the items (ie. emails, paperwork, etc.) in one place to work through. I particularly like the 2 minute rule about doing anything that can be done in 2 minutes. I recently put this concept into practice when going through email that accumulated over several days. I quickly responded to several emails that I no longer have to keep on my mind. It's always gratifying to get things like that done.
I've made a little outline of the GTD principles to put on the bulletin board by my desk as a reminder to keep paperwork or little tasks from getting out of hand.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Week 10: #23 Is this the end?
Well now comes the fun part -- trying to summarize what I've been doing for the past three months (though most of my posts reflect that I've only been working on this a week or so...) Believe it or not, I did start this project back in September.
I'm finishing this entry at the eleventh hour, so I hope I didn't leave any exercises out. I'm glad that HCPL brought us this program inspired by what they've done in North Carolina and other libraries. I've used some aspects of these applications, but I'm sure I'd never have known how to go out and find a lot of them on my own.
I think my favorite discovery was just knowing I could post a picture on my blog through Flickr or create my own Avatar. I've gone to websites and seen these things all over but I never bothered to do this before.
This experience really shows me how much I need to do to keep up with the times. Of course, not many people know all of this material. But a lot of people obviously know some of this. This is a good time of year (i.e. end of one year, beginning of another) to assess my technological skills and make goals for future undertakings. This iHCPL experience shows me that there are ways to figure out what I need to know and what I should want to know. It's been tough at times, but I'm glad I've given it a try.
I'm finishing this entry at the eleventh hour, so I hope I didn't leave any exercises out. I'm glad that HCPL brought us this program inspired by what they've done in North Carolina and other libraries. I've used some aspects of these applications, but I'm sure I'd never have known how to go out and find a lot of them on my own.
I think my favorite discovery was just knowing I could post a picture on my blog through Flickr or create my own Avatar. I've gone to websites and seen these things all over but I never bothered to do this before.
This experience really shows me how much I need to do to keep up with the times. Of course, not many people know all of this material. But a lot of people obviously know some of this. This is a good time of year (i.e. end of one year, beginning of another) to assess my technological skills and make goals for future undertakings. This iHCPL experience shows me that there are ways to figure out what I need to know and what I should want to know. It's been tough at times, but I'm glad I've given it a try.
Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media
I don't have a computer at home, so I haven't really been into the downloadable media yet. We (HCPL) have a great collection of DVD's that I'm still going through. However, I can see how many people probably would enjoy using the downloadable media to save time and gas in going to the library.
I haven't noticed customers really asking about or using these resources much - most people seem to prefer the solid book or video/audio product. But at the rate technology is going, I'm sure we'll have folks looking into this a lot more in the next couple of years.
I didn't see any ebook titles that appealed to me that don't already have a traditional book format. So, for now, I'll still to the traditional book. However, after iHCPL, I could see myself in the upcoming year, using the ebook collection during my lunch break or afterhours if a title catches me.
I haven't noticed customers really asking about or using these resources much - most people seem to prefer the solid book or video/audio product. But at the rate technology is going, I'm sure we'll have folks looking into this a lot more in the next couple of years.
I didn't see any ebook titles that appealed to me that don't already have a traditional book format. So, for now, I'll still to the traditional book. However, after iHCPL, I could see myself in the upcoming year, using the ebook collection during my lunch break or afterhours if a title catches me.
Week 9: #21 Podcasting
I went through Podcast.net to find a wonderful series of library how-to vignettes hosted by Glasgow University Library. You get to hear great Scottish accents explaining the intricacies of "returning a book", "placing a hold", "finding a book", etc. This is definitely worth a listen. I subscribed to it on my Bloglines account. I can hardly wait to hear the newest installments by our cardigan sporting librarians.
Week 9: #20 Discover YouTube and other video sharing sites
I've been enjoying You Tube for some time now. I love the huge variety of vidoes (including clips and whole episodes from old TV shows) and the way it showcases related vidoes based on the title/subject of the video you choose. I went from viewing "Angry Librarian" video to "Angry Professor" video to "Angry Teacher" video with just a click of the keyboard.
I've been following the installments of a video called "Kalypso's New Orleans". A young girl hosts this video about living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. There are at least 3 editions of it. She does a great job with the help of her family and some good music in the background. The only real problem I had with the video -I'd like to see it updated with more installments.
