Library Thing

I first looked at Library Thing a while back when I a colleague here or at a meeting really talked it up. I was not as taken with it as many seem to be.

I love to read. I'm a compulsive reader. I have an irrational fear of being caught without something to read. Usually I read fiction, sometimes nonfiction. The majority of what I read is for children because it's hard to keep up with this. I'm not a fast reader.



I wasn't taken by Library Thing at all because I guess I don't care how many people have copies of what I've read, or have read what I've read. I don't use the "other readers who purchased this book.." feature in Amazon or Amazon's reader reviews or other's book lists either.



When I'm looking for something new to read I prefer the serendipity of browsing the stacks in a library or bookstore or the reviews from more vetted sources like NYTBR, Hornbook or Booklist or my colleagues on listservs to those of the nameless masses on Library Thing.

While I could see some use in cataloging my home collection, I just don't feel the need to take the time to do it. It doesn't matter that Library Thing makes it fairly simple. It's just not how I want to spend my time.

As the t-shirt says, "I'd rather be reading."

Social Networking

Call me an old fogey, and it's true, but I really don't get the "social networking" phenomena. Maybe it's because I'm not a true "techie." I'm not prepared to spend hours hunched over a computer.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Luddite. I love computer catalogs vs. card catalog; I love my new IPod, but most days when I leave work I don't want to spend anymore time on the computer than I already have.

I only just got a personal e-mail account about a year ago and I did that to subscribe to two work related listservs that were clogging up my Inbox on my work account because I never had time to look at them here. Now they clog up my Inbox on my Comcast e-mail account at home because I have to fight the computer away from my spouse, but mostly because I can't bear the thought of being the computer after being on almost all day at work.

Also, even though most people who know me through work think I am an extrovert, it isn't true. I know I am an introvert because when I get home after a day of computers and people-contact, the last thing I want is more people contact, even if it's virtual. Social, I'm really not.

Despite all the protesting, I might consider Facebook, because I know several of my lovely colleagues and former colleagues are on Facebook and I liked the idea of keeping my privacy. MySpace looked like a meat market. Reminded me of my brief stint as a Bally health club member. Young people cruising to meet other young people, looking for more physical, than social contact.

LinkedIn might interest me if I knew other librarians were on board, but I couldn't find a way to search by profession, or maybe that option is only open to members.

So, some day you might see me on Social Networking site, but not just yet.

Pondering Mashups

I'm glad that we weren't required to make our own librarian trading cards or anything for this exercise. I'd have to make my character "fictional" because I truly dislike having my photo taken, in fact it's almost an irrational phobia.

I have to say that if there's one thing I don't like about my chosen profession it is the unfortunate fact that I have to appear on camera or in print photos, at least sometimes. If I could avoid this altogether, why my chosen career is practically, perfectly suited to me.

As far as the mashups go, they looked fun and I loved the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Motivational Poster link that Heather shared with us. I can't see that I personally would use many of these. (Hello, the woman with dozens of pretty pitiful photos still trapped in her digital camera, here.) In the hands of others, though, I enjoy seeing the end products that others have created.

Heather shared the Flickr page of the Lester Public Library in Wisconsin and I have to say I found this mosaic of "This morning from Youth Services" very beautiful.

Now if anyone would like, I can get working on my mosaic from Youth Services featuring pigeons, or possibly pigeon parts, undigested by peregrine falcons?

Flickr

Well, I opted out of the "easy" route of just commenting on someone else's photo because despite the fun of ELL and it is fun (most of the time), I'm really on board the ELL because I think I need to know all this for work.

So, I started a Flickr account. I uploaded a picture. I am trying to add it to this post, but I don't think it's working. I click on the add image icon. I've tried inserting both the URL from my Flickr account and tried to add it from the computer.

Well, here he is. Finally.

This is, however, not from my Flickr account. I don't know where went wrong but I did get a picture inserted, but from the computer.

Meet Flat Stanley. He was visiting us from another NSLS library this summer. In addition to stopping to read a book Stanley also "hid" among our Big Book collection and got really caught up in our magnetic poetry.

YouTube and Book Promotion

Warning: This Video contains blueberries and a baby from Laurel Snyder on Vimeo.

So, I know I'm skipping over my Flickr photo "lesson," but I came across an RSS feed for a YouTube book trailers and who can resist adorable babies...

Searching for new feeds

I have to say that I didn't have a lot of luck finding feeds of interest to me using any of tools. I'm just not that into the news, in general, so the current events, up-to-the-minute news just doesn't do anything for me.

Again, I echo my earlier sentiments about blogs, a lot of folks with not much to say (or do?) are out there, apparently thinking they have something to say. I think the majority are mistaken. Searching using Technorati and Google Blog Search under "children's books", "children's literature," and storytelling didn't bring up anything on target or of interest to me. At least not on the first few pages of results. Storytelling did bring up a mildly interesting "Goddesses" site that was actually the blog of some romance writers, with a provocative romance novel cover in the lead post. The storyline of the poster's upcoming novel appeared to involve a woman married to three husbands. Not your conventional romance. While I may have to look for the novel, it wasn't what I had in mind when I entered my search.

Storytelling did randomly connect me to the Scientific American site which had fascinating article into research about the roots of the human need for storytelling. The Scientific American site has a lot of great news feed content, so I did subscribe to a few feeds there. (If I was really up on this Web 2.0 thing, I could include a hot link to the site here, but I don't know how to do that yet, so if you're interested you'll just have to muddle along and find it yourselves.)

I am, however, already starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of content I'm receiving daily so some of these are going to have to go.

Whew! All caught up with Things 1 thourgh 6.

RSS Feeds

I had only learned what an RSS feed was back at an AdTeam meeting when Dave Jordan was presenting us with the new EPL web design. One of my fellow managers asked whether we would have RSS feeds for our content. Yes, we would.



Well, what are they I wondered? I did a bit of research and learned a little bit and thought they were a good thing, but not for me.



Well, I've successfully subscribed to some of the EPL RSS feeds and Google Reader's suggested Fun feeds and to couple of Blogs I was reading fairly regularly. It seems like an awful lot of reading.



I remember taking a look at Second Life when folks were buzzing about it. My feeling then was that I don't have enough time for my first life, the last thing I need is to try to keep up with a second life.



Forget a second life, I'm going to be spending my first life on the computer reading web content. Yikes!

Well, I've completed "thing 5." 18 more to go.

7 1/2 habits

Okay, okay, so I'm a little bit slow off the mark on this one. (Isn't next week our "catch up" week?)



I didn't exactly feel the 7 1/2 Habits were news to me. More like visiting old friends. They do also echo the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and I was bit of a Steven Covey "follower" back in the day.



I have to say that Play is pretty easy for me. After all, I chose a career that would allow me to shop for toys, color, cut and paste on a regular basis and view cartoons and call it job related, so that's pretty obvious.



I have to say the most challenging, again nothing original here, either, is viewing obstacles as challenges. I think my Eastern European family heritage just inclines me to the, "Why me, Lord?" And I'm not that fond of "challenges" either, come to think of it. But that's another post, or maybe another blog, or maybe a session with my therapist.