Final Task

This has been a very interesting experience.
You should have seen my 14 yr. old grandson's jaw drop and his eyes open wide when I told him I had a MySpace account. (He is not allowed to have an account.) He was also ready to help me solve any mysteries of an MP3 player in case I had any problems.
Two exercises that were totally new to me and seemed helpful where the YouTube site and the Online Office Tools.
You Tube I might use personally and I could see it being useful to help answer reference questions. A site on YouTube for the library might be helpful to people who are more visual learners than print learners. The library, its location, arrangement, and some programing might encourage new users. There would probably have to be some sort of a link on the library webpage.
The Online Office Tools could be very useful for creating bibliogrphies where another librarian's input is always helpful. In place of printing out a document in progress and waiting for response, the response could be made right on-line. Saving paper would just be one advantage of using Online Office Tools.
I did have all sorts of frustration, especially when I tried to work on this project on my computer at home. For reasons unknown to me, I found it difficult to log into accounts, and was always having to ask for password help.
The idea of this kind of training is good. It is difficult to find time for people to get together for training, and this is certainly hands-on, which is the best kind of training.

Task #10

http://home.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user&MyToken=934ac5f1-6234-448f-a62f-0929e1015efb
I have trouble seeing the benefits of MySpace for me. If I want to communicate with friends I use e-mail, Skype, or the telephone. I never was a great person for just chatting and would not feel comfortable making new friends this way. It certainly has the possibility of creating all sorts of mischief both minor and major. Maybe I value privacy more than many of a later generation.
Teen agers and others who love to chat would love MySpace. It is an easy way for them to communicate with many friends all at the same time.

Task #9

For this task I imported a spreadsheet I had just created from Microsoft Excel. I have used Microsoft Excel for a number of spreadsheats in my work here at PV Library. Several years ago I was very frustrated at not being really able to tell patrons if we had copies of a book in paperback in Young Readers. Often the patrons are young people looking for a book to use for an assignment. I asked permission to create a list of the paperbacks we had. At least that way we are not looking for a title the library doesn't own. The list has been very helpful and is used almost everyday. The list I just created is for the Young Adult paperbacks.
I have been working with data base programs in a library situation for many years. In 1977, before there were many library computer programs I set up a inventory program for the 13 Palos Verdes Peninsula Elementary Schools. The program made it possible to inventory and weed those collections on a regular basis for the first time.

Task # 8

I found a video about the new sky walkway on the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was interesting, although I was looking for a video that showed pictures of the view from on the walkway itself. There is probably one like that on Youtube as well.
My user name on Youtube is "travellibrarian" and the URL of the video I saw is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvzlZuWrJNw
A virtual tour of the library might help new users learn the layout of the library more easily. Youtube might also help us answer some reference questions about places.
I am pleased to find out about this site.

Task # 7

I use the same name for Wikipedia "travellibrarian"
I have found Wikipedia to be occasional helpful in answering reference questions, particularly for very current information. It is important to stress to patrons that the source of the material is not known, so if accuracy is important other sources will be needed to check the facts.
I occasional use Wikipedia myself if I want to find information about a topic I know nothing about.

Task # 6

AIM Express might be useful to some people but I don't see where I would use it. At least I know that such a site exsits if others are talking about it or I find a if need for it. I do use Skype at home to communicate with family living in Africa.

Task #6

travellibrarian1 (01:15:57 pm): Why do I receive a message that PVLD2007 is not signed on?
(01:15:57 pm)PVLD2007 is no longer signed on.