The video I saw didn't really have library features in it. However, there are lots of library related videos out there. Some are funny. Others are more serious training type videos showing what to do and what not to do as a librarian. Still others show the programs and collections of various libraries.
I've been following the installments of a video called "Kalypso's New Orleans". A young girl hosts this video about living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. There are at least 3 editions of it. She does a great job with the help of her family and some good music in the background. The only real problem I had with the video -I'd like to see it updated with more installments.
The video I saw didn't really have library features in it. However, there are lots of library related videos out there. Some are funny. Others are more serious training type videos showing what to do and what not to do as a librarian. Still others show the programs and collections of various libraries.
Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps.
I've enjoyed learning about Zoho and the other web-based apps. I'm glad to know there's some word processing applications out there that can be utilized anywhere and you don't need to worry about having a diskette or flashdrive to save your work.
The document created by Helene Blowers on Zoho was helpful in illustrating Zoho's features. Learning about Zoho almost makes me want to take a road trip to a library in another city and update my blog using all the great features I've learned about.
The document created by Helene Blowers on Zoho was helpful in illustrating Zoho's features. Learning about Zoho almost makes me want to take a road trip to a library in another city and update my blog using all the great features I've learned about.
Week 8: #18 Social Networking
I looked around at all the social networking sites in the Discovery Resources. I had heard of MySpace and Facebook, but I didn't know about some of the specialized sites such as Infield Parking - http://www.infieldparking.com/ or Threadless - http://threadless.com.
I enjoyed looking through Ning - http://www.ning.com/. I found several interesting social networking sites such as one geared toward Irish Dance -http://irishdancing.ning.com/.
I was surprised by how much you can see on the social networks without actually being a member. I guess sites want to get folks interested enough to want to join. I'm glad that sites also try to authenticate users before letting them in to lots of chat and more personal areas of the sites.
I enjoyed looking through Ning - http://www.ning.com/. I found several interesting social networking sites such as one geared toward Irish Dance -http://irishdancing.ning.com/.
I was surprised by how much you can see on the social networks without actually being a member. I guess sites want to get folks interested enough to want to join. I'm glad that sites also try to authenticate users before letting them in to lots of chat and more personal areas of the sites.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Week 7: #17 Blog About Technology
It's hard to know where to start about the impact of technology on our society -particularly libraries. I was born in the 1960's. I can remember as a child using the card catalog at my library (in a once large sized city). You had to look for a title or author card in a drawer in the catalog (usually located too high or with someone using that same drawer when you wanted to use it!). Then you would go to the shelf, only to find out the book wasn't there... If you wanted to see if it was checked out or what may have happened to it, you had to go stand in a line to ask the librarian about it.
By my college years, most of our libraries had the OPAC and it was amazing to think you could know instantly if a book was checked in (actually you still had to do the old-fashioned act of going to the shelf and looking for the book -- something we still have to do in libraryland unless we use ebooks or something!). Another technology breakthrough was that even if a library book was checked out, you could instantly request it on the computer!
When I graduated from library science graduate school in 1995 the Internet was just starting to become popular. The semester after I graduated, our library science program began to emphasize webpage development and computers in a big way. I had no concept of how technology would change my world and pretty much everyone's in just a short time.
In libraryland, we now use technology each day through ecollections, laptops, WiFi, wiki's and of course, all the innovations we're learning through iHCPL.
By my college years, most of our libraries had the OPAC and it was amazing to think you could know instantly if a book was checked in (actually you still had to do the old-fashioned act of going to the shelf and looking for the book -- something we still have to do in libraryland unless we use ebooks or something!). Another technology breakthrough was that even if a library book was checked out, you could instantly request it on the computer!
When I graduated from library science graduate school in 1995 the Internet was just starting to become popular. The semester after I graduated, our library science program began to emphasize webpage development and computers in a big way. I had no concept of how technology would change my world and pretty much everyone's in just a short time.
In libraryland, we now use technology each day through ecollections, laptops, WiFi, wiki's and of course, all the innovations we're learning through iHCPL.
Week 7: #16 So What's in A Wiki?
It seems like there's a Wikipedia entry for almost anything these days. As a librarian, I advise patrons to take the information we might find in a Wikipedia entry with a grain of salt. I try to find other information to back up what we find. However, I must admit, I often rely on the information when I'm looking up something for my personal interest in a topic.
I am on a committee at the library that is utilizing the wiki concept to communicate and work. I have added a few entries and found it to be quite easy. Actually, as soon as I complete the iHCPL experience, I will be attempting to contribute to the committee wiki more often. It's been a bit of a challenge balancing regular work, iHCPL work and the committee wiki. But I'm glad to have the chance to learn more about this technology.
I am on a committee at the library that is utilizing the wiki concept to communicate and work. I have added a few entries and found it to be quite easy. Actually, as soon as I complete the iHCPL experience, I will be attempting to contribute to the committee wiki more often. It's been a bit of a challenge balancing regular work, iHCPL work and the committee wiki. But I'm glad to have the chance to learn more about this technology.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Week 6: #15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0
I read several perspectives on Library 2.0. I related best to the "Away from the Icebergs" perspective of Rick Anderson. He asserts that if librarians were a boat, they could be described as "rowing heroically" to serve customers in a changing world. However, he foresees three "icebergs" that threaten progress for librarians.
The first "iceberg" is the very notion of a library collection (ie. the physical books) being built up in a "just in case" philosophy. That is the notion that libraries should collect anything and everything in traditional print "just in case" someone needs it. He asserts that Web 2.0 calls for libraries to consider non-traditional resources such as digital collections of journals, books, blogs and podcasts. This philosophy allows users access to a greater "collection" than just the traditional one.
The second "iceberg" is the reliance on user education. He asserts that many libraries are not equipped to handle user education of the many technical resources available through Web 2.0. The challenge for libraries will be to find and invest in services that allow the patrons to utilize user-centric services that allow more time for reading and learning and less time trying to figure out the services. He suggests Flickr's "Blog This" and Google Page Creator are technologies for the Library 2.0.
The third "iceberg" is the "come to us" model of library service. He asserts that in the past libraries have been the repositories of scholarly materials that could only be accessed physically at the library. With Web 2.0, Library 2.0 recognizes that libraries need to provide services in an "environment" (i.e. the Web) that can be used almost anywhere - the library or home, etc.
I agree with his concerns about the "icebergs". We are in a time when libraries have to account for the use of scarce resources to benefit the largest number of users. Web 2.0 and other technology assists us in expanding our collections by using electronic resources, finding resources that customers are able to use easily and finding ways to serve customers without requiring them to even set foot in the physical library building.
The first "iceberg" is the very notion of a library collection (ie. the physical books) being built up in a "just in case" philosophy. That is the notion that libraries should collect anything and everything in traditional print "just in case" someone needs it. He asserts that Web 2.0 calls for libraries to consider non-traditional resources such as digital collections of journals, books, blogs and podcasts. This philosophy allows users access to a greater "collection" than just the traditional one.
The second "iceberg" is the reliance on user education. He asserts that many libraries are not equipped to handle user education of the many technical resources available through Web 2.0. The challenge for libraries will be to find and invest in services that allow the patrons to utilize user-centric services that allow more time for reading and learning and less time trying to figure out the services. He suggests Flickr's "Blog This" and Google Page Creator are technologies for the Library 2.0.
The third "iceberg" is the "come to us" model of library service. He asserts that in the past libraries have been the repositories of scholarly materials that could only be accessed physically at the library. With Web 2.0, Library 2.0 recognizes that libraries need to provide services in an "environment" (i.e. the Web) that can be used almost anywhere - the library or home, etc.
I agree with his concerns about the "icebergs". We are in a time when libraries have to account for the use of scarce resources to benefit the largest number of users. Web 2.0 and other technology assists us in expanding our collections by using electronic resources, finding resources that customers are able to use easily and finding ways to serve customers without requiring them to even set foot in the physical library building.
Week 6: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati
A) Advanced Search Exercise -
I think I may now have a better understanding of Technorati. When I looked at it in exercise #9, I found it to be pretty confusing and a bit too techie for me. After doing the discovery exercises I now see how I can use Technorati to narrow a search for blogs on a specific topic.
I put the phrase "Learning 2.0" into the blogposts search and got 17,626 hits for blogs that contained Learning and 2.0. I then put the phrase "Learning 2.0" into the tags search and the hits reduced to 338 initial posts of blog sites specifically tagged "Learning 2.0". I later put the keyword phrase "Learning 2.0" as a tags search and found 616 hits. I tried this phrase in the tags search again and got 505 hits. I guess how many hits you get depends on how many bloggers are tagging a blog as "Learning 2.0".
I then put the keyword phrase "Learning 2.0" into the blog directory search and got 477 blogs about "Learning 2.0". I tried the exercise again in this search and got 405 hits for blogs about "Learning 2.0".
I learned from this exercise that to narrow the number of hits to blogs that are specifically tagged with your keyword term, it is best to use the tags search. Remembering that these are blogs that have been self-identified by the blogger with a specific tag. Some blogs may relate to a keyword such as "Learning 2.0" but not be tagged that way yet. To expand your search a bit to blogs that are about "Learning 2.0" but may not be tagged yet, you might want to use the blog directory search. To find lots of hits (many of which may not be that useful), you would want to put the "Learning 2.0" in the blog posts search because it will come up with many hits - though some of them may not be as relevant as you'd like.
B) Popular blogs, searches, videos -
I looked at some of these blogs,searches and videos, but I was not really interested in them. They mostly seemed to relate to popular culture topics such as celebrities and specialized blogger topics relating to technology and politics. I am interested in some of these topics, but I think I'd prefer to find information by going to official websites for celebrities or politicians rather than the popular blog items.
I think I may now have a better understanding of Technorati. When I looked at it in exercise #9, I found it to be pretty confusing and a bit too techie for me. After doing the discovery exercises I now see how I can use Technorati to narrow a search for blogs on a specific topic.
I put the phrase "Learning 2.0" into the blogposts search and got 17,626 hits for blogs that contained Learning and 2.0. I then put the phrase "Learning 2.0" into the tags search and the hits reduced to 338 initial posts of blog sites specifically tagged "Learning 2.0". I later put the keyword phrase "Learning 2.0" as a tags search and found 616 hits. I tried this phrase in the tags search again and got 505 hits. I guess how many hits you get depends on how many bloggers are tagging a blog as "Learning 2.0".
I then put the keyword phrase "Learning 2.0" into the blog directory search and got 477 blogs about "Learning 2.0". I tried the exercise again in this search and got 405 hits for blogs about "Learning 2.0".
I learned from this exercise that to narrow the number of hits to blogs that are specifically tagged with your keyword term, it is best to use the tags search. Remembering that these are blogs that have been self-identified by the blogger with a specific tag. Some blogs may relate to a keyword such as "Learning 2.0" but not be tagged that way yet. To expand your search a bit to blogs that are about "Learning 2.0" but may not be tagged yet, you might want to use the blog directory search. To find lots of hits (many of which may not be that useful), you would want to put the "Learning 2.0" in the blog posts search because it will come up with many hits - though some of them may not be as relevant as you'd like.
B) Popular blogs, searches, videos -
I looked at some of these blogs,searches and videos, but I was not really interested in them. They mostly seemed to relate to popular culture topics such as celebrities and specialized blogger topics relating to technology and politics. I am interested in some of these topics, but I think I'd prefer to find information by going to official websites for celebrities or politicians rather than the popular blog items.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Week 6: #13 Tagging and Web 2.0
I've added myself to the 854 folks who've saved Meez (http://www.meez.com/home.dm) and bookmarked it under tags such as avatars. It was a pretty painless process to do this and to set up my del.icio.us account.
I like the concept of having a kind of universal bookmark that you can go to regardless of which computer environment you're in. I've bookmarked websites in the past and tried to call them up only to realize I must have bookmarked them at home or work or wherever I'm not at the time. This tool will be a great help to me.
I guess the reason this tool is catching on so quickly is the quick access to bookmarks, the research aspects and the social networking aspects. I would most likely use it for the research purposes and the quick access to bookmarks; however, I'm sure lots of folks are using it for the social networking benefits.
It's fun to see there are other folks who think like you do.
I like the concept of having a kind of universal bookmark that you can go to regardless of which computer environment you're in. I've bookmarked websites in the past and tried to call them up only to realize I must have bookmarked them at home or work or wherever I'm not at the time. This tool will be a great help to me.
I guess the reason this tool is catching on so quickly is the quick access to bookmarks, the research aspects and the social networking aspects. I would most likely use it for the research purposes and the quick access to bookmarks; however, I'm sure lots of folks are using it for the social networking benefits.
It's fun to see there are other folks who think like you do.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Week 5: #10 Image Generators
Wow...I've frequently seen all sorts of fun images on blogs and websites, but I never had worked on my own. I worked with Comic Strip Generator. After looking at all sorts of images, I decided to go festive (maybe the only good point to taking so long to do this exercise is that now I can do a Christmas themed image.
Here's my festive comic strip:
Here's my festive comic strip:
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Week 5: #11 Library Thing
This project was fun to work on. I "catalogued" just a sampling of my books. It was neat to see my username come up after I put the books on my catalog. One book (444 Days: The Hostages Remember) had only me down as a person who recently added it. It was a great book about the American hostages held in Iran from 1979-81. I was mesmerized by this book when I read it. I didn't expect to "enjoy" learning about that time period so much. Several other books I chose had a few more folks interested in them. It's great to think that you could start up a friendship with someone who shares an interest in a topic such as you do.
Here's a few of my catalogued books:
Here's a few of my catalogued books:
Week 5: #12 Library Elf
This is a great service. I'm glad to know about it. However, even with the messages, I forget to renew my books! Imagine...a librarian who's here at the library at least 5 days a week and can't remember to renew her books. I have a Harris County card and a HPL card. I haven't used the HPL card in a while, so at least I haven't gotten any overdues for this card. I imagine this service comes in real handy with bigger families with multiple cards. It's amazing what technology has allowed us to do.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Week 4 #9 Finding Feeds
I've been doing several exercises of the iHCPL but I haven't done a very good job of posting my experience on the blog. Now that we're getting to crunch time for the iHCPL experience, I'll be doing my best to post each exercise.
Back in October, I began exploring the wonders of feeds (i.e. news, blogs, etc.). I obtained a Bloglines account and I tested out several news and blog feeds. I like feeds from the BBC and I enjoy blog posts from local news outlets in Houston and my hometown of New Orleans. I've always considered myself a news junkie (I usually watch at least three different local news programs on the various stations each day), but I have to admit that even I can only take so much of the material that comes across these feeds. Perhaps I haven't mastered how to specify what I want to see, but the amount of content can be overwhelming and most of it seems to be only snippets of information.
I found a lot of variety in the news feeds I subscribed to through Bloglines. I subscribed to news, music, librarianship, popular culture, etc. feeds. I usually read just a few postings on these feeds. Of the additional tools to find feeds, I think Topix seemed the easiest for me to use. It looked a lot like the beginning of any news site's webpage. I found Syndic8 to be the most difficult for me because it has so much graphical content that it kind of hit me in the face just as I tried to look at it. It is in a directory style and probably used more by folks who know about stats and know how to use the format better. I also found Technorati to be a bit difficult for me to navigate. It has a lot of information to sort out.
The news junkie in me finds it interesting to learn about all these up-to-the-minute feeds, but the librarian in me realizes that many of these feeds need to be checked out to see about their accuracy. Sometimes it is better to wait and find out more about a topic rather than get the latest feed that will only be changed in a few hours.
Back in October, I began exploring the wonders of feeds (i.e. news, blogs, etc.). I obtained a Bloglines account and I tested out several news and blog feeds. I like feeds from the BBC and I enjoy blog posts from local news outlets in Houston and my hometown of New Orleans. I've always considered myself a news junkie (I usually watch at least three different local news programs on the various stations each day), but I have to admit that even I can only take so much of the material that comes across these feeds. Perhaps I haven't mastered how to specify what I want to see, but the amount of content can be overwhelming and most of it seems to be only snippets of information.
I found a lot of variety in the news feeds I subscribed to through Bloglines. I subscribed to news, music, librarianship, popular culture, etc. feeds. I usually read just a few postings on these feeds. Of the additional tools to find feeds, I think Topix seemed the easiest for me to use. It looked a lot like the beginning of any news site's webpage. I found Syndic8 to be the most difficult for me because it has so much graphical content that it kind of hit me in the face just as I tried to look at it. It is in a directory style and probably used more by folks who know about stats and know how to use the format better. I also found Technorati to be a bit difficult for me to navigate. It has a lot of information to sort out.
The news junkie in me finds it interesting to learn about all these up-to-the-minute feeds, but the librarian in me realizes that many of these feeds need to be checked out to see about their accuracy. Sometimes it is better to wait and find out more about a topic rather than get the latest feed that will only be changed in a few hours.
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